My name is Jonathan Adams and I am an actuarial analyst and software developer/test engineer based in West Texas. My original love was mathematics and statistics, but thanks to the help of some friends and coworkers I learned programming and databases and quickly found another fascination in them. My work allows me to learn new technologies and apply them to both my developing and my actuarial tasks.
I hold a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Statistics from Texas Tech University, the latter was completed part-time while working full-time. My journey into developing began with learning Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) and PostGIS-enabled PostgreSQL and teaching myself R. Eventually, I started learning backend JavaScript in the form of Node.js and eventually my job split into two. Ever since, I have continued to learn new technologies and find ways to apply them to my various mathematical, statistical, and actuarial tasks, including developing a method of scaling computations in R using the rminions package. I presented this method at useR! 2016 and R in Insurance, London 2016.
When I'm not working or studying for actuarial exams, I enjoy travelling, the outdoors, cooking, and playing amateur mechanic. I like trail running and mountain biking and, along with hitting up my local trails, I try to make my way to various state parks several times a year. I also try to run up Guadalupe Peak in the Guadalupe Mountains at least once a year.
I hope to use this blog to share technology tips and tricks, as well as give the occasional state park report and recommendation.
On the technology front, you can find my personal projects on GitHub.
-Jonathan