development

Developments in... development

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I’m back! When last your intrepid hero checked in, I’d created a shell of an iOS app that could contact my server and retrieve some data to put on the screen. I’m here to inform you that I’ve made progress!

Mobile and web chat messages!

As you can see, I’ve also named the app GATHER, which was suggested by Mary. I’ve also taken the opportunity to make things in the iOS client a little prettier, though I’m not sure if I’ve settled on the color palette yet.

I’m also continuing the job search. I’ve had two first-round interviews, including a take-home tech assessment, and have a second-round interview scheduled for next week. Stay tuned!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

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I’ve been an absentee landlord.

Letting this site languish. My bad.

So, update time! I’m unemployed! But it’s okay! For now!

It’s a trope when people in long-term relationships say they could never survive the dating landscape were they to be suddenly single again, and the job hunting landscape seems a lot like that, at least for someone who’d been in the same steady full-time job for 8 years. Tough sledding for the dumped.

Anyway, the literal day after, I essentially woke up with an idea for a project that I could use to both occupy my time, and put on my resumé, since essentially everything I have worked on for the last 8 years is locked in a private GitHub repo, and would only be visible to someone who was a customer of my former employer. NOT GREAT BOB DOT GIF. I’m not going to go into too much detail, not like I think you’re going to steal my idea, but it’s essentially a chat app. I’m starting with a web interface, since that’s what I know best, but I’m also hoping to spin up a mobile (iOS) app to see if I can flex some learning muscles. I’ve got a working prototype with a remote database and WebSocket server running!

Two windows side-by-side showing a chat conversation between two users.

Harry and Bob are chatting

This proves out that my server-side code works, so my next step is to start working on the iOS client. This might take a little longer, but in this new era of “vibe coding”, I for one appreciate our new AI overlords and look forward to working with Chatty G to write some code. What could possibly go wrong!

New Project: "Hello, World!"

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Welcome back, folks. Today I'm starting a new project, which is upgrading my self. Today was my first day at The Iron Yard, a code school here in Indianapolis. The Iron Yard has campuses around the country, but in Indy I'm enrolled in the Web Development Career Path course, where, in 12 weeks, I hope to come out the other end with the skills to land a job in web development. 

Now, I know what some of you are thinking: Jason, you have a website! I'm reading it right now! Why the hell do you need a class?!?

Well, to be honest, right now Squarespace is doing the heavy lifting for this site. I type things in boxes and click this and that, and poof! these pages appear. Nobody is going to hire me to design their website in Squarespace. Not for any kind of meaningful salary, anyway. So, here I am! Picking up a new hustle.

Today was all about brushing up on some fundamentals, getting comfy with Terminal and the command line, and getting to know my fellow students. Everyone is really on board, helping each other out, and I get the feeling we'll all have each other's backs for the next three months and on.

More news as news develops! Thanks for stopping by.