Last update to this page: December 21, 2024
Welcome to malak.ca, home to Don's House of Fine Patisseries, winemaking, scouting, Star Trek, anti-Wussley humour, The Swedish Chef, and general silliness updating my website, which these days (as of about 2018) is updating my blog and my recipe archive.
Desktop Linux: Unveiled
Here is my recipe archive, which is updated semi-quasi-irregularly and unannounced, whenever I add a new recipe or update the text of a recipe.Cooking and recipes:
Here are a number of my blog entries which have varying degrees of photos showing the process of making my various recipes:
Strawberry Jam Muffins (December, 2024) recipe
Bierocks (Stuffed Bread Rolls) (December, 2024) recipe
(Relatively) Plain Yoghurt Muffins (October, 2024) recipe Podcast1 Podcast2 Post about the podcasts
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Squares (February / March, 2024) recipe
Stewed Rhubarb (August, 2023) recipe
Bagel and Cream Cheese Pieces / Bites (July, 2023)
Making Beer at Home (March / April / May / July, 2023)
Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Ground Roast Pork Casserole (April / May, 2023) recipe
Drying Pineapple Slices (March, 2023)
Two Egg, Ham, and Cheese Omelette (February / March, 2023) recipe
My Mom's Rhubarb Chutney (August / September, 2022) recipe
My Mom's Roast Potatoes (March, 2022) recipe
My Mom's Stuffed Butternut Squash (January, 2022) recipe
My Mom's Turkey Stuffing / Dressing (December, 2021) recipe
Eggplant au Gratin (December, 2021) recipe
My Mom's Corned Beef Hash (July, 2021) recipe
Cooking Breakfast Sausages (May / June, 2021)
My Mom's Raisin Bran Muffins (June, 2021) recipe
Barbecups AND Chicken Cups (Double-Length Feature) (June, 2021) Barbecups recipe Chicken Cups recipe
English Muffin Breakfast Sandwiches (May, 2021) recipe
Crisped Rice Treats (May, 2021) recipe
Pepperoni Pizza with a Biscuit Dough Crust (May, 2021) recipe
Shepherd's Pie / Paté Chinois / Cottage Pie (May, 2021) recipe
Bread Machine White Bread (May, 2021) recipe
Meatballs (April, 2021) recipe
Breakfast Sandwiches (April, 2021) recipe
Zucchini with Tomato, Onion, and Bacon Sauce (April, 2021) recipe
Chicken Pot Pies (April, 2021) recipe
Three (or Five) Ingredient Cheese Biscuits (March, 2021) recipe
Lemon Squares (March, 2021) recipe
Vegetable Soup (Big Batch) (March, 2021) recipe
Mini Meat Loaves (March, 2021) recipe
Chocolate Buttercrunch (February, 2021) recipe
Plain Cake with Lemon Sauce (February, 2021) recipe
Chicken Soup (February, 2021) recipe
Stuffed Potato Skins (February, 2021) recipe
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Pieces (January, 2021) recipe
Bran Muffins (January, 2021) recipe
Pickled Eggs (January, 2021) recipe
Blondies (January, 2021) recipe
Shortbread Cookies (December, 2020) recipe
Beef Manicotti (December, 2020) recipe
Lemon Squares, Breakfast Sandwich, Bread, Cooked Ground Beef and onions, bacon, oatmeal raisin squares, blondies, crisped rice treats, shepherd's pie (November, 2020)
Chocolate Buttercrunch (old blog post, more text and stories than pictures) (August, 2020) recipe
Pepperoni Pizza (biscuit dough) (March, 2020) (old blog post, more text and stories and only a few pictures) recipe
Chapter 1: What is Linux? (February, 2024)
Chapter 2: Common Linux Distributions (February, 2024)
Chapter 3: Preparing to Install Linux (February, 2024)
Chapter 4: Installing Linux (March, 2024)
Chapter 5: Gnome Extensions, and Basic File Management (August, 2024)
Chapter 6: Upgrading the Operating System (October, 2024)
Chapter 7: Desktop applications (December, 2024)
www.malak.ca is hosted by none other than me! (since late 2017), using Fedora Linux and various used desktop computers, replacing them as they eventually wear out with another used machine. As of May, 2023, malak.ca is on its fourth machine, a circa 2008 Dell dual core 2.66MHz with hyperthreading, 8GB of memory, 240GB SSD, and 1TB external HD.
(20240206) Présentation au sujet de mon serveur web Addition of my presentation (in French) about my webserver
Donald's Blog I talk about my various hobbies, activies, personal interests, and the like. I used to blog about my experiences with linux, but for several years now, the ratio of linux posts has dropped significantly. (See above.)
(20220404): Addition to my blog: An adaptation of a presentation I made in November, 2022, on PDF files and free / libre software and open source software.I USED to talk or rant about what's on my mind linux and computer related -- usually from the point of view of a lazy lUzer who hasn't a clue about how his computer really works or what he's really talking about. However, I tired of doing so given that in retrospect, enough of the posts seemed to be too light on the technicals, and lacking in enough in-depth basis.
I use Fedora, a version of Linux, on my desktop, laptops and used to -- up until 2014 or so, and again since 2017 -- use it for my home server. I had a brief bout with Ubuntu 9.04 (hated it but it worked, and I continue to hate Ubuntu with a passion. Funny, I still recommend Ubuntu to people, it has a not very painful learning curve. And, why divide ourselves when the point is to encourage people to at least try linux.) Finally, I used to use CentOS 4.4 to 4.7 (A Red Hat Enterprise Linux re-spin) on my desktop and laptop, and moved to 5.2 until I had to move on due to printer incompatibility. Most linux distributions are legal to download and install for free!
I have always used the Gnome desktop … well, sort of. I flirted with Mate in about, what 2015? (I had to investigate it for someone who doesn't want to use Gnome 3, and changing back to a Gnome 2 environment was easy) but I went back to Gnome 3.
I have used Fedora versions 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 36, and as of May, 2023, I am on Fedora 37 on my main desktop, laptops, and my home server which is serving up www.malak.ca to you right now. (No, I don’t have a thing for odd numbers; just not reinstalling every six months, and keeping my multiple Fedora machines in sync with each other.) NOTE: There were major changes to how PHP requests are handled in Fedora 33.
Finally my OLD home server which used to host this website used CentOS 7.x. It was a used computer bought in 2008 used as a home server, then as my desktop for a few years, and back as a home server, until I started to smell burning coming from the machine and retired it. I moved to a "new" home server runs Fedora and was a Core 2 Duo that used to be a reclaimed desktop -- which as of April, 2020, has been relegated again to use for world community grid calculations, and I'm using another used ThinkCentre reclaimed from a pile of computers destined for disposal. I have another computer running at 100% of its capacity to work for World Community Grid; the machine was found in a building being demolished, and I claimed it before the wrecking ball hit. It’s also running CentOS 7.x. Finally, my old netbook, which used to be running at 100% of its capacity to work for World Community Grid, running CentOS 6.x 32 bit. (CentOS 7 and on are only 64bit, and I don’t want to start playing around with the 32bit respin of CentOS 7.x) However, now it is dead, and waiting for me to dispose of it properly.
Would you like to know how Fedora has historically kept up with a roughly 13 month lifespan (and by default, its 6 month release cycle -- given that they say that End of Life is 1 month after the release of the second version following, and that they will release roughly twice a year)?
Making Firestarters -- photos (August, 2021)
My Swedish Chef archive -- includes recipes!
My old homepage and web pages/resources
Pictures of my trip to London, England (2003)
The rec.crafts.winemaking FAQ with hyperlinks
My Ask-A-Scouter Page, with all sorts of outdoors skills questions answered
My experiences coding .avi files to VCDs
Fichiers Université de Sherbrooke
Pics from my trip to Paris and London (2005)
The Griffith's 50th Anniversary Party (2011)
The Great Ketchikan Lumberjack Show (2014)
CP Rail Christmas Train in Montreal West, Quebec (2017)
Mondial de la Bière (Montreal, Québec) 2018
Photo blog using a backwoods washing machine (August, 2022)
One of my previous hobbies, Geocaching, which for all intents and purposes, I don't do anymore:
Geocaching.com -- GPS Treasure Hunting!
Hi-rez Canadian Geocaching permit
This file was designed and created by AVDesign in Montreal. You may copy it, but please properly credit it.
How to calculate coordinates lower than the precision of your gps allows
Scanned .jpg's of an article in La Presse de Montreal, Friday, 04 July 2003, on geocaching p1 p2 p3 p4
A CBC Radio interview I did on geocaching, which aired on January 22, 2004
My pics from Go and Get 'Em 6 in Ottawa
Geocaching.com -- GPS Treasure Hunting!