franl

Great job shipping something! Doesn't look like something I would use, but I could definitely picture teenage family members of mine using it. Good luck!

Haha, no framework hipster here. I feel like people force the use of JS frameworks on projects that don't really need them.

So along the lines of what you said, dabble with a few, and when you recognize a project that could benefit from one, dig in.

Thanks for the "how"!

Wow, after the feedback on this thread and a few conversations with other developers this week, I started thinking this exactly. Great timing, thank you!

I'm not sure what's kept me from going down this path already though, as this isn't the first time the idea has popped into my mind.

Ahhh, man, awesome stuff. I totally relate to what you said about not learning from books, but learning from when you actually experienced some of the problems that were outlined in the books.

I went through similar learnings with running my own business. I had read a bunch of stuff about entrepreneurship, etc., but it wasn't until I screwed up for myself that the lessons really crystallized (and really internalized for me).

Web programmer or not, your advice was very helpful, so thanks again :)

Great points, thanks!

Absolutely on the same page with you on this after researching Angular some more over the past couple of weeks. I mentioned Angular because a couple of companies I'd like to work at use it.

I was thinking about trying React for views + Backbone for models/routing instead, but a poster here reminded me about Ember, so maybe I'll just go that route initially. Or Backbone on its own. Thanks!

Agreed on all counts, thanks! I've heard a lot of good things about Ember. Have you tried Angular?

Great point! I just recently started programming with a senior dev for a few days per week, and it's been really helpful so far.

Great tips, thanks! I'm going to try that approach for the next 30 days: Set aside a day per topic, mixed with a couple of simple project ideas.

Well, I don't know for sure, but they're the five things that seem most important to me when it comes to landing a quality gig. Please correct me if I'm wrong :)

They are TDD, OO-design, increase Rails mastery, refresh myself on algorithm basics (sorts, processing data efficiently, etc), and learn the basics of a JS MVC framework (leaning toward Angular). I'm not starting from zero in any of them.

Also, I did a poor job of providing context/perspective, so I'll quickly add some: My dev skills are at a point where I could get a junior Rails gig somewhere. I want to get them to the point where I can get a junior/mid Rails gig (almost) anywhere.

The 90 days was just an arbitrary time constraint that I felt was short enough to give me some urgency, but long enough to make significant progress.

Totally agreed on the "having a project" points you make, and on learning by necessity. Both are a part of my plan. I love learning about programming in general, but yesterday I found myself reading a Ruby book that was talking about making external DSLs and I had to stop myself: "This is really cool, but WTF does this matter to me right now?? Go read about TDD instead."

EDIT/ADD: Thanks for the reminder about spaced repetition btw.

In order of importance: 1. TDD 2. OO-design 3. Increase Rails mastery 4. Algorithm basics (refresher on different sorts, etc.) 5. Learn the basics of one JS MVC framework (leaning toward Angular).

(I'm not starting from zero in these things - I've had exposure to all of them)

Haha, I appreciate the frankness (seriously). Great tips, thank you!

Btw, I'm not trying to become an expert in five things in 90 days. I just want to get comfortable enough in each that I can confidently tell prospective employers/partners "I'm not an expert in X, but I can productively use/do it."

Your 70% approach is the sort of thing I'd like to adopt as a long term learning process.

I don't think 10.8 has the vulnerability. At least my MBP with 10.8 doesn't appear to have it. Both of the test URLs from HN had the desired behavior in Safari on that machine (ie they blocked content / didn't establish a connection).

EDIT: I'm not using Little Snitch or anything other than the builtin OSX firewall.

For OSX Lion / Mountain Lion:

OS X Lion

In Lion, holding down a key won't repeat it, but will instead show a popup menu to select between character variations. This doesn't work well with command mode, so you may want to disable it. This can be done via entering this at the terminal:

defaults write com.sublimetext.2 ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

Wow, beautiful space!!

"When the motivation came, I decided to squeeze every last bit of it before it vanished again." Amen to this. I think this is a critical attribute of super productive people. Good work, and thanks for the great reminders!

These $9 orange safety glasses have worked extremely well for me over the past few years: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000USRG90/ref=redir_mdp_mobil...

EDIT: edited for clarity

Just a simple web app for people to checkin with failures and the key lessons. I wanted to have tags for different topics, and a feed based on tags you were interested in. Pretty basic. I didn't take it beyond the checkins because I couldn't envision myself checking in very often.

What if it didn't matter if you have all the answers right now? What if it was OK if you accepted your current situation for what it is (i.e. simply a mixture of circumstances and emotions that are subject/likely to change)? What if all of your reasons haven't even been born yet? What if it was OK for you to be where you are with no reasons whatsoever?

My point is you can start by asking yourself different questions. I noticed that your questions centered on potential negative outcomes. Try flipping that around. "What if it was OK for me to feel this way right now?" "What if I don't need to change anything within myself right now?"

Better yet, take a break from asking questions for a bit. Take a few long, deep breaths instead. I have trouble remembering this sometimes, but life goes by one moment at a time. We don't have to live it all in one breath. We don't need to bear the burden of the next 60 years of possibility in the next 60 seconds of life. Take it a step at a time.

Try to not fight the feelings you're having. It's a battle you can't win. Accept them, let them be. The more you fight them, the more they'll consume you.

Try not to be so hard on yourself. You're only human. You'll never have all of the answers.

Finally, take everything I suggested with a grain of salt. I don't know your exact situation. I'm not a professional. I only know what's helped me get through tough times. Hopefully some of it can be helpful for you too.

I second the comment re: depression. If you've never spoken to a professional about these feelings, why not give it a chance? If you have, and it didn't work, why not try someone else? If you can only do one thing, speak to a pro.

I'm happy to share my own experiences/challenges with you if it helps. If you want, email me the things you're afraid to tell others about for fear of being rejected. It's my username at my username dot com. There's always someone willing to listen with an open mind, despite what you might think. Even if it's just some random stranger from the internet :)

Awesome man, thanks! I actually got Algorithms by Sedgewick and Wayne instead. The reviews on Cormen said it's the seminal resource on algorithms, but a little too advanced for the self-directed (non-genius) learner.

Awesome point. Do you have any reading/strategy you'd suggest? One thing I'm doing is open courseware like CS50 from Harvard. Do you think that sort of work is worthwhile with regard to what you mentioned? Study algorithms? Do topcoder challenges? Project Euler? I'm open to whatever it takes :)

Ha, I heard something like "it will be fixed on version 2" multiple times last week. The more I do this the more I realize I can only do what I can do (and try to get better where there are shortfalls in skill/knowledge). Like you said, no one's perfect. Thanks for the reminder and tips!

Aren't they taught by professors? Good point though - at the end of the day, we're all self taught. I should've been more specific: "self taught coders with no formal computer science education."

Awesome Adam, I think there's a lot of value in cataloging/discussing people's failures like this (so much so that I started working on something very similar a while back :) Good luck!

This was pretty much my plan for when my current contract ends. Glad to hear it worked for you, thanks! :)

Great ideas, thanks! I'm especially leaning toward the open source route for a couple of apps I'd like to build for myself.

I think you're right, especially for someone fairly new. It helps develop a solid foundation of overall skill, upon which one can eventually choose an area to specialize. Thanks.

This is one of my biggest concerns: writing code vs. developing software. I'm trying my best to follow/learn best practices, but the contract job I'm at right now kind puts quality aside in favor of "JFGID right now!" And since I'm still fairly new, I feel like I'm taking shortcuts just to get things working in a timely manner sometimes.

Very cool. Part of my problem is that I'm impatient with myself as far as building my skills goes. But day after day I'm reminded that it takes time to become a "good" developer. I'm trying to take more of a long view now. Your story is a great reminder of all that, thank you.

Great points, thanks. Has this been anyone else's experience? Specialization makes sense to me (and I like the idea of deep focus), but I feel like most of the job postings I've looked at usually list a wide range of desired skills. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong postings though!