Mike Pirnat

There’s a lot of excitement on the ClePy mailing list about trying to bring PyCon to Cleveland in 2010. David Stanek is leading the charge, getting folks talking, and planning, and motivated.

Clevelanders who want to help out bringing Python’s premier conference to our fair city should head on over to the bid page on the Python wiki and lend their names and support.

Non-Clevelanders, have no fear! Cleveland’s really quite misunderstood and under-appreciated. We’ve got a great restaurant scene (we’re home to the newest Iron Chef!), tons of attractions (like the Science Center and Rock Hall), world-class museums and other cultural institutions (maybe a few of you have heard of the Cleveland Orchestra, which is rated among the top 3-5 worldwide), the nation’s second largest performing arts center, beautiful parks and lake views, and more–all within walking distance of either the likely conference site or available with a quick jaunt on the rapid transit system. Plus the river hasn’t caught on fire for decades, but you can savor the legacy with really good local beer.

In short, there’s plenty to love about bringing PyCon to Cleveland. Let’s do it!

clepy, cleveland, pycon, python

My recent vacation photos hiatus is in part due to spending last weekend being all responsible and grown-up and stuff–Laura, one of my nieces, came to visit us for the weekend. Note the use of the word “my,” a big step for me, as for most of the past seven years, the girls have been “Liz’s nieces.” Maybe they’re just growing up to the point at which I can relate to them, but they’re really, finally feeling like family.

So! Laura braved the increased airport security, water bottle fascism and all, and arrived last Friday. Liz picked her up, and after getting settled in at the house, took us all out to lunch at Phnom Penh; to my amazement, Laura loved her loath chha! That evening we hit our local Winking Lizard and then went out to Will Farrell NASCAR movie (hilarious, recommended), got ice cream on the way home, and stayed up far too late playing Munchkin. Saturday we caught up on “Monk” and “Psych”, then went out to friends’ for their Wild Game BBQ, where there was much delicious food, frosty beverage, and wacky croquet fun, then zipped down to Blossom to chill out under the stars and experience the Cleveland Orchestra playing the scores to Bugs Bunny cartoons (and incidentally seeing a lot of folks that we don’t always bump into). Sunday we had brunch downtown, spent a few hours at the science center (note to self: don’t try the “virtual hang-glider” right after eating…), tried to get Laura hooked on “Firefly”, and played a lot more Munchkin and Apples to Apples.

Laura was up and out the door early on Monday to get to her flight on time; by all accounts she made it back home safely. I’m still trying to wrap my head around her pronouncement that I’m “an awesome uncle,” but for the most part I guess that’s pretty cool. The entire experience has left me a lot more optimistic about the idea of being a parent, a mental paradigm shift that is simultaneously comforting and scary as hell.

cartoons, cleveland, concerts, culture, family, firefly, food, games, liz, movies, music, tv, weather, weekends