Just a quick note to let people know that I have put my slides online. They are linked from lgo (in OpenDocument).

I'll provide PDF and HTML versions soon.

La semaine passée après 3 semaines d’attente pour un remplacement en garantie du moteur-roue arrière BionX, j’ai envoyé ce courriel (aussi publié sur Facebook) à Bionx , ABC Sport et Quilicot: Last year I bought my BionX (including bike) at Quilicot (http://bicyclesquilicot.com) in Montreal QC, thinking this was a reputable place with people that knew their [...]

I can’t help but notice some posts in Planet Ubuntu are clearly out of line with our Code of Conduct. I hardly take offense to anything I see on the Internet anymore, however this is Planet Ubuntu, not “the Internet”. If you’re posting on your blog and you are syndicated here, it means you are an [...]

Web Based Login Research

I did a release of geglmm 0.0.17 (with the help of jonner for the upload) in order to help building Niepce Digital.

geglmm 0.0.17 is the C++ mm-style bindings for GEGL 0.0.18.

You can download it from the FTP:

http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/sources/geglmm/0.0/

A version 0.0.18 will follow soon to be in sync with gegl versioning.

A while back I posted and teaser, but that was all until GUADEC where, with 3 lightning talk I could present the stack and and application I'm working on, on my copious spare time(tm). Let me introduce you to Niepce Digital. For what Niepce means, there is Wikipedia. For what are the plans, read on.

Niepce Digital is meant to be an application for digital photography that will allow end to end management of the workflow, starting with the acquisition from the camera to the final printing or publishing. For those who chose the easy way it is in the same idea than Adobe Ligthroom or Apple Aperture. I have had some concept written down on paper for over 3 years, before these applications were unleashed, I just didn't manage to make anything out of it. And of course it is Free Software, that goes without saying (licensed under GPLv3 or later).

Design goal

From a development point of view, the design goal is to:

• try to provide, leverage or reuse infrastructure. In that case this mean using Exempi, libopenraw and GEGL, and making sure the whole processing pipeline can be reused. There is hope with GEGL being used by Gimp that some of the image processing can really be shared. I started Exempi especially with that application in mind, and I'm still developing libopenraw in parallel.
• try to make it right: don't cut corner when implementing be rather take the time to do the right thing so that in the future it doesn't have to be redone. Of course this means that the initial shot will take more time but in the end the benefit is that things will be easier.
• try to do things progressively but surely. Better have a well working limited set of feature than a half working extended set of features.
• try to be modular so that it is easy to implement new modules.

Feature set

The feature set I wish to see implemented is quite extensive, and the application will be divided in "modules". The first one, the library is meant to manage the collection of pictures, add metadata, etc. The second module, darkroom, is meant to perform the image editing. Image editing is not like a full blown version of GIMP, but rather a limited and most used set: image adjustements, crop, straighten, dust removal, etc, all performed in a non-destructive mode. This will be for the first milestone, with maybe a few upload modules to export to you favorite image hosting.

Digital camera RAW files will be first class citizen, and actually they should provide the best result, and not be harder to use than JPEG. Metadata will be centered around XMP for maximum interoperability. And of course, color management will be.

This first milestone is quite ambitious, and having a very good output quality will already an achievement.

As a second milestone will come web gallery generation (static HTML) and printing. That last part might actually be a lot of work, including vertically down the stack.

Now what?

I have setup for a while a project on GNA to host the source code and the repository. You can grab the C++ source code and play with it.

But there won't be a release for a while. See the first milestone above.

WordPress 2.6 and Google Gears!

Victoria OpenStreetMap mapping party

The various OSMers in Victoria are holding a mapping party this coming Thursday, the 17th, at 6pm at the Starbucks at 4077 Shelbourne St. (Map of the Starbucks)

The event is open to all. Even if you are only curious about OSM and don't want to map, please show up and ask questions. Those that want to map will spread out all across Gordon Head for the next two or so hours, collecting data as they go, before meeting back at a point of our choice, likely a pub, for a pint or two before heading home for the night.

If you do that Facebook thing, I have created an event. I finally bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago. Much easier to contact my fellow students this way.

Take Off Your Clothes is a clothing swap held twice every summer at the Piknic Électronik.

You bring used items of clothing and get to swap them with other fashionable clothes and accessories, one for one. Designers also donate clothes to the project, so there’s always something interesting in the racks.

Join the Facebook group to get invited to the next one.

Nicole
Uploaded by sfllaw.
Parasol
Uploaded by sfllaw.
Erik
Uploaded by sfllaw.
Trousers
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.

Fiona and Aleece
Originally uploaded by Simon Law.

This is the first actual day of my vacation.

So far, I have managed to ignore most of my work e-mail. And I’ve only read one patchset. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll do better.

I miss them already.

Akoha
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.
Steak
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.
Dessert
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.

Say, we’re hiring!

If you know someone who’d like to do one of these jobs, send them our way!

Community Gardener
Professional Vandal / Vandale Professionnel

P.S. I’m still starving.

So very, very, very famished!

Hot hamburger
Originally uploaded by Simon Law.

It wasn’t very authentic, but it was quite tasty.

I’m so hungry right now. Aren’t you?

Ramen
Originally uploaded by Simon Law.

Got a MobileMe Account this Weekend

Fiona
Originally uploaded by Simon Law.

After months of work, Kubuntu now has a lovely new website.

Many people have offered to help over the past two months, and with the new website, it is now possible. All those who are interested should join the Kubuntu Developer Discussion and introduce themselves and share how they would like to contribute, if they haven’t done so already.

Congratulations to David J. Miller for winning the Website Mockup Contest we held a few months ago!

May’s Girl Geek Dinner was held at Station C, the lovely co-working place in Mile-End.

We ordered pizza and sat down to hear Stephanie Troeth give her talk on “Better Living Through Computing Algorithms”.

Station C
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.
Allison
Uploaded by sfllaw.
Janina
Uploaded by sfllaw.
Aleece
Uploaded by sfllaw.

Fritatta
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.
Fruit salad
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.
Neelan Rach and Aleece Germano
Originally uploaded by sfllaw.

Ultimate spring rolls
Originally uploaded by Simon Law.

Get them at Ben Thanh Viet Thai in Cambridge, Ontario.

It is altogether too hot, today

Ice water
Originally uploaded by Simon Law.

I shall ponder this refreshing photo and hope it cools down.