Hows that #hourofcode coming?

Unfortunately for me, not so well.

It all started last Friday for me. I had mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to try my hand at Python. I've been doing some research over the past month, and had decided that the best way to get my Python education going ( after downloading my free copy of Python 3.3.3) would be to put Python on a dedicated platform- not a problem there, as I have a spare PC that can be utilized for the task. However, as Mr. T is still at home and being homeschooled (and has an interest in this sort of thing), I decided to tackle  Python and Linux simultaneously, so I went online and ordered a Raspberry Pi for each of us. During my research, I found one author who was a big fan of the Linux Gentoo distro; he said it worked quite well on the Pi. And, as Mr T. waxes long and eloquently about Gentoo but has yet to install it, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to get our son into another programming opportunity.

However, the plan didn't quite come together as I'd hoped. I went to a vendor listed on the Pi website and placed my order for two units. This was my first time using this vendor, though, and I apparently did something incorrectly, for even though I had originally ordered a quantity of two, when my pending purchase order was displayed, there was only one. Not a problem- there was a chat-based customer service representative (CSR) available. It took around forty-five minutes, but the CSR assured me that my order was fixed. My order was fixed, but I found out on Wednesday that my order was now on backorder, and might ship on the 23rd of December. So my plan to have Pi for the #hourofcode has been thwarted. Alas and alack!

In the interim, I'm also planning and plotting about the impending Windows XP EOL. I have three machines that are impacted by this, and I honestly haven't decided what to do about them. One is almost certainly going to become a Win7 box, and the second may become a Linux box. I'm not sure about the remaining one. One option is to keep of them as XP machines, but take them offline and use them for games or things which don't require connectivity to the world.

In other news, both the car and the truck have been to the shop this week for needed repairs, and when all of the hours were added up, there was no time for data! I'm hoping this (data) situation changes soon. I'm getting excited about working with Python- I hear it is contending with and in some areas displacing R for statistical work.

Lastly, a bit of blog news: as 2013 comes to a close, the blog has now been viewed in at least thirty-seven countries- Belarus is the latest!

As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.