Author: Anthony Pace

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Interview with a Programmer – Proust Questionnaire

list of questions

The Proust Questionnaire is named after Marcel Proust – the writer. The list of questions was not created by him, but popularized by his answers and eventually resurrected as a common interview guide. I collect questions as a hobby, and these are great additions.

As an exercise in writing, and in thinking, I’ll provide my answers here. I hope you enjoy what I have to say.

  1. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Happiness is like a good cup of coffee – it’s not just about reaching the last drop, but savoring every sip along the way. And if I can share that cup with good company, that’s the perfect blend of happiness for me.
  2. What is your greatest fear? I fear ending up on a deserted island with only a volleyball for company. So, let’s keep the social circles intact, shall we?
  3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I try to keep my inner critic on a strict diet – nobody needs that kind of negativity in their lives. Let’s serve up some self-love instead!
  4. What is the trait you most deplore in others? Selfishness is like a bad haircut – it’s noticeable from a mile away, and nobody wants to be caught wearing it.
  5. Which living person do you most admire? I’ve got a list of virtual mentors longer than my grocery receipt. It’s like having a buffet of inspiration – why settle for just one dish?
  6. What is your greatest extravagance? When it comes to splurging, I’m guilty of treating my taste buds to the VIP section. Fine dining is my weakness, and I’m not even sorry about it.
  7. What is your current state of mind? Picture a sunshine emoji doing cartwheels – that’s my current state of mind: optimistic and doing flips of joy.
  8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Patience is a virtue, they say. But let’s be real, waiting in line is overrated – I’m all about that express lane in life!
  9. On what occasion do you lie? Only when I’m auditioning for a role in a spy movie. Honesty is my superpower, but a little white lie can save the day sometimes, right?
  10. What do you most dislike about your appearance? They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if I could change one thing, I’d love to have a built-in snack dispenser. Now, that’s what I call convenient!
  11. Which living person do you most despise? Ain’t nobody got time for hate. Let’s spread love like confetti instead!
  12. What is the quality you most like in a person? Honesty is like a good joke – it’s best when it’s not forced. And a sprinkle of humor? That’s the cherry on top!
  13. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? If my words were a playlist, they’d be on repeat more often than my favorite song. But hey, at least I keep things familiar, right? Maybe in the future, AI can listen to us all day, and give us a weekly digest of how to improve our speech along with a list of overused phrases.

These are my answers, and I hope they help you get a better idea of who I am. One of the most interesting applications of these queries is in fiction writing, to help build realistic characters. Creating worlds with living identities is an art, and characterization questionnaires are a helpful tool in adding depth.

I plan to continually return to this post and update my answers over time.

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Bootstrap Website for a Book Author

A vendor (video producer) to the company I worked for, who had is office on the same floor as us, mentioned in the hall way that he had a friend who needed a website. His friend was an author who just had a book published by Simon and Schuster. Joshua Horwitz released “War of the Whales” in 2014. I built his website from scratch using Bootstrap CSS and HTML5 boilerplate. It’s responsively designed, so it adjusts for mobile devices.

I even implemented a custom CMS mechanism, powered by TinyMCE, that was super light weight. It allowed him to update a few pieces of small content through out the site. It used basic authentication, and wrote to a MySQL database.

<script type="text/javascript">
tinymce.init({
forced_root_block : false,
   force_br_newlines : true,
   force_p_newlines : false,
    selector: "textarea",
	  plugins: [
         "advlist autolink link image lists charmap print preview hr anchor pagebreak spellchecker",
         "searchreplace wordcount visualblocks visualchars code fullscreen insertdatetime media nonbreaking",
         "save table contextmenu directionality emoticons template paste textcolor"
   ]
 });
</script>

I used some cool visual effects to add animation and make it feel like an immersive experience. The design process took many iterations, but we got it to a place that made sense for the project. The marquee jQuery plugin used the following code:

$('.marquee')
    .bind('beforeStarting', function(){
        
    })
    .bind('finished', function(){
       $('.marquee').marquee("destroy");
	   $(".marquee").css("overflow", "scroll")
    })
   .marquee({
	//speed in milliseconds of the marquee
	duration: 7000,
	//gap in pixels between the tickers
	gap: 0,
	//time in milliseconds before the marquee will start animating
	delayBeforeStart: 0,
	//'left' or 'right'
	direction: 'up',
	//true or false - should the marquee be duplicated to show an effect of continues flow
	
	//pauseOnHover: true
})

Project proposal

Looking back at the original agreement, this is what be planned before the project began:

“I will provide two initial design direction samples. You can choose either direction, request changes, and/or combine elements from each sample. Prior to this step, you can send me examples of what you would like your website’s look-and-feel to be similar to, as well as any other specific requests regarding functionality, style, and layout. Following this, we can go through up to two more rounds of revisions regarding the style, layout, and functionality of your website. You will provide any information, text, and images (photos, logo, etc.) that need to be displayed on this website. Any stock images that we may choose to purchase for this website will cost extra.”

It was a fixed price agreement, but I added this paragraph to our documentation:

“I know from plenty of experience that fixed-price agreements often limit you to your first idea about how something should look, or how it might work. I don’t want to limit either your options or your opportunities to change your mind. If you do want to change your mind, add extra sections or content or even add new functionality, that won’t be a problem. You will be charged an hourly rate.”

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UI Component Pattern for a Simple PHP website

PHP UI component patterns

Reusable components are a staple of modern front-end web development. On my simple PHP website, I wanted to build user interface pieces, and reuse them across multiple pages. When I was creating a new page for a newsletter signup form, I realized that I was repeating a lot of code for a contact form section that is displayed on almost every page.

Contact form section

This website is so simple, it does not use any modern framework. The contact form itself is powered by AWS SES.  I created a directory in the root folder of the website called “components”. There, I put files containing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code that would otherwise be repeated. Implementing this pattern will help my code adhere to the DRY (don’t repeat yourself) principle, and make it quicker and easier to make changes in the future. Centralizing code ensures quality and scalability.

UI component directory

Searching the code base for references to this particular HTML revealed ten instances that could be cleaned up.

searching a code base

In the new component file, I copy and paste my HTML and CSS code.  Then, I go through each of the offending files, and replace the markup with a reference:

<?php include $_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . '/components/contact-section.php'; ?>

I also delete any CSS and JavaScript for this section that’s on the page. At first, I tried adding the JavaScript that controls this form’s functionality to that same file. It failed because it relies on a jQuery reference that is not loaded until lower in the document. Separating the JS code into its own file, similarly named as `contact-section-js.php`, and calling it below the library reference solved the issue. That code is responsible for passing the message along to the back-end, handling UI success/error notifications, and implementing CAPTCHA to thwart bots. Since it was a lot of files were morphed, I ran a quality assurance protocol to ensure nothing broke.

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Being a Web Developer in NYC

starting a website project in new york

Full time employment

Six months ago I started a full time programmer position in Manhattan. The office is located in a Chelsea building, on the 11th floor. It’s a trendy neighborhood with plenty of restaurants, walking distance from art galleries.

My daily commute takes me through the Bronx on the 6 train, landing me steps away from Madison Square Park and the Flat Iron Building. The subsequent ten minute walk pumps coffee through my veins and prepares my mind for a day of meetings, thinking, and coding.

An hour long lunch break gives me a chance to explore local shops and scenery. More walking. More thinking. Then, back to the office for more meetings and more coding. The boutique atmosphere has a start-up feel. Marketing and event-planning have been woven through my responsibilities as keeper of all things tech. Each member of our small team fashions a millinery worth of metaphorical hats. Team building events and shared lunches help us to stay lockstep.

After work I’ve been attending tech meetups and happy hours. Networking is important. I’m excited to see what the city has in store for my life and my career. This blog will be a journal for my adventures in technology.

Freelance

I’ve been a freelance web designer and developer in New York City for a few years. I find new clients prospecting small and medium size businesses.

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Who is Anthony Pace

Who is Anthony Pace?

I’m a software engineer and web developer. I was born in New York City, and love living here. Being creative, solving problems, and building things excite me. I believe that boredom is the enemy of happiness. Having new experiences is how I find inspiration.

Programming and computers are important to me. I spend a lot of time online. The internet has helped me to discover things that are now important parts of my reality. I love to be a part of the wave by creating content, technology, and experiences for the web. This aspect of my life lets me be artistic and scientific at once

Fitness

As a life-long athlete, fitness and health are important to me. I spend weekends running, and participating in races around NYC. This is when I have some of my best ideas. Exercise gives me the energy I need to tackle my goals. During my best workouts, I experience a sense of flow only matched when I’m absorbed deeply into a creative project. I also enjoy lifting weights and martial arts.

Media

I draw inspiration from a lot of different places. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks while commuting (but still often do read actual books). Twitter has become one of favorite resources for new content. Consuming media propels my own creative urges. My drive to turn the imagined tangible boldens as I see others do it. You can check out my blog to find out more about what excites me.

Traveling

The urge to explore precedes creative expression. Experiencing the culture of a strange place stretches the imagination. I travel a few times per year for work, attending conferences and exhibitions, doing marketing work and managing live educational events. I also find myself on long adventures during my off time. These journeys have afforded me opportunities to meet people from around the world and make great memories.

Events

Social gatherings are exciting. Concerts, meet-ups, parties, and conventions help me connect with interesting people. In connecting with others we grow. I enjoy live music and good food. I attend group meetings that focus on my professional interests. Even digital events in virtual worlds present entirely new landscapes for me to explore.

 

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Technology and Consciousness

Throughout philosophical discussions concerning technology the concept of “human nature,” and its influence, are often referenced. Upon examining consciousness within a technological context the idea of a loss of humanity or individuality continually arises. Curiously, this seems to imply something very strange – specifically that the major trends of human nature are ultimately leading to its own demise. The abstraction of human characteristics and qualities, such as talent and emotion, which emerges from the influence of human nature on technology, causes a reasonable sense of fear and unnaturalness in most people. It’s clear and obvious that the world is rapidly changing in a way that history has never felt before. Socially, environmentally, and even spiritually, humankind is experiencing a metamorphosis. Issues that have stirred the minds of fanatics and dreamers for centuries are finally coming to a boil. Despite this, we may find consolation in the idea that perhaps human beings are simply a stepping-stone in the bigger picture, and that quality which we refer to as ‘humanity,’ actually derives from the whole of the cosmos and will be survived regardless of the fate of the 46 chromosomed machines that claim it as their exclusive birthright.

The twenty-first century is understood to be a pivotal moment in the history of humankind. Through technology human nature is being altered and we begin to face issues that never before existed. In a talk given by Sir Martin Rees, it is argued that this may be our last century on Earth (1). Discussing the immense future lying ahead of us, Rees explains that complexity and intelligence have far to go even here still on earth, not to mention into the depths of space. A main tenet of his argument entails that for the first time humans are able to materially change themselves, and the planet on a global scale. With the arrival of the internet, complexity and abundance of information has sky-rocketed. Slowly, digital information is becoming more important than material things (consider cash versus electronic banking, etc.). Perhaps this transition is also affecting humanity itself. Our own ability, and desire, to change ourselves may in the end result in the loss of ourselves. Bioengineering and bionics aside, I assert that most vital role will be played by the systems we create in this ‘infinite game.’ Humanity itself is based on information systems, in various regards. Our physical selves result from genetic information. Our minds, our consciousness, are all essentially information processed through a system. Everything that defines humanity seems to be compatible.

Interestingly enough, there is already a website that is devoted to “the putative future process of copying one’s mind from the natural substrate of the brain into an artificial one, manufactured by humans.” “The Mind Uploading Webpage, (2)” also details a list of various issues and questions that seem to arise from the concept, including personal identities, brain enhancements, and artificial realities. What future does a website like this promise in the developing context of web 3.0 and beyond? Imagine once something like this invades our everyday lifestyle – the explicit and intentional outsourcing of the human brains. The reason why I have focused so much on this mental outsourcing and expansion of humanity is because it points to result in something even more complex than the sum of its parts. The various digital systems that humanity has begun to embrace, interconnected within a system itself (which will ultimately be a descendant of today’s internet), will itself eventually develop into a conscious, sentiment being. As described in an article from the New York Times by Jim Holt, something as simple as a rock may “be viewed as an all-purpose information processor.”

I recently enjoyed a cartoon strip by Scott Adams that maintains great relevance to the topic (3). Its title, “Supreme Being: Our Future, Not Our Origin,” accurately describes its argument. Its initial four slides explain how complex things result from the combination of simpler, less capable components. Its sixth slide then says: “What if ‘God,’ is the consciousness that will be created when enough of us are connected by the internet?!!” Interestingly, I feel that this idea generally pointing in the right direction. A ubiquitous, unseen entity that connects everything, huh. Not that I’m trying to bring up a theological argument (perhaps God does exist, and what the cartoon refers to would simply be a manifestation of such), but the idea does seem remarkable.

This post was originally written for my first blog that has since been discontinued.

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The Future of Education

flowers

In today’s world it is conventional wisdom that a college education is necessary to excel as a professional. Times are said to have changed, and without proper schooling one is doomed to a life of either hard labor or low-paying pencil pushing. And if you’re planning on paying for an education there is no escaping the fact that college costs are rising. Besides the hefty price tag, traditional schooling is consuming, socially and mentally, forcing a particular lifestyle upon the student. Further, the relationship between the educator and the educated maintains a certain depravity, as a professor holds a figurative gun to the student’s head (any false moves may lead to a career crippling F). But is there an alternative?

In a recent editorial featured in the New York Post (April 23, 2008) Thomas Sowell attributes the high cost of college to two reasons: “People will pay what the colleges charge, and colleges have little incentive to reduce tuition.” He explains that unlike most markets, where lowering prices attracts business, in the academic world the government is ready to step in to pick up the slack. A university would loose millions per year in government money if they lowered tuition. Considering the position that today’s young people are placed, where the arduous task of completing a degree is coupled with unfair prices and a dire necessity, which will affect the rest of their life, it is fair to say that they have us by the proverbial balls.

In an article which I recently compiled I attempt to imagine the direction of coming educational paradigms. It quickly becomes obvious how the talent of great minds may be ignored due to lack of proper credentials. Our current scholastic system bespeaks the Tory elitism representative of Western culture. Perhaps the stereotypical role of an experimental, bohemian college student is effected by the sharp contrast of the academic organization. While it is clear that the classroom is continuing to evolve, it will be necessary for the vintage activist spirit of the student to lend guidance to new educational trends that shifts to a liberal method of intellectual maturation.

So where is the classroom going? I can say with a great deal of confidence that virtual technology will play a leading role in the future of education. Already most colleges and universities offer distance learning programs (online classes). Some colleges, such as the University of Phoenix offer completely virtual degrees. Hybrid courses, in which physical meetings compose only a third of the course time, are also becoming popular. This model moves the educator from the head of the classroom, handing knowledge down, to a guiding medium. This new role forces a teacher to not merely present knowledge, but to be sympathetic in facilitating its acquisition.

Despite the advantages of a virtual classroom, the heavy price still lingers overhead. In overcoming this obstacle towards an open, intellectually progressive society we must embrace the idea of autodidactism.

Being self-educated sounds harder than it is. Some of the most important figures in history have been non-traditionally educated (including Socrates, Benjamin Franklin, Alan Watts, and Mark Twain). It means having a choice in subject matter, moving at your own pace, and it’s free. Its relevance towards the shifting educational paradigm can be attributed to the dawn of the information age, coupled with the open content movement. Considering resources available today, it has never been easier to be self taught. Wikipedia alone serves as an ocean of open knowledge. Various colleges, including MIT, offer ‘open-courseware,’ which include lectures, videos, and notes for entire courses for free. E-books, language courses, podcasts, and dictionaries have all become openly available in a spectrum wide enough to cover anyone’s interests. Even aspiring musicians can learn basics of instruments, theory, and entire songs through online tablatures, sheet music, and video lessons. Rather than growing around current structures, we should move to evolve the system to fit our needs and goals.

Additional Resources:

“I have never let school interfere with my education”
-Mark Twain

“In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then He made school boards.”
-Mark Twain

The PH.D Octopus by William James

“It is interesting to imagine the direction of the classroom and forthcoming educational paradigms. I imagine that within the next twenty years the physical classroom will become obsolete, only to be replaced by an autodidactic virtual environment. The role of the teacher will shift from dictating at the head of the class, to more of a supervising librarian that directs the flow of the program in a very yang manner.”

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Open Source Society

paintings

Sometime during the 1950’s television sets had begun to become widely available and fairly affordable. Noting this point as the advent of entertainment focused telecommunications; art had begun to be understood as a trivial distraction to conservative intellectuals. The vegetating trance of the television, typically allowing the mind to enter a state of ‘cruise control,’ could be attributed to the public’s low level of input towards programming. Although the Internet seems to descend from this legacy of infotainment, something quite different is going on. While television preaches endless forms of false happiness through consumerism, the design of the contemporary web aims to facilitate “creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users (Wikipedia – Web 2.0)” This arrangement comprises the core methodology of the Open Source Revolution that is beginning to reshape our traditions and lead us towards a new renaissance of gnosis.

Philosopher Terence McKenna, reminding us that “culture is not your friend (1999),” advises to resist the epistemological disease of autocratic content by creating our own art. Through venues such as Youtube and MySpace, music, art, film, and photography, even mildly entertaining, is now able to draw large audiences and develop into a well received meme. Further, the Wiki archetype has effectively turned the amateur into the expert. McKenna often refers to a revival of the archaic, which is set to take place as a reaction to the patriarchal model of the elite handing knowledge down, and forsaking personal revelation. The proliferation of open source programs, granting users the ability to freely edit and redistribute computer software, manifests the artistic position towards which society must move. The world is shrinking in to a global village thru mass media, and the common majority must take direct control in order to reconnect and reconcile into cosmic consciousness.

The term ‘global village’ is often used metaphorically to describe the internet and World Wide Web. Philosopher Marshall McLuhan predicted that a global village would be tribal in character. The open source operating system Ubuntu, a distribution of Linux (a prime example of free software and open source development), derives its name from the South African philosophical notion of humanitarianism. Interestingly, this juxtaposition of concept and utility represents the new archetype of culture towards which the Open Source Revolution is driving. Projects such as Wikipedia, an open content encyclopedia, are able to maintain their integrity, accuracy, and scope through an effort of community and collaboration. The Open Source Revolution lends new drive to innovation, epistemology, peer support, and ultimately an altruism that trumps the capitalist agenda of elitism. I feel that we must adopt the concept of Open Source as a new organizational model for society.

Should the open source paradigm stay confined to computer software and the internet, or should we move to adopt it as a new model for social organization?

“In a global village where we have instant access to innumerable beliefs around the world, we have come to realize the relativity of what we think”

-Walter Anderson