Read Sherlock!
My pet project over Christmas break? To compile a website with all of the original Sherlock Holmes novels. Because Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930, and copyright law in the US only extends 75 years after the life of the original author, anyone can legally publish these stories on the internet! In fact, several websites (such as Project Gutenberg and Wikisource) have exactly these stories. But they have horrible formatting which makes reading the story on the computer or mobile phone really annoying. The best formatted and most comprehensive site by far is the University of Adelaide's. However, my site offers a few improvements over theirs:
1) Full texts without artificial page breaks. Perfect for printing or reading over a slow or inconsistent (cell phone) connection.
2) Better organization.
3) Permalinks for every paragraph, so you never lose your place.
4) A floating table of contents, so you can easily jump to another chapter in the same book.
I don't expect to make money off of public domain text (it's available freely a lot of places). But I hope to at least cover server costs by having Google Ads at the bottom of each page and having a list of recommended books through Amazon, which generous readers may buy.
The website? Readsherlock.com.
Help me out by linking to it!
If you like the design of the site but would rather read some other public domain authors such as Jane Austen or Mark Twain, just let me know. It'd help if you bought a book from the affiliate store. If you want a Charles Dickens website, let me know and buy a lot of books through the affiliate store.
Slowly adapting to Windows: iTunes alarm clocking
A year ago, I was in the market for a new laptop for grad school. I had lovingly owned an iBook throughout undergrad, but Windows laptops were just so darned affordable! I ended up getting a Windows laptop and regretting my decision ever since.
However, recently I'v learned to grudging appreciate Windows. One feature of Mac OSX I have been yearning to replace was Applescripting--essentially, I could write simple programs to do mundane tasks in Mac OSX for me, with very little programming effort. I've just realized that Windows has functional equivalents in VBScript and JScript! Although they are less intuitive and harder to debug than Applescript, I figured out how to make a simple iTunes-powered alarm clock, and I'm sharing how to do it 
1) Make a playlist in iTunes with your favorite ass-kicking music, and name it "Alarm".
2) Make a new text file with the following contents and save it as iTunesAlarm.js
// "Alarm" may be replaced with another playlist
var PlaylistName = "Alarm";
// No need to edit below this line!
var iTunesApp = WScript.CreateObject("iTunes.Application");
var LibraryName=iTunesApp.LibraryPlaylist.Name; // The Library Name differs from Language to Language
var Playlist=iTunesApp.LibrarySource.Playlists.ItemByName(PlaylistName);
Playlist.PlayFirstTrack();
3) Test this script by double-clicking on it in Windows Explorer. The "Alarm" playlist should start, regardless of whether iTunes was just closed, idle, or playing music. Almost there!
4) Open Task Scheduler and create a new recurring task. If you've made it this far, you're fairly computer literate and can manage this step. For the Action, choose "Start a Program" and select iTunesAlarm.js.
5) Fall asleep. Wake up to angels singing, demonic screeching, or random whatnot.
I highly recommend clicking on the "angels singing" link above. I highly recommend against clicking the demonic screeching link, unless you've never heard it before, in which case you must experience Cradle of Filth at least once.
Buying a cheapo bike! A how-to.
I have developed an urge for transportation. All of this beautiful California weather, and I don't have the wind blowing in my face every weekend! Such a waste, which needs to be rectified. My goal is to find a cheap bike that I can eventually take weekend trips to Santa Monica beach with (~30 miles each way).
Where to buy your bike:
1) Craigslist.org is usually the best way to find used anything. But bikes in Los Angeles seem to be way overpriced. There may be a few lightly rusting 10 speed bikes from the 80s for ~$100.
2) Bikes Direct and its eBay siblings, sprtymama and chicabike, provide low price copies of name brand bikes. Structurally, the frames are made by the major manufacturers, and the parts are acquired from the same specialty companies (Shimano, Tektro, Kenda, etc.). One complaint that internet reviews have regularly mentioned is a cheap paint job. Entry level single-speed bikes range from $240 to $400, and entry level multi-speed bikes range from $300 to $400. The bike arrives 90% assembled, and you have to attach and align the handlebar, pedals, and wheels (easier said than done!)
3) Performance Bicycle Shop is another internet giant in the bike business. Unlike bikesdirect.com, performancebikes has stores located throughout major cities in the US. Shipping is free/cheap to the nearest store, where the bike is assembled for you, and a lifetime of free adjustments are guaranteed. The bikes tend to be a bit pricier, but quality control is much more reliable. Entry-level single-speed bikes can be had for $200-400, and entry-level multi-speed road bikes are available at $400. PB is known to have 20% sales almost monthly.
4) Local mom and pop shops are way too expensive. If you had money to blow, maybe you'd go here to show off your bike and find other bikes to covet.
5) Local bike co-op. If you have one of these in your city, give it a visit. Quality varies, I hear, but the nearest one to Pasadena (The Bike Oven) is fantastic.
I was lucky and found a cheap reconditioned mountain bike at The Bike Oven. Converting the mountain bike tires to road tires was cheap and easy. Barring a good local bike co-op, I'd probably stalk Craigslist patiently. The other options are just too pricey for a casual bicyclist. (I did not mention Target, Walmart, or KMart because their road bikes have a horrible reputation)
For about a month, the bike has served me very well! I'm still learning how to ride with traffic on the roads, so my longest ride so far has only been 7 miles. Once I get some closure to my current research project, I wanna take this baby out for a nice long ride! (twss)
How I survived my first high-elevation hike
On the Mosquito Flats trail in the Sierras!
-Supper:soup,pasta,hot chocolate (powerbars bad!)
-Attire:dress in layers (not white parka)
-Protection:sunscreen, mosquito repellant
-Miscellaneous: toilet paper, flashlight (but extinguish to see stars/pleiades)