When "ordinary" turns into stress !

Well, what was a relatively normal, ordinary, nay boring day, has become one of stress, stress, stress.

It just happens, that I've been a linux user for what ? nearly 10 years or so, possibly longer. It appeals to me as it does give a lot of freedoms that you just don't get with windows or Mac etc, yet so far, it's not been so much of a problem.

Now over the past couple of years, there've been a few changes. Not big changes, but enough to make a few things a bit of a challenge.

Oh and I should point out, that I'm not technically proficient with Linux, but I've learned enough to get by, without too many issues, until, seemingly, today.

All I did the other day, was to update the system, which on the face of things, went fine...... but obviously not.

The issue was to do with how the system was rendering fonts on screen. The update couldn't seem to manage how I normally arrange things i.e. install/update/whatever, then pick the apps/progs/facilities I want to use and off I go. I also usually manage to copy the windows fonts (yes I do have a license....), as I prefer the look and "readability" of them. Yet this time, something that seems to be font related confused the fuck out of the system. It left me with a desktop screen that had little boxes where the text should be, as if I'd chosen a font that wasn't installed or something like that. I did ask at the local LUG mailing list and tried the suggestions, without any luck.

So I just said bollocks to it, and downloaded a different distro that I tried and had previously worked OK. That installed, set up, etc etc it was fine.

I did my usual sunday messenger voice clip session with a friend in the US, who only has a windows based PDA/phone device (which is why I have to keep a windows install, as I haven't managed to work out how to use any of the IM clients/Messenger clones from the Linux world to chat with him using voice clips), which all went fine.

When I rebooted the system back into the Linux install (Mint 11), I ended up back at square one with the damn font rendering up shit street.

With no other avenue available to me (only because I don't know enough of how to solve such problems), I downloaded Mandriva (2011), a distro (earlier versions) that I'd used successfully before, in the vain hope that it will work again.

Wrong! I installed it and when I try to log in, I just get a different warning message about a missing config file of some sort.

You can read any amount of articles about whether Linux is ready for the mainstream or not, but stuff like this is just a classic example as to why, whether some of the Linux Guru's would disagree with, that it's not ready and never will be. All the time the average "user" of a pc or other computer type system, encounters problems like this.

It matters not, what they think or say (I have no criticism of their abilities - some of the stuff they, the developers, have produced, is really remarkable, given the tiny amount of money that's involved compared to the big boys of MS and Mac), that until the average user can install it without a plethora of technical questions and use it without something small causing a seemingly big problem, then it's pretty much restricted to the technically proficient "geek" types. I don't mean that in a disrespectful, rude manner, but I have a brother who falls into that category i.e. with his IT degree and damn near 20 years experience in the IT world, he's next to fucking useless. Ask him anything vaguely technical and in less that a sentence he will have reverted to type and start gabbling on in techno-speak that's way over the head of mere mortals. Yes, sit him in front of a computer that's got problems of some sort and he can figure it out and cure any issues (as far as I'm concerned anyway - I'm sure there's a shitload of stuff he doesn't know). What he can't do, is explain, in plain, ordinary english, what it is that he's just done or is currently doing.

The whole of the linux world seems to be like this. There seem to be no clear and concise text books, irresptective of which distro they might be trying to explain, that are accessible or useable by the "man in the street". They just blather on in technoblurb, expecting a huge amount of additional knowledge that the mere mortal doesn't have - and invariably can't find. It doesn't matter how much info fucking google might be able to find, they just don't seem to be able to talk and explain stuff in "plain english"!

That's why linux won't ever be ready for the main stream. Because they just don't have anyone who knows it to an indepth technical level, yet can explain it to a "normal" person. Hell, it seems that even the great and good of the linux world have yet to grasp this. Hence it will continue to be, that Linux get pissed all over by the likes of MS and Mac (even Mac, who use a slightly different version of a "unix like" OS, have tied it down to make it easy for the ordinary user to fuck up).

Right, end of rant (for the moment). I'm gonna have another go at installing it too see if I can get it right.......

Another ordinary week ?

Well, another ordinary week, switching between bulk sand/gravel loads and network pallet deliveries. So nothing interesting really.

My only bugbear has been that because I tend to leave the vehicle radio on radio 2, I notice that a couple of presenters are off for the half term.

Now it seems that when Ken Bruce is off, they often sub with Zoe Ball, who at least, is entertaining, but when Jeremy Vine is off, the last couple of times they've rubbed with Vanessa Feltz.

Now I'm sure she's a nice person, but needs badly to listen to her tapes or whatever, and try and understand how bloody annoying her presenting style is. Talking over guests or listeners who ring in to make a point on a story is not only disrespectful, but also comes across as impatient, abrupt and bordering on the "down right rude".

So come on Radio 2, surely you can come up with someone better......

Perhaps I'm weird ?

Yesterday, the MOL (mother-out-law)brought round a pack of doughnuts. She's good like that, she'll bring us both a few cakes on thursday as that's when she and the F-O-L do their weekly food shop. Then on Saturday morning, they pop round after they've got their morning paper and any other bits they need, plus the ubiquitous cake delivery.

Try as I might, I can't get used to "American style" doughnuts. You know the ones, they've been decorated on one side with whatever i.e icing, "sprinkles" of some sort, etc etc, whereas I like the ones that may or may not have been filled with jam, maybe sweet apple sauce, etc etc and then been dropped in caster sugar and rolled round to cover the cake on all sides. I don't mind if they're ring doughnuts that have just been sugared all over etc, I just can't abide the ones that have been decorated on the one side like a cup cake. The bottom (undecorated) part is bland, greasy, just not very nice. So if "she" brings them, then I just don't bother to eat them......

Dunno if that makes me strange or not!

Apart from that, it was just an ordinary day, a few household jobs completed and veg in front of the tv!

2 ordinary days.....

The last 2 days have both been ordinary i.e. same shit different day, except yesterday was slightly memorable for 2 reasons A) I had to drive "the pride of the fleet" - a 7 year old truck with about 900,000 "kliks" on the clock, no third gear (synchro buggered on that side of the box - it crunches like hell when trying to select 4th/8th as well as not being able to use 3rd/7th), a manic water leak (putting a gallon of water in the rad' every 100 kliks) and an air leak on the drivers seat which made it like trying to drive while sitting in a bucket and B) it was the 15th anniversary of me leaving the Royal Navy.

Strange how a shitty day coincides with the anniversary. It's happened like that before, and I'm sure will happen again.

I just can't see where all the time has gone, it just feels like a couple of years ago since I hung up my uniform for good.......

p.s. Oh and the 21st of October is also "Trafalgar Day" i.e. the anniversary for both the success of the Battle of Trafalgar, and the death of Admiral, Lord Horatio Nelson.

The illegal pikey site in Essex ?

So the police etc have moved onto the illegal travellers site at Dale Farm, which is near/in Basildon, in Essex.

Big fucking deal! They were made aware of the illegality of their act (the pikeys that is). The local council have done the eviction procedures by the book (apparently). The case has been in front of some of the highest courts in the country. Hell, the courts have even allowed a few last minute applications, just to see that "fair play" is seen to be done.....

The pikeys just won't admit that they've lost the legal battle and its time to move on.

In truth, I guess that they just don't like the idea that they've lost and that the rule of law must be respected. I suppose that the police are just doing their job, whether the pikeys like it or not, they can't or haven't found a loophole in the law.

Plus what seems to make it more annoying, is that the pikeys are trying to portray themselves as some sort of oppressed minority group, which as blatantly a load of bollocks. All of the pikey types I've ever encountered have been "travellers" through choice and are just a bunch of drossy scumbags made up of people from various groups.

Plus now there's a load of shit stirrers and so called progressive types. In other words, "do gooders" who seem to carry on looking for causes too support.

Well, as I understand that the eviction is being done entirely legally, then fuck 'em. Evicted the pikeys and bust the do gooders for obstruction of justice.

Irrespective of that lot, its a difference of opinion between do-gooders and nimbies. If local authorities have to provide somewhere for travellers/pikeys/whatever, to go then do so, but then the nimbies get their say and as it tends to be nimbies who own the land, then the law will usually fall on their side.....

It must be my fault.......

So there I am, waiting in the queue to load (I drive a truck), there's 5 wagons in front of me, so as it takes about 20 or so minutes to load each one, then its at least an hour and forty minutes.

The person who "routes" the loads can see the yard and queue of wagons from her desk, yet its my fault that it took nearly 2 hours to get my load.

What a crock of shit !

So Far.......

An ordinary day..... sitting in a fucking queue waiting to load...

More shite!

If Douglas Adams was still alive, if he saw something like this, he'd probably write a book about the kind of fuckwits who post that kind of shite around the net!

It wouldn't be so bad if it was just a single, slightly mad website, but it's not. There's reams and reams of the crap out there.

Two things come to mind..... What's the point of it and why don't the people who run the site get a fucking life!