Re-becoming a coder
From ZX Spectrum to IoT: Rediscovering the Joy of the Code
For many of us in the technology sector, the screen is a workspace: a place of pipeline metrics, revenue projections, and strategic roadmaps. But lately, I’ve been finding my way back to the screen as a canvas. Rediscovering my love for coding has felt less like learning a new skill and more like returning to a childhood memory, a home, but now only I find the "need to code" is now more powerful than ever.
The Paper Manual Era
My journey started at eight years old, hunched over a ZX Spectrum. It was a masterclass in persistence: My brother and I had no tape drive, which meant every session began with the manual open next to the keyboard. We would painstakingly type in lines of code to build a game, play it for an hour, and then- with a single pull of the plug (or accidental bump of our dad– installed reset switch) watch it all vanish. There was no "save," only the process. That ephemeral nature of early computing taught me that the real value wasn't just in the final product, but in the logic and the act of creation itself. And to read, and understand, and to love code.
The Professional Evolution
As my career progressed, that foundational curiosity fueled some of my most impactful professional milestones. I’ve had the privilege of guiding complex, high-stakes technical visions into reality:
- African Defence Systems (ADS): Porting legacy Java systems to Windows and implementing internationalization for the EMEA market.
- Deloitte DESMAT: Envisioning and guiding an advanced electronic document management application from a concept to a commercially viable success.
- Discovery Vitality: Leading the initial team to architect and roll out a high-traffic system catering to millions of users.
While these projects were professionally rewarding, they were often defined by "the business of code"; scalability, risk attrition, and ROI.
The Creative Renaissance
Today, coding has moved from my "9-to-6,7 or generally working late" to my absolute creative outlet. The shift happened when I combined my professional background in IoT with the tactile, experimental world of ESP32 and Arduino devices.
There is a specific kind of magic in a 3 AM coding sesh. In the quiet of the night, away from the demands of business development and regional directorship, I’m back to that eight-year-old state of mind...but with infinitely better tools. Whether I'm wiring up a new sensor or optimizing a micro-controller script, it’s no longer about "upfront billing" or market expansion; it's about the pure, meditative joy of solving a puzzle.
Coding has become my playground again. I may not be typing from a paper manual anymore, but that same spark: the one that thrives on the challenge of building something from nothing, is brighter than it’s ever been!
