I use Ubuntu Linux for most of my computing these days; it's what runs on my work laptop. Each version of Ubuntu has a codename consisting of an adjective and an animal name (e.g., Breezy Badger, Intrepid Ibex, Dapper Drake). The upcoming release is 9.10, "Karmic Koala", and I don't care for the adjective. It continues an unfortunate tradition of using "karma" and derived words in completely nonsensical ways. And it's certainly not as positive as previous adjectives (Edgy, Dapper, Jaunty, &c.).

The Ubuntu Release Name Generator has better suggestions, such as Kindly, Keepable, and Keyless Koala. It also suggested "Seemlier Sumana" and "Localizable Leonard," which are fun.

All kidding and grousing aside, I am looking forward to Karmic, which hits the streets on Thursday the 29th. My colleagues who have beta-tested it find it an easy upgrade (with a few exceptions). And it comes with Empathy built-in as the default chat client, which gives me a little hometown pride since Collabora's Telepathy is the engine behind Empathy.

And with all the uncertainty in life recently -- health care reform, the should-we-move-to-England discussion, new and challenging tasks at work, even small decluttering choices about what items to discard -- it's nice to anticipate something about which I can be unabashedly enthusiastic. Three days till Ubuntu 9.10!