Python on Joel Hanson

ContextLayer

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Transform any REST API into an MCP server — connectors that make existing APIs usable by LLM tools.

Convert Your Django DRF Project to MCP in 5 Minutes

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 15:20:06 +0530

The Problem: When APIs Meet AI Assistants
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A few weeks ago, I was experimenting with Model Context Protocol (MCP) for a Kafka integration project. The experience was eye-opening - being able to interact with complex systems through natural language felt like a glimpse into the future of development workflows.

Kafka MCP Server

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Expose Kafka cluster operations as LLM-accessible tools via the Model Context Protocol.

Building an MCP Server for Your Kafka Cluster

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A step‑by‑step guide to using FastMCP and the MCP protocol to expose Kafka operations (topic management, produce/consume, troubleshooting) as LLM‑accessible tools.

Antarctic Iceberg Tracker

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Thu, 01 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Real-time iceberg monitoring with NASA data, automated pipelines, and GitHub as a data platform.

Django DRF → MCP

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Turn an existing Django REST Framework project into MCP tools for AI assistants in minutes.

SSE Stream Monitor

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Minimal Server-Sent Events demo — a live CPU/RAM dashboard with almost no client code.

Flask + Restate

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Side-by-side Flask apps showing durable execution with Restate versus plain request handlers.

From Celery to Restate: Rethinking Async Tasks in Django

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 17:00:00 +0530

The Celery Question
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For years, when someone asked “How do I handle background tasks in Django?”, the answer was almost always “Use Celery”. And for good reason. Celery is mature, battle-tested, and has solved async task processing for countless Django applications. It has extensive documentation, a large ecosystem of plugins, and most Django developers have at least some experience with it.

Adding Durable Execution to Flask Applications with Restate

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0530

The Challenge of Reliable Background Operations
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Building web applications with Flask is straightforward until you need to handle operations that can fail. Database operations timeout, external APIs become unavailable, and network connections drop. These failures are inevitable in production systems, yet handling them gracefully often requires significant engineering effort.

Mastering the Egg Drop: A Math Heist Unveiled

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 11:20:41 +0530

Mastering the egg drop involves a careful blend of strategy, mathematics, and optimization. From crafting a plan with two replicas to understanding the arithmetic behind the sum formula, the jewel thief’s mission highlights the fascinating intersection of math and real-world problem-solving. As we unravel the complexities, we find that breaking a few eggs may require a dash of strategic brilliance and a pinch of mathematical finesse.

Building a CSV Reader in C with Python Integration

joelhanson025@gmail.com (Joel Hanson) — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 20:08:08 +0530

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) files are a common format for storing tabular data. In this blog post, we’ll explore the process of creating a simple CSV reader in C using CPython standard library.