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
CodeCraftCast- A great episode with the awesome Suzanne Lee discussing her exciting work using VR to help people with dementia.
Table Manners- A 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!