Converge SE

27 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment

by rbicha in Family, News, Technology Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Don’t ask me what the SE stands for. And don’t ask me what Converge means either. All I know is that it is a web design conference being held right now in Columbia, SC at It-ology, a non-profit dedicated to advancing the IT profession by getting students to choose IT careers and also educating the public whether by classes or professional development opportunities such as conferences. My husband works there and was given the opportunity to attend the conference. So he’ll be unavailable for the next couple of days.

I think web design is interesting, so I checked out the website, but the topics listed are over my head. I think the website is cool, however. The mascot or logo of the conference is this cyborg Tyrannosaurus Rex. When you load the website you see him at the top of the page. As you scroll down he doesn’t scroll but appears to stay put, so that the information about the conference appears to scroll right over him and cover him up. Every so often, though, they have a “clear” section with a quote about the internet where you can see cyborg T. Rex. And he’s different every time he shows up. He goes from being a cyborg to an ordinary dinosaur T. Rex to a muscular dude that is being built into a cyborg to just dinosaur bones. I suppose if you read the website from bottom to top you could see the transformation of a dinosaur skeleton into a cyborg dinosaur. I think it’s really cool. I guess it’s good that a website about a conference devoted to web design has a cool website. It only makes good advertising sense.

You should check out the website even if you’re not interested in the conference or web design if for no other reason than to check out the transformation of the cyborg T. Rex. And if you are interested in the conference or in web design and couldn’t attend, the conference people will probably be posting about it. And I’m sure my husband will be posting about it at Just Jeremy when he gets a chance, so check that out too.

P.S. Ooh, they got a cyborg pterodactyl bird thing (it’s got feathers or fur — it’s hard to tell) on the other pages.

Partying with Pangolins and Penguins

26 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment

by rbicha in News, Family Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

image

Today is the official release day of Ubuntu 12.04, also known as Precise Pangolin (a pangolin looks like a cross between an anteater and an armadillo). My husband is one of the developers, and he’s been working really hard on it. He’s been coming home from work and then working all evening and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning on it: fixing bugs, packaging, and writing documentation. I’m really proud of him.

So when he asked me last night to make a cake for his release party, I said I would. He wanted it white with orange frosting and white letters. Since I had no white cake mix in the house, but I did have cake making ingredients on hand, I decided to make it from scratch.

I think it turned out well. It was my first time separating egg whites from egg yokes (it’s the yokes that make cakes yellow — I didn’t know that before). I also made the icing from scratch — buttercream frosting is so yummy. This was also my first time decorating a cake with more than just words. The curled up pangolin, the logo of this release, was tricky, but it’s a tricky design. I’m proud of my accomplishment of this cake.

So Jeremy and I went to the party and had fun, and Jeremy helped some guys install the new release while we were there. So happy release day, Precise Pangolin! And bravo zulu (great job), Jeremy and the development team. Job well done!