About
My name is Sebastian Witowski and I'm an independent Python consultant, freelancer, and international speaker based in Poland.
I've been working mostly with Python for over 10 years. At first, I started as a software developer at CERN, where I helped build CERN Document Server - a digital library for all the publications produced at CERN. Shortly after that, I switched to consulting. My recent clients come from the financial or energy trading industries, and those are the industries I'm currently focusing on.
Check out the consulting page for a few things I can help you with, including web development, setting up ETL pipelines, or internal workshops.
Or visit my LinkedIn profile for more details on my past projects.
After work
When I don't work, I play video games. I'm a huge fan of From Software games, with my favorite one being "Dark Souls 2". It was my gateway drug to the genre, so suck it up haters.
During winter, I go snowboarding. During summer, I do enduro biking and (recently) surfing. And all year round, I do powerlifting. On the 15th of December 2017, I joined the 1000-pound club.
I like to travel, and I like to talk at conferences. I've had the pleasure to present at the following large conferences: EuroPython, PyCon Australia, PyCon India, PyCon Italia, PyCon Japan, PyCon Hong Kong, PyCon Sweden, PyCon Taiwan, PyCon US (remotely). Plus a lot of other, smaller conferences and meetups.
I often tinker with my laptop's setup and optimize the way I work. I documented my favorite CLI tools and Mac apps, although both posts need an update (they were written in 2020). I still need to write about new tools that I'm very happy with, like the Obsidian knowledge management app or an n8n.io instance that I'm using to automate various chores. If you want to learn about the tools I used to build this website or how I work, check out the colophon.
How I work and what tools I use?
I type those words on a Kinesis Advantage 2 keyboard (which is a bit pricey, but totally worth the money) plugged to a 2021 MacBook Pro 14" (M1 with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD). I'm using two external monitors: Dell U3415W and Asus ZenScreen MB16AMT (that I also use as a portable screen when I work outside of home).
I'm listening to Spotify through AirPods Pro. They have much worse noise cancellation than my other headphones: Bose NC 700 (that replaced my previous Bose QuietComfort 35 II when they broke), but at least I can wear them for 8 hours straight (with short breaks for charging when I'm making coffee or visiting the bathroom) without my ears boiling during the summer.
When I need to record my voice in a slightly better quality (either during a conference or when recording some online courses), I'm using the Samson Q2U microphone with some cheap boom arm and pop filter. I am a complete noob when it comes to audio recording and processing, so I also bought Presonus AudioBox hoping it would improve the quality of my recordings, but I didn't hear any difference, so I returned it, sat down very close to the microphone and just got over the fact that, yes, my breathing will be audible in my videos.
I sit and stand in front of my custom-made standing desk. I wanted an L-shaped desk, but the selection of those desks in Poland was rather poor, so I bought some cheap, refurbished standing-desk legs and ordered a desktop in a nearby furniture shop that would fit ideally in the corner of my room. When I stand, I stand on some no-name rubber standing mat or try to force myself to walk on the Xiaomi WalkingPad R1 pro. When I sit, I sit on the IKEA's Markus that has been with me for over 7 years.
Music
When I need to focus, I either play some white-noise style sounds (from mynoise app or Binaural Beats: Focus Spotify playlist) or music without lyrics like Eric Ekholm, Daniel Deluxe, Zweihänder or Mick Gordon's soundtracks from games like Doom or Wolfenstein (I've put together a small playlist).
When I don't need to focus too much or need a change of pace, my go-to bands are usually In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, AC/DC and other rock/metal bands.
I don't have a favorite band and my current listening habits constantly change. Some time ago I conducted an experiment where I was creating a new, throw-away Spotify account every 2-3 months (I bought a bunch of electronics from a local store and they gave me a bunch of coupons valid only for new accounts). I was positively surprised how many interesting new artists I discovered that way! I wish there was a way to have a secondary, resettable account on Spotify that would not have the burden of poor music choices I made in high school.
To be continued...
Contact me
Would you like to work with me, have me speak at your conference or just say "hi"?
Fill out this form or drop me a line.