Alex Hillman, Resident Badass

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 11, 2009

Alex Hillman002.JPGWhat do you do?
I’m pretty good at stirring things up and challenging the status quo.

What do you wish you did?
I’d love to write and speak for a living. I also wish I could travel the world working with communities who are trying to improve their cities.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
I’ve been to BarCamp Philly, BarCamp Jacksonville, BarCamp Miami, FlashCamp, BarCamp Austin…I’m sure I’m forgetting somewhere.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
How to live life by accelerating serendipity. A.K.A. “Why did Saul Rosenbaum buy me a last minute plane ticket to LessConf?”

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
My original plan for my career was to be a professional magician. When I got old enough to realize that David Copperfield was kinda creepy, I started looking for alternatives.

Got a website or blog?
dangerouslyawesome.com

Twitter?
@alexknowshtml

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Brian Bransteitter, Senior Software Engineer

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 11, 2009

bbransteitterWhat do you do?
Senior Software Engineer at WorkXpress LLC.

What do you wish you did?
Astronaut – There will always be a part of me that loves the idea of flying into space, even if I do have trouble standing on a ladder.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
Nope this will be my first.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
5th Generation Programming Languages (5GL) and Cloud computing combine to empower more people to develop and distribute software.

What is 5GL?
How it will help “The Excel Person” become a Software Developer.

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
The picture is from my wedding this June, Love You Tiffany.

Bonus fact: I lost weight playing video games!

Got a website or blog?
workxpress.com

Twitter?
@bbransteitter

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Tom Boutell, Symfony Developer

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 11, 2009

tom_suitWhat do you do?
Mostly Symfony development in PHP. If the site has moving parts, I’m often the one moving them. I’m heavily involved in the Apostrophe CMS project.

Before that I built lots of other things, like the gd library and the WWW FAQ and Mapedit and blah and blah and blah, but what have I done for you lately?

What do you wish you did?
This is an extraordinary time in my life.

Professionally speaking, though…
more product, less project. I prefer helping individuals for the joy of it and then generalizing that to billyuns and billyuns of people as a business model, rather than helping individuals for a large project fee and hoping the politics pan out.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
Nope.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
Testing websites on your very own Mac. Uploading stuff to a server somewhere just to find out if your PHP is valid? Totally for the birds.

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I spend several nights a week on the salsa dance floor. It’s the hardest thing for me, or it was, and it’s been incredibly good for me. These facts are related.

Got a website or blog?
window.punkave.com

Twitter?
@tommybgoode

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Bonnie Aumann, Agile Project Manager

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 11, 2009

dress_climbingWhat do you do?
Agile Project Manager at Algorithmics

What do you wish you did?
The same thing, but even better

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
Nope, totally stoked for my first time out

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
Make More Money w/ Estimate-Free Planning – a Demonstration

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I like firespinning with poi, but don’t get nearly enough opportunities to do so

Got a website or blog?
bonniea.com

Twitter?
@bonniea

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James Denmark, Software Company Founder

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 10, 2009

jmd_150x150_bwWhat do you do?
I founded a software company that built a community around electronic health records for clinical trials to protect the privacy of trial volunteers and make clinical research more attractive for physicians.

What do you wish you did?
I wish I was James Bond, but only the cool bits. Nice suits, Aston Martin, martinis and cool French retro music. None of the death and destruction stuff.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
No

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
Something about how collaborative platforms can change clinical research.

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I brew beer. Come and try some at the beercampphilly pre-party at Indy Hall on Friday evening.

Got a website or blog?
myclin.com

Twitter?
@jmdenmark

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Getting to BarCamp Philly

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 10, 2009

Terra Hall at The University of the Arts is located at 211 S Broad Street near the intersection of Broad & Walnut Streets [Google Map]. There are tons of public transportation options within a few blocks!

SEPTA / SUBWAY
Broad Street Line (Orange Line)
Walnut-Locust
Exit at Walnut Street on east side of Broad, 211 S Broad Street will be right there!

Market-Frankford El (Blue Line)
City Hall / 15th Street Station
[Google Map]
Walk south on Broad Street to Walnut, 211 will be on your left.

SEPTA / REGIONAL RAIL
*Use iSepta to plan your trip!*

Market East Station
12th & Filbert (1/2 mile)
[Google Walking Directions]
Walk south on 12th Street to Walnut Street, make a right on Walnut, make a left on Broad Street. 211 S Broad will be on your left.

Suburban Station
16th & JFK (1/2 mile)
[Google Walking Directions]
Walk east on JFK towards City Hall, right on 15th Street, follow curve around City Hall, right on Broad Street, heading south until you reach 211 (on the left).

PATCO
15th & Locust Station
[Google Walking Directions]
Walk east on Locust to Broad Street, cross street to east side of Broad Street, walk 1 block north, 211 S Broad Street will be on your right.

AMTRAK / 30th STREET STATION
If you are in the mood for a brisk walk, 30th Street Station is about 1.3 miles from UArts.
[Google Walking Directions]
Other transit options include taxis (exit where taxi stand is clearly marked) or exiting the station and getting on the Market-Frankford El to City Hall Station. See directions above.

BY CAR / PARKING
Plug your starting address into Google Maps to get the best directions.

Use the PPA Parking Locator to find area parking. The closest garages are as follows:

Broad & Locust
219 S Broad Street

Bellevue Garage
222 S Broad Street

Doubletree Hotel Garage
Broad & Locust Street

Juniper & Locust Garage
1327 Locust Street

Posted in Announcements, Logistics | 1 Comment

Johnny Bilotta, Creative Director and Beer Lover

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 9, 2009

whiteshirtWhat do you do?
Currently I make my living as a freelance creative director and designer specializing in interface, icon, and graphic design. I am also the co-host of Two Guys On Beer, a weekly video podcast about…well, beer.

What do you wish you did?
Driving Instructor at the Nürburgring! Nothing could be better. The Nürburgring is holy ground, to just walk the track would be a religious experience for me.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
I attended BarCamp Philadelphia 08 and loved every minute of it. I did not do a session but promised myself I would do one this year.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
Personally, I would like to lead a session on personality and style of the gentlemen/lady geek. We get so focused on our online social selves that we start to forget that the personal social self is very much a key to our success.

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I have worked and held the title of every position in a typical restaurant. From dishwasher to general manger.

Got a website or blog?
johnnynines.com

Twitter?
@johnnynines

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Ryan Meinzer, Founder & CEO of PlaySay.com

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 8, 2009

ryan_meinzerWhat do you do?
Founder & CEO of PlaySay.com which is a community driven website with integrated language learning software which empowers users to extract value out of any idle minute with the most practical language learning on the go.

What do you wish you did?
I wish I was a professional Ice Hockey Player.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
No

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
Email Marketing

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I’ve traveled around the world on a ship.

Got a website or blog?
playsay.com

Twitter?
@ryanmeinzer

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David Kaneda, Designer & Developer

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 7, 2009

david_kanedaWhat do you do?
Design and development. I work on freelance projects, run a couple blogs, speak at conferences, sell iPhone apps, write for Apress, and work on an open source mobile development plugin, jQTouch.

What do you wish you did?
I love everything I do, but in a dream world, if I wasn’t a designer/developer, I’d want to be a movie director. Films are beautiful, and I think present a different type of design challenge.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
Nope.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
Mobile design and development.

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I am a Rock Band superstar.

Got a website or blog?
davidkaneda.com

Twitter?
@DavidKaneda

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Robert Dempsey, Entrepreneur

By Roz Duffy | Published: November 5, 2009

rob_headshotWhat do you do?
I’m lucky in that I get to read tons of information, talk with lots of awesome people, build cool products, make videos, write blog posts, and run a business while being a father and husband. I’m a very lucky man.

What do you wish you did?
More of what I’m doing now.

Have you ever been to a BarCamp before? If so, which one(s)?
I’ve been to BarCamps in Orlando and Miami. Both were awesome events.

If you were to lead a session, what would it be about?
I’d talk about how business is broken, and how to fix it. The session would focus around seeing people as people, whether they are employees or customers. Business really needs to get back on track.

Give us one interesting fact about yourself!
I’m certified to take dental x-rays.

Got a website or blog?
blog.adsdevshop.com

Twitter?
@rdempsey

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