Just Another Day…

Tag: Programming

Hour of Code 2015

Last year I had the idea of taking Andrew to one of the many Hour of Code classes in the area, but found out about it too late. Everywhere I looked classes were already full. If you don’t know what the Hour of Code is, you can find out more at their website. It’s an initiative to promote learning how to write computer code and to get children interested at an early age.

I signed up for an apple store event at one of the downtown Chicago locations and picked one that had a special guest. In this case it was Danny Yaroslavski, creator of the popular coding app for kids called LightBot.

We started our day having breakfast at Lou Mitchell’s, one of my favorite breakfast spots in the city.

After that we hopped on the subway and headed to the apple store, which just happens to sit right on top of a subway stop.

As soon as Danny started talking to the group you could see the kids light up. I think in part because he himself is not much older than a kid and they could relate to him. He talked about how computers not only run the internet, but virtually every aspect of our world.

He called out Pixar specifically. He pointed out that while Pixar is about creating 3D characters and animation, it’s all done by code written at Pixar. A lot of their software is created in house to help solve specific problems they want to overcome. It was a good tie in and spoke to everyone.

After that it was all about grabbing an iPad (several were provided to the group) and playing LightBot. The game does not teach actual coding. Rather it teaches concepts, methods and problem solving skills that are part of writing code. Even as an adult, I found it fun and challenging to play at times. It’s more of a brain teaser as you get into the higher levels and have to find more efficient ways to perform the same task. Once these concepts are mastered, learning to actually write code will be easier to pickup.

After the one hour was done we went out front and took a group photo with everyone in the class and then back inside to look at some of the toys on display. We spent another 90 minutes playing with the toys which were pretty awesome. It’s amazing the level of technology that we take for grated these days.

We had planned to do a few more things in the city but the day was already half over and we needed to be back by 3pm so we headed back to the car and drove home. On the way back we took a quick detour to check out the Harold Washington Library. A library that’s so big it could probably hold 4 full size copies of the Wheaton library.

All in all is was a pretty awesome day with Andrew. We never seem to get enough one-on-one time with the kids so when we do it’s pretty special.

I don’t know if Andrew will be interested in writing code as he grows up, but for now he’s interested in it. If he does end up a coder, he will have a nice jump on what will be a very promising career by the time he is out of high school.

I have a small photo gallery on SmugMug from the days events.

December 13, 2015
I’m A Bigger Nerd Than Before, and Proud Of It

This week was probably some of the hardest learning I’ve done in many years. I’ve been in my own career for over 20 years now so challenges, while they do come up, are spread out over time. This week was not the case. I felt very odd being back at that square one place of a new skill when everybody around me walked in with so much more experience.

On the plus side, I think all things considered I kept up quite well. I have no doubt that taking this class was a good choice, and I think what I learned this week alone would have taken me 2 years to learn on my own, if I was able to learn it at all.

I think part of the secret here was having very supportive teachers that would help you past thing road blocks that you were most certain to hit. Instead of banging your head against the wall for hours or days on end, you could raise your hand and not only get the answer, but usually some other insight into the problem and how to avoid it in the future.

Just like when I took a engine rebuilding class back in high school and had an immense appreciation for the fact that a car works at all given all the things that need to be just perfect, I find that every application I look at now on the mac and especially the iPhone looks different to me. I have a new appreciation for what had to happen for the program to run at all, but on the flip side I can also pickup on some very poorly written applications and have some idea of why they are not working quite right.

The overall summary of this week is two fold. First, I know I can do this. I’ve done more this week and understand more than ever before. And second, this is the start of a long journey. Being a programmer (just like being in the video production field) is something you learn and continue to learn as long as you’re doing it. A year from now I won’t be “done learning” how to program and know it all, I will never know it all and never be close to knowing it all. But I will continue to learn it and improve. The good thing is, I love to learn.

The other highlight of my week was meeting Alex Lindsay. He’s been a star in the video production world for many years and I’ve really looked up to him. Aside from running the Pixel Corp and working on Star Wars, he’s just a very talented person that’s also a great teacher. Through his podcasts and articles on the web I’ve learned a lot from him over the years.

There are so many ways that we’re alike in terms of our interests, lives and careers that over the years I’ve started to refer to him as “My brother from another mother” to my wife Brenda (but eventually just shortened it to “my brother”). So needless to say I was excited that he was taking the class as well this week.

While there were not many opportunities to be social outside of the class, I did manage to get a photo with him at the end of the class.

So all is well that ends well. I’m very appreciative that Brenda gave me her blessing to spend the week being the nerd that I am. Whenever I’m gone it’s always harder and she’s always very good about it. My hope is that in years to come the time/money invested here will start paying some dividends back to both of us.

October 30, 2010
BNR – Day 2 Thoughts

Day 2 was a little better than day 1. I came into the class pre-read for the first chapter and I felt pretty well rested. So much of learning programming is repetition. Even when what you’re doing makes no sense, the more you do it the more you get these little “ah ha” moments as another piece falls into place.

I think the biggest takeaway for me so far is that the question I always had has been answered. I’ve always struggled with knowing for sure if this was something that I had the mental capacity to do. I’ve tried several times by the self-taught book method and would only get so far before I was just plain lost. The combination of what I have previously read over the years, my experience writing databases several years ago and being in a class where things are explained and questions are answered as they come up has given me a new confidence.

So while I know I will not go home being a rockstar programmer, I already feel like I’ve been given a big solid push in the right direction and have a good foundation to build on. I’m very confident that writing software will be part of my long term future.

It might be just a hobby, or maybe a new chapter in life. Time will tell.

October 27, 2010
Being A Big Nerd: Day 1

In a word… Wow.

The first 2 hours of the class I was concerned that it may be a bit too basic for me. After all I had been reading a lot and what was covered I already knew. But that quickly changed and before I knew it I was having flashbacks to being in HS and was sweating. I could tell the people around me were “getting it” a bit faster and had more experience. I was falling behind and fast!

I took a short lunch and came back early to keep working and by the end of the class I was caught up. I’m used to being the most technical person in the room, but here I’m probably the least educated on the topic. I think it’s been a long time since my brain really felt stressed stretched like this.

But, I have a few hours tonight to brush up on what we did today, and tomorrow I’m getting up early to read ahead in the next few chapters so that I’m as prepared as possible.

We did actually write no less than 3 applications today, and 2 were actually deployed to the iPhone for testing. It was a pretty cool feeling to see your own application loaded onto the phone.

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the week. It’s a good class of people, and the two teachers (Aaron and Joe) from Big Nerd Ranch are awesome. I’ve struggled at times when I was reading and typing my own code, but having somebody right there that can look over your shoulder and explain what you did wrong is pretty awesome.

More later this week!

October 26, 2010
A Calling

Have you ever wanted to do something that you just felt was meant to be? Maybe something you’ve always wanted to try because it spoke to you in a way that nothing else did. Maybe it’s playing a sport or starting a new hobby. I think we all have at least one of those things inside of us, a seed that was planted long ago that’s yearning to grow.

For me that has always been computer programming. I’ve always felt that it was something I would be very good at. I have a very logical and technical way of thinking, which plays nicely into programming. I’m also full of ideas for programs that either don’t exist, or are improvements on programs that are out there that fall short.

But, I went down the path of television production long ago, and once you’ve built a career, and even more once you have a house payment, wife and now kids, it gets harder and harder to take a step in a different direction, not matter what the calling. It all comes down to responsibility and the fact that life is not just about you anymore (well, it was fun while it lasted anyway).

So, it’s with great excitement that I will be spending this week in California taking a crash course on programming for the iPhone, iPad and future iOS devices. Not only is it the perfect class for me and where I am with my programming skills (very limited) but the class is with some really great people that I’ve admired professionally for years. So it’s a chance to meet and work with some of my heros of technology.

The class was not cheap, neither was the hotel (however the flight was pretty good), and my hope is that the money spent now is just a downpayment on a future return as I begging to write applications and sell them. In some ways it feels like a long shot, and in others if feels like this is where I was always headed.

I’m very grateful that Brenda has been very supportive of this dream of mine. This week will be hard on her and I know she would rather I was around. And even though this is costing a small fortune for us right now, she never once made an issue of it. She believes in me, which helps me believe in myself.

So time will tell where this week leads. My hope is it’s the beginning of a new chapter in my life. If not, I at least know that I gave it a solid shot without letting dream just die inside me.

Time to get on the plane!

October 24, 2010