OK, gotta go. That break didn’t last long…

I read this article, and confirmed on Dell’s site that they do in fact offer a netbook and laptop with Ubuntu installed. While it’s good that Dell is promoting an alternative to Windows, I seem to remember it waffling, perhaps from pressure from Microsoft. As I’ve come to realize the inferiority of Redhat systems for the desktop in terms of general user experience (links not working, etc.), I’ve been playing around with Ubuntu more.

On another note, my profile somehow got corrupted, and IT couldn’t fix it. I’d turned off System Restore and pagefile to cut down on places for malware to hide, but I guess that was to my detriment this time. Not the biggest deal, as I don’t keep much on my laptop, but it’s still a pain to reinstall all those programs. It’s times like this that I miss having Connected TLM like I did at my previous job. I’m thinking about implementing Shadow Copy once I get it back. I’ve thought about asking for a Macbook Pro, but I know that won’t happen, so I have to plan for alternatives

Update: Shadow Copy doesn’t actually restore system state to a given point in time… Maybe I’ll just do frequent scans with avast!…

The guests were a pastor and his wife, and the pastor said something to the effect of “A lot of times, your spouse may say something that you may take as truth, and it may hurt. But you need to realize that that person is not perfect, and may not be actually telling the truth, but rather an opinion that’s biased. Instead, think of it as an opportunity to learn something that God may be trying to teach you through your spouse; to know God’s truth in the matter”. It’s something that really hit home for me, especially in this time when either Susan, I or both of us aren’t getting enough sleep.

I’d also thought about the idea of my response being my responsibility – that no matter how Susan treats me, I’m still responsible for my own actions. It’s something Emerson Eggerichs covers in his book “Love and Respect”, which we’d been going through in our small group.

Interesting, in retrospect, how far technology has come (and also how little I knew 11 years ago, as shown in these pages I did in MS Frontpage back then.).

We spent the first night recovering from jet lag and getting a feel for London, then flew out of Gatwick to Toulouse to visit Susan’s old roommate. Her old roommate is there with her husband and kids, serving with Agape France. It was neat to see how their ministry is progressing and their kids were growing up, as well as see different parts of Toulouse. I ran along the canal near downtown and ran down to the river. Quite a lot of trees and other greenery, but it seemed more ‘natural’ looking than London – the parks often had manicured lawns and trees. We were also able to visit Carcassone, an old castle.

After our time in Toulouse, we spent four days in London. Even though Susan had a flu and sinus infection during that time, we still got to experience Westminster Abbey and see Big Ben together. I also saw the Imperial War Museum in London and rode the train out to Wendover for a hike out in the woods. I originally wanted to go to Wendover Woods, as that’s what the guide book suggested, but upon getting to the train station, I saw a map of the surrounding area, and found what was marked as a nature preserve more interesting. As I’ve always been interested in the places off the beaten path that aren’t tourist traps, I decided to check that out instead. I found a monument to soldiers who died in the Boer War on Coombe Hill. I could see the Cotswolds Hills on the horizon as part of the beautiful landscape.

I’d say that last trip to Wendover was most interesting. It was well worth changing trains six times (twice on the tube and four on the train) on the way there, although it would have been easier had I known there were replacement buses due to engineering work on the rail tracks.