Getting the Linux version of Flash Player to work with Hardy Heron (and presumably other Debian versions?) has been something of a chore for me. I was perplexed as to why I could not seem to get the installation procedure that the good folks at Adobe had created to run with my various flash videos and finally figured out a fix. As always, my goal is to share such fixes with the wider audience and I hope my recipe finds use in your installation!

The Recipe

1. Download the player from Adobe.
2. Close your Firefox browsers - all of them running. Nary a one operating.
3. Unpack in your /home/*your username here* directory.
4. cd into the install_flash_player_9_linux directory.
5. Install w/o sudo or use sudo as preferred. See the nice blog at benjaminlim.net on the various ways to do this depending on your choice of sudo or not. In my case, I ran without the sudo and things went just fine. If you do the sudo install, note the you'll need to select the install directory as being /usr/lib/firefox-3.0b5. For whatever reason, the installer dislikes /usr/lib/firefox as the install pathname.
   
6. Now for the secret sauce. My particular install had gnash installed. As such, no matter how I tried to convince Firefox to use Adobe Flash, Gnash was played irregardless of my choices. So, use the package manager to remove gnash. You can always install it again later if you feel the need, but it may defeat your use of Adobe Flash player. Note: gnash is truly a horrid player. It just does not run correctly with many Flash applets - Just my opinion.
   
7. Start Firefox.
8. Edit Preferences.
9. Choose the Applications tab at the top of the Preferences window.
10. In "Search", type "swf".
11. The content type "SWF file" should display - click the "Action" dropdown and select "Use Shockwave Flash".
12. Close the Preferences window.
13. Restart Firefox.
14. Hit a site with flash running on it and then right-click inside the running applet to see that you are running the Adobe player.
15. Enjoy!

In light of recent events in the world, I've been slowly assembling the beginnings of a revolution at my household. A house as dedicated to solar energy as possible, and on a shoestring. As a Republican, I get strange looks when I talk about going green and even more so when I speak of frugality and re-using with conservation in mind.

Of course, the strange looks I get are even funnier to watch when I explain how many $$$ I'll save doing things this way. People pay attention when they see a way to escape with dollars in pocket while keeping warm or cool as the need changes.

Being single, the expenses of investing in these technologies is a reality. As such, my plan to go solar has evolved into the following broad initiative:

• Solar Electricity to take on bulk of home power.
• Solar Water heating to take on bulk of the water heating for 3 of 4 seasons.
• Solar outdoor lighting to remove costs of lighting paths (and perhaps holiday decorations?).
  
• Solar Home Heating using ground exchange loops.
• Solar Cooling using ground exchange loops.
• Solar Cooking using reflected heat cookers.

By attacking the most egregious items first, namely the heating and cooling of the home, one can reduce energy costs many fold with relatively little outlay. The worst expenses are investing in the digging equipment to dig the trench to form the basis of a ground loop exchange setup and the corresponding investment in piping and components to bring the system to working order. Some call this "Geothermal Exchange" and it is a means of either bring cool air in that has been cooled from having blown through underground pipes or to bring earth warmed air in during the winter when the outside temperature is often ten to twenty degrees cooler. Either way, such technological capabilities are not beyond the average home handyman.