I keep this blog for non-theological issues, last writing last September about disaster preparedness. That’s weighed on me lately, with the floods here in the East, volcanoes in Hawaii, fires in Greece and — above all — the unresolved crisis in Puerto Rico as the new hurricane season ramps up. So I’ll be writing up… Continue reading How I journal today
Category: FOSS
For “free and open-source software”
Printing out pages for a sermon or service book
After much trial and error, I have come up with this method of printing a service or sermon text to be put in a small binder for use in worsip, using free and open source software. And I thought it was worth sharing with you. First you will need to download the LibreOffice office suite;… Continue reading Printing out pages for a sermon or service book
More thoughts on copyright
I got in a discussion behind the walled garden of Facebook about hymns, copyright and what we (as ministers and content providers) and I’ve brought some of my comments here. In particular, what do we do with hymn texts we think are in the public domain, and thus subject to republication, reuse or adaptation. But… Continue reading More thoughts on copyright
Ubuntu Linux for Ministry: a feature for orders of service
So, this hasn’t been a weekly Thursday feature as I intended. Nor is this, properly speaking, a Ubuntu Linux-only feature, as it’s uses LibreOffice Writer, and that’s available for Windows and Mac OS X, too. (It is free and open-source software — FOSS — and you can get it here.) A small thing — making… Continue reading Ubuntu Linux for Ministry: a feature for orders of service
Serious conference tech
My day job (Sunlight Foundation) colleague, Jeremy Carbaugh, has written a thrilling blog post about the technology Sunlight uses to run our annual big event/unconference, TransparencyCamp, a.k.a. TCamp. Along with masterful planning and execution, engaged group process and careful attention to design, TCamp is a sight to behold. I’m quite proud of it, and wanted… Continue reading Serious conference tech
The free and open-source tools I use the most (that non-Linux users can also use)
After the call for tools, what can you get today? Free software, as defined by the Free Software Foundation — their office is halfway between old 25 and new 24 — is means software that respects users’ freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change… Continue reading The free and open-source tools I use the most (that non-Linux users can also use)
We need free and open-source tools for our work
It’s not enough for some of us to sprinkle a handful of digital resources into liberally-licensed common use. I think we should be more demanding about the kind of tools we use to wake them: software that is free to use, free to share and (if we have the skill) free to build upon. Our… Continue reading We need free and open-source tools for our work
What else here has a Creative Commons license?
So, again on Facebook, a discussion about Creative Commons licensing and the problem (both real and imagined) of using another person’s copyrighted work without permission. As I’ve written before, this unauthorized, unlicensed use has a special place in our history (The 1811 “pirate edition” of the Treatise on Atonement), and that our forebears made a… Continue reading What else here has a Creative Commons license?
Mozilla style guide inspiring to read
With all the recent talk about the new Unitarian Universalist Association visual standard, it was a pleasure to run across another way of approaching the task. Mozilla, who produces the popular Firefox browser, has its entire style guide available for review on its website. You can also download its open-source standard font, Open Sans. It’s… Continue reading Mozilla style guide inspiring to read
A liberal license in a liberal service book
Free-culture and free software advocates easily identify art and technology as fields of interest. Software to share creates common tools for further creativity and interoperability. Riffing on existing films, photos and songs unlocks creativity. Drawing from the public domain preserves human accomplishment and refreshes it. These are easy to see, but worship? Copyright and liturgy… Continue reading A liberal license in a liberal service book