My rants and raves

Global Warming

2010-02-11T17:53:00.003-06:00

My son made an interesting comment to me today, "I don't believe humans cause global warming". My response was, "I don't believe we do either, I believe we exacerbate global warming". Two things lead me to this conclusion. The first is, it's impossible to deny the polar caps are melting at an unprecedented rate or that glaciers are disappearing at an alarming rate. The other is, you can't deny these warming and cooling spells are documented through the history of the earth, think ice ages.

However these cycles have never been recorded when there were as many humans on our planet as there are today. There were no automobiles or factories spewing carbon dioxide into the air. There were no humans cutting down forests to make more room for more humans or areas to grow more food to feed more humans. How much more heat is generated by having 6 billion people on Earth and 2 billion people on earth.

Estimated Population in Millions
Region 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 1999 2008 2050 2100 2150
World 791 978 1,262 1,650 2,521 5,978 6,707 8,909 9,460 9,746

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

Estimated world population at various dates (in millions)[citation needed] There are various notes about where these figures come from on wikipedia and you'll notice is says citation needed.

Year World
70,000 BC < 1
10,000 BC 1
9000 BC 3
8000 BC 5
7000 BC 7
6000 BC 10
5000 BC 15
4000 BC 20
3000 BC 25
2000 BC 35
1000 BC 50
500 BC 100
1 200
1000 310
1750 791
1800 978
1850 1,262
1900 1,650
1950 2,519
1955 2,756
1960 2,982
1965 3,335
1970 3,692
1975 4,068
1980 4,435
1985 4,831
1990 5,263
1995 5,674
2000 6,070
2005 6,454
2008 6,707 Jul. 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

Even with the caveats, it can't be hard to imagine the effect humans are having on global warming. I believe semantics and dogmatic beliefs play a critical role in the differences that exist between both sides. Even scientists, especially academic scientists, will have to admit they don't speak a language the common person can understand. Even a person educated in a different field will have to sift and sort through what's being said. The conclusion that's been drawn by the advocates of global warming is not wrong, they just can't put it into words the rest of the world can understand. Their dictum that "Humans cause global warming" extracts a dogmatic answer of no we don't and we'll use every avenue possible to prove you wrong. The response is we're right and we know it because we're scientists with data. This becomes an ever intensifying battle and a vicious circle where no one wins. As far as our planet is concerned the battle may have already been lost. Global warming scientists and advocates need to recognize the need to change semantics and show the worlds population how we exacerbate global warming and the anti global warming advocates need to quit looking for how the scientists are wrong and work at figuring out how we abate our influence on global warming.

Somebody finally has the guts to call out the Moral Majority for what it really is!

2010-02-04T12:22:00.003-06:00

If more people would come to recognize this attitude in many of the organizations they support, maybe we could have a "kinder gentler nation". Just click here to see what I mean.

2009-12-02T17:33:00.005-06:00

Ramblings on "The Coming Crash" -- my version 2

I get angered (ired pissed off irritated etc) with the state of the US. The slights to the general populace haven't changed in 223+ years. Those in control passed out small concessions along the way (voting rights(?), fake civil rights, fake equal rights, etc) but made sure they still had control. They also passed laws to further inhibit any liberties we thought we had. To go along with that the populace is taxed into submission so those in power can keep doing the same things to us. We have been given the illusion of being free to keep us mollified and controlable.

When that doesn't work, were told our way of life is being threatened by someone (politcal party, country, idealouge, terrorist, etc) so we will allow those in power to do what they like. If we believe everyone who is out to get us really will were in deep shit. The religious conservatives belive anyone who doesn't eat, sleep, and drink the bible is evil incarnate. The fiscal conservatives have given in to the religious conservatives and preach the same thing, and they preach that anyone who wants to help the part of the populace that can't help themselves is evil. I realize the welfare system was put in place by a Democrat, but the Republicans oversaw the system from the Regan administration to the Clinton administration. In that time they certainly didn't do much to fix it, even when they had a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Of course they didn't. It keeps a segment of the populace under control and at the whim of the rich landed overlords. Just like the old days in Britain. We don't have Earls, Barons, Kings, Queens, Dukes, etc but we have those who in private believe they are. Those who intend to control the populace and keep them subservient.

Another control on the populace is the very real possiblity of incarceration. Which country in the free world has the greatest prison population, the US. Why, because everythings illegal and if it isn't give a lawyer a little time and it will be. That's more of the east coast philosophy of the government doing everything forthe populace. I've seen news broadcasts from the east coast where someone was whining about the city, county, or state should have taken care of this years ago. I can't think of particular examples right now, but many of the situations should have been handled by the populace themselves. Oops that's illegal though.

Those in power rave about the lack of education in the US, but secretly they love it. When the populace can't think for themselves they are easy to control. They have people believing the government should do everything for them. We are the caretakers. We know what's best for you. This is what teaching social studies is about in school, what head start is being used for, to socialize the populace. To make the populace pliable and subservient not educate them about the rest of the world. As I alluded to above, they use FUD for control. Religious conservatives tell everyone gays and lesbians are evil. Gun control advocates tell everyone that no one should have guns then the crime rate would drop. The far left tells everyone we shouldn't stand up for ourselves. Those against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan tell everyone we're ruining ourselves fighting the wars. The other side claims that any one who wants to get out of both countries is dishonoring the troops who have fought and died and those who are still fighting. Both major political parties and any offshoots from them use the same tactics. Divide the populace to get what you want.

The problem with dividing the populace is you destroy yourself from within. When no one is willing to give and inch to anyone else the destruction caused by the desention will bring down the US. Not until everyone in the US discovers we have to coalace as a country and do what's best for our country. Not what's best for New York ,for California ,for Texas, for Christians, for Catholics, for Baptist, for conservatives, for liberals, for whites, for blacks, for latinos, for the rich, for the poor, but for everyone, will we be a truly strong nation. Something that will never happen until the populace is educated to think for themselves, not be sheep.

To go with all that, we sell our country to anyone with money. If you move to China, Egypt, Saudia Arabia, even Mexico just try to buy land or a business. WRONG! Only native born citizens are permitted to do that. Yet will sell our businesses, land, banks, etc to anyone with money. They don't even have to be citizens of the US. Hell the rest of the world won't have to win a war, they only have to sit around and wait till we sell everything to them or borrow enough money from them to take over. And the general populace goes along with it. I heard a song by Woody Guthrie not long ago titled "I Ain't Got No Home " written about those in the mass migrations west and their living conditions when they got to California. Many of the lines about their lives ring true in todays world.

I AIN'T GOT NO HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE

(Woody Guthrie)

"I ain't got no home, I'm just a-ramblin' round
I'm just a wandrin' worker, I roam from town to town.
The police make it hard wherever I may go
And I ain't got no home in this world anymore.

My brothers and my sisters are stranded on this road
A hot and dusty road that a million feet done trod.
Rich man took my home and drove me from my door
And I ain't got no home in this world anymore.

Was a-farmin' on the share, and always I was poor
My crops I laid into the banker's store;
My wife took down and died upon the cabin floor
And I ain't got no home in this world anymore.

Now as I look round, it's mighty plain to see
The world is such a great and a funny place to be;
The gamblin' man is rich and the workin' man is poor
And I ain't got no home in this world anymore."

Copyright 1961 (renewed) and 1963 (renewed) by TRO Ludlow Music
Note: words by Guthrie; tune from Carter Family "Can't Feel at
Home In this World Anymore" See also CANTHOME

Woody Gutherie also wrote This Land is Your Land.
Something we all need to remember.

This Land is Your Land

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

A March 1944 recording in the possession of the Smithsonian, the earliest known recording of the song, has the "private property" verse included. This version was recorded the same day as 75 other songs. This was confirmed by several archivists for Smithsonian interviewed as part of the History program Save Our History - Save our Sounds. The 1944 recording with this fourth verse can be found on Woody Guthrie: This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Volume 1, where it is track 14.

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
This land was made for you and me.

Woody Guthrie has a variant:

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

It also has a verse:

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

(A 1945 pamphlet which omitted the last two verses has caused some question as to whether the original song did in fact contain the full text. The original manuscript confirms both of these verses. Like a great many folk songs, the lyrics were sung with different words at various times although the motives for this particular change of lyrics may involve the possible political interpretations of the verses. Recordings of Guthrie have him singing the verses with different words. According to City Of Sound Website, Woody Guthrie has posted this Copyright Notice for the song: "This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do.")

Is this land really made for you and me? If only more people would realize those lines mean this land is for all of us who live here, not just special interest groups. If only more people would realize we need to do what's best for everyone in the US, not the conservatives, or the liberals, or the whites, or the blacks, or the christians, or the catholics, or the baptists, or any group you can name. Canned heat put out a song in the sixties, Let's Work Together.

Together we'll stand Divided we'll fall
Come on now people Let's get on the ball
And work together Come on, come on Let's
work together

(Now now people)
Because together we will stand Every boy, every girl and man

People, when things go wrong As they sometimes will And the road you travel
It stays all uphill Let's work together Come on, come on Let's work together
You know together we will stand Every boy, girl, woman and man

Oh well now, two or three minutes Two or three hours
What does it matter now In this life of ours Let's work together
Come on, come on Let's work together

(Now now people)
Because together we will stand Every boy, every woman and man

Ahhh, come on now... Ahhh, come on, let's work together...
Well now, make someone happy Make someone smile
Let's all work together And make life worthwhile
Let's work together Come on, come on Let's work together

Now now people)
Because together we will stand Every boy, girl, woman and man

Oh well now, come on you people Walk hand in hand Let's make this world of ours
A good place to stand And work together Come on, come on Let's work together

(Now now people)
Because together we will stand Every boy, girl, woman and man
Well now together we will stand Every boy, girl, woman and man

Wouldn't it be grand if we could all get that one right.

All that irks me to no end and yet. What irks me more is I won't stand up and try to make a difference because I don't want to draw the wrong type of attention to myself. Attention that would harm those close to me. I sold out years ago to support my family when I should have stood up and fought for what I believed in back them, now I can't. On top of that I'm not sure there are enough intelligent people out there who would understand what I'm talking about. Now thats' stress for ya.

We need to learn to work together and realize this land was made for all of us not just a few.
More disorganized ramblings.

2009-12-02T17:26:00.001-06:00

Ramblings on "The Coming Crash" -- my version 1

We have lost our way. We continue to believe the only way to protect our country is to conquer the rest of the world and impose our way of life and mores upon them. What happened to the golden rule? What happened to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? Should we not seek to lead by example rather than by forcing our views on the world? An example that does not include the golden rule of the day "them that has the gold makes the rules".

In this respect evolution has failed becuase we in the US have failed to evolve as has the rest of the world. I ran across a blog on the Gates of Vienna "The Coming Crash" by Fjordsman about why western civilization is about to fail. That post and the accompanying comments were abhorent to me (including the one about the rest of the world being jealous of the Europeans because they are supreior), just as I am sure my views would be abhorent to them. However I fail to see how feminism and equal rights for all contribute to the downfall of western society. The arguement is also made that allowing too much immigration has also contributed to the downfall of western society. I will agree with the idea that the battle between Islam (as seen by the dogmatic Muslims who consider anyone belonging to any faith but theirs as infidels), Christianity (by the dogmatic Christians who believe theirs is the only religion, yet have no problem with Judism), and Judaism (by the dogamtic Jews who truly believe they are superior to gentiles) has gone on since time immemorial and is unlikely to stop any time soon. I do not believe that allowing the muslims to immigrate is the problem. The problem is the lack of understanding between the religions and the lack of willingness of the other religions to attempt to understand and coexist with the other religions. The problem with the Western World is the lack of coherence in any nation. To touch on the edge or racism while not intending to, take a look at black and hispanic communities. Most blacks, regardless of religious affiliation etc, are quick to take up the gauntlet when one of their own has been harmed or stand up for one of their own in a fight. The hispanic communities do the same. The only place the white community takes up the gaunlet is against another race. Within the white community the battle lines are drawn on conservative, religious, liberal, regional, or ethnic heritage lines. To gain any support within the white community one group has to mollify another group. This translates to a lack of cohesion within the US itself. Everybody is at odds with someone else and nothing gets done. There is no concept of the unilateral good for all US citizens.

No one religion, region, race, or ethnicity is to blame for the current state of affairs, they all are. Islam was spread by force throughout Northern Africa and the Persian empire attempted to spread it even farther by the same methods, conquest and force. The Christians attempted the same thing during the Crusades. Both attempts eventually failed yet both religions continue in their attempts to do the same thing in the modern age. The Crusades never ended, they just take on a new cloak in the modern world. It's done in the name of spreading democracy. For the muslims it's now become terrorism. Judaism sits back and lets the Christians do their work.

It goes even further than what I've previously set forth. Within each religion their are sects who believe they are right and the others within their religion are wrong. The divides within the Christian are too numerous to layout, but each sect has slightly different views and is certain they are the correct views and everyone else is wrong. The divides within Islam are in the forefront in the news daily. The Sunnis and the Shites have done battle for centuries and continue to do so today. Judaism is split between many sects but seem to keep their battles private. It seems as though the are waiting for the rest of us to destroy ourselves, then they win by default.

I believe in God, but believe all gods are but one god. We all worship the same supreme being just in different ways. The Christian; Catholic; and Jewish God, Allah, the Great White Spirit of the American Indians, Buddah, the various Gods of the Pagans (many of which were turned into Saints by the Catholic church to entice people to the Catholic religion), and a slew of others are all the same supreme being. However the interpretion of the supreme beings message has been done my many people who could be said to be slightly less than mentally stable. For the Christians two examples are Luther and John the Baptist, I'm not a bible scholar or I could probably find more. I won't claim those currently doing the interpretations for the Catholics are unstable, but in previous centuries who knows. For the Muslims, Mohammed is the only example I'm aware of. The interpretations fit what the individual doing the interpretation felt was right. The interpretations were also done in the context of the interpreters time. Yet all the religions seem to believe we should live the same way socities did in milleniums past. Another interesting point is the interpreation of the bible. As best as I can tell, this is only supposed to be done in seminaries by "learned theologians" who then teach those who be preaching in churchs to the masses what the meaning of the bible is so they can pass it on without any thought. The populace is also supposed to accept these ideas without any thought as to whether they are right or whether they make any sense. The other two religions I've mentioned have the same practices. It's called a leap of faith. Forgive my for not taking a leap of faith that has caused more wars and deaths than many other causes, and still continue to do so. As I said I believe in God or a supreme being whatever one chooses to call such an entity, but organized religion as it is practiced disgusts me.

Education of the populace suffers because of the dogmas. It's the only way the religions can maintain each's superiority. If the populace is taught to think, it might be able to deduce that the other guys really aren't that bad. A lack of education also keeps the populace under the control of the religious leaders. The simplest example is the Amish in the US. They stop their childrens education at the eighth grade. This keeps them ignorant of the ways of the world and keeps them preferring the simple life. Education in the US also suffers from the desire of religion to teach only what's in the bible. Religion doesn't want people to be able to think for themselves, they want people who will dogmatically follow what the church preaches. The Muslims don't want their women to have an education. This keeps thems barefoot, pregnant, with no concept of their own worth, and under the thumb of the male population. Something I belive Christian males would prefer but have let slip. Hence the battle over abortion rights. All of the religions I've mentioned are patriarchal in their thoughts hence the bent on keeping women subservient to the male population.

The only education any of the religions are interested in the brainwashing of the populace so they can control them. Some of them even have their own form of brainwashing, catechism. This way children are indoctrinated to the proprer ways before the secular schools get hold of them and corrupt their minds. Now these same religions seek to dismantle the teaching of science in the public schools by forcing scientific theories to be replaced by their own version of the creation of man that nobody was even around for anyway. One that's based on the writings of people who were retelling stories that had been handed down for who knows how long before they were written down. The one thing they miss is maybe, just maybe, the one gene that separates us from chimpanzes is due to divine intervention by a supreme being. The supreme being created man in his image, if that entity was male, by causing a change in the genetic structure of an existing creature.

These are ramblings that spill forth from my head and tend to be disorganized but you get the gist.

My Next post will focus on more problems in the US, many or which could be applied to other countries in the world.

The IRS, debtors prisons in the USA, and the great tax relief hoax.

2009-10-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

Even though we are not supposed to have debtors prisons in the USA, I think I've discovered that we really do (at least for those of us who can't bend to the IRS's whims). I've recently been declared disabled by the Social Security Administration and my income was significantly lowered, not to mention that I received no income for 5 months while waiting on the approval. I did receive approximately $2500 to cover those 5 months once I was approved. I won't divulge my monthly check, but it's much less than the lump sum I received.

Due to continuing health reasons, I've been unable to pay my income taxes on time and have been making monthly payments. Naturally I was unable to make my payments during the time period I was waiting on the approval for my disability so my payment agreement was nullified.

I sent the IRS and Offer In Compromise. I guess my problem was, I was totally honest. My current circumstances leave me with $42 per month left over, I own a 1994 Chevy pickup, and a computer. That and my clothes. I all the graciousness of the IRS, they will accept my OIC if I am able to pay them $12,500 in the next 5 months. If I hadn't seen the ads for J.K. Harris and similar companies on TV, I might think the offer was great even if I couldn't pay it. Where do they expect me to come up with that kind of cash? I have zero assests, well not quite zero it calculates to $2500.

Their calculations are based on what you have left over monthly monthly mulitplied by 119 months. The 119 months equals one month less than the 10 year collection period for one's income taxes. At least that was what the first worksheet they sent back to me indicated. It appears I was wrong. It now appears their calculations are arbitrary and based on getting you to agree to make payments for the rest of your life. I've been told by the Treasury Department that my SSD check can be levied to cover my taxes and that they can take as much as they want to cover my back taxes with no limits imposed. Sounds like a prison to me. Where would someone live if they have no income. How would they eat if they have no income. Currently the only assistance I receive is SSD. I don't get any food stamps or any other assistance except for patient assistance programs for my recurring prescriptions.

Even though I've been declared disabled, I don't receive Medicare for another 2 years. I haven't had insurance for 20 years and have paid all my own medical bills and am still doing so. When your income is under $1600 per month and you've reduced your monthly living expenses as far as possible without moving out on to the street and becoming homeless, an extra $120 prescription is a tough pill to swallow. Especially when it's one you have no choice about getting.

I've recently seen it bandied about in the health care debate that the GOP would just as soon you died quickly if you were old or ill especially if you are receiving any type of government assistance. I can defintely believe that statement. Of course then they wouldn't be able to collect any of their precious taxes and make one's life miserable, would they? I've also come to believe the ads on TV for tax relief lawyers are another scam by lawyers to get your money. I filled all the paper work out properly and honestly and the IRS still wants one third of what I owe. Either the ads on tv are some kind of scam or they work the system somehow to make your assests look smaller and your monthly expenses look larger with no guaranty you will have success getting a reasonable settlement while the lawyers take your money.

I was researching filing bankruptcy to expunge my back taxes which proved to be a dead end. The tax debts have to be over 3 years old so I'm out of luck there, but I discovered another interesting twist to the tax laws and the legal system. You can have your back taxes expunged by bankruptcy but if the IRS has already filed a lein against any of your assests (home, land, etc) the lien doesn't go away. If you want the lein removed you have to pay the taxes anyway.

Lest anyone think well there's another slacker trying to scam the system, let me give you some background. I've worked in the service sector of the oil and natural gas exploration industry for 30 years. One of the sectors that has the lowest pay and is the first to cut wages and lay people off. I worked 24 hour call for the first 10 years, then 12 to 18 hour shifts for the rest of it. Except for the last 3 years, I made a maximum day rate of $150 per day and you don't get paid when you don't work.

We may not have true debtor's prisions in the USA, but the above system is rigged to make it no better than being in prison if you fall on hard time. Sounds like debtors prison to me. How about you?

Global warming, man, and religion.

2009-09-15T11:40:00.001-05:00

How is it we don't comprehend many or our problems are because we continue to over populate our planet. We see the results of this daily. We can't feed everyone in the world, we can't clothe everyone in the world, we can't provide health care for everyone in the world, etc etc etc, yet the religions of the world continue to rail against the use of birth control in any form (except abstinence).

When does logic start to play a part in our thinking. Critics of the idea 'man is causing global warming' point out the fact these cycles happen normally in nature and there is no evidence man is causing global warming. I won't begin to claim they are totally wrong. These are natural cycles, but none of the previous cycles have occurred when the population of the earth is the magnitude it is today. Man may not be causing global warming per se, but we are definitely exacerbating the problem.

How can anyone not see the increased population magnifies the normal cycles. Look at the number of rain forests being cut down each year to provide lumber for building houses and making space for man to live where nature once was. This means fewer plants to recycle carbon dioxide, one of the major components driving global warming and it's a component of acid rain. Look at the amount of trash we generate. This pollutes the streams, lakes, and oceans killing off microscopic life that helps in recycling carbon dioxide and other waste products.

I believe the green movement has taken the wrong tack in fighting global warming. Instead of 'Man Is Causing Global Warming' their mantra should be 'Man Is Exacerbating Global Warming'. This would be much easier to sell. I believe religions need to make room for birth control besides abstinence. We all know how that idea has worked. NOT!!! Religion must become more pragmatic and less dogmatic or we will destroy ourselves. We as a global society must become more pragmatic or we will destroy ourselves.

If we are such caring sentient beings, how is it we push more misery on the world then wonder why 'God allows this to happen?'.

PS. If anyone from the Grammar Corps reads this and objects to my use of single quotation marks for emphasis, get over it. I don't care. I realize this is not the proper usage, but I did it anyway.

Microsoft Ads

2009-09-10T15:23:00.005-05:00

I'm going to join the fray on the new Microsoft ads. What they say about Windows 7 is mostly true. However having been an MS user for 15 years, they drug me kicking and screaming off my DOS boxes, I have to add "Windows doesn't always set up as easy as they say. 95% of the time with a good Linux distro everything works out of the box anymore. I especially take umbrage with the contention there is no coverage for the major instant messaging platforms. There are even applications in Linux to use MSN messenger. Here is a list of the IM platforms supported by Pidgin:

AIM Bonjour; Gadu-Gadu; Google Talk; Groupwise; ICQ; IRC; MSN; MySpaceIM; QQ; SILC; Simple; Sametime; XMPP; Yahoo; Zephyr.

When it comes to Windows Live, who cares. Since Windows costs as much as it does why not use Wine, easily installed through your built in package manager, to set up your Windows apps you can't live without. If that doesn't work there are a couple of alternatives. One is Crossover Office. Base on Wine but improved just to run MSOffice. I don't know how much the newer versions of Windows will cost, but the pro version of Crossover Office is only $69.95 while the standard version is only $39.95 with support included. They even have a product called Crossover Games now to allow you to play many Windows games on Linux or a Mac. Other help with Wine can be found by googling winetricks or software from the Bordeaux Group.This software costs $20.00 and advertises the following:

"The Bordeaux Technology Group is a software services and development company specializing in Windows compatibility software. Users of Linux systems from time to time find themselves in the need to run specialized Windows software. The Bordeaux suite enables access to these programs and data in a seamless and low cost manner without requiring licensing of Microsoft Technology. The Bordeaux Group also provides migration services and support for alternative operating systems specializing in Windows compatibility". With all these you can even run Internet Explorer.

I view the MS ads as more FUD, fear uncertainty and doubt. The ads are business as usual for MS, but they are more extreme this time. They seem to be becoming more afraid of Linux all the time. With revenues down one can see why. Educate yourself, don't just accept what you are told at face value. Explore the opportunities not to be locked in to Microsoft. JUST SAY NO!

My #! Crunchbang Linux experience.

2009-09-10T15:15:00.002-05:00

I played around with various Linux distributions for several years before finally making the switch. After deciding to make the switch, I tried Mandriva (2007 Powerpack for amd64) first. I found Mandriva to be a fairly good distro, but had some problems with crashes and some configuration. I was not happy with the configuration panel or the network setup. Next came PClos which, at the time, was Mandriva based. Again, fairly useful, but just not what I was looking for. Along the way I tried PC-BSD and FreeBSD also. I liked FreeBSD but there were mouse configuration problems and Gnome just wouldn't set up correctly.

I finally tried the new rage, Ubuntu 7.04. I liked what I found, but as time went on I became less satisfied. As they managed to fix some of the warts they also made things harder to configure without taking extreme care not to mess the system up. In this process I upgraded from 7.04 to 7.10 then to 8.04. I skipped 8.10. In the end I wound up running 9.04 and was fairly happy, but eschewed the move toward the corporate identity type OS. I understand the need for that thinking if Linux wants to be accepted into the corporate world, but one of the reasons I switched to Linux was to have the ability to configure my computer the way I wanted it not the way the vendor of the OS wanted it to look. It also became bulkier and took up more resources as the distro grew.

Enter #! Crunchbang, and unofficial Ubuntu based distro. Crunchbang uses Openbox for a window manager with no default desktop environment. This reduces the dependencies on Gnome and KDE to a minimum. I realize you can do a minimum Ubuntu install then build what you want from there, but at some point the average person will still wind up getting some dependencies they don't want. I also disliked the required install of Open Office. I laud the efforts of OpenOffice.org. However, the base was originally conceived by Sun. This results in to many Java dependencies and the programming interface, especially for the spreadsheet, are ludicrous. The language called OOBasic is anything but basic. All the programs are bulky and slow to load even if one uses the fast start options.

Now back to #! Crunchbang. The default installation includes Gnumeric for a spreadsheet, Abiword for word processing, Rhythmbox and moc (a terminal based music player) for a music player, the Agave pallet designer, pcmanfm for a file manager, conky for system monitoring, the cheese webcam software, vlc media player, tint2 for a task bar and system tray, Firefox, and a host of other useful applications. Also included are a host of cli based programs for those with lower end systems. Openbox is easily configured via OBmenu and OBconf. These are both gui based applications thus allowing those who are gui oriented to configure their look and feel the way they want it. There are a host of installed themes and with little effort one can design their own theme if so desired.

All the Ubuntu respositories are available for installation through the synaptic package manager so there is no lack of available software, including nVidia and ATI graphics drivers. Network manager is used for internet connections which, as far as I've seen, work out of the box. Although one might have to do a little bit of configuration or install some drivers for a wireless internet connection.

For those individuals who are used to gui based applications the Openbox window manager my seem odd at first glance. The main thing to remember is to right click on the desktop to pull up the menu. Once you get past that you have it made. There are also several addons written by the #! Crunchbang community. One of the application is adeskbar, an application similar to the MacOS bar, the awnbar, and wbar. One can set the bar up with quick launch icons to launch your programs without using the menu. Adeskbar is very configurable and easy to use

I've been very pleased with #! Crunchbang Linux and would highly recommend it to anyone wishing to try Linux. The community is very helpful and if answers to your questions can't be found by searching the forums or the wiki, ask a question in the appropriate venue in the forums and somebody will try to help you. One thing I would suggest before posting in the forums is read the "before posting" thread, then be sure to provide as much information as possible about your problem. If asking about graphics driver problems, include the make and model of your graphics card and the installed drivers. These can both be found easily by opening a terminal and typing lspci -vnnn then write down the response. If you have installed nVidia or ATI drivers, open synaptic and find the name of the driver you installed, the at the command prompt in the terminal type "apt-cache" plus a space, then the name of the installed driver. Write that down and be sure to include it with your question. Any other hardware or software related problems should include either the make and model of your hardware or the version of the software you're having trouble with. Rather than saying "my computer crashes using so and so" or Abiword crashes, include what you were doing when the crash happened. Such as, I was opening Abiword 2.6.x and just after it opened it closed again. There are many sources of information available to find the information you need to report problems, too many to mention here.

I view switching to Linux, or a BSD variant, just like the 1984 Mac ad. Break the mold of the corporate environment. Don't march to the same drummer every one else does.

Will we never escape from the past?

2009-09-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

I just read a blog that makes me question whether those of us in the US will ever escape our past. It illustrates just how far some people will go to maintain the status quo and if you believe one of the participants "Only God can change the Earth's temperature, not Al Gore". As for escaping our past, this smacks of the plantation owner or member of the landed gentry telling their slaves or workers, 'We know what's best for you. You don't need to think, just listen to us.

Now I was always taught 'God help's those who help themselves'. Seems to me we need to do all we can to help make the change.