Fresno – Rob Fahrni

A wonderful bouquet of flowers. By now I’ve been a Professional Software Developer for well over 30 years. But like everyone in this industry I always have something new to learn. Things change rapidly.

I recently took a Beginning HTML class through Bitwise Workforce Training. Yes, I took a beginning HTML class. I could poke around HTML and CSS enough to make a mess but I never really understood how to properly build a page. I don’t plan on becoming a full time web developer but having the ability to create a great page for one of my iOS Apps is really important. How else will folks learn about my work?

Our class was a wonderful mix of folks from all walks of life and I absolutely loved it for that. There were things I knew about computers I could pass on to others and others already knew a bit about CSS and HTML so they passed on tips to me. Everyone was smart and ready to learn.

That’s important. Come ready to learn. The class is structured to be a practical guide to building a website with a few pages and our instructors made it clear we were only scratching the surface of HTML and CSS and the real learning would come when we were out on our own. Practical. Like the real world you learn the basics and figure out the rest through exploration. This is perfectly suited for me. I learn best by doing.

The class paid off for me after the first two sessions. I am the developer of an iOS feed reader called Stream. I was in the middle of an update to replace my Article viewing code with 100% HTML. The HTML I needed to create was quite simple but to someone without proper grounding in HTML and CSS I was struggling. After my first two classes I had enough knowledge, after asking a few follow-up questions, to build the HTML I needed to ship the update to my app.

If you’re interested in learning in a structured – yet practical – way consider taking a Workforce Training class.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to a couple folks. Gabby Moreno, our intrepid instructor, and Jen Lewis, her assistant. Between the two of them they managed to help everyone. They’re very kind, smart, and most off all, patient.

The Fresno Bee: “But there is so much promise. Nowhere else in Fresno contains such great architecture, buildings that give you a sense of place and history. And few California cities, if any, boast Fulton Streetâ€™s amazing collection of mid 20th-century sculptures and fountains, all beautifully conserved.”

It’s been a long time coming but Fulton Street in Downtown Fresno is finally, finally, ready to be used. They’ve done an amazing job and I’m pretty excited about seeing the changes in person.

If I were looking to build I’d look downtown first. There are many beautiful buildings downtown just sitting empty. The architecture is varied and beautiful. There is also a great opportunity to fix some of the mistakes of the past, like covering beautiful materials with ugly facades â€” watch the video with shots of old Downtown Fresno and you’ll see what I’m talking about. I hope building owners take this opportunity to improve their buildings and make the “less ghetto” as one of the folks in the article put it.

If you live in Fresno you owe it to yourself to spend a bit of time downtown with open eyes. Focus on the improvements. Check out Bitwise South Stadium and Hashtag Fresno in the old Hotel Virginia on Kern Street.

If you’ve ever lived in a vibrant city you’ll understand my desire to be a part of downtown. I continue to hope it can become a thriving place in the valley. It sounds like it has a chance. We have some true believers, we just need that extra little push to get over the hump.

Check out the video of years past. Fresno had a vibrant Downtown, complete with street cars! How cool is that?

Cities are fun when they work. I had the pleasure of working in Downtown Seattle for a number of years and it’s so nice to step outside the door of your business and be able to choose from hundreds of places to eat and shop without getting in your car and dealing with traffic.

Like I said above. If you have a business and are considering a move, or want to build your own place, you should consider Downtown Fresno. Become part of the solution, restore a building, or a floor in a building and help attract others downtown.

If I were a business owner you can bet I’d build downtown.