Foss ed 2007

Over the past two days I was taking part in the FOSS (free open source software) event called FOSS ed .. And man it was an experience .. The event was about implementing open source alternatives which can be used on windows.. I'll not cover the concepts behind all this but anyone interested in the details should check this link out
http://www.foss.lk/events/2007/fossedforwindows
http://www.foss.lk

Anyways the event was the first time I attended aN FOSS event or any open source for That matter.. I should tell you that i grew up with windows and have never used anything else. but after the conference, I am seriously looking at using Linux. God knows they have made me a convert.. I dunno why but open source seems unspeakably cool, I think it has something to do with all the movies I watched has a kid about the computer geeks running around with a box and tht command line open an typing in code to thwart the evil plans of the malicious character in the film. OR maybe its the fact people associate hacking and all with Linix users, This latter parallel is completely off though open sourcers refer to hacking as a clever programming technique and our definition of hacking actually means CRACKING a system which is something they frown upon...
But The topics were'nt that interesting sometimes but the bit on web security and browsers and content management systems was pretty interesting .. and some of the speakers like suchetha and mifan really stood out..
I guess another thing that made the whole thing worth it was the venue.. The HNB tower simply has the best view of the park in colombo.. it just made for a really relaxed atmosphere..

On the whole the topics that were touched upon really opened ones eyes to the bigger picture that we more often than not miss. from the two days I spent I come away with clearer picture of how exactly open source software fits in to the software market and just how far propitiatory software companies collaborate, The interesting thing was I never realised that there where so many opensource alternatives available to be used on non open source platforms.
I'm pretty tired out from the day so I'll give you a more lenghty brakdown of the two days later

I wish to say that all in all FOSS ed was an experiance that was worth it and that these kind of events are jst the ticket to get more people to embrace the open source culture. and I am definitely going for the next FOSS event..

P:S as students we measure goddness by fodd.. and let e just say that the food was good and they kept us well fed :D

Sailing into a storm

I find myself being tossed around like a ship in a storm. This is not surprising since life is kind of like a journey into the big blue yonder. and like any voyage of note is fraught with danger from storms and reefs, in life some of the storms you encounter are in the image and vein of APHRODITE , or to put it simply the two legged beauties who would steal your soul with a glance ( OK so that seems a bit too much) I'm talking about the girls who come sailing in to your life and throw you off completely. I;m sure every guy has experienced this. These tempest are ungovernable and appear when you least expect it.. I'll not say that they are all bad , but they do mess you up pretty badly if you let them. And more often that not they do not appear as storms but rather as pleasant weather pattersn which will turn into a storm when your not looking. Ofcourse unlike real life storms thet dont feed of low presssure systesmor what not infact we males are the ones who suply what they need to tturn into storms.. I'm talking about all thsoe complex emotions and feeling that come boiling out of us all of a sudden.
There I was quite happy with my self just sailing my ship enjoying the waves and the sun and out of the blue Now I stand 4 feet deep in water being tossed up by the storm that caught me, sadly this time I saw this coming but I had not counted on it being this ferocious, In my arrgonace I thought I could sail through it sadly now I see the folly in my plan. This female has me confused and lost. But not in a completely bad way. What can I say I'm not sure what aI feel all I know is that my ship is getting hit by massive waves cested with anger jealousy and a myriad of other emotions. part of me wants to see the storm thorugh while another part of my mind tells me that I should turn around. Some times I wish I could turn back time and sail around the storm while sometimes I think ot meeting this storm would be a mistake,.. alas you can see the predicamemt of this poor mariner.
I wonder if this happened to Adam when he met Eve??? It would be nice if life was simple and the whole thing between girls and guys was clear and cut.. all I know for sure is that I'm close to drowning IN one sense or the other. I pray for a lil luck to cme my way , because I would be sad tolose what is at the heart of this storm.. sounds hopeless I know but what to you expect from an optimistic and hoplessly romantic poor salior..
MaybeI should talk too the storm

Sorting Life out

Its been almost a month since I last blogged .. Its the sad story of my life but i keep saying from now on I'll blog regularly but I end up not blogging for ages, I cannot remember when I became a procrastinator , but I think began ome time after my 18th b'day.. But when it began is immatireal the point is that it must end. I am no longer willing to just let my life slide away fom me, I want to be back in control.. The hardest part fo me is admitting that I lost control in the first place. (Takes a deep breath). I do not know who will see this but heres the truth for the lastfew months other than my studie I 've pretty much just floated along like a ship lost at Sea.. anyone looking at this blog will propably realise that. I mean a simple example . my blog content keeps jumping from tech related stuff to my crazy mutterings about life. I think I wuill continue in this vein but mostly I'll stick tothe crazy happenings in my life. I will start a seperate blog that will deal with my experiance in learning ruby and my other adventures in the relam of programming.

Essentially what I'm trying to do here through all this is sort out my plan for life. because I can no longer simply stand by and dream. Nor can i stand stil in because I fear failing top achieve my dreams. What do I WANT TO BE?? i want to be several things some of them connected to each other some not . THE time has come to decide what I want to be, I have not figured it all out but there are several things that I have decided.

1. I want to program

• So I want to learn ruby and java
• And be familiar with several programming languages

2. I want to build software solutions
3. Start my own IT Firm and build it into something meaningful
4. This may sound cliche but I would like to change the world for the better

There was a time I was scared to tell people this fearing ridicule.. But now i think laugh if you want but its my dream and my life and I will pursue it come hellfire or frost. Big word I know, B but I believe I have it in me to succeed.. All of us do self belief is the most powerful thing we human beings posses sadly From personal experiance I can tell you its is the last thing we draw upon.
But no longer will I let mysefl be brought down by lack of Self belief.