things i've learned after using linux for a year
June of '23 was when I officially switched over to Linux. It's now June of '24 as I write this, and yeah, I'm still using it. My flavor of choice is Kubuntu LTS, which means Long Term Support. I specifically wanted that because I am not a distro hopper. Some who run Linux change their OS every week. I didn't want that. All I wanted is something stable and reliable so I could get my computing stuff done.
I still do keep a spare Windows 10 laptop for just two things. Garmin GPS updates and printing. That's it. The Garmin Express software is Windows or Mac only and that's the way it's more or less always been. Yes, people have been screaming at Garmin to release a Linux version of Express, but they've never done it and probably never will. And as for the printing stuff, this is actually something I could get working in Linux, but I don't bother given how infrequently I print anything. It's not that much of a hassle to put a document on a USB stick, turn on my Win10 laptop and print that way.
What's the best part about Linux?
Yeah, I still do this because it's fun. However, I've changed the way I go about it so I can get ultra precise loops.
There are only two tools required to do this, mpv media player and FFmpeg. And yes, we will have to go to the scary command line to make this work correctly. When you want precise loops, that's what you have to do.
It is usually true - other than just by looking outside - that the only thing you really need to get weather information is a weather station and/or a big 'ol outdoor thermometer.
What those tools can't do however is tell me a forecast, nor give me any information from a significant distance.
I've been sick all week. Caught a bug. Is it flu? No idea. Maybe.
I don't get sick often. Maybe once or twice yearly. But when I do, it hits hard and there is a routine I go through to allow my body to heal itself.
I'll try my best not to make what I'm about to describe sound gross.
It's not the Strat-style pickup configuration and electronics that really make this great but rather the bridge.
What you're looking at here is a G&L ASAT III from the late 1990s. It does not load strings from the rear but is rather a top loader, and things get better from there.
