Lubuntu on the P3 1.7 GHz 80 GB HDD 512 MB Ram machine

Well, Vicki gave me an old computer.  It's a P3 1.7 GHz machine
with 512 MBs of Ram and 80 GB of hard drive.  I put Lubuntu
on it.  It seems to work just fine.  Now if i could only think of
something to do with it.  It plays YouTube just fine.  If i had an
extra set of speakers i would hook em up to it.  Lubuntu has a lot
of stuff going on.  There's some DVD/CD authoring software.
Libre Office and some KDE stuff.

Picked up Pesto and held her for a while tonight.  I had to buy cat
food at the deli, cuzI forgot to pick it up at the grocery store.

Got 2 loads of laundry done today, and checked the car for oil.
I was surprised to find the car all set for oil.  It wasn't even low.
The laundry was a piece of pie.

I have some chicken quarters to cook.  I'm all out of BBQ sauce.
maybe i'll roast the chicken in the oven.

Tonight i ate 1 whole can of frozen orange juice concentrate, i just
spooned the stuff down like it was ice cream.  Very tasty, a little
too much sugar though.  Definitely not good for my diabetes.

I think tomorrow that Vicki and I will go for a walk.

I'm thinking about my Lubuntu machine, If only i could figure
out something to do with it.  Like i said it has some pretty strong
DVD/CD authoring tools.  Plus Libre Office.

Maybe i'll look online for a spreadsheet tutorial.  I like
spreadsheets they make sense.

c-ya l8r

-marcus

P.S.   Danny's cat, Nancy has died so if you have kittens or know
of any, contact me.  I'll tell him.

Back to normal

It's been 1 month since the operation.  I'm feeling a lot better.  Just a
tad tender in the belly regions, and some deep muscular stuff that will
probably last for a few more months.  I've been walking around and
last night I helped Vicki carry some groceries.

I sold the Kenwood TS440s for $ 200.  Pretty good price for a broken
radio.  I wonder if (Steve)  is going to get it fixed.  Still need to take the
FT 101 Yaesu over to Ed's and see if we can get out on it.  I could be
taken by surprise, and the thing might just work right out of the box.
Then again it could be a boat anchor or a basket case.

I threw Pesto over my shoulder today and went out in the hall.  Then
I knocked on Danny's door and let him give her scritchies, he has a
kitty named Nancy, but she's real finicky about her food and skinny
as a rail, he seems to think that she might be dying.  Kinda makes me
sad.  I'll get him another one via Craigslist.  In the mean time we have
to wait until either she passes away, or he feels like euthanizing her.

John my friend is still roaming about the hills in Northern California.
He's up in Shasta country.  He's running a special event station from
Mount Lassen, call sign N6L I have no idea when the event is
scheduled.  I'll post here when I learn more.

Well, i have things calling for my attention, so i'll say good day.

be well

-marcus

My first major operation.

Well that was a first for me.  Under the knife on the 13th of
December.   My appendix decided to explode.  They put me to
sleep, opened me up and tried to clean all the poop from out my
belly.  Lots of X-rays, Cat Scans, EKGs and EMGs.  They didn't
let me eat or drink for the first couple of days.  Boy that first tray
of food was...  I can't begin to describe, I was ravenous. To make
matters worse i had fasted for a few days prior to the operation
thinking that whatever was wrong with me would work it's way
through my system better if there was no food to digest.

Let's see.  I called the ambulance at 5:00 AM on a Monday that
would have been the 13th.

I had a tube down my nose and throat and into my belly to suck
up stomach juices.  There was a catheter in my urinary tract so
that I didn't have to get up to urinate.  I was on a constant drip
IV of antibiotics through the vein in my neck.  I was on a
constant drip of saline through the same tube.  They tapped a vein
on the back side of both my hands.  There was a 'drain' that
siphoned off the puss from my belly.  Once that stopped filling
up and the drained liquid looked clear they gave me the go-ahead
to go home.  I was in excruciating pain.  The likes of which i had
never experienced before.

I had never spent the night in the hospital since i was a baby.  I
got 13 staples and a hand full of sutures on my belly.  I don't
know how many sutures they used inside.  I just hope i don't
break them until they've done their job.  To their credit they
tried to go in using Lapro Scopy through my belly button.
I guess i was just too far gone for that approach.  Such a
mess.  Well, I owe my life to the doctors and nurses who
were working that morning.  Now, after New Years i'm feeling
much better and i'm really grateful for the help i got at
Sutter Medical Center right here in Santa Rosa.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR, may it be healthy and happy for all.

Thankful for Thanksgiving.

It's nice to have a holiday like Thanksgiving where we are reminded
to be thankful for everything.

Well, here's a strange little story.  Vicki and I went to the Wellness
center for turkey lunch on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving.
Well, later that night i heard a rumor about a big turkey feed at the
Fairgrounds.  Well, not knowing who to call i called the Santa Rosa
Police Department.  Talked to a nice lady there and asked her about
the big turkey feed, she told me it was tomorrow (Thursday) from
11:30 to 6:30.  Well, we drove down to the fairgrounds and circled
the place there wasn't a car or a person to be seen.  We didn't know
what had happened, it was very strange and eerie like right out of
the Twilight Zone.  So we went home and later that night at food
group (that's right on Thanksgiving)...  A kind lady said that she read
in the paper that the big turkey feed was the day before Thanksgiving.
That's it, mystery solved.

Oh another person asked me if i want to sell the car.  That's a big
ego boost.  It gets me to thinking.  I saw a Dodge Minivan at a lot
a week or two ago for $ 695.  That was pretty shocking.  I don't
know what kind of shape the mechanicals would be in with that kind
of low price.  A mini van would be a nice step up from the Buick.

We'll see,

Goodnight Diary

Printing out the manual for the Yaesu FT-101

I have the Manual for the Yaesu FT-101 saved on my USB Drive.
The plan that I have concocted for it is to take it into computer
class at Corinne Camp Wellness and Advocacy Center.  I'll print
it there on their printer, saving toner/ink for my printer and saving
paper as well.  In fact, I'm not even sure that my printer will handle
43 pages of paper, that's apparently how many pages are in the
manual.  It's a Service Manual.  Service Manuals are always bigger
and more detailed.  Which is a good thing.

Wish me luck in my endeavor.

Steve Jobs, has died, he was 56 years old.

I'll be brief, i'm sure there are a lot of people who are grieving tonight.

Steve Jobs was one of the worlds greatest innovators.  Without his
guidance I will feel like a ship without a rudder.  These visionaries
don't just come along every day, there can only be a few for each
generation, and Steve definitely was that an innovator and a visionary.

I know that my family will miss him dearly.  Thanks Steve and RIP.

-marcus

I happened upon a Yaesu FT-101

Dave my buddy gave me a Yaesu FT-101.  And I like it a lot.  It has 
potential


I'm asking you dear reader, would you fix up an old Yaesu FT 101 if 
you had one?  Or, would you just call it too old and be too busy to 
mess with it?

It has an AC? cord that has had the wall plug end cut off.  I under-

stand that some people do this because they don't want someone 

to burn down their shack or let the smoke out.  I don't think they are 

DC wires because it's uniform brown stuck together wire just like 

you would find in an AC extension cord (not industrial).  My intuition 

tells me that if it were a DC harness it would be black and red with 

fuses inline.  

I really don't want to let the smoke out.  I see no way to tell the radio 

that it is getting either AC or DC.  It may have some internal way of 

sensing that.  It's heavy. 30 LBS and built like a tank. 

Tomorrow i'm going to test the tubes.  I hope there's a schematic on 
the underside of the top panel. I should get some steel wool, and start 
dabbing at it with rubbing alcohol and vaseline.  I'll get it shined up 
nicely.  Maybe put some Mink Oil on the leather handle. 

You know, it's the same with computers.  I can hardly bear to throw 

them away, John KD6PAG came by and we took about six computers 

to the Computer Recycling Center.  I just look at an old computer 

and i think there's life in there, it talks to me.  I guess i'm the same 

about old radios.  There's magic in there, and the glowing tubes 

and lighted meters talk to me.

 I still have 5 computers mostly pretty old in my little apartment 
and one in the trunk of the car and a couple in storage.   

I should try to interface one with the TV one of these days.