My current plans see September fifteenth this year passing without me wandering around on the streets in what passes for British autumn handing out cardboard sleeves with free coasters inside to uninterested pedestrians and desperately shouting my ill-planned self-important free-software aphorisms at the passers-by who will almost certainly upgrade to by-passers at the very sight my liberal grin and long, unkempt hair. But by all means, strap on the sandwich-board of hope and rev up the adages, just make sure you point out that there's some software on the disks that the prospective LUGger might like to try before they turn it into a coaster. Ah, how I wish I could see their sinking expressions as they realise they're being out-smarted and patronised at the same time by software that has seemingly taken over their computer - oh how they long to be back in that comforting, familiar glare of Windows. Sure, it's not as clever and it costs more and - Hell - you've got to pay McAffee or Symantec if you want to stay in control of it, but you just can't replace that hilarious little paper-clip and its indefatigable antics.
<br><br>Seriously, though, I'm all for humiliating the public in front of their computer-savvy toddlers, but don't you think it's a little more effort than it's worth? Generation Jones' Windozers have enough on their plates without you saying "ubuntu" is no longer a bond 'twixt all members of humanity but it's now a yardstick for their technosavvy. Savvy? Of course you savvy 'cus y'all have savvy, kapish? Just wear a T-shirt that proclaims "PEBKAC" to all who care to gaze upon it and you'll get the flickers of confusion and concern that you're after along with the occasional spark of recognition as someone dusts off the acronym and wonders if ThinkGeek is getting too popular to still be cool (yeah, it is. Sorry.).
<br><br>Maybe we have to put up with some ambivalence lest we succumb to amarulence at such an amalgam. Or maybe I've been away from my computer too long and should STFU.<br><br>On the other point, I'm too bitter to have a weblog for the aggregation of and too paranoid to flaunt my real identity widely on so public an Internet but I don't mind my name making an appearance amidst so prestigious a presentation of digital-prestidigitators-- sorry! Sorry, I'm going. I've had this allergic reaction to a bug-bite on my arm and it all swelled up so I couldn't type and I've been off my computer for days watching movies and eating poppadoms and- and... ETX
<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 01/08/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Chris Burton</b> <<a href="mailto:Chris@7of9b.org">Chris@7of9b.org</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
> There's just a couple of things I'd like to bring up. Firstly, are we<br>> planning to do anything for Software Freedom Day 2007? I think we should -<br>> partly because our website says that we are - and partly because I think
<br>> that we are a small LUG, and this is perhaps the only real opportunity for<br>> an advocacy drive (until next year) - which actually has a nice reason to<br>> prop it up.<br><br>SFD isn't something that currently interests me, but others might feel more
<br>positive.<br><br>> Anyhow - the second thing is we have a members page - does anyone want to<br>> have their name/website/picture/anything put on there? So far it's just<br>> got<br>> me, and it looks a little silly to be honest. Any views towards this would
<br>> be great. One idea I had was to put a planet site up there to aggregate<br>> our<br>> blogs - but, as with the member page itself, currently that'd just be my<br>> blog.<br><br>You can stick my name (Chris Burton) on there if you want and a pic
<br><a href="http://gallery.7of9b.org/gallery2/d/1266-1/forum-pic.jpg">http://gallery.7of9b.org/gallery2/d/1266-1/forum-pic.jpg</a> which was taken<br>many years ago when I was setting up the network for the Tyneside LUG bring
<br>a box day ;). I'd prefer a link to a wiki page so I can edit up some content<br>specific to the LUG and explain what I do with Linux rather than link to a<br>personal website which doesn't really exist anymore...
<br><br>ChrisB.<br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>Newark mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Newark@mailman.lug.org.uk">Newark@mailman.lug.org.uk</a><br><a href="https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/newark">
https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/newark</a><br></blockquote></div><br>