Tag: podcast

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 052: The Ship of Theseus & Building cross-platform apps in Python

The Ship of Theseus and Story Loops

Imaginary Worlds is one of my favorite podcasts. The most recent episode was amazing in how it related the question of identity through the Ship of Theseus, Westworld, and Star Trek.

There is much that I could say about it, but I think that it would be best to listen to it. So let me leave you with a quote from the podcast that was great:

It (i.e. Westworld) taps into the fact that we’re all on story loops. Some of these story loops are created by us, sometimes they’re created by society, but either way, after a while you just tend to go through the motions (i.e. just like the hosts on Westworld). And every so often it’s good to stop and reflect if this is the version of you that you want to be. It’s easy – all you have to do is ‘freeze all motor functions’.

Building cross-platform apps in Python

I’m not sure if cross platform development is like a unicorn in the software field. Whether it was Java’s “write once, run anywhere” promise or Electron’s pitch of “build cross platform desktop apps with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS”.

I came across an interesting project whose goal is to provide cross-platform development for Python. The BeeWare Project “aims to take the power of Python as a language, and use it to enable users of all skill levels to develop applications with native user interfaces.” This may be an interesting project for those focusing on learning Python.

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The eli4d Gazette – Issue 049: DevDocs.io and the BaseCS Podcast

DevDocs.io – an amazing programming documentation resource

While scanning through Quincy Larson’s excellent posts I came across the DevDocs site and how it has recently joined the freeCodeCamp family.

DevDocs allows you to rapidly search for documentation of various languages and frameworks. It is similar to Dash but through a web page and it’s free. The best way to use this resource is to add it as a keyword to your browser (per site’s instructions). Having one location for software development documentation is excellent and having this under Freecodecamp’s stewardship guarantees that this resource will only get better over time.

A gentle introduction to computer science through the BaseCS podcast

I’ve come across this extremely charming and useful podcast that goes through computer science in a gradual well-paced way.

The format revolves around one topic, and it is a question/answer type of conversation between Saron (founder of the Code Newbie site) and Vaidehi Joshi. Saron is the questioner and Vaidehi is the CS “explainer in chief”.

Each episode of the BaseCS podcast comes with a well-written article from Vaidehi Joshi’s site.

Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know: @eli4d on Twitter

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 040

Tech Pick

I’ve mentioned the source control management system Git before as well as Jason McCreary’s excellent course. I recently came across some great information from Atlassian in regards to Git. Atlassian hosts a Github competitor called Bitbucket. One of Bitbucket’s great advantage is free hosting for unlimited private repositories.

Now onto the awesome tutorials from Atlassian:

Media Pick

It’s that time of the year, the leaves are turning gold and falling in some places, and Costco has Christmas decorations for sale. It’s also the time of the year for non-profit pledge drives like Radiotopia – a purveyor of independent, thoughtful, and occasionally heart wrenching podcasts. I am a big fan of “99% invisible”, “The truth”, and “Trump Con Law”.

Consider that only 7 in 10,000 listeners are actual supporters of Radiotopia (and I would guess similar podcasts).

Fun Pick

The iPhone X’s animoji capability is like Snapchat’s face filters on steroids. Here are some best animoji karaoke videos that I’ve come across (I know it’s ridiculous, but this cracks me up when I imagine the faces of the people that are producing this – contorting their faces and lip syncing to create the animoji facial expressions):

Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know: @eli4d on Twitter

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 038

Tech Pick

This past week I came across an excellent career path article from Ycombinator: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee.

I like the neutrality of this article and how it provides the pros/cons of each path. This is better information than any guidance counseling that I have ever encountered.

 

Media Pick

I’ve come across a very short podcast about current tech – Twit Bits. These are 2 to 10 minute daily snippets from various shows on the Twit network. They’re nice tasty bites of happenings in the tech world.

More Drobo Blues

My Drobo difficulties continue even with the switch from the 5N to the 5D. I had the 5D running for about two weeks. I had loaded some data on it, and then it just died. I suspect it’s the power supply, but I’m not sure since I don’t have another supply to switch out. So far: three Drobo 5Ns that have been bad and now a 5D. Am I really this unlucky or is Drobo hardware really (really really really) bad?

I was hoping that I could trust the 5D hardware but no such luck. I asked for a refund, and this (of course) was refused (it’s way past the original purchase, so I get it…but still ). I’m in the process of returning my 5D for another 5D. My trust in Drobo hardware is non-existent, so I’m not sure what to do when/if I get a 5D that is working.

 

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The eli4d Gazette – Issue 037

Tech Pick

I’ve been going through Jason McCreary‘s Getting Git course. I’ve used git superficially in the past, but I didn’t ‘get’ it. At $29 it is an amazing bargain and is well worth purchasing. The course is broken down into the following sections:

  • Making Changes
  • Viewing History
  • Managing Workflows
  • Sharing Work
  • Everyday Git

Each section contains the git commands related to that section, and it is covered through two videos. There’s an ‘init’ video which is a short video (typically one minute max) introducing the command. This is followed by a ‘Master’ video covering greater details of the command and providing context to both the section and its usage.

One core feature of this course is that it is all about the practical usage of git. There’s no esoteric ‘stuff,’ which is helpful when you need to work with git quickly.

My approach has been to mirror what Jason shows in a terminal window of my own and to take notes about it. Jason keeps each video’s set-up (in terms of the initial repository) to the bare minimum, which makes it fairly easy to follow and practice.

Media Pick

If you’re looking for a quirky podcast – check out Reply All. It’s hard to describe this podcast. I’d recommend that you start with the Phantom Caller episode.

Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know: @eli4d on Twitter

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 033

Tech Pick

I’ve been making slow glacial progress (due to everything else in my life) in learning Laravel while working on a side project. As part of this, I’ve been listening to lots of PHP and Laravel podcasts. Twenty Percent Time is a new-ish podcast where two developers from Tighten (Caleb Porzio and Daniel Coulbourne) discuss various programming topics that typically revolve around Laravel. On the latest episode, Caleb verbalized something that I’ve fundamentally believed in for a long time though I didn’t have the words for it. Here is what he said:

“You can be an unbelievable super successful super smart great Laravel developer and know nothing but the Laravel docs and use nothing but the built-in Laravel things. You don’t have to learn design patterns…you don’t have to learn the internals of how everything works…it’s kind of crazy, but that is the path to mastery. The path to mastery is knowing how to use the tools really well, just using the tools that are in the docs.”

Beyond learning Laravel, I think that Caleb’s quote is significant for those of us that get super-involved in learning about the latest ‘shiny’ thing, rather than learn a few tools well to create something.

Media Pick

I can’t recall a time in my life when political polarization was greater than it is now. I’ve recently come across a constructive podcast (“What Trump Can Teach Us About Con Law”) covering our president in the context of constitutional law. It fits my ‘learn by example’ style, and it is a fantastic study of our country’s constitution.

Random

  • I bought a Drobo 5N last November during a black Friday sale. I didn’t get to unbox it until a month ago (lesson learned – test hardware as soon as possible; I knew this, but life has been busy). Within a few days, I found that my Drobo was a dud. Fortunately, Drobo’s diagnostics in combination with Drobo support has been excellent so far, and I have a replacement coming. Hopefully, I’ll experience the Drobo difference soon :-).
  • I’ve had lots of emails with OmniFocus support about the last corruption. This infrequent/intermittent bug got even escalated to an OmniFocus engineer. Their support has continued to be stellar.

Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know: @eli4d on Twitter

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 031

Tech Pick

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is currently running in San Jose. Two interesting points from Monday’s keynote:

For those looking for a summary of the keynote:

Media Pick

I really enjoy the Imaginary Worlds podcast but the latest episode (Do the Voice) was really different. It was an episode that came from The Truth Podcast. The Truth podcast is about:

THE TRUTH makes movies for your ears: short stories that are sometimes dark, sometimes funny, and always intriguing. Each story is different, and usually 10 to 20 minutes long. We take you to unexpected places using only sound. For best results, use headphones!

I’ve started listening to it, and it’s quite a nice short audio trip that is weirdly worthed.

Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know: @eli4d on Twitter

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 026

Issue 026: 2017-03-29

Tech Pick

Last week, Stack Overflow published their 2017 Developer Survey. It is a comprehensive survey examining a whole host of developer related topics ranging from technologies used to development practices. It’s one of those surveys that requires multiple read-throughs. My favorite section of the survey – “Most Loved, Dreaded, and Wanted Languages” (checkout JavaScript’s standing across all three categories…lol). Enjoy!

Media Pick

A recent Elixir Fountain podcast episode had an excellent interview with Chad Fowler. Chad’s reflections (and affection) for programming languages (especially Erlang) was quite neat. I notated specific sections of this interview through my twitter feed and can find these here.

Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know: @eli4d on Twitter.

The eli4d Gazette – Issue 022


Issue 022: 2017-02-01

Note: I’ve marked affiliate links with a carrot (^) symbol.

Playing games to deal with depression? I’m not sure I’m convinced but the Note to Self podcast had an interesting interview with Jane McGonigal (no – not the one from Harry Potter) about the use of video games for self-help.

Recent Articles and/or Techie Tweets

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The eli4d Gazette – Issue 021

Issue 021: 2017-01-18

New Year Related Pick

I heard a neat podcast episode from the Tiny Challenges site that was about 2017 intentions. The challenge itself is “three words of intentions for 2017”. I think it’s a nice challenge that isn’t as burdensome as the new year’s resolution approach.

If you’re looking for a more traditional goal based approach you might find the following article to be useful: https://eli4d.com/2016/01/29/alternatives-to-new-year-resolutions/.

Media Pick

I’ve been thinking/struggling for quite a while about the nature and place of my canonical place. Manton Reece has been thinking of the same thing. Manton has come up with micro.blog which will be a “timeline and publishing platform for the open web”. It’s an interesting idea and approach. Some information regarding this effort:

  • Kickstarter campaign: I’ve backed this project because I’m really interested in the book that he is writing about the open web and his approach to the canonical issue (besides the service).

  • Manton discussing the project on the Release Notes podcast: A very good discussion clarifying the intent and workings of this project.

  • Micro.blog’s about page

  • RSS will power the timeline of microblogs and Wikipedia has a good definition

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