About MaxGCoding.com

MaxGCoding.com is my personal website and blog. The site itself is hosted and rendered by CodeBlahger, which you can read more about on the Projects Page. I use it to post on different topics related to software development and computer science that I find interesting. I try to take an approach that leaves the material approachable for those readers who may not have the deepest (or any!) background in computer science. I remember what it was like to be a budding programmer trying to make sense of all the jargon and details. It is with this in mind that I strive to keep such language to a minimum while maintaining the integrity of the subject being presented.

What is the binary number that keeps changing on the header?

The binary number at the top of the page is the binary representation of the number of milliseconds left until January 19th, 2038 and updates once every second. Sometimes referred to as "The Year 2038 Problem", Y2038, or "The End of Unix Time", On this date at 3:14:07am UTC timestamps stored as 32bit integers will overflow. When this occurs, the binary representation of the timestamp rolls over to become all zeros and then resumes counting upwards again. The effect is similar to how an analog odometer with 6 places that reaches 999,999mi next displays 000,000mi or zero miles and not the 1,000,000mi actually traveled. Instead of incrementing to January 19th 2038 3:14:08 UTC, when the overflow occurs the next value will be January 1st, 1970 00:00:00 UTC. As such, any system still using 32 bit timestamps will face issues ranging from incorrect timestamps to totally undefined behavior.

A Bit About Me

I'm Max, the Max G. in MaxGCoding.com. Born and raised in New York, I attended the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, where I earned my Bachelors degree in Environmental Science. I currently live and work in Boston, MA where I ply my trade as a backend software engineer.

Through my many hobbies and interests over the years, my number one passion has always been computer programming. I first started programming with QBasic and then Visual Basic while still a student in elementary school. After some time and gaining more experience, I moved on to learning Perl and then C/C++. I first started using various Unix dialects through "shell service providers" until I was finally able to convince my parents to allow me to install Linux on our old computer that was given to me sometime in the late 90s. With my very own Linux machine my appetite for programming exploded at that point, and has continued to grow with there being no indications of it slowing down.

Along-side the many technical aspects of computing, I also enjoy it's rich history, and of course that touch of humanity that comes from the many tales of luminaries in the field that have evolved into heroes for many of us. From Ada Lovelace the first computer programmer, to Admiral Grace Hopper developing the first compiler, and Von Neumann's many contributions from the manhattan project just to name a few. There is no shortage of deeply interesting and inspiring moments in the story that is the history of computing.

I find fascinating not only the evolution of the hardware technology, but also the way programming and programming languages have been influenced and grown along side them. From swapping wires on plug boards, to the first assembly languages, and then the introduction of Lisp and Algol to which many of todays most popular languages are descendents. Programming has come a long way.

What computer geek who likes history wouldn't also be in to retro computing? During my decades long love affair with computers ive managed to collect a couple of old Unix workstations: a Sun IPC and a Sun SPARC station 10. I also have a Radio Shack TRS-80. Talk about retro. I've always wanted to add a mainframe to my collection. *Sigh.* One day i will own one (don't ask me what on earth for - blinkenlights mostly).

Not all of my hobbies are computer related, and I make sure to take time and unplug to connect with nature and be outside as much as possible. Ok, "as much as possible" is an exaggeration but i do enjoy being outdoors and I can often be found hiking, snowboarding, or sailing on the Charles river. My other great passion in life is music, both playing guitar and attending concerts. Having recently relocated to Boston, I’ve been busy exploring while taking in all the history, sights, and everything else my new home has to offer!

Not what you were looking for?

Here is my Curriculum Vitae