Ryan and Debi & Toren

Travel, Tech, Thoughts…

  • R – delete one or several variables in a dataset

    I regularly create variables while analyzing data and then find that I need to delete a variable I created. At times, I just want to get rid of a variable in a dataset (’cause screw that variable). This short tutorial will explain how to delete a variable (or multiple variables if needed). As with most…

  • R – create variable filled with zeros

    I ran into a situation where I needed to add a variable to a dataset. I knew that I was then going to modify some of the values in the variable, but most of the values were going to be zeros. So, I wanted to create a new variable and fill it with all zeros.…

  • Unethical Amazon Review Modifications

    I don’t always review products on Amazon. I don’t have the time. But there have been two instances over the past year when I have been contacted by someone because of a review I wrote on Amazon. Both times, these individuals have tried to bribe me to remove my negative review of the product. Here’s…

  • Change Doorbell Sound on Ring App and Amazon Echo

    Change Doorbell Sound on Ring App and Amazon Echo

    I’ve had a Ring doorbell (and security system) for quite a while. I never bought the chime that goes with the doorbell because it has always worked through my Amazon Echo devices. However, I only recently learned that you can change the notification sounds you get when someone rings your doorbell. However, how you do…

  • Linux/Kubuntu – Disable Network Printer Auto Discovery

    Linux/Kubuntu – Disable Network Printer Auto Discovery

    I don’t know when Kubuntu started automatically discovering printers on networks and then adding them to my list of printers, but it is a problematic feature in certain environments – like universities (where I work). I set up my home printer on my laptop easy enough. But, whenever I open my laptop and connect to…

  • Linux – Failing to Read Encrypted DVDs

    Linux – Failing to Read Encrypted DVDs

    Thanks to the fine folks at VLC and Ubuntu, watching DVDs on Linux is generally pretty straightforward. Install “libdvd-pkg” and follow the prompts and you’re generally good to go. That works for me almost all of the time. However, I recently tried to watch a DVD and had no luck. I would insert the DVD…

  • Letter to the Editor: Government of the Corporations, by the Corporations, for the Corporations

    While accepting “donations” for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists, corporations, and special interests may technically be legal for Governor DeSantis, there is no question that is unethical. These are “bribes by another name.” And what they suggest is that our Governor is not the Governor of the people of Florida, but…

  • Letter to Stacy White, County Commissioner

    Stacy White, Hillsborough County Commissioner, filed a lawsuit that is preventing Hillsborough County from improving its transportation infrastructure based on a ballot measure that was approved by 57% of voters in November 2018 (more about this here). Here’s the email I recently sent him: Commissioner White, I want to let you know that I’m really…

  • Letter to the Editor: Ashley Moody’s mixed up priorities

    I find it more than a little concerning that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody wants to kill a petition drive to ban assault weapons (Ban Assault Weapons Now) but hasn’t said anything about the secretive effort to restrict constitutional amendments that is possibly being funded by utility companies in Florida. If Moody cared about Floridians…

  • Plex – Syncing Media to Devices

    NOTE: As of 2022, Plex has switched from “syncing” media to “downloading” media. More information on how to do that is available here. I love my Plex server. It works pretty flawlessly with devices like my Roku or allowing me to listen or view my media collection online. However, there are occasionally instances when I…