Underway on Linux. Again.

I must be a glutton for punishment. Every once in a while, I'll try to install Linux. Usually what will happen is there will be an epic fail within the first two hours, and I'll end up wiping it completely. A couple of times, I've ended up taking the nuke form orbit approach and wiping my entire tower, and starting over with windows and linux. Sometimes it'll last more than two hours, but I'll end up nuking it because I can't the graphics driver to install. Or the tv tuner... But I always keep getting drawn back, called by the Siren's Song of running my computer and sticking it to The Anti-Christ.

Then again, I think I've stated before here that I want my primary OS on my tower to be Linux-based. Of all the distributions I've tried, I keep coming to OpenSuSE. It supports both KDE and Gnome, and I can get it to play nice with all my hardware. I've dabble in Fedora before, but I couldn't get it to mount my windows drive, so I couldn't really 'move in', and it only supported Gnome (if you're migrating from WIndows, KDE is the way to go).

This time, I've gotten past the all essential graphics driver reinstall stage. Two monitors is really important to me, and what has happened in the past is that I could only get it recognize and drive one monitor, or I'd only be able to have the same display on both monitors. Not good. The next things I have to do are install the printer drivers (a little tricky since I'm running the 64-bit, and the only drivers I could find are 32-bit, but I can brute-force it), and the TV tuner (not that big of a deal right now).

So, Hello World. I'm under way on Linux. Again...

So, United Health Care doesn't want me to see a doctor. Period.

With the passage of Obamacare, I lost my company provided health insurance. Not that I grieve for it. The one claim I filed for a routine diabetic checkup was denied due to a pre-existing condition, and I ended up paying over $400.00 out of pocket for a 15 minute office visit (GFY Aetna). So, I filled out my online application, and I qualified for the state's basic health plan (aka Apple Care),  in this case provided by United Health Care. I assigned a doctor (who was not the previous doctor I'd been seeing). They call themselves managed care. It should be more correctly called micro-managed care. I looked on their website and saw that my previous doctor was on the network,  but the website wouldn't completely load so I couldn't do anything about it. I asked online how to switch providers, and I was ignored. They just sent me a new ID card with the sand provider. I tried calling them, but all I got a as a voice recognition program that couldn't understand what I was saying (kind of like a menu where they deliberately how the choices).

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago,  when I updated my income (getting more hours at work), and I'm no longer eligible for United Health Care. I'm still covered by it till the end of the month,  and i was finally able to switch to my old provider. So i call and set up an appointment with him. The next day, I get a call from the doctors office saying that I'm not listed in the system, and that I'd be paying for this out of my own pocket. I don't have over $400.00 so I canceled the appointment. After calling United Health Care, I was told that the changes won't take place until I receive my new ID card, which probably won't conveniently arrive until after I'm off of United Health Care.

I'm a type I diabetic. And United Health Care doesn't want me to see a doctor.

So, it is Mother's Day today....

So today is the day to celebrate motherhood. Whatever issues you may have with your parents, at least take the time to acknowledge her existence and the gave that she bore you for nine or so months, then endured the Hell you gave her for 18-21 years... I say my mom's yesterday, I'll probably be over there again tonight. Abd tomorrow we're going to get together at my sister's for the actual mother's day celebration.

I did do something today as well,  and I would encourage you to do it s well. I went through all my facebook contacts,  abd left a Mother's day wish on the walls of all my Facebook friends whom I know to be mothers. And it just about killed my phone's battery...

To the unknown person…

This is primarily addressed to a certain person. Saturday, I got a phone call form my mother that somebody called her and asked for me. It was replied that I don’t live there (which is true). I called the number on the caller ID, and it was a Magic Jack user with a Kent, WA telephone number. To satisfy my curiosity, I called it & I’ve never had an answer.

So, if you’re that person and you want to get a hold of me. I can tell that you have Magic Jack, which probably means that you have email. So why don’t you drop me a line at roger.a.bryant@gmail.com.

(I’ve no problem with publishing this email address on the internet). It was my reply to address when I was on usenet, and I’ve heared that Gmail has some very robust spam filtering onboard.

May the Fourth Be With You

So, it is apparently some sort of Star Wars day today. I suppose you could reach out to that Special Inept Imperial Officer and Force-Choke him (though I'm also partial to the Force - Bitchslap)....

May the Fourth be with you. Although having said that, LucasArts is jumping the shark in completely disregarding all the canon that built up all the years and in the video games. Episode 7 without Kyle Katarn? They might as well make Cousin Oliver and Ted McGinley Jedi Knights...