Col. Panic* arm-wrestled into submission

I'm living la vida cross-platform, and I like it, like it, like it. Presently, my Dell is running Ubuntu, and Ubuntu is running Parallels, and Parallels is running Windows XP. It may seem like a house of cards, but in practice, it lets me take advantage of the power, security and flexibility of Linux (not to mention the great open source software and tools available for it), while still being able to use Windows for the applications I depend upon that aren't available for Linux (e.g., iTunes). It's not perfect (this arrangement does not support my iPhone, for example, and there doesn't appear to be a way I can boot directly into Windows XP in this configuration), but I'm excited by its potential. And it's another way to deal with my Mac-envy. ;)

NERD ALERT: This rest of this post summarizes what it took to get this set up. If the preceding paragraph felt too techie, you probably just want to skip it.

*Okay, so in reality I only encountered a kernel panic once in the process of installing Ubuntu (the "Feisty Fawn" release) on my home PC, but it turned out to be a lot more technical that I'd have hoped to get Ubuntu running, primarily because I was trying to use an external boot device. The trick had to do with correctly configuring the GRUB boot loader to reference the drive, and it turns out that the standard GRUB settings created by the Ubuntu installation process are not correct for external devices. There furthermore appear to be some counter-intuitive interactions between GRUB and your machine's BIOS settings for boot order. The BIOS boot sequence defines how these drives are enumerated, and GRUB uses hard-coded references to the drive sequence, so that (1) you have to have the BIOS and GRUB settings in sync, and (2) changing the BIOS boot sequence will cause GRUB's load process to fail. Although the problem is understandably technical, let's just say that this approach seems inelegant, trapped (by requirements to support legacy devices and configurations) in the terse, command-line oriented world of PC computing circa 1990. Why not just have a BIOS-based menu that pops up with all of the bootable OSes available to the machine, with descriptive names for each of the boot options? (My Dell has something similar, but it identifies devices, not bootable hard-drive partitions, so if you have multiple bootable partitions on a drive, you're back to dealing with GRUB.)

With Ubuntu installed, my next task was to get Parallels running. The primary challenge there was that I began this process with only 512MB of RAM. I did, in fact, succeed in getting Ubunutu-running-Parallels-running-WinXP working in that configuration, but it was painfully slow. I've since added another to 2GB of RAM, and now things are performing reasonably well. My remaining challenges with Parallels include figuring out how to configure its full screen mode to use my secondary monitor, instead of my primary one, and crossing my fingers that the Parallels folks will add iPhone support to Parallels Workstation for Linux. (They've already succeeded in doing so for Parallels Desktop for Mac, so hopefully I'm not wishing in vain.)

Right now, I'm considering my set up to be a platform (1) for testing whether this configuration will meet my needs going forward and (2) to address the malware infection with my original Windows installation. If there are other big a-ha's on either front, I'll write about them here.

Homeland Security recommends you stock up now

I recently watched 28 Weeks Later, the meh-inducing sequel to 28 Days Later, a zombie apocalypse film directed by Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting fame) that I enjoyed. The sequel isn't worth watching (true to its genre, you'll be able to foretell the plot about 5 minutes in, but getting there isn't worthwhile). Nevertheless, I was curious to learn that:

I have a51%chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Better than even odds, at least. Gulp.

Baking metaphors, continued

I arrived in Columbus last Thursday to celebrate the first anniversary with my sweetie, who was waiting for me in the passenger pick-up area on her happy yellow motorcycle. (Weather permitting, airport drops by bike have become something of a tradition slash sport with us. They encourgage sensible packing, too.)

As she alluded in her post about our anniversary, the house was warmed by the smell of recent baking, a dark golden loaf of banana bread with cinnamon chips waiting on the cutting board. It did not last long. (Julie has great skill with baked goods, metaphorically and otherwise.)

Like our last year together, the weekend felt full, abundant and managed to strike many different notes: an outing and watching BSG with friends on Friday night; a lazy Saturday of lounging, reading and talking; and a dinner party on Sunday preceded by an afternoon of ambition in the grocery store and in the kitchen, yielding much laughter and good conversation, as well as a delicious whole roasted whitefish stuffed with peppers, carrots, cabbage, fennel, onions with nuoc cham and a dessert I've never had but now can highly recommend, calfouti.

And on Monday, the warmest and sunniest of my visit and also our actual anniversary, the coup de grace. Julie had a workshop for the first part of the afternoon, which I spent on a picnic blanket in the sun at OSU's main quad. When finished, we hopped on her bike for a spin through rolling countryside, heading southeast toward Hocking Hills. The scenery was spectacular, as our two-lane road wound through small towns, wooded areas awash in slanting sunlight. We stopped for a bite to eat, our now-traditional anniversary meal of low-brow veggie pizza, where the veggies in question have clearly come right out of a can (this one did at least surpass the cold, wet mess we obtained last year from her neighborhood pizzeria, Gatto's).

We then found our way -- quite accidentally, if you can believe it -- to Ash Cave, pictured, the crown jewel of the Hocking Hills state park. The cave is a place where the limestone cliffs have eroded to create an enormous, high cornice and outcropping, beneath which lies a sandy floor and ample shelter from rain or storms. It suddenly felt as though we'd stepped out of Ohio and onto the soundstage of a film set in the Jurassic. Ash Cave gets its name from the substantial amount of ash found in its sandy bed, evidence that people have been using the cave in that capacity for a long time. Julie and I also took refuge there for a while, alone as we were, only the sound of the waterfall accompanying us in that spot.

Sun descending, the day ended with another gorgeous ride through those wooded hills, lit by the pink, then crimson sunset. At home, we debated heading toward the roller rink for a late night skate (revisiting another of our activities from last year), but instead decided for a snuggle and a movie.

And, this morning, Julie again dropped me off at the airport on her bike, ending another of the best weekends ever, with the promise of more to come. As we begin our second year together, I can only repeat how lucky I feel to have such an interesting, strong, complex and simply lovely woman in my life. She makes the daily process of building a life together nothing short of joyful. Lucky, lucky, lucky me. Thank you, my darling.

Sharing our big plans

Here's an email I circulated this week to people with whom I work closely, letting the cat out of the bag about Julie and my plans for 2009. Of course, it makes the whole thing seem even more real and rapidly approaching. I count myself really lucky to have had the opportunities I've had over the last decade, to be preparing for another big adventure, and most of all, to be sharing it all with the woman I love.


Friends,

Love is an amazing thing. At the end of the year, I'll be leaving Hearth Connection after over 11 years. My sweetheart Julie and I will begin some travels in early 2009 and aren't sure when we'll be back to Minnesota.

Working with all of you to end homelessness is an amazing privilege. I've never met finer, more dedicated, more talented people. In particular, the stories and strength of those of us who have experienced homelessness have been a constant source of inspiration and motivation. While there are still far too many people who begin each day without a place to call home, it is also true that the landscape has changed much over the past decade. The political will, systemic changes, broader partnerships and growing momentum for proven, effective solutions promise to hasten the end to homelessness for those still locked in its grip, and to help our communities be the just, compassionate places they can and should be. Not only is ending homelessness achievable, it is more achievable now than ever before.

I'll be pulling 100% between now and my departure, getting some big projects off my plate and helping transition my responsibilities. I'm lucky to have such a great group of colleagues at Hearth Connection to work with and depend on. Jennifer Ho (our Executive Director), Kristine Davis (our Director of Programs), and I are working closely on in this transition to ensure quality and continuity in what you expect from us. Hearth Connection is as committed to being an effective ally and partner to you as ever.

I look forward to crossing paths with you over the next eight months, and in the future. Thanks for the opportunity to work hard, doing work that matters, with such a great group of people.

Eric