Sudo force mounting, fscking, and Wubi.
I've been contemplating major computer alteration. At first, I was going to backup all data, scrap my OS, and install pure Ubuntu. Then I decided to try for dual-boot. If that failed, then I could always start over and go with just Ubuntu. And if it succeeded, then I would have the convenience of not being tied to Wine for my Windows-only programs.
Jaunty Jackalope is the next version of Ubuntu Linux, and it's due out tomorrow. My plan was to be ready for it.
This plan hinged on being able to use an external hard drive to store information and backup other things as I repartition my internal hard drive (hoping for an intact XP afterward). After a day or two of tinkering with it, I find that I am less optimistic about it's usefulness as a place to backup the files. XP isn't reading it, and Ubuntu 8.04 (live cd) is reading but not writing. I've tried to delete all partitions and reformat, but it doesn't want to do anything because of an ntfs partition that I put on there. Apparently, it wasn't unmounted properly in Windows the one time I did get it going in Windows, but now I can't run the "Safely Remove Hardware" because it's not showing up at all. Sudo force mounting using the recommended terminal commands doesn't seem to be helping. I haven't yet figured out how to effectively reformat the harddrive under Linux, although I have a Knoppix boot cd that I could try. But even if I did get it going, I'm worried about the disk's longevity anyway. It's three and a half years old, and has undergone a large number of abrupt shutdowns. I suppose my names for the partitions (Twoface for the ext3, Harvey for the ntfs) represent how stable the hard drive is.
As I was waiting for various functions to finish, I picked up Keeper of Dreams. This is Orson Scott Card's second major short story anthology. I've been less impressed with it than I was with Maps in a Mirror, his first, but there have been some good ones. As I was fscking the external drive, I began reading a few stories. The last one was called Feed the Baby of Love.
Feed the Baby of Love is about a musician who chose to live in a small town, an eccentric dice/board/card game that reminded me of Fluxx and Munchkin, the small town itself, conviviality, an old man, and some other things. This particular story resonated in me more than most of his stories. Perhaps because of the outsider-coming-to-small-town part, perhaps because of the inane game, perhaps because it's awkward in three different tones. I'm not completely sure, but it was one of those stories which inspires me to get up and do something. Go down a street I've never been done, pull out a text editor and write a story, sit down in a local diner and talk to some old guy, or play guitar in the park. Unfortunately, it was about 2 AM, and it was raining and cold. And I didn't quite get around to pulling up a text file and free-writing. But it did strike me, and I did like it. I also really liked the moral choice that Douglas made toward the end of it, and I believe I admire him as a character in the story.
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Pascha was lovely. I didn't go to the late night service, but I did attend Agape vespers and the following shindig. At this shindig, there was food and drink and many musical instruments and even a discussion of Bible canon and translation issues with Hannah, Sarah, and Father Mark. I found the afternoon intellectually, musically, socially, spiritually, and victually stimulating.
Oh, and there was a fire down the road. And the jug of homemade Bailey's got put into macaroni instead of milk. And I want an acoustic bass guitar.
Jaunty Jackalope is the next version of Ubuntu Linux, and it's due out tomorrow. My plan was to be ready for it.
This plan hinged on being able to use an external hard drive to store information and backup other things as I repartition my internal hard drive (hoping for an intact XP afterward). After a day or two of tinkering with it, I find that I am less optimistic about it's usefulness as a place to backup the files. XP isn't reading it, and Ubuntu 8.04 (live cd) is reading but not writing. I've tried to delete all partitions and reformat, but it doesn't want to do anything because of an ntfs partition that I put on there. Apparently, it wasn't unmounted properly in Windows the one time I did get it going in Windows, but now I can't run the "Safely Remove Hardware" because it's not showing up at all. Sudo force mounting using the recommended terminal commands doesn't seem to be helping. I haven't yet figured out how to effectively reformat the harddrive under Linux, although I have a Knoppix boot cd that I could try. But even if I did get it going, I'm worried about the disk's longevity anyway. It's three and a half years old, and has undergone a large number of abrupt shutdowns. I suppose my names for the partitions (Twoface for the ext3, Harvey for the ntfs) represent how stable the hard drive is.
As I was waiting for various functions to finish, I picked up Keeper of Dreams. This is Orson Scott Card's second major short story anthology. I've been less impressed with it than I was with Maps in a Mirror, his first, but there have been some good ones. As I was fscking the external drive, I began reading a few stories. The last one was called Feed the Baby of Love.
Feed the Baby of Love is about a musician who chose to live in a small town, an eccentric dice/board/card game that reminded me of Fluxx and Munchkin, the small town itself, conviviality, an old man, and some other things. This particular story resonated in me more than most of his stories. Perhaps because of the outsider-coming-to-small-town part, perhaps because of the inane game, perhaps because it's awkward in three different tones. I'm not completely sure, but it was one of those stories which inspires me to get up and do something. Go down a street I've never been done, pull out a text editor and write a story, sit down in a local diner and talk to some old guy, or play guitar in the park. Unfortunately, it was about 2 AM, and it was raining and cold. And I didn't quite get around to pulling up a text file and free-writing. But it did strike me, and I did like it. I also really liked the moral choice that Douglas made toward the end of it, and I believe I admire him as a character in the story.
---
Pascha was lovely. I didn't go to the late night service, but I did attend Agape vespers and the following shindig. At this shindig, there was food and drink and many musical instruments and even a discussion of Bible canon and translation issues with Hannah, Sarah, and Father Mark. I found the afternoon intellectually, musically, socially, spiritually, and victually stimulating.
Oh, and there was a fire down the road. And the jug of homemade Bailey's got put into macaroni instead of milk. And I want an acoustic bass guitar.