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mtran's comments

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Alternate YC Summer 2011 Class - let's do it ourselves

Hmmm. Wonder if that's why my post got killed yesterday? I posted for people who weren't accepted this round to check out Startup City in Baltimore and some info and links about Baltimore neighorhoods. I'm not affiliated w/Startup City in anyway and am unsure why the post was "deaded"?

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Not invited to YC? Startup City Apps are due April 30th

If you applied to YC and weren't accepted this round, this may be a good option; there are similarities in the app process.

I grew up in Baltimore County and own a home in the city. My husband and I are moving back this summer, largely because of the emerging tech and startup environment and are SO excited about this project. There was a post about it here last month that I missed where people expressed concern re: the crime rate, The Wire etc

The reality is that most of the crime (violent and other) happens in specific areas of the city. I work with at-risk kids and have spent a lot of time in those neighborhoods during a period spanning nearly 20 years and will be happy to answer questions if anyone has concerns/questions about what's "real" about the Baltimore experience.But I want to reassure you here that you'd be unlikely to ever even see one of those areas unless you wanted to.

I own a home in Federal Hill http://bit.ly/hh93w2 , have also lived in Canton http://bit.ly/fa9y2C and Locust Point http://bit.ly/fCmbUZ , worked in Mt. Vernon http://bit.ly/dO1K2u and played (a lot!) in all of those places... and Fells Point http://bit.ly/eMEHDj ... and Hamden http://bit.ly/hjElbI ... and Little Italy http://bit.ly/eNQvzV ... Each of these neighborhoods is a great reason to consider Baltimore. If you are interested in learning more, shoot me a note.

I'm not affiliated w/ Startup City in anyway, but will be applying. I'm just sharing this because I think it's an awesome opp for those of us that were hoping for YC...

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Fantastic, thanks! This is right on time for some of the discussions we are having and I really appreciate your taking the time to point these out! Would love to hear if you run in to any more/ anything different on this subject. Thanks a million!

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Thanks so much! This one question/thread has led me to more relevant resources and "answers" than many people get during a semester in college. Will add this to my list. Thanks again!

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Thanks -that's great information (about RoR) - Hearing from people w/all different coding backgrounds and levels of expertise is a huge asset for us right now. There are so many camps and HN is definitely helping us sort it out and learn to ask the right questions. A friend just told me today that some people have concerns about Ruby's scalability for complex and high traffic apps and sites (which is what we intend to build) - but others swear that's what it's best for... would love to hear your take.

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Great. I'm saving all of the links in my Evernote but am wondering if I'll be able to find people in the future through my comments/submissions/threads or if I should save them too! Thanks for your help!

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Thanks for clarifying this. I'm sure it sounds oversimplified to non-beginners but I didn't fully get the difference until I tried out Code School's Rails for Zombies and they directed me to "Tryruby.org" 1st.

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Thanks for the reinforcement - it is a little daunting to wonder how far you should go down a given path w/out knowing much about the other options... this is a great way to sort some of that out. Thanks again!

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: Anybody gotten any questions on their YC application?

I thought the same thing. Exciting to know, and I do remember reading something like "the earlier you apply, the more time we have to interact with founders". Too bad for us though, because we only learned about YCombinator shortly before the app. was due and got it in at the last minute. But last week lots of Alum were writing about their experiences and at least a few reported slapping their app together at the last minute so we remain hopeful!

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

I will check this out. I've been amazed at the affordability of available resources and think $25 a month is very reasonable. It's also great to find so many people who are generous with their time and expertise and willing to offer some direction. I love this place! Thanks a bunch for sharing your resources!

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

I want to be able to contribute to our start up by writing code even if it's not as the lead... and certainly to know enough to be an asset for other developers... and also to know what good code looks like. I think I need to figure out if I can be any good at it to know how far I'll take it. Some people say anyone can write code but other people say being "math minded" is critical, and that's daunting to me.

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

Right? It's funny because I've used language programs to learn Italian, French, Spanish,and Vietnamese... just a bit of each and that's exactly what I have been thinking - about how Pimsleur would be great for this and Rosetta Stone would be great for that... I can definitely see traces of the same kind of teaching in TryRuby.Org

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

I am on it! I'm getting enough here to keep me busy for quite a while! How can I find the other thread? I'm going to keep track of all of the people that help me out on this post so I can shoot you a note when I finally build something cool! Thanks so much for sharing these resources.

mtran | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: How should a beginner learn to code?

So psyched to read this. I've been devouring HN for the last couple of weeks. It's great to be able to get the perspectives of both awesome developers and people who are or have been in a similar boat (just getting started). Thanks for taking the time to answer. I read a ton and have been collecting some awesome resources - my Evernote is filling up w/ amazing resources I'll be happy to share w/others when opportunities present. Thanks a million.
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