OSCON Posts
There will be OSCON posts here, I posted one last night but it got "unformatted" so I have to re-write it. Check in later today if you want to hear more about my experiences at OSCON.
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WHY AM I HERE? Oh yeah, to see this keynote: The Google Open Source Awards. Wow, does Chris Debona seem more sweaty this year than previous years? Winners include
r0ml went on stage next. I like this guy. He says there's no open source adoption methodology. The problem, he says, is that large corporations likes methodologies. For instance, the MS methodology:
So companies can say "We use the Microsft Framework. How's your project going?" It's very important to have a graphic at this point. The rational unified process is a different model. You don't envision, you go strait to inception. Even the Agile methodologies have a similar flow:
The Open Source Ethos, according to r0ml: - Running code speaks - Peer Review - Release early, release often - Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow - Community matters - Fail fast - always make new mistakes. At this point, r0ml went off on some Rhetorical Development Framework developed by Quintillian in 80 AD, and compared it to Microsft's framework, and things went south from there. Hilarity ensued. It really helps that r0ml is speaking at nearly 10:00 PM local time.
Next, he talked about juggling and how it applies to software development. And yes, r0ml juggled. It's all about tracking problems. It's not about "throwing what you can", it's about "throwing what you must". That, he says, is what makes your software exceptional. The r0ml Exceptional Software Methodoligy:
Some of you may notice something missing. There are no requirements. You just have bug reports. There is no development, there's only maintenance. It's just that some maintenance is more radical than other maintenance. * Why do we have requirements? Because we want to agree up front what we want software to do. This is a mistake. Requirements gathering: everyone decide now what you want to do, and we'll decide later if that's a good idea. After we release the software. - Ugh. You, as the customer, have to test the software. But that's easy - all you have to do is complain when the software doesn't do what you want it to do. !!! - Really? Errors are a good thing. We're going to embrace the errors. They're just exceptions. - EXCEPTIONS - Read that again. It's all about EXCEPTIONS. We're all writing EXCEPTIONAL software, right? :) - Rinse. Repeat.
Perl White Camel Awards:
Where the hell is Larry Wall? Some guy read from cards. WTF? I'm going to go get another beer. Someone please send me the preso. It's probably written in powerpoint. Cripes.
Tonight was one of Poochies (a hot dog stand in Skokie) car show nights. We all went, had dinner at Poochies, and then sat in chairs by our car and watched the people go by.
There is a lot of interest in these old sedans, and about half the people who came by were encouraging me to not paint the car. Hmm. As you know from the pictures, the car is severely sunburned. So I figured it was a given that I should paint it sometime. But there seems to be a lot of interest in this car as a "survivor" - basically a last remaining, unrestored factory orginal. It certainly is rare - trying to find another one (as a donor for spare parts) has been futile since only 2-3 have listed on eBay in the last year.
I'm still thinking it over.
The other half want me to paint it cherry red or baby blue. Hrm. But everyone agrees, the push-button transmission is cool.
So, a fun time was had by all tonight. No pics (they wouldn't look any different than the last ones I posted, since I haven't done anything yet except put the Illinois plates on it.)
Tonight, Justin joined us downstairs while we were preparing the family room for some finishing projects.
He explained to us that "Ethan autographed me".
Tomorrow is Justin's last day of Summer School.
Last Sunday, we (Aaron and Mike) went to the Lincolnwood (IL) summer carnival. I must say it was a bit of a disappointment this year... the rides are getting kind of weary, they don't have much to ride, and the games are just getting ridiculously expensive.
That said, for the short time we were there, Aaron took two rides, we ate lunch, played a couple games, and then left.
If that narrative hasn't piqued your interest yet, here are pictures.
Just a few political notes from this week:
1. The Good: Senator Hillary Clinton voted against the FISA bill that grants telcos immunity for violating their privacy policies. Bravo.
2. The Bad: Senator Barack Obama voted FOR the bill.
3. The Ugly: Jesse Jackson this week that Barack Obama's lecturing of black men who abandon their families should result in Obama's castration.
Sigh.
As I said, we went to Stevens Point and Rome, Wisconsin for our 4th of July vacation. We stayed at a hotel because as you may or may not remember, the chumps in the Town of Rome kicked us campers out two years ago. Ironically, that decision was overturned by an appellate court this year. But too late, we've already sold our camper.
Anyway, the Anderson's hung on to their property, so we stayed there during the day and went to our hotel in Steven Point in the evenings. During the day, it was swimming on the beach and of course the kids collecting up as much dirt as possible.
Pictures HERE.