Free Ways to Learn Programming?

February 28, 2015 C.L. Owen Leave a comment

Do you want to know how to make a website? Or a mobile phone app? There are several ways to learn Javascript, HTML, Python, PHP, SQL, CSS, and Ruby for free online.

Future Learn – Begin Programming: Build Your First Mobile Game
Learn simple Java programming to make a game for Android phones or tablets.

edX - Introduction to Computer Science
A self-paced Harvard class you can audit for free.

Code Academy
Classes for HTML & CSS, Javascript, JQuery, Python, Ruby, and PHP.

Khan Academy
Offers instruction so “you can learn how to code computer programs, how to design algorithms that make computers more efficient, and discover what a career in computing could look like. “

Learn to Code the Hard Way
Books teaching Python, Ruby, SQL, Regex and a Command Line crash course are free to read online.

W3Schools
HTML, CSS, Javascript, SQL, PHP, and JQuery. Includes an active discussion forum.

HTML Dog
Tutorials on HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

Ruby Monk
Beginner, intermediate and advanced interactive tutorials to learn Ruby.

Codingbat
Java and Python interactive tutorials.

Try Python
Interactive Python tutorials.

Python – Python for Beginners
Python.org offers instruction, Python community, and documentation available in multiple languages.

Ruby-lang.org
Downloads, instructions, and Ruby community with user groups, weblogs, and newsgroups.

Food & Drink

10 Best Video Cooking Channels?

February 27, 2015 C.L. Owen Leave a comment

Hilah Cooking – Nice basic recipes, easy to listen to and easy to follow along. If you don’t know how to cook, start here. The videos will make you feel like you’re hanging out with a friend while she teaches you some great recipes. She also a blog.

Food Wishes – Video instructions, plus blog, for making lots of tasty dishes. Do I really need to say anything other than “Loaded Baked Potato Dip”?

Wantanmien – Chinese cooking. The videos are narrated in Cantonese but have English subtitles.

Maangchi – Lots of traditional Korean food cooking videos. I wish I had known about this channel when I was watching the Korean drama Let’s Eat. I would have been checking after every episode to see if I could find the recipes for some of the dishes they had. Fortunately I found it in time for Let’s Eat 2! And something that I’ve seen in more dramas than I can count, seaweed soup, a traditional birthday fare.

Epic Meal Time – I nominate this channel to be “the one with the most recipes that will kill you, but you will die happy.” For example, the Couch Potato…or Potato Couch.

Ochikeron – A variety of Japanese recipes, including some very impressive bento box lunches, with instructions in English.

Sorted Food – ~~Four tasty looking British guys share their recipes.~~ Four British guys share their tasty looking recipes.

Cooking With Dog – Japanese dishes with step-by-step descriptions “provided by” a cute French poodle named Francis.

How To Cook That – Ann Reardon demonstrates how to make spectacular and unusual looking desserts. She also has a blog where she writes out the recipes she shows in the videos.

Manjula’s Kitchen – Indian Vegetarian dishes, including some that are gluten-free. You can find her blog here.

Entertainment

Top 6 My Little Ponies?

February 25, 2015 C.L. Owen Leave a comment

AppleJack. A spunky, friendly and of course honest pony, she takes the place of number 6 on this list. Applejack is hard working and protective of her friends and family, and while inherently good these can lead to trouble when she becomes overly protective, causing thick tension between her and others, or wearing herself out and still promising to do more.

Pinkie Pie. Always ready to party and make others laugh, Pinkie pie is at number 5 with her optimistic attitude and excited behaviour. It’s awesome having someone who’s almost always smiling, except when her somewhat over dramatic attitude ends with her saying something incredibly upsetting with the same upbeat tone as she does everything else.

Rarity. A giving, gorgeous and sweet girl, Rarity’s posh attitude makes her come off as snobby- and she is! But in the end, she’s a loving and kind pony who is always ready to give to others, expecting nothing in return but maybe a smile. Rarity is a bit snobbish and over dramatic, but she still takes number 4 for her generous ways and amazing fashion sense.

Rainbow Dash. She’s fast, witty and loyal, Rainbow takes number 3 as her awesome attitude and amazing athletic abilities make her an amazing friend and occasional hero. Rainbow’s awesome, and while it’s great to have a lot of self confidence, Rainbow can be very egotistical, leading to her doubting her abilities if she’s unable to complete something, or overestimating them and in the end harming or endangering others.

Fluttershy. Adorable, amazingly adorable Fluttershy is at number 2. She loves animals, all animals, from small to scary she’s almost always ready to lend a hoof in aid of hurt, scared or hungry critters. Fluttershy is kind, completely and totally, except this kindness causes problems for her, she’s a bit of a pushover even to the animals she cares for so dearly, but she knows when to put a hoof down and say ‘enough is enough’.

Sunset Shimmer. Smart, determined and beautiful Sunset reigns at number 1. She’s funny, she’s cute, and she’s learning all about friendship, similar to the viewers- though hopefully they never turned into a demonic monster and tried to take over the school, and Equestria.Sunset is very sweet and gentle, despite our first impression of her in Equestria Girls, where she wasn’t exactly the nicest, Sunset really is a kind girl who just wanted something deeply, and didn’t know there was any other way to get it. She’s become a close friend to the girls of Canterlot High, and with each new adventure they grow closer and she learns more about the truest and best magic of all: Friendship.

Entertainment

Best Live Albums of the 1970s?

February 25, 2015 C.L. Owen Leave a comment

Here are my 10 favorites, by release date.

Live at Leeds – The Who

Live album recorded and released in 1970, it set a standard for the decade’s albums to try to match.

4 Way Street – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

The groups first live album, released in 1971. It’s a little bit folk, a little bit rock, and a lot of 1960’s hippy protest music.

At Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Band

1971 live album by the Allman Brothers. Duane Allman would die later that year after a motorcycle accident.

Jazz Blues Fusion – John Mayall

Album by British blues guitarist John Mayall, recorded in 1971, released in 1972.

Hot August Night – Neil Diamond

1972 double album, a recording of a concert in Los Angeles, CA.

One More From the Road – Lynyrd Skynyrd

1976 album, the only live album they recorded before the airplane deaths of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines.

The Song Remains the Same – Led Zeppelin

Recorded in 1973, released in 1976 along with their concert film of the same name.

Wings Over America – Wings

A three record set released in December 1976. Paul McCartney’s band performed some of their best songs plus some Beatles classics.

Live and Dangerous – Thin Lizzy

Double LP released in 1978. I love it for the music, I love it for Phil Lynott’s sexy Irish accent.

Live Killers – Queen

The last of the albums in this list to be released and also one of the best.

Not on the list but deserving an honorable mention. (On a different day, any of these might have made my list.):

Mad Dogs and Englishmen – Joe Cocker, 1970
Coast to Coast: Overture and Beginners – Rod Stewart and The Faces, 1974
Frampton Comes Alive! – Peter Frampton, 1976
The Last Waltz – The Band, 1978
Two for the Show – Kansas, 1978
Waiting for Columbus – Little Feat, 1978

Politics

3 Branches of US Government?

February 20, 2015 C.L. Owen Leave a comment

The Executive Branch – This is the President (Commander in Chief), Vice President and the President’s Cabinet. The Cabinet is made up of the heads of 15 executive departments and they advise the President:

Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Homeland Security
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of State
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Treasury
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Attorney General

The Legislative Branch – the Senate and the House of Representatives. They make the laws. There are 100 Senators, two from each state, and 435 Representatives. The number of Representatives a state has depends on that state’s population. California has the most (53) and Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming each have only one.

The Judicial Branch - The Supreme Court, which has 9 justices, and the other Federal Courts.

What Are The?com

Monthly Archives: February 2015