Daily Doings at the Line of Death Bar & Grill

The latest version of Ubuntu Linux, codenamed the "Jaunty Jackalope", was released today. Download it for free at ubuntu.com. I'm downloading it as I type. (Thanks and a tip of the hat to Boston Stoker and HarborLink for the Wi-Fi access.)

If anyone wants a copy and doesn't have access to a high-speed internet connection, I can burn CDs for those who request it.

For those of you who use Ubuntu -- what do you like about it? (Besides that it's not Microsoft and not Windows -- those are given).

For those of you who tried Ubuntu -- what do you like about it? What don't you like about it?

For those of you who haven't tried Ubuntu -- what are you waiting for?

One of the things I can do with my laptop is to set up what's called a LAMP server -- Linux OS, Apache web server, MySQL database, and Perl scripting language. I'd like to do this for the practical experience. Other than these 4 items, are there any other components which I should install under Linux? (I'm running Ubuntu 8.04.2 on the laptop.)

[Updated 16:35] According to this article, it looks like I need to be running the *server* version of Ubuntu, not the desktop version. Frak.

Especially if it's a cold day, and a cold rain, as today was. I don't think the temperature hit 50 today. (That's 10 for you Celsius scale lovers.)

At least I have a dry, warm spot to sleep, I have my computers, and I have my kitties.

Am spending Easter weekend -- and a few extra days -- in Buffalo, visiting my mom. She's doing OK. It's a good thing I'm here this week. D from Assisting Angels Senior Care has a cold and isn't able to come over for the time being. So I'm being the "good son" and being a companion and chauffeur to her.

I intentionally left the laptop at home. I'm using the Amherst Library's computers to stay caught up on my email and job postings.

( To recap the trip so far.... )

So, I'm cruising down I-70 in Indiana and I select the Deep Forest library on my MP3 player. (For those of you who aren't familiar with Deep Forest, they're a French duo who take chants and songs from different languages and cultures, and add a synth backdrop and accompaniment, forming what I call "tribal fusion". It's quite danceable.) And somehow, I thought, "What if we could do this with different alien cultures? Every culture seems to have their own type of music." As far as I know, no one's composed anything like a "Klingon War Song", or "Ewoks' Dance" -- something like that could easily fit into the filk genre, even if it's an instrumental. (OK, John Williams had some pieces for the Ewoks in the Return of the Jedi soundtrack. But he's a professional. :-) )

Now if I can only write songs that would fit those molds.

While most of my filker friends were up in Toronto for FKO, I spent the weekend at Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH (next to Kings Island) with my friends from the USS Bismarck. It was a weekend to just unwind and have some fun. I intentionally left the laptop at home so it would be more of a mini-vacation for me. On Sunday I brought M to the the festivities, and she had a ball at the waterpark.

I've been trying to load more music on my Creative Labs MuVo V100 player that I purchased last year. I plugged it in to a powered USB port and Windows didn't recognize it. Funny. It used to, months ago. Maybe something I installed since then is causing it to fail. So I rebooted with Ubuntu, plugged in the drive, and it recognized it as a 2 Gb media drive. I was able to transfer music files to it rather easily -- cut from an MP3 CD and paste it to the MuVo drive.

This evening, I went to Millennicon just to hang out with my friends from the USS Bismarck. We had dinner together at the adjoining Max & Erma's. I spent some time at the room party hosted by Friends of the Time Lord. I even did some karaoke late at night since there was no filk to be found.

I got to see and chat with folks I haven't seen in a long time -- friends from Starward Bound, the USS Camelot, and other area fen. That felt good. Since I didn't bother with most of the programming, I treated it like a relaxacon.

( Would I go back next year? I'd like to see two things happen first. )

My current desktop computer is 9 years old this month. While it still does most of the things I want it to do, there are some things I want to do but can't because the computer is too slow. Tasks like video editing need more memory, more hard drive space, and more CPU speed than what I currently have to offer (the specs: 384 Mb memory, 40 Gb hard drive space, and a 600 Mhz CPU).
For my next computer, I'm tempted to get a refurbished model. The first reason is that it's cheaper than buying a new PC. The second reason is that most refurbs come with Windows XP or XP Pro, which is what I'd prefer over Vista. Third, I can get just the CPU box. I can still use my old monitor, keyboard, and mouse -- all I need is a KVM switch -- so I don't need to buy these items.

One drawback is that if get either an HP or Dell laptop, I'm stuck with a floppy drive because the outer case is specifically built to accommodate floppy drives. I can't replace it with an N-in-1 card reader. Nor would I be able to add a second CD/DVD drive if I wanted to, since there's no room in the front. That's why I prefer modular cases.

The other alternative is for me to buy a bare-bones system and build it myself from parts I have laying around.

Comments?

I spent the last two Saturdays gathering all -- okay, most -- of the records I would need to complete my taxes. Once again, I used TurboTax. I think this is the 10th year that I used the product. I'll know for certain when I go back through my old software CDs. (I guess I have a rather attractive collection of coasters at this point.)

I wasn't good with the recordkeeping for charitable donations and medical expenses. I don't think I had enough medical expenses to get above the 7.5% threshold, which is what I would have needed in order to claim them as a deduction.

The good news: I'm getting money back from both the Fed and the state(s). The bad news: It's all going directly to overdue child and spousal support. When I was unemployed last year, the state took out money for child support, but it didn't completely cover what I owed. Thus I built up some arrearage that I'm working on paying off.

The gripes I have with TurboTax this year: 1) The Deluxe version, which includes one free state product, retails for $60. That's quite a jump from last year. But it included a free federal e-filing. 2) Additional states -- and I needed one this year -- are $40. They don't mention that up front. 3) State e-filings are $20 apiece. Again, they don't mention that up front. 4) They still don't have a version to run under Linux, so I'm stuck or forced to use Windows (or a Mac) to use this software. Maybe if I figure out how to use Wine, I'd be set. Other than that, I still like the product, and am likely to use it again next year.