[portland] followup re Red Cross

Thu Apr 16 21:16:21 CEST 2009

Awesome.  As long as you know what you might be getting into, it looks like
they could really use the help.  :-)

On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 10:58 AM, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yes, that's good advice Dylan, glad you appreciate this is a workflow
> issue, not just about what happens to an HttpRequest once it gets in
> the door (lots fall off the roller coaster in this case, plunge to
> their deaths, but hey, it's only virtual, plus there's a whole other
> website that'll swap in if we're nuked or Hood blows or whatever, hope
> we don't have to use it, might be written in ASP/VB?).
>
> However, I'm a good person to come forward with this as I've been
> working in the non-profit sector for some years (Sisters of the Road,
> Burnside Projects, Oregon Food Bank, Vision Northwest, Clackamas
> County, Disability Determination Services, Aging Services of
> Multnomah, and yes, Red Cross, though not any time recently -- been at
> this since 1980s actually).  In other words, I'm good at managing
> workflow, plus have help.
>
> Kirby
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 10:43 AM, Dylan Reinhardt
> <python at dylanreinhardt.com> wrote:
> > Wow... there certainly is a lot of room for improvement here.
> >
> > That said, when an organization maintains its web site this badly, it's
> not
> > typically because of an inability to find programmers.  It's because
> their
> > business processes don't include the web site and/or a lack of perceived
> > value toward having an up-to-date web site.
> >
> > A new toolset might generate some heat, but it is not going to change
> > management priorities nor will it fix their broken business processes.
> I'd
> > be really shy about dragging an ad hoc band of geeks into a project with
> an
> > international organization without having a really good idea of what
> you're
> > actually up against.
> >
> > FWIW,
> >
> > Dylan
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 8:31 AM, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Hey there geeks!
> >>
> >> pursuant to my lightning talk this last time @ PPUG, which was
> >> somewhat impromptu i.e. I only got the info that very day, here's more
> >> of the deal on my Red Cross connection:
> >>
> >> (a) read both blog posts if interested in an idea of the current
> >> status quo (fucked up):
> >>
> >> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/04/ppug-2009414.html
> >> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/04/frustrated-with-red-cross.html
> >>
> >> (b) I'm staying in touch with the Red Cross CTO plus have forwarded
> >> more details including some emails to our combined PPUG & OS Bridge
> >> leadership, namely Jason and Michelle, Selena and Audrey, though I'm
> >> thinking they're all too crazy busy to do much about it, just wanted
> >> to scattergun across skill set communities, with Michelle strong in
> >> Django, Jason in everything Python, Selena in PostgreSQL and Audrey in
> >> Rails.
> >>
> >> Yes, I'm cluing the Rails community as I'm looking from over the
> >> shoulder of Red Cross CTO towards Cubespace as this bevy of relevant
> >> webapp developers, not differentiating much further than that, all
> >> comers welcome (Perl Mongers, let's get on it).  I do favor Django
> >> though, have been consistently suggesting it both around Ecotrust
> >> (which already uses GeoDjango) and around Center for Outcomes Research
> >> and Education (Providence, more into MUMPS, not atypical in
> >> hospitals).
> >>
> >> I also forwarded the data to Mosaic Consulting whom I contract with
> >> for HR (human resources) consulting, in case this gets to the resume
> >> stage or we actually want to offer Red Cross a coherent development
> >> plan.  Fred Meyer Trust is a puzzle piece.
> >>
> >> I'll be happy if we get that far, as I think the promise of open
> >> source is it actually strengthens NGOs, nonprofits, those glue
> >> organizations that serve community.  It's not just that the tools are
> >> powerful, but that we think more the way they do, in terms of freely
> >> sharing our liberal arts (cite R0ml Lefkowitz et al).
> >>
> >> This has always been the hype, plus it's real on the ground in a great
> >> many cases, however Portland, with a reputation as a FOSS capital
> >> (CSM:2005) stands to improve its reputation as such if its signature
> >> nonprofits aren't wallowing in licensing fee hell paying like double
> >> for only half the result.
> >>
> >> As an erstwhile consultant with Free Geek (CollabTech chapter) I know
> >> that serving in the nonprofit community is difficult, frustrating,
> >> often uphill work but is also potentially rewarding and great for your
> >> resume if you wanna be a USA senator someday (OK, most of us don't).
> >>
> >> I've played (and been paid) in this sandbox for years and have
> >> treasured working with some really dedicated people doing obviously
> >> important and interesting things.  If you've not worked with
> >> nonprofits before, I suggest trying to find out more at OS Bridge.  Or
> >> talk to me sometime (4dsolutions.net), maybe after a PPUG meeting, or
> >> talk to Jason (idealist.org).
> >>
> >> Kirby
> >>
> >> PS:  and again with the Pycon slides, which went by kinda faced on the
> >> remotely operated white screen:
> >> http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315@N00/sets/72157616066135225/
> >> re my workshop:
> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/03/urner-workshop.html
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> Portland at python.org
> >> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/portland
> >>
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