Lack of Energy

Recently, I’ve had a drop in my energy level. Maybe it’s because I quit coffee a couple weeks ago? At any rate, I haven’t run in a couple weeks! But today I feel pretty good, but although I woke up at 5am (normal run time), I just lay in bed, since it was sooo comfortable. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow. :0

Ubuntu on My Laptop

My Dell laptop is now happily cruising along with a new, fresh install of Ubuntu 7.04. It’s so much better than XP on that machine. Why did I switch to that OS? Read on, if you dare.

The story begins with my ailing Dell 5100. The laptop has had some issues with its RAM for the past couple months. There is 512MB of it in there, which was adequate for that machine (Pentium 4), but for some reason, it had been flaking out and only seeing 256MB. I used to be able to shut it down, swap memory sticks, and then the bios would see 512 again, but that workaround stopped working after a while. I ran memory tests on each chip, and they both checked out fine. BIOS is current and I’m still not sure what the problem is. But the bottom line was that 256MB of RAM was just not enough to run XP Pro. It would take about 15 minutes for the machine to fully boot up, which was just too long. And once I was “in”, each program I launched would just make the HDD churn like crazy. The 5100 is the machine I use to watch Japanese dorama on in the bedroom, but because of the lack of memory, it was just too much of a hassle to start up and use.

What about the iBook? Well, the Mac is great for web browsing and email/IM, but that machine is not powerful enough to play the dorama I watch, which is usually encoded using Divx or Xvid in a resultion of at least 704×396. In fact, most Flash video like the vids on YouTube are too choppy to view. It’s a nice little laptop, but it’s old, old I tell you! (Mariko, I want a new Macbook!)

The solution to my problem (no, not a new Macbook) was to install Ubuntu on the machine. Ubuntu is a completely free flavor of Linux, and has a nice GUI and tons of apps. Just looking on their webpage made it look like the perfect solution. Plus, I had just read an excellent article by Ashton Mills about using Ubuntu instead of Windows for normal tasks. It pretty much convinced me to take the plunge. (continue reading by clicking the “read more” link below)

Wrong Motorcycle Gear

On my morning commute, I sometimes see a dude on a Harley riding to work. His attire; old-school leather slippers (the kind Mike Brady wore with his pajamas and robe), shorts, t-shirt, “can” headphones with a basketball sweatband to keep them on his head. Those headphones plus the fact that he is bald makes him look like Lando’s second-in-command from SW:ESB. Except on a Harley. Wearing den clothes.

Out With the Old, In With My New Laptop Bag

My trusty Combi Urban-Sling Diaper Laptop bag has been developing a tear at the top and is starting to look a little ratty. That and the demise of my Olympus XA, which I attribute to rough handling in the non-padded outer pocket of the Combi, has forced me to buy a new bag.

I decided on the CaseLogic LNM15F Sport Messenger Bag, which has a nice padded section for laptop, and ample space in the main pocket for a good-sized camera and extra lenses. It’s also got a nice soft pocket that my fifth-gen iPod fits in perfectly. Plus it’s got a 10-year warranty (do people ever use these?), so if a strap breaks, I can get a new bag. I’ll leave the tags on it a few days to make sure it is the one I want, but I am pretty sure it’s a keeper. I might put a little extra padding on the bottom for camera gear, and maybe some padded separators between individual items (camera body, extra lens, etc.) but for the most part, it’s good.

Emptying out the old bag was interesting. I found several things that I had forgotten about. Some stuff was stuff I need and will keep: camera flash manual, lens blower brush, plastic bags, gauze bandage, pack of tissues that they always hand out in Japan. But some stuff I just tossed: old eye drops, Claritin from 2002, random tissues, old receipts, and miscellaneous papers. But my main stuff that fits nicely in the new bag: iBook, folders with papers, iPod, Flashdrive, Bluetooth adapter, MooCards, moleskine, and a pen.

Getting rid of the old Combi bag will be sad. That thing has gone through a lot! Plus the layout is great. It’s got an insulated pocket for keeping a can of beer bottle of milk cold, is a nice size for a laptop, and the shoulder strap was contoured and fit pefectly. It just needed a little more size for a camera, and some extra padding. Hate to throw it away, but I gotta clear the clutter!

Solar Energy

“The U.S. can be permanently energy independent and eliminate half its greenhouse emissions using a land area smaller than 92×92 miles, without increased electric power prices.”- Ausra

This is pretty amazing stuff. I wonder if it is truly feasable? What is really exciting is that the effort is already underway to build a 175 megawatt plant in a 1-square-mile solar park. It is scheduled to start operating in three years.

Story at Crave.

Beating the Rain

I woke up at 4:50am this morning and went running at a little after 5am. I did my usual 3.7 mile easy run, and saw a few runners out and about. I listened to a couple episodes of the Daily Giz Wiz, which is always good. It kept me running at a little bit faster pace (although still pokey) and I finished my run at 39:14.

It was strange, but when I was getting close to the end, I saw about four other runners/walkers. I am not sure why there were so many today. Also, the sky was cloudy and I saw a few flashes of lightning in the distance. When I was relaxing back at home, the clouds opened up and the downpour began. I can’t help but wonder if all those people out for their morning exercise got soaked or made it back before the showers got them.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer

Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?

Poor

Soup

What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?

Being able to go outside without melting from the heat. That and Thanksgiving is approaching.

Salad

Have you ever had any bad experiences online?

Nothing serious. Just bad gaming nights! (which aren’t really bad)

Main Course

Name three things that make you happy daily.

Kids saying funny things, morning coffee, a nice meal for dinner.

Dessert

What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?

Spotbot Carpet Cleaner