SeaGL speaker Q&A: Sam Kitajima-Kimbrel

Sam Kitajima-Kimbrel gives his talk titled, “Bowerbirds of Technology: Architecture and Operations at Less-Than-Google Scale” on Friday afternoon.

Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?

A: I’m Sam Kitajima-Kimbrel and I’ve been professionally computering in some form or another for most of a decade now. Recently (the last year or two) I’ve become very focused on the intersection of people with computing — as an industry and community we have so much to learn here and I’m amazed by how much I learn from others about this every day.

Q: Without tipping your hand on the actual talk, can you give us an idea of what we might expect?

A: My talk is intended as a gentle reminder to everyone writing software to ground themselves in reality when it comes to scale and to take seriously the idea that developers and users are more important than shaving milliseconds off of API calls.

Q: Is this your first visit to SeaGL? If so, what are your expectations? If not, can you give us your impressions of the event?

A: It is my first visit! Knowing the people who are involved, I’m hoping for a weekend full of talks that really make me challenge my assumptions and provide new perspective on dealing with the many-faceted challenges of COMPUTER.

Q: Where should attendees go for a delicious cheap meal?

A: Take the Link down to the International District and grab some scallion pancakes and cold peanut sauce noodles at Szechuan Noodle Bowl. Bring friends!