Catzkorn

Syncing your Adventure Log to a Google Calendar

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Here is a quick guide to help you sync your training log to a google calendar.

Setup a google new Google Calendar.

Setting up a new calendar is, in my opinion, the better way to do this! I called my ‘Training’, but this name doesn’t matter so choose what you like!

Once you have created the calendar, you should end up on ‘Calendar Settings’ page for that calendar. Scroll down the page until you see the ‘Integrate calendar’ heading.

How to setup Postgres with Github Actions

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I was recent having a problem with TravisCI taking ages to run so I spent some time moving a project over to GitHub Actions.

It has slightly different syntax to the setup in .travis.yml, and I struggled to get my pre-test migrations script running.

While the creating postgresql service containers documentation details how to start the postgres service, there was little information online about how to run migrations, and most of the documented solutions didn’t work at all. So here’s how I got it to work (finally).

Calm Before the Storm

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Oh hey there! It’s been awhile, again. Four weeks, I think, since I last spewed my thoughts into the void of the internet. I had sat down multiple times to write about how my journey on the way to dev-dom was progressing, but this time of year is always challenging for me. A combination of winter blues, memories brought up from being 2 years post life saving surgery, ongoing health complications and the pressure of learning to code has left me exhausted. Something had to give; so the blog took a back seat.

Curly Bracket Mazes and Process Hazes

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Makers week six! Done!! Now I am closer to the end than I am the start, and typing that fact makes me so sad. Now I really feel I can start panicking about the ‘who will hire me?!’ / ‘what am I going to do without my enforced structure?!’. 2020 has for many of us not been what we wanted it to be. Many of us had set goals for ourselves, many of us were making huge life changing decisions. Instead, here we are, trapped in the midst of a pandemic, watching chaotic elections, and the planet is literally on fire. Sometimes I hope that I could wake up from this nightmare.

Databaes

Sat, 03 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Week four… and five at Makers completed! Yup, It happened. I missed last weeks blog. I set myself a goal at the start of this journey to blog every week. So last Sunday when I threw my arms up and said ‘Nope! I can’t do this today’, I was filled with this massive ball of guilt and regret that I had let myself, and in turn anyone who chooses to read each week, down.

Not Falling for Front End

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Week three at Makers is the first time we are introduced to the world of front end development by creating a Pokemon-esque game and a Rock Paper Scissors web app, using HTML and CSS.

It seems way too soon to be making sweeping statements about what I am and am not into as a developer… but I’m going to do it anyway. This blog is meant to be pulled straight from my brain at the time of writing. It’s going to be super fun to look back on this in months, or even years time, and the see the dramatic changes in my thought processes.

Powerful Collapse

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Week two at Makers?! ✅

When I closed my laptop on Friday after our end of week retro, I did so in high spirits. Our coach for the past two weeks, Eddie, told us that traditionally week two is where peoples moods are the lowest, but despite this, I have felt incredibly powerful this week during the course. My pairing sessions were productive, my self-learning time was challenging but rewarding, and every day I felt that I was better than the day before. I ran upstairs after one of my afternoon pairing sessions and exclaimed to my husband ‘I really think I can do this!’. If how I felt then was how I would feel 1% of the time as a real developer, I’m here for it.

It's Not Hard, It's New

Sat, 05 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

So it has begun! The full-time Makers course started on Tuesday. I woke up filled with the same nerves and tiredness as when you start a new school. Unfortunately, my lung decided on Saturday to hold a grudge against me and has not been fully co-operating. This is one of those issues I just have to get used to working around. Challenge accepted, lung.

Since I have now entered the full-time course and my free time has dramatically decreased, I have decided to structure the beginning of the blogs from now with The Wins, The Struggles, The Weekend Coding Challenge or The Project, and The Game Plan. These sections will detail areas I feel I have done well in, struggled in, what my weekend coding work was and how it went, and how I can improve, respectively. I hope this provides you, the reader, with a more clear overview of my journey as an aspiring dev, and to also remind myself that even in times when I feel I am overwhelmed and failing, that I am still making progress.

A Love Letter to my Future Employer

Fri, 28 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I didn’t expect the be confronted with it so soon, but week four of the Makers pre-course has guided me down the path of starting the first draft of my CV. I wasn’t ready for this.

All the underlying thoughts I have had about myself and my abilities have been strapped to a Saturn V rocket and blasted into the forefront of my mind. I know this is Becky talking, but there is a huge part of Charlotte that agrees with her. Who the hell would ever want to hire me?

The Post of P's

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Programming

Week two of Makers has been a continuation of the work started last week, building out some of the core fundamentals of coding. I have found this week quite challenging, but not due to the learning topics (hashes, methods and classes) themselves.

I mentioned in a previous post that one of my Charlotteism’s (in this case, dyslexia) is that I often need to relate a concept to something I have actually seen or experienced to understand it. This week, my brain was just not in the right place to make these connections as quickly as it had in previous weeks. I think this was largely down to not having a great week pain wise, in comparison to the previous weeks, and that has impacted me mentally.

Becky with the Negative Thoughts

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This week I have almost felt as if I am in mourning for the years I neglected to expand my knowledge. In some instances it was a defense mechanism, in others it wasn’t a conscious choice. Being able to learn is such a privilege, I didn’t fully understand what that actually meant until now.

I feel like a kid again. You know that age where every day you discover something new and it fills you with amazement and joy. I am getting such highs from learning some of the most basic programming concepts, and feeling such achievement from the personal improvements I make to myself.

Own Your Progress

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

It arrived, the first week of the Makers bootcamp, and I lived to tell the tale! But seriously, this week has been a great technical and personal learning experience.

Commander of the Command Line

The first four weeks are the part-time pre-course, designed to get the entire cohort up to the same level before the full-time aspect of the course kicks in at the start of the next month.

On the eve of the first day, the nerves hit me like a tonne of bricks. What the hell am I doing? and There is no way I am capable, or intelligent enough for this were two of the phrases I uttered aloud.

From Critical to Coding

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In the past four and a half years I have experienced the lowest of lows, and some of the highest of highs. The first three consisted of a critical illness that took me to the edge of not being here to write these words, and for the past year and a half I have spent my time recovering physically and trying to come to terms with how the experience affected and continues to affect me, mentally.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

About Me

Hi, I’m Charlotte! Originally from the UK, but now living in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, in the town of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish).

I’m a critical illness survivor and PhD drop-out turned Software Engineer. My background is in Environmental Science and Petroleum Environmental Geochemistry with an interest in natural resource extraction.

I’m happiest in the mountains, addicted to trail running and have too ~~many~~ few cats. Passionate about the environment, mental health and standing desks. Read occasionally, watch movies often and dance to 80s music always.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Reading list

These are some books that have been recommended to me over the years, and may be interesting to you as well.

Technical

Understanding the Linux Kernal: From I/O Ports to Process Management by Daniel P. Bovet
Chaos Engineering: System Resiliency in Practice by Casey Rosenthal
Security Chaos Engineering: Developing Resilience and Safety at Speed and Scale by Kelly Shortridge
TCP/IP Illustrated Volume 1: The Protocols by Kevin Fall
TCP/IP Illustrated Volume 2: The Implementation by Gary Wright
TCP/IP Illustrated Volume 3: TCP for Transactions, HTTPS, NNTP, and the UNIX Domain Protocols by W. Stevens
The Elements of Computing Systems, second edition: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles by Noam Nisan
Security Engineer: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems by Ross Anderson
Kill it with Fire: Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Future Proof Modern Ones) by Marianne Bellotti
Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems by Martin Kleppmann
Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment by Brendan Gregg
Systems Performance by W. Stevens and Stephen Rago
Computer Networks: A Systems Approach by Larry Peterson and Bruce Davie

Personal Development

The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change by Camille Fournier
Thinking in Systems: International Bestseller by Donella Meadows
Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track by Will Larson

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Charlotte Brandhorst-Satzkorn

charlotte@catzkorn.dev • github.com/catzkorn • catzkorn.dev • Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Canada

Personal Profile

Meticulous, user-focused software engineer with a strong track record of delivering high-quality features that address real user needs. Leverage a non-technical background to bring a unique, empathetic lens to product development. Proactively identify cross-functional issues and lead initiatives that improve both customer experience and internal workflows.

Experience

Edera (November 2024 - July 2025)

Senior Software Engineer

Go, Rust, Typescript, React, Prometheus, among others