November 2007


So, I haven’t posted on my blog in a while.  Well, there is a good reason for that.   After battling with a computer virus for two weeks on my computer, I decided to look elsewhere for my operating system.  While I seemed to be slowly losing my geekiness, I decided to go back to my roots.  I spent much time learning and using Linux in the early days of Linux.  I used to run Slackware on my machine, and compile everything.  As time went on, Linux became better, but I also required the use of Windows-based programming and never really utilized Linux on my PC (except my TV has a MythTV box connected).

It was now time to try again.  I heard my favorite distribution Debian (I still have a spot in my heart for Slackware though) was made even easier in a distribution called Ubuntu.  Well, on my first run through of installation Ubuntu detected more hardware in my PC than Windows XP did.  I have only had one major trial – converting my Outlook email into Thunderbird.  I was able to do so by converting my PST into Outlook Express, and converting that after a Windows based install of Thunderbird, and simply copying over the folders to my Linux box.

This is my first blog post from my Ubuntu machine, and I am very satisfied with the OS.  I am running gnome, and was able to install some Windows based programs under Wine, and am using a nifty OSX-like dock called Avant Window Navigator (AWN).  Plus, Ubuntu has the high-graphics interface included by default now so I get a sweet looking desktop environment.

Anyways, the big news that I am writing about… Jen and I are having a baby!  We saw our child’s heartbeat in the first ultrasound last week, and the baby even jumped.  I am really excited, and am praying for good health throughout the pregnancy for mom and baby.

I already have a “F is for Fishing” outfit picked out.  Also, I found a Jeep Baby Carrier (papoose) that gets good reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Jeep-2-1-Baby-Carrier/dp/B000B74DZ0

Interesting article in the Detroit News today about three pigs that were released on an island up in northern Michigan.  Why release pigs?  Well, the current theory is that a fisherman did it to kill off cormorant birds – a type of bird notorious for eating fish.

Here’s a link:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/METRO/711150375/1409/METRO

After talking with some of my co-workers, I was introduced to Huckabee.  I didn’t agree with Huckabee’s statements at one of the the debates where he directly attacked Paul and said we needed to remain in Iraq for our honor, but I do agree with his stance on many different issues.  There are some issues I could not tell if Paul was either for or against because he uses a “Let the state decide” comment very often.

So, I started looking for some good comparisons of the candidates and found the link below.  If you are looking for some more candidate information, check out this site:

http://www.selectsmart.com/president/2008/comparethem.html

It seems to be a neutral site that offers a side-by-side comparison for any of the candidates.