Category Archives: Linux
Space
My thinkpad has been acting up for the past few days. I run a fairly complex and customized installation of Arch Linux – Linux without training wheels. When things are working properly, it’s by far the fastest, most secure and most intuitive OS one can work with; but when things go wrong, it can easily spiral out of control, leaving you troubleshooting and grasping at difficult solutions. To make a geeky story short, I was to the point of grasping at difficult solutions. Everything seemed to be going wrong. I hoped it was just a bad package, so I updated my software. That just made it worse. Soon I couldn’t run any graphical interface without logging in as root.
So I dug around my file system, but couldn’t do anything in the root partition. Partition full? Really? Apparently my package manager – the program that updates the OS – doesn’t automatically clean up after itself. I had multiple gigs of unnecessary things overflowing in my most needed partition. Opps. One command later, 4 GB was free; one reboot later, everything was back to normal. It was like my OS had schizophrenia – a true Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde moment.
I woke up with the sun this morning. Last night I was entertaining the idea of an early morning bike ride, but I just wasn’t feeling it this morning. Instead I pulled on my running shoes and walked out my front door. My new house is just a few blocks from town lake, making the morning run an appealing proposition. I ran on the trail for maybe an hour, and sat near the water for a little while on my way back home. It was a pretty peaceful start to the day.
Things are settling into place really well at the new house. I love, love, love the location and the neighborhood. I’m commuting everyday on my bike again; the trip is short enough that I can usually get where I need to be before I start sweating profusely. In the evenings I’ll open up the windows and doors, letting in the cooler air. There’s so much positive energy in the house.
I have a busy weekend ahead of me. I’m working for REI at the Sweet and Twisted Triathlon on Sunday (bright and early), and hope to squeeze in some time for climbing before work on Saturday.
One final note, a huge congratulations goes out to the 2009 Texas 4000 team. Today they roll into Anchorage, AK – the last finish line in their 4000+ mile journey.
Arch Linux
[This might sound a little nerdy, skip ahead if you're not into it.]
A linux-based operating system can come in many, many different flavors. It can be as easy, or as difficult to install as you want it to be; but like most things in life, the more work you put into it, the more you seem to get out. I’ve been an exclusive linux user for the last five years or so – it works remarkably better than anything you can pay for, and I like the freedom of open-source software. I’ve used almost every major “easy” distribution out there – fedora, suse, and eventually stuck with k/x/ubuntu for quite a while. Recently though, I’ve wanted more from my computing environment – something more efficient and tailor made to my preferences.
I thought about installing Arch Linux for about a day – which is a good 23 hours longer than I usually think about things before I jump in. Arch is linux without training wheels – command line installation and command line base system – just streamlined essentials at the very cutting edge of the linux world. It does have the backing of great documentation, an active community, and a pretty stellar package manager, avoiding the complications of compiling your own packages. So I took the plunge. Installation took me a while, and was quite the learning experience, since I needed to do everything on wireless internet (thanks neighbor). But I can connect to anything out there with just a command line now… Before my eyes, the OS started to take form. First came a few ext4 partitions, then simple graphics, simple window management, multiple desktops arranged on a rotating cube, and my essential programs. Everything can be controlled with a few keystrokes – no uglytask-bars or icons taking up screen space.
It’s fast. The only things running are the programs I use and need – nothing else is there. It’s efficiency keeps my power usage low, making my battery last longer. I can now call myself an intermediate-level linux user – I know the config files, networking, how hardware and software interface – all of the gritty details.
[Begin non-nerdy section]
So, that occupied a good day and a half of intense learning and concentration. I was at work late on Sunday night – the idea was to move the store around while the carpets were cleaned, but the cleaners never showed, so we just readjusted things a bit. We’ve been short on man-power for quite a while, and needed the extra effort to get things back in order. Monday was an off day, and heavy on the project detailed above. I have a great neighborhood for projects like that – caffeine and tacos always in close proximity.
And that brings me to today. I woke up early this morning, feeling inspired to ride my bicycle. I was bundled up by cycling standards, because it was cold by “April in Texas” standards. (mid-40s) At least it was sunny. On the road at 8:00am, I got in a pleasant two hours – just long enough for my fingers to get cold. A shower later, I’m back at Clementine for coffee and internet. My neighbor’s connection has been a bit unstable lately… I go to work this evening. I’m working evenings all this week, actually, which should allow for some good riding, and hopefully a good week for the never ending employment search.
