Free like Bobo, Bobo like Beer

Yum

2007-11-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

I've been messing around with fedora lately. Yum is the package manager. But that's not why I mention yum. I mention it because my Girl is on her way over to my place right now with some fresh baked food. Seriously, is there anything better in life? I'm reminded of Clerks. Yep, this one's a keeper.

Christian Moms meet Japanese Cephalerotica??

2007-11-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

--If you want to skip my article and go straight to the awe: Click Here--

Too many hours without sleep; too many lines of lisp. I'm taking much needed break from parens, talking with a friend about pre-20th Century surrealist art. I flex my conversational muscle by showing off some of my favorite Bosch. My friend nods sagely and says, "Interesting, but have you ever seen Cephalopoidal Cunnilingus?"

Of course there was only one thing to do...

(before continuing, I must assure readers that the decision to delve into this sordid subject matter was a result of procrastination, far more than titillation...)

Well, I did what any curious person would do, I googled Woman Octopus. I did expect to see some odd results (that was the intent after all), but the 4th result on the page was definitely not what I had anticipated.
So I present to you, in all its glory, Octopus Faith. I can't even begin to describe this, so here's some choice quotations from the site:

"Octopus Faith was exactly the message that was needed to springboard us into a season of 'deep sea diving' with Christ."

"Let... Janet Drez, take your women on an 'under-sea' adventure using the attributes of the octopus as a unique and profound word-picture to discover and grow their 'Octopus Faith®'."

"Being a teenager and hearing your message, I feel so empowered and I can't wait to share the 8 tentacles of faith with my peers."

Yes, this is in fact a Christian organization, no matter how much is sounds like a New Age Na Kika Cult. But all of that aside, what really did me in was this: A google image search for 'Woman Octopus' shows these two pictures side by side in beautiful contrast.

Signing up for Technorati

2007-11-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile

Laptops for Mauritania

2007-11-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

So I keep encountering people who have 3 or 4 year old IBM thinkpads. These are awesome machines that never break down (really, in my opinion, the high-water-mark for consumer electronics). They keep giving them to me, saying, "hey, you can do something with this, right?" I just talked to a friend of mine who's going to Mauritania in a month to do some Archaeological resarch. He's going to take some of these machines with him to give to local University proffs, etc. So I'm now in the process of refurbishing them and loading Ubuntu on. I'm having a lot of fun costumizing the interface and apps. Really, one of the more exciting things I've done lately. I'm really psyched about this little project I've started.

Brac

2007-11-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

BRAC

Just came back from a really awesome, intimate talk with Saludin, one of the top people in BRAC. Anyone who's at all interested in development has to know about BRAC. They're one of the largest NGO's in the world, based in Bangladesh, mostly focussed on rural development through a varriety of programs, including microfinance.

|o|z0rz!

2007-11-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

From Wired

Who's crazier: Apple Fans, or Ron Paul Supporters? Awesome Article. Must Read.

Ethics and Ideas

2007-11-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

Ethical Dilema:

Contract which earns me lots of money: good
Earning lots of money from dirty rotten bastards: bad
Being unsure of whether company in question is actually composed of dirty rotten bastards: bad
Public perception of said company as dirty rotten bastards: bad
Me associating with company of questionable moral standards which the public views as dirty rotten bastards: bad

Which leads me to think that while the contract is bad, the money is good. Hmmm... I don't know. How much moral duty do IT people usualy feel?

Idea:

Story set in Steampunk style alternate history. Begins in Constantinople which is the capital of the largest Democratic State on the planet, stretching from Persia to Egypt, and from the mid-Eurals to the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. It is known as the Central Earth Allliance, and has been the center of mechanical innovation for centuries. The only nation which even comes close to being a rival on the world-stage seams to be Britain, a constitutional Monarchy (deriving most of it's resources from its only colony: British Occupied America). Britain is on the rise, with a new, progressive king on the throne, who has thrown the entire national fortune at a few British inventors who are currently developing the first wave of networked digital technology.

But the main story revolves around a mid-level employee of the British Consulate in Constantinople. He ends up being reasigned to the colonial administration in America, and charged with whiping out the black/grey markets there. As he becomes further enmeshed in the Underground world of American informal politics, he begins to realize that this underdeveloped, impoverished colony is not so meek as they seem. With the CEA stagnating and losing power fast, and Britain on the brink of a golden age, how will the free flow of information change global power-politics, but more importantly, how will it change the lives of ordinary Americans?

Pilot

2007-11-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

'Ere I Am, J. H.

So I could use this first post to give a sprawling history of myself. I did consider it... but I won't. Instead, I figure I'll just explain the title of my Blag: Free like Bobo, Bobo like Beer. I really like Open Source Software (Free as in Speach), and I also really enjoy being an ethical pirate (Free as in Beer). But more than that, Freedom likes me, and I like Beer.

What right do I have to stick my opinions out there on matters such as these? Well, I'm a software designer. I design proprietary software (because it's how I earn my living), but if it were up to me (if not for that pesky NDA), I would give all my notes, code, documentation, and even tutorials to anyone who asked. Why would I do something so silly? Because I take pride in my work. Because I think I do it really well, and that's why I have my job. I don't think anyone else, even if they had all the relevent resources I have, could do the job any better. And most importantly, because I think it would be amazing to see my work grow through collaboration and competition.

On a more global scale, I support the destruction of the DMCA, and most importantly, TRIPS. While I write software for a living, my passion lies in bringing IT (and the creative, passioniate, dynamistic spirit which goes with it) to the Slums of the Global South. In order for that to happen effectively, TRIPS needs to be dismantled.

But I digress. Please do feel free to contact me about anything. Ryon d0t frink a+ gmail.com