Travel, Tech, Thoughts…
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Fixing Zotero Corrupt Database Issue on Linux
I use Zotero to manage my references and have for decades since it was first developed. I’m a huge fan and teach all my students how to use it. But I also don’t follow one of the programmers’ recommendations on where to store my Zotero database. As soon as I install Zotero, I change the…
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Kubuntu 25.04 – Reset Wayland
I just installed Kubuntu 25.04 on my laptop and started running into an issue. It started when I tried to load Spectacle to take a screenshot. Spectacle froze and so did my panel, but I could still hit Alt+F2 to open new programs. I could also use Alt+Tab to switch between non-frozen programs. I couldn’t…
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Changing Default Browser for Links in Thunderbird
I just reformatted my computer (I try to do that about once a year) to Kubuntu 25.04. That meant setting up Thunderbird (version 128.10.0esr) with my email again. I use Firefox as my default browser (because it respects privacy), but install Chromium as a backup for the occasional website that doesn’t work very well with…
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Imputing Missing Data in R – mice
I got a revise and resubmit on a recent paper. We noted that we had some missing data on some of the variables in our dataset. One of the reviewers suggested we address the missing data issue, which I have typically just managed using listwise/casewise deletion (a.k.a. complete-case analysis, which entails not including cases that…
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LibreOffice Calc – Search for Specific Text Across Columns
I have a task I am asked to do fairly regularly that involves searching through a large spreadsheet (around 4,000 rows with about a dozen columns) looking for very specific text. There are, of course, various ways I could accomplish this. But I finally found a solution that speeds this up and want to document…
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Aruba – Jamanota
I was in Aruba for four days for a conference. I didn’t have a lot of free time but, after checking out all of the details of the highest point, I thought that I could skip lunch one day, climb the highest point, and still make it back for the next session. So, I tried…
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Invitation to Commit Scientific Fraud
I’m probably just naive and am definitely far too idealistic, but the email I just received crushed my spirit. I need to share it. Here’s the email with contact information removed but the website still intact so everyone can see who is doing this: Dear Professor, I’m XXXXX, a researcher at Well-online, the flagship editorial…
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Batch Convert MP4 to MKV
I ran into an issue where a number of my MP4 files on my fileserver were stuttering when I tried to play them back using Plex on my TV. After a lot of googling, I found out that this was due to some header information in the MP4 files and that the simple solution was…
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FreeCAD Import STL
I’m not a FreeCAD expert. I bought a 3D printer and am constantly coming up with new ideas for 3D prints to solve issues around my house and office. That required me to begin learning how to use CAD software and, as an open-source advocate, FreeCAD was the obvious choice for CAD. I design most…
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Chocolate Ratings
I like chocolate. It’s probably my favorite sweet. Closing in on 50 years old, I came up with a new life goal – try as many types of chocolate as I can, rate them, and see if I can find my favorite chocolate. This page documents my ratings. Milk Chocolate Dark Chocolate White Chocolate (coming…