The entire journey is very inspiring. I wonder what she will do now that it's done? You could take this idea and run with it into other niches, like music or photography projects.
Or if you're really ambitious (also: independently wealthy), try a new niche each day. Must have been draining coming up with a new toy-size web project to do daily...
This is by far the most interesting aspect of her journey. What was her process for coming up with 180 unique ideas over 180 days? It's like there's some secret wellspring of creativity she happened to stumble across.
When I think about what she's accomplished here, I get stuck in a mental loop like, "How the heck did she think of 180 projects, each able to be completed by a non-veteran developer within a single 8-hour work session, and then unfailingly complete them all?"
"Before I started the project I freaked out and wrote down a list of every idea I could think of. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to run out of ideas but I usually get inspired by what I've been working on."
a good friend of mine had done a similar photo project a few years ago: 100 days of kissing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/29413748@N00/sets/7215762279459...). He was capturing a "kiss a day" with his girlfriend in front of a different London landmark for 100 consecutive days :)
I was really taken aback by the "Paul Graham is Gay" in the background. Seems like that line is in poor taste unless there's some inside joke, which is not mean-spirited, that I don't know about.
Other than that, great work. I admire the author's dedication and her ability to create so many great apps on such a tight deadline.
How can you assume it was NOT her? Well no one knows for sure whether it WAS her or not, and it's highly likely that it was NOT her, but it's still possible that it WAS her. Just saying.
Paul Graham is gay -- is not derogatory unless you think being gay is wrong; it's simply factually inaccurate. Like saying, "Harry Potter is in Ravenclaw." Which is offensive if you have a prejudice against Ravenclaws.
I just want to second that this book is great. Ignore any negative inclination you feel because it's called fan fiction. It's fanfiction the way John Gardner's Grendel is Beowulf fanfiction.
I assume you are aware that when someone claims that someone else is homosexual, when that isn't actually true, 90%+ of the time it is meant as a derogatory statement, and should be interpreted as such regardless of the listener's gender politics. Unless you actually believe that all the children in online video games using this same terminology aren't actually malicious, just factually inaccurate. In which case I have a bridge to sell you.
Of course the GP knows that, and he is rejecting the use as an insult and substituting the idea that someone attempting that is saying something nonsensical; "wow this water sure is dry". I think it's awesome.
To me it just sounds like someone being needlessly difficult and nit-picky, which we have plenty of on this site without pretending that connotation doesn't exist.
Yes, it can be seen as nit-picky, but I don't think the person is pretending the connotation doesn't exist. Maybe they're just trying to start the long process of de-teething that connotation so that in maybe 50 years saying someone is gay might actually mean, once again, that they are extremely happy.
It's a next to impossible task, like the people who would like to reclaim the swastika back to its original peaceful meaning, but it's great to try.
I wasn't trying to be nit-picky, as nekopa discerned. I am aware of the derogatory connotation and choosing to dismiss the homophobic person by treating them like an ignorant child. I've rarely seen argument ever convince someone they're wrong; Instead, I do not legitimize their bigotry and save myself valuable time.
Like a person using a racial slur -- they immediately demonstrate the quality of their character.
That's an interesting argument. It reminds me of Louis C.K.'s routine about how "no words are bad, but they become bad because people start using them to hurt other people."
It's exciting to think we can take words like "gay," which are used in some contexts to hurt people, and strip away their negative connotations.
Having said that, I don't see any evidence to suggest that the commenter was trying to innovate on the term. He or she should have written, "PAUL GRAHAM IS GAY, WHICH ISN'T TRUE, BUT IF IT WERE TRUE, IT WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIS CHARACTER OR VALUE AS A PERSON."
But then again, I guess if you're writing in all caps, you must be very angry and in a hurry. Probably didn't have time to deal with nuances.
I didn't write the original comment on the site. I was just commenting on the response to it. In two separate discussions of the use of "gay," people brought up the Louis CK clip. He's also one of my favourite comics and it tickled me that disparate people had the exact same line of reasoning.
Cool! Where does the "Say something! > Send" field go when I click send?
EDIT: Nevermind, it looks like the confetti dots were previously words, and displayed unfiltered user input from the form. Always hilarious, always dangerous, this thing with the unmoderated user input.
Do you not understand what she is trying to do? This is not an MVP, a tech demo, being entered in design competitions, meant to conform to any specs or requirement... it is to learn.
Why does it matter if the images is of bacon and sushi? The way you interact with images do not depend upon their content.
Hope more newcomers will learn from you and make such goals. Not just in the field of Web Development, but also other fields. Thanks for always sticking to your goal. Good Luck !
The site is inspiring. Unfortunately the "rate limit this" and other stupid comments are annoying. The internet is 12 year olds, I guess... whaddaya expect
I was involved in a company that hosted and rented servers for video games. It grew really big, but shut down solely on the basis of, "these 12 year olds are going to drive us insane."
+1 to say it out loud that "Programming is a hands-on activity". Imagine the inspiration she could be to countless people who, for various reasons, are afraid to even begin programming/continue after the initial(failed) efforts.
As a side note, I have on countless nights been coding in my sleep. Sometimes I'll wake up realizing there is a bug in yesterday's code or having gained some insight on a new concept. Other times I wake up and wonder why I was trying to code an app to cook me ramen noodles.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 172 ms ] threadWhen I think about what she's accomplished here, I get stuck in a mental loop like, "How the heck did she think of 180 projects, each able to be completed by a non-veteran developer within a single 8-hour work session, and then unfailingly complete them all?"
Congrats, Jennifer!
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6097456
Wow. Kudos!
I've actually seen this kind of thing on a company page beforehand. There's really no excuse in that environment.
Other than that, great work. I admire the author's dedication and her ability to create so many great apps on such a tight deadline.
So some people in the HN community are sophomoric, not the author, which makes more sense. :p
anyone can type in the box to add text
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19
Well actually... In a certain really good HP fanfiction, Harry Potter is in fact a Ravenclaw.
http://hpmor.com
It's a next to impossible task, like the people who would like to reclaim the swastika back to its original peaceful meaning, but it's great to try.
Like a person using a racial slur -- they immediately demonstrate the quality of their character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcja4WFFzDw
It's exciting to think we can take words like "gay," which are used in some contexts to hurt people, and strip away their negative connotations.
Having said that, I don't see any evidence to suggest that the commenter was trying to innovate on the term. He or she should have written, "PAUL GRAHAM IS GAY, WHICH ISN'T TRUE, BUT IF IT WERE TRUE, IT WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIS CHARACTER OR VALUE AS A PERSON."
But then again, I guess if you're writing in all caps, you must be very angry and in a hurry. Probably didn't have time to deal with nuances.
EDIT: Nevermind, it looks like the confetti dots were previously words, and displayed unfiltered user input from the form. Always hilarious, always dangerous, this thing with the unmoderated user input.
http://i.imgur.com/zYsc6oa.jpg
PS stop being a goddam grouch
Why does it matter if the images is of bacon and sushi? The way you interact with images do not depend upon their content.
Just kidding, great job! What's next? I'm sure you've already received a handful of job offers.
(HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6097155)
Programming is a hand-on activity, and the best way to learn programming is by doing it every day, in every way, till you can do it in your sleep.