PyTexas 2019 was an incredible Python conference. It was held at the Central Library in Austin, Texas from April 13-14. I’m so glad I went. Even though this was my seventh Python conference, it was one of my favorites so far. Here’s a brief recap of my experiences.
Why I Went
I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to go to PyTexas 2019. After my talk proposals for PyCon 2019 were rejected, I saw this tweet from Dustin Ingram, the conference chair for PyTexas:
Reinvigorated, I decided to give it a try. Lo and behold, one of my talks, Egad! How Do We Start Writing (Better) Tests?, was accepted! The video recording is below:
Thankfully, my talk was the very second talk of the conference. I could get it out of the way early so I could enjoy the rest of the conference without the nerves. And everyone always loves the pandas.
I also gave a Lightning Talk for the first time! I talked about the difference between unittest and pytest. My talk starts at 30:17, but be sure to listen to all of the talks.
I’d also like to thank my employer, PrecisionLender, for sponsoring my trip and enabling me to speak.
Memorable Moments
Talks are usually the main part of any conference. PyTexas 2019 was a single-track conference, meaning that everyone saw all of the talks. All talks were memorable for me, but I’ll write a separate post about the talks once all the recordings are posted. Here, I’ll cover other awesome things that happened.
My Recovery Day
Things had been very stressful for me in the first few months of 2019. I came to PyTexas essentially exhausted from life, and I needed a “Self Care Sprint” (as Kojo would say). So, that’s exactly what I did: I flew into Austin on Friday morning and spent the whole afternoon just being a low-key tourist. I ate a Texas-sized lunch at Stubb’s BBQ, viewed the artwork at Mexic-Arte Museum, walked along the Colorado River, and nearly fell asleep in the Central Library after perusing the stacks. That evening, I met up with other speakers at the Spider House for an informal pre-conference get-together. Even though I wasn’t “productive” by any professional definition, I felt thoroughly refreshed and ready for the excitement to come.
Electric Scooters
Austin has been invaded by electric scooters. They are on every street corner. There must be half a dozen different brands. Even Uber and Lyft have scooters for rent! Instead of hailing ride shares downtown, I just hopped the nearest Lime scooter. They go really fast, and they’re tons of fun!
They are everywhere!
The First After-Party
Literati Books generously hosted an after-party at Jo’s Coffee after the first day of the conference. I got to spend time with a bunch of cool people from the conference while enjoying sliders and craft beer. Carl even shared some of his jerky with us!
Gee-tar! 
Power Lines 
Street Art
Other Testing Talks
I always get a rise out of testing talks at conferences. Python conferences always have a few but only a few. PyTexas had three. I think Kojo‘s tweets summed up my enthusiasm perfectly:
The Zen of Python Teams
Adrienne delivered one of the best keynote addresses I’ve ever attended. Seriously, go watch it. She talked about how the Zen of Python can be applied not only to code but also to teams. The best part was the “Easter egg” at the end. The Zen of Python famously leaves the 20th line blank so that we can make it for ourselves. Adrienne challenged us to come up with our own 20th point after handing out real Easter eggs to everyone in the audience! Mine? People matter.
Adrienne, rocking her keynote 
What is the 20th line in the Zen of Python? 
My take: “People Matter.”
Whataburger
I had never eaten at Whataburger before. This trip, that changed. William, Brian, and I hopped on those electric scooters and went to the Whataburger across the river for lunch on day 2. The patty melt was tasty, but the Dr. Pepper milkshake was out of this world! The views from the bridge were gorgeous as well.
The view from the bridge 
A Dr. Pepper milkshake!
The Second After-Party
After the conference ended, William, Aly, and I went to Mort Subite, a cool Belgian beer bar, to celebrate and unwind. Then, we rode electric scooters over to Baton Creole for a late-night dinner with Adrienne. We had some good food and even better discussions. It was the best way to end PyTexas!
Baton Creole 
Mort Subite
Takeaways
PyTexas was the first conference where I felt like I fully belonged from day one. Every previous conference was a bit of a shot in the dark for me because I was still new to the Python community. PyTexas 2019 felt almost like a reunion. I strengthened existing friendships and made new ones: Adrienne, Kojo, Dustin, Ernest, Aly, William, Piper, Andy, Carl, Mason, Michael, Brian, and so many more. I also felt like I made a bigger impact at PyTexas than at other conferences because I genuinely felt like part of the community.
We should never take conferences (or any moments) for granted. Truly wonderful things happened at PyTexas. I felt creative. I felt inspired. I felt challenged by new ideas. I felt the itch to try new things. I left on a post-conference high and, surprisingly, I wasn’t particularly tired. The organizers did a phenomenal job running the conference smoothly and successfully. Seriously, hats off to them – many thanks for a job well done. As attendees, we should be grateful for all the hard work so many people did for the conference, and we should capitalize on what we take away from the conference.
Single-track and multi-track yield two very different conference experiences. PyTexas 2019 was my second single-track conference and my first one for a Python conference. Overall, I think the single-track format worked very well. Putting everyone on the same track in the same room builds a strong sense of camaraderie. It also gives speakers a much more prominent platform. However, multi-track provides more choices for attendees, and it gives more people the opportunity to speak. Both are good. I think it would be cool if future conferences do both: maybe one day for single-track and another day for multi-track.
I’m going to (attempt to) develop a new Python package. For a while, I’ve wanted to implement a particular testing pattern in a Pythonic way. My goal is to develop and release it to PyPI as an open-source package. I never had the time or clarity to do it until now. PyTexas gave me a huge boost, and I hope I can carry my vision through to delivery!
People matter. The Python community is a truly wonderful group. People come for the language and stay for the community – it’s true. PyTexas 2019 has challenged me to be a better person and to help people through software.
Automation Panda 
Recovery days are an excellent idea – I should have taken one Monday!
PyTexas was my first Python con’, but I enjoyed it immensely – everyone was very welcoming and encouraging.
What is the testing pattern you’re looking at centering a package around? I’m interested in contributing.
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Thanks! The pattern is the Screenplay pattern. Stay tuned.
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