port7 – co – uk

I have just come back from a weeks residential course in Chester, I booked it through GBdirect a few months ago.

It was a course on the PRINCE2 Project Managment methodology and included sitting the 2 PRINCE2 exams, Foundation and Practitioner. It was a great week, I passed the multiple choice Foundation exam on Wednesday with 68 out of 75, then I took the scenario based Practitioner exam later today. Though I won’t know if I passed that for another 6 to 8 weeks.

The week was quite intense, there was loads to take in but the teacher Alan Lloyd was really good and presented the material in an entertaining way.

I am glad it’s over as now I can read a good book without feeling guilty by thinking I should be revising! I also need to work out how I can apply the stuff I learnt to work as they need to feel that they got some value out of paying for me to go on the course. You didn’t think I just did it for my CV did you?!?!

As a geek who likes to keep an eye on what is happening in Canada (would like to move there!) I found this story quite interesting. It seems that the Canadian Green Party want to make it so that Open Source software is the 1st choice of software in public systems. I thought the following statement was very good:

Procurement of systems that require closed licenses or use vendor-specific formats would be used only if no alternative is available,” the 2004 platform said, adding the Green Party would also work to shorten the length of software patents to seven years. “The software business cycle is so fast that longer patents only stifle innovation…

I realise that this initative comes from a marginal political party and could just be done to create news stories, but still they have done it and I am pleased that a political party have stuck their neck out with this subject.

Maybe we should be doing more to raise the Open Source software issue with our local MP’s. Asking them why they are wasting our tax on propriety systems that only serve to line Mr Gates’s (and I don’t mean Gareth!) pockets.

I would love to raise this with the goverment, but wouldn’t know where to start! Do I just go to the local council office and ask to speak to the Head of IT? Or do I go to the local MP’s surgery and present the Open Source case there?

Idea’s on a postcard please (actually just fill in a comment…)

I am thinking about attending FOSDEM 2006, some good speakers lined up (including RMS), also never been to the continent so it might be interesting.

Is there anyone else going from the UK? Don’t want to go and be a johnny-no-mates.

Time to book some holidays, we are currently considering 2 options for a Holiday in May.

One is Key West in the Florida Keys and the other being the Maldives, the criteria being we want somewhere sunny, somewhere I can get a few dives in and somewhere Julie can catch some rays, and somewhere not too hectic.

If anyone has any opinions they would be appreciated!

Welcome to the new year, hope you all had a decent time.

We usually try and get away over the new year, it is usually Scotland (and the Ceilidh Place) but this year we thought we would head down to London and do the tourist thing for a few days. So on the 29th we headed down to London and checked in at the Premier Travel Inn County Hall, not too classy but clean and a fantastic location!

So we got there about 3pm and then had a wander over the river round Trafalgar Square then we headed over to Gloucester Road intending to eat at the Texas Lone Star but it was closed! It’s a shame as I was looking forward to taking Julie there, this place was my favorite when I was growing up in London and we used to go there for family treats, etc. So we went to a place across the road called the Green Door, which was just a fancy steak house where I had a lovely Sirloin.

We then headed back to Leicester Square where we went to see Mrs Henderson Presents at the cozy (tiny?!!) Odeon Mezzanine. A good film, quite funny and inspired by a true story, Bob Hoskins and Judi Dench really worked well together on screen, will get it on DVD when it comes out.

The day after we had breakfast in the hotel and then got a river boat and headed down to Greenwich where we had a little wander round the market, Julie bought a hat and then we had a hot drink in Starbucks.

Then we got back on the riverboat and headed down to the Tower of London for a wander round. We enjoyed it apart from the fact that it was raining, which didn’t make it too pleasant as there is a lot of open areas in the tower. It was nice though, it reminded me of endless school trips round the tower, and Julie had never been so it was nice for her.

By that time it was early evening so we headed back to the room for a rest then out to Wagamama’s for a meal.

After that we headed over to Waterstone’s on Trafalgar Square where I spent the book tokens I got for Christmas, I managed to bag some good books, I got Passing the Prince2 Examinations, Scotland The Best, The Magicians’ Guild, The Runes of the Earth and Magician.

Then New Years Eve we just wandered round the West End taking in Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street & St James’s Park. What did supprise me was The Ivy, we never went in but had a look at the menu, it wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be, so next time we are in town I think we will have a meal there. We instead went to Hamburger Union, which was OK.

We then headed back to the hotel for a rest ready for the New Years celebrations. We were quite lucky because unknown to me when I was booking the hotel there was going to be some big celebrations based round the London Eye which is spitting distance from the Hotel. The show on the London Eye was amazing, a good 10 minute firework display, they had set a lot of the fireworks to go off from the London Eye itself that was really spectacular. After the fireworks we headed back into the hotel and bed, I did try and call people but it was hopeless as the mobile network had been switched off.

Then on New Years Day we headed back home, on the way stopping off at my favorite Chinese Buffet for something to eat.

All in all a good few days, though I did miss the beaches and hills of Scotland over New Year I am glad we went.