I have spent my last six years, indeed, my entire adult life, around and attending the University of Minnesota. And it’s amazing! I am really going to miss this place. No really, it is amazing. Most people around the world, when I talk with them, assume that Minnesota – which they have vaguely, maybe heard […]
My Favorite Places at the University of Minnesota: a photo essay Read More »
In the cycling world, there is a wealth of data analysis and visualization tools, of which I have experience with Strava and TrainingPeaks. In fact, cycling is probably one of the most data-mature consumer industries, ironic considering at face value cycling brings up images of rugged mountain trails not computers and sensors. The data we
Processing Garmin .fit files to .csv files for Cycling Data Analysis Read More »
This book, Algorithms to Live By: What Computers Can Teach Us About Solving Human Problems, came to me via Amazon’s recommendation system and sold by being well-reviewed. The book’s premise is simple: take algorithms which are critical in various aspects of computing, explain them, and then connect them to human problems (such as parking, scheduling,
Reflections on reading "Algorithms to Live By" Read More »
Something is clearly different about the native prairie. The lighter green color may just be a result of the prairie growth being younger (several months, versus perennial grasses and plants established for many years). The much young prairie also already shows taller plant growth. The partridge peas were blooming this week, and were prettier than
Prairie versus Endemic Read More »
Despite the removal of eight trees and arborvitae in the last two years, my childhood home’s yard is filled with shade. Thus, we have lots of hosta, which my mom had picked up quite a number of varieties of, and is now quite attached to. But, with my parents retiring and moving fully to the
The Great Hosta Evacuation Read More »
I have just finished my first reading of Beowulf. It wasn’t an easy read, even in translation Reading Beowulf was inevitable for me. First brought to my attention in detail by Professor Nicholson in my late Latin class on Bede, it has since been on the periphery of my Early Medieval studies, trips to Denmark,
Kin, Rings, and Feuds: an Unlearned Reading of Beowulf Read More »
For all three people in the world who are really interested (myself and my parents), the Catlin farm’s newly-established weather/sensor database is difficult to understand just by glancing at the 40 columns of numbers. So I made a dashboard in which to look at, in particular, the trifecta of agriculture: rain, temp, and sun for
Live Dashboard of Farm Weather for WordPress.com Read More »
It’s been a year and a half since this computer broke, and it’s been a tedious, intermittent road to recovery. When it was first broken, the screen stopped displaying any information. The computer only worked, occasionally, on an external monitor in safe mode. I suspected a graphics card issue, with the Nvidia driver reporting no
A Computer Fixed, Finally Read More »
When I learned most of what I know about cuttings, it was in Hort 1001: Plant Propogation in a university greenhouse. In addition to being the nicest place on campus in the middle of winter, it was also a perfectly maintained facility. Alas, now I am on my own, and must make my own systems.
Cutting Bed Mist Irrigation System Read More »
You know I love to bake. Especially a nice crunchy graphics card! Nom nom. I was not sure if my graphics card was broken in such a way that baking would help, yet I’ve heard it often does, so I gave it 8 minutes at 385 F to see. The purpose of it is to
