Hello Steemit!

I'm glad to be joining you on this great platform! My name is Kenyatta McLee Daniel. I was born on the tiny Dutch island of Sint Eustatius, but spent most of my life living and studying in London. After university, I left London and returned to Sint Eustatius where I worked for a few years at an accounting firm. It was during this time that I met and got married to my beautiful wife. In 2016, we decided to move to the Netherlands and currently live in Utrecht; however we often dream about the sun, sea and sand we left behind! :)

Did you know?; On November 16, 1776 Sint Eustatius (pictured below) was the first territory to official acknowledge the independence of America.  In 1939, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited St. Eustatius to recognize the importance of the event remembered as the "First Salute" 

Key interests

Computers, Programming 

As a self-confessed nerd or blerd :), I am deeply interested in computers and programming. This year, I decided to make a career change from being a data analyst to a backend developer. I am particularly interested in build data driven tools and applications that help people and organizations in developing countries make better decisions, improve processes and ultimately achieve their goals. Currently, I'm working on "passion project" called TacT (a RESTful API) to develop my skills and learn my first tech stack (LAMPython). 

Learn more at: https://github.com/KenyattaDaniel/tact 

Cryptocurrencies, Investing

Around June 2017, I was introduced to the world of cryptocurrencies by my older brother; he works for a top financial institution here in the Netherlands. From that initial introduction till now, I continue to research and learn more about the various cryptocurrencies and their underlying technologies. I have also cautiously invested modest sums in Bitcoin and a few alt-coins. From my experience so far three things really stand out to me;

1. the potential of the blockchain and other consensus technologies (e.g. Tangle used by Iota) to radically transform industries from government, to finance to manufacturing
2. the potential for cryptocurrencies to improve the socioeconomic status of people around the world, especially those from developing countries
3. the potential for the average guy like myself to obtain higher returns on investment compared to interest from saving accounts or even the stock market

Disclaimer: Please note that the above comments and any future posts about cryptocurrencies from myself aren't meant to be taken as financial advise. I would encourage you to do your own research and due diligence prior to making a decision to investment in cryptocurrencies. 

Reading news articles, books, documentation etc...

To support my career path, make smart investment choices and develop as a human being, consuming quality information on a frequent basis has become an integral part of my life. I particularly love information that is accurate, clear, relevant, concise and practical. One of my goals in joining Steemit is to produce content that meets these standards and proves useful to fellow members. 

Favorite programming reference books include;

• Python Crash Course by Eric Matthes
• Python - An Introduction to Computer Science by John Zelle
• Programming in Python 3 by Mark SummerField
• Learning SQL by Alan Beaulieu
• MySQL Cookbook by Paul DuBois

Favorite non-work related books include;

• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (currently reading)
• Algorithms to Live By by Tom Griffiths, Brian Christian
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain

2018 on Steemit

Thank you for reading my introductory post! I you like what you read, please feel free to leave a comment or follow me. In future posts, I plan to share more about my journey in becoming a software developer, TacT (my personal project), cryptocurrencies and more.