In June, 2009, I went to Porto Alegre, Brazil, to help staff a Sun booth (along with many other people, a bunch of whom became friends) at FISL, billed as the world’s largest open source conference.
The Twitter Diaries: 2009-07-05: New Zealand
- 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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President Lula of Brazil Meets OpenSolaris
Some of our OpenSolaris user group leaders in Brazil got to meet their president. I was privileged to get up close to film.
President Lula of Brazil Meets OpenSolaris
At FISL 10, Porto Alegre, Brazil, June 26, 2009.
filmed & edited by Deirdré Straughan
The Twitter Diaries: 2009-06-28: Brazil
- 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 cachaça tasting tonight, thanks to our colleague Eduardo. #
- lost my bit.ly login and their password reminder isn’t working. #$%#% #
- last night saw O Teatro Mágico – 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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