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Change is Terrifying. Do it Anyway.

On Saturday, 05 March, I am one of the keynote speakers for Django Girls den Haag.

Hi. My name is Rain Leander. Welcome to Django Girls den Haag. Today I’m going to talk about programming – what it is, why you should do it, what you can do with it. I’m going to tell you my programming story including how I got the job I have now. And I’m going to give you a little programming advice.

First, what IS programming? Ashley Gavin gave a great TEDxNYU talk where she defines computer science as a medium for problem solving and self expression. Just like a dancer will solve a problem or express themselves with movement in space, a programmer uses technology.

But then why should you learn to program? There are so many reasons. Steve Jobs said, “Everyone in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” And code.org is putting out some great you-tube videos of “code super stars”saying that everyone should learn to program.

Paraphrased, some of the reasons include:

Continue reading “Change is Terrifying. Do it Anyway.”

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So I spoke at PyGrunn

And I just now found the video which has been up since June 2 this year by looking for “K Rain Leander” results via images.google.com.

If I search for the same phrase on google.com it doesn’t show on the first page, which is not ideal.

I’m so bored with those previous sentences that I fell asleep.

But if you’re still awake, check out the video after the jump.

Continue reading “So I spoke at PyGrunn”

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A Few Ideas That Have Been Rattling Around My Brain

    • build a 3D printer from scratch. experiment with printing clothes and food and age appropriate toys for ProsAlpha. throw a catered fashion show. keep the toys.
    • design, build, decorate and use a badass halloween advent calendar ala https://www.etsy.com/listing/240614464/this-halloween-advent-calendar-house-is# cause badass. maybe make something similar for xmas. maybe something totally different.
    • speaking of advent calendars, organize / collect / make decorations for the holidays that we actually want to celebrate in our family (xmas and halloween and …? chocolate easter? sinterklaas? thanksgiving?) cause ProsAlpha is going to be old enough to make memories soon and little holiday shrines are cool. like bowties.
    • get back into shape walking / running. get / make a zombie morph suit. run an obstacle course in it. with friends.
    • invent something awesome. something something something. make millions.
    • take figure skating lessons. and / or hip hop lessons. and / or circus silk lessons. perform.

    Continue reading “A Few Ideas That Have Been Rattling Around My Brain”

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AND THE BIG NEWS IS (drumroll, please)

No, we’re not pregnant.

No, we’re not moving.

I have a shiny new job.

But first, some history.

I used to dance. And to pay for rehearsal space and costumes and performance venues, I taught myself HTML / CSS / javascript. Eventually I retired from dance and took web development seriously – interned in New York, worked with a few internet marketing companies in North Carolina.

Had a blast.

Then Red Hat changed their new hire scope – you had to have two of three requirements – customer service, technical skills, or linux. I had the first two. I was hired. I had a blast.

But when you work at Red Hat, every day is drinking from the firehose and I had to stop coding entirely.

Continue reading “AND THE BIG NEWS IS (drumroll, please)”