Mon, 11 Jul 2005
Moving the Blog!
I've decided to move my future blog posts to a new home - Blogger. The new Alan's Place has a few things going for it that this one does not, mostly related to ease of use in regards to uploading pictures and the like. So, if you want to see my future rantings, make sure to check it out.
posted at: 14:38 | path: /general | permanent link to this entry
Thu, 24 Feb 2005
After the Deluge Report
There hasn't been much happening on the surfing front as of late, due to the deluge we've experienced here in SoCal over the last few weeks. To get an idea of just how much rain we have received, San Diego's average annual rainfall is in the neighborhood of 7 inches. This year (which starts in July, I believe), we are about 13 inches OVER that average.
One of the local lakes (Lake Hodges) was down to 20% of its maximum volume in October. Now, it is overflowing (as it is designed to do) for the first time since 1998!
Thus, with all of the runoff from the swollen rivers, the local beaches are a disaster area. The water looks like Willy Wonka's chocolate lake, and to top it off, it would be wise to step carefully if you decide to stroll along the beach for the next few days!
posted at: 07:22 | path: /general | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 15 Oct 2004
New Software Installed
Today I was finally spurred to upgrade my pyBlosxom installation (the blog software which is the engine behind my website) from version 0.7.something to 1.0. What spurred this upgrade? - People spamming my comments! A week or two ago I started noticing the same comments being posted to any and all of my stories, pimping casinos, prescription meds, etc.
So, today I figured it would be a good day to do something about these losers. After installing the new version, I then began looking for a human verification system for posted comments. I stumbled upon a solution similar to that used by Yahoo! and gMail, here. After getting the required libraries installed (including compiling the Python Imaging Library from source, and banging my head against the wall after several obscure problems popped up), everything seems to be working swimmingly.
So, please feel free to post (non-spam) comments till you feint. If you encounter any problems, I'd appreciate a heads up from the peanut gallery! Thanks much.
posted at: 11:47 | path: /general | permanent link to this entry
Tue, 14 Sep 2004
Cooking for Engineers
The Cooking for Engineers website provides recipes and cooking tips for the more technically minded cooks out there. The ingredient lists are laid out in a very interesting manner which is hard to describe - you'll just have to look at it yourself! Some of the recipes look particularly appetizing - I may have to give some of them a try in the very near future.
posted at: 14:20 | path: /general | permanent link to this entry
Fri, 26 Mar 2004
Revenge of Friday
Ah - what plans I had for early today, all dashed by the fickle workings (or lack thereof) of the common automobile. Today started out early, with me hopping out of bed around 5:15, hoping to catch some good surf before work. We had a nice swell arrive yesterday, and I was drooling over decent sized waves with glassy conditions. I squeezed into the wetsuit and made my way towards the beach.
Approximately 10 minutes away from home, on the 76, my 1985 Nissan 300ZX just died, with me in the fast lane. I pulled over as far as possible, noting the lack of a decent emergency lane at this point of the 76. I try restarting it, and it is just dead as a door nail. Great. Here I am, barefoot in my wetsuit, and I need to get the hell out of the fast lane before traffic really starts to pick up. When I notice a break in the traffic, I hop out, and push the Z accross the freeway and up a slight incline to make it to a turn-off, cutting my foot in the process. Luckilly, the turn-off is down hill, so I coast into a parking lot.
Quickly changing into my shorts and shoes, I call my wife at 5:45 (which I am just sure she loved :>) and asked her to please come on down here with the kids, because I know that there is nothing else she would rather do at this time of the day. They all show up in their pjs, and I jump the Z with no problem. Unfortunately, the Z dies again at the next stop light on the way back home. So I get to push it again. This time, I just left it in a hopefully safe location, and I'll try and do what I can after I get off of work this afternoon.
Replacing the battery should fix the immediate problem. However, I suspect that the alternator may be bad, causing the battery to drain. Once the engine is started, the engine should generate electricity to power the rest of the system, but it is my belief that this is not happening. I noticed last night that the headlights seemed a little dim, and my speedometer has been acting very wonky as of late. We'll see what happens...
posted at: 10:10 | path: /general | permanent link to this entry