• Who am I?

    I am Qrystal; or at least, that's my dot-name! Har har. (My name is really Crystal, but that's not as internet-searchable; hence, switching the C for the little-used letter Q.)

    I am here because I enjoy writing. I do this mostly for myself, but I also have a passion for helping others learn things from the things I write. Now that I am done my Ph.D. in Physics, I am stepping away from academic research so that I can indulge in some creative ways to share my knowledge and inspire the appreciation of scientific thinking in others. I am also working as a tutor, which is one of the jobs I've most enjoyed doing in my life so far.


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  • I Procrastinate, Part 1 – Intro & Definition

    Posted by Qrystal on March 11, 2008 at 11:26.
    Category: Series. Tags: procrastination, productivity.

    I’ve been pursuing productivity for quite some time now, despite acknowledging that the research into the subject is costing me valuable time in which I could be more productive. I have wondered more than once if I might be addicted to the subject, but I am not prepared [...] Continue Reading…

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    So many time management options, so little time!

    Posted by Qrystal on February 28, 2008 at 12:00.
    Category: Tools. Tags: GTD, procrastination, task-management, thesis.

    “If you don’t have time to DOWNLOAD and use this software then you really need it.” — from the ThinkingRock homepage.

    I’ve been through a lot of time management software and webware in the past year or so… I’m almost afraid to estimate how much of my time was eaten [...] Continue Reading…

    6 Comments »

    Eclipse epiphany, or lunar lunacy?

    Posted by Qrystal on February 20, 2008 at 23:36.
    Category: Life. Tags: 37, astronomy, motivation, progress, thesis.

    I stood there, gazing at the moon, unblinking in its oranged glow. I had a promise in mind, to myself and for myself. The idea had only sprouted barely an hour or so prior, and it was only getting more potent… and terrifying.

    But I believe it will [...] Continue Reading…

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    Feeling the need to restructure my days

    Posted by Qrystal on February 16, 2008 at 21:03.
    Category: Tools. Tags: perfection, procrastination, productivity, web 2.0.

    I keep coming back to the question of how I can be more productive, even though intellectually I know that it’s just another way my mind likes to procrastinate the things I actually need to DO to be productive. I just can’t seem to shake the notion that, [...] Continue Reading…

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    Glass lettering in GIMP

    Posted by Qrystal on February 7, 2008 at 23:30.
    Category: Webmastering. Tags: beautifulphysics, logos.

    I had a vision for my logo for BeautifulPhysics.com: I wanted the letters to look like they’re made of glass. Maybe, someday, I could even make it look like there are beams of light shining through the letters, complete with refraction and reflection and dispersion effects, but like [...] Continue Reading…

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    Setting up to expand my blog empire…

    Posted by Qrystal on February 5, 2008 at 9:08.
    Category: Webmastering. Tags: blogging, wordpress.

    I am probably far too new to blogging and wordpress to have such lofty goals, but I honestly feel that I need to persue this idea passionately. My history, my personality, and my goals are all so in line with blogging, that I can’t help but want to take [...] Continue Reading…

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    “Motivate me!” I said to myself.

    Posted by Qrystal on January 31, 2008 at 10:44.
    Category: Concepts. Tags: motivation, myself.

    When the title for this post came to me, I liked it immediately, and I’d like to explore the reasons why. To do so, I will look at the terms “me, myself, and I” and see how each one individually contributes to my entire persona.

    Who is “I”?
    I am [...] Continue Reading…

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    What Do I Want?

    Posted by Qrystal on January 29, 2008 at 20:20.
    Category: Life. Tags: career, family, future, goals, mindmapping, motivation.

    Mind map from October 24, 2007.

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    Integrate over time…

    Posted by Qrystal on January 28, 2008 at 9:56.
    Category: Concepts. Tags: progress, time.

    Recently, I have been contemplating ways to improve my perception of time so that I can make better use of it. I am trying to resist doing too much reading about the subject, because it is very important not to let myself whittle away my time reading instead [...] Continue Reading…

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    I don’t care that “Hello world!” is a clichéd title!

    Posted by Qrystal on January 17, 2008 at 21:23.
    Category: Uncategorized. Tags: goals, myself, wordpress.

    A computer program that outputs “Hello world!” is the first exercise that I always do when learning a new programming language, and I see no reason to let this blog about myself suffer without such an honour. No, I am actually proud to call this my “Hello world!” [...] Continue Reading…

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