Tuesday, November 06, 2007

The Time I've Wasted On Progress...

...could never be measured in coffee spoons -- a sturdy aluminum snow-scoop, maybe, but not coffee spoons. At least, certainly not if this cheeky comparison holds any truth. All the DOS command lines I've typed since 1983, all the code brackets I inserted into my early WordStar documents, all the hair-pulling anguish over proper Mac OS extensions .... When I think that my forefathers cleared brush and tilled the soil to ensure a better future for the forthcoming generation, my puzzling over what makes the 1s and 0s dance to my tune seems shamefully trivial.

Oh well -- so it is, and so it remains. At this late juncture I heartily endorse Ubuntu as the gentlest Linux Operating System. It does what you need it to, unless you're an online gamer or addicted to that (ab)user-friendly commercial purveyor of music files and television episodes. HOWEVER, like any other Linux OS, Ubuntu does require some willingness from its users to engage in a little code-work and personal fine tuning.

All this to say, I spent a good portion of the day upgrading to Gutsy Gibbon. And still there's work to be done before it feels like a room I can call my own. Throw in a headful of cold germs, and my brain is not fit for prose composition. I know it's NaBloPoMo, but I'm sorry: the dog ate my homework.

3 comments:

paul bowman said...

This is getting to be fun!

DarkoV said...

Re. coffee spoons, my favorite line from Prufrock is "Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.
", which then dovetails to Eat a Peach, which, of course, brings up one of the sweetest R&R songs ever (despite the overplay), Little Martha, which makes this day more than just o.k.

Thanks WP for the ramble. I think I'll have to pet that dog.

Yahmdallah said...

Yeah, I'm currently trying to get the screen resolution beyond 640x480. I've got the drivers, but I haven't found the hidden control panel that I've read of.

I did finally get a firewall up and going, though.