Friends–An Interesting Perspective

While most folk know I have been out of the Navy for way longer than I was in the best posting I had was HMAS Parramatta from Feb 1988 to Jan 1991 (I discharged in 1994) .

I have been following a Facebook group HMAS PARRAMATTA - Past and Present and saw this…

CIVILIAN FRIENDS - Disown you for running around their house naked in front of a bunch of people none of you have ever met before

MILITARY FRIENDS - Take photos and then join you

CIVILIAN FRIENDS- Think its disgusting that you got so drunk you pissed your pants and drowned the phone in your pocket - in their bed

MILITARY FRIENDS-Upon hearing what happened say "That's fucked - that's why I don't sleep with my mobile in my pocket anymore" and help you turn their mattress over ...

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Get upset if you are too busy to talk to them for a week

MILITARY FRIENDS: Are glad to see you after many years; and will happily carry on the same conversation you were having last time you met.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Never ask for food

MILITARY FRIENDS: Are the reason you have no food

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr and Mrs

MILITARY FRIENDS: Call your parents Mum and Dad

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Bail you out of jail and then tell you what you did was wrong

MILITARY FRIENDS: Would be sitting next to you saying, 'Mate...we fucked up ....but what a giggle?

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry

MILITARY FRIENDS: Cry with you

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know a few things about you

MILITARY FRIENDS: Could write a book with a shed full of direct quotes from you

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing

MILITARY FRIENDS: Will kick the backsides of whole crowds that left you behind

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Would knock on your door

MILITARY FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, 'I'm home, got any beer!

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Share a few experiences.

MILITARY FRIENDS: Share a lifetime of experiences no civilian could ever dream of.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will take your drink away when they think you've had enough

MILITARY FRIENDS: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say, "You had better drink the rest of that, don't waste it." Then they carry you home and put you safely to bed.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will talk crap to the person who talks crap about you.

MILITARY FRIENDS: Will knock the crap out of people who use your name in vain

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know where you buried the body

MILITARY FRIENDS: Helped you bury the body

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will call you 'mate' as a term of endearment

MILITARY FRIENDS: Will call you a 'wanker ' c*#t or 'tosser' as a term of endearment

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Are for a while.

MILITARY FRIENDS: Are for life.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will ignore this

MILITARY FRIENDS: Will forward this to their military mates

Why did I share this with you? certainly not because I agree with all of these things but many certainly ring true with my experience.

What I do know is some friends I chose and others are because of circumstance, many I have not seen for a very long time and with the exception of a few many are MILITARY FRIENDS

 

I have a friend who describes her friends in rings, kind of the onion theory of compartmentalised friendships. It makes me think of Protected Mode CPU Ring Execution (but I’m a geek like that)

I think I’d like to treat everyone in the way described in this supposed to be funny posting but I suspect life doesn’t work out that way. Although there was a time in my life where it did and I’d like to reclaim at least a little bit of that.

Open Source Procurement Policy – Reverse Discrimination??

I was an interested observer when AGIMO published their Open Source Software Policy Principles and recently I asked why are they in my view so one sided… Oh and on Twitter

I do think the Idea is solid but just like so many other things where we try to level the playing field we go to far the other way can’t we just require a detailed evaluation report be produced for all evaluations … Oh Wait

Let me explain

There was a time when I was a bit of a hater when it came to use of Open Source Software and was often heard to say “Open Source is free if your time has no value”. These days I use quite a bit of software not produced by the closed source dynamos.

The Document that I’m wanting to discuss is

Australian Government Information Management Office
(AGIMO) Circular
 
Subject: Open Source Software Policy 
 
Approved by the Secretaries’ ICT Governance Board on 21 December 2010
 
Circular No:  2010/004

Now I think the intent is to level a playing field but I’d like to demonstrate how it really is reverse discriminatory.

Principle 1:  Australian Government ICT procurement processes must actively
and fairly consider all types of available software.

Australian Government agencies must actively and fairly consider all types of
available software (including but not limited to open source software and proprietary
software) through their ICT procurement processes. It is recognised there may be
areas where open source software is not yet available for consideration. 

Can we pretend that I am a Public Servant with a project that includes software? I like that all software types are actively and fairly considered that is great.

Not all requirements will have an Open Source option but how do I determine that?? There will always be someone who has better Bing err Google Foo than I. Am I responsible for an exhaustive search or is an ATM in ausTender the end of my responsibility?

Closed Source Vendors either respond or not this should apply to Open Source Vendors too in my view.

---

Principle 2: Suppliers must consider all types of available software when
dealing with Australian Government agencies.

Australian Government agencies will require suppliers to consider all types of
available software (including but not limited to open source software and proprietary
software) when responding to agencies‟ procurement requests.  
 
Agencies are required to insert this requirement into their tender documentation. 
Suppliers will need to provide justification outlining their consideration and/or
exclusion of open source software in their response to the tender.  Agencies will
determine compliance with this requirement when assessing tender responses.  

I have enormous problems with this Principle…

We provide solutions we are expert in implementing and supporting we do not pretend to be all things to all people.

This Principle forces two outcomes:

• Justification of consideration and/or exclusion of open source software. This forces a bidder to say something negative in order to be compliant either:

• We are not able to provide breadth of services or (not great about the bidder)
• All other options but the one we are pitching are inferior AND BTW we have checked them all (arrogant and maybe actionable)

I’d much prefer to talk about benefits of our solution and not even talk about things that don’t enhance the evaluation teams understanding of our capabilities.

• An evaluation team needs to decide about non compliance based on this requirement. What if a bidder says “we did not consider ANY open source options because we believe our closed source partner fits the requirement” is this a non compliant bid? Should IBM be required to explain why they did not pitch Exchange in place of Domino? or Vice Versa

---

Principle 3:  Australian Government agencies will actively participate in open
source software communities and contribute back where appropriate.

The Australian Government, through AGIMO, will actively seek to keep up-to-date
with international best practice in the open source software arena, through engaging
with other countries and organisations. Australian Government agencies should also
actively participate in open source software communities and contribute back where
appropriate.  

I have no problem with Principle 3

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The Key points I think are fantastic except Point 4. I think it needs work and hopefully I will have explained my position adequately enough to help someone smarter than me to redraft something a little better.

Key Point 4.  Agencies should consider re-using existing software assets before acquiring either open source or proprietary software.

I think the decision to reuse existing assets is often not taken due to fear of being accused of not being open to the market, particularly when software licencing bundles include features where there are vendors of niche software now commonly included in most operating systems.

This usually makes Departments go to tender to seem impartial and then something unexpected happens, nobody bids the product / feature that is bundled because you can’t sell someone something they already own.

This is a shame because the bundled product often needs to be disabled at risk to the solution and expense, all because the evaluation team has no option but to say if the vendor wanted us to use their product they would have bid it.

This really is a big issue not strictly related to OSS but I’m sure a frustration for IT Teams who if they could, would in house bid the product they have and can manage best.

Of course they shouldn’t have to.

Conference shenanigans and Doctors visits

Last Tuesday was the opening of TechEd Australia and I'd made my annual pilgrimage to suckle at the teat to get my nourishment of all things technical in the Microsoft World.

The other main reason I go to TechED is to catch up with techo's from all over many of whom I consider to be close friends.

After the welcome party, an online technical community AuTechHeads had it's second annual party at Waxy's Irish Pub. This was the beginning of my reminder that I'm not 20 years old anymore.

So there were a large number of people in the upstairs bar and Kilkenny takes a little while to settle, keen to get from the bar to where we were standing I saw a gap and headed at pace toward it... Complicating things I saw someone I knew a turned my head to acknowledge them sitting there. Just then boom flat on my guts and let's say damp from 2/3 of a pint. Yep saved a third pint still in hand ;)

See the small black staging in the picture? They were separated and not really high visibility so I tripped and belly flopped on one.

I must say the security dude was way on top of his game and was right at me, asking are you alright?, do you need help? do you want to fill in an accident report.

Of course I'm fine, no I'm good and I'm embarrassed enough so no.

Several Kilkenny's later I went back to my apartment and went to bed of course when I woke up dude this is pretty uncomfortable and here is a warning boys one visual inspection does not equal oh crap I've popped a kidney. Just settle petal and DRINK LOTS of water.

I limped around gingerly for the rest of the conference and come Sunday caved to the wife pressure to see our doctor checked that I hadn't put a rib through a lung, which I have not and said take Paracetamol and Ibuprofen 4 times a day and if in 2 weeks it still hurts come back for a scan yay.

All in all great conference and great friends but beer and dark rooms CAN be the gift that keeps on giving ;)

Are you coming to InfraSat in BrisLantis? I am

Last year I had the opportunity to attend Infrastructure Saturday in Brisbane and remember having a fantastic day.

There is a call for topics coming soon and not certain I won't want to talk, maybe format and something interesting to say will be my limiting factors.

Perhaps I should talk to Shane and Alan about a session where folk get to pitch an idea or a project they would like to get off the ground and would want some help collaborating on, kind of the 2-5 minutes pitches at the end of Bar Camp

Any way if I were to talk about anything it would be Identity and Access Management or Run Book Automation or maybe BOTH how about System Center FIMhestrator ????

I'll be having a think about what I could do and maybe you should too. Last Year I saw the first Public Presentation by the Molk and I hope not the last by any stretch.

ANYWAY it all starts with registration and ends with Beer on Saturday Night so are you interested ...

UPDATE:-

With the Quick Pitch Session idea I was meaning …

Something like Teachmeet sessions

• Micro-presentations - lasting 7 minutes
• Nano-presentations - lasting 2 minutes

Micro Presentations could be a Quick Tip / Idea / Best Practice and a few Minutes Q&A

Nano Presentations might be I have been thinking about how we might build Blah here are the beginnings of the requirements… Can we collaborate on Documentation, Automation, Design. Who's with me?