It's been a while

Wow, it has been a while since my last update. I've built my new PC and started a new job. Nuff said, later all!

ThinkGeek :: Wi-Fi Detector Shirt :: Zoom!

I'm feeling so geeky today and I have to get one of these to.

ThinkGeek :: Wi-Fi Detector Shirt :: Zoom!

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True Geekdom

Well, today I was playing around with the Linux console and discovered a really cool telnet server (yes they still exist). Windows users can use Hyperterminal. Also check out ports 42 and 666.

Simple Mistakes

“I am not out to destroy Microsoft, that would be a completely unintended side effect.”
– Linus Torvalds

“If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.”
– Ludwig Wittgenstein

Ok, I'll admit it -- I'm becoming a Linux fan-boy. I'm now exclusively running Ubuntu as my desktop computer operating system. On the laptop I'm running a dual boot with Windows XP and Puppy Linux. I would abandon Windows entirely, but occasionally I'll come across something requiring VB Script or ActiveX or some other proprietary Microsoft technology. I'll admit Linux has given me a case of ADHD, because I can't stand to wait for my laptop to boot or for an application to open in Windows. That leads me into throwing out another quotation--

“It’s hardware that makes a machine fast. It’s software that makes a fast machine slow.”
– Craig Bruce

It seems as the hardware gets faster our software gets more bloated and more prone to bugs. The computer hardware available today at you local Wal-Mart is more than I could have dreamed of just 10 years ago. It still amazes me when I see advertisement for 2 Terabyte hard drives and computers with more than 6 Gigabytes of ram. These would have seemed like things of science fiction just a few years ago. What amazes me more is that multi-gigahertz, multi-core processors sometimes crawl just to run the operating system. I've heard some people claim it's a conspiracy between the hardware and software manufactures. I use to think these people were nut-jobs, but I'm really starting to wonder.

Something has to be done, and I think Linux might be the answer. Microsoft has failed to really innovate anything and I believe we might be seeing a fundemental shift in computing technology very soon. With the economy being in shambles and consumers and businesses unwilling to spend their hard-earned dollars on bigger and better hardware. I believe it's going to come down to software, and I can see Linux blazing the path here. Many organization have already changed to Linux, and many more are now seriously considering making the change. This will of course push many home users to change as well. To be continued ...

I've got a new pet!

No... Not that kind of pet :) I've installed a new Linux distribution on my laptop. I was so sick of Micro$oft slowing my machine down. I'm running on a Via C7-M 1.5 GHz processor and it's outperforming my Intel P4 2.8 GHz Prescott by a lot! Anyone wanting to try Linux should give Puppy Linux a try. It's a Linux Live Distro,means you don't have to install it, only about 100 MB download and can run on a CD or flash drive.

The Good 'Ole Days

It's been a while since my last posting and not much has changed. The 4th of July happened as it does every year; My wife's workplace had an outbreak of swine flu, aka the sniffles, and closed down for a week. Talk about insult-to-injury, me being out of work and then my wife to; this should make for some interesting financial juggling over the next few weeks. My weight loss program is slow going, down to 215.5 pounds now. I've learned a few more cool tricks in Linux. With my life being so anti-climactic there really isn't a lot to write about.

A thought that been on my mind the last few days-- why are things never as good as they seemed?-- Maybe they weren't that good to begin with. Being out of work has caused me to reflect on the past and what I should have done. I've had many do-overs in my life, but it seems that I keep doing the same thing- it's no wonder that I haven't made any progress. Admittedly I'm scared now to make changes and I believe rightfully so, I have a family and responsibilities; however change may-be the best for all of us. Continuing the way I have is madness, but it's tempting not to do so.

Remembering the past

Click for larger image

While I was awake in the wee hours this morning brushing up my Linux skills I got sidetracked and discovered an MS-DOS emulator. I figured I might as well test it out; so I download Space Quest 3 and guess what??!!! It worked!

PS I found this screenshot really funny. DOS in a box ; 80's music; Linux for Dummies :)

I want to be a computer expert

It has been a few days since I've posted and I just wanted to check in. I still don't have a job, and the economy sucks so not much has changed. The biggest headlines have been about the death of Michael Jackson from a heart attack. People suspect it was from an overdose of pain medication, but the autopsy did not return anything definitive (thats what they say anyways, the truth will come out in the end).

Since I've been without any income for about 2 months now, I've been selling a lot my old stuff. At least if I ever do go back to work I'll have a lot less clutter to deal with. All this selling I've been doing really makes me realize how much money I've wasted over the years. Hopefully, once I go back to a steady income I'll become a lot more frugal (I may not have a choice).

I've also done some soul searching over the weekend and I'm trying to think about a new career. I've spent the last 4 years of my life as a truck driver (what a waste) and I don't want to continue any more. Amazingly enough, I've also held a Comptia A+, Network+ and I-Net+ certification that entire time. I'm pretty much done with my CDL, so I figure its time to pursue my real love. When I was younger back in the 80's and 90's I wanted to be a computer expert, but good luck now. What exactly is a computer expert now? Back in the early days of PC's it was easy to be an expert, because the field just wasn't that big. Today there are some many specialties in the PC field; Webmaster, System Administration, Networking, Network Security, and Programming just to name a few. Of all those specialalties I think Network Security is pretty much the toughest now, because you have to really be an expert at everything for this job. While this really appeals to me, it seems to be a young man's game and I'm pretty certain I don't have the chops or time for it. For once in my life I really don't know what direction I want take, I just want to be a computer expert.

Feeling Old

I was really surprised when I read the paper this morning and found out Daryl Hannah was arrested in WV for protesting mountain top removal mining. Thinking my wife would be as shocked as me I told her about it when she got home. Well, my wife was like, "Daryl Hannah! Who is she?" I was in disbelief, because I had such a crush on her growing up. I loved the movies, Splash and Clan of the Cave Bear. Wow, what a difference 3 years in age makes! I can still see Daryl in that skimpy little cave girl outfit just like it was yesterday.

Linux is Up and Running

It turns out my DVD-Rom drive was busted, so I'm going to have to save up for a new one (it's tough being unemployed) Fedora 11 was a no go, because it was behaving like a drunken sailor; so I ended up installing Ubuntu 9.04. It all turned out well in the end.

Of mice and men

My Fedora 11 install is going about as well as expected :) I'm having some dvd-rom trouble, tried compressed air already, I ended up disassembling it and cleaning the drive by hand. The drive still does not work. My next guess is the cable. (yeah, I know that's the first thing I should have checked)

To a Mouse

Ok, I'm going to go off on a tangent. I'm going to try upgrading my system to Linux Fedora 11 today. I'm currently running Fedora 9, and it's been serving me well for about a year now. So hopefully all goes well, and I'll be up in running by the end of the day with a new Operating System. Which brings me to a Mouse. What?

"To A Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest, with the Plough", is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns. That poem is where the often used phrase of ,"The best-laid plans of mice and men / Go oft awry." Even though it was written in 1785, it is still applicable 224 years later to my life and our world.

America is sick

Seems like every time I read the news there is an article about healthcare. Usually, the best part of the article for me are the comments from readers. All of the articles basically say the same thing, it's too expensive. The people crying the loudest are the insurance companies and political parties. Of course a few of the readers will also comment about how they don't want higher taxes and people should be responsible for their own healthcare. People also fear the debt the United States would be taking on and worried how where going to pay for it all. My question is, are we not already paying for it?

I'm currently one of those uninsured Americans and I would welcome low or no cost insurance. While I was working it was costing me $520.00 a month to insure my family for an 80/20 policy with a $2000.00 deductible. That's like $6240 or possibly over $8,000 a year if I met my deductibles. If I was not paying over $500.00 a month I could have put the money back into the economy or paid down some of my own debt. I know some Americans pay more or less for their monthly premiums. If everyone had access to free coverage just think how much more money they would have to put back into the economy and how businesses would be relieved of a huge burden of providing these benefits. I understand our government would be taking on huge debt, but that money is staying in the country. That money is not gone, it's being put back into circulation to drug companies, hospitals, doctors, ect ... If people are not putting off health care that means more business for all health care providers.

I'll admit I'm not a financial genius, heck I can't hardly balance my check book, but won't freeing up money for people to spend kick start the economy. The question should not be, "how can we afford health care?", it should be "how can we afford not have it?"

Testing video service

I'm still working on my TO-DO list for today, but I'm getting sidetracked right now. I had an idea about adding personal videos to the blog. I just wanted to share my workout room with everyone.



Yes, it's pink and very small, but I can solve the color problem with some paint.

I did manage to do my weigh in today 216.5 pounds and my ideal weight is calculated to be 177 pounds. So, lets see that's 39.5 pounds I've got to lose. I'm figuring I can lose about 2 pounds a week, that's 7000 calories per week or 1000 calories per day I have to cut to lose weight. My calculated caloric expenditure is 2700 calories per day, so that means I'm allowed 1700 calories per day or 11,900 calories per week. By my estimates I should be able to reach my ideal weight in about 20 weeks and that means sometime in November. Can I do it? I guess we'll see!

My to-do list for today

Now that I've joined the unemployed 10% of the population I'm going to start a to-do list for each day. I'm figuring if I tell enough people (a few million should do) it might actually get done.

• Look for job, or career if you prefer but with the economy in shambles a job might be more appropriate.
  
• Weigh in and get some exercise. Yelp, I'm going to start today and tell the world about it.
  
• Improve my mind. Going to read a few chapters in grammar for dummies.
  
• My wife is going to love this: clean!
• Take care of some personal finance issues, I love waiting on hold.
  
• Sell some stuff. Time to get rid of some junk and make some money.

Guess, I better get started maybe I can get done by Noon.

White House Correspondents Association Dinner

Wow, I was just looking at the guest list and they included: George Lucas, Glenn Close Sting and Trudie Styler, Miranda Cosgrove, Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Jon Hamm, Eva Longoria Parker, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Brooke Shields, Alicia Keys, Kenneth Cole, Kerry Washington

I'm just wondering who paid for dinner? And how much did it cost?

Hello, World Wide Web... Is anyone listening?

Hello, everyone! This is my very first blog, so it's going to be rough around the edges for a while. But, here I go -- I was born in the mid 70's, but I truly feel I'm a child of the 80's. I miss so many things from society and myself during that period. Things like my Tandy Color Computer (Tandy CoCo as it was affectionately known), movies, games, toys, and people. Everything seemed so much simpler, families seemed so much closer in the 80's. What has happened to society? Maybe, it's just me... Maybe I was just a child then and was seeing everything through a child eyes, but I sure remember being a lot happier with much less. I think that's what I miss the most, the innocence.