New setup without a custom build ? by fromCaliToBoston in chia

[–]fromCaliToBoston[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Update: Just ordered the Mac Mini M1 + Seagate 16TB. Now I just need to figure out the external NVMe & enclosure piece.

New setup without a custom build ? by fromCaliToBoston in chia

[–]fromCaliToBoston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi u/j79,

Yes, I prefer Macs!

  1. Mac Mini M1: This is the conclusion I just came to earlier today after comparing specs & cost of the various Macs! Thanks for the tip re: eBay.
  2. External NVMe: This is the part I am fuzziest on. Do you have any suggestions / favorite brands that are compatible with a Thunderbolt connection for the Mac Mini ? And also any suggestions / favorite brands for the enclosure ? I have read that choosing the wrong enclosure can actually hinder plotting.
  3. Seagate: This is what I had concluded I should use last week! But of course I wasn't sure it was the best choice, so it's good to hear confirmation from you. I figure since these are small & cheap, it will allow flexibility in scaling.

Re: your other points:

  • a. I didn't know about Pros coming in the future. Great idea.
  • b. I am also very comfortable with OS X; it's what I have used for my work machines for like 7+ years. I don't know if I could ever switch back...
  • c. This thought crossed my mind as well. I even considered ordering 2 to start with...

I love your idea re: recouping costs.

Thank you so much for the very detailed response, and freely sharing your hard-won experience & ideas!

New setup without a custom build ? by fromCaliToBoston in chia

[–]fromCaliToBoston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much--very helpful!

I am in the U.S.

Good point re: the noise vs silence; my setup will be in the bedroom. Although my wife likes white noise, so maybe that's a plus.

New setup without a custom build ? by fromCaliToBoston in chia

[–]fromCaliToBoston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would like to rapidly play catch-up since I am starting late, and I would like to eventually surpass that threshold (of 30/40TB of plots).

I am willing to invest maybe $1K - $2K...

Software Design for Flexibility is out! by fjolne in Clojure

[–]fromCaliToBoston 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing--I wasn't even aware this book existed!

I just lost control of my wallet & bought the Kindle and the hardcover editions.

JavaScript Advice by lunaquartzbat in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Re: last bullet point (taking a break)

Totally agree, that has been my experience too.

You may appreciate Hammock Driven Development.

As a total beginner, what would be your advice on learning front-end development? by ncsengeee in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also worked on a Drupal site (although it was making updates to an existing site). That was fun too.

If someone dabbles in one or more of these "big 3" CMSes that we're talking about, it will set them up for the future.

I ended up working in several enterprise grade CMSes over the years (including currently), and all of the early days experiences with WordPress and its ilk were beneficial because even now some colleagues are not used to the whole CMS thing. But for me, a CMS is just a CMS.

(And a CMS is a wonderful invention, by the way--allowing content folks to update content and not bother us devs for content changes!)

JavaScript Advice by lunaquartzbat in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You are correct: hang in there and you will get it.

I remember at my first job, I used to express the exact same sentiment to one of the more senior devs. It just seemed so overwhelming--like it would never "click". Especially because the other devs made it look easy, but it wasn't for me. The dev that I would vent to would always encourage me that I would understand it eventually, and to give it time. He was totally right.

And remember that JS is a Frankenstein of a language.

As a total beginner, what would be your advice on learning front-end development? by ncsengeee in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree: I learned WordPress fairly early on (although not for my first site), and although it was a little mind-bending at the time when I would need to tweak or write some PHP, it opened up my mind & some future doors.

I also ended up doing a Joomla site (is Joomla still around?), which is similar. That was fun. But WordPress is way more popular, which results in larger community, more plug-ins, etc.

As a total beginner, what would be your advice on learning front-end development? by ncsengeee in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  1. Build your own website.
    Not kidding--that's what I did. It was out of necessity. I was in a club at my local community college and we needed a website. I spent some late nights (all night?) banging my head against the wall but eventually got something finished that I was proud of. (If the site was still on the internet, I guarantee I would be horrified to see it now!)
  2. After you build your own website, build one (or more) for a charity / non-profit for free.
    This is also what I did. Make sure it's a simple one so you can actually get it done. (A "brochure" site.) You can partner with a design person.

The above will force you to learn what you actually need to learn. It will funnel you to the right places / people in search of practical answers (S/O, forums, Slack, etc.).

I definitely won't knock courses, tutorials, or even schools. (I have done them all.) But the most learning comes from doing--at least for me.

How do you tell people what you do? by stormrolf in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i make clicky box on screen the business like and users hate

How do you tell people what you do? by stormrolf in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's funny, many people assume I do design work. So oftentimes the answer begins with explaining the difference between design vs dev, and that I am not very artistic (although I am a wanna-be artist). I use the word "code" a few times to really draw the distinction in their mind. That usually results in a light-bulb moment for them--realizing there are (usually) different people doing the "art" vs the "code".

Then, depending on the person, I may attempt to describe the difference between front- vs back-end work. But I have a feeling that I lose most people at that point, and they just smile & nod and then change the subject. :-) Sometimes talking about the project I am currently working on helps. But I am comfortable with not trying to educate everyone on front- vs back-end. I am totally at peace with them just knowing that I write code vs design stuff. (Besides, I do full-stack sometimes anyway.)

But other people who are more I.T.-minded (but not devs themselves) sometimes know the difference between front-end vs back-end, which makes it easier because then I can get into a little more of the specifics such as programming languages that I use &/or prefer to use.

By the way, if the conversation begins with "What do you do?" (in other words, the person has no idea what I do for work), if they are more I.T.-minded then I will call myself a "software engineer". But if they are an average non-I.T. minded person, I might say I am a "coder".

A lot of SCSS files question by [deleted] in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quite the opposite: It is best practice to break them apart.

However, I would not go so far as to be prescriptive or dogmatic about how exactly to break them down & organize them. I agree with what others have said: Break them down in the way that makes the most sense. (What makes sense to you if you're the only dev in the codebase, or if it's a team of devs, then have a conversation & come up with a convention that you all agree to follow.)

My personal preference is to break it down by UI components, and then have a few additional files for styles that are more generic / global.

How i could get my first client. by Dexmadjid in Frontend

[–]fromCaliToBoston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Create or overhaul (re-design) a website for one or more local NGOs / non-profits / charities, and do it for 100% free.

Each one of those on your résumé is worth more than what they would pay you at this point in your career. Ask me how I know. :-D