This may not seem like such a big deal to anyone else out there… but it is a huge deal to me. This post is being made from a Mozilla browser under the 9th version of the redhat distribution of linux. Not only that, but it is on a computer that I built out of old pieces I found in my dad’s basement. yee haw… read on to hear of my adventures with linux….

Now you are all probably thinking… gee, what’s the big deal with that, but let me tell you I am very happy right now. The parts that I used for this computer were just pieces that I had purchased in the past, or my dad had used before. Nothing too fancy: PII-266 256Mb Ram 8Gb hard drive On-board video/sound/etc… old asus cd-rom, no floppy (as the power supply only has one connector for a floppy drive, and it appears to be dead).

When first put the thing together (on wednesday i believe) and booted up, I was getting all sorts of screwy problems. Things that really scared me (cuz i had no idea how to fix them)… ie what the crap is a Kernel Panic: aiee???? Anyway, what I discovered (with a little help from Mike, even though he probably didn’t realize it) was with my Ram. I guess you are not supposed to be able to use different sizes of ram chips or sticks… (no mixing 256 sticks with 64 sticks). I guess windows is built to handle the different types, but linux isn’t… at all. So once i pulled out the mismatched ram, thinks fired right up…. well sorta.

next problem, video. The monitor that i was using was a stinkin old compaq. It didn’t really want to work in the resolution that linux wanted to use… so I stole one of my dad’s monitors and just need to find either a replacement for him, or a new one (or kvm switch) for me.

Next issue… networking. This is probably the part that scared me the most. Any of you that have done any networking with windows (other then xp i suppose) know that trying to get computers to recognize each other can be slightly less then enjoyable. Needless to say, I was a little nervous about trying to get the internet on this computer. But i plugged in my network card (praying that it would already have drivers for it… remember i have no floppy), and sure nuf it picked it up. I didn’t even have to configure the darn thing, it took care of it all by itself. I was nearly in tears of joy.

Anyway… I am soo stinkin happy right now. My next goal is to figure out web-serving. This was the whole reason for setting up the linux computer. I am sick of paying godaddy 10 bucks a month for something that I barely use anymore. But with web serving I also need to figure out ftp and mail servers…. SO I have my work cut out for me. If any of you know anything about apache … 😊

I suppose that is enough drivel to drive even the most durable of you up a wall… 😊 woo woo

I would really like to know why some prisoners get better benefits than those on the outside. Why are some prisoners allowed to get GED’s or watch television for endless hours? Why are some of them treated better than people that are homeless???

Please tell me why this women is allowed to receive email?!?! I remember when she killed her kids. People like her should be thrown into a dark, dank cell and left to rot.

Sorry… I’ll come down off my soapbox now.

Janene and I saw a great band last night. They are a contemporary Christian rock band from North Carolina (now based in Tennessee) called The Swift. Their style is sortof a cross between Billy Joel and Ben Folds—but with a definite Christian twist. They came out to our church to lead a worship service.

What sets them apart from other bands is that they don’t focus on guitars and drums, but rather on the piano. Their style is definately rock, but the piano sets a fun jazz/ragtime tone to their music. What really impressed me is that they didn’t come just to perform. They got everyone involved, told stories, shared scriptures, and really challenged everyone to re-evaluate their relationship with God. If you are interested in hearing a fresh sound from some guys who know where their priorities should be, check out The Swift. 

[They don’t have any music clips on their website. The only place where I did find some samples was on ChristianBook.com.]

Happy 4th of July! I just want to say that I’m extremely grateful for this country and the freedoms we have. I also want to say thank you to the men and women serving in our country’s military programs throughout the world, and recognize the many soldiers who have laid down their life in defense of this nation.

For the rest of the month of July, I’d like to concentrate on patriotism. I’m going to be posting the Constitution and the Declaration of Independance (and possibly other major U.S. documents of interest) in the Articles section, and I’ve already added a new emoticon to the site. 🇺🇸 Be sure to check back soon to see what I add next…

What do you think of the new emoticon? 

The UPC is manning a booth at freshman orientations throughout the month. We are trying to collect names and email addresses for people who are interested in joining our committees. We’re also starting a mailing list for event announcements. We have a display that we set up with pictures of the events and information about the Union and the UPC, and we’ve been handing out CDs, candy, and UPC pens.

Since it was so windy today, I spent half the time holding our display so it wouldn’t fly away. I also got a free lunch out of the deal, and it tasted alright considering the sandwich was stale. I half expected the freshmen to be more annoying than they were, but they actually seemed like an alright bunch. I couldn’t help but think back to my freshmen orientation and remember how lost I was. Every one of them looked quite overwhelmed with new information.

I’m going to be doing these orientation meetings every Tuesday and Thursday for the next month, so it should be interesting.