Learning a new coding language

When I start learning a new coding language, I work through the same set of exercises each time. They are my coding kata, problems I know the answers to in several languages now, where the goal is to get the same results each time. Exercises in ascending order of difficulty:

Now, 7 May 2018

Thinking aboutBack to recruiting, and also professional development. In a mostly flat organisation, how to you give people a career path? My company has more of a cargo net than a ladder. Stimuli and inputRead "Never Split The Difference" by Chris Voss, and "How Emotions Are Made&

New Mac build

I got a shiny new Mac laptop for work use this week, and was thinking about the stuff you put on a machine to make it useful. This is my current set of necessary-for-work software: Homebrew (to get everything else) ChromeFirefoxGit (to get code in progress) Node.js (to get

Now, 11 November, 2017

Thinking aboutRecruiting, training, and how to propagate a good company culture across locations so you get siblings instead of clones. I would like to see offices  that incorporate the best of the local area and the home office culture. Stimuli and inputChewed through "The Rook" by Daniel O&

Taos Wool Festival, 2017

I went to New Mexico, for the Taos Wool Festival with Laura, we took a weaving class with Liz Gipson. It was my first time in New Mexico and the scenery was stunning. Mountains, just hanging out like it's perfectly normal to wake up and see the sun

Norfolk Rusks

Back in the distant past in Britain, there was the Yorkshire Television company, who had a show called Farmhouse Kitchen. I went to university with two volumes of recipes from that show in books that were copyrighted in 1975. This is an adaptation of one of those recipes to be

Eclipse 2017

Using a tree as a pinhole camera, these were taken a bit before the eclipse and fifteen minutes before totality. Traffic stopped, everyone was out and looking at the sky. Even though the sun was down to a tiny sliver, it was still almost full daylight. Then the light dimmed

Now, 12 August, 2017

Thinking aboutPublic speaking, I have stuff to say! Co-presented a talk at the company internal conference, 'Free cookies and usability for all,' and baked nine dozen cookies for it. I never want to smell cinnamon and brown sugar again. Solo speaker on a lightening talk, 'Agile for

Sourdough Scones

I've been tweaking a recipe for sourdough scones, and it feels sufficiently different from the original to put it here. I found this recipe on Sourdough Surprises, who credits Sourdough Diva (no longer online) Ingredients: * 2 cups of sourdough starter (about 460g) * 1 1/2 cups of bread

Now, 2 July, 2017

Thinking aboutStill noodling on distraction and focus, also considering the system one and system two thinking that Arthur Doler laid out in a useful and informative Lunch and Learn at work. Picked up a copy of Cal Newport's book "Deep Work," it seems to tie in