There are two types of hackers. (Actually, there are two types of geeks, and hackers are a form of geek that has both types.) The first type is like me. These are hackers that embrace their geekiness completely; they have no desire whatsoever to be normal. You can tell these guys by their "bow before me, for I am root" shirts.

The second type is different. These hackers are often just as competent as the first type, but you wouldn't know it just to look at them. They dress normally, even stylishly; they have geek friends and normal friends; they can talk knowledgably about popular music and popular Linux distributions. One of these guys, Brandon Friend, was a friend of mine in high school.

Another of them is a friend of my sister's (the boyfriend of one of her best friends). He knew a few rather useful things about Windows, such as the fact that Windows File Protection isn't enabled in Safe Mode, that finally allowed me to fix that horrible green Start button.

So...here's my desktop. The differences from the stock Metallic theme are smaller titlebars, the desaturated Start button, and different backgrounds. Extra taskbar provided by UltraMon.



(You really can't appreciate the translucent buddy list on the right without a maximized translucent IM window right next to it.)

Thanks, man.