#50 • Original Milestones Pointed Towards A Future Destination Not A Past Event (Part 1)
#50 • Original Milestones Pointed Towards A Future Destination Not A Past Event (Part 1)
Some milestones, both marking the past and pointing towards the future • A personal announcement • But also a Matplotlib animation (in Part 2)
This is the 50th article on The Python Coding Stack. It's about milestones, past and future, some important changes I want to announce. But I can't write an article without including some Python. I created the cover image for this article using a Matplotlib animation. Here it is:
So we'll go through a step-by-step tutorial to create this animation with Matplotlib. I was originally planning to put everything in one article, but then realised this would be too long and the Matplotlib animation deserves its own post.
Therefore, article #50 is split into two parts. The step-by-step tutorial of how I created this animation using Matplotlib will follow in Part 2 in a few days’ time. Technically it would be article #51, but I don't count "announcement" posts, so article numbers only increase with actual tutorials and Python articles!
Therefore, today's post is relatively short and different from my usual ones. If you're new here, this is not what my articles usually look like. Normally there's lots of Python!
Milestone (1) and Milestone (2) • Let's start with the dictionary definitions:
Milestone (noun) • a stone set up beside a road to mark the distance in miles to a particular place. (Oxford Dictionary (UK) via Apple Dictionary)
Milestone (noun) • a significant stage or event in the development of something. (Oxford Dictionary (UK) via Apple Dictionary)
It had never occurred to me until now that the more common modern-day use of "milestone" marks a past event but the original meaning points to a future destination. I prefer to foward-looking milestones.
50, N, 10, 2, 100 • This was the title of my previous post which paved the way for this article. 50 represents the number of articles–this is the 50th. I've also reached a "round number milestone" of subscribers, N, but I won't be constantly announcing number of subscribers. It's not a secret, but it risks becoming a vanity metric and I'm not interested in that!
10 represents the number of months since I started The Python Coding Stack. It's not a traditional temporal milestone, but who cares?!
2 is the number of new platforms I launched in the past couple of months:
The Python Coding Place is the place for beginners and intermediate learners who want to learn Python programming and dive deeper into the fundamentals of the language. The Place hosts video courses, but it's a lot more than a collection of courses. We've already had lots of great discussions on the members' forum centred around the courses or the weekly videos I share with all members. And the live sessions will also start soon.
The second platform I launched last month is Codetoday Unlimited, which focusses on teenagers and slightly younger children who are serious about learning to code in Python.
100% • A new direction. A new adventure • You see me post about Python here on The Python Coding Stack and elsewhere on social media, but I've been doing this "in my free time", so to speak. Most articles on The Stack were written late in the evening after a long day's work or in the weekends.
For a very long time, my main activity during the "working day" (whatever that is) was to run live courses for children—the operations, logistics, curriculum devlopement and lesson plans, recruitment and management of instructors, the list goes on. It was more than a full time job.
This left me with little time to communicate directly about Python. I still did it. Here's the evidence:
The Python Coding Book—which apparently shows up in second spot (give or take) on Google for the search term: "python book". I could link to it here, but you can just Google it if you want!
The Python Coding Stack with an article every 5-8 days.
Posts on social media, mostly X and LinkedIn.
and more recently…
The video courses that have been going live on The Python Coding Place, and
The weekly videos that members of The Place have been receiving.
I want to do more of all of this. And from later this month, I'll be trying to move full time to communicating directly about Python, focusing on all of the above plus other plans I have, like live workshops and cohort courses, and more.
This is a big change in many ways. It's exciting, but a bit daunting too. In addition to my own material and platforms, I'll also look for other ways I can write and communicate about Python, certainly until the new platforms build up enough momentum so I can focus exclusively on them.
So, if you're not a member yet, do consider becoming a member of The Python Coding Place. Or get your kids, nieces and nephews, and/or neighbours' teenagers signed up to Codetoday Unlimited, the Python platform for young people. You’ll be helping ensure I can focus exclusively on these platforms and bring you more of the Python stuff you love (if not, why are you reading this?!)
Or recommend these platforms or this publication to others. Word of mouth is the best way to grow this community.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
So there you go. I've been hinting at some changes coming up but I couldn't announce them until now. Let's see how it goes…
Search "python book" on Google • Yes, I mentioned this already. The Python Coding Book was the first output under The Python Coding banner. I never assumed it would become so popular. And last week I coincidentally discovered that searching "python book" on Google brings up The Python Coding Book in second place (just after Amazon). Of course, the exact position will vary from user to user and over time. But I'm fairly pleased (and that's an understatement).
Let’s overtake Amazon next…
This article's cover image • Over the past 49 articles, I enjoyed creating the artwork for each article's cover image. My own artistic skills are non-existant. So I relied on stock images in the beginning, but soon moved to generative AI. I used Substack's own tools for a bit (but these weren't great) and then I moved to using Midjourney.
But for this article, I chose to create a mosaic of the previous 49 articles' cover images, since 49 is a square! There were easy ways of generating this mosaic. But where's the fun in that?! Instead, I used Matplotlib to create it, and I created this animation along the way:
I was planning to include the step-by-step tutorial as part of this article. Instead, I'll give it its own space in Part 2 which I'll publish in a few days' time.
One more ‘advert’ from me, sorry! You can become a member of The Python Coding Place for all the video courses, weekly videos, live workshops and courses, and more to come…
A reminder also that I love to communicate directly with my readers. Reply to this email, find me on social media, send an owl, whatever works for you. I’ll always reply… Ask a question, or just say hi, or tell me what stage of your Python journey you’re at, or send me your secret family recipe for chocolate cake. Anything, really!