Ky’s (Somewhat Poignant) Guide to Asynchronicity and Cryptocurrencies — Part 3

(Also inconsistently referred to as Ky’s Guide to Starting Over 1.8.3 or Ky’s Guide to Powerful Promises in future annotations and subsequent editions)

Making a Promise You Can Keep

Promises are a funny thing when you come to think on them. It’s a statement you make when you want to assure another party that you will (or won’t) do something, based on some condition or circumstance, and even if that event is in the future, you are giving your word that you will eventually do something.

For example, I…

(Also inconsistently referred to as Ky’s Guide to Starting Over 1.8.2 or Ky’s Guide to Acronyms that Start with ‘X’ in future annotations and subsequent editions)

Lots and Lots of Letters

The collectible marble market was on fire; prices for Symmetrical Clambroths were trouncing old English Divided Core Swirls and trading was happening at breakneck speed. On top of that, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices were fluctuating to boot. If I wanted to keep track of these prices and keep up with the rest of the cryptocurrency/marble traders, I needed to get my info faster than I was able to by…

(Also inconsistently referred to as Ky’s Guide to Starting Over 1.8.1 or Ky’s Guide to Event Loops in future annotations and subsequent editions)

Time for a New Hobby

The wind blustered outside, throwing fistfuls of icy snowflakes at my windows and carrying off a few strips of siding when I responded by shuttering my shades and turning up the thermostat. Winter was here in all its finger numbing, nose-boogeying majesty, and this time around, I refused to play the game. …

(Also inconsistently referred to as Ky’s Guide to Starting Over 1.7 or Ky’s Guide to Understanding JS through Opera, in future annotations and subsequent editions)

A Shattered Glass

The late morning sun was desperately trying to push its way past the blankets nailed over my bedroom windows when the alarm on my bedside table clicked on, the room filling with the apparent wailing of banshees interrupted by intermittent static. Wiping the last crusts of sleep from my eyes, the world slowly came into focus. I started to evaluate my situation. It was almost noon, evidenced by the blinking digits on…

One of the questions I have heard most when discussing Launch School with friends and family is “Why?”

When explaining that the program and classes don’t have a defined start and end date, when discussing the benefits of mastering fundamentals over seeking an “advanced degree” from a year-long university post-grad program, when I let my boss know I was leaving my job to pursue Launch School full-time… these were all times when I ran into this heavily-loaded one-word question.

I have had no issues explaining the long-term investment of building fundamentals and why pursuing a career in this manner is…

Getting Started with Scope

One of the early barriers that many people who are learning JavaScript encounter is the topic of variable scope. While the concept itself isn’t terribly difficult there are some behaviors that can prove confusing. The interconnection of scoping rules with closures, and the idea of hoisting for variable declarations can create some tricky gotcha situations. While working through these concepts myself, I put together a collection of examples that illustrate these various behaviors to help myself visualize and interpret what was happening in different contexts.

I wanted to make these available as a resource to practice reading and analyzing some…

(Also inconsistently referred to as Ky’s Guide to Starting Over 1.6 or Ky’s Guide to Racing Mountain Goats in future annotations and subsequent editions)

The Mountain

The majesty of the scenic vista before me was as captivating and breathtaking as the prominence that lay beyond was majestic and terrifying. The lower lands stretched out in all directions from the running slopes, the forested hills dotted by small cottages and the occasional riverside taffy mill. …

(Also inconsistently referred to as Ky’s Guide to Starting Over 1.5 or Ky’s Guide to Socially Disruptive Marble Habits in future annotations and subsequent editions)

All the Doll’s Eyes

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief as I stared at the screen. I had just outbid Marbelous_Mable_54 for the pristine, late-19th century Razorback Sulfite that was put up for auction late in the night two weeks prior. I had only noticed the obscure listing because I was in the habit of staying up into the early morning hours scanning r/marble_life, and working though the last stages of RB180 — Database…