If you can't beat them, JOIN them!

Wow. Advocacy by osmosis. My wife, Cindy, who claims not to be computer literate, has taken interest in my computer activities.

Her spider senses may have thought that this new obsession was not of pure motive.

Haha. No I am not having a cyber sexual affair. I am actually trying to help people, and at the same time help myself. The more I get involved, the more I learn, and the more relaxed and less work obsessed I become.

Well this morning, she decided to join the fold. She needs to do community service as part of an education class that she is taking and has been in a quandary as to how to fulfill this requirement.

After our morning discussion of gender bashing, precipitated by Lyz's anguish the night before, and while I was burning Mac FOSS cd's for Software Freedom Day, she realized that she could help me with promoting SFD and get her required community service requirements fulfilled at the same time. I am not sensitive, but I am really loyal. When one of my teammates is affected, I will try to help them; even if I don't understand. I don't understand the women issues, I am not a woman. That doesn't mean that I shouldn't try. It is understood in our household, that all matters of right and wrong are arbitrated by my wife, Cindy. I can talk openly and freely with her and get her insight. She knows me, and accepts me the way I am, and I value her insight into the things I just don't get. We complement each other well.

She then asked me what all this Software Freedom Day stuff was that I had been doing, and how it applied to people like her, her fellow workers at the daycare center, and her classmates.
She represents our target audience well. She doesn't really know, or want to how the computers work, she just wants it to work. I explained to her that she is using FOSS software, albeit Windows software. But she realized, on her own, what about people that didn't have "Power Point" or a husband like me, knowledgeable about FOSS; how would they be able to complete their class assignments that require "Power Point"?

After a half-hour dissertation about free vs. proprietary, and the proclivity of bootlegging as a result; she now understands the argument and the need for FOSS. She also made me promise to assist her co-workers, who are also classmates, with any technical issues they may have.

So, now, this afternoon, we are going out and promoting SFD at PACS together. And maybe, just maybe, if we can line everything up, she will be joining me at the event next week.

I really hope so.