tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45457716629914854102024-02-02T13:50:22.333+00:00Planning a dinner.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-16303217756002884862014-07-22T06:02:00.000+01:002014-07-22T06:02:03.705+01:00See you in the new home...<p>It's still a bit messy, but it's <a href="http://www.planningadinner.net">here: the brand new homemade Planning a Dinner</a>.</p>
<p>Come say hello!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-66469378858612689912014-06-28T00:06:00.002+01:002014-06-28T00:07:38.988+01:00Next stop:<p><a href="http://www.planningadinner.net/">Planning a dinner - soon at its own domain!</a></p>
<p>As I was <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/planning-journey.html">writing a few days ago</a>, I'm moving. What you see at the link above is just a couple of pages put together in an hour of break from the work on the <em>real</em> thing: for the <em>real</em> thing, I still need one more class (class as in "let's do it Object Oriented"), and some half-decent CSS (suggestions are welcome especially for the latter).</p>
<div style="font-size:90%;">
<p>[A random question: what do you listen when you are working - if you listen to anything at all? Apparently, alternating Wagner's <em>Der Ring des Nibelungen</em> and <em>Wicked</em> with a double dose of <em>Defying Gravity</em> is a slightly peculiar choice.]</p>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-84052169997929468262014-06-21T01:43:00.000+01:002014-06-21T01:43:21.361+01:00Planning a journey.<p>Maybe you've wondered where I've been. Maybe not, of course. No problem, I'm telling anyway.</p>
<p>Well, I was here. Looking around, meeting <a href="http://www.meetup.com/PyLadiesLondon/" title="PyLadies London">wonderful people</a>. Wondering what to do next, looking for a project.</p>
<p>Appreciating the usefulness of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_application_frameworks">Wikipedia</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/mmcasetti/status/477470927568269312">Twitter</a>, once you have a project. Or even just half of a problem, a vague idea. The <a href="http://xkcd.com/214/">Wikipedia Effect</a> can be a blessing, in the latter case.</p>
<p>So, now I'm looking at this <a href="http://flask.pocoo.org/docs/">Flask</a>. I like it.</p>
<p>So, a website is on its way. A static website, thanks to <a href="http://pythonhosted.org/Frozen-Flask/">Frozen-Flask</a>.</p>
<p>(Why static? Because "let's start simple" sounds like a good idea.)</p>
<p>And in a month... <a href="http://europython.eu">EuroPython</a>.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-79818142963774733802014-04-26T11:33:00.000+01:002014-07-04T07:58:19.503+01:00The poster!<p>Finally, my poster for PyCon 2014!</p>
<h3>The idea</h3>
<p>Follow the arrows to plan your excursions among the red (<em>very important</em>) and green (<em>but do also this, sooner or later</em>) topics. Solid arrow: you will need to know the first topic to understand the next one. Dashed arrow: the first topic could help you understand the next one.</p>
<h3>The resources</h3>
<p>Below each topic, a list of the resources where you can study the topic. The best ones for each topic are marked in <strong>boldface</strong>. The resources <a href="http://bit.ly/learn-python-whats-next">have been reviewed on this blog</a>, and they are</p>
<ul>
<li>[PHW] <a href="http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/">Learn Python The Hard Way</a></li>
<li>[PTC] <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/python">Python Track</a> and <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/apis">APIs tutorials</a> at Codecademy</li>
<li>[PYM] <a href="http://pymbook.readthedocs.org/en/latest/">Python for You and Me</a></li>
<li>[DIP] <a href="http://diveinto.org/python3/">Dive Into Python 3</a></li>
<li>[PTO] <a href="http://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/index.html">The Python Tutorial</a> on python.org (and <a href="http://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html">version for Python 3.x</a>)</li>
<li>[TP] <a href="http://greenteapress.com/thinkpython/html/index.html">Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist</a></li>
<li>[OH] <a href="http://bit.ly/intermediate-python-projects">Intermediate Python projects</a> of the Boston Python Workshop on the OpenHatch website</li>
<li>[NC] <a href="http://newcoder.io/">newcoder.io</a></li>
<li>[S] specific resources for the topic (e.g., <a href="http://www.virtualenv.org/en/latest/virtualenv.html">this page</a> for virtualenv)</li>
</ul>
<h3>And more</h3>
<p>The blue boxes on the top left corner represent five useful topics that don't belong in a particular path; sometimes (command line, git, regular expressions) are not to be studied in one session - or maybe not even in consecutive sessions. Get there, but you will get there when you will get there.</p>
<h3>And now...</h3>
<p>(Click for a larger image. If you want an even larger version, drop me an email.)</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxvmI-oElp5zo8JcGoSrtBcaR8f8fmcDaDqtZgHIERz_GuGnakWLvc-qZA96pPBqR7x-ogKigTBJ-7h5mBzF9wt8p6u-JoPsCXEcUxzglNMXYphZXgaqbPddiorXp4BTMuvkpJICbI6M/s1600/PyCon+2014+-+poster+-+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxvmI-oElp5zo8JcGoSrtBcaR8f8fmcDaDqtZgHIERz_GuGnakWLvc-qZA96pPBqR7x-ogKigTBJ-7h5mBzF9wt8p6u-JoPsCXEcUxzglNMXYphZXgaqbPddiorXp4BTMuvkpJICbI6M/s400/PyCon+2014+-+poster+-+final.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>And yes, that's Grumpy Cat. My secret weapon.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-62490655661113148502014-04-22T01:31:00.003+01:002014-04-22T01:36:36.004+01:00Kick the black dog (a long personal post, but hopefully also useful to other people).<p>[The poster will be in the next post. I felt that I should write this, and then Easter got in the way.]</p>
<p>I really enjoyed PyCon 2014. But I never loved PyCon 2014 with an all-consuming passion. And this is well.</p>
<p>I was sometimes tired at PyCon 2014. I was certainly tired as I came back home from PyCon 2014.[1] But I was never tired and sad beyond anything in this world at PyCon 2014, or after. And this is <strong>very</strong> well.</p>
<p>I had a couple of worries at PyCon. I never panicked uncontrollably and without a cause. It was a good feeling.</p>
<p>I loved not being exhilarated but enjoying my time. I even loved being under the weather or worried, because I was a bit down but not crushed. It was well, it was so good.</p>
<p>I'm bipolar, I've got bipolar disorder.[2]</p>
<p>Not so long ago, I was <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/ahem.html">in a really bad place</a>. It took more than I expected: I felt better in August, but I overdid myself and I got stuck back until Christmas. But around Christmas it looked as if things started falling into their place.</p>
<p>Now I'm managing.</p>
<p>I still have to be aware at all times: stop alcohol <strong>that</strong> moment before; if you're tired above <strong>that</strong> level go straight to bed and call it a day; if you start laughing <strong>that</strong> uncontrollably keep an eye on yourself, even if you're watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Like_It_Hot"><em>Some Like It Hot</em></a>. Learn to find that <strong>that</strong>, push it and yourself but not beyond <strong>that</strong>, don't take it badly if you get it wrong. Take your medications, morning and night.</p>
<p>But I'm managing. As in: I've never been better in years.</p>
<p>I'm just a bit torn between enjoying reading books[3] and being able to follow what happens in TV series[4] even more because I know how much the mind can be in a terrible state, and being quite scared because I know how much my mind didn't realise the terrible state in which it[5] was.</p>
<p>As far as work is concerned, I'm just happy. OK, no: I'm worried about the Years I Wasted Being Ill, as usual.[6] But I'm <strong>so</strong> happy. If I managed to stay afloat during that time, now that I'm well I feel that I can do so much. So healthily. So well.</p>
<p>A whole conference, and I'm just tired because of some work, jet lag, a bad flight and two days preparing what turned out to be a fantastic almost-seven-hours-long Easter lunch for eight people.[7] Never happened before. It's going to happen again. I can't wait.</p>
<p>And (no spoilers, but) I have projects. Things to work on. And I can do it. No, I'm not setting the bar too low: I'm counting my blessings.</p>
<p>Because I've been lucky, blessed, whatever you call it. I had support from many people and from the system (thanks, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service">NHS</a>). I didn't have many sources of stress that others may have; my medications don't give me terrible side effects[8]. But, in the end all that matters is here: I'm well. Not so bad, at least. (I'll be better as soon as I'll overcome the bagnacaoda[9] leftovers.)</p>
<p>So, here's the <em>Attempt at Socially Useful Part</em> of this post:</p>
<ol>
<li>Mental health issues are <strong>bad</strong></li>
<li>Don't even try to deny it</li>
<li>As in "think of the children with cancer,[10] you're just being difficult, get over it"</li>
<li>But they're not invincible</li>
<li>Even when they're incurable, they are (often) treatable</li>
<li>But you have to do something about it</li>
<li>As in avoiding the whole "medications and doctors are evil tools" thing</li>
<li>So, try to get help</li>
<li>And, if you can, remember to fight for people that aren't able to get help</li>
<li>Like people that cannot afford to see a doctor</li>
<li>(Yes that was a hat tip to free health care)</li>
<li>And if you have a mental illness, remember that
<ol>
<li><strong>You are not alone</strong></li>
<li>It's not shameful to be ill</li>
<li>(My grandmother never said that someone had cancer. She just said that someone had "a bad illness." As if there were good illnesses.)[11]</li>
<li>Yes, it's bad</li>
<li>But you can fight it and win</li>
<li>Because it's not you, it's <em>it</em></li>
<li>No matter what <em>it</em> puts in your head</li>
<li>And I'm here, cheering for you</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Done.</p>
<p>Although, if you want to continue the discussion in the comments or drop me an email - feel free.</p>
<p>Now I should really study Django. The <a href="https://us.pycon.org/2014/schedule/presentation/49/">tutorial by Tracy Osborn</a> at PyCon was really illuminating.</p>
<p>And I should write something to deal with footnotes in my posts, I guess.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">Footnotes</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">The title is a reference to how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> used to call his depression. Which proves that you might win the Battle of Britain but not completely overcome depression. Sometimes one has to settle.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[1] Consider that the journey back home included: a US border control agent calling the paramedics because I had all the symptoms of a heart attack; said paramedic being French-speaking and not knowing the word "spleen," as in "I don't have a spleen"; signing a form to get home as soon as possible; three hours on the tarmac; back to the gate; a change of route so that I could avoid New York, that was shut down due to bad weather (the guy behind me in the queue looked incredibly like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfie_Allen">Theon Greyjoy</a> from <em>Game of Thrones</em>); yet another wait; a flight with a lot of turbulence; the worst food I'd had in a while; a four-year-old screaming in my ears for about five hours out of the seven when we were in the air; a mother of said child that acted as her four-year-old were as incontrollable as a six-month-old baby, so much that the flight assistant (who bore a striking resemblance to the director of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Ghosts">Torchwood One</a> from <em>Doctor Who</em>) gave up telling her to keep her boy still and seated for landing.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[2] Note on ableism/disability rights/that-sort-of-things. "I've got bipolar disorder" or "I'm bipolar": the issue is complex. How much the mental illness is part of your mind, and how much of your mind is part of you? And even if it isn't: how much an experience such as a mental illness defines someone who has dealt with it? I'm OK with both phrases, but be aware that it's a minefield.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[3] <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> (appendixes included); <em>Harry Potter</em> (all seven books, crying like a baby); <em>God Believes in Love - Straight Talk about Gay Marriage</em> (by Gene Robinson, one of my heroes); <em>Redshirts</em> (by John Scalzi, and you should read it because it's beautiful); <em>The Importance of Being Earnest</em> (which has some absolutely hilarious subtle gender-swapping moments I didn't remember); <em>Il corpo non dimentica</em> (by Violetta Bellocchio, it's available only in Italian - so far; if you read Italian I wholeheartedly recommend it: it's amazing, and I'm not saying it just because I know the author), <em>Marvel: the Untold History</em> (I'm still in the middle of it), <em>Young Avengers</em> written by Kieron Gillen (my welcome-back-home gift from my own best husband in the world).</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[4] After a thorough rewatch of <em>Buffy</em> and <em>Angel</em>, <em>Fringe</em>.[4.1] Next: catching up with <em>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.</em> and maybe <em>Mad Men</em> from scratch.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[4.1] If I ever get my hands on an unlimited amount of money, I want Nina Sharp's stylist to design my outfits.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[5] "It"? "She"? If I'm "she" shouldn't my mind be a "she"?</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[6] And anyway I'm telling the whole story (or at least a good part of the story) of my 20kg medical record in instalments in <a href="www.abbiamoleprove.com">this great web magazine</a> (in Italian; but if you read Italian...).</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[7] Hey, the title of this blog is not just <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page_8.html">a random quote from Grace Hopper</a>.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[8] If you've ever watched <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Linings_Playbook"><em>Silver Linings Playbook</em></a>[8.1]: the scene in which the main characters compare the side of effects of psychiatric medications embarrassing everyone at the dinner table rings <strong>so true</strong> to me.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[8.1] Good film, and it's amazing how it's able to tell a story about people with mental health issues avoiding to fall into stereotypes. (I won't expand or I'll never finish this post.)</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[9] <a href="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagna_cauda">Bagnacaoda</a>: Piedmontese dish. It involves garlic, anchovies, butter (a lot of butter), oil (a lot of oil). But, you see: it's eaten with vegetables (dipped in the "bagna"), so it must be healthy. Right? I can give the recipe in the comments, if you wish.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[10] And as a "cancer survivor" I can guarantee you that cancer patients are less than amused to be used for your <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-03/young-inspiration-porn/4107006">inspiration porn</a>.[10.1]</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[10.1] You should really read the article I just linked.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">[11] As JK Rowling (via Albus Dumbledore) says: "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-35943177591300803482014-04-13T19:21:00.002+01:002014-04-13T19:21:44.026+01:00After the poster.<p><strong>Thank you</strong> to everyone who dropped by. Thank you if you let me guide you through the map in the poster, if you took the handout, if you just looked at my Grumpy Cat telling you to test your code.</p>
<p>You'll be able to see and download a version of both poster and handout here in the next days.</p>
<p>And things might evolve into something more...</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-33772657174037732722014-04-13T05:05:00.001+01:002014-04-13T19:12:24.589+01:00When I grow up.<p>[Puts on her best wise auntie look.]</p>
<p>Growing up is also about choices.</p>
<p>[Wise auntie look comes crashing down.]</p>
<p>No, I'm not that good at following my own wisdom. I want to do everything, at once.</p>
<p>But you should also find out which way is <strong>your</strong> way. Start with your strength first, feel great, then challenge yoursef out of your comfort zone later.</p>
<p>For instance, let's say that you want to move your Python knowledge to yet another level.</p>
<p>But the further you go, the more the roads you see in front of you.</p>
<p>So now it's time for a test. You know, like those <em>"Which Star Wars Character Are You?"</em> tests. But simpler.</p>
<p style="font-size:85%">And let's hope that this time I don't come out as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_shot_first">Greedo</a>.</p>
<p style="text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;">Q1: Where did you sit when you were in school?</p>
<ol style="list-style-type:upper-roman;">
<li>First row. Hand up.</li>
<li>Last row. Under the radar.</li>
<li>School?</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;">Q2: Pick one light reading.</p>
<ol style="list-style-type:upper-roman;">
<li><em>War and Peace.</em> And without skipping the philosophical digressions.</li>
<li><em>Harry Potter.</em></li>
<li><em>The Evil Genius Guide to Taking Over the World.</em></li>
</ol>
<p style="text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;">Q3: Are you still here?</p>
<ol style="list-style-type:upper-roman;">
<li>Of course. I don't leave what I'm reading behind.</li>
<li>Uh... yeah?</li>
<li>[Silence. Somewhere someone's smashing something to see how it works.]</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;">Results! Majority of...</p>
<ol style="list-style-type:upper-roman;">
<li>Have a cookie. Yes, you can have it. Go to <a href="http://greenteapress.com/thinkpython/html/index.html"><em>Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist</em></a>. You will be thorough, as usual, and patient. You will come out of the book with a methodic understanding of concepts with some theoretical background (you're allowed to peek into appendices before the end and see what the big-Oh notation is), the satisfaction of overcoming the tricks of many nice exercises, and a beautiful vocabulary (courtesy of the glossary at the end of each chapter).</li>
<li>Have a cookie. Yes, you can take a cookie for each one of your friends. Bring them all here, while we're at it. No, I'm not sending you to the principal's office. I'm sending you to the intermediate projects of the Python Workshops that you can find via those great guys at <a href="https://openhatch.org/wiki/About_OpenHatch">OpenHatch</a>. <a href="http://bit.ly/intermediate-python-projects">Some projects of the Boston Python Workshop are here</a>; but you can find more, and they're always growing. If you're lucky (and, <a href="https://openhatch.org/wiki/Python_Workshops">mostly, US-based</a>) you can go and play with your friends <strong>live!</strong> at one of these workshops. But I guess that just the idea of making your own game of Snakes beats that tic-tac-toe that you were playing with over there.</li>
<li>Have a cookie. Come on, come here. Please. I'll be quick. Have a cookie, yes. I know you're thinking about how to steal the jar. But I have something better for you: go to <a href="http://newcoder.io/">newcoder.io</a> and see if you can get <strong>those</strong> tasty cookies. They're not easy to get. You have to deal with the world out there. You'll have to get your hands dirty, I'm afraid. I bet you... Hey! Where are you?</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;">No majority?</p>
<p>You got me. Have all the cookies, you deserve them. Now throw a dice with a number of faces that is a multiple of three to choose between the options above.</p>
<p style="text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;">Anyway.</p>
<p>Now have fun. Whoever you are, Python's got something for you.</p>
<p>And after you had fun your way, explore the rest. Challenge and surprise yourself.</p>
<p>Let's learn Python and grow up.</p>
<p style="font-size:90%">My poster at PyCon 2014 will be tomorrow (today, in EST) at 10:00am. Come and say hello.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-50676642761150092262014-04-12T19:38:00.000+01:002014-04-12T19:38:25.227+01:00An official tutorial (and a gentleman).<p>I have fond memories of <a href="https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/index.html"><em>The Python Tutorial</em> on python.org</a>. My first Python textbook was <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/i-did-it-my-hard-way.html"><em>Learn Python The Hard Way</em></a>, but as you <strong>might</strong> have gathered, around the tenth chapter of printing text I was a bit dispirited. So I went for something that sounded short, to the point, and a bit official, even dry.</p>
<p><em>The Python Tutorial</em> was a great help. I read (more on this "read") it, I found what I wanted to know: that's the way you write a <code>while</code> loop, this is the way you define a function, classes are written according to this syntax. Then I moved on, keeping the website as a go-to reference for my little doubts.</p>
<p>I've just gone through it again, and I realise that <strong>I was saved by my worst flaws</strong>. No, not <em>from</em>, <em>by</em>.</p>
<p>First of all, I can be restless: I got to <a href="https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/controlflow.html#defining-functions"><em>Defining Functions</em></a> I enjoyed it, then I peeked into the next chapter and I saw <a href="https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/datastructures.html"><em>Data Structures</em></a>, I thought that was useful and quite easy to understand, and that section on <a href="https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/controlflow.html#lambda-expressions"><em>Lambda Expressions</em></a> in the middle of the two left my radar.</p>
<p>Then there's the fact that I knew something about programming. It was in Java, it was very little, but it was more than zero. This means that I knew the names of the topics: if I wanted to write was a <code>while</code>, I knew to look for "loops." (Actually, the <code>while</code> is covered in an example in the chapter before loops. The organisation of the topics is not the strong point of <em>The Python Tutorial</em>.)</p>
<p>Even how I didn't know very much played in my favour: it that the scope of my quest to do what I already knew wasn't so wide to get myself lost in small(ish) details.</p>
<p>So I found <em>The Python Tutorial</em> a great tool, under these two conditions: some (even very basic) background in code, some tendency (ability?) to skim and overlook topics that you'll get back to at a second reading. Also, the topics are many but the pace is quick, and the examples are simple: it's a perfect complement to <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-big-jump.html"><em>Dive Into Python 3</em></a>.</p>
<p>Looking again at <em>The Python Tutorial</em> after using it as a "beginners' text" was a bit a "Princess and the Frog" story: you think that you're over what's in there, then you find out that there's a lot more. The most important thing is in the URL: it's the <strong>official</strong> tutorial on the <acronym title="Python Software Foundation">PSF</acronym> website, so it's a gateway for the official documentation.</p>
<p>And there are many other good reasons why <em>The Python Tutorial</em> should always be there in your bookmarks: that drop-down menu (on the upper left of each page) that takes you from the page in Python 2.x to the same page in Python 3.x; the glossary (again, both <a href="https://docs.python.org/2/glossary.html">in the 2.x</a> and <a href="https://docs.python.org/3.4/glossary.html">3.x</a> flavour).</p>
<p>So: this official tutorial can sound (or even be) a bit aloof sometimes. But you can (and shall) become fond of the company of this gentleman.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-24365730237755872122014-04-10T09:07:00.000+01:002014-04-10T19:14:54.816+01:00The Big Jump.<p>So, are you ready for the next level?</p>
<p>So let's <a href="http://www.diveinto.org/python3/"><em>Dive Into Python 3</em></a>.</p>
<p>You should know how to deal with an <code>if</code> or with a loop, in Python or in another language. You should have learned what a function is. You should have an idea of what "Object Oriented" means. You should be able to keep cool when you see that there's a parallel with a language you don't know.</p>
<p>So you dive straight into the good stuff. In detail.</p>
<p>I said "in detail": the chapters are quite long. But they're well subdivided into sections, so if you don't have to swallow everything in one gulp. I'm looking at you, dear <a href="http://www.diveinto.org/python3/regular-expressions.html">chapter on regular expressions</a>.</p>
<p>And since we're on the subject of chapters and sections: <em>Dive Into Python 3</em> is probably the most pleasantly readable textbook that I have met. There are the collapsible tables of contents; there is just one column, so you're not distracted from what you're studying. The font is beautiful and easy to read.</p>
<p>Another great idea: the difficulty of each topic is marked at the beginning of each chapter. I think that difficulty is always quite subjective; but it's always good to remark that sometimes prerequisites are harder than more advanced topics.</p>
<p>And then there's the text itself. The writing is conversational but precise; it takes you seriously and it doesn't make you feel stupid if you don't know something. The examples and the snippets of code are neither trivial nor unnecessarily convoluted, and they are cleverly annotated outside the code itself.</p>
<p>So: if you're already comfortable with programming, if you automatically go beyond the "reading" part of teaching yourself into the "writing code and playing around with it" part, here's a fantastic book for you.</p>
<p>Now you might wonder where's the catch. There's mostly one: <em>Dive Into Python 3</em> is, well, a textbook on Python <strong>3</strong>. This means that you have to look elsewhere for Python 2.x; but if you're comfortable with <em>Dive Into Python 3</em> you shouldn't find googling "Python 2 and 3 differences" too hard. I recommend <a href="https://wiki.python.org/moin/Python2orPython3">this page on python.org</a>, that being the website of the <acronym title="Python Software Foundation">PSF</acronym> is trustworthy by definition. <em>Dive Into Python 3</em> has an <a href="http://www.diveinto.org/python3/porting-code-to-python-3-with-2to3.html">appendix on the <code>2to3</code> script</a>; but it's an appendix, and it's marked as "very difficult" in a book that is already not so easy.</p>
<p>Another possible issue is that you cannot really skip chapters. Sections, maybe. But you have to follow the path that's been laid down in the book. This is not a bad thing; but if you're reading something at this level you might sometimes wish to have the chance of a more flexible syllabus. But, on the other hand, if you're at this level you can realise when you have to go back and where to; so no harm done.</p>
<p>One last thing: there are many links from which you can take your study to a deeper level, so you can complement the somewhat "cookbook" flavour of <em>Dive Into Python 3</em> by looking at the official documentation or even at a good post on a blog. But beware the "Problem with Wikipedia"...</p>
<div>
<a href="https://xkcd.com/214/">
<img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/the_problem_with_wikipedia.png" title="'Taft in a wet t-shirt contest' is the key image here." alt="The Problem with Wikipedia">
</a>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-69083832604947957302014-04-06T14:23:00.000+01:002014-04-06T14:23:19.567+01:00You and me.<p><a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/">Codecademy sweeps you off your feet.</a> At least, as you might have guessed in the last post (sorry for the hiatus), it swept <em>me</em> off my feet. But you need a quiet bedroom to rest after the most amazing party, to regain the strength you need to plan the next one.</p>
<p>Welcome to <em>Python for you and me</em>.</p>
<p>Take a seat. A cup of tea, possibly caffeine-free. Reorganise what’s your mind has devoured.</p>
<p>The topics are already there for you, clearly subdivided into short chapters. Nothing too theoretical, mostly to-the-point examples that will immediately bring back to your mind what you’ve studied, or make you wish to learn more about something you haven’t seen before.</p>
<p>It’s great if you want to revise the very basics. It’s even better if you’ve never met the topic: you are likely to get the general idea of it, the sketch of a map to help you not to get lost when you will bring your study to the next level.</p>
<p>That’s basically the best <strong>and</strong> the worst about <em>Python for you and me</em>: it’s simple. It’s unthreatening, in the best meaning of the word, so you don’t spin into "I’ll never get this!" mode. But you must be wary of complacency. You read a chapter, then the other, then the next: everything is calm and quiet. So quiet that you don’t check if you really understood what you read. The code samples are simple. (I just tried to say the last sentence out loud, my tongue is tied in a knot. Let’s move on.) The lack of exercises is tempting you into not challenging yourself.</p>
<p>I love <em>Python for you and me</em>. It’s the reference text to keep on your (metaphorical) bedside table: you revise your background, you go back and forth a few chapter to get some context, you check your general position. It’s the perfect companion for <em>Codecademy</em> or <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/i-did-it-my-hard-way.html"><em>Learn Python the Hard Way</em></a>: I suggest a combination with the latter if you like the <em>Hard Way</em> and you don’t mind (or even enjoy) being taken between two opposite poles; if you like a more playful or relaxed approach, I would pair with the former.</p>
<p>Last but not least: don’t underestimate how far the book will take you. Under the unassuming look you will find an amazing guide to <a href="http://pymbook.readthedocs.org/en/latest/pep8.html">PEP 8 guidelines</a>, a great introduction to <a href="http://pymbook.readthedocs.org/en/latest/testing.html">testing</a> (and since you will already be nervous because if test will fail, the relaxed approach of <em>Python for you and me</em> will be a real help), the basis of structuring and releasing <a href="http://pymbook.readthedocs.org/en/latest/projectstructure.html">a project</a> (and since you will already be self-conscious of the big step, the <em>Python for you and me</em> style will put you at ease).</p>
<p>All in all: a fantastic resource. The soft bed from which you rise so much more rested, before moving on to the next level.</p>
<p>And now, on to the next level.</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-49020459561704685732014-04-02T17:04:00.001+01:002014-04-02T17:05:09.892+01:00Do you want to build a project? (Come on, let's go and play.)<p>This time I'm going to play it safe. Maybe too safe. But hey - I've always been against criticising something just because it's fashionable.</p>
<p>So, let's talk about <em>Codecademy</em>: <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/python">the Python track</a> and beyond.</p>
<p>I was wary of <em>Codecademy</em>. Exercises without apparent theory? Mmmh. A little stern teacher inside me kept repeating me sermons about pampering myself too much. But then, at PyCon 2013, <a href="http://web.mit.edu/jesstess/www/">Jessica McKellar</a> introduced Python for beginners with the hands-on <em>Codecademy</em> tool. And I fell in love.</p>
<p><em>Codecademy</em> is the Addictive and Playful Way to approach <em><a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/i-did-it-my-hard-way.html">the Hard Way</a></em>. It's the cool aunt who gives you her Led Zeppelin CDs, teaches you not to give up listening even if it's not what you're used to, but never brags about "in my times". And as an icing on the cake she tells you about her escapades when she was listening to that song.</p>
<p>You do your exercises and you don't fool yourself into thinking that you know how to do something just because you read the theory. Even better: your exercises are checked as soon as you've done them, so <strong>you know</strong> if you know or you don't know. You soon become committed not to lose your winning streak, so you exercise every day. You want to grab those nice colourful badges, so you challenge your fear of not being good enough.</p>
<p>And you learn. Not so slowly, and surely.</p>
<p>The topics are introduced at a fundamentally constant pace. If you pick up the basics quickly, you can dash through the first tutorials and then take your time to absorb the harder stuff (and since the track touches concepts as far as lambda expressions, the harder stuff is not always so intuitive). If you are the kind of student who gains velocity over time, you can spend your first days to get acquainted with the first concepts and then enjoy the more complex ideas.</p>
<p>After you've learned your concepts (even if you didn't notice that you were learning, you were too busy solving the problem at hand), for each section of the track you have a project to put in practice everything: a project on larger and more satisfying scale than an "exercise section" in a traditional textbook, but small enough not to derail you in an overwhelmingly ambitious plan. (There isn't one for the Advanced Topics, but once you'll be there you'll be old and wise enough to take care of yourself. It would be nice, but that's a minor issue.)</p>
<p>And then, you go beyond! The community gives you nice projects. You can give back to the community with nice projects.</p>
<p>You try your skills at <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/apis">dealing with APIs</a>, and you learn the wider concepts you need for those APIs.</p>
<p>You learn to ask questions and get answers (and that's another skill, and a most useful one) discussing with other students in the forum: a good practice for when you will eventually interact with others on <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/">Stack Overflow</a>.</p>
<p>To top it all off, you have <a href="http://www.codecademy.com/glossary/python">a glossary</a> that will help you in those <em>"I knew what this word meant"/"How should I say that?"</em> moments.</p>
<p>Theory and practice, play and commitment. You have it all. You just have not to fall into the trap of "it's not serious if it's not painful."</p>
<p>Enjoy.</p>
<p style="font-size:85%">The title of this post is a reference to my favourite movie of this past winter, the story of a young woman who learns to control her power and to put it to a better use, for the fun of everyone including herself. Here's something to show you its funny side:</p>
<div><iframe width="500" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ssVnSg2jwUw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-69800117860967053952014-04-01T05:29:00.004+01:002014-04-01T05:41:30.355+01:00I did it my (hard) way.<p>Let's start this series by gambling all my credibility.</p>
<p>[Deep breath.]</p>
<p>[Another deep breath.]</p>
<p>[Yet another deep breath.]</p>
<p><strong><em>The hard way</em> is not my way.</strong></p>
<p>There, I said it. And now, please, let me defend my position.</p>
<p>I know that <em><a href="http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/" title="Learn Python The Hard Way">Learn Python The Hard Way</a></em> is one of the, if not <strong>the</strong>, most common answers to the question "I want to learn Python, can you suggest me a tutorial?" - so I don't doubt that there are people who find it extremely helpful. And I don't think it's a <em>bad</em> book; but I think that it has some serious limits.</p>
<p><em>Learn Python The Hard Way</em> reminds me of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gioachino_Rossini">Gioacchino Rossini</a>'s joke about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner">Richard Wagner</a>: "a composer who has beautiful moments but awful quarter hours."</p>
<p><a href="http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/intro.html" title="introduction">Here's an example</a> of a beautiful moment; even better, a deeply wise one:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As you study this book, and continue with programming, remember that anything worth doing is difficult at first. Maybe you are the kind of person who is <strong>afraid of failure</strong> so you give up at the first sign of difficulty. Maybe you never learned self-discipline so <strong>you can't do anything that's "boring."</strong> Maybe you were told that you are "gifted" so you never attempt <strong>anything that might make you seem stupid</strong> or not a prodigy. Maybe you are competitive and <strong>unfairly compare yourself to someone</strong> like me who's been programming for 20+ years.</p>
<p>Whatever your reason for wanting to quit, <em>keep at it</em>. Force yourself. If you run into a Study Drill you can't do, or a lesson you just do not understand, then <strong>skip it and come back to it later</strong>. Just keep going because with programming there's this very odd thing that happens. <strong>At first, you will not understand anything.</strong> It'll be weird, just like with learning any human language. You will struggle with words, and not know what symbols are what, and it'll all be very confusing. Then one day BANG your brain will snap and you will suddenly "get it."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(<strong>Emphasis</strong> mine.)</p>
<p>I cannot find a single fault in this passage.</p>
<p>It's encouraging and it keeps you grounded at the same time. It spells out the incredibly important study trick of "your tutorial is not a TV series, spoilers are good." It reminds me of what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann">John von Neumann</a> once said, that <em>in mathematics you don't understand things, you get used to them</em> (something should be taught to every child, to dispel that horrid idea that "I don't understand this" means "I'm hopelessly not good at this").</p>
<p>I want to stand up and cheer.</p>
<p>But then there are the quarter hours.</p>
<p>Twenty. Nine. Chapters. To. Get. To. See. An. If.</p>
<p>Twenty. Nine.</p>
<p>This self-discipline borders on masochism.</p>
<p>As someone who always finds it easier to solve other people's problems than to imagine brand new problems (although I'm good at finding the problematic limits of any solution; but I digress) I truly appreciate the incredible amount of exercises that the book offers. But there's a terrible side effect of this "old master teaches young apprentice by the way of apparently mundane and repetitive tasks" approach: the young apprentice becomes so diligent that they never step out of line. It's not just a matter of being overwhelmed by the amount of lines that you have to copy: it's ending up depending on the teacher even to break the toy to see what's in there.</p>
<p>Perhaps I'm giving for granted the desire to rebel. The joy of <em>"hey, let's see what it happens if I turn left instead of right as you told me!"</em> The mindset of not taking anything for granted.</p>
<p>(I'm not sure whether the paragraph above is more introspective or paradoxical.)</p>
<p>If you don't have this questioning instinct, it's likely that <em>Learn Python The Hard Way</em> is the perfect book to kickstart it; and since this instinct is a fundamental tool in any scientific and technical field, <em>The Hard Way</em> could be a very good way to start your journey into programming.</p>
<p>By the way: <em>The Hard Way</em> will also take you quite far if you stick with it. Many of the topics in the poster are there.</p>
<p>I still think it's very hard, if not altogether impossible, to teach rebellion - especially through discipline. But maybe it's just my hedonism, all play and not enough work, no reverence to my betters.</p>
<p>You decide. I'm off to boost my rebellious feelings with some Wagner. The last quarter hour of <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Walk%C3%BCre">The Valkyrie</a></em>. Beautiful opera about a girl rebelling to her father to obey her father's wishes; it's worth sitting through all four hours (plus intervals) of it. By the way: have I ever told you that I love Wagner much more than I like Rossini? Personal taste can be so strange and, well, personal.</p>
<p>Everyone has their own way, after all.</p>
<p style="font-size:80%">Unfortunately necessary disclaimer: let's not go into the "Wagner and politics" or the "Wagner was an [expletive] who lived on his friends' money while having affairs with their wives" issue. At least, not here.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-30630094800057665342014-03-31T12:05:00.000+01:002014-03-31T12:22:41.031+01:00So you want to learn Python. What's next?<p>So in ten days I will be in Montréal for <a href="https://us.pycon.org/2014/" title="PyCon2014">PyCon2014</a>.</p>
<p>So in two weeks I will be presenting a poster.</p>
<p>I'm honoured and grateful to be there. If I should start thanking everyone who's helped me, I'd get too tearful, you would space out, and anyway I would forget someone and then feel terrible. I just hope that I'll be able to tackle these people without being annoying and thank them in person. I don't think that a cup of coffee makes up for two dozens emails exchanged due to my clumsiness, but I can try. Sugar, milk?</p>
<p><strong>But now!</strong> Onwards with the main reason why I'm writing here!</p>
<p>The poster I'm presenting is a road map. Not a roadmap, a road map.</p>
<p>Let's say that you can survive in Python, but not much more. If Python were a natural language and you were visiting its country, you could ask for some water in a cafe; but you couldn't discuss with the waiter which wine goes better with your dinner. You know the basics. You like it (otherwise: why are you at <strong>Py</strong>Con?!) but now you want more.</p>
<p>But there's so much to explore in this Python country! Which way should you go first? And how should you get there?</p>
<p>And here's why the poster is a road map and not a roadmap: <strong>there is no <em>should</em></strong>.</p>
<p>There are many travel guides out there, and all but a few of them are a guided tour. I'm here to give you a travel guide to navigate between travel guides, and a map to plan your own tour jumping on an off the buses of their guided tours.</p>
<p>When I was planning this poster I thought about handouts. The handouts should have been a smaller version of the poster. But wait! There's not enough space to do justice to the resources that you can use, even if I'm selecting just a few, and include the graphical part of the poster! But wait! There's not enough space to do justice to the resources that I want to tell you about, period!</p>
<p>But wait! I have a blog! A blog with posts and tags!</p>
<p>In the next days I will review some resources that you can use to take your Python to an intermediate level. The posts will be tagged with <a href="http://planningadinner.blogspot.com/search/label/So%20you%20want%20to%20learn%20Python.%20What%27s%20next%3F" title="So you want to learn Python. What's next?">the title of my poster</a>.</p>
<p>So, if you're at PyCon on the 13th April 2014 and you want to have a hat, or just to say hello, look for <em><a href="https://us.pycon.org/2014/schedule/presentation/95/" title="My poster!">So you want to learn Python. What's next?</a></em> in the poster session. I will be there.</p>
<p>If you're not at PyCon on the 13th April 2014 but you're interested in the topic, watch this space.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-21784442868369813182014-02-17T17:24:00.001+00:002014-02-17T17:24:23.440+00:00In progress.<p>Hey.</p>
<p>This is just to say that I'm still around, and that I'm working on polishing (i.e., making a new start with) my life online.</p>
<p>And now I'm off to have a cup of tea and keep on studying. Bye!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-61531308145815307882013-08-05T07:27:00.000+01:002013-08-05T07:29:42.418+01:00WOW.<p>Yesterday was the last day of <a href="https://www.guadec.org/" alt="Gnome Users And Developers European Conference">GUADEC</a> 2013 in Brno.</p>
<p>These past four days have been... WOW. Interesting and exciting talks (including some inspiring keynotes), great conversations, amazing human beings (once more, special mention for the Women's Dinner). It was fantastic.</p>
<p>I felt so well that I even managed not to make too much of a mess during my talk: I went through it a bit too quickly in the first half, but I managed to slow down in the second one (that was the one that I cared the most about), and in the end it was great having more time than previously thought for the discussion, which brought some great ideas for my future plans.</p>
<p>And today... Documentation BoF! Where all these plans will begin to be planned in more detail. After <a href="https://blogs.gnome.org/kittykat/">Ekaterina Gerasimova</a> and <a href="http://sindhus.bitbucket.org/">Sindhu Sundar</a> talks, after a couple of conversations with <a href="http://fordmeg.blogspot.cz/">Meg Ford</a> and <a href="https://wiki.gnome.org/FedericoMenaQuintero">Federico Mena Quintero</a>, I am really looking forward to it.</p>
<p>The slides for my talk are <a href="https://wiki.gnome.org/MartaMariaCasetti?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=guadec2013.pdf" alt="talk at GUADEC 2013 - pdf">here</a> (.pdf). Kitten included. Have fun.</p>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-70880059211288346762013-07-31T14:18:00.001+01:002013-07-31T14:18:27.630+01:00Greetings from Brno!<p>Hi there.</p>
<p>The last post was a bit depressing. I guess it happens when writing about - well - depression.</p>
<p>But... now I am well! It really seems that I am well!</p>
<p>And what can be better than using all these newfound energies going somewhere? And what can be better than using this holiday also to do and make things? So: what better place than... <a href="https://2013.guadec.org/">GUADEC</a>!</p>
<div><img src="https://raw.github.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-web/master/guadec/2013/Brno/banner-125.png" alt="GUADEC 2013" /></div>
<p>I will be here until the early afternoon of the 6th (so: one day and hopefully a half of Documentation hackfest); in the afternoon of the 4th I will be giving a talk on my beloved GTK+3 Tutorial for beginners.</p>
<p>See you around!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-48989414929923901602013-06-22T10:48:00.001+01:002013-06-22T10:48:06.484+01:00Ahem.<p>Ahem.</p>
<p>Long time, no see. No write, more precisely.</p>
<p>Sorry.</p>
<p>I guess I owe an explanation. It is not going to be a post on GNOME or coding or documentation or anything techincal, and it is going to be a bit long, so feel absolutely free to skip. But, nevertheless, I feel like I should write something about the reason why I disappeared for about four months.</p>
<p>Let us start from the beginning, more or less: six years ago I doctor told me I have bipolar disorder. That is: mood swings so intense that they condition your life, and not for the good. It was not exactly a shock: I had always been moody, but lately I had started to be a bit more than that, so much that I was spending one week doing all sort of stuff (cleaning the kitchen at 4am, check) and ten days in my bed being unable to do little more than sleeping and crying, unable even to read more than a couple of pages. So: bipolar disorder. As a side dish, attacks of depersonalisation and derealisation: nothing seemed real, I was so dizzy I could barely stand, I had no accurate perception of sizes and distances and sometimes even colours.</p>
<p>Bipolar disorder, so: medications. To make a long story short, I tried four combinations of molecules before finding one that did not give me too many side effects (although I gained 25% of my weight) and allowed me to do something with my life (although on occasions I had a couple of relapses into depression). Life was not that bad.</p>
<p>In november last year, the medications stopped working. By december I was a wreck. I went to my doctor and he referred me to a specialist (I am seeing a doctor for the depersonalisation, but he is not allowed to prescribe medication: I am very grateful for the NHS, the UK national health service, which provides quite a good service for free, but sometimes its bureaucracy is a bit intricate). In the meanwhile, I managed to do a couple of things, as I told in the last posts, but I was not doing well. My referral got lost, then found again.</p>
<p>Finally, in March, I saw the specialist: enthusiastic, nice and thorough. The first change of medication she tried did not work: although not so depressed anymore, I spent one month sleeping 14 hours a day and being tired all the time. She then decided to try another road; but this medication had to be introduced very, very, very (that is: very) slowly, due to a risk of allergic reaction that could have sent me to the emergency room or worse. And that is what I have been doing for the past months: living below the working dose of medication, waiting for the molecule to work. This means that I have gone back to mood swings again, mostly of the "depression" kind (I have been depressed ten days out of two weeks, on average). The first results of the therapy should be seen, finally, in about four weeks. Hopefully.</p>
<p>In the last week I have started feeling a bit better, anyway. I managed to read four books - graphic novels, to be honest, but given my reduced intellectual abilities for the past months it has been a real breakthrough. (By the way, "Hawkeye" by Fraction, Aja and Pulido is fantastic.) After an evening out, I haven't always had the need to spend the next day sleeping to recover my strength.</p>
<p>There are no words to thank all the people that have patiently stuck with me all this time, that has been kind to me, sometimes just sending me a message in a dark day. The greatest thank you goes to Emmanuele (my husband), of course; he has literally saved my life, and even more than that.</p>
<p>So, this is the story so far.</p>
<p>Wish me luck.</p>
<p>And see you soon.</p>
<p>And if you have any question or comments, feel free to leave them below, or write me an email. I will be away next week (mother/daughter bonding time, most of it at the opera in Milan) but I promise to answer as soon as possible, as far as I can.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-63220406273681855022013-03-19T15:00:00.000+00:002013-03-20T02:57:53.826+00:00More PyCon! It's a wish, not just a title.<p>I left the last post minutes before Jessica McKellar's keynote at PyCon 2013. Unfortunately the keynote was cancelled. Raymond Hettinger followed a series of lightning talk with a keynote the theme of which was "Python is amazing" (I don't rememeber the exact words, but that's the main idea). YAY!</p>
<p><em>Getting started with automated testing</em>, by Carl Meyer, was a great introductory talk, a good way to remind me that not writing tests is not (just) being lazy, it's counterproductive (and therefore leads to more work later).</p>
<p>Then I moved on to a couple of much-needed talk on community building: <em>Scaling community diversity outreach</em>, by (take a breath) Asheesh Laroia, Jessica McKellar, Dana Bauer and Daniel Choi, and, after lunch, <em>How (Not) To Build An OSS Community</em> by Daniel Lindsley. So far my contacts in London for programming have been by mentor in the TechAbility programme (my gateway drug pusher, the way I really got into programming - thank you Ben!), a couple of friends and of course my husband (but I tend not to talk too much about computers with him). I probably never realized how much I miss a "real life" (as opposed to "just IRC/internet") community since I got here. There are the GNOME beer events, of course! But the only London Python User Group I see online is "professionals only", so it doesn't look very newcomers-friendly... and there is no chapter of the PyLadies in London. (I was told that I should set one up - but I cannot do it on my own. And yes, dear Londoners, this is another cry for help!) All of this probably just means that <strong>I need a job</strong>, I am tired of doing things on my own. End of the rant, sorry.</p>
<p>Later in the afternoon, yet another fantastic talk. Lynn Root presented <em>Sink or swim: 5 life jackets to throw to New Coders</em>. It was perfectly tailored for the stage I am in my programming education: I know the basics, now what? Well, there is <a href="http://newcoder.io/" title="New Coder">her website</a>, then there is... teaching others. I sense a pattern here...</p>
<p>And then I went to rest, because the day after I had to present my poster and I was already too nervous.</p>
<p>The day after - the last day - was basically "hey, here's my poster". I had presented a poster only once in my life, but it was a much smaller (although quite big!) conference, and it was in another field (game theory).</p>
<p>And you know what? <strong>I loved it!</strong> (Even if it meant missing the keynotes... and the other posters.)</p>
<p>I talked about what I did last summer, why it's a good idea to do something like that, how you do it (and what you shouldn't do); most important, I spread the word about the <a href="http://www.gnome.org/opw/" title="OPW">Outreach Program for Women</a> - all the leaflets but one or two were gone by the end of the session, and many people went away with the link to the website scribbled on a piece of paper!</p>
<p>I wasn't able to stand on my feet, afterwards. So: nap! And then, introduction to sprints...</p>
<p>...so that yesterday I managed to find something for me at the <a href="http://openhatch.org/" title="OpenHatch">OpenHatch</a> sprint. I helped with a webpage that was incomplete (a webpage that was... teaching - how to contribute to an OpenSource project. Mmmmh, more of that pattern), and I cleaned up the wiki a bit. I had never heard of OpenHatch before this conference, but I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful frienship (to use the words of Claude Rains in <em>Casablanca</em>).</p>
<p>And now I should be packing (how will I stuff all the t-shirts I got into my suitcase?) and go on my way...</p>
<p>So: a big <strong>thank you</strong> to PyCon, to the <a href="http://www.python.org/psf/" title="Python Software Foundation">PSF</a> (who generously sponsored my travel and my hotel!), to all the wonderful people I met, too many to fit in a post here (also: I am terrible with names, I would probably forget someone). And... maybe see you in Florence later this year!</p>
<p>PS: I wrote the post this morning (PST). It's now almost night (also PST, I don't want to know what time it is in London), and I am at the airport - flight delayed by approximately 3 hours. I use the airport connection to give you... the poster! With a <strong>huge</strong> thank you to Marina Zhurakhinskaya and Meg Ford who sent me so many useful suggestions.</p>
<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54mbX1gTc4QYGydB7v6ydbSyVMJA4x66o77CGdBpIv99i4JFSjOtymUhgZjMg02TDozdp6GUn-enYdfqRBRazu_rqI7mpu6LdWOPmb-BeLTnYbNa9ljsYwa5pWk-U2sWXl7_mOW2Nem8/s1600/poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDwCS9dC6bUhRKzAdForM1hRKJ5SoFs6eY6mOmaS_5iZCjUrVK1JJVTVMXcnalroVvADOP8gjZyZ6V5HXalD0g6aJgZNhOFS-mYnJMc3a2FFk43YhURMDSEGA0eV_Nsu07LDSkxzgjpE/s320/poster-smaller.jpg" /></a></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-83102723888020471572013-03-16T16:01:00.001+00:002013-03-16T16:01:24.200+00:00So: PyCon!<p>I should have probably written something in the last days, but I was, well... overwhelmed.</p>
<p>I arrived in Santa Clara (after about 12 hours on a plane, and that was just to San Francisco) on the 12th - in the afternoon, local time. A few hours to rest, to get used to the jet lag, and then...</p>
<p><strong>TUTORIALS!</strong></p>
<p><em>A hands-on introduction to Python for beginning programmers</em>, by Jessica McKellar, was the perfect start: a smooth (re)introduction to the basics - it made me feel well. <em>Hands-on intermediate Python</em>, by Matt Harrison, followed. Fantastic. I learned so much, in such a short time: the balance of theory and practice was the right one. And the handouts are going to provide a very interesting (re)read for the future.</p>
<p>And on Wednesday night, some of the OPW women of the area had a small outing... (A special thank you to Aleta Dunne for the organization!)</p>
<p>Then, Thursday. <em>Scripting: from Hard-drive to Github to PyPI</em>, also by Matt Harrison, was advertised as "Novice" - but unfortunately I found it a bit too fast-paced for me. More precisely: the Python in it was not too difficult, but the "software engineering practice" level was above me. I look forward to re-reading the handouts in a less hectic environment. In the afternoon, there was Jessica McKellar again with <em>Contribute with me! Getting started with open source development</em>. Some much needed git practice - I will just say that.</p>
<p>And then... PARTY! I met nice people, I browsed the booths of the job fair getting contacts (and merchandise)... great time.</p>
<p>The conference started on Friday. Moving remarks by Jesse Noller on "changing the future" were followed by a keynote by Eben Upton... and the announcement that all of us (all 2500, and yes, that is two-thousand-five-hundred!) were going to get a Raspberry Pi. I will let you imagine the enthusiasm in the room.</p>
<p>I had to pick a talk. I was undecided between Jessica McKellar's <em>How the Internet works</em> and Esther Nam's <em>How to Except When You're Excepting</em>: I went for the first, and it was a fantastic introductory talk. I have to find a good book on the subject... (yes, dear reader, that is a cry for help!)</p>
<p>Then I spent some time browsing around, and after lunch I crashed in the Ada Initiative booth. I have rarely seen such a welcoming crowd, so great at making you feel at ease... Talking about the Imposter Syndrome mixed with nail painting (don't ask), and I also got a lot of good advice for my career.</p>
<p>I was really looking forward to a couple of talks on documentation - but I was feeling terrible (one of my dizziness attacks, a particularly nasty one) and I moved back to the hotel for a quiet night. I hope that the recording will be put online soon.</p>
<p>Now I am here, completing this post... But wait! It's almost time for the first keynote of the day! I'd better hurry! Talk to you soon! Bye!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-63535946034197450832013-02-27T16:42:00.000+00:002013-02-27T16:42:58.314+00:00Planning... in Brno.<p>So, how did the <a href="https://live.gnome.org/action/login/Hackfests/BrnoDocs2013" title="BrnoDocs2013">Documentation sprint</a> go? Not bad, not bad at all. I wish I would have been feeling better (I was quite under the weather, I don't know why) - and that I could have been a bit more productive (and that I could have gone for a few more beers with the others), that's all I can complain about.</p>
<p>Anyway!</p>
<ul>
<li>I finally wrote the "generic widget" example for the <a href="http://developer.gnome.org/gnome-devel-demos/unstable/tutorial.py.html.en">Python GTK+ tutorial for beginners</a>. I also learned a bit of Cairo in the process.</li>
<li>I reviewed (with a precious help of <a href="http://kittykat3756.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/documentation-sprint-in-brno/" title="Kat's log - Documentation sprint in Brno">Kat Gerasimova</a>) the above mentioned tutorial as a whole.</li>
<li>Last but not least, with <a href="http://live.gnome.org/AllanDay" title="Allan Day">Allan Day</a> and <a href="http://amigadave.com/" title="amigadave">Dave King</a> we planned a complete rewriting of the presentation of the developer docs.
</li>
</ul>
<p>The last point is the reason for the title of this post. The idea is to separate the tutorials for beginners (that may be either a 10 minutes tutorial on "how to do something" or a more extensive introduction to a library) and the documentation directed at more experienced programmers. The former would end in a separate area in the website, whereas the latter would be under "tutorials" in the main website. Allan Day has designed a wonderful mock-up:</p>
<p><a href="http://raw.github.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-web/master/developer.gnome.org/wireframes/png/beginner.png" title="larger version of the Developer docs homepage"><img title="Developer docs homepage" alt="Developer docs homepage" src="http://raw.github.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-web/master/developer.gnome.org/wireframes/png/home.png" width="450" /></a></p>
<p>So, what's next?</p>
<p>My idea is to start by splitting the current Python GTK+ tutorial in two versions. The first one should be a tutorial for beginners, structured as the way the Tutorial for beginners is now: a gradual path through the widgets with some theory; the pages being a gradual building of a nice example, on the model of <a href="https://live.gnome.org/TarynFox" title="TarynFox - GNOME Live!">Taryn Fox's tutorial for JavaScript</a>. The second one should be something for more experienced programmers, structured on the model of the <a href="http://developer.gnome.org/gnome-devel-demos/unstable/beginner.py.html.en">"GTK+ widgets sample code" page</a>: the pages being almost an API, but with a medium-difficulty example to illustrate it.</p>
<p>I would then revise the <a href="http://developer.gnome.org/gnome-devel-demos/unstable/guitar-tuner.py.html.en">Guitar Tuner</a> and <a href="http://developer.gnome.org/gnome-devel-demos/unstable/image-viewer.py.html.en">Image Viewer</a> tutorials to make them a first example of "10 minutes tutorials" (for GStreamer and GTK+, respectively).</p>
<p>And then... I could do the same for the JavaScript tutorials; I am quite new to the language, so I would love some help - but on the other hand I was quite new to Python last year and that helped me a lot in walking in the shoes of the beginner for which the tutorial was intended! And/or I could continue with Python and do something like what we have for GTK+ for some other library (there is <a href="http://www.tortall.net/mu/wiki/CairoTutorial">a nice Cairo tutorial</a> that could be a great starting point).</p>
<p>So: many plans for the future have come out of this Documentation sprint. Many pleasant meetings, a lot of new ideas, a better understanding of little (but not less relevant!) things (I never knew that there was a difference between the capitalization of the titles in UK and US English - now I know)...</p>
<p>So: a "see you soon" to everyone who was there, a GIGANTIC thank you to our hosts in Brno, especially Florian Nadge, who woke up at 4am to pick me up at the airport on the first day! and that accompanied us almost everywhere.</p>
<p>And, of course: thanks to the GNOME Foundation who sponsored my travel!</p>
<p><img title="GNOME travel sponsorship badge" alt="GNOME travel sponsorship badge" src="https://live.gnome.org/Travel/Policy?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=sponsored-badge-shadow.png" width="230" height="230" /></p>
<p>And... see you soon for GUADEC, Brno!</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-48583939045678788452013-02-22T05:50:00.000+00:002013-02-22T05:50:44.326+00:00Ready for Brno? I hope so!<p>In the last week I revised as much Python 3 as I could, and I tried to teach myself the basics of JavaScript. And let's not forget Mallard!</p>
<p>The (Not So Evil) Plan:</p>
<ul>
<li>To give a closure to that Python tutorial! If it is possible to give a closure to something... ;-)</li>
<li>To help as far I can, particularly with the other developer tutorials (thus particularly with the JavaScript tutorial).</li>
<li>To tackle Izidor Matušov (again, as far as I can: I remember that he is quite tall) and start working on Getting Things GNOME, finally.</li>
<li>To have fun! Well, that's always part of the plan...</li>
</ul>
<p>Will I be able to follow my plan? In everything? At least in part? Will I freeze in the -11°C I read about on BBC Weather?</p>
<p>More news to follow...</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-12292081615968054602013-02-12T03:47:00.001+00:002013-02-12T22:23:42.864+00:00California! (Help! I need somebody!)<p>Let's go back a few months - let's say, September. <a href="http://blogs.gnome.org/marina/" title="Marina'z Blog">Marina Zhurakhinskaya</a> writes me an idea: <a href="http://mimico-tiffany.tumblr.com/" title="mimico-tiffany's weblog">Tiffany Antopolski</a> and/or I could present something at <a href="http://us.pycon.org/" title="PyCon USA">PyCon</a> about the tutorial for GTK+ in Python I wrote last summer. Unfortunately Tiffany could not make it, so it came down to me. My first reaction was obviously "Who, me? Am I really good enough?", followed by a "If Marina thinks I am good enough, why not?" (Marina has this amazing ability to make you feel you can do it, as every <abbr title="Outreach Program for Women">OPW</abbr> intern knows).</p>
<p>It seems I was good enough to get a slot for a poster! I even got a contribution that partially covers my travel expenses.</p>
<p>A first draft of the poster is ready. But here is where you readers come in: is it there something you think I should absolutely put in? Leave out? And, most important: how can I advertise GNOME in general and the OPW in particular? Is there any material I can use? (For instance, and sorry for the very basic question: how can I use the GNOME logo?)</p>
<p>Please, let me know, possibly <strong>before the 21st</strong> of this month since I have to print the poster and send it to California. I am also planning to hand out a sheet with some more details on GNOME, the OPW, GTK+3 - same questions, but since the sheets are coming with me on the plane there is more time.</p>
<p>To conclude, once more, <strong>Thank you Marina!</strong>... and thanks to anyone who is going to help me in this adventure!</p>
<p>UPDATE: the draft of the poster. Sorry for the size, but I have a board of 4 by 4 ft, and I am not afraid to use it! Any comment is more than welcome...</p>
<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlf5OKrxPxQPf22TZYDN0VNyy2XTj-F0w5_yhZ80j613n0qNuJzr35uaPAjLfIUp0wnFi__QuDK0QxefhVeYGVIyokucteOzB4Ujhq8t2S0gJJOF6BAudwDCGI6hbV1nqKhv2X9O8674Y/s1600/poster_pycon.jpg"><img border="0" height="283" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHy8P3dtdqpduFZ97yRT_iqXPnek7G8b8xIQ-SbIKcwnj9nH9ckLXDOIgGiXe3lT_4XtC1T7SWxQgWEbPWzfvx_L7yBV6AMUGYEtDlH2DW_kCLolYLrmwf_zxw0pTlwI0K9zb70dMsKCs/s400/poster_pycon_small.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-78778406488316573212013-02-01T16:28:00.001+00:002013-02-03T15:02:21.514+00:00More kangaroos, children's games, and I cannot make the title too long.LCA2013 closed this afternoon. My intellectual batteries feel so recharged they could light a medium-sized city.<br />
<br />
The children's game is none other than... our old friend Git, as presented by Michael Schwern in <a href="https://lca2013.linux.org.au/wiki/Tutorials/Git_For_Ages_4_And_Up"><i>Git for ages 4 and up</i></a>. What is better than a set of construction toys to explain us the building of a directed acyclic graph? And what is better than a talk that explains clearly, taking its time both to have fun and to let you write notes - yet it's not afraid of going in depth? The talk was such a success (people were told to leave the room for health & safety reasons!) that it had an informal second take in the main foyer today.<br />
<br />
Quick but absolutely lovely lunch and chat with the <i>queer-friendly BoF</i> group, then it was time for Emmanuele Bassi's <i>Ponies and Rainbows: Clutter 2.0 and GTK+ 4.0</i>. I don't know Clutter enough (and I know Emmanuele Bassi too much, being his proud wife) to comment on it - but it gave me the idea of tackling my beloved husband and write a beginner's guide to Clutter on the model of what I did last summer for GTK+. *Disclaimer*: I don't know when I will find the time...<br />
<br />
In the evening, the Penguin Dinner in the wonderful setting of Mount Stromlo. Great company, we saw more kangaroos, but unfortunately I had to leave early because I was not feeling very well (sigh). I have been told that some people left at 4am... so: another success! for the incredible organizers and volunteers of LCA2013!<br />
<br />
And then we come to this (Friday) morning. Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Yes, <i>that</i> Sir. Too much in his keynote to fit a post (he seems to talk at double the speed of an average human being): but it's worth mentioning a fond and moving remembrance of a fourteen-year-old Aaron Swartz, and his answer to a parent wondering what the internet has in store for his/her children: a call for the children to be the ones that make said internet.<br />
<br />
The last talk I attended was once again Denise Paolucci<i>, <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/dreamwidth/web-accessibility-for-the-21st-century">Web Accessibility for the 21st Century</a></i> (the title was changed at the last moment from <i>Beyond Alt Text</i>). Another beautiful tutorial - clear, funny, informative.<br />
<br />
I took a long break, then... lightning talks! From <i>What is GNOME OS and why it won't eat your children</i>
(our Emmanuele Bassi, again), to <i>Vimperator</i> (I must tell about this to my PhD supervisor, who is madly in love with Vim) to <i>A few words on depression</i>. <br />
<br />
The closing ceremony followed... and I hope to be able to make it to Perth next year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-22755657519419057352013-01-30T20:07:00.001+00:002013-01-30T20:07:10.218+00:00And I also saw a kangaroo in the wild.Hi, I am in Australia.<br />
<br />
I am at <a href="http://linux.conf.au/">linux.conf.au</a> in Canberra, to be precise. Always trying to learn something new - I cannot wait for the talk about <i>Git for Ages 4 and Up</i>, by Michael Schwern, today (Thursday - I am still not completely over the jet lag).<br />
<br />
What have I done so far, besides meeting very nice people, too many to mention?<br />
<br />
On Tuesday there has been a miniconf for women - <i>Haecksen</i>, which I learned it is the German word for female hackers. Men were welcome, of course! The talk that struck me the most there was <a href="http://denise.dreamwidth.org/">Denise Paolucci</a>'s <i>Overcoming Imposter Syndrome</i>: great suggestions on how to fight that bug in your brain telling you you are going to be found out , from "always ask questions" to "mind your (internal) language" to "teach". A very funny exercise followed the talk: a typical self-deprecating thing was reported by someone in the audience, then whoever thought that of him/herself once raised his/her hand - and it looked like a calisthenics class after a while. I find it interesting how this useful talk was felt to be needed for women, or at least mostly for women: and how I think that yes, indeed, it's mostly a woman's problem. Could it be caused by how women have often to manage conflicting expectations? (Of course I think that men have problems with expectations too, but I also think that at least these are mostly due to "simple" bars set too high, not with "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations.)<br />
<br />
And a mention must be made of Radia Perlman's keynote, also on Tuesday. It was interesting, it was funny, it was accessible: I was absolutely fascinated - and no, it was not just the graphs. It ended with one of the wisest suggestions I have ever heard, for everything in life: <i>before fixing a problem, make sure you know what the problem is</i>.<br />
<br />
OK, now it's time for breakfast, and another exciting day!<br />
<br />
(And if you're wondering about the kangaroo: yes, I am sure I saw one the other night.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4545771662991485410.post-56771803575022649822013-01-08T10:16:00.001+00:002013-01-08T10:16:59.309+00:00Trying to wake up.It didn't go as planned.<br />
<br />
Too many things I wanted to try? Maybe.<br />
<br />
The result, anyway, has been quite a disaster.<br />
<br />
I still haven't learned C (or Go, for that matter); I tried but miserably failed to read <i>Modern Operating Systems</i>; my beloved tutorial is still missing some pages. And I feel like I have forgotten so much! <br />
<br />
Yes, there has been a minor step forward in my studies, but not enough for an article; my <a href="https://github.com/mmcasetti/">github page</a> is a little better, but out of two projects one is untouched and broken and the other is stuck (and on an apparently trivial problem! how to find an Eulerian cycle in an Eulerian graph!).<br />
<br />
My health has been behaving badly too (enough for my doctor and my supervisor to suggest me to take a term off university "to take things with more ease" - let's just leave it at that), and that has not helped.<br />
<br />
So: I need to wake up! To do something!<br />
<br />
And so I decided to go to the <a href="https://live.gnome.org/Hackfests/BrnoDocs2013">Doc Sprint in Brno</a>: trying to set myself some goals, hoping that they are not unrealistic.<br />
<br />
As usual, any suggestion is welcome.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15296586156534132891noreply@blogger.com2