WordCamp Philly: Dev Day! (Part 2)

I wasn’t planning on attending the second day of WordCamp Philly, since it’s focus is developers, of which I am not one (yet). I’m gradually sliding deeper down the rabbit hole, and was certainly helped along by the main event yesterday, but still not at a level at which I would consider myself a developer, even a wimpy amateur one.

But, a couple people said I should come anyway, and today’s event was even more conveniently located for me, so once again, I figured Why not? and headed on down! And once again, I’m oh-so-glad I did!

Dev Day is more free-form and hands-on than the main event, and a smaller group, so everybody’s in one [really sweet] room, hanging out and working on things and enjoying cookies as big as my face, punctuated by some informal presentations. Much to my surprise, this included a Q&A time with freaking Matt Mullenweg (co-founder/creator of WordPress (among other things), and occupant of the coolest domain name I know of, ma.tt), which tended toward the future of WordPress and the internet in general. Also, silliness.

Jason’s hidden talent was also revealed:

And I even found a collaborator to work with on that calendar of nerdy events idea!

When the official day wrapped up, we migrated across town to Barcade, “a hybrid craft beer bar and—yep, you called it—video arcade,” (Inc.) ← (the article I mentioned a couple times tonight, by the way!) which boasts a lovely selection of beers and 80’s arcade games, as well as a really unique and tasty assortment of sandwiches and such!

The evening flew by in a constant stream of great conversations. I got to chat with Matt for a while about a variety of things, including libraries and NASAtweetups/socials (by which he seemed quite intrigued!), so he gets my seal of approval! Talked for a bit with a couple from Lancaster, and Robert from North Carolina, and at times all the separate conversations sort of merged… occasionally taking odd turns… at some point the “fun fact” I learned on the radio this morning — that if you spin a monkey at higher than 145rpm its brainstem separates from its spinal cord D= — was actually relevant (re: Felix Baumgartner’s jump)! Towards the end of the night, I discovered that the guy I’d been sitting next to lives a 10 minute walk from my house! It’s that sort of small, crazy world!

Heading out, I gave Chris (who wore the awesome penguin costume yesterday) a ride to the train station. Unfortunately, there were some issues with the roads we were on suddenly veering off unannounced or disappearing altogether, resulting in a depressingly impressive number of wrong turns and wild guesses, a surprise detour to New Jersey, and the “scenic tour” of far too much of Philadelphia!

Thank goodness, we had plenty of time, so managed to still get him to his train and home! He said he’d owe me a beer next time he’s in town, but really I owe him one or three for how absurdly long it took to get there! (I promise I actually have a decent sense of direction! Just not tonight apparently!) But hey, we had a fun little adventure?! All’s well that ends well!