What is this site here for?  It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a bit lately.  I’ve played with the theme (based on the classic WordPress Kubrick), added Google Ads in the no doubt false hope that it will make me rich (it might pay for my hosting if I’m really really lucky), and added Google Analytics (never used it before but I will report back on what I think of it.)

But what is it for?  Content?  Well, I’ve added my page of Ernest Pike music online, and I’ve added that to the menu bar up there.  I’ve also got one or two other projects that I plan on hosting at some point that will get added to that menu bar as well.

But primarily, I suppose, this site is for playing.  I like to play with technology.  I like to learn new (or old) programming languages, try them out, see what I can make them do.  I like to write programs, play games, get old operating systems working (I still have a virtual machine running OS/2 and I am beginning to think that the old pedestal in the garage may have to be pressed into service as a dual-boot OS/2 and BeOS machine…  for testing my web development projects, of course…)

I collect things – file types, databases, operating systems – they’ll all crop up here sooner or later.

But I suppose – in a way – this place will replace my Firefox bookmarks menu.  Or at least, the “emulation/computing/programming/web” part of it, anyway.

Stay tuned, esotechnicians.  There’s a long road ahead of us all, and I intend to be standing at the side of it, waving shiny things at you and saying “come and play with these interesting toys”.  Believe…

It’s always nice, when using a new operating system in a virtual machine, to have some apps to look at in it.  So I thought I’d compile a list of some, where to get them, and the usual suspects: OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Thunderbird and Opera.  Here, then, after a quick scan through my bookmarks is all that I can find.  Use and enjoy. (more…)