Friday, November 29, 2019

ASME to Hold Five Human Powered Vehicle Challenges This Year

ASME to Hold Five Human Powered Vehicle Challenges This Year ASME to Hold Five Human Powered Vehicle Challenges This Year ASME to Hold Five Human Powered Vehicle Challenges This YearThe Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) in India - the first of five HPVC auffhrungs ASME will sponsor this year - takes place next month. Forty-one teams are registered to compete at the event, which will be held March 17 to 19 at Vellore Institute of Technology in Chennai, India.For more than 30 years, the ASME HPVC program has provided engineering students with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills at applying sound engineering design principles while developing sustainable and practical transportation alternatives. Students work in teams to design and build prototypes of efficient, highly engineered vehicles for everyday use from commuting to work, to carrying goods to market.The three-day HPVC India competition will encompass different events each day, starting with a design eva luation on Thursday, March 17, followed by a drag race speed competition on Friday, March 18, and a two-and-a-half hour endurance event on Saturday, March 19. An awards ceremony and banquet dinner will follow the endurance event.In addition to HPVC India, ASME will hold four additional Human Powered Vehicle Challenges this year. The first of these, HPVC West, which is sponsored by the ASME Santa Clara Valley Section, will take place from April 22 to 24 in San Jose, Calif. HPVC East will follow a few weeks later, from May 13-15 at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Two other events, HPVC Mexico and HPVC Latin America, are also being planned for this fall.For more information on ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenges, visit www.asme.org/events/competitions/human-powered-vehicle-challenge-(hpvc) or the HPVC Community Page at https//community.asme.org/hpvc/default.aspx.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Best Places to Learn to Code for Free

Best Places to Learn to Code for FreeBest Places to Learn to Code for FreeIf youre itching to learn coding, but lack the time or money for a formal class, try taking a course at any of these 11 online academies. All of them offer their courses for free, and some offer certifications for a small fee. Codecademy Chances are if you have looked into learning to code before, youve encountered Codecademy, an online educational platform. Its easy to use and displays the results as youre coding. Codecademy offers a wide range of programming languages including HTML CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Angularjs, Command Line, and more. Free Code Camp Free Code Camp starts you off with a curriculum of 800 hours of coding, followed by 800 hours of hands-on experience coding for non-profits. Its a great way to build a portfolio after learning the skills. Available tutorials include Python, Java, Ruby, and PHP, HTML, CSS, DevTools, Node.js, Angular.js, and more. GA Dash General Assemblys f ree online learning platform is project-based, with each lesson consisting of coding a single project. GA Dash offers HTML, CSS, and Java as well as a few course options that others dont, such as responsive entwurf and building a Tumblr theme from scratch. Codewars Codewars adds some fun with martial-arts themed challenges called kata. You gain honors and a higher rank with each complete kata. More honors and a higher rank mean more difficult challenges, so theres always something new to work on. Codewars requires some knowledge in one of the coding languages that they offer as a prerequisite for signing up. These include CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, Clojure, Haskell, with more on the way, including C and PHP. Coursera Coursera is a virtual university with a wide range of science and liberal arts courses taught by professors from leading universities, and theyre all free. If you want theoretical education on data science or even an introduction to programming An droid apps, this may be your best option. If you want a certificate indicating completion of a course, you will pay a small fee, from $30 to $100. edX edX offers a wide range of courses including programming languages, supported by universities and their professors. Many of the classes can be taken at your own pace and arent limited to set dates. Like Coursera, if you want credentials for the class, youd need to pay $30 to $100. Khan Academy The nicht gewinnorientiert Khan Academy offers a wide range of educational YouTube videos in many languages. It even has one that teaches the basics of coding in one hour. Coding languages offered include JavaScript, HTML CSS, and SQL. Many other programming and computer science topics are available. MIT OpenCourseWare No enrollment is necessary to access this collection of MIT course materials. Its programming topics range from introductions in engineering problem solving to algorithms used in computer animation. The assignments for some courses do not include answers to questions. The Odin Project Made by the creators of Viking Code School, an online coding boot camp, the Odin Project is free to all. Its project-based and offers a final course in getting hired with your newfound skills, which is a bonus. Coding languages offered include HTML, CSS, JavaScript jQuery, and Ruby on Rails. Udemy Udemy offers paid and free courses in many topics, including programming. They are community-created courses, so read the course reviews before diving in. The Code Player This compilation of video tutorials walks you through a process from start to finish. It may be best used in conjunction with other sites or courses, as its based entirely on small concepts and projects. Your Best Choice If youre determined to learn to code, try a few of these offerings before diving deeper into the one that is best suited to your learning style.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Dont Vent About Annoying Co-workersDo This Instead - The Muse

Dont Vent About Annoying Co-workersDo This Instead - The MuseDont Vent About Annoying Co-workers- Do This InsteadIn the daily hustle of the workday, petty annoyances and inconveniences are par for the course. And often, when we counter those stressors, we handle them by complaining to anyone willing to listen. But complaining is complicated Sure, it can be a way of expressing frustration and eliciting advice from others. On the flipside, it can be destructive to workplace morale and your reputation. When you complain on a regular basis, those in earshot may question your trustworthiness, assuming that if youre gabbing about some colleagues, youre probably talking behind their backs, as well. Complaining also impacts the office culture as a whole, discouraging collaboration and contributing to the development of office cliques.Plus, while venting may provide temporary emotional relief, studies have shown that complaining doesnt actually make you feel better in the long run. Its an unp roductive vehicle for voicing your concerns that provides an illusion that youre fixing the problem but actually ends up generating even more anger and hostility. So, how can you express your frustrations in a more effective way- one that leads to an actual solution and doesnt tarnish your image? Here are a few alternatives to venting that can help you get to the root of the issue. 1. Take a BreatherWhether it stems from your cubemates pen-tapping habit or a clients tendency to never return your calls, most of us are familiar with the blood-boiling sensation that arises when were annoyed. But when you feel this coming on in the office, recognize it, acknowledge it, and pause before any angry words begin to flow.When it comes to venting, timing is everything. You have to confront issues when the right people and resources are available to actually fix them. This means resisting the urge to go off the moment something upsets you, but instead, to reconsider the situation after youve ha d a perspektive to cool down and gain a bit of perspective.For example, it probably wont play out in your favor to lash out about your colleagues knack for forgetting to make copies of key paperwork minutes before a high-stakes client meeting. Instead, use that energy to write down a list of the issues concerning you, then put time on the calendar to address the topic with that person once the meeting is over and your volatile emotions have passed.2. Make it About Problems, Not PeopleIf youre ultimately looking to resolve your workplace complaints rather than just go on a venting binge (which hopefully is the case), its much more constructive to reference specific behaviors and situations that irk you, rather than make sweeping accusations. For example, rather than saying Steven, youre always so rude to the junior staff, a better approach would be to pinpoint a recent, concrete example, and then frame it in the perspective of how it makes you feel. So, you could say, Steven, when yo u didnt say hello to the junior staff at the company dinner, I felt disappointed. By focusing on a specific situation, you can work toward a resolution to that issue- rather than simply putting the other person on the defensive with a broad accusation.3. Focus on the Positive Focus on SolutionsA little empathy goes a long way to turn complaints into resolutions, so as difficult as it may be, try making the shift from assuming that others have malicious intent to giving them the benefit of the doubt. For example, if you have a colleague whos surely pounding on her keyboard for the sole purpose of annoying you, try saying, Hey, I know you probably dont realize how loudly you type, but the office echoes and the noise is making it tough for me to concentrate. By phrasing it this way, youre asserting your concerns while softening any unnecessary confrontation. Along the same lines, try framing the situation in a positive light. For example, you might say, Sitting near each other has made it easier to work together on projects, like the email campaign we rocked last month, but a couple of my prospects are complaining that they cant hear me on the phone over the background noise. Most importantly, come prepared with ideas in hand for how to improve the situation or achieve a compromise, such as, Ill start giving you a heads up before I jump on an important call so we can make sure were on the same page. Your colleagues will appreciate that youre willing to help find a solution rather than just point out the problems.Workplace annoyances have always been and always will be a fact of life. By learning how to address them constructively, youll reduce the anger and contribute to a healthier workplace environment. Photo of angry woman courtesy of Shutterstock.