I was in San Francisco on vacation the first week in June. I had a great, wonderful time, and I owe that to my friends and my mom. They are all wonderful people, and I want to reach out to each of them. So in alphabetical order:
Barbara http://djangrrl.com
I met her not long before pycon 2009 via the Pinax community. She is a very talented developer, Barbara has the 'luxury' of working in the music industry. She's got mad php, mysql, python, and of course, django skills.
For the trip she found us (me, Noah, Zain) tickets to Spamalot, got us (me, Noah, Zain) into the DNALounge for a Zombie Beach party, gave me a walking tour of San Francisco, introduced me to really @#$%ing great vegan food, and took me to Alcatraz. Her knowledge of how to get around San Francisco is unmatched. The last day as we parted ways she tried to get me to go to more places on my own, but I was wiped out from her boundless energy.
Thank you Barbara!
Dave B http://davidbrenneman.com/
Dave is like me, living in both the plone and django communities. He has done some really fascinating work in both areas. He is bright and smart.
I met Dave Friday night for dinner at a really good sushi place whose name I wish I could remember. We challenged the sushi chef to pick what we would eat since he would have to impress us. The result was a number of subtle but delicious selections. Afterwards we went to his place across the Golden Gate park panhandle and I got to meet his lovely wife. They are expecting their first this year!
Thank you Dave!
Dave S. and Cecille P.
A couple of my DC area friends, they both encouraged me to go on a vacation. They've been great to me this past couple of months. I'll always remember their kindness!
Thanks Dave and Cecille!
Daryl http://yacitus.blogspot.com
I met Daryl at pycon 2008. He's a Canadian but don't hold that against him. He works for vmware in Palo Alto. His python and django skills are crazy good.
Daryl was busy the whole time but put a lot of work into finding things for me to see and do around the bay, since most of the time I was solo. He did hang with me for a bit on Wednesday (June 3, 2009) night and we had dinner at Pluto's. That place is like Chipotle on steroids. Next time I hope to visit his house and let his kids hit me with sticks or something else fun.
Thanks Daryl!
Katie http://elephantangelchild.blogspot.com/
My co-worker and our group's technical lead. Multi-talented, besides herding us cats... err... developers... she can code in php, python, draw, and write.
Katie kept the home fires burning at work. Or rather, she kept the fires from raging out of control and consuming the universe.
Thanks Katie!
My Mom
She used to work for a very scary government agency with three letters and retired at the level of 'bigtime boss lady'. Now she does lots of volunteer work, gardening, and many exercise classes.
Mom made sure I got to San Francisco in ways only a parent can. She also encouraged me to take pictures with me in them, and has happily listened to many of my stories about the trip.
Thanks Mom!
Zain
Last but definately not least is Zain. I met Zain at pycon 2009 in the midst of the infamous Django/Pinax fued. Zain is one of the those annoyingly bright young guys with a wonderful personality. Amongst other things he is doing Google Summer of Code for django core, working to augment the Admin UI.
Zed literally hosted me at his house in San Jose. He fed me, clothed me, washed my clothes, and took a day off from work to go cycling with me around Angel Island. He drives through the hills like a maniac too.
I can't thank Zain enough!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
What I managed to get done in San Francisco
1. Visit my friend Daryl Spitzer in Palo Alto for lunch at VMWare.
Wednesday, June 3rd I ate dinner at Pluto's in Palo Alto with Daryl Spitzer and Zain Memon. It was good catching up!
2.Rent a bike at fisherman's wharf and go mountain biking on the trails of Angel island in the bay.
Thursday, June 4th me and Zain cycled Perimeter Road on Angel Island on rented bikes (get the rentals on the island since they don't ask for a hefty down payment). The views were incredible.
3.Rent a bike at fisherman's wharf and go road biking through the hills of the Marin Headlands.
Well, actually I did not do this, but instead on Tuesday, June 2nd I bike the Golden gate bridge, through Sausalito, up to Old Mill park, through Tiburon, and up into Belvedere (which has a monster hill that pushed me to my limits).
4.Spend some time at Fisherman's wharf since I'll be there for the bikes anyway.
Best seafood place there by far is Nick's, a hole in the wall where the cook is on the sidewalk. Ignore the pricey tourist traps and go to Nick's!
5. Go to the Exploratorium
Fail!
6. Go to the SFMOMA
Fail!
7. Rent a cheap hotel room somewhere and then wake up at dawn to watch the sun rise over Golden Gate or something.
Fail!
8.See Alcatraz.
Went with Barbara Shaurette on Sunday, June 7th. I was tired from walking around San Francisco for many awesome hours the day before, but it was worth it.
9. See giant trees in Muir Forest.
Fail! But I did see some pretty decent sized trees in Old Mill Park.
Images can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pydanny/tags/sanfrancisco/
Lots more detail to come!
Wednesday, June 3rd I ate dinner at Pluto's in Palo Alto with Daryl Spitzer and Zain Memon. It was good catching up!
2.
Thursday, June 4th me and Zain cycled Perimeter Road on Angel Island on rented bikes (get the rentals on the island since they don't ask for a hefty down payment). The views were incredible.
3.
Well, actually I did not do this, but instead on Tuesday, June 2nd I bike the Golden gate bridge, through Sausalito, up to Old Mill park, through Tiburon, and up into Belvedere (which has a monster hill that pushed me to my limits).
4.
Best seafood place there by far is Nick's, a hole in the wall where the cook is on the sidewalk. Ignore the pricey tourist traps and go to Nick's!
5. Go to the Exploratorium
Fail!
6. Go to the SFMOMA
Fail!
7. Rent a cheap hotel room somewhere and then wake up at dawn to watch the sun rise over Golden Gate or something.
Fail!
8.
Went with Barbara Shaurette on Sunday, June 7th. I was tired from walking around San Francisco for many awesome hours the day before, but it was worth it.
9. See giant trees in Muir Forest.
Fail! But I did see some pretty decent sized trees in Old Mill Park.
Images can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pydanny/tags/sanfrancisco/
Lots more detail to come!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
My San Francisco Day Plans
1. Visit my friend Daryl Spitzer in Palo Alto for lunch at VMWare.
2. Rent a bike at fisherman's wharf and go mountain biking on the trails of Angelo island in the bay.
3. Rent a bike at fisherman's wharf and go road biking through the hills of the Marin Headlands.
4. Spend some time at Fisherman's wharf since I'll be there for the bikes anyway.
5. Go to the Exploratorium
6. Go to the SFMOMA
7. Rent a cheap hotel room somewhere and then wake up at dawn to watch the sun rise over Golden Gate or something.
8. See Alcatraz.
9. See giant trees in Muir Forest.
2. Rent a bike at fisherman's wharf and go mountain biking on the trails of Angelo island in the bay.
3. Rent a bike at fisherman's wharf and go road biking through the hills of the Marin Headlands.
4. Spend some time at Fisherman's wharf since I'll be there for the bikes anyway.
5. Go to the Exploratorium
6. Go to the SFMOMA
7. Rent a cheap hotel room somewhere and then wake up at dawn to watch the sun rise over Golden Gate or something.
8. See Alcatraz.
9. See giant trees in Muir Forest.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Tomorrow I'm boarding a flight to go from Washington, DC to Chicago, IL to experience another Pycon. Pycon is the big Python Conference here in the USA.
You can thank the NASA Science Mission Directorate and Indyne Incorporated for sending me to Pycon 2009. I would like to toss out a hearty thank you to the following people for helping me get to this conference:
While I'm there I guess I need to sheepishly admit to Bruce Eckels an apology. My idea was off. Lets just say that Pycon needs to keep corporate endorsements in the vendor area. It doesn't need help anywhere else. ;)
I am taking a whopping four tutorials, then attending the full conference, then working hard through four days of sprinting. I had thought of volunteering to help with a session or two but backed off since I am not paying my own way there. Instead I will stay focused on the task at hand, which is learning, networking, and contribution to various projects that NASA SMD is interested in supporting.
Look me up if you are there. I'll be playing with the other Python, Django, Plone, Pinax, and Zope kids.
My conference schedule:
webcal://us.pycon.org/2009/conference/schedule/ical/1c68d36a70bd61ea4d0de3a5d5d7e9b8g104/
For those of you who sent me resumes, you are not forgotten! We had hoped to get formal responses to everyone by Pycon but that was not in the cards. Feel free to chat if we bump into each other.
You can thank the NASA Science Mission Directorate and Indyne Incorporated for sending me to Pycon 2009. I would like to toss out a hearty thank you to the following people for helping me get to this conference:
- Ruth Netting
- Jim Consalvi
- Corin Turner
- Kathryn Luke
- Malik Abdul Mahmad
- Candace Solomon
- Meredith Mengel
- Vicky Niblett
- Katie Cunningham
- James Saint-Rossy
- Chris Shenton
While I'm there I guess I need to sheepishly admit to Bruce Eckels an apology. My idea was off. Lets just say that Pycon needs to keep corporate endorsements in the vendor area. It doesn't need help anywhere else. ;)
I am taking a whopping four tutorials, then attending the full conference, then working hard through four days of sprinting. I had thought of volunteering to help with a session or two but backed off since I am not paying my own way there. Instead I will stay focused on the task at hand, which is learning, networking, and contribution to various projects that NASA SMD is interested in supporting.
Look me up if you are there. I'll be playing with the other Python, Django, Plone, Pinax, and Zope kids.
My conference schedule:
webcal://us.pycon.org/2009/conference/schedule/ical/1c68d36a70bd61ea4d0de3a5d5d7e9b8g104/
For those of you who sent me resumes, you are not forgotten! We had hoped to get formal responses to everyone by Pycon but that was not in the cards. Feel free to chat if we bump into each other.
Friday, January 16, 2009
My current training schedule
In June I'm planning to test for my 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I'll quickly discuss my goals, diet, and training regimen.
Goals:
Drop some weight.
If I can lose 10 pounds by June and do it on top of my other goals, then that makes the other goals much more achievable.
Get faster. Much faster.
I used to be a very fast person. My reflexes were really good. My current speed is not bad but it could be so much faster. I aim to achieve my old speed yet again.
Increase endurance.
The cycling has been useful, but I need to supplement it. And come up with alternatives when the weather/work prevents.
Improve technique.
Everyone says I do things well. But I know my own weaknesses. My back kicks are actually turning side kicks. I have trouble delivering power on high round kicks. I do my spin kicks on the balls of my feet. And so much more.
Make the test look easy.
Our school's black belt tests are quite challenging. We are not a belt factory. People sweat gallons, get sick, weep, and that is in just the first hour. I want to make the other testers look like novices.
Diet:
Eat Less.
I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On workout days I'll eat a snack of nuts and dried fruit two hours before the fun begins.
Muscle Replenishment.
I am sore often so I make do with more protein and potassium.
Eat Better.
No more chips. Fruits and vegetables. More fish and less of other kinds of meat.
Training Regimen
Core Fitness.
On Mondays I meet with Ron Boykin for an hour doing weights and various other exercises focusing mostly on upper body and core. He has started to work my legs, which is good because cycling only hits a part of them.
I also do this on my own on Saturday. In addition to following a rough sort of plan, Ron Boykin got me hooked on jumping rope, which I can do forever if there is music.
Martial Arts.
Except for Friday I do at least 2 hours a day. Although the test is on Tae Kwon Do, I am also cross training with my old favorites of Boxing and Muay Thai, plus a bit of weapons work. A quick chart of who I am crediting as being trainers:
I need a new bike but I am getting in a few miles here and there. My hope is that I'll be ramping this up getting towards June. My plan is to bike to work one day, then bike back home the next day. This will prevent overtraining in this one area.
Goals:
Drop some weight.
If I can lose 10 pounds by June and do it on top of my other goals, then that makes the other goals much more achievable.
Get faster. Much faster.
I used to be a very fast person. My reflexes were really good. My current speed is not bad but it could be so much faster. I aim to achieve my old speed yet again.
Increase endurance.
The cycling has been useful, but I need to supplement it. And come up with alternatives when the weather/work prevents.
Improve technique.
Everyone says I do things well. But I know my own weaknesses. My back kicks are actually turning side kicks. I have trouble delivering power on high round kicks. I do my spin kicks on the balls of my feet. And so much more.
Make the test look easy.
Our school's black belt tests are quite challenging. We are not a belt factory. People sweat gallons, get sick, weep, and that is in just the first hour. I want to make the other testers look like novices.
Diet:
Eat Less.
I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On workout days I'll eat a snack of nuts and dried fruit two hours before the fun begins.
Muscle Replenishment.
I am sore often so I make do with more protein and potassium.
Eat Better.
No more chips. Fruits and vegetables. More fish and less of other kinds of meat.
Training Regimen
Core Fitness.
On Mondays I meet with Ron Boykin for an hour doing weights and various other exercises focusing mostly on upper body and core. He has started to work my legs, which is good because cycling only hits a part of them.
I also do this on my own on Saturday. In addition to following a rough sort of plan, Ron Boykin got me hooked on jumping rope, which I can do forever if there is music.
Martial Arts.
Except for Friday I do at least 2 hours a day. Although the test is on Tae Kwon Do, I am also cross training with my old favorites of Boxing and Muay Thai, plus a bit of weapons work. A quick chart of who I am crediting as being trainers:
- Tae Kwon Do: Mohammed Husseini (Striking), Dave Lutes (Forms and footwork)
- Muay Thai: Andrew Goldfarb
- Boxing: Ron Boykin, Andrew Goldfarb
- Weapons: Ron Boykin, Scott Muzinski
I need a new bike but I am getting in a few miles here and there. My hope is that I'll be ramping this up getting towards June. My plan is to bike to work one day, then bike back home the next day. This will prevent overtraining in this one area.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Memories of New Year's by the decade
40 years ago I was crawling on a floor somewhere in Highland Park, New Jersey. I don't recall that time. We were probably getting ready to move to Laurel, Maryland at that time.
30 years ago I was sad that the digital watch I got from Channukah '78 no longer had the same magic. It listed the time and the last two digits of the current year. Until we went into 1979 at 12:34pm, 56 seconds into the minute each day I looked down and saw this: 12:34:56 78. This was now gone from a daily activity.
20 years ago I was at the house of my friend Tony's girlfriend trying to fix her parent's bed. Do the math yourself as to what happened... As for my thoughts, I was dwelling on whether or not I would get to hook up again with the girl I met during the autumn.
10 years ago me and my wife celebrated the last New Year's of the second millenium, and started one more year at Aurora Highlands.
30 years ago I was sad that the digital watch I got from Channukah '78 no longer had the same magic. It listed the time and the last two digits of the current year. Until we went into 1979 at 12:34pm, 56 seconds into the minute each day I looked down and saw this: 12:34:56 78. This was now gone from a daily activity.
20 years ago I was at the house of my friend Tony's girlfriend trying to fix her parent's bed. Do the math yourself as to what happened... As for my thoughts, I was dwelling on whether or not I would get to hook up again with the girl I met during the autumn.
10 years ago me and my wife celebrated the last New Year's of the second millenium, and started one more year at Aurora Highlands.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Made leaving comments on this blog easier.
I think I got the settings right. Now you don't need an account, just enter in the CAPTCHA and then it will go to me for moderation. If I know you, I'll approve it, and I'll kick spammers.
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