If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
I am not posting so late because it’s Thanksgiving. I am posting so late because my keyboard decided not to work on Android anymore and I’ve been fighting with it most of the morning. I finally just charged my iPad because I want to watch “For All Mankind” when I’m done. Catching you up because that’s how my day has played out so far- autistic meltdown in which I proceeded to slap the shit out of my tablet and remembered breaking it was a thing I could do and stopped. Just red mist rage with absolutely no emotion behind it except hatred of an inanimate object.
I’m going to have to get a new computer soon, because my desktop is toast. I think it’s the motherboard, because the PCI lanes are hosed (professional opinion, not fact) and my external graphics card has joined the choir invisible. So, I switched over to the onboard AMD and that’s when I realized it wasn’t PCI that was fucked. It was the whole thing. I’m trapped because I really want a Raspberry Pi, but there are so many damn things that won’t run on it bare metal, because the software is written for Intel/AMD chips and not ARM. It’s like putting Windows software on a Mac with Parallels. Software emulation only works if the chip is STUPID fast to cover the gaps in coding.
For instance, I can’t realistically play Skyrim, the absolute only game I play (I used to play Fallout 3 because it’s set in DC, but I’m over it.). I imagine that it *might* run on the ARM version of Windows, but I can’t imagine it working out well. There’s plenty of emulation like Steam decks and all that, but it’ll make the game run like a three legged dog on a Pi.
The historical figure I would like to meet most is Linus Torvalds, because he’s the genius behind all of this. Raspberry Pi would not be a thing without Linux, and he lives in Portland……..
which is handy, because he might be the only other person in the city that celebrates Finnish Independence day with Bryn and me.
Linus and I have our differences. He prefers KDE (linux desktop- menuing system and all that). I prefer MATE (pronounced like the tea) and Cinnamon, which look like Windows 95 and 7, respectively. It’s a Windows-type interface and workflow that doesn’t constantly try to sell me something. Let me tell you, that is the beauty of linux in a nutshell….. which in retrospect is a good joke because Tim O’Reilly & associates actually wrote “Linux in a Nutshell.”
And here’s the thing. If you’re not married to Windows software, you won’t really notice a difference. There are certain things you’ll want to install, like Microsoft Office, with emulation and not that LibreOffice isn’t perfect when you create and maintain documents in it. Microsoft Office plays well with others most of the time, not 100%. I wouldn’t install Microsoft Office unless I was working for someone that required it, because the file format will open in Office and if something is wrong, I can just print a PDF instead. For every piece of Windows software that you have, there is an alternative. It’s just a learning curve that believe me is worth it. Every time I think about popups asking how likely I am to recommend Windows to my friends, or a reminder to buy Microsoft-branded server space, or subscription-model software, my eyes twitch.
The only thing I pay for in terms of software and security updates is my VPN. I flip it to Canada so I can be an American trying to be a Canadian while watching a movie about Americans trying to be Canadians.
This reminds me of a quick aside. The very first time I went to the International Spy Museum (and I know just how big a laugh I’m going to get here) it was at the old digs on F St. You walk in and there’s a collection of covers on the wall. They tell you to pick one, because you’ll be required to maintain it. What they do not tell you is that it is going to be a series of computer-based questions. So, I pick this kid named Colin from the UK, and I proceed to come up with mannerisms, accent…… like a jackass in front of all these people……. but I take most things literally. AuDHD for the win. That day, I did not consider myself as going to the museum. I was a whole ass exhibit.
Back to you, Bob. Let’s go to the phones.
Linux gaming is getting better and better in terms of graphics card support being equal to Windows, but there are really no Triple A open source titles. Xonotic is a ridiculously fun first person shooter, but it doesn’t look like Rocket League or anything. The one open source game that I think is really well done is 0ad. You build civilizations (you can literally think about the Roman empire), and the game mechanics are much like StarCraft. You gather resources and fight other nations.
OUTSTANDING.
Again, we would not have any of this without Linus, and I get to be astounded by its progress every single day because I started with an idealistic Red Hat phase in college. I flirted with The Fedora, but I married Debian. I call Red Hat “The Fedora” because it reminds me of the time someone snapped at Carmen Sandiego on the new Netflix series, calling her “Fedora the Explorer” and I died for a second.
Speaking of Carmen, I like how her backstory is ridiculously muddled from spy to thief. She has worked for all of the intelligence agencies (they phrase it as “so many she’s forgotten”), and in the new series is basically counterintelligence, stealing from thieves and collaborating with government spies. It looks like MI-6, but it could be anything generic. The English woman and the French man are partners.
On Carmen Sandiego, you will find my alias. He’s called “Player,” and his entire job is to sit there at the computer, also obsessed with news and intelligence. He takes in information as fast as I do, bright as fuck.
Coded autistic, especially because his graphical user interface looks a lot like The Fedora.
Thank you for everything, Linus. I hope you have a nice Finnish Independence Day. Next year…. in Jerusalem, eh?
Stories That Are All True 