I’ve been asked to join the team that will assess entries in the APC’s Chris Nicol FOSS Prize. The prize of US$4,000 is awarded to a project that helps make it easy for people to start using Free & Open Source Software (aka FOSS, sometimes also referred to as FLOSS).
As part of Kitt’s birthday present, I picked up tickets for Varekai, the latest Cirque Du Soleil performance. An amazing show that had us captivated throughout, even Nykolai loved it.
There were a number of aerial acts, some jugglers (including three very young kids), contortionists, a troop of acrobats who did a few shows and a comic pair of clowns doing a vaudeville magician act (and an hilarious “crooner” number). The music was live, the stage layout was fantastic and the effects were great.
One hitch in the show was during the grand finale when one of the acrobats took a nasty fall. He was doing an extremely complicated tumble and missed his landing on a tiny, moving space. He fell onto some support frames and the guy who was to spot him wasn’t able to catch him properly, so he came down heavily on the floor. They stopped the show, toned down the music, brought up the lights, advised us to stay seated while they assessed the situation and had medics come out. As a precaution, the artist hadn’t moved at all since his landing and they very carefully put him on a stretcher with neck brace and much care. Once he was away, they restarted the show and another artist took over to complete the incredible stunt.
The troop went through a couple of curtain calls at the end and, as the lights were coming up, we were told that the artist involved in the accident was now in a stable condition (although no mention was made of what injuries might have been sustained).
All up, a show that I can totally recommend to anyone. Well worth seeing, as is true for any of their shows.
The Australian Government have finally set up a Do Not Call Register for those of us who do not want to be harassed by telemarketers at home, etc. It’s due to come into effect in June and marketers who call a number on the list will be fined – even if they’re overseas. Unfortunately, politicians, pollsters, religious organisations and registered charities can still call you, so it’s not perfect yet. At least it’s a start.
The register opened today and the website was supposed to handle 70,000 submissions an hour, but it looks like it suffered a meltdown under the crush of people racing to register. It’s working now and I’ve logged our number.
Now to get them to expand it so there’s a “Bar Everyone” option so those who aren’t barred yet can be turned off. Over half the annoying calls aren’t telemarketers, they’re the rest of the bunch (especially the charities and religious lot).
Don’t you just hate it when those dreaded telemarketers call your house, usually about the time you’re preparing or eating dinner? Fortunately for Kitt and I, Nykolai has become a most excellent filter of such calls.
Here at home, we’ll be busy in the kitchen preparing dinner and the phone rings. Nykolai drops what he’s doing and heads to the phone, answering it with a polite “Hello.” Some days its friends or family, but usually it’s a telemarketer.
Most of them just give up when they hear the young voice, but some push on, asking to speak to “mom or dad” – hah! His first question is usually “Are you selling something?” – most of the callers drop out at this point, realising that they’ve been beaten. A few try to push on, but again, he asks what they’re selling. Those who make it past this are either friends he hasn’t recognised or people seeking donations.
Kitt and I are so very very happy with Nykolai’s filtering capabilities – we figure that if he keeps this up, our number will be dropped from lists faster than if we answered the phone “Hello, telemarketers will be charged for our time taking this call at a rate of $500 per hour in minimum 5 minute blocks – your clock starts now…”
Gotta love kids :)
