Et Cetera | Miscellanea of technology, cognition, and the philosophy of the future.

24 Jun

To Learn a New Programming Language, Start Over

Programmers take pride in their ability to learn new skills easily, relying on long-ingrained concepts and abstracted methodologies to pick up a new way of working with minimum difficulty. Switching smoothly between tools, languages, or environments is certainly an ability...
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8 Jun

Git: Common Tasks

As a git user I am no expert. I don’t know if I’ll ever be, yet I use it every day. I’m not alone — many people recognize the critical role version control plays in development work, but it’s...
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16 May

Postgres, Sequelize, and CentOS 7: Quick & Dirty Resource Guide

The PostgreSQL variant of SQL is pretty popular these days, and its adopters are quick to point out a number of advantages. Like any system, though, it does take some getting used to, perhaps more so than other, more popular...
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29 Mar

Free Programming eBook Review: Building Better Responsive Websites

Cover image from Building Better Responsive Websites.

There are a lot of ebooks out there for tech, and a lot of them are free. They make for a very cheap approach to keeping your skills up to date. Some are better than others, though, and today...
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14 Mar

Discrete Math for Computer Programming — Where Do I Start?

If you’re studying programming or computer science, you know discrete math is a core competency for developing software. Simple enough if you’re enrolled in college or a code school — discrete math is built right in, usually as...
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14 Mar

Learn R! — Resources

Whether you’re a budding data scientist, a student of programming, or a researcher delving into analytics, R is a language which — while unusual compared to the standard regimen of programming languages — has its own unique flair and...
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17 Feb

When You Suddenly Hate Programming

Adapted and expanded from my response on Quora. From the outside, development work is an appealing opportunity. It’s in high demand, it pays well, and it lets you use your brain. Fun, right? Well, for many, yes! It...
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15 Feb

6 Ways to Learn Javascript in a Hurry

Javascript seems to be one of those things that people always want to learn in a hurry. Maybe it’s because most of them are students and students have neither time nor patience, maybe it’s because Javascript lends itself to being...
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30 Aug

Learning Jenkins: Example Projects

Learning Jenkins? Jenkins, a free continuous integration tool, is fantastic for handling large projects, and its abilities within its domain are practically limitless. But this benefit is a hindrance, too — getting started can be befuddling! The fundamentals of...
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7 Oct

An Open Letter to Online Services

Dear [Generic Online Service], I value your existence. Without Dropbox, I wouldn’t have been able to print out that resume last-minute before my interview. Without Grooveshark, my hours spent coding would be much more tedious. Without...
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