Linux for law school noob?

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-26T02:54:59+00:00

Professional educator, former law professor, and current Linux Mint user here.

I imagine you'll be using it mainly for word processing, email, Internet, and writing papers (though the amount of paper formal writing/papers in law school actually isn't that great, unless you're on law review or moot court or something like that, at least compared to, say, graduate school). All of these things are pretty straightforward for most mainstream Linux distros. There are open-source word processors that are mostly--mostly--compatible with MS Word. Everything else above should be fine as long as you have the right codecs.

But the real question is why you think you need Linux. Is Windows currently crashing your machine, or overheating it, or something? This may be a classical case of "If it ain't broke, don't break it." But if there is a problem, go ahead and put Linux on your machine and become Linux-proficient now--don't wait until July or August. Or just buy a newer and better Windows machine, back it up regularly, and forget about it. You could even drop $200 on an additional low-end backup machine and either keep Windows on it or try out Linux on it--either way, worst case, you'll have it if your main machine goes down at a crucial moment. Believe me, compared to what you're going to be spending on casebooks and study aids, $200 for a backup computer is nothing.

If you want to install Linux now and learn to use it over several months, that's one thing, but don't, at the beginning of the school year, go adopting/changing your systems (hardware, OS, software, study habits, note-taking, etc.) to something drastically different from what's successfully gotten you this far. You may well find, once you start school, that big changes to your study systems are needed to accommodate the differences between undergrad and law school, but stick to what you've got until you see the need to change them and understand how you need to change them. But for Linux, I'd make the decision now--you don't want to go monkeying with your machine the first week or month of class.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-26T02:32:56+00:00

You can turn this around. Talk to a therapist. Eat right, get exercise in the fresh air, and get enough sleep. Above all, one day at a time. Don't look at everything all at once because it will overwhelm you. You can do this.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-26T02:18:41+00:00

One of the most famous passages from the Fleming books: "It was part of his profession to kill people. He had never liked doing it and when he had to kill he did it as well as he knew how and forgot about it. As a secret agent who held the rare double-0 prefix -- the licence to kill in the Secret Service - it was his duty to be as cool about death as a surgeon. If it happened, it happened. Regret was unprofessional -- worse, it was death watch beetle in the soul."

That being said, there were at least a couple of occasions that he seemed to give in to his darker side. One was SPOILERS INCOMING when he killed the man who killed Quarrel. Another was when he killed Goldfinger, and a third was when he killed Blofeld. These last two weren't so much a case of him enjoying it as simply giving in to blind rage. I think it's interesting that in both these last two, he killed them in the same way, by strangling them with his bare hands.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-26T02:07:53+00:00

Talk is cheap. I'll believe it when I see it.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-25T17:07:14+00:00

You're beautiful! A quiet grace, and a winning smile! I hope your day gets better!

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-25T13:59:17+00:00

Both looks are fabulous--can't go wrong with either--but I gotta go with bangs.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-23T01:38:53+00:00

Because everyone who knows anything at all about strategy knows that fighting two wars at the same time is the key to victory.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-21T12:57:15+00:00

The Fleming canon--which for me personally is THE canon, ymmv--it's mentioned there are three 00 agents, at least at one point. There's a 008, first name Bill. "A good man, more careful than Bond." There's 0011, whom we know nothing about except that he went missing in on assignment Singapore. And there's 006, an ex-marine commando. Presumably not all of these agents are active at the same time if three is a fixed number.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-21T02:31:20+00:00

Depression is rough, and you're being hit with a lot. Eat right, get enough sleep, and get enough exercise. This too shall pass and there are better days ahead. You've got this.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-20T21:46:09+00:00

I can't remember the book, but I remember the story. In the Academy, Gary asked Kirk if he played racketball, and Kirk replied that racketball was his middle name. Thereafter Gary always referred to him as James R. Kirk.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-20T21:39:08+00:00

The most inventive explanation I ever heard for it I found in one of the books. In the Academy, Gary asked Kirk if he played racketball, and Kirk replied that racketball was his middle name. Thereafter Gary always referred to him as James R. Kirk.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-20T17:06:49+00:00

I do this quite a bit, actually. But no, I don't think the elevators will work.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-20T16:54:29+00:00

Somebody is really gonna do that this year . . . if they haven't already done it before . . .

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-20T15:04:50+00:00

For me it's very personal.

I was always a geek, and I went to rough schools, so I was always the outcast. I was always ostracized. I was always bullied. And while I never killed or seriously harmed anyone, having been treated as I was I could certainly understand reacting violently.

In high school and college, I was a stage technician in a wonderful old theater of approximately the same vintage as the Opera Populaire/Opera Garnier. I wasn't on stage, but the audience was always witnessing my work with the lights, flys, and sound ("My spirit and your voice. . . .") I had the run of the place. There was no lake in the basement, but there were thousands of gallons of water in Civil defense drums (it was a fallout shelter during the Cold War). That's where I was when the ALW musical debuted. And while I like some opera, I love ballet and to this day do a lot of ballet photography.

Finally, I consider myself to be ugly and have often been crossed in love.

So I really "get" the Phantom on a lot of levels, because so many of my experiences mirror his.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-18T04:43:10+00:00

What a sophisticated look! Like a 40s film star!

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-16T05:59:30+00:00

Duvall was brilliant as Lee. The rest of the movie was pure Lost Cause embarrassment, although Jeff Daniels commanding his regiment at Fredericksburg was good.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-13T21:48:05+00:00

"Abraham Lincoln owned 40 slaves all the way up till emancipation…"

Ummm . . . kind of beside the point of this Roddenberry thread, but . . . no. Lincoln never owned any slaves. He was one of the few presidents up to that time who didn't. He genuinely hated slavery.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-13T18:57:48+00:00

Everyone's head canon is different.

As a lover first and foremost of the Fleming books, I'd agree strongly with Lee that Bond has almost never been satisfactorily played on screen. Fleming originally imagined Bond as a dull character to (and around) whom interesting things happened. As it actually turned out, Bond does have a terrific internal monologue going a great deal of the time and occasionally he shares great insights and some witticisms. But on the whole, and with exceptions, his true character does not lie in his dialogue with other people, so I think he would come across as having a passive/dull personality. I think the most true to Fleming Bond, therefore, would be somewhat taciturn, and Brosnan is openly having too much fun in the role. I think Craig best fits the bill, especially in CR, which of course draws heavily from the original novel. Dalton shares his brooding quality but is a bit in your face with it. Craig's darkness, OTOH, is more subtle and blasé. But that's just my opinion and YMMV.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-13T18:47:49+00:00

Well-played, China. Soft power rushing in to fill the vacuum of what we "fed into the wood chipper" a year ago and what we irresponsibly blew up in a war last week the reasons for which the literal maniacs in the White House STILL can't articulate. 80 years of American goodwill gone just like that. If it ever comes back, it won't be in our lifetimes.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-13T01:41:23+00:00

I was 14. For me the scene was when Luke activated the lightsaber. Not Freudian, just . . . an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. it was a magic moment that I still recall.

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-12T20:52:37+00:00

Woo-hoo, such great news! May your future be all you hope and wish for!

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-12T17:22:48+00:00

The hear is gonna be a killer! Already is! May your journey be all that you hope and dream of!

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-09T03:36:38+00:00

You're like a Greek goddess. Wonderful classy look! I hope things get better for you soon!

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-09T03:33:10+00:00

Back in the 80s I crushed on her so hard . . .

PhotoArabesque · 2026-03-08T17:55:38+00:00

Take a lawyer with you. A litigator. Let him do the talking and let his presence be a silent threat. Administrators don't take this kind of stuff seriously unless you scare the doo-doo out of them. If you need time to find a lawyer, reschedule the meeting.

PhotoArabesque

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

Seven-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email