Barack Obama

In my past job as a public spokesperson for Novell, I steered clear of discussing politics in my blog. But that was then.While I remain a technologist, and I will keep my blog focused on the technology in which I am involved, you might notice that I recently I added a widget containing an image of Barack Obama which links to his site. So, I’ll just state briefly: my country faces an opportunity to elect an extremely rare human being. The more I watch this man, the more I read and learn about him, the more I am struck by what an extraordinary person he is. He earned my vote in the Utah primary, and I have donated to his campaign.I encourage you to find out more about him, whether to disagree with his positions or to support him.And now, back to the tech…

Podcasting, Once Again

In case you missed the update (which I embedded in an otherwise non-descript post), my latest podcast endeavor is now underway.

Welcome to The Bungee Line, a podcast about web API’s, featuring people involved in the space of rich Internet applications and web development. The first interview is with John Musser of ProgrammableWeb.com. The latest (just up today) features Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo! Developer Network.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about it, including what directions you think I should take this podcast. (Thanks in advance.)

Response to Luis Villa’s Inquiry

Quothe Luis Villa:

What exactly are you doing these days at bungee anyway, Ted? ‘ted haeger site:bungeelabs.com’ turns up zilch, which makes me suspect that if you’re still a community manager, you’re not managing much. (August 31, 2007 @ 2:06 pm)

Luis:

I decided to elevate the response to your comment to the blog level because it’s a totally fair question.

First, the technical note: the search you did won’t reveal anything much because bungeelabs.com is not yet crawlable by Google. The site is an Ajax application created with Bungee Connect. One of our long list of to-do’s is crawlability for Bungee-powered applications.

Nevertheless, you point out that I should probably document some of the community work that I am doing (along with Alex Barnett and others) at Bungee Labs. I’ll add that as an ongoing conversational topic.

In the mean time, I have two things to point to:

1. I finally got the first edition of the new podcast online. Welcome to The Bungee Line.
2. At the same time, I have been slowly kicking up a blog for Bungee Connect Developer Network, too.

What Next for the Rev’s Blog?

I’m off for a few days of R & R, to return on the 10th of September. Not that many would notice, considering my relative radio silence on the blog front lately.

Questions to consider while sipping from rum-and-umbrella-laden beverages:

• Do I rename this blog, now that I am no longer connected into a distro vendor? My tenure at Novell put me in the midst of great open source innovators, many with whom I stay in casual touch. I my ability to advocate their work has been reduced enough that I am more an enthusiast than capable of being an advocate.
• My growth in developing with Bungee Connect has been intense, but I still do not consider myself a fully capable web developer. So, what can I cover in this blog? Perhaps I can document my journey into becoming a competent web developer, but I am uncertain as to how interesting I can make that.
• And worst of all, reverend…of what?

I hope to have a full report on my return. Your input will be appreciated, as always.

[Clarification: When I stated that I am considering a name change for this blog, I meant the "Open Source Advocacy " piece, not the "with Reverend Ted" piece. As discussed among the great philosophers of the Seinfeldian school, you don't get to choose your own nickname.]

Google Developer Day

Today, I’m in San Jose at Google Developer Day.

If you’re there and want to hello me, I’m checking email [ted AT bungeelabs] regularly.

Far Worse than Trolls

I read on Seth Godin’s blog yesterday about the horrible threats that Kathy Sierra has been suffering. It has now reached Slashdot.

I originally learned about Kathy’s work from Luis Villa, and I started following her blog back then. I also saw Kathy speak at a conference last summer. She’s terrific, but even if she were not a prominent technology advocate, this kind of persecution is absolutely abominable behavior.

We are extremely fortunate to have the Internet as a social and education tool, but for all the enlightenment it may bring, unfortunately it also shows us that there are still indecent and sometimes downright terrible people out there.

I very much hope that Kathy comes back online. In the mean time, I remind myself that no matter what I may think of someone, we all not only share an obligation to be decent and respectful to each other, but also to do what we can to deter others from such abhorrently inappropriate behavior.

Jono Bacon is Not a Cockroach

I would like to clear the air regarding comments I made about Jono Bacon being cockroach. I did not, in fact, say that Jono is a cockroach. I stated that he is like a cockroach. And even this reckless simile deserves to be understood only in the full context of my having tried to assassinate him.

(After my botched attempt to exterminate him with In N Out food, I learned on the UK LUG Tour that the man has a predilection for the McDonalds, which apparently has toughened him against the toxins of processed food and arterial plaque.)

But just to dispel any confusion may have created, this is Jono Bacon:

And this is a cockroach:

They are clearly not the same thing. That would be extremely silly:

Jono Bacon Has Been Mauled by a Bear!!

Actually, it’s almost like Jono has been mauled by a bear…

Jono Bacon is doing a fundraiser for charity. Essentially, he will be single-handedly creating an album in a 24 hour period. He’ll compose and play all instruments (drums, bass, guitar, etc.) in this effort. The whole process will be video web-streamed, too.

I am pleased to announce that I am the first contributor to this cause (50 Pounds, or nearly $100) . But those who know me well enough know that I am very much the type who slows down for traffic accidents. This noble act could be horribly embarrassing for Jono, and my thoughts are with him right now…willing him to commit some kind of horrendous faux pas.

I endorse this charity and encourage you to join in on the fun.

[Note: The original title for this post was going to be "Jono Bacon Killed in Trainwreck!!" but I realized that if it really were to happen, I would feel horrible. But mauled by a bear? That's much more fitting, yet very unlikely, to befall His Baconhood.]

Shakin’ Bacon

Being at SCaLE5 in the presence of his Baconny Goodness reminds me of so many memories…

Brother Bacon and I have:

• Presented together…
  
• Drank Tea together…
  
• Carpooled together…
  

And now, as I have recently discovered…

• Danced together?

So, I met Chris DiBona…

I have to admit, I was more than a little star-struck when I finally got to meet Google’s Chris DiBona in person.

(If your feed does not include the picture, please see the original on my blog.)

Ted and Erin at “The Amazing Meeting”

Erin and I are hanging out this week at an event called “The Amazing Meeting,” the annual conference of the James Randi Educational Foundation, held in Las Vegas. The conference has nothing to do with our work at Novell–both Erin and I are extremely interested in the scientific world view, and this is our third year attending the conference. Headliners this year are South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

If any NOA listeners happen to be attending the event, or if you are in the Las Vegas area, please contact us to tell us hello. We’ll be seeking out some kind of Mediterranean or Middle-eastern food this evening, too.

Vacation Week

Vacation much needed. Hectic lately. I’m off to warmer climes for R&R. Back on Nov. 27.

While I am gone, perhaps you would enjoy Red Meat.

Feed Update Notifications through Instant Messaging

A while back, Jon Strickland wrote a Cool Solutions article on how to enable RSS feed updates to notify you via your instant messenger client.

If you have an RSS feed, such as a blog or podcast, that you regularly monitor for changes, this is kind of a cool tip to check out.

Columbus Arrival

The Bad
I had a very frustrating morning. I got up at about 20 minutes to 5:00 with full intention ofgoing to the gym before my flight to Denver (en route to Columbus). I dinked around a bit with updating my iPod, then went to burn some raw .wav files to DVD so I could edit them on the plane. (Mike the Audio Guy is still away on his honeymoon.)

The files were not where I had copied them onto my ThinkPad, and so the only copies were down in Provo an hour away. (Why, oh, why didn’t I put them on a server?) That would be just so much spilled milk, except that the interview was with David Reveman about the Compiz-Beryl fork, so it was pretty relevant to get out there. Ugh. So I decided to stitch together the episode for the GNU Toolchain interview from Nuremberg, only to find out that Audacity really doesn’t read DigitalPerformer files. Ugh₂.

In the panicked haste of discovering this catastrophe, I managed to burn away too much time, so the “go to the gym to stay in shape” plan got aborted.

The Good
I don’t usually fly United, for good reason. But since the conference leads took a while to deliberate whether my presentation at Ohio Linux Fest would be too corporate (actually, that was what they told me, but I think they had an outside-shot candidate in mind for the final speaking slot, and that didn’t come through), I ended up on United anyway. That means going through Denver.

One rather tasty burrito later, I was using the sole power outlet at the gate when Google’s Chris DiBona shows up at the gate. So, we chatted for a bit about Summer of Code, FLOSS Weekly, why Miguel de Icaza is annoying (okay, maybe I inserted that opinion), and sundry other topics. Chris is a very likeable guy.

The Ugly
Post flight, Chris gave me a ride–thanks, Google–into town, targeting his hotel from where I would get a cab over to my own. But when my hotel appeared on a corner we were passing, Chis saw the opportunity to correct his mistake. Slamming the brakes rather abruptly, Chris shoved me out onto the curb with a well placed shoulder. My backside hit the curb rather awkwardly as tires screeched and Chris drove away. After re-composing my senses, I spotted Chris a block and a half away, dumping my luggage out onto the street. Last I saw of him, he shook his fist and scowled before tearing away around the corner. Presently, I retreived my luggage–less my dignity–to the scent of burnt rubber, then adjourned to my hotel room. I suppose that finding of likeability is not reciprocated.

The Truth
Tonight I meet up with the TLLTS guys at Barley’s.

Prague Arrival

Surfacing from my Ambien slumber this morning, our jet dropped down into Prague an hour delayed. After my lost-luggage experience at GUADEC, I estimated little hope of ever seeing my bag appear on the carousel. To my surprise, somehow it followed me through both the Atlanta and New York City transfers I made yesterday.

The event coordinators had a driver meet me at the airport–a service I seldom accept, but occasionally it can be very nice after a long flight to an unfamilar place. When I emerged into the arrivals hall, I scanned the placards and hand-written signs held by various young and middle-aged men until I finally saw my name in large, serifed type on a laser-printed page. The sign was held by an attractive thirty-something woman. The stylish clothing on her slender fugure made me think back to my days travelling as a bachelor. The best thing about being married is that it provides one with the confidence to be a disinterested observer, no more than a casual appreciator of the arts. In other words, I have no need to pursue exotic rejections.

For 20 minutes we drove in almost total silence, passing various familiar business names along the way. Prague has skilled technical workers, making it another outsourcing capital. We passed a huge, modern building, all shiny with glass and metal, bearing Sun’s name. Further down the block, the same building bore Siemens’ name, prompting me to ponder whether or not it was to see these two as conjoined twins.

Now at the hotel, I have a spartan room in which to shower. Later, perhaps some sight-seeing. Tomorrow, off to the mountains and the conference.