I finally made the leap.  Even though I had dabbled in various Linux distributions before, I never had the guts to step away from the dual boots and live CDs to do a full install.  Now I finally have.
    This past weekend I made it my goal to fully switch over to Ubuntu; no dual boots where I could easily go back to Windows at the first sign of difficulty.  After spending the past few days staying up until the wee hours of the morning working out problems I finally have a stable rig running.
    After figuring out how to get my dual monitors working as well as install Photoshop in a seamless Virtual Box install (check out the screen shot above), I've been able to find a few things that I really like about Linux over windows.
    First off, the Terminal is my new favorite tool.  I've barely scratched the surface of all its commands but using a command line interface is very fast and efficient.  Additionally, this efficiency is complemented by how Ubuntu deals with files.  When you copy and paste files and folders, it is done instantly; no need to refresh a folder view to see changes.
    Some of the programs I've discovered so far are also very cool.  Having multiple desktops is a convenient feature, allowing me to switch from a web-browsing environment to a photo-editing one quickly and without all the clutter of having multiple programs open on one desktop.  The data backup software I'm using also seems to be a million times better than anything I have used before.  I loved using Syncback for windows, but now using rsnapshot I'm able to have much more control over how my backups work.
    I've also found it's a little easier managing my web server in Ubuntu.  Before I would have to use an SSH client like Putty to access my server, but now I can do so through Terminal, eliminating a few extra steps.
    I've only been using Ubuntu for a few days now and I absolutely love it.  It has some downsides (having to run PS and Zune in a virtualization), but besides that it is fantastic.  Once I get a few more basic things worked out I can't wait to start working on an installation of apache to make a new and improved music server.

    This week I spent some time helping Zack put together a computer from the parts he ordered online.  Putting everything together went pretty smoothly with 2 minor exceptions.
    First was the heat sink.  If you have never had to install one, feel lucky.  All the heat sinks I've worked with required a good deal of force to install correctly, making me worry that I'll break something or snap the motherboard in half.  This heat sink was no exception.  After assembling all the parts we decided to turn the computer on for the first time.  It seemed to work fine until it started to turn off randomly before we could install an OS on it.
    I encountered this problem on the first computer I ever built so I recognized immediately.  What took me a few days to figure out on my first computer took only a few minutes to fix this time around: the heat sink was not seated correctly and the CPU was overheating.  Easy fix, no biggie.  The bigger issue came with one of the monitors.
    The setup was supposed to run dual monitors off of one video card.  One of the monitors worked flawlessly while the other one was having some issues.  The second monitor, which was working just fine the day before, was now showing inverted colors and the corners of the screen were flipped around (the mouse would show in the bottom left when moved in the upper right direction, etc...).  Also, there was a latent image stored in the video cards memory so it would show windows screen shots during boot up, which was confusing at first.
    We tried a dozen things to get the second monitor to work properly, installing and reinstalling video card drivers, re-seating the video card, switching inputs for the monitors.  For two days this problem stumped the two of us; we were running out of things to try and had no idea what the problem was.
    After two days Zack found the simple error: even though we had checked monitor connections to the computer a million times, some how the connection to the second monitor had become loose.  After making sure it was in all the way, the second monitor "miraculously" worked again and all problems were solved.
    Oh the joy of troubleshooting computers.

    I spent my first two days home from Cleveland unpacking my belongings and getting some chores done that I would otherwise have to do on the weekend (when it will be warm and sunny and not cold and dreary like today).  
    I started off by visiting a few banks around town to try to get a job.  One outright said they have a "hiring freeze", a few others use only online applications (ugh, I feel like these never get looked at), and was able to fill out an app at one location.  Hopefully I'll find something out within a week or two or I'll have to try plans B and C: waiting tables or working at some small business like a bakery.
    Also today, I assembled my computer.  Normally not a big deal, but this time I decided would do something about the hideous mess of wires that are usually just hanging around underneath my desk.  I bought a cable management basket (read about it in a Lifehacker article about computer cable management) and it works well.  The mess of cables that used to dangle over the floor now is neatly kept hidden from view under my desk in this basket.
    Additionally, I decided to look into X10 devices today.  The X10 protocol is pretty cool; it sends information through AC power lines during zero crossings.  Hopefully, once my equipment from eBay arrives I'll be able to control some electric devices via remote and computer.  If that works without any major issues I'll be able to add in cellphone SMS texting control as well.
    Ultimately, my goal is to make an easily manageable party system for my suite's common room next year.  Something along the lines of MIDAS.