Author: rcragun

  • Alaska Cruise – Tracy Arm Fjord

    The third day on the cruise ship (second full day) was also a sea day, but it was a very scenic one as the ship went into Tracy Arm Fjord where we could see a glacier.  We didn’t navigate into the Fjord until the afternoon, which meant we had time to participate in the Dr. Seuss parade…

  • Alaska Cruise – on the ship (day 2)

    The second day of the cruise was a sea day.  Taking advantage of the fact that there weren’t going to be any shore excursions, Toren’s grandmother, Granmary, decided it would be the perfect day to throw Toren a birthday party (it was 8 days after his birthday, but she felt bad missing his birthday party because…

  • Alaska Cruise – Seattle

    My in-laws are kind enough* to take the whole family on vacation every few years.  This time the destination was an Alaskan cruise, disembarking from and returning to Seattle, with stops in Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and a very brief stop in Victoria, BC. We flew into Seattle on the 8th, arriving late in the evening,…

  • Ireland Trip – Cliffs of Moher

    On my last day of touring before the conference, I decided to visit the Cliffs of Moher.  I had seen pictures, but it’s hard to really comprehend how amazing the cliffs actually are. It took a few hours to get there.  When I arrived, it was raining and cold.  I decided to put on my…

  • Ireland – Carrauntoohil

    I’m always up for a good hike, and it often turns out to be a great way to see places most people don’t see.  One of the places people recommended I visit in Ireland was the Ring of Kerry.  As luck would have it, the tallest mountain in Ireland, Carrauntoohil, is within the Ring of…

  • Ireland Trip – Newgrange and Knowth

    After a good night’s sleep, I packed up, cleaned up the apartment, and headed out.  There were just a few things I really, really wanted to do in Ireland, and Newgrange was at the top of the list.  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a pre-historic monument similar to Stonehenge, but of a different…

  • Ireland – arrival and Dublin

    One of the perks of my job is that I can occasionally get funding to attend international conferences.  Since I love to travel, this is a great way for me to get out a bit and see the world without spending tons of my own money while also making international connections that will advance my…

  • LibreOffice – Comments Inserted on the Left rather than the Right

    I’m guessing I have discovered a bug in LibreOffice, but I don’t know if that is the case for sure.  Regardless, it’s a problem. Here’s the situation.  I have my students submit all sorts of things to me digitally so I can grade them digitally.  I just finished a marathon grading session and finals are…

  • Limesurvey: How to Randomly Assign Participants to Different Conditions (i.e., Experimental Designs)

    I’ve used LimeSurvey for a long time and really like the software.  It’s powerful, yet very easy to use.  But one thing I couldn’t figure out with the software was how to assign participants to one of several conditions within a single survey.  For example, if you want to randomly assign participants in your survey…

  • In Memoriam: Donald P. Hartmann

    One of my professors from the University of Utah, Donald P. Hartmann, recently passed away.  I took one of Don’s advanced classes as an undergraduate and, during that class (with about 8 students in it), he invited me to consider doing some research.  I later joined his Peer Lab and spent quite a bit of…