Cafe Bucky

I really have the Travel Bug today, and cant do anything about it at the moment, but am happy nonetheless.  I recently renewed my passport, and so I will probably hug the next US State Department worker I see.

Hmm, perhaps not.  That would surely get me on some sort of “list”.

Perhaps better to call up and ask for the Duty Officer, and say “yo, thanks!”.

Wait, scratch that.  I’m sure they have a list for that too.

See, to me, having a passport implies a lot of freedom.  It’s a gateway, not just to travel, but possibly to work as well.  I’m looking at you, Canada, Australia, UK, and the EU!

I dont have any immediate travel plans, but at least now I can say “yeah, fly me there!” without having to add the sheepish bit of “but I gotta deal with my passport first”.  That would be an Obstacle.  Not Good.

I can see my suitcases, and it’s time to dust them off :)

Not long ago, I wondered aloud about what to learn.  Even if I stopped sleeping, I’d still not have the time to absorb all of the things I’m interested in.  I’m glad that I will never be bored, but I am always dealing with the priorities of “what to focus on?”  It’s a fun side of being a generalist: so much is so damn interesting!

So I thought I would write about the flip side, and mention what I am learning.  That way, potential employers and friends will know that I am not sitting around cooking bacon for my cat all day, and that I do have a project or two.

I am focusing on Cloud Computing, C# and .Net/Mono, NoSQL, OpenSim, and Unity.

They all tie together too, kinda.

As you know, a big interest of mine is Virtual Worlds.  I’m a champion of OpenSim and the Hypergrid, because I see a lot of parallels to where we were with Apache and the Web in 1995.  I am glad we have the Windows Sim on a Stick download which utilizes the Diva Distribution.  I am  currently looking into how to use MAMP to do the same thing for the Mac community.

Now that I have mentioned the server side of things, let me do a quick take on the client.  As I’ve written, I really want to see a Unity-based front end to OpenSim.  I have started porting my Slider object from SL to Unity.   My work so far has been in JavaScript, but in order to network it with, say,  Smartfox Server, I’ll be writing a bit in C#.  I see some good reasons to learn C# and Mono (starting within the contexts of Unity and OpenSim [1]).   I’ve been reading Programming C# 4.0.

[1] Seeing as how OpenSim is written in C#

So far so good.  You may be wondering how I tie Cloud Computing into this.  On the Cloud Computing side, I’ve been a user of Amazon S3 for a while.  EC2 was sorta off my radar, but a recent post by Ener Hax caught my attention, where she points at the idea of using the cloud to host OpenSim instances.  This put me on the chain of thought of “how to quickly scale for events in Virtual Worlds?”.  That has me delving into Amazon Web Services, and I am reading Jeff Barr’s Book “Host Your Web Site in the Cloud“.

The last bit of my current techy study stuff is NoSQL.  I’ve been through the try-redis tutorial and love it.  I am decent with MySQL, but I’ve always been a big fan of hashtables/associative arrays/keys & values etc… it fits my mental model of what I like to do in a program (index into an array, based on a key) — having that approach for a database makes sense for a couple of projects I have in mind (my photo database, and ThereThen addresses) .

So that’s my current focus.  I see jobs come across that want other things (like Java…), but I like what I’ve picked for myself!

I’m in a bit of a Quandry.

I’m in all out job search mode, and I get a fair number of inquiries from recruiters each day.  They seem to like my resume.

So far, so good.

The thing is, I do know a wide range of tech, and much of what I see fits me well, but there is often some skill that I dont have, such as some language or some bit of technology.   Either I dont know RoR well, or .Net, or am rusty on Java, etc.

There is so much that I could learn, but there is only so much time.

So that is the fun part.. I am a great generalist, and am interested in a lot of facets of Tech.  So what to focus on?  It’s no good changing gears every day.

My idea at the moment is:  I’ll jot down the things I am very interested in learning. and hopefully a couple of folks will write me and say “well hell, Daniel, just dont sleep — you mean to say you dont know all of this already!?”

Languages and Frameworks

• PHP – I know 5.x, and a bit of CakePHP.  So, Zend Framework?  Symfony?  CodeIgniter? Others?
• Python / Django? – I’ve gone into python and have made minor changes.  I like Python from what I know of it.
• Ruby / RoR – I’ve done some Ruby on Rails tutorials, and dug it.  I have not had a project to really get my feet wet with it.
• Perl – actually, I am pretty good wth Perl.  I  just have not touched it much since 2006 at Friendster.  I actually wrote a perl shell back in 1992.  Catalyst Framework?  Mason?
• C# / .Net / Mono – this may come as a surprise to anyone who knows my leanings to all things Mac and Linux.  My interest comes from wanting to do more with two key projects:
  • OpenSim – yep, OpenSim is written in C#, and runs on .Net or Mono
  • Unity – the scripting languages for Unity (JavaScript, C#, and Boo) run on top of Mono, and access underlying .Net libraries.  I also love the idea of Embedding Mono for other projects.

In the category of “well, if I need to go back to…”:

• Java -  I have not done new java code since 1996!  I would not want to work on client side java at this point (who is doing applets at this point?)  — I would be into the whole Eclipse + server side angle (I’ve worked a bit with Weblogic and Presto)   Java has so many technologies associated with it at this point, that it is hard to know where to jump in.
• Flash / AS3 -  I have not touched flash much since 2005.  I think HTML5 + JS + CS3 is the way forward.  I do like ActionScript, which is a close cousin of JavaScript.  When I dealt with AS2, I had one entry point on the first frame and used a lot of classes.  I didnt do the snippets attached to the timeline deal.  My leaning is that I could back into flash again for a specific project, but there are many other things I’d like to learn first
• C / C++ – It’s been forever ;)

Content Management Systems

Ok, which to learn?  Drupal?  Joomla?  Wordpress?

NoSQL / SMAQ

I’ve been reading a lot about NoSQL, and just came across this article about SMAQ (Storage, MapReduce and Query)

What to learn?  Hadoop?  CouchDB?  Cassandra?  Voldemort?   etc…

Besides Programming

It’s obvious I am interested in a wide swath of the programming side.

Now, if someone were to ask me what I would do besides programming, I would say photography, writing, or possibly speaking / demoing.

The other big interest of mine is multimedia.  I know a bit, but wish I could just dive into
it for a year and learn a lot more.  Some apps I would like to know would be:

Logic Studio
Final Cut Studio
PhotoShop CS5
Maya / 3DS Max /  Blender

A lot of the output of this would be directed towards work in Virtual Worlds (assets in
a Unity project, as one example)

(in other words, I know a bit of the creative side, and wish I had the time/money/chance to
really learn a lot more of it)

Anyways, to sum up, I’m interested in a lot, but every situation wants different skill sets.  Hard to know where to focus!

When I was starting to learn PHP and MySQL in 2001, I wanted to tackle a project that meant something to me; a non-trivial web application…

So, being a photographer and programmer with some time on my hands, I decided to write a photo database.

The first iteration of FlexiPhoto had a hard-wired interface.  I rewrote it to support multiple UIs and languages.  Sometime in 2004-2005, I rewrote it again as a PHP5 app.

In 2006, I got distracted by Second Life :)  It was like going down a rabbit hole.  I got good at scripting in LSL [1].  I shelved my web projects.  What a mistake!  Although I have learned a lot of web tech in the last 5 years, I had my attention split by learning a lot about Second Life.  It’s nice to be good at it, but it doesn’t pay!  And, damn, I could use some money about now …

So I am back on the case with FlexiPhoto.  I have a virtual Ubuntu machine running at Slicehost, which I’ll use for the public-facing Demo, Wiki, and Download site.  I’m in the midst of dusting off FP (switching database layer from DB to MDB2, for one thing), and expect to have it available within a week.  It’s going to look clunky and very pre-AJAX, but then, I am a big fan of iteration.

A fun side note about Linux and running virtual machines at home: I still have my old 1U rack server, which hosted FlexiPhoto and other sites back in the day.  The damn thing is loud! It’s running an old version of Debian.  My task today is to mirror my Slicehost OS at home.  I’ve installed Ubuntu Karmic Koala (9.10) on my iMac, hosted via VirtualBox. That will give me synced development & public environments.  I also am able to dual boot my Samsung NC10 Netbook to Windows XP and Ubuntu.  I’ve got it covered, baby!

Geez, geeking out here big time.

Anyways, FlexiPhoto is a good portfolio piece of mine, and I am stoked to be working on it again.  It’s like an old friend :)

[1] …although, to this day, I really think Cory O should have finished LSL.  It even makes Tcl look good, and that’s saying a lot…

For many years, I didn’t believe in doing New Years Resolutions. I figured that it was a good idea to just resolve to change things as one went along. That’s still a good idea, but I do see the symbolism of the clean slate of a New Year.  Doubly so for a new decade.

And I also say Good Riddance to the decade of 2000-2009. There were lots of ups to it (I love you Kimmy, and you have filled our time together with so much love, energy, and grace — I want you in all of our decades to come :). There have also been way too many downs, and I’ve learned and just want to move on.

I’m blogging some of my resolutions, so that I put a little pressure on myself to get them done … I’m only listing things that I think I can really control. Stuff that involves other people or that gets a bit personal doesn’t get penned here.

Ze Resolutions

• Wake Up when the alarm goes off
  (hitting the snooze button on my iPod is way too convenient — I’m going to move it so that I have to get out of bed)
• Lose 20 pounds by June 1st
  (I refuse to go any bigger than 34×30 Levis 550’s — I am drawing my line in the sand!  task #1: buy a scale)
• Throw stuff out so that I dont need a storage area any longer

Tech & Creative Stuff

• Average one creative output per day (such as a picture, video, blog post, tweet)
• Make a list of all of the web sites I am registered with
  (and get rid of ones I am not likely to ever use again)
• Get daniel.org redone as a proper personal domain by February 1st (themed, pages for software and writings)
• actively use my lynda.com and safarionline.com accounts to keep learning (complete at least one video course per month, and read at least one tech book per month)
• Get slide scanner working and scan at least 50 slides per month
• learn final cut express and photoshop
• learn Ruby on Rails
• resurrect FlexiPhoto and implement ThereThen addresses so that photos can be aliased by time and location  — do this by March 1st.
• No more SL scripting unless there is a financial reason to do so
  (I feel like SL has been a huge detour — I am glad that I am very good LSL scripter and have done some innovative work, but I could have been using that time to do things that would have done more to pay the bills)

There are a ton of other things I could write as Resolutions, such as Get A Job or Travel To Europe, but anything that involves other people isn’t something I can completely control.   (I do think I will be working and traveling, but it’s not like 2000, where I had the resources to just grab tickets and friends and take off)

[update -- January 14, 2010]

So far, I am paying attention to some resolutions pretty well …

Kimmy – We’re not together any more.  I do wish her the best.

Waking up – Am doing much better at this!

Weight – have ordered a scale so that I know where I am at.  Lots of little tweaks, such as making 2 scrambled eggs instead of 3.

Creative output – yep!  Doing it.

Lynda.com and Safarionline – yep! Doing it.

Second Life – yep!  I have really pulled back and I dont script there any more.

The thought that sums up my mood lately is:

“I cant get the last few years back, but I can sure make the next few count.”

[update -- January 29, 2010]

Got a scale – doing daily weigh-ins, not gaining :)

Got a VPS (Virtual Private Server) via Slicehost.com and am configuring it

[update - June 1, 2010]

Averaging a creative output a day?  Close to it, if I count mix sessions I put up on Dropbox.

Slicehost working out well.  It hosts javajoint.com and my therethen* domains.

Hello There – I need to get working!

I’m starting to post my short blurb on Craigslist and elsewhere.

I realize there’s a ton of things I need to do to get my full online presence polished up (blog, web site, writing and code samples, etc).  I shall!

Anyways, this is my blurb:

——–

Resume: http://daniel.org/resume

my resume is a very interactive page, utilizing prototype.js — click on sections that highlight as you mouse around …

Some Keywords: PHP Perl MySQL Apache AJAX JavaScript Mac Linux LSL / OpenSim

Also: Energetic Experienced QA Writing Design Strategy Evaluation

Very experienced with web & app development (for 20+ years and I do what I love!).

I also have 3+ solid years in Second Life scripting (LSL) and building.

Goal: Web/LAMP and/or SL/Virtual World development, evaluation, prototyping. I have been happy freelancing for the last few years, but am open to a full time gig — depends on the individual situation.

LAMP & Mac. PHP/Perl/MySQL/JavaScript/JSON/Ajax/Prototype.js, YUI, etc.

I’ve done a lot with C++ in the past, and have touched on ActionScript 2.0.  I can dive back into C++/AS 3.0 with some time to refresh.  I would even dive back into Tcl if I couldn’t talk you out of it :)  I use techniques such as HTTPFox, Fiddler, and Firebug.

Web: I’ve worked on sites you’ve heard of, such as AOL.Com and Friendster.  I’ve worked with 10 mobile phones hanging off a Linux box to implement sending/receiving messages for a subscriber service.  I’ve done work with JackBe Presto to implement a mashup of search results (for a Wells Fargo proof of concept).

Second Life: You have seen my work with Interactive Objects — Contact Bucky Barkley in-world for more info.

I am also interested in coming up to speed in the areas of Augmented Reality (such as http://Layar.com ), iPhone SDK, and Google Wave.

I live in Petaluma CA, but may relocate. Commuting to SF is fine 3-4 days a week. I will consider concurrent part time or short term (2 weeks – month) projects. I am up for telecommuting + meetings almost anywhere.  Of particular interest is NYC and the UK.

I’ve been thinking about what I want to do, gig-wise.  For way too long, I’d been waiting for Second Life and OpenSim to pop up on the radar as a marketable skill.  I’m good at it, but hell, the average salary for SL gigs is way down there [1]

There is a lot out there in the Tech Landscape that thrills me:

Google Wave, Augmented Reality, and the iPhone (in addition to the Web 2.0 LAMP/AJAX stuff I love doing)

I am waiting for my developer login for Google Wave.  Visualize Email that turns into an IM, which flows into a collaborative document, with full playback of who edited what.  That’s an icebergian tip …

Or you can look at some pretty pictures and get an idea …

I also found it instructive to watch the video on how Wave handles Concurrent Editing.

One imagines Wave dovetailing with projects in SL, Augmented Reality, and all manner of mobile devices.

As for AR (Augmented Reality), three examples everyone should check would be:

• Layar, worlds first mobile Augmented Reality browser
• The Acrossair bit on the BBC
• The biz card demo

Oh, and the ARToolkit running on the iPhone …

Speaking of the iPhone, I have downloaded the SDK and have signed up as a developer.  Objective C hits me as a kinder, gentler take on C++ and Java.  I am digging it so far.

None of this should be taken as a sign I am leaving Web Development.  Far from it!  I am just looking at the likely directions that spring from it, where I think there will be a lot of interest and opportunity.

[1] I  have recent info from Susan, who heard it firsthand from someone presenting from Marketing Truths at SLCC

For three years, I have been very much into SecondLife.

A problem is that I really wanted to work in it.  I wanted to be a good enough scripter / engineer to be worthy of real life pay in a virtual world.

Some are.  Some do make a living in SL.  But they seem to be few and far between.

I did write a piece recently about how I think OpenSim will win.  I stick to that.  I am not clear on how I will personally make much money in that area at this time, but I do think there is a clear comparison to the development efforts of Apache in the 1990’s.

My experience in SL has been that I could pick up a gig here and there and get paid in Lindens (but never very much), or that I could occasionally get a building gig that paid real money.  It was never anything consistent that I could consider living off of.  Most development in SL is done on a very slim budget, or simply for free as part of volunteer / community efforts.

As for my store, I give away my interactive objects for free, in part because it is a way of getting my portfolio out there.  I get < $10 a week from donations.

So my conclusion is, I will pay attention to SL and OpenSim, but I am going to stop developing in them for the time being.  It takes away too much time that I really need to spend doing RL work.  I am certainly open to gigs that pay; I just dont see how I can count on that though.  I see gatewaying to the web, and the trends of Google Wave and Augmented Reality, as being areas where there will be big opportunities.  Some of that will map nicely into SL/OpenSim.  They’re just not here yet on a big enough scale.

Kim and I will use our SL time to explore and attend events, and basically chill out together :)