I just got back from Djangocon, which
was pretty awesome. I was once again on the video team, much like at
PyCon. Now that I've got traveling and
such out of the way I can return to working on personal projects in my
"spare time".
And hey, one of those spare projects turned out to be making some
contributions to Miro. Pretty much just minor GTK-X11 specific fixes
or enhancements thus far. I'm hoping to return to more Miro hacking
in a serious way in the future, but of course I'm not working for the
PCF full-time any more, and I notice that the kind of things I'll
likely be working on will be a bit different: it really will be more
scratch-an-itch style development. Working on serious projects would
probably require more full-time dedication than I'm able to give at
the moment.
Which actually leads me to another point. Free software and free
culture projects all require funding. I tend to think that if you
reap the benefits of these kinds of projects, and especially if you
really believe in them, then you should consider putting your money
toward them. Think of it in terms of the Lessig Challenge: how much money do you
put toward media distribution companies, proprietary software vendors,
etc whose policies and actions you object to? We do live within a
capitalist system, and that means the best way to vote toward change
is often to vote with your dollar. (There are other ways to vote of
course, you can vote with your effort and time too. Generally the best
option is to do both.) So putting your money toward things
projects you believe in, even when that "purchase" won't result in an
immediate result, is something I think everyone should do.
One such project is subtitle translations in Miro. The PCF is trying
to raise funds toward this, and I think it's a great opportunity to
tackle accessibility in open video, which hasn't really been covered
yet... I'd really like to see this bar make it all the way:
I wouldn't stop there either. What organizations do you really
believe in? Various groups could use your support, in especially what
has been a terribly difficult year for nonprofits. A sample of groups
that I think are important and worth joining or donating to in the
free culture / free software sphere: Creative Commons, GNOME, the Free Software Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation... these are all important groups that need
your help.
As for media, support independent artists, especially those that use
free culture licenses like Jim's Big Ego,
Professor Kliq, Brad Sucks, or any one of the many awesome artists
on Jamendo or Magnatune. The Blender Foundation is creating a new
Open Movie, Project Durian. They're
very close to meeting their pre-order goals... of course, they could
still use some help, and the more orders the better (at the moment, if
you preorder, you can get your name in the credits). That's a great
project in particular because it funds Blender
development, helps create an awesome movie, and even releases all the
source files under free licenses. They have other items in their
E-Shop, too. When you buy
hardware, try to buy devices that are free software friendly. There's
loads you can do in the realm of media and technology.
There's tons you can do outside of technology, too. Morgan and I get
all our groceries from the local farmers' market, from our local CSA, and from independent grocers.
When we go out to eat, we go to independent restaurants instead of
chains. The Eat Well Guide is a
fantastic directory for finding ethical sources of food near you
(especially consider joining a Community Supported Agriculture
program... it's a cheap and easy way to get fresh, local and organic
food at your door every week).
Maybe not everything I've listed here meets what you believe in, but
probably something does. Just remember that your time, effort and
money are all incredibly important resources, and how you use them
will change the world, either in ways you believe in or ways you
don't. So invest wisely.