We talk to Lance Gleason of Polyglot Programming about the software, embeddable devices, biltong and how the local community stacks up against the rest of the world.

Chantal, Kenneth & Kevin chat to Lance about his involvement with the South African tech community. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Lance has definitely made a name for himself in various local communities as a very involved member and connector. It was thanks to Lance that we met and invited Rebecca Franks for episode 39, and Mandla and Theo for episode 36.

From gaming on a Commodore VIC-20 to building software for a family business to working at Kodak on satellite imaging system, to digitizing the vast media archives of CNN/Turner, Lance has had a storied career so far and leaves a great impression wherever he goes.

Lance adopted a polyglot programming approach as a means to go to conferences and tap into communities. Lance gave his first ever conference talk in Cape Town at Rubyfuza 2010. Lance is also on the organizing committee for Rubyfuza, and support the yearly Ruby DCamp event that happens outside Nelspruit in the spring. Lance has also done the hard work of identifying the best biltong in the country, but you'll have to listen to find out where exactly.

Lately Lance has been working with embeddable and wearable technologies and has some very interesting thoughts on the challenges faced in the field including a few things you might not think off initially. From fitness and mindfulness to medical, industrial and other applications.

We wrap up the conversation reflecting on how our local talent compares against other communities overseas. Lance's perspective from having traveled from tech community to tech community is great and supportive and wants us to shine bright on the international stage.

Find and follow Lance and Polyglot Programming online:

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