Hacktivism - Software Freedom - Feminism

As some of you may know Foulab have relocated from Ultramount to Saint Henry last December. We are now well established in our new Hacker Space. Join us for an afternoon of Workshops and an evening of revelry.

The events kick off at 3 pm with the following workshops:

1. Arduino 2: "I got the LED blink, now what?" with fx and xsmurf (frenglish). Learn how to connect other gadgets to the Arduino to expand its capabilities.
2. LegionLab's Basic Electronics! (frenglish) Prepare to understand everything.
3. Web Security Snacks with gus and dataworm (frenglish). You're a web developer and you are worried about your application safety? gus and dataworm will introduce you to web security basics.

Над тези стръмни стрехи от железо
и тези булеварди от асфалт
поне един път няма ли да слезе
снегът от небесата като бял
и лъчезарен ангел? Аз не вервам.

Във този черен като въглен град
ще бъде зимата наверно черна,
незнайни - ангелите и снегът.
И ако дойде накога, без жал
жестоки ще го стъпкат със обувките си
стражарите и проститутките,
ще му почернят белите пера
димът на гарите и на комините...

Бял сняг ще има само във градините,
където са играели деца.

— Атанас Далчев

FSF is raising funds in order to be able to fund a few more women's travel to the upcoming Women's Caucus at the Libre Planet meeting next month.

As we've been talking about increasing women's participation in free software one of the things we've realized is that women typically have less access to funding for travel to conferences.

Support the Women's Caucus Travel Fund.

The last Sunday of the month at Foulab is reserved for the Free Software Workshops, known as Les Ateliers du Libre (APL).

This 28th of February, from 1pm to 5pm, we also host a presentation/training by Yannick Delbecque on LATEX – a document preparation system and a standard for the communication and publication of scientific documents.

In the meantime, there will always be time and place for Free Software and GNU/Linux installations, exchange and technical assistance for the ones who need help. Professionals and amateurs, everyone is invited! Bring a friend :)

[Version en français plus bas]

On Friday, February 26th we will be hosting FACIL, an advocacy organisation that promotes software freedom and open formats, for our next 5@7. FACIL will be filling us in on the initiatives underway to promote the adoption of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS): the status of FLOSS within the government of Quebec, ACTA, tou.tv. Please join us for a stimulating and fun
discussion about making inroads for free software in traditionally closed-source environments.

LinuxCNC it the "home of users of the Enhanced Machine Controller - EMC". There's everything about the EMC there - definitions, howtos, configurations, helps. There's this wonderful users manual (PDF) which I am reading now, and has all the vital information for understanding how the EMC works. Here are some first interesting points that I noted, but if you want to know (much) more, read the whole manual.

The Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC2) can control machine tools, robots, or other automated devices. It can control servo motors, stepper motors, relays, and other devices related to machine tools.

On my way back from Sweden in November, the border agent told me I should change my Permanent Resident Card (PRC) because it is expiring in December. This coincied with the fact I was already a resident in Canada for the past five years.

So, instead of celebrating an anniversary, I realise the procedure takes for ever, and I risk having papers problems for months and months before I get legal again. So, what's it all about? One of the things is that the renovation procedure takes... 4 months! Yes, you heard well. A simple card, which at other institutions takes 10 minutes to check, photograph you, and print, it takes 4 months to Canadian Government. And yet, the procedure is way too complcated that it has to be.

Just a few weeks ago I was wondering what life after thesis would look like. It was actually a good question, having in mind my actual state ofmind - short-term projects, e-mails to reply to and promissed-and-never-fulfilled old tasks, books for fun and long awaited meetings. So, just to illustrate this feeling, here's Cecilia's, my phd/confused/geeky prototype.

Actually, the most creative, innovative and yet constructive thing I did was that I found a hobby. I joined a Hacker Space called Foulab. New to electronics and computer programming, I have followed a hacker spirit for years now. I've geeked out mainly in Free Software environments, such as install and hack fests, tech training and non-geeky geekism, too. I know it might not count in, but I hack recipies, and clothes, and bags.. my bike, some doors, and even some planes.

And got hitchhiked a train once ;-)

The LibrePlanet Conference will be held March 19th-21st in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the Harvard University Science Center.

Why you should attend:

• Learn about the latest developments with the GNU operating system
• Workshops, presentations and lightning talks from key free software projects
• Participate in group hacking projects or campaign discussions -- bring your laptop
• Learn about practical steps in free software advocacy.

This year Libre Planet will also be hosting a GNU Hackers Meeting and a track focused on finding ways to increase women's participation in free software.

Une rencontre motivante and impressionante parmi les chercheuses féministes et les groupes des pratiques au Québec a été tenu à l'Université du Québec à Montréal le 28 janvier 2010. Une quarantaine des chercheures et de féministes se sont rassemblées afin de discuter des pistes possibles de collaborations, ainsi que d'échanger de l'information à propos des questions et des actualités de la vie militante et académique.

Un modèle de transfère des connaissances

Une des questions les plus actuelles de cette rencontre représentaient les façons de faire de l'échange entre les milieux. Voici quelques éléments surlignés:

• Encourager le transfère social qui vise la modification des rapports sociaux des sexes
• Augmenter la capacité d'agir des groupes pour éviter de développement des individus qui partent.
• Tenir une pratique réflexive sur les autres
• Organiser des activités diverses et adaptées
• Tenir compte du contexte des utilisateurs et de leurs besoins
• Orienter les efforts de transférer vers la pratique
• Avoir des contacts personnels soutenus

Les mouvements des femmes

Le milieux féministe se distingue par son dinamisme, diversité, vivacité du mouvement des femmes au Québec. C'est un milieu particulier qui encourage le transfère des savoirs et promeuve la démocracie. Il existe beaucoup des contraintes, mais ce qui est important est de toujours garder "un côté réfléxive". Aliances avec les chercheures pour aller plus loin.

Dans le cas du Relais Femmes, les défis sont plusieurs. Par example: d'accompagner les groupes dans leurs expériences, de réflechir comment les nouvelles connaissances sont prises dans le milieu/groupe; de combiner la recherche avec la formation et la mobilisation.

Checking the Youtube embedding with Drupal. Here is a link to the original movie. Ah, and if you don't know Foulab, don't hesitate to visit!

She's Geeky: A Technology Conference for Women will be taking place between 29 and 31 January, 2010 in Mountain View, California (US). Held in the Computer History Museum, She's Geeky promises to be an awsome event.

Among the proposed sessions can be found many interesting ideas: from technical skills, to management and transfer of knowledge, networking and philosophy around women and technology, children and computers, and the future.

Here are my favourites mixes:

• Linux, command-line, GIMP, programming, public speaking
• Ruby programming, Rails, ways to get more women into programming, teaching programming to kids
• Arduino!

So, there we go. The 11 of January was the birth of my thesis - completed and submitted. Almost 150 pages of work on the topic "Women's Contribution to Free and Open Source Software Development". In French*. Will upload the PDF soon online. For the English speaking readers, will probably have to wait for the articles I will be writing within the year. My idea for publishing a book (in English) will need a more structured research and connections. If anyone has ideas, please let me know :)

So, meanwhile in the agenda is PhD admission, fellowship application, waiting for the renewal of my residence card so that I can travel. Calls for papers, calls for participation. A long list of abandoned/postponed/stalled offers, requests, ideas, mini and multi tasks. And of course, the successful finalising of the two Drupal courses that I am giving at the moment. As the matters go further, the time to prepare raises. And the biggest contradiction to me is that I have abandoned my own Drupal website, while teaching 21 students to produce their own.

Will be more strict in the future and will be publishing here more often. So, don't give up!

* Just the fact that 5 years ago I did not speak a word of French might slightly give idea on what an effort this is. Not only from point of view of orthography correction, but also in terms of expression, of literature read and referenced means for me three times the effort.

Happy Holidays to everyone! I will happily use the Christmas time to graduate!

By Courtney Gibbons and her Brown Sharpie.

There is a significant difference when you stand up in front of two hundred people to give a single presentation or a lecture, and when you stand up in front of ten trainees, for giving a three months course. Especially an ICT course, where much of the time you have to be clicking on the right place and not making mistakes, because people use to panic, when noticing red alert messages. This latter, compared to the first, feels more like a relationship - long lasting, well planned, with predicted results. And actually, a long lasting knowledge that has to come out of all that.