Kaboom!

Last day of the year. Some will say last day of the decade, even if it's the last day of the ninth year of the century. With a light dusting of snow on the rooftops here in the eastern part of the Netherlands and firecrackers going off -- pop pop pop -- all day. The three families at the end of this dead-end street in a residential area will get together this evening for traditional Swiss fondue, traditional Dutch oliebollen and have a quiet time of it. The kids might even stay up until midnight this time, now that the oldest ones are six. I think we spent an aggregate of 3 EUR on fireworks (sparklers) and 40 EUR on cheese, which seems like a good set up for me. I like cheese. So around midnight, I shall raise a glass and hold aloft a gorgonzola to salute friends and family close by; if I'm feeling smarmy I might do the same for friends, colleagues, comrades and enemies in the Free Software world as well. If that means building a Plussy out of Emmenthal, then so be it.