Confused why you're here? My name used to be Ben Balbo. I'm now Ben Dechrau (/bɛn dex-raɪ/).

Archive for the 'Random' Category

Coffee Tasting Results

Published on April 20, 2010 in Random. 0 Comments

We tasted some coffees at work today. Here are the results…

The Coffees

  1. Five Senses – Earth (Blend)
    There are no subtleties in this cup – earthy, forest-floor like
    flavours, lots of body, low acidity and a lingering after-taste make this
    one a versatile coffee that can be enjoyed either as espresso or through
    milk.
  2. Five Senses – Harmony (Blend)
    Harmonising squeaky green Fairtrade Organic beans in a smooth symphony
    of rich cocoa, this blend has fresh overtones that resonate across the
    palate, leaving you lingering, wantonly, for just one more cup…
  3. Five Senses – Purosa (Papua New Guinean)
    Blackcurrant and mulberry aromas. Liquorice undertones with a hint of
    dried apricots. Buttery mouth-feel, long lasting after-taste.
  4. Five Senses – Harrar (Ethiopian)
    The blueberry aroma is a classic characteristic for all Harrar’s. This
    fragrance translates to deep berry fruit on the palate with persistent
    sweetness and velvety mouthfeel.)
  5. Gravity Organic (Blend)
    Full-bodied, smooth and creamy blend, highlighting delicious chocolate
    and toffee characteristics with delicate fruit flavours and a rich, long
    after-taste.

Continue reading ‘Coffee Tasting Results’

How do you relate to your twitter followers?

Published on March 16, 2010 in Random. 3 Comments

I sent out a status update this morning. It read, simply “I think I just quit smoking…” Within minutes, @StopSmoking_Now retweeted my message. I don’t have a problem with that. However, within 3 hours, @QuitSmokingZone followed me and I’m unsure how to react.

You see, my twitter feed is public, so it’s not like following me will help you, unless you’re interested in what I have to say and want that delivered to you. I don’t know why @QuitSmokingZone is interested in my feed – perhaps it’s my insightful prose, or occasional use of the word “fuck”.

The only reason I can think they’re following me is in the hope that I auto-follow and build a relationship and their relative importance in the Twittersphere. I don’t auto-follow, so that’s not an issue.

Now I’m left with the question – should I allow them to continue following me, which could represent some relationship between us, albeit rather one sided, and also has a small benefit to me of increasing my follower count and increasing my perceived importance (not that I could care less about that)? Or do I block them for no apparent reason, at least none that I can rationally explain?

What do you do when someone follows you because the content of one of your Twitter/Status.net updates relates to their cause, irrespective of the general content and context of your status updates?

StixCampNewstead – the next BarCampMelbourne – seeking sponsors

Published on January 27, 2009 in Random. 0 Comments

So, I promised to write some more on StixCamp this morning. StixCampNewstead will be the first StixCamp ever. It will be held in the sticks and they will be Victorian sticks!

So what is this StixCamp I speak of? The first ever BarCamp in Australia was BarCampMelbourne 2007, and it was held at Lake Eppalock. Given two people got lost and there were complaints that no GPS coordinates were supplied, this very definitely meets the requirements of “in the sticks”.

Last year’s BarCampMelbourne was held in the city, and very great it was too. 70+ participants who all thoroughly enjoyed themselves (or at least didn’t hate it enough to tell me).

This year, we’re returning to the sticks. StixCampNewstead will be held at a beautiful winery in Newstead, Victoria.

So, in addition to letting people know about this upcoming event, we’re also looking for sponsors. The event will cost around $50 per head, and there’s space for 60, so $3,000 we need. We already have one sponsor, but need plenty more. We’re looking for a number of sponsors for smaller amounts, rather than one for the whole lump. If you’re interested in supporting this awesome grass-roots event, please get in touch with the organisers. We’re also happy to take sponsorship in kind by way of prizes to give away, providing the catering or any other in kindness you can think of.

In return for supporting this event, you’ll have your logo and link on the StixCamp Victoria, Australia web site and the BarCampMelbourne web site, receive verbal thanks and recognition during the opening and closing speeches, and in any communication with reporters and be welcome to advertise your support in any way you like (we will assist wherever possible). You can also offer schwag/literature/etc for dissemination and signage for display at the event. See the Sponsor StixCamp Victoria, Australia page for full details.

3 months of news; has microblogging killed the blog?

Published on January 27, 2009 in Bogie Bush, Conference, Extra Curricula and Random. 2 Comments

I’ve just realised I haven’t written anything here for almost 3 months, and yet I don’t feel I’ve been out of touch or not been updating “followers” with my activities and news. The number of phone calls and emails I’ve made hasn’t increased dramatically, so what’s happened?

Could it be that more frequent microblogs on Identica and Twitter are to blame for the drop in frequency on this site? Or was it just a busy time of year? I’m not sure.

So what’s been happening with me in the last three months? Sandrine and I moved house for the third (and final?) time in one year, and are now finally living in Portarlington on the Belarine Peninsula, 8 minutes from the beach. I still live and work in Melbourne, but I also get a holiday every weekend now!

Sandrine and I also went to Strathbogie; as some of you know, we used to own a bush block up there. We helped them develop a requirements document for a new community web site and portal, and after a few teething issues, they finally went live in November. The Strathbogie Tableland web site describes itself as a new way for residents and landholders to stay in touch and communicate with each other, and has really taken off with residents and others alike. Their community message board is possibly the most used area of the site.

In other news, I went to both RUXCON and the 5th Open Source Developers’ Conference, presenting at the latter on mobile streaming solutions for the open source community.

I’ve also been trying to fit in work on a new community driven web site that I started in October, but have had little time to spend on lately. Hopefully I’ll have more about that soon. Then, of course, there’s the work on the next BarCampMelbourne, which will actually be a StixCamp – more on that in a soon-to-follow post.

I think that’s about it. Of course there have been other things, but perhaps to minor to mention. You could always follow me on Identica or Twitter to hear the day-to-day stuff. If you like. No pressure!

Mothers will do anything to help their kids

Published on October 15, 2008 in Random. 6 Comments

This email came to the Melbourne PHP Users Group today:

Hello Ben
I am trying to urgently locate someone who could assist my son with a web programming Uni assignment, which needs to be finished by Friday. The person would be well remunerated.

I look forward to your reply.

Annette

To which I responded:

Hi Annette,

As a former University tutor, I’m abhorred by your request. Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not trying to be rude or insulting, but your son’s University project is designed to test his ability to meet the requirements of his course, and I cannot condone offering assistance in this regard.

Please note that my views might not reflect those of the Melbourne PHP Users Group, but, as a group that promotes learning, I doubt any member would feel differently.

I wish your son the best of luck with his assignment.

Ben Balbo

Outrageous!

Update: 2008-10-16 16:16

Reply from Annette:

Hi Ben, thanks for your email. But, as you should have seen, I was asking for assistance ­ tutoring and mentoring ­ not asking for someone to do his assignment for him. There are times when we all need help, and while he left it a little late to seek assistance, I am trying to help him. Don’t kids get outside tutoring at all ages these days, from primary school to university level…

My Response:

[Re: misunderstanding the request]

I’m afraid your original email didn’t carry the sentiment you were
striving for. Asking for someone to:

Assist [your] son with a web programming Uni assignment, which needs
to be finished by Friday

sounds very different to asking for someone to tutor your son in PHP.

[Re: extra tuition and running out of time]

Absolutely, extra tuition is not uncommon. I think the problem here is the lateness, as you point out. I don’t begrudge you trying to help your son, but if he’s not able to make adequate use of the, in my experience, extremely accommodating support network of his lecturers and tutors and identify issues in his time management then there are larger issues at stake.

University courses are not solely designed to teach skills to students; there is as much of an emphasis on self learning, time management, communication skills, issue resolution, risk analysis, and so on. Universities teach people how to operate in a working environment. Employers consider University degrees to denote a person has the ability to work independently (whether by themselves or in teams) – something that is not assumed of high school graduates that enter the workforce without a degree.

I say all of this not to assume some position of authority or to be condescending, but to hopefully assist your son in completing his degree and benefit to the fullest extent possible. On a more personal note, I didn’t discover or fully comprehend any of this until the final year of my University degree and believe it would have helped me enormously if I had worked on the non-academic skills I should have developed in the previous years.

Regards,
Ben Balbo