Category: Geek
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Wolveriiiiiiiines!
You’ve probably already heard the very good news: Saddam Hussein, dictator and alleged porn star, has been captured. There’s rejoicing from all corners of the ‘Net, from Salam “Baghdad Blogger” Pax to Little Green Footballs. Sometimes, Christmas presents come early.
The Redhead informed me that the operation to capture him was called “Red Dawn”, to which I replied “WOLVERIIIIIINES!”. A little subsequent Googling found me this report, stating that the targets were named “Wolverine 1” and “Wolverine 2”. It’s nice to see an underrated action flick finally get its due.
Saddam and the geek image problem
Here’s a little something for the geeks to think about.
Below is the photo of a freshly-captured Saddam, who’d been hiding in a cramped and presumably not-climate-controlled “spider hole”. He was described being “disoriented” when he was found, which suggests he’d been holed up there for at least hours, if not days. Needless to say, he probably hasn’t had an opportunity to practice daily hygiene, hence he looks like this:
Now, let’s take a look at Free Software guru Richard M. Stallman, who is not hiding from U.S. Forces in a hole in Tikrit, but hanging out in an office at Harvard, where I hear soap, running water, hair gel and trimmers are cheap and plentiful. And remember, this photo was taken for an article, so they probably took a set of pictures and chose the best one:
Somebody please tell me why they appear to have the exact same level of grooming.
Really, my fellow nerds, a little break from the keyboard for a wash and a trim wouldn’t kill you, would it?
Sorry for the late notice; it’s been a busy day today.
Tonight (Tuesday, November 18th), there’s a meeting of the Joel on Software Toronto group at the Wolf and Firkin pub, located at the corner of Bay and Elm. I don’t think it’s so much a Joel Spolsky fan club as it is a group of developers who read Joel on Software and agree with at least some of his ideas (most of my Windows developer friends think he’s mostly spot-on; most of my open-source-primarily friends on #infoanarchy think he’s out to lunch). The fun will start around nine-ish this evening.
I plan to drink a lot of beer and leak like an abstraction!
There’s an Accordion City Joel on Software group forming. I’ve joined because I hang out and chat with geeks not only for fun — it’s my job!
You know you want to join. Be one on the cool kids. Join ussss….it’s blissss…
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CodeCon 2004 Call for Papers
More details at the other blog.
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Enjoying my birthday present
I’m working on some TPS reports (a survey of the users of OpenSRS client software) on the company-provided desktop computer, while watching my new birthday present, the DVD of the movie Revolution OS on my PowerBook. The movie is a documentary about the Free Software/Open Source/Linux movement, featuring interviews with RMS, Linux, ESR, Bruce Perens and the usual suspects. While the film doesn’t have much that will be new to someone who’s had a Slashdot account for a few months, it’s still pretty neat to see and hear the people in the scene. A number of people have stopped by my desk out of curiosity, enough to convince me to hold a lunchtime screening in one of the meeting rooms next week.
Thanks for the DVD, Paul!
I’m conducting some research, trying to find out what OpenSRS users want. If you’re an OpenSRS user who’s also a techincal lead, system architect, code kahuna or any other type of person who has decision-making power over technical issues, this set of questions is for you!
(And if you’re not an OpenSRS user or this stuff is too terrifically geeky for you, perhaps you might enjoy these Guy Fawkes or Matrix: Revolutions links. November 5th: more than just my birthday. Much, much more!)