Category Archives: internet

Just a few beers and a rooftop

The home stretch

changes, internet, ironhack, , ,

So this week marks the final chapter in my Ironhack Bootcamp. It’s been a ride, that’s for sure! Last week we started our Final Projects – a web development project of our own choosing and structure. On Friday we present our projects and then on Saturday I head back to Real Life in Montpellier.

No project is the same as another, so it’s a really diverse mix of technologies and approaches. My project is a riff on the AirBnB model but for specialty bicycles and is built on Ruby on Rails with the front-end based on the Foundation framework. My approach was focussed on getting the main back-end functionality completed before beginning the front and that worked pretty well in my case. Continue reading The home stretch →

Sagrada Familia at sunset

Ch-ch-ch-changes

internet, ironhack, , , , , , ,

Life suddenly became very interesting very quickly… I’m going to explain in more detail in the next few posts, but here’s an overview:

The first major change is that we moved to Montpellier in France. Tom is now working at IRD and we have just found a flat and moved all our belongings into it.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Montpellier
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Montpellier

The second is that I quit my job (related to the first!). I feel both relieved and stressed by this change. Continue reading Ch-ch-ch-changes →

Coding Kata – Mars Rover

internet, ironhack, , , , ,

UPDATE: The Sandbox is now deactivated

As part of the preparation for the IronHack course that I am doing in July, we have some homework… There are four modules of pre-work to complete: HTML & CSS, Unix Cli & Dev Environment, Git & Github and Ruby & OOP.

I’ve just completed the HTML & CSS section which finished with something called a “Coding Kata”, a brand new concept for me. Essentially, it’s a small coding exercise that can be repeated and solved in various ways to practice different skills.

The Kata we were assigned involved moving around a grid. It’s explained in more detail here. My solution can be found in my Sandbox. I haven’t solved it completely, but it was actually a really great challenge – and one that I think I will repeat.

Spanish Summer of Code

internet, , , , ,

I never mentioned it because I didn’t want to jinx it, but a little while ago I applied to participate in an intensive web development course run by Ironhack. The course runs for 8 weeks in Barcelona, Spain and covers all the latest in front end development. Well, after two interviews and a few email conversations with previous students, I found out that I have been accepted! Continue reading Spanish Summer of Code →

Choose your own language

internet, thoughts, , ,

One of my favourite sites is AirBnB. I like the concept, I like their design and I have used it to book accommodation for almost all of our trips while we have been in Europe. Sometimes the site switches to German from my profile selection of English which is a minor pain but it also brought home an interesting function of the website: the language picker.

On AirBnB, the language dropdown (or, dropup, actually) uses native language names or characters and the only icon is a globe on the actual dropdown. This struck me as interesting given the emphasis on colour throughout the rest of the site. This function felt a little boring and I wondered why they don’t use flags as I have seen elsewhere. Continue reading Choose your own language →