I’ve had a few people in the industry ask me if I’ve upgraded to CS4, and my answer is “not yet”. Of course, had Adobe integrated the GNU-licensed libspiro into their vector products, I might have had a different answer. If your curious about what makes it so, well, awesome, check out this video tutorial on libspiro in Inkscape.

After seeing this concept virally migrating around and subsequently pleading to Jersey Mike I got an invite

I suppose this equates to those obnoxious chain letters found on MySpace, although I’ve been seeing a lot of the “16 Things” on Facebook, too. Thinking through these, it makes me realize just how uninteresting I am, and how one is slowly attracted to sharing a meme that stands out (I guess it has to stand out to go from idea to meme, though). Something about doing this on a blog just makes it fun, though, so here goes:

1. I use right-handed scissors despite the fact that I’m left-handed.
   Let’s face it, those left-handed scissors with their ridiculous rubber grips were downright annoying for any poor southpaw (like me) that had to deal with them. I quickly rejected them and just started cutting with my right hand. I haven’t gone back.
2. I only wear black socks.
   No, it’s not some superstition I share with former MLBer Scott Erickson. When I was a kid, my mother would scrub my  white socks to remove the dirt (bleach wasn’t enough for her, maybe it’s a Filipino thing). As a result, I only buy black socks. It drives my wife crazy, as they tend to leave little black fuzzballs all over our carpet.
3. I want to try fugu sashimi.
   For those who haven’t watched The Simpsons episode, fugu is that poisonish pufferfish that can kill you if not prepared properly–even the remains are put in a hazmat box. My stepdad got to try some at Japonica (in the Village right off University) and didn’t think it was anything special, but I’ve only become more determined since I never see it anywhere (only a few chefs in the country are certified to prepare it).
4. I microwave my ice cream.
   Blame it on Pee Wee’s Playhouse, but I just think ice cream should be soft (but not soupy). I’ve also started putting plastic wrap under the box lid when re-freezing. A good habit to keep it from becoming rock-hard.
5. I’ve been playing chess since I was four.
   Sadly, I’m a bit rusty, since no one plays the game anymore. I’m still waiting on a rematch with Wheeler (who graciously said “Rusty?! Whatever!”), and might try getting one of the philosophy professors at HACC to break out the board again. Don’t get me started on bridge.
6. I hold the record for most hours worked in a week at my old job.
   Or at least as far I know. I once logged 82.5 hours behind the monitor to design and build a site for a live event with Jessica Simpson (no, I didn’t meet her). I never examined it, but this would probably explain why I work for myself now, and why I have really expensive ergonomic chairs instead of the $75 variety from Staples.
7. I’ve been collecting foreign toys in my office.
   I have a Paddington Bear I got at Paddington Station, a few Belgian Smurfs, some Mario Kart toys from Japan, and a bunch of Tomy Kubrick Star Wars figures. Don’t worry, I have them on a shelf WAY above the incoming baby’s level of reach.

I’d have put the fact that I avoid sleeping as much as possible, though I doubt that’s a surprise to anyone who knows me

So, I guess I have to spread the chain mail love, even though I doubt this’ll be followed. Here goes:

Cam

Strande

Bekah

Liz

Andrew

Dave

Dan

Rachel, you’d be on here, but you need a blog first

THE RULES ARE:
Link your original tagger(s) and leave a comment on this blog posting when you’ve “memed.”

List these rules on your blog.

Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.

Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.

Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

Well, the turnout was a little less than one would have hoped (thanks to the nasty ice storm), but by all other accounts, the first BarCamp to be held in Harrisburg, PA was a success. The topics ranged from Drupal to Photoshop, to social media in Harrisburg to WordPress, SVN, and Ruby on Rails.

Thanks again to Temple University, Hauck Interactive, and Factory 44 for the venue, Nuts About Granola for the breakfast, andCulture for the coffee, Judge for lunch, and MudBrick Creative for the t-shirts.

Ironically, most of the people I initially met with that embraced the idea of BarCampHarrisburg were apparently detered from attending by the weather. Fortunately, there was still a decent turnout, including one attendee from Williamsport and another from Virginia.

The overall feedback was that everyone had a good time and that more events like this would be welcome again in Harrisburg. I had a few people ask when the next one will be held–securing a venue is always the tough part, however, we might look into hosting another one at the end of the year or the beginning of 2010 (definitely during nicer weather to yield a higher turnout, though).

Taken during Dave’s Drupal and WordPress plugin tips. I had to post this. It just reminds me of a cheesy stock photo

The traditional session schedule photo-op. We had to cut the morning sessions a bit short, thanks to the weather.

BarCampers grabbing lunch sponsored by The Judge Group and delivered by Nonna’s.

Dave, me, Dave M. and Dan (shooting photo) at the bar afterwards. Dave M. didn’t exactly organize, but was a huge help in closing up, plus drove from Williamsport, so he gets a bye.

Here’s some of the posts already on BarCampHarrisburg:

• Roxbury News
• Courtney’s Feedback (Facebook)
• Shawn Farner’s videos

If you attended, feel free to leave comments or post. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the event.

I’ll be presenting on the Gaia Flash Framework at the Central PA Flash User Group this Thursday, January 8, 2009 at JPL. I used Gaia for a recent project for MN-OH! and found it to be a pretty handy tool.

More info can be found on the CPFUG site.