The first day of OSCON 2006 was interesting.

The opening keynote from Tim O'Reilly was a bit provocative, but also invigorating. He posited that open source licensing is, essentially, a dead issue. Software licensing is a tool that's most useful when you're giving software to someone to use on their own computers. So much of today's software is web-based that the end user never really installs the application onto their own computer. The finer point is that access to the underlying source code isn't terribly useful without the (sometimes huge) datasets which that code uses. Having access to Google's source code, for example, wouldn't be of much use without the database of web sites. The real issue is open access to data: being able to use new services by importing your existing data, and being able to leave that service later, should it fail to meet your needs, and taking all of your new data with you.

The sessions I've attended so far have been:
Maximum Netfilter: this was a long presentation, but it had a very useful payout at the end. fwknop takes port-knocking to a new level, using a single packet authentication mechanism that looks really slick.
The Atom Publishing Protocol as Universal Web Glue: I've been following the slowly developing Atom specification from the sidelines for some time. I prefer Atom feeds when I can get them, and I've been eager for a more standardized publishing mechanism to compete with the metaWeblog API (though, to be honest, I'm hard pressed to say why, exactly). Tim Bray gave a great, hands-on introduction to the Atom-based publishing.
The Challenge: Digital Media and OSS: John Terpstra, AMD employee and member of the Samba team, led a fascinating evaluation of the history and future of digital media in the open source world. He said up front that he didn't have any answers, and was more interested in engaging us -- the audience -- to investigate the assumptions in the status quo, and working together to find ways to promulgate open media in the ways we've promulgated open source.
Perl Lightning Talks: I attended the first half of this session. Interesting stuff, but not too much for me to really sink my teeth into.
How Open Source Projects Survive Poisonous People (And You Can Too): the bulk of this presentation was drawn from experiences in the Subversion development community. It was wonderful. It was a very down-to-earth overview of how to grow and cultivate a robust community that can withstand the attacks of dedicated trolls, and how to intervene when necessary without completely disrupting the overall project. It was the first time I've ever seen the word "humility" in a geek talk. Too often geeks focus purely on technical merits, and overlook the softer sides of human interactions. I learned a lot, and I'm hopeful to be able to (some day) apply this stuff to projects in which I might participate.

I had lunch with Rich Bowen, Ken Coar, Sam Ruby, and a handful of other members of the Apache Software Foundation. Even though it was a low-key lunch, I still worried that I looked like a starry-eyed fanboy sitting with these luminaries of the open source community!

The exhibit hall was giving out a lot of great swag. I picked up half a dozen tee shirts, a bunch of pens, and some hats. Some of the booths were from companies I'd never heard of before, and it was great to see what some folks are doing in various niches. There were a few content management systems, a wiki company, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

For dinner, Rich and wandered off to a Chinese restaurant, ostensibly to obtain fortune cookies. Then we walked to Veritable Quandary for a few drinks, and some pleasant conversation.

It was a great start to the conference, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the week unfolds.

In a few hours I'll be getting on a plane to Portland, OR to attend the O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON).

I attended OSCON in 2002, and I had mixed feelings about the event. I did myself a tremendous disservice then by not forcing myself to talk to the other people at the convention. In the years since, I've learned that the real value of these conferences is not so much what's being presented, but who else is there. The networking opportunities are virtually limitless, and you really ought to meet the other geeks there. A lot of people are doing a lot of cool things with Free and Open Source software, and being able to email someone you met at a conference when you need some expert guidance can be invaluable.

Of course, on my last trip I went alone, and didn't know anyone else at the conference. And truthfully, I felt intimidated by all the smart people milling about. This year I'm still going alone, but I know at least a small number of people who will hopefully help with introductions to more people. And I know of more people, from their online presences, so I'm hoping to put faces to names for a few folks, too. Finally, I'm more confident of my own technical abilities (and less embarrased of my ignorance), so I'm looking forward to this year's conference an awful lot.

If you're at OSCON this year, let me know! I'll probably be at the Keysigning BOF on Thursday.

My return flight leaves late Saturday night, so I'll get the opportunity to see the original FreeGeek, and hopefully pick up some pointers for use at FreeGeek Columbus!

Yesterday afternoon I was thinking, apropos of nothing in particular, that I had never in my life lost my wallet or my keys. This is a big deal to me, and a source of some pride. My wife misplaces her keys all the time, and it's aggravating to watch her rummage through her gargantuan purse, or tear up the house to find them. She's lost at least one credit card, and misplaces the others with some regularity. To be fair, she's gotten a lot better in the last couple of years, but she still misplaces her stuff more than me because she doesn't have much of a routine. I always place my wallet on my dresser, along with my keys. I always keep my wallet in my back right pocket, and my keys in my front left pocket. I feel agitated if I'm forced to place my wallet or keys someplace different, even if it's only for a short time. I regularly check my pockets to make sure all my stuff is there. This routine, long past anything that could be called a habit, is how I've ensured that I don't lose my wallet or keys.

Carina even lost her cellphone. At the time I was less than supportive, because I couldn't understand how one could lose a cellphone.

Last night, while having a beer at Tom's house, I realized that my Treo was not in my right pocket, where I usually keep it. I had used it earlier that evening at my dad's house, but could not articulate what I had done with it between the time I last used it and the time I discovered it missing. I went back to dad's house to look for it, but came up empty handed. I'm hoping it's in Tom's house somewhere.

I feel scattered and disconnected without my schedule and contacts. I still have my wallet and keys. At least for the time being...

Update: I suspended the phone, so at least no one will be able to run up my minutes. Of course, they would have had to charge the phone first, since the batteries were depleted. Thankfully, we retained the loss insurance on the Treo, so I can get a replacement phone for $50.

Carina and I went out for dates on Thursday and Friday this week. Thursday we went for tapas and wine in the Short North. Friday we went to the Mad Greek at Campus Gateway. Afterwards, we wandered through the Barnes and Noble. Owen has been recommending Neil Gaiman to me for some time, so I finally bought American Gods. I'm halfway through, and enjoying it. I also bought Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, by Cory Doctorow.

Saturday morning we picked up the twins from summer camp. They had a great time, and the entire drive home was filled with stories and songs. Tayler earned a free fishing pole, having done the fishing activity at camp. I suggested that we should go fishing as a family on Sunday, so Tyler and I went off to purchase a pole for her.

Saturday night I joined Tom and our friend Craig for dinner and drinks. We went to high school with Craig, then he joined the army, and we saw very little of him for the next few years. He served in Bosnia for about a year, and then was stationed at various places throughout the States. When he was finally done, he came back to Columbus to go to graduate school at OSU. We get together infrequently, to catch up and maintain our friendship.

Craig tells this great story about medical training that the special forces guys need to complete. I've no idea whether this is true, but it always cracks me up to hear Craig tell it. The final exam for the medical training is this: a goat is shot and then set on fire. The medic needs to keep the goat alive for so many hours.

While I was drinking beer at the pub, the twin's biological father called to make plans with them the next day. Tayler decided she wanted spend the day with him, while Tyler opted to go fishing with me.

So fish we did Sunday morning! Tyler learned quickly how to cast, and she was more patient than I expected her to be. While we were there, our friends Brad and Michelle showed up with their three boys. We were using hotdogs, and Brad and Michelle were using hotdog buns as bait. Nobody caught any fish, unfortunately. Tyler got bored shortly after Brad and Michelle left, but she stuck it out another twenty or thirty minutes. It was, in truth, a pleasant, quiet, father-daughter experience.

The rest of the afternoon was equally subdued. I read American Gods for a bit, before falling asleep on the couch. When I awoke, I saw Tyler snoozing on the other couch. She hates to take naps, so she must have been pretty tuckered out. Tayler should be due home in another hour; then it will be time for dinner, showers, and packing tomorrow's lunches. Tomorrow we'll be back to our regular schedules.

Carina and I have see OK GO several times in concert, and they're always a hoot. They got some popularity a while back for their funny dance video that made the rounds online.

Now they're having an OK GO Dance Contest: just upload your version of the dance to YouTube, taking care to ensure it's complete awesomeness, and you might fly out to a gig to perform it on stage with the band!

So, who wants to help me win this? I need a short bald guy, and a pair of regular sized guys... I'll be the tall guy.