Connectathon is a closed event. Companies bring machines and binaries before they are released. Every company has to sign an NDA to enter. You aren't allowed to bring anyone from Marketting into the event.

So it is hard to discuss exactly what is going on. Even saying we've found N bugs can cast bad light on two companies.

And pictures are strictly forbidden.

One exception to that are the people from CITI at the University of Michigan. They are basically kernel hackers who get funded to work on open source projects. They have fancy words on their web site, but basically they Will hack kernel for food.

They make a powerful statement when they enter a Connecathon or a Bakeathon event. They define simplicity. If there are N developers, there are N+2 laptops. They do everything from a laptop. And with the exception of Trond, the smaller the laptop, the better. Sometimes my Fujitsu Lifebook P7010D looks large compared to what they bring.

I've known companies to claim simplicity - but until you eat your own dogfood on your only machine, until you build on your only machine, and until you slide your only machine through the metal detector at the airport, it ain't simple.

So I asked them if I could take some pictures of their booth and they agreed. Here are their servers, i.e., a KDC and something else they couldn't be bothered to take back to the hotel because it was too heavy:

By the way, it was their example which prompted me to get away from desktops at these events. It also drove me to get away from heavy laptops.

I asked other companies if I could report I was excited about their offerings, but I was told no by their legal departments. Out of respect, I'll comply.

The other neat thing I found out was on my walk from the hotel to the conference room, it is the original Sun sign:

I also took a quick snap of the back of the clock tower:

I've decided to take more inspiration from the CITI guys and next year come not just as a representative of Sun - but also as an OpenSolaris tester. I'll bring some distro and do some testing. :->

Angel

by
Tom Haynes

Copyright 2004,2005,2006 - All rights reserved by the author.

The original piece was written in 2004 and appears as Angel - How do you Spell Wussy?. When I decided to present the development of the 4 stories, yesterday I wrote an analysis of the story elements as Angel - Second Set of Notes. It is the second note packet because I discovered an earlier set from December of 2005 and collected it as Angel - First Set of Notes.

I find of interest that even though the fragment is very small, I had already started adding dialog. Another theme in the way I craft stories, the characters do not yet have names. I don't have a problem with that - I can invoke them in my mind and I can easily differentiate them from other characters from other stories.

Hmm, she is striking, long brown hair, wears leather. She puts off most guys with her self-confidence. If I were to go for a composite image, I'd say the brass of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and the poise of Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix. Perhaps we should add some maturity ala Kim Cattrall in Sex And The City?

And he is also self-confident with a hint of weakness. He attracts most women and makes most guys feel inferior. He doesn't do it actively, it is just his mannerisms. For a composite image, I'd go for the elegance of Anonthy Hopkins as Hannibal (which also gives a hint as to his base urges), the old lion effect of Sean Connery in Outland, perhaps also the flawed hero in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and I keep on envisioning Ian McKellen as Magneto in the X-men series.

That exercise was kinda interesting - I've never done it consciously. At times, I'll write myself notes to make sure a plot line doesn't reverb too much with something else I've read.

Speaking of which, as I read over the plot and remembered I wanted savagery, I was struck by some of the reviews I read about Bret Easton Ellis when he wrote American Psycho. Which I never read, so no stealing of action. This was over 12-14 years ago that I read the review, it might have been based on early access as well. But the reviewer focused on how Bret bucked traditional story telling, detailing minutia (clothing and fashion accessories) and providing gore.

I don't want the focus to be as much on the violence, I want it there to shock, but the real focus has to be on the myth that monsters want to be human.