Posts

Python, Django, Wagtail, and other musings from Philadelphia

The CDnow Data Center, Circa 2000

May 5, 2014 Random

It was quite a beauty for its day. CDnow started off as a Telnet store, back in the days when people did not even consider the danger of sending your credit card details without encryption. When the CDnow web site was developed, there were not many mature web servers available, so the founders wrote their own in C, called "mserver" (or, Matt's server, after Matt Olim, co-founder). On top of C, Matt started a language called SDK (Site Development Kit), a scripting language tied to Oracle which did many things far ahead of its time.
Interview About the Philly Women In Tech Summit; A Y-Chromosome Perspective

May 23, 2012 Random Conferences & Meetups Media & Press

I helped host the first Philadelphia Women in Technology Summit during Philly Tech Week 2012. Being the only man at a tech conference gave me enormous appreciation for women in tech, and the extra steep hills they have to climb.
PANMA Event: 2/23/3012: SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, etc: the Future of IP on the Web

February 23, 2012 Conferences & Meetups

SOPA and PIPA were recently shelved, but not defeated, and their international cousin ACTA is still gaining momentum. Find out why the fight is not yet over, as well as a back in intellectual property and how they apply to technology.
Cory Doctorow's Talk & Discussion at The Wharton School, November 17th, 2011

November 17, 2011 Conferences & Meetups

Cory Doctorow held a lecture and Q&A Session on November 17th, 2011 at The Wharton School in Jon M. Huntsman Hall. It was open to the general public.
PANMA Event: #whywelovephilly: The Awesome Philly Tech Scene!

October 20, 2011 Conferences & Meetups

Philadelphia has an amazing, diverse and ever-active tech-creative community. Web designers, graphic artists, developers, videographers, content strategists, people in marketing, social media and game development all find a home here. There’s so much going on, it’s easy to miss things...
Can I Afford the Book I Helped Author?

February 11, 2011 Random

Just a quick post to provide a link to a book I helped write a chapter in, although I must admit, I had a bit of sticker shock!
Don't Be Clever: Humor is Essential to Learning to Code

December 17, 2010 Python Random

Python isn't named after a snake, it is named after Monty Python. Being half British, my father ensured I grew up ensconced in Monty Python. My Godfather, a force in me becoming a programmer, was also a huge Monty Python fan. He authored books on early computer science.The Second Life community of LSL programmers had a pretty good sense of humor. The wiki page was defaced, and after a few years, I decided it was time to recover some of the funnier pages that were posted, which all had nuggets of wisdom. Without further ado...
Nail the Scammers: Great Effort Across Austin, Philly and London!

August 3, 2010 Random

Several friends and I worked across multiple continents to find the source of a "Nigerian Prince" phishing scam... bringing some levity to a tragedy.
Feature on Virtual Worlds on Channel 6 Action News

May 16, 2007 Random Media & Press

I was featured on a news segment for "Right Now on the Net" about Second Life. Reporter Erin O'Hearn ask questions about Second Life in general, and some of the controversies it faces, as any new medium does.