Adventures in Python
- Last Updated: June 12 2022To further my professional goals I have been learning Python. This page features some of those sillier advances in my knowledge.
Georeferencing in ArcMap
- Oct. 30 2021Sometimes when you work as part of a Geographic Information System (GIS), you will come to a point where you have a raster and want it in your GIS, but the raster data is not formatted correctly to be dropped in your software as-is. Much of the time it's because your data is 'dumb' and is missing the information needed to work correctly. In other words, there is no way to reference the geographic location of a given point in your raster image. The remedy is to georeference it.
COFFEE: Nora Bean Coffee Roasters
- July 18 2021I used to like coffee a lot, then I grew up and drank tea. But my favorite tea was basically leaf-coffee. So now I drink coffee again. The coffee world has exploded since I was a young man and there's too much choice now. I've been jumping onto indie roasters for about a year now and I figure it's time to solidify my thoughts on them. Nora Bean is the first, because I am drnking it as I write.
Legal Disclaimers
- Last Updated: May 8 2021Despite being of almost zero value, many people insist on including vaguely threatening, pseudo legalistic disclaimers at the end of their emails. Here is an ongoing collection of disclaimers that end up in my inbox. Sensitive information redacted to protect the innocent.
Avernum: My Childhood RPG
- May 4 2021When I was growing up, my father had a big, beige Macintosh computer running MacOS 9. Entertainment options on this computer were mostly shareware demos of Spiderweb Software games. Nethergate, Geneforge, and Avernum provided me with many hours of enjoyment as a kid. It was many years until I played any other role-playing game and this very strongly colored the way I saw all subsequent RPGs. With such hazily positive memories I don’t know if the rarity of different games living up to the example set by Spiderweb Software is realistic. In my mind, Avernum is an excellent video game. In my mind, Avernum is the distilled essence of what it means to be a computer role-playing game. It is peak RPG. But is it?
IBM-Style Timezone Wallpapers
- Apr. 25 2018I have always been a user and admirer of IBM Thinkpads going back to 9th grade when I had my first exposure to them in the school library. The laptops we used back then had the default IBM wallapaper- a map of the world highlighted with a stylized representation of time zones. As a geographer this appeals to me so I have made my own set of wallpapers inspired by IBM.
Reinstalling Windows on the NuVision TM800W610L Tablet
- Apr. 24 2018There is a fatal flaw in how NuVision implements the factory reset feature on their tablets. As I learned far too late, selecting the 'Reset Your PC' option within Windows 10 will start the process of wiping your data and restoring it to factory default. However, what really happens is that Windows deletes itself off the boot drive, tells you the reset failed, and gives you some options to try again (which will fail again) or restart the tablet. Once the tablet turns off, you will not be able to use it anymore. If you boot it back up after a failed reset it will go into a bootloop where it only displays the NuVision splash screen.
Tweaking Windows 10 for the NuVision TM800W610L Tablet
- Apr. 17 2018With the release of Windows 10, there has been a proliferation of x86 tablet PCs using Intel SOCs. Most of these are cheap devices with fairly low prices- often between $100 and $200. Regardless of where they fall on the spectrum of price, these tablets often have a very small hardware variety. The SOCs use either an Intel Z3XXXX, or an Intel Atom x5-83XX, with 2 or 4 GB RAM, and 32 or 64 GB of eMMC memory. They are overwhelmingly 10.1 inches with a resolution of either 1280x800 or 1920x1200. I was intrigued, to the point of immediately purchasing it, when I saw an 8 inch tablet with these specs priced at the princely sum of $62.