February 26, 2013

Strike One

I got my first PhD program rejection today, from Georgetown. Which is unfortunate, because that's the school I most wanted to attend.

It's certainly not a good sign about my prospects with the other schools that have yet to send word.

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February 22, 2013

Inductive Charging

Being not a very romantic sort, for Valentine's Day I got Hil an inductive charging back for her smartphone, and a two-position inductive charger for us to share. (I also got her flowers, candy, and took her to a restaurant. I'm not completely hopeless at these things.)

I got it for her because her phone's charging port has been damaged, and it's a real PITA to keep the charging cable plugged in. Plus, her phone model doesn't have very good battery life. Combined, the two factors made charging her phone a continual irritation.

The Energizer-branded charger follows the Qi standard, which is a clever bit of branding. Basically, you lay your smartphone on top of a pad, and the pad and the phone do a quick EM handshake, then it starts to charge wirelessly. The handshake is so the charger won't operate if there's a chunk of unrelated metal sitting on top of it, which would be an obvious fire hazard. The phones charge about as fast as they do while plugged in, but without the hassle of plugging, tripping over cords, etc. I highly recommend inductive charging for everyone that has a compatible phone.

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February 10, 2013

Meet Aria

I have inexplicably failed to mention that Hil and I got a new cat, almost a month ago! Where has the time gone?

Anyway, Aria is now about seven months old. She's black except for a few stray white hairs, some of them clumped together but not in sufficient numbers to form a white patch worthy of the name. When we got her, she'd been spayed only two days earlier and was still recovering from the surgery. Once her incision healed, she got a lot more active and started meowing and purring with great enthusiasm.

The first few days in her new home, she was shy and afraid of strangers. As she's settled in, she's become much more willing to socialize. Last night we had a party, and I expected her to spend it in the basement; instead she wandered around demanding that people amuse her with cat toys. The people generally did.

As I write this, she's sleeping on my lap, the first time she's done that. I'd tried putting her on my lap before, but she always immediately left, seeking a higher vantage point on whatever piece of furniture looked most interesting. I think I shall build her some climbing structure.

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Calvin and Hobbes with Real Backgrounds

It's just what the title says. Impressive work.

Here's the link!

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