Orlando Code Camp 2025

I went to Orlando Code Camp on Saturday, primarily because my friend Diane was presenting, but also because I wanted to make new friends and reconnect with my techy side. Wow, did I succeed in those goals! Diane introduced me to her friend Lizzie, who was also presenting and, more importantly, is a big YIMBY advocate in San Francisco. This connection was very timely because my partner is in SF right now networking with folks in the housing sector, and I’ll probably be moving there in the coming weeks.

Oh right, back to the conference. After waking up at 5:30 and driving two hours, I arrived just in time to sleep through the second half of the keynote. The talk wasn't boring, but rather that I was exhausted and needed to build some energy for socializing. I ended up seeing four talks, including Diane’s – which was so fun (and her first time speaking at a conference!) – and Lizzie’s about Cloudflare Durable Objects, where I learned something completely new.

The crowd at the conference was friendly and nerdy (in the good way). I chatted briefly with a few strangers, but not being deeply immersed in the tech world, I felt a little shy about approaching people (the lack of sleep wasn't helping either). One person, however, talked with me quite a bit about government and technology. I told him about the street experiment where someone turned a parking spot into a temporary picnic area, which resulted in the police coming to remove the picnic table. His main response was, “Good! That’s for cars. We wouldn’t let a car take space in a park, so we shouldn’t allow a picnic table in a parking spot.” At that moment, it hit me that I was in a place where nearly everyone relies on cars and seems happy to keep it that way. And now, as I write this, I realize this difference in perspective is exactly what the Lab of Thought is trying to address: opening people’s minds to alternatives. That’s relatively easy to do in progressive cities or with fellow urbanists, but I was woefully unprepared for even the mild resistance my anecdote faced there.

Alas, Orlando Code Camp was a great experience. I made a new friend, celebrated an old friend, and reignited some excitement for both software and urbanism.

PS: The banner photo is of the ending ceremony where they gave away prizes