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| Another month since my last post. I'm getting slack, and not just with my blogging.
Since I last remembered to pop in and say hi, I've changed operating systems. Twice. I'm not running Ubuntu Linux, which is more of a 'real' linux than Xandros was i.e. it doesn't look identical to Windows. I'm fairly certain I'm going to stick with this one, although I'm relying on the support forums pretty heavily at this stage.
One of the things about reinstalling an operating system on your computer means you lose all your files. Or at least, all the ones that won't fit onto the one-and-only data CD you make first. I was very careful, and did a couple; one for music, one for photos, one for files and random clipart and whatnot. Of course, I've managed to lose both the photos CD and the files one, which means I have nothing but 60 hours of music to put on my nice new computer.
It also means that I've discovered a remarkable thing about myself: I can survive without the three copies of every snap I've ever taken with my camera. I can survive without the two years worth of emails from half a dozen yahoo groups. I can even survive not having all my half-hearted attempts at writing decent fiction sitting in a folder, taunting me with their half-finished ideas and impossibly-good beginnings (did I really write that? Was I actually that good? And what the hell was I planning to have happen next?).
For some reason, I'm pleased with this new-found independence from my hard drive. I've realised that it's actually okay for me to skip doing my email one or two nights a week. I don't even have that much to say, really. I just read them, bask in the idea that I'm part of a community, then stare at my homepage for ten minutes before I give up and turn the machine off.
Does this mean that I'm not the dedicated nerd that I thought I was? Well, I'm using Linux, which definitely counts for something. But I don't think it would kill me to go on holiday for a week without the laptop (I'm going on holiday next month, but the laptop is going with me. Whether or not its going to be running Windows or something more secure remains to be seen). I'm even debating whether or not I should start my clipart collection all over again, since after three years of collecting everything from the newsgroup, I filled 2 CDs, both of which have mysteriously disappeared. I have my suspicions about who pinched the first one, but the second one seems to have gone on a trek of its own devising.
Does this spell the end of the self-confessed geek? Probably not. But it means that I'm discovering interests outside the confines of my monitor. I'm reading more books, watching more movies, and trying to find more penpals, all of which means I'm not actually living up to my lists of interests.
With a bit of luck, it will mean I'm actually out in the real world, having experiences worth writing about here. Then all I have to do is remember to pop in and actually write them. | | |
| I can't believe it's been a month since my last post... oh dear.
I'm turning into one of THOSE bloggers. You know the ones.
They write two or three posts that you read and think are interesting,
and then they apparently fall off the edge of the planet, only to
reappear months later with nothing new to say.
About the only thing that's happened is that we got Sky, which is the
equivalent of cable tv here. Now, instead of having five channels
to surf, the Other Half has about thirty. So far it's meant that
we've watched a lot of rugby, lol.
My mum got two new kittens, Molly and Gizmo,
which are completely adorable. They stare at you with the biggest
tiny eyes, then clamber all over you. She said that she has lock
them in the laundry when they sit down for dinner, since they climb up
and try to sit in the plate while they're eating!
Aside from that, not much to report. It's winter here, and bloody
cold, and my car will apparently start for everyone except me, so I get
to sit in the driveway in the morning, after the Other Half has already
gone to work, and curse and swear and beg until it goes.
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| I did it! Xandros is up and working on my PC - I'm breaking free of Windows woes...
There are, however, two programs that I use that are windows only, both
of them testament to my geek status. One is a journalling
program, which I might have to drop in favour of plain old word
processing (ick), and the other is a library catalog program. I
have over 300 books loaded, plus a full list of things I've been
reading. I'm not so keen to throw that away, since I use that as
a base for my booklog site, so I'm going to leave the laptop on windows for a while yet.
In other news... I've been so obsessed with my computer this week, I've
been dreaming about it, lol. Everything else has sort of been
happening by itself, with no input from me. I took my grandmother
to the library, which was actually really fun - she hadn't been in
about fifteen years, so I got to show her all the new stuff (i.e. most
of the library). I got a bunch of books out, and I've read the
first few pages of each one, but I can't be bothered concentrating on
anything too involved at the moment. Instead of reading, I've
been doing jigsaw puzzles... I should really go and find some books
that are going to keep my attention for more than a few minutes.
Maybe I need to go and buy a new Terry Pratchett book, lol.
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| To the absolute horror of my internal accountant (and the delight of my
credit card company), I've gone a little nuts this month. Not
only have I gotten a bit trigger-happy with a mail order catalog, I've
subscribed to a newspaper put out for people interested in penpalling,
and then yesterday (and this is the Big One) I ordered a copy of
Xandros 3.0 - the deluxe edition.
What does this mean? It means I'm finally putting my money where
my mouth is, and giving Microsoft the old heave-ho. I've spent
years bitching about how crappy and insecure Windows is, and how half
my internet time is spent on patches... I've tried a couple of linux
distros, but for various reasons returned to XP while I sorted out my
next move.
Apparently, this is it. With a bit of luck, and what looks to be
a really good support forum, by this time next week, I'll be
Windows-free, at least on my PC. Not quite Microsoft free however
- my flash keyboard and equally flash trackball are both Microsoft
products... maybe I can get away with pointing out that their hardware
business is now completely separate from the software, lol.
In a perfect world, everything will fall into place, and I won't break
anything. If that happens, I'll wipe Windows off my laptop as
well, although, in a perfect world, I would have won the $15 million
lotto jackpot last night as well.
Still. I'm happy to settle for a secure operating system with
next-to-no trojan/virus worries. Not quite so sure about giving
up my printer, which apparently isn't supported.
But these things happen. If nothing else, it'll give me an excuse to go and scope out the latest Canon has to offer 
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| I've been so lazy lately... must be Autumn creeping up, or the fact
that my boss has been on vacation for so long - I'm bone tired all the
time.
My great idea of building a links page has sort of stalled due to lack
of decent software (I want photoshop, and a computer powerful enough to
run it!!), and I've been drawn into non-computer things like jigsaw
puzzles. I've been poking around penpal groups and sites looking
for interesting people to write to, but so far no luck.
My book challenge is slowly slipping away, I think. I'm at least
five books behind where I should be to pull it off, and since I try not
to take time off work, I can't really see me pulling it back.
Still, I'm reading all sorts of things I otherwise wouldn't, and I'm
managing to keep a fairly usable book journal under the computer desk,
along with everything else.
And that's about that. Which proves that this is merely an I'm-not-dead notice and not so much a meaningful entry, lol.
Fingers crossed: readable material coming soon, when I'm not so knackered.
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