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shuzchen

1,391 karma · joined October 24, 2009

Entreprenurial minded developer, heavily invested in social good projects and current working in open source.
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shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (September 2025)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (the majority of this past year has been writing zig, and have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently).

Commonly found using Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue as well as Flutter. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision. I live in the UK but can and have worked with US entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (August 2025)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (the majority of this past year has been writing zig, and have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently).

Commonly found using Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue as well as Flutter. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision. I live in the UK but can and have worked with US entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (June 2025)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (the majority of this past year has been writing zig, and have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently).

Commonly found using Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue as well as Flutter. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision. I live in the UK but can and have worked with US entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (May 2025)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (the majority of this past year has been writing zig, and have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently).

Commonly found using Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue as well as Flutter. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision. I live in the UK but can and have worked with US entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (March 2025)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (the majority of this past year has been writing zig, and have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently).

Commonly found using Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue as well as Flutter. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision. I live in the UK but can and have worked with US entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (June 2024)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, had a long stint at a global non-profit working on combating disinformation. I've recently been a paid contributor on the open-source project Zulip doing Flutter.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Commonly found using Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue as well as Flutter. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (March 2024)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, had a long stint at a global non-profit working on combating disinformation. I've recently worked on an open-source Flutter project.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. My current role is doing Flutter for a cross platform app. I've been a remote worker for a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (February 2024)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C/Dart recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, had a long stint at a global non-profit working on combating disinformation. Currently working in an open source project.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. My current role is doing Flutter for a cross platform app. I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (July 2023)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (July 2023)
Location: Scotland, UK

Remote: Yes, I have existing right to work for both US+UK companies with no sponsorship needed

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Everything, but really well versed in Python, Javascript, Vue, React, Django, Flask

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freelancedreams/ (I can email a pdf version as well)

Email: shu.chen at freelancedreams.com

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation. I'm looking for a new role currently as the non-profit I founded lost two big grants.

My experience ranges from working on backend APIs to frontend SPAs as well as building ML pipelines, bespoke search engines, mobile apps. My strength is in diving into new areas and getting up and running quickly. I work extremely well in entrepreneurial contexts, balancing long-term goals with short-term deadlines in all technical decisions.

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (June 2023)
Location: Scotland, UK

Remote: Yes, I have existing right to work for both US+UK companies with no sponsorship needed

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Everything, but really well versed in Python, Javascript, Vue, React, Django, Flask

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freelancedreams/ (I can email a pdf version as well)

Email: shu.chen at freelancedreams.com

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation. I'm looking for a new role currently as the non-profit I founded lost two big grants.

My experience ranges from working on backend APIs to frontend SPAs as well as building ML pipelines, bespoke search engines, mobile apps. My strength is in diving into new areas and getting up and running quickly. I work extremely well in entrepreneurial contexts, balancing long-term goals with short-term deadlines in all technical decisions.

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (June 2023)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation.

My experience ranges from working on backend APIs to frontend SPAs as well as building ML pipelines, bespoke search engines, mobile apps. My strength is in diving into new areas and getting up and running quickly. I work extremely well in entrepreneurial contexts, balancing long-term goals with short-term deadlines in all technical decisions.

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (September 2022)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (November 2020)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

Please do not contact trying to make me sign up for your freelancing marketplace. It's not hustle, it's spam and highly unethical.

shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (October 2020)
SEEKING WORK | Edinburgh, Scotland | REMOTE

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well (have deployed Java/Golang/C recently). I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

Big on Django but not restricted to that. Lots of experience with modern react/vue. I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision, and my remote work means my schedule is flexible for side projects. Set up to easily work with either US or UK entities.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Google’s robots.txt parser is now open source
I would much prefer a library such as this be done in C/C++ so it could be packaged up as a library that could be called from other languages. Pretty much every major language has some form of FFI to call out to C/C++ code. This way, you can get consistent behavior if you need to parse robots.txt in python vs ruby vs java vs etc.
shuzchen··on Spilld Email Server
https://pypi.org/project/vellum/ https://launchpad.net/vellum
shuzchen··on Spilld Email Server
You might be interested in https://github.com/zedshaw/lamson It's super old (died when python 2 was still the king) but probably more suited for making programmatic mail applications
shuzchen··on My Personal Journey from MIT to GPL
There is no one-size fits all, you should use the license that best suits the product you have, as well as the ecosystem in which you're releasing it. See the EFF's documentation on this: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-recommendations.html https://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-not-lgpl.html
shuzchen··on Pilosa: An open source, distributed index
Any chance there'll be some built-in support to perform collaborative filtering? Seems like a database of relations like this would be awesome for user-based collaborative filtering.
shuzchen··on "DigitalOcean Killed Our Company"
Minio is great! I use it! But spinning up and managing yet another service when you're already a small shop adds more barriers to entry. Maybe find an already s3-compatible store (like Wasabi) or find something cheap and easy to spin up that's supported by the tool (like https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box)
shuzchen··on "DigitalOcean Killed Our Company"
If you're reading this and concerned for your own backup story, fret not! In 2019 secure off-premise backups are super easy to implement, even for a 1 person shop. Get something like Restic or Borg or any one of the enumerated options here: https://github.com/restic/others

I've recently implemented backups with Restic, the static binary and plethora of supported storage backends was extremely appealing. The easiest seems to be to just point it at a S3 bucket, but given most people have infrastructure on AWS (off-premise means off-premise) having other options supported out of the box is pretty handy.

shuzchen··on Ian Lance Taylor's Response to “Go Is Google's Language”
I don't know of any large open source project that doesn't require a CLA. As the post suggests, perhaps one day there'll be a Golang Foundation, which would otherwise have ownership of whatever code you contribute. See that Python has a CLA that gives the PSF ownership of your code: https://www.python.org/psf/contrib/contrib-form/

Even the linux kernel has a CLA, they just call it by another name (Developer Certificate of Origin)

shuzchen··on Why play a music CD? No ads, no privacy terrors, no algorithms
To nitpick your nitpick: there were many attempts to implement DRM even on pure music CDs, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_Control

My personal experience with this was with some import CDs (from Japan) that, from what I recall, messed with the error correction part of the data so that it skipped horrendously in my PC (so it was impossible to rip in cdex) but played fine in (most) standalone audio players.

shuzchen··on Things to use in Python 3
You seem to have forgotten "practicality beats purity"
shuzchen··on Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking Freelancer? (May 2019)
SEEKING WORK - REMOTE / Las Vegas area

Well versed in python and javascript, but capable in other languages as well. I've recently been working in privacy/security, currently working on combating disinformation.

I've been big on python testing lately. I've implemented testing for large python projects at two companies now, bringing them from 0% coverage to 100% coverage. I'm experienced in mocking tools to isolate components for testing, make tests deterministic, and remove the need for networking (who wants to run tests that rely on third party things).

I've been a remote worker for about half a decade now, so I had a track record of getting things done without direct supervision.

contact: shu DOT chen AT freelancedreams DOT com

shuzchen··on Sweden Wants to Revive Europe’s Overnight Trains
One benefit of sleeper trains is you can take into the account the price of a night stay at a hotel as well as the time saved (in the sense that you do your travel while you're sleeping, so you have more net waking hours available). I rode the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Edinburgh last Christmas and yes, the price was about the same as a flight but considering it saved me from paying for a night in a hotel it was actually a better deal.
shuzchen··on Twitter’s Kafka adoption story
From the article: "For single consumer use cases, we saw a 68% resource savings, and for fanout cases with multiple consumers we saw a 75% resource savings."

At twitter's server spend it makes perfect sense to make such an investment.

shuzchen··on PyPy.js: Python in the web browser
Fetching time in the browser isn't accurate because a lot of trackers exploit timing in order to fingerprint users. A lot of browsers now purposefully reduce the precision of the clock. See:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Refe...

https://johnresig.com/blog/accuracy-of-javascript-time/

shuzchen··on Address Verification and Full PGP Support
Not only would the server need to download the image, it would need to store it in perpetuity because the server would then be responsible for serving them to you (if your client makes any direct request you'll leak when you viewed the email, the trackers don't only track the first request). This is not something that is easy to implement.
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