Tim Dobson's Blog

I first saw this a few years ago:

I now own one of these!

Described by Yachts and Yachting, the Laser EPS is a

14ft singlehanded dinghy. The EPS stands for Equalised Performance Sailing. The aerowings are unique to the Laser eps and create a perfect helm position, give reassuring extra buoyancy, and stability, and are fully adjustable to compensate for helms of differing weights.

To mark the upcoming October 19th meeting of DFEY-NW I have written a short essay about what I think DFEY exists for and why it came into being.

DFEY stands for "Digital Freedom in Education and Youth" - what that actually means in practise I'll get to in a second.

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When you think of the word "freedom", the first thing you probably think of is freedom of speech - the freedom to say what you want to say, when you want to say it, where you want to say it.

There are various groups and non-profit organisations commited to preserving various aspects of freedom in a digital world;

• The Free Software Foundation campaigns to keep software free of restrictions which prevent the user adapting the software to their own purpose as opposed to business models that rely on restrictive licences to curtail the user's freedom to adapt the software.
• The Open Rights Group campaigns to keep data and content free, and in the hands of the the end users - as opposed to those who are likely to abuse it.
• Open Street Map is a project to create a detailed digital map of the United Kingdom through individuals mapping their local areas using their own handheld GPS devices.

These are just some examples of the many organisations who advocate and explore the concept of using freedom to create 'cool' things in the digital world.

Please show this to any other organisations or people who you think might be interested.

DFEY-NW (Digital Freedom in Education & Youth - North West) is a group focusing on young people and issues of freedom in the digital world, based in the Northwest of England at the moment.

In Brief

WHERE: Meet near KFC, Upstairs, Piccadilly Station, Manchester

VENUE: Marbella Cafe, above Sunshine Studios, 52 Newton Street

WHEN: Sunday 19th October, 12pm -> ~4pm

SIGN UP: http://dfey-nw.eventwax.com/admin/dfey-nw-october-meeting

CONTACT EMAIL: team at dfey dot freedomdreams dot net

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MAILING LIST: http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/dfey-nw-discuss

WEBSITE: http://dfey.freedomdreams.co.uk

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Notes from the August meeting: http://dfey.freedomdreams.co.uk/wiki/August_Meeting/Notes

Whilst staying in Madeira in July, I came face to face with a "spa" for the second time in my life (the first time being 2 1/4 years earlier at the same hotel).

I hate spas!

Ok, a slight clarification on that point:
I hate the IDEA of spas.

I find it extremely difficult to come to terms with how anyone can get satisfaction from getting "invigorating" mud spread on them whilst considerably lightening their wallet.
Sure, it's great to relax from time to time, but seriously people - get real!

However, this is not the point.

The FSF have released a video of Stephen Fry explaining free software for GNU's 25th Birthday Party.

I am trying to get Freedom Socks on the case, to get a podcaster's view on it.

Update 1: I have secured an interview with Matt Lee, FSF campaigns manager for the Freedom Socks podcast.
Update 2: Please vote the story up on Firehose, Digg, reddit, FSDaily
Update 3: The submission I made to Slashdot is now a story :)
Update 4: Freedom Socks have released a new episode interviewing Matt Lee from the FSF.

Crazy Times

Going into Glossop and meeting up with a group of friends to watch bands and stuff is fun!

If you are out this weekend, See you then!