[update: Libre Graphics Day returns to linux.conf.au 2011 in Brisbane!]

Goodness me, it really is only a week away now. The best linux and free and open source conference I've ever ever been to. This year linux.conf.au is in Wellington, New Zealand at http://lca2010.org.nz .  LCA2009 was fabulous, LCA2008 was brilliant, LCA2007 was awesome and LCA2006 was inspiring. I expect LCA2010 to be better than all of them. Combined.

No Pressure Guys ;)

The Welly10 team, slaving and sleep-deprived, have been putting the finishing touches on a well-executed plan. I truly fear they are putting all of us who went before them to shame.

Here's what I'm looking at doing in Wellington next week.

Scone Muffins = Scoffins

I had an idea of trying to make scones with polenta (course corn meal) using a cream scone recipe.  The dough ended up being a bit too gloopy, probably because the polenta is not as absorbent as flour, and so I spooned the mixture into a muffin tray to bake them, instead of rolling and cutting as you normally would with scones.  I was quite surprised how well they turned out, although I do believe they needed another 5-10 mins baking - so I've added that extra time below. You may need to vary this a little depending on your oven.

1 cup polenta
1 cup self raising flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
200 mls pure cream (avoid thickened cream, as it usually contains gelatine or vegetable thickeners)
up to 1 cup of milk

Pre-heat oven to 200c

Grease a 6 cup muffin tin, and line with a little extra corn meal

Sift the flour, then mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour in the cream and stir through quickly, then pour in a little of the milk at a time until you reach a gooey doughy  consistency. But don't stir it too much, you're aiming to just combine all the ingredients, not create a smooth dough. Spoon the mixture into the muffin moulds, and bake for 20-25 mins, until a test skewer comes out clean, and the tops are burnished golden.

Eat them with chutney and creamy cheeses, or sliced meats. Chutney and brie works surprisingly well as a replacement for the jam and cream you might usually have with a scone.

I wrote about this on my old blog at livejournal and on my business blog back in October.

Well, the report is out, and my Government seems to think it knows what's best for me and the 20 million or so other people who live in Australia.   I thought Government was there to do a job for me, not treat me like a baby.

Media Release: http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/115

This blog... runs Drupal. So does my biz blog at cc.com.au/donna - and we've been running Drupal sites for our clients for some time now.  But when Simon, Caitlin and Lisa from emspace came along to an OSIA meeting, Peter and I actually really engaged with the Drupal community for the first time.  We've now been to a few Melbourne meet-ups, went to the Melbourne DrupalCamp in May this year, and are not only both planning on attending and speaking at DrupalSouth - we decided to sponsor it.  So - straight after the fabulous wondrous geek-a-ganza that is linux.conf.au - I'll be diving deep into the Drupal goodness of DrupalSouth.

I got bills to pay. Why am I procrastinating so badly when I have a pile of billable hours ahead of me that would neatly deal with the pile of bills sitting on the other side of the desk? Not to mention the business admin that needs to be done to make the cash flow.

It doesn't feel like procrastinating, but it is. Today I've been sucked into reading and microblogging about issues I care about...  Topics du Jour...

I've been working with Dr Kathryn Moyle and Ian Ralph to put together a one day forum on Open Education. We've called it Open Edge 2009.  The program has been finalised, and I've just put together a one page flyer - to help with last minute promotion to get the word out.  Would love it if you could forward on to anyone in your networks you think would be interested!

Download Open Edge 2009 Program PDF

Check out the website: http://open-edge.info 

Spent a chunk of time today getting the LibreGraphicsDay miniconf call for participation ship shape.  It will take place on the 18th or 19th of January in Wellington, during the traditional linux.conf.au feast of appetisers, the community organised streams known as miniconfs.

I used to love the Hottest 100 - it was a summer milestone. Somehow I got old, and it ceased to be as meaningful to me. I watched with a vague nostalgic interest as people tweeted during this year's JJJ Hottest 100 of all time. I nodded and frowned when I read of the curious outrage about the very very few numbers of women artists who made it in to the list.