About

An expert is a person who avoids small error as he sweeps on to the grand fallacy. – Benjamin Stolberg

I have a great job with Red Hat, the world’s leading (and best) open source company. It’s full of people who are all smarter and faster than me, which makes it a constant challenge. Shh, that part’s just between you and me. Until they figure it out, I’m working as an engineering operations manager. Previously I was the Fedora Project Leader, so they haven’t caught on yet.

Disclaimer.

This should go without saying, but you can’t be too careful in this age of litigiousness. Nothing you find on this site represents the views or policies of any person or entity save myself. I occasionally write here about things going on in the Fedora Project but even then it’s often simply my personal opinion.

Comments.

This blog has moderated comments. That’s not because I don’t like to hear opinions (or specifically dissenting ones). It’s because often I see comments coming in that have dubious, or worse, motives or value. Sometimes these comments are negative to the point of personally attacking other people, and I don’t want my blog to be a conduit for that sort of negativity.

I see this blog like an extension of my house. It’s my privately owned space, and I allow others in because I like to be hospitable. To torture the house analogy a bit, I love to have cookouts or parties and invite friends over. But the fact that I open my house for a party doesn’t mean I want one guest throwing punches at another, or taking a leak on my couch. If you want to behave like that, you’re welcome to host your own party in your own house, but you’re not welcome at mine. Similarly, if you can’t be civil and constructive in your comments on my blog, I have no problem throwing them away.

Who I’d Like to Be.

Wise but wicked. Frank but funny. Powerful yet penitent. Strong but supple. Firm yet flexible.

Who I Fear I Am.

Aggressive and annoying. Banal and bitchy. Fat and lazy. Rigid yet ridiculous. Dumb and domineering.

Why I Bother.

All four of my friends, who read this blog. If you remove the comma, the previous sentence (however incomplete it might be) is no longer quite as true.

What I Love.

• Music. Playing it, but I love listening to it as well.
• Movies. Watching them, hearing about how they’re made, especially execution details like cinematography, production design, and directing. Effects, unless they’re truly groundbreaking, don’t really interest me all that much.
• Linux. Perhaps not quite as good as free sex or free speech, but even better than free beer, and no hangover. Usually.
• My family. Source of endless amusement and anxiety, and thus good material for the blog.

I criticize all of these constantly and vigorously, because it makes me happy, dammit.

What I Hate.

• I can’t just play music and hack on Linux all day every day.
• I’m too much of a wimp to admit that #1 isn’t really true, as long as I’m willing to give up a few creature comforts.
• People aren’t simply kind to each other, as nice a world as that might make.
• The arts are too much pay and not enough patronage.
• Del Amitri broke up.
• Politicians don’t address the real problems because when they do, we punish them.
• People spend too much time worrying about their neighbors’ bedrooms and not enough about their kids’.

I’m sure I’ll think of some more, given time. But the Del Amitri thing really cheeses me off, let me tell you.