I just went into the Wal Mart here in my town and they have two in 32GB in the case, but would not match the price. The squeaky little overnight manager argued with me about it.
How are you guys getting the online deal price matched in the store?
Would you guys be interested in setting up a "study group", sort of a Procrastinators Anonymous for wanna-be developers?
I can't begin to count the books I've skimmed over and not completed a single exercise. LPTHW was really nice in the way it gave you nothing else to do but exercises. Perhaps something as simple as a small, tight-knit forum (plenty of free forum providers) & IRC channel (something like freenode #python-studygrp) can be useful to bust the barrier of "I'll just start on that exercise/project/book when I'm a bit less tired." Somebody shoots an idea of something they've been meaning to do and others can jump in with brainstorming, ideas, pair programming and general "let's just do it" attitude.
Hell, I know I've been meaning to write a python script to draw a daily histogram of the creation times of Opera bookmarks, but I never got around to it. If I had a twin, I'd prod myself to hunker down and just write those <1KLoC.
So if anyone's interested in the group thing, just drop me a line so I can set it up tonight (CEST timezone here).
If you guys figure something out for a study group or IRC chat, email me! I would love to have some people going through LPTHW with me to keep each other at it. Like a lot of people, I always find myself starting the learning process with enthusiasm, but then dropping the hat when other projects come up. Really need the support to help make programming a priority.
What an inspiring undertaking. I hope to visit the project when it is complete as it is only a few hours drive from where I live.
Favorite picture in the article: Stuart Brand standing in front of the 8-foot replica wearing what can only be described as a Tibetan Monk's robe / Snuggie hybrid. He looks like an old, very comfortable wizard.
I'm torn. I recently started my own site and have been following the 'write every day' protocol. I'm not always in the mood and don't always have special inspiration, but I maintain the schedule.
A friend recently resurrected and redesigned (after 2 year hiatus) his site and it looks amazing. His writing is amazing. Problem is that the site is complete and he hasn't written one post because of his perfectionist nature.
Is there a right answer here? What is better: continuously writing in the name of honing skills or withholding talent in the pursuit of perfection?
Another blogger advised the former, saying that as far as blogs go your mediocre content will simply be forgotten and a really good piece may make HN and go viral. In other words, just do as raganwald suggests and be prolific before all else. There is no real downside to maintaining a schedule and just going for it.
For beginners like myself I tend to agree with that statement - practice, hone your skills, develop your methods and thought processes and continue writing every day.
I checked out Rework on Amazon and saw some really mixed reviews, now im not sure about getting it. What do you like about it, and do you suggest anything else?
I briefly checked out the first 20 or 30 reviews on Amazon and was not surprised by the comments, but by the ratings. My take on the comments? True: if you are a long time follower of the signal vs. noise blog then you will have seen some of the material before.
True: some of the advice is ambiguous, but necessarily so - this is not a "how to start a web company" step-by-step manual. It is an aid to seeing business from a total non-traditional platform.
True: the book is short on pages and word-count - you can easily read it in an afternoon. Every other page is an illustration (no informational value) of some kind taking away from actual information space - I did feel I was mislead by this.
True: They do use their own company as an example quite a lot which took away credibility. Their biz is the extreme example in a few ways but it is very interesting how they embrace obstacles that others run from i.e. having globally spread employees.
I got over my own negativities when I read the book for the second time three months later. The book is written in such a way that, to me, the message will adapt and be meaningful regardless of the current situation. Kind of like the bookd Who Moved My Cheese is still taught and changes meaning for each reader, each time they read it.
In my opinion it's definitely worth reading - take that for what you will.
Other suggestions? I've got plenty if you want 'em. I read a book or two a week. Here's two more of my fav business-type books.
Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin &
The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber - a classic
Here's a short cut to the best reading on business and entrepreneurship - take the following links and cross reference. If a book is on both lists it's usually very good.
I think that you're strategy is a little off here. The classes that are just requirements and uninteresting to you should be the 'easy A' picks. For basic requirements I always looked for a class or professor that was known for an easy A - other classmates and sites like myedu.com (formerly pickaprof)can get you started. Conversely, save the real work and effort for classes that you are interested in or ones that you think will be most beneficial to you after you graduate. For these classes intentionally pick profs that you know will expose you to the best knowledge, even if they're not the easiest. I think this gives a good balance while in college and sets you up well for your professional career.
How is it that in all the years of public schools and university throwing flash cards at us that I have never, until this thread, heard of spaced repetition systems? I looked up the program you recommended and will try it out for sure, but here's my questions for you: Is this something that you do everyday to maintain, how many subjects do you use this system on at one time and how long each day do you spend total doing this?
Thanks for the info and recommendation - looking forward to using it.
Everything that I memorize I put in there. Makes it way easier. When I go to a conference or something and take notes, I put the key points into Anki so i won't forget.
If you do it every day you'll get amazing results, however I'm not that dedicated, but do it multiple times per week anyway.
Basically it makes my life a lot easier to have certain things memorized, and Anki makes memorizing stuff easier.
A lot of people (esp nerds) believe it is a sign of weakness to use flash cards. It's their loss.
Good article, but the most interesting part of the story (for me) was casually summarized in one sentence. What amazes me is that he decided to start his first business at the age of 61 - wow! Major kudos to this guy for finally deciding to take a leap at an age when others are merely contemplating if their savings will be enough to fund retirement - that takes serious balls.
Sure, John made some great changes and saved his business, but that's what good entrepreneurs do - adapt and move on. He certainly deserves the credit for that, no doubt.
