Sally from The Dale asks: Should I confess to a boy I like at school? No. If he hasn’t been thinking about you in that way, you’re blindsiding him. Unprepared, he’s likely to fumble or just say no, because he can’t possibly say yes. You will likely have embarrassed him. If he’s not as kind …
Category: useful
Jul 12
Homemade refrigerator magnets from digital artwork
I’ve had to do some experimenting to create the magnets I’ve been sending out to Free Little Art Galleries. I tried different construction techniques and I’m here now to say what works and what doesn’t. What I’ve been making is a photo print stuck to lightweight backing material, the print having a border that wraps …
Apr 24
Linus van Pelt and the Philosophy of Science
I’ve been seeing this anti-science propaganda meme a lot on social media recently, and rather than repeat myself I decided to address it here so I can just link to my answer. The people who post it aren’t necessarily opposed to science themselves — they might just think it’s clever or ironic. It’s not clever. …
Nov 09
Water heater, no blinky
Despite my disclaimer to knowing anything much about water heaters, WTFGUY writes to ask: I must say that the video and trouble fix methods I’ve read here are brilliant and I held faith in their effect … but, no worky for me and mine. 1 point to note – the status light is not, will …
Jun 20
Slider quiz for clients
Professionals who see clients may want to measure the effectiveness of whatever they’re doing by a quick survey before and/or after each session. If you’re there in person, you can hand them a paper form, but if, as is often the case these days, you’re talking with them by online video, you need a way …
Nov 23
Hiding the credit footer in Graphene theme
Install plugin: Real-Time Find and Replace by Marios Alexandrou. In the WordPress dashboard, navigate to Tools > Real-Time Find and Replace Click Add button. In the Find field, type: Made with <i class=”fa fa-heart”></i> by <a href=”https://www.graphene-theme.com/” rel=”nofollow”>Graphene Themes</a>. In the Replace with field, type: <!– Made with <i class=”fa fa-heart”></i> by <a href=”https://www.graphene-theme.com/” rel=”nofollow”>Graphene …
Sep 21
Super Bioreactor will save us?
Dear Tyler (writes Edwin Meath of Sarasota FL): I keep seeing news pieces like this one that claims some little machine removes carbon from the air equivalent to a small forest of trees. How does that work? https://futurism.com/the-byte/bioreactor-captures-carbon-acre-trees Edwin, As time goes on, expect to see numerous companies making these ridiculous claims, because lies like …
Sep 17
SVG file in a web page
The problem with raster graphics (such as your typical JPG, GIF, or PNG file) is that they don’t scale up very well. They get fuzzy if you zoom in on them. However, browsers are also able to display images of a different kind. SVG files are vector-based; they don’t store pictures as an array of …
Jul 08
Notes from the Tools for Writers panel at Convergence
These are barely organized, and will soon be integrated into my resources page (see menu). Education Print Run Podcast Writing Excuses podcast Audio Drama Production podcast Research Ask Science Subreddit Loudmouth Science on Facebook Velocity Write or Die OhmWriter – makes your screen blank except for your document. Memory Siri Wetware Google docs (there is …
Dec 03
Resetting the #$%@!!* Honeywell Gas Valve on a Water Heater
There’s no way to reset the evil Honeywell gas valve after it detects overheating. You need a new gas valve. But you CAN save hundred of dollars by switching just the fronts of the two valves, containing the circuit board that remembers the failure, rather than getting a plumber to replace the entire valve.
Latest Releases
Young Rey wants to return the amulet to the Blue Wizard, but she's not easy to find! Rey and the Magic Amulet is a fantasy for younger readers. (Published under a different name to sow maximal confusion)
The Deep End is a steampunk intrigue with plenty of reprehensible characters, plots, poisoned stabby things, and a murder mystery where the sleuth has to suspect herself.