fire!

the fires in california are all very horrible and i pity the people who have lost their homes and loved ones; but it has made me think one thing...... it doesn't matter how many bombs you have and how rich you are, mother nature will always be bigger, stronger and badder than you

*sigh* linux

every now and then i get all romantic about computing and decide to give this linux thing another go. with the release of ubuntu "gutsy gibbon"; supposedly the friendliest easiest version of linux i decided the time had come again.

downloaded the iso, burned the iso, dug out a decent spec laptop to try it on. booted ok, then the problems started.

the first go it crapped out trying to set the time. gave some error then promptly hung with a blank screen. good stuff, way to go hippies. booted back to windows and set the time with no problem and tried again.

second go installed ok; except it was using a generic video driver, meaning none of the eye candy was there. the card is an ATI mobility x1600 - fairly standard fare. ATI have some linux driver for it which doesn't seem to install under ubuntu.. not that there is any standard way to install anything with any flavour of linux, so i resorted to some linux forums.

seems there is a built in driver that should work. i eventually found where the options were, changed it, logged off as prompted and now i have a loveley laptop with no display at all. i can boot to a command line but that's as much use as a chocolate fireguard to me. did a bit of googling and discovered the linux community is still a realm where if you don't know everything already you're not welcome.

what a waste of a morning. i'm just glad it was on work time.

i'm now installing vista for a laugh.

i'll try again in another year.

switzerland

while working in basel for a week i was lucky enough to get some free time to see the sights of the old town and even squeezed in a trip to the zoo.
nice place, lots of fountains and no cookoo clocks; but i had forgotten how much zoos depressed me. i understand the conservation and educational effects of them and i'm sure the animals are all well looked after and "happy" but i just couldn't help feeling sorry for some of them.

i was also annoyed that my camera battery died before i got to the lions and monkeys.

anyway. in the style of tony hart. lets take a look in the gallery

awww, diddums

so, pumpkins are going to be green this year due to a bad harvest. this means that all the little kiddies halloween parties will be ruined. curse this damned weather that we have not done anything at all to bring upon ourselves.

something seems to have been forgotten through the years though. PUMPKINS ARE FOOD!!!! they're not a fucking decoration!!! what are you doing wasting millions of them every year anyway? step back and take a look at the bigger picture please. i'm convinced a lot of people have never even considered eating pumpkin; and think they are only good for pretendign we're american and adopting another one of their useless wasteful non-celebrations (yes, i know halloween wasn't always american, but like so many things; it might as well be).