Paleontologist: I Became A Paleontologist Because Dinosaurs Are Cool

indeed

queerplatonic in a "i feel a deep desire for an intimate but non-romantic/sexual life partnership" way, but also queerplatonic in a "i take all my platonic relationships way more seriously than most people do and this has led to so much heartache oh god" way

after almost a month and a lot of procrastination, I am happy to finally present: The CSGNF Intro to Programming Manifesto!!!!

PART ONE: SO YOU WANT TO LEARN TO CODE

When discussing learning how to code in general, I think it helps to think of an analogy where writing code is way more like building a car engine than it is writing an essay. When you write a program, especially more sophisticated ones, you’re putting together a lot of individually working parts that either you make yourself (such as functions) or the language provides for you. Debugging is the same way: you can slam out an essay and then look at it later and use the end product to figure out what you need to edit, but if you build a car without testing any of the parts first and it doesn’t turn on you have no idea what part of the engine is giving you trouble. 

One of the biggest “tips” I have is to start with the basics and build fundamental knowledge before jumping straight to big projects! A lot of material online follows the model of “become a software engineer in a week” and starts at a really high level—you’ll have a much easier time long term if you start with computing and coding basics rather than “how to code a first person shooter with no experience.” I really liked TheNewBoston’s introduction to networking series. While networking is very different from programming, they build off of the same fundamental computing concepts, and they also have series on specific languages and frameworks as well. 

Some of those videos are from as early as 2012, which seems like it would be outdated, but while frameworks and some new technologies change, the basic concepts of computer science have stayed the same for like 50 years. The languages I’ve done the most work in (C++ and Python) were first released in 1985 and 1989 respectively! They’ve gone through lots of updates since then but the basic concepts are all still there. 

Another tip I have is to pick an end goal and then learn the programming language that will help you program that project in the end! Once you learn one language it’s pretty easy to pick up other ones, because the concepts of programming translate across all of the major languages. for example, I started learning to code with C++ (about 5ish years ago), and have since done work in C, C#, Python, Java, JavaScript, and some other front end & database technologies. With our car engine analogy, think of like building a Toyota engine vs building a Subaru engine. They probably come together in different ways and utilize different parts, but the basic pieces and patterns are going to translate between the two. 

All that is to say: just choose a language based on what the thing you want to code is! A quick google search can usually give you a good idea of the best one for your project. Do you want your end project to be a Minecraft plug-in or mod? learn Java! Do you want to make a website to talk about how much you love your favorite twitch streamer? Learn HTML! Do you want to write a game in unity? Learn C#!

PART TWO: WHERE DO I LEARN TO CODE?

freaky fungi fact - mycology vocab :-)

deliquescence : the process of certain fungi (most often ink caps) where they turn to liquid.

this process is observed in a handful of different fungi !! as their caps mature, they furl inward & turn to a spore-filled, inky liquid.

yes, this liquid can be harvested & used for actual pen ink. :-) just make sure to add preservatives to avoid it causing a rotten smell.

to use it in a sentence : the mushrooms above are experiencing deliquescence ; they are deliquescing !! ink caps are deliquescent.

i don’t want a ROMANTIC PARTNER. i want a DEAR FRIEND i can use as a HUMAN WEIGHTED BLANKET

YES!!!

nd culture is the intense need to pet every animal u come accross.

.

The ramen noodles crop is coming in nicely in the Icelandic highlands this year!

JK, that's Alectoria ochroleuca

This post helped me in the past, I hope it can help you too!

Might come in handy. Whoever posted this, THANKS A LOT!

bon matin! c’est tôt pour moi, hmm? today I’ll be sharing some online resources for learning french ranging from vocab lists to full on courses! i hope you find these useful - the internet really is precious when learning languages! <3

⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchtoday.com

this website threatens to put me out of business and I couldn’t be more delighted! vocab lists galore, free lessons, tips to work on your pronunciation, articles on french culture and even stories and poetry. i haven’t looked at everything available on there, but from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty useful!

⁎⁺˳✧༚ frenchpod101.com

this is a free course you can take, with options for absolute beginners and those already a little familiar with the language. it looks to be good for conversational french and is an easy, no nonsense starting point for beginners, who i know from experience are often easily overwhelmed.

⁎⁺˳✧༚ coffee break french

this is one I’m not quite as familiar with but has come to me highly recommended. it’s a podcast that covers the basics as well as providing dialogues and example role plays. give it a try and let me know how you find it!

⁎⁺˳✧༚ innerfrench (chaîne de YouTube)

this is a really interesting channel! you get to learn french through a variety of different topical discussions and he speaks slowly enough for you to get most of what he’s saying even if you’re a relative beginner, which can make you feel super smart :)

bien, c’est tout! i hope these recs are alright, and I hope we meet again soon~ a bientôt!

is this anything