XUbuntu is installed

Finally, XUbuntu is installed and works fast, is easy to use and so far I managed to find my way, without any pre-knowledge about Linux

Goodbye is not enough

I just finished backing up all my files on my Laptop with Windows as OS and checked if my wife’s BSc thesis written in WORD on Windows can be opened on WORD on MAC without damage. And it can, EXCEPT that the images appear inverted. Apparently a known problem between Windows-MAC, but still good enough for me to spend angry hours fighting against it. But these will hopefully be my last hours with Windows. I have hated a lot of companies and Software products so far, but Windows and Microsoft have been the worst of all of these. I don’t know how many months of my life I have struggled with these buggy software products. Although I am using MAC since 4 years I still was using Windows on a part time basis at home. But now its final: You are dead to me Windows!

I just converted my wife, by buying her a new MacBook, to a happy MAC user. She just has to finish her thesis and then it is time for her to get to know LaTex and all her troubles (at least the Windows related ones, the once with LaTex have at least dignity and system behind it) will be over.

For all of you who still uses Windows and MAC, try to avoid the drag-and-drop options and ALWAYS insert figures by inserting the image as a file, otherwise you will end up with inverted images, which can’t be re-inverted. The solution, although quite simple, has taken hours for me to find out, namely safe the WORD files as a WEBPAGE (nothing new so far, I suppose), but prior to that do some simple steps outlined here. And when doing so increase the pixel and select the largest possible resolution of the image. I was able to extract the original image quality (few MB big PNG images), which I haven’t thought were possible, because so far I was used to get crappy JPEG images.

I am heading towards an anger-free-world, by killing Windows and Microsoft as much as possible in my world, and so far it helps. Now it is time to install XUbuntu on my own laptop and everything will be fine. I hope!

Audiometry via internet

One of the tasks my wife got from the hospital to decrease the time in the queue for her ear surgery was to take part in the following online audiometry study. I always thought that my hearing was slightly bad because my wife keeps telling me that I don’t react while sitting in front of the computer when she asks me to change our sons diapers or to do other things. I always thought it must be a result of my bad hearing, but thanks to the audiometry test we are a step closer to the truth:

The plots (click on it to enlarge it) show the audiometry results of me and my wife for the left and right ear, respectively. For adults a 20 db is limit as far as I remember, so I am fine, but my wife’s right ear needs much more to feel something. This again brings us to the sound spectra of our sons crying, which explains why she never hears him crying when sleeping on her left ear. Soon, after her surgery, there is no excuse for telling me that she didn’t hear him crying! Test it for your self (it is in Swedish!), it might help you to find out if you are really bad in hearing or just lazy and maybe you might get an early diagnosis which could save you some pain and trouble.

The end of a legend

I complained a lot lately, be it about rental car services, or people not keeping their word, meaning lying, being dishonest or just not knowing the meaning of time. Recently something unspeakable has happened. As mentioned before baby and his mommy has left for the formal communist part of Germany and to make their life not miserable we ordered broadband Internet for her parents house, to connect at least their house to the outer world. The city, where they live, has some 3000 inhabitants and one telephone box (one of the places I used to visit a lot when I were visiting them) and usually not much happens. I often picture the villagers speaking about the foreign car visiting their city and the strange guy spending his money in the only telephone box they have; thanks to me they have something to speak about for weeks, I suppose.

Anyhow, what I wanted to write was; we ordered Internet at they promised to deliver everything within 2 weeks. So, I booked a flight for my self for a day which lays 2 weeks and few day away in the future in order to buy a laptop and prepare everything for my parents-in-law so that they can observe what we are doing much better than via phone. And no the German company starts mentioning that they have problems keeping their time schedule. What?? Wait, I am not in Italy, or Turkey anymore, where people have actually something to eat or live for instead of keeping times or living like a clock. I expected everything but not that. No I had to explain to them that I am coming from Sweden, renting a car and visiting my parents-in-law to just fix their Internet connection and that I assumed that they were grown ups and wouldn’t promise what they can’t keep. So, if I don’t here from them tomorrow what I want to hear, I will go crazy, because than there is nothing else what is unchangeable. If even Germany and its industry gets neglectful, then … ? Yeah, what then?

New hobby

Since I became father or since I lived in Italy I have a new hobby, namely complaining. You might say: wait, isn’t that already an inherent habit of Germans? Yes, you are right, but as a wannabe nerd you don’t really copy habits or your own people, you just take something from here and there. Anyway, writing complaints seems to be a good way to bundle my anger. I don’t know how many I have written within the last 4 month. Mainly I am writing in such a way, that the recipient doesn’t have an option other than ignoring my message. Only sometimes I write in kind words and then I get an answer. But in Sweden I even get for angry comments a polite answer and sometimes even a coupon. Anyway, I am not doing it for the glory or the money, but just to get rid of my anger. Its just about small things, like plastic items in frozen food, or diapers without the sticky tape, or other things which make me angry. I should start with sports again, but there is no time for that. So I will be updating this blog more often about the small things in life, which make you angry. Of course I should complain to myself as well about the many things I could have done better, but I am not as kind as Swedes.

PS: “Just because nobody complains doesn’t mean all parachutes are perfect.” by Benny Hill.

LaTex editor

Thanks to Alex for a freeware replacement for WinEdit. Since I use TexShop on MacOs I don’t have to deal with Windoof (that how we smart Germans call Windows ) stuff anymore, but sometimes it might be of use if you do not have your PowerBook close to you.