Logiciel Libre

When I was a kid, the Roland MT-32 was some kind of pinnacle of consumer MIDI appliances. Maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I can’t stop watching this video:

I thought I’d learned a thing or two about unclogging drains, but I was flummoxed at a suddenly and completely plugged-up bathtub this morning at my apartment. Turns out a pinky-sized hole in the insulation let a draft through that was enough to freeze the p-trap solid! Written in pencil on a section of wall above the p-trap:

Heater on if below zero for several days.

Indeed, it’s been below zero for a stretch. I guess the previous tenant opted for the band-aid fix instead of just stuffing some insulation in the hole.

Yes, I still love it here in Minnesota, especially because of the weather! It’s a winter wonderland outside. It rarely rains and is often sunny.

Please check out the latest episode of FLOSS Weekly, featuring Mifos director George Conard and myself. The interview covers topics such as our mission, future direction and community involvement. The interviewers are Leo Laporte and Randal Schwartz.

Today is Blog Action Day, and the focus is poverty. Mifos is software designed to help eradicate poverty by providing an efficient way for microfinance institutions to serve many customers. If you’re into technology, please check out Mifos!

I’ll be giving a couple of lectures/seminars this week in the Twin Cities. The first is tonight at the U of M (topic: Selenium), the second will be Saturday morning (topic: Vim). See here for announcements about future talks and materials from talks past.

Keeping me up late… keeping me from working on my upcoming Vim and Selenium talks. This time with fast-booting desktops!

Found on this Slashdot thread:

1. ASUS motherboards now ship with an embedded mini Linux distribution to give you Web browsing and Skype in seconds
2. A pretty cool-looking bootable os and desktop written entirely in assembly

I’ve got a ton more bike trail exploring to do around here before the snow hits! Here’s a start.

Ever see that old TV show with the computerized crime fighter? Sidekick named Cursor?

Automan!

Eva found this place by searching the Web, I think. I hate to sound self-centered, but, holy cow, did they build this place just for me? I couldn’t think of a better restaurant idea, and if I lived in Syracuse I’d eat there every day. And night.

I munched a falaffel waffle while Eva and I played Guess Who? and listened to b-side-ish funk tracks I’d never heard before.

Funk ‘n Waffles, I heart you.

I love going outside. However, perhaps because I’m a complete internet/computer addict or just feel more comfortable in my “nest”, there is definitely a bit of resistance that must be overcome before I actually lace up the sneaks and breathe fresh air. Eva (and I) purposely found a place to live near the places we work, learn, and commune, so proximity is often a handy excuse for walking, running, biking, or busing to wherever we might be going. And I’m actually exercising. Yay! Here’s some proof.

Oh, and what would this post be without something nerdy? The routes were downloaded off a wristwatch GPS as XML, and munged by a Python script I’ll eventually generalize, clean up and release publicly.