Ubuntu Blues, and a New Digital Love
Well, I feel dumb.
I guess I'll still have an excuse to learn Photoshop this summer.
While a good two-thirds of our class skipped school today, I decided to go in (I needed to fill out some insurance forms for a dentist anyway. Riveting stuff, I know). In a way, it was a waste of time - I had hoped to finish my Linux assignment, which is to install a Ubuntu server OS onto a virtual machine. I was able to finish the first part of the installation, but I couldn't connect to the internet and download any of the required packages. Very frustrating. Darla and John, two classmates of mine and future Programming colleagues, decided to come back to my place and work on a Programming assignment. We actually got a good bit done, so thanks guys! I can now say I got something done today. :)
So I'm a little late to the blogging party today, unfortunately. I felt rather annoyed about the whole Ubuntu fiasco. Long story, but suffice to say, there's a few things about our Linux class that can be frustrating. I enjoy Ubuntu, don't get me wrong - I think the philosophy behind Linux, in all its various forms, is wonderful and all. I love open source; I am a big proponent of OpenOffice, and I think down the road I'll want to work on an open source project of some kind.
I think it's amazing that something like Ubuntu is available for free. It's a first-class OS, and I love that the user needs to use his/her password to make any kind of change with applications or settings. You really feel in control of your computer. I like the concept of packages and I think it's astounding that you can just open up the Terminal, type in "sudo apt-get install foo" and - POOF - you get a cool program that can play DVDs, or a firewall, or a crappy first-person shooter running off of the Quake II engine. And at the heart of it all lies a wonderful idea - that no one should have to pay money to use the hardware they purchase. You can go out, buy the parts, build exactly the computer you want, and then get this OS that does everything you need (well, except for serious gaming, but I hear Wine is really good) for free. I've become interested in buying and running a small server in the house for next year, and I'll definitely be running a LAMP stack.
But despite all the love I have for Ubuntu, it definitely seems like I spent half my time just fiddling with network connections, trying to connect to the network so I can download some packages.I don't blame Ubuntu, really - I think it has more to do with my lack of Linux and VMWare experience. I had a lot less problems with Linux when I was running a dual boot on my home PC.I never had a single networking problem. Maye I just need to get to know networking a little better - and our school network, in particular.
You should see our classmate Randy's laptop - he took Windows off of it (he said his laptop used to overheat and shutdown all the time when Windows was installed) and put together a supremely pimp Ubuntu install. It's hot. I'll have to get a few screen shots.
The Zen of Dishwashing
I washed a pile of dishes last night. Normally, I actually quite enjoy washing dishes, esecially if the sink is in front of a window. You get to just zone out, put some music on, and let your mind wander. But we have the world's worst sink. It's on a weird angle - you have to wash them with your body twisted, and the counter space is so limited you have to twist around at the waist to face the sink, causing all sorts of backache for a fella as old as me.
Here's a crappy picture of our crappy kitchen sink. As you can see, it didn't take long for a ton of dishes to accumulate again.
I Heart My DS: A Love Story
I'm pretty lucky, because my friend Aaron sold me his black DS Lite for $60 - AND it came with Resident Evil DS! It's a remake of the classic Playstation game that launched not only a series but a whole genre. I was really getting into it again, but having already finished it afew times, I was looking for something new that was also a uniquely DS experience.
My first purchase was a charming puzzle/adventure game called Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which pits our dapper, mystery-solving and puzzle-loving Professor, and his kinda saucy apprentice Luke, against the strange villagers of St. Mystere. These people are obsessed with puzzles - like, you cannot talk to anybody without them being all, "Oh hey, I have a puzzle I want you solve." I swear to God, there's a part where this lady is crying, because her friend is murdered or something, and she says, "Oh, but before you go and find out who did it I have this coin puzzle I just can't solve. Could you help me with it?" Right, sure, I'll solve your coin puzzle before I go and do that solving-the-murder thing you hired me to do. Penny Arcade had a great comic on this game. I must say I have a fondness for these kinds of puzzles, so I am a big Professor Layton fan. The French-sounding music, although somewhat sparse, sets the right mood. The graphics are excellent - the art style is a mix of Japanese anime like Mayao Hiyazaki and Herge's classic comic Tintin. It's kind of a silly story, but the art direction and addictive puzzles keep me coming back. Quality game.
But the one game ruling my DS these days is New Super Mario Brothers. It's an awesome, old-school Mario platformer, but with fantastic graphics and music, great level design with plenty of secrets. I love the new Shell Mario suit - it allows Mario to tuck into his blue shell and spin along the ground, taking out anything in his path. One little complaint though - NEEDS MORE FLYING POWERUPS. I mean, no cape, no raccoon? What's up with that?
By the way, I'd like to say here that Raccoon Mario is superior to Cape Mario. here's my posted tribute to the greatest power-up of all time.
And as a final post just before midnight, the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Thanks, Scott for sending it to me!
See you tomorrow!
Comments