The week of November 17th I decided to do something crazy: I decided to dive into Objective-C and Cocoa at the Big Nerd Ranch. I had heard many myths and legends about Aaron Hillegass and they all turned out to be true. Aaron leads an exceptional class making learning Cocoa fun and helping you become a “stylish” programmer along the way. Most of the class covers the third edition of Aaron’s excellent book “Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X” although there are a lot of gems you get by being there. I was a bit nervous because I had just finished reading the book and thought “what will I get out of the class”? I was amazed at what I learned. Being there was more than worth it. The ability to go beyond what is in the book and having everyone with you for the ride was amazing. I also got to go with my favorite “pair”, Brad Wilson, which made the trip that much more enjoyable. Coding by day and War Hammer at night… it doesn’t get any better. We paired on some of the solutions making changes here and there based on the things we learned and just trying crazy ideas.
The place the class was held was absolutely beautiful. The mid-afternoon hikes were a great time to clear your head and relax after the intense day. The food was excellent and always came at the right time. The only thing I wish we could have done is jump on one of the zip-lines that ran through the forest.
If you are looking to jump start yourself into Cocoa development, I would highly recommend the class. Go be a nerd, lead the herd.
Listened to: Signify from the album “Signify” by Porcupine Tree