ArchiveOctober 2013

The best time of the year: Adopt a Physicist!

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Twice a year, the SPS (society of physics students, a branch of the American Physics Society) hosts a forum which matches physicists (like me) with high school classes with students studying physics. They ask questions and we respond. I have done this regularly since 2009, and it is the highlight of my year. Each physicist who volunteers gets “adopted” by three high school classes...

When being a nice guy backfires: Traffic edition

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I have an easy commute. A hair over 7.5 miles straight up a surface street, never too bad traffic. I am never in a hurry (well, very rarely), so I am often willing to let someone in who is leaving a driveway. But today I goofed. I waved some lady who was trying to get out of a gas station. I figured she wanted to just merge into traffic. BZZT She took my opening, then proceeded in slowly...

Punishment – Going caffeine free

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Every couple of years I give up the evil bean. I usually get to a point where my tolerance is huge, and I find my self caffeinating throughout the day. Then my sleeping get disrupted, and I get cranky and irritable (ok, crankier and more irritable than usual). Then I go off caffeine for a few months, and all is better. But the transition is hell. Headaches, missing the taste of coffee (my...

A bad day – Health edition

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Well, I have been struggling with my hand for a while. I thought I had jammed my thumb,and it wasn’t healing properly. After 6 weeks or so, I realized that it wasn’t getting better. About a month ago I finally went to my GP and after some X-Rays it looked like it wasn’t a damaged tendon, or “jam”. The X-Ray showed some bone spurs and what looked like it might be the...

Bad dog owners

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Owning a dog comes with certain responsibilities. Most people have a good grasp of these responsibilities. Keeping them licensed (if required), getting their rabies vaccination, keeping them healthy, feed them quality food, the usual items. But increasingly I see lots of evidence of bad dog owners. I talk about dog feces left in the landscaping of the neighborhood. There are laws, there are signs...

Groovin’ on my VPS – moved 2 websites

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So, after a brief support interaction with my new hosting company, A Small Orange hosting is who I went with, and I haven’t been disappointed, I am up and life is good. I have learned how to use cPanel, and its companion WHM. Really slick tools, and really easy to use. I now have 4 domains setup, and have 3 more to move, and four subdomains. I have learnt a few things: WordPress is really...

Taking the plunge: Going VPS

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Earlier this week, I learnt that my hosting provider, (MT) has been sold to GoDaddy. While they assured their customers that they would be independent, and that GoDaddy was trying to change their reputation, I know that it was just a matter of time before the douchebaggery of GoDaddy infected the ethos of MediaTemple. I had used a shared hosting account that worked remarkably well. I have 9...

A bad day – Web Hosting

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I have been hosting my websites for the last 4 years or so on a premium provider, MediaTemple. They have been efficient, no hassle, and have offered great service when I needed it. I have 7 domains hosted with them, and their basic hosting package has served me well. I have sung praises to them, and have recommended them, even though they are not the cheapest supplier out there. For me, the $20 a...

Why I don’t jam more: playing out

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We are having a sales meeting next month, and one of the organizers thinks it will be a great idea to have some of the team play and entertain at the group dinner. There are at least three guitar players, a bass player, and a drummer who can get together, so it is a reasonable idea. But I will decline to play. Apart from the “thumb” issues I have, these impromptu jams are awkward for...

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