Five Minutes

For anyone who saw our lightning talk at OSDC and wants to view Pac Wars in their own home cinema, you can view it on YouTube, courtesy of shenki.

Is it just me, or does the koala as printed on the OSDC bag bear a striking resemblance to the dog from the Rubber Johnny video clip? (OK, it’s probably just the eyes, really.)

Odds that a Brisbane native will actually cross a street without a green pedestrian light: 20/1.

Odds that I’ll do a lightning talk: 5/1.

Odds that I’ll do a lightning talk that isn’t a rant about something: 100/1.

Odds that someone (or, in Julien’s case, some TV) will end up in the Royal pool: 3/2.

Odds that the registration process for OSDC will go smoothly: bets closed, because it did.

Officially, I’m now at OSDC. There are people sitting on couches sucking down wireless and killing their battery life. It’s good to be back in the conference groove.

Just wandered out of my hotel to grab a snack and a drink (strangely, minibar prices remain unattractive to me), and I was surprised at how many people were still on the streets of Brisbane at a bit after 10 pm on a Monday. Coming from Perth, the land of it’s 5:01 pm — quick, everybody out of the city so the tumbleweeds can roll!, it’s a little disconcerting.

I drove up to Rockhampton on Friday and then spent a long weekend there and Hervey Bay. Going to Rockhampton and Great Keppel Island (for a daytrip) means that I’ve now entered the tropics within Australia, which is another remarkably minor geographical milestone that I can cross off. GKI is nice, but incredibly expensive (even moreso than Queenstown, which isn’t something I ever expected to say). In spite of being subtropical, Hervey Bay actually felt more like the stereotypical tropical paradise — the laid-back beach lifestyle just didn’t seem as forced. Plus, way less expensive.

Tomorrow it’s time to get my hacking boots on, because OSDC is here. I’m looking forward to it; it’s my first OSDC and my first conference since LCA in January. Feel free to say hello if you see me wandering the halls — I don’t bite.

Well, there was that one time, but I maintain he deserved it. Also, I was five years old. I’d like to think that I’ve grown since then, if only physically.

(Finally, since Derick just prodded me about it on IRC, no, I haven’t forgotten about Dubnium. I’m hoping to be pretty close to a 0.2 release — that’s the release that might actually be usable — in about a fortnight.)

My bank balance has worn one — actually, several — for the team, but I’ve finished a very productive day arranging the various bits of travel that I have planned for this summer. In order, I shall be inflicting myself on gracing the following cities with my presence:

• Brisbane (and any parts of Queensland I can get to during the five days I’m hitting the road that aren’t infested with schoolies): November 20 to 30, ostensibly to attend OSDC. Also the Muse concert on the 21st. I’m still not sure which one I consider more important.
• Shanghai: December 5 to 20, for a university study trip. I also have about 24 hours in Singapore (which I’ve never been to — well, outside the airport, anyway) on the way back, so if the lazyweb has any suggestions for things to do there which could be fitted into, say, a morning, I’d love to hear them.
• Mel8ourne: January 27 to February 3. I note that an open day has been scheduled for my birthday. How good of the LCA organisers to give me such a nice present.

Simplistic maths suggests that I’m going to be out of Perth for ~45% of the time between November 20 and February 3. Sounds like a summer of fun to me!