Here we are again. One more year has come and gone. With 2010 only a couple of weeks away I could, like last year and the year before, make a list of the most notable events of 2009. This time, however, I will not. You know how people say that it is when things are hard that you learn the most. Well, suffice to say that a fair amount of learning was accomplished this year.
Next year, there are a few things I would like to concentrate on. First, I would like to be more present for my family. I have been shying away from my responsibilities (as a son, as a brother and as an uncle) for a while but this is not very fair to them. Second, I would like to find extra-curricular activities I can invest myself in. Maybe something which could also be useful to others. I also want to lead a healthier life – a recurring theme – : sleep more, eat better and exercise regularly.
Let’s see how long my new year’s resolutions last for. But for now Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
When I started writing a blog I felt a little uneasy about it. Exposing my private life for everyone to see was not something very natural. Then I realised that although accessible to anyone there were – and still are - actually very few people, if any, reading my blog. That made things easier. These days, I write mostly for myself. Just now, I was going through some very old posts of mine. This is what I like about blogging. It allows one to capture one’s thoughts and feelings at certain points in time. And to be able to go back and read them. It’s a bit like being able to travel in time.
Back then I seemed to be most prolific in the early hours of the morning. Looking at the time now (1:56 am) it doesn’t look like this has changed much.
Continuous Integration systems are nowadays a requisite for any half-decent software development outfit. There are many CI solutions available, some open source and some commercial. Over the years I have come across and used different ones: CruiseControl, Hudson and Bamboo. CruiseControl is highly versatile and works well but it is a pain to set up and maintain, especially in large teams where projects get added and modified regularly. Hudson works pretty and has an active follower base contributing many plugins. But I have to say Bamboo is my favourite thus far. It works a treat, scales well with remote build agents and the web interface is user friendly. Plus this is the one I use at work so I am very familiar with it. The only down side is the cost.
I have been setting up my own dev tool set at home so I can work on my own projects. What I need now is a CI tool. I was looking for comparisons between the various options and I came across this page on the ThoughtWorks wiki:
The latest addition to my collection of toys is an Apple MacMini Server. The reason I decided to throw a new server into the mix is that I wanted to have the ability to develop and run my own applications as well as experiment with new technologies. For a while I was using my 2-year old Mac Mini as a server but with only 1Gb of RAM and a mere 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU it didn’t really cut it. I now use it to watch TV and movies in my room. It works a treat. So now here is what my home steup looks like (click on the image to zoom in):
From the NAS I run an SVN server where I keep my home projects. On the MMS I have installed Tomcat, PostgreSQL and I’ve just deployed Atlassian Confluence (they offer a starter kit for only $10) so I have a central location where I can keep all the information I need.
And by using DynDNS I can have all of this accessible on the internet. I route all the traffic to the MMS and with Apache I proxy the Confluence requests to Tomcat and SVN requests to the NAS.
It’s a pretty cool setup which gives plenty of things to occupy myself with .
Remember the infamous incident of the 1986 World Cup quarter final when Diego Maradona deliberately committed a handball which resulted in Argentina eliminating England? The handball from Thierry Henry which led to France going to South Africa next June while Ireland will have to watch the World Cup on TV is probably as embarrassing. A lot has been written and said about the incident and about the man. I understand the frustration from the Irish team and all their supporters. Had things been reversed I would also have been angry at the manner in which France would have been eliminated. That said, looking at the bigger picture, Ireland put themselves in this situation. They haven’t played well enough to be finish first in their group which would have automatically sent them with SA. France, either. The point is you cannot blame the non-qualification of Ireland on Henry’s handball. This is looking at the reality will blinds on.
I, and many French people, are sad about the manner in which France booked their ticket to the World Cup and at the poor quality of the team. I feel sorry for Ireland but what is done is done. It’s time to move on.
I hope France will do better next year but I have my concerns. First and foremost I have concerns about the coach. But I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Following my ad on gumtree to find a flatmate a couple from New Zeland came to visit the flat and liked it. They seemed quite nice and friendly. So that’s it. They are my new flatmates and are moving in on Saturday. That’s London for you. I love that aspect of the city. Things happen very quickly.
Me? Very! It took about 6 weeks for my broadband connection to be set up in my new flat (5 to get a phone line..thank you BT!). Until that I had the Internet through a 3G USB stick. It worked but was pretty flaky. Now, I’m back with a proper connection and it made me realise how dependent I am on the Internet. It’s a bit like you’re unplugged from the world without it. Email has become my primary form of communication. The first thing I do when I get home is switch on the TV and flick my laptop open on my Netvibes homepage. BitTorrent download is gift from the Gods. And I do a lot of shopping online too. So in short I am extremely dependent on the Internet. It’s good to be back online.
It’s been a while since I have had a good night sleep. Combined with a lack of exercise, bad eating hygiene and too many drunken nights my body (and mind) is really starting to feel the strain. It is time I start pulling myself towards myself. So commencing today I’m giving my body a break from alcohol. The first thing I will do tomorrow is go for a run. And I need to eat properly. One has to be sensible from time to time…
Seating at the window of the train, looking at the English country side passing by in front of my eyes I can’t help but ponder on where my life is heading. For right now I am en route to a two-day workshop in Winchester. A welcome change from the office. But back onto the main point. What should a single and slightly confused 30 year old man do with himself?
In this modern world of ours it has become very easy to live and travel abroad. And it is for the better. I consider myself very lucky to be able to experience different cultures. It also allows me to look back at my own culture with a bit of distance. The catch is that I don’t feel like I belong anywhere. In London I am just a foreigner like many others. In France I more and more feel like a stranger too. Very uncanny!
So what should I do? Well, the simple truth is I don’t know. I have very good friends in London so I guess I could stay here longer. But for how long? Or maybe I should go back to France. After a while I suppose I’ll feel less like an outsider. Or why not a new adventure in a different country? I could also renounce all material properties and retire to a Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Okay, maybe not. But the possibilities are almost endless and the question still wide open.
Hi, my name is Ludovic. I'm a Frenchman living in London and this is my blog. I believe my thoughts are so interesting that other may want to read them...but I could be mistaken.
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