Just taking this out for a test run. I’ve loaded OpenSuSE 10.2 on a laptop. I’m actually using it right now to create this entry. This is an older laptop; a Pentium M with 512 Mb (I think) and a 40 Gb hard drive. Actually, the screen is quite clear and easy to read. I also pulled in a photo (of KC and I tailgating with friends at a Milwaukee Brewers game last summer) from a USB flash drive for my wallpaper. It looks great. I’ve set the windows to be slightly transparent and I can make out the wallpaper through the windows on the screen. Very cool.

I’ve hooked it in to my server and am playing MP3 music on it. It’s also printed a document on my HP LaserJet printer that is shared off of my Windows XP computer. It was all pretty easy to set up; it took just under an hour to set it all up this way. Now I’m going out to the repository and finding some games to play on it. No, not action games like Chromium B.S.D., or Super Bubble; I want a few solitaire card games and Mah Jongg. Who knows… if I like this laptop, I may switch completely to OpenSuSE. It’s definitely as easy or easier to use than Windows.

I really can’t stay away from my website for too long. Not because I’m addicted or anything. The problem is that I get caught under a mountain of spam. Consider that right now I have 12,819 spams blocked by Akismet. That’s all well and good, because Akismet is an excellent spam blocker. The real issue here is that I’ve been HIT by 12,819 spams since I began using Akismet… and that’s not even been a year yet. I installed and configured the Akismet plugin for WordPress on September 6, 2006. So in 356 days, that means I’ve averaged 36 spams per day. And that’s not a real average. It’s been picking up momentum. It’s been growing linearly. I hadn’t checked since the last time I typed an entry and Akismet had blocked 311 spams since then… in four days… that makes about 78 spams per day blocked. Since when did I get so popular with the spambots?

Last night we had 70 mph winds, sheets of rain, hail and LOTS of it. The neighbor’s birch tree, which is about twenty feet tall, was bent over so the top branches were touching the ground. And yet…. the blankety-blank willow is still standing!

Happy Birthday, AJ!

– 8:00pm — I stand corrected. He’s not a North Dakota Fighting Sioux, he’s an Indiana State Sycamore!

Happy Birthday, Michael!

Happy Anniversary, Bill and KC. Wait a minute!! That’s ME! Yes, it is OUR anniversary today — #29 to be precise. Thank you KC for putting up with me. I love you.

Happy birthday to ME,
Happy birthday to ME,
Happy birthday, happy birthday,
Happy brithday to ME (and many more!)

That’s right. I just don’t get it. You can add this to the list of things that I don’t get.

At work, we used to have paper towel dispensers in the men’s restroom; remember that our men’s restroom is shared with the plant. Now these were cheap, harsh paper towels (would you expect anything else in a public restroom?) that were downright irritating. The other thing that was even more irritating than the rough towels was the dispensers. It seemed that they couldn’t work for more than about a week at a time. It seemed that someone took delight in breaking them, jamming them and in general just making them not work. (Probably the same guys who seem to enjoy spreading their boogies on the backs of the stall doors.)

The company, in response to the paper towel dispensers not working more than they were working removed the paper towel dispensers. No, we weren’t left with nothing but our pants and shirts to dry our hands on… the company installed the hot air blower hand dryers. These dryers are much more powerful than any I’ve seen. It actually takes less time to dry your hands with these hot air dryers than with paper towels. Cool! So now I can wash and dry my hands after I handle my business even faster than before. You gotta like the progress. Also, now there’s no paper wadded and tossed on the floor, most likely from guys not being able to drop their used paper towels in to the waste can (no they’re not full).

What pisses me off is that some dumbass continues to bring the paper towel rolls into the bathroom to use to wipe his hands off. This is incredibly stupid as there are no dispensers in the men’s bathroom so the towel roll sits on the counter near the sinks and soaks up any spilled water. This means that when you use a paper towel you will be grabbing it with your wet hands and the towel will already be wet from the water on the counter. STUPID! Why not just use the hot air hand dryer? DUH!!!

Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.

Happy birthday, Eric!