Ubuntu Fiesty - Doesn't want to be boxed!!!

Hmmn. It is over 24 days now that I had to give up the idea of running boxed WinXP from Ubuntu Fiesty. Not that WinXP was not willing to stay boxed inside Ubuntu, it actually co-operated well and was doing fine. However, there are lots of official tasks that are tied to Microsoft Products and getting them off is an Herculean task. But that is not to say that I've given up on the idea of switching over to Ubuntu.
I love the look and feel of Ubuntu. And I was reliably informed that Linux is more secure (afterall, less hackers attack it).

I Goofed!!!

Some of my friends have been wondering why I have been offline for so long now. Well, the truth is that I goofed. Yes, I failed to adhere to that common adage that "Health is Wealth". I got too busy doing too many "important" things (secular and spiritual). Even when when the referee started blowing whistle that I am failing to play by the rule (I was having pains signals all over my body). I argued and continued. Eventually, I landed with a RED CARD.
It was while I was off the pitch (offline and on sick bed, racked with terrible pains being inflicted by malaria) that I started paying attention to the Holy Spirit.
I was only praying for forgiveness. I knew that my illness had nothing to do with the devil. It was self inflicted because of my foolishness.
I learnt some few lessons which I will share as the opportunity arises. But let me quickly share some now.
1. 60minutes is a terribly long time. Ask someone who is unable to sleep in the middle of the night due to excruciating pains.
2. The so called tight schedule that makes you cut down on rest-time is just "the foolish imagination of ones mind". With or without   you the world and its activities will continue.
3. Your health is one of the greatest gift from God that money cannot buy. You can employ the service of the best physicians and get the best medications ever produce by man. But only God can restore your health (that is why billionaires still die in hospitals)

Well I have learnt my lesson. I pray that the Lord will grant me the grace to keep my promise of not acting foolishly again. I don't want my family to suffer as a result of my own foolishness.

Friends are God's way of taking care of us

Story by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying " don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there. I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?" This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Contributed by my big Sister Opeyemi

How much does a miracle cost?

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully three times. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

"And what do you want?" the! pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick...and I want to buy a miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"

"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you ," the pharmacist said, softening a little.

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"

"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling ! up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."

"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago

"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers."

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

"That surgery, her Mom whispered, was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith of a little child!


This surely is touching, I hope you enjoy it. (Contributed by Ade)

LIFESTYLE OF THE SECOND RICHEST MAN

My big sister sent this via email and it was quite inspiring. Hope you'll enjoy it.

The Life of the Second Richest Man in the World.

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very
interesting aspects of his life:

1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago.He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies.
7. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
8. He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
9. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.
10. Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
11. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on  his desk.

His advice to young people: "Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and Remember:

1. Money doesn't create man but it is man who created money.
2. Live your life as simple as you are.
3. Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel is good.
4. Don't go on brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.
5. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on what you really need.
6. After all it's your life then why give chance to others to rule your life."

Microsoft Baby - Hard to wean!

For about a week now, I have not been able to write any article on my blog. I have been busy trying to break my loyalty to Microsoft Windows XP. I wanted to join the Ubuntu Club of Teens (Those who are willing to have a go at Linux Operating Systems so long everything looks and sound like Microsoft Windows).

Well, I made appreciable progress, but I had to abandon the project for now. There are too many changes required of me and my work was begining to suffer neglect. I struggle to do simple tasks on Ubuntu Fiesty but kept on failing like a child attempting to walk for the very first time.

Dont' misunderstand me, the problem is not with Ubuntu Fiesty (I can sincerely say it is a very good operating system and quite user friendly) The problem is with me being a complete linux novice and a spoilt Microsoft brat that is used to others doing the dirty jobs while he plays around with a mouse 'click' 'click' 'click'. I hate working with the black screen.

Well I discovered that Ubuntu prefer children growing up as responsible adults. So right from day one, you are expected to do things for yourself. You have to sudo apt-get gedit e.t.c Well at first I said I was willing, but after spending a good part of three days trying to set my system up the way I want it to be, I had to suspend the trasition and go back to Windows XP.

Installing Ubuntu Fiesty was quite easy. However, my screen resolution became a real issue as I tried to change from 800x600 to 1024x 768 or something better. I struggled with it. I visited many forums and got several suggestions. However, at the end of the day, the stubborn screen only changed temporarily and returned to the ugly 800x600 when I rebooted my system.

Also, I installed wine because I had to use some Visual Basic programs which have to do with my official work. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the programs work on Wine. So, I decided to install Win4Lin. It installed successfully, but refuse to run. Later I came accross a recommendation on Virtual Box. I downloaded and installed it. It installed successfully, and ran wonderfully. However, after installing WinXP on it, I discovered that I have issues to still combact with. My USB works on the Host (Ubuntu) but does not show on the Guest (WinXP). Also, getting the network right became a major issue.

So, I decided to suspend my migration until a later time. I am not quiting, but a week solely devoted to weaning myself from Microsoft Win XP is a great sacrifice. I have too many task piled up on my desk. I really wish I have a friend around that knows better than I do about linux.