Sunrise over Knoxville

So last week I finally made it to Sunrise, the new-ish Asian market in Knoxville. I had resisted it's slick, supermarkety charms for a long time as I was pretty loyal to the "Oriental Supermarket" on Sutherland, which was of a more Korean bent. (And has Hannafuda cards for sale for playing Koi-Koi!) But I had finally heard enough rave reviews to check it out, and subsequently made 3 visits last week. This place really is a supermarket. Not a Super Target, or anything like that, but when I was a kid, this would definitely have qualified as a supermarket. The vegetables were all very fresh, and cheap beyond belief. I was finally able to pick up a good carbon steel wok on the cheap, enough chopsticks to last months, and I actually got to watch as they refilled the crab bin with live blue crabs..... MMmMmMmm. The selection of foods was outstanding, even including those a bit exotic to the western table, such as fresh goat meat, pickled snake heads, and more eels than you can shake a stick at. This store is more focused on Chinese foods, so no Hannafuda cards, but a manager was nice enough to introduce me to Bai Tu Sac (or Si Se Pai) cards. Played like MahJongg or rummy, you form varied sets to score points. The only downside to the store is the amount of bleach they use to cover the seafood smell from the deli counter, which, rather than creating a clean, pleasing smell instead makes a horrid funk. Well worth it, I say. Anyway, an odd post for my first in months, but I wanted to let my friends know about this little gem.

The penitent comes forth

Ok, so it turns out I'm a rotten blogger. Well, I promise to change. Really. Starting.... someday soon.

Not posting?

So it's been a while since my last post, and it's actually not for lack of things to say, just lack of desire to say them. Political topics are out, as in recent weeks the dividing line in this country has become more of a chasm than a line. Neither side can honestly understand for the life of them how any reasonably sane person could vote for the other candidate. In all seriousness, they may as well go ahead and have the election now, no minds are being changed from here on out. I suggest if you, too, are despairing over the countless morons voting for whoever your "other" guy is, look at it the way I do - the economic situation is going to get worse before it gets better, no matter WHO gets elected. Likewise, no matter who gets elected, approximately 50% of the public will be screaming for their blood from the moment of election, and as the economy worsens the new incumbent will be blamed. Whoever gets elected has 4 years. Period. After which the opposite party could run an incontinent goat as their candidate and still win handily. It's a nifty feature of democracy. Maybe someday we will get past the 2 party system and have more choice, but until then, just remember "This too, shall pass."
In other news,with rising prices we have been enjoying (no, I'm serious) some belt-tightening at our house, and we were stunned to realize how much money we were wasting every month. I even wrote a post talking about specific things we cut, ways we are saving money, and how much we have rediscovered simple pleasure like cooking, playing board games, watching movies we ALREADY OWN, and just the joy of hanging out together.
So basically, yes, I have some things to say, but nothing anyone would be interested in. What's on your minds lately?

Power to the Penguin

About 3 years ago, I went cold turkey from Windows, and installed Ubuntu Linux. Almost 2 years ago, my parents bought their first computer. It was a nice Toshiba laptop, ran Windows XP, and would suit their needs for some time to come. The last computer they were familiar with was an Apple IIgs, so computers had come on a bit since then.
The first 6 months of PC ownership were punctuated by frequent calls to me for support for various issues, usually related to popups, viruses, spyware, etc. Bear in mind this was while running the same protection that our (then XP) laptop was running with no issues. After 6 months of emergency service, I decided it was time for mom and dad to meet the penguin.
The results were drastic - so much so that after the first week I called them, worried they weren't using the computer anymore, since I had no calls about it. "Oh, no, it's working fine. We were just looking at some pictures your Uncle Ken sent us, and scanning some to send back...." And, that's how it's been ever since.
After this experience, I'm often asked if Linux is ready for the mainstream. I always say it depends. For people like my parents, for whom the computer is a simple tool to perform 5 or 6 simple tasks, it can be a great OS. At the other end of the spectrum, for those who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty working under the hood, it can be a liberating experience. For the other 90% of the market, it's still not a good choice for 2 major reasons:

1.) "It's not like that in Windows/on my Mac"
This is true. Whether you use the KDE interface or Gnome, it's not the same. New converts from good ol' winders often cannot fathom that there is no "C drive." Just can't take it. Mac users take this a bit easier, which makes since since both have Unix/BSD ancestry.

2.) "I can't run Photoshop/WoW/my office's proprietary software/etc"
This is half true - most windows software CAN be tweaked to run either under Wine or, for a fee, Cedaga or Crossover Office. But not all software can, and frankly, sometimes it's not worth the effort. If you MUST MUST MUST use a specific program that does not offer a Linux version, Windows or Mac may be a better choice. However there are programs for Linux tghat nearly mimic the functions of most popular Windows programs.

Anyway, that's my experience with Linux - it works for me, but your mileage may vary.

Librarians are Filthy Pirates

Ah, technology. Someone once said anything that exists before you are born is a natural part of the world. Anything developed before you are 30 is exciting and new, and anything produced afterward is unnatural and against the very nature of things. Now that I have my three full decades, I see that they were on to something these. You see, I really WANT to like the Amazon kindle. It's e-paper display calls out to me, its storage capacity, and the ability to easily convert Project Gutenburg texts for $0.10 a work is intriguing. I like the wireless delivery service. Aside from the (currently) astronomical price, the thing that keeps me from getting one is the idea of what it means for literature. In making a book a digital file, it makes it too easy for publishers to apply the "License Doctrine" that has rules the world of the MP3. By this rule, libraries would need to seek special arrangements with the publishing company, and secondhand bookshops dissapear from the Earth. No longer can an old professor leave his collection of the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dogears, marginalia, and all, to a favored grandchild. No longer can the works of Wil Cuppy be found - if it's out of print, it's out of existence - reminiscent of Phillip Dick's librarians in Counter-Clock world. All of things things make me want to throw a bit of oil on the tracks of progress. I like my collection of books. I like finding a First Edition of Neil Gaiman's Stardust at a local secondhand shop. I like the idea that my collection of books may someday be a family heirloom. I like that if I want to loan a book to a friend, the police don't come bursting though the skylights. Likewise if I want to buy a new book, I do not have to give my name, address, and purchasing habits to the person behind the counter. In fact, were it not for second hand books, I would likely have never become a reader at all. Fortunately, I was supplied with so many books from older cousins and yard sales in my youth, that I was reading 3rd/4th grade materials before kindergarten. So how you you feel? Do you own a kindle? What's on it? Do you think it will replace printed material? Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham? Would you have been able to get that reference had your parents not bought the book at a garage sale?

Obligatory First Post

One thing I've found, in looking at probably 30-40 of these things is that everyone starts off with a nice shiny new post. It usually includes words like "cyberspace," "test," and "Hello World!" So, there you are. I also found that apparently blogging is like a new diet. Sure, some people make it a part of their life, and some even accomplish such great things they become rich and famous as people pay great sums of money to view the results fo their hard work (I'm lookin at you, Jared). However, most people post once or twice, forget their password, and go off to lead completely blog free lives. So there you have it. Already, you are in suspense. What kind of blog will this be? Will I be the next Wil Wheaton? Or will I be like the guy that took "The Drones Club?" Only time will tell. Which, if you've been following the goings on at CERN, may be as simple as looking back on our 4-D universe from a moving point int he 5th dimension. Or not. Scientists rarely agree on such things. I'm going to try leaving commenting open, If this descends into a collection of dirty limericks or worse, well, I'll remove them, no one will be able to comment, and I'll still have all kinds of witty rhymes about people from places like Nantucket. So really, I win.

Oh, and I meant the bit about the humorous pub sign. I just need to draw it up. I mean, if you know my (very low) sort of humor, you can likely figure it out. It will involve a garderobe, a dead canary, and a very embarrassed monarch.

Some upcoming ideas:

The Amazon Kindle
My Parents on Linux, 1 year later
Whither the Wii?

Anyway, that's enough unjustified self importance for one night. Seacrest out.