Want to make sure that you really understand Git and all its workings? Want to learn from someone who really knows their stuff? Then join tonight’s St. Pete .NET Meetup virtual session with Jesse Liberty, who’ll start with the basics, but ramp up to cover advanced topics such as rebasing, interactive rebasing, and bisect (which is for finding the commit that broke your code).
…and when I got a developer relations job at Microsoft in late 2008 and had to relearn C# in a hurry, I turned to this Jesse Liberty book:
So along with his Microsoft and Xamarin MVP credentials, and his courses for Pluralsight, LinkedIn Learning, and Packt, there’s also my endorsement (for what it’s worth) that he can teach tricky tech topics in a way that makes it “stick”.
I’m from that generation that did programming assignments in C and got into iOS development when Objective-C was the only way to do it, so this comic provided me with a little nostalgia blast.
I’m bringing back my Tampa-based programming meetup! It used to be Tampa iOS Meetup, and then Programmers of Portables, but I’m broadening its coverage and renamed it Think Like a Coder!
Think Like a Coder! is a meetup with a mission, which is to help with the programmer’s biggest challenge: How do you apply what you’ve learned about programming to actually write programs? How do you take what you’ve learned about loops, branches, functions, objects, and so on and turn them into applications?
During each meetup, we’ll take on a problem and try to solve it with code. As with my other meetups, these will be “code along with me” exercises — we’ll all learn by doing.
This session will cover scraping — the process of reading the contents of web pages — and then performing actions based on those contents. We’ll work together in JavaScript (and possibly Python) to look at how we can write a program that can answer the question “Are Publix subs on sale?”.
Once again, it’s September 13th — the 256th day of the year (on non-leap years)! As the number of values that can be expressed in a single byte, 256 means something to programmers, and as the largest power of 2 that will fit into 365, the 256th day of the year is a perfect excuse to declare it as Day of the Programmer.
Here are some things that you might find useful on this special day…
There’s Humble Bundle’s Python Superpowers bundle, which provides a lot of goodies for $25, including some really good Python video courses, ebooks, and a 6-month free license of PyCharm Professional Edition!
Platform integration: you can easily upload creations to different platforms. If you want to get your project out easily and quickly, this is an option for you.
Constantly updated: The developers are hard at work updating Godot. Since it’s free, this is a pretty cool aspect, so I recommend throwing a few donations dollars their way!
It’s free: It’s completely free! No packages! No subscription models! No memberships!
Great User Interface: The UI is easy to use and read, leading to better and more comprehensive game development
Scripting: The ease of use for scripting is actually a lot easier than many different engines. They use their own invented script, titled GDScript. It’s easier to pick up and translates beautifully into finished projects and assets
Community and online resources: As I said before, the community for Godot is supportive and has a huge presence online. I got lost in a YouTube rabbit hole looking at some Godot tutorials videos alone. Again, I recommend the subreddit for engaging with the community and checking out the actual Godot site for some demos and tutorials for beginners.
Seamless Downloads: You can download it right from the browser and get going immediately with the self-contained program. Have at it!
How can you learn Godot Game Engine with Terry Cavanaugh?
That’s the plan — he’s going to learn Godot by building a game, and he’s inviting people to come along for the ride. You can even build one as he builds one.
I think I’ll check it out. It sounds like fun, and might be a interesting way to put my recently-acquired gaming laptop through some new paces.
In order, the cities in Forbes’ list of emerging tech cities are:
Tampa (“Tampa is responsible for over 25% of Florida’s tech jobs, and there has been a massive surge in tech jobs in recent years.”)
Miami (“In 2020, two of tech’s biggest names (and wallets) relocated to Miami to make it their permanent home. Founders Fund partner Keith Rabois and Blumberg Capital founder David Blumberg moved to Miami.”)
New York City (“It’s not entirely a shocker considering how New York City is one of the centers for everything. Even that underplays the truly momentous amount of technological innovation that’s come out of that city in recent years.”)
Austin (“It’s another city that’s been blowing up for the past few years as a result of an influx of tech talent.”)
San Francisco (“You simply cannot comment on the current tech scene without considering its most famous, iconic setting.”)
12 Things You May Be Doing Wrong in Your Job Search (Tuesday @ 10:00 a.m., online)
When a job search starts to get frustrating, it may be that you’re making a few missteps. Find out if that’s the case at this Computer Coach workshop, 12 Things You May Be Doing Wrong in Your Job Search. Their workshops are always free, and Computer Coach are always helpful! (They’ve even helped me out.)
Tampa veterans use technology, connections to help Afghans evacuate
Quiet Professionals (whose name is derived from the sobriquet for the Green Berets) is a defense contractor based in Tampa’s Rocky Point, and they’re doing their part in Afghanistan with their OSINT (open source intelligence) dashboard to help people in Afghanistan find help and escape. You can find more in these stories:
Give them some business! You won’t just be getting great coffee; you’ll also be investing in a local business, and helping the local area more interesting and less sterile.
Do you have mobile dev skills? These local companies are hiring.
A little while back, I posted an article titled So many Tampa Bay mobile dev job openings, so few applicants. The situation hasn’t changed much — there are still lots of local places who are looking for mobile developers:
