[Launch School] Community Update - February 21, 2024

Hi, everybody! It's Philip with the latest Launch School Community Update. It's a beautiful February here in Chicago, and you never know what you'll see on a walk around the neighborhood. The other day, I was surprised by this tender scene. Is this how large construction vehicles care for their offspring during the harsh winter? [Trucks] But enough cuddling trucks - let's talk about coding tracks! Important Updates The Python Track The Python Track is off and running and proving to be quite exciting! We have Slack channels for all Python Track courses, such as #py101-109 and #py110-119. We also have Slack channels for all of our other courses. See the complete list [here](. You can find that list in the #general channel bookmarks in Slack. Python Exercise Videos The [Introduction to Programming in Python book]( now has companion videos for all exercises. Brandi did a great job on these! If you've already read the book, consider going back to view the videos in each "Exercises" section. New Ways To View Exercise Solutions Don't feel left out if you're doing exercises on the [Exercises page]( rather than in the books. There's a cool new feature for everyone. When looking through the user-submitted solutions for an exercise, you can now sort solutions by date, author, or (most exciting) number of likes! Give it a try - what old but well-loved solutions bubble up to the top? [Exercises] New Podcasts We have two new podcast episodes for your listening pleasure! - In [Launch School Explained](, Chris Lee talks with Brandi about the origin and evolution of Launch School. After that, Chris answers the most frequently asked questions from students. - Next, we have an interview with [Alex Strick van Linschoten](. Chris and Alex discuss Alex's background as a history PhD researcher in Afghanistan. Then, they move to the present, discussing Alex's machine-learning work. Upcoming Workshops There are lots of workshops on the horizon. To mention just a few: - In [Demystifying How The Internet Works](, you'll explore the fundamentals of the Internet. What is all this stuff? What kind of stuff gets sent down an Ethernet cable? What's a router when you get right down to it? And much more! - In [HTML 101](, you'll learn basic HTML - everything you need to start building your own webpages! Many more workshops are coming up, covering everything from CSS to soft skills. You can find the complete list [here]( Peer-Led Seminars Two new seminars have been added to our archive of peer-led seminars: "Getting To Know Elixir" and "The Zen Of Python". You can find these and other seminars in the [archives](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Routine Updates The Women's Group The Launch School Women's Group had a meetup just a few days ago! This was a more informal gathering - a space for everyone to get to know one another, talk about what led them to Launch School, and share study techniques. The next session will be on March 14th and will feature a Q&A with LS staff member Karis Tobias. Karis is someone with a lot of valuable insight to share - this is going to be good. For more information, including how to sign up, check out this [forum post](. Medium Articles This was a great month for Medium articles! Caleb gave us a splendidly written article on how best practices encourage expressive, readable code. It's the only Medium article you'll read this year that includes a pastiche of William Jennings Bryan: caleb-p/on-best-practices-and-why-we-should-follow-them-112142884f26 Meanwhile, Derek shared his strategy for breaking down and building up an algorithm. Take a look - this might change how you solve problems with code! derek.novak1/the-secret-to-a-strong-pedac-algorithm-7c0988f5c9be Meetups There have been lots of meetups lately! There was a meetup in [Portland](: [Portland Meetup] (Where did Pete get that [cool shirt](?) A few days later and 2,700 miles to the east, we had a meetup in [Toronto](. [Toronto Meetup] Now go back 2,700 miles west and up a little bit - could that be a [Vancouver meetup](? [Vancouver Meetup] Do you wish you were hanging out with Launch School students and grads? I've got some good news: - If you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, there's a meetup planned for March 22nd. Check out the #dallasfortworth channel for more information. - If you live elsewhere, there might be a meetup being planned near you! Browse the many Slack channels to see if you can find a regional channel for your part of the world. If there isn't one, feel free to start one up! --------------------------------------------------------------- That's everything! A lot is going on everywhere in the Launch School community. Staff are adding features and publishing content, students are studying together and sharing their ideas, and many people are meeting up live! You love to see it. We'll be in touch with another Community Update soon. For now, here's a snapshot of my coworker Henning. We have a little agreement where I do the studying, and he takes care of the sleeping: [Henning] --------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to stop receiving emails from us, you can use the one-click link below to unsubscribe. [Unsubscribe From All Email]( [Unsubscribe From Weekly Summaries](