Bullet time and elephant hearts: Where to start on engineering projects with unknownsLittle has been written about more than how software engineers and teams should go about completing their projects, and yet after scanning…Jun 30, 2023Jun 30, 2023
Notes from Dijkstra’s A Discipline of ProgrammingEdsger Dijkstra, famous for graph algorithms, also wrote the 1976 book A Discipline of Programming about the practice of computer science…Dec 24, 2021Dec 24, 2021
We went solar and here are the real numbersAs a progressive, data geek, and homeowner, solar panels were hard to resist. After moving into our new home in 2020, my spouse and I…Jul 14, 20212Jul 14, 20212
A personal taxonomy of jewishnessThere is no answer to what it means to be a Jew — if you’re Jewish, you likely already know this. Yet there are also endless answers.Feb 23, 20201Feb 23, 20201
What three weeks in Japan taught me about public transit signageMy wife and I spent our honeymoon in Japan — the first trip there for both of us. Over three weeks and in five cities, we were awed by the…Jan 14, 2020Jan 14, 2020
Write joyous git commit messagesTips (or a convention) for writing good commit messages in your source code version control.May 16, 20191May 16, 20191
A Minimalist HaggadahA short and somewhat secular take on the traditional Haggadah.Apr 25, 20193Apr 25, 20193
My search begins for a new Passover HaggadahWhat I’m looking for in a Haggadah and a link to my Minimalist Haggadah.Apr 25, 20191Apr 25, 20191
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataMayor’s advisory group issues recommendations on how to find your open data stakeholdersIn 2016, DC Mayor Bowser established an Open Government Advisory Group (OGAG) comprised of members of the public (like me) and government…Oct 14, 2018Oct 14, 2018
Holding DC’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability accountable to thinking before doingAfter DC’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) declined to re-appoint the District’s chief open government enforcer for a…Apr 13, 2018Apr 13, 2018
My testimony to the DC Council on BEGA’s Office of Open GovernmentLast week DC’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability decide not to renew the appointment of its Director of the Office of Open…Feb 9, 2018Feb 9, 2018
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataThere’s a good chance owning Bitcoin will turn out to be ethically reprehensible.I sold off my BTC and donated the profit to charity.Dec 31, 20171Dec 31, 20171
How I used the WMATA API to get to work 4½ minutes faster.Hi, I’m @JoshData on Twitter.Nov 5, 20171Nov 5, 20171
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataDC’s Open Gov Advisory Group Turns 1It’s been one year since the District government’s Open Government Advisory Group (OGAG) re-launched. A year ago, after being appointed to…May 19, 2017May 19, 2017
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataI’m not organizing Open Data Day DC this year — these three reasons won’t surprise you.Civic technology can’t go on like it’s 1999.Mar 4, 20177Mar 4, 20177
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataHow To Build an App to Call/Write CongressAmericans have a tradition of communicating with their representatives in Congress to express their views and hold them accountable…Dec 24, 20167Dec 24, 20167
Designing a credit card expiration date drop-down: How many years in the future to list?I’m putting together a new website that will take credit card information. As is common, the form will ask for the user’s credit card…Oct 5, 20161Oct 5, 20161
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataCivic Tech’s Act III is beginning.The lights are dimming. It’s time to return to our seats. The third act of civic technology is about to begin.Sep 22, 20162Sep 22, 20162
Sunglasses of The MatrixAll sunglasses that appear in The Matrix, in order of appearance.Aug 27, 2016Aug 27, 2016
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshDataGovTrack now actually uses open government datatl;dr — I got the open data I’d been requesting for 15 years from the U.S. Congress.Jul 6, 20163Jul 6, 20163