Blog Software Search

Topic: Computers

I'm looking for a new blogging tool. Blogger has been good to me, but I feel that I've outgrown it. I do still recommend Blogger to those who are new to blogging as it is free, web based (nothing to install), and simple to use.

Some of the features I am looking for in blogging tools:

1) FREE
2) can be installed - I plan to find hosting for my websites, it'd be nice to have my blog in the same place, not to mention the benefit of tweaking with the software
3) multiple categories and sub-categories
4) feed syndication
5) template editing (html and/or css)
6) multiple weblogs or sites

Other niceties that aren't required: pinging capabilites, post bookmarklets, ability to import from blogger.

Just from my regular blog browsing two software packages jump out as possibilites:
1) Moveable Type
2) WordPress

I've also discovered a fantastic blog comparison chart compiled by Owen. Exactly the type of thing I was looking for. Thanks Owen!

Europe is risking silence to end its longest war

Topic: Chechnya/Russia

Gavin points out an article written by Jonathan Steele about Europe's new strategy concerning the war in Chechnya in the Guardian.

So it is with Chechnya, Europe's longest-running but least visible war. When Vladimir Putin, its architect, met the leaders of France, Germany and Spain in Paris last week, the subject was not discussed. Silence was also the order of the day when George Bush got together with the Russian president during his European foray a fortnight earlier. He mentioned his concerns about democracy and the rule of law in Russia, but saw no need to bring up Chechnya.
...
Abductions and killings by Russian and Chechen security forces far exceed the number of victims taken by Chechen radicals at Beslan and in the Moscow theatre. And among the atrocities on Moscow's side, most crimes are committed by their Chechen puppets. Between 3,000 and 5,000 civilians have "disappeared" in the region since Putin launched the second war in 1999 (in addition to at least 80,000 killed by bombing and in crossfire).
...
In short, Europe is replacing its old policy of publicly denouncing Russia over Chechnya. At the current session of the UN Human Rights Commission, the EU has not proposed a resolution this year. But, diplomats argue, the silence is not motivated by cynicism or "condemnation fatigue", let alone agreement with Moscow that Chechnya is a front in the war on international terror. It is part of a new policy of constructive engagement.

Read the whole article, it is very interesting. One thing he fails to mention is the loss of life to the Russian Army. This war has been more costly to them then Afghanistan was in the '80s.

Ubuntu Linux

Topic: Computers

I have been gradually weening myself away from Micro$oft products.

Mozilla Firefox has become my internet browser of choice. I have been using it for five months now at both home and work.

Thunderbird is the email client I use at work and I have no complaints. For personal stuff I prefer web based email, such as Gmail. By far the best, free, web based email there is.

I recently downloaded OpenOffice a free productivity suite compatible with all major office suites. The goal being to replace my dependency on Micro$oft Office. So far, so good.

The biggest change however, has been my decision to immerse myself in a Linux environment. I had been waiting for a distro (linux speak for distribution) that didn't require me to use a terminal window. I wanted something your average computer user could use. I don't have a lot of spare time to devote to learning a new OS, so I wanted something that would be easy to install, intuitive to use, and I would gradually be able to learn the intracacies. That time is now.

The are several distros out there with good reputations as getting more user friendly, such as Mandrake, SUSE and Fedora. But I settled on a new distro that is burning up the charts, Ubuntu.

I went with Ubuntu because of their commitment to being easy to install and friendly to use. Thanks to John Little for pointing out this great distro.

I installed yesterday on a second hard drive in my home computer. I'm taking the cautious route... WinXP is the OS on the master drive so I will have it if I need it. But I am going to try to use Linux for everything I would normally do. I'll keep you up to date. As for the installation... no problems at all. In fact, it couldn't have been simpler. If you can put a CD in your computer and restart it, you can install Ubuntu. Here's the default desktop setup. Ubuntu include the Gnome desktop.

I have two programs open, Firefox and The GIMP. The GIMP is The GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a graphics program that can replace Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro.

More on Ubuntu Linux to come.

Moscow's Murder of Mashkadov

Topic: Chechnya/Russia

Moscow has committed a grievous error by murdering Aslan Maskhadov, the legitimate President of Chechnya. Not only was this man elected in a free election that was recognized by the west, but he continued to champion peace - most recently by decreeing a month long cease-fire during February. Only days before his death Maskhadov was again requesting peace talks with Moscow. As always, those requests fell on deaf ears.

It is an outrage to me that Moscow has been able to get away with the oppression of the Chechen people for so long now. This is a place where kidnappings, executions and rapes are common place for no other reason then belonging to an ethnicity long demonized by the Russian elite. Putin picked up the mantle of Stalin when he re-initiated the war in the Chechen Republic, a war fought to demoralize and de-legitimize the existence of a free Chechen Republic. And who has suffered for Putin's heavy handed brutality? The civilians of Chechnya and the soldiers of the Russian army and their families. Let us not forget that Chechnya has been more costly to the Russian Army than Afghanistan was. With the elimination of a legitimate leader, this will only serve the strengthen the small but growing number of radical Islamic militants in the area.

If the west is such a champion for human rights, where have they been the past ten years?

My sincere condolences to the Chechen people on the loss of their President. My condolences also to the mothers of the Russian soldiers whose lives have been lost in this miserable conflict. I pray that somehow peace will be found, but a peace where the Chechen people may live freely and not in fear for their lives.

Blackfield & Deadwing

Topic: Music

The Blackfield concert is only 5 days away! And there is some big news. According to the Blackfield web site there were some problems getting visas for the full band so Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen are going to perform a stripped down (acoustic?) show of Blackfield and solo sets. There is a possibility that Blackfield will perform at some U.S. shows of Porcupine Tree this summer. But wait, there's more. Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater will be joining Steven and Aviv on keyboards Monday! Awesome!

According to the Iota Club site SW will be opening the show with some Porcupine Tree tunes. Perhaps some from the new album? Lets hope so.

As for Porcupine Tree... the new album "Deadwing" will be released 28 March in Europe and 19 April in the U.S. There will also be a 5.1 mix available. The U.S. tour will commence in May, although there aren't any confirmed dates yet. There is also a mini-site devoted to the album with sound clips and such... check it out at deadwing.com

Chechen President Killed

Topic: Chechnya/Russia

Aslan Maskhadov, the elected President of Chechnya was killed today in a raid by Russian forces on a bunker he was hiding out it. One must wonder who Moscow has to negotiate with now that the only rebel leader who was interested in peace is dead. Actually, it seems to make perfect sense. Maskhadov had been pressing for peace negotiations for a while now, including a cease-fire during the month of February. Despite his attempts, and those of independent Russian organizations like the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers and international organizations such as Human Rights Watch, the American Committe for Peace in Chechnya and Radio Free Europe; Russia (and Putin in particular) seem driven to force Chechnya into submission.

The following are links to news articles on Maskhadov's death:

• President Aslan Maskhadov: Shaheed, Insha Allah!
  source: Kavkaz Center


• Chechen Rebel Leader Killed, Russia Says
  source: AP via The Chechen Times


• Reports Say Chechen Leader Maskhadov Killed
  source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty


• ACPC Condemns Killing of Aslan Maskhadov
  source: American Committe for Peace in Chechnya


• Chechen leader Maskhadov killed
  source: BBC News

Bad Blogger

Topic: Blogging

I've been a bad blogger. What keeps readers coming back? New blog entries of course. Gotta keep it fresh! I will be taking the GRE March 17, so between getting ready for that and a few other things my poor blog has suffered. My intention has been write extra articles to be posted later to fill in those holes when I don't have time to write. However, I never quite get to that point. Someday...

Topics
You might have noticed a change recently... the addition of categories! As anyone who uses Blogger knows, there are no categories in blogger. To get around this I created a blog for each category, and used the post template to create a link in each post. It took a bit of work to set it up, but now that its working it is almost as good as the real thing. To save myself double-posting each entry to the topic and the main blog, I enter it once into the topic blog, blogger emails it to my gmail account where I set up a forward to email the post to my main blog account. Nice.

Moving On?
Although I can't imagine remaining on blogger for much longer. It is a fantastic introduction to the world of blogging, and if you want to keep it simple then it is perfect. I feel as though I have already outgrown it as I like to tweak and customize everything I get my hands on. It has been a good five months but I feel like I have pushed it as far as it will go. The topics solution gave blogger a loan on life, but I think I may start looking elsewhere. It seems that Moveable Type is pretty popular, but I would need a host for that. Any suggestions?

Bloglines
I have also recently begun using Bloglines. I know I'm pretty late on that one, but I had been using News Is Free. Bloglines is a web based, FREE, feed reader. It is easy to use, flexible and I love it. I recommend this program to anyone who is new to news/blog feeds or anyone who wants a web based news reader. Go check it out. I especially like the little button you can place in the toolbar of your browser that allows you to subscribe to a site with the click of a button. No searching for the URL of the feed, or trying to remember the site to add it later, just hit the button while you're viewing the site. Awesome!