Yes it's true, cats do prefer Linux

In a completely unscientific study, i have determined that cats do prefer Linux over Microsoft operating systems

With two laptops sitting side by side, one running Linux (my personal one) and one running XP (my work machine), my cat Baal chose the Linux one.



Not only is he 0ld 5kul3 (that's "old school" in "leet speak" for you llamas) enough that he rebooted into single user mode, because he's too l33t for a gui.



That's my boy.

Regret has finally passed (well, for now)

With the pseudo-winter we've had here the last fortnight, i've pretty much overcome the regret from one of the harder decisions i've had in the last while. That decision was to trade my old (well almost spanking new) car for my new SUV. Yes, in many ways it was a transition to 'yuppiedom,' but i had to do it. Owning a home and having only a motorcycle and a nice two seater isn't really productive. So i pulled the trigger and got the SUV.



I have to give props to BMW for the X5. It actually handles really well, has mucho room in the rear seats (which, incidentally are heated with their own climate control), it really handles well on ince/snow. This is something I _know_ the SL500 doesn't do.

Sometimes i still dream about the red machine, but i have to admit, right now - with snow and ice everywhere, 4 wheel drive, heated steering wheel/seats and amazing traction is a nice soothing balm.

of course, when summer comes i'm sure it'll be a whole other story.

An ode to manliness

Despite the technological and politically correct tendencies of our society today, I feel that some manly rituals need to be preserved. Specifically a ritual all post pubescent males do almost everyday day.

Single, married or otherwise entangled, it's something we all do and it's nothing we need to be ashamed of. It's time to get it out in to the open - no need to be ashamed any longer.



And yes, i'm talking about shaving. Say no to the hightech-tripled-blades-vibrating-techno razors. Get back to basics. Use a real razor.

Shaving shouldn't be about scraping fuzz off your face as quickly as you can - it should be a celebration of manhood. A time of contemplation, of reflection and meditation. It's one of the few times where a man can truly indulge himself, and still be considered manly.

All you need is a good razor, badger hair brush, shaving oil, thick shaving cream, mirror and most of all, an alum block for those inevitable lacerations when you're learning.

The history of shaving dates back to 30,000 BC when men were real men and shaved with flint blades. Say no to the triple blades jezebels, the 4 bladed floozies (isn't Quattro Italian slang for expensive?) and become one with your manly roots.

Be a man again. Shave like one.

Coming soon to a firefighter calendar near you!

As mentioned in a previous blog, I was voted in as a member of the Arcola Pleasant Valley fire department. I will be training in both fire fighting and the EMS side.

It's pretty exciting. Aside from the intrinsic rewards, there are some other neat bonuses to being a volunteer firefighter/EMS person...
- Firefighter plates
- Personal property tax exemption on your primary vehicle
- nice flashing lights for my car (and motorcycle?) (all tax deductible too!)
- free training
You even get a pension and stuff. badass.




Unfortunately, turnout gear makes my hips look big.

burnin' down the house

As some of you may know, I've been doing that volunteer firefighter thing at my local station. It's been pretty damned awesome. Kudos to the Station 9 crew for making me so welcome and for being so helpful.

Anyway, last night, after immediately after transferring equipment from our reserve engine to our main engine (it was out of service due to a mechanical failure, but was repaired in a timely fashion), the alarms dropped for a call to a structure fire on a construction site.



This of course, is a firefighters wet dream. It was awesome. There were around 4-5 engines and a couple tower trucks. I was amazed at how well coordinated the whole event was. It was like a well choreographed ballet. Any doubts I ever had about the effectiveness and/or skill of volunteer firefighters vs professional ones were completed moved to /dev/null.

Of course, when you pump over 2000 gallons of water per minute, it's windy and 12F ourside, everyone gets covered in a 1/2 inch thick layer of ice. We all pretty looked badass. Shame I wasn't able to get any pics of that.

I'm liking this.

Indian Takeaways

One of the things I miss most from my time in England is a good Indian Takeaway. Considering that there are 88 indian takeways in Cambridge, it's easy to understand the longing.

Finally this hunger has been satisfied. The guys I work with took me to a place called Rawal Kabob. They serve an awesome Chicken Kadhai. And the good news is it's close to home and close to work.

Call ahead though - it takes 20 mins or so to make the Kadhai.

-baldgit

ps - this post is dedicated to Asphyxiate. It's no KBC, but it's still damned good.

Welcome to the land of bald.

So i've finally setup my blog. Peer pressure does work!

No idea what's going to go here. Just some random whinging about life, motorcycles, real operating systems (as opposed to bug infested crap), DIY home remodelling and such.

This post is more of a placeholder - someday something interesting will this way come.

Welcome!

-baldgit