I’ve had the bug of late to write something. I’m not sure what I really want to say, I just know I want to see a screen filled with my own words and thoughts. That sounds a little egotistical but I consider writing to be a mental exercise – sometimes it just feels good to flex that muscle out. Like any activity, the more often you perform it, the better you’re likely to get. Every journey starts with one step, so I guess I’ll just start writing.
I’ve done a few somewhat lengthy posts on message boards lately but in doing so, you learn to focus on staying on topic. Twitter forces you to be brief and typically makes you structure your language in a way no other human would. Facebook already has enough money and doesn’t need the value of my own personal content added to it’s pages and bank accounts. Pinterest just…hold on, I have to go make cookies while working out followed by painting an accent wall while wearing heels.
Right now there’s so much info and shouting going on over the Republican primaries that anything I had to say would be lost amongst partisan politics and pre-existing opinions. As the year progresses, I’m sure I’ll get more vociferous about the presidential elections. I’ve followed Ron Paul closely since his first entrance into candidacy during the 2008 elections. If political viewpoints are ever put in personal context, almost everyone is a Libertarian. There are people who can really open others’ minds to that but I’m not the person to do it. There are only two types of people in my political world: either you believe in limited government and personal responsibility or you’re part of the destructive half of the population who has no business voting what to do with my money. That is addressed to both sides of the spectrum; from the welfare generations and anti-gun crowd on the left to the war mongers and religious zealots on the right.
I’m well aware that the audience for my tips and opinions on Linux is incredibly limited, but I want to share anyway. I’ve learned a ton since November when Windows went belly up with a virus I couldn’t get rid of, coinciding with a hard drive beginning to die. Switching to Linux gave my aging and damaged system the stability to keep limping along. Shannon dislikes it solely because she thinks she doesn’t know how to use it but since I have Linux setup identically to our Windows configuration, all that really means is that the icons are different. I’ll build us a Hackintosh after the wedding. Then we can run any OS we choose. Gotta love compromise.
I gave up on FM radio nearly a decade ago. I haven’t had satellite radio since 2008 or so, so I’ve been very slow at finding new music. I came across a beta for the Spotify client for Linux and began playing with it. Spotify is something I’ve heard a lot of buzz about but never really explored as I assumed it was yet another online music store. Turns out it’s like Pandora but with the option to actually download the music in your playlists when you have a premium account. $10 a month is more than I want to spend for it but I think it’s well worth it. I have a great setup for listening in my Jeep but I need to find a way to get my music going in my work van. Back before the Sirius/XM merger, the FCC cracked down on the strength of the FM modulators built into the satellite radios and aftermarket accessories. Talking to some of the smart guys over at Glocktalk.com, someone suggested hitting one of the iterations of eBay serving another country and buying an FM modulator from there that isn’t subjected to the onerous specifications of our federal government. Sounds like a plan!
On second thought, there’s much irony to be found in the fact that I as an American might order something from eBay.uk to escape the reach of an oppressive government.
Ah, whatever. I’m done. Find me an editor. I’m going to find a beer.
Two days ago, our voices were heard and the US House of Representatives dismissed SOPA for this session. PIPA is still being pushed. These bills allow big business to use the force of government to limit free speech on the internet. These bills would give the government power to filter search results and shut down some of your favorite sites. Fight back! Get involved and make the government work for you. Click 
Google is so in love with it’s new Plus social network that it wants to remind us to use it through the not-so-subtle way of making Google Mail look just like it. For people like me that struggle with UI changes like this, it’s making the simple task of checking e-mail a chore.
Transmission is a free, open-source bit torrent peer-to-peer (P2P) client for Mac and Linux. It’s not as full-featured as some other apps, but it’s lightweight to install, simple to use and really all you need.
