X-Cop Fly Company

I haven’t written here in a while, been busy. Slackware is back on my machine. I remember someone years ago in a chat room saying that “Slackware eats your soul” and it does. Yet I can’t stand the “easier” ones – I always come back to Slackware. Using the 64-bit version, which gives me more memory and will keep me safe from the Year 2038 Bug should my computer last that long.

For those of you who don’t know, the Year 2038 Bug will affect computers in early-mid 2038 depending on the operating system. Any program on a non-64-bit operating system involving usage of a timer, a clock, dates, or random number generation will face unpredictable problems. At best we will face Y2K-style wraparounds to 1901 (or 1899) and at worst we will face buffer overflows. Without getting into technical details, “buffer overflows” are responsible for such things as (poorly-developed) programs crashing or acting bizarre until you restart your computer.

The Year 2038 Bug is easily solvable with usage of a 64-bit operating system, as Microsoft has been phasing in since Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Windows XP had a 64-bit version as well). However, this isn’t feasible for “embedded devices” – for example, a dishwasher powered by a software timer may never stop running, do tasks in the wrong order, or refuse to start, depending on how it was designed.

I also got A Sound Relief, a 2005 concert by The Gathering off eBay. I watched the first disc (there is also a bonus disc I have to watch before leaving feedback on the seller) and can only come up with a simple one-word review: “Wow.”

I also ordered A Noise Severe, the heavier “sequel” to the softer material on A Sound Relief, and am awaiting it in the mail.

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