#Ubuntu 10.10 Upgrade Experience

Maybe someone will benefit from it :). I'm not a linux power user; in fact I barely have a grasp of the basics. After a couple of years using maemo I have learned a few things but it will take a lot of learning because I achieve even the title of Beginner - lol.

First, I've been running 10.4 (Lucid Lynx) on my Acer Netbook AOD250-1584 since last spring and have, over the summer, grown to love it more and more as I've learned to detest Windows more and more. There is only one thing that I can't do on linux that I need Windows for, and that is connect to the internet using the USB stick when we're out somewhere. And Pete reports that Netflix doesn't support linux for watching movies, although he can check the account and order movies and such - just can't watch the ones online. (I haven't had such issues with fancast or hulu that I can recall.)

So when Ubuntu 10.10 was due out, I was looking forward to it with great anticipation. There weren't that many changes over 10.4 really (and 10.4 is the LTS - long term support - version), but still. it was just the idea of the shiny new toy, you know?

So last weekend I did all of my updates as instructed, then checked for new updates and got the message that 10.10 was ready, so I clicked on it to update. It started out with a bang, I was so excited...but then there were hang-ups, and one thing after another...after 3 hours I shut down in the "middle" of the upgrade and went to bed.

Of course I ended up losing much of my email for the last week or 2 that I hadn't backed up yet, but that wasn't too major since I don't use email as heavily as I always have...actually I hardly use it at all anymore. So not a biggie.

On Monday I installed from scratch after having to use Windows for my job all day, which only served to remind me of why I hated it so much. Everything takes 20 times as long, there are crashes when you least expect them, the screen keeps locking up, multimedia files are laggy...just a train wreck. So I was happy to get it installed, nice and fresh. (And the good thing about Ubuntu is that it installs into a single folder, no tentacles such as Windows has into every crack and crevice and dark corner of the computer; so I copied the important files onto my external drive and just deleted the folder before installing from scratch.)

Worked a charm! Like the difference between driving down a dirt road in a Chevette or gliding down an open highway in a Mercedes. Ubuntu glides.

Tuesday however I discovered sound issues with Skype, which I use frequently every day. Not good. Started doing some research, starting with the Skype site. What it told me to do I didn't understand all that well, and as the week went on I was busy and didn't mess with it again until Friday. Then I found a forum that suggested not using the newest version of Skype (2.1.0.8something), and going back to the previous one (2.1.0.47). Did that, made a few tweaks, and Bob's your uncle. (I'm noticing on the forums that a lot of people are having sound issues of some sort with 10.10, so at least I'm not alone.)

So now things are running smoothly, and all told it was pretty easy. And while there aren't a whole lot of earth-shattering changes (I love the new default font though) I'm happy with it.

Windows? You can have it. I like booting up in less than 30 seconds (rather than 8 minutes), firefox popping open in 5 seconds (instead of 4 minutes), the system shutting down in 7 seconds (as opposed to nearly 2 minutes), smooth rendering of YouTubes and other multimedia files, reliability, the utter lack of crashes in the software, and huge array of available programs - mostly free - that handle every one of my computing tasks...yeah, you can keep your Windows :).

The Thing About Sin...

The other day I posted a link on my Facebook site to an article about sin. Of course, people don't comment on articles like that, but are more than ready to "Click like if you believe God still performs miracles!" or "Click Like if you want to start a Facebook revival" or "Click like if Jesus is your Savior!" But sin? The wages of sin? What is sin? Nope, nobody wants any part of that. Not the hard stuff. Just the easy, "click like" stuff.

What is ironic is that many of those same people also have statuses that proclaim or defend their favorite sin. Oh it's not called a sin. These days it seems most feel they can pick and choose what is sin, and what isn't. What God detests (like "judging" others) and what God just winks at or lets slide.

I serve the God as revealed in the Bible. He gave us everything we need to know about Him there, and He will never contradict Himself. We cannot say that God tells us that something we do is ok, if He has already declared it sin in His Word.

God doesn't wink at sin. He takes it so seriously that He came to us in human form, humbly as a helpless baby, for the purpose taking our stripes, bearing the torture that is meant for us sinners, and being killed in the most inhumane way possible, to overcome the sin that His creation chose. No...He doesn't take sin light-heartedly. There is nothing more serious, nothing more deadly, than sin.

And we don't get to pick and choose what is sin, and what isn't. He defined it. He declared it. He tells us exactly what it is, what to avoid, how not to live. We can't pick and choose. Sin is sin. A lie or a murder or adultery or coveting your neighbor's possessions. All sin, all deadly, all equally sin.

If Christ is your Savior, or if "it's not religion, it's a relationship"...how well do you know Him? How close is a "relationship" with this Savior you declare if you aren't reading His Word, His love letter, His instruction manual, His revelation of His very Self to us? Is it just a status on Facebook? Or is it a RELATIONSHIP? Is it a status or a lifestyle? Is this the God you serve when you agree with what He says, or because He is the great I Am? Are you a Christian only when it doesn't interfere with your own choice to sin? Did that last question make you uncomfortable?

We are all sinners. We all make choices to sin. The difference between a "status line Christian" and a true servant of Christ is repentance. True repentance involves turning away from the things that God warns us against in His Word to us, not just apologies and continuing in our sin. There is no repentance - required for forgiveness to those who have chosen to follow Christ - if there is no change.

Praise God that He fills us with joy as we repent and grow in Him, and turn away from our own sin. He carries us when we fail, and fills us with renewed thirst for a sinless life. He picks us up when we fall, and His very Spirit resides within us to show us the right roads to follow, the right choices to make. Jesus didn't leave us comfortless. There is salvation in none other than Christ Himself, who took our penalty for sin, for the sins of the whole world, upon Himself. Covered with our sin, His own Father could not look upon His Son as He cried on the cross, "Why hast thou forsaken me?"...

We can choose to sin, or we can choose to give lip service to an unknown Jesus. He doesn't change the rules, not for any of us. But He has loved us enough that He provides a way out, and a way Home. We just have to follow...Him.

Saving Water

No, I haven't bought into the global warming religion, and I haven't turned green :). I'm not out to save the planet, God has it in His very capable hands. I respect it, but don't take responsibility for it. When I save anything, it is money. And right now I'm trying to save BIG money.

Our drain field is failing. I guess after nearly 40 years of faithful service, it is time. We're talking big expense here, however I'm going to try to "nurse" it through the winter, at least, and until I start working again next spring to pay for a new one, or at least to have this one fractured to give it a little more life.

In trying to save water, I've made the following changes:

Laundry gets done in as little water as possible that will still get the clothes clean. We have 5 settings on our washer, and what would have been a full load in my last washer is now a medium load in this one. But since I can do up to 3 former loads in one, using the new machine, that's what I do. I sort differently (Do blues and greens REALLY need to be washed separately?) and can get 8 loads done in 3 now. And no more 2nd rinse for the underwear! (Using the laundromat isn't something I want to consider unless I have to...which I may...)

When I wash dishes, I no longer leave the rinse water running. I use a big plastic tub for washing, and one for rinsing. The resulting gray water is poured harmlessly outside rather than down the drain.

Flushing: Someone I know had a sign just above the TP in her bathroom: "Oney? Leave it Honey! Two-ey? Flush that Poo-ey!" Need I say more?

When I shower, I no longer stand under the water, then let it run while I soap up, then get back under to rinse. I fill my sink with water and lather up while standing on a towel (and found that I get just as clean applying soap to dry skin - it just doesn't lather!), then turn the shower on and get under for a rinse that takes maybe a minute, if that.

I'm sure we have reduced our water output to the drain field by half. And hopefully that will be enough to buy us some time to save up for the next one.

Diagnosing LBD #lewybody

While there have been some reports that PET scans are helpful in diagnosing LBD, absolute certainty can only be achieved upon examination of the brain after death. Still, LBD has some very distinctive patterns which can lead a clinician to a probable diagnosis. In my own mother's case, the combination of a thorough and accurate history, plus her responses to neuroleptic drugs, plus a PET scan led to a "probable diagnosis" of LBD. After my own research and involvement with support groups, I am confident that this is indeed an accurate diagnosis. Her signs and behaviors and symptoms are standard stuff.

Still, clinicians are often loathe to make a diagnosis without irrefutable evidence. A radiograph will show a broken bone - there can be no mistake. There isn't any such diagnostic tool for LBD however. In many cases it is the significant others to the victim who dig out the cause of their loved one's symptoms, and bring it to the attention of the physician. This is yet another reason it is imperative to be attentive when seeking a diagnosis for a loved one with signs of dementia.

Here are some more resources to help both family and physician in recognizing LBD.

The Lewynet Website
Dementia With Lewy Bodies: Differential Diagnoses & Workup at eMedicine.
The LBDA website
The Mayo Clinic
The LBDAtv channel on YouTube

So What Exactly IS Lewy Body Disease? #lewybody

I know I'm a little late in posting this for Monday, but even though it's after midnight, I haven't gone to bed yet so it is still Monday. Computer problems took up most of my day...

Anyway, here are some links to articles about LBD, and the differences between it, and Alzheimer's.

The Lewy Body Dementia Association has perhaps the most informative site on the web.

This has some information but I find the description of LBD symptoms to be inadequate and even misleading. However there is enough here that it made my list.

This is a pretty good article from the Mayo Clinic.

This article is a little more technical.



The Family Caregiver Alliance also has a good article.

Lewy Body Awareness Week Oct. 10-16, 2010 #lewybody

I will be posting daily about Lewy Body Dementia this week. You can click on the title of any of the blog posts (when you are reading from my blog, not from elsewhere) to get the the Lewy Body Dementia Association to learn more about this disease, from which my mother suffers, as well as many many others. It is the 2nd leading cause of dementia, and is often misdiagnosed with tragic or even fatal consequences. Those of us with loved ones with a dementia diagnosis must arm ourselves with knowledge, and see to it that accurate diagnoses are made, and appropriate treatment protocols are followed.

One of the ways to learn more about LBD is to read the first-hand accounts of those who are dealing with it on a day-to-day basis, either as caregivers or as victims. Below is a list of LBD-related blogs, which is by no means exhuastive, but I hope that if any readers know of others they will inform me so that I can add to the list through updates. But these are the blogs that I follow:

Back Door Logic
Living With A Thief Named Lewy Body
Lewy Body Dementia, Dad and Me
A Psychiatrist With Lewy Body Dementia (Note: David hasn't posted in quite a while, but his earlier postings are still there to read.)
Lewy Body Dementia
Living With Lewy Body