I wound up having a long, long day yesterday... didn't get to sleep until about 05:30... I remember Karen hitting her snooze bar the first time, then I was out.

Until about 11:30, anyway. I hadn't blocked the window, and the sun was coming in like water into the Titanic.

As soon as I was awake, I started working on the Linux system again. And I still am, in fact.

My head is really getting stuffed with Linux shit. I decided not to go with the grafix interface, figgering I'd learn more that way, and I'm probably right. But it's hard for this old head to learn new shit anymore.

On the other hand, my mother (who is older than me, even) is learning new... stuff. So I can't wimp out this time.

And I am enjoying the process. I have always enjoyed the process when I can self-learn something that I want to do. If I had a deadline for this project, it would be different, but I don't ahve any externally, and internally I can be pretty realistic about it... I'm not in a hurry. Not to learn Linux, not to get the network running, not to go back to work tomorrow night...

I had a real problem earlier today doing something really simple... accessing the CD drive. With windows, it's a snap, of course. With linux, you have to mount the damned drive [mount /mnt/cdrom] before you can access it... then you have to unmount the damned thing to eject the CDRom that you have in it, then re-mount it... same with the floppy drive.

It took me about three hours to figger that out. Of course, I acquired a lot of other information during that three hours while I was looking for it.

That's why my personal learning curve is so steep... no real logic behind the order in which I learn things... I just learn them as necessary, and pick up parts of other tidbits along the way.

I found out one reason why my network doesn't want to work... the cards that I got want Pentium machines, and I'm running the Linux on a 586-133... the next best thing to a pentium. Maybe I'll go back out to best buy and get a regular 10-base-t card or two tomorrow... that way I can also hook up the Dell 486-66 that I got from Mom...

Karen talked me into going out to Casa tonight for supper, and we had an excellent meal, and got a surprise as we were about ready to leave.

My boss and old friend Doug came in with his three kids and was seated at a booth next to us. Conicidentally, Karen and I had been talking about him on the way out to eat.

I haven't talked to Doug in probably six weeks or so, not since long before I didn't get the supervisors' job. And I was upset at him... not because I didn't get the job, but because I got a note from personnel telling me that I didn't. Doug has been a good friend for too many years to not tell me personally, I figgered.

But... he has also been under a lot of stress in the last year... a new job, a divorce, going back to school... a long list. Anyway, we got to talk quite a bit tonight, and I really enjoyed it. Just like old times. I think that the problem is that he doesn't really have time any more... which is really too damned bad.

Anyway, I have come to understand him a little better, and where he's at right now, and that gives me a good basis for forgiving him his transgression.

And I feel a whole lot better about it.

More tomorrow...
(I haven't got the camera mounted yet... no pix)