Monthly Archives: June 2011

Big Data DC meetup #2

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For the second time, a group of bright and talented developers gathered at clearspring to discuss Big Data.The first Big Data DC meetup had a great turnout. Rather then write up a summary, I decided to check out storify and build my first one for the meetup. Once again all of the talks were great. If you have an interest in big data and the technical ways to work with it, you should check it out.


What do you think of this format? Is this something you would like to see for future meetups or would you prefer a more traditional summary post?

The 2011 DC Open Source Software $bbq

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Open Source Software and BBQ go together like Mac and Cheese. This was especially true on the night of 14 June 2011 when WordPress DC, DC PHP, jQuery DC, and Fathom Creative joined forces to celebrate Open Source Software. One hundred and fifty people came together and socialized over Pork, Burgers, Hot Dogs, Veggie Burgers and plenty of sides.

There are a number of reasons the event was the success that it was. A few people who deserve a huge pat on the back are:

  • Carrie Hoover graciously allowed us to use her smoker and helped us smoke the approximately eighty pounds of pork shoulder that everyone enjoyed.
  • Site 5 Hosting and Graph Paper Press continued to support the local open source community with some amazing sponsorship.
  • Chris Williams made sure that no one went thirsty by sponsoring the beer.
  • Anthony D Paul picked up the lions share of the food and took care of many details to make sure that everyone was well fed and happy.
  • All of my fellow organizers: Shaun, Sandy, Greg, Nacin.
  • Our volunteers Charlie, Greg, Russell, and Jennifer (among others that I am sure I missed) for lending a hand with the front table.
  • All the great companies that donated prizes and swag.
  • Shaun and John took a bunch of pictures of the $bbq

After the success of the 2011 DC Open Source Software BBQ, we have a lot of work cut out for us in 2012 if we want to have this much fun again. Of course the only thing better than one BBQ, is two.

Bike Lanes are for Bikes

A guy in NYC got a ticket for riding his bike not in the bike lane. His reaction was to make this video showing what happens when you ride your bike only in the bike lane. Make sure to watch till the end.

RFS: Music

This is an RFS, or Request for Suggestions for music.  Tomorrow is a hackathon at work and I’m going to spend 24 hours working on something fun.  I need some music to power me through those small hours of the morning.  I’m looking for something with a good beat.  If you let me know a suggestion, I’ll let you know what I think of it.