This topic has been discussed ad nauseum. Why not take a test? I’m going to try out Ubuntu today. Other matches were: Mandriva (previously Mandrake), Fedora, and OpenSuse.
Happy New Year!
January 1st, 2008 by darreny 3 comments »Happy 2008 everybody! This year’s countdown was spent watching Breakestra perform over at Zanzibar in Santa Monica. They’re an awesome band! I brought in a wonderful 2007 doing the same and am positive 2008 will be just as wonderful. I’m glad I spent the evening with some wonderful friends, both local and far. Take care everyone!
Error Deleting File or Folder
November 29th, 2007 by darreny 2 comments »Ever tried deleting a file only to get this error message?
Error Deleting File or Folder. Cannot delete [some file or folder]: It is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again.
It is frustrating, especially if you can’t determine which application or process is locking the file or folder — a definite Windows XP nuisance. Enter Unlocker.
Unlocker is a utility showing which program/process is locking a certain file, and then gives you options to unlock the file or kill the process. I’ve found this to be the easiest solution to such problems.
Here’s a link to the app.
Make Light Not War
October 15th, 2007 by darreny No comments »How’s that for a bumpersticker? Next to my Gore 2000?
Today is Blog Action Day. That means a link to the compact fluorescent light (CFL) Wikipedia and me telling you that they don’t just save money (no, really), but they save the world in oh so many ways: carbon footprint, coal mining, greenhouse emissions, energy consumption, etc. I know the light produced feels like a fifth-grade classroom but they’ve improved much. Try one.
They also leak mercury into your landfill so don’t be trashing the curvy/spinny bulbs. If you need to dispose your CFLs you can do so at your local IKEA store … they do trash the right way. Pick up some dorm furnishings while you’re at it.
An Earth-saving, curvy, spinny, and toxic CFL. Hg isn’t short for “hug”
Greenspan Haterade?
September 21st, 2007 by darreny 1 comment »Anyone reading Alan Greenspan’s, The Age of Turbulence? Not me. I’m always buckled from takeoff to landing so I don’t need to. Regardless, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix sits on my shelf half-read. Can’t watch the movie ’till I’m done!
I had this college macroecon prof who claimed Alan Greenspan to be the most powerful man in the world. Actually, so did every econ professor in every university across America. Didn’t yours? Regardless of whatever truth be held in that claim, it sure made for an interesting freshman-level econ discussion. Impressionable young minds, and I was one of them. Greenspan ‘08 son!
Here’s a fun read on the ambiguous aura of Alan, the sub-prime market, and trans fatty acids:
Obama
February 20th, 2007 by darreny 4 comments »
Barack Obama in LA
I took the afternoon off from work and headed over to the West Adams area of Los Angeles to partake in a Barack Obama rally for his 2008 presidential campaign.
An appropriate hat in frame
I had heard of him years before but my initial interest in Obama started sometime during fall of last year’s political and media hype. It has recently matured for many reasons, mostly for what my dad articulates as “depth in any topic he discusses.” Really, that isn’t common nowadays. Depth is good, real good.
The crowd on my left side
This initial interest brought me to his 2004 DNC speech (Part I, Part II) and his book, The Audacity of Hope:
I wrote a book called ‘The Audacity of Hope’ and it was drawn from a speech that I gave but actually I’m here to confess to all of you, I actually stole the line from my pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright.
Some dude holding Barack Obama’s latest book
The experience was quite interesting taking place in a lot at the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex. I was surprised to see massive security precautions outside the complex, but when I got inside there wasn’t even an ID check, metal detector, bomb sweep, or anything. I kept scoping for some plain-clothed security but either they did a good job with them plain clothes, or they just weren’t there.
The crowd on my right side
I also got a chance to talk to some fellow rally goers who waited hours to see the Jr. Senator from Illinois speak. Some were hoping to get their book signed, some to get voters registered, but most were there to see Obama speak in person. The crowd was pretty very diverse: Occidental College students, fraternity members, online organizations, high school students, senior citizens, babies in strollers, Asian, Black, White, and Latin Americans, and a lot of local supporters. All local supporters? There was also this lady standing next to me with a Cal-Poly Pomona sweatshirt on!
The speech, although inspiring, was in many ways what I expected. He presented his domestic vision through health care and education, and he discussed his foreign policy focusing on Iraq, the War on Terror, and human rights and Darfur. But although almost every politically-cliché subject was touched on, his speech lacked that marketing pitch vibe. Obama’s speech had this straight forward and personal approach, without much of the rhetoric you typically see in politics.
Sure it’s early and the primaries are far from over and he can give such speeches without the political backlash. Regardless, it was…how do you say…good.
Obama after his speech
Check out the videos page for parts of his speech today at the Rancho Cienega Sports Arena in Los Angeles:
Strike a Pose
January 26th, 2007 by darreny 1 comment »This is TRUE hip hop, know what I’m sayin? Also go watch the other videos for this comedy group Derrick. Seriously hillarious! Thanks Drich (and Reggie K) for showing me the essence of hip hop.
Aside from that, you really should check out An Inconvenient Truth.
Watch It.
January 25th, 2007 by darreny 2 comments »Katrina. Global warming. Watching the nightly news one might notice how fear, in one form or another, keeps you interested; it keeps you tuned in.
Anaheim, CA — Someone almost drowned at Disneyland today. How to keep your kid safe from a torturously agonizing drowning DEATH, after the break.
Things like this piss me off. Ok sure I made that one up, but I see stuff like this all the time on news stations. It’s not really relevant to the public discourse and isn’t really news, is it? Good thing more and more people are becoming aware of this culture of fear that has always surrounded us.
I just saw a documentary that all of you need to watch if you haven’t already: An Inconvenient Truth. Al Gore and this movie-film (hah!) do an amazing job painting a picture of the world if global warming keeps up its current trend. I finished with a feeling best described as uneasiness, maybe a dash of fear. But I want to make it clear that this fear wasn’t the kind I mentioned earlier.
This film does not take advantage of your fight-or-flight mechanism. This film, in a precise and factual format, opens your eyes to the very scary truth about about global warming if things don’t change. In the words of Roger Ebert: “You owe it to yourself to see this film.”
Starbucks Out of Forbidden City?
January 19th, 2007 by darreny 2 comments »Back in 2005 my sisters and I took a trip to Beijing. It was a very eventful and educational trip but one thing definitely stuck out: the Starbucks in the Forbidden City. Crazy! Not even 100 years ago any non-eunuch male found in the palace meant instant death by strangulation, or something like that. Now it’s just another tourist spot with coffee-diluted culture. Well it looks like Starbucks may be on its way out.
BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing’s Forbidden City may close down its Starbucks in the face of growing protests that the presence of a U.S. coffee shop in the former imperial palace is an insult to Chinese culture, a newspaper said on Thursday…
Source: Reuters
Me at the Forbidden City’s Starbucks (2005)
Hope you’re all having a good day. This weekend…Vegas! Next weekend…Tahoe! I’m so excited.
January Keynotes
January 8th, 2007 by darreny No comments »The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicked off yesterday with a keynote from Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates. Tomorrow the Macworld conference begins in San Francisco with Steve Jobs keynoting. I will definitely be checking out the live coverage tomorrow. In the meantime here’s Mr. Gates…
