Monday Morning Update #2

...strong week.

I've been working on the Ruby on Rails Tutorial and my coursera classes. I have to say, this tutorial is much better than the lynda tutorial. I would definitely recommend never, ever doing that tutorial, for any reason.

Using this tutorial, I have learned how to properly use git and github. I got jammed up for a minute there, I didn't realize that I needed to create the repository at the website before I could push things to it, but luckily the Web Applications Architecture Class on coursera really came through for me this week, in that regard. My github is starting to look respectable. I knew that it was a good idea to take that course along side my independent work with Ruby on Rails. The only issues that I have with this tutorial involves one of the gems: execjs. For some reason, I'm getting and error for this gem on everything that I work on. This is how you fix it:

Run gem install --version '1.2.4' execjs

Add gem 'execjs', '1.2.4' anywhere in your Gemfile.

Run bundle install

Start your server with rails s and your problem should be solved.

Part of the reason that I'm putting this here is for future reference. ;) 

 I wish that I understood exactly what is going wrong with this gem, so that I could fix it and not have to do this with every app, but se la vie, I guess.

Speaking of the Web Applications Architecture Class, it is still kind of annoying me. The assignments are pretty basic and the class moves way to slow for me to use it as a stand alone instructional for ruby on rails...maybe if I worked ahead, though. He is posting the work 2 weeks ahead though. I just really don't like the class enough to spend extra time each week working on that when I have other resources. I wouldn't go as far as to say that you shouldn't take the class, if you're trying to learn, though. To each his own.

The other class,  An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python, is going great! This week, our project was to recreate the game "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" that was featured on Big Bang Theory. Me being me, I have to watch the first episode of the show; I had been avoiding it, but I'm willing to give anything a chance, especially since, apparently, the professors [there are 5] think that that show is the bees knees [I just said that]. I hate that show. Hate is a strong word. What I did do was go to their facebook page, see which of my "friends" like that show and proceeded to judge them for it [...not out loud or in text, of course :)]. Anyway, the game was pretty simple and not overly challenging. It's nice to have this class a strictly a programming exercise, while studying so my web development.

I'm not married to the idea of making websites. My goal is to build useful for tools and entertainment applications. Don't get me wrong, I love the internet and I definitely look forward to being hands on in the deployment and management of my ideas, but just building websites in itself just doesn't do it for me. The underlying idea behind the website is where it's at.

Post #1

...so I decided to start writing this blog to become a better person.

I just finished reading Post Office, by Charles Burkowski last night night on the advice from James Auchter through his blog/mailing list.  The purpose is to work on my writing and learn from other people who are interested in the same things that I am.

I have a goal to become an internet/software developer...I'm starting from scratch.  Toward that end, I have done most of the tutorials on codeacademy.com and I am currently reading The Book of Ruby.  I feel like I'm learning a lot and I can do most simple things, such as, conditionals, methods, classes, etc., but I don't really consider myself a programmer, just yet.  Though reading The Book of Ruby,  I have decided that there are a number of edits that could be made to that book to make it easier for people who are new to programming.   I imagine myself doing that one day, once I actually learn the language.  Maybe I'll write my own book one day, who knows.

While I was working on the python tutorials on on code academy, I would post my achievements on twitter.  I was probably doing this just to make people think I was cool or something, but I tell myself that I am doing it to prod one of my friendswho follow me on twitter into picking up programming so that I would have a someone to discuss this stuff with.   Anyway, what happened was that I got a new follower who directed my to the CodeEval website.  This is one of my new favorite things and I am currently working on my first challenge on the site.  I needed this, for a little bit of direction in my learning.

Anyway, if you've read this far...that's awesome.  Keep reading my blog and comment often; we're into the same stuff.  I will be grateful for any advice and be happy to give mine...I'll try really hard not to be weird. Other things that I do are foreign languages, movies, cool tv shows, astronomy, and go to the gym.  I like most forms of music.