This was the first Hack Day that I got a chance to participate in with Polar Mobile and I initially didn't have too many ideas. I decided to ask around some of my team members on the Analytics and Operations team if there were any specific pain points that I could tackle and I heard one thing that sounded manageable.
Some of the guys on the Operations team use a tool called Pyres. Pyres is a python based clone of Resque which is a Redis-backed library for creating and managing background jobs. All sorts of different tasks are accomplished with this tool such as processing editorial content. Pyres ships with a built in web server which has a minimal interface to manage and see jobs that are currently being processed. I decided to attempt to improve upon this UI.

Overall, the project enhancements received moderate response but I certainly enjoyed getting the chance to see what some of the other people came up with. One talented group of engineers came up with a system to display the most popular articles across all Polar applications in near real time. Another individual developed a web based seating plan for the office. I must say, it's pretty awesome to take a day once and a while to work on something that is particularly cool or of interest. I think I'm going to start brainstorming my next hack day idea in advance!