Jason L. Froebe: Ramblings of a Geek

My wife says this is so me… the fact that I’m not allowed to touch her macbook says something… *big grin*

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I never thought I would live to see the day, but it looks like Microsoft is ‘bending knee’ to the consumer… Microsoft’s national technology officer, Stuart McKee, concedes to the victor:

…. “ODF has clearly won,” said Stuart McKee, referring to Microsoft’s recent announcement that it would begin natively supporting ODF in Office next year and join the technical committee overseeing the next version of the format. ….

read more at InfoWorld

I don’t know about you but I’m not holding my breath that Microsoft will actually do this…  they be sneaky

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From Jeremy Fluhmann:

For all of you first time yapc attendees, I thought you might be interested in some of the photos from previous yapcs.  I’m sure there are others, but some of the links from Flickr are:

Chicago in 2006 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/yapcna2006/
Houston in 2007 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/yapcna2007/
YAPC::NA in general - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/yapcna/
YAPC in general - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/yapc/

And, I’m assuming that this year (as with the previous two years) someone will recommend tagging the 2008 photos with yapcna2008.  I’d recommend also tagging them with yapcna and yapc.

Jeremy

Conferences Chair
The Perl Foundation

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This year’s Flourish Conference was held at the University of Illinois in downtown Chicago (UIC). The Flourish web site describes Flourish as:

The goal of the Flourish Conference is to promote the use and adoption of Free Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) by demonstrating the practical applications of FLOSS in the business and academic world. While everyone is familiar with businesses that focus on creating non-free proprietary software, the same cannot be said for those who specialize in developing and supporting FLOSS software, and an Open Culture.

I missed a part of Bruce Perens’ Innovation Goes Public presentation due to Chicago’s closing several sidewalks that go over or under the tristate. I’m not quite sure I agree with him that the road a head for open source is all rosey. Perhaps I misunderstood him but it seemed to me that the idea of simply giving the source of an application to the public would allow the programmers to still be paid via the support/service agreements.  This may work for some applications, but for others there wouldn’t be a sufficient number of support contracts to financially support the programmers Personally, I prefer open source but I will also pay for commercial proprietary software. I use what works.

The company I work for, Sungard Investment Systems, uses open source for many internal projects. One such product uses VMware and Linux for a portable monitoring system so I was highly interested in rBuilder Online from rPath. I attended the Appliance Development and Conary session presented by Stephanie Watson from rPath. I’m currently investigating on how well and easy it is to make a VMware appliance that would house a Sybase ASE server (DBMS) with no unnecessary os files. If the testing turns out well, I will ask my fellow Sybase ASE DBAs whether Sybase need certify it or whether we are ‘on our own’. The monitoring machine itself really doesn’t need Sybase ASE on it but since we have the license….

Dr. John Waclawsky, from Motorolla, gave a feel good presentation about the state of communication between wireless gadgets. The Revolution at the Edge of the Network Abstract. Short version: things are going to get very interesting in the next year

James Gray, from IBM, presented IBM’s Open Source Strategy - Turning Threat into Opportunity. While essentially a case study of how IBM has interacted as a semi-liason between the business executives and the open source community. IBM, to me, has seemed to be stuck in a love/hate relationship with open source and a dislike/hate relationship with the Free Software Foundation. That being said, it is necessary to give IBM credit giving credence to the open source community with the business executives. The IT folks no longer had to quietly use open source in the business but were free to use it extensively in many places. Linux, in particular, is no longer the wild west in many CTOs’ eyes but a integral part of their business.

I met Tony Wong in the Chicago Perl Mongers ‘booth’. We discussed the upcoming Yet Another Perl Conference (YAPC::NA 2008) that is being held in Chicago and the horrible documentation of the Catalyst MVC web framework. I informed him that the only way to learn Catalyst was the new book Catalyst by Jonathan Rockway (ISBN: 978-1-847190-95-6). I also warned him that the book should have gone through another round of proofreading prior to being published due to excessive example code errors, etc. I playfully suggested that Joshua McAdams be tormented because he wasn’t able to make it Friday morning.

The panel discussion on Friday afternoon was highly entertaining and a bit of a kangaroo court for Bobby Moore of Microsoft. I do not believe Mr. Moore was expecting Bruce Perens to repeatedly ask very pointed and informed questions. Moore did an excellent job of remaining cool and listening with an open mind to the criticism of Microsoft as a company. He explained that, yes, Microsoft did some not so nice things in the past but they are attempting to work with the open source community. Bruce Perens, Jon “Maddog” Hall, and James Bottomley brought up the pending MS Office OpenXML standard format issue where much of the format is proprietary and the published format won’t actually be used by Microsoft. Moore conceded that it was unlikely that Microsoft would use the published format as-is but the Office developers would likely base the actually used format off of the published format. Perens, Hall, Bottomley and James Gray all expressed their opinions that this was very typical of Microsoft. (side note: Microsoft has been accused of having the attitude of Embrace, Extend, Eliminate when it comes to industry standards.)

Perens, Hall and James Bottomley, as well as members of the audience, pummeled both James Gray of IBM and Bobby Moore of Microsoft for their companies’ approach and support of software patents.

Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the first day as my mother was in town from North Dakota to visit my three month old daughter (and the rest of us). If only I could have cloned myself… Don’t forget to check out the Flickr photo group for the Flourish 2008 Conference in Chicago!

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From the Flourish people :

Hello All,

Flourish Conference 2008 starts tomorrow! Flourish 2008 will run from Friday, April 4th till Saturday, April 5th. Everything seems to be coming together and everyone on the Flourish Team believes we are about to put on a great confererence for you. We have 16 speakers, 6 special events and activities and currently over 325 registered attendees. If you know someone who has yet to register for Flourish 2008 who would like to take advantage of our free online registration, that person should sign up by 8:30 PM today!

The directions for how to get to UIC and Flourish 2008 are posted below this e-mail message. You can also refer to our venue page for the directions, a campus map, a link to the Flourish 2008 location in Google Maps and pictures of event locations. The venue page is located here: http://www.flourishconf.com/venue/.

We would like to bring to your attention that the Flourish 2008 Schedule has changed considerably in the last few days. Yesterday we added a new speaker and changed a couple of speech times. Unfortunately, these changes will not be reflected in your Flourish 2008 phamplet (although we may provide a corrective insert). You can see the updated Flourish 2008 schedule here: http://www.flourishconf.com/schedule/.

One event we particularly would like to bring to your attention is the Code for a Cause Hack-a-thon. The Code for a Cause Hack-a-thon is a great way to get involved with writing open source software while performing an act of community service. Dozens of open source developers and enthusiasts will collaborate to build open source websites and applications for local non-profit organizations. Projects include an interactive map of homeless shelters in Chicago, a website for a reforestation program in Ethiopia and a Facebook widget framework for raising awareness about critical social issues. Volunteers of all skill levels and backgrounds (including development, design, documentation, etc.) are welcome to attend!

See you soon,
The 2008 Flourish Team

Directions to Flourish 2008:

Read the rest of this entry »

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From use Perl:

Open enrollment Perl classes in April in Chicago
Journal written by brian_d_foy (44) and posted by brian_d_foy on 2008.02.15 2:51

Stonehenge is offering open-enrollment Perl classes in downtown Chicago in April. These are the full Stonehenge courses in a slightly compressed-time format that we offer to the public only a couple times a year:

* Beginning Catalyst with Jon Rockway, April 14-15, 9am to 5pm, $500
* Test Driven Development with Josh McAdams, April 14-15, 6pm to 9pm, $250
* Learning Perl with brian d foy, April 16-18, 9am to 5pm, $750

We can also take purchase orders and alternate payment methods for any of there. We can also offer team discounts for people from the same group paying at the same time. Write to me (brian@stonehenge.com) with any questions about the classes.

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Lisa Thomas, one of the last employees of Neumann Homes, announced on the NeumannHomesBankruptcy@yahoogroups.com mailing list that they are selling their office stuff.

From: Lisa Thomas <lisa.thomas@ neumannhomes. com>
Date: Feb 1, 2008 8:46 AM
Subject: Bankruptcy Sale
To:

Neumann Homes

BANKRUPTCY SALE

2 LOCATIONS

4355 Weaver Parkway

Warrenville, Illinois

OFFICE EQUIPMENT, FURNISHINGS & SUPPIES

Friday, February 15^th

Noon – 7 p.m.

&

Saturday, February 16^th

7 a.m. – Noon

• Office equipment including: computers, monitors, fax machines, printers, copiers, audio video equipment, phones, etc.
• Office furniture including: desks, chairs, filing cabinets and shelving.
• Office supplies including: training books, binders, folders, organizational & desk supplies

************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* **

900 A. Knell Road

Montgomery, IL

OFFICE FURNITURE & MODEL HOME FURNISHINGS

Saturday, February 16^th

7 a.m. – Noon

Everything must be removed on the day of sale.

  CASH & CARRY ONLY

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INTRODUCING: ASE 15 Cluster Edition

January 29, 2008
1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT

Please join us on Tuesday, January 29th to learn how ASE 15 Cluster Edition:

· Maximizes resource utilization and reduces infrastructure costs
· Ensures continuous application availability with shared-disk clusters
· Improves performance through transparent load balancing
· Simplifies administration tasks with automatic workload management

PRESENTER BIOS:

David Jonker Sr. Product Marketing Manager; Sybase, Inc. As a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Sybase, David Jonker is focused on marketing strategy for the Sybase ASE and Mirror Activator product lines. His career includes more than 10 years as a software developer and product manager before joining the Sybase ASE and Mirror Activator marketing team. Mr. Jonker is an active speaker and writer about Sybase products and technologies. Some of his recent speaking engagements include CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment, Gartner Wireless & Mobile, and Best Practices for Building Frontline Applications seminar series. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Peter Thawley Senior Director/Architect; Sybase, Inc. Peter brings over 22 years of experience in software architecture and engineering, product management, and worldwide product & technology sales & services spanning both systems software products and business applications. He recently rejoined Sybase as a Senior Director and Architect in the Technology Evangelist team for Data Management products where he leads a group of engineers who help customers understand and implement Sybase’s technology stack. Peter’s experience with Sybase products dates to 1990 when, working for a Sybase customer, he led projects to replace a back office brokerage trading system that accounted for 4% of the NYSE daily share volume using Sybase ASE on OS/2 & AIX, Open Server, and PowerBuilder. Peter is a household name with Sybase customers seen by his reputation for standing-room-only presentations at conferences around the world.

Don’t forget to sign up for the webcast!

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Love it, hate it, fear it…  whether you like it or not here come the clones!  The Washington Post is reporting that the first cloned human embryos from skin cells have been produced.  I can see the benefit of having an extra body for spare parts but the tricky part is whether or not that body can/will become sentient.  If not, it is just a chunk of meat… if so, then it is a person.

So many questions with no answers …. yet.  The docs have to go carefully on this one.

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What is the digital television transition?

At midnight on February 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasting promises to provide a clearer picture and more programming options and will free up airwaves for use by emergency responders.

What is the TV Converter Box Coupon Program?

Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep using their analog TV sets after February 17, 2009. The Program allows U.S. households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes.

A TV connected to cable, satellite or other pay TV service does not require a TV converter box from this program.

Consumers have a variety of options. Options to explore include:

1. Keep your existing analog TV and purchase a TV converter box. A converter box plugs into your TV and will keep it working after Feb. 17, 2009, or
2. Connect to cable, satellite or other pay service, or
3. Purchase a television with a digital tuner.

Get your complimentary coupons now

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No c-section.
from the point of the view of the hubby of the Becca

Sunday morning:

4am - Becca wakes up with cramping that squishes the munchkin’s noggin
5am - Becca gives up on sleep and starts wandering to the basement to watch her bad tv shows (Travel Channel and Discovery’s Planet Earth - no nooky or t&a = bad tv
8am - Mom of the Becca wakes up and they start watching tv together
9am - Dad of the Becca wakes up and wonders where his fried eggs are. Tries to convince the mom of the Becca to make fried eggs. Becca tells story of Becca’s hubby’s childhood Christmas breakfast of waffles. Mom of the Becca offers to make waffles. Becca is overjoyed and dad of the Becca reluctantly gives in because else his life would very very short
10am - Waffles!!
NOON - Hubby of the Becca opens one eye.
12:01pm - Hubby of the Becca closes one eye
12:15pm - Dad of the Becca pokes head into the bedroom and grumbles about the waffles to the hubby of the Becca
12:20pm - Dad of the Becca, when getting absolutely no response from the hubby of the Becca, wanders away and toots on the way downstairs
12:30pm - Hubby of the Becca wakes up stumbles downstairs
1pm - Megan arrives
5pm - Nate arrives
6pm - we eat
7pm - the Becca is very uncomfortable but doesn’t want to call the doc
9:15pm - the Becca’s contractions are pretty close (3 minutes or so). We convince the Becca to call the doc
9:16pm - the Doc says, “She needs to go to the hospital!”
9:20pm - hubby of the Becca starts the car and tries to leave for the hospital without the Becca. Mother of the Becca and Becca jump in the car before the hubby of the Becca leaves without them
9:40pm - caught by train
9:45pm - Father of the Becca saves the day by providing an alternate route (he drove the other car and the roads were still covered in snow and ice)
10pm - Arrive at the hospital
10:15pm - The Becca is 5cm dilated and dehydrated.
10:20pm - The Becca receives an IV and some staydall
MIDNIGHT - The Becca is at 8cm - nurse calls for 2nd opinion (to be on the safe side)
12:05am - The Becca is at 9cm - Doc is called in
12:10am - The Becca is at 10cm and ready to push
12:15am - 1:00am - The Becca is pushing
1:01am - The munchkin is born

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v

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Miriam Nicole Froebe
7lb 12 ounces
19.5 inches
born December 17th, 2007 at 1:01 am CST

She’s at St. Francis hospital in Blue Island

First set of photos at the hospital

For those of you that don’t know, you can see the original size photo by clicking on a photo, click on “All Sizes”, click on “Original”. Why would you want the original size? To print out the photos of course!

Flickr also will print out the photos and mail them to you if you click on “Prints & More”.

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Those dastardly fiends at work threw a baby shower for Rod (a coworker) and me. Here are some photos. More to follow.

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I asked for your help and well…  I won!  Thank you to everyone that voted for me!!!

ISUG election results

“GLAGOW, Steve”

Friday, November 16, 2007 11:46:29 AM

Dear Jason,

Congratulation! You have been elected to the ISUG Board of Directors for 2008/2009. Your board seat begins on January 1st, 2008.

….

You will receiving additional information in the next few days, but I wanted to be the first to congratulate you! By the way, the constituency has agreed to go green with the Journal! Best regards, Steve Glagow

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Over on the ISUG forums, I asked Stefan Karlsson whether the Art of ASE Performance & Tuning podcast was abandoned as there hasn’t been a new episode since July 2007.   Stefan has been busy with high priority tasks within Sybase and playing around with different software packages to improve the quality of the podcast.  He has asked us to be patient.

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The Ballot for the 2008 ISUG Board of Directors is now open.Please take a moment to visit
http://my.isug.com/p/su/rd/sid=26
and cast your vote for next year’s Board of Directors.

Candidate biographies can be reviewed at
http://my.isug.com/p/do/sd/sid=1060&type=0

The election will close at 5PM PST on Thursday, November 15th.

Patrick Enright
ISUG Secretary

Your’s truly was nominated for a position on the ISUG Board of Directors.  Please vote for me :)   Note that you have to be a member of ISUG to vote.

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Chicago Tribune reports that Warrenville-based Neumann Homes files for Chapter 11 More than $100 million in liabilities listed in document submitted 10 days after the builder ceased operations.  read more…

We’ve been wondering why Neumann Homes hadn’t filed earlier will be addressed later today by Kenneth Neumann, the CEO of Neumann Homes.

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In the last episode of this saga, we learned that Neumann Homes is planning to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As of yesterday, Tuesday October 30th, Neumann Homes had not filed. No one has been able to explain why they haven’t filed with the court yet.

According to reliable sources, Kenneth Neumann, the CEO of Neumann Homes, is planning to force the home buyers to purchase the Neumann Homes. With reports of shoddy building of the houses, many families are opting to forgo purchasing the Neumann houses and are attempting to receive their earnest money back.

In many cases, Neumann Homes had violated the purchase contract by not finishing the homes within 150 days of the issuance of the building permits (paragraph 12). The contract states in paragraph 21 sub paragraph A:

• Negotiation:
  • When either party feels a dispute has arisen, that party shall notify the other party in writing of the nature and details of the dispute (”Dispute Notice”). Within fifteen (15) days after such Dispute Notice, a meeting shall be held between the parties to begin a good faith attempt to negotiate a resolution. During this procedure the parties will communicate directly with each other in an effort to reach an agreement that serves the interests of both parties.

All of the real estate lawyers I’ve asked, if either party does not respond to the Dispute Notice, the requirement of Mediation and Mandatory Binding Arbitration is no longer binding. The most that Neumann Homes is likely to be able to do is to keep the earnest money but even that is questionable.

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