Little Mind Lost

I was going to post this on LouCeeL.blogspot.com, but I have other things to do with the next post so I guess I'll do it here and link into this post from Facebook.

Anyway.

Those who know me well know I am a Linux evangelist for many years now.  Since 1994, actually.  But during all that time I have had one big bone to pick with the Linux development community.  Windows (in its various incarnations) and Mac OS X (in ITS various incarnations) do not require one to know or understand the underlying operating system.  Windows and Windows Applications do not require access to the command line in order to operate and/or properly control the system.  The same thing with Mac OS X.  You can run a Mac and never have to deal with the underlying BSD Unix.

Not so with Linux.  And it SHOULD be.

I am preparing this post on a 6 year old Dell Inspiron 1300, in which I have installed openSuSE 12.2, the latest stable version.  12.3 will come out in March of 2013.  This system started out with 11.4 - I upgraded to 12.1, rebooted, and then upgraded to 12.2.  After a final reboot the system was ready to run - both upgrades were done across the Internet.  This laptop has 1gig of RAM and a 35gig hard drive, a 15" display and a Broadcom wireless chipset.  The thing is, it's fast.  Faster than it EVER was when it ran Windows.  And it's six years old.

That's getting maximum use out of hardware.

That's the good part about Linux.  Now, if we could just get the install of Operating System and Applications to the point where it's all done in the graphical interface, rather than the command line, then by golly, we've got a WINNER!

Next time, I'll tell you about all the applications that come with the distribution.

Just an audio test for blogger

This blog - this "Little Mind Lost" - sits mostly dormant and under utilized (utilised, if you're British).  So few know of this one, I feel I could possibly say more than I do in my much more public blog.  But then, who wants to listen (or READ, as the case may be) to the rants of a man slowly losing his mind?

LM(Love Muffin) isn't home enough.

#3 Son isn't doing as well, in school as he should.

I have almost $30,000 dollars of school loans for him - how the hell am I supposed to retire?  Because I don't want to die while working.

I want to paint and write and fix bicycles.  I want to be done working - or should I say, I want to work on what I want to work on, not what I have to work on.  Does that make sense?

Sometimes - it just seems like it's all gone south - nothing is working out how we planned.

Ndinombethe.

Okay.  Who thought getting up at 3:30am was a good idea?  Even though the ultimate destination was the golf course.  Seriously.  A little MORE mind lost?

Ndinombethe.

In keeping with this notion of "losing one's mind", it makes me crazy when things are so jumbled and busy that I can't pick out one thing to do - so many things need to be done and clamor for attention, but NOTHING gets done.

I know WHY.  I just don't know what I can do about it - especially as medication seems to be out of the question.  Adult ADD is a bitch.  In heels.

Ndinombethe.

I think that I shall post here, occasionally, just to see how long it takes for people to find them - if ever.

It's been busy and I haven't had much time to myself so I haven't gotten to this blog as I should. Shame on me. Not that there's anything in MY mind worth putting out here - that anyone else would really be interested in - it's just that this is supposed to be that therapuetic place where I can vent when I feel it's necessary and make myself better - more tolerable to live with. Too bust to vent. Hmmmm.

I remember when I was much younger that social scientists were predicting a time when leisure activities would dominate one's life; because machines would take over and do all of the menial work normally done by man. The machines are here - automation is a dominant force in the workplace today - it's just that I can't seem to find all of that leisure time that I was supposed to be enjoying by now. As a matter of fact, I'm fairly certain that I'm not going to be able to retire. That's a bite. Unlike some people, I haven't been automated out of a job - my job IS automation and I will work until I drop. My spending habits and the spending habits of a former employer have sealed that fate for me - but hey, I AM doing what I love and that's the most important thing, I guess.

This morning, while going through my ritual reading of 'slashdot.org', I
saw an article which stated that the FEC (Federal Election Commision)
considers bloggers to be journalists - and therefore eligible for the
privileges of the press. Suddenly I find I need to consider this blog in
a whole new light. Journalism is serious stuff and not to be taken
lightly. Words written here may live forever and certainly will have an
audience much larger than just the author.

I get goose pimples all over.

Since the government agency involved with all of this is the FEC, please
allow the following rant:

Since when did the white Christian Right (you know, the guys with the
impeccably tailored suits and perfectly coiffed hair) become the de
facto leadership of the Republican Party? I would remind America that
there was a time when the public face of people just like these guys was
disguised by bedsheets with eyeholes cut in them. The white sheet crowd
used to consider themselves patriots - they thought they knew what was
best for America and the felt no compunction about imposing their will
on others. The Christian Right, in a similar vein, seems to think they
know what's best for America and they are bound and determined to see
that we toe the line. But moreover, their view of the world is the same
- they think they know what's best for the world (the American Way) and
they are going about the business of imposing their will on others.

I would remind them that 2400 years ago the city-state of Athens did the
same thing. They lost the resulting war - the whole known world turned
against them and in the end, the promise of the Greeks and their culture
was lost. The whole world paid a price for the failure of Athens. No
less a price will be paid when and if WE fail.

The answer is simple. Come elections, turn the Republicans out, and keep
them out until they reform their leadership. It's just like a big lawn
party where all of these ignorant and uncaring people come and trash the
place while they're having a real good time. You know you're going to
have to clean up and the longer these people stay the more you're going
to have to do to restore order to the place. So run them out as quick as
you can and minimize the work you're going to have to do to clean up