Author: geoffand

  • Getting Spoilt – MacBook Air edition

    In July, I splurged and bought a Mac Book Air. My MacBook pro was a little aged, and I wanted to go for a smaller, lighter laptop, yet I didn’t want to go too small. Plus I am a Mac person. I have been using it pretty heavily, and it has been super solid. It…

  • Memories of my Mother – Malt-o-meal

    One of the memories I have of growing up was eating Malt-o-meal. For those who are unaware, it is a hot farina of wheat cereal. We didn’t eat it often, but what I “liked” about it was the lumps. They were like finding nuggets of chewy goodness in every bowl. Every time my mother made…

  • A good ride

    I haven’t been able to ride for a few weeks. My left foot was strangely painful, and the cycling shoes made it far worse. Today I sucked it up suited up, and headed out into the chilly (50F) morning. I put on an easy 21 miles. Didn’t set any speed records, and I didn’t want…

  • Finally a Friday

    I don’t usually celebrate the coming of a Friday like many people do, but it has been an outrageously busy week, so I am thankful that it is a Friday. I have wrangled with powerpoint, struggled to do deep competitive analysis, and put together training material next week. Couple that with a heavy load of…

  • The best time of the year: Adopt a Physicist!

    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…

  • Caffeine watch

    Day 5 and I am hitting a major wall in the afternoon. I need self control to not go grab a coffee. And I have meetings until 6:30 PM tonight. Groan. Wish me luck

  • When being a nice guy backfires: Traffic edition

    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…

  • Punishment – Going caffeine free

    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…

  • A bad day – Health edition

    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…

  • Bad dog owners

    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…