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sometimes they show such lovely meals prepared in an American restaurant

And the same thing happens here when we are shown wonderful meals prepared in a French, Chinese, or Indian restaurant 
However, I can tell you a few things:

First of all, there probably is no such thing as a "typical" american staple or diet, as we have borrowed so much of our cuisine (and language) from the varied cultures that make up it's people.  
That said, some generalities may be found to be true; wheat and corn based products are more common than rice or other grains. Wheat in the form of loaf bread and cereals, corn as a vegetable, cereal, or an ingredient in other dishes. Meat is very common as a main dish or as part of it (except for those vegetarian among us), mostly beef, pork, chicken, and fish like tuna and cod.  Legumes (beans) and vegetables are more often considered side dishes or filler, rarely as a main dish unless you are a vegetarian or you are in the mood for a salad or bean-based dish.  Beans are seen most commonly in chili and soups.  Lettuce, green beans and peas count for the largest consumption of green vegetables, while carrots, celery, potatoes and onions make up a large part of the root vegetables. Cheese, milk, butter, and other dairy products are very common as well, and fruit is eaten most commonly as a snack or prepared as a dessert.

Growing up, I was ingrained with what I would consider a "typical American menu" of sorts, common things that are eaten at certain times of the day.
Breakfast: Eggs fried or boiled, pancakes with butter and syrup, bacon, cereal, milk (with cereal or as a separate beverage).
Lunch: Usually some sort of sandwich, soup, or salad.
Dinner: Usually a main dish that contained meat or a savory vegetable preparation, with a salad and/or vegetables on the side, and a variety of condiments to spice or flavor as desired.

This, of course, will vary by region or dominant culture in varying degrees, and many would probably disagree with me on what is a "typical" or "common" American meal.  Many Americans choose to eat at the vast variety of restaurants available, while others find satisfaction preparing at home, and still others have more of a tendency to buy pre-packaged or easy-to-prepare boxed or canned products (processed food, as Renegade described).  A dish that is common in the southwest area of the U.S. may be non-existent or uncommon in the northwest.  A family of Asian descent will also have a tendency to consume more foods common to their culture rather than what is considered common in the region they live in, it's all very relative.  

I hope I've answered your question, and not confused you even more, but the subject of food is rather a large one...  

Along with their latest promise to actually start porting to Linux, Valve software has created a Linux team and posted it's first Linux blog entry:
http://blogs.valvesoftwar...om/linux/steamd-penguins/

The Valve Linux Team

Our mission is to strengthen the gaming scene on Linux, both for players and developers. This includes Linux ports of Steam and Valve games, as well as partner games. We are also investigating open source initiatives that could benefit the community and game developers.

Kudos, gentlemen, kudos.

+1 what 40Hz said

Before we go any further, can i ask who that Joyce is or was?

James Joyce, but that quote may or may not be his; the last word in that quote has been rendered 'chance' and 'choice' as well, and earlier than Joyce was writing, but I digress...

But I get the sense that the Linux crowd intentionally prefers things to be more complicated, even if it doesn't have to be.

I used to think the opposite; that it wasn't the Linux crowd making things more complicated, it was the outsiders pointing out how complex it was, and they would say that only because they simply didn't know how to run a decent compiler.
Then I saw this:
http://dwm.suckless.org/

Because dwm is customized through editing its source code, it’s pointless to make binary packages of it. This keeps its userbase small and elitist. No novices asking stupid questions.

Thankfully, the only group that would label itself 'small and elitist' are exactly that; small and elitist, so you can safely ignore them.

FTR - I use Debian; ergo the easiest package manager on the planet: Apt
... and if I want to get adventurous, there's always the "configure -> make -> make install" dance (quite the jig, I assure you...).
 

Jumped the Ubuntu ship before the Unity.  Never looked back. I was using Xubuntu anyways, so I don't know if I would have noticed a difference.
I hear Unity works good in a pad computer environment, much like how Windows 8 was obviously designed for pad devices as well.

@Edvard,

Now we're getting into the deep end!  

Yep, and it goes as deep as you're willing to swim...

To be honest with you, Linux for me is like playing 3D chess.
I can play some chess (Windows) but 3D just doesn't make it in my head.
So, i'm trying to get more and more familiar with it by installing it and breaking it so that i can fix it.

One of the best ways to learn it, IMO, but now that it's my only OS, I'm a little more interested in keeping it UN-broke

I happen to "work" for a non-profit association and the folks know little about computers (let alone Linux!).
They get viruses and bring their computers to the shop @ $100 bucks a shot etc.
Their laptops have hard drive crashes, computers need replacement.
Those are big bucks for non-profits!  

I know, right?  Seems Linux would be a great fit for a non-profit, but due to the fact that it's uncharted territory for even junior admins, it's just not doable for many of them.  That, and a dependence on Windows-only software for administration and operations (an even larger consideration), and you have quite the hurdle to overcome.  Understandable in a practical sense, but I still get the voice inside that says "It could be so different..."
http://www.techrepublic.c...ties-and-non-profits/2209
http://www.phillipadsmith...-about-free-software.html
http://textbookrevolution.org/files/pitp.pdf

There are a zillion computers available on eBay that could be transformed with Linux and behave even better than Windows7 or 8.
I need to prepare the proposition by being more knowledgeable with Linux but especially so that they don't get lost in Linux.

An admirable effort. Just don't get too flustered when someone inevitably starts yelling and pointing fingers because "on Windows, this was easy".  They often turn out to be right.  Your job will be to make it just as easy, granted that it's even possible.

Also, i'm fed up with the fact that Microsoft keeps on pushing us to new versions (which are often regressions) with a price tag that... well, you know the story.

Yes, that's one of the single largest complaints that can be levelled their way, but really, it's all in a business day in tech land.  The hardware keeps getting better and better so you build larger and more complex software that takes advantage of the new goodies to be played with, all while still trying to maintain legacy support, driver compliance, shareholder value, yada yada yada, and suddenly people are calling you "bloated" and "greedy".
Jeez, can't win for losing...
Don't think Linux is immune, either.  Compare the latest 3.something Linux kernel with the first iterations of 2.6.x and you'll see that the code and driver base has gotten a little thick.
The good side to that story is that it's all so customizable that you can slim down the fattest kernel and get it to run on almost anything.  Windows, of course, not so much, but things like making sure the latest version is going to run on the kinds of machines non-profits can afford does nothing for their bottom line, and so it goes...

Conclusion?

Well, Linux for me is a hobby still in the sense of not really taking the plunge (like yourself).
Why? Well, i have this CanoScan Lide70 that Linux still can't handle.
What do i do if i propose Linux to others and their scanners or whatever other application can't be connected?
Tell them to buy another scanner to have a free Linux system?

You don't leave a good first impression in those conditions now do you?

Of course not.  But you can have the same problems on Windows.  That ancient lazer printer that works like a draft horse, and only goes down when the lights go out in a thunderstorm, but the drivers haven't been updated since Windows '98, and the shop just got offered a sweet bulk deal on Win 7 licenses?
Yeah, good luck explaining that one, too.
One trick I've used is to explain that the money saved on licensing can be put toward new hardware; like a sleek new wifi-connected printer that's running some form of Linux under the hood anyway.
I prefer to think that it's hardware manufacturers that can't handle Linux, rather than that Linux can't handle the hardware.  After all, many folks have asked Canon for decent Linux support and they refuse to even allow others to do the job, much less do it themselves.
The first alternative that comes to mind would be to set up a Windows box as a print/scan server, and enable Internet Printing Protocol for printers, or Scan to FTP for scanners, but that's not for everybody...

As Joyce(?) once said, "ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer cherce"

* Edvard ropes the wayward calf and attempts to bring it back to topic...

Glad to see you're doing what Linux users the world over are discovering every day... Using what works for you.
But back to the question: in all that, did you feel like you were tinkering with an amusing hobby?  Or were you performing vital troubleshooting procedures in order to produce a usable workstation which would serve your computing needs for the foreseeable future?

That, I think is one of the dividing lines that must be crossed in order to differentiate between one or the other.  Seems so logical to say that Windows or Mac isn't a hobby, because they are production-ready systems that so many people actually do work on, for, and with.  Linux has classically been the domain of the tinkerer, power user, or the merely intellectually curious; yet, it has stood the test of production systems for years now.  Even now, a sizable chunk of the internet is powered by Linux or BSD (the "other" hobby OS),  and I am constantly absolutely boggled by the fact that people have absolutely no clue that their most trusted communication link (cell phone) could possibly be running on a hobby OS (android).

Like I said in my first response, it is what you make it.
I've used Linux in some incarnation for ~10 years now as my main, and now only OS, and it's as vital to me as any Windows or Mac would be to anyone else.  Granted, when my Linux breaks and I can't fix it, I go to the "community" instead of to the "experts", but really that's the biggest difference anymore.

8 more cents, and you'd have a dollar...

...
Some saying software doesnt wear out.
...

Apparently, Intuit customer service does:

http://omgplzstfukthx.blo...1/you-need-exe-fluid.html
 

I do this on the order of once a year or so, just going back to the beginning and browsing through until I fall asleep.
If I remember correctly, the post categories weren't always the way they are now, and the coding snacks section was once the busiest part (it's what brought me here by way of Shell Extension City)

Good times, good times...

That's called "Re-initializing the power cycle manual timing hardware".

Be damned if it doesn't work almost every time...

...
 along with Groo the Wanderer.

[attach=1]

INTO THE FRAY!!

I just saw this video. It's pretty heavy, so maybe not for everyone, but if you support Wikileaks, then I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it.

LOVE me some ATR!
I thought they were defunct a few years ago, perhaps I was wrong?

If your daughter is really technology-savvy, then your best methods will be an inconvenience at best.
That said, I use a combination of OpenDNS, Adblock Plus and the Firefox extension Procon Latte.
https://addons.mozilla.or...refox/addon/procon-latte/
It can be locked down pretty tightly, supports whitelists, blacklists, objectionable-word replacement, all kinds of stuff.
On Chrome, Foxfilter does alright, but it costs $9.99 a year to get it password-protected.
http://www.inspiredeffect.com/FoxFilter/

If you use OpenDNS, make sure you use the dynamic IP update service, and make sure your router doesn't insert a third DNS entry, because if a DNS lookup fails for any reason, the third entry will then allow access.
http://www.opendns.com/support/dynamic_ip_tech/
https://forums.opendns.co...nts.php?DiscussionID=1684

K9 looks pretty good, but is Windows and Mac only (not hatin', just sayin'...) so my solutions apply to Linux users as well.
If you ever want to lock down a Linux computer beyond browser plugins, it'll get complicated, but routing access through a proxy running DansGuardian is a good choice.
http://dansguardian.org/?page=whatisdg

Thanks for noticing my 1801th!
I saw it too, and was like "Aw crap, I missed 1800!".

So, I cranked up the ol' time machine (post history + Gimp ) and came up with this:
[attach=1]
So, what's a little fakery among friends, as long as the facts are on? 

As many of you already know, the animal world is not always "red in tooth and claw" and fraught with survival-of-the-fittest nightmare fuel suitable for a riveting National Geography documentary filmed in slo-mo; sometimes there's outright friendship, kindness, and empathy demonstrated by the fur-and-feathers set that puts us bipeds to shame.
So as a corollary to the Funny Animal Videos thread, post your cute, your sad, your outright squee videos of animal BFF's, and celebrate them.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xttaBfmxxGU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xttaBfmxxGU</a>

From a conversation in IRC

WoM is going to be the thing... until something better comes along.

One thing I've noticed is when people recommend a free (FOSS or Freeware) application or suite, others chime in with their happy reports on a software that is NOT free, thus the commentary on something that is freely available becomes an unwitting WoM platform to drive profitable business.

I bet if you went WAAAAY back to the first merchants of civilization, I'd bet even they would tell you that Word of Mouth is their best advertising, and I think it's not going to go away anytime soon.
Targeted advertising is basically attempting to sell you something you were going to buy anyway, which is why they think it's such a success, whereas the opinion of someone you trust is more likely to turn you towards something that you hadn't thought of yourself.

 !@#$%^&* ninjas cutting onions...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnA4u9CaK7A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnA4u9CaK7A</a>

FTR, there are GUI libraries for Fortran:

http://www.xeffort.com/
http://www.gino-graphics.com/products/menu.html
http://www.winteracter.com/
http://ftcl.sourceforge.net/
 

AFAIK, in a stable system (nudge, wink) as long as the binary is compiled correctly and calls the right versions of supporting libraries (which can be statically linked, if need be) then it'll work just fine.
I have, in times of desperation, used Red Hat and Slackware binaries on my system when Debian didn't have what I needed, without serious repercussion. 
So, it's very possible, but one can fairly reliably predict a new Steam/Valve forum section dedicated to posts like "[game] isn't working on [Linux distro]"...

I realize I'm a little late reporting this (as of April 25) but...
As I lamented here, the head honchos at Steam/Valve announced flatly they wouldn't be supporting Linux.

What's that I hear?  Seems someone's tune has changed...

At long last, Valve has confirmed that Linux ports of both Steam and the Source engine are in active development, and should be released later this year. These are native solutions that run directly on Linux, without any kind of Wine-like emulation. Left 4 Dead 2 will be the first Source-based title on Linux, but once the engine has been successfully ported other AAA games will surely follow.

http://www.extremetech.co...-confidence-for-windows-8

OOOHHH!! REAL PORTS, NOT WINE HACKS!! I'm as giddy as a school girl with a new iPhone!! 

Perhaps they saw the writing on the wall with the advent of competing content-delivery platforms like Desura (Windows/Mac/Linux) and Gameolith (all-Linux) or maybe they finally woke up the the statistics the HIB's were showing about how much money Linux gamers were willing to spend, who knows?

Either way... it's about damn time. 

+1 for Aero fans 
My son has W7 on his laptop, and I used it at my former job, and I found aero to be rather fetching...
What I found strange, was that turning all the effects off had a negative effect; that is, turning off menu animations and such made everything seem jerky and slow.
However, I do wish these new-fangled theming engines at least had Classic's ability to change the button size.
Now THAT would be an improvement by going backward.

... I had to make my own theme to get the size buttons I wanted in Xfce on Linux, so the penguinistas are not immune, either... 

[EDIT]
I had a much longer and verbose, then a much shorter and terse answer, but in the end, both brevity (the soul of wit) and  pedantics went out the window, so here is my answer to simply expound upon this:
Yes, Linux is a hobby, if you choose to treat it like one.

That is, something one dabbles with on a weekend, occasionally accomplishing something amazing, more often than not swearing and threatening to kick it down the sewer.  Yet one resolutely soldiers on with wrench, hammer, and sandpaper, and when it's finally polished and purring like a kitten, it gets shown to friends and fellow enthusiasts to rounds of acclaim.
If that's how you see it or feel about it, then Yes, stick with Windows for "serious" work and play with your choice of distro when you get an itch to tinker with something that appears to be half-broke much of the time, trying to make something of it. That's what most hobbies are all about.

For others (e.g. yours truly) however, it is every bit as basic and essential as any other operating system.  Just like users of Windows or Mac OSX, we do many of the same things, use different software, swear at bugs, work around shortcomings and occasionally mutter "I'm so glad I don't have to use [other operating system], my work would be impossible!".
For me, it's not a hobby.  Bugs are mortal enemies, not curiosities to scoff at.  Optimization is a task to be seized upon, not a pipe dream involving expensive hardware alone.  Software is bent to my will or it doesn't survive, rather than vice-versa.  A terminal is where I issue commands, not polite requests.  
Most importantly, Linux is how I get work done, and it's proven more than adequate for the job.  Sure, there are some Windows programs I miss (xPlorer2, Notepadd++), but I'm not crippled without them.

For the record, I'm running snappily with Debian Wheezy (production work on a Testing system? GASP!) on a 2.4 GHz single-core AMD 64 4000+, 4 GB RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, and ATI Radeon HD 2600XT graphics.
I abandoned Xubuntu a year and a half ago and never looked back (running waaay too slow, surprised?).

In that case, is Gnome 3 the way to go for a true Linux experience?

I'll just say this; A "true Linux experience" is not dependent on any gui or distro, it's whatever works for you.
If Gnome 3 works and does what you want it to, then the answer is "Yes!"; for others... not a chance.
Personally, I use Xfce, because it (wait for it...) works for me, and so it is (to me) a "true" Linux experience; in fact, one I am constantly trying to emulate when I get sat in front of a Windows machine.

... BTW, with Xfce, you can auto-hide panels, place them wherever you want, in any size.  

apt-get install debian-handbook

Not in Wheezy repositories yet
That's ok, I grabbed the djvu version from Tony Baldwin's site (#3, here.

Thanks 40!

o_O

How the hell did I manage to miss a "I'm switching to Linux" thread? 

So, superboyac, how's it going?
Need help?
I got your back, don't worry...

[attach=1]

This is my favoritest joke in the entire world, and it's quite silly.
Cracks me up every time I tell it...

[attach=1]

[2.2 beta]

Well, that was a bit of a surprise... 

Talk about unexpected though. I would have expected Microsoft to simply port the dedicated supernode software to run on Windows and then deploy Windows servers for the purpose.

You'd think, but then again, maybe the software functioned so well already they decided to not put in the dev time for porting, and instead tweak what was already built.
To go with the car analogy, why build a [car brand A] when you've got a perfectly good [car brand B] in the garage?

Meanwhile, the Linux version of the Skype client is at 2.2 beta.
Windows version: 5.9
Mac version: 5.7

Admittedly, this was going on before Microsoft bought them, and I keep hoping Ballmer lives up to his promises.... not holding my breath.