Here we go!

I have been threatening to post my Linux struggles, errr... I mean experiences, for some time now. I haven't. I think that it is only fair, since I have gotten so much from other peoples' pages, blogs, and wikis.

Here are some caveats to what will show up here:

1. I am lazy. I want you to have done it for me so I can copy it. Sometimes that doesn't work.
   
2. I am currently a faithful SuSE/openSuSE user. I have used it for years in spite of Novell. I plan to keep using it for the time being. I have used Mandrake in the past. I quit using it when each release got buggier and less functional (ca. 2002) I hate RedHat/Fedora as an OS. I love what they have done for Linux in general. Debian is cool because it has spawned so many useful distros, but I am not that hardcore.
   
3. I am not a real programmer. I know some BASH scripting and Python. I have worked in industrial automation for years, so I know how to think like a programmer, and I know enough low-level, industrial languages (SFC, CFC, Ladder Logic, SCL (like PASCAL), etc.) that I can typically sort through scripts and C source to change/fix things. I am more likely to do this the more I work on a specific project. I try to avoid it when possible (see item 1).
4. I am competent with networking. I have written my own firewall rules in the past, but I am lazy. I see myself having to do this again in the near future due to some planned projects.
   
5. I am not a web developer. I can make simple little pages, but I gave up around the time CSS became a big thing. I want to learn XML to make some things at work easier, but I don't have a really good reason yet.
6. I speak German (as a second language), so I will be linking and/or including German help and references when I find it useful. I will be able to answer German questions or translate to English if requested. I am not planning on doing this as a rule. My advice to SuSE users is to learn German. There is a lot of German SuSE support.

I am currently in the middle of a handful of projects. I will be writing about these experiences. These projects involve:

1. MythTV with a Hauppauge PVR-350 in Germany. I have it functioning, and I will write up a summary soon. This is very pressing because my kids finally have "Channels" again. It has been 6 months with no TV.
   
2. mediaWiki. I want to get a series of HOWTO's written for my wife along with some calendar capabilities. I will focus on security with this because I want it accessible from outside, and I don't want any Tom, Dick or Harry futzing with it.
3. Running and securing my own Apache2 server.
4. Learning a little more MySQL (for my wiki and MythTV).
5. I am keen on the whole LAMP idea, so I might follow up with that.
6. I want to get Bugzilla working. I manage a software test team for the R&D division of my company. I use bug tracking software at work, and it is useful to keep track of what isn't working. I would like to carry that concept over to day to day crap at home (i.e. my laptop is crashing all of the time, accessing the guide on MythTV seg faults, the bathroom toilet isn't flushing, I have a flat tire on my bike, etc.).
7. I managed to get a bootable system using Linux From Scratch back in 2002. I would really like to do that again. I haven't decided how I am going to pull it off, but I am hoping to.
   

That is the current plan. I will be summarizing my MythTV stuff very soon. Mainly so I don't forget what I have done. I have a feeling I will be reinstalling/reconfiguring in the near future.