You would think that I would learn to leave well enough alone when it comes to technology... But I NEVER EVER DO.

No, no, everything's fine. I don't think I've updated here mentioning that I purchased a new computer? Technically a new-to-me-but-slightly-old computer as it's refurbished. My old one has been dying a slow, painful death for about three months now and last week when it told me (very politely) that it no longer recognized it's power adaptor, I decided it was time.

New computer (I'm calling her Romana) is pink and shiny and about 4 times better/faster than the old computer. I've spent a good part of the past five days setting her up. I decided to go with the newest Ubuntu (9.04) for my Operating System which is as shiny as the computer. It's a good match, but I had no idea how much free software I'd installed until I tried starting it all over again.

But anyway, the point of this post, today's self-inflicted technology trauma/drama involved experimenting with Live USB Drives and UNetBootin and Scripts and Sugar On A Stick (SOAS), the stick in this case being a flash drive. And initially it all DIDN'T WORK and that was a bit scary. But, I prevailed (cause I am very, very stubborn and just a bit crazy) and I have now given Sugar On A Stick a try.

Sugar On A Stick is related to the One-Laptop-Per-Child project. (You can read more about SOAS and OLPC if you're interested.)

I don't think SOAS would properly be described as Operating System, but it's like an OS plus software all together -- and all on a flash drive. It's made to be very kid-friendly and learning community-friendly. It has a pretty cool Journal program, that is a bit like Word, but so much sleeker -- the menus are mostly pictures (words if you hover over them) and it's just fun to look at. Plus, I love the portability of having all the software I need right on a Flash Drive -- and you can save to it too!

So I'm curious... Has anybody on my flist given SOAS a try? I'm very interested in hearing what either people think about it or how you've been using it. It seems like a cool idea (I may try to get involved with the testing, after I've read the manual) and just wondered if other people had thoughts on it!

[/technology ramble]

My internet connection died late last week so while I'm terribly behind on flist, I've made great progress on the (Re)Watch. Actually, this time round, it's just a Classic Who Watch, because I'm new to all of these serials! Just remember, there are spoilers under the cuts, if you consider info on shows that aired 40+ years ago to be spoilers.

First up...

( The Crusade )


( The Space Museum )


( The Chase )


Over the course of these three serials, I find myself falling more in love with Vicki. She's just great as a companion. She's perfectly sweet with One, sweet enough that he can't be angry or grumpy with her. She's from the future, so it's okay for her to be smart. She's brave (unless heights are involved and then, I really can't blame her) and loves exploring. She's not perfect, but she's utterly lovely.

Does anyone have any Vicki fic recs? I'll check calufrax but just wondered if anyone had any they particularly enjoyed. I'm woefully behind on reading, but I'd like to see more of her!

Next up (and one that I'm really looking forward to) The Time Meddler. This is of course, after watching Torchwood (so excited!!!) all this week.

Earlier this summer I decided that I wanted to see more of Two's episodes. I'd seen most of Two/Jamie/Zoe (and, I ♥ them like, a lot), so I especially wanted to see more of Two and Jamie. And I wanted to see more of Victoria. And then I wanted to see more of Ben and Polly. And I wanted to see Dodo's eps. And the The Time Meddler. So, finally, I decided to start with Vicki's arrival and work my way into Two's serials.

I hope to make it from The Rescue through The War Games in the next three months. Some of the serials from those four-ish seasons I've seen previously, but some I'm watching for the first time.

I usually write/type up notes while I'm watching, so I thought I'd just post my reactions (in a sometimes statistical manner) here... Share the squee, right?

So far I've made it through the first three on my list...

( The Rescue )


( The Romans )


( The Web Planet )

That's all for now... I've just started The Crusade (one episode in!) and am enjoying it so far!

Alright, so my main interest in dreamwidth is for another opportunity to play around with layout design. Don't be alarmed if you see colors, texts, images, etc. changing a lot over here in the next couple days. I'm just trying to sort out what's what and where!

♥

When you see this, post your favorite poem in your journal.

I don't read poetry that often. However, after this poem was quoted in an episode of Numb3rs I simply had to find it. Since then, it's always been a favorite of mine.

( The Death-Bed by Siegfried Sassoon )