So after I sent in a small text (500 chars tops IIRC) with the above facts I got a call last Friday asking me whether I’m still free June 22-25 as the winner is needed to go to the Red Hat Summit 2010. They told me I was one of the last 3 or so before the winner is chosenand they needed to make sure they’re all available during the summit before the final decision is made. Today then I got another call informing me that I’ve been selected and to clear the administrative stuff (as Red Hat pays the winner the flight, hotel and fee for the whole summit).

I feel I own the community a lot in receiving this award as a single person couldn’t achieve that much particularly since I’m no experienced open source developer. Also it just wouldn’t be that much fun to do all this on my own. Thank you to everyone involved in Fedora and Spacewalk (including all those upstream folks), to all the folks involved in FUDCon Zurich and FrOSCamp organization and whoever else I forgot to mention. Of course my thanks also go to Red Hat for rewarding me with this great honour and for the invitation to the summit – and again to recognize the work the community does (and to support that work)!

I hope to see as many of you at this year’s Red Hat Summit in Boston and FUDCon/FrOSCamp in Zurich as possible!

Last but not least my congratulations to the other four RHCE of the year 2010. As of this writing that page says the winners will be announced May 17 but this has not happened yet.

Next week, I’ll visit Amsterdam together with my fiancee for the first time. We’re really looking forward to that trip but one thing we’re not yet clear about and that’s where we hope to get yourr help:

What things should we absolutely see/do in Amsterdam? They should be free or cheap I guess. Oh, and really only Amsterdam – no nearby places or whatever…well, there might be exceptions.

Your tips/help in this matter is much appreciated!

On the downside, I’m facing two very stressful weeks. First, it’s always a bit stressy in a new job. Lots of information, new tasks, a new environment, new processes, lots of new people (all with different faces and names…d’oh!) and all such things that come with every new job. Additionally, I’m also looking for a flat in Zurich which is really time-consuming and becomes less fun with every flat I’m having a glance at. On the other hand I’ve got to commute until I’ve got a flat which is time-consuming, too…so looking for a flat is actually a good thing, long-term wise.

But as soon as I’ve found a flat I’ve got to move in. Or first to cancel the contract for my current flat and show the flat to potential flat-overtakers. Also, I’ve to check who’s the cheapest in relocations. And in cleaning my old flat. Phew!

But back two the two upcoming weeks. I’m joining my new employer, look for a new flat and…oh, right. I go to the FOSDEM in the weekend between those stressful weeks. The only 2 days of the next two weeks I could relax I’m taking a flight to Brussels to listen to some talks and host the Fedora booth and socialize with all those >5000 geeks there. I must be crazy to do this in such a stressful time. But then again, I’m also looking forward to it, of course.

I’ve also got in touch with FSFE’s Georg Greve to get together and have a chitchat over a beer or so since he’s working in FSFE’s Zurich office and my ETHZ office is just around the corner. We’d also want to look into how Fedora and FSFE could work together now and then. I sure want to start on this ASAP which means in those first two weeks if possible. Maybe we’ll have a minute or two to speak together during FOSDEM, but i’ll focus on everything else there since Georg’s just aroun the corner in Zurich and most people at FOSDEM are not.

One of this things we could work together a bit is FUDCon EMEA 2009 which I’d like to do in Zurich at the ETHZ. I better speak with some people at the ETHZ about this idea ASAP. Particularly, I’ve  got to speak with my boss about this matter first.

Well, I think that’s the important things I’ve got to do in the next two weeks. Of course, some of this will take longer or will not be done until March or whatever. Anyway, if you want me to do something the next few weeks…you better be patient as i might be too busy with lots of other things.

I organized and conducted the FAD EMEA 2008 in November, together with the help of people like Andreas Rau and Max Spevack. I want to thank everyone who attended this event and made it a (in my eyes) huge success. It’s been a great chance to speak about important topics, see some new faces and have a good time together. Between all the work, we also had good (Chinese and Swiss) food – pretty much everyone loved the Raclette but many left the Vermicelle behind. I’m not sure if people were just stuffed or if they just didn’t like it. I’m sure it was worth the try and at least the table of the fellow Italian ambassadors made sure that their plates were empty to the last bit.

Unfortunately, I was stupid enough to fall down a stone stair on Friday evening during the FAD (i.e. just a few hours after it had begun). Andreas Rau left our working room just to fetch something…I think some cups. When he didn’t return for quite some time I started to wonder where he is or if something happened. So when I had a chance to sneak out (sorry wonderer that it was during your topic) I left the room to give Andi a call. Will it was still ringing on the other side, I made some steps in this and that direction – as I and many others always do in that situation. Unfortunately, the University of Basel does not feature automatic light activation and I was too lazy to look for a light switch because I saw no need for it. I figure I was mistaken in that thought. Taking 2-3 steps in that direction, I stepped onto nothing. Until my brain realized that this is a stair, it was too late to catch myself and so it came that I flew down the stairs (11 hard steps). I’m not sure if I passed out early on or if I have a blackout but between realizing that it’s a stair and getting up from the bottom I don’t remember anything (lucky me). Everything afterwards is a long story not worth telling in detail. I get up, got to a toilet, later called Andi to help me because I felt terrible and my nose wouldn’t stop bleeding, puzzled whether to go to the hospital or not (it’s now been after midnight), walked to the nearby hospital, got some x-ray done. Result: foot broken, finger broken, deep wound on the nose, experienced a major hit against my head. The fixed me up quickly in order to survive the weekend and told me to go to a hospital on Monday to see after my hand which might need an operation.

Next day, I continued with the normal FAD program which finished sometime Sunday afternoon. On Tuesday, I had an appointment with the doctor at the hospital. Monday the week after, I had my finger operated and 6 weeks later I was able to use my full hand again. Today, I hardly notice that I ever broke my foot or finger, where the latter is still a bit sensitive to big pressure.

In the time being at home (because I couldn’t properly do my $DAYJOB with only my left hand) I learnt to create SRPMs/RPMs and got some packages approved while others are still on their way to that point. Shortly before the accident, a friend of mine gave me a job advertisement from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) he found in a newspaper. The ad was titled ‘Red Hat Linux Specialist’ and sure caught my attention (and my friend’s before, since he knew I was looking for a linux engineering related job and that I live in the Red Hat / Fedora world). I didn’t exactly meet what was asked from a applicant to the job but decided to give it a try anyway. I didn’t have anything to lose, right? So I sent them a small letter, accompanied only by my curriculum vitae (CV). I was then invited to a job interview which turned out not too bad in my eyes. I have no professional work experience in the Linux field yet and as I mentioned I didn’t fulfill what they looked for in an applicant. But a huge plus were my connections in the Fedora and with that also Red Hat community as well as my private interest and activity in Fedora/Linux.

Some time passed, until I heard anything new from the ETHZ. I was then invited to a day in their offices in order to get to know the team, see how good we blend, exchange some knowledge and ideas, see the job I’m applying for and so on. I was told they’re doing the same with other applicant as well so I did not yet have the job but at least, I was in step #2. Well, that day was lots of fun and the I liked the job I was applying for even better after seeing better what it involved than before.

About two weeks later, I was invited to step #3 – the final step, actually. I figure that meant I was their choice #1 but I didn’t have the job at that time. It’s been similar to the first interview, but with a bit more details on the important things between an employer and an employee. It went well, similar to the first one and less than 24h later I had the job.

They told me, that they want me no matter whether my current employer lets me go earlier than the contract says or not which was great since there was a huge chance that he would but there was no guarantee for it at that time. I spoke to my employer at the same day (we had a meeting that day anyway) and we agreed on ending it at the end of January (instead of March).

Starting on February, I’ll be an employee of the ETHZ and be part of a Red Hat Linux team. I hope I can bring in some more Fedora things (like EPEL) and also give the community something back (maybe a Fedora install event or a FUDCon or something like that). Apparently, they’ll also send me to the yearly Red Hat Summit in the USA which I wanted to go to for such a long time already.

On another note, this also means that I’ll move from Bern to Zurich – as soon as I find a flat there that suits me and my wallet well.

It’s been my third OpenExpo but the first one on a business booth. At the two OpenExpo in 2007 in Bern and Zurich, I was staffing the Fedora booth, presenting that great linux distribution and the project behind as well as trying to get new contributors to help us make Fedora even better. This year was all different, I was presenting mainly Android and some my company’s work in general but also the company itself, Noser Engineering AG. I was not looking for contributors but for customers and new employees.

Did I say all was different? Well, that’s only true for the topics I spoke and discussed about. After all, it’s still the OpenExpo with its great competitive (in a positive way) and cooperative atmosphere – and it looks like it doesn’t matter whether you’re on the community or the business ’side’ (or off/on the carpet, as attendees of the OpenExpo might have noticed) to be part of the fun.

It’s once again been a great experience and I learned lots from discussion with visitors, staff of business as well as community booths and my colleagues at our own booth. I guess there weren’t as many visitors as the OpenExpo guys hoped for, but there’s not been a single boring minute. Always someone to have a talk with and I was thankful to be able to visit two presentations in the conference tracks, too. We were able to establish some very interesting and hopefully beneficiary business contacts, to get us into the minds of students (regarding their first employment after graduation) and to improve/extend some of our Android-centric ideas we had. Speaking about contacts, some time the other staff at our booth (booth pretty new in the opensource world) said to me “Do you know everyone here? There’s always someone stopping by to talk with you like you’re good old friends. How comes you know all this people? Is that related to the Fedora related work you do in the evenings after $dayjob?” Truth was, that 98% of the persons I spoke with (not counting new business contacts/business related) I knew from the previous two OpenExpos, only! The other 2% were people I know from LinuxTag or from my study program I graduated at in Winterthur. But myself, I only recognized that I really know lots of people there when they told me I do. And that’s exactly the amazing thing about the work in a community!

I’d like to thank the OpenExpo organizational staff for their great work, the Fedora Ambassadors who were staffing the booth this time (Fabian Affolter, Timea Rusz, Max Spevack and Joerg Simon) for understanding that I wasn’t able to help them out this time, Carlos Diener from Kubuntu/Openmoko and others for arranging a cheap accommodation for the community and everyone who I spoke with either business- or community-wise. Special thanks goes to my employer, Noser Engineering AG, and particularly to Daniel Bruengger and Hansjuerg Born who allowed me to staff the company’s booth, even though there’s been the most important company-internal event at the same time. Let me also thank Joerg Pleumann who was staffing the booth together with Daniel and me and helped me to most of my knowledge on Android I have.
(I feel a bit like if I’d won an Oscar or something after so many ‘ thank you’ saying, sorry for that).

I hope I can make it to OpenExpo 2009 in Bern which will take place on April 1/2. As well as all future OpenExpos too.

To prepare for the exam, I thoroughly read those 520 pages plus some wikipedia articles plus the slides of the dean of MSc BIS who seams to give lessons on that subject in German for the BSc BIS. I read/studied lots of information. I understood 98% of it, which I think is pretty much given the subject was all new to me and I had not much more than a book to learn from. Well, having understood 98% doesn’t mean I knew 98% of the subject afterwards. I’m not too good in remembering stuff, particularly if it’s not related to IT – and BPM’s theory mostly isn’t.

So I went to that oral exam yesterday. I knew I understood pretty much everything but had some problems to find the right (BPM-ish) words and make some complex relations between the different steps and approaches. Additionally, I was terribly nervous as I’m always before oral exams and such stuff. I’d have no problem with written exams, though. But yesterday I definately was nervous which helped me forget lots of things I actually know just during the exam. Perfect.

The exam started of with a easy question. Well, not easy for me. “Tell us, what is a ‘business process’, actually”. Did I mention, I’m not good with exact terms? Or even with explain the definition of pretty much anything? That’s really something I’m bad in. Doesn’t even matter if it’s economics or computer science.

So I had some problems to answer the easiest question properly, but at least I had an answer at all. Over the next half an hour, each question was a bit tougher than the previous one. But I did pretty well and was able to answer or explain everything. I just knew the answers somehow and so I didn’t have problems worth mentioning. Only for the very last question, I did not really have a good answer. But the trick was, that to that question, there don’t exist any good answers but only decent ones.

2 minutes after the exam finished, I was informed of the outcome. I answered all correctly, sometimes a bit faster and more correct and sometimes a bit less so. All in all, I’ve proven that I know the subject which in turn means, that I’m officially qualified for the MSc BIS studies. It happens, that I just noticed that I actually really understood the subject during the exam itself. That’s been a surprise!

Next Monday, 2008-09-15 that school (FHNW – University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland) conducts a kick-off day for fresh students and on Tuesday, the study program actually starts. Four days left until I’m a student again. I wonder how it’ll feel but I’m sure looking forward to it. Also, I’m wondering what my class will look like. I don’t know a single classmate yet and hardly anyone from the staff, too.

So, during the interview I was told that even though I have no certification/diploma on my skills of the English language, I’m speaking it well enough in order to attend the lessons, which are all given in English. I still hope, I can – as a side-effect – improve my English steadily throughout the studies.

At the end of the interview, I was told that I most probably will get notice about being accepted or not at the end of next week. But since there’s over 30 applicants to check it might take a little longer in the worst case. Therefore, it’s been an even bigger surprise to find a letter from that school mailbox when I came home today!

So, the letter reads: “… We are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded a place on the new Master of Science in Business Information Systems programme, which will start on the 16th September 2008. …”

I’m in! A student again, pretty soon – less than 2 years after receiving my first degree. And I’ll be a student for at least 2.5 years since I’ll join the program in part-time only, leaving me time to work (and earn money) for about 80% (and 100% during term breaks). This also means, that I’ll study on one weekday plus Saturday morning. Plus self study, anyway.

Since I graduated on a program featuring mostly computer science and only a little business economics, I’ll have to fetch up a little. According to the dean I need some more knowledge in “process management”. Therefore, he recommended a book (available in both, English and German) to study before the semester begins. Well, the book has 700 pages – I can only hope I know much of it already or that will be a though task. Oh, I’ll have to take (and pass) an exam on this subject too.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to have the possibility to improve my business skills while not leaving the computer science completely behind. It’s always been one of my passions to learn more. In my eyes, studying’s one of the best ways to learn a lot.

Unfortunately, this will cut of quite a lot of my free time – not that I had too much of it yet. It’s very likely that this will have consequences on my commitment for Fedora, too. We’ll see…

On 2008-03-19 at 08:49:30 I finished my LPI exam 101 after ~50mins (90mins were given) with a score of 560 (500 needed).

On 2008-05-23 at 11:57:16 I finished my LPI exam 102 after ~57mins (90mins were given) with a score of 640 (500 needed).

Therefore, I was awarded the LPIC-1 certificate just recently :) It took my 6 months to learn for the exams and take them – not putting too much time into it.

I’ll also go for the LPIC-2 certification, as soon as I’ve got time for that.

Today I nominated myself for the FAmSCo (Fedora Ambassadors Steering Committee) elections taking place very soon. Actually, the nomination-period would be over already if there were enough volunteers, but not the period has been extended for one week as written in the election rules. It won’t be extended another time, though.

Just a brief reminder: All 7 seats are open and in order to have an election there should be at least 25% more nominees than open seats. So we need 9 ambassadors to nominate themselves, but (including me) we have only 7 so far. Either some ambassadors out there put themselves onto the nominations list until the end of this week or the 7 people that did so already (Alejandro Moncada, Fabian Affolter, Jeffrey Tadlock, Pablo Barrera, Rodrigo Padula and me: Sandro Mathys) will be elected automatically.

You don’t want that, do you? You want elections, because democracy only works with elections. But elections only work with nominations. And nominations only work with volunteers. So it’s up to you!

I’d like to see some Ambassadors from other places than just AMER and EMEA on the nominations list. I really do. Currently, there are 3 nominations from Europe, 3 from South America and 1 from the USA. Where’s Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, and whatever else there is? I know that Fedora ambassadors exist in every part of the world, don’t hide! We need people in FAmSCo from everywhere in order to get the best results possible.

UPDATE 2007-12-09
Uh, I’m sorry. I forgot to mention Francesco Ugolini among the 7 persons who self-nominated already, when I wrote that post. In the meantime, John Babich put his name on the nominations lists too. Thanks to him it’s now 3/Europe, 3/South America and 2/USA running for the election. The nomination period officially ends today – I don’t know in what time zone, though. I guess we’re flexible there.

UPDATE 2007-12-10
Okay, the nomination period is now over and we even got another self-nomination since my last update. Thomas Canniot added himself last night. It’s 4/Europe, 3/South America und 2/USA now, MrTom being a Frenchman. I wonder what the people are going to vote for as soon as the election period starts later this week.

Maybe it’s gonna be a pure European/South American FAmSCo? I doubt that and I wouldn’t really ike this decision. Or one with at least 2 ambassadors from each of those 3 regions? That’d be nice IMHO. Anyway, it’s a pity that no persons from Asia, Africa and Oceania nominated themselves. The more regions the better, for many many many reasons (and worse for only one: there’d be no perfect meeting time with all those time zones).

Damit findet der LT08 ziemlich genau ein Jahr nach dem LT07 statt. Da alle 6 Monate eine neue Fedora-Version erscheint und während dem LT07 (mit etwas Verspätung) F7 veröffentlicht wurde, dürfte F9 wiederum kurz vor oder während dem LT erscheinen.

Wie auch Kollege Fabian Affolter verweise ich fuer alle, die mithelfen moechten gerne auf die Fedora Project LT08 Wiki-Page. Es ist übrigens auch noch (lange) nicht zu spät noch Fedora Ambassador zu werden um am LT08 mit zu wirken.Selber bin auch erst 4 Wochen vor dem LT07 zum Ambassador geworden.

Ich selber werde natuerlich auch wieder anwesend sein. Diesmal werde ich aber einige Tage früher anreisen, damit ich auch noch bisschen etwas von Berlin ausserhalb dem Messegelände sehe (letztes Jahr hab ichs nur knapp in zwei Musicals und zu einer Currywurst-Bude geschafft). “Das musst du unbedingt sehen/machen”-Empfehlungen sind bei mir übrigens gern gesehen.