Ground Energy: Ground Energy

2014-10-21

Internet of Things project optimizing ground source heat pumps for homeowners and businesses

Built and currently maintain (and extend) the Django codebase that powers Ground Energy. The system receives status reports from geothermal installs once per minute, logs them to the database and provides both …

Java Version Hell on OSX

In one of those “Why did I even look at the terminal” moments, I noticed Solr stopped working properly in a local Django setup. Initially I ignored a slew of 404 errors when Haystack tried to reindex because … well because who the hell cared? I …

The Garrison City Should Lock From the Outside

At the beer store just before 3pm. I always get a little nervous when a car pulls in and someone from the backseat gets out.

• DUI?
• Underage driver?
• Just plain crazy?

Thankfully it was number three. After the young guy got out …

Thoughts While Lowering a Crib

• I get why people with kids feel like they need a bigger house: I’m trying to adjust a crib in situ and it feels like parallel parking a parade float in Rome
• “No hon, I’ll do it during the week when the house …

wxPython on OSX Mavericks with or without Homebrew

Just a short note for anyone else who runs into this nonsense: I could not get the current version of wxPython to install in a useful way using homebrew. brew install wxmac --python --devel to install into my Homebrew-controlled Python install worked …

Django Profiling Bug

I’m doing some work profiling a large Django application and I was running into this weird error when I tried to aggregate the stats with gather_profile_stats.py which comes with Django. It kept throwing TypeError: zip argument #1 must support iteration if there were two profile …

It’s My Party (now)

I’m trying really hard to take parenting magazines seriously, but they seem to be written for a demographic that straddles dense and insecure. The latest unsolicited offering from Parents—

is apparently for people who don’t already know ice cream cake and enough room …

Résumé Rewrite Services

Helping people with a job application is not something I do. Unless you accidentally send it to me when asking your friends to review your cover letter before applying to be president of a bank. Especially if the email ends, “Constructive not your usual Tom. Thanks.” This …

Fundraising: A Play in One Act

INT - NIGHT - a fundraiser from University of Rochester calls TOM who has the phone on speaker while holding JOSIE. We join the call in progress …

• Caller: “Sir, no amount is too small.”
• Tom: “Well, I make like ten cents a day punching out plates …

Those Clever Kids: Since You’ve Been Gone

2014-03-04

What I’ve been up to since last I posted an entry

I’m coming to the end of another contract and realizing just how out-of-date this portfolio is. Rather than try to catch up with an endless series of posts …