Who's who and who cares

In regard to my earlier post, I am going to expound on the world of Open Source. Specifically some of the so-called luminaries in that world. Let's take a look at four of the big names; Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, Bruce Perens, and Eric Raymond (to be known as Linus, RMS, Perens & ESR respectively). We'll start in the middle.

RMS: What can be said about him that hasn't already been said? Here's my opinion on him. He's an extremist fruitcake who is a vital part of the whole software industry. He's so far out on his end of the spectrum that he balances things out. While he can be exasperating at times, he is probably the most important person in the Open Source world. Score: B-

Perens: Bruce is very good at starting projects. Often the projects he starts are good ones that could be very beneficial to the world at large. However, I have not seen him actually complete anything. That's not to say he has never completed something, just that I've not seen it. He does have some very good ideas and has been good for the Open Source world on whole, though. Score: C-

ERS: $DEITY don't get me started. Well, I already got myself started so here goes. ESR is very smart (as are all of the people on this rant) and has had some good ideas (The Cathedral and the Bazaar, for one) but he's done almost as much to hurt Open Source as to help it. He doesn't know where to draw the line between an IT/IS professional and a flaming zealot. Honestly, I know a number of people who would be much better "spokesman" that he is. Score: D

Linus: Now we come to the only one of these guys that I have actually met. It was just a short face-to-face after one of the sessions of USENIX back in the mid-90's. Linus is one of the most mellow people I know in this industry. It seems that part of being an uber-techie is having an explosive personality. This doesn't mean Linus has never flamed away. If you look through some of the lists he's on you can find some very chestnut warming posts. But he doesn't let his non-techie life get to mixed up with his techie life. Plus, there are many people who look at him in an almost godlike way. Most people finding themselves in this kind of power situation would be prone to believing the press and assuming godlike attitudes. Linus has been able to keep a level head amongst the adulation for over a decade now. This is an admirable quality. Score: A+

Well, there' my first OPA post. And remember, I am always right!

Opinionated pompous ass

Last night I was thinking. I had some time to think as I was up till 3am with "the trots." (I know; TMI) Anyway, I'm thinking about this blog and the open source world and life and all that. It also came to mind my 23 years of working in the IM/IS/IT/whatever industry. I've had time to reflect on my experience in this industry lately because I'm bring my resume out to everywhere I can in order to find some income. Looking at my resume you will see that I've had experience in a fairly good array of fields in the industry. I'm not the greatest or most or best anything but I do have experience in a good range of things, quite a bit that is not reflected in my resume. "School of Life" sorta stuff. Going over all of this I got to thinking about the opinions and insights and commentary I might have on not only the industry but life and cultures and all kinds of things. After all, I have been across the Atlantic ocean some 13 or 15 times (I can't remember which but I know it's an odd number), so I have some experience that many others don't. I've also been around for a decent amount of time, being 42 years of age at the time of this writing. So what does all of this babbling mean? It means I can express myself, here in this venue, all the ideas and opinions and observations I might want to express. So in the coming weeks/months/years I think I'll just let loss and see what happens. But don't worry, I'll still post my comments on the Formula 1 races. Just remember one thing...

I am always right!

Always.

Trends in Open Source project development

I'm a freshmeat whore. I will look through the listed project updates three or four times a day looking to the way it's supposed to work. Yes, but I mean that you can tell what is the top of the list for open source projects by looking at what is being released on freshmeat at any given time. Right now the "app de jour" is Content Management System (CMS) apps. Not long ago it was blog tools (though these are still popular). I think that this is being driven more by business needs than simply hackers scratching the proverbial itch. This can also bee seen by the slow but steady rise of ERP apps. Now, I have little use for these kinds of things (I tend to look for little things that strike my fancy yet often have little usefulness for me) but it's not hard to see that someone does.

There my be many debates on the benefits and peril's of open source but there's one thing that has been already realized; open source is here to stay and is likely to become the dominant licensing and development model for future software projects. More and more businesses are finding that
the combination of security, flexibility and price can't be beaten by any proprietary, buggy and dangerous offering by companies run by demigods. I am not singling out any one [Microsoft] company that [Microsoft] is guilty [Microsoft] of doing this [Microsoft] but you can [Microsoft] probably come up with[Microsoft] one or two [Microsoft] of your own.

I really hate computers

The frelling server is hung again. There's something wrong with either the drive or the controller. The root filesystem on /dev/hda1 just will not come back up after an ungraceful shutdown. And now that the warmer weather is coming we'll be getting thunder storms in the afternoons quite often. It wouldn't be that much of a pain if it weren't for the distance to the CoLo site. And even THAT wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the traffic in this region. So my primary email, and the email for my family, is down again. I have a new box that's 85% ready to replace the old one and I was hoping to have a little more time to get it ready but now it will just have to go into service ASAP. With some luck, and some help, I hope to get it in place this weekend. However...

This proposed server swap has been "in the works" for, oh, I guess 4 years now. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'll never get it done. I hope to prove them wrong this weekend but even I know that the odds are against me. Let's see... I'll give 3-1, no, 5-1 that I don't make it up this weekend. Any takers?

"Computing for Fun and Profit"

by Joe Klemmer
New Rider Press ©200X
ISBN 0-000-00000-X

Table of Contents

Introduction	"Why write this book?
Chapter 1	"Define Computing"
Chapter 2	"Define Profit"
Chapter 3	"Areas of Expertise"
Chapter 4	"How to choose an Area of Expertise"
Chapter 5	"Making the best of what you have"
Chapter 6	"Success vs Profit"
Chapter 7	"Profit vs Wealth"
Chapter 8	"How best to 'enjoy' your Profit"
Appendix A	"Myths of Computing"
Appendix B	"Additional Resources"
Appendix C	"Example Business Plan and Profit Timeline"
Index

Synopsis:
This book is for anyone who is in the computing field who would like to be able to make a better living for themselves. This is not for people who want to "get rich quick" nor for the dot com millionaires. This is for the working stiff cranking out code as an occupation. While this book doesn't specifically target those who code for the love of coding, there are aspects presented here that would still be of use to the Artisan Coder.

Migrating and developing new applications for Linux

IBM is having a couple of one day or half day sessions on various topics through it's IBM developerWorks program. One of the topics in their "Technical briefings" series is "Migrating and developing new applications for Linux". Specifically -

"Migrating and developing new applications for Linux"
2005 Mar 08 (09:00 to 12:45)
Washington DC Area, District of Columbia, United States IBM Facility
12902 Federal Systems Park Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033

You can find a map for it on Google Maps.

The main page for all of the IBM developerWorks Technical briefings and Events is at http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/offers/techbriefings/.

I don't know how I'm going to get there but I am going to try for this specific event.

Ruby on Rails and White Powder

No, it's not a gem show on a train with a cocaine chaser. From the O'Reilly site -

Rolling with Ruby on Rails by Curt Hibbs -- The Ruby community is abuzz about Rails, a web application framework that makes database-backed apps dead simple. What's the fuss? Is it worth the hype? Curt Hibbs shows off Rails, building a simple application that even non-Rubyists can follow.

Now, I really like the design of ruby. It's got the power and abilities of perl with a clean and readable syntax like python. I just wish I had the time to learn it. Maybe with the new job I can work something out where I do some development. We'll have to see.

And on that note, I need to come up with a feedback/comment form for the training I'm doing. You know, was the material covered, did the instructor suck, was it worth attending... That kind of stuff. Unfortunately I am having a hell of a time coming up with something. Maybe I'll try google and see if I can't come up with an example or template.

As to the white powder, I'm sitting in a hotel room (blogging instead of working) surrounded by 6" to 8" of snow. The storm blew through very quickly, thank $DEITY, or else we'd have had 12" to 18". I remember the Blizzard of '94 and am not interested in playing that game again. Three feet of snow is four feet to many, if you ask me. My son is enjoying it, though. It's as easy to get him out of the snow as it is getting him out of the pool. Man, he'll stay in even though he's shivering so hard he can hardly talk and his whole body is blue. A definite water baby. Takes after his mom. While I enjoy the beach as much as the next person the whole "in the water" thing I can take or leave.

Well, it's way past my bedtime. Even though I don't have to get up for anything tomorrow, with the exception of the game (Go Steelers!), I'd prefer getting a couple of hours of sleep.

Life moves way to fast!

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. A lot has happened. Well, one thing has happened but it was a major life-altering thing. I got a job.

It's not just "a job" though. See, I've been working with and using Linux and open source since November 1991. I'm a big advocate of Linux and open source. I've participated in a number of open source projects, written articles and helped with the spreading of Linux whenever I can. This job is like a dream. I will be doing Linux/open source training, Linux/open source consulting and building Linux/open source solutions for companies. Can you believe it? I still can't. Right now I'm in PA doing three weeks of Linux training with the potential of some add-on consulting. It's been a little rough, though. It's been a while since I've done anything more than one day sessions but this first week seems to have gone well.

The one down side is that I'll be away from home for three and a half weeks. That's a long time away from my family, especially my son. That reminds me, I need to call him.

[...]

Ok, just got off the phone with him. He's doing good but misses me. I miss him very much. Thank $DEITY that my mother is there to watch him. If she wasn't I don't know if I could have taken this position. Another reason I wish I had a wife/girlfriend.

On that front, I believe that I'm going to give up looking for a woman. Not necessarily forever but for a while at least. It's to distracting. And it's not likely that I will ever find anyone anyway. Man, you know it's bad when your own mother also doesn't think I'll ever find a woman. Very depressing.

Which reminds me... I have run out of the Wellbutrin. The Doctor has said I need to see him again before continuing the prescription refilled. That's not likely to happen anytime soon as I won't be back for over two more weeks. Unfortunately the lack of the Wellbutrin has meant that I started smoking those damned Eclipse cigarettes.

Oh well, what the hell. Or as Miles says in Risky Business, sometimes you just have to say, "What the fuck."

Catch up is more than just a condiment

It's been really freaked here lately. Going on a month of unemployment, which means the bills haven't been paid in two months. I'm getting calls and email from everyone wanting money. I have no money and will not be getting more anytime soon. My disability annuity just covers the rent. Life sucks.

As for the job situation, I am getting a boat load of calls from recruiters. My skill set and expertise are quite good. However, they are only looking for full-time employees. As soon as I mention my part-time limitation they all say the same thing.

Paraphrase: "We have no part-time positions available but will keep you in mind if something comes open."

I'm sure they mean well. It's just that it's very hard to place me. There is one possibility that looks promising but I don't want to say anything as not to jinx it.

On the home front, my son is doing both exceptional and abysmal in school. Academically he's running 2 to 3 grades beyond his current one. Emotionally/interpersonally he's 2 to 3 grades below. He lacks discipline and the ability to self monitor his behavior. It's nothing extreme. He's just a bit talkative and, when he gets bored, he wants to occupy himself in loud and boisterous activities. Most of the time trying to get his classmates to join him. I know why he lacks the discipline and there's not much I can do to fix that (I am trying, though). But he is very capable of behaving in the right environment. He had almost no problems when he was in Tae Kwon Do and he's never been a problem when he visits his grandmother. He's generally good for me, too. I think that the school systems in this day and age aren't prepared to handle boys. Girls will, generally, behave fairly well. The boys are, well, why do you think that "boisterous" starts with a "boy" sound? We'll work it out somehow.

Health is, well, I have no idea. The last few weeks I've had a headache that won't go away and some body aches that are above and beyond the FM. Today I was up at 4am with chest pains. They seemed to come and go all day. My left arm was numb and weak. I mean much more so than normal. I almost called 911 on two occasions but didn't. Yes, I know... I'm being a pig-headed, stupid man who won't call the doctor when he's sick. I've done the chest pains/911/ambulance/hospital thing already and it's not something I want to do again. No, it doesn't make any sense. But if I'm still having them tomorrow I will call. That is if I am still alive in the morning. Waking up dead would be a real drag.

I haven't started my grand plan yet. I didn't think that it would be easy to. I'm infamous for wanting to do something but never getting around to actually doing it. There's always a distraction here or there. And I'm very easily distracted. Most of the time it's email or the web so I'm going to setup the other system with something (maybe SUSE or CentOS or most likely FC3) and keep the browser and email apps disabled. I can pop over to my main machine if I need something. I guess I'm just not very enthusiastic about doing C coding. But if I want to get back into it, and do any hacking on open source projects, I'm going to need it. A foundation in C isn't all that bad, really. I should probably move onto Java after that but I don't know if I'll ever get that ambitious. Hell, I have no ambition. That's half my problem.

Let's see, what else... Can't think of anything off-hand. I think if things all the time and say, "I should blog that" but it's been so hectic lately I just don't feel like getting on. I recorded the F1 year in review thing from the Speed Channel and, whenever I get 'round to watching it, I might post something about it.

I hate hardware

The frelling KVM stopped working. I don't know if it's just being stupid or if I did some kind of damage to it on my blackout day. I don't feel like crawling under the desk to muck with it. I was hoping to use this box for OS reviewing and such until I can do something about snowball.

Crap, I'm falling all over the keyboard again. I better get to bed so I can get up around 8am to get my son to school by 9am, I know, I have such a hard life. Anyone who wants to trade for this life just holler. I'd be more than happy for domronmr rldr to rfua wha Olm xivinv,.

Oop! Definitely time to get off. I canlt .........................

Programming Paradigms

Just ran across this today...

Using Design by Contract in C by Charlie Mills -- Design by Contract is a programming approach that formalizes the interface between callers and callees, leading to more robust and disciplined code. If your language lacks formal support for DBC, though, are you stuck? No--Charles Mills describes the design and implementation of Design by Contract for the C programming language.

Design by Contract is a really great way to develop applications. It was first put forward in 1988 with the book Object-Oriented Software Construction by Dr. Bertrand Meyer (2nd edition published in 1997). This book was the impetus for the development of one of the best OO languages that exists, Eiffel. What is interesting about the article by Mr. Miller is that not only has he described a way of developing C programs under the DBC methodology, it's also that C is capable of using this mythology without becoming so convoluted and complex that the code is unmanageable and unmaintainable. It won't be a elegant as an Eiffel program but it will be something you can easily include in your systems development or any large project.

Ok, call me a geek but I think this stuff is fascinating. I am wanting to get back into programming so learning C and also DBC will be a Very Good Thing™. In another life I was a professional programmer. Between 1989 and 1995 I was a mainframe COBOL programmer (developing under MVS, for those who might know these kinds of things). I'm not going to go into my "Why COBOL doesn't suck" rant right now but suffice to say that it was a good and fun time. Then I accidentally became a UNIX sysadmin and web developer overnight and haven't had the chance to do any major development since. Oh, I do get to hack stuff here and there, mostly using bash, perl and php. But it's not the same as developing something that can be more than just a minor little tool or one-off. So I have decided to try and get back into being a "real" programmer.

The plan is to teach myself using some of the better books and web resources. So far I have worked out a program like this -

1. (Re)learn basic programming fundamentals using the book Programming From The Ground Up by Jonathan Bartlett
   
2. (Re(re))learn C using the book C Programming for the Absolute Beginner by Michael Vine
   
3. Build on that with more advanced C using Linux Programming by Example by Arnold Robbins
   
4. Finally, GUI programming with GTK+ Programming in C by Syd Logan
   

I also have the books User Interface Design for Programmers by Joel Spolsky and C Nitty-Gritty by Klaus Schröder as well as K&R 2e and a plethora of other books to draw on for information and help as needed. The only difficulty I have is that it's hard to do anything with a 7yo around. If I can get 15 minutes without hearing "DAAAAAAAAAD! Come here!" it'd a miracle.

I finally understand Rob Enderle

Rob Enderle is an IT/IS industry analyst. His job is to look at the industry and try to figure out what it's doing and where it's going and to report on that. This way businesses and people can use his reports to help make decisions without having to sift through the mounds of information themselves. Rob Enderle is, to my knowledge, the sole employee and owner of The Enderle Group. From it's web site,

The Enderle Group provides an unparalleled look underneath breaking technology events to identify the core reasons that buyers and builders of this technology should care. Enderle Group strives "to bring diverse and challenging views into technology advisory services and consulting".

In the Linux and open source community, however, Rob Enderle is someone who is hated and vilified and, more recently for me, become someone who is just to be ignored. Like a gnat buzzing around your head in the summer. Occasionally it buzzes near your ear and you shoo it away. This is what it's like now when Rob Enderle published an editorial or presents a speech. Normally I just see his byline and summarily move on. Why? There's a long list of reasons that could be easily discovered by a good google search. But the bottom line is that he violently hates open source and, specifically, Linux.

Anyone who is even remotely involved with the Linux community knows that there are many real wackos on the fringes. This is because there are many wackos out there in the general populations and any community will have their portion of the wackos from said general pool. Some of the wackos have attacked and threatened Rob Enderle, even to include his life. On this I strongly disapprove. Rob Enderle is not worth the effort of writing a death threat letter or making a phone call. [And besides, death threats are illegal and not very intelligent things to do]. I knew he'd received a little hate email and snailmail from the wackos but I never really understood how he could keep taking the position on Linux, the SCO Group and Microsoft that he has been under the tremendous flood of sane, calm rational evidence that has come out through groups like Groklaw and others. I mean, if someone were to present you with irrefutable proof of the objective evidence that you were spending all your time defending and supporting a lie you might think twice about continuing your course, wouldn't you? Not Rob Enderle. It only seemed to fuel his fire against the truth. And this is something I couldn't understand.

But just this evening I finally had the chance to read the key note speech that Rob Enderle gave at the SCO Forum August 3, 2004. To be more accurate, I read half of it. I wasn't able to make it all the way through [something that often happens with things he writes or says]. But in it he talks about an event where...

I got myself into a lot of hot water by doing something I knew was wrong to prevent a crime from being committed. I am both an ex-auditor and an ex-sheriff and took the related vows very seriously and still, for the most part, live by them. By all accounts I would have lost my job and probably had to change careers again if it weren't for Bill Gates personally coming to my defense and pointing out that what I did probably kept a lot of folks out of jail. He didn't have to do that and, to this day I doubt he even remembers he did, but I remember.

Between this and the death threats he's gotten, plus his strangely described "eye opening experiences" at IBM [like this is only prevalent in IBM and no other mid- to large size companies. Or political parties, I might add], one can see that his vision of the world is so distorted by these events that he couldn't accurately analyze a bowl of fruit let alone an industry as complex and fast moving as IT/IS. Back before Linux and open source hit the consciousness of the world outside the community, he'd already made up his mind that they were bad and evil things to be destroyed no matter the cost! He is doubtless spending long days and nights feverishly working over any information that comes out positive about Linux and negative for the SCO Group or Microsoft in order to twist it around. See, it's become personal.

As the old saying goes, he can't see the forest for the trees. While he talks about transcending his bias', his speeches and writings strongly reinforce the fact that he is totally incapable of this. He can't form a coherent thought except that which has himself as the poor victim of this evil Cult of Linux. It has nothing to do with technology or facts or evidence.

I am reminded of a line in the movie The American President. To paraphrase it here... I always thought Rob Enderle spent so much time screaming at the rain because he just didn't get it. But it's not that he doesn't get it. It's that he can't sell it.