alex.polvi.net

I think people talk less then they used to. There is probably more communication overall, but verbal talking seems to be going away. Well, that seems to be the case for me at least. This morning I woke up, discussed my day plans with a friend, coordinated when we would meet up, even decided on breakfast… but it wasn’t until after a few hours I said my first verbal words. It sort of caught me off guard, the groggily voice, and made me realize how little I had actually spoken out loud.

Then I started thinking, this has been happening more and more. Even the telephone is now an easy second to email. I would say that more of my day consists of communicating using my fingers then my voice. Which is sort of silly, since my writing ability is not all that great either.

Oh, and, if you would like me to read you this, give me a call. :)

Chateau geek has an open room!

If you are a geek, and need a place to live, we have an opening for you. Chateau geek is configured to serve people who need extras like a server room, dedicated 24×7 NOC, and LCD projector instead of a TV. Plans are also in the works to bring our network up to IPv6, to prepare for the future onslaught. We also have a huge garden (if you are into that).

The listing is over on beaverchat..

Mostly been blogging about work stuff recently … some may think this is because it is the only thing I do … but those people are wrong! Here is a pictorial journey through the past few weekends.

Coldplay

A few weeks ago morgamic was in town on business, while he was here we went to a Coldplay concert. None of my photos turned out… but his did …. he also has a much more detailed write up.

Ok, so maybe that wasn’t the best start. How about this:

Open spaces

In Oregon we call them grasslands, in Caly-forne-ya we call them “open spaces”. Probably because when you are in a city there is not very much open space so the government deems specific places open in order to give people hope. In particular, I went to the Alpine Ridge Open Space (many thanks to bahiker.com).

Adventure

Beaches

Two beaches:
1) San Gregorio State Beach

As you may be able to tell from that photo — there were a lot of people. However, if you walked about 200yds away from the parking lot the view turned into this:

2) Point Reyes National Seashore

This was the first national seashore I had gone to. Luckily enough I remembered to bring along my national parks passport. McKim is losing the national park battle big time (sorry man).

Attempted to build a cube out of sand… then put a stick with a feather on it

Ants

gross

And more!

The internship is winding down. Next Wednesday (9/14) is my last day at the office. From there I will head off into the woods to do some camping and fishing — along with visit my sister in Wyoming. It is going to be a long drive, but I will be in good company.

Thats all for now. Happy trails!

Today was the Linux Picnic… and it was a riot. Took a few photos, this one is my favorite:

Josh: the model

The funniest event happened while waiting for a raffle. The raffle was for a small 1U server, and you had to write a short essay in order to win. I wrote an essay talking about the OSLUG, and how we can always use more power while promoting open source software. However, while waiting, a man walked by us with what appeared to be a 1U server. Thinking we had missed the raffle, I called him on it. He said that he had taken it off of the “free table” and the winner of the essay contest did not want it. Confused, but tired of waiting, we got up and left. On the way out, just to double check, I asked one of the picnic staff if the drawing had taken place… and they said in an irritated voice, “no no, we are about to, just wait.” Then I said, “But where is the server?” “Right over… uhhh…. uhhh… ” then I responded “A man just told me that the server was put on the free table, so he took it.” At that point the volunteer picked up her loud speaker and shouted, “PLEASE RETURN THE SERVER!!” The guy was just confused, but it still made for an entertaining time watching the staff hunt the guy down in the park.

Alas, the LUG did not win the server. However, the guy who originally donated the 1U took my email address and said he would probably be able to help. LUG BOX!! He also noted that he uses the OSL slackware mirror!

Then Josh and I visited Stanford, because we can.

O!!!

S!!!

U!!!

Fight fight fight!

Hi-lights of the trip:

• Got to see the Family (including my Uncle’s wedding)
• Laying on a private island in the middle of the Bahamas
• Pina-Coladas
• Turning $0.25 into $20.00 with a slot machine
• Sun burn (will be the tannest nerd around by OSCON time)

Tomorrow I will be back in CA, then leave again Tuesday for Portland. Going to be nice to see the Oregon friends.

Some interesting things happened while I was out on the boat:

• Deedra is leaving us! Sad sad sad :(
• MoFo infrastructure has become even more bullet-proof (after small outage)
• EECS noted my internship

Sure am excited about OSCON!

Traveling went very well. From beginning to end I did not have talk to any attendants, and my ID was checked only once to confirm my name matched my boarding pass. Gilmore would be proud. They did, however, forcefully “recommend” I take off my shoes…. which is silly since I was wearing sandals. Other then that everything was right on schedule, and my lay-overs were a perfect amount of time. Even had a spare seat next to me on the last leg….

Had a nice dinner in the city with Larry and Chase. We had sushi, and it was amazing! It was fun to hear Larry talk about pissing off all the open source guys… He also had some good ideas for speeding up builds with ram disks. He actually had plenty of other interesting things to say too — but those are the two that jump to mind.

Good company, food, and conversation makes up for a nice evening. Even got back to the apartment before 10pm!

Alright, here I am, with a wifi connection in hand. Lets talk.

Parents friends rule

Kyle, thank you for being my friend. Via our relationship I was able to share the time with two wonderful people, Karl and Amy. I am quite certain that they are two of the nicest to people ever exist. Not only did they allow me to stay with them in San Francisco (the city), they fed me, entertained me with a Canary, and even took me to grandma house for a potluck! It was so much fun! Thank you thank you thank you.

Housing situation

My biggest concern with moving to work for Mozilla was housing. I had no idea where I was going to live. Leaving Oregon, I still had no idea, but I left anyway (with the confidence from Karl and Amy). My only lead was meeting with a person the Saturday before I started work… however, Saturday rolled around and nobody called. The plan was to do the 45min commute and then try to find a place after work. To my luck I got a call Saturday afternoon… we met Sunday and now I live in an awesome condo. I have my own garage, bathroom, and fully furnished room. I do not think it could have worked out any better!

Work

Work. Holy crap this is fun. Already put in two 12 hour days (I know, I need to settle down). It is hard to leave. They have all the food, drinks, and people to keep you at the office for eternity. The work is a riot too. The OSL has given such valuable experience that I feel I will be able to help make huge leaps forward within the organization in my short, 3 month, time. Right now I am not learning a ton, but I am using straight up experience to help. It is very empowering to offer solutions to problems after walking in the door. I am starting to get that “oh, so thats why we did it that way” sort of feeling…

Other random things

• One of the colos has a hand scanner, I feel like James Bond
• Work is going go-karting, this is very exciting
• The roommate creates chunks of synthetic DNA, fly fishes, rock climbs, and drives a black Camry
• Moving to a different state with no where to move is not that bad
• In less then a month I will no longer be a teenager
• Everything works out

Stuart and I made it to San Francisco. We had all sorts of fun on the way down. Put a little over 1100 miles on the Camry. Today we are taking Stuart to the train station, and I will run by the MoFo to check it out.

Big thanks to Karl for putting us up while we all get moved!

OSU news gave Brandon and I some props today. Thanks OSU news!

Bigger thanks to the OSL.

Mozilla too :)

INTERNSHIPS MAY AID COMPUTER USERS, CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

06-06-05

By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
SOURCES: Alex Polvi, polvi@osuosl.org
Brandon Philips, brandon@osuosl.org

CORVALLIS - Two undergraduate engineering students at Oregon State University who gained valuable computer software programming experience with the university’s Open Source Laboratory are anxious to begin what they call “the perfect summer internships.”

One project may help millions of computer users gain access to a popular Internet web browser, and the other will create new robotics technology to help children with disabilities.

But neither would have been possible, the students say, without the experience they gained in OSU’s expanding work on “open source” software, or systems which are available freely to anyone.

“These opportunities would never have happened if OSU didn’t have such a great open source computer organization,” said Alex Polvi, a sophomore in computer science from Amity, Ore. “Not only has it given us invaluable experience, it has also made us very attractive to industry.”

OSU is one of the universities leading the nation in the development of this evolving concept of software, which creates programs that are free, open for inspection and can be adapted by companies or individuals for their specific needs. Among other things, the university is very active with Firefox, a highly popular software program used in browsing the Internet.

At the same time, these systems are saving the university substantial amounts of money on sophisticated software programs needed in university operation, while also helping people and communities address their computer needs.

The work with Firefox will form the basis of Polvi’s internship - he will work with the Mozilla Foundation, the lead developers of this software, to help increase its availability to many more users. Polvi will spend the summer working in Mountain View, Calif., and then return to his studies at OSU.

“We’re trying to scale up the use of Firefox to hundreds of millions of users,” Polvi said. “I’ll be working in system administration, managing all the servers that are required to run things like mozilla.org websites, build machines, and perform other services.”

The other internship is equally complex, but with a very compassionate goal.

“I’m going to be working with NASA experts on a robot called CosmoBot, which is designed to help educators and therapists give better care to children with special needs,” said Brandon Philips, a sophomore in computer science from Sherwood, Ore. “It will be my job, along with two or three other students, to figure out how to integrate image processing, voice recognition and wireless sensors into the product.”

The project will be at a NASA laboratory in College Park, Maryland, and include visits to artificial intelligence laboratories at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other research centers. Philips said he is looking forward to “working for some very talented people and making a difference in people’s lives.”

Robotic systems such as these, experts say, can combine wearable sensors with voice-activation to control electronic devices by gestures or body movements. Such systems can be used by people with disabilities and their therapists to integrate therapy, learning and play - and they will be tested in actual clinical and educational settings throughout the development process.

This particular project is one part of NASA’s Robotics Internship Program, providing an avenue for students to participate in challenging projects on the frontiers of robotics research. Some of the projects have space applications, and others address societal needs.

The OSU Open Source Laboratory was the first such facility of its type at any public university in the nation. Its work provides international leadership in this computer concept and valuable educational experiences to OSU students.

And for two OSU students, the knowledge gained in the lab has opened the door to a couple of great summer jobs.

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