Microsoft tries, and fails, to recruit open-source guru. In reply, Eric Raymond ridicules the offer: "I've in fact been something pretty close to your company's worst nightmare since about 1997." [Computerworld News]

How utterly juvenile. 

Eric S. Raymond still seems to live in a world where he believes himself to be much more important than actual reality would imply. Microsoft's worst nightmare? With all due respect to Mr. Raymond, himself and Mr. Stallman have probably been the two greatest impediments to the adoption of Linux, putting a quack, cult-of-personality face on what is otherwise a technological tour de force (it is remarkable how much more earthed and pragmatic Mr. Torvalds is about the OS in contrast). I have never met Eric personally, but I always got the impression that he was terribly overrated (I read the Cathedral and the Bazaar and found it trite and unpersuasive).

I could just imagine some random Microsoft recruiter doing blog searches and noting some ESR guy, and offering him a probing offer, only to get this sort of nonsense in reply. It's very Junior High-esque.

[UPDATE: I haven't been following Slashdot as much as I used to, but this was discussed there. One of the comments linked to a hilarious graphic as well]

Today's hike was at Rattlesnake Point, a great little conservation area, again featuring the Niagara Escarpment. Rattlesnake Point is located in the Halton Region Conservation Area , just North of Dundas on Appleby Line, North of Burlington, and has trails that attach it to the Bruce Trail (and to other conservation areas). You can see the satellite map here. If you're driving North on Appleby to get there you'll be treated to one of the most interesting roads in the flatlands of the GTA (it's very Italy like, with too narrow of a road twisting and curving at amazing gradations).

The ropes you see there are evidence of the rock climbers who scale this face, one of the few natural opportunities to do so in this region.  A couple more pictures from today's outing can be found here. This area is a great little day outing, and is absolutely beautiful as fall rolls around.