I’m not going to tell you all about my computer woes again. I’ve already done that once in the last incarnation of this blog, back when I reinstalled Windows XP after buying a used computer. Suffice it to say that my website/blog has been hacked twice now, and I’m concerned that it was malware on my Windows XP providing someone with my ftp password. What I’ve done has been rather drastic, but it’s been a long time coming. I’ve abandoned Windows XP and am now running Ubuntu 10.04.1 on my computer.

That’s the nutshell version. You probably don’t want to know the gory details.

Of course, this switch of operating systems is going to come with some growing pains. Some of the tools I’ll have to use now will be different from those to which I’ve become accustomed on Windows XP. For example, I’m typing this text in a program called TextRoom, which is similar in basic functionality to my beloved WriteMonkey, but lacks a metric ton of WriteMonkey’s features. I hope that maybe, someday, if I’m very, very good, Iztok will port WriteMonkey over to Linux and allow me the freedom to jump around my document (like a monkey) and quickly export my Markdown formatting to HTML or RTF.

In the meantime, I’ll use the Perl script provided by the Markdown site to convert my text files to HTML and paste the results into my blog posts. It sounds cumbersome, but it’s really only a few steps. Given all that, however, I’d still prefer WriteMonkey. But I’m done with Windows XP, so I’ll have to make do.

But all that’s just an aside, really. I little bit of “What I’ve Been Doing With My Week”. Other than training in the new job, that is.

I’m here to revisit the idea that I put forth in my last blog post: The Voices of Reason Project. (more…)

As often happens, I’ve gone more days than I intended without writing a blog post. This is not unexpected, but I still don’t really much like it when this happens.

It’s been a whirlwind of a summer. I’ve changed jobs twice in a matter of eight weeks, and there’s been a lot of family stuff going on. (This group I created on Facebook tells the tale.) So, yes, the blog, despite the revamp and reboot, has fallen to a lesser priority.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it rather a lot. My redesign has come from some careful consideration of what’s important to me and what I really hope to achieve through blogging. Having my values spelled out graphically in my header is almost akin to having a contract with myself to actually use this piece of the web to promote the things I feel are important.

So, I’m embarking upon a new project. (more…)

Well, I guess the old blog has a new birthday.

I don’t mind, really. I like September 1st. It always speaks to me of the start of fall, and to me, fall has always been more of a beginning than New Year’s Day could ever hope to be. January 1st might begin a new calendar year, but it’s stuck in the middle of winter.

Fall, on the other hand, marks the start of school, the end of vacation, and harvest time. The air becomes cooler and crisper (though, unfortunately, we’re in the midst of a heat wave as I write this), the sun’s angle gives everything sharper edges, and there’s the smell of change in the air.

Call me crazy, but I like fall better than I like summer. I’m no fan of the heat (or humidity), and the cooler, crisper weather gives me energy I could never hope to drum up in the dog days of summer. The only real down side to fall is that it leads directly to winter, of which I’m not such a huge fan.

So it is with fresh starts and changes in mind that I write this, the first official post of the new, improved, streamlined, redesigned, and rebooted Faltarego.com. (more…)