about me

The Twitter Diaries: 2009-02-15: Colorado

February 15, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

@rosso and she left Colin Firth for Ralph Fiennes. Tough choice. [The English Patient] in reply to rosso #
this week had a conversation with a videographer who read about my videoblogging job and wanted to know how he could do the same. #
I advised him to pitch a proposal to a company he’d like to work for, about how cheap and effective videoblogging is (I can supply stats) #
@trine thinking healthy thoughts for you. in reply to trine #
NOT pleased to be having trouble with my WP on DreamHost today #
@SaraD govt is involved [in marriage] because it’s a legally binding contract, which the law enforces. Church or other religious institution optional in reply to SaraD #
@mmcallen OTOH, big gain for environment in reply to mmcallen #
@SaraD depending on your beliefs, you could try: “Some people like to get married in a church with a priest, but it isn’t really necessary. in reply to SaraD #
@SaraD and go on to a fascinating discussion of all the other ways to get married, including other types of religious ceremonies in reply to SaraD #
@seancarlos status says there were DNS changes. in reply to seancarlos #
@ChuckBlakeman because people don’t know how to manage relationships, but do know how to buy advertising. Real marketing IS relationships in reply to ChuckBlakeman #
fiddling with Ross’ new blog http://www.rossellalaeng.com/ so she can start making her own money on ads, instead of letting Fotolog do so #
learned how to mount an NTFS hard disk on a Mac using MacFuse – yay, me! #
it was a nice party – good company, dancing, food. Launch the copy of Tivo’ed House and Housewives for husband and daughter. Then bed. #
@ChuckBlakeman OTOH “build good relationships with your customers” is good practice for any size of business. Exactly how to do that varies in reply to ChuckBlakeman #
@MMaryMary I have very mixed feelings about all the ways American kids are turned into sales forces. Glad we didn’t have that in Italy in reply to MMaryMary #
octuplets’ mom “looks to God for help”(Reuters). Didn’t she ask Oprah first? #
@italylogue I’d like to see it in reply to italylogue #
@italylogue ranted back at you. ; ) in reply to italylogue #
@Schlomo aww. I’ll be out in your fair city soon,and will happily give you a hug. in reply to Schlomo #
<sigh> Italy is even managing to screw up the things it’s supposed to be good at: http://tinyurl.com/aj33b6 #
Enrico getting organized to spend 2.5 months (research) in US. Columbia, MO, isn’t exactly commuting distance, but it’s closer than Italy. #
@italylogue as I was saying: http://tinyurl.com/dgrn32 in reply to italylogue #
where’s Martin Luther? http://tinyurl.com/bz4k9m #
ironically, two of my tweeps within 5 minus of each other: 1. “Great day! ” 2. “For the record: today was awful. ” #
took out 4 of the 5 stitches, I think the last one needs a little more time. Now it’s all itchy around there. #
the mysterious mole was just that – a mole, not a melanoma. And I still have one stitch to remove #
hmph. it always has to snow on days I absolutely have to go in to the office (in this case, to film an open storage roadshow) #
Filming a road show on open storage #
@rosso is that [backup] a standard wp feature? Need it badly #
registration for the Open Storage Summit http://tinyurl.com/dn3szv coming along nicely. Is there any interest in remote participation? #
@jeffreytaylor @missbhavens @trine often the case that my online readers know more about me than my parents, who don’t read me online in reply to jeffreytaylor #
@seancarlos stumbleupon has always been a good source of traffic for me, I just need to remember to stumble my own new posts in reply to seancarlos #
@davest as if there was any doubt for SuperDave! in reply to davest #
damn. Denver Twestival is the other side of the city from me, way too far to go after a long workday in a tiring week #
@gapingvoid but then Austin would have to secede from the rest of Texas… in reply to gapingvoid #
@lskrocki http://tinyurl.com/bvzg8x in reply to lskrocki #
@gapingvoid re UHaul, does that reflect a desire to escape Austin or a shortage of UHaul trucks in SF? in reply to gapingvoid #
@gapingvoid been going on for decades. Probably all Michael Dell’s fault. Austin was a much smaller town when I last lived there (’85) in reply to gapingvoid #
@jyarbrough which boat was that? whichever it was, I think I fell out & drowned a while ago. in reply to jyarbrough #
at least the workday ended with good scotch & a pleasant meeting. To be followed by massage and a Bollywood tearjerker #
roomie helped me get the last stitch out. So that’s over. #
reviewing video in the USB stick we’ll be giving out at the Open Storage Summit and FAST. It surprises even me how much video I’ve done #
damn. Dad’s in the hospital again. Sounds awful. yet another chest infection. Tell me this has nothing to do with 50 years of smoking? #
@trine what book is that?(and thanks for the good wishes for Dad) in reply to trine #
!@#$@# just found seven edited videos I forgot to post back in December. I am doing way too much. #
@reiger we did give out 4GB sticks at HPC events, which included the HPC developer software stack. in reply to reiger #
@lskrocki you might want to follow @seancarlos – tweeting live from SMXWest, useful stuff in reply to lskrocki #
@trine very cool! has @jdlasica seen it? JD: http://tinyurl.com/bcgb8q (review) and http://tinyurl.com/al7p8d (book) in reply to trine #
@lskrocki did you get a confirmation on those $ yet? in reply to lskrocki #
glad to see my favorite fanvid is still on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/c4afmd #
something to think about: many of the high-powered, successful women I’m meeting have stay-at-home husbands #
Kal Ho Naa Ho is fun, but too long to finish watching in one night. And what is with Shah Rukh and his damned hair? [always smoothing it back] #
Jill Tarter’s TED prize wish got me to thinking. Emails were sent. Results are happening. Stay tuned! #TED #
you know community video is working when… http://tinyurl.com/ctgtbb (see last comment) #
@storagebod any chance you’ll be in the Bay Area for FAST? We’d love to meet you at the Open Storage Summit http://tinyurl.com/dn3szv #
@storagebod sorry to hear it. We’ll be having another around SNIA in September, maybe that will be our chance. in reply to storagebod #
@ThinGuy agree re the [modern Saturday morning] cartoons. The few I’ve seen look so ugly. in reply to ThinGuy #
major psyched: Tucker Bradford of SETI will speak at the Open Storage Summit about SETI’s storage needs and how our community can help #
…and that’s a result of #TED #

portfolio

ZFS Discovery Day: Understanding the Technology

February 9, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

Tim Thomas presents part of Sun UK’s ZFS Discovery Day. ~40 mins.

filmed & edited by Deirdré Straughan

what I do

Some Days…

February 9, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

We decided to send out the OpenSolaris repositories to OpenSolaris user groups worldwide on iPods. Turns out you can’t copy iPods on a USB duplicator (no big surprise), so I spent three days copying the repos to them individually… Then I made ~240 USB sticks with videos, also for the OSUGs…

about me

The Twitter Diaries: 2009-02-08

February 8, 2009 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

@divinacucina yummy! especially with anchovy dressing in reply to divinacucina #
Divorcing Italy went to my mailing list this am, one unsubscribe request already. Folks cherishing a dream prefer to hear the nice stuff. #
@divinacucina ooo, must try those. There are times when I have a deep, visceral craving for anchovies. in reply to divinacucina #
@italylogue looking forward to it. +ing you to the RSS feed of stuff I share on Current Events in Italy (Google thinks I’m the world expert) in reply to italylogue #
@italylogue me the world expert? Italy should be frightened! in reply to italylogue #
@KathySierra wd be interesting for a company to try sponsoring a LACK of ads, say on a public space. Good PR value? in reply to KathySierra #
come to think of it, I never see Sun advertising in any traditional sense #
@jowyang my impression is that the Davos types are mostly interested in interacting with each other in reply to jowyang #
excited that we’ll get live streams from TED at Sun campuses next week – I’ve always wanted to attend #
@pizzocalabro thanks. Sadly, the paying market is in the romanticized fluff, e.g. Under the Tuscan Sun. “Italy porn”, I guess. in reply to pizzocalabro #
what is the big deal if Phelps smokes dope? So have several presidents. #
hmm. How on earth did I get a page hit from Jeff Jarvis’ site? Not that I mind… #
@jowyang you can get a courtesy snort, the usual reaction to puns in reply to jowyang #
I’ll be in SFO week of Feb 22-Mar 1. Who else? #
@pizzocalabro my boss in Milan smoked truly nauseating Toscani cigars IN THE OFFICE in reply to pizzocalabro #
can’t stay still too long: just arranged to go to Las Vegas NM to visit friends and teach high schoolers about blogging, or something #
@jowyang it’s amazing how efficient Italian law can be when prosecuting the wrong things. Meanwhile, a multiply-indicted prime minister… in reply to jowyang #
@jowyang http://tinyurl.com/conkyk “The judges could decide that YT/Goog = a newspaper or TV editor, and can be held responsible for…” in reply to jowyang #
@jowyang “…whatever is transmitted…. This trial is important, relevant to our [Italy’s] future – not Google’s.” in reply to jowyang #
non capisco la storia Google. Dicono di aver rimosso il video entro 24 ore dalla richiesta, ma qui: http://tinyurl.com/c64wyd – 2 mesi? #
@deirdresm hmm, maybe we can meet for lunch? in reply to deirdresm #
@storagebod at least no one can accuse you of sandbagging your personal goals. ; ) in reply to storagebod #
NYC in Legos: http://tinyurl.com/b49qqo #
@frank_dobner e’ una di quelle parole per cui non esiste una traduzione adeguata in italiano. Il che sarebbe un bel tema per un articolo… in reply to frank_dobner #
We have subtitled video! Yay! http://tinyurl.com/b2vwk4 #
@frank_dobner pensavo piuttosto al fatto che il concetto sembra non esistere in Italiano in reply to frank_dobner #
do our banks not have anybody with a single brain cell working in PR? Expensive furniture and Las Vegas junkets right NOW?? #
@frank_dobner non ho mai provato, potrebbe dipendere piu’ dalla tastiera in reply to frank_dobner #
@deirdresm great! I’ll probably be at Sun’s MPK offices Tuesday and Friday in reply to deirdresm #
the doctor took a piece out of my left forearm today to biopsy, probably just a funny-looking mole #
this is only the 3rd time I’ve had stitches. Post-shower, should I put on a new bandaid? more Vaseline? looks clean, a bit sore & itchy #
@darios attenzione, c’e’ ne sono due di Chris Anderson nelle news questa settimana! in reply to darios #
ow, stitches catching on bathrobe. Bandaid it is. #
@frank_dobner skin cancer screening (long overdue given my childhood in the tropics) turned up a suspicious mole, now removed for biopsy in reply to frank_dobner #
@om I wonder how much people get out of conferences who spend so much attention blogging them. Great svc to those who can’t attend, but… in reply to om #
@gaspart il governo italiano dovrebbe farmi un’offerta simile. ; ) in reply to gaspart #
@seancarlos got any suggestions on good liveblogging apps? in reply to seancarlos #
<grumble> the author of “Eat, Pray, Love” gets to speak at TED. I named my website “Countries Beginning with I” before her book came out. #
@italylogue I refuse to read it. I avoid all that “finding yourself under a foreign sun” stuff. Have lived too long overseas myself. in reply to italylogue #
@emmabird the more I hear, the more I think reading it would give me an ulcer in reply to emmabird #
@italylogue a friend has suggested I self publish material from my site, but that seems like too much work right now in reply to italylogue #
hmm. There are gaping holes in the Web 2.0 schedule, but my talk was turned down. Because I’m not a regular on the speaker circuit? #
I can see how Anderson went from mish kid to TED, via Woodstock school. That’s MY tribe #
Yann arthus bertrand’s new film will be distributed free. #
Dancing geeks seems to be a theme in my life lately. Great minds #
@mmcallen not sure what to make of her. Reminds me of Leonard Cohen somehow #
some1 I barely know emails me to pray for some1 I don’t know at all. Should I tell her that, as an atheist, this makes me uncomfortable? #
it was very cool to watch TED streamed live at Sun’s Broomfield office. Would have been infinitely cooler to be there, of course. TED envy. #
@missbhavens courage, sister. If your biological family is dysfunctional, build a new one. in reply to missbhavens #
awake too early, too much on my mind #
why are stitches black? it looks like an insect is partially embedded in my arm (no, I don’t like this image, either) #

so how does a newcomer break into the conference speaking circuit? (Yes, I’ve done some speaking, but so far only in Italian!) #
I need to test out Ooovoo – anyone else using it? #
@IgorMinar anyone who doesn’t know that engineering is an art knows nothing about engineering. in reply to IgorMinar #
#ted the sound of the bansuri takes me back to my schooldays #
@KathySierra it can sometimes be good PR, but ultimately not worth it to the individual in reply to KathySierra #
@mmcallen mosquitos, actually. He seemed to think only poor people ever experience them. ??? in reply to mmcallen #
beating my head against corporate brick walls. Gets very tiring, but eventually we will get this fixed. The right way. #
@pizzocalabro OTOH, if you tutor him, he may do well enough to get into the Air Force or Navy where he’s less likely to get killed in reply to pizzocalabro #
@jeffreytaylor congratulations! No small feat! [being together 13 years] #
@jowyang in Austin, Ironworks will serve you a fast and excellent lunch in reply to jowyang #
@MikeLaSpina excellent! Looking forward to meeting you. in reply to MikeLaSpina #
awakened by a dream that I was laid off after all. Reading Paul Krugman didn’t help. #
@daniele3957 magari Berlusca pensava a se stesso come il padre dei figli di Eluana. in reply to daniele3957 #
Yes, I can be arrogant, egotistical, and hot-tempered. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. #
interesting discussion among people who REALLY know storage about long-term archiving of family photos: http://tinyurl.com/as47ap #
@jowyang since Sun is paying me to do it, to ensure that Sun’s money is well spent. [why measure ROI on social media] in reply to jowyang #
@springnet re. water http://tinyurl.com/aznfd5 see podcast on Reforming Water, Transforming Women: Does Gender Matter in Water Management? in reply to springnet #
@markramsey wow, Luby’s, definitely memories of my younger days. in reply to markramsey #
I admit herbie hancock not doin it for me. Didn’t get much from the dance either. But “10 things you didn’t know about orgasm” – whee! #
@mmcallen http://tinyurl.com/dxmt3h in reply to mmcallen #
@MikeLaSpina btw, we will be translating more of your blog (and Ben’s) – getting together the SOW in the next week in reply to MikeLaSpina #
Home Making: http://tinyurl.com/aqlhkm #
@mmcallen thanks, but which one – the old one about flushing or this morning’s new one? in reply to mmcallen #
I was going to order more photos printed t hang on my walls, but Costco’s photo site is acting up, and I don’t have the patience #
just bought a Bose iPod dock for tomorrow night’s dance party #
@dfugate it will be your motherly duty to look severe even when you want to laugh your butt off in reply to dfugate #
@penelopetrunk your body is telling you you have GOT to stop for a while. Trust me on this, been there (yes, all the way to pneumonia) in reply to penelopetrunk #

bio

Home Making

February 7, 2009 Deirdre Straughan 1 Comment

^ Memories, new and old: An embroidered silk hanging from the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, Delhi, which I bought during an epic shopping spree with Yuti, and the decorated tin trunk I bought in Mumbai from artist Rashmi Dogra while visiting Deepu, combined with an American mission-style dresser. The objects on the dresser include figurines bought at the Crafts Museum in Delhi, diyas, a piece of driftwood from Gouverneur Beach in St. Barth’s, and a photo (in a Kashmiri frame bought in Mussoorie) is of Rossella and friends in a Woodstock production of The Taming of the Shrew. On the wall to the right you can see the edge of an appliqued wall hanging I bought with Sara during a visit to Mumbai.

I’ve been residing in Colorado since last March, but during that time have been traveling so much that it’s taking a while to get settled. What I’ve done so far towards setting up my home reminds me of my college days: starting from scratch in a new place with limited personal space, trying to keep spending down, while surrounding myself with objects rich in memory. I’m enjoying the opportunity to decorate all of my space in my own way, instead of having to find niches among Enrico’s family heirlooms.

I’m living in a large suburban house with a Sun colleague, Kathleen, from whom I rent two bedrooms and a bath. We share most of the house and fixtures, which saved me an enormous amount on kitchen stuff and furniture. I didn’t even have to buy beds, thanks to Kathleen (who had a single bed waiting for me, made even, the day I arrived) and Dan and Karen, who gave me a king-sized futon (which Dan delivered and carried up the stairs, bless him – the thing must weigh 200 pounds).

My furniture investment so far has been minimal: a dresser, a desk, second-hand bookshelves, and, just recently, a chair to go with the desk. It’s a pity there’s no Ikea in Colorado, but there is American Furniture Warehouse.

The Shaker desk above came from a very nice furniture place (not AFW), but was on sale cheap, probably because the drawers stick. Furniture needs to be tempered for Colorado, or the dry air can cause such problems. The prints are from my beloved Elfquest, something I’d been meaning to buy for a long time.

I wasn’t using the desk much til this week, when I finally got around to getting a chair so that, if I’m stuck working at home because of snow, I can at least be comfortable. Yes, I use two computers at once. Often I do email etc. on one while the other is processing video.

This is in my “office” room, along with the single bed and:

The painting is from/by Ross. Sue and Jack should also recognize gifts from themselves in this photo!

The larger room, in addition to the dresser shown above, contains:

This painting by Rashmi Dogra illustrates icons of Indian life common 20 years ago. She was amused that I wanted this painting – none of her usual Mumbai clients were interested in this kind of nostalgia.

Above the bed I hung a length of ikat material bought at Dilli Haat. The window treatments are curtains from an American chain with torans from a SEWA store in Delhi.

I’ve been decorating with photographs, some of friends and family:

…some travel photos that I never got around to printing before…

Thanks to Donna and Sarah for the housewarming gifts (though they don’t even know each other, they picked the same picture frame, in different colors):

^ photos from Viterbo, taking during the Imaging in Italy tour I did a few years ago. I have so many great photos from that trip…

^ these are from our visit to Jaipur

^ another piece of Indian nostalgia, this time purchased on a trip to Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar (Thieves’ Market) with Deepu. The guy in the red shirt is Amitabh Bachchan, by now the grand old man of Indian cinema. Nowadays, such an ad would be for a luxury car, not a bicycle!

I’ve still got plenty of space to fill, but am in no hurry to do so. I don’t mind the relative emptiness, and I prefer to buy things over time, making each purchase significant, not just a way to fill space. (I only bought the dresser after several months, when the lack of drawers began to seriously annoy me.) But what I do have in here already helps it feel like home.

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