I was going to write up something about the team behind FOSS.IN and how amazing it feels to be a part of this team, but then tejasd has already done all the hard work, so I'll be lazy and link to his post :p

Clicky!

Like I'd mentioned earlier...to me, FOSS.IN is about the people. There are quite a handful of friends I meet there, year after year...and then there's my extended family, Team FOSS.IN :)

Thanks a lot everyone, for everything you've all done for the event and it's an honour working with you all, year after year.

PS : Yes, I have about a 100 odd pics, which I will be uploading shortly :p

and for code_martial (in response to http://code-martial.livejournal.com/183623.html), a little statement :)



I'm not going to be able to sleep now.

And no, I'm not referring to Eid/Diwali/Christmas :p

FOSS.IN/2007, India's most happening Open Source event is being held in Bangalore from the 4th to the 8th of December. My tickets are booked and I'll be there for sure :) The CFP closes in about 4 days, now would be a good time to clicky that linky.


The foremost thing that comes to mind when someone says FOSS.IN to me, are the people. Time for some history -- Back in the days, when we were still known as Linux Bangalore and when louiswu and myself attended LB/2001 (the only time we attended as errr "attendees") it was simply mind blowing. The people, the energy, the enthusiasm. So much so that we told ourselves, the next year, we'll be volunteers. Because it's so cool to be a volunteer and help these folks out.

In 2003, we did that and then realised what "Volunteering" really meant :p I shall not go into the gory details lest I scare off potential volunteers from coming to this years event hehehehe. But I'm sure every person who's volunteered in the past understands exactly what I'm talking about. And as in 2001, we met the same bunch of folks and a bigger bunch of newer folks. At this point you lose count of the number of people you had mini distro wars with, the number of "poke your nose in to say vi rulez" kind of things you've done. You finally start associating familiar faces with names and you know you'll see them the next year, at the same place. Once every year, for 3 days.

Oh and once you've volunteered, you've given away a part of your life. Signed away your soul. One of those Ghostrider type deals :p LB/2004, FOSS.IN/2005 and FOSS.IN/2006 (and frankly, I don't know how many more years are there to come), but it's wonderful. Meeting those people, those hallway discussions, those gaming sessions we managed to sneak in last year, the impromptu help offered in the hallways, suggestions on how we can tweak Apache....that's what makes FOSS.IN awesome. The people. Meeting them once a year. Spending 5 days slogging out to make sure everything runs fine. Running around on those 5 days making sure everything IS running fine ;) Getting hardware the day before, Harald fixing USB wireless issues, Andrew lending a hand in making sure stuff gets done on schedule. All part of the game. We've come to expect the unexpected in these past years and I'm sure this year will be an absolute blast.

If you've never been to one before, you should drop by. I'll be there, will you?

Blood Diamond

I think this is one very well made movie about conflict diamonds. It actually shows the struggles of Africa, the civil wars, the greed which turns people into killing machines, the many million child soldiers in Africa and other issues. Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly (though in a limited capacity) deliver power packed performances. In the end, you leave the hall thinking that if you ever buy a diamond, you're going to make sure it isn't a conflict diamond.

Sort of a documentary (good amounts of information), but very well made. Keeps you on the edge of your seat and the ending is quite nice.

Night at the Museum

Another well made movie. Honestly, I wasn't too interested in going to see this one, but went for one reason - Ben Stiller and boy, I'm glad I did. It's a very well made story, nice comedy, overall a very good and enjoyable movie.

Kabul Express

More of a documentary of sorts. But then again, nicely made, good dialogues and scenes. Never a boring moment but had a predictable ending. Worth a watch for sure.