I guess I could have entitled this post "Am I cool yet?"

Just a few nights ago, I compiled my own kernel. Apart from screwing with the way fstab is setup, I had zero problems. The problem, which isn't really a problem, per se, was my newly compiled kernel wasn't picking up on my harddrives like the default kernel compile was. In other words, the hard drives weren't arranged in the same sda1, sda2 order. I don't know what order they were in, because I didn't bother to check. I just reformatted my fstab by setting it up to mount the drives via their UUID (now done by default with the 2008 Arch discs).

I must say, the whole process was very straight forward. I don't think I did too much in the way of "customization," but I turned some stuff off and some other stuff on. In the end, I really just wanted to be able to compile my own kernel for the first time. Feels good.

Now that I know I can do that, it's time to learn what happens during boot times. I know the basics; I know something is done with the initramfs image and the kernel image, then the modules are loaded, then the network is started, then the daemons, blah blah blah. However, I'd like to know more about the first bit: What the heck is the role of the init image? This can be learned easily, I know, by a simple wiki search. This will be done in the very near future.

First thing's first, though: repartitioning and reinstalling. I need, no, WANT, to have my Linux partitions arranged in an LVM. After messing around with an LVM system (a few, actually) in virtual box and on a test machine, their benefits far outweigh the trouble it takes to set them up (which is almost non existent). I'd also like to have a spare 20GB or less set aside for a Windows environment. Hold onto your pants. I'll explain: Next year, my friend (the aleutia kid) and I plan on rooming together. Since he's only going to have a low powered pc (which will only run Linux, I assume), I need to have an environment setup so we can play through a single player game every once in a while. If you say you don't sit down and cooperatively play through a single player game with a friend once in a while, I'll know you're lying.

That's all for now, I think. This post kind-of went off the Topic sentence. Oh well. My college professor of Writing Comp. would say I just took you, the reader(s), on a journey through my thought process. I hope you kept your hands and feet inside the car at all times.