In this post I’ll tell you a bit about K9s, which is an open source, command line interface for Kubernetes that makes me feel like a super hero. I’ll tell you what K9s is, why I like it so much, and what the trade-offs are. I hope that to convince you to give it a shot, and that you’ll love it as much as I do.
Game Jam Theme: Everything is Broken
A theme has been selected on Twitch, and the jam is on. The theme is “Everything Is Broken”, interpret (or ignore) it as you see fit. The important thing is to learn and have fun!
Sign-up is open till the close of the #cbjam on January 24th, link is here:
https://itch.io/jam/coding-blocks-2021
Speaking of learning and having fun, make sure to use the hashtag
if you’re tweeting about the jam. Also, make sure to send us your Twitch and we’ll add it to this list.
#cbjam Streamers:
Want to watch a stream? Toss these fine folks a follow:
Who Owns Open-Source Software?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | TuneIn | RSS
We discuss all things open-source, leaving Michael and Joe to hold down the fort while Allen is away, while Joe’s impersonations are spot on and Michael is on a first name basis, assuming he can pronounce it.
This episode of the Coding Blocks podcast is about the people and organizations behind open-source software. We talk about the different incentives behind projects, and their governance to see if we can understand our ecosystem better.
This episode’s show notes can be found at https://www.codingblocks.net/episode150, if you’re reading this via your podcast player.
[Read more…]Final Four Themes for #CBJAM
Voting is closed! We’ve narrowed the list of potential themes down to the following four:
- Everything is Broken
- It’s Not a Bug
- End of the World
- Evil is Okay
The final theme will be randomly selected precisely on January 21st, 23:59:59:9999 GMT.
You can watch the final drawing on Twitch, and then it’s on like Donkey Kong!
Game Jam Theme, Round 2
The game jam is coming up in less than two weeks, running January 21st-24th 2021. We’re doing another round of theme voting, and then we’ll pare this list down to the final 4. The final theme will be randomly selected and announced on the day of the competition.
Help us choose please! Voting is closed! The final theme will be chosen on Twitch on January 21st, 23:59:59:99999 GMT
This poll is no longer accepting votes
FAQ:
How do I sign up, or find more information?
https://itch.io/jam/coding-blocks-2021
What if I want to make a game, but don’t have the time?
Sign up anyway and do what feels good to you!
What if I’ve never made a game, or what if I’m a super good game dev?
Either way is fantastic, it’s all about fun and learning!
What if I prefer working in a team?
Awesome, bring it!
What about…
There is a bigger FAQ on the sign-up page, also, you can just ask us on Twitter or Slack or whatever. 🙂
Help Us Choose a Game Jam Theme
Our 0th Game Jam is coming up next month, and we need help picking a theme!
This is going to happen over a couple rounds, so help us narrow this list down by voting for up to 5 of your favorite themes.
Voting is closed! The final theme will be chosen on Twitch on January 21st, 23:59:59:99999 GMT
This poll is no longer accepting votes
When, Where What, How, Huh?
We’re hosting a Game Jam on itch.io from January 21st to 24th. It’s a chance for you to cut loose and program a game. Check the link below for information and to sign up:
https://itch.io/jam/coding-blocks-2021
Why do you need a theme?
The theme is meant to fire up your inspiration by serving as a spark. Flame on! Just like a blank page can be a barrier to writers block, a new project can be daunting, so we wanted to provide a fun mechanism to knock that hurdle out of the way.
What if I don’t want to use theme?
That’s fine, perhaps your game won’t do as well when it comes to the judging but…so what? There are no prizes, the reward is in the journey. If you want to do your own thing, then congratulations and good luck!
What if I have a great idea for a theme, and I simply must get it on the list!
Drop a comment, see what happens
We are Hosting a Game Jam
Coding Blocks is excited to be hosting a Game Jam on itch.io January 21-24.
You should totally sign up right now!
This Game Jam is a light-hearted and creative challenge where you and other devs in the Coding Blocks community make a game over the course of a few days.
The goal is to learn something new and practice old skills by bring something new and cool and fun into the world.
Everything is free, and you can sign up now over on itch so head there for more info: https://itch.io/jam/coding-blocks-2021
Check out episode 146 for more info about game jams, and then head on over to the slack, particularly the #game-dev-wannabe channel to hang out and talk shop.
Resources
I Have No Mouth: Retrospective
There is a lot of value in truly finishing a side-project. You can look back with pride at your accomplishment, and it’s a pleasure to share. Also, that last bit of a project is where you gain most of the benefits. It’s no surprise that it’s easier to walk away when things get tough or complicated, but you get more value out of seeing those things through. I am still stopping though, because I am happy with what I’ve gotten from this project, and ultimately I’m judging that the value I would get from continuing this project isn’t currently worth the opportunity cost. Simply put, there are other things I would rather be doing. I am ready to move on.
Below is a quick video walking you through the game, I think this is more interesting than playing the game yourself since it lets you see what I wanted to show, not just what’s there.
The Scariest Bug (I Haven’t Written Yet)
Okay, so I promised to sing a song if we got enough podcast reviews and, thanks to you, we kinda made it, and I kinda sang a song!
I dusted off a song I had written a while back for a Halloween gag I never went through with but..dang, I cannot sing. Rather than subject you to my voice, I hired an amazing singer on fiverr. Trust me, it’s better this way.
Anyway, here it is – a song, and a video, about the inevitability of making programming mistakes. Enjoy!
Getting started with Apache Beam and Kotlin
Are you looking for a simple getting started guide for working with Kotlin and Apache Beam? Well congratulations, you are in the right place. I’ve been doing some live coding on the subject, and I made a teeny tiny project to help me get started on new Beam projects quicker.
There is an official guide for getting started, so you should probably start there. However, that guide begins with a fully functional project and I prefer to build a minimum viable product from scratch that is easy to run in an IDE. So if you are like me, and prefer to type your own code then keep reading!
[Read more…]