Slacking off…

Ok, I admit it! I’ve been slacking of again. And rather than looking for justifications as to why, I’m just going to accept the fact, plain and simple. I procrastinated. I’m a procrastinator, down to the bone.

They always say that part of solving a problem is facing and accepting the existence of the problem. Then why the heck am I still stuck?

Anyway, as always, I’ll procrastinate again and put off writing my next article for tomorrow. I’m not in the physical or mental condition to do it tonight, having gone to the toilet three times within the last 2 hours. This sucks…

So what do I have planned in the very near future? Well, I have to finish my “What the fsck is Linux” series, first of all. Although I can “publicize” the first part already, and ask/accept comments, suggestions, and criticisms, I don’t want to present a half-baked article. I also really feel that the first part is very incomplete, and that the only reason I posted it at that time was to have some “meaningful” content on my blog. But I’m glad that I did post it like that. At least I have an incentive to finish it now. I can only imagine with dread what would have happened if I decided to put off posting it in the first place.

In the meantime, I’m having fun exploring the different features of Multiply.com. It’s a social networking service plus a whole lot more. It’s too early for me to say something definitive about it, but it’s so good that I’m considering moving to that service (again!).

Well, until then, I’m gonna get a good night’s rest, and hope that my digestive organs will be more cooperative tomorrow.

Changing my goals

When I started this blog, I had the intention of studying to become a developer of some open source software project, and that this blog would be sort of my “developer’s blog”. That’s why I said that I would try to limit my personal posts as much as possible

But then I just thought: why limit my blog now for something that I’m yet to become, if I ever become that? Anyway, what’s wrong with mixing “geek” stuff with personal stuff? It’s my blog anyway. And it’s quite easy to filter out non-techy stuff thanks to tags.

So starting tomorrow, I will also be blogging on non-computer/Linux related stuff. Of course, I won’t be overdoing it and post about anything and everything. Only the more important/significant things in life.

Updates

So what have I been doing these past days?

Well, first I’ve finally finished writing the first part of my first ever Linux article/post. It took some time to make because I wanted to get at least some of my facts and information right. Even so, I’m still not absolutely sure that what I wrote was 100% accurate.

I also managed to archive my old blog posts from my previous blog over at blogdrive.com. I’ve decided to write my blog posts in HTML format from now on, and save them on my computer as separate blog entries. So that I could back up, edit, and transfer them easily later on. Oh, the archives are found on the Other Pages section. It mostly contains short fantasy stories I wrote, some drawings I made, and some other personal rants.

Other than that, it was been a pretty slow week, with the strong rain and winds. I have barely seen the sun shine for more than an hour for the past 7 days.

I heart/hate rainy days…

My sister recently blogged on the things she liked about rainy days (Ate, why don’t you have permalinks?). It kinda led me to think about my own ambiguous relationship with the weather.

I love rainy days…

I usually find myself looking forward to rainy days, specially when I was still in school. The rainy season meant possible suspension of classes. Yeah, I was one of those who didn’t really want to get their money’s worth of education. Being a scholar, I really didn’t mind if I lost a few days of classes (baaad lama…). Of course, looking back, it certainly wasn’t the best thing for me. Rainy days also meant cool, relaxing, and lazy days. A welcome break from the otherwise busy and hectic days. A pause from the usual schedule.

But the problem starts when I do need to get back on schedule. My body, but mostly my mind, just won’t cooperate and return from it’s early “winter” (we don’t really have winter here) vacation. It’s really hard to start doing what you should be doing, when the whole atmosphere is conducive to sleeping. It’s like trying to immediately start a machine that has been dormant and cold for quite a long time. As a result, there were a few things that I should have done/finished this week, that was left, well, undone. It gives proof the saying “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

Of course, my subconscious mind might just be trying to find a convenient excuse for my lack of discipline and perseverance.

I hate rainy days…

A not so productive week…

I’ve been a bit busy these past days, but not over the things that I had planned to do.

First of all, the rainy/wet season has arrived, making the climate a bit cooler, which has the effect of making the atmosphere generally relaxed. And this kind of setting isn’t good for me, not because of health reasons, but because I feel lazy whenever it’s cold. And this had to happen when I was just on the verge of actually breaking my “lazy” habits. I guess a bit more perseverance, determination, and self-control is needed. But if the past days are any indication, I’m definitely not on track.

My sister also came home and stayed for a few days because she was very sick. Must have been something she ate. So I couldn’t do what I would normally do around the house, like cleaning my room (which is connected to hers), doing some exercises (didn’t want to disturb her), etc. Of course, her being home might be just another (subconcious) excuse for me to slow down on my schedule.

Lastly, I’ve been busy trying out new stuff with my OS (operating system). My main system is Ubuntu Linux, and I was using KDE as my primary DE or desktop environment. But KDE is not the only option out there. The nice thing about Linux is that you are not tied down to anything (well, not much). So I can change my desktop environment if I want to. So for the past days, I’ve been trying out another alternative, GNOME, to see if it could be “it” (the DE that I’m sticking to). Of course, I couldn’t really make a very informed decision if I only used it for a couple of hours. So I decided to try it out for a few days. But trying it out involves that I really have to use GNOME the way I use KDE, and that means putting a halt to my normal self-study schedule. And I’m not even sure if I’m done with my test run. There are still some things that I haven’t checked out in GNOME. I also experienced some difficulties in migrating some documents from one word processor to another (although I could use the same word processor in both GNOME and KDE). Until then, I’m putting my “studies” on hold for another full week. Hopefully, once I’ve made my final decision, I could settle down and resume my studies. I really don’t like being behind schedule. It’s like a nagging wife that I don’t (and hopefully will never) have.
NOTE: If all these sound Greek to you, don’t worry. I promise to make a write up about these things soon.

What’s with the name?!

You’d probably be wondering what’s with the title (and probably subtitle) of my blog. Those who didn’t know me from my “formative” years in the seminary won’t have a clue.

Jucato - simply said, it’s made up of the first 2 letters of each word in my name, excluding my mom’s maiden name. so it’s Juan Carlos Torres. Some (crazy) people from the seminary coined that name, just because there were two of us who have the same nickname (and after 3 years, there were 3 of us). The original name they made was actually just Juca, but it rhymed with so many things, some of the them not so nice, that I decided to add my family name to it. It also makes the name sound Japanese.
Oh, and it’s pronounced as “dew-ka-toh”. (not who-ka-tow).

Data Core – well, I’m a tech freak. I love computers (though my knowledge isn’t very extensive). I also love gadgets. I’m a sci-fi type of person, but not a full-blooded Trekie (or is it Trekkie). So I thought of making the title of my blog a bit related to technology. I was also planning to make this blog a sort of repository, a central core, for my ideas and thoughts, which are nothing but data, in computer terms.

Hard Drive – well, what is the mind if not a very powerful and special hard drive. Of course, the mind exceeds the capabilities of a hard disk, but the analogy is there.

Ok, there you have it. An explanation of my blog’s title. Why I even bother to explain, or why I actually feel the need to “justify” the title, is a mystery to me.

Now, wasn’t that boring?

On a more (probably) interesting note, my “About Me” page is now finished.

Too much to do, too little time

I really need to get my priorities checked and organized. I just realized that I have no less than 5 personal projects unfinished or not even started yet. And those are just the ones that I could remember!!

I also realized that there are so many things that I actually want to study and to do. I can’t seem to decide whether I would rather pursue and focus computer programming or computer graphics, both of which I equally love. Although some might actually question my art capabilities. Like what I’ve said before, I’ve had mixed results when it comes to art. Then there’s also studying about making webpages. Sure, I’ve had enough knowledge to make a very, very basic one. But there have been new technologies and styles that make my webpage making knowledge look like an antique grandfather clock in a hi-tech appliance store. Then there’s the little family tree/directory I’ve promised my mom 2 years ago!

Oh well, I guess I have face the music sooner or later. I think sooner would probably be better. As what Ron said to Harry Potter about Hermione, “She needs to get her priorities checked!” (Of course, change “she” to “he” and “her” to “his”).

Hello World!

Ok, so I have made another blog, on another host. However, this might not be the last stop. (Sheesh! I really need to settle down on one)

Anyway, let me start by saying “Hello, World!” I’ve always wondered why most programming books start off by making a program that displays just that. I mean, c’mon! I’m sure they could have thought of something more impressive.

So what will I be posting here? Well, for sure it won’t be an online diary. I have no intentions of revealing what’s in the innermost recesses of my soul. Besides, some blogging guides seem to suggest to focus on one or two topics/categories, to prevent confusion (for me and other people).

So I will be be having only 3 categories in this blog (yeah I know, the guides says one or two, but I like stretching the limits a bit. )

1. Computers: This will be my main and primary category. This has been the original love of my life, and I’ve rediscovered its joys and wonders recently. So most of the things I’ll be talking about will be computer-related. Possible sub-categories could be Linux, Free/Open Source Software, Programming, and Gadgets.
2. Art: Visual arts to be exact. Ok, I’m a frustrated artist. I can do drawings and stuff that sometimes makes people smile. But sometimes I also can’t draw anything worthwhile at all. I guess some things I could talk about here would be Drawings, Anime (yes I consider it to be an art), Fantasy (books, art, etc), and Movies and Shows.
3. Personal: My personal experiences, at least some of those that are worth posting. I promise to keep these to a minimum, though, lest my whole blog turn out to be one big diary.Ok, I think I’ve written too much again. How’s that for a first post? Well, anyway keep in touch as I have big plans for the future. IF I don’t migrate to another host.