Kubuntu OS is the best.

Seems a good time to write about the OS (Operating System) I use on this computer. Kubuntu, a Linux distribution using KDE (K Desktop Environment).
http://www.kubuntu.org/  #Free downloads available.
http://www.kde.org/

What do I like about Kubuntu? It does everything I want it to do with my computer. It's easy to install, it supports my hardware out of the box, can be installed alongside other OSs, it just works, no driver disks to mess with, includes virtual desktops (I get confused if there too many windows running at once) ,and best of all a huge repository of software available for download. And it's all free as in freedom and free beer. Admittedly I sometimes need help. for that we have an active and very friendly forum.
http://www.kubuntuforums.net/

Some stuff I like to do with Kubuntu:

• The usual surf the web and email.
• Listen to music and watch video.
• Create and edit music and video.
• Website creation.
• Software development, OK, I'm not a programmer, just like to play.
• Photo editing.
• Play games.
• Educational stuff like tide predictor and star charts.

 That reminds me. Am working on some how-tos for some of these activities. Will eventually post these.

Happy computing.
Ken.

How much degradation should we except in our body?

At age 65 I can expect some bodily degeneration and loss of mobility and functionality. But I wonder how much is too much and can some of this be reversed or forestalled.

About 5 years ago at around age 60 I was taking a shower one night when I noticed it was getting more difficult to reach my feet to wash them one at a time while standing in the shower. Also, just bending over to tie my shoes was getting uncomfortable. At first I dismissed this as a normal part of getting old. But after thinking about it a while I said, "NO! BullShit! This sucks and I won't have it!!

 So, I started to practice lifting my foot up higher while standing in the shower to improve at least that bit of mobility. It worked. When I related the experience to a friend she said "Wow! You can balance on one foot in the shower? That's not easy!"
With this bit of encouragement I gradually began to improve other things also. I stopped drinking beer (more or less) to reduce the beer belly that made it uncomfortable to tie my shoes. Rats! The beer belly didn't want to go away. Eventually my wife discovered the Paleo diet which I decided to try just to keep peace in the family and guess what? The beer belly started to fade away. I have sense found that what I had called a beer belly was actually wheat belly. Or gluten belly.
The most amazing thing is that now I am finding other symptoms are starting to fade also. Joint pains, Acid reflux, Pollen allergy, Head ache, Depression, Irregularity, Over weight. These are some of the things Cathy and I are leaving behind as we get older simply by changing our diet. No drugs.

What is this "Paleo diet"? We now eat more vegetables and fruits than anything along with meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and nuts. Conspicuously absent from this diet now is grains, legumes, and most dairy. What? no breads you say? OK that was not easy at first but now it is just part of a more healthy life style. Some of our friends and neighbors think we are nuts doing this but we are very happy to leave behind all the drugs and pain meds that we were on before.

Good health to you.
Ken.

Wow! I almost forgot about this old BLOG. When I did find it again I couldn't access the control panel anymore. After messing with it for a while I finally got in and reconnected with current gmail account. Good idea to write down passwords and all login info in such a way to actually remember it and get in.

Now I have 2 BLOGs to neglect. COME ON KEN! GET IT TOGETHER! Really want to start telling the world some of the stuff rattling around the old grey matter. For example. This world is really screwed up, in many ways. I live in Oregon, USA. We certainly have our share of problems here but from what I've seen in person and in the news no other place is any better. The whole USA is run by a rather corrupt government. However, not much more corrupt than any other nation I suspect.

Will get to the details later.

Ken.

Weight loss

Feb. 27, 2006
That over-hang seems to be getting worse. My 36 inch pants have long gotten too tight. Now the 38s are too tight. DAMN!
Well, someone at the office decided we should have a weight loss challenge. So I signed up for $15 and weighed in at 189.2 pounds. The one who looses the largest percentage of weight will win a cash prize. Maybe a little challenge is all I need. I am not really over weight (6'2", 189 lb, male), but am just out of proportion. I look like an olive with a tooth pick stuck thru it. Thin every where except my fat stupid belly. We shall see.

Stock and Commodity Speculation

I am considering investing in stocks and or commodity futures. The first step is to try it on paper. Meaning buying and selling on paper only (no real money involved). This is a good way to practice a trading plan without actually risking real money. I think I may be able to make a profit in this stuff but should do it on paper first.

Blog Blog Blog

Wow! Just read on a news page about Ask Jeeves buying Bloglines. MSN has Blog, google has Blogger, journalspace is a cool one. I keep seeing more out there all the time. I found out I could even start my oun Blog on my web site (as funky as it is) http:// pdxken.com (no www). All this stuff makes me excited to do some writing, Slick out my funky web site. Maybe I will write a book.
What kind of book? Sci-fi, adventure, info? who knows, I may just start getting real wordy.

Dwindling Interest

I can't seem to get interested in writing in this journal for some reason. I meen what's the point? No one will read it except me. And I don't give a shit. Maybe some Inspiration, or some cheep wine? I don't know. Whatever. Ho Hum.

Volcano

WOW! We have a real live volcano only about 50 miles north of here! Is that cool or what? Or what? Well, maybe the whole Pacific North west will blow to the Moon or fall into the ocean. Maybe we will all be buried under 3 foot of lava and ash. Most likely the sucker will blow on a cloudy day and I won't even know it till the 6 O'clock news. Oh well. What ever happens will happen.
I don't think I can do anything one way or the other. Well maybe I could move to Florida. That's far enough away. No, Waite! They have hurricanes. Kansas? No, they have tornadoes! Australia? Shit! They have all this stuff AND the most poisonous snakes in the world.
Here's my take on death. If you were to think about all the things that could kill you, you most likely would die of heart failure. So why bother. Just "Be here now", "live life to the fullest", "be nice", "Eat chocolate", "Drink beer". Forget about drugs, that's what the heart attack person needs. Just be cool and enjoy. Obviously, I would run like hell from the molten lava or the snake or any other threats, but those are rare anyway.

The wonder of blog

The more I surf the internet the more fascinatingly stuff I find out there in cyber space. Blogging is new for me. Reading other peoples blogs I've found a diversity that I hadn't seen before.

The term weird is now redefined to normal. In fact weird has now ben redefined to obscurity. Now that's cool! Maybe I am normal after all. With that train of thought normal just may now equate to boring or mundane. I guess I don't want that label stuck on me. Well, I like Organ music, so that fairly well takes me out of the mundane normal category. When I say organ music I mean cinema organ or classical organ not church hymns. A church organist is usually also the town drunk. I would be an alcoholic to if I had to play Hymns all the time.

Diversity is a good thing as long as people don't hurt other people. Unfortunately that's not the case. We will always have the Hitlers, the Ben Laden's, the Nixons and the Bushes so we will just have to cope.

First post on Absolute maybe

Why Absolute maybe?
I just now signed on with blogger.com. That took me to creating a BLOG whick asked for a title. Well as anyone who did that would know a half dozen trys failed. I guess somebody else already took my first choices.
Absolute maybe fairly well describes my outlook on thing. I used to think everything had ad absolute but now I'm not so sure. First of all what is absolute may be differernt for different people. For example: I like green trees and green grass so rain is a good thing to me while others call it fowel weather. Even scientists change opinions about what is absolute.
OK that's a start. Later dudes.