Author: Jim Martin

I took the Ubuntu Studio plunge

I tested out Ubuntu 18.04 on a thumbdrive and while using the Demo mode I was able to find the correct linux drivers for my Epson Work Force Pro 4350 Printer.  I was able to successfully print a test page.  It worked! So, the next day I went ahead and installed Ubuntu 18.04, without doing it in a dual boot configuration.  I was then able to encrypt the hard drive and off I went.

I used Unix professionally years ago, but I only knew a handful of commands, now I have so much more to learn.  I feel like a kid in a candy store again. I have the same laptop – Lenovo Flex 5 Ideapad 1570, but it loads in less than half the time and the battery life has definitely been extended from the Windows 10 time frame it used to have.

I also have a lot more “standard” apps installed that let me do things like:

Write your own music sheets
Create your own multi track music
Create your own movies and include subtitles
Add special effects to your projects
Graphic design apps to read e-books and create animations
And it has LibreOffice installed

Because I have worked with the Windows OS in so many different versions over the years it has grown very stale with me, and the pricing really sucks.

I used Unix professionally years ago, but I only knew a handful of commands, now I have so much more to learn.

So, who’s next?

The New Medicare card is coming in June

The new card will remove the gender identification, your signature, and your Social Security Number changes to a Member Beneficiary Identifier. The details can be found at www.Medicare.gov/newcard

Starting in June, Nebraska will start receiving their new cards. Your new card is active as soon as you get it.

Please SHRED your old card!
This is from the Medicare blog
“Medicare has started sending new cards with new Medicare Numbers to people with Medicare. Your new Medicare card will include a new number unique to you, instead of your current Social Security-based number. This will help to protect you against fraud.

Starting this month, people who are enrolling in Medicare for the first time will be among the first in the country to get the new cards. If you have Medicare already, you’ll get your new card over the coming months. Medicare will mail cards on a rolling basis, sending a new card with a new number at no cost to everyone with Medicare over the next year. To update your official mailing address, visit your MySocialSecurity account, or call 1-800-772-1213.

If you want to know when new cards start mailing to your area, visit www.Medicare.gov/NewCard, and sign up to get email alerts from Medicare. We’ll send you an email when cards start mailing in your state, and we’ll also email you about other important Medicare topics. While the cards have a new look, your Medicare coverage and benefits will stay the same. “