Surprise Xcoders Social Thursday (Aug. 28)

We don’t normally have an Xcoders event on fourth Thursdays — but this week we do!

Standard time and place for social:

Where: Bale Breaker in Ballard, outside, at the fire thingies

When: 6 pm to 10 pm (but show up and leave at any time, of course)

Why the surprise event? Because longtime Xcoder and friend Olof is visiting, and we all want to see him. 🌴

(It’s beautiful out! You should come even if you don’t know Olof, even if this would be your first Xcoders.)

Special Event! Breakpoint Jam with James Dempsey and the Breakpoints

We have a very special Xcoders social coming up on the third Thursday of August — a special performance by James Dempsey and the Breakpoints!

You’ve seen him and various Breakpoints (conditional and otherwise) at WWDC, Live Near WWDC — and at any number of conferences such as CocoaConf and Deep Dish Swift.

You may know “Almost Dropped My iPhone” by heart — or at least have wondered how you’ll ever get “The Liki Song” out of your head! 🌴

And now’s your chance to see the legend himself, plus a star-studded lineup of mostly local Breakpoints, at a free outdoors show in a chill venue in Seattle in the summer.

Where: normal place for social events — Bale Breaker and Yonder Cider taproom in Ballard. Outside at the picnic tables.

When: Thursday, August 21, starting at 6 pm (earlier than normal) and going till closing (10 pm). The music will probably start around 7 pm. 7-ish. We’ll play it by ear. :)

Food note — the scheduled food truck is the Thursday regular: Impeckable Chicken.

Seattle Xcoders Returns to Presentation Meetings: April 3

It’s been a long time since we’ve had meetings with presentations!

We have managed to keep up with social meetings (held outdoors), because social is important.

But actual presentations are important! And we’re finally back. Presentation meetings will be on the first Thursday of each month, starting April 3. (Social-only meetings will continue on the third Thursday of each month.)

When: Thursday, April 3, 6:30 pm - 9 pm (gather at 6:30 pm; talk starts at 7 pm)

Where: North Seattle College, 9600 College Way North, in room LC 1105 in the library

After: Watershed Pub and Kitchen (all-ages friendly), across the John Lewis bridge, one block from the Northgate Link Light Rail station

You can subscribe to the Xcoders calendar and/or follow along on Meetup. Here’s the Meetup page on the April 3 event.

Note: there’s a social-only meeting sooner: this week, Thursday, March 20, 7 pm - 9 pm, at Bale Breaker & Yonder Cider taproom in Ballard (826 NW 49th St.). We meet outside.

All are welcome! You don’t have to be a coder — the group includes testers, support humans, designers, writers, and everyone who loves Mac and iOS apps. We even welcome managers! 🎩😀

Xcoders Podcast, May 2021

This month, Jared is joined by Xcoder Dan Morse, an iOS engineer at Nordstrom and organizer of the Underdog Devs group. The guys talk about Dan’s journey through code school and landing at Nordstrom, as well as how Dan got involved in Underdog Devs and how learning is constant.

Be sure to check out the Xcoders Slack for announcemnts on forthcoming in-person get togethers!

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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Xcoders Podcast, April 2021

This month, Seattle Xcoders co-organizer Tim Ekl joins the show to talk about his journey to Seattle (and Xcoders), his new blog post about the SE-0309 Swift Evolution proposal around Generics & Existentials, as well as Swift’s evolution as a general purpose language. There’s also some WWDC wishcasting for fun new APIs.

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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Thinking About the Return of Seattle Xcoders

We don’t have a date set — late spring would be the earliest, and that’s pretty optimistic — but we’re starting to think about how Seattle Xcoders will return.

It’s likely we’ll start not with a formal meeting but with social-only outdoor gatherings. There are a number of restaurants, pubs, and venues with outdoor seating, and we’ll pick one of them.

Eventually we’ll return to having meetings with presentations, but that may wait until late summer or even later.

In the meantime, you can prepare by getting your shots!

It’s our strongest expectation that every attendee will be fully vaccinated — even, or especially, at the initial outdoor gatherings.

While we can’t require or enforce that each person is vaccinated, we ask you to remember that vaccines save other people’s lives. You don’t know who you might see who is especially at risk, or who has a close friend or family member who is.

We also ask that nobody pressure anyone else to attend. Even joking, even with affection. These are stressful times, and people need to feel okay about making their own decisions about what is and isn’t safe without the newly returned burden of social expectation.

We’ll have more news when we have more news. For now, stay safe and healthy, and please get your vaccine so we can all be together again!

Xcoders Podcast, March 2021

This month, indie dev Leo Dion joins the show in the conclusion of a 2-part series with Xcoders and Leo’s podcast Empower Apps. The guys talk about automation and Swift Package Manager, and Leo shares a bit about his apps & projects. They conclude by sharing some of their 2021 Apple Wishlist.

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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Xcoders Podcast, February 2021

This month, Vancouver Xcoders organizer Malin Sundberg joins the show to talk about her world-traveling background, the upcoming Xcoders online gathering on 2/25 (where she also puts Jared on the spot about giving a talk too), and what she’s excited for from Apple in 2021.

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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Got a question about iOS development, Mac development, Apple, or working in software (or something else entirely)? We’re doing a Q&A episode of the Xcoders podcast to kick off 2021. Send your questions our way!

Xcoders Podcast, November 2020

This month, long-time Xcoder Jake Savin joins the show to chat about going from a music career to the tech industry, eventually winding up at UserLand Software, and making his way up to Seattle. Later Jared and Jake talk a bit about the consulting industry and Jake has some helpful tips for current (or future) consultants – and really anyone dealing with any kind of customer.

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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Xcoders Podcast, October 2020

This month, Rick Wolter joins the show to talk about his experience learning how to code while imprisoned, and the new group he’s started up to help formerliy incarcerated people transition into careers in the software industry. If you’re interested in Underdog Devs, please reach out to them on Twitter.

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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Black Lives Matter

(The below statement was written for our meeting tonight — but it should be said publicly as well, to help make sure it’s not missed.)

We’d like to take a moment to express Xcoders’ support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the continuing protests in Seattle and around the country. Xcoders believes in justice for the Black members of our community.

As a group, Xcoders remains dedicated to offering a welcoming space for members of the tech community interested in sharing their work. Especially now, we would be thrilled to help increase the visibility of Black members (old or new) wanting to share their skills or experience by hosting talks, offering podcast appearances, or publicizing blog posts.

As individuals, many Xcoders attendees have an extraordinary amount of privilege, and the ability to effect change in our teams, companies, and cities. We’d like to ask everyone here tonight to take some time to think about how you can engage with these issues. Whether that means educating yourself on the challenges facing Black Americans, fixing an injustice in your workplace, setting up a recurring donation, or participating in tomorrow’s Black Lives Matter march in Seattle, we encourage everyone to show their own support.

Xcoders Podcast, May 2020

This month, Jared is joined by Brian Covey, former Support Human at the Omni Group and current free agent in the job market. He shares a bit of what he did at Omni, what he’s looking for in his next role, and his (relatively recent) history with Xcoders. You should hire him!

If you are looking for a job and want to be on the show, please send an email so we can talk!

Questions, comments, or topic requests? Get in touch at info@seattlexcoders.org

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