Mark Van Akkeren markyv18

Turing School Prework - MVA

Missed the first one but did remember the score for it, that is posted in comments alongside the subsequent other challenge's screenshots

DONEZO. Sadly... those were fun, wish there were more (FWIW, 100% on all)

Well, since i'm typing here on it..... :)


	# Mark Van Akkeren - M1 Portfolio

	## Areas of Emphasis
	I arrived here looking at gaining a skill to then leverage along with my other skills I've acquired in my various and multifaceted careers. That someone with such a diverse career background with also a developer skill set would be a valuable asset in the work force. I had attended the July Try Turing class which was the convincing factor for attending (and friends saying "you'd be good at this" <-- i feel like i'm doubting them now ;), but i was "scared" of javascript and signed up for a night class at Galvanize. It helped with warming me up a bit to coding and getting more comfortable with JS. The thing I've been repeating since day one has been "just get the skillset, just get the skillset" <-- in "just keep swimming" Dory voice.

	## Rubric Scores

	Fill in how you would grade yourself from 1-4 in the following categories this module:

	#1
	a_bunch_of_numbers = [1,2,3,4,5,6]
	p a_bunch_of_numbers.first
	p a_bunch_of_numbers.last

	#2
	animals = ["dog", "cat", "goat", "capybara"]
	animals_capitalized = animals.map(& :capitalize)
	animals_capitalized.join(", ")

	Week 1 Diagnostic

	Create a gist and answer the following questions.
	-------------------------------------------------------------
	Floats and Integers

	What’s the difference between a float and integer?
	integer is a "whole" number whereas a float can contain a decimel point

	What’s are the similarities and differences between BigNum and FixNum?

	As usual, don't read the comments section. sigh

	Call me an SJW if you like, it's fair, I get into "shouting" matches with people over their inability to see their own privilege and how that affects their ability to see equity or the lack thereof in society. But what I concurrently have to do is also turn that lens on myself and not allow those arguments to be solely academic in nature. One thing I've really pushed myself into doing in just the first few days is going and meeting folks and not just hanging with the dudes. Introduce myself and let the women and POC in my module feel like I'm a friend and to be welcoming. I am trying to see what I can learn from them both objectively and subjectively and how I can encourage them to be awesome (<-- my day job prior to arriving here). I don't think I'm doing a good job and knowing I can do better i want to reach out even more. The Dev community that I know has MASSIVELY welcoming to me but that's largely been white dude to white dude, so why I can't I try to help

	Geez, that was disgusting.

	I guess coming at it from a background in finance if i'm going to invest in something (time, money, belief) i need to see a tangible product from that thing i'm investing in (even before i get into it, proof that i'm not chasing some ethereal thing). So when i see something that's filled with superlatives, little true content, and pumped up on exceedingly subjective marketing BS I run very quickly in the opposite direction. I'm not a fany of hype... in fact i'm a hater of it. Triathlon is filled with BS claims and non-substantiative claims. I try to shoot it all down and act as beacon of reality. Easy to do in a place where you are a certifiable expert. But I think my mores defy a single culture or industry, if I see BS i call it. If someone's got their head too far up their ass (any number of people in the article) I'll call it. There are enough opportunities out there that I dont need to be in work space that espouses these beliefs.

	I would say that there are some solid