The Monkinetic Weblog

circa 2024

powered-by

Steve Ivy

I am a skilled Senior Software Engineer with over 20 years of experience in building and maintaining full-stack web applications, APIs and complex data systems that prioritize user experience, efficiency, and the needs of the organization at every level.

I specialize in Python web applications, REST API design, backend systems, data pipelines and databases, with a focus on creating efficient, maintainable, and innovative solutions for market research, financial, and technology companies.

I'm an advocate for respecting the user (whether internal or external), using open standards and tools, valuing developer experience and maintaining system transparency.

If you're hiring, or know someone who is, see my resume and drop me a note. :)

--Steve

Goodbye, YouGov #

Posted 2024-08-14 13:02

4 years ago, as #Covid19 was just beginning to crest across the world, I started a new postiion as Senior Python Engineer at YouGov. I enjoyed my work immensely and got to help build some truly interesting things (more on that later 😁).

Sadly, Aug 01, 2024 was my last day at YouGov. I worked with the great people in the Research Platforms department for 4 years, helping to build and improve the systems that connect our amazing Panel to the research surveys that guide many organizations' product and political decision-making.

I worked with a great crew and especially want to say thank you to Allan Crooks and Clayton Butler, and the teams they led, for their leadership, and their inspiration adn guidance.

There are too many other folks to list, but I hope they know how much I enjoyed working together to do good things.

So now I'm looking for a new position focusing on #python, #webservices, #backendsystems, and/or #dataengineering. In addition to getting deep into technical solutions, I really enjoy working across teams to fully understand use cases, stakeholders' pain points, and help define solutions that have the best ROI possible.

Check out my resumé at https://monkinetic.blog/resume.

This note posted 2024-04-30T19:42:11Z

I really want to change the templates on this site but I made it so clever that now it's hard.

This note posted 2024-04-30T17:24:06Z

I've started Malcolm Harris' Palo Alto and it is... a really heavy read.

(SORRY, LOST IMAGE)

A story of #colonization, #greed, #exploitation, #slavery, and #genocide ... and I'm only a few chapters in.

More later.

This note posted 2024-04-30T15:43:46Z

Executive Disfunction Junction #

Posted 2024-04-26T20:09:21Z

Was pointed to this standard test of executive function (or at least one's experience of it) called the ESQ-R, the "Executive Skills Questionnaire, Revised". Always one to see what these self-reporting tools say about by neurodivergence, I took the test here.

No idea as to the test's ultimate validity but this tracks:

(SORRY, LOST IMAGE)

"Search is getting too close to the money" #

Posted 2024-04-24T18:44:51Z

(SORRY, LOST IMAGE)

Ed Zitron is an extraordinary writer, who I just discovered via (I have no idea which app, email, or newsletter) but here are a couple of his stories to make your internet-loving heart burn with rage:

  • The Man Who Killed Google Search -- I can remember the cramped shared office I was in when I first tried Google to search the internet and my mind was blown. Ed's story is heartbreaking. -- Steve
  • They're Looting the Internet -- quote from the previous link but fits here: "search is getting too close to the money"

Night at the Theater #

Posted 2024-04-12T13:28:26Z

Went to the theater last night with my girlfriend(😁 👋), like a real adult.

Except it was a shockingly hilarious parody puppet show version of The princess Bride (By S. Morgenstern) by the All Puppet Players, complete with alcohol, musical numbers, 4th wall breaking, flubs, ad-libs and improv.

And I will never hear the lines "I'm going to do him left handed... if I use my right it's over too quickly!" the same again (Vizzini the puppet: "We didn't change those lines -- at all!!)

(SORRY, LOST IMAGE)

A Bit Of Blog Complaining #

Posted 2024-04-11T18:39:03Z

Guess it's time to revisit the blog engine here. I wrote Goldfrog a few years ago and it's been chugging along on this Digital Ocean instance fairly well, but at the time I had in mind a two-way sync between gitlab, where I maintain a separate repository of my archived content, and the filesystem/db in Goldfrog.

It worked, sort of, for a while, but the deployment on DO is NOT simple to remember, uses Ansible and code from 2 different git repos to set up or update the server, and was just 3 times more clever than it should have been.

I also implemented a flexible/configurable POSSE feature that is supposed to send updates to my mastodon account but ... isn't right now? And the logging setup on the site is abysmal.

I still like parts of my system. If I did it again, I'd still want:

  • My custom posting UI that works like the ancient Radio Userland sites did: post form at the top of the home page list of posts:

(SORRY, LOST IMAGE)

And my version in Goldfrog:

(SORRY, LOST IMAGE)

  • A small web app - not a static site generator
  • Content stored ultimately as markdown files so they can be stored in git or similar
  • Content indexed in sqlite for searching. serving various archive pages (tags, etc)

UPDATE: As long as I'm dreaming, I wish it was easier to run a small web app like this off a container. I probably could with Digital Ocean's app platform, I haven't looked into it lately, and I'd still have to solve the "index in a sqlite db file" problem.

Disney's lost "greenscreen" tech re-discovered #

Posted 2024-04-10T13:33:01Z

In the 1960s, Disney discovered and used an incredible "greenscreen" technique to film the Mary Poppins actors in an animated scene, perfectly capturing flowing semi-transparent clothes and motion blur and sharp animated characters. They then lost the tech.

Corridor Crew found out about it, someone figured out how to replicate it, and they worked to demonstrate it. And it's fucking amazing.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UQuIVsNzqDk

This note posted 2024-03-30T13:27:42Z

If you’re internet old enough you might remember the Evil Overlord List

  1. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

This note posted 2024-03-28T14:43:23Z

Sometimes #lifeisshit

sometimes #lifeisgreat

sometimes it's great in the midst of the shit

 
 

monkinetic.blog is powered by python, Datesette, sqlite, fly.io, love, and tears | #top