Ryan and Debi

Travel, Tech, Thoughts…

  • Linux: Installing Redshift

    There is a growing body of research suggesting that blue light before bedtime can be associated with sleep problems.  I’ve known about this for a while, but have just recently started having sleep problems.  I decided to try some of the programs that make changes to the color of your monitors to see if it…

  • Kubuntu: How to Map Windows Network Share

    My workplace is largely a Windows based institution.  Due to a collaborative project, I was recently asked to access some documents on a Windows Network Drive.  I was sent directions for how to add that drive in Windows.  Those directions were not that helpful as I, of course, run Linux.  As perhaps the only Linux user…

  • KDE – Adjusting the Look and Feel of the Desktop and Application Windows

    I love how configurable KDE is as a desktop.  However, adjusting the look of the desktop is something of a nightmare.  There are five different options to adjust different aspects of the desktop and application windows, each of which does different things, but the labels given to these don’t always reflect what the customizations will…

  • Linux – Kubuntu 16.04 with Plasma 5.5.5 – unable to change file associations

    I just upgraded my laptop (Lenovo ThinkPad T540P) to the latest version of Kubuntu – 16.04 with Plasma 5.5.5.  Everything was running great until I had an issue with Ark, the archiving program that comes with KDE.  It was having an issue unzipping an archive.  It seemed to unzip the archive, but the resulting file…

  • Half Dome – Yosemite National Park

    I was in Northern California on a speaking tour but had a couple of days while I was there that I didn’t have any speaking engagements.  I had combined the speaking tour with a conference I was attending in Seattle, the plan being that I would travel to several locations in California to talk about…

  • Point Lobos, California Hike

    While on a book speaking tour in California, I had a few days where I didn’t have any talks.  One one of those days, while I was staying in Santa Cruz, I drove down the coast to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve.  I was using my down time to get some work done but also needed…

  • Things to Know About Traveling to Argentina in 2016

    I’m on my second day here in Buenos Aires, Argentina and am slowly figuring out how life works here.  Here are a few of the things I didn’t know about that others may find useful. How to get from the airport (EZE) to Buenos Aires: When you arrive at the airport in Buenos Aires (EZE),…

  • OR-Mt. Hood

    Summit Date May 25th, 2016, around 7:00 am Party Ryan Cragun & Tom Triplett Trip Report For the previous 45 highpoints I had done, my wife had expressed some concerns, but had never insisted that I hire a guide.  With Mt. Hood, given that people die on the mountain regularly and that it is snow-covered…

  • Linux: LibreOffice Print Dialog Orientation “greyed out”

    I really like LibreOffice, but occasionally have to deal with bugs that cause silly regressions, like this one.  For years, I have printed my LibreOffice Impress (i.e., powerpoint) slides for my students to a PDF file. The options have made this pretty simple.  Click on “Print.” When the Print Dialog window comes up, click on…