Life is too short not to experiment
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“Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. And by doing it, they’re proven right. Bridging that gap, doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that—THAT is what life is.

 

And I think you might be really good. So, I think you should just give it a try. Step into life. Courage. Risks. Yes. Go. Now.”

– AMY POEHLER

How's it going?

Experimenting has been a common thread for our team over the past year, and we've been doing a lot of it around here lately. Which is why this edition of &you is all about experimenting, spreading your wings, and examining new horizons! In this issue: we learn about some upcoming experiments, we challenge you to your own experiment (right now even!), and we introduce you to one of our risk takers: Jaime.


Experimenting

The thing about experimenting is that sometimes, trying something new can be exhilarating and energizing. It reminds you of the awesome reward for taking risks. But the other side of experimenting is that you're pushing yourself voluntarily into the unknown, and that–well, that can be completely terrifying.

Our resident illustrator and graphic artist, Jaime Robles knows a little bit about that. Six years ago, he signed up for a chaotic, immersive educational experiment, and his life has never been the same.

 

Fast forward to last week, and Jaime once again returned to that same experiment with a different challenge–sharing his story with 800 high school seniors. Public speaking can be nerve-wracking for some, even if your audience isn't comprised of hormone-addled youths. But Jaime completely rocked that crowd, inspired some teens, and conquered his fear.

How crazy to think about all that's transpired because he took a risk that one time?

 
 

How I built a website

by Charlotte Spencer

This piece is so chock full of wonderful advice for those of you out there experimenting, you might as well go read her other one here, too. Seriously, go read it, you won't be sorry.

 
 

Why we're excited about ORTC

by Philipp Hancke

WebRTC is here to stay, and we've only scratched the surface of the intriguing development of its utilities. Fippo unpacks the powerful potential of ORTC, hailed as "WebRTC 2.0."

 
 

The sixth stage of grief is retro-computing

by Paul Ford

An in depth examination of the experimentation of our machines' predecessors, and the transition of physical machines into the virtual emulators of today.

 
 

What we're working on

This week we're happy to have yetis visiting Oakland, California for JSFest. Say hi to Karolina Szczur, Adam Baldwin and Jon Lamendola if you're in the area for all that JS community goodness.

One of the Ampersand.js core contributers Kamil Ogorek wrote up an awesome feature in the latest issue of net magazine called Modularised Apps with Ampersand.js on the "best new framework around."

In case you missed it, the blog has been churning out posts in rapid succession due in part to one Mike Speegle, who has kindly shared his trial-and-error method of coaxing yetis into writing in, I can writing and so are you.

 

&you?

What are you experimenting with this week? Hit reply and let us know (we might even share it in a future dispatch).

Wondering if there's one spot on the whole wide web for you to find like-minded people? We're creating an &you Twitter list so we can find each other, all in one place. Wave to us on Twitter and we'll add you to the list.

It will be like our own Tuesday experiment!

<&, your friendly neighborhood &yetis

 

P.S. Check out the blog for an upcoming post featuring Jaime's so-awesome-it's-unbearable-talk. You don't want to miss it.

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