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GRAFFITI -- July 17, 2006 thru July 23, 2006 >> Link to the Current Week << Last Week << Mon   Tues   Wed   Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun >> Next Week Search this site : Welcome to Orb Graffiti, a place for me to write daily about life and computers. Contrary to popular belief, the two are not interchangeable.     About eMail - I publish email sometimes. If you send me an email and you want privacy or anonymity, please say so clearly at the beginning of your message.

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July 17, 2006

0817 - Good morning. We're under heat advisory today, joining much of the rest of the country in discomfort. Straight temps expected to hit 100, heat index (factoring in humidity) capping 105. Yay! Yesterday was pretty hot, too. But still, we managed to make it over to Linda Rose's yesterday and surprise her with the cutting table that I built on Saturday. Surprise, at least, in the sense of "Here it is!", as she knew I was going to build it for her one day, none of us knew when, though.

Today, Knoppix takes over as my workstation distribution, displacing Xandros 3.mumble. While I have a license for Xandros 4 that includes a commercial install, it is personal, not NFR's. And honestly, I don't need Star Office or Crossover Office here - Open Office is more than good enough for my purposes. And with Knoppix I don't have to worry about whether or not a specific application interferes with the Xandros revenue stream (witness K3B). I'm not sure where I'll put Xandros into play on the home front, yet. Perhaps on the laptop...

So, on with the day. Happy Monday. Oh, and there's a new week's column and more mail up at Jerry's new site, Chaos Manor Reviews. Check it out!

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July 18, 2006

0920 - Good morning. For thems as were wondering how much I mean when I say I harvested a couple of handfuls of tomatoes yesterday evening, well, there you go. The coffee pot is in the shot to give you a sense of scale. And there's already more cucumbers ready to come out, but I'll let that ride until tonight or tomorrow. In addition, I've lost most of the upper bed of squash. Can't tell why, either. As I take them out I'll look for insects or vine grubs.

Yesterday's transition to Kubuntu didn't happen. That task was preempted. Anyway, I'll take another cut today. Have a good 'un.

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July 19, 2006

0847 - Good morning. No, still no Kubuntu on my workstation here at the office. But I finished reimaging an IBM Lenovo T42p laptop for one of our salesguys. And I solved a problem with a recent (perhaps 1 year old) desktop machine that was running slower than molassas: The D915GAV motherboard had a BIOS update available, and that fixed the problems I was having running Linux on it. A similar system that's got Windows loaded on it is also suffering from a case of the slows, so I'll try updating the BIOS on that one of these days.

<shudder> What Jeff Killed is the name of a blog. But only follow that link if you have a sturdy stomach and don't want to see your breakfast again. Jeff is a cat. Jeff prefers free-range meals. He leaves behind that which he does not eat as homage to his people. Jeff will probably put you off the idea of cats as pets. </shudder>

Last night we had a quick bout of weather with thunder, lightning, and a trembling Molly, who like such things not at all. In two or three days, we're likely to see the dregs of tropical storm Beryl. Well, at least the rain temporarily cooled things down. And today the regional heat index should stay under 100, so that's a good thing.

Okay. Now to execute the return ($nose, $grindstone); function. Have a great day.

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July 20, 2006

0839 - Good morning. Progress is, in one sense or another. I've got some reading to do, to get up to speed on a couple of our products. That plus the rest of the usual is going to leave me short of time as usual. Side note, though: Kubuntu/Ubuntu continues to rock. Look up knetworkmanager, and be happy that with some chipsets, you can now have easy, easy wireless configuration including full WPA setup. No, it's not default, you'll have to install it. But I was impressed ... once I found that. Have a great day!

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Mon    Tues    Wed    Thu    FRIDAY    Sat    Sun   
July 21, 2006

0804 - Aaargh! Well, at least it's Friday. So far, no day's plan has survived the encounter with reality, so I don't see a point in having a plan for today. I'll work, I'll be productive and busy. That much is always true, like saying, "There'll be some weather today."

So production in the garden continues apace, and the Tiger lilies are now in bloom. Yay. They sure are pretty!

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July 22, 2006

0637 - Good morning. Yep, it's pretty early for us, for a Saturday morning. We're off to New York, to see Spamalot on Broadway. It's gonna be a blast! The doggies look worried about our imminent departure, though. Ah, well. Auntie Linda Rose is coming over in a while to spend the day with them.

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July 23, 2006

2144 - Errr, good evening. I'm sitting here surfing around and waiting for the Final shoe to drop on this upcoming week's column from Jerry. All of a sudden I realized that I may have neglected to post today, as yet. So here I am.

Spamalot was a hoot! We had a good time, a good meal, and met some nice people, too. We got in a little after 2300 yesterday evening and were abed by midnight. I was up at 0630, though. I went through the email, parsed BETA versions of Chaos Manor mail and column, and started a Tech Review pass on one of Bob's latest chapters. Even though I had coffee and breakfast, I was whacked. So a few minutes before 10 this morning, I went back to bed and slept for another couple of hours. By the time we finished the shopping, it was time to harvest in the garden, make a batch of fresh salsa, and start the red sauce for tonight's dinner.

It's all a bit trivial, really, by comparison with the sacrifices our troops in the field are making on our behalf.

• Sgt. Thomas B. Turner Jr., 31, of Cottonwood, Calif., died on July 14 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained on July 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Al Muqdadiyah, Iraq.
• Sgt. Andres J. Contreras, 23, of Huntington Park, Calif., died on July 15 of injuries sustained when his HMMWV encountered an improvised explosive device in Baghdad, Iraq during combat operations.
• Sgt. Robert P. Kassin, 29, of Las Vegas, Nev., died on July 16 at Larzab Base, Afghanistan, when his platoon encountered enemy forces small arms fire during combat operations.
• Staff Sgt. Jason M. Evey, 29, of Stockton, Calif., died on July 16 of injuries sustained when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq.
• Sgt. Alkaila T. Floyd, 23, of Grand Rapids, Mich., died on July 13 in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained on July 8 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Mine Protected Vehicle in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
• Cpl. Nathaniel S. Baughman, 23, of Monticello, Ind., died of injuries on July 17 in Bayji, Iraq, when his HMMWV encountered enemy forces rocket-propelled grenades during patrol operations.
• Staff Sgt. Michael A. Dickinson II, 26, of Battle Creek, Mich., died on July 17 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, when his dismounted patrol encountered enemy forces small arms fire.
• Staff Sgt. Kenneth I. Pugh, 39, of Houston Texas, died on July 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his M1A2 Abrams tank encountered enemy forces small arms fire.
• Sgt. 1st Class Scott R. Smith, 34, of Punxsutawney, Pa., died on July 17 in Al Iskandariyah, Iraq, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated during a controlled ordnance clearing mission.
• Spc. Manuel J. Holguin, 21, of Woodlake, Calif., died on July 15 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his dismounted patrol encountered enemy small arms fire and an improvised explosive device.
• Lance Cpl. Geofrey R. Cayer, 20, of Fitchburg, Mass., died July 18 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Sgt. Mark R. Vecchione, 25, of Tucson Ariz, died on July 18 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank.
• Staff Sgt. Robert J. Chiomento, 34, of Fort Dix, N.J., died on July 17 in Khwaya Ahmad, Afghanistan, when his patrol encountered enemy forces using rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
• Staff Sgt Eric Caban, 28, of Fort Worth, Texas, died on July 19 in southern Afghanistan of injuries sustained when his combat reconnaissance patrol came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations on July 18.
• Pfc. Derek J. Plowman, 20, of Everton, Ark., died on July 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, from a gun shot wound.
• Cpl. Julian A. Ramon, 22, of Flushing, N.Y., died July 20 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
• Cpl. Matthew P. Wallace, 22, of Lexington Park, Md., died on July 21, in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 16.

My condolences to the families and units of the fallen.

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Visit the rest of the DAYNOTES GANG, a collection of bright minds and sharp wits. Really, I don't know why they tolerate me <grin>. My personal inspiration for these pages is Dr. Jerry Pournelle. I am also indebted to Bob Thompson and Tom Syroid for their patience, guidance and feedback. Of course, I am sustained by and beholden to my lovely wife, Marcia. You can find her online too, at http://www.dutchgirl.net/. Thanks for dropping by.

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