Linux Monkey

**This is a Monkey Post** 

Thus far, the week has been crazy! Its only Tuesday! Granted, about 20 minutes from Wednesday. Had an appointment at Navy College yesterday to try and figure out what I'm gonna do for school. The appointment went alright I suppose. She was not quite as informative as i had hoped. But I did get information on the next step. Have to go apply for tuition assistance so I don't have to tap into my GI bill yet. Some of you may be asking why I would do this since college is "free" while I'm in the Navy. What is free is CLEP courses and PACE courses. I want to take some of these as well. The reason I need tuition assistance is so that I can take CD courses from certain colleges in the area. I can do them underway and it is one way to get certain classes out of the way for which there is no CLEP or PACE course.

Well, I got back to the barracks all bushy-tailed ready to conquer this next step! I just had to plug my computer back in because I had brought it to PDX with me over the weekend. Sounds easy enough right? Apparently not. My motherboard died. I don't quite know how or why.... but it died. I was not pleased. As of yesterday I had 2 laptops, and one desktop. The desktop is where the motherboard died. I removed the operating system from one of the laptops and have been unable to reinstall it due to a corrupted windows disk, so that laptop is out of commission. So finally all I really had working was my auxiliary laptop.

Is it crazy that I had three computers? No! You are crazy for asking such a silly question. So, how does one recover from such a tragic day?

Well, I will tell you. Its quite simple really. I think any geek would agree that it is the most logical course of action. You go from three computers..... to wait for it...... FOUR computers. Genius. I know. Nobel N3RD prize plz.

Yes. FOUR! I say, finally I have added the 4th system to my collective. Yes, I need 4... possibly 5 computers but I'm taking it slow. This new addition is in fact not a new computer. The system has been sitting by my window for the past 6 months giving me a hit on every room inspection. "Electronics left out!" Needless to say, its not the best of computers. Basically I just wanted a Linux box. So I bought a case for this rather naked computer and installed Ubuntu on it.

Let me say.... Ubuntu.... amazing. I hate Mac, its overpriced and useless to me. I don't care for windows. I tolerate windows only because its the only real PC gaming platform. If Linux were able to game well, I would use no other operating system.

Ubuntu, has all the spiffy little programs that Mac offers but for free. Also, the hardware is that of a PC so its 1/3 the price (Mac has a crazy, even stupid mark-up on their hardware - you are wasting SOOO much money if you buy one). Ubuntu is just as plug and play as Windows 7, thanks to the community of people keeping the drivers up to date. And... its free.

Recommend Ubuntu!

Presently I'm waiting for an ISO image of a certain over priced operating system to download since my disk is bad.

Oh, back to college! I don't really know what to do. You might think that I'm lucky being 22 when I really start. I don't think I have any more an idea than I did when I was 18. Anything is better than the Navy really, but then... I'm jaded. I'm in one of those phases where I hate my job with a sort hotter than the sun burning passion. Mostly though because of my particular rate. What I wouldn't give to be an FT or STS, or ET Coms. These people have it way easier than Nav ETs by far.

Anyways. Obviously I have an affinity for computers. My hesitation is that I often cannot stand the people I would end up working with. You see, there are two different archetypes here. This is important so I will make a new paragraph.

There are nerds, and there are geeks. Nerds are bad, geeks have social skills.

Clearly I can get along with the "geeks". I proudly count myself among them. I am not the MOST knowledgeable , nor the biggest geek. I'm more of a cimputer enthusiast I suppose. I use them - a lot. I work them hard. I enjoy building them and fixing them. But there is a certain core level of knowledge that I would have to go to school for before I could compete with certain geeks. Nerds I'm not worried about. Even if they do know more about it than I do. I get laid. They don't. So I can give them the higher knowledge point and still laugh at them.

Medical/Biology is the other field that primarily interests me. I don't have near as much a problem with the people in this field. Yes... nurse banter and rumor spreading capabilities are unmatched... but as long as you are RN+ I think that I could tolerate the incessant bickering and blabbing.

Though still, I do not know. My goals are to make as much money as possible without detracting from my family life. You do not have a family so that you can support a job (military). You have a job so you can support your family. I just want to make a decent paycheck and not be at work all the time. This is a reason I will not stay in the military. Do I make a decent paycheck? Well, yeah its not bad at all for being 22 with no real college. They pay:hour ration though is INSANE. we determined underway that through the course of the average year as a Nav ET, if you divide E-5 base pay + BAH + Sub Pay + Sea Pay and divide that sum by the total number of hours worked in that year... I make less than $2.00/hr. Thats not me, thats someone who is one rank above me and gets paid a bit more.

Anyways. I need to find a career that is interesting to me that will fit that criteria. I do not judge my success in life only on my career. I think that destroys the purpose.

So thats the spot I'm in.

A note in closing; I purchased a solar powered wireless keyboard. Never needs a battery replacement, inside light is enough to power it. Seems to hold a decent charge for a while too. I think its awesome! GREEN GEEK!