I’ve removed slim as my login manager on the EEE and now just have it boot and automagically start X. It was pretty simple, with a little help from this article from the knowledgeable debianadmin folks.
I’ll roll with this setup for awhile and see how functional it is. Since I don’t have a need for multiple users on the EEE, I expect it will remain like this a long while. Below the fold is a recap of what I did from the article.
Since I don’t have a full-blown desktop environment, I’ve been using slim as my graphic login for awhile now. Unfortunately, I’ve always felt it to be slow and this annoyed me. So last night I deep-sixed it. I may go back to a GL later, but for now I’ll be fine with the command line. Maybe I’ll spend a little time to figure out how to launch X upon login from the console.
The big advantage of using Linux, at least for a guy such as myself(geek) in a position such as mine(see blog title), is that I can make my computer, well, my computer. That means I can run Gnome or KDE, or neither. I can have as much software as I want, and no more, on my computer. More than speed and stability, the ability to customize the computer is the single biggest point in favor of Linux, IMHO. Of course, as many good things in life, it comes at a price.
I figured out that the excerpting trick is performed in each blog post, so I’ve updated the longer posts to only show the first paragraph or so and then have a “Read the rest of this entry link.”
I have to admit, I’m feeling kinda stupid for not figuring this out quicker.
Made a couple of site mods- added a category and search widget to the side bar, and rearranged the widgets over there as well. I removed the search from the title block, or header, or whatever the technical name is.
Also downloaded version 1.5.4 of the Arclite theme, but I won’t be playing with it until later.
I’d like to figure out how to show the first paragraph from a post, and then have a “Read the rest of the entry” link, but I haven’t figured that out yet.
I’m a pretty handy guy. There isn’t too much in a house that I’m unable to fix when it breaks. The only exception is plumbing- by which I mean copper pipes. Faucets and toilets I can deal with. Even things that I’ve never dealt with before I’m unafraid to tackle because I’ve done enough fixit projects and collected enough tools to feel comfortable that I’ll be able to get myself out of whatever trouble I get myself into.
Dad has a website related to EIFS inspections that the Brother has started for him.
I’m sitting here half-watching the cartoons the kids have on. The Wife is finishing up a sweater that was initially meant for the boy but, because the pattern she followed resulted in something too small, is going to the lass instead. She’s been very disappointed with the sweater because of the sizing issues. My own view is the sweater is a nice looking sweater that she’s done a good job with- she can’t be held culpable for being misled on the size due to the pattern. The lass likes it anyway, and the boy will get his own sweater after this one is finished.
When I installed Debian on my EEE, naturally Exim4 came along for the ride. Even then, I felt it was overkill, but lacking the knowledge I couldn’t find a suitable replacement. So I stuck with it and set it up to send mail to my local intranet mail server. This configuration was OK, but it was never really satisfying. Why did I need a full-fledged mail server on a resource limited laptop?
My home network consists of 4 computers- 2 desktops and 2 laptops. My wife has one of each, both of which are more modern and both of which are Windows machines. My two machines are the EEE and a desktop which I’ve pieced together from leftover parts from prior desktops. It’s not a bad machine, it just doesn’t have the most up-to-date hardware. Still, it’s good enough to make for a good server machine. My most rewarding experience has been in the world of getting it running as a local mail server.
This recipe is very similar to the Wonder Bread recipe. The ingredients:
Interesting- a little more water (because of the whole grain flour), a little more yeast(same reason).
Dissolve the sugar in 1 cup of water, then add 1 cup flour and the yeast and set aside. Work the butter into the remaining flour using the mixer, then add the salt to the flour. Finally, add the remaining water and then wait about 20 minutes.
Add the flour-yeast mixture to the rest of the flour and start kneading. Start at a lower speed, once the liquid is adequately absorbed increase the mixer speed up to about medium. Continue kneading until the dough gets smooth and glistens. It will not be as loose as the Wonder Bread dough.
From hear, follow the same steps as for the Wonder Bread. Allow to rise 2-3 hours, then shape the dough and allow to proof for about an hour. Stick it in a 400 degree oven on the middle rack until the crust turns a deep brown color, then allow the bread to cool for half-an-hour before eating.
I’ll just note that I allowed mine to proof too long and when I finally put it in the oven, it collapsed as it baked. Most likely because the oven spring caused it to become unstable. It still tastes OK, but it doesn’t look as nice.
The Wife’s vacation started this past Friday at about 4:30 or so. The weekend was fairly unremarkable, but yesterday we ended up at the Air Museum. Lots of antique aircraft. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure myself and the Wife enjoyed the trip more than the kids. Stuff like that can be a crap shoot it seems- will it hold their attention? for how long? Will there be something that really grabs their imagination? Usually, if anything does grab their attention, it will be something that really isn’t all that interesting to myself.
So anyway, that was yesterday- which ended with me at our rental unit cleaning paint off of the trim which the former tenant had so kindly put there. That’ll learn me to let the tenant do painting. We hired a painter to fix some of the other damage that I can’t fix- like the popcorn ceiling. I get to go back their tomorrow so he can get started. I’ll also be taking care of other odds and ends.
Today we spent at the beach. It was hot. Easily one of the hottest days of the summer. I have to admit, I was a little bummed that we finally topped 90 this summer. I was hoping we wouldn’t just because, how often do you go through a summer that’s as cool as this one has been? If you’re gonna do it, then do it right I says.
I’m still trying to cleanup unnecessary packages from my EEE. It’s fairly simple to identify possibilities, but more difficult to assess whether removing them will break the system. The net result is that the process is slow…
The Wife is on vacation this week. We’ll be doing some day trips so I’ll write something up if one of them proves to be interesting. The submarine museum certainly has possibilities.
I haven’t finished the desktop paper drawer project, although it is close. I’ll detail some of the problems that came up as well as pictures when the project is done. I will say that the dovetailing on the top of the cabinet is my best effort yet.
And now, on with the rest of the day!
Last night, I removed the rsyslog, portmap, and logrotate packages to help speed up the boot process. Now I get to see if broke anything.
I’ll probably remove more packages in an attempt to clean-up the little guy and gain some space.
You’ll need the following:
You’ll also need your mixer (I’m using a KitchenAid Pro 6), a tall clear container, a loaf pan for baking (1 that’s about 14″ long or two of the more normal sized loaf pans), a small mixing bowl larger enough to hold 2 cups of liquid, and non-stick spray.
Took the kids up to their swimming classes at the Y today. They had a good time as usual. The group they are in has 6 kids in (I think) and they all enjoy the pool. Of course, they’re all around 4 or 5, so that’s to be expected. The instructors had them jumping through hoops today- literally. They brought out some hula-hoops and laid them on the water and had the kids jump through the hoop. I guess to reinforce having them jump AWAY from the wall as opposed to straight up- which results in a nerve racking close encounter with the wall for anyone watching. My daughter was guilty of this enough for even me to remind her to jump out into the pool. They also used the hoop vertically so the kids could practice gliding through the water. After this exercise it was more of the usual laps back and forth practicing their swimming strokes.
My “main” computer nowadays is a hacked EeePC900 (I replaced the default Xandros OS with Debian). I purchased it about a year ago and I’ve been really happy with it. My only quibble is the same as everyone else- the keyboard. The keyboard problem is exacerbated in my case because I’ve got above average size hands. None the less, I have “learned” how to type with a fair amount of accuracy on the little guy.
While updating the Debian install, the new Grub2 was brought to my attention. I gave it a shot and found that the EEE had no problems with the loader. The only issue I an into was with the post install command. After verifying that Grub2 worked on the computer, I thought I was supposed to type “update-from-grub-legacy.” Unfortunately, the computer kept spitting back at me that the command was not found. Frustrating. Well, it took a little while(including several reboots, thinking that the command might get uncorked or something) until I realized that the command was actually “upgrade-from-grub-legacy.” No problems since.
Every burgeoning woodworker learns about the dovetail at some point. It is a joinery technique that is held in high regard- foremost because it is so effective. Dovetailed drawers and boxes that are hundreds of years old, having long since passed the point where any glue would still be effective, hold because of this unique piece of joinery. Dovetails are also held in high regard as a sign of skilled craftsmanship.
Added the Blogroll widget over there, and changed the Archive widget to use a drop down menu.