Technologies: Python, Ruby, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, PowerShell, Flask, SQL, PostGIS, Shapely, Unity, Unreal Engine, multiple assembly/machine languages, Windows user code and kernel drivers, Google Maps and other map APIs, geographic and airspace data
Hi, I'm Michael Geary. I've programmed in many languages and environments over the years. Some of my current interests are:
• Aviation and geographic data. For example, airspace and obstacle data importers for Wing; election results and voter information maps for Google; many interactive maps for other companies.
• Hardware interfacing. In a way, I am a "full stack" developer, but my stack may involve a front end to a piece of hardware rather than the cloud. I first got into programming via ham radio, so RF hardware remains an interest.
• Designing and building APIs. Too often an API is designed by exposing the internals of whatever system provides the API. My philosophy is the opposite: start with the apps. I like to build a series of sample apps before starting on the API. This way I can imagine what API will make those apps and others like them easy to build.
• Talk with users! I don't like to sit in a back room cranking out code. I want to make sure it's the right code for what my users need, and that it's easy to maintain and improve as we learn more about what they want.
Why? I recently had a repair bill of more than $12,000 for my Kia EV6, after rats got under the hood and chewed through a critical wiring harness.
Of course rats will chew through most anything, but the EV6 apparently has soy-based insulation on the wiring instead of traditional plastic. So it is extra tasty for rats!
GEICO covered everything beyond my $1000 comprehensive deductible, but I don't want to be thought of as an irresponsible policyholder, especially with the great rate they gave me on this car - literally half of my previous policy.
So I have taken extensive countermeasures. If anyone is curious, feel free to ask and I will list them.
Jaw dropped on reading this. The biodegradable Mercedes harnesses of the 90s followed the Volvo harnesses of the 80s (iirc). I thought we'd worked that out of the automotive engineering world by now.
I'm not funded by the petroleum or rubber industry, yet i also can't help but wonder what would drive technical product managers to make a notable error? Wiring issues in cases aren't cheap problems to fix, nor do they fix themselves, nor increase longevity...
Thanks for the recommendation! I went looking for a Kindle edition, and unsurprisingly for a book from the late 19th century, there are quite a few of varying quality. I downloaded several of the free samples, and this one may be my favorite:
It was edited, abridged, and translated to modern language by Bob Drake of the Henry George School of Chicago.
As always, I recommend downloading the free Kindle sample or reading the free preview on the website before buying.
Here's an example, the first two paragraphs of the Preface in the original language:
---
THE views herein set forth were in the main briefly stated in a pamphlet entitled “Our Land and Land Policy,” published in San Francisco in 1871. I then intended, as soon as I could, to present them more fully, but the opportunity did not for a long time occur. In the meanwhile I became even more firmly convinced of their truth, and saw more completely and clearly their relations; and I also saw how many false ideas and erroneous habits of thought stood in the way of their recognition, and how necessary it was to go over the whole ground.
This I have here tried to do, as thoroughly as space would permit. It has been necessary for me to clear away before I could build up, and to write at once for those who have made no previous study of such subjects, and for those who are familiar with economic reasoning; and, so great is the scope of the argument that it has been impossible to treat with the fullness they deserve many of the questions raised. What I have most endeavored to do is to establish general principles, trusting to my readers to carry further their applications where this is needed.
---
And in the modern edition:
---
In 1871, I first published these ideas in a pamphlet entitled Our Land and Land Policy. Over time, I became even more convinced of their truth. Seeing that many misconceptions blocked their recognition, a fuller explanation seemed necessary. Still, it was impossible to answer all the questions as fully as they deserve. I have tried to establish general principles, trusting readers to extend their application.
While this book may be best appreciated by those familiar with economics, no previous study is needed to understand its argument or to judge its conclusions. I have relied upon facts of common knowledge and common observation, which readers can verify for themselves. They can also decide whether the reasoning is valid.
I'm a barbarian too. I roast with a 15+ year old Gene Cafe with the analog dials.
I put in 265 grams of dry process coffee - usually some Ethiopian from Sweet Marias - set the temp to 449°F, set the time to 19 minutes, start it up and the set a timer for 16 minutes. At that point I start watching it and hit the stop button when it is a little lighter than I want.
The Gene Cafe is notorious for its slow cool-down cycle, so if you stop the roast when it looks perfect, it will end up too dark. But I've gotten pretty good at guesstimating it. And I do two roasts back to back: a lighter one for myself, and a darker one for my friend who prefers that. So if the first roast is lighter or darker than I planned, I adjust the time for the second one.
One time I thought I would get more precise, so I bought a cooling device on eBay. With this, you run the roast until it looks perfect, hit the emergency stop, and dump the beans into the cooler. (Use a hot pad because the handle will burn you!) But this left way too much chaff mixed in with the beans. So I went back to my imprecise guesstimating method.
I used to have to replace the heater element every couple of years when it burned out, but the last one has been good for ten years. The only current problem is that the rotary knobs - especially the temperature knob - have gotten twitchy. If you turn it a bit, it doesn't reliably go up or down smoothly but jumps around randomly.
Having had some prior experience with rotary encoders, I knew right away what the silly mistake was that the designers made, and how they could have prevented it at little or no additional parts cost. Just for fun, I also described the problem to ChatGPT, and bless her silicon heart, she figured it out too.
Would anyone like to take a stab at this question? What was the mistake, and how could they have kept these rotary encoders from getting jumpy after years of use?
When this machine finally does break down completely, I won't be getting another Gene Cafe. Not because of the problems above, but because of a new "safety" feature they added a few years ago where twice during the warmup, it beeps at you and you get 30 seconds to push a button to keep it going. I roast outside, and I like being able to ignore the machine for 16 minutes.
In fact, when I saw the new logo, the first thing that came to my mind was Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove saying "I deny them my essence."
Remote: Yes, or possible hybrid if nearby
Willing to relocate: Possibly
Technologies: Python, Ruby, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, PowerShell, Flask, SQL, PostGIS, Shapely, Unity, Unreal Engine, multiple assembly/machine languages, Windows user code and kernel drivers, Google Maps and other map APIs, geographic and airspace data
Résumé/CV: https://www.geary.com/resume.html or https://www.geary.com/resume.pdf and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgeary/
Email: mike@geary.com
Hi, I'm Michael Geary. I've programmed in many languages and environments over the years. Some of my current interests are:
• Aviation and geographic data. For example, airspace and obstacle data importers for Wing; election results and voter information maps for Google; many interactive maps for other companies.
• Hardware interfacing. In a way, I am a "full stack" developer, but my stack may involve a front end to a piece of hardware rather than the cloud. I first got into programming via ham radio, so RF hardware remains an interest.
• Designing and building APIs. Too often an API is designed by exposing the internals of whatever system provides the API. My philosophy is the opposite: start with the apps. I like to build a series of sample apps before starting on the API. This way I can imagine what API will make those apps and others like them easy to build.
• Talk with users! I don't like to sit in a back room cranking out code. I want to make sure it's the right code for what my users need, and that it's easy to maintain and improve as we learn more about what they want.
Open to full time or contract.
I look forward to talking with you!
reply