I have to start looking for something a bit lighter than Ubuntu for my old Toughbook CF-30. I had Mint on an older laptop, years ago, and liked it. I’m not opposed to any flavor of Linux…I just want easy, the closest thing to issue/maintenance free, while taking full advantage or the specs I have to work with.

Or just start with Ubuntu, while using a good mayonnaise for your grilled cheese.

My parents had a neighborhood grocery store when I was a kid. Our house only had a single bathroom, so often, I’d be getting ready for school at the same time she was getting ready to go into work, and we’d both be in the bathroom. I’d finish my shower, and be wrapping up in my towel behind the curtain, while she’d be doing her hair in the mirror, having imaginary arguments with “bitchy customers.” - At least that was her answer when I finally asked her what the deal was with her arguing into the mirror in the morning.

About 8 years after that song came out, one of my uncles saw the CD in my truck, pointed at that song on the case, and exclaimed, “Holy shit! Have you ever paid attention to the words in that song?!” Uhh, yup.

Slam it so hard you could make it ding. If you were still mad, you could then yank the cord out of the wall. If you still weren’t done, you could throw it across the room, and it would be just fine, when you calmed down, plugged it back in, and set it on the table again.

I’m getting ready to change one of my Ubuntu machines over to Mint, as the next iteration of Ubuntu requires more RAM. While I’ve done these changes many times, I’ve never quite understood the deal with setting up the partitions.

Saw this in Reddit, but I’m banned 😃. Anyway, Norfolk VA: the French bakery/deli on Granby St, in Riverview… “Would you like to sample a pastry?” Sure - Hey, that’s pretty good. “That’ll be $40. Would you like more?” Uhh, no.

I’ve been a Linux user since the laptop I bought with Windows Me (Millennium Edition) crashed & burned. Someone smarter than me with computers got Windows 2000 working on that PC for about a week before the blue screen of death reappeared. I replaced that PC with one of those cheap ePCs that sold for $200-300, and came with either Windows XP or XanderOS (Linux). I went with Xander OS, opened a terminal, did a little typing, and ended up with a really nice netbook. I’ve been with Linux since, mostly Ubuntu and Mint, but also a short toe dip into Kali.

It concerns me a but, all the reading I’m doing here with regard to so many people talking to switching to Linux…a few years ago, I read like 2% of Americans used Linux, and that it wasn’t much of a hacking target, because there wasn’t much in low hanging fruit. I’m a bit concerned with the seemingly growing popularity now, though.

I had the same issues with the communications suite on USS BOISE (SSN764). I ran a division of 11 great guys who did their jobs well, got their work done, and did minimal damage during radio room WWE events. There were a few personalization items in the radio room. One was a dancing hula figurine, who really got it on during any flank bell. There was the bobble-head turtle, who looked like the Engineering Officer - the absolute worst Officer of the Deck, and a few pop-culture comics (mostly Robot-Chicken stuff) taped up inside of a few COTS equipment racks. There was nothing lewd, and nobody naked…you know, modern Navy.

Now, the radio room is a SCIF, so only the radiomen and a few officers ever go in there. You’d never find the Sunday afternoon girl scout tour going through Radio.

Anyway, the captain comes in one day, sees some of the personalization items, and says, “Hey, Chief. Some of this stuff is a little less than professional.” I chuckled and said, “Yes sir.”

A few weeks later, during a stop to Radio, the Captain sees the same stuff, and says, “Chief. I thought we discussed this stuff being unprofessional?” I responded, “Yes sir. We did.” He left.

A week later, I walked into Radio, and the Captain is talking to one of my guys, and when he sees me, he said, “Chief. Didn’t we agree that some of this stuff was unprofessional?” I said, “Yes sir.” He said, “You should probably consider getting rid of it.” I replied, “Yes sir.”

About a month passed, when the buzzer went off. One of the guys opened the door, and the Captain came in. As he made his way to the aft end of Radio, I saw the flash of anger on his face, before he said, “Chief! I thought you were going to take this stuff down?!” I said, “Well, sir, I considered it, but unprofessional as it might be, there’s nothing lewd, nothing morally offensive, it’s all in a place where nobody except the people who work here would ever see it. My guys work their asses off, do everything they’re supposed to do, and do it well. If a couple comic strip, a hula girl and a bobble head turtle keep them happy and working well, is that really too high of a cost to us? Plenty of WWII bombers and fighters had unprofessional things prominently painted on their hulls, and displayed proudly. Everything on this boat that doesn’t have to be painted a certain color, and is not wood-laminate is painted blue or orange, after Boise State. It looks gaudy, and as far as I know, neither Idaho, Boise, or Boise State University has ever some anything for this boat. My last boat did the same thing, but in purple and gold, with viking emblems everywhere - talk about offensive!” The Captain stared at me for a moment, and said, “Well, I don’t like it.” I said, “Yes sir.” He left.

A couple weeks later, I’m in the Chiefs Quarters, and one of my guys comes down and says, “Chief, the CO wants you.” I said, “OK. In his stateroom?” He said, “No. Radio.” Oh shit.

Up to Radio I went, where I found the Captain, “God damn-it, Chief! Everything is still here!” “Yes, sir.” We stared at each other for what must have been a full minute. He said, “Well, were you ever planning on removing it?” He looked past me, to one of my guys, and said, “Go get the COB.” The COB (Chief of the Boat) is the Command Master Chief. We just stared at one another, until by the grace of God, the phone rang, and I ended up on the phone, and a laptop for a few minutes. When the call ended, the COB was in the room. The Captain said, “COB, this is the stuff I was telling you about.”

We had a Mexican stand-off staring contest.

The COB finally said, “Well?” I said, “Well, if he had ordered me to get rid of it, I would have gotten rid of it.” The Captain asked, “You’re going to make me order you to get rid of it?!” I looked at the Captain, then the COB (I was standing between them). The Captain then walked out, and the COB followed him.

About 20 minutes later, I went back down to the Chiefs Quarters. The COB was reading a book. As soon as I walked in, he asked, “Did you get rid of that stuff?” I said, “No.” He asked, “Why are you keeping it, when you know the skipper doesn’t like it?” I said, “My division does its job really well, they don’t give me any trouble. There’s not much I can do to reward them for doing well, but if that little thing makes them happy for months inside this miserable fucking boat, then they should have it. If the skipper orders me to take it down, I will, and I suspect if it’s really that important to him, he’ll give the order. This turned into some stupid pissing contest a long time ago, but I won’t choose to lose. He’ll have to order me to make him the winner.”

The COB shook his head and laughed. None of it was mentioned again, and everything was still there when I transferred 2 years later.

So, shortly after checking aboard the first fast-attack submarine I served on, in April 1991, the boat was locked down one evening, when the engineer couldn’t find his Zenith SuperSport 286e computer. Suspecting someone stole it, the boat was locked down and searched - for 3 hours. Everyone was really angry… It’s 2025 and I remember it well.

Anyway, after 3 hours or so, at the Captains insistence, the ENG, doing paperwork in his stateroom, let someone else in, to look for his computer. There it was, sitting plain as day, on his bunk, where his pillow should have been. The ENG said he didn’t notice it, as he thought it was his pillow…gross, considering everyone else’s pillowcase was white.

The Captain immediately lifted the lockdown, and all the off-duty people went home. The anger lingered though, and the Engineer seemed to have a dark cloud over his head. He was fired a few months later, and I’ve always wondered if it had something to do with that computer - I was just too new to know anything about the guy, and I didn’t work in engineering.

LOL! I had the Timex Sinclair 1000. It connected to a B&W TV, and a cassette tape player for a drive. My dad won it from our local bowling alley.

I didn’t get too far with it.