"The kernel is the core of the Linux operating system. It controls system hardware, the processor, memory allocation, drives, input/output devices, and the way your computer allocates resources across all these components." - Chris Dibona.

There comes a time when a Linux user must update his kernel. Today wasn't one of those days. I use Mandrake 9.2 and the included kernel, 2.4.22, works just fine. But I wanted to update never the less because if isn't broke I must find a way to crack it just a little. To update your kernel, you have to build a whole new one. That's where the fun starts. Kernel 2.6.0 has this menuconfig thingy that lets you go through and pick this and that, stuff that could help your system, or radically disable it. There's even a kernel hacks section, which I won't go into here.

The first thing I did was not do anything. The second thing I did was do some research on some things. I learned that you can do a make defconfig and have a basic config file written with the basics, the stuff you probably need the most. Then it was a matter of going through all the little menus and picking out things.

Windows has a huge kernel. Everything is built into it. It is the most bloated kernel out there. Since everything is in it, this often means when something goes wrong, everything goes down, crashes, freezes, blue screens (being so tired of this in Win 98, I actually changed the blue screen of death to green), and so on. There is another type of kernel with nothing built in except the basics. I can't think of one off hand. The Linux kernel is somewhere between the two. You can build things into it, but at the same time, keep it from becoming one big house of cards with all base cards. And it uses modules, which can be loaded as needed.

Quick note on numbers and Linux. Even are stable. Odd are not. For example, 2. 5.00 would be unstable. When it became stable, it is renamed 2.6.00.

It took about 30 minutes to config, compile, and install. It is not something I recommend folks do unless they're ready to reinstall everything. One simple mistake can make things not work anymore. But for folks who like seeing how things work, it's worth looking into.

That's not all that happened today. That's the good part, though. I actually did the big daddy delux-o in Linux, compiled my own kernel. It's mine. Hands off M$. Other things today included it being cold and my sister coming home... again. And again, she said her marriage was over. I told her to stop talking. Firmly, I said, "Stop talking." The police officer who brought her home thought that was funny. I then dragged all her stuff back to her room.

Yesterday, I finally got to see Return of the King. I didn't post about it last night like I wanted to. Words. I had none. The 3rd part is amazing, but amazing is such a cliche for the film. And it's all one big film, parts 1, 2, and 3, just like the book. Now I've seen it complete, sort of. I consider the extended versions to be the complete versions. But the theatrical is nice as well.

I'll write what I told my friend today about the movie. It moved me more than I thought it would. It took me back to probably my most happiest time in life. I was around 7 or 8 and had found The Hobbit in a chest of drawer right outside my grandmother's bedroom. The book was in the bottom drawer. The cover was gone, and a stamp on it read the name of the old Dora School Library. I have no idea how the book got there, what it was, or who was that elderly man on the back smoking a pipe. That night, I lay on the extra bed in my grandmother's bedroom. It was the same bed my grandfather slept on after his stroke until he died. I lay on that bed, turned around so my head was at the foot of the bed. I remember the thin pillow that was between my head and the metal bedstead. My grandmother lay on her bed the say way. It was August, and she had the huge window fan on. This thing had a metal frame and metal blades and a wide metal cage that was supposed to warn you from putting your fingers in the blades because it certainly couldn't stop you.

I lay in my grandmother's bedroom and began The Hobbit, the first book I ever read. Lord of the Rings came later and so has everything else, including my own writings. Seeing Return of the King took my back to those days. I love that. I really do. And that's what I have to say about the 3rd part, and the entire Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King.

  ¶ 4:19 AM