Category Archives: about me

The Twitter Diaries: 2009-07-05: New Zealand

July 5, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

half an hour before time to go to the airport for the start of a very long trip (tho, as it turned out, probably not as long as the last) #
I’ve been either working or traveling (or both) for the last 13 days without break. No wonder I’m tired. #
still 3 hours to kill in Buenos Aires airport… #
coming into Buenos Aires airport, we were all scanned with an infrared camera for fever. But, unlike a week ago, not required to wear masks #
a whole family traveling from Porto Alegre on the plane were wearing orange sort of conical masks – they looked like ducks #
but very few people I’ve seen so far are willingly wearing masks at all #
after drowning in people from all over south America in the Sun stand for four long days, whatever’s out there, I’ve been exposed. #
oh, there are the duck people at another table. I wonder if they’re going to Auckland, too. #
Buenos Aires airport tip: free wifi available in La Banderita restaurant near gate 12. Nowhere else that I’ve found so far. #
running on reserve power, both my laptop and my body. And still >2 hours to boarding. #
We may overfly Antarctica, not sure if there will be light to see it by. Losing a day somewhere in there, I’ll arrive Tuesday morning. #
woot! found a power point to connect to that’s still within wifi range of the restaurant. Sitting on a hard, cold floor, oh well #
@lskrocki will do. FISL was amazing – so much enthusiasm! I was pleasantly surprised at how much demand there is for knowledge about video in reply to lskrocki #
ow ow ow. 4 long days of being mostly on my feet makes me feel like a very old woman, at least in my joints. Hard airport floor not helping #
@reiger not yet, I’m afraid. Will be back in the US in time for OSCON, possibly sooner. Then… we’ll see. in reply to reiger #
@NathanFillion trying to SPAM (Spend Paul Allen’s Money). Well, he’s supplying telescopes for SETI, surely needs gear to go with them. in reply to NathanFillion #
race against time: will my video of President Lula finish uploading to YouTube before my flight is called? And will I still have time to… #
a lot of people looking at me funny. Is it because I’m sitting on the floor or because I have a laptop? Girl geek here, folks! #
video uploaded! Keep an eye on http://www.youtube.com/deirdres for it to finish processing. I gotta get on a plane about now. #

in Auckland, finally got online, but will probably crash for a nap soon. It was a loooong trip. #
President Lula of Brazil Meets OpenSolaris http://bit.ly/31KNwS
(rough cut uploaded from Buenos Aires airport) #
NB a clip of our guys with Lula made it onto Brazilian national news, but I suspect I got better footage – the press was outside a fence #
was a forced witness to a weird “shipboard” romance on the plane last night. They had evidently met for the first time at BA airport… #
…they boarded together, chatting animatedly, she bulldozed the young woman who was supposed to sit next to her into switching seats… #
…so he could sit next to her. They chatted much of the night, he mentioned a wife. I went to sleep. Woke up, they were making out… #
…The tone of everything I couldn’t help overhearing seemed to indicate a swept-away love at first sight. Maybe he was unhappy in marriage #
…who was I to judge? But, as we all walked into the terminal, I heard her say: “I’m so glad I found you. The trip would have been boring.” #
…and that seemed to be that. When last I saw him, he was standing alone, waiting for his luggage. #
Have learned that, in Maori, WH is pronounced (roughly) FW. Which makes telling people I’m going to Whakatane tomorrow a little tricky. #
@debworks nope, Viareggio isn’t particularly near us in reply to debworks #
@Padmasree sadly, there is one thing telepresence can’t overcome: time zones #clsf in reply to Padmasree #
last week’s Tweet roundup, with photos added: http://bit.ly/yop1i #
@Britopian I recommend EventBrite for event registrations – was very happy with the power, flexibility, and results (on free events) in reply to Britopian #
@bklein34 that’s what you get for speaking in public on the subject. ; ) in reply to bklein34 #
@vdotw the mail server is very in-and-out for me right now in reply to vdotw #
Gotta love the kiwi sense of humor …and I’m flying this airline today, for the first time in my life -http://bit.ly/V7qHf #
I like to buy souvenirs that truly represent a country. In Rio Grande do Sul, it was a mate’ cup (with metal straw and tripod stand) #
…in New Zealand: lovely warm wool socks! #
@glynnfoster don’t tempt me with Ugg boots – 2 pairs already, I adore them! Merino also sounds excellent, tho little opp to wear it in US in reply to glynnfoster #
@mjabali thanks, will use that link when I get around to writing about this in reply to mjabali #
breakfast: toast w/Vegemite (which I learned to love long ago), coffee, kiwi fruit, Zespri. My host’s uncle originally named the kiwi fruit. #
will Franken have to make up all the Senate sessions he’s missed, or can he test out of those? #
learned in Brazil: having a mascot is important here. Gnu & Tux were v popular on the show floor. But what can we do with bubbles? #
@glynnfoster come to think of it, are Ugg boots cheaper here than in the US…? in reply to glynnfoster #
@robbogio yes, I understood quite a bit of Br Port, though reading was easier than hearing in reply to robbogio #
@missbhavens so how close is the big day? in reply to missbhavens #
I think I saw the Southern Cross for the first time last night, out the bathroom window. #
@dave_enz wow, I feel so popular! I’ll be working on the presos this weekend. Enjoying the Kibblewhites & their lovely home in reply to dave_enz #
@robbogio pretty much, but I’ve had practice – known lots of Kiwis for years, so i’ve heard of things like “pikelets” before in reply to robbogio #
I completely understand why people fall in love with New Zealand. Much gorgeousness packed into one very small country. #
@metadaddy nooooo – jumping from a great height with a rubber band around my ankle definitely not me! in reply to metadaddy #
had to move away from the fire – too sleepy already. My body knows that it’s 3 am in Brazil #
troubleshooting audio issues on a friend’s Dell desktop. Do I trust this Windows automated troubleshooter thingy? #
boh. Dunno what I did, but something worked. We now have sound. #
highly amused by my life. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” #
RT @bicyclemark well. here it is for what its worth. Hilter Learns of Michael Jackson’s death. http://bit.ly/16djgP LOLOLOLOLOL! #
about to take the Kibblewhites out for a thank-you dinner. Wearing the amazing jasper necklace I bought in Porto Alegre #
how convenient! seminar venue is only 1.6 km from Sun’s Wellington office. I can get started on what will be the expense report from hell. #
I’ve taken to checking twitter before news.google.com. I get the news here faster. #
leaving the beautiful Bay of Plenty today for Wellington, which may also be beautiful but will be chilly and wet. Where’s that NZ merino? #
@SteveEdiger @jonasthaler Amal keeps telling me “To keep your job, make sure you impact the bottom line.” ; ) in reply to SteveEdiger #

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The Twitter Diaries: 2009-06-28: Brazil

June 28, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

Lynn & I are in Montevideo, transiting to Porto Alegre. Guy took our passports to print boarding passes, hopefully will return with them! #
in Montevideo airport, soon to board for Porto Alegre. We already know that our luggage is not with us. Slim chance it got there before us. #
@debworks yup, had a change in my carryon, but a few key items are in the still-missing suitcases in reply to debworks #
sitting in hotel lobby with wifi, I can get email and use Twitter, but can’t get a browser to work. ??? #
@ben so I’d need to get the proxy address? in reply to ben #
Twitter is what you do when you can’t get to your blog… First, food. Dinner was strawberry caipirinha, liver salad, carrot/apricot soup… #
breakfast was slices of very good mango and papaya, fresh crusty bread. Our bus for the campus tour is late, so we’ll just go on eating… #
before dinner, we had to shop for clothing in case our suitcases don’t show up today. 2 luxe malls look much like malls anywhere. #
Porto Alegre, at least the parts I’ve seen so far, is cleaner and more elegant than most Italian cities. Architecture mostly concrete. #
everyone disclaiming responsibility for getting our suitcases to us. American Airlines #fail Let’s hope American Express can make it happen. #
hotel rebooted their router, that has fixed the problem #
@alecmuffett sorry to hear it. in reply to alecmuffett #

moving 2000 mini soccer balls (with Sun, Glassfish, etc. logos) from bus to Mauricio’s hotel room. Silly photos to follow. #
it’s 2:43 am in Porto Alegre, I’ve been awake since 5:30 this morning, trying to trace the bags myself because everyone else is NOT helpful #
remind me never to fly American Airlines again. They seem to be far more anxious to avoid responsibility than to help their passengers. #
NB i wasn’t tracing bags all day, we were doing an OpenSolaris conference at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul. #
hallelujah for good customer service! our corp travel department got an answer out of AA, now we know the bags went to Sao Paolo #
lesson: the free AmEx assist svc you get because you’re a cardholder? Not very useful. “We’ll call once a day to try to trace your bags.” #
!#$%^#$%^$%^ Clear ceases operations. That’s going to make my traveling life that much more difficult. #
Cut off from Twitter yesterday – the uni wifi blocks Twt, YouTube, and Passpack (?!). Show went well, including my extempore talk on video. #
hotel offers wifi in lobby, only wired in rooms, but USB/Ethernet for my Air is in the missing luggage. Leeching off a neighbor’s Linksys #
@jowyang I don’t always need Clear, but it’s saved me a few times, well worth the price I would have paid to renew it in reply to jowyang #
I can has baggage! #
@ckoontz Clear was actually a very useful service, at certain times and from certain airports. I had just made up my mind to renew, damnit! in reply to ckoontz #
3 suitcases of expensive equipt, all opened (by customs in Sao Paolo – TSA locks not broken). Amazingly, only casualty 1 iPod. #
@willsnow did they get to tell the great story to the right peOple? I really want the world to know what a fantastic job they’ve done. #
RT @fschupp: @BigAdmn …. “Will some1 of your crew be @ OSCON?” Some others of us will be glad to represent for our Big friends at OSCON #
still figuring out this public speaking gig, but I’m getting a lot of practice this month! #
BTW, what sadist came up with the 2-5-2 seating on Boeing 777s? #
@SteveEdiger how does that confuse the police? in reply to SteveEdiger #
interesting to see how my Italian does and doesn’t help with understanding Portugese. Can understand a lot in writing, less in conversation. #
RT @Britopian RT @bobduffy: CIsco says employees own their own brand and followers on Twitter… Also true for Sun. Hard to see it elsewise #
turns out I wasn’t supposed to drink the tap water here… Then why did they provide glasses in the bathroom? Oh, well, lose some weight… #
had dinner with Aaron and Eduardo. Meat is awfully good here in gaucho country (home of churrasca) – good thing I’m not vegetarian! #
up early for the first day of FISL. We’ll all go together in a bus. This is like being on a school trip, but for grownups. With alcohol. #

on the very busy #FISL show floor. Aaron & I were interviewed by Radio Software Livre about using video to communicate about open source #
installing Flash plugin on the Internet cafe machines #fisl so we can show our Portugese-subtitled videos #

1st day of #fisl winding down. The Sun booth has been thronged with visitors most of the day #
#fisl is one of the most frenetic conferences I’ve ever attended, with 1000s of young people eager to learn. Or at least to score a free T. #
real Brazlian churrasca – that was probably the best meat I’ve eaten in my life. The caipirinhas didn’t hurt, either. #

@Britopian most played song? there are so many… Tonight’s theme song was “The Parting Glass” by the High Kings #soccrm in reply to Britopian #
frustrating when an organization which has NO idea how much is said about it in the rest of the world really screws up. (Not Sun) #
Charlaine Harris books apparently the same as Laurell Hamilton, only set in Shreveport (?!?) instead of St. Louis. The point being…? #
@glynnfoster I’m going to get to taste all this good stuff you keep braggging about, right? in reply to glynnfoster #
@glynnfoster I’ll take that as an invitation. ; ) in reply to glynnfoster #
@ethang thanks for streaming [our talk at FISL] – wish Id known in time to let people know. in reply to ethang #
talk went well, about 100 people, much more than expected since we were up against Peter Sunde of Pirate Bay #
very upset that our video subtitles are not working when we have a great opp to show them at FISL #
Sun booth thronged with people wanting t-shirts. Should I go help or stay out of the way? #
@nonstick for these students, we+re cool! in reply to nonstick #
@Crescenzo the getting famous plan requires the cooperation of at least one other person… in reply to Crescenzo #
@jowyang in the time and place I went to high school, even land lines were nearly non-existent http://bit.ly/kTJ9L in reply to jowyang #
#fisl done for the evening (not that the crowd is leaving…). tomorrow will be even bigger – President Lula will attend! #
another exhausting and exhilarating day #fisl. Looking forward to food and cachaÃ§a tasting tonight, thanks to our colleague Eduardo. #
lost my bit.ly login and their password reminder isn’t working. #$%#% #
last night saw O Teatro MÃ¡gico – http://bit.ly/A8IuM – wow! Get the music for free (they want you to) here: http://bit.ly/9GYOa #
#fisl security for the president’s visit is causing inconveniences #
#fisl we are not doing t-shirt madness today – the mob would freak out the security people #
#fisl – 4 Sun talks in a row in room 41A, starting with Brian Leonard on Virtual Box at 9. Simon Phipps and the Webmink show at 10. #
#fisl if you want t-shirts or soccer balls today, attend Sun talks! We’re not doing giveaways at the booth due to security issues #
Brazilians are very creative with names. Best I’ve seen so far #fisl are Chrisnamurth and Darvin #
#fisl Today people have to work for their OpenSolaris t-shirts, either installing the OS or attending a talk. Result: crowded booth! #

OMFG. I get to film the president. #fisl #
#fisl now past security to the vast emptiness of the rest of the show floor (mostly roped off – Sun booth got most of todays traffic) #
#fisl Sun has prime real estate today, right where the virtual red carpet turns. #

#fisl Running fullscreen Portugese subtitled videos on the Internet cafe machines right along the presidential path. Talk about eyeballs! #
#fisl Im one of about 300 people on the show floor, a select much fewer are in the conf room and will speak with him, including Simon Phipps #
#fisl a set of uniforms just walked down the ropeway- maybe the pres is on the way, finally #
#fisl asked not to get in the way of the press. Sweetie, I AM the press. I represent the non-maintstream media. #
#fisl today I wore my bright green I”m Blogging This for Sun t-shirt. didn-t know how appropriate it would be #
#fisl our Brazil team fucking ROCKS! Wait til you all see the footage! #

#fisl our rockin’ Brazil user group leaders with President Lula: http://bit.ly/eK6zK #
multiculturalism gone mad: a Brazilian soap opera set (mostly) in India: Caminho das Ãndias http://bit.ly/q22c #
RT @jimgris: OpenSolaris at FISL w/ Brazil’s President Lula Da Silva. Outrageous! http://bit.ly/19rIvh – yup, them #
RT @jimgris: OpenSolaris at FISL w/ Brazil’s President Lula Da Silva. Outrageous! http://bit.ly/19rIvh – yup, them’s our guys. They rock! #
have I mentioned that I love Brazil and especially Brazlians? Can I come live here? #
didn’t go to the #fisl speaker dinner with 400+ open source luminaries (sorry, Simon!). Too tired to speak coherently. #
instead had pizza, wine, and giggles and belly laughs with Lynn & Teresa. #
did talk earlier today with Elizabeth Garbee in the speakers’ lounge. What an amazing person. #
@DavidHowell very glad to hear that life is good for you! in reply to DavidHowell #
okay, need to wake up enough to run some useful Omniture stats for the boss. #
last day of #fisl, even longer than the others. <groan> All the activity in the Sun booth is great, but exhausting for the staff. #
@ceri what have you guys been doing with WOSUG? (I think you’re the right person to ask about this…) – page views through the roof! #
#fisl schwag score – very cute Firefox t-shirts! (it helps to have something to trade) #
Waiting for #fisl closing ceremony to end. Don’t understand it and I’m hungry! #

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The Twitter Diaries: 2009-06-14: CO

June 14, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

^ Colorado wildflower

Eating at panera before dropping E at sfo and going on to sjc. Won’t see him til august #
Now to prepare for speaking in Chicago and Porto Alegre #
@lskrocki WTF? I didn’t know we got tornadoes in Colorado! in reply to lskrocki #
made it to SJC in plenty of time to not pay $54 extra (per hour!) on rental car. Got to security before I realized I still had the keys #
@pizzocalabro Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia – three new (to me) countries in one month! in reply to pizzocalabro #
Are You There God? It’s Me, Monica – http://bit.ly/u6Qou – ironically, I wrote about this years ago: http://bit.ly/rxbGa #
@lskrocki Humph. If I wanted tornadoes, I’d live in Kansas! in reply to lskrocki #
I am freakin’ flying home into tornadoes? Damn damn damn. I don’t scare easily on planes, but this might do it. #
@rosso harass them to give you credit and a link in reply to rosso #
yup, figured. Weather delay into Denver #
Landed dia. Hungry. Won’t make it home without food, not much there anyway. Hope we at least have milk for breakfast #
I’m in one of my moods when I can think of something snarky about everyone I see #
@nonstick those who work with me know that the key is to keep me fed. #
@dave_enz great thanks! I’ll book flights this week #
Spain’s El Pais deserves a medal for services to Italy #
oh, right, that’s what my Tivo was recording – the Tony Awards! Hope I recorded long enough, suspect not… #
Find someone NOT on Twitter who’s EVER heard of Laporte, Arrington, et al. If you can’t, then please stop tweeting about them. #
Who’s in/near Chicago? I’ll be speaking next week on UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS TO BUILD ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY http://bit.ly/39dP3Z #
frustrating to list 5 steps to get to the-thing-that-isn’t-working only to be told “It works for me” – by someone who has only done step 1 #
ps re the conference http://bit.ly/39dP3Z – I can offer a speaker discount, DM me for details. #
RT @plasticbagUK: great Twitter feature? Temporary mute. Like, “I don’t want to hear from this person for a couple of hours”. – YES! #
hmm. Got some great footage of the carpet at our OSUG bootcamp. We’ll pretend I was wrestling the union steward for control of my camera. #
@darrinschaos happy birthday to you, and to @jscusc ! in reply to darrinschaos #
Sunday Morning, Coming Down http://bit.ly/y5w19 #
so what’s the best travel pillow out there? #
@glynnfoster honestly not crazy about the new t-shirts. What has soccer/football got to do with OpenSolaris? in reply to glynnfoster #
what’s with the juvenile “first post!” crap? Maybe popular bloggers should automatically delete those. #
@alydenisof I believe we allow the faux Brits to use “twits” as more natural to them. in reply to alydenisof #
I wish the cos who spam me had a minimum grasp of demographic targeting. I have NO INTEREST in Miley Cyrus tickets, thx v much AmEx! #
@amber_benson amber_benson you’re welcome. You might remember my daughter: http://bit.ly/99e2K #
@katlemieux thanks. Sun does a lot with SL, but I haven’t gone back to it myself since way back when I first tried it. Too much overhead. #
@llcrowe thanks, but seems too bulky gien everything else I have to carry… in reply to llcrowe #
covering meetings for the boss this week. I’m learning a lot. I guess. #
RT @MMaryMary: I don’t leave people voicemail for the same reason that I don’t put back airline seat backs. – me, neither! #
I have HOW MANY more hours of meetings today? #
my head is going to explode, any minute now. #
@darrinschaos depends. You gonna make it worth my while? ; ) in reply to darrinschaos #
duplicating 250 USB sticks with video. The glamorous life of a social media guru… #
@llcrowe Sorry, by travel I meant one for use on the plane! Tho one for hotels would also be nice… in reply to llcrowe #
was pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot (Broomfield) when the tornado siren went. Agh! Don’t let me be trapped in Wal-Mart! #
@bubbva fortunately, the siren didn’t last long. There was real nightmare potential there though in reply to bubbva #
I wish I could figure out how to turn off the FB “notifications” about horoscopes. Stop spamming me with rubbish I don’t believe in. #
phone conf today with my co-panelists from http://bit.ly/39dP3Z – we all have interesting stories to tell about enterprise social media #
wondering if I should just turn off comments on my personal blog. It’s almost all spammers these days. Clever ones, but still spammers. #
why does the same ticket cost $130 less on travelocity than purchasing directly from ba.com? #
@sogrady apparently, putting together an Airbus and having it STAY together are two different propositions. in reply to sogrady #
any opinions on orbitz vs expedia vs travelocity? #
@dreamofitaly wish I was seeing low prices on tickets FROM Italy. Any tips? in reply to dreamofitaly #
@ingenthr kayak is great for researching fares, but they actually send you to the other sites to buy in reply to ingenthr #
@dreamofitaly flights originating in Italy are more expensive, but the SAME flight costs $130 more from ba.com than from Expedia. Boh. in reply to dreamofitaly #
@travelocity you’re going to have to sell harder than that! Why are you better? in reply to travelocity #
@jailmedia fortunately, the individual in question (not my daughter!) has been released in reply to jailmedia #
@Cdash burning question: why can I set up auto-payment for my personal AmEx, but not for corporate? in reply to Cdash #
will be speaking in Wellington, NZ on Extending Conversations http://bit.ly/1QQAUt July 6-8 #
@MissExpatria Italian schoolchildren are graded on verbosity. Ross was never taught how to structure an essay, just to use fancy words. in reply to MissExpatria #
I really, really miss the great travel agent we had in Milan. She got us tons of great deals. But the agency went out of business. #
@lbridenne76 nah, just crushed by the global changes in the travel industry. How many travel agencies do you see around these days? in reply to lbridenne76 #
continuing to harass corp travel. My 5+ week trip just keeps getting more complicated (and more fun!) #
@cbs4denver experiences in Europe, esp. Ireland, show that a plastic bag tax encourages people to use reusable bags. Soon becomes a habit in reply to cbs4denver #
I still haven’t figured out who Gen Y and Gen X even are. Except that I don’t think I’m in either, and I don’t fit the profile of any… #
hmm. @ThinGuy says Gen Y was born post-boomer, pre-1980, @zenxacred says they were teens in late 90s/00s. I was born in 1962, grad 1981 #
OMFG. You have got to be kidding me. Please, someone tell me this is a cruel joke. #
videocameras manned by expensive union crews with NO F’IN TAPES IN THEM? I don’t know whether to weep or scream or just throw up. #
there are tapes after all. I can sleep. #
@davewiner gris gris gumbo ya ya, but apropos of what? He’s not dead, is he? in reply to davewiner #
is this is ad for an MMPORG or a steamy romance novel? I’m confused. #
Are you a student interested in high-performance computing? If so: it’s PARTY TIME! http://isc09studentparty.eventbrite.com/ #
new FB group name translates as “What else does Berlusconi have to do to change your mind? Screw your grandmother?” http://bit.ly/QgXhM #
@kbeninato @davewiner probably says a lot (weird) about my childhood that I could likely sing all of the Night Tripper album from memory in reply to kbeninato #
@kbeninato @davewiner & at the end of the live-action 101 Dalmatians, I mortified my daughter yelling in a Milan cinema: OMG it’s Dr. John! in reply to kbeninato #
@kbeninato glad you found me. I was born in NOLA, family there still, have not been back in ages. May make it, finally, in October. in reply to kbeninato #
covering for the boss today involves a FIVE HOUR meeting. I really don’t know how she does it. There must be secret executive stamina shots. #
OTOH, being in a videoconf room for 5 hrs means I won’t have to listen to the jackhammering outside my office window. #
bing search picks up my Tweets rather than content from the page they’re linking to. ??? search on “Italian slang” to see an example #
@italylogue I think I now qualify as a reverse expat. After 17 years in Italy, the US is in many ways a foreign country to me. in reply to italylogue #
@italylogue tons of articles in my head on moving back to the US, no time to write them! in reply to italylogue #
anybody in Chicago? I’ll be there Monday evening-Weds evening #
my good mood was more fragile than I’d thought. #
@nonstick can’t. The VP can see me on the videoconference. in reply to nonstick #
What’s more cruelly and stupidly ironic here? The event, or the comments speculating on why it occurred? http://bit.ly/AQmYb #
Indian colleges ban jeans to ‘protect’ girls http://bit.ly/Ouyjs – “eve teasing” happens to women in Indian clothing, too! #
“In Italy, the general assumption is that someone is guilty until proven innocent.” http://bit.ly/DzVlh – ? how do you explain Berlusconi? #
@kbeninato NOLA at Halloween wd be amazing, but I’ll be in Tuscon then in reply to kbeninato #
I need a hug #
thanks for the hugs, folks! Will that also work for margaritas? ; ) #
A parade of window cleaners passes. Wonder if they have trouble with the owls #
@dave_enz looks good! in reply to dave_enz #
@jeffreytaylor zoned printer cartridges? that is totally weird. What is their excuse? in reply to jeffreytaylor #
@jeffreytaylor but you told anyway. ; ) in reply to jeffreytaylor #
moving finished projects off my Mac and onto archive to make room for new video. Finally getting some use out of that Thumper I bragged on. #
Dinner: pasta with pesto the real Genovese way, with potatoes and green beans #
I’d be more excited about the upcoming weekend were it not for the suspicion that I’ll be doing a lot of work… #
@lskrocki thanks – and rather appropriate for me right now! in reply to lskrocki #
@ajkeen you paying the tickets? in reply to ajkeen #
@lskrocki actually, I was referring to the song. ; ) but, yes, people can be amazingly resilient. “Slumdog” was very true to life that way in reply to lskrocki #
@briansolis re Dell, so much for the theory that Twitter is “only for seduction, never for sex.” ; ) in reply to briansolis #
driving to work, “Chess” came up on my iPod shuffle (of ~10k songs). In my inbox an offer from Amazon for “Chess in Concert” DVD. Scary. #
ooh, wow – Chess in Concert looks great (okay, I’m a musicals geek) – I ordered it. http://bit.ly/ZdjYS #
seems unfair that anyone I follow is allowed to DM me, but I can’t DM them back unless they’re also following me. DM rights should be equal #
does anyone have a graphic showing locations of Sun offices worldwide? need urgently for a preso #
starting to make noise about the Sun videos we’ve been translating – http://bit.ly/1mMLR #
@sumaya The Economist. in reply to sumaya #
@c0t0d0s0 please help spread the word about Student Event at ISC – Eventbrite http://bit.ly/3YrAsv #
so far today: wkd on Chicago preso, discd FISL preso, edited & uploaded 1 OHAC video, lined up ~6 hrs of video for translation, tracked vids #
…and the very watery cup of coffee I just managed to brew is definitely not going to suffice #
@italylogue @divinacucina I always liked Milan, too. But had to leave before the pollution killed me (literally). in reply to italylogue #
RT @c0t0d0s0: just blogged: ISC’09 Student Event http://tinyurl.com/mp3h96 – Thanks! @templedf FYI #
@sumaya what will it be and when? #SocialYou in reply to sumaya #
@ThinGuy if they gave you a show, you would have to have an affair with your bodyguard in reply to ThinGuy #
@missbhavens depends whether you’re doing this way too seriously or not. I don’t recall taking more than a day or 2, only to meet visitors in reply to missbhavens #
I love working with engineers; their “just the facts” attitude suits me. #
@sumaya I’ll be in Brazil, presenting on videoblogging! #socialyou in reply to sumaya #
Presenting the New Toshiba OpenSolaris Laptops – Video http://bit.ly/4ibPlG #
Meet some OpenSolaris User Group Leaders – Video http://bit.ly/2rJb5 #
OMG how did I not know about this? Hysterical! http://bit.ly/11zb9w #
@reiger hopefully will see you at Usenix, if not before. in reply to reiger #
@sumaya well, hey, didn’t you go to Jordan or thereabouts? I was jealous then! #socialyou in reply to sumaya #
@lskrocki the comb-over is precisely intended to stop horrible embarrassments like mom kisses. in reply to lskrocki #
okay, so now I have http://www.facebook.com/deirdre.straughan – so what? #
@MissExpatria never used GoDaddy, but have been mostly happy with DreamHost for years in reply to MissExpatria #
I have so little influence over Google earnings on my site. Don’t have time to seek more direct ads, so far they find me. #
I should buy a better camera for this trip but don’t really want to spend right now, and don’t have time to do the research. #
@darrinschaos I have a point and shoot, plan to buy a DSLR later. I have to carry video equipment this trip anyway, so a big camera… nah in reply to darrinschaos #
is Twitter search broken? Looking for the live tweets we did at #ohac, get no results. #
hmm. Does Twitter search not have an archive beyond ten days? just-now tweet with #ohac shows up, dozens of tweets from May 31 do not. #
mini bulldozer being used to spread dirt – job cd be done quietly, cheaply, without pollution using a wheelbarrow and a shovel! #
@davest now I’m even sadder I can’t be there! in reply to davest #
@stoweboyd @jeffreytaylor should dine with you and cool people. in reply to stoweboyd #
saw “Up” today. Lovely, but opening seq made me want to shout: “If you have a dream, bloody well pursue it NOW!” You never know. #
Calacanis must be pissed: “his search engine, Malaho” http://bit.ly/9XW4A Thought the NYT had fact-checkers, or at least spell checkers. #

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The Twitter Diaries: 2009-05-17: CO

May 17, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

ooh, Wanda – great crack about Palin. http://bit.ly/oogZd #
How can CEOs understand social technologies? “”People don’t relate to companies, they relate to people.”” http://bit.ly/BfNfz +1 #
@giovanni I suspect that anyone of intern age could teach *us* social media skills. My daughter had >2 million page views before age 17. in reply to giovanni #
Papi Silvio ‘to fix up’ teen model as MP – Times Online http://bit.ly/SUKqY – anyone still wondering why I wanted my daughter out of Italy? #
“publish at a future date” does not work consistently on my WP blog. Any suggestions why? #
my mother irritates me most when she reminds me – wincingly – of myself. #
must install Google Earth to see what waypoints lie between Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Brisbane, Australia. Yes, it’s a very weird itinerary. #
@penelopetrunk I would hope that for stay-at-home moms the sex, at least, is shared in reply to penelopetrunk #
Porto Alegre – Santiago – Auckland – Brisbane. Hmm. What friends do I have in those places? (Woodstockers in all of them almost a given.) #
@missbhavens OMG talk about nostalgia! in reply to missbhavens #
@gpelz yeah, but using it to illustrate how 40-somethings are too old for the brave new world of social media – ouch! in reply to gpelz #
@mjabali I’m looking forward to it, believe me! in reply to mjabali #
JRuby, Rails, and GlassFish Bootcamp – San Francisco, May 19/20, 2009 http://bit.ly/pwPuA – Day 1 is free! #
to quote Pogo: gloom, doom, and rumors of boom. #
House season finale, and a beer. #
@DonMacAskill been thinking that for a while. I do video – I need big, secure storage! But I’m not a sysadmin. I need it to be easy. in reply to DonMacAskill #
@RealShamu thanks for the hat. Gotta love the geek element of receiving a Twitter hat from a cetacean in reply to RealShamu #
OpenSolaris at C1 West – http://bit.ly/6kl7N – all about Developing On and In OpenSolaris, Managing it & Deploying it in your datacenter #
@RealShamu something around 100k I think in reply to RealShamu #
applying brand-new Final Cut knowledge (thanks, Lynda.com!) to large, urgent video projects. My brain hurts. #
just planned an itinerary that maxed out AmEx’s system for segments #
time to go get vaccinated. I think I forgot my Hepatitis boosters after 10 years. Love that it’s no longer gamma globulin every 3 mos. #
@webmink re WSJ on acquisition, somehow it doesn’t feel like much of a party to me… in reply to webmink #
took roomie’s dogs for a walk, they damn nearly pulled my arms off. Now trying to summon the energy to make dinner. Then a t-shirt imprint #
@SaraD @Silona you shoulda seen the bloggers alias go to town on this one. One idea was to put the same logo on shorts for men… in reply to SaraD #
turns out I didn’t need any vaccinations. Didn’t realize the Hep vaccines I got in ’96 are good for life. I love advances in medicine #
@sogrady possibly horse over a shorter distance, camel over the longer haul. in reply to sogrady #
@pizzocalabro finish it. it’s easy, life-long prevention, and hepatitis is really no fun (seen a lot of it). in reply to pizzocalabro #
RT @lskrocki: -1 to the Twitter replies change. +1 for a rollback: http://bit.ly/yUooo #Fixreplies – agree! #
Achille Compagnoni, first on top of K2, dead at 94 – the mountaineers who don’t die out there tend to live long – http://bit.ly/CNXRB #
the blog comments spammers are creative, but not very smart. #
@Penguin congrats! I look forward to many cool stickers in reply to Penguin #
@zappos I know several people who would happily swim in the sea of shoes. Can I send my daughter along? in reply to zappos #
@DavidHowell ugh. roomie also selling her house, but not many viewers yet and so far not too inconvenient, except keeping house superclean in reply to DavidHowell #
playing travel agent… again… #
No Lost spoilers, please! I may some day get around to catching up on the 2 years I’ve missed… #
@jdlasica thanks for the link on TED translations. Hoping to do similar for Sun videos. in reply to jdlasica #
sorting out a complex summer of travel which starts… this Sunday. If this is my last hurrah, I #
Sorting out a complex summer of travel starting… Sunday. If this is my last hurrah in this job, I am damn well going out with a bang! #
@c0t0d0s0 are you coming to C1/J1? #
how is it that airlines still get away with charging 150% more for a one-way international flight as for the round trip? #
hey you Italy-dwellers – any tips for cheaper flights FROM Italy to the US? I keep seeing great offers, but when I go to book it ain’t cheap #
getting my hair done this aft. Whaddya think – more pink? (makes me easy to identify in a crowd, except at SxSW) #
@italylogue Portrait in Pink http://bit.ly/k8vFS in reply to italylogue #
can’t figure out how to change the serial # on one of my copies of Final Cut Express (yes, I have two legal copies and a legit reason!) #
â™« you can talk, you can bicker, you can talk, you can bicker… you can talk all you wanna, but it’s different than it was â™« #
@rosso many Italians find Americans speaking Italian hilarious. Not subtle about letting you know it. #
@rosso if an Albanian/Italian “star” of Big Brother Albania named Bjordi is there, say hi – he’s a friend of Ross’ in reply to rosso #
results of a country road crash I saw yesterday: cute little sports car in bad shape, barely a dent on the old pickup it hit. Hmm. #
@seancarlos @rosso since my accent is good, they remarked on my “very correct, but very Anglo-Saxon” Italian. I guess that’s a compliment #
@Farestore hmm. how much is that “non-refundable service fee” ? in reply to Farestore #
My aunt H in hosp w perforated intestine. Damn damn damn. #
@deirdresm so far, so good – surgeons happier today than yesterday. Dunno yet what caused it in the first place, but scary in reply to deirdresm #
@ceri re wedding that is indeed weird. Can’t think it bodes well for the marriage. in reply to ceri #
RT @drhorrible: Keeping fingers crossed for Dollhouse. – Me, too. Not perfect, but I still want to know where it’s going. #dollhouse #
@monkchips “stop, think, edit” ?? what kind of old-school thinking is that? <grin> in reply to monkchips #
@feliciaday oh, very cool! Now we can see where Joss means to go with all those moral ambiguities, right? Congrats to you all! #dollhouse in reply to feliciaday #
by the sound of it, teenage neighbors are having a party. Are their parents out of town? #
working on posting my updated resume on my new WP site. Wondering if all the mommy ads that BlogHer serves are a hindrance. #
@ElisaC as in ad style or as in category? my blog is in their travel category, but the ads all seem to be consumer products and mom stuff in reply to ElisaC #
@ElisaC I can’t see any way to get specific with BlogHer. My “blog about” settings were previously “world” and “travel,” I changed to “tech” in reply to ElisaC #
@plasticbagUK Qwitter works very erratically. You don’t hear from them for months, then there’s a storm, all triggered by the same tweet? in reply to plasticbagUK #
@ElisaC thanks, I did. Looked all over the profile, only choices it gives are on ad format (eg flyout or not), not content. in reply to ElisaC #
need help designing something like this http://bit.ly/11F5xb – easy, cheap, fun to build, but can’t hurt anybody (ie no skewers for ammo!) #
@Boh non mi stupisce che Tucci avesse pochi amici! in reply to Boh #
don’t know if it’s allergies kicking my butt or simple exhaustion. And I have to get on a plane tomorrow… #
@ElisaC thanks, I saw that, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll do what I want. I may just give up on BlogHer. All the ads are so… girly. in reply to ElisaC #
almost forgot about my early excursion into Web 2.0 design: Roxio and Our Customers: Let’s Talk http://bit.ly/157q36 #
Moving my resumÃ© to WP was a lot of work – had to also move all the collateral, and pare rotten links. But it’s done: http://bit.ly/V9OUa #
@carolross what does the guy do with job candidates who don’t play pool? in reply to carolross #
@NathanFillion looking forward to seeing you back. in reply to NathanFillion #
@om sounds to me like it was made FROM Bollywood – quite a few nods to AR Rahman in there in reply to om #
This one’s for my Sun peeps, but others will find it useful… Â» Transitioning Your Online Identity http://bit.ly/D87rx #

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The Twitter Diaries: 2009-05-10: CO

May 10, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

RT @neilhimself: http://bit.ly/dR4Yv for mothers and daughters on Mother’s Day (okay, it’s a week early…) #
Googling “what is the purpose of conversation?” gives a lot of answsers about… conservation. #
RT @nytimes: Berlusconiâ€™s Wife Seeks a Divorce http://bit.ly/bHreD Can the country divorce him, too? #
can’t figure out with Tweetdeck: how to follow someone whose user name I know when I don’t have an immediate reference to them in the deck #
“using advanced coding to make the photos harder to find in a Google search” – huh? from http://www.newsweek.com/id/195073/page/2 #
@Annarella umm…. perche’ metti un link ad un feed privato? in reply to Annarella #
I was going to buy tickets in advance to go see Wolverine this afternoon, but this is turning out suprisingly hard to do. Can’t be bovvered #
$1 convenience charge for an online movie ticket? is this some sort of a sick joke? #
@nonstick it usually just takes time, and trickles to some systems faster than others. in reply to nonstick #
which is larger annually: # of cars sold, or # of car ads shown? How much car advertising is wasting their money, my time and attention? #
just saw Wolverine, liked it. @RealHughJackman apparently loves to flash his naked butt. Not that I’m complaining. #
“Silvio-Veronica: news goes around the world” The Italian media is like a bunch of nerds amazed when the cool kids actually notice them. Gah #
Do other countries’ media do this? “Ooh, look, everyone’s talking about us!” #
I’m very tired of the mommy blogger phenomenon. Glad I missed the window on that one. My daughter is probably even gladder. #
@MichaelRolland I don’t think long-term relationships are any less exhausting, just different. in reply to MichaelRolland #
@jowyang I would be very, very glad if at least some “brands” had the wit to think of us as women first, mommies second (or third). in reply to jowyang #
brilliant House/Spamalot fanvid: http://tinyurl.com/cxfskc #
@MrsThinGuy congrats! a big step for all of you in reply to MrsThinGuy #
@nonstick anything that distracts you is good – keep on tweeting if you want to. Oh, & breathe. I think I remember something about that in reply to nonstick #
RT @tehduh: The Geography of Jobs from 2004 to Present: http://bit.ly/113Y7a OK. – only area to gain a few jobs recently is Austin #
@jeffreytaylor re moving around a lot: https://www.beginningwithi.com/comments/tag/tcks/ in reply to jeffreytaylor #
Silvio Berlusconi: Yes, yes, yes, prime minister – Times Online http://bit.ly/r5hvy – gaaaahhhhhhh – #
Un Posto al Sole “SxSWi Report – Social Media: Connecting with Customers” http://bit.ly/uv5pq #
@SteveEdiger I benefited from a probably-never-repeated unschooling experiment at Woodstock my senior – had a blast, learned about research in reply to SteveEdiger #
@owyang re. http://bit.ly/13REh6 “people prefer to differentiate the between the facets” – I disagree. multiple online personas collapsing #
financial advisor “can’t recommend” that I invest in India. Let’s just say I take the long view on global development. #
@askjcp – may interest you: http://tinyurl.com/cudccw #
@mentalmosaic I use Dreamhost, am mostly happy. They usually have a special & if you use http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?110058 I get a cut in reply to mentalmosaic #
RT @monkchips: “meeting face to face is the dirty little secret behind real web 2.0 whuffie.” Only takes 5 minutes at SxSWi to see that. #
@ptribble remember: just because it’s on your plate doesn’t mean you MUST eat it. in reply to ptribble #
@communityone – who owns this Twitter handle? #
@ranaban You must get: http://bit.ly/r1FvU in reply to ranaban #
@deirdresm ow, ow, ow. Good luck! in reply to deirdresm #
even airlines want me to get my mom flowers for Mother’s Day. Nope. I’m sending her books, Hitchens & Dawkins. #
@alecmuffett I swear by my neti pot, use it daily. Doesn’t entirely prevent my annual sinus infection, but reduces allergies in reply to alecmuffett #
is there such a thing as an online wakeup call service? I have a 6 am flight, and only one alarm clock (my iPhone) #
@rosso 2 restaurants, The Farm and Blue, both on Dawson st., offered early-bird prix fixe menus. Both good, Blue a bit better. in reply to rosso #
“I Feel Like Someone’s Watching Me” http://bit.ly/uv5pq #
hey San Franciscans, looking for a fun evening activity for a group of multicultural geeks. Suggestions? #
@davest hmm, would be fun, but probably too time- and money-intensive in reply to davest #
@jeffreytaylor on a Tuesday evening (June 2), approx 25-30 people in reply to jeffreytaylor #
@davest I’ve requested a quote from Go Game, we’ll see what they can do with a shorter timeframe in reply to davest #
@davest Go Games came in cheaper than I had feared, good chance we’ll do that – thanks for the idea! in reply to davest #
@timbray wondering if Tweets coming in via Twitteriffic count – cannot otherwise explain my cellphone SMS bills in reply to timbray #
@AmberCadabra thanks for the blog comment – you definitely practice what you preach! #
@India_Insights my fnancial advisor can’t identify any funds that specialize or even have investments in India. Missed opportunity? in reply to India_Insights #
@davest are you coming to C1? in reply to davest #
@pizzocalabro biscotti were originally designed to be dipped in vin santo – even better! in reply to pizzocalabro #
@davest We’ll miss you! in reply to davest #
@hemantmehta ah, isn’t teenage angst fun? I have enough trouble with just one kid – can’t imagine dealing with a classroom full in reply to hemantmehta #
@jeffreytaylor now that’s what I call community video! in reply to jeffreytaylor #
@Cdash re Austin – stay another night and have fun! Ross is there. You’ve met her. She’s cool. in reply to Cdash #
@India_Insights extremely missed opportunity. My financial adviser was surprisingly shocked. Will do my own research when I have time. in reply to India_Insights #
@baratunde is there also a veg option? in reply to baratunde #
@JulieScardina pangolin! We had photos of Stephen Fry cuddling one weeks ago in reply to JulieScardina #
@Padmasree no place on the form to say that I violently dislike the term “murderboarding”. sounds like an expose of CIA tortures in reply to Padmasree #
@Padmasree …so I gave her a completely different title that I think gets more at the core idea. But I haven’t read the book. in reply to Padmasree #
@nilofer no place on the form to say that I violently dislike the term “murderboarding”. sounds like an expose of CIA tortures #
must wind down & try to sleep enough before 3:30 am wakeup, 6 am flight to film the Crossbow team in MPK, then Indian dinner – fun! #
landed sfo. Never doing this early flight again. Can’t sleep the night before. Resent the people going on to Hawaii #
@miglsd apparently he already knew the vocabulary, since you didn’t mention it. ; ) in reply to miglsd #
@JulieScardina do I get prize? (just kidding – already getting a hat) in reply to JulieScardina #
learning all about Crossbow http://opensolaris.org/os/project/crossbow/ – and the team are enjoying being filmed #
@JulieScardina when I was a kid in Bangkok gibbons were fairly common pets (for foreigners), with mixed results. We preferred a python. in reply to JulieScardina #
@AmberCadabra sometimes what looks like arrogance is a culture difference. It’s too easy to have a gut reaction for the wrong reasons in reply to AmberCadabra #
â™º @communityone “Refer a friend to register to #CommunityOne and we donate to a non-profit of your choice, http://bit.ly/O8WhJ” #
today: OGB sec’y, Crossbow site review/plan, internal workshop on social media and videoblogging (slides still to complete). Um, lunch? #
@darrinschaos it was fun, thanks for setting this up. Interesting bunch with interesting questions. I’m exhausted. ; ) #
@davest thanks! Not surprsingly, they want to know more about Twitter. in reply to davest #
productive but very long 2 days in MPK. Do I now hang out in the office pretending to work, or go to the airport, eat dim sum, & drink beer? #
@sumaya Odd Day, this way, only works with the backwards way Americans do numeric dates… to [most of?] the ROW, today is 07/05/09 in reply to sumaya #
@deirdresm ugh. so sorry to hear it. in reply to deirdresm #
@avinashkaushik yes, but there were other ways to be online much earlier. I was doing CompuServe chat in 1982, and DARPANET is even older in reply to avinashkaushik #
RT @dfugate: “it was hard to keep a straight face about “TACOs”…”JUGs” will indeed be the end of …” Someone has a sly sense of humor #
I got my beer & dim sum tho I had to go to another terminal & security for it! #
TSA guy stared at me repeatedly while writing in a binder. Am I now on a list of pink-haired terror suspects? #
Young man on plane has hickeys. Eww #
Damn. Don’t have Dan T’s # to text him that I’d much rather sleep than have 8 am mtg. Won’t get home til 1. #
@avinashkaushik actually, I think that’s more understandable than sports jargon. People tend to forget that most sports are local in reply to avinashkaushik #
looking forward to an interesting summer of travel. Time to get vaccinated! #
@lskrocki next Friday would be great, I should be in town all week . MPK and then Kansas City the following. Then things get REALLY crazy. in reply to lskrocki #
@sumaya there have been plenty of real queens on Twitter for quite a while. ; ) in reply to sumaya #
@SteveEdiger I know a few people you could talk to about backup, starting with Durjoy… in reply to SteveEdiger #
was going to stay up and watch #Dollhouse tonight, but am too tired to do it justice. Hope the Tivo is doin’ its thing. #
someone asked how I have “so many” followers. I have no idea. Nor do I remember why I #
@DonMacAskill glad to hear it, I asked a friend to go but she believes too much in NYT reviews #startrek in reply to DonMacAskill #
roomie has adapted an orphaned wild bunny. Very cute, but not sure it’ll survive #
@timbray thanks, forwarding that to my mathematician husband in reply to timbray #
how do I unfriend someone in Facebook? he keeps sending me invitations for Milan-based things when I’ve told him I no longer live there! #
@jowyang re hand shaking, what will you do where the cheek kiss is de rigeur? Avoiding all germs just makes your immune system wimpy. in reply to jowyang #
@jmleray LOL. You & @jowyang had completely opposite reactions to http://bit.ly/80iZA – European vs. American? in reply to jmleray #
So not crazy about Mother’s Day. There’s a big hole in that area of my life. I can comfort myself I’m doing better with my own daughter. #
Countries Beginning with I “SxSWi: Is Privacy Dead, or Just Very Confused? ” http://bit.ly/1194h9 #
@JulieScardina friends in Thailand had a hugely fun pet otter. It play-fought VERY unfairly with their dogs. Talk about below the belt… in reply to JulieScardina #
just realized the YouTube videos of SxSWi sessions are only 6 minutes. I guess my recaps are useful after all. #
just saw last #Dollhouse. Hmm. Yes, I do want to know more. #
@missbhavens you are making me SO glad I had a very informal wedding. They all figured out where to sit, including my parents NOT together. in reply to missbhavens #
@missbhavens for color scheme, I suggest Mardi Gras colors: purple, gold, and green in reply to missbhavens #
orphaned baby bunny didn’t make it. internal injuries from falling into the window well in the 1st place, or overhandling by kids who found #

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Deirdré Straughan on Italy, India, the Internet, the world, and now Australia