I talked a little about the hacker-philosopher Richard Stallman at today's lecture. Well guess what, he'll be in Sweden next week.
More specifically he will be at the Society for Free Culture and Software's FSCONS event. The bad news is that this event is held in Gothenburg and Stallman will talk there on Thursday night (Nov 10).
The event starts on Thursday, there are workshops on Friday and the main program is held Saturday - Sunday. The program is available online and it has tracks on topics that are related to the course such as "Free software in politics", "Human rights and digital freedoms", "Building together - manufacturing solidarity".
For those of you who are interested but can't attend, you can instead follow their blog.
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Speaking of Stallman, this "info packet" of what he expects of a speaking gig has been making the rounds online the past week and is a pretty amazing read:
SvaraRaderahttps://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/pipermail/developers-public/2011-October/007647.html
It's probably not as kooky though as the legendary Van Halen rider that requires a bowl of M&M's backstage but with the brown ones picked out.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/van-halens-legendary-mms-rider
Wow, quite interesting but probably *nothing* compared to the rider of *a lot* of diva artists. And I have read Stallman's biography so I'm not surprised - I'd like to put together a list like that so friends, colleagues and students would know *exactly* how to treat/handle me at every moment and in every kind of situation!
SvaraRaderaHere's a couple of quotes to get the flavor:
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A supply of tea with milk and sugar would be nice. If it is tea I
really like, I like it without milk and sugar. With milk and sugar,
any kind of tea is fine. I always bring tea bags with me, so if we
use my tea bags, I will certainly like that tea without milk or sugar.
If I am quite sleepy, I would like two cans or small bottles of
non-diet Pepsi. (I dislike the taste of coke, and of all diet soda;
also, there is an international boycott of the Coca Cola company for
killing union organizers in Colombia and Guatemala; see
killercoke.org.) However, if I am not very sleepy, I won't want
Pepsi, because it is better if I don't drink so much sugar.
------ and:
Above 72 fahrenheit (22 centigrade) I find sleeping quite difficult.
(If the air is dry, I can stand 23 degrees.) A little above that
temperature, a strong electric fan blowing on me enables me to sleep.
More than 3 degrees above that temperature, I need air conditioning to
sleep.
------- and:
Dogs that bark angrily and/or jump up on me frighten me, unless they
are small and cannot reach much above my knees. But if they only bark
or jump when we enter the house, I can cope, as long as you hold the
dog away from me at that time. Aside from that issue, I'm ok with
dogs.
--------- and:
Wine is not very important to me--not like food. I like some wines,
depending on the taste, and dislike others, but I don't remember the
names of wines I have liked, so it is useless to ask me.
Therefore, if you're having dinner with me, please don't ask me what
to do about wine. I can't decide intelligently, and it matters more
to others than to me. Have wine or don't, as you prefer; choose it to
please yourself and the others, not for me.
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Also notice how he strategically downplays Linux and does the opposite with his creation, GNU.
Also, it's totally clear this guy works all the time and his "job" is his life:
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If I am typing on my computer and it is time to do something else,
please tell me. Don't wait for me to "finish working" first, because
you would wait forever. I have to squeeze in answering mail at every
possible opportunity, which includes whenever I have to wait.
---------- and:
Please don't be surprised if I pull out my computer at dinner and
begin handling some of my email. I have difficulty hearing when there
is noise; at dinner, when people are speaking to each other, I usually
cannot hear their words. Rather than feel bored, or impose on
everyone by asking them to speak slowly at me, I do some work.
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Also, notice his hostility towards hotels. Any many other quirks of his uncompromising attitude towards everything he dislikes.
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