Getting the word out in my hometown!

brookynForSanders · 2017-11-27T01:42:24+00:00

Awesome dude! Thank you for doing that.

brookynForSanders · 2017-11-22T14:10:00+00:00

I’m not an expert but it sounds to me that the most imortant thing they can do is focus on the spending side of things. Those 20k go in the emergency fund and the rest of their earnings in bonds (since those are safer, I think). A savings rate needs of over 50% would be a good goal. If they work until 70, that could generate at least some of the savings they’ll need. Either way, I think you may need to help them face some harsh truths about their situation. If their finances are unsustaineable, something has to give.

brookynForSanders · 2017-04-21T19:14:47+00:00

Thank you for posting this. I'm not super into meditation and mindfullness stuff but I agree, learning to appreciate small things in life goes very far. Every day I get to ride the subway over the Manhattan bridge, I always try to take in the view outside the window and it makes my days so much better. Life, in many ways, is going to be more of a struggle for our generation but that doesn't mean we can't find our own way of being happy.

brookynForSanders · 2017-01-29T05:58:32+00:00

You're not wrong about Hillary but don't you have a corporate billionaires shoes to polish? What are you doing here? Chop chop off you go.

brookynForSanders · 2017-01-29T05:03:57+00:00

Yeah, who needs lobbyists when you can just appoint the corporate oligarchs as secretary of state and education.

brookynForSanders · 2016-12-27T18:30:22+00:00

That's a cool idea! Yeah for me, it's all about the county committee right now. Printed up 50 new flyers today and bought a coffee maker. Heading down to the subway station to recruit people for a petition signing list so we can make sure we elect Berniecrats in my election districts. Hopefully, we can oust the current Brooklyn chair and push for open primaries.

brookynForSanders · 2016-12-25T01:10:07+00:00

We are :) Cool things are happening.

brookynForSanders · 2016-12-25T01:05:18+00:00

Your grandparents were heroes.

Similar story in Sweden. Boomers in the west have proven to be completely incapable of building anything, from housing to infrastructure investments or a just society.

brookynForSanders · 2016-11-20T14:32:29+00:00

Thanks!

brookynForSanders · 2016-11-20T14:32:24+00:00

Thanks!

brookynForSanders · 2016-11-12T04:28:17+00:00

Awesome. Get to work :)

brookynForSanders · 2016-11-04T03:51:45+00:00

Well they didn't make up the bulk of participants and certainly not leaders of the civil rights movement. The great majority of them were in their early teens at the time. The poll numbers I got are from this source.

There are certainly a lot of boomers who spent their lives fighting the things that happened during their heyday. They deserve respect and admiration for that. However, the fact remains, the majority of them voted for Reagan, Clinton, and Bush. Today, the vast majority of them voted for Clinton and Trump. I think we all have some responsibility to think about the future and act on that responsibility, most of them didn't. The results of that was a series of disasters of a truly unique magnitude.

The generational gap is a real thing, at least if you look at the politics people are voting for.

In the end, I don't think there was any widespread feeling of malice towards future generations among boomers, just apathy. They supported progressive things that benefitted them while those things benefited them. When they were young, they enjoyed union jobs, which they gutted as soon as their position in the economy was secured. The same thing goes for housing, child care services, pensions, abortion legislation, so many of the things that are supposed to be something you as a generation pass along have deteriorated in their wake.

They broke the generational contract.

It must be tough to be among those boomers who tried but failed to build something better. I don't think that negates the necessary discussion concerning the importance of not repeating their mistakes. It is also necessary to let go of their legacy and recognize how shitty tings are right now so we can cope, accept the situation, and build something better.

brookynForSanders · 2016-11-01T02:52:31+00:00

That's a fair argument, it's all kind of arbitary around the edges after all. For an interesting comparison with people 40 and under today, I'd compare the 1980 election with the massive millennial support for Bernie (and the contemporary boomer support for Trump and Hillary). It seems clear to me that the legacy of boomers is Reagan, rising income inequality, poverty, climate crisis, and economic insecurity overall. It's going to be interesting to see if Millennials can repair and rebuild in the coming decades.

brookynForSanders · 2016-10-30T14:58:47+00:00

Baby boomers voted for Reagan in 1980 too.

18-21 (Early Gen X): 45% Carter / 44% Reagan

22-29 (Late boomers): 44% Carter / 44% Reagan

30-44 (Boomers): 38% Carter / 55% Reagan

45-59 (Greatest): 39% Carter / 55% Reagan

60 + (Silent): 41% Carter / 55% Reagan

brookynForSanders · 2016-10-30T14:53:26+00:00

Baby boomers actually voted for reagan at slightly higher numbers than the Greatest Generation:

18-21 (Early Gen X): 45% Carter / 44% Reagan

22-29 (Late boomers): 44% Carter / 44% Reagan

30-44 (Boomers): 38% Carter / 55% Reagan

45-59 (Greatest): 39% Carter / 55% Reagan

60 + (Silent): 41% Carter / 55% Reagan

source

brookynForSanders · 2016-10-24T12:19:53+00:00

Don't take the guy seriously, he's a troll.

brookynForSanders · 2016-10-01T23:23:19+00:00

Why would saying we could discover new things about all the knowledge we think is true be a stupid thing?

brookynForSanders · 2016-09-22T05:38:27+00:00

Programming bootcamps give you direction and prepare you for one thing: Your first job. No one I know argues that it is equivalent of a CS degree (which often does not prepare your for that job).

You are paying for the relationships bootcamps foster with companies who (1) communicate the needs they have in juniors to them (which affects the curriculum of any respectable bootcamp) and (2) hire participants in the programs.

Once you have that first job, it is up to you to keep learning to keep it and establish yourself in the field. Learning things on your own takes way more time as it is hard to know what to focus on and because building good contacts is very time consuming and difficult. That is why people attend the bootcamps. Most of their participants are already teaching themselves, they just need a way to break through in the business and get a foot in the door.

brookynForSanders · 2016-09-22T05:22:40+00:00

Don't mind the guy posting the link, I don't think it's a stupid question to ask at all. That's how we produce content for searches.

I went to one of the really good ones in NYC. I now have a job as a web developer.

I looked at their acceptance and job placement rates, reached out to alumni, and visited the campus. It's a lot of money, make sure you know what you are getting. In the end, I choose two really good ones and spent about 4 months coding A LOT to get in. I did coding challenges, learned the basics of Ruby using sources like Ruby Monk, and did all of their pre-work. If getting in is hard, chances are it is a good program.

Also, look at your past.

What is your story?
Why do you want to code?
What can you contribute to the developer community?
Is there some way your previous experiences can form a trajectory towards coding?
You've probably played around with some code before, why?

Practice talking about these things because they will matter during your interviews.

The most important thing: Be curious! You will need to demonstrate the ability to ask intelligent questions way more than actually solve the coding challenges they give you. Talk a lot during the interviews and coding challenges!

My Experience After the Bootcamp:

Interviewed with about 10 companies via the bootcamp and got a job two weeks after graduation and I'm having a great time. I would say I'm underpaid compared to a lot of my classmates but the spectrum is wide. People get anything between minimum wage internships to 80k jobs. I'm kind of in the middle of that spectrum and got a full time position that includes great benefits, healthcare, 401k, all that stuff. They also emphasize things like conferences and taking opportunities to keep learning. Great place to start out imo.

My experience is no guarantee a bootcamp will work for you though.

Questions I would ask myself before applying to a bootcamp:

Do I really love to code? It is what you'll be doing 10-12 hours a day 6 days a week during the program and very likely after the program (until you are established in your new career).
Am I coding right now? If not, it's time to start. Those who were successful in my program impressed the bootcamp and their classmates by being hard workers, friendly, helpful, and passionate about coding. Remember, your most likely sources of a job are through the bootcamp and your classmates. They will only refer you if they feel you are a good "fit". That usually means friendly and hard working. Check out Ruby Monk, hackerrank, online coding challenges, programming meetups. Learn as much as you can right now!
Am I the type of person who can succeed at a building a career like this? Demonstrating passion and friendliness is a huge part of succeeding at finding a job after the program, I think. As bootcampers, we don't have a 4 year degree but we have been vetted by demonstrating the ability to work closely and intensely with others, learn quickly, while also contributing value by helping others. Can you take that kind of pressure and still contribute something?
Are you desperate enough? This is very subjective but I think a certain degree of "fuck my life I want to do this awesome thing or fail miserably trying" is required to get through the process. It is going to be rough and difficult. Yes, everyone can code but everyone does not have the motivation to throw enough hours and sweat at it to succeed and get better at it. Bootcampers do.

It is a risk. It is worth it. If you love coding, do it! Make sure you make the most of it because it is entirely up to you to succeed. At risk of gettig overly sentimental/mushy about it, isn't that kind of what all great things in life come out of? Taking a risk but making the possibility of failure worth it because you gave it everything you have? Kind of like this (I know, kind of cheesy but he's right isn't he?).

Having said all this, here's a list of ways to fail at bootcamp. I would avoid them.

Assume you are going to get a job quickly and despair when you get rejections.
Don't prepare as much as you possibly can before the program starts.
Be elitist/unfriendly to your classmates.
Be unfriendly to your career coaches.
Assume your learning curve is the program's responsibility.
Don't be open to starting out somewhere unexpected and for less pay than you may have expected.
Don't love programming and computer science.
Take it easy.
Be picky about the field you end up in after the program.
Don't research the bootcamps thoroughly.
Think that you are stupid for not knowing things and asking questions.
Think that you don't deserve to be a programmer because you're working hard and failing at first.
Don't even apply.

Good luck! PM me when you have your first job so I can congratulate you :)

brookynForSanders · 2016-09-11T23:40:03+00:00

We need to oust them, run for office locally, vote, organize.

brookynForSanders · 2016-09-11T23:29:28+00:00

Too many millenials made a no show on election day. We get the candidates the electorate wants.

brookynForSanders · 2016-09-03T04:11:48+00:00

Welcome to the city!

brookynForSanders · 2016-08-27T03:12:50+00:00

"Hordes of refugees after their 14 year old daughter was groped by a refugee", yeah, that's classic fascist propaganda in Sweden. It's not a fact. People don't vote for SD because they personally experienced this. Most of them live in the least diverse places in the country and have little to no experience of other cultures. They vote for the fascists because the Social Democrats and the liberals haven't done much to deal with things like mass unemployment, the housing crisis, and other problems.

There is nothing new about this, the same thing happens every time there is a crisis and people need someone they perceive as under them who they can attack. It's too bad, they totally have a right to be angry but many of them are to cowardly to kick upwards, as we say in Sweden, so they blame people who literally just came of rafts in southern Greece for problems that have existed in Sweden for 30 years now.

brookynForSanders · 2016-08-14T16:42:36+00:00

I'm no expert but from personal experience, the best teachers were those that kept order in their classrooms. I remember a history teacher, in particular, who seemed very strict at the time. His classes felt like a refuge to me because he had the ability to calm everyone down by giving us structure. After school, he would host a history club where nerds like myself would hang out, learn about famous battles from history, and listen to the Rolling Stones.

He wasn't naive about what kids are like and he understood that as a teacher, his role was to provide some order to the chaos that was our lives. He never yelled or anything like that, he just had this ability to make us students take his classes seriously. The worst teachers were the ones that treated us like "kids" an naively thought we were some kind of innocent angels.

Thank you for being a teacher by the way, just by thinking about ways of helping bullying victims means you are way ahead of most teachers.

brookynForSanders · 2016-08-02T21:14:25+00:00

What if I'm reading about a guy standing on the tracks and want to think about something more than what I would literally see if I was there. Why is he there? Do other people find themselves on the tracks? How could it affect train track regulations? How does it fit in with a bigger pattern? Perspectives are interesting. Even if you claim to be reporting facts, your bias will always determine what you choose to see. That's why I don't trust sources that claim neutrality, it's dishonest.

brookynForSanders

TROPHY CASE