User:Jacksiro

Welcome!
Hello! My name is Jackson Siro and this is my user page. I like to be called "Jack Siro" or "Jack" for those close to me. I am Software Developer, Technical Writer and a Mentor and in my free time I am an Elite Cyclist and vLogger on YouTube.

I was born on September 12, 1991, in Oyugis, Homabay County to my parents Henry Siro and Charity Siro. I grew up speaking Kiswahili more than any of my parent's vernacular languages because being the last born son they must have treated me like a jewel. I had to learn my father's mother tongue as a I became a teenager but that is after having learnt the language of our neighbours in Homabay County.

My Education
I joined the Kisii University in 2010 to pursue Mass Communication after completing my high school education at St.Peter's Kotieno in 2009. Regardless of me havving been admitted to university of the 21st Century I had developed a liking of computers and anything computer related from a young age. I deferred my studies 2 yrs later to pursue what my heart yearned for. In 2014 with the help of my uncle Dr. Charles Omboto by then a Special Education lecturer at Kenya Insititute of Special Education I Joined the Kenya Technical Trainers College to pursue ICT where I graduated 4 years later.

My Software Developer Profession
Since 2017, I have been a freelancer in web development although I did do some bit of Android app development for my personal project called vSongBook that I had started while in campus sometimes in mid 2015. vSongBook was a mobile app on Android, Windows Phone, Windows pc, web and later iOS. I later discontinued the app in 2019 because of lack of funds at the height of the Covid pandemic.

In 2019 I started to look for work because freelancing was becoming less sustainable to me. I have worked as a Desktop App Developer at Grow Mobile Tech and later I have worked as a Mobile App Developer using Flutter at the Adanian Labs.

With the help of my friend Titus and others who joined me, I have been able to revive my vSongBook app but in a rebranded version called SongLib which is currently available on the Google Play Store and am looking to make it available on the Apple App Store soon.

I have worked as a volunteer mobile app developer at Itsy and later as a volunteer lecturer for Android App Development at the European Business University towards the end of the year 2022 after I left Adanian Labs.

Overall, I love open source and most of my work has been centered around mobile apps, desktop apps and a few web apps. You will notice I have been recently inclined to mobile apps using flutter framework that allows deployment to android as well as iOS. In the past I have built desktop apps using Qt (C++) and also .Net (C#)

My Cycling Hobby
I've been cycling for almost half my life since high school in mid-2008. After graduating in 2017, I bought a secondhand Buffalo bicycle for KES 7,000, which I relied on for commuting around the city. I used to dress in civilian clothes and didn't wear a helmet until I moved closer to the Thika Super Highway. Seeing other cyclists who dressed professionally influenced me to start doing the same.

In mid-2008, I started cycling and continued for almost half my life, including during my high school years. After graduating in 2017, I bought a secondhand Buffalo bicycle for KES 7,000, which I used for commuting around the city. However, it wasn't until I moved closer to the Thika Super Highway that I started taking my cycling more seriously. Seeing other cyclists dressed professionally influenced me to follow suit.

Then, in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, I discovered cycling groups on social media, such as the Kasarani Cycling Community on Facebook and WhatsApp. Joining these groups introduced me to long-distance cycling, which is now known as "Junk Miles". Despite the availability of shorter rides organised by groups like Critical Mass, I prefer to embark on solo junk miles. I have gone on challenging routes, such as completing a trip around Mount Kenya with Alex Maina's Tour d'e Meru group and a journey to Mombasa and back with George Orondo's Team Junk Miles.