After attending Debconf 9 in Cáceres, Spain, and talking to various people about their different approaches to validating identity, I have decided to change my approach to keysigning.

In order to sign your key, I must have met you before and can recall your face or name. If I have not met you before, I must have had an interesting conversation with you during this meeting, and am relatively sure I will be able to recall you in future meetings.

I will of course still need to look at government issued identification for people I don't know very well who fit into one of the two above criteria.

Part of the reason for this change is that for the second time, someone didn't want to sign my key because my New Zealand passport has the name "Penelope" (along with all other documents like my two driving licenses and Swiss B Permit). While I can understand this, to me it shows that the traditional method of verifying identity using government issued identification is fundamentally flawed. When I think about what comprises my identity, yes, my name is a big part of it, and I consider my name to be Penny. I have never in my life been called Penelope. Not by my family, teachers, colleagues, friends or lovers. It's just not part of my identity, and anyone who knows anything about me, probably knows that. So what are we trying to achieve by keysigning then? The fact that the person you meet is in control of that key, and you've verified their identity. Sorry, but "Penelope" doesn't go a very long way to make up any part of my identity.

Identity is something I've been thinking about a lot lately for various other reasons (largely after reading Simon Grant's book about the use of e-portfolios for personal information, personal development and personal values), and intend to blog about in the future.

At any rate, conferences like Debconf are a great way to meet people and have interesting and thought provoking conversations, and me being difficult and refusing to sign someone's key because I didn't know them, or hadn't had any sort of meaningful conversation with them, led to a few interesting and thought provoking conversations. So there's an added bonus.

bitsey update:

- I am far far too overloaded right now and there isn't really an end in sight. Need to learn to say no.
- zomg. Brenda and I are going to oscon. Fucking yay!
- I wish so so so so much I was at debconf right now. There are millions (ok, exaggeration) of people I would love to see. Particularly madduck, who, even though I asked politely, Andrew declined to smooch for me.
- mahara.org is finally live.
- andypants is coming back to Catalyst soon! This is excellent news.
- I have a giant dark purple bruise on my ass from weekend debauchery. I need to get a photo taken.
- Mischief Bad Group has moved to Sunday Roast rather than Sunday Breakfast starting this weekend. This is good as I can't deal with Sunday Breakfast in winter, but sitting in the courtyard at the Matterhorn from the early afternoon and drinking red wine under the heaters is seriously appealing.
- Dysfunctional naming scheme. Total lack of ability to call people by their names because it makes them too real. Instead I have to create creative descriptive (and often elaborate) names for them. And then when other people refer to them by name in front of me it's shocking.

Andrew just arrived back at work from Mexico with a bright yellow Debconf 6 Hot & Spicy T shirt for me in Small Girl Size. Woohoo!

It's very yellow. I can see the yellow in my peripheral vision and it's quite distracting. There was some suggestion that perhaps I should buy a yellow bra to wear with it, but I think that would be going a little bit too far. Nonblack underwear is not really my speciality.

I didn't realise quite how many photos there were of the balloon thing!

Still, my favourite is this one:



mooch just does the saddest face.

<3

Also! Mojo love!

Andrew has just alerted me to this which I have to say, is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

I love you debconf people! How much I wish I was there.

As Andrew was leaving Catalyst today to go off to Debconf, I followed him down to the carpark with a notepad and a pen writing paper hugs for him to hand deliver to people at Debconf. I think I got through 6 people before I ran out of time, I'm sure there are more people there who I would love to send hand delivered paper hugs through Andrew to, but time is not on my side.

of all you people at Debconf6. I'm starting to read about it on planet debian and there are photos already, and some of the photos are of people I met in Hel and want to see again, and it makes me feel sad and squishy and want to be there.

But instead, I sit in front of my heater and drink my red wine and wait for Andrew to arrive at Debconf with balloons and people to blog about that.

Hah.

moodle is about to go into a freeze for 1.6!

We are making progress with elgg! Watch this space.

I am addicted to eclipse mints. I find the 'warning - excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect' to be rather alarming, given my addiction.

I watched Amelie again last night. I had forgotten how incredibly much I love that movie. I am going to cut my hair off again, I think.

I have cleverly convinced a few Debian Developers that it's a good idea to blow up a balloon and write my name on it and carry it around Debconf, since I won't be there. Rather than just having one official Penny balloon, Martin Krafft has put the idea in my head that it is a good idea to have a whole herd of Penny balloons.

In other news, at Friday night drinks at Catalyst everyone was a little bit drunk and we were playing jump through the hoop of flames and now there is a broken collarbone.

After Amaya's post with possible Debconf6 logos, M & I took some photos of real chilis making swirls. You can find them here

I finally put up the rest of the photos of my month away:

Debconf
The formal dinner, last night out (appended to previous photos)

Madrid
In which I mostly look fat and content

The Andes
I got a bit carried away from the plane window

Buenos Aires
Sightseeing, dinner out, La Boca

We don't officially end until 10am tomorrow, but many people have left already.

I just went to the last talk, about Launchpad which was really interesting.

I had the best time. Everyone responsible should be very proud of themselves. Amaya describes Debconf really well. I would add:

ssh tunnelling, skinny dipping, greasy food in the middle of the night, falling down stairs, everyone sucks but us, sushi, peas, zuul, salami, dog biscuits, yogi bear, beer, long keysigning line, rolling Rs, dude, being unbelievably sick of Thunderbird.

The overfiend is yelling 'Ocelot' at the top of his voice.

See you in Mexico!

Debconf so far:

~ Screwed wifi
~ Missing almost all scheduled meals because of sleeping/drinking/hacking
~ An astonishing amount of nakedness (generally contained by either lagoon or sauna)
~ Lots of photos (soon to be uploaded)
~ Oh my god I am so unfit one game of frisbee almost killed me
~ Only one instance of girl != programmer that was duly apologised for (and gratefully accepted)
~ Killer rabbits! (seriously)
~ Desperate coffee missions
~ Camera still not working under debian on my mac
~ My laptop is now sleeping (sort of, but echo 'disk' > /sys/power/state == good enough)
~ I volunteered to help with the vast number of bugs against open office
~ M and I seem to have one of the nicer rooms in the entire HUT. We have three rooms (2 people in each) that share a bathroom and kitchen and we managed to push the two single beds together.
~ I have been acquiring tshirts at quite an alarming rate, not all of which are black or fit me.
~ Much, much beer. Some blessed by the DPL, even.
~ Oh, more squirrels
~ Killer rabbits!

OK, I'm getting repetitive. It's fun, anyway. I started packaging s9y and managed to learn a thing or two.

Tomorrow we have a daytrip

Photos soon.

<disclaimer>This is going to be lengthy</disclaimer>

London
The next day (which I believe was Saturday London time), we went out for breakfast to a very strange cafe and then wandered around town shopping. We met up with a few friends and went home for dinner, then I fell asleep and had to have more of these caffeine strips from Boots in order to wake up, before going out to see Art Brut. Who were great. The venue was so hot I couldn't believe it, but the band was great.
Sunday. Ani and Peter went back to Manchester. That was sad. Then we went to Spitalfields which was great, except I chipped my tooth on one of my lip piercings which I have since taken out. I bought stuff. Then to Camden where I bought more stuff. I really wanted to buy a pair of boots and I tried on a pair which would have been perfect, but I couldn't zip them up. Yes, apparently my legs are too fat for boots in London. Who would have thought!
Then I was supposed to go to Gemma's for dinner, but she didn't give me her address, just told me to text her when I got off the tube at her station, and so when I went to do that, my phone had run out of batteries. Gr. So I caught the tube back up to Brixton (from Tooting Broadway) where I was staying, and plugged my phone in to call her. So I eventually managed to get to her house, but an hour and a half late.
Last day in London - went shopping for presents for Sara who let me be couch fungus and babysat me for 4 days. Then plane!

Rome
I arrived in Rome late, and had to call my hostel to tell them I was late and they didn't speak English and I didn't speak Italian so it was difficult. I managed to catch trains and find the hostel and arrived around midnight. 5 people staying in the hostel room, but I managed to sleep ok. Woke up early and went to do the bus tour which was just incredible. I can't get over how young New Zealand is compared to pretty much everything else. I ate this great dinner at the place owned by the hostel owners and stayed up late talking to a guy staying in my hostel from Costa Rica. Then I had to get up before 6am to catch my train to Venice.

Venice
Megan met me at the train station and we had to carry all the luggage to her house, she lives across 5 bridges from the train station (I guess it could be worse but still it was pretty bad as we're both kinda small). We wandered around looking at buildings and taking photos and looking for bags. Went out drinking and had this amazing food from a bar where we just choose different dishes and got a large plate with them all piled on. Really good wine. I talked to Megan in (my very basic) Spanish and she spoke to me in (her almost fluent) Italian and we almost understood eachother! We went back to her apartment and I don't think we were that loud but the person downstairs banged on their ceiling so we had to stop and go to sleep. Next day we went out for amazing Italian breakfast, then bought a bag and some clothes and then caught a boat to Burano and had a picnic. By the time we got back it was time to go out for pre dinner drinks and then we went out for dinner. Then it was time to go back and pack and then get back on the train to Rome in time for my plane to Hel.The whole day I was waiting to her from people in London, they're all ok.

Hel
Plane was late and I was extremely tired after all night train ride in very cramped train, but I met interesting people on the train and M came to pick me up from the airport, and I arrived and I'm here and it's all good. Wireless is fucked. I had sauna already. Coffee is scarce. My laptop is now sleeping, but I still can't get my (insert swearwords) camera working. Tonight I may see if I can fit some packaging in if I can stay awake!

To all you London people (especially Adrian!): first morning in Hel and I saw a squirrel. Again this morning! Hel > London.