Google Sheet Sort

Today I learned about the sort function in Google Sheets. This came in handy to show different sorted views of one sheet on another. Combining a drop-down with a nested IF statement allows selection of the sort to apply on the data in one sheet to populate another sheet. The shee…

Hot-Potato Package Delivery

I ordered something from Walmart. They shipped it to me. Their delivery tracking said that USPS handled the final delivery. And USPS says that on date X they “Delivered, Front Door/Porch”. They did not. Could it be in the mailbox? Nope. Two days later I received a mystery package…

Idempotent Home Directory Setup

When I set up a new FreeBSD jail, I pull my home directory configuration from a GitHub repo. When I initially put this together I didn’t ensure that it was idempotent. Now it is, with the addition of a test and alternation for each operation that is not itself idempotent. #_# set…

The Dismal Science

Today I learned that the “Dismal Science” description of economics comes from a Thomas Carlyle essay. He argues there against economic reasoning ‘which finds the secret of this Universe in “supply and demand,” and reduces the duty of human governors to that of letting men alone’,…

A Two Card Strategy

Today I discovered that I was the victim of an instance of credit-card fraud. I disputed the charge. The purchase was labeled as “card present” at a store I’ve never been to. My card was never present at that store. The same thing happened to me once before with a card issued by …