I’ve been working with RSS feeds and have built a new page that will read rss’s from several sources and display on this blog. A little project, learned a few things about arrays (the sorting by date was fun). Take a look 
This video and music works together really well. I hope you like it half as much as I do.
Well, it didn’t go smoothly. I could not access the login screen 
It took a bit of doing but I was able to resolve the problem. I had to manually disable each plugin in turn and try to access the login screen. This blog uses many many plugins and the whole process was quite tedious and time consuming. After much trial and error I discovered the problem plugin and have disabled it.
Not quite how I wanted to spend an evening 
Really getting the feel for this, enjoy
Some may have noticed a new page on this blog – My Travels
It is basically a map of the world with countries that I have visited coloured in Green. Not the most complicated thing going, but interesting enough for a look. It appears I am fairly well travelled! In terms of where to go next, I think it has to be India or Russia.
I really can’t explain why I want to go, but I think the history and culture of those 2 places would be a great thing to experience. I also expect the food would be amazing! I guess I need to get my domestic stuff sorted and make plans. With any luck I should be able to get to one of these places in the next 24 months.
Watch this space
Our latest interview is from a new member of the forum staff, Rubi1200. Hope you enjoy!
1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real life” like name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.
I am father to two wonderful boys and adoptive father to a very sweet street cat. My interests include medieval literature, medieval history, and computing. I was educated in medieval literature, mastering in Middle English romance, and currently work for a company that provides research materials to academic institutions. In my spare time, I like to listen to jazz and Afrobeat, watch sports on television with the kids, and learn about Linux.
2. When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?
Computers were always something that fascinated me, although I have only owned a computer for about 7 years now. I first became interested in Linux around 2005 and experimented with Ubuntu Dapper Drake in 2006.
3. When did you become involved in the forums (or the Ubuntu community)? What’s your role there?
I joined the Ubuntu Forums in 2010 and have tried to post on a daily basis in order to provide support to users in various sub-forums such as General Help, Absolute Beginner Talk, and Installation & Upgrades.
4. Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?
Yes, I am an Ubuntu Member (thanks to the Forum Council and all those who supported my application). My main areas of contribution are Wubi installs, booting problems, and anything else I think I can help someone with or at least point them in the right direction. I also try to give support when I see a post has gone unanswered in order to give people the feeling that their problems are not being ignored.
5. What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?
I love playing around with different Linux distros, either as a LiveCD, in a virtual environment, or installed to a partition on the disk. Some of my favorites include, but are not limited to, Linux Mint Debian Edition, CrunchBang, Knoppix, and openSUSE.
I don’t really have a least favorite application, although I am not too fond of remote desktop software and uninstall it at the first opportunity.
I have too many favorite applications to really put my finger on anything specific, but I would say that VLC, Htop, and UNetbootin are up there near the top of the list.
6. What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?
I’ll start with the last part of the question first; I do not believe I have any. My fondest memory? I think there are too many to really pin this down to anything specific, but I will share one story that I think exemplifies the forums and Ubuntu in general.
I once responded to a post by a user who was having various issues trying to install Ubuntu, including graphics card problems, confusion about the best partitioning scheme and so on. I walked the user through the various steps until Ubuntu was installed successfully in a dual-boot configuration. The user was so grateful that I received messages on the Visitor Message page on my profile, numerous private messages thanking me profusely, and a friendship request (accepted of course).
Additionally, I am always happy when a user responds that the fix I suggested worked for them and that the problem is solved.
7. What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?
Unfortunately, none (yet).
8. What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?
Personally, I hope to see more people becoming involved with Linux as well as Ubuntu.
9. If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?
Help other users if you can and try and uphold the spirit of Ubuntu in all you do whether on the forums or outside of it.
Good news, we have expanded the staff on the Ubuntu Forums. The new staff are:
nothingspecial, lovinglinux, ubudog, sisco311, oldfred, coffeecat, Rubi1200, oldos2er, mörgæs, not found and Merk42
Congratulations are in order 
It has been some time since I posted any music, time to fix. Stone Roses are my band of the moment, hope you enjoy!
Our next interviewee is Ubudog, a name that should be familiar to those who frequent the Ubuntu Forums. He is particularly active in the support areas helping all he can. Ubudog is also heavily involved with the development of UbuMonkey, which describes itself as “A lightweight, fast web browser for the modern Linux desktop.”
1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real life” like name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.
My name is Michael, and I am a freelance software developer.
2. When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?
I first became interested in Linux back in 2007. I was using Windows Vista then, and I was looking for an alternative. I found out about Ubuntu, a user friendly Linux OS. I tried it, and I’ve been using it ever since.
3. When did you become involved in the forums (or the Ubuntu community)? What’s your role there?
I became involved in the Ubuntu community back in 2009. I joined the Ubuntu Forums. At first, I had to always ask questions about the CLI, etc, but now I love to help out new users solve the same problems I once had.
4. Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?
I became an Ubuntu member in June 2011. I contribute the most to the Ubuntu Forums, and I am normally online in my spare time.
5. What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?
I regularly use Ubuntu, but I like to try out the latest Linux distros. My favorite application has to be Firefox. With all the add-ons available, support community, etc, it’s one of my favorite tools.
6. What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?
My fondest memory of the UF has to be the community cafe. I’ve had many laughs there, it’s a great place to meet other members of the community and have lighthearted discussions.
7. What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?
I’ve had much luck converting people to Ubuntu. In my case, people like most being able to try Ubuntu out before installing it. (LiveCD) People are really amazed to see how much faster/simpler Ubuntu is.
8. What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?
I hope to see Linux grow and be adapted by more users. I hope to see Ubuntu’s community expand and to see users from all aspects of life.
9. If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?
The one thing I would tell new Ubuntu users is: Don’t be afraid to ask. There is a huge, friendly community out there and someone has an answer. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
Sorry for being a week late with the next interview, I was on vacation in Asia.
I must confess that I had not heard a lot about our next interviewee but I am certainly very glad to have met this very friendly person and the company she keeps. For those that do not know Em is the founder of the popular IRC channel ##club-ubuntu.
1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real life” like name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.
I use the nick “em” on freenode and my friends know me as emma. I live in New York City. Playing with Linux has become one of my primary hobbies. I really enjoy Freenode and IRC as a medium for finding people interested in the things I enjoy learning about.
I am not really very interesting but the ##club-ubuntu channel on Freenode is. Club Ubuntu helps to deliver on the concept that Ubuntu is an OS for everyone. We are a community that places an emphasis on freedom, openness, and individual expression. As a social channel and virtual Linux users group we are a very diverse network of friends – with people from all over the world, of various levels of skill, age, and maturity. We are definitely a channel for people who prefer the unpredictability of a busy city over the security of a comfortable suburb.
2. When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?
I’ve always been somewhat interested in computers. When I was very young a relative bought me a TRS 80 Color Computer and for a little while I was really on the cutting edge. That didn’t last long. About three years ago I was feeling bad that my understanding of computers and technology had become so deficient. I wanted to do something about it. I went to Barnes and Noble to find a book that might help. I found the books about Linux and it seemed that Linux would be the perfect entry-point into everything I wanted to understand. Among all of the Linux books the books about Ubuntu stood out as the most accessible so I bought one of those. I brought it home and installed the Live CD that came with it. Ubuntu installed without any problems. While I was playing around with Synaptic Package Manager I more or less inadvertently installed Xchat which, by default, drops you into #ubuntu on Freenode. One thing lead to another and not long after that ##club-ubuntu was made.
3. When did you become involved in the forums (or the Ubuntu community)? What’s your role there?
No answer given.
4. Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?
I am not an Ubuntu member although I have many friends who are. I contribute to Ubuntu, along with the rest of Club Ubuntu by creating a space where a lot of people who wouldn’t have otherwise tried Ubuntu can feel comfortable and know they are accepted. The official Ubuntu community is a well organized group that offers a lot of ways for people to be involved. Unfortunately no community can ever connect with every personality or interest. I think one of the ways Club Ubuntu contributes the most is by being a bridge between that official Ubuntu community and the rest of the world. I’ve known many long time Linux users who don’t identify with Ubuntu but enjoy hanging out in ##club. Likewise, we have introduced a lot of Windows users to Ubuntu and the benefits of open source software.
5. What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?
Ubuntu is the only operating system I ever use on my home machine. I have, however, successfully challenged myself to use other distros now and then. I always return to Ubuntu though because for me it is less of a hassel and the packages are a little bit more fresh than the alternatives I’ve tried. Someday when I have some more time I would love to work through Linux From Scratch. Among my favorite applications are irssi, maxima, and inkscape. I don’t have anything negative to say about any of the applications made by talented volunteers who are willing to open source their software and let me try it for free!
6. What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?
I am fond of the time I have spent with really funny, intelligent, and interesting people in Club Ubuntu. Many of whom have become genuinely good friends. Club Ubuntu is one of the few places with the flexibility to bring together everyone from Ubuntu devs to high school kids who got banned in other channels. Our setting is informal and people tend to work things out, and get to know one another in an authentic way. That is what a real community is about, and I am proud that is what Club Ubuntu is.
7. What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?
We have been very successful at this. As I mentioned earlier this is probably one of the primary ways that Club Ubuntu benefits the larger and more formal Ubuntu community. You will usually find over a hundred people chatting in ##club-ubuntu at any given time, and over the years hundreds more have passed through. We also have over 150 members in our group on Launchpad. In some ways we specialize in making a home for people who didn’t feel like they were accepted in other places and we have been compared to the Island of Misfit Toys. I think that’s really valuable if you are serious about being a community for everyone.
8. What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?
This is a great question; here are some of the things that show up on the Club Ubuntu wish-list: (1) More attractive games available for play on Linux. (2) Better hardware drivers. Especially for video and graphics. We would really like to see the Linux community get the open source AMD drivers in shape (especially for opencl support) and look forward to getting Wayland as a replacement for X (3) We would like to see Ubuntu make security and encryption as easy for ordinary users as it has done for other aspects of using Linux.
9. If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?
Visit us in ##club-ubuntu on the Freenode IRC network! We are a community with a lot of diversity when it comes to skills, interests, and maturity. We would be happy to see you and you will probably make some friends who can show you what Linux and Ubuntu have to offer.