For twelve years now I’ve used Linux as my primary desktop operating system. I can’t imagine using any other operating system on my computer. Here’s why:
It’s totally free with easy updates via apt-get. Distribution upgrades sometimes requires a bit of tweaking of files but are relatively easy to use. No fancy installers that block what you are doing or lots of windows to click through.
Software all comes through the apt-get mechanism, you don’t have to go to risky websites to download software.
Standard Unix programs and functions are easy to script in bash and pipe their output between processes.
Most things nowadays are done on the web and the Linux web browsers are in most ways the same as the commercial platforms.
OpenOffice is a fully functional and stable office platform for all my office software needs.
QGIS as somebody who enjoys mapping and exploring land has become a killer geographic information system, especially in recent years. It takes full advantage of the GRASS platform and various Unix based GIS software.
Great professional web development tools that are running in their native environment
I am not a fan of overly glossy things, so I use the fast and simple XCFE desktop environment which is great because it never changes. Even Linux itself pretty much stays the same, although little things evolve over the years.
This is something I think about a lot. Not because I don't make good money and my investments have done well, but I know a truck is going to be used and used up, and after 15 years be garbage. But what is time and life if you don't do something with it? Travel and have adventures? It's nice to say, a 20-year old Honda Civic gets you to the Maul most of the time, but what if you care about things besides driving to SuperDuper Wally World, your office and the Maul? I guess an old clunker works, and I hate the message spending all that money on a SuperDuty sends, though I also know the cost of a SuperDuty really is only a few months of Capital Gains the way the market grew last year. But what if I invested that extra $20k or $40k and got an old clunker? Questions on my mind. Truth is it probably doesn't matter that much, as while it will dip my cash account for now, it won't impact my retirement or investing stragety nor the income I have coming in. Still I'm conflicted.
I was thinking all of the things I’ve learned about the auto dealerships, the automobile industry and Ford SuperDuty trucks over the past three weeks. While I’ve been trolling several dealership websites, I only just recently realized Ford has their own inventory website that has window stickers and info for each vehicle within 100 or 200 miles, at which I can take a deeper inspection of dealers own website, before calling to ask to have a salesman put hands on vehicle and confirm it’s on the lot, and get me their best out-the-door price with all taxes and fees to see if it’s worth taking the next step.
If I had been much more of a rush to get a vehicle to replace Big Red, I would have gone into this whole process much more blindly. Yet, I’ve learned and continued to learn what is fair and what is not with dealerships, how to speak to them. What are likely sales tactics that will be used, specific industry lingo, how fair deals go down. I can be direct and not wasting anyone’s time, using proper language and procedure, only looking at vehicles I’m truly interested and ready to buy. And I still have four weeks before the first test drive and two months or longer before I set down and buy. Time really is on my side, as most people are hurried when they go to buy, uncertain on different models, and just need something with 4 wheels quickly.
There are those who think by me not choosing to own a car this winter that I have permanently given up driving in favor of bicycling and busing it everywhere. Like those who believed when I took off a semester from college that I would not be back. But I play the long game frequently in life and just because I don’t rush towards action today, doesn’t mean I’m not planning in the future. Just like when it comes to buying a house, that off-grid cabin, just because I don’t buy it tomorrow or even this year, doesn’t mean it’s an impossible goal. I keep researching options and technologies, and watching as money compounds and grows. I am still amazed how much growth these was last year, or even the years before, and the magic of compounding. Time, persistence, and thoughtfulness really has it’s virtues.
That said, time is hardly unlimited and it’s not always apparent when time is going to run out. As happened with Big Red, while I knew the end was coming and needed to plan for his replacement, I did not know it would come in December. Age shows up, and you can predict many things but the end isn’t always apparent. A lot of warning flags can show up before it’s done. Truth is it’s not the best summer to do my Northern Michigan trip with all that happening at work, but I just don’t know how many years I’ll be able to get away after this year with my parents getting older and knowing I’ll either have to be around to care for them or take over their homestead. You can and should wait, but I know if I don’t do this trip to Northern Michigan and Wisconsin, it might be my last great opportunity to do it.
Some retirees travel a lot in their later years. I enjoy my traveling years while I’m young, but I still want to own my own land, and I also know that dream is incompatible with travel and seeing new places. It’s not to say you can’t learn a lot from own land and your own neighborhood, but also there is an opportunity cost. Is it worth it? I don’t know.
