Mariaagnesi-fangirl-blog - The Farmer's Daughter

A Good Old-Fashioned Midwestern Apocalypse

food is THE love language. let me bake you some fucking bread.

Generic Coding Tips

>> Know the intent of your code. What is the purpose of your code? What should the inputs be? What should it output? It can be useful (especially for larger projects) to write out a flow chart that maps how information moves from task to task through the program.

>> Divide your code into sections that fulfill specific tasks, then chain them together. Sometimes it’s worth devoting a code section to its own file to be used by multiple programs rather than coding multiple instances of the same thing into each program. Consider what tasks might be useful for future programs.

>> Create a main project folder and don’t be afraid to use subfolders. Folder hierarchies are your friend when it comes to juggling multiple files in an easy-to-understand manner.

>> Consider having a “resources” subfolder, with pdfs, webpages, etc. of information relevant to your project. For example, I’m currently working on a program to calculate relic densities, so my project folder has a resource subfolder with research papers about relic densities. 

>> Comment your code! Seriously, future you will appreciate it. (I usually also keep a README.txt file in the same folder which describes how to implement the code.)  In the same vein, explicitly state any conventions you’re using and where you’re getting any data you import.

>> Test each section as you build it. Throw in sample values (preferably where you know what the output should be) periodically and make sure it’s doing what you want it to do!

>> SAVE WORKING VERSIONS OF YOUR CODE. Do you have a working build? Save it, then–before augmenting anything–create a new file and work on the next version of the code there. I do this usually via “save” and then “save as”.  Version control is to coding as save points are to video games.

>> Generating a lot of data? Consider saving a sample instance of that data in a subfolder. It can be a massive pain to troubleshoot portions of your program if you have to wait to generate hundreds of data points every time you run it. 

>> Getting an unknown error in a massive amount of code? Isolate the section of code containing the error(s), then create a minimal working example of the section, and keep adding to that example until you either figure out 1. why your original code failed, or 2. until you’ve constructed a new functioning code.

Big beautiful spiral galaxy M101

“People can’t anticipate how much they’ll miss the natural world until they are deprived of it. I have read about submarine crewmen who haunt the sonar room, listening to whale songs and colonies of snapping shrimp. Submarine captains dispense “periscope liberty” - a chance to gaze at clouds and birds and coastlines - and remind themselves that the natural world still exists. I once met a man who told me that after landing in Christchurch, New Zealand, after a winter at the South Pole research station, he and his companions spent a couple of days just wandering around staring in awe at flowers and trees. At one point, one of them spotted a woman pushing a stroller. “A baby!” he shouted, and they all rushed across the street to see. The woman turned the stroller and ran. Nothing tops space as a barren, unnatural environment. Astronauts who had no prior interest in gardening spend hours tending experimental greenhouses. “They are our love,” said cosmonaut Vladislav Volkov of the tiny flax plants - with which they shared the confines of Salyut 1, the first Soviet space station. At least in orbit, you can look out the window and see the natural world below. On a Mars mission, once astronauts lose sight of Earth, they’ll be nothing to see outside the window. “You’ll be bathed in permanent sunlight, so you won’t eve see any stars,” astronaut Andy Thomas explained to me. “All you’ll see is black.””

— Mary Roach. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void.  (via hummeline)

Our Lady of Snow in Prague, Czech Republic

Picture taken by Me.

Leonid meteors tonight and tomorrow night