Sooner or later, you’ll experience this annoyance:
If you use Chrome or a browser that supports Chrome extensions (which includes Microsoft’s Edge), you can install the Save Image as PNG extension, which adds a Save Image as PNG option to the contextual menu that appears when you right-click on an image, as shown below:
Try it out! Download and install the extension and try saving the .webp image below as .png:
It’s an image format developed by Google, and it’s meant to replace image formats that we’re all familiar with — .gif, .jpeg, and .png. It supports features that we’ve come to expect for online images, including:
Lossless and lossy compression
Alpha transparency
Animation
WebP images were designed with the goal of fast er internet image transmission, so they’re optimized for small size. Encoding an image as .webp often produces smaller file sizes that encoding the same image at the same level of image quality using .jpeg or .png encoding.
Most current browsers support WebP, but older browsers such as Internet Explorer don’t.
Although WebP encoding often produced smaller images than JPEG or PNG, the image quality drops a lot as you increase the compression.
StartupBus Florida 2022! Tap to view at full size.
This article is a work in progress — I’m making it available to readers as I write it!
On Wednesday July 27, 2022, 13 people boarded a bus at The Sail on the Riverwalk in downtown Tampa bound for Austin, Texas to participate in a contest unlike any other: StartupBus 2022. I was one of those 13 people, and this is what happened on (and off) that bus.
StartupBus is the Mother of All Hackathons. The first part of the event is a three-day bus ride where buspreneurs (contestants), with help from conductors (coaches), conceive a technology startup, its software, and marketing and business plans. There are a number of buses that start in different places — in 2022, the buses left from California, Mexico City, Cincinnati, and Tampa — and they spend three days making their toward Austin, where their buspreneurs present their startups at the qualifying, semi-final, and final rounds of judging. It’s a road trip, entrepreneurship crash course, competition, and adventure all in one.
Day 1: On the bus from Tampa to Gainesville and Tallahassee
Boarding the bus
At 6:00 a.m., I arrived at The Sail, the designated pickup loacation. It’s a pavilion located downtown, on the Tampa Riverwalk, just a stone’s throw away from the Tampa Convention Center. The buspreneurs were told that the bus would depart at 7, so I expected to be the first one there. Instead, Mandy was there, and so were a handful of buspreneurs. This was a good sign.
The bus should’ve been there too, but it wasn’t. None of our bus contacts were responding to messages or Mandy’s phone calls.
“Let’s just chalk this up to Murphy’s Law and declare 6:45 as ‘panic o’clock,’” I suggested.
Fortunately, she made contact with the bus people at around panic o’clock, and they told us that they were on their way. That gave us a little more time to chat and get to know each other a little more:
Wednesday, 7:16 a.m.: VJ, Ray, Marley, Chevy, and Justin. In the background: Cary. Tap to view at full size.
The slight delay gave us a chance to load up on coffee and a little breakfast food. We started boarding the bus soon afterward:
Wednesday, 7:22 a.m. The buspreneurs get set to board the bus. Tap to view at full size.
Here’s a shot showing Josh’s photobombing prowess:
Wednesday, 7:22 a.m. Me in the foreground, VJ and Josh in the background. Tap to view at full size.
…and shortly after 7:30, our bus started making its way toward the highway.
The secret route
While the buspreneurs knew that the bus would start in Tampa on Wednesday morning and arrive in Austin sometime on Friday evening, they didn’t know what route we’d take or what stops we’d make.
The simplest route from Tampa to Austin takes I-75 north to I-10, and then takes I-10 west, a route 1,200 miles (a little over 1900 km) long. If you were to drive that distance at a consistent 70 miles an hour with no stops at all, you could make the trip in a little over 17 hours. Add stops for activities (more about these later), meals, sleep (at hotels or Airbnbs — we weren’t going to sleep on the bus), and bio breaks, and the trip easily expands to fill three days. At least one of the buspreneurs did some map consulting and guessed our route and where we might end up stopping.
Here’s a map of the route we took:
The route we took from Tampa to Austin. Tap to view at full size.
Opening ceremonies
Shortly after everyone had settled in on the bus, it was time to get started with the opening ceremonies. The buspreneurs were already familiar with us conductors, so we got on with the task of having the mentors say something to inspire them. First Cary…
Wednesday, 7:42 a.m. Cary addresses the troops. Tap to view at full size.
…then Josh:
Wednesday, 7:43 a.m. Tap to view at full size.
Wednesday, 7:43 a.m. The troops watch the opening address. Tap to view at full size.
With the introductory speeches out of the way, the next step was to have the buspreneurs introduce themselves and propose a startup idea.
Wednesday, 7:47 a.m. Chevy proposes “Tinder for puppy playdates.” Tap to view at full size.
Wednesday, 7:49 a.m. VJ proposes an electronic replacement for a first responder standard operating procedure manual. Tap to view at full size.
The buspreneurs got to refine their startup pitches in an online meetup with one of Tampa Bay’s Toastmasters groups, who listened and provided valuable feedback.
After the meetup, the buspreneurs started talking amongst themselves to figure out which startups they should create. Remember, they had only three days to create them!
Wednesday, 9:06 a.m. Tap to view at full size.
Wednesday, 9:47 a.m. Tap to view at full size.
Wednesday, 9:47 a.m. Tap to view at full size.
In the meantime, I got into an extensive conversation with Cary about his life and work, and we discovered that we had both lived in Toronto. Small world!
Here’s the list of tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events for Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 8 through Sunday, August 14, 2022. New month, new list!
Every week, with the assistance of a couple of Jupyter Notebooks that I put together, I compile this list for the Tampa Bay tech community.
As far as event types go, this list casts a rather wide net. It includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under the category of:
Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
Tech project management / agile processes
Video, board, and role-playing games
Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
Toastmasters (because nerds really need to up their presentation game)
Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
Anything I deem geeky
By “Tampa Bay and surrounding areas”, this list covers events that originate or are aimed at the area within 100 miles of the Port of Tampa. At the very least, that includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, but as far north as Ocala, as far south as Fort Myers, and includes Orlando and its surrounding cities.
This week’s events
I try to keep this list up-to-date. I add new events as soon as I hear about them, so be sure to check this post regularly!
If you’d like to get this list in your email inbox every week, enter your email address below. You’ll only be emailed once a week, and the email will contain this list, plus links to any interesting news, upcoming events, and tech articles. Join the Tampa Bay Tech Events list and always be informed of what’s coming up in Tampa Bay!
With all the layoffs taking place — and many more likely to come — you may be asking yourself this question: How will I know when I’m about to be laid off?
The one sure indicator that you’ve been invited to a layoff meeting
If you get a last-minute invitation to a high-priority meeting with a big or hidden guest list that has a vague name (such as “Special meeting” or something similar), with no agenda and is scheduled near the start of the day, the odds are good that you’re about to be laid off.
The general consensus among HR people whom I’ve talked to on the topic is that layoff meetings should be scheduled with as little advance notice as possible. They’re typically held as early in the day as scheduling and other issues will allow, and preferably not before a weekend or holiday.
Why are layoff meetings announced only at the last minute? It’s to harness the element of surprise, which helps blunt any angry or resentful reaction from employees, and the shock tends to make some people a little more pliant.
Another sign that it’s a layoff meeting
If you see unusual attendees at this last-minute meeting — typically HR people or “The Bobs”, a term referring to the “efficiency experts” from the film Office Space, it’s almost certain that it’s a layoff meeting.
Yet another sign that it’s a layoff meeting
If it’s a video meeting but the organizers have declared it a “camera off / everyone muted but the meeting leader” meeting, it’s probably a layoff meeting.
What to do if you realize that you’ve been invited to a layoff meeting
Do whatever it takes to steel yourself for the bad news. Whether it’s deep breathing, counting to ten, reciting your own personal mantra or firing up your “poker face”, you want to get ready to conduct yourself at the meeting with as much grace, aplomb and professionalism as you can muster.
You’re about to be in the second most important meeting you’ll ever have at this job.
(In case you were wondering, the most important one is the job interview.)
If you work for a decent company, there’ll be one or more follow-up calls, and they’ll be face-to-face. Depending on the size of the company, it might be just your manager or your manager, some other management people, and HR.
No matter what you’re feeling at the meeting, you want your termination to be as good a breakup as possible. This means that you must handle it professionally.
The way you behave at this meeting will set the tone for your departure. If it is full of bitterness, acrimony, and the gnashing of teeth, they won’t be inclined to do you any favors. On the other hand, if you conduct yourself with grace and decorum, you may gain some extra concessions and a willingness on their part to do what they can for you.
If you can remember these questions through the stress of the meeting, you should ask questions like:
When is my last day?
What is my severance package?
How long will my company insurance coverage last?
When do I have to return the company laptop and other gear?
What arrangements are being made so I can collect my stuff from the office?
What do you want me to do with my current projects and files?
Can I get a letter of recommendation and use you as a reference?
Don’t worry about memorizing these questions — just remember that you should leave the meeting with a clear idea of what they expect from you and what you can expect from them.
When they send you papers to sign, do not sign them immediately. You’ll be given time to look them over. Don’t look them over just yet.
Walk it off
This is going to sound terribly woo-woo new-agey, but I’m going to say it because it’s an important step: at your first opportunity, get away from whatever you’re doing, get out and go for a walk. Physical activity is a key part of this step, so don’t get into a motorized vehicle. You want to get moving, and you want to do it outside, preferably in your own neighborhood.
The walk is important because it gets you out of the house and gives you a chance to clear your head. It gives you a chance to come down from one of the most stressful experiences you’ll ever face in your working life and come to terms with what’s happened. It is not the time for figuring out what your immediate next steps are; it is the time to collect yourself for figuring out what your next steps are.
Deal with it…non-self-destructively
No matter how good a job you were doing or how well you served the company, and despite the fact that all this is being brought about by a combination of circumstances over which most of us have little control, you’ll feel like this cat:
It will feel as if you had been weighed in the balance and found wanting. In fact, that may have happened. Perhaps you weren’t found wanting as a person or an employee, but when the bean-counters did the books, they did the math and determined that either you went or the company did.
Deal with the shame, using whatever constructive coping mechanisms work best for you. In my case when I was laid off from my previous company in April 2020, I hit the bike, made some lunch, did a little housework, played a little music on the ol’ squeezebox and got involved in some very severe grenade-launcher-assisted altercations in Grand Theft Auto V:
If you must, have a drink or two but don’t go beyond that. You want to take the edge off, not go on a binge.
Network!
Update your LinkedIn — and don’t simply mark the end date of your job:
Announce your situation in a post.
Update your profile.
Reach out to your network.
Do the things that get your name in circulation, and let the world know that you’re open to work.
What to do if you weren’t laid off
If you escaped a layoff, the very next thing you should do after celebrating briefly is to follow the advice of Florida’s own “Tommy the Tech Recruiter,” who posted this excellent suggestion on LinkedIn:
If you know someone who is on the job search…
No, no they’re not okay. Especially in these times. They are tired. Exhausted. Frustrated. Scared.
Each passing day brings a rollercoaster of emotions. Each rejection or time they never hear anything back leaves them questioning or doubting themselves.
It’s a soul crushing process.
If you are on a job search… I am here for you and making it my mission to help shorten how long that search takes.
And if you see someone who was just laid off or has that green banner, comment on their posts for visibility. Share it. Leave a kind and uplifting comment or send them a DM of support.
Here’s the list of tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events for Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 1 through Sunday, August 7, 2022. New month, new list!
Every week, with the assistance of a couple of Jupyter Notebooks that I put together, I compile this list for the Tampa Bay tech community.
As far as event types go, this list casts a rather wide net. It includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under the category of:
Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
Tech project management / agile processes
Video, board, and role-playing games
Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
Toastmasters (because nerds really need to up their presentation game)
Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
Anything I deem geeky
By “Tampa Bay and surrounding areas”, this list covers events that originate or are aimed at the area within 100 miles of the Port of Tampa. At the very least, that includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, but as far north as Ocala, as far south as Fort Myers, and includes Orlando and its surrounding cities.
This week’s events
I try to keep this list up-to-date. I add new events as soon as I hear about them, so be sure to check this post regularly!
If you’d like to get this list in your email inbox every week, enter your email address below. You’ll only be emailed once a week, and the email will contain this list, plus links to any interesting news, upcoming events, and tech articles. Join the Tampa Bay Tech Events list and always be informed of what’s coming up in Tampa Bay!
In programming, there’s a term called rubber duck debugging. It’s a problem-solving technique where you describe the problem you’re facing in as simple a way as possible to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck.
It’s turned out to be a good way to solve many programming problems. When you describe how something should work and then look at the system and see how it isn’t working, it often becomes easy to spot where the issue is.
You could perform the exact same thing with a person — in fact, it’s one of the things that pair programmers are supposed to do — but when another person isn’t available, a rubber duck can come in pretty handy. So I’ve started a collection.
