Posts tagged ‘terracoding

Meet the Team: Rob White

Robert is one of the directors of Terracoding. He’s a pragmatic and sensible guy with a sense of humor that is easily found. He helped create the company at the same time as working towards his First Class Masters in Computer Science at University. Here are a few questions he answered so you too can get to know what goes on in this inspirational man’s mind.

Robert White

What is your favourite film?

The Fifth Element

When you were young, what did you want to be?

I never had an idea what I wanted to be when I was young, even going to Uni I wasn’t sure if I was choosing the right course.

If you had any advice for 12 year old you, what would it be?

Get stuck in and learn hard work when you’re young, don’t cruise by and be your own hardest critic.

What inspired you to get into Software Development?

I used to play a lot of video games when I was younger, and my Dad was always quite techie (everything from building PCs to building websites); it seemed a natural progression.

Have you ever had a “hero” in your life, someone you look up to and aspire to be?

It’s strange to say - but I’d consider one of my friends from secondary school to be huge inspiration. He arrived in the country knowing just shy of no English, and within what felt like a matter of days (more likely weeks) he was semi-fluent and laughing along with the rest of us. It must have been an incredibly daunting experience, and one he handled with immense grace.

If you had a time machine, what year would you go to and why?

I don’t think I could pick just one year; I’d want to go forward 10, 20, 50, 100+ years into the future to see how everything changes and all the new things that are created.

If you could be part of any business/product, which would you pick?

Definitely either Google Glass or the Apple Watch; they’re both in the very early stages of what I think are going to become very exciting products. Imagine having real-time tracking of your health, fitness, and being alerted within moments of something being detected/diagnosed. We’re a long way off understanding the human body, and there’s no such thing as too much data!

What’s the most rewarding thing you’ve done so far?

I think it’s a tie between either learning Mandarin at University, or working on numerous projects for a good cause. Learning a language so completely different from anything else I’d known was a huge challenge, and to do well brought a great sense of accomplishment and pride.

Do you have any suggestions for someone wanting to get into software development?

Dive in and build something, it doesn’t even have to work great the first time. Get stuck in, release something and enjoy the thrill of your creation being out there for the world to see.

Fast forward, 50 years, how much do you think technology would have changed?

I think wearable technology/Internet of Things will have a big impact on our day to day activities, with the world becoming even more interconnected. Whether this is a good thing or not (e.g. potential privacy implications, nanny state etc) only time will tell.


Meet the Team: Sam Rayner

Sam is the Creative Director for Terracoding. When he isn’t working, he’s usually playing Ultimate Frisbee for Great Britain or as captain of Sheffield Steal. In the summer he likes to help out with Makomborero, a charity dedicated to providing education for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe.

Sam Rayner

What is your favourite film?

Casino Royale (looking forward to Spectre!)

When you were young, what did you want to be?

I’m not sure I had decided when I was very young. Perhaps a tennis player? My dad bought me a book on building websites when I was eleven and I had always been into computers so I knew I wanted to work with them from a fairly young age.

What is your favourite season of the year (and why)?

Summer, mainly because it has the best weather for Ultimate. Sunshine definitely improves my mood too.

What inspired you to get into Software Development?

Like most nerds, my first exposure to software was predominantly gaming. I love problem solving and installing mods and skins and things felt like a window into how the games were made. The methodical, logical nature of programming and scientific approach to designing interfaces within constraints satisfies my obsessive tendencies.

Do you have any irrational fears?

I don’t like straws. I can’t handle the sound people make with an almost empty milkshake.

Do you have any suggestions for someone wanting to get into software development?

Don’t be afraid to just dive in and try to hack something together from code snippets. It will probably be awful but if it works just about well enough to scratch an itch then you’ll get that feeling of accomplishment that keeps programmers hooked. You can always come back to the theory later and learn to approach things properly once you’ve caught the bug. Then you advance to the meta-level of satisfaction where you can be proud of how your code is structured as well as what it does.

What is your favourite thing to eat?

I eat a lot of cereal at pretty much any time of the day. It’s my go-to dessert or snack. My favourite might have to be fudge though.

Have you ever had a “hero” in your life, someone you look up to and aspire to be?

My dad is probably the person I aspire to be like most. There are famous people I admire, like Federer and Obama, but I can’t say I aspire to be like them as I don’t know them intimately as people. He might not be world class at tennis but Dad gets a lot of the important things right.

Which celebrity do/would you get mistaken for?

Ha, the only time I have ever been ‘mistaken’ for a celebrity was being called John Cena by kids in Zimbabwe. I’m sure they knew I wasn’t him though, I just wore a cap and most westerners are big compared to teenage lads out there. I’d love to see their reaction if they actually met a wrestler.

What is the most rewarding thing you’ve done so far?

Coaching Ultimate is really rewarding. Seeing some of the Sheffield-based players improve over the years has been great. Volunteering in Zimbabwe is hard to beat though. Tinashe, one of the students I taught a little at Makomborero is now studying Computer Science at the Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey!


Meet the Team: Dominic Wroblewski

Dominic is Technical Director here at Terracoding. Born in Redditch, a small town just south of Birmingham, he made Sheffield his home when he decided to study Computer Science at the University of Sheffield. A strong advocate of almost all things tech-related, he discovered his passion for programming whilst at secondary school, developing some of the first apps for iOS shortly after Apple unveiled the App Store. When he’s not running the Sheffield Swift meetup, he’s busy setting world records on Guild Wars 2, or scuba diving in seas both hot and cold.

Dominic Wroblewski

What is your favourite form of exercise?

Skateboarding.

It’s such a great sport for exercise as it’s fun and it’s something I can always improve at, for example learning a new trick is a great feeling of accomplishment.

If you had any advice for 12 year old you, what would it be?

Try not to hate Maths, you’re going to need it an awful lot later.

What is your favourite thing to eat?

Full English Breakfast OR… A jacket potato (with a Full English Breakfast)

Favourite place in the world (and why)?

Blue mountains in Australia. It’s beautiful, the sounds, the birds, the life - you just don’t get that kind of experience in many places.

What were you most proud of when you were younger?

Making silly animated claymations.

What is your favourite part of the day?

Early morning, just before the world wakes up - that period of time where nothing’s going on, it’s just peaceful.

If you could meet any one person, living or dead, who would it be?

Captain Cook, just to know what it was like to explore an unknown world.

What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?

Trying to understand my Maths teacher at University.

Which actor would play you in a movie about your life?

Tom Hardy

Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Dogs, I think cats are really cool, but kind of scary at the same time.

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