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Brian #1: Conference videos for DjangoCon 2017 and PyGotham 2017


PyGotham 2017 videos on pyvideo
DjangoCon 2017 on YouTube
One I’ve watched so far:

DjangoCon US 2017 - Django vs Flask by David "DB" Baumgold
slides
Very good introduction to Flask while comparing some of the features of Django to Flask and what the current frequent practices are for doing things in Flask like:
Data modeling with SQLAlchemy, MongoEngine, or Peewee
User admin with Flask-Security, which wraps Flask-Login, Flask-Permissions, and other commonly used together packages.
Blueprints in Flask solve a similar problem as apps in Django.
Flask-Marshmallow for APIs



Michael #2: Python 3.6.3 released on Tue. All machines at FB are already running it (3 days)


Tweet: Did you hear that 3.6.3 was released on Tue? How about that all machines at FB are already running it? Over 36.3% of our Python apps are 3.6 via @llanga
See Jason Fried’s presentation on culture: Rules for Radicals: Changing the Culture of Python at Facebook
More Python 3 news

Ubuntu 17.10: “Python 2 is no longer installed by default. Python 3 has been updated to 3.6.”
PSA: Python 3.3 is end-of-life in 2 days. Are you prepared?



Brian #3: Your technical skills are obsolete: now what?


by Itamar Turner-Trauring
We’re big proponents of keeping your skills current, of learning new techniques and technologies. But how does that fit in with life and work.
This article is an opinion of how to work on new skills while at work, do it quickly, and look good to your manager.
It starts with a good discussion of real business reasons why some projects use older technology. Basically, cost vs benefit of change.
Steps to be part of the solution:

Identify obsolete and problematic technologies.
Identify potential replacements.
Get management buy in to get resources (you) to do a pilot project exploring new technology.

This process will help you be better at identifying problems, even if you don’t get approval to fix it.
He ends with a comment that if you don’t get approval, all is not lost, you have skills to apply to a new job.
I’d like to make sue you do a few more steps before giving up and looking for a new job. Before you consider a move to a new team or company, I think…

You should give your manager the benefit of the doubt and use this to start a conversation. Make sure you understand their reasons for saying no.
Make sure you are not proposing too much time taken away from your primary role in the company.
State that you want to improve your skills by providing value for the team and the company.
Is the “no” due to just bad timing? Is there a higher priority problem to work on?
You’ve just shown that you are someone interested in keeping your skills sharp and helping the company by expanding your role. If you’re still stuck at this point, then consider a move but also, …

Read this:

Team Geek: A Software Developer's Guide to Working Well with Others - Brian Fitzpatrick
Especially:
- pg 117 : “Offensive vs Defensive work”. 50-70% of your time at work needs to be focused on creating new value for your company or your customers. No more than 30-50% on repaying technical debt. (Okken: Limit your process improvement / new technology exploration to no more than 10-20%, but try to never drop it below 5% of your time)
- pg 113 : “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.” This is a fine line between doing the right thing and doing something you can get reprimanded for. Use good judgement.
- Forgotten page number: A big part of your job is making your boss’s job easier and making your boss and your team look good.



Michael #4: Visualizing Garbage Collection Algorithms


By Ken Fox
Follow up from the excellent deep dive article in GC from Brian
Most developers take automatic garbage collection for granted.
It’s very difficult to see how GCs actually work.
GCs