My name is Neal and I'm a software developer from the UK. Welcome to my blog :)

I use this blog to mostly write programming articles, tutorials, and musings on things that interest me. It is also a space to share projects that I have created.

I built my first website in the 90's - a website where the viewers mouse cursor would become an image of myself making a strange face and not containing much more than a few funny pictures.

Several years ago I left my job working in IT and began designing and developing custom websites for clients using mostly Expression Engine and Wordpress whilst teaching myself Ruby and Ruby on Rails on the side.

Whilst teaching myself how to design, develop, deploy and maintain websites for clients, I decided to use my spare time to pursue a bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) degree which I have just completed with a First Class.

I have a particular curiosity in learning about software architectures, systems design, JavaScript, React, and general software engineering practices.

I enjoy making things and currently have a very long list of project ideas that I may or may not get round to making.

When I'm not programming, I like to spend my time with my family, playing with my cats or doing/learning something related to my many other hobbies/interests, including: gardening, astronomy, football, electronics/IoT, DIY, psychology, philosophy, and cooking.

I like to unwind watching a good TV series or movie. Currently I am watching Stranger Things. Some of the TV shows I have enjoyed in the past include: the X-Files, the Stargate franchise, Westworld, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Star Trek TNG.