The Grey Shadow

Paraguayan oxcarts

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.

Excerpt from the Magnificat, Luke 1:46,49,50 [show]Luke 1:46 Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat [46]And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, Luke 1:49 [49]for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:50 [50]And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

I would like to wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy 2009. May you spend these holidays with all your loved ones, in peace, joy and comfort.

I spent Christmas Eve with Mom and my sisters, and Christmas Day with my in-laws. Today the reverse will apply: we plan to spen New Year’s Eve in my in-law’s place, while I plan to spend New Year’s Day with my mom and sisters.

All in all, this has been a stressful year, full of changes, but right now is not the time for evaluations. Instead, let’s join me in thanking our Lord Jesus Christ for all his blessings and protection, and asking Him for his continued protection in the year to come.

And thanks to you, my readers, for your continued patience, support, and encouragement. May the Lord bless you richly today and every day of your lives.

I was able to upgrade the Slackware setup on sombragris the trusty laptop, to Slackware 12.2 without any problem. I didn’t install KDE, though; rather, I plan to put the KDE 4.1 setup from Slackware current, /testing directory. I plan to get back with more news as they develop.

Meanwhile, Asunción is an unbearable mess. 38 C / 100 F with no wind is taking its toll on the city. This is going to be a very, very hot summer.

As I told you before, Rev. S. (my boss) told me that my current job would run through December 31. Well, today my boss told me that he already needed the office. Some of his relatives would come over for the holidays and therefore he needed to convert our office into a makeshift bedroom. So, he paid me in advance and, at noon, I walked away as an employee for the last time.

Right now I am without a job. I have my (meager) severance pay, so I might get by for a month or so; but the fact is, I need a job as soon as possible.

I was told I might get rehired if a certain special project is approved. My boss also told me that the pay would be way better. In any case, I covet your prayers. Thanks!

Wandering through the Web, I found this piece by Linux Canuck: How to Help a Newbie. The writing is full of excellent advice; therefore I am glad to recommend its reading. It is a great resource indeed, and valuable not only for helping “newbies” in the Linux community, but in a whole range of social groups as well.

Meanwhile, I upgraded the blog to WordPress 2.7. So far it looks great. Now, let’s download those Slackware 12.2 ISO images…