I've been wanting to post this for several weeks now, but advogato kept being down!

Freedom:
So lately, I hear this free software activist talking about some software that I work on. He hates the software. That's ok. Why? Because he hates me and my opinions. I won't go into the opinions, since this is not the right place for a political discussion (it's a typical liberal [me] vs. socialist [he] case), but would just like to mention that this is the saddest thing I've ever seen in my whole life. Free software is only a small piece in the freedom puzzle, which is the ultimate fight that we're continuously struggling with. Freedom of speach, freedom of ideas and the consequent disagreements are all part of that. A society that allows for all this, requires respect between individuals in order to be liveable. I disagree with you, but I don't hate you. Why do you hate me for my ideas? Is that freedom?

And in the mean time...:
... I was enjoying fireworks in Manhattan yesterday, as part of the 4th-of-July celebration. Beautiful!