I’ve decided to create a slightly more technical blog (as opposed to yefim.tumblr.com and start at the beginning of my love for web development. I like to attribute the foundations of this love to the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science (HSSEAS) High School Summer Research Program (what a mouthful) that I participated in for eight weeks during the summer after sophomore year in high school (2009). I shall refer to it simply as either the Summer Research Program or the UCLA Summer Research Program as need be. UCLA has a nice (yet rather old) site up where the central picture depicts my fellow researchers with me at center left with my long flowing brown locks and stunning demeanor. 2009 sure takes me back.

“lo” (as my first post is aptly titled) was the first transmitted message over what was to become the Internet. I distinctly remember meeting UCLA Professor Leonard Kleinrock who was there when the message was sent. If he had been a mother, the Internet would have had to give it flowers on Mother’s Day (a poorly executed metaphor on such a prominent holiday).

The UCLA Summer Research Program had guest speakers every other week and the first week just happened to be the Internet co-founder himself. In as an unbiased manner as possible, I must say that his presentation was neither unprecedented nor surpassed by any guest speaker I had heard before and after. As humbly as humanly possible, Professor Kleinrock retold his story of old, the birth of the Internet.

The “lo” was supposed to be a “log” for login, but was accidentally left uncompleted, he said. Upon retrospection, it may have been for the better. “lo” signifies a grand opening, a “lo and behold” of sorts. It is the dawning of a new age. Few are able to remember such moments of grandeur, even fewer could attest to being at the forefront of these altering moments. Yet, there was Professor Kleinrock as calm as ever talking about computers and networks and nodes and packets. I was enthralled from Day One.

And that’s how it started. I love the Internet now. I live the Internet now. I write code. I go to hackathons. I publish apps. But, most importantly, I love what I do.

I am a rising Computer Science sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania who has just started to learn the magic of personal blogging. Feel free to email me: yefim323 at gmail or follow me: @yefim.