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Kenneth Reitz
99 lines
5.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
99 lines
5.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
On Heroku and 2012
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==================
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:date: 2012-12-05 09:00
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:category: python
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:featured: True
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Alas, 2012 is quickly coming to a close.
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This has been an absolutely incredible year — easily the best of the mere twenty-four I've experienced so far. I became a member of the Python Software Foundation, traveled all over the world, met several thousand inspiring software developers, and collaborated on dozens of incredible projects.
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It's important to reflect; perspective is everything.
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Heroku
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------
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I officially `joined Heroku <http://kennethreitz.org/joining-heroku.html>`_ exactly one year ago today. It's amazing how time flies.
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Heroku is directly responsible for the majority of my satisfaction of the past year. I feel incredibly privileged to work with this fine group of individuals — the most talented, classy, supportive, attentive, and caring group of people I've ever had the pleasure to meet.
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Words can't serialize how much I recommend `working for Heroku <https://coderwall.com/team/heroku>`_. If you are speaking at a conference, Heroku will fully fund your trip. If there's a natural disaster in your area (e.g. Super-Storm Sandy), you will be contacted by a dedicated member of the Vibe team, ensuring your family's safety, accommodation, and well-being.
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The strangest part of the Heroku environment is our unlimited vacation policy. My job consists primarily of two things: Making Heroku awesome for Python, and Making Python awesome for Heroku. I took a week off after a six-week world tour last month, but kept finding myself doing what I love to do — my work.
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I'm looking forward to many more years with Heroku.
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Accomplishments & Goals
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-----------------------
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For years, I dreamed of being a well known member of the open source community. I spent hundreds of nights obsessing over other's code and developing my own development style and philosophies.
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Much to my surprise, all of that work really paid off. Today, I'm the `#1 <https://github.com/search?q=followers%3A%220+..+80000%22&p=1&ref=searchbar&type=Users&l=Python>`_ most followed Python GitHub user and the `#17 <https://github.com/search?l=&p=2&q=followers%3A%220+..+80000%22&ref=searchbar&type=Users>`_ most followed GitHub user in total. Requests has been downloaded `1,500,000+ <https://crate.io/packages/requests/>`_ times and is indirectly helping `change the world <http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/11/how-team-obamas-tech-efficiency-left-romney-it-in-dust/>`_. OSX-GCC-Installer reached over 46 TB of downloads and `directly inspired <http://kennethreitz.org/xcode-gcc-and-homebrew.html>`_ Apple's Command-Line Tools.
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It's humbling to look at those metrics, as vain as they are. Validating your work is important.
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Traveling the World
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-------------------
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I've spent the majority of my time this year traveling. It's a bit daunting to think about, honestly:
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8339/8246225008_35b09cd82b_z.jpg
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One year ago, I had given only **one talk** in my entire life (`PyCodeConf <http://py.codeconf.com/>`_) and didn't even own a passport.
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This year alone:
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- 139,669 miles traveled by air
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- 139 hotel nights.
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- 29 talks given.
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- 20 conferences attended.
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- 11 meetups attended.
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- 8 countries visited.
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I also rediscovered my deep love for Photography:
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8191417091_090552a66b.jpg
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8010900491_0b89bed71f.jpg
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7839548144_c7f95f7e5d.jpg
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8345/8191658942_20ae350aa9.jpg
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8203/8241038176_f35609da67.jpg
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(More over at `500px <http://500px.com/kennethreitz>`_)
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And even got the chance to reconnect with friends from past lives:
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.. image:: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8478/8234900362_50b2faebc9.jpg
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.. image:: http://cl.ly/image/200R012u2R3B/7959438130_a54db460ce.jpg
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Lessons Learned
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---------------
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I spent most of my life moving around the country. Between 8th and 10th grade, I attended **seven** different schools. Being out of my element is my element. I've learned a lot during my travels. You have lots of time to reflect and get to know yourself.
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Considering being a developer evangelist?
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- You'll get lonely.
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- Personal time is essential. Relax and enjoy yourself.
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- Window seats are awesome. Anyone who disagrees has no soul.
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- Less is more. My travel kit has slowly shrunk to a single small backpack.
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- You'll meet more people than you can imagine. You won't remember names. Just ask.
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- Your influence and audience is much larger than you think. The majority of your users are unspoken. How often do you reach out to the author of a library you love?
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It's the best job on earth.
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Personal Values
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---------------
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In closing, I'll leave a short list of my personal values. They haven't changed much over the years. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
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- Life's not a race, but there's no speed limit either.
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- Positivity. Negative atmospheres are toxic. Remove yourself from them.
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- Fallibilism & Open Mindedness. There is only one thing I can be certain of in life: that I am prone to error. Nothing saddens me more than someone who is unwilling to listen.
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- Attention is your only currency. Allocate it sparingly. Don't spend a single moment in life doing something you don't want to do.
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Here's to 2013! Hopefully the Mayans based their calendar on the Twinkie. |