Geekery on WT8P's Notes to Self

A month of QSOs

Sun, 13 Aug 2017 20:41:00 +0000

I’ve finished a month of QSOs and thought it’d be fun to look at the results.

Early (5pm) in the evening, I can hear activity along the east coast, Mexico, and Cuba(!), but I am unable to get through. Not surprisingly, most of my contacts have been between 7pm and 10pm (02 – 05 UTC), when the sun’s dropping and signal propagation is improved.

Contacts by band and time of day.

Geobiking Philly to DC

Tue, 07 Jun 2016 05:32:49 +0000

The excitement of visiting colleges with my daughter, her applying to the short list, and waiting on the results has is over and I’m seriously craving a week unplugged from work. I’ll be taking an organized ride in October from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Since these trips are as much about seeing different things as the Zen of cycling, I’ll also be stopping for geocaches (and other site seeing) along the way. And maybe butterscotch Tastycakes, Cheeseteaks and those legendary tomatoes I’ve heard about.

Nutrition Course External References

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 06:47:09 +0000

The Cholesterol Nuclear Option. Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/V2dtI

Harvard Health Letter Spreading your way to lower cholesterol?

Week 3: Diabetes

Defining and Diagnosing Diabetes

American Diabetes Association, Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2012
MedlinePlus – Diabetes, Diabetes Interactive Tutorial
International Diabetes Federation

Physical Activity and Weight in Diabetes

NIH, Diabetes Prevention Program
CDC – Prevent Diabetes
WHO – The Cost of Diabetes
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse – What I need to know about Physical Activity and Diabetes

Meal Planning for Diabetes

I’m Here To Put You Back On Schedule

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:32:25 +0000

My kids were feeling somewhat left out each time I dropped a Star Wars reference in conversation – something I apparently do a lot. Hoping to shore up this gap in their cultural education, I rented and watched all three(*) movies from Netflix with them. Parenting can be tough!

(*I am, of course, referring to A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I’ve heard rumors that there is another trilogy using the Star Wars name, and it even had Samuel L. Jackson asking “ __‘What’ ain’t no planet I ever heard of. They speak Bocce on What?” But the ones I saw were CGI-frenzies. (There’s also rumor of two sequels to The Matrix. Yeah, riiiiight.))

Year in Review

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:09:58 +0000

1Q 2007: Traveled to: Reno, Trondheim, San Diego. Ride: RACMOD with John, Claire and David.

Did the polar bear plunge. Blizzard. Turned forty (my “permanent record” didn’t come back to haunt me, though it occasionally taunts me). Finished knitting my scarf. Pleased that Woodstock has joined and is enjoying 43things.

2Q 2007: Traveled to: Pendleton and Portland. Rides: Century Ride of the Centuries, Wenatchee Apple Century

Finally bought a new bike. My KitchenAid broke, was fixed, then was tricked out. Assisted in a science project. Enjoyed an afternoon with Kiri. Met Scout and Jarrett. 3Q 2007: Traveled to: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Atlanta, Tucson and Phoenix. Rides: RAPSODY, Tour de Whidbey

Love is like Nitrogen

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:52:34 +0000

The high-level observations for today:

“Invited” speakers tend to be better than those that are… not invited. I do not have enough data on quality of uninvited talks, but I see an opportunity for a great practical joke.
If the invited speaker isn’t working, you can either wait it out or go to the alternate bloc of presentations. (You do have one, don’t you?) Or, tour the Poster Hall.
Nearly half of today’s presenters were confounded in some way by the remote control. It seems people think “right click” means “forward one slide,” not “select some stupid menu that I’ll need help exiting.“

I woke up from a weird dream that involved being approached by a panhandler of the worst kind:

Traffic patterns

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:55:14 +0000

While I was driving around Tucson, I was struck by how differently the traffic lights sequenced. (Phoenix didn’t seem to have the noticeable differences.) Consider this intersection of Some Boulevard and No Way:

Some Boulevard is the moderately-trafficked arterial going left-right. In this intersection, left turns have to yield to oncoming traffic. The pedestrian crosswalk is better marked. Were it busier, the traffic signal at point

(1) would have a red left turn arrow (indicating no turn is permitted). It might also have a dedicated right-turn lane. Currently, the pedestrian crossing signal at point (3) indicates it is safe for pedestrians to cross No Way.Starting with a green light (1) and active pedestrian signal (3), the traffic sequence here might typically be as follows.