ccfunhouse-blog - Tumblr blog

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Fly high.

what super power would you like to have

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Found this awesome blog article from Incipia. Established in 2013, Incipia is a 100% bootstrapped company with a shared, deep-rooted drive to create innovative mobile products (as stated on the company website).  As I come to a close to my journey of laying the foundation to my future mobile app development career, I will continue to post interesting articles and document my progress by showcasing apps that I have completed and/or am working on. I hope you will find this online space as one that is informative, inspiring, as well as influential. 

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Picking up the pieces.

Week 8 is now in the books and for myself the theme of this week was very much in tune of what I needed. A chance to pick up the pieces.  We spent most of the week learning new concepts but at the same time  our generous instructor allotted for time to catch up on old assignments.  This gave me some time to revisit a few assignments that I hadn’t quite completed. One thing that is cool about perusing through multiple open or ‘active’ assignments is that you are connecting dots in a way that perhaps you may have missed before. Thus far, a great learning experience at The Iron Yard so far, has taught me that repetition is a huge key to learning. Trial and err by fire, this has been a constant theme throughout the entire ‘immersive learning’ process so far.  

At the beginning of week eight I felt a since of burn out kicking in.  Probably, because as much as I was learning new material, I hadn’t really done much outside of coding or thinking about coding in several weeks, but at the same time there’s just so much new material... how does one digest it all at this point (is what goes through your mind)!?  But still, there’s little time to relax now, as we are gearing up for what amounts to what me and my classmates are all here for... showcasing our talents to the world and the burgeoning local tech community as newly minted mobile engineers! On Friday, we pitched ideas for our final projects.  I personally pitched about four or five ideas and am considering at least two at the moment. We have three weeks to complete them and they will encompass many of the skills and techniques and use of Swift and Objective C that we have learned so far. One final test before we can successfully graduate. One final test that I must and will be fully committed to!!  Just under four weeks till Demo-Day at The Iron Yard Detroit!  Man... exciting times, indeed! Time flies when you’re having fun.

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Memorial Day Weekend.

This Memorial day weekend resulted in some much needed decompression time for me. As we completed week 7, it’s crazy how one can look up and think “wow”… as I hadn’t see much of friends or family in several weeks. As much as I feel that a great deal of learning and refining the skills that come with coding come with repetition and trial and error, I believe that sometimes you also have to consider taking a step back as well. And that’s what I did. But, there is also a looming crunch on the horizon, as we close out our lecture phase and begin to prepare for mobile engineering final projects. So far, I have at least five ideas I’m pondering on and it will perhaps be the most challenging, yet most exciting part of my Iron Yard experience. I will just say I look forward to it… so, bring it on!!!

(pictured above- having a boiled crab feast, New Orleans style, with good friends for the holiday)

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Motivation.

Sometimes I wonder… what’s my motivation, my motivation for pursuing this path in the first place? Ever since I have been pursuing my mobile engineering study at The Iron Yard, one thing has been abundantly clear. We all, having different starting points when setting out to pursue the various paths of our choosing in life. Some of us had a father who may have passed on a particular interest or skill set, some of us are self learners with an unquenchable desire to learn and get better at whatever craft we put our minds to. Then, there is the segment of folk who simply have an undying curiosity to conquer a long held fear… perhaps, we aren’t smart enough, talented enough, skilled enough. But, who’s to say if we have what it takes? Because, the truth is what’s for the taking, in itself is an ever changing target… and sometimes our motives have to adapt to suit what’s needed to connect to it.

Though, many days I may question my motive for even pursuing learning a programming language, perhaps because a concept is difficult to understand or my confidence on a particular topic is swayed because of a frustrating moment, my motive remains the same. No matter where I come from, no matter what my starting point… I will get better, I will over come, I will succeed. Simply, because I want to. Simply because from where I started, there still remains only one direction to go. #OnwardAndUpward

- Half way point. Cheers to the journey!!

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Walk With Me.

As an aside from my usual posts. Week 5 is now complete, and for me it was quite eventful. First off, class wise we went from novice Objective C linguists to Swift newbs. Additionally, I embraced the wonderful opportunity to interview with three different companies as a finalist for the prestigious Challenge Detroit Fellowship. Challenge Detroit was established over four years ago as a leadership and professional development program that invites approximately 30 of tomorrow’s leaders to live, work, play, give, and lead in and around the greater Detroit area for one year (see challengedetroit.org). I applied prior to registering as a student with the Iron Yard, so it is humbling to consider that the year of 2016 is already presenting me with so many wonderful opportunities and challenges. Regardless of how tough the road ahead is, I am one who thrives under pressure. But, I can’t lie… this is one hell of a pressure chamber I’m in right now lol. I just gotta laugh just to keep sane!! Just a lil piece of coal trying to form into a diamond…

So, here’s to tremendous opportunities to shine bright!!

(Shown above is the Birwood Wall aka the Detroit 8 Mile Wall or ‘Detroit’s Berlin Wall, built in 1940 to separate the planned housing for middle class whites from the small houses built by blacks who owned land or planned to build in the neighborhood. This was one site we visited on our interview trip as Challenge Detroit Fellowship finalists.)

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Much Needed.

The Legend of the Iron Pint

So, this past week at The Iron Yard was quite eventful.  We demoed mobile app design prototypes using Balsamiq, and worked on assignments that involved the use of gestures, animations, dynamics, audio and video... we also expanded the use of coding for map views by creating methods for geofencing and establishing a ‘sphere of influence’ around our annotated map pins.  And that folks, was WEEK 4 in a nutshell!!!  Definitely a heavy, and as usual things ebb & flow, but I’m definitely learning and very excited to be getting to this portion of the course because it allows my mind to open up to the possibilities of the different creative avenues that are at my finger tips. Which, of course, leaves room for me to develop one bad ass app one day!!! ha ha

Next up, this week we’re going to to start learning Swift and we’ll begin by redoing some of the apps we created in week 1.  Still enjoying my time and experience at the Yard! And of course, one of the best parts you may wonder??  Well, of course... the ‘Iron Pint Fridays.’  Nothing like unwinding after a long week, and letting all of those lines of code from the week fizz away in beer bubbles with good company and conversation with classmates and staff, even if just for a moment... then, it’s back to the grind!!! 

Till next time....

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Practice Makes Perfect.

(ccF x The Iron Yard)  = ‘the company I co-founded’ x ‘coding for app development’ = Cold Capital Funhouse x The Iron Yard

The business mind x technical acumen.

So, not sure what I wanted to speak on this week, as usual my mind is in a whirlwind. Week 3 has definitely been heavy. On Monday, I was frustrated about how I was learning this stuff up to this point... by Wednesday I felt I was beginning to grasp the concepts better. Still, in all, this has been one of my favorite weeks.  This week was huge to me because I feel my understanding and navigation within Xcode and coding with Objective C is starting to make more sense to me, conceptually; this was capped off with a topic that really hit home for me, ‘prototyping’.  

Prototyping really caught my interest because as a former business marketing student, much of my mind revolves around product strategy and how to develop an an idea into something tangible that can be sold. Usually, in order to sell an idea, one must have a vision, some sort of ‘end goal’ in mind that helps initiate the first steps toward building something that ultimately evolves into something less conceptual and more concrete. Prototyping in app developments entails the skill of wire framing, essentially ‘rough draft sketching’ for how an application might work in the real world. When using Xcode, I have often found the main story board to be not too useful for concrete design, as was not it’s intended purpose, but learning how to wire frame using Balsamiq was definitely a highlight to me. 

As I continue to develop my skills and expertise coding, I believe that my incorporation with the likes of tools such as Balsamiq will allow me to take my ideas from the mind to the real world with much more ease-  most importantly, perhaps, it will allow me to sell my idea to others stakeholders who may be apart of a project I’m working on long before I even input my first line of code.  The business mind and the technical acumen finally finding a way to coexist in my head.

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Upward and Onward.

Week 2 complete!  My mind is spinning with arrays, integers, booleans, classes, UIViewControllers, entities and attributes-  code doth speaketh to me in my dreams. My sentiment is a peculiar mix of pleasantry to be embarking on something new... fresh, cool, interesting... along with dread- the dread of ‘what in the hell have I gotten myself into!??”

However, I have been here before.  Nothing rarely comes easy that is ever really of great value to us. Time will tell if I was ever truly up to the challenge to begin with.  My thoughts lean towards a poem I’ve recently found very inspiring, from a movie that instantly became one of my new favorites, Interstellar, starring Matthew McConaughey.  For me to reach my goals... there will be no room for me to proceed gently.

“Do not go gentle into that good night” -

(By Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953)

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

[ccfunhouse-blog]

Home sweet home.

So, I’m back in Detroit, MI. After a whirlwind past two weeks. Two weeks that consisted of me quitting my job, breaking up with my girlfriend, loading up all my belongings into a U-Haul trailer and driving the 722.80 miles (to be exact) after a two year stint in the Peachtree state (Atlanta, GA). I just finished my first full week at The Iron Yard, a 12-wk immersive style bootcamp where I am learning mobile engineering for iOS (the application platform for most Apple devices- for all the non-geeks). I’d say that my first week of class was met with an interesting mixed bag of curiosity, excitement, frustration, anxiousness and relief. Curiosity of what the program would entail the first week and onward, excitement to meet my classmates and instructor for the first time, frustration for trying to figure out how not to deplete my bank account by the meager parking options in downtown Detroit, anxious to finally begin diving into app development and code like I have wanted to, going on three years now, and relief… because I finally feel like I’m at a point where I am becoming in-synch with my own hopes, dreams and aspirations- and absolitely nothing can stop me!!! Nothing… except for myself. Stay tuned…