"Choose Python" shirts available

They're here... just in time for PyCon.

Two weights of T-shirts, plus a golf shirt for the collarly-inclined, and two long-sleeved shirts (just in case DC is a bit chilly in March).

All prices are only US$1.00 over cost; proceeds will benefit the PSF.

Incidentally, a number of people have mentioned the Adminspotting shirts. I was aware of them, but I can't say that Adminspotting directly inspired Choose Python. I'd been wanting to rent Trainspotting when I got a chance, so it was at the front of my brain at the time.

UPDATE: Just a disclaimer: I haven't received the first shirt yet, so I can't vouch for the quality of the print. I'll update again when I receive it. I received my shirt from CafePress; the lettering on the back is quite legible, and the colors came out well.

UPDATE 2: Enough people have asked about permission to use, modify, etc. that I want to make it clear and official: I hereby release the text, rendering, and design of "Choose Python" to the public domain.

Ack... Blog Ads on the 'Pipes?

Yes, that's a vertical strip of Google AdSense ads below the profile on the right-hand side of the blog. No, I'm not under any "make money FA$T" delusions.

In the past, I worked for a brief stint in the, ahem, online ad industry. I'm curious how a company whose motto is "do no evil"¹ goes about things, so I signed up for an AdSense account.

I'll leave it up for a little while, and after I get a good feel for it, I'll remove it (and take a good, hot shower).

This is just idle curiosity, mind you... I have precisely zero inclination to go back into that world. Ever.


¹ Unfortunately, 'evil' is one of the nicer adjectives I would use to describe some of the folks I met in that industry.

Google Maps: Too Cool

This is too cool:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=chinese%2015090

Jeremy Cole "On Employee Blogging"

I haven't written anything on the Mark Jen story, because like just about everyone who is writing about it, I don't have all the details.

Jeremy Cole remarked:

Basically, I always follow these basic criteria when I blog about work:

• Is it about anything sensitive in any way?
• Is it disrespectful to either your employer or any coworkers?
• Would you flinch in the slightest if your boss, his boss, all the way up to the CEO and the board of directors read it?

Those are exactly the same criteria I use, plus a fourth:

• If I were interviewing for a job, and the interviewer read this, would it present an inaccurate picture of me?

(Note that the criterion isn't "would it hurt my chances of getting an offer". If what I write paints me as someone you wouldn't want to hire, and it's accurate, then my blog is the least of my problems.)

And as Jeremy concludes, you're often not left with much company-related information that's bloggable. For example, there are a lot of very cool things going on at work, but they're not yet public knowledge, so I have to bite my metaphorical tongue (and usually end up writing something about Python instead).

On the other hand, I'm still lusting after one of the new lightweight headsets that we released last year (and thus can be talked about). All the cool kids have them here.

Argh: too much fun, too little time

I've accumulated way too many neat ideas I want to try out (mostly Python-related). In no particular order:

• Thinking about what it would take to make a true, single-executable py2exe on Windows
  
• Exploring Karrigell and CherryPy, benchmarking them, and contrasting them with Rails
• Thinking about how to make PyPI work more like CPAN or Gems
• Checking out the update of wxPython on FreeBSD
  
• Checking out the new version of WingIDE and comparing/contrasting it with SPE
• Thinking about the equivalent of WTL for Python: take the bare-metal approach of venster, then apply the clean, Pythonic interface of Wax

...and I know there are one or two I've forgotten.

I think there are some sprints going on at Pycon for some of the above, but I can't make it due to work obligations.

On the other hand, I seem to have acquired a free weekend sans wife and kids, so maybe I'll be able to pick one of the above and hack for a few hours.

Python Reality Check

Sometimes it's hard to see yourself from the outside. I'm looking over the blog (especially the PySpotting hoo-ha), and I'm surprised to see how much here is about Python.

Truth be told, I'm not a Python-über-alles fanatic. In my day job, I write C++ for an embedded device. [Insert obligatory corporate disclaimer here]. I've successfully proven that it's possible to run a Python interpreter on said device, but you know what? Not gonna happen here... not when the footprint of the language runtime is half the footprint of the OS. When I do crank out some Python at work, it's something like a script to automate a build or test process, which runs on my workstation.

So, no, in my world, Python isn't going to prevent tsunamis, root out the terrorists, and usher in a new age of global eudaemonia.

What it has become is the "uppermost tool" in my development toolbox. When I need to try something to see if it could possibly work, when I need to automate some annoying computer task, or when I just want to hack for the sake of hacking, I usually grab Python first.