Raspberry Pi?

I think that I want to get a Raspberry Pi kit during the summer if I can afford it. (For non-techie types, a Raspberry Pi is a tiny, very cheap computer that you can assemble and program.) I think that I would learn as much from working with it as I will in programming classes. Plus, although I took a class on UNIX and Linux years ago, I'd like to brush up on my Linux skills. Eventually, I'd like to set up a web server on it. The best part of all this is that it's affordable. I just requested a couple of library books on the Raspberry Pi. My question is, though, how do you get a console to do command-line work on the PI? I assume that there's a way to hook it up to my laptop to use the laptop's monitor? Hmm, looking at the Raspberry Pi site, it says that you need a monitor or TV with an HDMI cable. That's a problem unless I could get a cheap monitor. A very cheap one. I suppose, though, that I could use my TV because I'm not using it right now. Need to clear off the table in the office. We work only seven hours a day during the summer, so that would give me extra time.

My boss said that I could use some work time to work on Python (so, ultimately, I could write scripts for data manipulation at work), so I'm trying to hit it hard now. The only thing is that I needed to install Python and Notepad++ on both my home and work computers, but that isn't that big of a deal. I could also use Python to program the Pi.

This summer, I also am planning to work on a longitudinal study of library collection budgets over time, and I'll need a way to crunch the numbers. I think that I can use Python for that too; otherwise, I'll have to learn R.

Zara has decided that she doesn't like the cheap canned food from Aldi. Sigh. Well, she has to eat it part of the time because I don't have extra money to get extra food. Harlee has been picking at her (expensive) canned food, but she's been eating the dry food. I got tired of throwing out the canned food, so I'm feeding her 1/3rd of a can twice a day. She also keeps tipping over her water-cooler-type dish, which is not great for the carpet. Cats, cats, cats!

I'm also out of money for cigarettes, so I'm using some patches that I had stashed away. I'll need more patches, but it looks like I can get more for free from the Illinois Quit Line. Wish me luck. This lack of money is forcing me to get more healthy. (I've also lost some weight.)

Crash and Burn

Operation Stop Smoking is not going well. I managed to not notice a step stool in the stacks, tripped over it, and fell flat onto the floor. This is typical. The last time that I went for a long period without smoking, I couldn't follow conversations, and I left my wallet in a store. Researchers say that nicotine helps people with schizophrenia concentrate. And this incident was with the patch! Bloody hell. At least, I'm okay and didn't break anything.

I've kind of been cranky too :) And swilling coffee because I also don't have money for soda, and I need some sort of stimulant.

It's been gremlin day at the library. The printer acted up, and then, not one but two resources that I use for cataloging were inaccessible. My computer hung at the end of the day. The word of the day is "Bah".

My heart is with London.

I need to get to work early tomorrow to cover the lunch break for the front desk worker, so I'm going to feed the hordes, do dishes, and crash.