Untitled

I was asked to make a masterpost on websites like Codecademy, so I’ve tried to compile a list of the best (and mostly free!!). In no particular order: 

1. Codecademy [x]

I couldn’t not include Codecademy! Just in case you haven’t checked it out, it’s pretty neat. It has courses for learning languages and web developer skills.

Languages: Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, HTML/CSS

Extras: Git, SQL, Command Line, AngularJS, Ruby on Rails

2. Code School [x]

This is pretty similar to Codecademy with the in-browser coding and such. It also has additional features like teaching videos. A good introduction to programming languages.

Languages: Python, Ruby, Javascript, HTML/CSS

Extra: iOS development with Objective-C or Swift, Git, SQL

3. Learnaroo [x]

Has tutorials followed by mini challenges based on the concepts you’ve just learnt! It also has some reference pages called “Learn x by Example”. Looks pretty good.

Languages: Python, Java, Ruby, HTML/CSS

Extra: Algorithms, Mathematics, + a bunch of premium membership stuff

4. Learn … 

A set of related websites (see below) which have mini tutorials on language concepts followed by mini challenges, similar to Learnaroo.

Languages: Python, Java, C, C#,  JavaScipt, PHP, Shell

5. Code Combat [x]

Basically, it turns learning to code into a game! As you move through the levels, new concepts are introduced, so the code you need to write to play the game gets harder. 

Languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Clojure, Lua

6. Codingame [x]

Similar idea to Code Combat, but a little more advanced. 

Languages: Python, Java, Ruby, C, C++, C#, Haskell, VB … there’s actually loads it supports.

7. Code Wars [x]

This is more for ‘training’ with a language you already know. It offers plenty of practice through challenges, so it’s really good for improving your coding skills. 

Languages: Python, Ruby, Java, C#, Haskell, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Clojure

8. Coderbyte [x]

This offers some video tutorials and challenges for a few languages, plus special courses on specific algorithms and bootcamp/interview prep. You need a premium membership for quite a lot of things, though (e.g. I don’t think you can watch any of the videos with a free membership).

Languages: Python, Ruby, JavaScript

Extras: Algorithms, Bootcamp Prep, Job Interview Prep

9. Free Code Camp [x]

Mini tutorials followed by mini challenges. Has a number of courses on the languages below!

Languages: HTML/CSS, jQuery, JavaScript

Extras: Git, Algorithms, + a bunch of projects to complete

10. Programmr [x]

Has courses to learn various languages through doing little exercises/challenges in the browser, similar to previous examples. Also has ‘zones’ for more languages, where you can find challenges, example code and projects people have shared. 

Languages: Python, Java, C++, C#, PHP, jQuery

11. CheckIO [x]

Only offers Python, but I still think it’s really great. You move from level to level, getting challenges which are gradually trickier. Learn by doing!

12. Rails for Zombies [x]

For people who already know a bit of Ruby, but nothing about Ruby on Rails!  Each level begins with a short video followed by interactive challenges where you program Rails in the browser.

Oh no! This sounds retched, puggle. So sorry you’re struggling with this.

Here’s the thing about focusing and productivity advice: it’s not one size fits all. You need to try some different methods for periods of time before you figure out what works for you and that you can stick with. Trial and error takes time, of course, so be patient with yourself.

All else fails, we’ll provide you with some terrifying motivation. If you come back, I’ll just scream “DO THE THING” over and over until it works. That’s healthy and supportive, right? 

Here is some practical advice:

My 25 Secrets to Successfully Working from Home with ADHD 

I Am So Over Productivity Porn 

Eight (Free) Time Management Systems to Try in 2020 

Because of the ~*~power of compound interest~*~.

Right now my high-yield savings account with Ally Bank earns 2.2% APY (annual percentage yield… the amount of interest it accrues in a year). That interest will then be added to the total, and I’ll make interest on my interest. In other words, it compounds over time, making me richer.

My 401(k) and Roth IRA (investment accounts, essentially) earn much, MUCH higher interest. Like, over their lifetimes (about 10 years), they’ve each earned 9% APY on average (with the interest dipping as low as 4% sometimes and as high as 12% given how the stock market is doing at any given time). That interest compounds as well.

So even when my investments are doing poorly, they’re STILL earning more interest than my savings. And even if I LOSE some money on my investments over time because of recessions and dips in the market, I’m still going to come out ahead because of all the compound interest I’ve earned over the life of the investments. Meanwhile, the savings account is perfectly safe and won’t lose money… but for that safety I sacrifice the chance to make a LOT more money.

Allow me to turn to my favorite compound interest calculator!

Let’s say I save $5,000 in a savings account at 2% interest, and invest another $5,000 in a 401(k), Roth IRA, or other form of investment account at 8% interest (settling on an average of 8% for the sake of this explanation, even though stock market interest expectations naturally vary). Here’s how the accounts will look over time:

Savings after 1 year: $5,100

Investments after 1 year: $5,400.00

Savings after 5 years: $5,520.40

Investments after 5 years: $7,346.64

Savings after 10 years: $6,094.97

Investments after 10 years: $10,794.62

And in that scenario, we didn’t even deposit more of our own money. We more than doubled our money within 10 years of investing on the power of compound interest ALONE. By contrast the savings account only earned about a grand. Now imagine if you kept investing more of your own money IN ADDITION to the compound interest.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury… I DO NOT YET REST MY CASE! Because you asked about losing money in a recession. So let’s play with the same numbers, but assuming that after 10 years a recession hits and my investments lose 4% (incidentally, that happened in 2018).

Savings after 10 years: $6,094.97

Investments after 10 years: $10,362.84

Ok ok let’s say something REALLY FUCKING TRAGIC happens and I lose 12% of my investments at year 10. Here’s how that would look:

Savings after 10 years: $6,094.97

Investments after 10 years: $9,499.27

DO YA FEEL ME, SON? ARE YOU PICKING UP WHAT I’M PUTTING DOWN?

The investments still beat the savings. And you still come out WAY ahead of your initial investment.

And yes, I’m definitely simplifying things for the sake of education. Investment returns aren’t technically insured interest the way the money in a savings or checking account is. They’re dividends, and if something apocalyptic like the 2008 crash happens, investment firms can go under (like the Lehman Brothers), taking the entirety of your investments with them. The 2008 crash and subsequent recession was really fucking bad for a number of reasons outside of the stock investments of average people. But that’s not part of the usual life cycle of the stock market: the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Recession of 2008 were outliers. We’re unlikely to suffer a similar crash for many many years to come. And I still hold that under normal circumstances, having an investment account of some kind IN ADDITION TO savings is necessary for your financial future. 

All of which is to say: no risk, no reward. Wise money managers will keep a healthy amount in a high yield savings account for safety’s sake… but keep the majority of their money in investments. If you want more details on how all this works out, here’s what we’ve written:

Investing Deathmatch: Investing in the Stock Market vs. Just… Not

Not Every Savings Account Is Created Equal 

Dafuq Is a Retirement Plan and Why Do You Need One? 

Dafuq Is Interest and How Does It Work for the Forces of Darkness?

A Brief History of the 2008 Crash and Recession: We Were All So Fucked

Ask the Bitches: How Do I Prepare for a Recession?

First things first, make sure you’re not just leaving it in a traditional savings account. Move the majority to a high yield savings account. More on that here:

Not Every Savings Account Is Created Equal 

Next, invest some of it! If a 6 months emergency fund is what you need to feel secure, put every dollar over that amount into an investment account. Specifically, move it to a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA if you don’t already have one. This is a retirement account and it’s a very easy first step toward investing. 

Here’s how to handle all that:

Dafuq Is a Retirement Plan and Why Do You Need One?

Investing Deathmatch: Traditional IRA vs. Roth IRA 

Investing Deathmatch: Investing in the Stock Market vs. Just… Not 

Lastly, if you want to learn more about investing, we highly recommend our friend Dumpster Doggy’s investment 101 course, Invested Development. Use the promo code BITCH at checkout and you’ll get $30 off the course!

The Knight’s horn at head parts No.6, you have to fold it inside to outside, not outside to inside. I drew the sign arrow opposite way, sorry!

訂正：

Two-Ring Circus 

👏🏾Education 👏🏾is 👏🏾a 👏🏾right,👏🏾 not👏🏾 a👏🏾 service 👏🏾

Since wifi is just a standard for sending data through radio waves, and radio waves can go a pretty long way if you use ‘em right, it’s not that difficult to connect two computers by wifi from across town. Then you just keep adding more computers to the network and you’ve got internet!

Small antennae, like for connecting across the neighborhood, can literally be built out of trash

And a larger, more accurate one can be built pretty cheap too

(You can also reuse an old satellite TV dish, or really anything else that’s roughly parabolic)

There are LoRa meshnets in places like New York, India, and all over Europe: Spain (pictured below), Greece, Austria, Germany, etc

As for sharing fresh mëmês, the network to go to is Scuttlebutt. Unlike most social media, Scuttlebutt posts are stored on your computer and sent directly to your friends’ computers (rather than being stored on the cloud and sent to a central server). It works just fine over traditional internet, but you can also view and interact with it offline, and it has protocols for connecting over any means that two computers can share information - that includes LoRa, as well as hardwired connections, sneakernet (basically mailing a USB stick back and forth), etc

What that means is you always know that your info is just as safe as the network it’s sent on and the computer that receives it - no one even theoretically has the ability to collect and sell it all. And, since it’s all run on your computer, there’s no servers to go down or companies to go out of business that could destroy the whole thing

“Thank you for this incredibly stressful 30 minutes that I have had to re-structure my entire day around and which will give me anxiety poos for the next 24 hours.”

I didn’t get the job.

However, a few weeks later, I was called in to interview with another editor in the same company, and I did get that job. I found out later from the initial editor (the one who didn’t hire me) that he had planned to offer me the job, but since I didn’t follow up with a thank you letter, he assumed I didn’t really want it. He offered the job to another contender–but when he got my letter in the mail shortly after the offer had already been made, he went to HR and gave me a glowing recommendation. It was based on that recommendation that I got called in for the second interview.

So: send an email thank you immediately (same day!) after the interview. If you’re feeling extra, go ahead and send a written one too. OR go immediately to a coffee shop, write the letter, and return to the office and give it to the secretary.

blankets make him so happy 

remember that when picking a DOOR lock, you have to apply a little bit of pressure to your tension wrench (the thing that you use to turn the knob). too little or too much and you wont be able to pick the door open. you can use anything for the tension wrench. a bobby pin. bits of wire. a paper clip. etc.

its best to be completely silent when youre picking locks bc theres this small ‘click’ when youre picking that you might miss if youre using headphones or listening to music.

.

if youre picking one of these

you jam something thin and long above one of the rotation dials and you push up on the shackle.

. if its one of these

you get yourself some shims. (or make one. you can make shims out of fucking soda cans), you wiggle them in the tiny space between the shackle and the body of the lock, and you pop these suckers open.

. for a chain deadbolt,

you get something flexible but sturdy and you just push this fucker down

. for one of these rotating combination locks

you can also shim this motherfucker open. jam your shims between the shackle and the body and pry it unlocked. if, for some reason, you dont wanna shim it open, maybe you dont have a shim or you just like a challenge, this bitch can be decoded ridiculously easy. heres what you do:

spin this bitch to the right about two or three times to “reset” it. then you pull up on the shackle a bit, and turn it right slowly until you hear a click. your number is two spaces further. then you turn left 360 degrees until you land on the right number again, and start turning this motherfucker left until it stops. when it stops, turn right. if its loose, its the wrong number, keep going left. if its not loose, you have the right number, and you turn right all the way until this bitch pops

.

His videos are always so blazé, like ‘here’s yet another fucking disappointing lock to pick’ and he’s so good.

Hey kid! This is a fantastic question. And we answer it a bit here:

Ask the Bitches Pandemic Lightning Round: "Is This the Right Time to Start Investing?" 

Keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong in sitting on savings to invest at a later date. My Ally HISA currently has a bucket labeled “invest later,” and when the market is slightly less volatile, I’ll move that big lump sum into a brokerage account. But for now it’s fine earning a little interest in the HISA.

(Also note that I’m still investing money as well... just at my normal rate while the extras are waiting to be invested.)

Hope that helps! And for everyone wondering about the acronyms:

We answered this delightful question on Friday’s episode of the Bitches Get Riches podcast! Check it out here, babycakes: