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Become a sponsor to Matt Cloyd

@beechnut

Matt Cloyd

beechnut
Philadelphia, PA

Hi! I build software to support peacebuilding, civic participation, and sustainability.

I'm currently a Master's student in Conflict Resolution at UMass Boston.

Previously, I built software for urban planners at MAPC, implemented software with local governments at OpenCounter, and co-ran the Code for America volunteer group Code for Boston.

I write about peace and mindfulness at Peace In, Peace Out.

Projects

Aspen - Simple graph data

I'm building Aspen, a simple markup language that produces data about relationships (that is, graph data). Aspen can help anyone using Neo4j graph databases to load data and iterate on data models with ease. Learn more at aspen-lang.org.

Aspen came out of a desire to model conflicts using graph data, to get deeper insight into the factors that might bring about their resolution. Producing graph data from unstructured text is hard, so I built a language to do just that.

In addition to the base language, the Aspen platform includes or soon may include:

  • a command-line interface
  • a live coding environment for rapid iteration on data & data models
  • a web API
  • a package management system

3 sponsors have funded beechnut’s work.

@rgrannell1
Private Sponsor
Private Sponsor

Featured work

  1. beechnut/boot2docker-ntp

    Reset the time on your boot2docker VM and avoid some very weird problems.

    Shell 7
  2. beechnut/mbta-realtime

    Unofficial gem for the MBTA Realtime API v2.

    Ruby 4
  3. beechnut/text-the-t

    SMS interface for MBTA predictions data. People without smartphones will be able to get real-time predictions.

    Ruby 3
  4. beechnut/OpenRentMap

    A tool for seeing each other, our neighbors, in our experience of gentrification.

  5. beechnut/title_nine

    Scrapes Title IX investigation data, updates an API, and pushes out notifications.

    Ruby 3

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Select a tier

$ a month

Choose a custom amount.

$5 a month

Select

🌰 Seed Sponsor

Every sponsorship helps, thank you! You'll get:

  • Your name (or handle) in the Sponsors section at the top of the Aspen repository.
  • A personal note from me, expressing my gratitude for your support. (I really am grateful.)

$20 a month

Select

🌱 Sprout Sponsor

We appreciate your support! Over a year, this would pay for domains and hosting.

Get the above, plus your name on the Aspen website, aspen-lang.org.

$50 a month

Select

🌿 Shrub Sponsor

Wow, thank you! This contribution would sustain development on the core Aspen language.

Get all the above, plus your logo (or your name in large font) on the Aspen website, aspen-lang.org.

$100 a month

Select

🌳 Tree Sponsor

Wonderful! You would support several hours of Aspen development every month, which would help the language grow more robust and feature-rich.

Get all the above, plus:

  • All else being equal, your Github Issues will be addressed first.
  • Periodic requests for input on the direction of the language and platform.

$250 a month

Select

🌲🌳🌴 Forest Sponsor

You amazing silviculturist! This will help the whole Aspen ecosystem mature!

This level will support building out the Aspen platform, including the CLI, rapid-iteration tools, package manager, etc.

Get all the above, plus the ability to provide input into the feature prioritization process via regular calls.

$500 a month

Select

🍄 Mushroom Sponsor

H*ck, thank you so much! This would support Aspen and its platform significantly.

In return for this contribution, you'll get all of the above, plus your choice of one of the following:

  • Two hours of conflict coaching or consulting for yourself or your business
  • Two hours of discussing Aspen, graph databases, or software development
  • Two hours of private meditation instruction

If you're in Boston, or we happen to be in the same city for a bit, I'll take you out for coffee. ☕️

Why "Mushroom"? Mycelial mats—mushroom root networks—run underneath forest floors and support inter-tree communication and nutrient exchange

$2,000 a month

Select

➕🤓 Would you like to hire me?

If you considered this sponsorship level, you may want to consider hiring me as a freelance developer or part-time member of your team. You'd get someone who:

  • has experience working in tech
  • has experience working on remote teams
  • is knowledgeable in assessing & resolving conflicts
  • cares about writing clear, sustainable, "confident" code