Dell’s Shipping With Ubuntu

Sam Harrelson on May 24, 2007

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I love Ubuntu. I’ve made a number of posts about Ubuntu that you can see here.

Basically, it’s a free and open-source Linux distribution that replaces your Windows operating system (and is 10 times better in my opinion).  I’ve been using it full time since last summer and have not looked back.

Today, Dell announced the initial laptops and desktops that will be shipping with Ubuntu pre-installed instead of Windows.

This is a huge day for open source, for Linux and for Ubuntu.  If you need a good, cheap and reliable computer that won’t get gummed up with viruses, spyware and adware but is easy to use, then this is your chance!

Mom is A Superstar

Sam Harrelson on May 24, 2007

My mom just won Employee of the Year at her school district in Mullins, SC.

Send her an email and tell her congrats (miatasusan@gmail.com)… she deserves it for all the hard work and dedication she’s put in with the operation of the school and the lives of the primary school students she helps and loves everyday.

Paper AT-AT’s

Sam Harrelson on May 23, 2007

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I know what I’m doing tomorrow!

Papercraft AT-AT’s

The AT-AT’s were always my favorite Star Wars vehicles (besides the Millenium Falcon, of course).  I still have my Kenner AT-AT from the original toys back in 1981(?).

Gosh, those are good memories!

(via BoingBoing)

Modern Tech

Sam Harrelson on May 23, 2007

While watching tonight’s season finale of Lost on ABC (the only show I watch regularly on TV these days), I was texting back and forth to my college roommate and long lost brother, Rion.  Amazing that we can watch the same show and communicate while being seperated by hundreds of geographical miles.

Not all tech is bad.

Week O’ Injuries

Sam Harrelson on May 23, 2007

On Tuesday, I decided to try a nifty trick and use our exercise ball (basically a large blow up ball about 3 feet in diameter) for my desk chair. The benefits are that you are constantly forced to sit upright and it’s good exercise for your abs, etc.

So, it was a little flat and I decided to blow it up.

In the process, the plastic stopper (below) blew into my throat and went partially down my trachea (wind pipe)…

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I put the quarter in the picture for scale.

It was a scary minute as the stopper did it’s job by stopping up my wind pipe as well. I finally got it out by an incredible hack in my throat (which also scrapped my throat up all to heck). I don’t remember it popping out, but it was close.

What a horrible way to go that would have been!

To top it off, I cracked the toenail on my big toe today while playing soccer with Schaefer…

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It’s only Wednesday, so let’s hope the rest of the week goes a little better!

Ghost Town Returns

Sam Harrelson on May 20, 2007

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I LOVED Ghost Town when I was a kid during our visits to the mountains around Asheville, NC. There was something magical about that place.  It was the first place that I ever rode a roller coaster (which looked as it if were going to fall off the top of the mountain).

Odd that I live here now and it’s great to see Ghost Town back. We’re headed over soon!

(Thanks to Jon NeedsABlog Williams for the link).

MAGGIE VALLEY — Along the streets of downtown Maggie Valley, hotels and shops display signs of hope for a great tourist season ahead: Ghost Town is back.

After five years of sitting vacant, the mountaintop amusement park Ghost Town in the Sky is set to reopen Friday.

CITIZEN-TIMES.com: Maggie Valley cheers Ghost Town’s revival after 5-year hiatus, hopes for boom