Summer Solstice, New Zealand, Chronic Wounds, Red Friday, Rogue, KLF!

[tcpip]

Summer solstice usually is my opportunity to reflect and report on the past year. Except my activities this year haven't really been that exciting. I worked, I earned some money and I did a bit of study and I wrote numerous papers for various publications and gave several presentations. I did a fair bit of gaming, and travelled to New Zealand and Western Australia. Actually come to think of it I did do a fair bit this year. *shrug* I'm just so busy with current events that I feel like I'm psychologically missing the traditional "end of year" festivities. I also suspect that one of the reasons I'm feeling a little frustrated with 2005 is that there were several major projects which I'm not going to finish in time simply because I spent so many months doing business. Damn work, it's a sink eating up valuable research and publication time! Vivre sans temps mort!

Anyway, caseopaya and I are all booked for a little holiday in New Zealand. Most of our time we'll be in Dunedin where I'll be attending Linux Conf, which comes with a hefty program. caseopaya gets to see the sights, the lucky girl.

Friends will know that I have a recurring wound on my feet for some time. Having been twice given a course of antibiotics on the assumption that it was a serious bacterial infection, and think that a recent recurrence was suggesting something as serious as a chronic wound, it turns out (according to the latest medical assessment) that it's nothing more exciting than plain old-fashioned Athlete's Foot. Boring!

Having had a break last month, time for a double issue of Red Friday, including a feature article aimed for those interested in changing to Linux ("Adopting a Penguin") and my recently published article on IT development in East Timor ('Wrestling the Crocodile'). For a tutorial there is and part 1 of an advanced article for network administrators on configuring a secure router "Cisco Router Security: Principles and Practise".

Rogue has gotten himself into trouble again. Having lost a toe to Monte when he was little, then climbing through a 9ft wire fence to end up face to face with a cat, he's also managed to get himself caught in the knothole of a tree, climb a tree further than his capacity to get down, drink too much champagne causing a rather inelegant fall from a height, most recently, he's also managed to sprain his foot after scampering underneath a lit oven. He's been hobbling around quietly for the past couple of days, but he seems better now. 'Trouble' be thy name, rodent.

Season's greetings to you all, fine friends. I am honoured to be sharing time with you all and I thank you all for your contributions and thoughts. You have are outstanding bunch of people.

Sheer brilliance (thanks to artbroken) comes in the form of What we need is Bill Drummond to go fuckiing semi-automatic Commando on these dutch trancecracker pussies. - one of the funniest and insightful pieces of pop-culture work I've seen for years.

Comments

[severina-242.livejournal.com]

caseopaya gets to see the sights, the lucky girl.

That'll take half a day, what's she going to do for the rest of the time?

[severina-242.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, you finally got that vile crusty thing on your foot looked at again - athlete's foot, huh? That's kind of gross you know.....

[maxxxie2.livejournal.com]

Bwhahahahahhaha that chick tract parody is great!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

"But... we've got glowsticks!"...

Even better than the Dark Dungeons (DnD vs WoD) parody, and that was pretty damn good

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Hey, you should try living with it...

Mind you there's something to be said about kicking around with long hair and no shoes as a lifestyle choice.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Oh, you'll keep lassie!

Dunedin has plenty of sights.. Like the castle... And ummm.. the beer factory!

Ummm... Look at real estate?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

That icon looks like Snape is, umm, "receiving".

"Bill and Jimmy left the music industry for our sins"

[imajica-lj.livejournal.com]

Wow so true, let's start a cult ...oh wait...

[morrigan77.livejournal.com]

Cadbury world and puzzling world are among the sights in Dunedin - wouldn't mind a report :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ahh, yes... The chocolate factory... And the beer factory.. and a castle.. .and a university.

What is this? Belgium? Do they make flax there as well?

Re: "Bill and Jimmy left the music industry for our sins"

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Bill and Jimmy have a cult following that's not quite the same thing.

There's a body of marketing that wanted to build cult-like following of products.. One of the groups they interviewed were Linux users.

[antayla.livejournal.com]

"Damn work, it's a sink eating up valuable research and publication time!"

Amen :P.

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

Go to Cadbury World and make myself sick eating chocolate - what else? :) Drink wine too I guess

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

The Ishkur site also has the monstrous guide to electronic music, which takes literally hours to work through, such is its obsessive completism. And on the genres I know well, it was pretty good too.

A LOT of the music industry could really benefit from Bill Drummond with a machine gun. Hey, did you see they put the full text of their 'how to have a number one' book up on the web recently?

[ehintz.livejournal.com]

I'm passing on linux conf, reg fees were a bit much. Top that off with travel and it was just out of reach, and work didn't want to pay for it either. Ahh well, there's always NZNOG.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I thought $300 for five days of conference was a bit of a bargain myself.. Mind you if you need the work at the time, that's can be scary.. A week off work and an additional 300 clams... Not good..

NZNOG sounds interesting... It seems like the NZ version of SAGE, but better...

Well, I hope to see you there! Dunedin!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, obsessive completism.. We all suffer it for ... well, something.

I'd love to see the Bill Drummond text.. That sounds great. Send a link!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Dunedin wine. It can't be good. Now Malborough wine on the other hand...

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

Well then, drink whatever supplies we bring into the country then.... I'm sure you won't object to joining in on that activity ;P

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yeah, not being a Buddhist, a Hindu or a Celtic pagan I'm reasonably sure I only have one life.

Wasting it on work seems to be unworthy!

[ehintz.livejournal.com]

Granted, it's not too terrible... However, personally I can't afford it (we're spending the previous 2 weeks on holiday touring S. Island), and the $690 pro fee was a bit rich for my employer. Ergo... :(

Aye, signal/noise at NZNOG is quite good. Should also be interesting this year as it's being held right next to the ICANN mtg here in Welly and thus I expect lotsa ICANN folks will be there.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I signed up as a 'contractor'. There are advantages to being a one-person show at times..

When's NZNOG on? If ICANN are meeting next door it sounds like two reasons to visit..

[ehintz.livejournal.com]

End of March:

http://www.nznog.org/

If you need a place we can hook you up with a bedroom (we are a bit further out than Thomas and Kim though).

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... Can I justify a second visit in such a short space of time?

Of course I can!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Not with those NZ duty free options. 4 litres of spirits per person! Good lord....