Random update for the last week or so...

So I've been working through the Scrimba.com stuff. I've made it through to the "Essential JavaScript Concepts" section, and it's been a little frustrating so far, but I'm slowly "getting it". The projects I've made in these tutorials are a little bit silly, but it's been fun to work on and it's forcing me to think about how the code works, which is good. I'm going to need a lot more practice before I feel like a confident developer. I've also started to put together a new batch of HTML and CSS for the next iteration of my lennyshort.com website. I have the basic design laid out, I'm happy with how it looks so far but it still needs a lot of work. My long-term goal is to create a new Django site and incorporate the design into that, then post it online on one of my virtual servers. I started working my way through a basic Django tutorial to refamiliarize myself with how it works, and it's slowly coming back to me now. I'm going to work through the DjangoGirls.org tutorial next. I did this one late last year and actually got through it all correctly, even posted it online at a free hosting account I setup. I don't remember much of it though, so hopefully this time around will make things stick in my brain again. If not, I'll find another tutorial and work through it, over and over again. That's how I managed to slap together the current Django-based websites that I have running, including this blog. I'm going on vacation for the Christmas holiday in a week, up to Oregon again. I'm looking forward to it, I'm taking a full week off from work so that plus the weekends on either end means I'll be up there for 9 days. Hopefully we'll get some snow and have a white Christmas like we did a few years ago. I bought some snow chains for my truck, but I kind of doubt I'll need them for this trip. They keep the highway pretty clear this time of year, so unless there's a storm I think I'll be okay.

It's been a while...

...since I posted anything here. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I'm back at work after a trip to Oregon for the holiday. I had a good, relaxing time there visiting with Mom and Stepdad. We read books, went for a drive, watched football and ate too much for 4 days. I'm looking forward to going back for Christmas in a few weeks. I've made some good progress with the Scrimba stuff. I worked through the initial JavaScript lessons, and now I'm working through their CSS material. A lot has changed since I first learned CSS in college back in the Dark Ages, so the journey so far has been kind of fun. I'm also trying to put together a new design for one of my websites using what I've learned. I haven't made it very far with that, but I'm poking at it every so often over the last two weeks and hopefully I'll be able to turn it into something good in the end. I'm trying to put together a plan for the coming weekend, to find some fun stuff to do. I might drive out to Half Moon bay again, because when I was there several weeks ago I found a new park with some redwood trees that I want to explore. It's nice being only an hour away from stuff like that, and I should do things like that more often. It sure beats sitting at home staring at the walls. My shoulder injury seems to be healing finally. I had a physical therapy appointment a couple of days ago for it, and the doctor gave me a new elastic band to work with. I have another follow-up appointment with him in January. Hopefully by then it'll be fully healed. I worked it out some at the gym last Monday and didn't have any pain afterward for a change, so as long as I take it easy I think I can start working out again instead of just using the treadmill like I have been these last few months. Maybe I'll even put on some upper body strength while I'm at it.

Today I Did

So recently I signed up for a new course online about front-end web development. I wanted to work on my web design/development skills which were quite rusty, and so far it's been a good experience. The tutorials are on a site named Scrimba.com, and I've worked through the initial HTML and CSS lessons. Right now I'm working on the JavaScript portion of the course, and "Today I Did" finish up a small scoreboard project. It has a small bit of HTML and CSS that make up the design, and some basic JavaScript that makes the buttons work. The link is here: https://thunderous-biscochitos-bd3464.netlify.app/ I'm actually enjoying this stuff! I'm going to work a little bit on the upcoming JavaScript lessons today while I'm at work, and we'll see where that takes me. Scrimba's lessons are geared toward training people to become junior web developers, and while I'm not going to pursue that as a career I do want to improve the design of my websites, and hopefully this'll help me learn how to accomplish that. I went to Half Moon Bay last Wednesday, and had a good time. I went for a walk in the Murray Ranch state park and got into a conversation with a local person who told me about another park that was a short drive from there. I went that way but didn't stay long because there was no place to park and I was nervous about parking on the side of the road, but the little bit I did see made me want to come back again soon. The park was full of very tall "second-growth" redwood trees and was beautiful and peaceful. So I'll definitely plan on visiting that place again on my next trip to the coast.

First Previous 2 3 4 5 6 Next Last

My Other Sites

Built with Python and Django

Sites I Like

A Random Collection

Tools I've Used

Mainly Software Stuff