gregladen | December 21, 2009This is a continuation of a series of posts written for non-geeks just starting out with Linux. Today, we look at the concept of a "distro" and why it is important to you as an average user of Linux.
It would be nice if you knew the meaning of these terms ...
OS (operating system),
Distribution,
Kernel,
Window Manager,
Desktop
.... but mainly it would be nice to know about "distribution" because it really puts all the other terms and concepts together.
An Operating System is a part of your computer that does not do any of the things you need your computer to do, but without which…
gregladen | December 20, 2009A form of comment moderation has been turned on. This is an experiment. If your comment is held in moderation don't take it personally. Just be patient. I'll be checking the moderation tank frequently.
gregladen | December 20, 2009This is the first of a series of posts written for non-geeks just starting out with Linux. The idea is to provide the gist, a few important facts, and some fun suggestions. Slowly and easily. Some of the posts in this series may end up being useful references, so consider bookmarking those.
At some level all operating systems are the same, but in some ways that will matter to you, Linux is very different from the others. The most important difference, which causes both the really good things and the annoying things to be true, is that Linux and most of the software that you will run on…
gregladen | December 19, 2009Nelson, D-Neb., said he made his decision after winning fresh concessions to limit the availability of abortions in insurance sold in newly created exchanges, as well as tens of million in federal Medicaid funds for his home state.
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gregladen | December 19, 2009Asking Clarifying Questions about Evolution and Religion
Rare gorilla subspecies photographed
More animals swallowing strange stuff.
Artichoke-Crab Spread, which is a good thing to swallow.
MS Windows Takes Browser Hostage!!!
gregladen | December 19, 2009Let me go bloggy on you for a moment ....
This morning, I gave a talk for the Humanists of Minnesota. The talk was organized by Scott Lohman, and I want to give a shout out to August Berkshire for supplying his projector. The talk was about key events in human evolution, and overlaps somewhat with a Cafe Scientifique I'll be doing early in 2010.
I love giving talks to groups like the Minnesota Humanists, because I know I'm not going to get those questions ... the ones from people who question the basic premise of the science (or of science itself). Not that I mind having those…
gregladen | December 18, 2009
The latest addition to Huxley's Library: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. Here's Mo:
Willems explores, through the story of a dresser in a naked world, the social angst of unconformity as it can only be explored in the milieu of Bathyergids. Wilber, a Heterocephalus glaber with a penchant for pants, is at first disdained then accepted but only after a positive word from the mole rat Patriarch.
The plot is riveting and the theme tense and poignant, but suspension of disbelief is challenged near the end because Naked Mole Rats do not have Patriarchs. They have Matriarchs.…
gregladen | December 18, 2009Right-wing media have highlighted recent snowfall during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, often suggesting that the winter storm is evidence that climate change is, in Rush Limbaugh's words, "a fraud."
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Oh, have you joined my new (and first, and only) facebook group? ... Chris Matthews: Stop Asking Pat Buchanan about Global Warming
gregladen | December 18, 2009In about an hour, turn on your intertubes!!!
Lisa Hammet will talk to us about pathogens, viruses, probiotics, antibiotics... if it's too small to be seen without a microscope, it's up for discussion.
Details here
gregladen | December 18, 2009In case you are interested ....
The latest Senate health care bill has no public option. No expansion of Medicare. And it does too little to guarantee that uninsured Americans will actually be able afford the coverage they'll be required to purchase.
But it's not too late to fix the bill. And as Joe Lieberman has shown, just one senator willing to stand in the way can force legislation to be changed dramatically.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a strong proponent of the public option, has already made clear that he's opposed to the legislation in its current form--and he could decide to block it…
gregladen | December 18, 2009Photographer Scott Rowed has penned an excellent essay on his experience making the switch to Linux, and he's agreed to place it here as a guest post. Please read it and pass it on to people, school districts, small island nations, and others who may benefit:
Switching to Linux
by Scott Rowed
Changing operating systems is not a task to be taken lightly. I generally follow the philosophy "if it ain't broke don't fix it." A year ago, however, the family notebook was broken, hopelessly crippled by a nasty virus or worm. I'd been regularly updating the virus software and running complete checks…
gregladen | December 18, 2009Joe Lieberman has announced that he will not vote to stop the filibuster of any for a health care bill that contains the public option. He justifies this position by saying that a government-run health insurance option will cost taxpayers and increase the National Debt even though the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts $100 billion in savings thanks to the public option. He further claims that his position is what is best for his constituents, even though polling in Connecticut shows that among likely voters 68 percent favor a public option, while only 21 percent oppose it.
Now is…
gregladen | December 17, 2009James Randi says, of global warming, I Am Not "Denying" Anything. PZ is not entirely sanguine about it. But James wants to give Randi a pass.
Anybody want to buy a goat?
gregladen | December 17, 2009It is not possible for anyone to understand every policy-important aspect of scientific knowledge at the level of detail necessary to accept that knowledge as valid, or to defend it against the evil anti-science denialists. So what is a skeptic to do?
Real science happens at the very edge of knowledge. If you go do real science for a while ... a few weeks ... then go back to science geek land where you normally live (and I know you live there because you are reading this blog) and read about the same topic you were exploring in real science land, you will see two different worlds. When a…
gregladen | December 17, 2009If you've read everything I've written, and studies it closely with a map in hand, you know that I Love Minneapolis and that I have certain connections with certain neighborhoods, including Nokomis Park. Well, the Minnesota Humanists have asked me to give a talk at the park ... indoors ... on human evolution this Saturday. The name of the talk is Becoming Human. The meeting starts at 10:00 and the talk shortly thereafter.
Details are here
gregladen | December 16, 2009It turns out I write academia erotica!
I can tell you that the three dimensional visual imagery in the post to which Stephanie refers was a replacement for the actual visual imagery I had in mind when I wrote it. But I couldn't use that because ...
... because it was too narrowly defined, topically, focusing on protein function in the intracellular environment. But I can tell you how that image would look.
In the ultra tiny world of proteins, inside cells, there is little difference between form and function. Form is function. Its like putting a hammer and a pile of nails in your…
gregladen | December 16, 2009I don't expect these dyed-in-the-wool cranks to change their minds, but it is appropriate that those of us who do have bits and pieces of the internet in our charge keep the dialog honest and progressive. The denialists are putting up offensive, inaccurate, one-liner billboards. We are burning the billboards down with science. It is worthwhile work, important work, and it can even be fun on occasion.
Read more...