Summer 2014

It's hard to believe that it's already August and that summer is almost over. Where does time go? I was lucky enough this summer to go fruit picking, visit the local farmers market, visit Denver (even if it was a short trip), had some friends visit, and worked on my jam making skills! 

How was your summer?

Lemon Raspberry Tarts

With the 4th of July just around the corner, I decided to try out a couple of recipes to use up some of the ingredients that I already have at home.
Yesterday, we took a trip to the Vista House here in the Portland area. On the way back we encountered a small farm selling fresh raspberries. I bought a pint. They're really sweet which is not the norm. I have some lemons which I really need to use up. When I came accross this recipe I waas really excited to try it primarily because I have some graham craker pie crusts which meant less work! Yay me!

While working on the recipe Little E. and I ate half of the raspberries so we had to supplement with blueberries :)

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Lemon-Raspberry-Bars-474286

Oatmeal Cookies

I love a good cookie. And so far the Quaker Oatmeal Recipe has never failed me. Although, I did learn to not try to make three batches of these cookies at the same time. My super duty Kitchenaid Mixer did not like it. Here's a link to the recipe:

http://www.quakeroats.com/mobile/recipes/vanishing-oatmeal-raisin-cookies.aspx

I did substitute Chocolate Chip Cookies instead of raisins and I think it's just perfect. Enjoy!

Changes 2014

"The ability to honestly and quietly reflect on one's life is one of the most powerful tools for personal growth." - Richard Carlson

This quote recently made me look inward and realize that there was a lot that I needed to change. I love Social Media don't get me wrong but we often get too caught up in it that we forget to self-analyze without sharing. Not everything needs to be shared, sometimes some piece and quiet allows us to grow :) 

I know that I'll be making a lot of changes and there's no better time than the present right?

Mi Querido Viejo - Piero

Tax Day is always a hard day for me. One of those "holidays" that regardless of everything that is going on reminds you of the truth. My grandpa passed away 19 yrs ago today. And mi uncle Coqui pass away on 04/15/09. Mi great-Grandma Paqui passed away 04/13/95.

I can't think of a more fitting video that reminds me of my grandpa.

Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/x36zzkUB2tc

HeartBleed OpenSSL Check

If you're running Ubuntu 12.04, 12.10 and 13.10 chances are that you're affected by the current Heartbleed SSL issue. To check run the following command: sudo openssl version -a

If the version you're running is dated before April 7th, then you have to update your Open SSL by running the following command: sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

to run the latest security update.

I checked mine just to be safe and I'm the clear.

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-update-ubuntu-plug-heartbleed-openssl-flaw/#!D8sP3

Ubuntu Linux 12.04 “Host SMBU controller not enabled!

Since I seem to be doing a lot of research these days, I have decided to compile all of my thoughts and findings here.

Today, I increased the memory on my virtual machine to 2 G up from 1 G. Which in turn created the "Host SMBU controller not enabled.

I found the following website http://whitehatty.com/2012/09/30/vmware-fusion-5-fix-ubuntu-linux-12-04-host-smbus-controller-not-enabled/

which allowed me to fix it. I have hereby fixed the error message when I start my VM. I honestly don't know what it did, but it got rid of the annoying error message.  :)

Ubuntu VM in Windows 8.1

This post is about how much fun it has been installing and figuring out how to install my Ubuntu 12.04 image on my Windows 8.1 machine.

It all started the day that I decided to learn JavaScript, and the fact that I decided to do it using Ubuntu because we all know that Linux is that much better for programming right? My problem? The fact that I own a Windows 8.1 machine. Don't get me wrong, I love Windows, I know there's very few people out there these days that are willing to admit that.

Piece of cake right? I mean, I've installed a dual boot before so I'll just do the same thing and I'll be on my way.

Ha!

Joke's on me. Turn's out that Ubuntu is currently not compatible to do a dual boot with Windows 8? What?! Yeah, that was my reaction too.

But if you would like to try a dual boot, here's the Windows Installer Link. http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-ubuntu-with-windows

I decided to download the image anyways, because I was frustrated and really thought about just completely re-imaging my machine.

Day 2

The next day, I went over the many reasons why I should and shouldn't re-image my Windows 8 machine. I ended up not going with that idea for various personal reasons. Then I decided to use Amazon Web Services, because running a Linux image in AWS should be easy right?!

Not so much. I got the instance running, but I never actually got to see the instance. So yeah, I think at some point I will revisit that subject and actually get something up and running because that's just what I do for fun. Clearly, I need more interesting hobbies.

Day 3

I went back to Virtual Machine idea, and decided to start googling my options. Most posts out there were not beneficial because I have a Windows 8 machine, and did not have a Mac. Ahhhhh! Who knew this would be such a problem?

Then I decided to take a look at the VMWare Player, I've used it before and decided it to give it a try. Turns out that VMWare Player allows users to download the software for personal use so that people can learn to use their software. How cool is that!! I was so happy! Yay me!

If you want to test drive VMWare Player feel free to check it out here: https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads

I followed their instructions to download and install the software. Thank goodness I had previously decided to download the Ubuntu 12.04 image, otherwise it would have taken a lot longer.

Once everything was downloaded and installed, I decided to run my VM.

Unfortunately,  I kept getting an error message stating that long strings were not allowed and that the Intel VT-x was disabled.

So, I googled some more. And learned that this can be fixed in the Security settings under the Bios. So to get this done, restart your machine, hit F10 and if you have a Windows 8.1 go to the tab next to Security (Sorry I can't remember the name right now, but I'm pretty sure it was under Configurations ans Settings.) and enable Intel VT-x.

Then I restarted my VM and my machine for good measure because you can never restart too many times :) and voila! I have an Ubuntu 12.04 image running using VMWare Player in my Windows 8.1 machine! Happy Day!

Anything is possible.

"Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi

This is a great quote that I found today, not only because it's Lent, but because it's important to remember that anything is possible.

2014

2014 where have you gone? It's hard to believe that it's already April. This year has been full of fun and exciting adventures. I can't wait for what is yet to come. I will fill you in with some posts of our adventures.