Category Archives: General Comments

Been running Mandriva Linux 2007 for a few days with Compiz running.  At first I was not sure about all the whiz bang visuals, but now I can’t live without them.  I see why Microsoft put cool 3d effects into vista, the eye candy is cool to look at.  Sucks that you have to have a ripper machine to run it.  My 4 year old machine runs all the 3d stuff without a hitch.  My $50 original video card handles it just fine, an nVidia GeForce4 MX 420. 

Under the hood, Mandriva 2007 is much better with removable media, the automounter is improved from 2005.  When I started using Linux in 1999, I remember taking notes as how to mount CD-ROMS and removable media correctly–from the command line!  We’ve come a long way baby!  Amarok (an Itunes like player/manager) now sees our Rio Carbon perfectly. 

Glenn is doing well, the little guy is almost crawling.  I am looking forward to having my sister over this weekend to watch over him for a while.  We all just need a break from time to time.

It’s supposed to get colder than a witches’ teat soon, I am not looking forward to that.  I have been re-caulking the windows, which really helps keep the cold out.

Work has been busy, we are finally getting cubicles, instead of 11 guys sharing 2 small offices!  It will be weird to have an office of my own again.  I had my own cube at my last job, and it was one thing I missed.  My new cube will be 2 feet shorter, but it is a windows seat.  Never had a window seat before.  I’ll take photos after I move to show everyone what my job looks like.

Glenn is really learning how to crawl now.  Unfortunately, he has been waking up every night as well.  He does not like to eat much before going to bed, so he ends up hungry between 3 and 4 A.M. 
But, it is cool to watch him figure out how to get from point A to point B without mommy or daddy.
We took a long video last night of him in the early stages of crawling.  I am sure by the time I get home today, he will be even better at it.

Adobe finally released Flash Player 9 for Linux.

Flash Player 9 For Linux Released | Linuxlookup

Now I am completely free of any Windows software.  The only software I was using was Flash 9 for Windows using Crossover/Wine.  It worked OK, but the performance was only all right, and integration was not perfect.  The performance is much better with the native player and everything works perfectly.

Glad the week is over.  Today we had to move a bunch of HEAVY panels at work.  They are putting in a new clean room, so the old ‘temporary’ clean room had to go.  The ‘temporary’ clean room was made from welded steel.  Each panel was about 6 or 7 feet by 15 feet!  It took about 8 to 12 guys to lift a panel.  One was so large, we had to cut it in half, or it would of not fit through the doors.  In case you were wondering, it came in through some windows using a crane originally.   Then I also had to figure out why my testers were not testing a new part correctly for customers visiting from Sweden.  Figured it out eventually, it was a head scratcher until I saw the schematics for the part, and it made sense though.  I have to say one thing about my degree, I do ocassionally use what I learn in college in the real world.  In this case it was a resistor network that was being formed.

If you into listening to streaming radio over the internet, check out this site:
Dandelion Radio – Home Page
It is a very nice, eclectic mix.  Only 20 listeners max to the MP3 stream, but is it streaming at 128kbps and sounds better than most.

Glenn is doing well, had his 6 month checkup.  Have to go back next week to get some shots.  Never heard of a hospital running out of vaccine before, but I guess it can happen.  I know some of them require chicken eggs to be made, so supply is limited.

Tiffany is doing well, all things considered.  She keeps the cleanest house I have seen with a child.  Most houses I have seen with kids are filthy messes.  I get to help over the weekend, poopies, yeah!

Photos for:
Week 24
Week 25
Week 26
Are all up now.

Been getting a lot of use out of photography and Linux book. I never really knew much about the technicalities of photography, it is good to get a theoretical basis of how it works.

The 50 degree January weather lets me get in some walks at lunch. I snapped this interesting photo yesterday: