Heh, my buddy Jim sent a message that he'd be in town next weekend. Talked it over with the boss lady, and I think I'm going to host a little grill-out. Should be awesome, even if nobody else comes. I guess that means I need to assemble this grill that Holly's dad got for us, and probably stake down the swing set.
I got the message through Facebook, but I wasn't on it before. So, I signed up, so I could reply to everyone on the message. I'm sure this is the start of something bad.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
taking a bath...
I took a bath today. It was nice... My wife offered me the opportunity to "bathe", which usually means "shower, and quickly, dammit, these kids need supervision -- and you stink".
I elected to invoke my "me time" and take a nice long bath. Fabulous! I should do that more often.
I elected to invoke my "me time" and take a nice long bath. Fabulous! I should do that more often.
Friday, June 6, 2008
To contribute or not to contribute. That is the question.
For all 5 of you that actually read my blog, this is kind of a more personal question. Don't take this as a, "I'm going to convert you all, and not help anyone anymore, and I'm abandoning my family."
I help a few people out with computers, mostly family and friends, and they're all on Windows. I don't suggest Linux, because I'm no expert, and I'm not a total convert myself. I spend lots of time in Windows playing games, because that is the platform for games... other than consoles, like the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii, of course.
I use Linux because I have more than one computer, and I tinker with them, and product activation and the cost of Windows just sucks for that. I assemble a box out of spare parts, to test something out, or see how it works, but before I can use it, I need a licensed copy of Windows. I don't have an extra $100 to slap around every time I want to use a box for something. Linux provides a good alternative.
When I use Linux, I use Fedora for two reasons. One is philosophical, the other is historical.
Historical -- A long time ago, in college when I was a Computer Science and Engineering student, I wanted a box, like the SPARC stations we had in the lab for programming. A floor-mate in the Residence Hall said he was going to try out Linux, so I got a book, and some Slackware CDs, and got it running. It took a few days of my winter break, and I wasn't very keen on it. I got a boxed copy of RedHat Linux, and the rest has kind of been "history". I circulated on and off Linux, tried Mandrake a couple of times. Windows stayed in the picture, because games stayed in the picture.
Phlosophical - Fast-forward to the present. I write instruction manuals for a living... or at least that's what I tell people. My family thinks I "work with computers". I have a real interest in Human Computer Interaction, but I got married and have kids instead of going to graduate school, and I'm pretty much stuck doing what I do, professionally for a while. I use Fedora, and Windows still sucks, but I tolerate it for games. Fedora's "freedom at whatever the cost" as opposed to Ubuntu's mission of displacing Windows, at any cost.
So, I use Fedora, occasionally, though not as much as I'd like. I hate my day job, I'd like to do more actual writing to help people use computers, as opposed to the regulatory documentation I work on now. I think contribution would at least give me mental good feeling, even if it doesn't change how my family depends on me to do crap I hate. But, I'm too busy with work and the extras and interruptions that come with having a one-year-old and two-year-old to really contribute at a level that "matters". The Fedora Project has done an excellent job of making it easier to contribute, and I identified some low-hanging fruit. However, I can't find the break in my schedule. I mean, I'm typing this up at work... and when I get home, my kids will be all over me, and if I stay up after them to work on stuff, I'll miss sleep, and I need that. The weekends usually involve my kids or other family members, and don't often provide the continuous spare time I need. In fact, I usually use the weekends to do the stuff I can't get to during the week.
The solution - ideally, is to get a job doing writing for stuff I care about, but um... nobody pays for that around here, and I'm carrying benefits for my family, so switching jobs on a whim hasn't really been a good option lately. Volunteering for something I care about seems cool, but I'm going to have to sacrifice something, and it seems the most likely candidate at this point is sleep. I might be able to exercise and eat better to get by on less sleep. I'll have to think on that.
Okay... back to work. I've already suspended a few tasks working on this. I really just need to find a way to make money, sitting at home, doing nothing. Anyone got some spam/scam mails I can read about that?
I help a few people out with computers, mostly family and friends, and they're all on Windows. I don't suggest Linux, because I'm no expert, and I'm not a total convert myself. I spend lots of time in Windows playing games, because that is the platform for games... other than consoles, like the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii, of course.
I use Linux because I have more than one computer, and I tinker with them, and product activation and the cost of Windows just sucks for that. I assemble a box out of spare parts, to test something out, or see how it works, but before I can use it, I need a licensed copy of Windows. I don't have an extra $100 to slap around every time I want to use a box for something. Linux provides a good alternative.
When I use Linux, I use Fedora for two reasons. One is philosophical, the other is historical.
Historical -- A long time ago, in college when I was a Computer Science and Engineering student, I wanted a box, like the SPARC stations we had in the lab for programming. A floor-mate in the Residence Hall said he was going to try out Linux, so I got a book, and some Slackware CDs, and got it running. It took a few days of my winter break, and I wasn't very keen on it. I got a boxed copy of RedHat Linux, and the rest has kind of been "history". I circulated on and off Linux, tried Mandrake a couple of times. Windows stayed in the picture, because games stayed in the picture.
Phlosophical - Fast-forward to the present. I write instruction manuals for a living... or at least that's what I tell people. My family thinks I "work with computers". I have a real interest in Human Computer Interaction, but I got married and have kids instead of going to graduate school, and I'm pretty much stuck doing what I do, professionally for a while. I use Fedora, and Windows still sucks, but I tolerate it for games. Fedora's "freedom at whatever the cost" as opposed to Ubuntu's mission of displacing Windows, at any cost.
So, I use Fedora, occasionally, though not as much as I'd like. I hate my day job, I'd like to do more actual writing to help people use computers, as opposed to the regulatory documentation I work on now. I think contribution would at least give me mental good feeling, even if it doesn't change how my family depends on me to do crap I hate. But, I'm too busy with work and the extras and interruptions that come with having a one-year-old and two-year-old to really contribute at a level that "matters". The Fedora Project has done an excellent job of making it easier to contribute, and I identified some low-hanging fruit. However, I can't find the break in my schedule. I mean, I'm typing this up at work... and when I get home, my kids will be all over me, and if I stay up after them to work on stuff, I'll miss sleep, and I need that. The weekends usually involve my kids or other family members, and don't often provide the continuous spare time I need. In fact, I usually use the weekends to do the stuff I can't get to during the week.
The solution - ideally, is to get a job doing writing for stuff I care about, but um... nobody pays for that around here, and I'm carrying benefits for my family, so switching jobs on a whim hasn't really been a good option lately. Volunteering for something I care about seems cool, but I'm going to have to sacrifice something, and it seems the most likely candidate at this point is sleep. I might be able to exercise and eat better to get by on less sleep. I'll have to think on that.
Okay... back to work. I've already suspended a few tasks working on this. I really just need to find a way to make money, sitting at home, doing nothing. Anyone got some spam/scam mails I can read about that?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tiny-ass laptops
I think I'm done with that whole mp3 player search. I'm just going to get an Asus "triple-e" or more likely, one of the billions of conceptual knock-offs, like this one . The Acer Aspire One looks awesome. I live in the United states, and I know that our dollar is all f'ed up, but a cheap, small laptop would be better than trying to fix up this old laptop I got here.
I don't know if they'll accept the extra "pounds" I have as payment. I could stand to lose a couple hundered to get one of little laptops.
I don't know if they'll accept the extra "pounds" I have as payment. I could stand to lose a couple hundered to get one of little laptops.
Fwd: Am I wrong for not being willing to try KDE?
Am I wrong for not being willing to try KDE? I went through this funky phase where I decided that I really needed to try KDE4. I have barely any experience with it, as opposed to GNOME. My Linux-Fu is decidedly average. I just use it because it's free, and it has some apps I like, and I think Windows is dumb, except for playing games on the computer. I have some Mac experience, and GNOME is the default in Fedora, and was when I first tried RedHat Linux, so I've stuck with it. I've heard comparisons that GNOME is more like Mac and KDE is more like Windows.
Whatever... I want to use it for what it is, not what it seems like. Anyway, There's all this hubub about KDE 4. It's the "default" in Fedora 9's KDE spin, and I still haven't given it a go? Why? Because, I heard that KDE is really a second-class experience in Fedora... that's fine. I'll just try another distro. Again, my Linux-fu is only average, so switching to something like Mandriva or openSUSE to get an experience that has more of a KDE-centric focus is a pretty big deal.
I booted up Mandriva 2008 spring, and the only thing that strikes me as a "WoW" factor is that I get binary nvidia drivers and Compiz Fusion on the LiveCD. Whatever... Mandriva is fading quickly as a heavyweight distro, unfortunately to that whole misconception thing about requiring payment. It's really an awesome distro and deserves more publicity than it gets. KDE 3.x... meh... I still get the same apps, or something reasonably equivalent.
I tried openSUSE 11.0 beta. I haven't really had a good install experience. It failed on my old box, I couldn't figure out how to get dual-boot working with Vista. (I could search and find out what I need to know, and my Live CD just kind of stalled out. I think it is because I have bad media though... Here's the kicker... 4.1 isn't out yet. Everything I have read basically says it's coming along...stabilizing, but 4.1 is where the *average* person needs to come on board. Even the 11.0 DVD gives you the option of using 3.5 or 4.0, and differentiating them by their "maturity".
So, I think I'm just going to go back to GNOME on Fedora. Maybe I'll try the KDE spin with Fedora's awesome Live USB stick technology when Fedora 10 enters it release cycle. Here's some tips for Mandriva and openSUSE though:
Mandriva - buying a LiveUSB is cool, but make some tools available to let me make one on my own. GUI, please. Oh, and release or have someone in the community get some decent artwork for the media. Don't hide all the good stuff from people who just want to use your distro, and *not* pay you.
openSUSE - you're on your way to being Open. That's good. Since you're following RedHat anyway, hurry up and get that damn LiveUSB stuff working easier, like Fedora. If you beat them to a GUI app on Linux, rather than a script that requires root access. I might switch... or not, but it'll matter to a lot more people than me.
I'm not sure why I'm so miffed over having to run a script on Linux to make a Live USB stick, and getting a GUI app on Windows first. I think I understand the logic. It needs to be easier for Windows people, and if you have Linux installed already, making a Live USB stick is probably lower priority. At least a USB stick doesn't waste CDs, but I'm loving the idea of giving away this spool of LiveCDs with Fedora and kick-ass artwork printed on them with my Epson Stylus Photo R320. Too bad I'm so average that I can't figure out how to get the SVG to crop and import into GIMP at something higher than 90 dpi... the printout is much less impressive. Maybe I'll figure that out and blog about it.
Oh, and by the way, posting to my blog using e-mail from work... awesome. I don't know if I'd want to give up using a local client at home, but I'm finding myself more comfortable, being able to save drafts, and just pop an idea whenever I'm daydreaming at work, since I don't always focus 100% on the current menial task, and I have e-mail open anyway. I wonder if other blogging platforms have an e-mail posting gateway? Another blog post... back to work... or maybe lunch...
Whatever... I want to use it for what it is, not what it seems like. Anyway, There's all this hubub about KDE 4. It's the "default" in Fedora 9's KDE spin, and I still haven't given it a go? Why? Because, I heard that KDE is really a second-class experience in Fedora... that's fine. I'll just try another distro. Again, my Linux-fu is only average, so switching to something like Mandriva or openSUSE to get an experience that has more of a KDE-centric focus is a pretty big deal.
I booted up Mandriva 2008 spring, and the only thing that strikes me as a "WoW" factor is that I get binary nvidia drivers and Compiz Fusion on the LiveCD. Whatever... Mandriva is fading quickly as a heavyweight distro, unfortunately to that whole misconception thing about requiring payment. It's really an awesome distro and deserves more publicity than it gets. KDE 3.x... meh... I still get the same apps, or something reasonably equivalent.
I tried openSUSE 11.0 beta. I haven't really had a good install experience. It failed on my old box, I couldn't figure out how to get dual-boot working with Vista. (I could search and find out what I need to know, and my Live CD just kind of stalled out. I think it is because I have bad media though... Here's the kicker... 4.1 isn't out yet. Everything I have read basically says it's coming along...stabilizing, but 4.1 is where the *average* person needs to come on board. Even the 11.0 DVD gives you the option of using 3.5 or 4.0, and differentiating them by their "maturity".
So, I think I'm just going to go back to GNOME on Fedora. Maybe I'll try the KDE spin with Fedora's awesome Live USB stick technology when Fedora 10 enters it release cycle. Here's some tips for Mandriva and openSUSE though:
Mandriva - buying a LiveUSB is cool, but make some tools available to let me make one on my own. GUI, please. Oh, and release or have someone in the community get some decent artwork for the media. Don't hide all the good stuff from people who just want to use your distro, and *not* pay you.
openSUSE - you're on your way to being Open. That's good. Since you're following RedHat anyway, hurry up and get that damn LiveUSB stuff working easier, like Fedora. If you beat them to a GUI app on Linux, rather than a script that requires root access. I might switch... or not, but it'll matter to a lot more people than me.
I'm not sure why I'm so miffed over having to run a script on Linux to make a Live USB stick, and getting a GUI app on Windows first. I think I understand the logic. It needs to be easier for Windows people, and if you have Linux installed already, making a Live USB stick is probably lower priority. At least a USB stick doesn't waste CDs, but I'm loving the idea of giving away this spool of LiveCDs with Fedora and kick-ass artwork printed on them with my Epson Stylus Photo R320. Too bad I'm so average that I can't figure out how to get the SVG to crop and import into GIMP at something higher than 90 dpi... the printout is much less impressive. Maybe I'll figure that out and blog about it.
Oh, and by the way, posting to my blog using e-mail from work... awesome. I don't know if I'd want to give up using a local client at home, but I'm finding myself more comfortable, being able to save drafts, and just pop an idea whenever I'm daydreaming at work, since I don't always focus 100% on the current menial task, and I have e-mail open anyway. I wonder if other blogging platforms have an e-mail posting gateway? Another blog post... back to work... or maybe lunch...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Getting back to good....
Well, that quick little romp through "let's find a LiveJournal Client on Windows" was quick. I'm posting this one via e-mail in Thunderbird - on Windows.
I tried to check out the Petrus Blogger (http://petrus-blogger.peterp.org/), thinking maybe Java will be my new friend... So, I installed the Java Runtime Environment. (I didn't have it installed, I really only use Windows for games...) Then I think, "Oh, maybe I should install OpenOffice.org on here too" and notice that the Mac OS links for it. Did they already do a native port? Hmm... My mom has my old Mac, but I'll bet the required JRE probably doesn't even run on 10.4... Maybe I should just get her on a x86 box and get her running Windows or Linux...
So anyway, the Petrus Blogger... it works from the Java Web Start, but I just get a blank window. I couldn't log in to LiveJournal... Oops... no go. I might as well just go back to Linux, or do an e-mail post. I bet a lot more people would not be using Windows if there was as much news about good applications being available on other platforms, and *not* on Windows.
So, it might be time to move back to a testing run of SUSE, or maybe Fedora 9 has settled into the post-release stability I need. I did finally break out that 4 GB USB stick I had, I made an upgraded computer for my mom-in-law, and I wanted to transfer some files. I did get it over there today, but I still need to migrate her pictures and e-mail. I think it might be time to forcefully introduce her to IMAP and online photo storage and management with Flickr.
What else... Oh, I got us much further away from "laundry bankruptcy" this weekend. I turned a mountain of unwashed clothes into a mountain of clean clothes (which is what we normally end up doing on a smaller scale). But, we actually got some clothes hung up and put away too... awesome.
Skipped mowing this weekend. Too busy doing laundry.
Finally took some pictures of my SDRAM and am going to actively work on making it go away. http://photos.mvpittman.com/memory has the goods (I really need to get on board with Flickr posting, I'm going to burn up my bandwidth at FastMail on silly stuff... maybe if I ever upgrade this LiveJournal account, I could use that too...) If you know anyone who needs some old PC133 for their computer, let me know. I also need some PC 133 RAM for a notebook, so I'm willing to trade.
Oh, and got my 700 MHz Celeron up to 512 MB after using it as a test bed, and discovering that one of the unmarked sticks was a 256 MB piece. Awesome... maybe I'll get that running as a server. I installed the Fedora 9 Live CD, and it has two 10/100 cards and a wireless B card. I'm not sure if I should wipe it and install ClarkConnect, or if I should just "learn" how to bend Fedora into what I want... "Fedora Home Server" spin anyone?
Oh, since I decided to test an upgrade with my mom-in-law... my TV-tuners got displaced from their BE-2300/AN-52 setup. But, at least the beige bomb is possibly gone. I hope this new box works out, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up moving her back to the old computer. Still gotta migrate those pictures and e-mail though.
I tried to check out the Petrus Blogger (http://petrus-blogger.peterp.org/), thinking maybe Java will be my new friend... So, I installed the Java Runtime Environment. (I didn't have it installed, I really only use Windows for games...) Then I think, "Oh, maybe I should install OpenOffice.org on here too" and notice that the Mac OS links for it. Did they already do a native port? Hmm... My mom has my old Mac, but I'll bet the required JRE probably doesn't even run on 10.4... Maybe I should just get her on a x86 box and get her running Windows or Linux...
So anyway, the Petrus Blogger... it works from the Java Web Start, but I just get a blank window. I couldn't log in to LiveJournal... Oops... no go. I might as well just go back to Linux, or do an e-mail post. I bet a lot more people would not be using Windows if there was as much news about good applications being available on other platforms, and *not* on Windows.
So, it might be time to move back to a testing run of SUSE, or maybe Fedora 9 has settled into the post-release stability I need. I did finally break out that 4 GB USB stick I had, I made an upgraded computer for my mom-in-law, and I wanted to transfer some files. I did get it over there today, but I still need to migrate her pictures and e-mail. I think it might be time to forcefully introduce her to IMAP and online photo storage and management with Flickr.
What else... Oh, I got us much further away from "laundry bankruptcy" this weekend. I turned a mountain of unwashed clothes into a mountain of clean clothes (which is what we normally end up doing on a smaller scale). But, we actually got some clothes hung up and put away too... awesome.
Skipped mowing this weekend. Too busy doing laundry.
Finally took some pictures of my SDRAM and am going to actively work on making it go away. http://photos.mvpittman.com/memory has the goods (I really need to get on board with Flickr posting, I'm going to burn up my bandwidth at FastMail on silly stuff... maybe if I ever upgrade this LiveJournal account, I could use that too...) If you know anyone who needs some old PC133 for their computer, let me know. I also need some PC 133 RAM for a notebook, so I'm willing to trade.
Oh, and got my 700 MHz Celeron up to 512 MB after using it as a test bed, and discovering that one of the unmarked sticks was a 256 MB piece. Awesome... maybe I'll get that running as a server. I installed the Fedora 9 Live CD, and it has two 10/100 cards and a wireless B card. I'm not sure if I should wipe it and install ClarkConnect, or if I should just "learn" how to bend Fedora into what I want... "Fedora Home Server" spin anyone?
Oh, since I decided to test an upgrade with my mom-in-law... my TV-tuners got displaced from their BE-2300/AN-52 setup. But, at least the beige bomb is possibly gone. I hope this new box works out, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up moving her back to the old computer. Still gotta migrate those pictures and e-mail though.
How shall I post... let me count the ways.
Okay, seriously, I'm on Windows, and I want to make a post to my LiveJournal Blog. I could:
- open a web browser, log into LiveJournal, post
- e-mail a post
- use a client to post
The third option sounds most appealing to me, because I don't have to be online to do do the composition... I suppose e-mail (with a client) does the same thing. I really liked using gnome-blog and LogJam on Fedora...
I just got this itch to post, figured I'd try a Windows Client. LochJournal hasn't really seen an update in a while... but neither has LogJam. This program is too ugly to live (or stay installed) buh-bye.
- open a web browser, log into LiveJournal, post
- e-mail a post
- use a client to post
The third option sounds most appealing to me, because I don't have to be online to do do the composition... I suppose e-mail (with a client) does the same thing. I really liked using gnome-blog and LogJam on Fedora...
I just got this itch to post, figured I'd try a Windows Client. LochJournal hasn't really seen an update in a while... but neither has LogJam. This program is too ugly to live (or stay installed) buh-bye.
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