arlier this month, the annual rowing competition ended. This was rather disappointing. For the first time since I began competing (2001) I did not get the first place, but it’s not a total loss. Later this week I will do the 2-mile row for another competition, in which I have performed quite well so far.

As the years go by and we all age (I’m 27), the motivation — not just the ability — to stay in good shape rapidly declines. In the table tennis competition I got knocked out in the quarter finals.

KDE4 does not cease to excite.

have been a user of KDE for about decade, but I did use almost every other desktop environment and window manager, especially in the earlier days of GNU/Linux on the desktop. KDE came naturally to me as a SuSE user (until
Novell’s deal with Microsoft) and its suitability for power user was a great plus. I still use GNOME in other places and I am pleased to say that it’s a pleasant environment too.

My first impression of KDE 4.3 is that it is a lot simpler for newcomers (than KDE 3) and it looks fantastic. I used earlier versions of KDE4 and they didn’t cause me trouble, but this one is almost perfect and I am unable to find noticeable wrinkles or creases. In fact, the new release incorporates so many wonderful changes that it would be irrational to ever step back to KDE3 again.

In the process of setting up this workstation I needed to use GParted, which is another invaluable distribution that does precisely what it says on the tin and does it nicely, too. I am currently on Kubuntu 9.10 (alpha 5), but I did not leave Mandriva behind. In fact, almost every distribution that I try these days leaves me satisfied. They all do, after all, share the same components; integration work is where it all counts.

I thought about doing a review, but that would be time consuming and rather boring to people who read my personal Web site.

So, thumbs up to the KDE team, the Kubuntu team, and the GParted maintainer/s. At this pace, the domination of GNU/Linux on the desktop too seems only like a matter of time.

couple of weeks ago I updated the Sports page, adding some new awards. In two weeks from now the annual rowing competition will take place and that requires hard training. Other competitions will follow, so stamina improvements will pay off. I have also made it into the quarter finals of the table tennis tournament (next game pending). So far, so good.

Back in April I wrote about Cramer playing with the market. Is Goldman Sachs essentially doing the same thing? Some people sure think so

Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression

See the following video as well.

I found this talk particularly informative (if not enlightening) and I can recommend it for all to watch.

Watch this new video and say it ain’t revolting.