[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Update from Casablanca



On Sat, 2004-12-18 at 23:27 -0800, Nadim Shaikli wrote:

Looks like Abdo's message got received and stored on my home machine and
so I can only reply to Nadim's reply ;)

> Not sure there is much we can do there beyond looking into, again,
> the need to translate into Arabic some of our static webpages (it
> would have been ideal if we were able to generate .POT files of our
> website to turn that into a project :-)
> 

I think it's time we seriously consider moving to Plone then. It's on my
new year's resolutions list (it's not that long ;)

> Great, let's hope they come through and stay motivated.
> 

I think we also need to exert some extra effort in retaining interested
talent and not bog them down with canned replies to registrations alone.

> > At the end of the day came the awards ceremony, and the last thing I
> > expected was that we would win something. Of the 4 awards given, one
> > went to RMS, one to Tarik Fdil, one to Mohammed Kibdani, and the
> > fourth, the Best Free Project award, went to Arabeyes. I accepted the
> > trophy presented to me by RMS himself, and thanked the organizers in
> > the name of all of us. I have the trophy here with me. Its quite
> > pretty. Should I keep it or send it to someone so we can start our own
> > awards curio cabinet?
> 
> Heheh - another first :-)  Just take a number of photos of the thing and
> upload it with the rest of the collection I guess - as to where this trophy
> ought to live, well I'm not sure :-)  The Smithsonian might not accept
> it just yet :-)
> 

Ahh.. <homersimpson-donuts-sound>mmmm.. trophy</h-d-s>

As with Nadim, I'm not sure where it should go (but if anywhere, it will
probably have to be with a Core member -- so as long as it's with you
it's fine for now). Pictures will definitely be needed.

Btw, what were the other awards for? Also, what is 'Best Free Project'
exactly? Best Free Project of Arabic projects? Of .. ?

> > I am quite pleased all in all really. I never thought there would be
> > this many people (I mean DOZENS) who just wanted to shake my hand and
> > have their picture taken with me, and this was all _before_ we got the
> > award. I also got an invitation for Arabeyes to attend a similiar even
> > which will be held in Morocco sometime in the undecided future. If it
> > becomes a reality it will be a nice follow up for us, and lets hope
> > that by then we will have actual men-on-the-ground in Morocco.
> 
> Heheh, you've become a bit of celebrity then :-)  Let's hope we get a
> bit of reasonable notice next time around (2 days were most certainly
> not enough), but it does sound like going there certainly helped us
> and everyone else interested in this field from a data exchange point
> of view.
>  

Agreed. I'm pretty sure we will not forgotten the next time around.

> Yup, given time and effort almost everything is possible.  Beyond having
> events, one should really consider the need and what sort of results one
> would want to get once the event is over (social gatherings vs. focused
> technical agendas).  All things to discuss at a later point once we get
> really going.

Nod. We are going to have something here in Dubai, I promise. 2005 will
be the year of the seminars.

> > I think thats enough updates for today. I'm tired. Doesnt anybody have
> > any questions for me?
> 
> Sounds like you did well - rest-up and come back home safely.
> 

I have a question -- what did you do after the workshops? How is Casa in
general? 

> > BTW I took several dozen pictures myself, and others took pictures for
> > me and promised to email them. It will be quite a photo album...
> 
> Looking forward to seeing 'em and hearing more about this and how things
> can be improved further.
> 

Cool stuff. I really look forward to seeing those pictures.. From what
I'm reading, you've done a super job. 


Regards,
Mohammed Elzubeir