mkdir -p Saturday/Code/Dance

Hi there,

Here is another opportunity to JOIN a code and dance session this month.

The goal of these get-togethers is to work on a project of your own along with fellow programmers for approximately two hours and then shake the week’s stress away on the dance floor.

Code sesh :

We will meet at the Tea Lounge of the Hotel Montreal Espace Confort.

Hotel Montreal Espace Confort (lobby) Photography by Maryia Georgieva

This is a cozy, delicious and laid-back place to code. There is Wi-Fi.

• Date: May 26th, 2018
• Time: from 2pm to 4pm
• Venue: Hotel Montreal Espace Confort
  2050, rue Saint-Denis, Montréal, QC, H2X 3K7

Dance sesh :

There are many places where you can dance on a Saturday in Montreal. However, just for the sake of dancing on the same dance floor here is my suggestion: Moka

• Date: May 26th, 2018
• Time: from 4pm to 8pm
• Venue: Moka Social
  Espace-Des-Arts
  9, rue Sainte-Catherine Est, #101, Montréal

New coders

If you are new to coding, bring a book, a project and your questions. Then ask some more questions. Finally, start coding. There is no “perfect” way to start, so you might as well start.

When I started many people told me to find a project and then start to code from there. Frankly, I was skeptical. I thought a more structured (read academic) way would be more suitable. If you are curious to start, I would suggest to start with a project and then dive into a book. It will be much more fun.

Seize this very minute.
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

New dancers

If you are new to salsa or dance in general, this is a golden opportunity.

Carpe Potestatem

You may start with a beginners class before our get-together or just dive into on May 26th.

In case you want to learn the basics, here are some places to start for free.

• • Club 649: On Mondays there is a beginner salsa lesson at 9:30pm.
  • Salsa Etc: Free trial class (beginner level) on May 27th, 2018.

Also, bring a pair of comfortable shoes and let yourself enjoy the rhythm, the melody and the people.

Just so you know, this is no dancing contest. Believe me: everyone is busy spinning and enjoying themselves. So, relax and have fun!

“Let the greate world spin” written by Colum McCann

See you on Saturday.

EventBrite :: mkdir -p Saturday/Code/Dance

@codepyxi

mkdir -p Sunday/Code/Dance

Hi there,

This coming Sunday, February 18th, the very first session of Code and Dance will take place.

Whether you are a newbie to the coding world or work with:

• ASM
• C
• C++
• OCaml
• Python
• Java
• Haskell
• Swift
• PHP
• Perl
• Elixir
• Clojure
• MATLAB
• JavaScript

just to name a few, you are welcome to drop by.

Bring your homework/project/idea and dedicate some time to it along with some other fellow coders.

Coding in groups is:

• fun,
• productive, and
• ideal to bounce ideas off.

Here is a TedTalk by Steven Johnson that might shed some light on where good ideas come from 😉

The idea is to meet at Montreal Espace Confort‘s “coding lounge” in order to code for a couple of hours. Afterwards, the dance part will kick in.

If you are willing to learn how to salsa, an intro free class will be available from 4:00pm to 5:30pm by Mr. Alberto Azpuru from the dance school Salsa Etc. It is important to register beforehand in order to attend the salsa class.

Forseeing questions that might arise, here are some answers:

• Do I need a special attire? No. Just wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Jim Carrey’s “Cuban Pete” attire belongs in a movie or a dance show. So, no worries about that.
• Do I need to know the basics beforehand? Nope. The only two things you need is a dose of courage to step outside your comfort zone and your willingness to have fun.

If you have other questions, please leave them in the comment section below.

Recap: mkdir -p Sunday/Code/Dance

Code Section

Date: Sunday, February 18th, 2018
Time: from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Venue: Coding Lounge at Montreal Espace Confort
2050, rue Saint-Denis, Montreal, QC

 

Dance Section

Date: Sunday, February 18th, 2018
Time: from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Venue: 4461 Rue Saint-Denis, Montréal, QC H2J 2L2
Price: Free as long as you register before February 18, 2018 at noon.

Please register at the EventBrite page.

See ya Sunday!

@codepyxi

 

Coursera :: Python for Everybody Specialization

Hi there,

Remember the Coursera class I mentioned on the last post? Well, the course was such a success (for both organizers and students) that there is a second part to it.

This course has been so successful that we have decided to push further and offer an entire five-course Python specialization that covers the entire textbook and adds a project-oriented Capstone at the end of the specialization.

Source: Coursera

The second part of this specialization is about:

• Using Python to Access Web Data
• Using Databases with Python
• Retrieving, Processing and Visualizing Data with Python.

All classes are exceptionally well designed. The content is pertinent and everything taught by Professor Charles Severance is  very clear.

The best part: it is very enjoyable. In fact, you might even develop a craving for more Python and especially more data!

Before this class, I never asked myself where to find data. Data: to split, to parse, to format, to clean, to visualize and what not.

So, if you are looking for some data to play with, here are six open data sources:

• UN Data
• European Union Open Data Portal
• London DataStore
• NYC Open Data
• Government of Canada: Open Canada Data
• Montreal Data

If you have a favourite one, not listed here, please share.

Cities data sources contain information about restaurants.
Warning: Hypochondriacs, stay away from the restaurant data 😉

Also, for all newfound data troglodytes out there, here is a gem: Quantopian Fetch Method

“Quantopian [has got] a method called Fetcher which basically lets you grab CSV data from anywhere on the Internet: HTTP, HTTPS” — Dr. Jess Stauth

 

If you wonder what you can do with data coming from cities around the world, you might find some inspiration through the NYC Python talks. I once attended a meetup where they presented the ins and outs of NYC subway users. It was fun.

 

Here are some quotes to keep you going:

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop”
Confucius

 

“There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs”

Unknown

 

Stairs to Mont-Royal (Montreal, Canada)

 

Have fun coding!

PyCon 2014: What A Journey!

Hi there,

My experience at #pycon2014 was extraordinary. Here is why.

 

Networking @PyCon :

• I met inspiring programmers/developers who were willing to share their experience and time. Amazing.

• I talked with 99% of the booth presenters. The companies that were present in PyCon shared one characteristic: their hunger for innovation. Here is the complete list of the companies that were present:
  • https://us.pycon.org/2014/sponsors/

• I met women who code from around the world through PyLadies, Girl Develop It, MongoDB, and many other companies/institutions.
  • Kudos to all women who have paved my way into coding. Thank you!

PyLadies Booth – PyCon 2014

 

PyCon 2014

 

PyCon 2014 – Palais de Congrès Montréal

 

Open Source Community :

• What is Open Source?

Free and open-source software (FOSS) is computer software that can be classified as both free software and open source software. That is, anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source code is openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily improve the design of the software.

Source: Wikipedia / Free and Open Source Software

•  How is the FOSS notion related to Python?

CPython, the reference implementation of Python, is free and open source software and has a community-based development model, as do nearly all of its alternative implementations. CPython is managed by the non-profit Python Software Foundation.

Source: Wikipedia / Python (programming language)

•  PyCon 2014 gave me the opportunity to realize that there is a great Open Source Community that exists, collaborates, and thrives. I like to call it “Python Ecosystem”.
  • Moreover, I had the privilege to chat with a developer from Fastly. If I recall well, he mentioned something like “Just remember to give back whenever you develop something great”.  I will keep those wise words with me.
  • Here is a Tweet that illustrates the collaboration spirit at PyCon:
    

    This is the first day of Sprints at #pycon2014!! Looking forward for these 4 days of intensive learning, development and camaraderie! @pycon

    Source: Tryolabs / April 14th, 2014

 

Broadening my horizons @PyCon :

• I attended several workshops and talks. All of them taught me something new.
  • Kudos to the Google team who presented on April 10th, 2014. The workshop was great and they kept their cool when they answered an inappropriate question. Greatness and Wisdom!

 

Programming Bucket List :

• Professor Allen B. Downey: The Python knowledge I have acquired is mostly thanks to Professor Downey and the free book he wrote, Think Python: How to Think Like a Computer Scientist (2012)
  • On April 10th, 2014 I met and thanked Professor Downey in person at the O’Reilly booth at PyCon! Until today, I have spent dozens and dozens of hours learning with his book. As I previously mentioned, I read some chapter two or three times. The book includes some subtle humor. So, meeting him was definitely on my Programming Bucket List.
  • The second best quality of this book (the fist being that it is free!) is that it is written as if Professor Downey was standing before you trying to help you understand the concepts. Priceless! A great teacher is someone who teams up with you to successfully transmit knowledge.

• Guido van Rossum: Guido, as everybody called him @PyCon (and not Mr van Rossum) gave a presentation on April 13th, 2014.
  • I am disappointed. I missed it.
  • I must make it to PyCon 2015 now!

 

@PyCon presentations :

Here are some links that can be useful to see PyCon 2014 presentations:

• http://pyvideo.org/category/50/pycon-us-2014
• https://speakerdeck.com/pycon2014

 

Special Thanks :

My PyCon journey was possible thanks to the support from PyLadies, Caktus Group and NumFocus.

Thank you for believing in me and offering me this opportunity.

 

PyCon Experience

Hi there,

I first heard of PyCon on my very first meeting with NYC PyLadies back in September 2013. Kat, an accomplished and creative Pythonista mentioned that it was a truly great and enriching experience to attend PyCon. If I remember well, I think that a member of NYC Python Meetup Group was present as well and corroborated Kat’s anecdote.

I was curious. I wished really hard to have one day the possibility to attend PyCon.

Today, I am having the privilege to attend PyCon 2014 thanks to the support of NYC PyLadies, Caktus Group and NumFocus. Can you imagine? I am ecstatic right now!

My objectives for PyCon 2014 are:

• Thank in person PyLadies, Caktus Group and NumFocus.
• Network with Pythonistas from around the world.
• Learn from the conferences and fellow Pythonistas.
• Visit every single booth and chat with the representatives.
• Have a clear idea on what are the next steps in becoming an excellent programmer/Pythonista.
• Have fun!

My dreams for PyCon 2014 are:

• Meet a mentor.
• Create long lasting connections with inspiring Programmers/Pythonistas.
• Be inspired.

I will be at the PyLadies booth on Friday (11:00a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ). Come and say hi!

NYC PyLadies stamp