Jekyll2024-03-19T23:04:04+01:00https://danielpocock.com/feed/sip.xmlDaniel Pocock’s personal blog | SipSoftware engineer, Free, Open Source Software Consultant, Innovator, Fedora & Debian Developer
Comparing private and peer-to-peer VoIP solutions2021-02-12T09:30:00+01:002021-02-12T09:30:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/comparing-private-and-p2p-voip-solutions<p>One of the top questions people ask RTC developers around Valentine's Day is whether we finally have a private solution people can use to communicate with their partner.</p>
<p>There is fresh attention on the issue this year after Twitter and other large providers flexed their muscles and demonstrated that they are more powerful than the US President.</p>
<h3>Suggestions</h3>
<p>Two products to try are <a href="https://jami.net/">Jami</a> (Chat, voice, video) and <a href="https://briarproject.org/">Briar</a> (Chat only).</p>
<p>Neither of these is complete or perfect.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, they are now at a stage where you can try them with friends and give useful feedback to the developers or help packaging them in distributions.</p>
<h3>Getting the latest Jami and Briar on Fedora and Debian</h3>
<p>I started a <a href="https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/devel@lists.fedoraproject.org/thread/CJIH7LIQ5VKAP7SQ3FPFWF33T466P3LV/">discussion on the Fedora devel list about packaging the latest Jami code</a>. Due to ffmpeg patent issues, it will need to be distributed through <a href="https://rpmfusion.org/">RPM Fusion</a>.</p>
<p>For users of Debian 10 (buster), I've published backports of the latest build in the Debify repository. You can install like this:</p>
<blockquote><em>
<p>wget -O - http://apt.debify.org/add-apt-debify | bash</p>
<p>sudo apt update</p>
<p>sudo apt install -t debify-buster-backports jami</p>
</em></blockquote>
<p>You can ask questions about Jami <a href="https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/jami">on the Jami mailing list here</a>.</p>
<p>Briar packaging is held up by politics in Debian. I had been working on some of the Java packaging toolchain before people decided to put politics first. If anybody would like to see Briar on Debian, <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=971526#10">here are some of the outstanding technical issues</a>.</p>
<a href="https://f-droid.org/">
<img align="right" width="25%" src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/fdroid-logo-text.svg"/>
</a>
<p>Both Jami and Briar apps are available, you can <a href="https://f-droid.org/">install them with F-Droid too</a>.</p>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<p>Achieving independence from cloud services doesn't necessarily give you privacy. There are trade-offs to be made. John Goerzen recently published a blog about <a href="https://changelog.complete.org/archives/10216-the-hidden-drawbacks-of-p2p-and-a-defense-of-signal">privacy issues in current P2P tools</a>.</p>
<h3>Ask us</h3>
<p>You can ask questions about any RTC and VoIP products on <a href="https://lists.freertc.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss">the FreeRTC discussion list</a>. To receive periodic announcements about new products, subscribe to <a href="https://lists.freertc.org/mailman/listinfo/announce">FreeRTC announce</a>.</p>
<h3>Standardization</h3>
<p>There are various efforts to develop standards for true peer-to-peer communications. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer_SIP">SIP P2P / RELOAD effort</a> and <a href="https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0174.html">Serverless XMPP</a> are worth looking at. reSIProcate <a href="https://github.com/resiprocate/resiprocate/tree/master/p2p">includes initial efforts to support SIP RELOAD</a>.</p>
<a href="https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0174.html">
<img width="100%" alt="Serverless XMPP, p2p, peer to peer, Donald Trump" src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/Trump_Serverless_XMPP.png"/>
</a>One of the top questions people ask RTC developers around Valentine's Day is whether we finally have a private solution people can use to communicate with their partner.How Kosovo won DebConf212020-02-27T16:10:00+01:002020-02-27T16:10:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/how-kosovo-won-debconf21<p>On 20 February, the DebConf team announced that <a href="https://lists.debian.org/debconf-announce/2020/02/msg00000.html">Kosovo will host DebConf21 in the summer of 2021</a>. DebConf is an annual, week-long conference of Debian Developers, typically attracting between 300 and 600 people to a different host city each year.</p>
<p>The DebConf21 win is a strong endorsement of the work done by local groups including <a href="https://www.flossk.org/">FLOSSK</a>, <a href="https://digitalspoiler.com/codregals-the-first-hackathon-of-prizren-kosovo/">CoderGals Kosovo</a> and Toastmasters.</p>
<p>FLOSSK operate the <a href="http://www.prishtinahackerspace.org/">amazing Prishtina Hackerspace</a> and they have been running an annual event, <a href="https://sfk.flossk.org/">Software Freedom Kosovo (SFK)</a> for ten years now. The CFP deadline for SFK 2020 is imminent, <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfx2wCl2RIZuNOvV4AlfGAXZe8vDnei0iPsNNvryeegaG9OFA/viewform">please submit your proposal before 1 March</a>.</p>
<img src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/sfk2019-bird.png"/>
<p>CoderGals Kosovo ran their first <a href="https://digitalspoiler.com/codregals-the-first-hackathon-of-prizren-kosovo/">Hackathon for Girls in Prizren, 2017</a>.</p>
<p>As a Debian Developer, I've visited and helped organize a number of events in the region covering Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. At the Digital-born Media Carnival in Kotor, 2017, I was fortunate to meet four students from Kosovo, including Albiona and Qendresa Hoti, who told me about their plans to run a hackathon in Prizren. They invited me to attend as an advisor to their event and this was a great opportunity to see the possibilities in Kosovo.</p>
<p>During the hackathon, I could see that the two main strengths of their group were their commitment to team work and the quality of the presentations on the final day.</p>
<p>We collaborated on a number of events together:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://digitalspoiler.com/codregals-the-first-hackathon-of-prizren-kosovo/">CoderGals Hackathon in Prizren, 2017</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEvents/ks/2017/MiniDebConfPrishtina">Prishtina's first Mini DebConf and Fedora Women's Day in 2017</a></li>
<li><a href="https://danielpocock.com/bug-squashing-and-diversity-tirana-2018-03-03/">MiniDebConf Tirana</a></li>
<li><a href="https://danielpocock.com/oscal18-debian-ham-sdr/">Debian booth at OSCAL</a></li>
<li><a href="https://danielpocock.com/free-software-ham-radio-gsoc-in-kosovo-2018-05/">joint meeting of the Prishtina Hackerspace and SHRAK, Kosovo's amateur radio society</a></li>
<li><a href="https://danielpocock.com/sfk-2019-prishtina-toastmasters/">SFK 2019</a></li>
</ul>
<img src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/team-kosovo.jpg" alt="Enkelena and Amire"/>
<p>Three of the young women from Kosovo were successful in being <a href="https://bits.debian.org/2018/05/welcome-gsoc2018-and-outreachy-interns.html">selected for Google Summer of Code in 2018</a> and a number of women from the region also received diversity bursaries to attend DebConf18 (Taiwan) and DebConf19 (Brazil). After their success in GSoC, I went down there personally to welcome them to the program.</p>
<p>Based on my observations from that first event in Kosovo, the hackathon, I felt that many of the students would immediately be able to apply their teamwork and presentation skills with regular Toastmasters meetings. We couldn't find any official group in Kosovo or Albania through the <a href="https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club/">Toastmasters club search</a> so I suggested starting a new one in the <a href="https://ickosovo.com/">Innovation Centre Kosovo (ICK)</a>. The ICK has been an indispensable partner in this activity. Among other things, their publicity unit helped us bring Toastmasters to Kosovan TV:</p>
<!--<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xgyt4TbIZA0?start=46" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>-->
<video controls preload="auto" width="720" height="480" data-setup="{}">
<source src="https://video.danielpocock.com/ToastmastersPrishtina.webm#t=45" type="video/webm">
</video>
<p>After a number of Toastmasters meetings in ICK, it was Albiona Hoti and Enkelena Haxhiu who jumped up at DebConf19 in Brazil to launch a surprise bid for DebConf21 at the last minute. Here is their presentation (fast forward 19:30):</p>
<video class="video-js vjs-default-skin vjs-big-play-centered" controls
preload="auto" width="720" height="480" data-setup="{}">
<source src="https://meetings-archive.debian.net/pub/debian-meetings/2019/DebConf19/debconf21-in-your-city.webm#t=1173,1835" type="video/webm">
</video>
<p>Enkelena has been particularly attentive in following through on the relations with the DebConf team over the last six months, engaging FLOSSK in the bid, <a href="https://wiki.debian.org/DebConf/21/Bids/Kosovo">documenting the bid on Debian's wiki</a> and establishing Kosovo's strengths to host the event. Albiona has been a key part of the team that is bootstrapping the new Toastmasters group.</p>
<p>It has been a privilege for me to mentor and collaborate with a number of these young leaders on this journey.</p>On 20 February, the DebConf team announced that Kosovo will host DebConf21 in the summer of 2021. DebConf is an annual, week-long conference of Debian Developers, typically attracting between 300 and 600 people to a different host city each year.RIP Floe2020-02-06T00:40:00+01:002020-02-06T00:40:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/rip-floe<img src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/DSC_2092_cropped.JPG"/>What is a Debian Developer?2020-02-03T16:30:00+01:002020-02-03T16:30:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/what-is-a-debian-developer<p>When I started doing things with Debian in 1997, it was prompted by a visit from another Debian Developer. His generosity with his time, skill and advice have left an impression on me to this day about what it means to be a Debian Developer.</p>
<p>Virtual Moreland was just starting out with a $100,000 grant to get us moving. Some second-hand servers had been donated to run web sites and mail systems, thin clients to build a training lab. I had been using Slackware Linux for a number of years and anticipated using it for Virtual Moreland.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I was introduced to this Developer who pointed out the benefits of the Debian packaging system over Slackware. He brought the latest Debian archive to me on his hard disk so I could get a local mirror up and running more quickly. When I introduce people to Debian today, I hope I can be equally helpful to them.</p>
<p>That was before Debian had a constitution and before SPI, Inc, a US organisation which has excluded many Developers from the membership rolls, had seized a Debian trademark. It was before Debian was persuaded into accepting a Code of Conduct that doesn't have any safeguards for the community.</p>
<p>Today, after more than 20 years, Debian still means much the same thing for me: technical excellence. Giving back to the community. Following the principles laid out in the <a href="https://www.debian.org/social_contract">Debian Social Contract</a>.</p>
<p>Yet being on the Debian keyring has become a poisoned chalice. After the events of 2018, it is clear that people are both added to the keyring and removed for reasons that are related to politics and control.</p>
<p>To put it another way, rogue elements of Debian want to flex their muscles and have the power of an employer, without paying us.</p>
<p>For most of us, our responsibility is to the employers and clients who do pay us, not to those who coerce us and periodically use Debian's otherwise enviable reputation to shame somebody and maintain control through fear. People who prioritize their family, their education or their health are no less Debian Developers than those who submit to control from these would-be masters.</p>
<p>In 2010, the Debian Developers <a href="https://www.debian.org/vote/2010/vote_002">passed a motion allowing non-Developers to be regarded as Developers</a>. In other words, 285 members of the project who voted made a decision that being a Debian Developer was now about <em>status</em> rather than Developer <em>competence</em>. Approximately 600 people, the majority, did not vote at all.</p>
<p>This started us going down a slippery slope.</p>
<p>At the bottom of that slippery slope there is a very hard landing. Developers, with over 30 years experience between them, suddenly deleted under the radar. One of the newest non-developing Developers stands up at a conference to boast about rudely displacing people who were there from the beginning. Neo-Developers who behave like this have nothing in common with the Debian Developers I first met in 1997.</p>
<p>When this type of person decides to indulge herself shaming a volunteer at a time of grief, that is a step too far.</p>
<p>What about those who still feel comfortable with the original and more honest and logical definition of a Developer?</p>
<p>Personally, none of my employers has ever expected me to be on the Debian keyring. Some of them would see it as an unacceptable risk for any employee to be on the Debian keyring if it puts them at risk of coercion. Imagine if you are a manager and somebody outside the company spreads a rumour that one of your employees has been demoted by an external group like Debian, can you afford the damage to productivity and morale? Many other professional developers I speak to don't feel the time demanded by Debian's politics and bureaucracy justifies the benefits of participation. While other communities have grown, Debian reached approximately 1,000 members and has stayed at this level for many years.</p>
<p>I really don't care which Debian keyring I'm on and either should anybody else. As long as I follow the same principles and find creative ways to make my packages available to the world, I'm entirely consistent with the principles Debian was founded on. After all, Linus Torvalds didn't ask for permission to make Linux. Ian Murdock didn't ask for permission to make Debian. If you have done the same work creating packages, why do you need permission to call yourself by the same title, Debian Developer? For that matter, why shouldn't anybody create their own Debian keyring and distribute it to their friends and clients, as long as they are using it to sign packages created in accordance with <a href="https://www.debian.org/social_contract">the principles we all associate with Debian</a>? In other words, is being a Developer about egos or about principles?</p>
<p>If even one person is happily using your packages, you might be a Debian Developer too. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.</p>When I started doing things with Debian in 1997, it was prompted by a visit from another Debian Developer. His generosity with his time, skill and advice have left an impression on me to this day about what it means to be a Debian Developer.Diversity at the Australian Open Tennis, Margaret Court and the FSF’s Richard Stallman2020-02-01T00:30:00+01:002020-02-01T00:30:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/diversity-tennis-australia-fsf-rms<p>In 2020, Tennis Australia presented a special trophy to Margaret Court, one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Court claimed all four major titles in the year 1970 and won a total of 24 grand slams: <a href="https://www.totalsportek.com/tennis/grand-slam-titles-winners-mens-women/">Serena Williams has only won 23 so far and Roger Federer only has 20</a>.</p>
<p>While there is no doubt as to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Court">Court's greatness as an athlete</a>, her views on LGBT people and their rights are controversial and not consistent with the majority of people in the sport today.</p>
<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-27/margaret-court-recognised-at-australian-open-for-grand-slam/11903098">
<img src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/margaret_court_trophy.jpg"/>
</a>
<p>Despite these sensitive issues and the offense they cause to LGBT players in particular, Tennis Australia has still gone ahead with a ceremony to recognize Court's achievements as an athlete, right in the middle of the 2020 Australian Open tournament, on center court, the trophy presented to her by another legend of Australian Tennis, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Laver">Rod Laver</a>.</p>
<p>While doing so, Tennis Australia has made it clear that they are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-25/margaret-court-australian-open-awkward-recognition/11893406">distinguishing her personal views from her sporting achievements, explicitly acknowledging the pain caused by the former</a>. Fellow athletes went further, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/sports/tennis/australian-open-margaret-court.html">Martina Navratilova climbing the umpire's chair and using the microphone to denounce Court</a>.</p>
<p><em>What does diversity mean to you? Is Tennis Australia being true to diversity, by recognising Court's sporting achievements for their athletic merit alone? Or does diversity mean we have to erase those people who don't agree with our own definition of diversity?</em></p>
<p>Compare this to the recent lynchings in Free Software communities around the world.</p>
<p>In 2014, Brendan Eich, one of the co-founders of Mozilla, was promoted to the position of CEO. A lynching-by-Twitter quickly began, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Eich#Mozilla">hounding him to resign barely 10 days later</a> because of his concerns about gay marriage.</p>
<p>In 2019, similar tactics were used to attack Richard Stallman (RMS), founder of the Free Software Foundation. RMS has no homophobic or sexist agenda. He is a computer scientist, not a diplomat and some of his communications could have been worded more carefully. Nonetheless, the dogs were let off their leash, things he had written were used out of context to create a false depiction of him as a villain and within a few days, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stallman#Resignation_from_MIT_and_Free_Software_Foundation">RMS had resigned</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast to Tennis Australia's memorialisation of Margaret Court's achievements, the FSF has set about deleting RMS's legacy, deleting his name from their history. Newspaper headlines have appeared associating RMS with Jeffrey Epstein, yet there is no evidence that they ever had any contact during Epstein's visits to RMS's former workplace, MIT. This type of press coverage is no accident: it is not only intended to hurt RMS personally, it is also intended to undermine his message of freedom. It is an attack that hurts anybody <a href="https://gbatemp.net/threads/richard-stallman-character-assassination.548033/">with a personality that prioritizes principles over popularity</a>.</p>
<p>In the short term, some of those behind these attacks may be giving themselves high-fives and pats on the back but in the long term, these lynchings send out a subconscious message to volunteers that we are all disposable. If the founder of the movement can be backstabbed on the cusp of his retirement, anybody can. Tennis Australia's celebration of Margaret Court, however, sends out a message that achievement will always have merit and nobody's achievements will be erased for political expedience. Which type of organization would you rather associate with in the long term?</p>
<p>If you have to force people to fit your definition of diversity, you are not promoting diversity at all.</p>
<p>Genuine diversity has its roots in the principles of equality and human rights. Mob justice, censorship and exclusion on political grounds violate human rights and therefore sabotage the foundation upon which diversity is built.</p>In 2020, Tennis Australia presented a special trophy to Margaret Court, one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Court claimed all four major titles in the year 1970 and won a total of 24 grand slams: Serena Williams has only won 23 so far and Roger Federer only has 20.Are Smart radiator valves worthwhile?2020-01-28T14:50:00+01:002020-01-28T14:50:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/are-smart-trv-radiator-valves-worthwhile<img src="https://danielpocock.com/assets/DSC_7214_trv.JPG"/>
<p>In a previous blog, I wrote about <a href="https://danielpocock.com/smart-home-where-to-start/">how to get started with Smart Home technology</a>.</p>
<p>One topic that comes up frequently in discussions with people is the use of smart radiator valves (TRVs). Will the energy savings outweigh the costs?</p>
<p>In colder locations the savings can be more significant than in a similar house in the south of England and it is far more important to investigate these solutions.</p>
<p>The first thing to realize about this issue is that it is not just a cost issue. If you have a room that is always too hot then a smart TRV may be more effective than a regular TRV. On the other hand, if there are heating pipes under the floor of that room and they are not insulated, neither type of TRV will be able to completely limit the heat.</p>
<p>With that in mind, you could start with a single smart TRV in the room where temperature control is most difficult before deciding whether to buy more of them.</p>
<p>Integrated with a centralized control system, as <a href="https://danielpocock.com/smart-home-where-to-start/">described in my previous blog</a>, the boiler can be switched on and off on demand. Yet this functionality isn't essential: many of the smart TRVs can run standalone, without activating their wireless connectivity. Each TRV has a built-in thermometer so it can monitor the temperature of the room and control the valve. At times when the boiler is running, the TRV will control that room on a standalone basis and when the boiler is off, the TRV does nothing.</p>
<p>Modern boilers may operate with lower fuel consumption at times when many of the radiators are shut down. Older boilers may continue to burn gas at the same rate whether all the radiators are in use or just one. Before buying smart TRVs, you can simply measure gas consumption for an hour with all radiators on and then measure gas consumption for a further hour with all but one radiator switched off.</p>
<p>Instead of buying these TRVs, you may find other algorithms for controlling the boiler are more effective at saving money, even on old boilers. For example, if your smart home system can detect those nights when nobody is home, it can choose not to start the boiler in the morning. This logic could be achieved with motion sensors and door sensors.</p>FOSDEM 2020 RTC Devroom schedule announced2020-01-19T18:00:00+01:002020-01-19T18:00:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/fosdem-2020-rtc-devroom-schedule-announced<p>The schedule for the RTC devroom at <a href="https://fosdem.org">FOSDEM 2020 in Brussels, Belgium</a> has recently been announced. The devroom is on Sunday, 2 February 2020. We have 18 great presentations scheduled this year. Please share the link and come to support them.</p>
<p>You can read <a href="https://fosdem.org/2020/schedule/track/real_time_communications/">read the full schedule here</a>.</p>
<p>Discussion has also started about <a href="https://lists.freertc.org/pipermail/discuss/2020-January/000029.html">a dinner in Brussels for members of the open source telephony and real-time communications community</a>. Please contact us if you would like to join. The dinner is usually held on the Saturday night in the middle of FOSDEM and finishes early enough for you to join other activities in central Brussels if you wish.</p>The schedule for the RTC devroom at FOSDEM 2020 in Brussels, Belgium has recently been announced. The devroom is on Sunday, 2 February 2020. We have 18 great presentations scheduled this year. Please share the link and come to support them.Lausanne 2020 in contrast with Sydney 20002020-01-12T23:40:00+01:002020-01-12T23:40:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/lausanne-2020-sydney-2000-contrast<p>Many remember <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Summer_Olympics">Sydney 2000</a> as the best games ever. For 44 years Sydney officials had anticipated their opportunitity to host the games after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Summer_Olympics">1956 Melbourne Olympics</a>. There was no way Sydney would have wasted such an opportunity. The friendly rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney paid dividends for Olympic fans.</p>
<p>Having visited Sydney 2000, I couldn't help comparing it to Lausanne and decided to dig out some of my old photos and compare them to those I've taken this week. In Sydney I was shooting on a <a href="https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/film131.html">Canon EOS 630</a> with B&W film while today I'm using a Nikon D800.</p>
<h3>Waterways</h3>
<p>Sydney has its harbour, bridge and opera house.</p>
<img src="/assets/sydney2000_bridge_rings.jpg"/>
<p>Lausanne has the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillon_Castle">Chateau-de-Chillon</a>, athletes and fans pass it each day on the way into the mountains.</p>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8912_chateau_de_chillon.JPG"/>
<h3>Boulevards</h3>
<p>Sydney's Olympic Park has a boulevard comparable in size to the runways at the airport.</p>
<img src="/assets/sydney2000_boulevard.jpg"/>
<p>Les Diableret, home to the Alpine Ski events at Lausanne 2020, has a more cosy atmosphere.</p>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8935_ski_boulevard.JPG"/>
<h3>Volunteers</h3>
<p>Every games is made possible by the tireless efforts of the volunteers. Sydney volunteers wear much lighter uniforms than those in Lausanne.</p>
<img src="/assets/sydney2000_volunteers.jpg"/>
<p>Yodli is the official mascot of Lausanne 2020 and thanks to an army of volunteers, he appears simulteneously in many different venues.</p>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8962_yodli.JPG"/>
<h3>The eternal flame</h3>
<p>Sydney's cauldron and flame were visible from space.</p>
<img src="/assets/sydney2000_cauldron.jpg"/>
<p>At Lausanne 2020 an open flame serves a more practical purpose: keeping warm.</p>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8964_flame.JPG"/>
<p>The main cauldron is in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Flon_(Lausanne)">Flon</a> district, surrounded by a temporary go-kart course.</p>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8901_cauldron.JPG"/>
<img src="/assets/lausanne2020_flames.jpg"/>
<h3>Swiss connections</h3>
<p>The Nestlé building is a key feature of the Sydney skyline. Their world headquarters is in Vevey, a short distance from Lausanne.</p>
<img src="/assets/sydney2000_nestle.jpg"/>
<p>One of Australia's most well-known athletes, a previous holder of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_record_progression#Men">world record for the marathon</a> and former director of the <a href="https://ais.gov.au/">Australian Institute of Sport</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Castella">Robert de Castella</a>, has Swiss ancestry from the Swiss-Romande region (Neuchatel). <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_de_Castella">de Castella's ancestors</a> famously plotted out the future of Australian wine making in the text <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175035187866&view=1up&seq=13">John Bull's Vineyard (1886)</a>. The winemakers of Vaud have recently celebrated their once-in-a-generation <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_des_Vignerons">Fete de Vignerons</a> in Vevey.</p>Many remember Sydney 2000 as the best games ever. For 44 years Sydney officials had anticipated their opportunitity to host the games after 1956 Melbourne Olympics. There was no way Sydney would have wasted such an opportunity. The friendly rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney paid dividends for Olympic fans.Lausanne 2020’s Olympic Village: Vortex2020-01-11T01:40:00+01:002020-01-11T01:40:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/lausanne-2020-olympic-village-vortex<img src="/assets/DSC_8811_vortex_moon.JPG"/>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8822_vortex_night.JPG"/>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8823_vortex_v.JPG"/>A new cold war2020-01-10T01:00:00+01:002020-01-10T01:00:00+01:00https://danielpocock.com/a-new-cold-war<p>As American and Iranian forces stand down in the middle East, the next confrontation will take place in a very different environment.</p>
<p>Junior athletes from around the world, including America and Iran, will come face to face on the slopes of the Swiss alps just days after their adult leaders went to the brink of war. Will these young athletes, aged 15 to 18 years, demonstrate more maturity than the man running a superpower?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.lausanne2020.sport/en">Lausanne 2020</a> is promoting the green credentials of the games, gender equality with an equal number of male and female athletes, <a href="https://www.olympic.org/the-ioc/promote-olympism">Olympic values</a> and good sportsmanship.</p>
<p>On my tour of the <a href="https://www.lausanne2020.sport/en">Lausanne 2020</> Olympic Village</a> I was lucky to meet teams from Ireland, Australia and a host of other countries.</p>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8788_ireland.JPG"/>
<img src="/assets/DSC_8751_flags.JPG"/>As American and Iranian forces stand down in the middle East, the next confrontation will take place in a very different environment.