Smol kitten Original post

We’re enjoying drinks in the sun in the garden at the pub on this 3 day holiday weekend. I know that talking about the weather is a British pastime, but I just heard a couple of 4 / 5 year olds at the next table having a long conversation about the weather, so apparently they start this very young 🤣

I’d add words of wisdom from my stepmother—“A hobby is something you spend money on. If you make money on it, it’s a job and you’ll eventually need a new hobby.”

📣State of Open Con 26 is On The Road 🚘 and Early Bird Tickets for Edinburgh, on 5 June, are available at a discounted £99 until 6 May, focusing on the AI stack, working up from Compute through Models and Agents to user experiences and ROI with an openness slant. stateofopencon.com/edinburgh-so...

Open source projects provide opportunities for people to build leadership skills while learning how to positively influence without the power that comes with more traditional managerial roles. Thank you to the crew at @allthingsopen.bsky.social for sharing my post! allthingsopen.org/articles/pow...

Paul got me an awesome Klingon bat’leth pizza cutter for my birthday! The crazy face pic is when he said that smiling didn’t look Klingon enough 😂

I enjoyed hanging out with the folks from CURIOSS who invited me to talk about demonstrating the value of open source efforts. This is the first time I've given this talk focused on the university / academic context. The slides and video are available. fastwonderblog.com/2026/04/07/c...

I feel pretty great for turning 55 years old today! We’re spending the day in London doing some of my favorite things. So far, lunch at Mildred’s, a walk through Regents Park, and now at the British Library to relax for a bit before we go out later for cocktails and Ethiopian food. 😁🎂🎉

As planned, my time as the CHAOSS Director of Data Science has come to an end, but I’ll still be in CHAOSS as a board member and WG lead. I’ll be taking April and most of May off before transitioning into open source strategy consulting in June. For more info: fastwonderblog.com/2026/03/31/t...

Thanks so much to @geekygirldawn.bsky.social of #CHAOSS for the excellent #DeepDive on framing the value of #OpenSource efforts and the strategic use of metrics. 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYqG... 📖 chaoss.community/practitioner... #AcademicOSS #AcademicOSPOs #AcademicSky

So many familiar faces in this short video (including mine)! 🤣

The #monkigras captioning (Breeze Translate) does a brilliant job of correctly handling technical terms and accents! The only thing it’s struggled with is the name of this conference. So far, we’ve seen MonkeyGraha, MonkeyGrawer, Monkey gras (so close!), Monkey graph, and monkey gra. 😁

I’ll be at #monkigras today and tomorrow, and the theme is Prepping Craft. Find me if you’d like some CHAOSS or OpenUK earrings that I designed and 3D printed! 🤩

@foss-backstage.de is one of my favorite conferences! As with most conferences in Europe, digital sovereignty was a hot topic, but there were also other great talks. A huge thank you to the organizers and volunteers! Here are a few of my reflections from #fossback fastwonderblog.com/2026/03/18/r...

I’m already enjoying #fossbackstage in Berlin so far! I have a bunch of CHAOSS stickers and a few pairs of CHAOSS earrings, so find me if you want some! 😁 I’ll be around all day today and tomorrow. #fossback

Big thank you to Jason Hibbets and the @allthingsopen.bsky.social crew for posting my article about how to scale OSPO work when budgets shrink and teams get smaller! allthingsopen.org/articles/sca...

I had an opportunity to talk about Power Dynamics, Rug Pulls, and Other Corporate Impacts on OSS Sustainability at SCALE 2026 in Pasadena last weekend! As always, I had a lovely time at SCALE! More details about my talk can be found at fastwonderblog.com/2026/03/09/p... #scale23x

If you're here at #scale23x I have a selection of 3D printed CHAOSS earrings, so find me to get a pair! I also have a talk tomorrow at 11am. All of the details and the slides can be found here: www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x/pr...

CHAOSS, Sustainability, and the Shifting Power Dynamics of Open Source - A conversation with Dawn Foster www.linkedin.com/pul...

My recent conversation with Rachel on the Contribute: Beyond the Code podcast was a great excuse to reflect on what I’ve been thinking about OSPOs. We talked about demonstrating value, increasing impact, scaling OSPOs, strategic projects, sunsetting, and more! fastwonderblog.com/2026/03/03/p...

🎉 Applications for the Sovereign Tech Fellowship are officially open! What’s new? For the first time, community managers, and technical writers can apply alongside open source maintainers until April 6, 2026, to become Fellows.

I'm excited to be going back to SCALE in Pasadena this weekend! If you haven't already registered, you can use the promo code SPK23 to get 50% off! This blog post has a few more details about my talk for #scale23x fastwonderblog.com/2026/01/19/s...

Post a pic you took, no context, to bring some zen to the feed.

Leadership in open source requires influence without power, which can help build skills in leading through collaboration, influence, and empathy to help people become truly great managers and leaders. Here are some thoughts on OSS for building leadership skills: fastwonderblog.com/2026/02/21/o...

The importance of upstream contributions should be highlighted within an OSPO's open source strategy to help leadership understand the importance of the work so that you can continue to do it. Here's a new blog post with a few details about how to do this: fastwonderblog.com/2026/02/15/o...

What does it mean to be welcoming? The whole point of adding community members is to change the community in some beneficial way. Being welcoming takes active, ongoing effort.

I was annoyed with the phone holder I've been using on my nightstand, so of course I designed a new one! I now have a cute little Tux penguin holding my phone. If you want to 3D print one for yourself, here's the design: makerworld.com/en/models/23...

Sustainable leadership for open source projects is something that I'm passionate about helping projects improve, so a huge thank you to the @allthingsopen.bsky.social crew for posting my article on the We Love Open Source site! allthingsopen.org/articles/lea...

While we still have a lot of work to do, it feels like the conversations that I heard at OFE's EU Policy Summit are moving in the right direction from why to use open source to how open source can increase digital sovereignty. You can find my recap of the event at fastwonderblog.com/2026/02/07/d...

If you missed our crafting session at CHAOSScon EU and wanted to 3D print your own CHAOSS logo or CHAOTIC pendant to make into earrings, key chains, necklaces, and more, you can find all of the designs at makerworld.com/en/models/68...

Open source sustainability impacts all of us. Seeing more people talking about funding at CHAOSScon and FOSDEM was great. Funding doesn’t solve all of our sustainability issues, but it is one tool that can help projects improve sustainability. Read more at fastwonderblog.com/2026/02/02/f...

Here are the slides from my CHAOSScon EU session - Welcome: Demonstrating Organizational Value for Open Source Efforts. fastwonderblog.com/wp-content/u... Are here is a blog post on the topic: fastwonderblog.com/2025/07/22/d...

CHAOSScon starts in 15 minutes! I’ll be kicking it off with a welcome and then a talk about Demonstrating the Value of Open Source Efforts. You can watch the livestream here when it starts: youtube.com/playlist?lis...

The work that OSPOs do lends itself to providing information at scale via documentation and Q&A channels, since the work often involves policies, advice, and best practices. Here are a few suggestions and resources for providing this information at scale. fastwonderblog.com/2026/01/24/o...

I designed some 3D printed wine charms. They bring me joy (the Manhattan also helps with the joy) 😁 makerworld.com/en/models/22...

Meet Dr. Dawn Foster, Director of Data Science at CHAOSS. She helps teams improve open source strategy, governance, and contributor health. Get to know @geekygirldawn.bsky.social : youtu.be/DDcLkjSX1Qg #SCaLE23x

I'm so excited to be going back to @socallinuxexpo.bsky.social in March to talk about corporate impacts on open source sustainability! Here's are a few more details and a video I recorded about why I love SCALE along with a preview of my presentation! fastwonderblog.com/2026/01/19/s...

It's easy to keep doing the same things without thinking about how they fit within your organization's goals. Being proactive and thinking strategically about this is something that can help your OSPO stand out as an important part of the business. More details: fastwonderblog.com/2026/01/10/a...

Ah, yes. The second work week of January where all of the meetings converge. I have 2 board meetings (one is a 6 hour strategy meeting) and am helping to facilitate a 3.5 hour workshop. Ooof.

This is Chili. He was invited to his first doggy pool party. Quickly learned he really, realllly likes doing belly flops. 13/10 (TT: goldenchilidog)

A huge thank you to the folks from the G-Research Open Source Software Outreach Podcast (GROSS OUT) who had me on their podcast to talk about some of my favorite things: governance, metrics, open source sustainability, and more! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znk5...

This is Ollie. He found a perfectly placed carrot snack on his walk. Simply can't believe his luck. 13/10 best day ever (TT: maxime_aries)

We are very lucky to live on the same planet as frogs (Wood Frog) #herps 🌿

In the CHAOSS OSPO WG on Thursday, we will discuss Digital Sovereignty / CRA along with how it impacts OSPOs and our need for metrics. Everyone is welcome to attend any CHAOSS meeting (no need to "join" anything or RSVP), so I'd love to see a few new faces at this meeting! teamup.com/event/show/i...

Sustainable leadership in OSS is important, but it’s often neglected. As we move into the new year, I’d like to encourage everyone to think about ways that you and your projects can provide more opportunities for others. fastwonderblog.com/2026/01/04/s...

Sorry, best I can do is the Western Grebe Baby Taxi Service. 🐣 🪶

Whether you’re a gym newbie (welcome!) or an experienced pro, please take a few minutes to refresh yourself on gym etiquette. Gyms are crowded this time of year and good etiquette helps all of us! Sadly, I often see some experienced folks with the worst etiquette www.nerdfitness.com/blog/gym-eti...

Watching the London fireworks on the BBC with friends. Happy new year!

2026 OpenUK Honours list is now live. Congratulations to all included openuk.uk/honours/ #openukhonours #opensource #openuk #opensourceai #opendata #openhardware #openstandards