Episode 40: Michael Kennedy Goes Around the World with Python

In this episode we’re excited to have Michael Kennedy on the show. We start off with Michael telling us how he got into working with Python. We then get into some popular examples of Python usage, such as Dropbox, YouTube and more. Cecil asks Micheal about getting into podcasting and what keeps him going. We also share with Michael some of our motivations for our own podcast. Micheal also share some of his favorite podcasts with us.

We ask Michael bout creating online courses, his very successful Kickstarter, and we also get into his future projects. The discussion then goes into the topic of the “computer science” in the education system and what is the difference between computer science and computer literacy? Finally, we end the show with Michael telling us about his latest adventure of living in Germany for a year!

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Bio

Michael_Kennedy_Bio
Michael Kennedy is the creator and host of the Talk Python To Me podcast and founder of Talk Python Training an online training company for Python developers. He is also an author, an instructor, and conference speaker. While working at DevelopMentor, he has taught over 100 week-long training courses to professional software development teams throughout the world. Follow him on twitter via @mkennedy.

Episode 39: Santosh Hari Directs Transitions

Santosh gets things started and explains how he got into technology after getting his electrical engineering degree in India. He then explains how he moved to the US to attend college and the difficulties in the transition. Cecil asks Santosh about the kinds of food one can expect in Mumbai. Santosh talks about his role as Director of Software at Spectrum Bridge and how he grew into the role. He then shares on how he got involved with the OneTug user group and how he facilitates the creation of software for the group.

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Bio

Santosh_Hari_BioSantosh is a software entrepreneur with experience building products on the .NET platform since 2002 and over 15 years in the software industry. Before 2000, his claim to fame was working on projects that saved the world from the Y2K disasters.

Santosh currently works for Spectrum Bridge, a wireless startup, where he leverages his software skills to help build high quality, affordable wireless broadband to the developing world. He also dons the volunteer cape and helps the Orlando .Net User Group (ONETUG) organize meetups and Orlando Code Camp. After hours, he helps out at Sand Dollar Technology, a joint tech venture with his wife.

Santosh is a public speaker in the areas of geospatial data and Azure. He has given talks at meetups, code camps, barcamps and also at Ignite Tampa Bay in 2013. When not working on software projects, Santosh loves playing tennis, rescuing animals and rooting for his favorite sports team, the Florida State Seminoles.

Episode 38: Truth, Justice, and the Bradley Ball Way

In this episode, we drive into the comic book world with our guest Bradley Ball. We start off with Bradley talking to us about the passion he has for his career and why he decided to accept a leadership position at Microsoft. He talks about all the considerations he made and the questions he had to ask. Cecil asks Bradley is he ever considered working for himself.

We get into Bradley’s love for comics. Richie asks why Superman is so compelling. Bradley talks to us about why Superman is his favorite comic book hero and the story of the Elite. We then get into a discussion on the current state of Marvel and DC comics. The show ends off with Bradley sharing some suggestions on comics people might want to get started with.

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Bio

Bradley_Ball_BioBradley Ball is a former Microsoft SQL Server and Data platform MVP with over 15 years of IT experience. He spent 8 years working as a Defense contractor for clients such as the U.S. Army and The Executive Office of the President of the United States. He works for Microsoft on the Premier Services Developer team as a Sr. Consultant. He has presented at SQLSaturday, DevConnections, SQLBits, and PASS Summit. He can be found blogging on sqlballs.com about SQL Server or anything else that interests him.

Episode 37: Planes, Aurelia, and Automobiles with Ashley Grant and Guest Host Julie Lerman

Entity Framework guru Julie Lerman guest hosts on this special episode. Ashley explains his roots in South Carolina and his experience at Florida State University. Ashley talks a bit about his affinity for cars and how he started a car club. Ashley talks about studying for his pilot’s license and the process of obtaining it. Then he shares how he joined the Aurelia core team and became the community champion. Julie shares the many different ways maple syrup can be used and Ashley talks about how he loves to cook.

Links

Aurelia Javascript Framework

The Data Farm – Julie’s Blog

Bio

Ashley_Grant_BioAshley is a full stack web developer from Tallahassee, FL with over ten years of industry experience. Ashley blogs at http://blog.ashleygrant.com on whatever strikes his fancy. He recently discovered just how awesome modern javascript development can be and is passionate about sharing the awesomeness! As a Aurelia Core Team Member, Ashley focuses on community outreach and making sure everyone knows that their voice matters in the future of the web.

Episode 36: Microsoft Adopts Nik Molnar

Cecil asks Nik what’s he been up to since the last time we had him on the show. Nik starts off with telling us about he first few months at Microsoft. We get into discussing Glimpse and how it’s now being sponsored by Microsoft. Cecil asks what it’s been like making a living off of his open source project, Glimpse. Nik tells us the backstory of how he got to where it is today. We go on to talk about the state of open source in the enterprise and how developers can get involved. Nik tells us about his experience adopting his daughter and how his life has changed. We end off the show with Nik telling us about his new projects for 2016.

Links

Glimpse
Glimpse GitHub
Lake Bill
OSI
Impostor syndrome
Up for grabs

Bio

Nik_Molnar_BioNik Molnar is a Program Manager on Microsoft’s Cross Platform and Open Tooling team and co-founder of Glimpse, an open source diagnostics and debugging tool. Living in Austin Texas, Nik specializes in web performance, debugging and development. In his spare time, Nik can be found cooking up a storm in the kitchen, hanging with his wife, speaking at conferences, and working on other open source projects.

Episode 35: Dan Hermes’ Magical Mystery Mobile Tiki Tour

Cecil asks Dan about his company, Lexicon Systems, and how they started in mobile development. Dan discusses the app his company built that was nominated for a 2014 Xammmy award. Dan then discusses the transition from dev to business owner and the true value of networking. Dan shares that he’s not only a fine artist but also a composer that has released albums. He also shares what kind of music he listens to when hes coding. Cecil and Dan talk about his new book “Xamarin Mobile Application Development” and the surrounding book tour he’s currently on. Finally, Dan talks about his fascination with making Tiki drinks and how to make the perfect Zombie.

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Bio

Dan_Heremes_BioDan Hermes is a Xamarin MVP, software consultant, and founder of Lexicon Systems, an award-winning Xamarin and .NET consulting firm. Dan helps developers create great mobile apps and helps businesses develop a winning mobile strategy. He speaks at conferences and teaches software development at colleges, developer user groups, and corporate training centers. A contemporary Renaissance man, Dan is also active in the arts. He is a recognized composer and his classical crossover music has been aired on National Public Radio (NPR). He is an active digital artist, exhibiting his work internationally, and a founding director of Art Technology New England (ATNE).

Dan is the author of a new book entitled Xamarin Mobile Application Development.

Episode 34: Ryan Hall On Code Fever

Cecil asks how did Ryan get involved in technology. In his story, Ryan shares with us how he got into a TedEx event by volunteering and linking up withe Felecia Hatcher. Cecil asks where did his drive to be an entrepreneur and speak come from. Ryan tell us how his family has been the inspiration for his ambitions.

We then get into talking about what is Code Fever Miami and what do they do. Ryan talks to us about their target demographic and how they differ some other programming educators. We talk about the Code Fever programs, who their target audience is and what are some of the future goals of Code Fever. Cecil asks what does it cost the student to get involved in such a program.

We then get into find out about what BlackTech Week is. Cecil asks if BlackTech week is open to everybody. Ryan talks to us about the diversity of the event and reminds us that Trick loves the kids! Ryan lets us know that BlackTech week is open to everyone and discusses their want to reach outside the US. We end the show with Ryan telling us about his love for writing.

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Bio

Ryan_Hall_BioRyan Hall is an accomplished digital marketing consultant, web developer, and instructor for Code Fever. He’s been involved in the Miami Tech and Entrepreneurship scene since high school having volunteered for events like TEDxMiami and SFL Hack & Tell back in 2011. He’s a programming and entrepreneurship instructor for Code Fever. Over the years, he’s helped many local Broward/Miami-Dade entrepreneurs, small business owners, and artists build their web presence and design their digital marketing campaigns and content strategies.

Episode 33: Juan Soto Accesses A Niche

Juan starts off by telling us a little about himself and what he thinks about The 5th Wave. Juan then tells us how he got started with Access and how he turned his knowledge of Access into a business. He then shares what it was like hiring and working with an employee with a disability. Juan shares some business tips including how to get started, how to use Google Ads, and how to get your potential clients to “yes”. He goes a bit deeper into running your own business by sharing how he uses contractors and how he diversifies his client base. The conversation closes with how to have longevity as a consultant.

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Bio

Juan_Soto_BioJuan is the President of IT Impact, a custom software consulting firm with 14 employees and a focus on Access with SQL Server. He has been named an Official Access MVP for the last five years and is a frequent author on the official Microsoft Access blog as well as the first Access Expert Developer to be profiled on their site.

He is the founder of Access User Groups with groups throughout the USA and the world, where users go online to discuss monthly topics on Access. Juan frequently travels throughout the US and the Caribbean hosting workshops and mentoring professionals in the industry. He is an avid poker player and loves to travel. He can be found on twitter at jsoto22 and on LinkedIn.

Episode 32: Erez Testiler Software Developer & Furniture Maker

We start off this episode by digging into Erez’s college past, his business degree, and how the need for income brought him into building software. He also shares with us how he started working on websites and taught himself how to program. Cecil asks Erez how he got into working with a startup while at college, and how much value he gained from that experience.

Erez talks about his Software Company, Taskmastics. Erez tells the story of how they went through multiple iterations to get to a quality product. Cecil asks what it’s like building the next version of Taskmastics on unreleased versions of ASP .NET Core. We discuss how it affects clients, timelines and more.

Erez gets into his pull request to the ASP .NET Core the merits of contributing to open source. He then goes into his experience working with the ASP .NET team and getting his changes merged. Erez is a pretty hands on type of guy. He talks to us about building his own trailer for his car. Then his hobby of woodworking and all the cool things he’s built.

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Bio

Erez_Testiler_BioErez Testiler is an experienced developer, specializing in Microsoft technologies. He has worked in a wide range of areas such as healthcare, consumer electronics and e-commerce. He’s designed and built scaled-out web applications, multithreaded desktop applications and high throughput backend services. His latest venture is architecting solutions for JBS and working on Taskmatics Scheduler. After work he enjoys spending time with his wife, baby girl and ferocious pug. He also enjoys biking and kayaking.

Episode 31: Dave Noderer and Erik Lindgren Build Community

Dave starts off talking about the early days of starting user groups and developer communities in the early days. Our panel discusses the some concerns that user group leaders have to address today. Cecil asks about the potential for improved user group collaboration. Richie talks about having to be ready for volunteers. Dave talks about getting Erik involved with South Florida Code Camp (SFLCC). Cecil asks Dave and Erik to talk about SFLCC. Dave starts off with the history of code camps. We dig into the benefits of attending an event like SFLCC. We discus meeting experts and stepping up to become the experts ourselves. Cecil asks what does it take to put on an event like SFLCC. Erik talks about his experience helping out for the first time. Dave and Erik discuss the various topic tracks at the event. Finally, Richie asks Dave what advice would he give to someone wanting to start a new user group today

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Bio

Dave_Noderer_BioDave Noderer is CEO / President and founder of Computer Ways, Inc., a Microsoft Partner. Dave co-founded FlaDotNet.com User Groups in 2001 and still runs a monthly Coders Café meetup. He spent 3 years as an officer and director of INETA (International .NET Association) where he oversaw the enrollment and support of hundreds of .net user groups worldwide. Dave has also been organizing the annual South Florida Code Camp since 2004 which attracts 1000 developers for a day of free software developer education and networking.

On the non-technical front Dave has been key volunteer with the Deerfield Beach Historical Society, Kiwanis of Deerfield Beach, Deerfield Beach / Lighthouse Point Relay for Life, Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society and the Deerfield Beach Chamber.

Erik_Lindgren_BioErik Lindgren is a former teacher and software engineer who now focuses on software “delivery” and Agile coaching.  He lives in South Florida, works in Tampa, and spends a lot of time on the road.  For fun, Erik likes to travel and learn languages.  A native speaker of English and Swedish, Erik also speaks French and Spanish passably well, and a smattering of 5 other languages.  Say something to him in Russian or Mandarin and see how he reacts!  For a more professional view of Erik, please see www.linkedin.com/in/jeriklindgren.

 

This episode was recorded on January 7th, 2016.

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