Practical Freedom and Sharing

Ravens, and possibly all properly trained talking black birds, are quite the motivation speakers.

douglasawh — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:52:34 +0000

I’m a little late on my New Year’s resolutions, but with the help of a friend, I have come up with some:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, I wrote predictive memos. Quoth the Raven, nevermore.

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December. From my books increased the sorrow – sorrow for the lost slumbore*.

Quoth the Raven, nevermore.

While sick two weeks Fran’s assistance I did not implore.
Quoth the Raven, nevermore.

Law I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing.
Quoth the Raven, nevermore.

*If I had more energy, I’d write some etymology to humor myself, but I am lacking in energy.

Call Your Senator

douglasawh — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 03:28:33 +0000

I’m sure any of you reading this know that censorship is bad. In case you do not know that: censorship is bad.

Call Your Senator. Stop Censorship.

http://americancensorship.org/

Website Blocking

If SOPA or Protect IP passes, the government can order internet providers to block any site for its users’ infringing posts, using the same DNS-blocking methods as China or Iran.

Risk of Jail for Ordinary Users

It becomes a felony with a potential 5 year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are an ordinary noncommercial user. Singing a pop song on Facebook could be a felony.

Chaos for the Internet

Thousands of sites that are legal under the DMCA would face new legal threats. People trying to keep the internet more secure wouldn’t be able to rely on the integrity of the DNS system.

Baltimore (and debt), here I come.

douglasawh — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:31:56 +0000

The plan[1] is that I will be in Baltimore this summer (3 months) and need a summer job. As many of you know, am currently in school, but already have a master’s in information science. That said, being in Baltimore is more important to me at current than having a job for which I’m qualified. I was initially planning on working at a YMCA or something like that. I realize this is probably early for summer jobs, but the post is unlikely to go anywhere so perhaps people will find it closer to time. I can always give a reprise/update on the situation.Aside from the job thing, I’d be interested in getting to know the GNU/Linux community in the Baltimore if anyone stumbles across this.

As to the job situation, I was not that concerned about it until an auto-shop said I needed $810 work done on my car[2]. That spurred me to do some number crunching and I realize now that if I don’t work at all during school that I will end up ~$75000 in debt. This is projecting housing costs and (obviously) some other stuff over the next 2.5 years but at the very least it seems I’ll be $60,000 in debt. This not a number with which I am comfortable. After graduation I do not want to be a slave to some corporation doing things in which I don’t believe. My savings from my former Wisconsin job does not go nearly as far as it needs to in New England.

I have no idea what the job market is like in Maryland, but I’d like something that is more than $10/hour and around 20 hours a week. The hours are flexible. I’m working on an independent project for the summer, so I don’t want something full time, but for the right price/opportunity I would definitely consider it.

Obviously, I’m willing to send a resume but just to give some idea of the breadth of jobs I would consider:
I have experience in film, music, organization development, event planning, podcasting, biology (my undergrad degree), sports (was paid to coach), healthcare, Windows, Mac (though not recently) and GNU/Linux.
Additionally, I’m trying to shed a Teeter Hangup and some other stuff which can be found on flickr. For anyone that stumbles across this that is in Concord, let me know if you know of cheap housing options.
[1] I’m still considering whether I’d like to “work” as an intern for EFF, Creative Commons, SFLC, IBM, Google or Red Hat. It’s unlikely any of those will have me in Baltimore. That’s a decision I will have to weigh if an opportunity arises.
[2] I am going to get a 2nd opinion since I am not having any problems with the car and took it in just to get a flat tire repaired.

EDIT: I was substantially (factor of 2) off on my calculation for tuition, meaning the number is probably in the $50,000-$60,000 range, which is still not a number with which I’m comfortable. However, that keeps me in the Stafford loans rather than other loans, so I’m no longer freaking out about it, but I would still like a job. Something to keep my tech skills up or something where I am getting exercise would be ideal.

Digital Thank You Card

douglasawh — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:06:50 +0000

I wouldn’t exactly call this an open letter, because I’m writing it to the world to tell you how awesome Tarus is. However, considering I am writing it in place of an actual thank you card, one might look at it that way. As has been noted several times, I’m not very timely on getting blog posts…um, posted. I tend to live by the “release early, release often” creed. I wanted to take my time (but not too much time!) with this one and make sure Tarus knew it wasn’t just a 30-second post (whether he knows that or not after reading, I did spend more than 30-seconds on it!). I felt like links to websites and a LinkedIn-style recommendation would mean more than a piece of paper. It’s not like I’m probably sending him that much traffic, but I suppose every bit counts. Well, without further delay…

I would like to thank Tarus Balog of OpenNMS for introducing me to Aaron Williamson of the Software Freedom Law Center for a potential legal internship. Who knows what will come of it. I would like to think it would work out. On the other hand, if the SFLC has a lot of great future lawyers beating down its door, then that’s absolutely fantastic problem for them to have.

I’ve never been in a situation where I needed to use OpenNMS, so I can speak to the product, but Tarus also lent a helping hand (via a check) back when I helped coordinate a massive Software Freedom Day event when I was Co-President of the Carolina Open Source Initiative*. Basically, Tarus is awesome.

As somewhat of a side note, free software rolls deep in North Carolina and specifically The Triangle region. In addition to OpenNMS and Red Hat, one of the founders of MindTouch (Aaron Fulkerson) graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, as did Mark Webbink. Ibiblio, a large free software mirror and digital library, is also housed at UNC-Chapel Hill. There are some other examples, but the point of the post is not to talk about The Triangle, but rather to thank Tarus. I just wanted to make the side point for anyone looking for a place to live or place to go to school.

*sadly the group has become inactive since I left Chapel Hill and the old ibiblio.org website has been taken down. Facebook and Last.fm are the last vestiges, but before you go hatin’ remember that Libre.fm started in 2009 and Diaspora in 2010.

19,628 Artists in total, Public Domain and other things

douglasawh — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:05:27 +0000

I think the way I’m going to need to blog given my time crunch is to just not worry about flowery language and to just spit out what I’m thinking. Here we go.

Any general thoughts on legal blogging? Should it just not be done? I said something about public domain on the podcast that my roommate heard and was inaccurate in some way. Basically, don’t claim you wrote/produced/made something you didn’t – including public domain works. Please remember that A) I’m a first year law student (so you’re pretty much an idiot if you take what I say as legal advice) and B) Music Manumit Podcast will *never* be legal advice. Always see a lawyer if you have specific legal questions about a specific legal situation.

I’ve been listening to a lot of natural sounds/sounds of nature music, which has upped my artists on Last.fm to 19628. I’m trying to get to 20000, so I can join a specific Last.fm group. Any suggestions on artists to check out?

Maybe that was it. I can’t remember. I have a couple more blog posts in the works, but I wanted bust a cap toward your way (really doesn’t work as well as “shoot it your way” but you’ll understand the reference once the next Music Manumit comes out).

Oh, one more quick thing. I will be in Boston this weekend, so come rob my house…er…hit me up if you are in Boston and want to chill before the the David Rovics show.

Novell GroupWise Client on Linux Mint (and probably Ubuntu Natty)

douglasawh — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:30:19 +0000

Another from the vault of unfinished blog posts. I prove my own point in my first sentence. I’m sorry world, but if you are having problems leave a comment and I’ll try to help out.

I’m generally not very good at writing HowTos when I figure things out. This is probably in part because the past 9 years I’ve been giving people instructions and generally being frustrated with technology in my job. Even when I worked in a microbiology lab my primary duty was dealing with a microscopy system that was…we’ll say flawed. However, tomorrow I start orientation for law school and it’ll be good to keep fresh with the tech stuff.

I read a lot of instructions, but these were ther…

What’s the deal with Central Asia?

douglasawh — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:17:01 +0000

There’s two deals:

1) They hate freedom.

2) They love Stan.

Or maybe they hate computers? I don’t know, but they can’t hate the Music Manumit Podcast, because they’ve never listened to it!

Speaking of which, I got called out by Dick Turpin for not listening to his show. I still haven’t, but I did add it to my OggCatcher. Well, probably the bulk of the shows are mp3, but I choose ogg when given the choice. I use BeyondPod, btw, which hates freedom…just like Central Asia. As of the moment I have 148 netcast episodes in BeyondPod. OK, 147. I decided just now to dump 60-second Space – good short podcast, but just not time. I realize it’s only 60 seconds, but it’ll just get in the way of the shows I really want to listen to. I’ve got 4 bugcasts and 6 Linux Outlaws. It’s just hard to get through the long shows now that I don’t have the country road bike ride to work. It’s not a much shorter city ride and I need to be paying attention to cars. I also used to walk around my employer’s campus a lot because, well, they were not designed very well (one of the reasons I left).

Anyway, side track there, but if you know anyone that lives in any of the -stans, please shoot them the show. Ask them what they think about it and what we could do to make it better and to reach out to the people of Central Asia. Once we get that covered, I’ll work toward some new goal. Any suggestions?

I think Labor Day weekend might be prolific for me. Two more blog posts in the works!

Write about an area of expertise or anything about which you are passionate.

douglasawh — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:58:46 +0000

That’s the assignment. I’m passionate about so many things; Linux, United, FC St. Pauli, Malmö FF, Creative Commons music, etc. Well, in honor of the recent victory over Rangers, I’m going to write about Malmö FF goalkeeper Johan Dahlin. I suppose I could write this over on http://sportazine.com but I want the announcement about the hiatus to stay up at the top and since this could have been about anything and I started writing here…well, here it stays.

My favorite footballer is Malmö Fotbollförening (Malmö FF) and Swedish international goalkeeper Johan Dahlin. As my Swedish club, many Malmö players are among my favorites, but Dahlin first caught my attention before he signed for Malmö. I saw Dahlin play in the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Under-21 (U21) European Championships. While I only saw one game, he was impressive in the 3-1 win over Serbia. Seeing the game in Malmö would come to strengthen my love of the shot-stopper, as after the tournament Malmö FF became the tenants of Swedbank Stadion (Malmö New Stadium for UEFA events).

I too am a goalkeeper and thus understand the greatness of his agility and incredible ability to catch the ball. Equal to his physical gifts are his mental talents, which allow him to present a commanding presence in the box. He also displays true leadership and communication skills in the organization of his back line, which includes Scandinavians from various countries as well as Brazillian Ricardinho and Portuguese Yago Fernández. Often playing through chronic back pain, he shows true grit not always present in the modern game.

In 2010, Dahlin helped lead Malmö FF to their record 19th title. His club success has lead to 24 Sweden U21 appearances and 2 caps (appearances) for the full international side. Electronic Arts has noticed his impressive form, which earned him a spot on the young player’s list for the 2011 title.

Why the flurry?

douglasawh — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:13:27 +0000

So, I figured that it might take me a while to write what I actually sat down to write before getting distracted and thus I should tell you what that was. I have a pre-orientation assignment to write about myself. I have to do a bunch of formatting stuff to be all lawyery and picky about those sorts of things.

So, stay tuned. It’ll be a short post. I’ll write it in a break from packing and cleaning…which is looking like a monumental task at the moment.

One more projector needed; priorities, Open Music and Green Computing

douglasawh — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:55:36 +0000

haha, this is an appropriate last draft to toss out the door. It was not planned this way, but I mention the issue of these drafts in this draft…

original…

I started a post on Green Computing, which is going to have to wait, because unlike my typical haphazard, it-is-not-yet-finished blogging style which is more or less just Twitter on steroids, I think this Green Computing post could be something that generates a lot of buzz. So, let the anticipation set in…