Collin K. Berke, Ph.D.
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Now

Here you’ll find what I’m currently up to.

Modified

August 27, 2023

A now page, why?

Projects I’m working on

It’s a Python summer

This summer I’ve been focusing on developing my Python programming skills. I have a pretty good handle of R, so I felt it was time to learn Python. This started with learning Python’s basic data types, struggling through understanding Numpy arrays, getting a handle on the extensive use cases of the pandas library, and learning how to manage environments using conda. I’m aiming to write more blog posts focused in this space to document what I’m learning.

Continuing to experiment with Neovim

I’ve heavily leaned into using Neovim for most of my workflows. During this transition, I’ve come across some really useful tools, like telescope, harpoon, and vim-fugitive. I’m trying to learn as much as I can, as I still don’t know if my configuration is correct … lol

Project Conduit

I’m currently developing and maintaining a data pipeline project built using R and Python. Technology utilized includes Google Cloud resources, Docker, Apache Airflow, Google BigQuery, Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, and Shiny. The goal is to centralize and automate data processing, storage, and reporting.

Books I’m reading

Python for Data Analysis by Wes McKinney

Being that it is a Python summer, I picked up this book as a starter to learn and practice using Python for data analysis. Currently, I’m working through the data cleaning, preparation, and wrangling material. I’m hoping to get to the chapters on modelling towards the end of the summer.

Engineering Production-Grade Shiny Apps by Colin Fay, Sébastien Rochette, Vincent Guyader, and Cervan Girard

I’ve been managing more projects that have an associated Shiny app. Some apps have become large and require a robust framework to manage. As such, at work my team is reading through this book to learn how to implement the golem package for Shiny app development.

Tiamat’s Wrath (The Expanse book 8)

I’m continuing with this 8th book in the series. A great Sci-Fi read. I pick it up from time-to-time. I’m looking forward to finishing the series and seeing how this story ends.

A list of books I’ve read (ever since I’ve started keeping track)

Professional development reads

Advanced R by Hadley Wickham. Check out past book club meeting recordings here.

R Packages by Hadley Wickham and Jenny Bryan. Check out past book club meeting recordings here.

Vim help files maintained by Carlo Teubner

Mastering Ubuntu by Jay LaCroix

Google BigQuery: The Definitive Guide by Valliappa Lakshmanan and Jordan Tigani

Mastering Shiny by Hadley Wickham. Check out the past book club meeting recordings here.

R for Data Science by Hadley Wickham and Garrett Grolemund. Check out the past book club meeting recordings here.

Docker Deep Dive by Nigel Poulton

Personal reads

Persepolis Rising (The Expanse book 7) by James S.A. Corey

Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse book 6) by James S.A. Corey

Nemesis Games (The Expanse book 5) by James S.A. Corey

Cibola Burn (The Expanse book 4) by James S.A. Corey

Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse book 3) by James S.A. Corey

Caliban’s War (The Expanse book 2) by James S.A. Corey

Leviathon Wakes (The Expanse book 1) by James S.A. Corey

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: A Novel (Wayfarers 4) by Becky Chambers

Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers 3) by Becky Chambers

A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers 2) by Becky Chambers

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers 1) by Becky Chambers

Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert

The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir