Getting a Fix on Fixie

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Sharon Cichelli

My friend Patrick Lioi (@plioi) is writing Fixie, a testing framework, and I’m using it in one of my projects, a genogram generator (which I will write about once it does something interesting). Why make a testing framework when we … Continue reading →

Posted in Open-Source Software, unit testing | 6 Comments

Everything’s Coming Up ‘Duino

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Sharon Cichelli

I just went to Barnes and Noble and bought a magazine with my name in it. :D Check it out: “Hello, Arduino” in CODE Magazine, an introduction to the programmable microcontroller designed to be approachable and fun. If you’ve ever … Continue reading →

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Presenters, Use Code Snippets for Live Coding

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Sharon Cichelli

Creating code live on the fly makes a more compelling demo, but actually typing those curly braces and semi-colons can kill a presentation. As hard as it is not to say “um”, it’s nigh impossible to not make a million … Continue reading →

Posted in arduino, Conference | Tagged | 6 Comments

Intro to the Arduino at CodeMash

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Sharon Cichelli

I’m presenting an introduction to the Arduino microcontroller at CodeMash Friday morning at 9:30. Resources for getting started with the Arduino are on GirlWritesCode.com. If you’re at CodeMash, I invite you to the talk. It’ll be a blast, and I … Continue reading →

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A Good Night’s Rest

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Sharon Cichelli

I am not the only techie who struggles to get enough sleep. I’ve recently instituted a lifehack that is giving me some relief, and I want to share it. To my sleep-deprived sisters and brothers, this one’s for you. Although … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Accessible Markup: Provide a pronunciation tip to screenreaders

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Sharon Cichelli

Last weekend concluded my team’s contribution to Knowbility’s Open AIR competition, building an accessible website for Texas ROSE, who advocates for electric utility customers. I encountered an interesting challenge, while I was testing the site with a screenreader: It pronounced … Continue reading →

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New Location for ReSharper Shortcut for Context-Sensitive Unit-Test Running

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Sharon Cichelli

If you liked my tip for mapping a keyboard shortcut to the ReSharper Shortcut for Context-Sensitive Unit-Test Running, you’ll want to know that the name of that command is different in ReSharper 6. The context-sensitive test runner command is: ReSharper.ReSharper_ReSharper_UnitTest_RunContext … Continue reading →

Posted in Resharper, shortcut, unit testing, Visual Studio | 2 Comments

How to Serve a Static File from toto

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Sharon Cichelli

Also, How to Use Google Apps with toto Context: Google Apps, toto, dorothy, plain HTML I am using the toto blog engine to publish the Polyglot Programmers of Austin site because I have always wanted blogging to comprise nothing more … Continue reading →

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The post you don’t want to read on the topic I don’t want to write about

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Sharon Cichelli

I’m going to give you a phrase of power. Use it wisely. Ready? I want to hear what you have to say. If you know a developer who ought to be presenting at conferences or writing blog posts and isn’t, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments

How Not to Say "Um" When Presenting

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Sharon Cichelli

I’ll start with the tip, then unpack the reason why it works and explain how to apply it. To avoid those hemming and hawing filler words—um, y’know, like—and give your presentations the polish of eloquence: Make eye contact. An Excursion … Continue reading →

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