about

Hello! My name is Victoria Kirst and I'm currently a lecturer of Computer Science at Stanford University. Previously I was a Senior Software Engineer at Google for 6 years, primarily on the Google Chrome and Maps teams. I like making things, teaching, and sometimes writing.

coding, etc.

Here are some internet playthings I made:

• weeknotes an online webapp that saves your private weekly notes. (source)
• gsa-sheets and sheets-service: a library and command-line tool to manage Google spreadsheets owned by Google Service Accounts.
• Bezier Tool generates calls to <canvas> bezierCurveTo() (source).
• Valentine's Day 2015 bringing back the e-card.
• Block Invaders a dumb space invaders clone (source)

I sporadically do things on github:

• vrk

My open source contributions to Chrome are also stalkable:

• chromium: @chromium / @google
• webkit: @chromium / @google

I also periodically give a talk on "CSS for Engineers Who Hate CSS":

• slide deck, though this has been leveled up to a full course at Stanford

teaching

I proposed, created, and (as of May 2017) am teaching a class at Stanford called Web Programming Fundamentals.

• CS193X: Web Programming Fundamentals

This is an opinionated introduction to web programming that covers modern full-stack web development techniques without use of a frontend framework. That means vanilla HTML/CSS/JavaScript, no jQuery etc. Backend is NodeJS + Express + Mongo.

writing

Some of my writing on tech:

• The GoPro vs the Polaroid Cube, and why there aren't more women in engineering
• How software engineers are conditioned to be poor allies and are quick to brush off stories of discrimination
• git svn checksum mismatch lol not an essay, but a surprisingly popular blog post on an annoying git error.

I'm also a co-author of a textbook:

• Web Programming: Step by Step

And here are some book reports:

• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood Pretty, but long and a little lazy.
• Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Gimmicky but good.
• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut A masterpiece. I loved it.
• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen IDGI. This won awards?
• Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumaker filler filler (plotpoint) filler
• The Help by Katheryn Stockett Awful.
• I Think I Am In Friend-Love With You by Yumi Sakugawa OMG don't give to your just-friends. But do give to yourself!
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez A masterpiece I can't totally appreciate.
• Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger Actually just 1/9 stories. BUT IT'S SO GOOD.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen All that needs to be said.
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Surprisingly lovely.
• Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple A fun light read by a self-aware made-for-tv writer.

newsletter

I have a newsletter called Software Enginerding that I sometimes write:
tinyletter.com/vrk

mvc podcast

I'm the co-host of the MVC podcast, a tech podcast I run with Marty Stepp! We discuss tech news and other things from the view points of software engineers.

• iTunes / Soundcloud / Blog / RSS

faves

• Animal besides dogs: bears
• Text editor: vim
• Musical: Little Shop of Horrors
• Food category: comfort
• TV show: RuPaul's Drag Race; The Simpsons seasons 4-6; SHARK TANK
• Song lyric: "like the chameleon that's hanging with Ms. Frizzle"
• Unironic celebrity love: Kanye West
• People from the internet: Lindy West / Ijeoma Oluo / Heben and Tracy

contact

• Email: victoriakirst@gmail.com
• Twitter: @bictolia
• Github: vrk