Jan/104
First month of new year
I guess there is no rhyme or reason to this post either, I just feel like making a new blog post.
I was just randomly thinking, the first month of the year is already over, of the new decade too. Its real hard to believe how much has changed just in the past month in terms of what I do online, and how I do things. I’m also thinking of the changes that will be occurring in the next 11 months as well.
So, lets just start off with the changes that have occurred in just the past month, which has gone by way too fast. To start off, the Downstairs furnace we had failed. Since then we’ve been trying heat at least the main areas of the main floor with 3 to 4 different space heaters, which has been a real pain due to the Harsh winter we’ve been experiencing in the past month (with a nice little break of warm weather in between).
I also decided to take a leave from McInTEC at the beginning of the month, and pretty much had decided to leave at this point. I guess this is my official announcement on my blog of me leaving McInTEC? I won’t go into the detail for the reasons why, but, I just felt things weren’t really the same anymore. Just didn’t feel like a “community” as it used to.
In the past month I’ve also been trying to bring a few people together to come up with ideas for a community project. In the end we decided to work with Dallin on creating a part of GeekLoop focused around the community. Theres more information here. If you want to do more to help, stop by #GeekLoop on GeekShed.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I have finally gotten a dual monitor setup! 
I absolutely love the fact that I can do so much more with a dual monitor setup, and I don’t think I’ll go back to a single-monitor setup, at all.
So with the first month of 2010 nearly gone, what changes lie ahead? Well, I plan on getting my A+ certification in the next couple weeks! On February 5th Portfolios are due, and February 12th marks the end of the Second trimester of my Senior Year. On the 26th of March I will be turning 18, which will definitely open up a lot of opportunities for me. And of course, in May in graduation and I hope to get a job in late May or early June.
I guess when I try to do posts I don’t do many personal blog posts, but I really think I should plan on doing more personal posts in the future. I guess its just something I really ought to do. However, I also should start doing more technology posts and opinion posts as well, just to keep things interesting. Got any suggestions on what I should possibly do a video or blog post on? Leave a comment below and I’ll see what I can do. Anyway, thanks for reading.
- Tyler
P.S. Just a little extra edit before I publish this, I would like to encourage you all to check out Constant-Hosting if you need a host for your web site, blog, or whatever!
Jan/100
Just a random blog post.
Well, just a random blog post I guess. No real reasoning behind the post, or any real topic, just something random. I guess just to catch up or something. I haven’t posted in a while, so, I figured I would.
So yeah, I’ve been looking into doing a few screencasts again. Its been a couple years since I’ve done a few on a regular basis. The biggest problem is the fact that I can’t find a good screen recorder on Linux that works all that great.
I also went dual monitors as of late! 
I guess I’ll post a picture later. Its not all that great of a second monitor, its a 19″ Standard at 1280×1024, and towards the top the color is messed up, but it doesn’t bother me at all. I tworks great for its purpose, and thats to be used as a second monitor for putting IRC, Digsby, and Skype stuff on. as well as check stuff online while I’m watching a movie or something fullscreen on my main monitor.
Well, I guess thats all I’m going to talk about in this blog post. My next few blog posts will probably a bit more “Formal” with a topic and everything.
- Tyler
Oct/090
Obama was NOT born in Kenya, just a bit of Clarification
Obama was NOT Born in Kenya, but he wasn’t born in the US either, he wasn’t even born on this planet, he was born on the planet Krypton.
His real name isn’t Barack Obama, its Bar-El, although the couple that decided to raise him decided to call him Barack Obama instead.
And unlike Clark Kent, Obama isn’t using his powers for the greater good of the people, but instead, the “greater” good of the Wallstreet Bankers.
He is basically Clark-Kent’s evil twin.
^ thats the amazing video in which he admitted to it!
I think I might make this into a series, possibly. 
If I could find enough short clips.
This will also be posted on my blog on my profile at Geeks!
Oct/090
Humans and Fish CAN Coexist peacefully
^ Human Beings and Fish CAN Coexist peacefully.
Where did he say this?
^ and after 8 long years of Hard Work, George W. Bush’s dream of these two species coexisting peacefully came true
http://engrishfunny.com/2009/10/01/engrish-tuna-people/
^ Original post location
Also posted on my blog at geeks.pirillo.com!
Aug/090
If Obama is the Joker, then who is Batman?
Ok, I’m pretty sure by now you’ve seen all of these Obama Joker posters, correct? Maybe even a video of Alex Jones hanging them up in his own Locale. Well, I’ll post it below:
Obama as the Joker
Heres a good question. If Obama is the Joker, then who is Batman? You know, the one that will save America from this horrible joker. Well, it is, of course, Congressman Ron Paul! Founder of Campaign for Liberty, and only honest presidential Candidate in the year 2008, just take a look below:
Ron Paul as Batman
Haha. I’m sure the Batman image will probably spread as quickly as the Joker images have. Anyway, before I sign this off, I’ve got another message I hope you all like:
Don't Steal, The Government Hates Competition
Anyway, hope ya like that! =)
~ Tyler J. Brown
Aug/091
Ubuntu 64-bit – My experiences so far Plus Other Things!
Well, so far I am really enjoying Ubuntu 64-bit. It works with all the hardware I have, works very well with the Flash 64-bit Alpha version that is out (=D MUCH better than nspluginwrapper,) Pulseaudio actually works properly on Ubuntu 64-bit, and to add on top of that experience, Chrome for Linux is very close to release-ready.
On a side note, my 160GB drive ended up having issues. =/ but no worries, I should be getting a new one later this week! =D so I can dual boot Windows and Ubuntu again, but all 64-bit this go around.
Also, gonna refer ya to a couple sites to check out and possibly subscribe to:
http://geeknexus.com – A Place where Geeks Get Connected! A Twitter-Like Service specifically for Geeks!
http://ipaidcashformyclunker.com – A blog basically explaining the problems that exist within the Cash for Clunkers program.
Anyway, thanks for reading! =D Please check out those links above, and if you like this blog, subscribe to this one too!
~ Tyler J. Brown
Jul/090
Karma
Ok, this isn’t one of my usual posts about technology, but about Karma. I am a bit believer in what comes around goes around, and what you do to others, will eventually come back to benefit you or bite you in the ass. It seems like last week as you understand I’ve had bad luck happen to me left and right, of course, all while trying to do something good. Then this week, I continue to do good things, and my luck just turns around big time.
Thats just one of many examples of Karma though, which is very recent. I myself have seen my parents do a good deed via Craigslist or Freecycle, and later on either something good happens or we avoid something bad.
Anyway, I think I’m gonna close it off. A short blog post, yes, but something I’ve had on my mind. It all goes back to the golden rule, really, treat others as you would like to be treated, especially if you were in their predicament, because life can take unexpected turns, and irony can be pretty damn cruel.
Anyway, thanks for reading,
~ Tyler J. Brown (Condoulo)
Jul/090
Just an update
Ok, just an update here. Sorry I haven’t been posting this past week – just been having one issue after another with PC. First last Saturday I got an 80GB HDD that didn’t want to work with my motherboard, then my optical drive started to act up. Then just last night, something wasn’t hooked up correctly and the floppy cable to my Power Supply had melted. So yeah, its been a bad week, and I will post more. (possibly another one Today! )
As the usual goes, Thanks for reading, and please subscribe
~ Tyler J. Brown
Jul/092
So what am I going to be up to?
Lets see, in December I ended up reviewing and keeping a B-Gears B-Envi Case and moved my second desk into another corner, in March I got a 22″ Envision LCD, looks great, got it for $100 used, works as the day I got it (though, could be cleaned,) in May I had to replace my Keyboard due to an accidental spilling. Just within the past week, I ended up getting another table that would be specifically used for my iMac (a couple pictures below.)
-
- iMac G3 on its own desk
-
- Envision 22″ LCD
-
- My Desktop Setup
Now, what I plan on doing in the next couple days would be swapping out the Hard Drives in my secondary Linux Box and my iMac G3, so that the Linux box will have an 80GB HDD, and the iMac will be downgraded to a 20GB HDD. Why? I have recently run into a couple family members needing to access the iMac on the network, and they seemed to have issues, but managed to find my main Ubuntu PC just fine, so I figured, since Linux is better for network storage anyway, why not put the larger drive into the Dell. Does that mean I will use my iMac G3 less? No, since I don’t run too much on there that takes up too much space in the first place, I don’t think I have to worry.
Also, another note. Due to Wordpress being kinda weird with inserting media into posts on Opera, I will continue to use Opera for my daily browser, but I will use another browser for working on my blog. Kinda of a weird solution until Chromium is officially released, but it will have to work for now.
Anyway, Thanks for taking the time to read this personal blog post. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please subscribe, its free, all you need to do is click on this orange button thats on the top right corner of the page.
Also, if you are in need of a good web-host, to host your own blog, website, community, RP forum, whatever, I recommend using Constant-Hosting! They have been Constantly Stable for me, and I have had a great experience in terms of support!
Anyway, Thanks for reading!
~ Tyler Brown (Condoulo)
Jul/092
My browser situation in Linux
I don’t know why, but it seems with every release of Firefox, on Linux it starts to feel more and more sluggish. Not just loading pages (Thats actually improved in a way,) but in overall performance, CPU usage, Javascript performance, and overall sluggishness. It really feels as if Mozilla is catering more to those that are switching over from IE on Windows, versus those that have been using Firefox on Linux for many years, and its just been starting to feel more and more like a bad port (not entirely, but it feels like its going into that direction,)
Though, I guess one thing I do have to realize while in the middle of this rant, is the architecture of my CPU is kind of aging, bit time. I have a Pentium D (also note that I have 2GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon HD2600XT 512MB Video card, and an 160GB SATA HDD,) which is basically two P4 cores on one chip, which was fine at some point, but most developers these days, and I’m assuming the same goes for Mozilla, are developing more so for the Core 2, Athlon X2, and Phenom architectures versus the old P4 architecture, despite a good amount of people still being on that architecture (Whether it be the actual P4, Pentium Ds, or a Celeron.)
Anyway, before I go onto that tangent, I will get back onto browsers. Firefox has just not felt like the fast Ferrari it used to be on Linux, or on my system in general. On Windows Vista/7 I’ve already switched to Google Chrome, Webkit has got to be the fastest rendering engine I have ever used, and Chrome’s V8 Javascript engine is also amazing. The way it manages its processes also allows it to have amazing performance on my system.
So what does that have to do with Linux? Well, on Linux, Chrome is not officially out yet, and the Chromium Builds have just finally started to feel better and more stable, but they’re not good/stable enough to be put into daily use, although, the latest Chromium Build on Linux has possibly got to be the fastest browser I have ever seen in terms of loading pages, and, it definitely doesn’t feel the sluggishness I feel on Firefox.
So, if Chrome isn’t ready, and Firefox is starting to feel very sluggish on Linux on my system, where do I turn? Epiphany doesn’t exactly offer what I want, Konqueror doesn’t have the same feel in GNOME that it does in KDE, and many of the other browsers designed specifically for Linux are just too basic for me/don’t function the way I want it to.
I think just within the past few days I have grown to really love the Opera web browser on Linux. Its fast, its stable, the Opera 10 beta has a new beautiful theme, and new functionality I have grown to love. Opera just doesn’t feel the same sluggishness that I have felt in Firefox recently either. Another thing I love is Opera sync – so if I so happen to find a piece of software I want to try out of look at on Windows (natively, mind you,) but don’t feel like rebooting, I just bookmark it in Opera, and then reboot when I feel like it.
A few of the other features I like? Tab locking, prevents you from accidentally closing a tab you absolutely want open (like one you are typing an extensive Google Docs, or e-mail document on,) the tab bar now has built in previews when you resize it (screenshot below,) an amazing download manager, notes, Speed Dial (which in Opera 10 beta is customizable,) and probably many other hidden features I have yet to find.
Now time for the screenshots!
Opera's speed dial is now customizable
Opera's new tab bar feature
Overall, in terms of a browsing experience, and features, I give Opera a 10/10. I feel this browser definitely isn’t getting the attention it deserves, or is over-looked way too much. Maybe because its not entirely open source? Or maybe the fact its been around forever (but you think that’d be a sign of strength.) Whatever it may be, it doesn’t change the fact the Opera is a great browser, and for the time being, it will become my default browser on Linux, well, unless the final version of Chrome for Linux just completely wows me (and knowing how they did a good job on that on Windows, it is very likely.)
Anyway, thanks for reading my blog, and my blog post. Please subscribe, and check back for more. I promise, this time, I will be more dedicated to blogging. (to subscribe, just click on the orange RSS icon at the top of the page that says “Subscribe to RSS”)
Also, if you need great, reliable web hosting, or a VPS, please check out Constant-Hosting.
~ Tyler J. Brown (Condoulo)
