Writing about side projects, Azure, and things I learn.

A year in the rearview, a big one ahead - reflections on what changed, what didn't, and why this might be my all-or-nothing year.

A recap of my first five problems on Leetcode. Key lessons included writing algorithms on paper, focusing on edge cases, and learning from failure.

Failed to solve the problem with an O(N²) approach, then learned a simpler O(N) solution from the community. A humbling but valuable experience.

Learned the importance of handling empty strings. Achieved one of my most optimized solutions at 0ms runtime.

Re-solved a problem from last year and improved performance from 43ms to 7ms. A good reminder of measurable progress.

Explored string immutability and learned why appending to strings is inefficient. Reverted to the simpler solution after testing optimizations.

Solved Leetcode 2239 by writing the algorithm out on paper first. Ended up with an O(N) solution optimized down to 3ms runtime.

I decided to write about something different this time around - my own personal life experience and where my mind is at.

DeepSeek R1 is shaking up the AI world with its open-source, locally runnable LLM. Learn how to install and run it on your machine using Ollama and explore its capabilities firsthand.

Learn how I built BudgetBuddy, a programmable banking solution that tracks transactions in real-time using JavaScript, Azure Functions, and Google Sheets.