I promised a surprise in the last blog post, well here it is: SURPRISE! Go on, be brave and click on the link, you'll be happy you did :-)
A couple weeks ago +Guille Carlos asked me if I wanted to help teach an absolute beginners Ruby class. I was of course thrilled to be asked in the first place, in the second I would love the chance to get to pick Guille's brain on my own coding issues, and thirdly I've always heard that you really get to know a subject better when you start teaching it :-)
The website link (in case you are afraid to click on the random unknown link above) is: www.burritotocode.com a site Guille made to allow people to sign up for the class, or if they just want to be kept in the loop with how it goes. The class should be starting in the next couple weeks, covering such topics as:
1. Command Line
2. Text Editor
3. Basics of Programming
4. Ruby Script Time
In my experience and in talking to a lot of new people learning to code. Beginners need the VERY basics down before even worrying about how to run a local 'rails s' server and how to push to Github.
Brand new beginner programmers need to know: how to open, modify, rename, and save a file in the editor and smallish other tasks like that, things that most developers take for granted, but new people don't know. Once new developers do know the basics: navigating through their computer and doing the basic things in Ruby, the terminal, and the text editor, their confidence levels will soar :-)
The class is going to be free for now, not sure about the future. The class for now is just going to be for the Northern Va area, but that may change who knows, to being something online as well. Sign up if want to be kept in the loop with what goes on with the class.www.burritotocode.com.
In other news I gave my second Lightning talk at ArlingtonRuby this past Wednesday. I haven't done ANY public speaking since I was 18 and won an art contest at the local library. When I won the art contest, I had to speak for a minute or two. I remember feeling like I was going to faint and people feeling sorry for the poor little home-schooled kid who was scared out of his mind and being nice to me afterwards.
I was nervous last Wednesday, 10 years later at 28 giving a talk, but to be honest I really enjoyed the rush I got getting up and giving the talk, so who knows maybe I'll do more down the road.
Lastly to encourage others who accuse me of being super human and always studying so much every night. Let me show you otherwise. Last night I didn't study at all.
Yesterday I had to shoe a TON of horses and I ran out of water at my last stop, and the humidity was over 70%. By 7:30pm I stopped sweating and started getting light headed. I finished shoeing right at dark and got home just after 10pm. All I could do last night was to lay on the couch, watch a show with my wife, and drink fluids.
You can't win everyday, just make sure you hit your weekly hourly studying goals. Mine is 21 hours, which I'll catch up on this week. Going to an interview today, wish me luck :-) Josh
