Following two incredible Open Source Con experiences in the last three weeks - frOScon in St. Augustin Germany and the DrupalCon in Szeged Hungary - I have been feeling incredibly positive. I feel that I found what really matters to me in the FOSS world and probably the world at large ... I felt strong moments of epiphany in Szeged on this ...
It is all about community. Community, bringing people together to cooperate, working towards common goals and ideals, this is what makes us strong and successful in the Drupal community and what can make us strong elsewhere in life.
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"I may not have all the answers, but I'm always available!

— Douglas Hubler - 22.AUG.2008

In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to help the poor 3000 times. He never tells us homosexuality is a sin.

Funny, for all surveillance, Osama bin Laden is still free -- and we're not. Guess who's winning the "war on terror?"
The title of this post also refers to a quote, of course. It is attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Currently I can't find a definitive wording, but the gist of it is clear, I think. Here are two versions. I like the second best:
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
"Those who are willing to sacrifice their basic liberties to assure their security deserve neither."

— Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing, in reference to this BBC article.

The excellent folks over at Schmap guides, producers of very interesting interactive travel guides both online and as a desktop app, have shortlisted one of my photos for the next edition of their guide to Cologne! Yay my camera! Yay my shutter finger!
Even if it doesn't make the final editorial cut, I am flattered. I'm further inspired to keep snapping and posting.
Thank you, Schmap!

Overcast - The Music of Ed Partyka Performed by the Sunday Night Orchestra Featuring Efrat Alony
I am a long-time fan of Ed's music, but I've chosen to share with you a short sample of the only arrangement on the record, an eight.minute (!) version of "Time" by Tom Waits. This number really gives me goose bumps. I suppose I should also post a sample of Ed's music, too, since that's the actual point of the production ...
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This is the fourth movement of this so-called 'symphony.' This whole work is a fairly harmless, but charming bit of Baroque fluff, two slow movements, two fast movement, nice harmonies, 4th species counterpoint and all that. The arrangement is by the organist Hans-André Stamm from Leverkusen. This was recorded this week in St.
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This is a funny little piece from the Gallant period. It looks back to the Baroque in the beginning and then gives a nod to the coming Classical epoch (and even early Romanticism). This was recorded this week in St. Severin Church in Severin Strasse in Cologne, where I am playing a concert there with the organist, Gert Schmid on this coming Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 11 a.m. I captured this on my mini-disk player to see what was going on with the acoustics, my playing and so on.
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This is a recording I made this week in St. Severin Church in Severin Strasse in Cologne. I am playing a concert there with the organist, Gert Schmid on this coming Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 11 a.m. I captured this on my mini-disk player to see what was going on with the acoustics, my playing and so on.
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"You think that bassoons are just kind of ... advanced party-favors until they're not there. Then there's such a hole in the sound and you realize how much they contribute to the orchestra."

— Mark Taddei in Orchestral Repertoire for Winds at Victoria University, one Sunday in the late 1980s ... when the bassoons didn't show up.