guff

Sort of an update

Since it looks like I’m back to blogging, let me spend a moment to (I hope) bring you up to date about what’s going on with me, guff, etc., etc.

Firstly, I won’t be going into the why and what-for over my (yet another) long disappearance. However, let me make it clear that I did not run off and join the Merchant Marines; I did not spend time hiking over the Himalayas; I was not doing time in a federal prison; and I was not busy planning the end of civilization as we know it. Although, that last one is a good guess. Seriously, it’s just that I need to drop away from the net-based hurly-burly from time to time. If you haven’t gotten used to it by now, you probably never will. But, so it goes.

Secondly, for anyone using one or more of my WordPress plugins and related paraphernalia, I will be going over them (including some not listed here but which are out there in the public wilderness) during the next several weeks to make sure everything is fully WordPress 2.3 compatible. Many I am already certain of, since I run a number of my plugins on guff, and nothing has yet exploded since upgrading to 2.3. Nevertheless…

Thirdly, several of my plugins are in desperate need of updating, bug fixes, and the like. I will be hitting at these as well. No time lines though, since work on my free stuff is something I have to play by ear (i.e. between time spent making money, sleeping, eating, watching the 4th season of Battlestar Galactica, and so on).

Fourthly, I’ve often been up and down when it comes to my own computer, but I am now the proud parent of a (currently 4 month old) Dell Inspiron e-1505. The machine, for the most part, does what I need it to do. However, the keyboard seems to hate me. I’m missing one of the alt keys, and working the space bar is an iffy affair (I really am rough on these things). If you’re aware of a good, cheap, trustworthy place to order a replacement keyboard for a Dell notebook, I’d appreciate knowing about them, too.

Fifthly, I am at present fully and completely Linux-enabled. The Windows Vista install which came on the Inspiron finally had to go. Not because I tired of it (well…), but rather because Vista bit the dust so hard I’ve been unable to reinstall it. Note: I’m a former computer tech support and help desk fella, and getting Windows to return from the dead has never been a problem for me. Until this month! Anyway, for now I am enjoying learning about and playing around with my new OS.

Sixthly, fuck you, Bill Gates.