Freelancing Gods

A Visit to Vegas

2009-04-22T05:41:05+00:00

In case you’ve not booked your ticket yet, but were considering coming and needed one more reason: I’ll be giving a tutorial on Sphinx at RailsConf in Las Vegas next month. To get 15% discount, use the code ‘RC09FOS’. (O’Reilly seem to hand out codes everywhere. If you paid full price this time, keep that in mind for next year.)

If you will be there, I’m more than happy to have a chat – about Sphinx or anything else – so let me know if you want to meet up.

Crowdsourced Research

For those of you who know Sphinx and Thinking Sphinx already, I’d love to hear about the things you found a bit difficult when learning. What are the topics I should make sure I cover in my tutorial, that are maybe lacking in documentation?

Speaking Khmer

2009-04-10T14:35:00+00:00

This is the second of my guides to Cambodia.

While I’m pretty good with programming languages, spoken languages is a completely different kettle of fish. Still, I spent a long enough time in Cambodia to pick up some Khmer – not enough to have conversations, but generally enough to get the gist of what the locals were saying to me.

Khmer has its own character set – sixteen vowels and thirty-five consonants – so my attempts to provide speaking guides below aren’t anything to swear by. There’s a few characters that can be translated as mixtures of our own, such as bp and dj.

Also, keep in mind that if you speak more than the very basics, then you’ll get one of two reactions. Either the Khmer will assume you know the language, and will answer in the same language – which quite likely won’t be that helpful; or, they’ll do a double-take, and repeat what you said and laugh. The latter happened to me a lot in Siem Reap in particular, because Westerners (Berangs) that speak Khmer in such a tourist-heavy location are few and far between.

If you get stuck in the former situation though, I’d recommend saying “Khmer tik-tik” (small Khmer), and they’ll probably laugh and then switch back to English, should they know any.

Greetings and Thank-you

Hello: Soos’dai
How are you?: Sock-sa’bai? (Literally: Healthy and Happy? This can also be used as the response – much like ça va in French)
Happy: Sa’bai
Very Happy: Sa’bai na
Good: L’or
Very Good: L’or na
Thank-you: Oarkun
Thank-you very much: Oarkun Djeraan
Yes: Baht (when said by males) or Djaa (when said by females)
No: A’tay (Again, works very similarly to the French ne pas, with the word being negated going in between, as shown in the next example).
No Problem: At-banya-ha, or more correctly At-banya-ha-tay.

Sock-sa’bai is used as a general greeting, and more than often will be the response offered in return. If you want to be a bit of a smart-arse, you can switch the syllables of Sock-sa’bai to Sai-sa’bock – which is something the Khmer do themselves occasionally, but a Westerner saying it is often seen as a great joke to them.

Numbers

The Khmer counting system is pretty easy to get your head around – it generally works by fives, as you can see below. The only thing I find tricky is each multiple of ten has no connection to the factor (ie: 2 and 20 don’t sound the same).

1: Moi (as in Moira)
2: Bpee
3: Bai
4: Buan
5: Pram
6: Pram-Moi (ie: 5 + 1)
7: Pram-Bpee
8: Pram-Bai
9: Pram-Buan
10: Dop
11: Dop-Moi (10 + 1)
12: Dop-Bpee
16: Dop-Pram-Moi (10 + 5 + 1)
20: Moi’pai
21: Moi’pai-Moi (20 + 1)
30: Sam’sup
40: Sae’sup
50: Ha’sup
100: Moi-roy
121: Moi-roy-Moi’pai-Moi (100 + 20 + 1)
200: Bpee-roy
1000: Moi-bpuan

Wikipedia has a lot more detail on the number system, if you’re feeling curious.

People

When talking about people, you’ll generally indicate their age (younger or older than yourself) and gender.

Older: Bong
Younger: Ohn
Male: Proh
Female: Srei

So, if you’re at a restaurant, and you want to get the waiter’s attention, it’s best to err on the side of seniority, and call him Bong-Proh. An older woman is Bong-Srei, although Bong will likely be fine in both cases. The literal translations are older/younger sister/brother, but it’s not meant as an indication of immediate family (although they are also used in that manner).

Older Sister: Bong-Srei
Older Brother: Bong-Proh
Younger Sister: Ohn-Srei
Younger Brother: Ohn-Proh

Keep in mind this is just the basics – I didn’t really get my head around the rest.

Dining and Shopping

This is one area where I’m quite rusty – I never really ordered in true Khmer restaurants (only places that catered for Westerners). You’ll notice, though, that each meat shares the same prefix – Satch, meaning flesh. So if you see the live animals (ie: a cow), just call it Ko, instead of Satch-ko.

Chicken: Satch-muern
Beef: Satch-ko
Pork: Satch-cheruu
Banana: Jake
Tasty: Chng’ngyang (this one takes a bit of practicing)
Delicious: Chng’ngyang na (literally, very tasty)
Cheers: Chul moi (As one)
Money: Loy
Can I have the bill?: Som kit loy?
How much is this?: Tly pon-man?
Expensive: Tly na
One more: Moi tiet

Directions

Turn right: Bat saddaam
Turn left: Bat schweng
Straight ahead: Dtrong
Here: Tini
There: Tinu

Everything Else

Westerner: Berang (in the past, this meant French, as they ‘colonised’ the region, but it’s now a catch-all term for any Anglo-looking person)
Pretty: Sa’at
Beautiful: Sa’at na (literally, very pretty)
Small: Tik-tik
Large: Tom-tom
Slow: Yuut-yuut
Strong: Klung
Miss: Nook (as in, to miss someone)
Dog: Ch’kai
Cat: Ch’maa
Don’t need: A’trega (Useful when dealing with the never-ending calls of touts for taxis, tuk-tuks and motos in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap)
Have: Mien
Already: Howie
Have already: Mien Howie

That should give you a decent start – although I’m sure I’ll think of more words tomorrow. Next up in this series (and hopefully appearing a bit more quickly than this post) is tackling travel around Cambodia.

Trampoline

2009-03-06T01:08:45+00:00

Born out of a discussion about BarCamps, Rails Camps and the value they could bring to those not so technically minded, Melbourne will be hosting the first Trampoline on Saturday, the 28th of March.

This is something Mel, Steve, Bei and I have been discussing for a few months now – bringing one hundred inquisitive people together to discuss interesting and amazing ideas covering various disciplines. In true unconference style, the schedule will be determined on the day by those who are there – you don’t need to be an expert in your field to share what you think is awesome.

We’ve got some fantastic space at DonkeyWheel in the CBD lined up, and already half the tickets are taken (so if this sounds like fun, I recommend registering sooner rather than later). People are already sharing the topics they want to share and hear about, and that discussion will ramp up as we get closer to the event.

Khmer Culture

2009-02-18T12:05:18+00:00

This is the first of my guides to Cambodia.

Let’s start with some general pointers about Cambodia.

One of the differences between Cambodia and Australia that I’ve been reminded of now that I’m back home is how friendly the Khmer people are. (In case you weren’t sure, residents of Cambodia refer to themselves as Khmer, not Cambodian. The same goes for the language they speak.) While often they may look at you seriously, if you smile, they will smile back nine times out of ten. You try that in Melbourne, and people may think you’re a little too friendly.

When travelling in the regions where tourists aren’t so common, you’ll often have Khmer children call out ‘Hello’ as you pass – occasionally the adults will do the same. If they speak any English, you’ll be asked what your name is, how old you are, and often whether you’re married or not.

Status

The age question has some importance to Khmer – because the older you are, the higher status you have. You refer to people older than you as Bong, and those younger as Ohn – and if you’re not sure whether they’re older or not, err on the side of caution and go with Bong.

Other factors to status include gender – males ranking higher, unsurprisingly – and race. If you’re a white-skinned Berang (Westerner), that’s instant kudos, which means white women get much more respect than local Khmer women.

Greetings

Status also determines how people will greet you. If you’re much senior, you’ll often get polite bows with hands pressed together as if praying – the more friendly restaurant staff will often greet and farewell you with this.

If you want to be a bit more informal, handshakes are recommended – and some Khmer men will press for one anyway, especially if you’re white-skinned and male, seeking to get chummy with you.

History

Now, I’ve not read too much about the history of Cambodia, so don’t expect much detail here. I can provide a very brief overview though.

The Kingdom of Cambodia – or a Khmer nation in some form and name – has been in existance for around 1200 years. At one stage in the middle of the last millenium, it was the largest nation in South East Asia, covering at least parts of Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Much more recently, it was ‘colonised’ by the French, as part of French Indochina from 1863 up until 1953, when it became a constitutional monarchy. After the Vietnam War, the combination of bombing by the USA and the rebel communist Khmer Rouge drove the country into civil war, with the Khmer Rouge taking power in 1975. Vietnam invaded in 1978 to put a halt to the genocide (somewhere between one and three million were killed – including a high percentage of the more educated Khmer, such as teachers and doctors), but warring continued until the late 1990’s.

In the last decade or so, the country has returned to being a constitutional monarchy. The Cambodian People’s Party has held power ever since the first elections, and holds a massive majority. While the locals rarely discuss politics, it’s quite well established that there’s plenty of corruption within the government. If you’re friends or family of those in power, your living conditions are leagues ahead of the vast majority of the population.

These days, you really don’t need to be worried about violence – well, not in the heavily populated areas. Apparently things get a bit hairy in the jungles with fighting between police, poachers and rangers, and there is the on-again-off-again border dispute with Thailand in the Preah Vihear province, but outside of those regions, things are quite safe.

Currency

Onto something a bit more utilitarian: money. The Cambodian currency is called the Riel, and it’s worth roughly one fortieth of a US cent. An easier way to think of it is 4000 riel is 1 US dollar. While the Australian dollar is the currency I normally deal with, I’m sticking with USD references here because that’s the secondary currency in Cambodia – you’ll be able to work with that 4000-to-1 conversion rate in restaurants, hotels and such.

The official conversion rate is something closer to 4120 riel to the dollar, but you’ll only find people using that when you’re changing money, or if you happen to be buying phone credit (since that’s a pretty close parallel to currency in Cambodia anyway).

Because of how cheap (compared to Western countries) most things are, you can’t expect most places to handle $20 and $50 dollar notes, unless you’re paying them large amounts of money anyway. Close to markets you’ll find money changers, and you should get the official rate – which means you’ll score some extra riel.

One thing you almost certainly won’t see in Cambodia is coins. Apparently there’s a 50 riel coin, but I’ve only seen notes with values of 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 – and a 20,000 riel note once. Anything larger and you’ll be dealing in US dollars. And trust me, once you’ve gotten used to not having coins in your wallet, it’s tough going back.

Language

If you’re only going to the tourist-centric cities – Phnom Penh and Siem Reap – then you won’t need to worry about learning Khmer. A growing number of the population can speak at least some English, and for the rest, you’ll get by easily with sign language. That said, if you know a few local phrases – beyond Socksabye (How are you?) and Oarkun (Thank you) – you’ll often get a good friendly laugh in response, as the vast majority of visitors just don’t make an effort.

I’ll be covering a lot more of the language in the next post, so stay tuned.

Pat's Guide to Cambodia

2009-02-18T12:04:23+00:00

I’ve recently returned to Melbourne after spending four months based in Cambodia. I’ve learnt a stack about the country and culture, and I figure it might come in handy for others travelling through, so I’ve got a few blog posts lined up with various tidbits of information.

Some will be pretty generic – useful for Cambodia in general – while some parts will be focused on the city of Battambang (aka The Bong), which is where I was living.

This post itself is just a placeholder, and will be updated with links to each of the articles as I write them.

Khmer Culture
Speaking Khmer
Getting Around
Dining in Battambang
Things to do in Battambang

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

2009-02-09T16:42:29+00:00

I’ve been stewing on a few blog posts about Cambodia, but this is a higher priority.

In case you’d missed the news, the state of Victoria (in Australia) has been suffering from some devastating fires over the weekend. Over a hundred people have died, and that number’s certain to rise as the fires are put out and areas can be accessed by emergency crews. Towns, such as Marysville, have been razed.

If you’d like to donate, the Red Cross’ website seems to be the best place, from what I’ve read.

To get a good idea of how bad things are, it’s worth browsing the latest Boston Big Picture post, which features photos of the fires and destruction.

Photo taken by Warren, on Flickr, with a Creative Commons licence.

A Guide : Internet Filter Action

2009-01-09T07:05:51+00:00

Meet with your local ALP MP or Senator.
Have a conversation with them about the internet filter, ideally focusing on The Message (below).
Add the meeting details in a comment – the post will be updated accordingly (please comment if you’ve already met with a politician about this issue).
Spread the word, and encourage others to do the same.

The Goal

To meet with as many ALP MPs and Senators, and share the message below. If you don’t have an ALP representative, then visit a Senator for your State instead. A face-to-face meeting is highly recommended, as it’s far more effective than an email or letter, and you’re more likely to have a sensible discussion, rather than getting a form letter response. If pressed for time, a phone call may suffice, but do everything you can to speak to the politician in question, not one of their staff members.

Even if your member is already listed below as having had someone else meet with them, another meeting with another concerned citizen will help solidify the message that there are serious problems with the Government’s proposed legislation.

I recommend using the message below – obviously some peoples’ opinions will differ, and I sympathise (and agree) with the concerns of censorship and grey lines of what the filter will and will not block. However, we need to find some common ground and try to direct their attention to what we feel is a better approach.

When you have a meeting organised, please add the details in a comment below, so we all have some idea of which politicians have been met with, and which still need a visit.

Don’t forget: both houses return to Parliament in February, so try to organise a meeting before then!

The Message

The goal of the Government’s Internet Filter is laudable. We have no argument with wanting to stop child pornography, and make sure children aren’t exposed to the darker corners of the internet. The problem is with the approach: an opt-out internet filter will not work.

There are plenty of legal tools that route around filtering: those who want to seek out such material will be able to.
The filter trials have been focused on HTTP traffic, with no attention given to peer-to-peer file sharing or instant messaging.
Filtering BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer traffic is not feasible – an analogy is monitoring every single phone call in Australia.
It gives the impression the internet will now be safe for children, ignoring situations where children are groomed by pedophiles via chat rooms and social networks, and may potentially meet face to face with these people.
It will slow the internet down to some extent.

That doesn’t mean there are no worthwhile solutions that should be investigated, such as the following:

Opt-in filter for those who desire it – whether offered by ISPs or as a downloadable tool.
Education for parents – via TAFE courses and similar.
Compulsory education for children in schools on what to be aware of when using the internet.
Increased funding for the AFP.

The Government’s current approach is a waste of money – particularly worrying in these financially uncertain times. We encourage the Government to change their tact for making the internet safer for Australians to use, and hope they employ some of the more effective ideas as suggested above.

Representatives

(Alphabetical by Surname)

Dick Adams (Lyons)
Anthony Albanese (Grayndler)
Arch Bevis (Brisbane)
James Bidgood (Dawson)
Sharon Bird (Cunningham – NSW)
- Geoff McQueen – 7th January 2009
Chris Bowen (Prospect)
David Bradbury (Lindsay)
Tony Burke (Watson)
Mark Butler (Port Adelaide – SA)
Anthony Byrne (Holt)
Jodie Campbell (Bass)
Nick Champion (Wakefield)
Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite)
Jason Clare (Blaxland)
Julie Collins (Franklin)
Greg Combet (Charlton)
Simon Crean (Hotham)
Yvette D’Ath (Petrie)
Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports – VIC)
- Steve Hopkins – Nothing Yet Scheduled
Bob Debus (Macquarie)
Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs)
Justine Elliot (Richmond)
Annette Ellis (Canberra – ACT)
Kate Ellis (Adelaide – SA)
Craig Emerson (Rankin)
- Ashley Angell – Nothing Yet Scheduled
Laurie Ferguson (Reid)
Martin Ferguson (Batman – VIC)
Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter)
Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith – NSW)
Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh)
Jennie George (Throsby)
Steve Gibbons (Bendigo – VIC)
Julia Gillard (Lalor – VIC)
Gary Gray (Brand)
Sharon Grierson (Newcastle – NSW)
Alan Griffin (Bruce)
Damian Hale (Solomon)
Jill Hall (Shortland)
Chris Hayes (Werriwa)
Julia Irwin (Fowler)
Sharryn Jackson (Hasluck)
Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro)
Duncan Kerr (Denison)
Catherine King (Ballarat – VIC)
Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia)
Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga – VIC)
Richard Marles (Corio)
Robert McClelland (Barton)
Maxine McKew (Bennelong – NSW)
Bob McMullan (Fraser)
Daryl Melham (Banks)
John Murphy (Lowe)
Belinda Neal (Robertson)
Shayne Neumann (Blair)
Brendan O’Connor (Gorton)
Julie Owens (Parramatta – NSW)
Melissa Parke (Fremantle – WA)
Graham Perrett (Moreton)
Tanya Plibersek (Sydney – NSW)
Roger Price (Chifley)
Brett Raguse (Forde)
Kerry Rea (Bonner)
Bernie Ripoll (Oxley)
Amanda Rishworth (Kingston)
Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand)
Kevin Rudd (Griffith – QLD)
- Alister Scott – Nothing Yet Scheduled
Janelle Saffin (Page)
Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong – VIC)
Sid Sidebottom (Braddon)
Stephen Smith (Perth – WA)
Warren Snowdon (Lingiari)
Jon Sullivan (Longman)
Wayne Swan (Lilley – QLD)
Mike Symon (Deakin)
Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne – VIC)
Craig Thomson (Dobell)
Kelvin Thomson (Wills – VIC)
- Pat Allan – 8th December 2008
Chris Trevor (Flynn)
Jim Turnour (Leichhardt)
Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell)
Tony Zappia (Makin)

Senators

Australian Capital Territory

Kate Lundy

New South Wales

Mark Arbib
Doug Cameron
John Faulkner
- Elias Bizannes – Nothing Yet Scheduled
Michael Forshaw
Steve Hutchins
Ursula Stephens

Northern Territory

Trish Crossin

Queensland

Mark Furner
Joe Ludwig
Jan McLucas
Claire Moore

South Australia

Don Farrell
Annette Hurley
Anne McEwen
Penny Wong
Dana Wortley

Tasmania

Catryna Bilyk
Carol Brown
Kerry O’Brien
Helen Polley
Nick Sherry

Victoria

Kim Carr
Jacinta Collins
Stephen Conroy
David Feeney
Gavin Marshall

Western Australia

Mark Bishop
Chris Evans
Louise Pratt
Glenn Sterle

Credits

This was inspired by the work of Geoff McQueen and Matthew Landauer. Originally planned as a Google Document, but that doesn’t allow editing by everyone, so this blog post will have to do.