One of my favourite movies of all time is Arrival. I can't believe the character of Louise Banks. She is so amazing and so focused and so passionate about what she does. She is such a role model. I love her quiet joy. I love her quiet gratitude and her quiet genius. I love her quiet focus. I love her true genius. Today's blog post is named after the song that is used in the intro of the movie. (And also interestingly, in Shutter Island).
I want to be like Louise Banks, right? Focused. Quietly passionate about what she does. Knowledgeable. Dedicated. A lifetime dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. A true love of what she does.
On Why Software Matters in Renewable Energy
No other industry evolves as fast as software.
The faster that tech evolves, the faster it has the capacity to evolve. Isn't that miraculous? And marvellous? It is inexhaustible. Like the energy of the offshore wind farms, it is inexhaustible. And like all of us.
And it is worth re-iterating one more time: we will need people who are experts in both. We will need people who are experts in both software engineering and renewable energy.
And this is what I aim to do. This is my life's journey. Care to join me on this path?
Happiness (and Software) Can Be Found In The Most Unexpected of Places
I was watching a video about the energy grid last night. I was inspired to do so by reading over the blog post that I had just written. I couldn't have expected what was about to happen - it was the best thing in the world!!! The guy in the video started talking about exactly what it is that I am most fascinated by - software engineering x renewable energy.
It's such a great video, and I really recommend giving it a watch!!!
What do computers and software do best? Well, apparently, it's "take in and process huge amounts of data to help us make decisions about how we manage the grid." I guess that he means in the context of energy and renewable energy, as computers and software do other things best as well in other domains.
"Take in and process huge amounts of data to help us make decisions about how we manage the grid."
But what are smart grids, and why do they matter?
What is the "smart grid"?
Well, according to the IEA (International Energy Agency):
"Smart grids are electricity networks that use digital technologies, sensors and software to better match the supply and demand of electricity in real time while minimising costs and maintaining the stability and reliability of the grid."
Let's have it one more time for the kids at the back. I feel so alive:
"Smart grids are electricity networks that use digital technologies, sensors and software to better match the supply and demand of electricity in real time while minimising costs and maintaining the stability and reliability of the grid."
What could this possibly mean? I never realised that there was anything so cool and so exciting as this. I feel alive like never before in my life.
Another definition:
"A smart grid is an electricity network that uses digital and other advanced technologies to monitor and manage the transport of electricity from all generation sources to meet the varying electricity demands of end users".
Why do we care about the "smart grid"?
"Clean energy transitions entail large increases in electricity demand and the widespread rollout of variable renewables like wind and solar, placing greater demands on power grids. Smart grid technologies can help to manage this transition while reducing the need for costly new grid infrastructure [omg! there is is again! it's the most common theme so far - hardware vs. software - omg omg omg!!!], and can also help to make grids more resilient and reliable".
"Smart grids can help on the demand side as well". Apparently smart grids can help users to make better decisions e.g. around energy and when it's best to use it and how it works.
About when electricity is cheaper. Omg.
Final Quote From The Guy In The Video Again
"Ultimately, the smart grid can help us use and take care of this huge machine - this shared resource we call the power grid - more effectively and efficiently now and into the future."
Hello from Susanna Codes! Hi everyone, My name is Susanna and I'm a 28-year-old aspiring software engineer from Brighton! As I type this, listening to music from "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain" (it reminds me of home, in Luxembourg, where I am from - I'm missing home quite a lot lately!) and look forward to some Irish Cream tea in my afternoon break, I am thinking: How lucky I am that my amazing colleague Rosana helped me out with a plan for my software engineer journey (she directed me to the front-end first). How HTML and CSS would not have been my first languages of choice had I not been guided in this direction, as in my head they were seen as 'less-serious' langages. How done I am with what other people think of me and if other people see the 'front-end' as softer then so be it! Everyone has to start somewhere. I am so grateful to be on this journey, with Codecademy's Front-End Engineer Career Path. Thank you to Async Brighton as ...
“But yesterday, I heard God say, you were born to be the one…” Hey there. Still off work. Still tired. Lana del Rey released a new song. Thank God. My soul needed it so much. I’m thinking a lot about everything. Thinking about where I went wrong. I just want to release. I want to release all the crap that is in my room. I’ve been trying to fully declutter since I was 21. I give away so much. I donate so much. But then I never quite finish. I never get to the click. And then I buy more. I don’t know what technique to use. There are so many techniques. The Marie Kondo method. I like to do kinaesthetic tests too. I like to pretend I’m packing up during the pandemic again and I have to make really quick decisions about what to keep and what to leave behind. That was no fun. But it was efficient. I just can’t release it. There’s so much stuff I can’t let go of. I don’t know how to. I don’t know how to. I suppose that’s a good metaphor for life. We accumulate stuff and we hold on to it....
In the Water, I find Fire Who am I without renewable energy? I had to ask myself this question last year when my company laid off half its employees. I didn’t know who I was anymore. Not without renewable energy. But I did everything I could to stay in it. The time in between jobs allowed me to experiment. Travel around the UK a bit. Reconnect with old hobbies. Rediscover my femininity a bit - be someone who wasn’t always working. But I fought to stay in renewable energy. A part of myself has been telling myself that I am in renewable energy still and that’s great because I am. But I am mostly in water. And that was hard for me to accept that. Because I love renewable energy so so much. And I couldn’t imagine my life without it. But now I can. Not because I don’t love it But because I need to give myself to something more too and that is water Because in the water I find my passion In the water, I find my fire In the water, I find my self again In the water, I find my Self So let’...
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