In spite of the torrential rain and thunderstorms on Saturday that almost put an end to our camping adventure, we had a great time visiting the Costa Brava. Historic Tossa de Mar was particularly splendid in the sun

Last Friday our cohort started work on our first projects of the bootcamp – an interactive browser game using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

The projects are designed to consolidate the previous two weeks of course material, whilst providing useful experience on how to plan, document, develop, test, and present our work.

I decided on attempting to recreate Guitar Hero. For my version, Iron Hero, the player simply presses keys when the note appears within a specified area to score points.

It proved a useful exercise in getting to grips with JavaScript’s object oriented programming (OOP) principles, whilst also familiarising myself with the canvas element.

At the outset I anticipated issues. Firstly, applying the OOP principles, specifically prototypal inheritance, which I had trouble grasping initially, and then animating the items (or notes) in time with music. Still the audio doesn’t match exactly with when the keys should be pressed.

I’ve found canvas very similar to Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Flash and ActionScript that I used when studying at university. I need to become more familiar with how it can be best used outside of a browser game to understand its real potential.

To wrap up each day (and to ensure we’re making progress) we’re asked to present our work in front of the others. It started with Google Slides and has gradually progressed into also demoing our projects. This is training in preparation of presentations to the whole Ironhack student body on Friday.

Note: a special thanks to my brother, Dan Mallinson, for helping explain some of the processes and principles I had issue with.

I’m sitting in my apartment in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter listening to music playing through the speaker on the table beside me, taking the time to write this article as I sip my coffee. This is the first time since last weekend that I’ve been able to relax.

On Monday I started the Ironhack Barcelona full-time Web Development bootcamp along with 21 others. The cohort is a mix of nationalities mostly comprising of Spaniards, with representation from the USA, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, Philippines, Sweden, and the UK (me). Some of the students come from web development backgrounds, like myself, who want to improve their skills and knowledge, whereas others are contemplating a career change.

Each morning is started with a stand-up where we share with the group how we’re feeling, what we achieved yesterday, what we hope to achieve today, if we submitted a pull request (usually tied to a homework exercise), and if we had any ‘blockers’, or issues that inhibited progress/completion of the exercise.

Following the stand-up we have a kick-off where the teacher and the teaching assistants (TA) go over the agenda for the day. It’s also an opportunity for them to adapt the day’s material to slow the pace (in particular when the group is tired or frustrated), revisit material if we’ve had issues understanding it fully, or to change the agenda if we’d like to cover something different but related to what we’ve already gone over.

This week we’ve covered a range of topics from HTML, CSS and Javascript basics to the more advanced flexbox, Javascript objects and arrays, and agile principles. The days are long. Class starts at 9am and finishes between 6-6.30pm and we’ve had homework each evening which has so far taken me between an hour to 3 hours to complete (I’ve logged 39h 37m of computer time this week!). Whilst you’re not required to complete the homework before the next class, you’ll get more out of the bootcamp if you do as it’s usually putting into practice what you’ve learnt to date, and identify any issues with your understanding of the topic.

I’ve found the more visual exercises more enjoyable and easier so far. It could be because I’m more familiar with HTML and CSS and that I’m more of a visual person. Having been schooled in using floats and clears to position elements on the webpage, I can clearly see the benefit of using flexbox to design layouts. We will cover CSS Grid next week.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though. Thursday morning I felt tired, deflated and frustrated at not having been able to complete the homework. I was struggling with Javascript objects and arrays. But I wasn’t alone. The teacher and TAs adapted the day’s material to go through the exercise to address any blockers. This has been invaluable as I’ve had numerous questions that has only emerged through trying to apply what I’ve learnt.

We ended Friday with a fun, interactive quiz on what we’ve covered during the week followed by beers, to unwind going into the weekend. I finished this weekend’s exercise earlier, and if you’re interested in seeing how I’m progressing and what I’m learning have a look at my Github profile.

😍 The light in Barcelona! And look at those blue skies 👌

After six exhilerating, frustrating, happy, sad, long, and short years in China I’ve moved back to Europe. For a while I’ve wanted to leave China feeling that I’d accomplished what I set out to achieve, and late last year I committed and set in motion ‘the move’.

With the UK’s current political climate in turmoil (read Brexit) and still very much wanting to be part of the EU, I’ve made Barcelona my home for the foreseeable future.

I’ve been here for just over a week now and first impressions are promising. Blue skies, warm(ish) weather, and fresh air. Quite a departure from the grey, cold, and polluted environment of Suzhou, my home for almost four years, that I’ve left behind.

The move has encouraged me to think about where I see my career going. In China I advanced through web development roles ultimately to becoming web development manager. Through that progression I feel like I somehow lost touch with making things and the excitement that it brings. The development work was largely outsourced owing to a small in-house team, and the management was of internal stakeholders. That is not to downplay my role. Listening and communicating with a large academic community is no mean feat, and I take pride in the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University website.

Tomorrow I start on a web development bootcamp at Ironhack to refresh my skills utilising the latest technology and practices, but most importantly to find enjoyment in building again. The reason why I first got into web development.

Had a great time exploring the Stanley Kubrick exhibition at the Centre de Cultura Contemprània de Barcelona. Kubrick is one of my favourite directors and it was so inspiring to see his life’s work presented in such a way.

Stretching our legs in the hills overlooking Barcelona city (our new home for now), just thirty minutes away from our apartment. Endless blue skies, warm weather and fresh air 👌

The different perspectives of Busuanga Island from Mount Tapyas 🗻

Merry Christmas from Boracay! We’re having a #whitechristmas on the soft, clean sands of White Beach.

The theme of this year’s festival is ‘the wind of time’ and it features visionary work from some of the world’s most renowned photographers. The striking images, from fashion shoots to food factories, can be seen at the Lianzhou Museum of Photography in southern China until 3 January 2019

Source: Vogue shoots and bike cemeteries: Lianzhou Foto festival 2018 | Art and design | The Guardian

In the last month or so I gave three talks about blogs and me: one lightening talk at ViewSource, one at TODO London and another one at ReactJSGirls. Although I had applied for them at different times, they all happened close to each other and with IndieWebCamp, FFConf, organising a career panel and a work deadline in between it is fair to say that I had a busy November so only now I’ve had time to convert my talk into a blog post.

Source: Oh Hello Ana – Blog

All this WordPress 5.0 Gutenberg stuff got me thinking. With WordPress it seems like the Indieweb starts making serious and cool progress and the WordPress people come along and knock the game board…

Source: Blog Engines and Indieweb Controlling Upstream | Brad Enslen

Today, Nextcloud 15 has been made available. As there is so much new and improved in this release, we have dedicated separate blogs to each main area of improvement. This blog covers the brand new Nextcloud Social, introducing social networking to Nextcloud. Download now! The Mastodon project is excited that…

Source: Nextcloud introduces social features, joins the fediverse – Nextcloud

Since 2007, photographer Jono Rotman has been documenting the Mongrel Mob, a violent brotherhood with over 30 networks across New Zealand.

Source: Up close with New Zealand’s most notorious gang

Snapshots from a couple of weeks ago. These photos of @xjtlu’s Central Building – my second home – were taken 6 days apart when air pollution dropped from absurd to bearable 😷🙁

Early days with my new OnePlus 6T but the night mode camera has produced some nice photos so far.

A great idea, but when companies such as Google and in particular, Facebook, are listed as supporters you have to wonder if they really intend to develop technologies that support the best in humanity and challenge the worst.

Can I? Should I? Will I? A fellow @beijinghikers assessing one of the many peaks in the Baicheng Landform.

Thank you @mathiasheng for awarding me first prize 🏆 for this photo from our recent trip to Xinjiang. A special thanks to @beijinghikers for organising the incredible and eye-opening trip.

The Baicheng Landforms in Xinjiang are how I’d imagine the surface of Mars to look. Vast and barren with rich reds and browns.

Sheep 🐑, cows 🐄, camels 🐪, and goats 🐐 all for sale at Kashgar’s livestock market.

An evening wandering the dark, smokey streets of Kashgar’s Old City.
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#kashgar #xinjiang #china #uyghur #travel #silkroad #kashi #islam #lamb #fire #streetphotography #farwestchina #silkroute #architecture #kashgaroldcity #oldcity #guardiantravelsnaps #natgeotravel #natgeo #streetshot #travelasia #lonelyplanet

The legendary Tomb of the Fragrant Concubine near Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, China.

Back to work in Suzhou after an eye-opening National Week holiday exploring Xinjiang in far-west China. Lots to process – photos, views/opinions, and memories.

Stretching our legs on a 6km there-and-back trek to break up the drive from Baicheng to Aksu.

The ruins of Subashi, an ancient temple complex in the Taklamakan Desert, used continuously from the 3rd to 10th centuries. Subash is a Uyghur word meaning “the origin of water”.

Distant views from a short hike over the Tiemenguan, the end of the Great Wall of China in Korla, Xinjiang, and a key passage on the Silk Road.

Visited Tiemenguan, the western-most gate of the Great Wall of China, and a key passage on the Silk Road.

The incredible sculptures at the Longmen Grottoes, painstakingly carved out of rock over several hundred years.

Arrived into Korla earlier this evening. Hungry, we stumbled into the nearest eating establishment we came across. Only after ordering a couple of dishes did we realise it specialised in dog and donkey meat 😳

Goodbye Zhengzhou. It’s been short but sweet. Hope to see you again. Next stop Korla (库尔勒).

The Longmen Grottoes are truly spectacular. So many sculptures ranging from 2cm to several metres tall. It’d be an incredible feat to construct them today with modern tools, let alone 1,500 years ago!

Arrived in Zhengzhou and checked into our hotel. Initial impressions of the city: modern, clean, and illuminated. So many lights!

Hurtling through China at 300km/h towards Zhengzhou, the first destination of our National Week trip.

[Chile unveils Patagonian Route of Parks hiking trail](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45663960) Yes, yes, YES!

Charging ALL THE DEVICES in excited anticipation of our trip to the north west of China for National Day Golden Week.

The vast, impressive, and arid landscapes of Gansu Province in Western China.

The weather here in Suzhou has been much cooler and more humid these past days, so I’m thinking warmer, drier thoughts of our California road trip earlier this year that took us through Joshua Tree.

To prevent overfishing and to improve the quality of the environment, fishing is banned on Lake Tai for 6 months of the year. On 1 September, the first day of the finishing season, I was invited out on one of the boats.

Had fun exploring the less visited, more wild parts of Hangzhou with @lands_remote this weekend.

The different landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park 🌵⛰🌴🏜

As WordPress provides sufficient insight into how visitors use my website through Jetpack, I’ve now removed Google Analytics tracking from [scottmallinson.com](http://scottmallinson.com). Immediately seen an increase in performance.

More from our Southern California roadtrip. We stopped at Salvation Mountain ⛰ to witness one man’s commitment to God.

Trekking the 49 Palms Oasis Trail in Southern California earlier this year

Already thinking about my next trip 🤔 Somewhere away from the oppressive heat of the city, like the hike we did earlier in the year in Ninghai 🚶🏻‍♂️🏕⛰

Has it been a week already since Tioman Island?! 😯🌴☀️⛰

Gaokao exam results are being released and we’re starting to see spikes of traffic to our admission results system at www.xjtlu.edu.cn/gaokao/. If you’ve applied to @XJTLU, good luck!

Things I love about MacOS… NOT! Hello MacOS, please meet iCloud Drive.

Is it valid to write … enclosing a whole page’s content, navigation etc. within a schema type?

Testing…1…2

Trying to work out a publishing strategy that combines the benefits of POSSE, captures engagement through webmentions, and importantly makes sense.

Back in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Spent the evening wandering around Kowloon taking in the Blade Runner-esque sights

It’s fascinating to see how Shanghai has changed since its portrayal in 1987’s Empire of the Sun. Whilst the Bund remains largely unchanged, the same can’t be said for the rest of the city. The skyline is quite different!

Hard work but had great fun getting away from the office, and into nature on this trail.

That feeling when the web service you’re pulling data from changes their encoding, doesn’t do any testing nor informs you of the changes 🤦

Finally getting the hang of #webmentions. Managed to successfully poll and retrieve responses for scottmallinson.com and landsremote.co.

The only emails I seem to receive from Apple are either invoices or to sell me a new product. As someone who has invested a lot of 💰 in Apple products, would it hurt to send the occasional email offering advice on how I can get the most out of my purchases?!

There are definitely worse ways to spend your Saturday morning/lunch. Devouring excellent food at The Commune Social in Shanghai.

Excited to see Bill Bailey in Shanghai!! #internationalcomedyfestival

Trying to get my head around microblogging, #IndieWeb, WebMentions, valid RSS feeds, and a #POSSE strategy.

New toy. For work, of course! #raspberrypi

We haven’t quite managed the 50km of the Ninghai Trail we intended to do, but we’re happy with the 35km or so we’ve covered. Resting our feet before catching our train later.

Yesterday we managed between 18 and 21km on the Ninghai Trail (distance varies between GPS watches). Attempting to do another long stint today. Had a cold night camping with a colder one to come.

Breakfast at @McDonalds. On our way to Ninghai for a long weekend of camping and hiking.

Since getting a @Sonos speaker I’ve found I’m listening to a lot more music and, through @Spotify, discovering more artists 🤘🔊 https://www.last.fm/user/boardstupid/library?from=2018-03-01&rangetype=month

Prepping for hiking the Ninghai Trail this weekend. Aiming to complete 50km over three days. Need to test out our tent 🏕️, make sure our packs 🎒 aren’t too heavy, whilst ensuring we’ve enough food and water!

CloudFlare’s new DNS 1.1.1.1 blocked in China 🤷‍♂️

Fun afternoon-into-evening in Shanghai drinking coffee, beers, cocktails meeting up with friends, old and new.

Busy, productive day 👨‍💻😓💪 followed by drinks and food🍹🍔. Hello weekend!

[https://www.wired.com/story/china-megacities-gallery/](Spectacular!)

Had a productive meeting with a local web development agency here in #Suzhou to undertake a priority project 🤞

So I’ve set up a little micro.blog over at [http://scottmallinson.com] as a means of POSSE-ing to Twitter and Facebook. If I’ve set up Webmentions correctly, comments and likes should backfeed to my website 🤞

Let’s see if this works…

This month marks my fifth anniversary of working in China, and it’s time I started to share some of the interesting, wonderful and frustrating things I encounter in the Middle Kingdom.

I will be writing posts documenting insights I’ve gathered over the past few years, as well as observations and findings on society, culture and technology related to my personal and professional life.

Being in China limits my access to social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter (which I’ll cover in time), so if you have any questions, concerns or observations of your own, feel free to comment on any of the posts using the form below.

Last year was great for traveling. Here are my #2017bestnine. Spot the photo that wasn’t taken in 2017.
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#2017bestnine #2017 #happynewyear #2018 #bestnine2017 #newyear #instagood #photooftheday #instadaily #photography #travelgram #travel #travelphotography #explore #life #wanderlust #travellife #travelpic #best9 #instatravel #trip

Tianjin West Railway Station 🚊throwing some shapes
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#tianjinwestrailwaystation #tianjin #china #railwaystation #reflection #trainstation #train #highspeed #instasize #shotoniphone6 #iphoneography #highspeedrail #architecturephotography #exploretianjin #archilovers #vsco #building #chineseexperience

Minyuan Stadium, Tianjin, built in 1926 and modelled after Stamford Bridge in London. Now home to shops, hair salons, and eateries
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#minyuanstadium #tianjin #china #wudadao #minyuan #vsco #vscocam #minyuanplaza #stadium #daily #architecture #travel #5thavenue #yellow #sunset #oldbuilding #building #fiveavenues #igworldclub #instadaily #agameoftones #weekend #structure #tj #architecturalphotography #nightlights #plaza #arch #dailyphoto #travelphotography

Part of the adventure is the journey ✈️ .
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#adventure #travel #explore #wanderlust #photography #instagood #travelgram #travelphotography #love #photooftheday #instatravel #beautiful #vacation #picoftheday #traveler #traveling #trip #fun #lifestyle #life #instadaily #photo #travelling #holiday

Looking out over the Sea of Clouds 🌊☁️⛰
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#huangshan #china #anhui #travel #mountains #nature #yellowmountain #mountain #hiking #landscape #traveling #travelphotography #asia #yellowmountains #travelgram #huangshanmountain #instatravel #instagood #nationalpark #holiday #clouds #wanderlust #photography #love #adventure #beautiful #explorechina #view

A fun weekend hiking Mount Huangshan with @t.ennis27 and @lands_remote

Ascending Mt. Huangshan

Suzhou’s Panmen Gate looking resplendent in the Autumn sun 🌞

En route to Ningbo