I actually ended up coding the hard stuff from scratch in matlab/julia. I wish I has seen a simple example on how to use Theano early on -- then I would have been off on my way much sooner.
Learning to use TensorFlow/Theano/ect isn't like learning another programming language or package. I think it is more like learning a new skill.
> I actually ended up coding the hard stuff from scratch in matlab/julia
I always find it easier to use and understand the higher level tools (like TensorFlow) once you've written your own rudimentary implementation from scratch. Most of my work is done Julia, and sometimes that code is fast enough that I don't have to use anything else.
Learning to use TensorFlow/Theano/ect isn't like learning another programming language or package. I think it is more like learning a new skill.