Last night, I attended the TriZPUG Chapel Hill Project Night with 6 other classmates! We probably made up a third of the room! Outside of us, there was a mix of developers in the room, two longtime programmers, one using python to track hurricanes. One person is trying to reinvent himself after working in telecommunications for years and 3-4 people are doing it entirely on the side for fun or to improve work productivity.

Also got a sneak peak at the upcoming PyData conference. The PyData Carolinas 2016 site is found here: http://pydata.org/carolinas2016/. There is a discount for students! The conference will feature long time programmers showcasing their projects. Currently, there is an open call for proposals too.

I think what was most interesting about this event is that it exists and is so open. Several comments were made about how Python is the most welcoming programming language in regards to the openness of the community. One person who was totally brand new was asked if they wanted help to develop a learning track. It actually made me feel pretty warm to know that this group was so open.

After pizza and introductions, everyone began coding and chatting away on their projects. I had an opportunity to meet James Whisnant who works at the Carolina Population Center. Perfect timing since my boss at DFI asked me to make a couple of maps using projection data! We spoke for a bit about his work and he gave me the contact of someone else who could help me. There is an upcoming project night in Durham and I’m actually really looking forward to going.