Germany, booting and Firefox 3.5

So, I'm pretty much all set for my trip to Germany at the end of the month. Yes, I'm going to spend nearly a month over seas! I'm so excited. The first couple weeks I'll be in Heidleberg brushing up on my German at the did deutsch-institut. The institut hooked me up with a (hopefully friendly) family for room and board while I study. After that, its off on my own for a couple weeks, exploring Germany. The flight is booked and today I just bought a handy travel guide: Let's Go Germany (on a budget). Flipping through it at Chapters, there's a ton of information on where to go, where to stay, what to do and how to save money. Cause travelling isn't cheap. And I'm on a student's budget. Still I think I'll be prepared by takeoff.

Computer related news. I found a great thread for Archers looking to shave boot times. Of course the best way will always be to build your own custom kernel. Compiling all your hardware and module requirements into the kernel and cutting out everything else. A project I've been wanting to tackle for a while now. There are tons of guides on the subject, but I still have to research some more on just what I want to include/exclude. I can't wait to get started! Other projects I want to get started on: learning Python and Javascript and GUI making with GTK. Arrg, so much to learn, so little time left in summer!

Downloaded the new and improved Firefox last night. Pretty sweet! It's definitely faster. It did kill a few of my less important extensions but hopefully the developers will fix the compatibility issues and get those working soon. Axed extensions includes: Compact Menu, DNS Prefetch, Fasterfox, Stop-or-Reload Button. I've also noticed that even with the speed boost, the Opera 10 beta that's in the AUR still seems faster, especially with lots of tabs.