stepping up to linux mint 22.1

whbeebe

It’s been several days since I stepped up to Linux Mint 22.1. No fuss, just a bit of exploring to tweak the desktop look to use the new Cinnamon styling. I was also pleased to be able to change the size of my menu and have it stick, once set. I’m still using the Papirus icon theme and Nerd Fonts for everything. Linux Mint is still based on Ubuntu 24.04, which is fine as far as I’m concerned. All the software tools I use are reasonably current but not bleeding edge; for example Python on Linux Mint 22.1 is version 3.12.3, while the absolute bleeding edge is version 3.13.1. Even Python 3.12 is at 3.12.8, which tends to irk me as to why the distribution can’t at least keep up with its latest Python baseline. I suspect it’s due to Ubuntu itself.

I do much prefer this release over anything I could get from Microsoft. Everything in my house is either macOS or Linux, split about 50/50. I spend the majority of my time on a Linux system, which explains why I won’t purchase a new Apple computer in the future. I’m going to run everything I have until it literally dies and can’t be upgraded or fixed. For example, my primary Linux system is a Minis Forum UM250 with an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2500U CPU. That AMD CPU was launched in 2019. I got the UM250 system in 2020 with Windows 10 Pro preinstalled. It ran for about a year with Windows 10 until I started to get indications that Microsoft wanted to upgrade to Windows 11, but wouldn’t allow the UM250 to upgrade because the little system didn’t have TPM 2.0 installed. It was at that point I purchased a new SSD for the system, swapped it in, and switched to Linux.

My transition to Linux Mint wasn’t straightforward. I tried Pop!_OS and Fedora before finally settling on Linux Mint. The biggest annoyance with both was their insistance of installing and activating brltty, a special Braille driver for the blind. I can certainly appreciate making computers available to the visually challenged, but I’m not one of those (yet), and there wasn’t any way to easily disable the feature for regular use. The brltty driver interfered with my ability to use my USB ports for embedded (IoT) development. I was able to uninstall it for Fedora, but Pop!_OS had it so deeply embedded in the OS that any attempt to remove it would cripple the desktop. In the end for Pop!_OS I had to use systemd to disable the service. Considering how much aggravation I went through for that one problem, I was quick to switch away to Linux Mint, and that’s where I’ve lived ever since.

I have a solid computer with a no-drama operating system that reliably does its job, day-in and day-out. I don’t want or need anything more than that.

animal day journal #3

whbeebe2 Comments
Nicholas

Too often I read that cats are somehow nocturnal creatures, choosing to be most active at night, especially if hunting is involved. I’ve noticed, however, that all my cats are crepuscular in their behavior, being most active in the twilight periods of evening and morning. These two photos were taken during the late afternoon/early evening before we all went off to sleep. They love to sit in my gaming chair and contemplate their world in my house, especially in the early evening. If something of interest becomes interesting enough, then there follows the quick leap onto the floor and a rapid chase of the target, meaning one of their clowdermates.

Zoë

The chair is also a favorite sleeping spot, which can result in one of the clowder challenging the current occupant all through the early evening, leading to a lot of rotation between the cats. By the time of lights out, the challenges have come to an end and there’s just one cat curled up and sleeping, usually Zoë. Seeing Nicholas in the chair is a bit of a surprise, but something I would expect as he’ll be four come later this year. All of my cats are full adults or senior cats. How time always flies. The youngest four cats (Joan, Danï, Zoë, and Nicholas) are all COVID lockdown adoptions. Just as that period from 2020 to 2022 has faded in our memories, so have the memories of three of the four as little kittens. Joan came in as a young adult, the mom of Danï and Zoë.

I mentioned that cats being crepuscular and only speaking to their evening activities. For the early morning I’m serenaded by Luke who stands in the main hallway (the part of the house with the best acoustics for what he does) and bellows out like a little foghorn. He’ll also stand on his hind legs and bang on the closed bedroom door. I know he stands because when I get sick I sleep out in the TV room on a lounger. When I got up very early one morning to hit the bathroom I just happened to catch Luke in the door banging act. If I’m physically available, the other cats will walk across me and pick a spot to settle down on top of me, to nap a little more. Then they’ll get up and move to another spot on me. They’ll keep this up until I decide I’ve had enough, and then get up and feed them. That’s how the day gets started around here. It’s been decades since I slept past 6 am.

I’ve been gravitating to using the Pen F for the majority of my photos, usually with a small prime mounted on the front. This post is no different. The top photo was taken with the Olympus 45mm, the bottom with the original PanLeica 25mm. Everybody keeps encouraging me to get an equivalent Fuji camera (the X100 or the XE-4). The problem there is either it’s unavailable or outrageously priced. And it’s not just the body, for the XE-4 it also requires the purchase of at least one lens for the body. And then I hear the very occasional recommendation to get a Leica. Financially that’s even more drastic. I’m quite happy with all I have, and I’m so thankful I purchased them when I did, when I could afford them.