[ale] Ignorant Newbie

[Dennis Herrick]

> I had a look at the thread. Looks to me like you got as much 
> help as one could expect when they ask a vague question and 
> provide few details...going so far as to mention that you 
> didn't write down the error message.

That's one reason I didn't reply back to the thread. I don't even know
what question to ask.


> Actually, you got 5 responses...
> you're looking at 2 out of 3 and that ain't bad.

OK, so I'm prone to exaggeration :)

> No need to sull up and sit in a corner. 

I'm not doing that -- I learn quite a bit from reading other post about
things of which I know nothing. There's lots more I'd like to do in
Linux, but usually I don't have the time to devote to it like I'd like
to... So I end up not being able to do much of anything. Even stuff I've
"figured out" last year won't help now because it's like I'm starting
over every time I do something because I can't remember how I got the
solution last time. Must be old age.

> You just need to 
> realize that this is a community, not a helpdesk. Folks 
> aren't "strictly business" 100% of the time. You don't "own" 
> every thread you start.

Of course not. I guess it's mostly that when I see lots of responses to
my topic I get excited about getting things fixed, and then most of them
aren't to my topic at all. One of the responses to my LCD post told me
to try something that I had no idea how to do. But by then the thread
had gone so far afield, I just threw up my hands (which is hard when
you're typing) and moved on. 

At this point I know enough about Linux to realize I'd like to know
more, but to get more done and read more I'd have to give up other
things (and that's the case for all of us, of course). I've told a Linux
friend of mine that for me it seems that it really takes a special
decoder ring to do most tasks, and I can't figure out how to get one
with the time I have. 

And while I'm writing about being an ignorant newbie, I've had this
machine in my office for a couple of years as a server and it works
great and gives few problems. When I first installed it, I actually
installed some stuff (you know, the tar, gunzip stuff) but I can't even
install much of anything on it now because I can't remember how I did it
last time. I havne't been able to dabble in it and accomplish anything.
And again, that's the case with most stuff -- I'm a musician and the
last day I didn't practice my instrument was July 6th, 1996. If I could
be as devoted to linux I'd have ALL the decoder rings by now.

Well, it's time to quit linux stuff and get back to my instrument.... 


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