hello.c

Jesus Christ! I've been too far removed from doing any programming or scripting for far too long. I never thought that doing

#include <stdio.h>
main();
{
printf("Hello World!\n");
return 0;
}

could give me a hard time (did this on my slackware laptop, of course). Actually, doing it last night took me all of 30 minutes, trying to remember how the damn thing went. And typing it here? I'm not sure if I did it right either. (So please feel free to flame, because I deserve it.)

This does prove to me, however, that I need to get my act in order. And fast.

Although, I think I'll just skim C/C++ at the onset of my reviewing, and check out python first. Maybe ruby as well. Those two sure as hell piqued my interest.

Any suggestions on what I can work on during my relearning???

On Linux, Communities and Belonging

I've always been a Slackware user. For the longest time, it's been the only distribution that I used. Well, okay, I used Ubuntu for a while. While I enjoyed Ubuntu's ease of use, there was just this something that I was looking for.

I guess it's because that I'm a do-it-yourself'er type of guy. I really don't like it when I have no say on what's going on from the onset. Not that I'm saying that Ubuntu isn't good (it is!), it's the lack of choice at the onset that probably turned me off (not to mention Gnome). Ubuntu is prepackaged with what the developers feel that a typical desktop user would need. Most notable of which are:

• Gnome


• the entire Open Office Suite


• The Gimp

Which is all that your typical user needs. I forget which multimedia player was included, but like I said, I only used it for a little less than two weeks. And this was the Warty the Warthog release, which was a little rough around the edges (okay, okay, I ran Hoary for about a day, but that was about it).

Anywho, what really makes me wonder is (ease of use questions aside), the Slackware community is all but invisible! And yet, in the months that I've been monitoring the rankings on Distrowatch (since last year), slackware never goes up or down. It's always steadfast between rank 8-10. To me, this just shows that the slackers are out there, but the question remains, in that Where are they?

Rolling back to Software Freedom Day, I remember meeting some fellow slackers. Security freaks, and more of the loner types (well, so am I).

Could it be possible that Slackware users are indeed loners? In all this time, I've known two slackers personally, maybe another handful from online, but the rest? It seems everyone and their brothers are on Debian, or Redhat, or Suse or Gentoo (or their derivatives, if available).

I'm not griping. I'm all for the freedom that F/OSS gives to it's users. It's just that I wonder. Where are they?

That the Slackware community is active is not in question, after all Linuxpackages is alive solely because of the contributions of Slackware users. Also, the official Slackware forum is located at Linux Questions. But still, the feeling of community is somewhat missing.

On occasion, the Ubuntu community makes me envious. From all appearances, they're one of the most dynamic groups of people around. Mostly friendly (I have yet to find one that isn't), and very active everywhere. Much like the Debianites, from which the fount of Ubuntu doth swelleth.

So, I therefore conclude (and until I otherwise manage to disprove it to myself), slackware users are loners. Much as I'd like to participate in the workings of other communities, I've already laid down my stake with slackware. And I guess, after the longest time, it's time to give back.

Now, where did I put those programming books?

Just to backtrack a little though, it's not that I don't like Gnome. It works well enough for what it needs to do. It just doesn't suit me. I still find that either fluxbox or enlightenment do well enough for me.

On Death and Dying

Less than 10 minutes from this posting, I found out that my stepfather (the father of my younger sister) died. No news yet as to what cause - just that. He died.

I don't really remember much of him. He came into my life when I was about 13 or 14, when I didn't really give much of a f*ck about much of anything. What I do remember was that he made me laugh a lot, which says a lot about that man. Few things truly amuse me, even to this day.

It's said that of any industry, clowns have the highest suicide rates. I wonder if it's true that the people who most make others laugh are actually the loneliest people around.

My stepfather was just halfway through to 60, going on 23, the way he was living.

But, yes. I assume that he was lonely. Very few people liked him (I have no idea why), and those that claimed otherwise took advantage of him (he was rich, prior to his becoming alchohol dependent).

But again, I never really knew him. I knew him for less than a year. After which point, the family had to move, and I was shuttled over to an Aunt. They went to live together. Last I knew was that he was over his bingeing days, and was trying to come clean.

I didn't know him. I really didn't. I wish I did.

Now, I can't.

Due to some violently reactionary factions in my office. . .

I decided to take off the image of a blossom on the bottom right.

Sheesh. I've always been a firm adherent of the Japanese ideal of minimalism (okay, the things I like don't exactly spark of minimal, but I'm talking about aesthetics here), and the blossom down there quite relaxes me. It wasn't very obtrusive, and fit the color scheme quite well (except for that cyan bit at the footer of every post). Unfortunately, I did receive some exceedingly violent reactions, so I've decided to remove it for my peace of mind.

Critics. Sheesh. Maybe we should hang them alongside the lawyers as well...

Talk About Coming Up Short....

I was just ready to pick up a domain for myself, and was ready to order from goddady. Earlier this afternoon, I was bean-counting, and left just enough on my debit card to cover the cost of a domain ($8.95+.25 cents). On computing, initially, i had just a little more than the necessary amount (which is just perfect, just in case things go awry), at which point, I started arguing with myself as to what domain I'd get.

Anyway, some hours later, I finally decided, and lo and behold, the exchange rate went against me... =( I came up 2 pesos short! (grumble, grumble).

Guess I'll just wait till the next payday rolls around. Then I'll pick up the domain and the space at the same time.

grumble, grumble, grumble...