I gave a presentation at the 2006 Florida Association of Museums Conference (FAM) in July. I gave the same talk at Denison University in October.

Summary:
Avoid vendor lock-in. Preserve your ability to access your own data into perpetuity. Adopt open standards.

The slides are posted on the web:

UPDATE 10.17.2012 - The original links fell victim to Internet Information Decay. I mirrored a copy of the presentation here:

Introduction to Open Standards and Open Source Software (PDF)


These original links to the presentation are (sadly) no longer active:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/omt/presenta...ndards.odp (Open Document)
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/omt/presenta...ndards.ppt (Microsoft PowerPoint)
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/omt/presenta...ndards.pdf (PDF)

According to the Go Open Source web site, Go_Open was the first television series dedicated to Open Source Software. The television series aired in South Africa as part of a campaign to promote open source. Here is a fast mirror to those videos:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/linux/go_open_source.htm

UPDATE 05.01.2013 - The original fast mirror I posted has been taken down. The go_open videos are apparently still available in the Internet Archive at:

http://archive.org/details/go_open_season_1

** update ** We terminated our relationship with this architect. Read the comments for additional information. **


Things are progressing nicely. Our architectural firm is m_gold design and consulting. We are moving forward into choosing materials, getting approval from a structural engineer, etc.

Below is the latest revision of the floor plan produced by Martin Gold's firm (mgold@mgold.org).

The light green area includes a new family room, a studio / bedroom, and a full bath.

The light blue area, which includes a screened deck, will likely be optional components that we will not build initially to reduce construction costs.


The addition in relation to the existing house:




Zoomed in a little bit:

We carved pumpkins this year!

This is a reminder for Dan to finish the kitchen remodel. We still need to install the cabinet trim.

** update ** We terminated our relationship with this architect. Read see story comments of story Home Addition - floor plan for for additional information. **

Dan and Kristen have been talking to a local architect, Martin Gold. With housing prices what they are, it seems to make more sense to add to our existing house (and build on the sweat equity we have already put into this structure).

These are 3D renderings of the first set of drawings (courtesy of m_gold design and consulting, mgold@mgold.org):