Djangonaut Lunch in Crystal City

Django and Python developers from NASA and PBS will be gathering along with various Django/Python friends for lunch this Friday (October 2, 2009) in Crystal City, Virginia. We should also have representation from the Python Software Foundation. Join us for an afternoon meal to discuss Django, Python, local collaboration, and various other community activities.

Details are as follows:

Time:
Friday, October 2, 2009 at 1:00 PM

Restaurant:
Kora restaurant | bar | lounge
571-431-7090
2250-B Crystal Drive
Arlington, VA 22202

Reservations were made in the name of Katie Cunningham.

If you intend to come, please let us know in the comments.

Something I learned at DjangoCon

That is me in the blue shirt doing Capoeira! The other videos aren't as good as this one. Of course, in general I look pretty sloppy - something I will have to fix!

I found what might be a pretty good place in DC for doing Capoeira, the aptly named Capoeira DC. I'm really thinking of getting into this, at least on Saturday afternoons.

Django brought me to Capoeira. Another reason for the world to use Django!

Looking for work?

Looks like we are hiring again! Who are we? We are contractors for NASA's Science Mission Directorate! We are looking for Django developers or experienced Python developers who want to learn Django to come and help us do awesome stuff for NASA. Experience with CSS, JavaScript, Subversion, Linux, and experience with contributing to open source projects are definite pluses.

Before you apply you need to pass this little test of mine. If you fail any portion of this test we won't consider hiring you.

1. Are you a U.S Citizen? Yes, there are brilliant non-U.S. Citizens we really want to hire but according to the unchangeable rules we can't hire them. No exceptions. You need to be a U.S. Citizen.
2. Can you get to the office? You need to be able to get into Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia every day of the work week. No telecommuters!
3. Do you know Python? Sorry, but we aren't looking for Foxpro developers.
   
4. Are you a developer? I will throw away anything from a recruiter.
5. Can you send your resume to my email address?

The email address you need to send it to can be generated by running these two lines of code:

numbers = [100, 97, 110, 105, 101, 108, 46, 103, 114, 101, 101, 110, 102, 101, 108, 100, 45, 49, 64, 110, 97, 115, 97, 46, 103, 111, 118]

''.join([chr(x) for x in numbers])

Pycon talk thoughts

Back at the start of this month I posted my thoughts about sessions I was considering giving at Pycon 2010. They ones I've killed are:

• How to suffer through SOAP web services using Python even though REST is so much better (I might be too bitter for this one).

The general response to this one has been that SOAP is icky. I think SOAP is icky. Why should I present on a topic I loathe and I'm mildly bitter about? So I'm not going to do this presentation.

• Why I like stupid template languages (expanding on a tangent of this article).

I think this might make for a good NOVA-DUG talk or a blog rant but I don't think it would work for a pycon talk. So we'll consider it nixed.

• Lets move widgets into HTML templates and out of python code! Modern JavaScript libraries makes this easy!

I think this design pattern makes for a good NOVA-DUG talk or a blog post. Not enough for a pycon talk.

The one I submitted to Pycon:

• A reprise of the Pinax tutorial at DjangoCon

I've already submitted this to Pycon. It went well enough at DjangoCon and we've already made changes to things so its just plain better.

The one I'm considering:

• Why and how to make accessible508 compliant AJAXified python applications.

Actually, this one is interesting. The focus would be on things and focus on 508/accessibility issues and degradable AJAX. I would explain why 508/accessibility is important. I would demonstrate how to construct an examples using several python frameworks (Django, TurboGears, and repoze.BFG come to mind) and maybe more than one JavaScript framework (JQuery, YUI, et al).

I could certainly give that talk in 30 or 45 minutes. My concern though is just plain getting ready for the talk. It would be a lot of work in research of unfamiliar frameworks and just plain coming up with working material. Add to that selling of the house, work on a professional side project, running NOVA-DUG, working a full time job, my normal teaching schedule, leading the Django Education Foundation forward, maybe starting up Capoeira, and maybe doing some things for the Django Software Foundation, and I'm not seeing it in my schedule.

One more thing: at Pycon I want to learn! I'm not sure I want to be involved in giving too many talks since those will eat precious listening time.

I think what I will do for now cook this up as a Django + JQuery + 508 presentation for NOVA-DUG and see where it takes me.

Slides from DjangoCon 2009

James Tauber and I presented a tutorial at DjangoCon. The presentation well until a gaff near the end. We are changing things a bit and presenting this again at Pycon (if we are accepted). My slides are up!

http://www.slideshare.net/pydanny/pinax-tutorial-090909

Bonus points to anyone who identifies the mistakes in the slides.

Pycon talk proposal reminder

If you want to present a talk at Pycon 2010, you've got a mere fourteen days to make a proposal. Hurry up and get cracking on what you want to present before its too late. And remember, the more proposals we get the better Pycon will be!

More importantly, if you get your proposal accepted then you earn major Python community street creditability. Recruiters will smash down your door in the middle of the night in the hopes of interviewing you. You'll be followed by groupies and a posse of yes-men (and women). And Alex Gaynor will be your friend.

Show me your open source Django CMS

Want your open source CMS to be tried out by NASA SMD?

Django comes from the CMS world, and rolling your own isn't that hard. Nevertheless, we don't want to reinvent the wheel, so this is a solicitation for open source Django CMS efforts with active communities.

Our requirements:

• Must be powered by Django.
• Most be open source.
  
• Follows Django/Python best practices.
• Must be extensible.
  
• Elegant user interface.
  
• Renders humanely in FF, Safari, and IE 7, and 8. IE6 is a definite plus.
• Section 508 compliant or at least pretty close.
  
• No patching of Django to make things work.
• Must be able to run with PostgreSQL and MySQL.
• Must have an active community. Which means that commits to the CMS need to have happened within the last two months.
• You must provide a featured sites list to be even considered as an option.
  

Make your entries in the comments to this blog. If we pick your tool we'll give you full credit for your hard work.

Best DjangoCon 2009 Day Ever!

This might sound a bit familiar, but yesterday was a day I don't think I will ever be able to top again. It was one of the pinnacles of my geeky existence, and I fear that the rest of my life will be a dull effort to recapture the glory that was yesterday. Why do I think this is so?

• Fresh Oregon state blueberry pancakes for breakfast with James Tauber, Brian Rosner, and Jannis Leidel. If you know me well, you'll understand why the pancakes were so important.
• Great keynote speech by Ian Bicking.
  
• I gave my first Django and Pinax related talk in a single combined event. Me and James Tauber gave a Pinax Tutorial that besides a demo gaff at the end went very well.
• Saw a really good talk by my new Public Broadcasting System (PBS) friends! Those guys are really smart and I'm delighted they are in my home area.
  
• I participated in my first conference panel ever! We (me, Katie Cunningham, Gary Wilson, Shawn Rider, and our host Brian Luft) told our story with getting Django (and python) into our shops. Lots of great questions at the end.
• Finding out that my 508 form project django-uni-form isn't just used by NASA and Pinax, but also by PBS!
• Chocolate peanut butter filled cookies for afternoon snack.
• Got a chance to tell Chris Wanstrath not only how much I appreciated that github kept me from having to learn all the git functions besides the basic ones, but also fended off the inevitable person accosting him about github performance issues (I fully recognize that scaling complex dynamic sites can be hard).
  
• The weather was amazing with a nice second trip to Powells. We should move the conference outside.
• Fondue for dinner that was so good it shut down James Bennett for 2 minutes!
• I witnessed my fellow NASA Dangonaut from Ames Research Center, Mark Friedenbach (NAI, NLSI) get married to his lovely fiance, Ariel Lee. Pictures to follow soon!
  

Best. DjangoCon. Day. Ever.

I'll say right now that yesterday tied my 'Best Pycon 2009 Day'. I'm delighted I got something just as good as that wonderful day in the same year.

By the way, watching Mark and Ariel get married was much, much better than Zed Shaw kicking me in the nuts.

See you at DjangoCon!

I'm off to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland, Oregon for DjangoCon. I'll be presenting a tutorial with James Tauber and participating in two panels. This sort of event is always a lot of work, study, and networking. I won't have much time to go sightseeing because this is a working trip, but I'm sure to squeeze in a little bit.

Portland is a very green city, has great food, and is famous for cycling. I'm sure I can find something to do!

Thanks to everyone who had a hand in me getting there or is holding down the fort back home. The quick list would be in alphabetical order:

• Chris Adams
• Corin Turner
• Dave Sanchez
• Jim Consalvi
  
• Katie Cunningham
• Katie Wilcox
  
• Mom
• Robert Lofthouse
• Ron Boykin
• Ruth Netting

Thanks everyone!

I want to give a class or talk at Pycon 2010

For Pycon 2010, classes/tutorials would be pretty easy are easy to cook up. I can think of two I can do, right after each other:

• Django fundamentals
• Pinax fundamentals

The first class gets you started with Django core bits and pieces. The second would show you Pinax and what things you can do with it.

The problem is that I'm not sure what to do when it comes to talks. Current ideas:

• A reprise of our upcoming Pinax tutorial at DjangoCon
  
• How to suffer through SOAP web services using Python even though REST is so much better (I might be too bitter for this one).
  
• Why I like stupid template languages (expanding on a tangent of this article).
• Lets move widgets into HTML templates and out of python code! Modern JavaScript libraries makes this easy!
  
• Using JQuery + Django to make 508/WAC compliant AJAX applications

Thoughts? Suggestions?