We moved out of the Seattle area (out of the country altogether actually). Since I had had the same 206 phone number for more than 15 years, I decided to keep the number by moving ("porting") it to a VOIP (internet phone) service.

Here's a write-up of my experiences.

I looked at DSLreports.com for reviews and picked CallCentric.com. Set up an ( Read more... )

I haven't been writing for a while as my attention got sideswiped by Facebook and Twitter. However, I find that I'd like to be posting longer items occasionally, mostly still privately.

Here is an outline of what I'm looking for and a proposed solution. I'm curious to get comments before I dive in to build it.

• I don't want to blog fully publicly.
• ( Read more... )

Documenting this for others Googling for solutions.

If you're having trouble signing in to Rhapsody with the behavior that you submit your name/password and it just comes back to the login screen without an error ( Read more... )

Supposedly, we could combat a non-trivial chunk of global warming by painting all road and roof surfaces white. Even Nobel prize-winning Secretary of Energy Steven Chu champions this idea. He says "It’s the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars in the world by 11 years ( Read more... )

Is it true that the maxim "eat less and exercise more" will help pretty much anyone lose weight? Is it physically harder for some people than for others? What does it mean for a human to have "a high metabolism"? The term is associated in my mind with people who can eat lots of calories without gaining weight. The implication seems to be that such ( Read more... )

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One day later:


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When we were checking in for our trip to New Zealand, I was hoping that we might get upgraded for the long flight from San Francisco to Auckland. I'm tall, I have trouble sleeping on airplanes, so it'd be nice to have the better seats. We didn't luck out, and in retrospect, I'm glad ( Read more... )

I need "Car Talk" for houses. A radio show where you can call in to describe the sound your house is making and have experts tell you what's going on ( Read more... )

SJ and I spent a long weekend between Christmas and New Year's Eve in Mazama, the far corner of the Methow valley ( Read more... )