I've got my Linux distros!

The copies of Knoppix and Fedora I ordered through Linux Central last week arrived yesterday. I tried Knoppix on my old IBM ThinkPad 390X and it worked a treat! So now, I have to install Fedora on that machine. It will be a step forward compared to Win2k.

Guantanamo Bay Theatre

I just found this article on the BBC's news site about this play currently showing at the Tricycle Theatre. The play centres on the controversial detension of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay facilities in Cuba and attempts to get people interested in this issue. Just in time as well, as the US have just been condemned over rights abuses by a report from Amnesty International. I definitely want to go and see this play. It's a shame it's only playing for 3 weeks though (20th May to 12th June).

Going to space

You might have heard of the X Prize foundation. To quote them, "The purpose of the ANSARI X PRIZE is to promote the development and flight of spaceships able to provide low-cost commercial transport of humans into space." They will award $10 million to the first private team who fly the same ship to the edge of space twice in 14 days. The ship also has to carry at least one person to prove that the technology is viable to transport people. Some of the most interesting contenders include Scaled Composites and JP Aerospace. Two completely different technologies, both extremely interesting. And in the process, Mojave Airport is likely to become the first non-governmental spaceport in the world.

Geekcorps

I found about Geekcorps today. To quote them: "A US-based, non-profit organization, we place international technical volunteers in developing nations. We contribute to local IT projects while transferring the technical skills needed to keep projects moving after our volunteers have returned home." So if you are a geek, you have at least a month to spare, you want to see the world and contribute to a developing community while doing it, then go and register. It sounds like a great idea for at least part of my sabatical this year!

UNIX History

Following a link on Slashdot, I came accross this (simplified!) history of UNIX. The time line includes all major variants and can be downloaded as a PDF that prints on 17 sides of A4. The interesting thing on this graph is that the number of different variants seems to be going down rather than up. Could it mean that some expensive proprietary variants are being phased out in favour of Linux? As if further proof was needed, Solaris has been moving towards Linux compatibility for some time and IBM has been seriously pushing Linux, to the point where it is now easier to find references to Linux than AIX on their own site and they are spending millions on it! Even Apple's Mac OS X is now a variant of UNIX. The battle against Windows is only just beginning.

Diving

A week ago, I met in the pub some instructors from the London School of Diving and discovered they were within walking distance from where I live. I've been wanting to dive since I did a couple of dives in Cozumel, Mexico. So on Saturday I went to LSD and got my PADI Open Water Diver learning pack. So I'm now reading through it and should do the practice bit in two weeks time. So hopefully, I'll soon be in the water!

Picture test

Reflection of the Taj Mahal in one of the pools, at sunset 

I just found this great little piece of software, called Hello. It allows you to publish images on blogspot.com, whether your blog is actually hosted on blogger.com or on your own server. Very nifty! So I just tried with an image I took of the Taj Mahal during a trip to India last month. And as you can see, it works great. Even better, Hello is free of charge. It is developed by a company called Picasa and you might want to also check out their main software, also called Picasa: it is a rather nice tool to sort your pictures, albeit not free.

Working from home

I've been working from home today, which is nice. As my job requires me to communicate with the rest of the team a lot, it is usually easier to be in the office. But occasionally when, like today, I've got something to do that I can do in isolation, then I can take the laptop home and work form here. It means no commuting so an extra hour in bed in the morning!

No Croatia

Ok, the trip to Croatia looks like it's not going to happen after all. There are no boats available the 2 weeks we wanted. The other possibility is to go to Greece but I'm not really interested on the groungs that I have been there before. Ah well, maybe next year! In the meantime, I have to find out what I will do in august. I might still go to Croatia but not sailing. Or maybe somewhere completely different altogether.

Mighty Quill

If you aspire to become an author or are interested in reading prospective author's work, go to the Mighty Quill. Excellent idea and has the potential to become a great tool for new authors.