Benjamin Barrett © 2025
This is the third time I've done a "Hello world" post. One of them is/was public, and the other never really got to see the light of day, as I completely re-wrote this website from the ground up before I ever published the first ever re-write.
Welp, in the spirit of keeping the joke going, here's the latest version of the (copy-pasted with slight adjustments) post... that totally isn't just used as a means of padding out this website while I develop it.
I'm not exactly proud or embarrassed to say that I sometimes run purely off a little spite. In some class, I was once made to do a "hello world" website task, an absolute classic. Now don't get me wrong - I didn't have a problem with this task, it's as easy as it sounds - type <p>Hello World!</p> into an HTML file, and then open it in a browser. For some stupid reason, I wanted to be different, so I put my own bit of personality into my task just to make it a little more "fun".
I guess I could say that I'm not like other- I'm kidding, I'm not going to say that.
Honestly, this story doesn't really have a real lesson or moral to it, I just wanted to share it as a silly little way to justify the title of this post. I'm not sure if I'll ever change it, because at this point, "Howdy Universe" is a harmless tradition of mine, and I guess it could be your own too.
I guess the point is - We can all make things our own in some way.
"About" pages always just feel a little weird. I rarely visit one unless I'm trying to find some information about something/someone, and most other times I just ignore the option to visit one. Now that I'm writing one, I feel like that this page is going to be very important. I'll mention why in a moment.
I've been wanting to make a website for a while, and I've finally gotten around to it! and when I made one, I completely abandoned it, only to return a year later with a complete re-code. well over a year later only to re-code it on an entirely different framework. But hey, this one is endgame! Totally...
Anyway, this website is essentially 2 things:
A portfolio of sorts
Housing for my web projects
A blog. Whatever that means.
To me, the "blog" element is just a pretty label to put on a website with opinionated or non "factual" takes. Amongst the things I say are opinions and statements. While I try to keep an open mind, and I'll almost always listen - I'm pretty damn clear when I've got an opinion about something. That being said, my opinions are my own. On this website, I'm not speaking on behalf of a company, or a group of people, or really any other entity (unless specified otherwise). I'm just speaking on behalf of myself.
If I say that something sucks, it's because I, personally, have reasons to believe that something sucks. If I say that something is great, it's because I, personally, have reasons to believe that something is great. I'm just sharing my thoughts.
I am not defaming anyone, nor am I out to attack anyone in particular. Furthermore, I maintain a level of professionalism where I avoid naming names. In the event that someone may personally identify with a vague description (Hypothetically, if I say that I met someone smelly, and you think that I'm talking about you), then that is your own perception of the matter (and within the bounds of the example, if you're identifying with this "smelly" person, then consider taking a shower).
I state this firmly due to previous experiences I've had. I know what defamation means, and it is not something I have committed, or will commit any time soon. My thoughts have basis, and are simply just my thoughts. Sometimes people will agree with a negative opinion that I have, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to wage a war.
For my more informational / educational content, my open-source docs project is the way to go.
Oh, me? You want to know about me? - Okay I'll stop, I don't really know why I wanted to write that, it's not even that funny.
I'm Benjamin Barrett, 21 years old as of writing this.
I'm studying Computer Science, majoring in Software Development. I also work full-time as a Sysadmin.
While I shall probably remain unspecific about which University I'm at, the information is out there on more professional career-facing websites. I choose to remain quiet here for privacy's sake, and so my aforementioned voiced opinions are less targeted-feeling.
Yes, in fact, I do! (This joke is beginning to grow on me, I will admit.)
When I'm not a slave to assignments, I have a variety of interests and hobbies. You could even argue that my hobby is "learning random things".
There's a good chance you'll see the following topics on this site:
Programming Projects that I've worked on (not for my education, but for me)
Content Creation, including video editing, or just general commentary on stuff I've made or want to make.
Gaming
Random, "personal" stuff. It is my blog, after all.
Don't worry, I'm not going to broadcast my mental breakdown, I just mean random things that don't fit anywhere else, like if I'm talking about a new hobby I've picked up, or a new interest I've found.
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I hope that's enough information. I'd feel like a bit of a narcissist if I said much else, really.