Thu, 28 Jul 2005
O'Reilly Want to Connect?
There's something up at connection.oreilly.com... will it
be another jobs site or do they have an ace up their collective, animal
decorated, sleeves?
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Posted: 2005/07/28 23:16 | /sites | Permanent link to this entry | This entry and same date
Amazon Wishlists in Perl
For a small play project I needed the ability to pull down all the DVDs
from a given persons Amazon wishlist. After a quick look on CPAN two main
options presented themselves, first up we have WWW::Amazon::Wishlist.
The module has an easy to use interface, doesn't require an Amazon developer token (it's a naughty screen-scraper) and doesn't need any XML modules. Unfortunately while it has no problems getting books I couldn't get it to download any of the DVDs from the wishlist so I moved on.
Net::Amazon on the other hand is a larger, more comprehensive and complete solution but it has one advantage. It actually does what I want it to ;) After reading some perldoc and Data::Dumpering some structures I've managed to get a list of the DVDs from my wishlist in the format I want.
I've put a copy of my DVD Amazon Wishlist retrieving code up on the site in case it's of any use to anyone else. Now I can get on with the harder bits...
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Posted: 2005/07/28 23:09 | /tools/commandline | Permanent link to this entry | This entry and same date
Another entry on the CV
Yesterday was my last day at my now-previous employers, For the rest of
this week I'm on emergency phone support only (which they'll never have to
use as things pretty much work). Next week I'm at the UKUUG conference in
Swansea and then a couple of days after I get back I start my new job at
one of Londons premier OpenSource and Perl companies. No, not the BBC.
;)
I've been thinking about why I only stayed for a year at a company that has a hell of a lot of potential and some very top notch people and I've come up with a couple of ideas, how valid they are I guess I'll work out over time.
Firstly the technical challenges. Medical companies are slow and stable. They also spend years in tender for a project and so they are always a long way behind current tech and conservative even then. This is an industry-wide thing I didn't know about until I became involved. To be honest it makes sense but from a personal growth level it's not the best way to stay current and challenged. In a couple of years I think I'd like to get back in to that industry but I'm not ready for the change of pace just yet.
Second we have the people: as a company grows it typically moves from a small number of very capable people to a larger number of more conventional employees. I've got no problem being a cog in a machine if I get paid well for it and I go in with that known. If you get in at the early stage and then the environment changes enough then you need to be aware that your position in the company will either change drasticly or you need to be objective and know when you should stand aside and move on. I was aware of both happening.
They are moving from a pioneer, driven by ideas position to a more stable service model which didn't need anywhere as much raw innovation and things were settling down enough that they don't need the same skill set (and experience levels) in some of their staff. And so I moved off on good terms to find a new opportunity.
To my ex-coworkers, many of whom were very smart and capable people I send my regards and wish you the best of luck. To my new employer I hope you understand how lucky you are ;)
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Posted: 2005/07/28 11:15 | /nottech | Permanent link to this entry | This entry and same date
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