Will Vincent, author of Django for Beginners and Rest APIs with Django has his list of book recommendations for the year. Read the latest posts on his website to get at them. If you are a learner like me and wanted a professionally filtered list, (as in too lazy to go hunt them down), this is a godsend. He covers books on Django, React, Flask, & JavaScript and tutorials for Python, Django & React. Also check out his year in review. ...
Reasons to Write #339 From Eric Barker’s, “The 3-Step Evening Ritual That Will Make You Happy” Writing helped people suffering from depression, anxiety or PTSD. It helped their relationships too. But that wasn’t all … Their physical health improved as well. Women with breast cancer reported fewer symptoms and required fewer cancer-related doctor visits. People with asthma and arthritis “reported meaningful improvements in quality of life similar to benefits that would be expected by a successful new drug treatment.” ...
As a kid, I read a lot of books above my level of comprehension. More to show off and show folks my “smartness” and give off that snooty “I am a well read boy” air1 than from any sense of love or learning. I know better now (I hope, I do) :) But two books from those days will always stay with me. One was my father’s science textbook, which I no longer have or remember the title of. I used it for four years in high school to understand what I was learning. The book was my secret weapon :) The language in that old textbook was far more engaging and lively than the teachers in class. And it was beautiful with all those black and white line drawings, and anecdotes of the folks who made those amazing discoveries. (Faraday and Tesla and Watts and Madam Curie). It actually was a textbook from before science became “Science”; when it was Natural Philosophy Despite years of searching, I haven’t found it again. The closest textbook of that style I could point you to, would be Thompson’s Calculus. ...
Learning a new skill this year? Putting your mind to learn programming? Looking to wow folks with your newly acquired French? A professional exam, you want to ace? And yet, as you look back over years of broken resolutions, you think it might not be worth it? That you aren’t cut out for learning physics on your own if you wanted to? That you are “slow”? Maybe that’s just because you haven’t realised that learning itself is a skill? That you need to learn, how to learn? ...
More Gaiman truisms for me. He talks about writing. Holds true for all of my endeavours though. lazynoodlepuff asked: Hi Neil, I wonder what could tell not native speaker like me. I struggle with writing anything. Words don’t flow in my native language and in English it’s even more difficult. Sonetimes I struggle with every sentence. But I really want to create things in English and be a part of English-speaking culture. Is this too much to try learn not only to write but also write in another language? I feel like I am so far behind everyone and have to try so hard just to keep up (I moved to the UK to study) ...
For me. For posterity. From Neil Gaiman. miriams-song asked: Hey Neil. Someone recently told me that because I’m not ethnically Jewish (I’m a conversion student set to be “official” within the next year), I shouldn’t be writing ethnically Jewish characters. What do you think? I’ve been actively involved with my Jewish community for years so accusations like that are pretty hurtful. As a writer of fiction part of your duty and obligation is to write characters who are not you. Write them well, write them with respect and interest. And don’t listen to anyone who tells you you aren’t allowed to write people who aren’t you. You are. ...