I started my career on the database end of the technological landscape, as a consulting database reporting specialist, then later as a consulting DBA for Sybase. It was there that I discovered that the real fun was in system administration, but I still have a deep love for data organization, modeling, and management, even though…
Category: Technology
Python Magazine’s Article Wish List
Welcome to the second occasional PyMag Article Wish List, where the editors of Python Magazine get together to come up with a list of topics that we’d like to see covered, but which currently have no coverage in our magazine. If you’re familiar with any of the topics listed below, or you’re doing something else…
December issue of Python Magazine Out, and DRM-Free
After the October and November issues of Python Magazine were both out for some time, I was pretty surprised when I joined IRC channels only to find lots of people who still didn’t know about Python Magazine. Well, the December issue has just been released in both print and PDF, and I think it’s a…
The beginnings of a CLI interface to Google Spreadsheets
I’m really re-posting this from an O’Reillynet posting I made a while back in order to test out the code highlighting capabilities of my new wordpress installation. It seems that it’s not really working correctly [UPDATE: Seems to be working now :-D]. Anyway, I hate (HATE!) spreadsheets. Even the Google variant. The interfaces to these…
How to Build Your Own MySQL 5 Server in AppLogic
I’m building an infrastructure on a grid using AppLogic, which is a grid OS that provides both GUI and command line interfaces to build your infrastructure. I use both interfaces, depending on the task I’m trying to perform at the time. One thing I have discovered is that there are a lot of somewhat nebulous…
Holy Crap I’m Busy
I feel guilty that I’m even taking this little bit of time to post this. I’m *BUSY*. I’m simultaneously: learning how to deploy a fully-virtualized, production infrastructure on a grid using AppLogic planning and scripting the bits and pieces that need to happen to migrate an infrastructure to a grid architecture. Doing code review for…
…So little time
I’m not usually this bad about writing on my blog, but the past few weeks have been a little nuts. But it’s the ‘good’ kind of nuts. I’m working on MySQL, memcached, database replication, optimizing SQL queries (and, in one case, the database schema itself), writing Python (using ctypes, and trying to parse the C-encrusted…
My Python Presentation
During my last week on the job at GFDL, the manager there asked if I’d put together a presentation about Python, geared toward people who had been using Perl, or people who hadn’t done a lot of scripting at all. I said I’d do it so long as there weren’t any really advanced coders in…
I’ve Been Added
Friday was my last day working as a contractor for the GFDL. I had friends there before I ever worked there, so I’m sad to be leaving them, but I’m happy to be moving on to a really exciting opportunity. I’m now an employee of AddThis.com. I’ll be able to focus on architecture, and how…
Python Magazine Defies Skeptics
I was informed today by the publisher that Python Magazine has been deemed “viable” using all of the important business metrics that they use to evaluate the magazine. This is fantastic news, and speaks volumes about the viability of the magazine in *non* business terms, as well as the model we’ve been employing at MTA…