I’m Back

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve updated this blog.  So here is a summary of my current status.

Books

I’ve cataloged 9401 books in Koha.  Most of them are fantasy/science fiction or young adult books.  A lot of good fantasy is published in the young adult category.  Can you say “Harry Potter”?  There are a lot of mysteries and other fiction yet to go.  That should bring the total up to around 10,000.

Computers

My main workstation and my server are running KDE on openSUSE 12.3.  I have another machine running IPFire as a firewall to the internet.  There is also a testbed multibooted with whatever Liinux distributions catching my fancy.  The most recent is openSUSE 13.1 release candidate 2.

I’m still using my ASUS 1201N netbook, mostly for debugging networks.  I’ve fallen in love with my Motorola XY-Board (XOOM 2).  It has a 4G Verizon link.  They wanted $35/month to add it to my phone account giving me 4GB combined download a month.  For $30/month on a month-to-month plan, I get 4GB for each.  I think my new phone at the end of February 2014 will be a plane phone with no data.

Vehicles

I’m currently driving a 2012 Hyundai Sonata and loving it.  I recently got a 1950 Studebaker ½ ton pickup.  What fun.

Netbooks and KDE network manager

I’m currently running an ASUS eeePC 1201n netbook/laptop.  It has a 12″ screen and a full sized keyboard;  sort of on the border between a netbook and a laptop.  It’s small enough to carry around comfortably and large enough to see and type.  I tried running openSUSE with KDE on it, but KDE has a major problem with the network manager.  It cannot connect to a wireless station with a hidden SSID.   Bug 209464 has been open on KDE since October 2009 and still marked NEW with priority HI and severity NORMAL.

My wireless station is not broadcasting the SSID and is using WPA/WPA2  personal with a pre-shared key.  I’m not about to change that. There is no point in broadcasting the SSID and letting the neighborhood know that wireless access is available to anyone with a good key cracker.

There are some workarounds which I’ve tried with limited success.  The Gnome network manager works fine.  I’ve also tried LXDE and Enlightenment successfully.  Come on KDE, that bug has been open over a year and a half.  If Gnome and the others can do it, look at their code and fix it.

Continue reading

Imager by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Rhennythyl is the son of a wool merchant and is a journeyman portrait painter when he causes his master’s house to blow up.  He discovers that he is an imager, one who can create things by imaging them.  He goes off to the Collegium Imago on Imagisle and is trained as a covert imager (read spy).

There are three threads in the story:

  1. His training
  2. 5 attempts to assassinate him
  3. His family and his new girl friend ( a Pharsi although she is a 3rd generation local)

Most of the story is about his training.  The questions that his teacher makes him think about are fascinating.

  • Is our government good?
  • Is it better than the others?
  • What are the best characteristics of a covert imager?
  • What is the real purpose of a quorum call?
  • Why is government necessary?

I couldn’t put it down and will have to go back and re-read it to think more about his training.

The assassination attempts provide a bit of action and mystery which will have to be solved in a later book in the series.

His interplay with his family and his girl friend’s family is very well written.