#swarthmore — Public Fediverse posts

Tri-Co Hackathon

I had a lot of fun joining the Tri-Co Hackathon this afternoon as a Swarthmore alumni judge. There were eight student teams, and all of them had whipped up some really clever and interesting app or service ideas in only 24 hours. Unfortunately we could only pick our top four teams, which involved some difficult deliberation among us judges.

Of course I review and give feedback on project proposals and prototypes all the time at work, but this is the first time I’ve had just a few minutes of presentation and questions to jot down some notes and make a joint decision in a hackathon format. The rubric had us consider factors like concept, design, creativity, utility, and complexity. I think I balanced them well?

I wish we had had a program like this when I was on campus! It was really cool to see all the ideas and energy turned around so quickly. I guess the closest I’ve come is some CTF events through work.

If asked I would definitely do something like this again. It fits with the career advice calls I do with current students and recent graduates via Swarthmore’s alumni platform. I really like hearing from young potential computer scientists and software engineers, and I hope I can give useful advice from a 20+ year career. I just have to not think too hard about current freshmen only being 6 or 7 years old than my kid. 👴🏻

#programming #swarthmore

Seventeen seconds of a red fox having a drink at my mini pond. Swarthmore, PA. #TrailCam #CameraTrap #mammal #fox #vulpes #nature #pond #water #swarthmore

Red fox drinking at the mini pond in my back yard. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. #CameraTrap #TrailCam #garden #pond #fox #foxes #vulpes #mammal #nature #swarthmore #pennsylvania

Customers at the Swarthmore Co-Op are apparently poking the watermelons. #watermelon #fruit #swarthmore #delco #sign

So are the white flags to deter dogs from digging or are they meant for the owners, to indicate that they shouldn't let their dogs dig? #grass #flags #fencing #lawn #cones #dogs #swarthmore

Nice patch of dodder (Cuscuta sp.) at the restored meadow in the Crum Woods (Swarthmore College). No flowers yet so species ID is hopeless. #swarthmore #dodder #parasite #parasitic #botany #plants #cuscuta #nature #vines #convolvulaceae #ricohgriiix

On my list of things to do is to make some laminated "WARNING: POISON IVY" signs to leave on sidewalks around town. Kids are likely brushing up against the leaves while parents are busy on their phones. #PoisonIvy #walking #sidewalks #swarthmore #pedestrians

Not sure how it happened but apparently this truck flipped onto its side, spilling a load of trash onto the street. Was a slow news day locally so two helicopters were overhead filming. #swarthmore #trash #accident #truck #delco

I think I showed great restraint not coming back with a Sharpie and editing this recipe. #guacamole #avocados #recipe #cooking #food #swarthmore

Here's how the homeowner killed the above tree: he didn't like the section of sidewalk that had been elevated by decades of growth so he hired a crew to saw the root off and then pour new concrete. Poor thing. #swarthmore #oak #tree

@thuronyi Ha! Well if you'd like some memories of the college and the town here are some pics I've taken over the years. #swarthmore https://colinpurrington.smugmug.com/Places/Swarthmore

There's a guy down the street who smoothed out his sidewalk last year by first cutting away the roots of a massive oak that had caused it to buckle. I instantly knew it was going to die. Now we wait for a storm to bring it down onto the power lines below. #swarthmore #oak #trees #sidewalks #pruning #roots #arborists #peco

I inspected all the containers that accumulated water during last week's steady rain. Every single one had a thriving population of mosquito larvae. I wish our town sent out regular reminders to residents to dump stagnant water. Would make a huge difference. #mosquitoes #insects #swarthmore #delco #pennsylvania #rain #water #aedes

We had so much rain yesterday that water was jetting up from the basement floor in fountains at multiple locations. Yea, that's not good. Concrete repairs are on my to-do list. As is checking gutters. #swarthmore #delco #pennsylvania #rain #flooding #weather #basement #cats

I often take a pair of pruners on my walks around town in case there is a stray branch impeding the way, but I may need to start lugging around a machete (yes, I have one). Jokes aside, I wish homeowners would show a bit of respect to the low-vision residents in the neighborhood who have to navigate these obstacles. #swarthmore #walking #sidewalks #plants #walkability #pruning #hedges #yardwork #streets #traffic #pedestrian

There's an intersection two houses away that is a favorite shortcut for folks avoiding a nearby light. When there's a crash, which there is several times per year, I can feel the impact and I immediately call 911. Sometimes I go over to have a look and there is always an SUV involved. #crash #traffic #swarthmore #suv #cars

My 10x25' plot at the community garden. Currently 2 rows of fava beans, 3 rows of carrots, 4 rows of shelling peas, and 10 tomatoes. Central portion covered with bird netting to keep out the birds and the squirrels. #CommunityGarden #GrowYourOwn #allotment #garden #gardening #swarthmore #peas #fava #tomatoes

I visited my garden yesterday and several wood stakes that I'd pounded into the ground were horizontal and in some cases several feet from their original positions. And two trellises were bent over 10° or so. I initially thought "vandalism" but it turns out the winds from yesterday's storm were clocked at 95-105 mph. Peas and fava beans took a hit from the hail, too. Took an hour to clean up. #weather #delco #swarthmore #garden #wind #allotment #gardening

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) doing its strange cauliflory thing. I planted three in my front yard and for the next several weeks people will stop in awe and ask what species it is. When possible, I try to have small potted seedlings on hand to give to them. #trees #swarthmore #redbud #fabaceae #botany #cercis #cauliflory

Crazy amount of hail and lightning this morning. Sirens have been going off so I'm assuming power outages somewhere. Hoping my fava beans are OK. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA. #weather #hail #ice #pennsylvania #swarthmore #gardening

The Evolution of #Swarthmore https://youtu.be/hUpPDSSQt2M Neat aerial timelapse. Will be interesting to see campus post-Hicks, since I spent so much time there.

Here are the Gamewell Diaphones that alert volunteers to a fire emergency in Swarthmore. Link goes to a YouTube video if you want to hear them. #diaphone #horn #swarthmore https://www.google.com/search?q=swarthmore+fire+department+horn&oq=swarthmore+fire+department+horn&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDYwOTdqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:050229e9,vid:LnDdz0ZQmTg,st:0

Made rice krispies treats for the volunteer fire department in town. As it turned out, their Gamewell Diaphone (nicknamed the Moose) started sounding as I typed this message ... and now the engine sirens are going, too. #cooking #dessert #swarthmore #FireDepartment

Here's my 10 x 25' plot at the community garden. To keep the birds off my peas and the squirrels off my tomatoes I've draped netting over the center portion that contains trellises made of concrete reinforcement panels. #garden #gardening #allotment #fence #peas #tomatoes #swarthmore #GrowYourOwn #VerticalGardening

Last fall I pruned off several dozen stem segments from my fig tree and crammed them into a bin of wet soil in my basement. Now they are starting to produce roots and I'm potting them up as gifts to friends in town. #figs #gardening #propagation #plants #fruit #ficus #swarthmore

Looks like the RA union at #swarthmore got most of their pay demands met
https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2024/10/10/ra-union-and-college-reach-tentative-agreement-on-21-raises-and-more/

I planted 5 'King of the Garden" lima beans at the beginning of the summer and boy have they been producing. Hundreds on each plant with no end in sight. Plants got so big they cracked their supports. #LimaBeans #beans #gardening #swarthmore #VegetableGardening #legume

The cheesemonger at my town's grocery store is clearly a cat fan. No other cheese has photographs. Just couldn't resist. #cat #cats #caturday #swarthmore #cheese #FatCat #birchrun