I have been writing open source technical documentation for about six years, and right now I’m working on documenting cloud products with Red Hat, which is an amazing amount of fun. I have business degrees in marketing and information systems, as well a degree in technical communication. I do a lot of speaking and a little bit of lecturing. Mostly I speak about writing, but I also regularly talk about topics ranging from open source software to geek feminism and working in IT.
I am involved in several volunteer projects including linux.conf.au 2013, Girl Geek Dinners, LinuxChix, OWOOT (Oceania Women of Open Tech), and the Canberra Linux Users Group (CLUG). You will find my writing all over the internet, in many different formats, but the easiest way to find me online is to catch me on Twitter. I used to be on Facebook as well, but I got better.
I grew up in rural Queensland Australia, moved to Canberra in 2002, and then made the trek back north to Brisbane in 2013. When I’m not writing, I’m either curled up on the couch with a good book, or pretending I’m about to go to the gym. I have a nine-year old daughter who quite proudly calls herself a geek in the making, a cat called Missy, a Roomba, and a KitchenAid. It’s purple.
I get asked to write short bios a lot, and I quite enjoy coming up with increasingly silly ones. Here are some of my favourites:
Lana Brindley has been writing technical documentation for about five years, but she has been an open source nutcase for much longer than that. Lana has business degrees in marketing and information systems, and if the stars align correctly she’ll shortly have her technical communicators qualifications as well. Lana lives and works at her home in Canberra, Australia with her daughter and a cat called Missy. Because you can’t be a crazy open source writer-type without a cat, can you?
Lana Brindley herself is a walking polemic: an open source advocate who carries an iPod. She’s been writing technical documentation for about five years, but has been an open source nutcase for a lot longer than that. She has a few degrees, some of which are even in the field she works in, and a cat called Missy. Because she couldn’t be a crazy writer without a cat, could she?
Lana Brindley has been playing with technology since that summer in the 80’s when she spent the whole time trying not to be eaten by a grue. She has been writing since she could hold a pencil, and is currently writing technical documentation for Red Hat. Lana holds business degrees in marketing and information systems, and with any luck will have a technical communicators degree by the end of the year. She works from her home in Canberra, Australia, and occasionally leaves the house in order to berate university students and conference goers about passive sentence construction.
Lana Brindley has several university degrees, a few of which are even relevant to her field. She has has been playing and working with technology since she discovered the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy text adventure game in the 80′s. Eventually, she worked out a way to get paid for her two passions – writing and playing with gadgetry – and has been technical writing ever since. Right now, she’s working for Red Hat from her home in Canberra Australia, getting her hands dirty on middleware documentation, and loving every minute of it. She’s very active in the women in tech community, and is raising her very own geek girl. One day, Lana hopes to write the manual for that, too.
Lana Brindley has several degrees, most of which she’s forgotten the name of. She has been playing and working with technology since Zork II was released. Lana has moved on from writing BASIC programs on her parents’ IBM-Compatible in the 80′s to writing technical documentation for Red Hat today. She’s an active member of LinuxChix and has a lot of fun organising the Canberra Girl Geek Dinners. Lana owns a Roomba, a cat that is allergic to the Roomba, and a boyfriend that is allergic to the cat. She enjoys putting all three in a room together to see what happens.
