Archive for September, 2007

Posted on September 30, 2007 - by jono

Memory Lane

The last house I used to live in was the first house since being a student. As such, that whole freedom of doing what you want with your house and making it you own resulted in a place that can only be described as…unique. As an avid gig-goer, I used to pick up all kinds of bits and pieces from gigs, and in many cases would hang out with the band and get some stuff signed and get photos taken. This material was all mounted in frames and hung on the wall. Before long the house resembled something like a Hard Rock cafe – stuff hanging on every wall, be it gig memorabilia, movie posters and props, action figures and other stuff.

My house today is very different, much less on the walls. Well, as I was tidying up today, I found some old gig memorabilia bits and pieces, so I figured I would take some pictures of them before they go into a drawer somewhere. I figured I would shove a few pics online.

Some random gig tickets.

Signed Stratovarious and Halford tour programmes.

Plectrums from Testament, Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall, Sepultura, Billy Sheehan and more.

Blaze and Overkill signed bits.

Signed Yngwie Malmsteen album inlay and Annihilator guest pass.

Signed Peter Weller photo.

Most of the other stuff that used to be hung up got binned, including various movie props, drums sticks, plecs, tickets, programmes etc. Its a shame in many ways, but life is so much nicer without the walls being covered in this stuff.

Posted on September 28, 2007 - by jono

Gutsy Beta Testers, come on in

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Cats and Dogs, Sheep and Goats, Ace Of Bass, Boys 2 Men…erm…, anyway, I am pleased to point your already curious noses in the direction of the Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon Beta Release. It is out, and it needs testing. And, guess what? This is where you ‘orrible lot come in.

You see, I know that my blog is read by a certain demographic that broadly splits in two – geeks and metallers, and a possible third demographic of bemused onlookers, looking for Jono Coleman instead. Yes, he is the somewhat rotund Australian DJ from many moons ago, and regular sports-fans may remember a mis-interpreted email I once sent him. People here for Coleman or Metal can move on, for this post is for all of my socks and sandals friends…

We need your help in getting Gutsy tested – we need everyone to upgrade and give it a good run for its money so we can fix bugs. If you are a Feisty user, head over to this page to learn how to upgrade. If you are a new user, grab it from this page. Install or upgrade and if you notice anything amiss, or any oddities, head over and report your bugs. The beta is a pretty solid release and the team are only focusing on bug-fixing, so you can be pretty confident it should work fine, but the usual caveat with betas applies.

I did the upgrade yesterday, and everything is running pretty damn smoothly. It is a nice release, feels pretty solid, and I am particularly digging the desktop search and desktop effects integration. All good stuff. Lets make it even more rock solid by everyone making Gutsy jump through hoops and reporting bugs.

Have fun!

Posted on September 25, 2007 - by jono

Dylan + LugRadio

Very cool (thanks to haakin):

(if you can’t see the vid, visit this blog entry on jonobacon.org)

Posted on September 25, 2007 - by jono

New Ubuntu Team Reports

I am pleased to announce the availability of the very first Ubuntu Project Team Report – this is for September 2007. This report provides a summary of work for the following teams:

• Desktop Team
• Kernel Team
• Kubuntu
• MOTU
• Mythbuntu
• Screencast Team
• Server Team
• Ubuntu-IRC
• Ubuntu Women
• US LoCo Teams Project

The report provides a nice chunk of information about what the different teams have been working on and provides a one-stop-shop to see what the project as a whole is working on. This will help the project improve communication and make a better Ubuntu. This is a great way to show off what your team is working on.

You can always read the monthly reports here on the 24th of every month.

The plan is to get every team to provide a summary of their work each month. To make this as easy as possible, each team can follow these instructions. Thanks so much to the teams who kicked off this new reporting infrastructure. I look forward to seeing more and more teams getting involved with the new reports.

Posted on September 24, 2007 - by jono

LugRadio Returns With Season 5

Today the LugRadio team are proud to announce opening of Season 5 with the very first episode entitled All Things Happen In Fives. This is not just any old season though, we have two new presenters, Adam Sweet and Chris Procter, a brand new website, some new promotional photography and we are also going to be doing more live shows with Season 5. If you want to book LugRadio for a live performance, and to see other scheduled performances, see here. In addition to this, we have a new LugRadio MySpace and if you search for lugradio on Facebook, you can find a community of LugRadio fans there too. And, lets not forget our stunning community on #lugradio on Freenode, on the lugradio forums, on Planet #lugradio and Clan LugRadio.

But its not just the pretty face of LugRadio that is changing. After some planning sprints with the team, we have over 70 new ideas, wacky schemes and other surprises in store for Season 5. This is going to be a fresh approach on the traditional formula – expect more fierce debate, more comedy and more controversy. We are all primed and ready to kick arse after three years in the job, and are chomping at the bit with our big pile of ideas and our incredibly community of listeners who contribute so much to the show.

Another great new surprise for Season 5 is that we are announcing the dates of the very first LugRadio Live USA. It will take place on the 22nd and 23rd March 2008 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. It is going to be a hell of a show, and we look forward to meeting LugRadio fans over on the other side of the pond.

Finally, the community is what makes LugRadio, and we need all of you to help publicise the very first show of Season 5. So, fire up a web browser and go and pimp the show to every site you can muster. Lets spread the word and have a great time in Season 5.

Posted on September 21, 2007 - by jono

Mystery Beard

When I got back from London earlier this week I had a few nice presents put through my door for my birthday. Thanks to whoever it was who sent me Hot Fuzz, thanks to Ilan and Maru for Robocop Trilogy, and then there is an oddity. I received this:

The package was addresses to Jono Ali Babacon.

Thing is, I have no idea who sent it. I do have a suspicion it may be a certain spikey haired friend of mine.

This refers to a joke at GUADEC in Spain when I was referred to as Ali Baba by random street seller selling pegs or something (due to my beard at the time), to the great amusement of my peers, specifically my large ginger pal. When we recorded LR on Wednesday night he swears blind it was him though.

The mystery continues…

Posted on September 19, 2007 - by jono

Random

Just a typical axe fight outside my student bedroom with Craig. More memories here for the bored and nosey.

Posted on September 17, 2007 - by jono

28 Years Young

Well, today I clock the ‘ol age-ometer up to 28. It has been a hell of a year. Thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes. Also, thanks to the mystery individual who left a Ferrari with a big decorative bow on it, parked on my drive. Very generous.

Posted on September 14, 2007 - by jono

Cover Songs to Live and Die By

I recently heard the abomination that is Amarillo by Brainstorm. I had forgotten how truly awful a cover it is. Then, on the flip side, take The Sound Of Silence by Nevermore. Stunning. I have noticed that metal bands seem to love doing cover songs, some taking particular pleasure in Brittney Spears and Christmas songs. So, a simple question, what would you say are the best and worst cover songs done by metal bands?

Posted on September 14, 2007 - by jono

Gutsy Release Parties, Bring It On

It is great to see that the Gutsy Release Parties page which I threw up (put online, not vomited) is getting filled up with parties. Already, parties in New Mexico, Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Belgium, Catalan Countries, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Egypt are organised.

We need more though! If you want to run one, see this handy guide and feel free to join the ubuntu-event-planners mailing list to get help.

Lets get a worldwide blanket of parties and kick off Gutsy in style!