Ah, the glamorous life of a jet-setting tech enthusiast! Last weekend, I was at FOSDEM in Brussels, soaking up the electric atmosphere of open-source brilliance and arguing about the merits of systemd over a Belgian beer. As the weekend wound down, a friend tried to convince me to extend my adventure and head to ConfigManagementCamp in Gent. "Come on," he said, "it'll be fun!" But I stood firm. "No," I declared, "I need to go home."

"Why? What’s so important at home?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

I hesitated. The truth was, I didn’t have a good answer. I just felt like I needed to be home. Maybe it was the allure of my own bed.

Fast forward to me walking through my front door, dumping my bags, and flopping onto the sofa. I reached for the TV remote, ready to unwind with some mindless telly. But no. The screen lit up with those soul-crushing words: "Searching for the latest software..."

Ah, the Sony TV running Google TV. A marvel of modern technology, capable of streaming 4K cat videos and reminding me that even my telly is smarter than I am. But here’s the kicker: it wasn’t even installing the update yet. Oh no. It was just searching. Like a digital detective on the world’s slowest stakeout.

And there it was. The universe’s punchline. I’d rushed home for this, to sit and watch my telly think about updating.

So, if anyone ever asks why I couldn’t make it to ConfigManagementCamp, I’ll just show them the photo of my TV, mid-search, with the caption: "Sorry, mate. My telly’s on a quest for software. It’s a whole thing."

Sometimes, duty calls. And sometimes, it’s your TV Googling itself.

Back from FOSDEM in Brussels, and what an adventure it was! Tried to catch a train from Brussels-Luxembourg station to Brussels-Midi, but it was running 30 minutes late. No bother—opted for a rental bike instead. One of the perks of travelling with a backpack over a wheelie bag: you can cycle your way out of trouble!

Then, my Eurostar got cancelled. They bumped me onto the next one, two hours later. The departure lounge was packed with FOSDEM folk, and the train itself felt like a moving afterparty—nerdy conversations galore!

Finally made it back to the UK: Underground to Paddington, GWR to Bristol Temple Meads, and a quick bike ride home to wrap it all up. Proper FOSDEM fringe experience, really.

I've just checking in at the Moxy Ostbahnhof Berlin. This place redefines hip—almost too cool for comfort.

Time for another adventure!

I'm on my way to the Wikimedia+Libraries International Convention 2025.

Flying Amsterdam to Bristol. Seat 1A. I just wrapped up four fantastic nights in Utrecht for #GeomobNL and a Wikimedia Hackathon. The events were engaging, and #Utrecht itself is a brilliant city with a lot of charm. Great people, inspiring conversations, and a beautiful setting—looking forward to the next visit.

A misty start to the day. I'm on my way to Utrecht for the first #geomobNL. I'll be speaking about adding links between #OSM and #Wikidata.