My alma mater is awesome

And it is awesome in more ways than one. Here is the item of the day.

Since the NBA draft was shortened to two rounds in 1989, no school has had its name called more than the University of Arizona.

2 comments June 28th, 2008

Is is possible to enable OpenID in an SMF forum?

I own and admin several sites. I have a new forum site running Simple Machines Forum that I would like to open up to allow comments and/or account creation to users of OpenID. Has anyone out there done this? I’ve searched Google, the SMF documentation and so on. I have found lots of interest out there, but no implementations yet.

Before I start thinking about creating the time and figuring this out myself, I would rather conserve my energy and see if there is anyone out there that knows how, or has already done this.

8 comments June 25th, 2008

The Official Ubuntu Book, Third Edition, special Barnes & Noble custom edition

This is the third edition of a wonderful book about Ubuntu. The book itself will be for sale from multiple vendors.

The Barnes & Noble Custom Edition contains an extra chapter on the half-million strong Ubuntu Forums written by me. It gives a tour of the forums and its people, processes, and rules for getting assistance with your Ubuntu installation.

The book is slated for release on July 15, 2008. Pre-orders are being accepted on the Barnes & Noble website.

Huge thanks to Mako for allowing me to be a part of the project. I am honored and am thrilled to have my name attached to the book and the Ubuntu community, both in the forums and the greater whole.

4 comments June 19th, 2008

Father’s Day Top Ten for 2008

It is Father’s Day in the United States. I am not there currently, but it is where I am from. Even though it is not being celebrated where I am now, I thought I would post some fatherly advice.

To all the good fathers out there–thanks for taking time to love your kids and be there for them. This is a tribute to you.

1. Return borrowed things in better shape than when you borrowed them.
2. There are two types of trouble…one is the trouble you knowingly walk into, the other is trouble that just happens…it’s important to know the difference.
3. Walk softly but carry a big stick.
4. If you have to use said stick, make sure the one you use it on doesn’t get up.
5. Everyone is a friend until proven otherwise.
6. Don’t watch the clock when you’re at work.
7. That which does not kill you will hurt like the dickens, but it will make you stronger.
8. Family is the most important thing on earth.
9. If you don’t know something, go to the library (or the internet) and learn it.
10. There is a difference between an excuse and a reason; know it.

7 comments June 15th, 2008

Six Hundred Thousand!!!

In the middle of May 2007, just over a year ago, the Ubuntu Forums welcomed our 300,000th member. Within the last 24 hours we had the privilege of seeing that number doubled. That’s right, we just welcomed our 600,000th member!!

5 comments June 12th, 2008

Gender, competence and the Ubuntu philosophy

I want to go on record and say that I do not believe that gender plays any part in a person’s competence in leadership, intelligence or mental capacity. I’m tired of people questioning another person’s intellectual or technological abilities based on their biological plumbing. I’m sick of female members of technological communities feeling like they need, or want, to hide their gender because of very real bias they have sensed against them.

It’s slightly off-topic, but also for the record, I’m frustrated that this attitude exists in the music, and especially guitar-playing community as well, since that is something else I enjoy participating in.

Thankfully, this experience isn’t universal or constant. I know many ladies among us do not feel as if the gentlemen in and around our overall Ubuntu Linux community are sexist pigs. At least, I would wager they do not think that of most of them. And yet, the problem has not yet been eradicated.

We have at least one staff member in the forums who has chosen not to reveal their gender. That’s fine with me. This person was chosen to join the staff based on the merit of their service to the community, not their plumbing, not the color of their skin, not their politics, not their religion, not based on any other issue. This person is a competent and very helpful member of the community. Yet, there was a recent discussion about whether this person was a man or a woman. Why? Does it matter? The person is a wonderful addition and part of our community who would be missed if absent.

If a member of our community chooses to remain anonymous in name, gender, race/ethnicity, native language, place of origin, religion, political stance, sexual preference, or other things, let’s respect that. Some do so because they are private people who simply don’t wish to share their private lives. That’s cool. Some choose not to share out of fear of rejection, a fear that we often do not cause, but which is based on past experiences with which we were not involved. However, this is a fear which may be inflamed by our manner of address, joking, or perceived pushiness in asking questions that are too personal in nature, and therefore inappropriate…this is something we need to pay attention to on our end.

To the extent we are able, let us continue to make our community as safe of an environment as possible for people to be themselves. Let’s continue to encourage participation by all without strings attached, without the need for disclosing unnecessary details about their lives. At the same time, let us also allow the freedom to celebrate the differences shown by those who desire to reveal the personal bits about themselves, and by doing so, do all we can to make anyone who wants to be a part to feel welcome.

I am who I am because of who we all are…Ubuntu.

10 comments June 7th, 2008