The Python Podcast.init

By Tobias MaceyTechnology Education

The Python Podcast.init episodes

November 19, 2016Retrospective
Summary
In this episode Chris and I look back at the past 83 episodes of the show and talk about what we learned, what we’ve enjoyed, and some of the highlights.
Brief Introduction
Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.
I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable.
When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at linode.com/podcastinit and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app.
You’ll want to make sure that your users don’t have to put up with bugs, so you should use Rollbar for tracking and aggregating your application errors to find and fix the bugs in your application before your users notice they exist. Use the link rollbar.com/podcastinit to get 90 days and 300,000 errors for free on their bootstrap plan.
Visit our site to subscribe to our show, sign up for our newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch.
To help other people find the show you can leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, and tell your friends and co-workers
Join our community! Visit discourse.pythonpodcast.com for your opportunity to find out about upcoming guests, suggest questions, and propose show ideas.
Your hosts as usual are Tobias Macey and Chris Patti
Today we’re interviewing each other about the past year and a half of the show.
Interview with Tobias and Chris
Introductions
What have been some of the most unexpected or surprising aspects of the show for you during the past year and a half? – Tobias
What are your top three favorite shows so far and why? – Chris
If you could have a longer conversation with any of the past guests, who would you pick? – Tobias
What has doing the show meant to you? – Chris
What have you learned while doing the show that you wish you had known at the start? – Tobias
How has the production process evolved since the beginning of the show? – Chris
Chris Leaving the Show – Chris
Tobias and I started new jobs (At MIT Office of Digital Learning and Amazon Web Services, respectively)
We’re much, much busier these days, making coordination difficult
Tobias is ready to take the show solo and I (Chris) support him in this
Chris still plans to support the show as an avid fan
Keep In Touch
Chris’s Contact Info
Picks
Tobias
Locust

Chris
StaSh – Shell for Pythonista
Producing a Podcast
The Python Community

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA
38 min
November 12, 2016 HouseCanary with Travis Jungroth
Housing is something that we all have experience with, but many don't understand the complexities of the market. This week Travis Jungroth talks about how House Canary uses data to make the business of real estate more transparent.
40 min
November 12, 2016HouseCanary with Travis Jungroth
Summary
Housing is something that we all have experience with, but many don’t understand the complexities of the market. This week Travis Jungroth talks about how HouseCanary uses data to make the business of real estate more transparent.
Brief Introduction
Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.
I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable.
When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at linode.com/podcastinit and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app.
You’ll want to make sure that your users don’t have to put up with bugs, so you should use Rollbar for tracking and aggregating your application errors to find and fix the bugs in your application before your users notice they exist. Use the link rollbar.com/podcastinit to get 90 days and 300,000 errors for free on their bootstrap plan.
Visit our site to subscribe to our show, sign up for our newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch.
To help other people find the show you can leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, and tell your friends and co-workers
Join our community! Visit discourse.pythonpodcast.com for your opportunity to find out about upcoming guests, suggest questions, and propose show ideas.
Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Travis Jungrot about HouseCanary, a company that is using Python and machine learning to help you make real estate decisions.
Interview with Travis Jungroth
Introductions
How did you get introduced to Python?
What is HouseCanary and what problem is it trying to solve?
Who are your customers?
Is it possible to get data and predictions at the neighborhood level for individual homebuyers to use in their purchasing decisions?
What do you use for your data sources and how do you validate their accuracy?
What are some of the sources of bias that are present in your data and what strategies are you using to account for them?

Can you describe where Python is leveraged in your environment?

What are some of the biggest software design and architecture challenges that you are facing while you continue to grow?

What are the areas where Python isn’t the right choice and which languages are used in its place?

What are the biggest predictors of future value for residential real estate?

Can your system be used to identify risks associated with the housing market, similar to those seen in the bubble that triggered the 2008 economic failure?

What are some of the most interesting details that you have discovered about real estate and housing markets while working with HouseCanary?

Keep In Touch
HouseCanary
Website
Twitter

Travis
Twitter
Github

Picks
Tobias
Railsea by China Miéville
Kraken by China Miéville

Travis
DDT
On Writing Well by William Zinser

Links
Hacking Secret Ciphers with Python
The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA
40 min
November 05, 2016 Mycroft with Steve Penrod
Speech is the most natural interface for communication, and yet we force ourselves to conform to the limitations of our tools in our daily tasks. As computation becomes cheaper and more ubiquitous and artificial intelligence becomes more capable, voice becomes a more practical means of controlling our environments. This week Steve Penrod shares the work that is being done on the Mycroft project and the company of the same name. He explains how he met the other members of the team, how the project got started, what it can do right now, and where they are headed in the future.
1 hr 6 min
November 05, 2016Mycroft with Steve Penrod
Summary
Speech is the most natural interface for communication, and yet we force ourselves to conform to the limitations of our tools in our daily tasks. As computation becomes cheaper and more ubiquitous and artificial intelligence becomes more capable, voice becomes a more practical means of controlling our environments. This week Steve Penrod shares the work that is being done on the Mycroft project and the company of the same name. He explains how he met the other members of the team, how the project got started, what it can do right now, and where they are headed in the future.
Brief Introduction
Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.
I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable.
When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at linode.com/podcastinit and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app.
You’ll want to make sure that your users don’t have to put up with bugs, so you should use Rollbar for tracking and aggregating your application errors to find and fix the bugs in your application before your users notice they exist. Use the link rollbar.com/podcastinit to get 90 days and 300,000 errors for free on their bootstrap plan.
Visit our site to subscribe to our show, sign up for our newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch.
To help other people find the show you can leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, and tell your friends and co-workers
Join our community! Visit discourse.pythonpodcast.com to talk to previous guests and other listeners of the show.
Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Steve Penrod about the company and project Mycroft, a voice controlled, AI powered personal assistant written in Python.
Interview with Steve Penrod
Introductions
How did you get introduced to Python?
Can you start by describing what Mycroft is and how the project and business got started?
How is Mycroft architected and what are the biggest challenges that you have encountered while building this project?
What are some of the possible applications of Mycroft?
Why would someone choose to use Mycroft in place of other platforms such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s personal assistant?
What kinds of machine learning approaches are being used in Mycroft and do they require a remote system for execution or can they be run locally?
What kind of hardware is needed for someone who wants to build their own Mycroft and what does the install process look like?
It can be difficult to run a business based on open source. What benefits and challenges are introduced by making the software that powers Mycroft freely available?
What are the mechanisms for extending Mycroft to add new capabilities?
What are some of the most surprising and innovative uses of Mycroft that you have seen?
What are the long term goals for the Mycroft project and the business that you have formed around it?
Keep In Touch
Website
Picks
Tobias
yip
Myths and Legends Podcast

Steve
Ethiopian Cuisine
Blue Nile in KC

Kansas City Barbecue
Joe’s KC

Links
Google Home
Tom Waits – Heart Attack & Vine
mycroft.ai
FLITE
Vocalid
Vocalid TED Talk
PocketSphinx
GE FirstBuild
Sonar GNU Linux
The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA
1 hr 6 min
October 29, 2016 Annapoornima Koppad
Annapoornima Koppad is a director of the PSF, founder of the Bangalore chapter of PyLadies, and is a Python instructor at the Indian Institute of Science. In this week's episode she talks about how she got started with Python, her experience running the PyLadies meetup, and working with the PSF.
20 min
October 29, 2016Annapoornima Koppad
Summary
Annapoornima Koppad is a director of the PSF, founder of the Bangalore chapter of PyLadies, and is a Python instructor at the Indian Institute of Science. In this week’s episode she talks about how she got started with Python, her experience running the PyLadies meetup, and working with the PSF.
Brief Introduction
Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.
I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable.
When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at linode.com/podcastinit and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app.
You’ll want to make sure that your users don’t have to put up with bugs, so you should use Rollbar for tracking and aggregating your application errors to find and fix the bugs in your application before your users notice they exist. Use the link rollbar.com/podcastinit to get 90 days and 300,000 errors for free on their bootstrap plan.
Visit our site to subscribe to our show, sign up for our newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch.
To help other people find the show you can leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, and tell your friends and co-workers
Join our community! Visit discourse.pythonpodcast.com for your opportunity to find out about upcoming guests, suggest questions, and propose show ideas.
Your hosts as usual are Tobias Macey and Chris Patti
Today we’re interviewing Annapoornima Koppad about her career with Python and her experiences running the PyLadies chapter in Bangalore, India and being a director for the Python Software Foundation.
Interview with Annapoornima Koppad
Introductions
How did you get introduced to Python? – Tobias
I noticed that you have been freelancing for several years now. How much of that has been in Python and how has that fed back into your other activities? – Tobias
While preparing for this interview I came across the book that you self-published on Amazon. What was your motivation for writing it and who is the target audience? – Tobias
Can you tell us about your experience with starting the PyLadies group in Bangalore? What were some of the biggest challenges that you encountered and how have you approached the task of growing awareness and membership of the group? – Tobias
You recently started teaching Python at the Indian Institute of Science. What kinds of subject matter do you cover in your lessons? – Tobias
What is it about Python and its community that has inspired you to dedicate so much of your time to contributing back to it? – Tobias
In what ways would you like to see the Python ecosystem improve? – Tobias
You were voted in as a director of the Python Software Foundation in the most recent election. Can you share what responsibilities that entails? – Tobias
What would you like to achieve with your time in the PSF? – Tobias
Keep In Touch
PyLadies Bangalore Meetup
Blog
Email
Twitter
Picks
Tobias
Fluentd

Annapoornina
The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Storks
Food Street

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA
20 min
October 22, 2016 Python for GIS with Sean Gillies
Location is an increasingly relevant aspect of software systems as we have more internet connected devices with GPS capabilities. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are used for processing and analyzing this data, and fortunately Python has a suite of libraries to facilitate these endeavors. This week Sean Gillies, an author and contributor of many of these tools, shares the story of his career and contributions, and the work that he is doing at MapBox.
38 min
October 22, 2016Python for GIS with Sean Gillies
Summary
Location is an increasingly relevant aspect of software systems as we have more internet connected devices with GPS capabilities. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) are used for processing and analyzing this data, and fortunately Python has a suite of libraries to facilitate these endeavors. This week Sean Gillies, an author and contributor of many of these tools, shares the story of his career and contributions, and the work that he is doing at MapBox.
Brief Introduction
Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.
I would like to thank everyone who has donated to the show. Your contributions help us make the show sustainable.
When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at linode.com/podcastinit and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app.
You’ll want to make sure that your users don’t have to put up with bugs, so you should use Rollbar for tracking and aggregating your application errors to find and fix the bugs in your application before your users notice they exist. Use the link rollbar.com/podcastinit to get 90 days and 300,000 errors for free on their bootstrap plan.
Visit our site to subscribe to our show, sign up for our newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch.
To help other people find the show you can leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, and tell your friends and co-workers
Join our community! Visit discourse.pythonpodcast.com for your opportunity to find out about upcoming guests, suggest questions, and propose show ideas.
Your host as usual is Tobias Macey
Today I’m interviewing Sean Gillies about writing Geographic Information Systems in Python.
Interview with Sean Gillies
Introductions
How did you get introduced to Python?
Can you start by describing what Geographic Information Systems are and what kinds of projects might take advantage of them?
How did you first get involved in the area of GIS and location-based computation?
What was the state of the Python ecosystem like for writing these kinds of applications?
You have created and contributed to a number of the canonical tools for building GIS systems in Python. Can you list at least some of them and describe how they fit together for different applications?
What are some of the unique challenges associated with trying to model geographical features in a manner that allows for effective computation?
How does the complexity of modeling and computation scale with increasing land area?

Mapping and cartography have an incredibly long history with an ever-evolving set of tools. What does our digital age bring to this time-honored discipline that was previously impossible or impractical?

To build accurate and effective representations of our physical world there are a number of domains involved, such as geometry and geography. What advice do you have for someone who is interested in getting started in this particular niche?

What level of expertise would you advise for someone who simply wants to add some location-aware features to their application?

I know that you joined Mapbox a little while ago. Which parts of their stack are written in Python?

What are the areas where Python still falls short and which languages or tools do you turn to in those cases?

Keep In Touch
Email
Twitter
Picks
Tobias
Roku Streaming Stick

Sean
The Tacopedia
Stromae

Links
GDAL
SWIG
QGIS
Shapefiles
Shapely
Fiona
Raster File
GEOS
Rasterio
PostGIS
RTree
GeoPandas
GeoJSON
Orthorectification
Mapbox
SCONS
Mapnik
The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA
38 min
October 15, 2016 K Lars Lohn
K Lars Lohn has had a long and varied career, spending his most recent years at Mozilla. This week he shares some of his stories about getting involved with Python, his work with Mozilla, and his inspiration for the closing keynote at PyCon US 2016. He also elaborates on the intricate mazes that he draws and his life as an organic farmer in Oregon.
38 min