Dec 24, 2021Notes 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. Thanks to my friend Ben Klemens for the hard-bound copy of the book. …9 min read9 min read
Jul 14, 2021We 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 decided to invest in installing a solar panel array on our roof. …Solar Energy11 min readSolar Energy11 min read
Feb 23, 2020A personal taxonomy of jewishnessMonths before my bar mitzvah I realized I was agnostic about god, and by the time I was 35 my jewishness was honed to Passover and tzedakah. Then some things happened, normal things, that brought jewishness to the front of my mind: moving in with my now-wife Leah who has…Judaism15 min readJudaism15 min read
Jan 14, 2020What 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 country’s rich history, its transformations following United States aggressions, and how its incredible population density has led to unique designs…Japan14 min readJapan14 min read
May 16, 2019Write joyous git commit messagesTips (or a convention) for writing good commit messages in your source code version control. — I have been known to write very long git commit messages. What follows is a guide to writing good commit messages in a style that I like for my projects. Why I have high expectations for git commit messages There are two main reasons why I care about git commit messages in my projects: Some projects are very serious…Git11 min readGit11 min read
Apr 25, 2019A Minimalist HaggadahA short and somewhat secular take on the traditional Passover Haggadah. — For the motivation that led me to write this Minimalist Haggadah, please see: My search begins for a new Passover Haggadah What I’m looking for in a Haggadah and a link to my Minimalist Haggadah.medium.com I developed this Haggadah with no formal experience in Jewish scholarship but an interest in getting the key components of the Seder locked down before trying other modern alternatives. …Judaism12 min readJudaism12 min read
Apr 25, 2019My search begins for a new Passover HaggadahMy arrival to the search The Jewish holiday Passover has always been my favorite holiday, and it is a part of some of my earliest and fondest memories. My grandfather led the earliest Seders in my lifetime, directing each member of the family to have a turn reading a portion of the Haggadah in Hebrew…Judaism6 min readJudaism6 min read
Published inCivic Tech Thoughts from JoshData·Oct 14, 2018Mayor’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 staff from across the District’s government. Although the group has been underwhelming, our work on promoting open government data in the District has had two outcomes. …Open Data4 min readOpen Data4 min read
Apr 13, 2018Holding 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 second term, I filed Freedom of Information Act requests with BEGA and the Executive Office of the Mayor for relevant emails to find out more about what really happened. Was…FOIA3 min readFOIA3 min read
Feb 9, 2018My 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 Government for another five-year term. Below is the testimony I made before the DC Council’s judiciary committee (video) yesterday. First, some background: D.C.'s open-government watchdog took her job seriously. Then she lost it. D.C. lawmakers voiced concern Monday about the unexplained removal of the District's government-transparency watchdog…www.washingtonpost.comOpen Government5 min readOpen Government5 min read
