Speaker Interview: Justin Mayer




Q: You're giving a talk on Rise of the Static Site Generator. Without tipping your hand on the actual talk, can you give us an idea of what we might expect?

A: Web publishing used to be simple enough for anyone who learned a bit of HTML. Then someone added server-side logic. And a database. Dynamic page generation on each request. By using a static site generator, you're acknowlodging that most of the time you don't need all that. Keep it simple!


A: This is indeed my first visit. I'm one of the maintainers of Pelican (a popular open-source static site generator), and I heard about SCaLE last year because other folks in the Pelican community kept asking me if I was going. Given their enthusiasm about it, I anticipate it will involve a lot of smart folks who hack on projects they are passionate about.

Q: Speaking of which, what are you passionate about?

A: Aged cheese, bold wines, and Belgian ales. Traveling and working from parts of the world I've never seen before. I also love building solutions to annoying problems. I'm currently trying to help improve server security, ergo the need for copious amounts of beer and wine.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

A: I'm on the board of Girls PACT, a non-profit organization focused on mentoring teenagers in our community. I hope to instill better awareness of science and technology and how they can be used to create amazing things.

[SCALE Team interview by Larry Cafiero and Garick Chan]