OSDC 2005 Call For Papers

OSDC (Open Source Developers Conference) is a grass-roots/low cost conference in the style of a YAPC or PyCon. It's organised for
developers, by developers, and we're looking for papers on open source languages, technologies and tools.

The conference will be held in Melbourne (Monash University's Caulfield Campus) from the 5th til the 7th of December, 2005.

Last years conference had about 160 people and around 60 papers on a range of topics - see the 2004 list. This list might also be useful if you're looking for ideas on what sort of thing would be appropriate.

To submit a proposal, get yourself to the OSDC website, and hit the 'Call for papers' link, or go directly to the paper submission website.

Key Dates:

• Proposals deadline 19th August 2005
  
• Proposal acceptance 12th September 2005
  
• Submission deadline 28th October 2005
  
• Final version for proceedings 15th November 2005
  
• Conference 5th - 7th December 2005
  

[updated to clean up formatting]

it must be bunnies!

original source unknown - forwarded to me by GusG...

The CIA, the FBI and the LAPD are each asked to prove their capability to apprehend terrorists. President Bush releases a white rabbit into a forest and tells each agency to catch it.

The FBI goes first. It sends animal informants into the forest. They question all plant and material witnesses. After three months of intensive investigations the FBI concludes rabbits do not exist.

The CIA goes in. After two weeks with no leads it bombs the forest, killing everything, including the rabbit. It makes no apologies; the rabbit had it coming, they insist.

The LAPD go in. They come out after just two hours with a badly beaten bear. The bear is sobbing, "OK, OK, I'm a rabbit, I'm a rabbit!"

John Howard hears about Bush jnr's idea and decides to try it. To test Australian law enforcement agencies, he releases a white rabbit into Stromlo Forest, near Canberra.

The National Crime Authority can't catch it but promises that if it gets a budget increase it can recover $90 million in unpaid rabbit taxes and proceeds of crime.

The Victorian police go in. They're gone only 15 minutes, returning with a koala, a kangaroo and a tree fern, all three shot to pieces. "They looked like dangerous rabbits and we acted in self-defence," they explain.

The NSW police go in. Surveillance tapes later reveal top-ranking officers and rabbits dancing around a gum tree stoned out their minds.

The Queensland police go in. They reappear driving a brand new Mercedes, with scantily clad rabbits draped all over them.

The WA police actually catch the white rabbit, but it inexplicably hangs itself when the attending officer "slipped out momentarily" for a cup of tea.

The SA and NT police join forces and beat the crap out of every rabbit in the forest, except the white one -- they know it is the black ones who cause all the trouble.

The Australian Federal Police refuse to go in. It examines the issues, particularly cost, and decides that because of low priority, high overtime and the projected expense to the AFP as a whole, the matter should be returned to the referring authority for further analysis.

ASIO goes into the wrong forest.