trying out digg reader

i signed up for the digg reader, another replacement to google reader. first impression: i like it.





the preset feeds per category are a little limited, but then again it is customizable. i need to find my backed up google reader links to import. there is an option for that when you first sign on, but my archive file wasn’t readily available. oh, and i am using my google account to connect. convenient.

right now, it’s a bit basic with only two modes of viewing. the look and feel reminds me of google reader. i think it’s in the early of stages of what it will eventually become. as long as they don’t start charging a fee for a pro version or interspersing ads, i’ll be good with it. i still have desire to write my own to avoid the trappings of bigger companies looking for revenue generating tactics.

i never thought i’d come back to digg. now i can sport those digg/diggnation t-shirts again with relevance rather than nostalgia.

wow. just wow.

i needed to automate some process on a windows server today for work. it’s been a long time since i’ve done any real work in a microsoft environment. i have been working with linux on both desktop and server platforms. my endeavor was labor intensive for what would have been super simple on a linux server.

my task: unzip a file into a specified directory automatically. that is, i needed to script it. since this is so unbelievably simple in linux, i had hoped it would be just a matter of finding the right executable in windows and making the command line calls. i was wrong.

native tools for unzipping on a windows server seem to exist within the window manager executables. these are not even callable based on a quick search around the internet. most solutions involved installing third party tools just to unzip files, and not all of these could be used from a command line. in fact, i was appalled to find this comment in this thread:

“…the normal way…”?! really?

i don’t know how people live in a click and drool world and not feel their geek being stripped away from them. nothing feels better than having so many options at my disposal. and if one doesn’t exist, i could simply write it using the plethora of tools existing on the majority of linux systems. perhaps i’m just too spoiled living in a world were i can script up so much using so many different and simple tools. and for that, i am very thankful because i could be working in a world where today’s sort of situation was my everyday job.

minor repair

i had been suffering with pain in my right knee for some time. i chalked it up to minor sports injuries that heal themselves after some rest. this one turned out to be different.

after a couple of people in one week mentioned that i should have it looked at, i scheduled a doctor visit. x-rays not giving a clear enough picture, the nurse referred me to an orthopedist. more x-rays and hands ob led to an mri which led to an arthroscopic procedure to repair torn meniscus.



i asked for local anesthesia rather than general so i could watch the show on the monitor. my doc gave me a play-by-play as he ran the scope in my knee and shaved down the damaged tissue. (that was way cool!)



i spent a couple of days doing little walking and almost two weeks on pain meds. oh, and some physical therapy.



i was glad to have the bandage off. just three entry points. i had hoped to be lightly jogging by now, but i am still healing. pain is not really the problem; it’s more of letting the insides herald properly ofwhich i am in total favor.

it is closer to normal life again. i really want to play basketball again. the knee is becoming stronger.

soon.

gnome terminal, 3.6 style

included in the newest gnome is their terminal which has the transparency removed because…well, no one really knows. and the packager was a jerk about it. so, i’ve pulled the gnome-terminal-3.6.1-1.fc18.x86_64.rpm from koji and used the force to install it.

# rpm -ivh --force gnome-terminal-3.6.1-1.fc18.x86_64.rpm

nice to have functionality back. what up, gnome?

now, you need to protect it from updates. first, install the yum-versionlock plugin:

# yum install yum-versionlock

next, lock the package:

# yum versionlock gnome-terminal

if you have already performed an upgrade using fedup or this is a new install, unlock the gnome-terminal-3.8.x package.

# yum versionlock delete gnome-terminal-3.8.x-y.fc19.*

check it to see if it is locking your version:

# yum versionlock list

all done.

graduation time!

my oldest niece graduated from high school this past saturday. with honors and stuff! she’s one smart cookie. and she’ll be attending the university of tennessee. i am so proud of her! she is so amazing! great job, k1!

changing desktops

when gnome 3 replaced the favored gnome 2 back a few years ago, many got off the train and started using alternate desktop environments such as kde or xfce. i stuck with the new gnome trying out and even liking their new design.

gnome 3.2 polished up some first-gen bugs and made things a little better. i was getting more accustomed to the new feel. sure, i missed some customizing features for which gnome was known, but i learned to be productive with the interface.

gnome 3.4 brought even more new features and continued to fix things. i was still happy.

but then gnome 3.6 arrived and although it had more nice things, i started noticing a trend toward what seemed closer to ubuntu’s unity or mac’s interface. i became a little concerned about the direction gnome was headed.

then i previewed gnome 3.8. the feature highlight video i watched gave me the desire to want to try it out, but in doing so another small feature was removed: terminal transparency.

gone.

what? why?

it’s very minor, but a function i use/rely on regularly for work. on a smaller laptop screen, window switching is time consuming. being able to see through a terminal window to read data saves time.

it is a small thing; but when you start to realize so many small things have been taken away already, they start to add up. you begin to see you are being spoon fed like…like an apple user.

the choices are going away. which is why i have already switched to xfce. totally customizable. choices again.

very nice.

melinda’s country kitchen

i decided this morning to try out a local place for breakfast. i’ve been to melinda’s fir lunch before and like it a lot. i had always wanted to come back for breakfast. on my friday off, i made the trip over. it’s not that far for me, actually. in the shopping center on hill behind burger king and starbucks (on cedar bluff) is where this little restaurant is nestled. the food is very good and the style is what you might find at a diner, but when you realize melinda is from south africa, “country” is the same as cracker barrel.

the items on the menu you’d recognize, but it really is more of a home-cooked meal than you’ll find anywhere outside of home. this morning’s breakfast was very good. light and fluffy pancakes, eggs, toast, and bacon…all very good. (the bacon passes my approval with flying colors, for what that’s worth.) but the signature item for me was the hashbrown casserole. i am not a huge fan of this item anywhere. i mean, fried potatoes taste the same no matter who cooks them, right? not these. i really enjoyed the flavor of these. can’t put my finger on the distinguishing ingredient, but i liked them!

melinda is a cheerful hostess who welcomes you when you walk in. i like the accent, of course, since it’s a familiar one to me. the place is a quiet getaway if that’s what you want to start your day. you can visit her facebook page for more information: http://facebook.com/MelindasCountryKitchen