It’s been a while…
Wow, it’s been over a week since I last posted in here. Having been so long since I last posted, I had to muddle through over 100 comments, 99.5% of which were spam and maybe one legit comment… though it’s hard to say really because I wasn’t paying very close attention when I marked them all as spam. So, sorry if you actually posted one recently and it didn’t end up on the site.
The Business…
I recently got my apology/bribe money from the government and I’ve been looking forward to investing that money into some business related expenses (such as advertising, because it would probably just offend someone to death if I spent it all on silly things made in China). I’ve also been waiting on a friend of mine to declare whether or not he would be able to participate in a business venture with me, and it turns out he won’t be available. The ideal role for him would have been project management and accounting (a boring desk job). If I were him, I would have said no too (but in truth, he really will not have extra time to spare for it). He’s going to be working a lot of overtime with a new employer this coming year so I’ll have to wait and see if he’ll ever be able to participate with me some time later.
On the bright side I have two other associates ready for work — one a web developer/programmer and the other a graphics artist. My hope is to combine all of our skills to offer a new slew of online and offline services. One project we hope to take on very soon is designing a new website for a rural K-8 school; it being the first site that shall utilize content management software. The goal is to have a powerful interactive website that will allow teachers to administer their own mini-sites for each class, with students also able to put content on the site (provided their stuff is given approval by each respective teacher in advanced). It is an ambitious project and we’ll have plenty of time over the summer to kick it around the sandbox. We also intend to create websites in advanced and approach small and medium sized businesses with a site that’s more or less been designed for them. We’ll also combine this with ready-made advertising packages which can even include original logos we custom design. Toss in Ubuntu Linux-based office PCs custom built and serviced by me and we’ll have an attractive, versatile selection of tools many businesses will probably be interested in using.
No more CCNA?
A while back, I got into this habit of writing about wanting to get my CCNA networking certification. I’ve lost the motivation to continue writing about this for the time being, mostly because I think it’s really boring (no, really!). There are many aspects about computer networking that I love, but there’s also a good chunk that I don’t have a practical use for right now. I’m not desperately attempting to secure a desk job somewhere so I can map subnets in Microsoft Visio, configure VLANs on serial interfaces, setup ACLs to filter network traffic and perhaps occasionally arm-wrestle with some absurdly obtuse/self-righteous HR department. Computer networking is not an intimidating field of study and understanding the basics is about as complicated as understanding how the Post Office works. But Cisco seems a little full of themselves at times. You’ll know what I mean by this after you’re waist deep in the plethora of rediculous acronyms Cisco is continually pulling out of its ass. Cheap excuses to procrastinate aside, I’m now more interested in web design and Linux. The diploma I’ve already got and passing the tests necessary to get it is certification enough for now.
What’s new with Ubuntu?
I’ve been meaning to create a new video to show off Ubuntu 8.04, but very little about it stands out when compared to 7.10 (with exception to performance improvements, which are very noticeable). One of the most hyped features, Pulse Audio, has turned out to be something of a disappointment (though this is just my opinion). The decision to include it with 8.04 by default was likely made so as to help get the kinks ironed out before the next major release of Ubuntu in October, which is rumored to be sporting a sexy new theme that will compliment the impressive collection of special effects rendered by Compiz Fusion. By then, the soon to be developed “glitch-free” version of Pulse Audio should already be in place.
What’s new with Dave?
Believe it or not, I’m reading Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces“. The book takes a deep look at the multitude of mythologies that have existed world wide throughout human history and highlights the similarities between them instead of the superficial differences. I probably shouldn’t comment on it further until I’ve finished reading (which will probably take quite some time). Ancient human history is something I’ve been interested in for a few years and the topic of mythology adds an informative and sometimes entertaining layer. After finishing it, I hope to plow through Julian Jaynes’ “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind”.