Episode 020 | Gary Pendergast - Making and Breaking Things, Great Power and Responsibility

Summary: <div> <div>Guest:</div> <div> <div><a target="_blank" href="http://pento.net/">Gary Pendergast</a></div> <div><a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/GaryPendergast">@GaryPendergast</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="podcast-episode"> <div class="subtitle">Gary Pendergast talks with Dave Rael about working something as widely used as WordPress and the responsibility that comes with it</div> <div class="podcast-summary"> <p>Gary Pendergast works for Automattic, is a WordPress core contributor, and a member of the WordPress core security team. Gary can most often be found in Melbourne, Australia. He enjoys making things, breaking things and fixing things, which keeps life interesting. In his spare time, he has been known to get excited about quality food, interesting beers, strong coffee and live music.</p> </div> <div class="podcast-chapters"> <ul> <li><a href="#!"> - Dave introduces the show and Gary Pendergast</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Automattic, core WordPress, and full-time open source work</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Five for the Future</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - The enormous use and market share of WordPress</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Gary's definition of value</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - The diversity of uses of WordPress</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - The things that "light Gary up"</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Testing on less capable devices and tooling for faking adverse conditions</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - How Gary got started in software</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Gary's story of failure, bringing down wordpress.com</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Automated testing and developer freedom</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Gary's greatest success story, "Trojan Emoji", fixing a security vulnerability and adding emoji support</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - How Gary stays current with what he needs to know</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Gary's book recommendations</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Working remotely and choosing location - distributed organizations</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - The things that have Gary most excited about his present and future - WordPress REST API</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - The greatest sources of pain in Gary's life and work</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - The things about which Gary like to geek out apart from software</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Gary's top 3 tips for delivering more value</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Keeping up with Gary</a></li> <li><a href="#!"> - Farewell</a></li> </ul> <p></p> <p>Resources:</p> </div> <div class="podcast-resources"> <ul> <li><a href="http://pento.net/" target="_blank">Gary's Blog and Website</a></li> <li><a href="https://automattic.com/" target="_blank">Automattic</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins103652.html" target="_blank">"Everying should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."</a></li> <li><a href="http://gamefroot.com/" target="_blank">Gamefroot - a WordPress site for buliding games</a></li> </ul> <div class="podcast-book-recommendation"> <h6>Gary's book recommendation:</h6> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1449313892/?tag=devonfir-20" target="_blank">Code Simplicity: The Fundamentals of Software - Max Kanat-Alexander</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1118660633/?tag=devonfir-20" target="_blank">The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work - Scott Berkun</a></li> </ul> </div> <h6>Gary's top 3 tips for delivering more value:</h6> <ol> <li>Make decisions</li> <li>Exercise your body</li> <li>Eat well</li> </ol> <p></p> </div> </div>