Hello and Greetings


Last Full Moon of 2020

Here is a photograph of the last full moon of 2020 going down behind the mountains early on Dec-29. The closer the moon got to the horizon, the more the color went from orange to yellow.

Dennis - 12/29/2020

Linux Testing Results


While cooped up during the COVID-19 phenomenon, I had a chance to experiment with various computer operating systems. Virtualization software makes it possible for a host computer to run other operating systems in a window as a guest machine.

After trying a dozen or so Linux OS's, I have settled on a few main ones for my daily operations. Today Linux comes in many flavors with just as many desktops or window managers. There are stable versions right on up to rolling releases.

Stable versions do not require as much updating as a rolling release does. If you want the latest Linux kernel or cutting edge features then the rolling releases might suit your style. Otherwise, there are many stable versions of Linux to use as your daily driver.

I use Debian (Buster) as my main stable release and LMDE4 as my second stable release. Quite a few distros are based on Debian stable with another layer like Ubuntu or Mint on top to handle the commercial licensing issues.

Arch Linux is my favorite and is also a rolling release so it usually has daily updates. I have tried several desktops and I like Cinnamon myself. If memory is an issue try using just a window manager rather than a complete desktop.

So, I Give You FrankenArch


Arch Linux is a do it yourself type process and not recommended for beginners. There are Linux distros that will install Arch using their installer but it's not the same as doing it the Arch-Way from scratch using the command line.

So what I did was use Arch Linux to build my own version of what I call FrankenArch. I use bits and pieces of software from various Linux packages and desktops. I'm using the Cinnamon Desktop for my GUI interface.

I run FrankenArch on my laptops and it uses about 500-535mb of memory at boot. The first image shows my FrankenArch desktop at boot. The second image shows my hidden launch panel and the menu system. Both the launch panel and menu are hidden until your mouse over. FrankenArch is fast and can handle anything that the big dogs can. Check out distrowatch for the latest Linux distros.

Dennis - 12/30/2020

Local Attractions

A couple of miles from our house is Highway 50 which cuts across Colorado. If you drive west out of Pueblo West along HWY-50 for 42 miles, you'll see the Royal Gorge Bridge and amusement park turn off. Staying on HWY-50 for another 60 miles past the Royal Gorge Bridge road is the Monarch ski resort.

As you drive along HWY-50 you'll see a lot of places that offer kayaking, tubing, and fly fishing services.

40 miles to the north of us along I-25 is Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. The big attractions in the Springs are Pike's Peak and Garden of The Gods.

The Pueblo Reservoir and dam on the Arkansas River has flying fishing along the river below the dam. You can also Kayak from the dam all the way into the city of Pueblo.

Search Engine Toys

Google, Bing, and Yahoo do not use the meta tag for keywords on websites anymore. Most of the search material comes from the body and actual content of the website pages. So that's why I have a simple unordered list for the search bots, it gives them something to grab.
  • Just Mare Pottery, Pueblo West Colorado
  • Volunteer Gila County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Squad, Arizona Mountains
  • Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) License W7AWH
  • Arizona State University Class of 2001, Tempe Arizona
  • Syntellect Inc., Phoenix Arizona
  • McDonnell Douglas, Mesa Arizona
  • Acoustic Imaging, Tempe Arizona
  • Motorola Four-Phase Systems, Tempe Arizona
  • GenRad/Omni Comp, Phoenix Arizona
  • Precision Manufacturing, Phoenix Arizona
  • Woodworth Lake Scout Reservation, Adirondack Mountains New York
  • Spy Lake, Adirondack Mountains New York
  • Caroga Lake, Adirondack Mountains New York
  • Fort Plain, Mohawk Valley New York
  • 1969 Miracle Mets!