Firstly, my apologies to any technical readers of this blog, as this post is mostly personal.
Iowa State University
For the past four years, I have attended Iowa State University, pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science. Finally last month, that process was over. Degree in hand, I can't help but think back about all of the truly great memories, experiences, and new friends that were made possible by going to Iowa State. Not only was the extracurricular experience great, but at the same time, I feel like the education was top-notch as well. For anyone that knocks state schools, tell them to try to keep up in my Essentials of Programming Languages class with Professor Lumpe.
Tokyo, Japan
I recognize that this point in my life is the last time (for a while, at least) that I'll be able to do something crazy and go to a foreign country for two weeks. The logical choice would have been to go to France, since I minored in French and know some people who live there. That's why I didn't do that. Instead, I'm doing something that I've always wanted to do, but never have: go to Japan.
I know there are some crazy things going on all the time in Japan, and honestly that's what's so exciting to me. It's a completely different culture from our own and up until now I've only had glimpses into that culture. I'll have a ton more to say about this after the trip is done, along with a dizzying amount of pictures, so stay tuned for that if you're at all interested.
Mochi Media
I have accepted a position at Mochi Media, where I'll be working with some ridiculously smart and talented people. Not only that, but I get to use my favorite technologies, like Python and Erlang. In the case of Erlang, Mochi Media is actively pioneering its use in the web space with its open source project mochiweb (most recently noted for being a key component in Facebook's chat feature). Contributing to open source, using languages that I like, pioneering the use of established technology in new ways, working with smart people, and having a great business model to boot. All of that combined makes me one hell of an excited guy!
More practically, what this means is that I'm moving to San Francisco! Hopefully there'll be more Pythonistas there than there was in Iowa. Whether there are or not, one thing is certain: there'll be a lot more to do.
I'm a bit bored right now, and it's a feeling I'm going to savor, because starting next week and into the foreseeable future, boredom is not a feeling I'll be having much at all.
I just got back from the caucuses, and am happy to report that Obama took our precinct in a landslide. It was an immensely interesting experience to be a part of this process and it really felt like I was doing something important--because I was. What was most interesting was that a small group of dedicated Obama supporters conscientiously defected to go support Biden, because the Biden supporters pledged to support Edwards if Biden was not deemed viable. This meant that Obama lost no delegates, but that Edwards lost one delegate.
It was also great to see celebrities get involved too. I was sitting about 4 feet away from Scarlett Johansson before the caucus when she was calling people to support Obama. Didn't know she was going to be there and then looked over to my right and there she was! I've also heard that Kal Penn was very involved, as my friend got a call from him directly.
Our final precinct results were: Obama: 5 delegates Clinton: 2 delegates Edwards: 1 delegate Biden: 1 delegate
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