Linux(R) Desktop Garage - page 29

Chapter 3. System Tools and Utilities

"A genius is the man in whom you are least likely to find the power of attending to anything insipid or distasteful in itself. He breaks his engagements, leaves his letters unanswered, neglects his family duties incorrigibly, because he is powerless to turn his attention down and back from those more interesting trains of imagery with which his genius constantly occupies his mind."

William James

Everyone's mother has a favorite anecdote. You know, it's the story that gets told to all the people you ever bring home right after she drags out the "adorable" pictures of you as a toddler taking a bath. My mother's favorite story is one that she thinks demonstrates the personality differences between my sister and me. It goes something like this.

It was Saturday, chore day. The cartoons had been watched already. Breakfast was over. Now the children must work. We had assigned chores that we did each week. Every Saturday, right before the chores were supposed to begin, both my sister and I tried to go out and play. I'm not sure why we had the delusional thought that we could get out of those chores, but who can find logic in children? We were stopped at the door and reminded that we had chores to do. We were handed buckets and cleaning supplies and sent to our respective assigned rooms.

Now here's where my mother's anecdotal Rorschach test comes in. My sister would be sent to do her chores and go into a big hissy fit. She would stomp, complain, argue, and generally make a lot of noise. Then she would go and dutifully get her chores done, still complaining throughout. When she was done, she got to go out and play. What did I do? I didn't have a tantrum. I didn't complain. I was the perfect angel who was clearly unhappy with the required tasks , but who amiably went to get her work done.

Then I escaped out the back door.

Whoosh! I left bucket, mop, and dirt in their place and ran out to play. I got in trouble for it later, but that didn't seem to matter to me when the lure of Saturday fun was beckoning. As a result, I think I spent most of that summer between third and fourth grade grounded, riding my bike around in little circles in the driveway .

I would love to now tell you that I have learned from the silly mistakes of my childhood. I would also love to tell you that I have the powers of Wonder Woman without the requirement of wearing a metal bikini. Alas, neither statement is true. I don't run out the back door anymore when I have to do something I don't like, but I do put it off and try to avoid it.

System tools and utilities are my distasteful computer task. They are like eating my vegetables and cleaning my room. They are my Linux root canal. The fun stuff is in the programs and themes and skins and preferences. So, now that my Linux Rorschach test has determined that I am a Type C computer user , one who would rather do the fun stuff, let the root canal begin. Maybe we will be able to find some fun in here.