2008 Nonprofit Software Development Summit

The good folks at Aspiration Technology are once again creating their magic with the second Nonprofit Software Development Summit. Given current economic conditions looking rather sucktastic to say the least, I'm looking for inspiration these days. And I find I'm really excited about the power of FOSS to help organizations that have limited IT resources to accomplish their goals. Pragmatism, accompanied by noble goals, is unstoppable. Provided there is action.

That's where the crew at Aspiration comes in. I go to a fair number of conferences. I spend most of my time with the hackers, documenters, artists, user experience researchers, users and partners of people in FOSS, and I know what motivates them to get things done. Hearing from people like Gunner, Lena, Michelle and San, people want to go GSD. (There are a whole host of other folks who belong on this list, as well; you'll find their names among those partners collaboratively developing the summit agenda.) Every time I go to an Aspiration led event I leave refreshed and inspired. And I get more good things done.

I'll be giving a talk about Google Summer of Code™ and how Google's support of the participating projects has helped provide tools to the non-profit world. I want it to be more of an open discussion and to find out what the non-profit world wants from FOSS developers.

In so many situations, I think we lose momentum because there are so few people who can translate between the divide of, for the sake of brevity, users and hackers. You know, those people who think their computer is, at best, a tool with many inconveniences. These are smart people. They are just not you - they do not breathe it, live it, love it, feel it in their fingertips the way you do. They want to accomplish a task and they don't have much of a budget to do it on. You can help with that. Though you likely need someone to help you them help you figure out what they want. Then again, you may be one of those less-rare-than-previously-thought-but-still-rare-nonetheless social geeks who really digs talking to people. If you are, you should totally come. If you are one of those people who is good at getting people to geek out together when they are in totally different disciplines, you should totally come. I think we will learn a lot from one another.

Spending Time with the People You Love

A wise man once told me that time is really all there is.

I spent last weekend at GooCamp, the first Google unconference, ostensibly hosting but mostly just enjoying the weekend. Pips to Cat and Ellen for making this weekend what it was. Since the first rule of GooCamp is that you don't talk about GooCamp, I will just say it was quite lovely to catch up with all the folks from Zurich I hadn't spoken to in years - Douwe, Luuk, Michael and Sascha. It was wonderful to spend time with the Brits, too. Gregory, you're absolutely awesome. You too Neil.

Frankly, the entire weekend was spent among completely fantastic human beings. Good show all around. One of these days you should ask me about my Saturday afternoon In N' Out Burger experience.

I'm spending more time lately around the people who matter most to me. Kicking it with Andy a lot. And Andi. And Mark. And Shona and Kynan. And Mikal. Josh is coming into town tomorrow, and MJ sent an invite this morning for Steve's birthday bash this weekend.

Google Summer of Code 2008 Mentor Summit is in a little over two weeks. Life is good.

danderson Enabled

My friend David is visiting for the next couple of days. Mari comes home tonight so after picking her up it is back to the Valley. Life is good, but I think I'll miss living in San Francisco.

The LAH and GSD

Today is one of those awesome days. I awoke at 7:45 today, which was lateish. Waking up in the sweet embrace of a memory foam couch is also awesome. After wandering about to get a glass of water, I decided now would be a useful time to call my friend Mark, as we were supposed to catch up before he had company that afternoon. And, as he's in Virginia, where it was the much more sane hour of 15 minutes to 11:00, I figured I'd better get cracking.

We mostly chatted about the awesomeness of my good friend and hostess, Ms. Linsey Jackson, who will soon be marrying my good friend and host, Mr. San Mehat. The awesomeness of the Linsey does not map well to easy encapsulation in blog format, so I will summarize thusly: I hate bruschetta. I consume Linsey's bruschetta with a gusto I typically reserve only for hummus. And did I mention she provided us with four kinds of hummus last night? Plus her bruschetta is made with soy cheese, and it's still downright sublime. I don't even really like cheese. Linsey, in short, is amazing.

I heard the stirrings of people inside, bid Mark fond adieu, and wandered back into the apartment. San and Linsey and Mike and Vanessa and Dima and Rebecca all live in the same building, so communal gatherings on their balcony are a frequent occurence. This time, we were celebrating San's birthday (happy birthday again, San :), though Mike and Vanessa were off taking care of business in the Canadia. Linsey served champagne. With lemon pesto artichoke dip and other amazing accoutrements. And it's all vegan. And it all tastes good. Linsey is amazing.

I have only recently started attending said frequent communal gatherings on a regular basis, as I've been house sitting in San Francisco the past couple of weeks. I intend to continue attending for the pleasure of the company, but also for the pure bliss of enjoying the fine Lost Art of Hospitality (LAH), which clearly *is not* lost because Linsey does it. We all (that's me, Adriana, Linsey and San) converged on the kitchen, where coffee was made. Sigh. It was *really* good coffee. Followed by massive cleanup in approximately 15 minutes. About 3/4 of the way through, San looked up at me and said "Is this that whole GSD* thing? Because I want to recognize when it's happening." and I laughed and said "Yes."

Kitchen cleaned. San had business elsewhere. Linsey dropped him off. She returned, watered the plants, then escorted me to the nearby drug store, where I got to listen to awesome salsa music and people speaking Spanish. The she wandered out again, purchased champagne and made us all Pombosas, which is what I have decided to call champagne with blueberry pomegranate juice in it. I think we also should create a funky dance move to go along with it, which involves moving very gracefully but with a Latin shake. It must be lots of fun — fluid and free — but simultaneously you must make sure you are in no danger of spilling your beverage. It's too tasty to waste.

So just when you think your morning sitting in the shade next to the sun drenched tile patio on a balcony in the Mission in SF is just as good as it gets, Linsey disappears. Then returns. She has *drawn a bath* for Adriana. I am informed I may have one later, but Adriana asked first. Holy. Moley. Um, yes. When my turn comes, she later furnishes a towel, hot from the dryer, along with a pre-drawn bath complete with pre-included bubble bath. And extra tealight candles and incendiary device to make sure I can customize the light content of my bath experience. Linsey just GSD.

Linsey is a goddess. I am so excited that she and San are together and that I have the honor of being in their wedding party. Post-bath, I decided it was time to leave Adriana studying - GSD - and get back to my familiar computing environment so I could figure wedding logistics (flowers, suits, etc.) out efficiently.

Now here I am, comfortably sitting on Mari's couch in the lovely city of San Francisco, vaguely watching 300. GSD. Then before I get the change to push publish, Louis calls. I get the Real Time NOLA Update. Life is good.

* Ed. note: Failure to expand acronyms is the height of snobbery and also prevents GSD. If people know what you're talking about, it's much easier for them to GSD. Just a thought. NOLA, for those who don't know, is New Orleans, Louisiana.

G stands for getting. D stands for Done. If you haven't decided what S means by now, I leave that to your imagination. I don't want to impose my value system on you. Doing that sort of thing really gets in the way of GSD.

Worth Reading

Via Mel, Tim Wise's This is Your Nation on White Privilege.

Steal this Video: Stephen Fry & GNU's 25th Birthday

Peter Brown asked me to mention this video on my blog, and I'm horribly delinquent. That being said, I will write about Drupalcon Szeged and Hungary later. Also DjangoCon 2008, which a team of stalwart volunteers and I are hosting at the Googleplex this weekend. First international Django conference, ever. They're having beers now at the Tied House, and it promises to be a fantastic second day tomorrow.

And stepping back from that utter tangent, the video. If you're an Anglophile like me and adore The Black Adder and Fry and Laurie as I do, you simply have to watch this video - Stephen Fry wishing the GNU operating system a Happy 25th birthday. It's just as thrilling as watching Terry Jones discuss Medieval siege warfare in Crusades, but then again I suspect more people I know find British comedians loving Free Software more compelling than said comedians being experts in Medieval History. Yes, Terry Jones is a trained Medievalist.

If you're looking for a well reasoned, articulate explanation of Free Software that you can show to your Dad, Mom, Cousin and all those friends of the family who haven't a clue what you do at that computer of yours all day, let alone what your value system is surrounding it, then you're going to be equally elated.

The Software Freedom Day organizing team have also added the video link to their website front page. I think it's fantastic that such a cogent exploration of Free Software is available before the SFD this year, as well; it's a great resource for local teams to show during their events.

And speaking of those fighting the good fight for Free Software, James Vasile asked me to spread the word about the Software Freedom Law Center's upcoming NYC Software Freedom Day Reception. If you can attend, I really urge you to go. I have learned a great deal about Free Software law and what it takes to effectively run a software non-profit from James, and if he's any indicator of your would-be company for the evening you are guaranteed to leave both excited and enlightened.

Here are the details (quoting James' mail):

The Software Freedom Law Center cordially invites you to the 2008 NYC Software Freedom Day Reception! Industry leaders, lawyers, advocates and hackers alike will be gathering to commemorate and celebrate the state of the movement; from the inception of the GNU Project 25 years ago to the present day, the lives of millions of people all around the world have been forever changed by software freedom.

More information about Software Freedom Day can be found at
http://softwarefreedomday.org/about

When: Saturday, Sept. 20th from 6pm to 9pm.

Where: Limewire is hosting us in their rooftop garden at 377 Broadway, between White St. and Franklin St. It's just a few blocks south of Canal. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=377+broadway+10013

Activities will include guest speakers from around the movement, as well as music and a raffle, with a focus on mixing, meeting, and greeting. The reception is a rooftop affair, providing ample time and space to celebrate, meet new people and reconnect with old friends.

RSVP required to: rsvp@softwarefreedom.org
We look forward to seeing you there!

Digital Media and Learning Competition

LH sez check it out....

A few months back, Fitz was kind enough to introduce me to Craig Wacker of the MacArthur Foundation. Craig had been hoping to glean some insights into our management of the Summer of Code program, and we spent some quality time brainstorming about the next Digital Media and Learning Competition.

The 2008 edition of the competition was recently announced and this year's theme is Participatory Learning. The Young Innovator Awards may be of particular interest for any of your GHOPers and GSoCers.

Heading to Hungary

And where I've been hiding...

Actually, I've been hiding right in plain sight. Life is busy as usual 'round Hawthorn Landings, so here's the quick list of what's been going on since my last posts on kittenly-joy and Twitter deliberations.

• Our 10 GHOP Grand Prize Winners visited the Googleplex and a great time was had by all.


• Came down with a nasty cold directly thereafter and missed Foo Camp. Boo!


• Headed to OSCON for the traditional Google Open Source Update and GSoCer BoF at Old Town Pizza. Met up with the usual suspects, engaged in some wonderful conversations and had a lovely time shopping at Powell's with Cat, Emma and Jeff.


• Helped make SciFoo happen. You can read all about it on the Google Open Source Blog. Many kudos go out to Cat for the vast majority of the success of the event. Make sure to check out Fitz's It's It Powered Stirling Engine.

Next week I am heading to Szeged, Hungary for DrupalCon, where I'll be giving a talk, then swinging back home through Vancouver, B.C., Canadia for the Open Everything retreat.

Life is good.

Maybe I Will Try This Twitter Thing

T-shirts never expire.

That is all.