Multiple computers

Have I mentioned in any of my posts that backups are essential? They are. Always backup your system on a regular basis. I have posted that I have multiple computers. Another reason that having multiple computers is good, if you are me anyway, is that 1 of them should always work. Today for example I am using my Mac mini. I had been planning on testing the latest Slackware distribution this weekend. Somewhere in the process of installing a third hard drive my main tower decided that it needed some time off. It is now sitting under my bench taking a well deserved rest. I have been planning a motherboard and processor upgrade. Looks like I will have to move that up on the calender. I'm not sure if I have a motherboard issue or a power supply issue. I am leaning toward the motherboard. I have been experiencing some problems with it.

Corporate Hos

I have watched the MS/FOSS/Mac wars rage for years now. I will admit that for some time I jumped on the FOSS antiMS bandwagon. Over the years I have used various Linux distros, Windows XP and last summer purchased a Mac mini. All of these are solid operating systems and all have some bugs and flaws. The level of heat generated on forums debating this topic could solve all the worlds energy needs. There are fanboys for every operating system and each flavor there of. The arguments get ridiculous. After reading this article on Linux Today I feel compelled to put in my 2c.

I currently use Kubuntu as my main desktop, I use XP to play games and my Mac mini is waiting to become my media center. This weekend I am installing a third hard drive in my computer that will allow me to try different OSs without fear of damaging a system or file that I need. I enjoy playing with different operating systems. I like to see what they can do and how they are put together. I am glad that there is competition and choice in the OS market. I prefer to use free and open source software because I agree with the philosophy. I also like things to be easy and just work.

Kubuntu works for my day to day computing needs. I can surf the web, email, write, make spreadsheets, photo edit, compile DVDs, and watch TV. I even had World of Warcraft running great with wine. Gaming is just easier with XP. The games are written for it and it doesn't take a lot of tweaking and cussing to be playing.

I gave up using XP for day to day computing because I was tired of spyware, adware, malware, viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc, etc. Now I have a locked down box that is just used for gaming. I can also use Teamspeak and Ventrilo on XP without having to do workarounds.

I bought the Mac because I wanted to see what made Mac users so loyal and fanatical. It is a good operating system and I could do everything I need to do other than play the games I like. Yes there is a Mac version of WoW but the Mac mini just doesn't have the horsepower to run games. I would love to upgrade to a Macbook or a Mac Pro, cost is an issue for me however. I can't bring myself to spend the money that Apple charges. Not when I know I can put together a comparable system for less. Which is my biggest complaint with Apple. The hardware is all proprietary and any tweaking or modding is minimal. I tweak my hardware. The paint is worn off the screws on my case because I am inside it so often.

Pluses and minuses. It is simply a matter of what you use your computer for and what you are comfortable with. Find an OS that you like and become proficient using it. Hell if you are like me you can become proficient in a number of them. It is not a black and white argument. Use the tool that suits the job you are doing. Ranting on a forum or blog about how your OS is the best and anyone who uses X is a dipshit, fanboy, corporate shill, whatever is not going to win any converts to your cause. You are amusing in your corporate loyalty. I am sure the marketing people love the free publicity you provide. Which to me is where this all stems from. Marketing.

Advertisers work overtime convincing people that their product is the best and anybody that doesn't use it is inferior. People jump right into this nonsense. "I drive a insert make and it's the best. It's a vehicle sport. It is for going from point A to point B. It does not make your penis larger, make you smarter, stronger or more attractive. It propels you to a destination. The manufacturers and marketing people will gladly sell you a shirt, hat, jacket, whatever to advertise for them. This one truly baffles me. I am expected to pay for an item that advertises someone else's product. Yeah right, pull the other one!

New toy

I bought a new toy last week. A Kodak easyshare Z612. I have wanted a camera for some time. Working on the Photoshop presentation for blogging class and working along the river with the River Revitalization Foundation made me finally open my wallet and buy one. I am very happy that I did. I took some time and researched before making a purchase. The Z612 is a consumer reports best buy and has received a number of J.D. Power awards. That and good experience with Kodak products in the past and I was sold.
This camera takes beautiful pictures.It also has very nice features. The electronic view finder is great for outdoor photography. I have yet to see an LCD that is clearly visible in bright sunlight, Having the option of using the viewfinder in bright light is excellent. I can also shoot video with sound which is a feature I had to have. I want to get into video shooting and editing. I don't have the time and money to pursue it right now. This is a good compromise until I buy a video camera.
I have started editing some of my pictures with Gimp which is an open source equivalent to Photoshop. I will be posting images here as the mood strikes.

This is the fountain on the UWM campus.Picture taken April 10

Beautiful Irony

I have been saying all semester that I don't care to post about my life yet that is the one thing I seem to keep posting about. :)
Now that I have committed to taking 9 credits over the summer I am hunting for a new job. I would have had to leave Moraine Park in the Fall anyway. Two of the classes I need are only offered at night. I am torn about leaving. On the one hand I hate driving to West Bend 4 days a week and on the other hand I have a job where I can do school work. The money is good for a part time job. The people I work with are phenomenal. I honestly have never met a nicer group of people. They have gone out of their way to help me. It will be bittersweet to leave.
I am looking for something in retail. I have heard all the horror stories but for a college student in need of a flexible schedule I don't see any other alternatives. At worst it will be for a year until I graduate and move. I can handle almost anything for a short period. At this point I am looking at bookstores, seems a natural for an English major with a love of reading.

Light at the end..

The fall class schedule finally posted. After putting together my summer and fall class plan it looks like I will be able to graduate next spring. Hooray! I had been thinking I wouldn't be able to graduate until Dec of '08. Knowing I only have 1 more year to do is highly motivating and reinvigorating. It was getting so I thought I was going to be in college forever. At one point in my academic career that may have sounded good. Now I am looking forward to graduating and getting on with my life.
I am planning on moving back to Florida after I graduate. I absolutely hate cold! Sitting here on April 4 watching snow fly sideways outside just strengthens my conviction. WI is a great state. There are lots of things I will miss, great people, hiking, camping, some gorgeous scenery. I am not willing to tolerate the cold any more though. Put me some place where I can run around in shorts and sandals year round and I'm a happy guy.

Change to Cable

Between spring break last week and having 5 teeth extracted this week I have not made any posts in too long.
What can I share with readers this morning?
Switched from DSL to cable this week. I have been debating the pros and cons for several months. I have been a SBC/Yahoo customer for years and they have always provided me with good service. When I moved to Milwaukee I wasn't able to get the high speed package I had been using. Having had a bad experience with Charter cable I was unwilling to go down that road again so I decided to stick with DSL at a lower speed. I game online and download movies and music. The reduced bandwidth was very noticeable. My main aversion to using cable internet was having to pay for cable tv I don't watch. This was the catch that I ran into with Charter. I just wanted internet service and no tv cable, they only offered it as a package. Paying $35 a month for commercials is ridiculas so I went with SBC. The catch with DSL is paying for phone service as well. While I was living in Fond du Lac this was fine, I used my phone. After moving to Milwaukee the only calls I received on the phone were wrong numbers. Everyone calls me on my cell and I use it for all of my calling. Paying $20 a month to answer wrong numbers also seemed ridiculas so I started looking for alternatives. In looking at Time-Warner's website I found that I could subscribe to Road Runner without having to pay for cable, Hooray! So now for $5 less a month than what I was paying for DSL and an unused phone I have 3.33x the bandwidth. Life is good :)

Wiped out

Yesterday was too much. I didn't think it would be that bad but this year really hit me hard. I have been out of sorts and unfocused for the last week. Last not I spent all my time absorbed in writing Forty. Forgot to set up GED tests, which is part of my job. No one made a big deal about it but still. I just don't do things like that. Not sure why this year was so hard. Maybe because Ted's birthday reminds me that I'm getting older. It has been in my head more this year whatever the reason.

Now I find myself 2 days into a commitment to write daily too emotionally spent to write. I am glad I made the commitment though. Getting back to my creative writing has been good. Getting on a regular writing schedule is what I need to do.

Tune in tomorrow same bat time, same bat channel to see if our hero survives the crash!

In loving Memory

Today would have been my little brothers fortieth birthday. I wrote this in his memory:

Forty

And another birthday you have missed

I think of that and cry

Grief hits me like a fist

Thirteenth of March and I reminisced

About a happy, laughing guy

And another birthday you have missed

Thinking of you can make my gut twist

It leaves me wondering why

Grief hits me like a fist

Anger and heartache I never saw you so pissed

More than you could abide by

And another birthday you have missed

That bloody memory I wish to resist

What a horrible way to die

Grief hits me like a fist

Memories can’t be dismissed

Even if I where willing to try

And another birthday you have missed

Grief hits me like a fist

Taking a chance

What Dr. S said in class this morning really hit home with me. "Writing takes a lot of work and taking the chance that you will look foolish." I haven't put the necessary work into this or my writing recently. If I really want to be a writer then I need to write. To give myself incentive, take a chance and fill this blog with something worth sharing I am making a commitment. From here on I will post daily some of my creative writing. I have a story I started and set aside so this will force me to work on it daily.
This gives you, my vast readership, a chance to critique my writing and give me feedback. I really hope you will take the opportunity to be brutally honest. You can only help me become a better writer. So here is the first 500 words or so of The Team

The murk was almost impenetrable, with a wet clingy fog that wrapped its cold tendrils around him like bony fingers seeking the warmth under his clothing. The fetid stench wafting up from the mud made his eyes water, in spite of the black cloth wrapped across his mouth and nose. The damn mud! Knee deep in spots it seemed intent on pulling off boots and leggings.

The mud is what made this excursion possible though. A quarter mile wide by half mile long stretch of bog known as Fegan’s outhouse. It bordered the back edge of the Nelban army encampment. Because of its reputation as an impenetrable barrier the camp was unguarded along its edge.

Rolph swore he could lead a small team through the bog. The right team could do a great deal of damage if it got into the camp undetected. Jimez had that team. He was a part of the team. Ostensibly he was the leader. But he would no more claim the title than any of the others would acknowledge it.

The team was a collection of individuals that had come together over the years for mutual support and benefit. Its current incarnation of 5 members was a strong group with diverse talents. Jimez kept telling himself that he would move on after the next job. Somehow he could never bring himself to leave.

Jimez and Clint were the core of the team. They had met several years back through a mutual friend. During their initial job together a bond had formed that neither seemed willing to break. Clint was size and power to Jimez’s speed and agility. At 6’6” he towered over most people. Even Jimez at 6’ 2” felt small in comparison. Jimez jokingly referred to Clint as “barrel wasted” because of his healthy paunch. Many had died mistaking Clint’s merry blue eyes and ample girth as signs of weakness. Behind Clint’s laughing blue eyes and ready smile was the mind of a veteran fighter. For years arena fans had cheered “Clobberin’ Clint” and his big iron cudgel “Betty”. Betty seemed an extension of Clint, you almost never saw him without it hanging from his meaty fist or resting on his broad shoulder. His battle cry “sing for me Betty” and the accompanying whistle of the cudgel had been the last sound heard by many.

Jimez’s dirty blonde hair was pulled back and tied with a piece of leather. The black cloth around his face only partially hid his aquiline nose. His swarthy complexion made him difficult to spot on most nights. In the dark and fog tonight he was virtually invisible. His worn black leathers only added to the camouflage. Even the hilts of his sword and dagger, worn crosswise on his back, were wrapped in black leather. He was attempting to move silently but the sucking mud made that a difficult task. “I’ll cut out your heart if this doesn’t work Rolph”.

By all accounts Rolph was one of the best scouts and woodsmen in the area. Timo had done his usual thorough job in locating the best source for the information and services he sought. The little man was amazing. Within hours of the team’s arrival in a new area he would show up dressed in local fashion and have a pretty good grasp on the lay of the land. His talent with explosives was the reason the team had taken this job.

Gamblers Hockey

Went up to Green Bay last night to see the Gamblers play hockey. Started out originally as some of my friends from Fond du Lac and up the Valley. Ended up being 28 of us. What a great time! We started out at Curley's Pub for dinner. I think there are few things in life more enjoyable than having dinner with old friends that you haven't seen in a long time. The chance to catch up on what is going on in everyones life. The old jokes and jabs. Knowing you can let your guard down and have a good time.

It was the 8th annual teddy bear night to benifit the children's hospital. Everybody brings a stuffed bear and throws them on the ice when the Gamblers score their first goal.



Ended up being a new record, 5100+ bears. Pictures from my phone don't do it justice I'm sorry to say. The air was filled with flying bears it was cool!
Gamblers won 5 to 3. A good game and good times with old friends. Life really doesn't get much better.

Getting over the hump

I seem to have hit a slump. Personally, creatively, academically I feel drained and lethargic. Perhaps it just the end of winter blaws and me needing a break from school. Whatever the reasons I have decided to share some poetry. Maybe I can jump start my creative energies.

Murder scene

Arrived home to a murder scene

Stood outside the police barricade in the rain

The lights flashing blue and red

The news crew packing up

Their job is done

Who died?

In my backyard, too close to home

Landlord says it was a delivery driver

Just a kid

Also a student at UWM

Too close to home

In my apartment at last

Safe? From the world

Not any more

Reality just kicked down the door and jackbooted in

Doorbell’s ring

Sets my heart racing

Police

Have we got tape from the garage camera?

Just a $6 fake

Funny huh?

Why aren’t I laughing?

5AM Doorbell rings again, again

Wakes me, heart racing

Police again

Have we got tape from the garage camera?

Just a $6 fake

Why aren’t I crying?

Because I am numb

I feel violated

How must the family feel?

Friends?

What a horrible waste, a life ended over nothing

Seems like I should be outraged

Maybe that will come in time

Right now I just wish I could cry

Innocence lost

What I find worth reading

I have come across some really good reading and stuff I find very interesting in my brief exploration of the blogsphere.
Being an atheist and very interested in the issue of keeping ID out of the science classroom I read quite a bit on various sites. A great blog I recently found was the Uncredible Halq. I was pretty physced when I came across this blog. It is well written by a young man who is obviously very intelligent and well read. Sadly todays post announced the end of his active bloging.
Along the lines of those actively fighting the ID FUD is the Pandas's Thumb. A great place to read about the latest ID drivel and opposing commentary from people who know way more about science and evolution than I do.
On a totally different tangent is the Open Source Weblog. This blog is one writers take on the latest open source news. I read a number of sites and receive several different emails on this topic. There is no shortage of ideas or opinions in the open source movement. I think that is part of what I find so fascinating about it.
For intelligent and informed understanding of what is taking place in Iraq and the middle east I read Informed Comment. Juan Cole explains news stories and his interpretation of what they mean. Since I am neither a fan of the current administration nor the corporate media that spins news to support it I like getting a different perspective on the news.

Patience and a little work

Oh the hypocrisy! After all the times I have told people RTFM, I even have a t-shirt that says it, I found my answers by reading. Happy to say that my faith in Kubuntu was not misplaced. Also credit to everyone who contributed to wine. After reading and following the latest how-to for
World of Warcraft on winhq I am on my way to being windows free. A few registry tweeks and everything runs wonderfully. I wasn't even aware that I could use regedit under wine so there's another plus. I have been playing all weekend with no problems. My frame rates are comparable to the rates I'm getting in windows. The only issue I've experienced is a slight sound breakup Sat morning when entering the crowd at the Ogrimarr auction house. Windows will stutter under those conditions so we'll call that a wash. I am even on my way to getting ventrilo set up so I can have voice chat with my guild. That will require a minor sound change, I haven't taken the time to work on it yet.
This weekend I straightened out my printer issues as well. A little digging on the Ubuntu forums and I found a link to HP's Linux support site with drivers and directions. No problems, I can now print and scan. Faxing doesn't work but I haven't ever used the fax so that isn't an issue for me.
While I was playing around and installing software I came across Kmymoney a personal finance management program comparable to quicken and money. It even works with my credit unions online files. This is a real bonus.
A very productive weekend on the computing front. The only issue I am still working on is getting streaming video from CBS to play full screen. This is not a deal breaker for me as the next project is setting up a media server and the Mac mini as the media center.

Wine and WoW

The installation of Kubuntu on my second drive was simple . All my hardware was recognized and after tweaking some settings I have a fully functional system. An ongoing issue I have with Kubuntu is my printer. I have an HP Photosmart c4180 and it is not listed in the long list of hp printers available. HP's website is of no help " If what you were looking for is not listed, then it is not available for downloading from the web in this language." Thank you HP. I have run the printer in the past with the generic hplip driver and the performance is scream inducing. This is one of the areas where open source software is frustrating. For whatever reason HP chooses not to release drivers or open the code for this printer. For the most part HP is very good about making it's hardware compatible and releasing linux drivers. Why they haven't or won't for this printer is annoying.
1 point for keeping a Windows partition.

Installed wine per instructions at winehq. Installation and configuration of wine is straight forward especially with synaptic package manager. After installing wine I went to install the game that is the heart of this experiment, World of Warcraft. This install was not as smooth as I would have liked. I was not able to install off the cds and had to copy all the data off the discs to the hard drive and point the installer to the file. This was a minor inconvenience that led me to install krusader in order to quickly copy files. Once the files were on the hd the install was easy.

I was going to conclude this post with a report that I was not able to make WoW play on my system. In looking at the wine WoW page I see a new link with fixes for the issues I am having. I am going to see if this solves my problems or at least points out something I missed.

Closing the Windows II

I built this computer for gaming. I spent many hours reading reviews and forums before deciding on the hardware. My budget didn’t allow for top of the line, bleeding edge components but I shopped around. What I ended up with was a fast stable rig that produced decent benchmarks. That was 2004 and the system is now starting to show its’ age. My purpose then is to extend the life of the current setup at least another year and continue to use it for gaming. The second and more important purpose is to test whether gaming with wine on Linux is a viable option. If I get good game performance then I have no reason to continue using Windows.

The Hardware:

Motherboard; DFI NFII Ultra Infinity Rev. A+. with nvidia nforce2 chipset.

Processor; AMD Athlon 2600+ w 512Kb cache

Memory; 1.5Gb Corsair DDR 400 memory

Video; Chaintech Geforce 6600 w 256 MB

Harddrives; Maxtor 60Gb and Western Digital 250Gb

The motherboard has serial ATA connections and I originally purchased a serial ATA hard drive for the system. At the time SATA was just reaching the consumer market and this board shows that all the bugs were not out of the system yet. I have managed to install Windows on the SATA drive but only after turning all system settings way down. Even then it was a hit and miss process that took many attempts. I have never been able to install a Linux distribution on the SATA drive. Most of them will recognize the drive and begin the install and then hang during the drive formatting stage. I don’t know how well current motherboards are handling SATA drives but mine is on the parts shelf waiting to find out.

In my last post I stated that I have been trying different Linux flavors for years. I currently have a stack of discs ranging from the old Mandrake 8 to the new Sabayon 3.26 and GoboLinux 013.

Sabayon is very pretty and seems to perform well. I installed and ran this for several days without any problems. The support community for Sabayon is still small though. This became very apparent as I started looking at installing wine and read through the forums.

GoboLinux appealed to me because of the way the tree is structured. This addressed one of the problems I have had learning my way around Linux. I had no problems with the install and all my hardware was recognized. I played with this distro for a few days as well and was leaning toward using it. As I got into the website and the forums I realized that GoboLinux is intended for a more experienced Linux user. Since I am still learning and am trying some things I haven’t done before I decided to leave this for future consideration.

The distribution I settled on is Kubuntu the KDE flavor of Ubuntu. I have been using Kubuntu fairly regularly since about ’04 or ’05 and really like this distribution. Kubuntu appeals to me on several levels. I really like the philosophy behind it, the support community is large and active, and package availability is great. The key selling point for this setup is the fact that WineHQ has instructions for installing and running wine on Ubuntu/Kubuntu.

Next post I will cover the install, setup and testing of Kubuntu, wine and world of warcraft.

Closing the Windows

For years I have been trying different Linux distros. At first it was out of interest in different operating systems. Then I began looking for an alternative to windows.
I have grown to dislike windows for a number of reasons. Security (or lack there or) is a huge problem. I now have a software firewall, an anti virus program, and 6 anti spy and adware programs running on my XP box. To say this is frustrating is a huge understatement. All of this software is using resources that should be devoted to the projects I am working on. Then there is the annoyance factor, windows pop up informing me that this or that program is updating, scanning, giving birth, or needing money. My computer is no longer my own. The only reason I have put up with all of this frustration is gaming. I am an avid gamer and the games I like are written to run on windows. To work around this I have been dual booting for a number of years, running XP and Linux on separate partitions on my hard drive. This is a workable but inconvenient solution. I have to reboot each time I want to switch systems.

I bought a Mac Mini this fall to take care of the rest of my computing needs and to eventually be my multimedia computer. I like OS X; it is secure and stable and is easier than windows. The Mini just doesn’t have the horsepower to do much and gaming is out of the question. This brings me back to my XP/Linux dilemma. I came across this blog the other night and it inspired me finally commit to running Linux as my main OS.

I am going to use this blog to track my experience and show others that it can be done. Tune in tomorrow for hardware specs and to see which flavor I Linux I decide to work with.

Neighborhood connections

Having been in Fond du Lac for a number of years before moving to Milwaukee last September I had forgotten how inconvenient moving is. Aside from the obvious hassle of finding a new place, packing and hauling everything, calling utilities, etc. I now realize the little things that I took for granted; a good barber, a favorite ice cream place, and a mechanic that I have known since grade school.

I just bought a 2000 VW Gulf and thought taking it to the dealer for service would be a good idea (ok stop laughing, it made sense for a minute.) I was given a ridiculously high quote for some minor suspension repairs. At this point I remembered Tony and Mobile Car Care. Tony repaired my car after someone attempted to steal it last fall. He gave me good service and a fair price. So I took the VW to Mobile. Tony put in 2 new struts, plates and a new axle for less than the dealer quoted for a strut plate and CV boot . He also gave me a ride home, picked me up and made sure I was on the road in time for work. So this is where I insert a plug for Tony and Mobile Car Care. If you live in or near Riverwest I highly recommend Mobile.

Finding a good mechanic makes me feel like I am starting to put down roots in Milwaukee. Now if I could just find a good barber I'll really be feeling at home.

Great Writing

I have been an avid SciFi and Fantasy reader since I learned to read. Over the decades I have read and collected a number of writers. One that I always loved was CJ Cherryh. I am rereading Rider at the Gate because I haven't been to the bookstore or library in the past week. Ms Cherryh is an author whose work is easy for me to go back to time and again. The depth of her settings and characters amazes me.
I am intimidated by authors of this caliber. Ms Cherryh's imagination leaves me stunned. As I read her work I can't help but thinking "how do you think of all this?" I am always impressed with good writing but to me SciFi/Fantasy turns it up a notch by forcing the writer to create believable worlds and universes on top of good characters and story lines. CJ Cherryh is one of the best, her settings are thought out to an amazing level of detail. On top of these strong foundations she builds believable characters that draw me in. Reading writers like this is what inspires me to want to write.

Mmmm Coffee

Found this bit of humor while stumbling at work. Working in a library at night is a great place to get homework done but can be incredibly dull otherwise. Stumble helps to pass the time and I have found some good sites that way.

Occurs to me that I haven't explained the title of my blog. It is a line from The Road Not Taken a poem by Robert Frost. The poem is significant to me on several levels. It was read at the graduation ceremony when I received my AS degree. It is also a very apt analogy of my life. I have taken the road less traveled by. Finally it is an apt analogy for a blog where one thing leads into the next.

A beginning

Ah! A new beginning. A blank slate.
I have decided to do my blog here so that others can respond without having to sign up for zaadz. Which is a cool site, but I'm not into forcing things on people.
For anyone that is interested in open source and open standards here in an interesting blog from Rick Jelliffe on O'Reilly XML.com. I believe this is a hugely important topic. No one person or company should set the standard for anything. This is also an excellent example of the issues that face society as we move into the information age and how the internet has become the forum on which these issues are debated. I consider myself fortunate to have been born at the dawn of this age and to be able to watch the process unfolding.