It's like this.

I can't settle.

I have an idea for a website I want to build, based around a community. Similar to Goodreads, which is built on top of Ruby on Rails. So I figured I'd build my website on RoR. But I don't actually know RoR, so I decide I'll learn it.

And after a month and a bit of progress, I realize that learning RoR is hard. I'm not grasping some concepts that I feel like should be obvious.

Well... I'm always talking about needing to learn Javascript. Two of the three projects I'm on are using some form of JS, Angular and React (third project is using Salesforce which can go die in a fire). Maybe I should consider really getting into the weeds with Angular and/or React. That would be the smart, responsible thing to do. After all, I'm still learning Javascript, and they're used by projects I'm actively working on.

So, having said that, I've been delving into Svelte and SvelteKit this past week. Because, I'm constantly sabotaging myself and why not?

As I'm only a week in, I'm not going to talk much about either right now. Hopefully in a month or so I'll feel more comfortable and I can relate some of my experiences.

But knowing me, I'll have decided Svelte/SvelteKit is just not right and have moved on to Django, or Laravel or something equally as preposterous.

I need to learn Javascipt. I've mentioned this many times before. So, what do I decide to do when I find myself with a lot of downtime at work?

Try to learn Ruby on Rails, of course.

This is definitely outside of my wheelhouse. RoR is a full-stack framework, designed to power the backend of your application. I have in mind a website, sort of a mashup between Scribophile, and Goodreads, geared towards electronic music. I thought about trying the BuddyBoss plugin within Wordpress, but I feel like to really build the site like I want it, I'd need a plethora of plugins, and possibly some custom PHP work as well.

I'm starting with Michael Hartl's Ruby on Rails tutorial. I've also been following along with Deanin's Intro Ruby on Rails 7 For Beginners Tutorial Series on YouTube. I actually started with the Deanin videos, but then stepped back and decided to start "from scratch" as it were, instead of just copying and pasting what was in the videos (although, to be fair, that's probably how 90% of programmers I know learned).

I've given myself to have something viable by the end of the year. Currently, I have a somewhat working login system. I think if I can get that and a profile that a user can update themselves, I'll call it a win.

Yup. I did it again. Switched out my current Content Management System (CMS) for something new.

Or, in this case, old.

In my last post I mentioned the need to send my 2015 MacBook Pro back to Apple to have the battery replaced. Normally this is something I think I could do myself, but I thought maybe I'd take it into Apple, see if they might cut me a break. I've had good luck with Apple repair before, both in speed and service.

Not so much, this time.

I was mentioning to the wife last week that our old pine dining room table could use a sanding, as it seemed the spot I had the MacBook Pro was a little uneven. I could rock it back and forth a tiny bit, which made typing on the thing annoying.

Turns out, it wasn't the table.

Saturday I was going to sit at the same dining table to do some freelance work, and when I sat the MacBook down, the rocking was much more noticeable. Odd, I thought. So I flipped it over, and noticed a small gap between the back cover and the body itself.

Fearing the worse, I broke out my tools and started removing the (very tiny!) screws. Once the first one was loose, it damn near popped out of there. I took off the rest, with a couple of them popping as the first did. Once all the screws were removed, I lifted the cover.

Yup. Swollen batteries. VERY swollen batteries. Yikes. I gently placed the cover back on, put only three or four of the screws back in, stuck the rest in a small baggie that I taped to the back, and setup an appointment at the Apple store.

My MacBook has since been shipped off to their repair center, and even though it's only been two days, I'm missing it. All my big programs are on there. True, my iPad Pro is a viable replacement (I pretty much update this website and the templates from it), but the music programs that I've been working with (namely Bitwig) are all on my MacBook. I have some music stuff on my iPad, but it's just not the same.

Come home soon MacBook! You're missed!