Developer Diary: August 2019

31/08/2019

I have often written blogs in a “developer diary” format for conferences or meetups, but I thought I’d try just writing what I have been up to month to month for an accurate description of dev life… it’s not all conference talks & side projects! I love getting recommendations for podcasts, blog posts or books to read. I thought it would be cool to share this stuff & keep a diary.

August was a busy one both in and out of work, with a week in the sun at the end of it 😎

Meetups

GLUUG- A meetup I organise every 2 months is the Glasgow Umbraco meetup. This month we discussed v8 and we had a great talk from Tom Madden about his experience with the latest version of Umbraco. I also had 2 days of Umbraco training this same week so it was a busy Umbraco week!

Code Craft - This month was a guided conversation on Mentoring. It was a great discussion with various point of views from developers from different work environments and at different points in their career. 

Ladies of Code -  I couldn't make it to the meetup this month as I was on holiday, but August marks our 3 year birthday of Glasgow meetup! As I mentioned on twitter, we have had 29 events and have ~ 700 members, I am super proud of our wee group!

Podcasts

CodeCraftCastA great episode with the awesome Suzanne Lee discussing her exciting work using VR to help people with dementia.

Table MannersA new one for me although it's being going for a few seasons now, Jessie Ware and her mum cooking dinner and interviewing guests. They have had some great guests from politicians to movie stars. 

The High Low- I have a feeling I will mention this one everytime! Although they have had a break this month, I have been listening to old episodes from before I listened to it regularly. I was on holiday so this was my by the pool listen.

Kubernetes Podcast- with guest Angie Maguire. Always cool to hear other Scottish developers influencing the tech world, even better when it's the Ladies of Code founder.

I have also been enjoying *many* podcasts in the genre of "discussing episodes of old TV shows I love". The Simpsons, One Tree Hill, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec. Great for when commuting and just want some thing fun to listen to.

Books

The September Issue- well, not a book but a magazine. The September issue of Vogue had a great cover with a collection of women who are "Forces for change". Jamie & I decided to make a HTML version where people can edit the code to add images of their own inspirational women. Can be forked on GitHub here: https://github.com/crgrieve/september-issue-code

Invisible Women- I mentioned this in the last blog... I finally finished it. Yay!

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World- A book by Melinda Gates about empowering women around the world. I am a few chapters in and I am really enjoying it. I love Melinda's honesty and discussion of her experiences visiting countries around the world.

Everything I know about Love by Dolly Alderton- As one of the hosts of the High Low and someone about my age, I enjoy hearing Dolly's stories of growing up in the UK (remember chatting to friends on MSN messenger?!) and about friendships. I am listening to this on audiobook.

Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling- Another audiobook, a fun listen discussing her observations of growing up and working in TV industry.

Everything I Never Told You-  This was my holiday read. I don't read alot of fiction, but always try to read a novel on holiday. This was an interesting mystery with alot of discussion of family and race in America in the 70s.

 

Theatre

 

Not a category I would normally get to list but I went to the theatre twice this month. How fancy!

The Guilty Feminist - I went on my first ever trip to the Edinburgh Fringe! My mum and I went to see a live recording of The Guilty Feminist. A podcast I love and listen to regularly so it was great to see it live.

Amelie: The Musical- I really loved this show! Not going to lie, I am not usually a fan of musicals, but this was fab! 

TV/ Movies

 

This Way Up- A funny and heartbreaking show written and starring the awesome Aisling Bea. I watched it all in 2 days! 

Easy to Learn, Hard to Master: The Fate of Atari - A documentary about the creation of Atari, from arcade games to consoles. Not going to lie, as fascinating as it was, I found myself getting annoyed watching it as it forms so much of the Silicon Valley blueprint that companies follow now. Still, an interesting watch for any techies.

Iron Cowboy (Netflix) - An attempt to do 50 ironman races in 50 days. Sounds like my kind of documentary, right?! Fie and I found ourselves confused and frustrated watching this documentary. It's hard to explain, give it a watch if endurance sport is your thing.

 

Trips to cinema this month:

* Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

* Spiderman: Far from home

 

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I then had a week in Spain with lots of running and podcast listening. A much needed break ready for a busy September!