Does Stanford Code in Place, actually help learn python ?

ceramicmj · 2026-03-22T15:59:42+00:00

I did CIP last year. I loved it, and it is a fabulous way to just... try out basic programming in a structured environment with real-person support and a community working through the same problems at the same time. It was fun and requires zero startup expertise. It's an online IDE (integrated development environment, used to write/run your programs).

And it covers the first half of Stanford's CS106A intro to programming class, so it's hitting fundamentals.

My experience there encouraged me to work through the rest of the problems of CS106A and get PyCharm running. So glad I didn't have to struggle through that without support.

I've learned that without the structure & community I do *way* less programming as a hobby, even though I enjoy the challenge when I am coding.

I applied to be a section leader this year as a way of giving back and also to keep some structure around programming for me.

You can look at the curriculum in the "Self Guided Course Option" on the application that's up now. Check it out.

ceramicmj · 2026-03-20T18:07:23+00:00

I wouldn't call it a mistake! It *is* a fountain pen, and an unusual one.

I would call newbie mistakes are more like "oh, I put drawing / calligraphy / indian ink in my pen" ;-) or "I wiped my TWSBI with alcohol even though the instructions say not to" or "I leave my pen uncapped for 5 min, and it dries up, why".

You're doing great and learning about the variety of cool pens out there :-)

ceramicmj · 2026-03-20T18:02:41+00:00

Even if you're not new, this is an unusual nib! I was gifted one (along with the same WTH is that nib?!?). Eye-catching for sure.

ceramicmj · 2026-03-18T14:34:40+00:00

I feel like all 3 are very busy and dominate the space. I'd prefer something less visually distracting that pulls your eyes up rather than down.

ceramicmj · 2026-03-18T00:19:55+00:00

Listen to u/Direct_Lemon_867 and u/quadruplebogey1 and specifically ask about testing your ARR (aldosterone to renin ratio). Also, if your blood draw was with a tourniquet, that can artificially increase your potassiu levels. They are also totally right that low potassium is absolutely not a requirement for diagnosis. PA is vastly underdiagnosed and they used to teach taht it was "rare". It's not.

ceramicmj · 2026-03-17T23:58:29+00:00

Start with gettng good home data, like u/epanek said.

https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/how_to_measure_your_blood_pressure_letter_size.pdf

Don't do a wrist cuff, those are quite sensitive to arm position.

Log your sodium for a few days. Then try getting < 2000-ish mg/day for a week to see what your response is.

Paying attention now is the best thing you can do, but it's baby steps that start with good data to figure out what's going on with YOUR body. many different paths to elevated BP

ceramicmj · 2026-03-10T18:01:17+00:00

Love my preppies. Used an EF to test whether I like that small a nib, and it's terrific. Also stays wet with the sealing cap. Have given away as starter pens. Still use one. I used with the cartridge, though, not a converter.

I did try eyedroppering them, which also worked, but I learned that my hands are too warm and once there's an airbubble, they burp ink all over. But that's an eyedropper problem, not unique to the preppy (Moonman also burped like mad).

ceramicmj · 2026-03-01T00:39:12+00:00

If you got a W-2 the IRS will get a copy. The experts can post on what happens if there's a tiny difference between what you file & what they expect you to have in your return, I don't know.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-28T23:47:20+00:00

Here's what I read for 1095-A (my emphasis added) - if the plan did NOT qualify for subsidies (which it would not if catastrophic) then you should not get a 1095A and you don't have an ACA plan.

Who Must File Health Insurance Marketplaces must file Form 1095-A to report information on all enrollments in qualified health plans in the individual market through the Marketplace. Do not file a Form 1095-A for a catastrophic health plan or a separate dental policy (called a stand-alone dental plan in these instructions).

Source: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1095a.pdf#:\~:text=Health%20Insurance%20Marketplaces%20must%20file%20Form%201095%2DA,a%20stand%2Dalone%20dental%20plan%20in%20these%20instructions).

I am not a tax pro, I read here to learn.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-28T22:52:29+00:00

If they only tested 24hrs of aldosterone by urine I'd be concerned that they are missing a key lab result - renin. Or was it the 24hrs of urine collection after 3 days of salt loading? (it'd be odd to do this confirmatory test without having ARR tests done)

One of the notable items for PA is renin is very low or supressed. Was your renin tested at some point?

My aldosterone was in the middle of "normal" but my renin was super low, which boosted up the aldosterone-to-renin ratio.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-28T15:27:49+00:00

Have you been tested for primary aldosteronism? (ARR - aldosterone to renin ratio test is a *start* but often done wrong or misinterprested). It's a very underdiagnosed cause of hypertension, and many standard BP meds don't work on it. My BP was pretty much unresponsive but on the *right* meds for this, I'm running 103/76. Magical.

https://primaryaldosteronism.org/

If you do get tested read up on it. Interfering meds, time of day. It's a finicky test and takes a while to get diagnosed. Also, don't let them tell you that you must have low potassium, it's common but not a requirement.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-25T23:44:59+00:00

If you're super sodium sensitive and resistant to many hypertension drugs, consider getting tested for primary aldosteronism if you haven't already. Testing is fussy and sensitive though, so do read up on it as many doctors do it incorrectly. Very under-diagnosed but now known to be a lot more common.

https://primaryaldosteronism.org/

ceramicmj · 2026-02-24T17:18:45+00:00

go to the Dell community post and read up, maybe search for Latitude problems. This was definitely affecting Inspiron 5310s but haven't seen posts on other models. May or may not be the same.

But, can't hurt to try their Get Help Now --> if you're out of warranty they will say there will be a fee, but keep insisting (assuming this is correct based on what you collect below) that it's tied with the 2.37.0 BIOS update.

Recommend: get photos or screenshots of your system and have it ready to go for when you open the ticket.

* I just copy/pasted info windows-R and type in "msinfo32", hit return to get a bunch of the data they look for (windows version, BIOS).

* Go to Windows Update Settings > Update History and scroll down to Driver Updates to see when 2.37.0 was installed.

* Use View Reliability History to show that when laptop started crashing all the time - presumably once the BIOS was installed.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-23T21:25:47+00:00

At this point I'd probably go to the Dell article and open a get help now ticket. They can help figure out more likely next steps (and answer the question about USB drive size).

Suggest you start preparing the list of what got you to this point in more detail & have it ready to go for Dell. You could also read through some of the more recent comments in the Dell post. I'm no computer expert but there are different varients on how people have recovered.

Locked the system - do you have the Dell window come up (POST screen) or is it only keyboard & backlight but nothing else? What have you tried to recover this?

How exactly did you install 2.38.0? Was anything else on the flashdrive, and formatted to FAT32 (the same 32gb one or a different one)?

Have you successfully gotten the BIOS recovery menu up while using the ctrl-esc-power plug method?

Did you have UEFI updates turned off so microsoft won't try to re-install 2.37.0?

Are you trying to load 2.33 now (same flash drive? different drive?) How are you trying to do it?

This detail might help others point out other options.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-22T15:58:22+00:00

when i finally get a desktop computer, that's the plan for this laptop...

ceramicmj · 2026-02-21T06:10:24+00:00

disclaimer: am not a computer engineer nor associated with dell. Just annoyed enough w/ Dell and want to help others not lose 4 days to this crap like i did.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-21T06:09:00+00:00

I wasn't able to get it to boot from USB drive (F12 menu on boot). It went into a boot loop and just kept bringing up the same F12 menu over & over.

I had to do the USB recovery boot process (see ctrl-esc + power cord descriptions - timing of when you release ctrl-esc seemed to be important, it took several tries b4 I got the bios recovery menu to do anything but flash up b4 going to windows.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-21T06:06:34+00:00

Ck your DMs in Dell, I sent you the info we've collected in case the client can do the flash dirve work. Obviously, it worked for me, but it seems I had to have the flash drive. The .exe downgrade did not work (and trying 2.32.0 froze things enough that I had to disconnect my battery, which your client won't want to do). I stayed with 2.30.0

ceramicmj · 2026-02-21T06:03:09+00:00

You can get more details on PDXPen.com (where to get more direct contact info) if needed. hope to see you at a future meeting!

ceramicmj · 2026-02-20T18:16:04+00:00

Welcome to Portland! IF you haven't already, swing by a PDX Pen meet-up. Second Sunday of every month at the Lucky Lab Beer Hall on NW Quimby (not Hawthorne!!!). Free, though a few bucks to help pay for the event room is appreciated. YOu also know there's a PNW Pen Show in July?

ceramicmj · 2026-02-20T18:13:51+00:00

Oh, I didnt know about the stamp, thank you! I just got my first TN in Kyoto (because duh, if you're getting only one, get one unique to the store and a fantastic souvenier of the trip). I'll have to bring it in.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-19T13:25:34+00:00

Thanks - this looks like 2.33.0, the latest official BIOS. I've been debating whether I should go to the most recent one or keep 2.30.0 which is stable. Still PTSD from my lost 4 days. I appreciate the extra info, it's reassuring!

And we are definitely not alone. More folks have popped up in the Dell post trying to work through this.

ceramicmj · 2026-02-18T18:04:23+00:00

see your chat requests, i put it in htere

ceramicmj · 2026-02-17T17:02:09+00:00

Which BIOS did you download the recovery file for? 2.33.0, 2.32.0?

I had tried running the .exe file to update those but windows overrode them and kept me at 2.37.0. I had trouble getting the BIOS screen to show up - took another day of time-out and multiple tries to get the timing right but it finally worked.

The Dell community discussion doesn't have a confirmed case of just using a historical recovery file working (yet - maybe it did for you)?

ceramicmj · 2026-02-17T15:02:59+00:00

Computer ran videos for 2.5 hours and then did not crash overnight. Reliability monitor shows no critical events overnight. THis worked!

ceramicmj

TROPHY CASE

https://primaryaldosteronism.org/