From the fourth quarter of 2017 through the first half of 2018 I was almost exclusively creating Ruby on Rails applications. After the excitement of mastering a new toolset wore off, I started to feel that I was working on a dated platform. There’s nothing inherently bad about Ruby on Rails, it is a time-tested and validated approach for creating reliable monolithic web applications. But, having just previously worked at a shop where we figured out how to build actual microservices, building monolithic applications simply felt dated.
I certainly wasn’t going to use microservices out of the gate for my side projects, but I at least wanted to abstract the presentation layer from the data access layer. So, I needed a set of tools which made creating SPAs (single page applications) and APIs as easily as it was to create views and models with Rails. Where I landed isn’t quite as easy, but it is fairly enjoyable, and I really don’t even know what I’m doing yet. The stack I landed on was Elm for the front end and, for now, FeathersJS for the backend.
I have often heard people say, “the data speaks for itself.” This sentiment is not only naive, it is also very dangerous — especially in a world of big data and machine learning. All data is seen through a lens, and the conclusions drawn from the data will change with the perspective of the interpreter.
We know that if we give an article to one of our right-leaning friends they could give us a much different interpretation than if we gave the same article to one of our left-leaning friends. The lens that they use to make meaning of the article determines the conclusions they will draw from it. This is no different when raw data is algorithmically interpreted.
Modern web applications are commonly split up into two major parts. The first part, called the front-end, is the part that most people interact with. The second part, called the back-end, is hidden from users and manages all of the information which is needed by the application. Splitting applications like this separates the rendering of the information from the generation of the data, which brings certain efficiencies.
Last summer we drove from Akron to Fort Collins, Colorado. Although it was a great experience, we wanted to drive a little less this summer. So we came up with a new adventure idea. We wanted to find a place which was off the grid, but had front-country amenities, like running water, toilets, and great food. And, it had to be within about eight hours of Akron. It seemed like an impossible ask, and I was fairly sure that we would have to compromise on at least one aspect. Then I found Charit Creek Lodge in Tennessee. Amazingly, it has all the desired amenities and is just seven hours and fifty minutes away. As an added bonus, it costs about the same as a stay at a major hotel chain.
Rather than driving straight to Charit Creek, we decided to break our trip up. We were going to do a mix of backpacking at Zaleski, car camping at Cumberland Lake, and lodge camping at Charit Creek.
The last time we headed to the Red River Gorge our intent was just to climb some real, outdoor sport routes. As a part of that goal we wanted to explore the Muir Valley. Now, having a modicum of experience, we had loftier objectives. We wanted to top out on something which was higher than we could get in a rock gym. This time our goal was to send Eureka.
On this site I write about, what I like to believe is, a diverse set of topics. The normal way of presenting posts using a sequential list does nothing to help people discover other material on the site which they may also be interested in. I wanted to provide visitors with a list of links to content which is similar to the page they are currently viewing. However, due to limitations in the platform I’m using, there was no option to simply turn this on. So, I wrote some code and implemented an algorithm to solve this problem.
If you are an Ohioan who is into backpacking and haven’t been to Archer’s Fork yet, you should plan a trip. It is one of the most remote backpacking sites in the state. To illustrate how far out this trail is: we normally grab a meal at a restaurant near the trailhead before heading into the backcountry; the Archer’s Fork trailhead is about an hour drive from the nearest restaurant (possibly longer if you don’t download directions before leaving an area with cell service). For someone from northeastern Ohio, that’s a crazy long way from food. While on the trail you are unlikely to run into other people, which further enhances the feeling of remoteness. The best part may be that it’s only two and a half hours away from the Akron area, so most people in eastern Ohio should be able to get there in under four hours.
Our climbing group was finally ready to move out from under the sodium lights of the indoor climbing gym. So, half of us having completed a lead climbing course, we decided to travel down to the Muir Valley and attempt some outdoor sport routes. Located in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, one of the largest and most popular sport climbing areas in the Eastern United States, Muir Valley has over 20 crags spread across more than 360 acres of land. The most important part, for us, was that it also has nearly 120 routes which are rated 5.9 or lower.
