Python through the Snow

For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))

Welcome to December ... just over three weeks to Christmas, and at this time of year I would usually be scrambling back through the archives for last year's pictures to add festive snow to some of my articles. But this year is different; the snow has come early, and it seems has caught everyone by surprise (hey - it usually does!). Here's a picture from yesterday morning - the predawn train calling at Melksham at 07:17 on its way up to Chippenham, where I changed ...

Cars, people, pushchairs all fighting their way through the light sprinkling of snow in Chippenham, still predawn (or first light) as I changed to head down to Bristol ...

I took the flow with the crowds out of Temple Meads, and walked across the City Centre - I was presenting a private Python Course in one of the high rise offices just below the hill that's Clifton ... and it gave me a chance to look at a few of the scenes I don't often see

I was agreeably surprised how quiet the actual city centre's roads were, even at that time of the morning - and I'll put my journeys to Bristol to give this course in the big success bracket. But, alas, the return journeys were so slow, with over an hour to "kill" on the journey - a course finishing at 5, but the train with a connection from Bristol not leaving until 6.30 - that's an hour later that ideal. And I wasn't the only one making that Melksham to Bristol journey yesterday morning - the barriers at Bristol rejected my (perfectly valid) ticket telling me to seek assistance, and in amongst those crowds another person who had joined the train at Melksham was going through the same thing. And I find it vaguely like I'm being accused of not having the right tickets when the barriers reject me; I can't help wondering is this puts other people off too.

And here's an interesting thought. There were between 40 and 50 people on the train from Melksham when it got to Chippenham, but only about 15 on the way back. What happened to those other people? Perhaps if there was an evening train at a true peak hour return time it would do much better ... it would certainly encourage me to use the train for days in Bristol!

(written 2010-12-01, updated 2010-12-04)

Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles

Y050 - Python - General
  [16] Python training - (2004-08-16)
  [2017] Python - a truly dynamic language - (2009-01-30)
  [2020] Learning Python - many new example programs - (2009-01-31)
  [2227] Learning PHP, Ruby, Lua and Python - upcoming courses - (2009-06-11)
  [2285] Great new diagrams for our notes ... Python releases - (2009-07-13)
  [2367] Learning to program - how to jump the first hurdles - (2009-08-20)
  [2394] Two days of demonstration scripts in Python - (2009-09-05)
  [2504] Learning to program in ... - (2009-11-15)
  [2778] Learning to program in Python 2 ... and / or in Python 3 - (2010-05-24)
  [2822] Python training courses for use with ESRI ArcMap software - (2010-06-23)
  [3463] Busy weekend of contrasts. - (2011-10-03)
  [3489] Python courses and Private courses - gently updating our product to keep it ahead of the game - (2011-10-20)
  [3519] Python - current versions and implementations (CPython, Jython, IronPython etc) - (2011-11-13)
  [3798] When you should use Object Orientation even in a short program - Python example - (2012-07-06)
  [3816] Want to escape the Olympics? Learn to program in the countryside! - (2012-07-23)
  [3902] Shell - Grep - Sed - Awk - Perl - Python - which to use when? - (2012-10-22)
  [3903] Python Programming class for delegates who have already self-taught the basics - (2012-10-25)
  [3911] How well do you know Perl and / or Python? - (2012-11-04)
  [3935] Whether you have programmed before or not, we can teach you Python - (2012-11-25)
  [4236] Using Python to analyse last years forum logs. Good coding practise discussion. - (2014-01-01)
  [4295] A longer Python ... training course - (2014-09-16)
  [4408] Additional Python courses added to our schedule - (2015-01-29)
  [4434] Public training courses - upcoming dates - (2015-02-21)
  [4558] Well House Consultants - Python courses / what's special. - (2015-10-28)
  [4656] Identifying the first and last records in a sequence - (2016-02-26)
  [4712] A reminder of the key issues to consider in moving from Python 2 to Python 3 - (2016-10-30)

Back to
Change of balance, of attitude, and of work method

Previous and next
or
Horse's mouth home

Forward to
Perl 6 - significantly nearer, and Rakudo looks very good

Some other Articles

Santa Special - rather more special than usual - December 2010
TransWilts Rail News ... Melksham (Santa Special) Edition ... 5th December 2010
Royal Wedding. How William and Catherine have changed our schedule
Perl 6 - significantly nearer, and Rakudo looks very good
Python through the Snow
Change of balance, of attitude, and of work method
Running a course ... what if the tutor isn't well?
Customer Service - the boundary
Finding elements common to many lists / arrays
Well House Price list, January to March 2011

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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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