Mighty Little Laptop, Eee Pc 1000H
Eee PC 1000H
I get asked quite frequently what machine would I suggest someone get for themselves or often a loved one. I am always torn because if they had the cash i would always recommend a mac. they are easy to learn to use and do almost anything a Windows box can do. Everything if you're willing to run windows on your mac inside vmware or parralells.
But what do I tell them if they don't have $1000 burning a hole in their pocket? in the past i just kind of hem hawed and said I don't know if you don't want a Mac. But what about using their existing PC if it is less than 5 years old with a copy of Ubuntu Linux. Or if they want a small light weight laptop they could get what I just got for around $325, an ASUS Eee PC 1000H.
So I got it on Saturday of last week, and it did take me a bit of effort to get Ubuntu on it just the way I wanted and some of you may say, "Your a computer guy I could never do that" and perhaps your right. the unit does come with XP home edition if you just can't stand the idea of a little research, or asking a friend. But in my case I found that if you have access to a windows pc that can get to the web, a 1 GB USB thumb drive, and a little patience you can have a Netbook just like mine. I'll post helpfull links at the bottom shortly.
Starting a new blog
Well i'm still going to post here as well, but this is a dedicated weight loss blog for me @ BiggestLoserWannabe.com So what do you say John wanna lose some weight and try to get on the show?
A really good article on e-books and their history
If you know me, your aware of my fascination with electronic books and my foray into that world with my Kindle experience. I really liked the device but saw a financial opportunity to sell it for what I paid for it and took it. I have been patiently waiting ever since for a way to read my kindle books on my mac or a newer kindle. Who wants to buy the same one again, then I might as well not have sold it. Plus I was and still am stymied by the hole battery life issue, it needs to not die when i want to read it, only when I am done... In any event if your at all interested John Siracusa over at Ars Technica has a great article on the history of the e-book industry ad his thoughts on where it may be going.
~ John
The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age - Ars Technica
Back from our Vacation
Well the vacation was wonderful, as hopefully most are. I was concerned about the weight I might gain, but unfortunately the food seems to be one area the cruises have cut back on. Or I may have just gotten used to food being prepared well, which is a possibility here in the DFW area. The food on the cruise wasn't bad per se, but I only gained 2 lbs. from the week long adventure, so I guess it was a good thing.
Here's a teaser photo from the trip.
I really enjoyed the time I spent with my wife, and got some fun photos along the way. I also learned to play gin rummy, at first I must have been doing something wrong, because I lost almost every game. I suppose always waiting for that perfect card to complete my hand was a bad strategy. By the end of the week we were pretty evenly matched, and it's now a card game I actually like to play. Historically I am more of a domino fellow, say 42 and my ears perk right up. I'm not great at 42, I'll try and keep up with you if your really good, and I just don't play enough now to get great. But as far as cards go spades was really the only card game I was pretty good at, and liked. Check back and I will post the rules of a odd Turkish game we learned from a waiter on board I call "Turkish 52", no it's not 52 card pickup.
So it's time to continue my journey toward a better more healthy weight, from the vacation I really walked my feet off so I want to find a way to continue that. Improving my choices on my quantity I believe is another huge step, but keeping it present in my thoughts will also help. There's another point of my life I want to try and tie to my weight journey and that is my prayer life. I'm beginning to look for inspiration in the scripture along these lines so if you have anything, post it in the comments. The fact my body is a temple is a given, I'm just starting renovations. 
~ John
