-After several days of temperatures just above freezing we have moved just a little below into temperatures just below freezing. Not surprisingly, the rain of a few days ago has now turned into something approximating flurries. My understanding of the forecast is that we should be having some combination of these to types of weather tomorrow.
-A few days ago we had a family photo session. My father wanted the photos to be taken as we had not had proper family photos take for some time and as the family had grown by one (Rebecca) since the last time we had such photos taken. Though I was a little skeptical at first, my father's decision to have the photos taken in a board room at MUN was likely a good one (I will be a little more certain once we get the photos back from the photographer). Amazingly we were able to move through about 10 different personnel configurations in much less than an hour (the whole process, which involved some set up and two locations took just over an hour).
-The night before, to celebrate Kirsten's birthday, our family, along with some family friends, went bowling. A fringe benefit of going when we did was that we were able to wear our new matching bowling shirts. While we looked pretty amazing, the shirts that Neil and I were wearing were a little too tight (which threw off our second game).
On a personal note, I think I scored a personal best with 195 in the first game.
-I think that there were a few more things that at various points during the past few days I was meaning to write about that I have now forgotten. While a few may have been moderately interesting, I think that for the most part they don't really merit mention, so I guess you might say that I am doing you one last favour for 2009.
1 to 2 dozen nouns 3-6 handfuls verbs 3 adjectives 14 cups of prepositions articles to taste
Place the prepositions in a pot on the stove and set the heat to medium. While the prepositions are warming rub each now with a verb, switching to a new verb once the old one wears out (about every four nouns). Place the verb coated nouns in a bowl. Juice the adjectives over the verb coated nouns and then stir. Add articles to taste. Once the prepositions have reached a boil begin to add the noun mix, lower the heat, and allow the combination to simmer. After 1 to 2 hours remove the pot from the burner and allow to chill. Once chilled, the mixture can be poured into an essay mould. Each batch will enough essay content for about four term papers. Typically, a quadruple batch is sufficient for most masters thesis moulds. No matter which mould size is being used at least one night is required for the mixture to properly set. Garnish with punctuation if desired.
Chef's tips: 1) Modal verbs add a nice piquancy that cannot be replicated by any other type of verb. 2) If making enough for a Ph.D. thesis be sure to add a few extra adjectives and nouns to each batch.
-The relatively sub-par weather seems to keep on going. We have now had temperatures around zero and a few flurries most days since I have been home. Fortunately, the rainy spells have been relatively brief, or at least periods of time when I have not had to leave the house.
-We are presently still in the midst of our Christmas celebrations. On Christmas morning we examined the contents of our stockings, had breakfast, and, eventually, had dinner. While we opened a few gifts after dinner, we left quite a few under the tree. Both yesterday and today we have also opened a few gifts. I imagine that maybe by the 29th or 30th we might have finished the gift opening process.
It should be noted that as Kirsten's birthday falls in the midst of this date range things will likely slow down a little (though as far as Kirsten is concerned they will pick up).
-So far I have opened quite a number of matching shirts, maybe more than I have ever received before. My father, brother, and I all received Newfoundland beer shirts; I got a Dominion Ale shirt, Neil got an India Beer shirt, and my father got a Jockey Club shirt. All of us received matching bowling shirts from my uncle. And then Neil, my uncle, and I received matching flannel shirts. I imagine that this will be it for the matching shirts, though I could be mistaken.
-My understanding is that the aforementioned Jockey Club will soon be, or has been, discontinued.
Here at Montifax we care about our readers (seeing as you are a select group with refined tastes). To try to help encourage your enjoyment of the holidays, or to help you get primed up for Christmastime celebrations we have uploaded the following video. Watching this should quickly put you in the right mood to tackle any holiday challenge, no matter how difficult or family-laden.
-The most noticeable change in the weather between yesterday and today is that it is now a few degrees colder and we have had a few periods of flurries. The forecast is suggesting that we might have a little more of the same, though I am glad to see that they are predicting flurries both tonight and tomorrow.
-Earlier this evening we conducted our annual Christmas Eve gift exchange (each of us opens one gift). Kirsten gave me a pair of pajama pants that she made a few days ago. They are really quite impressive (and even include drawstring and elastic). Kirsten opened the Monty Python Fluxx game that I gave her, allowing us to have something to do for a portion of the evening.
-My Uncle and I made a brief trip to the airport this evening to see if we could track down his missing suitcase. Much to our surprise there was almost no one at the airport, and certainly not anyone who was in a position to help us with our problem.
-For dinner tonight we had a very tasty leg of lamb, along with a few other side dishes. One of my favourite of the other dishes was one of the loaves of bread that we baked yesterday.
-It seems that I will have to get up a little on the early side tomorrow morning to participate in the various Christmas festivities that have been planned. Hopefully things will slow down enough in the afternoon that I will be able to take a nap for at least an hour or two.
-A few days ago I started reading a book called Freakonomics. While I have found several sections of the book to be rather thought-provoking and informative, I feel that a few other sections are a little thin (though they are always entertaining). If I get a chance I may try to provide a more in-depth critique of the work once I finish reading it (which shouldn't take me too much longer).
-The party I attended last night was really great. Not only did I get a chance to see a few people I hadn't seen in over a year, I was also able to meet a few new people. Apparently Neil liked the party so much that he fell asleep there (only to wake up to take a cab home at 5:00 AM).
It has recently come to my attention that Montifax needs to come out against Zeno's paradox regarding Achilles and the Tortoise. Pure bunk, or at least something approaching pure bunk. In case you are concerned about the validity of this position there is really no need to worry, I spent a solid 15 minutes talking about it this morning. I am pretty sure that we have hashed everything out and reached the safe conclusion that it is bunk.
-It seems that for the past few days it has been hovering around, or just above, zero celsius. One of the most noticeable results is that much of the snow that was on the ground when we arrived has now melted and been replaced with greenish grass. The unpleasant side of this is that it has been quite grey and overcast since we returned home. There has certainly not been a day that I would consider calling nice.
-My uncle flew in from Newark last night. Unfortunately, his flight was delayed by about three hours and one of his bags lost in transit. Sadly it seems that this is pretty standard for this airline on this flight. My father said that he recently read that this particular flight had a 0 out of 5 rating in terms of being on time.
The only good news is that given my Uncle's familiarity with the flight he was able to pack so that his carry-on bag had many of his essentials.
-It seems that Neil, Rebecca, and I will be going to a Christmas party/Housewarming at a childhood friend's new house. Other parties thrown by this friend and his wife have tended to be quite incredible. Unfortunately, I feel a little out of the partying mood, so I am looking forward to attending less than I should be.
-My sister and Uncle, with a little help from me, placed the Christmas tree in the Christmas tree stand. As of right now it is still undecorated. I presume that decorating won't happen until tomorrow afternoon, though it is possible that some could take place in the morning.
-I should probably get going. There are a few things I should attend to before I head out to the aforementioned party.
A few days ago I realized that we have been playing Settlers of Catan for almost seven years. For the most part, we have been playing relatively by the book games (though with a few minor variants). Finally, last night, we really mixed things up, at least in terms of board layout.
Last night Peter came over for dinner and to play a few games of Settlers. As all of us (including Rebecca) were here along with Peter it meant that we had 7 potential Settlers players. For the first game the problem was solved by my mother bowing out (she had something she needed to do).
By the time we were ready to play the second game she had returned. We decided to solve our problem by adding a few hexes and making a modified, larger board. The board we ended up with can be seen here.
As those of you who are familiar with Settlers can see, we added a few gold hexes to the middle, as well as a few ocean and desert hexes. The idea was to make something somewhat tempting, but that would require a relatively substantial commitment to reach.
Not surprisingly, the board wasn't a particular success. The main portion of the island, the area that ringed the gold, desert, and ocean hexes, was a little too thin to be fun.
For the third game of the night, a five player game, we decided to go with a triangle shaped board with a desert in the centre and gold at the corners. Peter, though he regretted it immediately, suggested that we place a desert in the middle (it turned into a mountain).
For the most part, I think that this shape was generally considered acceptable. It was certainly better than our first modified board of the night.
The other modification was that we played with last night was the "Super-Friendly Robber" rule, a modification of the "Friendly Robber" rule. In this instance the robber doubles production on hex on which it is located. Furthermore, when the robber is removed from a hex those with cities or settlements adjacent to the hex get a card of their choosing (as compensation for the loss of the robber). The goal of this rule modification is to up production, and the speed of the game. Though I am not sure that this was well received universally, I do think that it is a generally good rule modification that improves game play. For those of you that are curious, sevens still mean discarding half of your if you have more than seven. My recollection is that we decided that the person who rolled the seven would not get to steal from another player.
Now that we have broken a few of our own traditions I think we might be a little more inclined to mess with the board and rules during the rest of our visit home (and then a little more once we return to Halifax).
A few days ago my mother asked me if I might be interested in helping her do some of the Christmas baking this year. As I generally enjoy baking I agreed to assist with the process, which ended up happening today.
Though as of last night I knew that things would be taking place today, only this morning at about 10:30 did I learn that they would be starting at 10:30. I had assumed that we would have a civilized post-noon start, as I recall we have had in recent years.
Though I was rather abruptly awoken I quickly got down to work and started mixing some of the flour into the previously prepared buttermilk base. As it turns out, part way through the process we realized that we would not be able to fit all 11 batches (which is how many batches my mother decided to make) in a single mixing bowl, so we poured about half of the dough in another bowl.
At this stage, which was probably at about 11:00 AM, I thought that it might be fun to take a time-lapse video of the rest of the process. While not everything was captured, I think that this video very fairly represents the approximately 8 hours that we spent baking and decorating the bread.
[Embedded Video]
In case you are curious, part way through the process, while the bread was rising, I made a batch of rum balls. Near the end, once most of the baking had been completed, my father engaged in a little gift wrapping.
Some of our more regular readers may be observant enough to notice that there have been a few more posts than typical this evening. I guess that this might be explained by my far-fetched hope that we might reach 365 posts on Montifax this year. For this to happen, I need to make 26 posts (including this one) between now and December 31. This would mean a few more posts a day than has been common Montifax practice since the blog-off in February.
Until just a few months ago we were doing quite well as far as this unstated goal was concerned. Actually, I think that until about four months ago we were actually ahead of where we needed to be if we wanted an average of one a day.
For better or worse, school seems to have interfered with my computer use patterns. One noticeable downward trend has been in terms of the time I have spent blogging (on the other hand, my time spent downloading PDF versions of journal articles has really gone way up).
I guess this isn't surprising considering the thousands of pages of reading I had to do this term, or the 100 pages of writing (which seems low, though this is really quite close to how much I had to submit this semester) that I had to hand in.
Anyway, now that I have close to 50% of my Christmas shopping in the bag I should be able to devote a little more time to the noble pursuit of blogging (it is particularly noble in my case as I am doing it for the blogosphere rather than the mass readership).
The good news is that as of right now I only have 25 more posts to go.
A few weeks ago Peter and I were taking a stroll through the local grocery store, basically just checking things out not really doing a proper shop. Eventually we found a discount refrigerated food section, something I had never seen in that store before. After poking around this section for a few minutes we happened upon a strange can with a 50% off sticker obscuring most of the label. After a few more minutes we figured out that what we were holding claimed to be pancake or waffle batter in a can. All one needed to do to have organic pancakes or waffles was squirt this stuff out onto the appropriate cooking surface and let it cook. Immediately I was drawn to this product because of its relative absurdity. Really, who could possibly be too lazy to prepare pancake batter but not lazy enough to cook pancake batter?
After letting this can kick around the fridge for a few weeks Neil finally talked me into preparing a few of these pancakes before we left Halifax for the Holidays. As you can see, they do end up kind of looking like pancakes.
[Embedded Video]
As you might have guessed, these pancakes were really not very good as far as pancakes go. Though with enough syrup and/or butter I am sure that I could have maybe finished one or two.
I meant to post this some number of months ago, around the time we actually acquired the port sippers. Anyway, I think it is likely just as good now as it would have been four months ago.
-We are in the midst of a period of rather nasty weather in St. John's. For the past few days things have been generally wet and overcast, with intermittent periods of snow, just to mix things up a little. Unfortunately, it does not look as though things are really going to get much better in the immediate future.
-Last night, with my friend Greg, I made my triumphant return to George Street. We started things off at Trapper John's, where Greg's younger brother playing. Before things got started we were standing at the bar when I noticed that our high school chemistry teacher was standing just a few feet away (she didn't look as though she was in the mood to talk to former students) We then made our way over to The Martini Bar, an establishment that is typically too upscale for me, to see a friend who was doing the band's sound. Eventually, or once things began to wrap up at The Martini Bar, we made our way back to Trapper John's to catch the end of the band's show. Just before the band finished up Greg realized that we were just feet away from another former teacher of ours from junior high. Though we hadn't seen this guy in almost 15 years he immediately remembered both how he knew us and also our names. I was quite impressed.
Probably at about 3:00 we decided to head out. While I was fine with walking, some others in our party were interested in taking a cab, so we decided to take a cab. Not surprisingly, trying to get a cab as all of the bars cleared out did not turn out to be a particularly easy task. The process was complicated by us going to multiple strange locations. Fortunately we were able to eventually get a cab and make our way home.
While nothing particularly spectacular happened, I had a great time (though I don't know how many more similar nights I will be able to handle this trip).
-This afternoon Kirsten, Neil, Rebecca, and I all went to a former co-worker's house for brunch. We had traditional dishes like bacon and sausage, but also a great grits dish. The afternoon was really quite fun. I think Kirsten really liked playing with their small dog.
-Later this afternoon, maybe it might even be safe to say that it was early evening, Neil, Rebecca and I decided to try to do some Christmas shopping at da Mall. Unfortunately, not only was the place maggoty, but none of us really found anything that we were interested in buying. In general, though this is not meant to reflect negatively on my companions, it was a pretty unpleasant trip.
-Yesterday evening, after putting in quite a few hours, I was finally able to finish my exam grading. Already I feel more relaxed and able to enjoy things. I am particularly looking forward to tomorrow as I will be able to sleep in without guilt and then spend the better part of the day resting, relaxing, and reading (at least that is my plan).
Yesterday, after almost a year's absence, I finally returned to St. John's and Newfoundland for a brief Christmastime visit. Aside from the many more phone calls than would be the case in Halifax it has been quite nice to be home.
When we left yesterday we started our trip with a cab to the airport. Three things were quite memorable about the cab ride. The first was the the cab was much colder than most cabs. While I didn't find this to be a problem, it did really stand out. Secondly, both Neil and I likely fell asleep for some portion of the ride out (Neil was in the back with Rebecca and I was in the front). Apparently we both feel asleep at approximately the same time and then woke up at about the same time. Rebecca was observant enough to notice that my quick glance down as I was waking up was to check for drool. I really hoped that I hadn't drooled on the seatbelt while I was sleeping (and I hadn't).
Once we got to the airport we made our way to the Porter check-in area. Unfortunately we encountered an employee who was new to the position, and thus rather slow and cumbersome. Anyway, without too many problems we managed to check our bags, pick up two free newspapers, and be on our way.
Once we had checked in we made a brief detour to the arrivals section of the airport to visit the ATM. While in the general area Rebecca and Neil spotted a fresh cotton candy vending machine and decided to go for it. While I was a little bit skeptical about the whole thing, I was glad to see the machine in operation (and that it wasn't my money that had initiated the process).
[Embedded Video]
As you can see, the machine seems to have really done its job well. I think that we were all surprised that it was a full-sized cotton candy serving for much less than one might pay at fair/street food booth. So if you see one of these you should feel comfortable that they do have the capacity to pump out real, fresh cotton candy.
Eventually we made our way through security with few problems, though they did change the regulations again so the plan that Neil and I had regarding our computers and thin neoprene sleeves was foiled. Anyway, none of us were wanded, which is really the most important thing.
Almost as soon as we were through security we noticed that our flight was delayed, something that we were surprised that the check-in desk staff didn't mention. Furthermore, based on information available on the arrivals and departures screens, it was clear that something was amiss, there was no way that our plane could arrive and then depart in the expected time frame.
We decided that with our extra time we would head to one of the restaurants in the secure area. We ended up sitting in the VLT zone. So not only where we about to watch drunken travelers pound down $6 singles, we were also able to watch many more people pump money into VLTs. What was amazing about the experience is that most of the machines were in use for the entire period of time that we were there. Only occasionally would a machine free up, and then it would be snapped up by another customer.
While watching the VLTers we ate our rather sub-par food and sent out a few rather detail sparse emails. Eventually, after maybe an hour and a half, we decided to move our operation to a coffee establishment so that we could access a larger table.
Once settled with our beverages and donuts all three of us attempted to do some school-related work. Rebecca was doing some course prep for a course see will be teaching in the Winter, I was trying to do some overdue grading, and Neil was doing some computer based stuff (and some reading). Not surprisingly, we weren't particularly productive in this setting. After only a few exams I packed it in.
Eventually we made our way to the waiting area for our flight. Amazingly, the airline was still insisting that the plane would be leaving at originally re-scheduled time, even though it was clear that the plane we were to be catching still had not landed and was really even likely to be that close.
When the plane eventually did land we were able to board quite quickly, and after a quick trip to the de-icing station we were off. Only once the plan started moving did those of us in row 7 (Rebecca, Neil, me, and a guy named Justin) realized that we were sitting right next to the propellors. This was somewhat of an intimidating and loud position to find one's self.
Fortunately, I had a very pleasant chat with Justin, a St. Mary's University student from Newfoundland. Sitting next to him made the flight go much more quickly and pleasantly than it would have otherwise.
We eventually landed in St. John's, a few hours later than expected, we found that it was raining quite heavily and windy (not exactly my favourite December weather). Fortunately, the car wasn't too far away and we were soon on the road.
The other fortunate thing is that my mother had prepared dinner so we didn't have to wait a particularly long time to get food after we had returned.
Though I have managed to really stretch this post to several hundred words, it was generally a pretty uneventful, pleasant trip.
Yesterday afternoon I made a trip over to the grocery store in lieu of taking a nap (a strange exchange I know). Anyway, there were a few things I needed to pick up for dinner and seemed like a good time to go. Additionally, there a few deals I was hoping to take advantage of, particularly $10 off coupon and a good price on butter.
Soon after I arrived I was able to pick up a few of the produce items I needed before heading back to snag a package of on sale boneless-skinless chicken breasts (on sale for $3.77 a pound). As I was just feet away from the chicken display a man approached me and asked me if I wanted a free tin of cookies.
It seems that he was working for a credit card company who was giving away a tin of cookies to individuals who applied for their credit card. As I had already been planning on doing this in the coming days I decided to go for it (especially if he was going to do the data entry and give me the cookies). Anyway, within just a few moments I had my tin of cookies (I think they would have cost about $15) and a coupon so that I could walk out of store with them for free.
After completing most of my shopping I made my way to the small housewares and toys section of the store. I was planning on looking at the game selection to try to take advantage of a $10 off coupon that we had for certain games. After a few minutes I settled on Monopoly City, a re-working of the the classic property collecting game. After removing the value of the coupon from the price I ended up paying less than $10 for the game.
I guess I should also mention that they were having a tax-free day, so I didn't have to pay sales tax on the game or some of my other products. It was an incredibly satisfying trip to the grocery store, much more that I thought it would be when I set out.
In the early days, Montifax was quite willing to to come out either in favour of something or as opposed to something. One example of this that sticks in my mind was Montifax's position that Avenue du Parc should not have had its name changed (in the end the name was not changed). For one reason or another, this practice seems to have fallen off a little over the past few years. Fortunately, this morning, I encountered something that disgusted both Neil and I and has lead me to revive the practice.
On the front page of today's print edition of the Globe and Mail there is a picture of an Olympic torch bearer running through the House of Commons, with MPs present, while carrying a lit torch. Not only does this suggest that longstanding parliamentary rules regarding strangers on the floor of the House were broken for the torch bearer, it also suggests an alarming disregard for safety (particularly in a set of buildings that have already had at least one run-in with fire). Generally torches inside aren't a particularly good idea. The incredible arrogance demonstrated by Olympic organizers in this instance has allowed me to feel relatively confident that I am correct in firmly planting Montifax in the anti-Vancouver 2010 Olympics camp.
To be perfectly honest, both Montifax and I had been leaning in this direction for some number of years. Not only do the Vancouver 2010 Olympics generally upset me because they are Olympics (which are generally wasteful and unpleasant), but they are also Winter Olympics (which are even more ridiculous than the Summer version). Also, for some number of years the Vancounver 2010 Olympics have been hogging an unreasonable amount of space in newspapers and media reports (the stories are frequently about either cost overruns or female ski jumpers who have not been allowed to compete). More recently, this media hogging has been really stepped up in the context of the torch relay. At least a half-page has been devoted to this non-story by the Globe and Mail since it started, and I presume that this will continue until the Olympics start in 2010.
Though this isn't my primary concern (the newspaper issue is), it seems quite clear that this event is likely to be incredibly environmentally unfriendly. Not only are thousands and thousands of athletes and tourists going to fly to Vancouver, but they have been taking greenhouse gas emitting torches to almost every corner of Canada for the past number of weeks. It is though they are making a show of their environmental unfriendliness.
And while I have nothing against businesses making money, I am not a particularly big fan of foreign broadcasters making millions on the backs of Canadian tax payers (and other equivalent situations). While I don't have the precise numbers in front of me, I really don't see how this will work out as a net positive for Canada in a financial sense in the end.
It is probably a little too late for our editorial position really to change much of anything, but it seemed worth putting out there, if only for educational purposes.
So it seems that Dalhousie has a nuclear reactor. The reactor is located in the Life Sciences Center, which is the building next to the Hicks building, which is where I spend most of my time on campus.
I learned that there is a nuclear reactor on campus when I read a story from CBC about the fact that they are planning on dismantling it. I guess I am just a little surprised as it isn't something that you normally think of as being part of a thriving university community (Come for our students, our faculty and staff, and stay for our nuclear reactor). I presume that now that the news about it being dismantled (and that it exists) is in the public domain we can expect the usual assortment of student protesters (though I don't know what they would be protesting).
Another thing I recently learned about at Dalhousie is their Aquatron. While I still don't really know what this is, it does have a pretty impressive name and place on campus.
-Today was a little on the cool side. At the moment the reported temperature is -6. Not surprisingly, I get the sense that things are a little cooler in other parts of the country. While we had a little bit of snow a few days ago, there is really not much to show for it at the moment.
-My friend Peter, a new Dal library student, is crashing with us for a night or two before he heads back to St. John's for Christmas. A few minutes ago he asked me a few questions about Dialog, a database aggregation service that is used in the library context. This really reminded me of this time of year in 2006 when I too was working on a Dialog project at the end of my first term of library school. As Dialog uses a command drive search interface it isn't particularly surprising that I wasn't as helpful as I might have been in December 2006 (I remember the concepts, just not the specific commands).
-I have been really cutting back on caffeine for the past two days. I was starting to notice that I was consuming so much that I was reducing my level of productivity. One of the major problems was that I was unable to get to sleep at a reasonable time, which meant that I was throwing my schedule more and more out of whack and not really getting more done.
Anyway, so far it looks as though the decision has been a good one and I may try to stick to my current low level of consumption (a liter of coffee a day).
-I came across some rather good news recently. It seems that my former roommate in Montreal has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, which he will be taking up in October. While I have been incredibly pleased when other friends have been awarded scholarships and fellowships I think that none have made me happier than hearing about this award. I really think that they picked a great candidate.
-I should get back to work, I have all kinds of it to do.
The Tobolowsky Files is a podcast that features Stephen Tobolowsky, the actor who played Ned Ryerson in Groundhog's Day, telling thematically linked stories about his life. So far each episode has been about 45 minutes of very solid content.
Anyway, if you are into storytelling podcasts like the Moth, which also features people telling true stories about their lives, you might like this one.
-We had heavy rain for much of the day today. As I had to make the trip to school on foot this was not a particularly desirable weather condition. Fortunately by late this evening things started to calm down to the point that it now seems quite calm.
-While at the grocery store this evening I was seduced by the Horlick's and the Ovaltine Cookies, two products that I have consumed on a rather irregular basis for the past number of years. So far I can confirm that the very reasonably priced Ovaltine Cookies are definitely as good as I remember. I imagine that I will give the Horlick's a shot tomorrow and will then be able to tell you whether I still have a taste for it.
-This afternoon I had to swing by the hospital for an x-ray. The process was pretty quick and to the point, actually I think that they were using some kind of digital x-ray that really sped things up.
While waiting for my x-ray I was sitting in a gown and robe in the waiting room when a hospital employee walked into the room carrying a Christmas decoration. To no one in particular, but loud enough that we could all hear, he proclaimed that it was time to put up some decorations. He decided to put the decoration on the wall right next to the where I was sitting (not that this is a key detail).
Shortly after he reached the wall I heard something fall, followed by the employee stating in a rather exasperated tone "Oh poop, right in the garbage." It seems that he dropped a thumb tack in the garbage. He was then kind enough to point out that there was only one thing in the garbage can (an empty coffee cup), a level of fullness with which he felt comfortable digging around to find the pin.
After putting up one more decoration he left and I didn't seem him before I completed my visit to the x-ray department.
-I had to lead a review class today. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, I wasn't really able to engage the students. I think that part of the problem was that it was the last class of the year and I hadn't taught them before.
-I had a rather unsuccessful trip to the grocery store this evening. Not only did I forget to even look for cream of tartar, they were out of the right kind of tofu and frozen raspberries, and I completely forgot to use the lone coupon I had with me. I guess this means that I will have to go back tomorrow.
Just a few days ago I had to visit a doctor's office to pick up an x-ray requisition. Before heading up to the office I stopped by one of building's public restrooms. Once in the restroom I noticed that the building's designers either really wanted each male restroom to have a urinal or that they didn't really have a sense of privacy. In case you are curious, this basic set-up exists in more than one of the building's bathrooms (which makes it all the more impressive).
A few weeks ago, though I don't really know why or how, the subject of bidets came up in our apartment. Eventually Rebecca even sent me a "how to" article on bidet use (though they are still a bit of a mystery to me). Given the recent discussions and my continuing failure to understand why they exist I was a little surprised to find one in bathroom just off of the x-ray waiting room at the local hospital (where I was getting the x-ray associated with aforementioned requisition). Given their rarity and that many North Americans don't seem to know how to use them or why they exist, I wonder how many times these bidets are misused in the hospital context. It seems that having such a fixture would just be an invitation for trouble, particularly given that as you are in a hospital you know that some relatively high number of people are likely a little bit more out of it than usual. Though I was thinking of temporarily creating a fountain with this bidet I settled for just taking a photo.
To finish this theme off, while I was having my x-ray taken our apartment's bathroom was having its faucets examined for leaks and a new shower head installed. While these aren't really fixtures, I think that they qualify as related.
-It has become noticeably more Wintery in the last few days. Instead of just wearing a sports coat, I have actually started wearing an insulated jacked, scarf, and hat. A few days ago we even had a few snowflakes fall, though we managed to avoid real accumulation.
-I went for my Swine Flu vaccination shot today. Dalhousie was providing a free shot service so I thought I might as well stop by. What was particularly impressive about the whole thing is how well organized it was. They were moving people through quite quickly, the result being that when I went there wasn't a line even though a steady stream of people kept arriving. So far my arm and I feel fine. I am expecting that by some point tomorrow I will start to feel something in the arm where I received the shot.
-My big news yesterday was that I submitted my SSHRC graduate fellowship application. SSHRC is a federally funded granting agency, and one of the main sources for graduate funding in the social sciences and humanities. While it would be great to get a SSHRC fellowship I am not holding out much hope, the odds are not in my favour.
-We had a tofu stir-fry for dinner yesterday night. I thought it was pretty tasty.
-A few days ago I was thinking about writing about the people that borrow my fountain pen and are then able to use properly. I was going to comment on the seeming universal inability of the current generation to use fountain pens. Of course I ended up loaning my pen to two younger students today and neither of them had any problems. Good thing I didn't write was I was thinking about writing as I think it turns out that it wouldn't have held up.
-All three of my classes have come through with extensions for their essays. Though this means I won't have much free time before my Christmas departure I think it will generally be a good thing the quality of the essays.
-On Saturday we played a hard fought game of Ultimate. While we were leading at halftime we ended up losing by a point.
A few years ago, I think it may have been the Summer of 2004, Neil and I took an undergraduate logic class (taught as a philosophy course) together, along with a few other math people. Not surprisingly, given their previous encounters with much of the material, most of the math guys did quite well with the material. Given my proximity to the math guys, and my unwillingness to be bested by too wide a margin by Neil, I also did pretty well with most of the content.
Unfortunately, many of the others in the class didn't have such an easy time with the material. One girl, try as she might, could never seem to make it through the practice questions without a handful of questions (most of which demonstrated her complete failure to comprehend the material). Another few also drew attention to themselves in a variety of ways, though one student in particular stood out, eventually getting the nickname Humpty-Dumpty as he thought words should be understood in terms of that which they were being used to refer.
Just moments ago I finally came across the passage (though I had heard the story paraphrased by the prof.) in Through the Looking Glass that gave rise to this guy's nickname. So here it is, the quote that was the reason for Humpty-Dumpty's nickname:
"When I use a word," said Humpty-Dumpty in a scornful tone, "it means what I want it to mean, neither more nor less."
I am sure all involved would be pleased to know that Neil and I still refer to Humpty-Dumpty all these years later.
-Today was another less than perfect day in Halifax. While there were periods of no rain, the day was marred by longer periods of rain.
-We had chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. While I originally was hoping to make the noodles from scratch I eventually ran out of time and ended up using some from a box. I guess my noodle making attempt will have to wait for another day.
-Neil and I have our first Winter league ultimate game tomorrow. While we recognize the names of a few people playing in the league we don't know any of other members of our team.
-For the past few days I have been spending a fair bit of my time marking. The batch of essays I have before me need to be done by Monday. I guess this means that I should probably try to complete at least another two or three this evening.
-Neil and I gave each other haircuts today. While Neil's hair wasn't that long, mine was approaching 12 inches in places. I think that both haircuts were justified and will be good in the long-run.
-As much as I would like to keep on going, I think it is probably best if I try to make my way back to the aforementioned marking.
Earlier this afternoon I was talking with my friend Jess about her upcoming trip to Paris. While we were talking about her trip I was reminded of my trip to Paris for Easter in 1995, and a few of the aspects of the trip that I would repeat and a few others that I wouldn't. Then tonight it seemed like the appropriate next step would be to create lists of some of these things so that our entire readership is able to take advantage of my experiences and integrate the information in their own Paris travel plans.
So I guess I might as well start with the positive stuff, the Dos
-Do go to the Eiffel Tower and do pay for the elevator ride to the top. I learned the hard way that while it is cheaper to take the stairs you don't get to the top that way.
-Do eat a baguette or two. When I was there they were a pretty cheap and tasty way of sustaining oneself while touring.
-Do watch local TV, it tends to be a little more daring than what you find in North America. This is particularly important if you are a twelve year-old boy when you are making the trip.
-Do visit the Moulin Rouge area, particularly if you haven't already been to a red light/sex district. I know that it is something that I haven't forgotten (though this may have something to do with me being a twelve year-old boy at the time).
-Do go to McDonald's and get a beer, if only so that you can tell me how the experience is (I wasn't able to partake when I was last there and have since been wondering how the beer is in a fast food restaurant).
-Do go to the Notre Dame bell tower.
-Do know how to ask where the bathroom is before you arrive.
-Do plan your trips to be bathroom in advance as you might encounter pay toilet situations or places with pesky attendants (which are best avoided).
-Do get on a train to the correct airport/transportation terminal when it comes time for you to leave.
That's about enough positivity, now I should move on to the don'ts.
-Don't stay in a hotel in Chinatown, it is definitely out of the way.
-Don't order the footlong hot dogs they sell in the Eiffel tower (they lube them up with something and then ram them in a baguette).
-Don't pay to go on the sewer tour, instead walk in the exit as the people from the previous tour are leaving (though don't do this knowingly or it takes the fun out of the experience).
-Don't go to the Palace of Versailles on Spring fountain cleaning day. Choose one of the 364 days of the year when the fountains are not shooting black gunk out of their spouts.
-Don't give your extra fast food restaurant food to homeless kids unless you want them to follow you around.
-Don't be a complete cheapskate all of the time.
I guess that is all I have for the moment, though I am sure that more will come to me at some point in the not too distant future. If I am appropriately motivated I may even get around to posting them here.
About an hour ago a number of people showed up to protest the defence conference called the Halifax Forum. The event is being held in the Westin Nova Scotian, just across the street from Cornwallis Park, where the protests are being held. At just after the appointed hour not all that many people were there, though eventually a few more did show up.
This clip was taken at just after 1:00 PM.
[Embedded video]
When I went back to watch things a little later a sheet was in the process of being placed over the statue of Cornwallis.
Below the statue there was a little of the traditional call and response and drum banging going on.
All in all, things seemed to be pretty calm the last time I looked. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but the turnout out really wasn't as big as I expected given the list of attendees and the amount of time that people had to plan the event.
Some of you may have been wondering about the credibility of some of the content found on Montifax. Turns out there is no need to worry, we provide content that is of a high enough quality that it can be cited in an academic publication.
I guess I should explain how I know that this is the case.
Earlier tonight while I was waiting for various SSHRC application/from pages to load I started strolling around the internet. In particular I was curious to see who was linking to Montifax these days (if you are curious, it is a rather short list of sites). I
By taking a quick look at the article I was able to see that they had included a quote of mine from A Few Quick Notes 38. In the chosen quote I suggest not only that I have recently been "thinking about my favourite Newfoundland hip-hop/rap group, Gazeebow Unit" but also that "For those of you who have not heard Gazeebow Unit you are in for a surprise/treat. The skeet lifestyle has never before received such an eloquent treatment."
Anyway, in a strange way this seems to at least partly justify the time I have spent on Montifax over the past few years (though this was a comment that I wrote in the early months of the blog).
It seems that our comments sections are being spammed rather frequently these days (meaning about once a day for the past few days). I wonder if this means that we will have to implement some type of anti-spam bot filter in these areas?
I guess I am thinking about this because Neil directed me towards VK Couples Testing a few days ago. When I ran the test with Rebecca, just so that I could figure it out, I ended up failing (though only by missing the case on the final 'n').
Anyway, if we are motivated you might see a few changes in our comments section in the coming days (though the more I think about it the more I get the sense that these spam comments actually make it look as though people are reading our blog).
-Today was another great day in Halifax. Though it was above 10 for the better part of the day it is apparently forecast to drop as low as -2 tonight. I am somewhat curious whether this will actually happen or not. At the moment we need to drop another 10 degrees to get there (and that is on top of the 5 that we have already lost since today's high this afternoon).
-We had another tofu stir-fry for dinner tonight.
-Neil and Rebecca attended a few of the torch ceremonies yesterday evening. I was a little bit confused about when and where things were happening so I didn't participate (though I did get a free pre-torch Coke Zero while I was at Dal). Apparently they saw people like Dexter, Campbell, and maybe Crosby.
I guess I should also note that I am probably not a particularly big fan of the Olympic torch relay. The thing about it that I have been finding particularly frustrating is that every day they have been including a half-page story on page 3 of the Globe and Mail about the torch relay. This wasn't news to begin with and it certainly isn't news now that we are three weeks.
-I spent the afternoon in the Nova Scotia archives. While I wasn't as productive as I might have liked to have been, I think that in the end it should be considered a pretty productive trip. Not only did I find some of the stuff I was looking for, I also found a neat letter about Newfoundland in the 1920s.
-I just got back from the grocery store, where I had gone to buy another 10 pounds of carrots before the store closed for the night and the next week's pricing scheme was implemented. In the past week we have purchased 30 pounds of carrots at $1.99 per 10 pound bag. At the moment we have almost 30 pounds of carrots in our fridge.
-The German Marshall Fund sponsored defence conference is supposed to start tomorrow. According to a website I found a few days ago the protest plan is to picket the hotel's entrance tomorrow afternoon (if I recall correctly) and then hold the full-fledged protest on Saturday. I may or may not be here while the pre-protest is on-going tomorrow, but I will definitely try to grab a few pics of Saturday's events.
-I am in the midst of some marking, which is definitely going more slowly that I would like it to be.
Mr. Smith, a representative of the Government of Canada, spend several months in Newfoundland in the early 1920s while he was gathering information on the Labrador boundary dispute. While Smith was in St. John's he met with a number of prominent public figures on a relatively regular basis, providing him with some sense of the political climate of the day. It should be noted that Smith had been in Newfoundland 20 years earlier and seemed familiar with the individuals involved in public life at that time as well.
The following are a few sections of a relatively long and detailed letter Mr. Smith wrote on March 1, 1922 to W.S. Fielding, the Canadian Minister of Finance, about the situation he observed in Newfoundland. (For the real keeners among our readership, the letter in its entirety can be found in the Public Archives of Nova Scotia/NSARM at MG 2 vol. 528, folder 112, item 7370)
When describing the poor quality of parliamentary proceedings Smith notes that
the galleries having been packed by the Opposition, with idlers who had orders to interrupt the proceedings of the Government by heckling and otherwise annoying the ministers and their supporters. The disturbance reached a height that compelled the interposition of the long enduring Speaker, who ordered the Galleries to be cleared. Sir Michael Cashin, the leader of the Opposition, then got up and addressing the Galleries, said “Boys, this is your house, are you going to be ordered out of it”? With one voice the galleries should “No”, and the House itself adjourned.
That the use of the Gallery for the purposes of annoyance, was not a monopoly of the Opposition, I learned a night or two later. At the house of a friend where I was to meet Sir Richard Squires at dinner, Sir Richard came late, and announced exultantly that a Ministerial gallery, had effectually silenced the Opposition that afternoon.
I myself was a witness of a scene of the Government being overawed and overborne by a mob. Some thousand or more strikers gathered in front of the Legislative building, and when the house opened, as many as could find room crowded into the galleries. Three of their leaders addressed the Premier in the chamber, denouncing him for his conduct towards them, and demanding that their requests should be conceded. The Premier, after an attempt to parley, surrendered, and was flayed by the Opposition for the way he had treated the men, amidst applause and hooting of horns from the Gallery. The whole town was in a state of disorder. Many men were out of work, with the usual suffering, and in May, a general strike broke out among the longshore [sic] men. This was regarded as serious, and, to prevent an outbreak, themen [sic] on two British war vessels which were in the harbour, paraded Water Street, the principal business street of the town.
Indeed, the avowed object of these war vessels, was to impose a check on possible riots.
The unemployed continue to besiege the Government Offices, but with an empty treasury, little could be done. The Government endeavored to procure a loan of $150,000. for the City Council from the Royal Bank, and when the Bank intimated that the guarantee, by which the Government proposed to cover the loan should include a large sum already owing the Bank by the City, the Premier, in the House, denounced the management of the Bank as “a bunch of Shylocks”.
I found this description of Richard Squires rather amusing.
Sir Richard Squires, the premier, is perhaps 45 years of age, a lawyer without standing in his profession, and, his enemies say, very unscrupulous. Even his friends do not claim for him any excess of candour. He is said to be, not perhaps anti-British, but pro-American in his tastes, a rather rare thing down there. But he is so given to gasconnade that it is difficult to get at his real sentiments.
If all goes well I will be heading back to the archives tomorrow.
As is my Saturday morning habit I started the morning off with a pot of coffee, breakfast, and the Globe and Mail. Not to long after I started making my way through the paper I ended up on the last page of the first section. After quickly skimming the page I decided that I would skip to Rex Murphy's column and then call it for that section.
It soon became clear that Murphy was using the column to take issue with the relatively large, and growing, budgets associated with Hollywood blockbusters (and particularly the monstrous budgets associated with James Cameron). Murphy seemed to find the contrast between the general economic restraint associated with a recession and these ever growing budgets something beyond distasteful. Eventually Murphy introduced the idea that the 'stars' in these films are now sometimes paid more than $20 million for their 'work.' Jim Carrey, and a few recent comments about greed and ambition, received particular attention and criticism.
As much as I might agree with Murphy about the absurdity of pay rates of contemporary Hollywood actors, I think that he missed the larger picture by making them the central component of his critique. These pay packages are really only a very small part of the picture when it comes to the economic implications of a Hollywood blockbuster (particularly a $500 million blockbuster, such as the one James Cameron is trying to make).
Unlike the picture that Murphy paints, the money used to make these movies does not just disappear, nor is it a case of feeding babies or making a movie (without such a movie no more money will go to the perpetuation of the welfare state). More accurately, money is invested a number of interests/corporations and people and then disbursed as salaries or payments during the making of the film. A much better way of thinking about a $500 million film is as a project that will take $500 million from corporate backers and distribute it among those parties involved in the production process. So instead of this money being wasted, it is likely providing pay cheques to thousands of individuals during the course of the production of the movie. If successful, such a movie would the replenish the coffers of the investors allowing them to invest in future projects. Ideally the cycle will repeat itself without pause (creating jobs and economic growth with each iteration).
I guess what I found strange about the column Murphy's seeming unwillingness to accept that transactions like those that result from the funding of a movie are what fundamentally drive our economy. To associate Carrey's comments about ambition and greed with such a picture was a rhetorical trick that did nothing but obscure the larger picture as well as the specific outcomes that are likely to come from a $500 million movie.
Only by investing money and creating jobs are we likely to exit such a recession. Staying at home and keeping our bank accounts tightly secured, on the other hand, isn't a viable solution to the problem.
While one may not like the package that comes with the Hollywood blockbuster (and I am not a big fan) it seems unfair not to acknowledge the positive economic benefits that are likely to flow from such enterprises. To impugn major capital investments, even if they are for Hollywood films, in a period of time when their absence is a notable part of the problem seems not only to be unreasonable, but to demonstrate a lack of understanding or misperception of the problem currently being faced by the economy.
So, yes, Jim Carrey may make ridiculous comments and be paid too much but that doesn't mean that blockbuster movies may not actually help us move out of the recession. Most importantly, it is not the case, as Murphy's comments seem suggest, that we should sit back with a sense of quiet respect and acquiescence as the recession runs rampant and refuse to attend movies, or other participate in other forms of economic activity that may stimulate further economic activity and growth.
It is rather ironic that Murphy didn't catch the hypocrisy in his own column yet was so quick to jump on it in Hollywood.
-Today (Friday) was quite nice. It was about 10 during the middle of the day, though it has not dropped to just above freezing. For the past few days the weather has been like this, which is nice as it makes for very pleasant walks to school.
-We had pork chops, couscous, and vegetables for dinner tonight. I know that Neil and I were both pleasantly surprised with how tasty and moist the pork chops were. I think our surprise came not because of any inability to cook pork chops that I might have, but rather because the chops were on the thin side (so more likely to dry out).
-My tobacco harvesting has really picked up in the past few days. At the moment I have 13 leaves drying, and a few more basically ready to go into the storage container. At some point soon I am going to have to start figuring out what I want to do with them (a thought that regular readers of this blog will likely find somewhat repetitive).
-A few days ago I made a batch of rum balls. Much to my surprise they have been quite popular. When I was making them I assumed that I would slowly pick away at them for a weeks until they were gone. As things stand now I may actually need to make another batch in a few days if I want more.
-It seems that the German Marshall Fund and Peter MacKay will be hosting a big security conference from November 20-22 at a hotel near our apartment. A week ago I had the pleasure of speaking with a local peace activist who was kind enough to inform me that protests have been scheduled for the conference. While I wasn't to surprised to learn that protestors would be present, particularly when I started to get a better sense of who would be attending, I was a little surprised to learn that this would all be going down within a few hundred feet of our apartment. I guess we will just have to wait and see how things go. Hopefully I will be able to snag a few photos or some video of the events.
-This morning when I woke up I discovered that my shoulder was hurting (I don't think it is enough to worry about it). I guess what surprises me is why this might be the case. What could I have done to myself during the night to have caused such a situation? Hopefully things will be back to normal by tomorrow.
-Today I signed up for a Google Wave account. At the moment I am not really sure if I will have an occassion to use such a service but it seemed that it would be better to have access than not.
Just a few minutes ago I was putting on one of my cardigans when one of my fingers got stuck. Upon closer inspection I learned that what happened was that my finger slipped through a recently developed hole at the elbow on the left arm of the sweater. Though it hasn't developed a hole yet, I can now see that the right elbow is also starting to give way. I wonder if it is possible to patch such a hole?
This development is of course after a few similar clothing tragedies that have already occurred this semester.
The first problem occurred when I attempted to wash my wool sweater vest. Even though I used only cold water and air dried it, the vest managed to shrink. Now it is definitely tighter in the chest and doesn't quite come down to my waist. A definite bummer as it was otherwise a pretty nice sweater vest, and the only one that I owned.
More recently I was hanging up my 10+ year old Hawaiian shirt when I noticed that the shirt had worn out in the back. I guess this isn't surprising as I have been wearing this shirt pretty regularly for over ten years (I purchased it at a going out of business sale when I was in high school). Though I should have expected such a development it is still disappointing.
The problem is that if I keep going at this rate I won't have any clothing by the time spring rolls around. I guess when one does their best to avoid buying new clothing this is the type of problem they are eventually likely to encounter.
-Regular readers will know that we had some rather poor weather today. The worst part of the mess was the slush that resulted from the combination of the snow and rain. Fortunately, the precipitation seems to have stopped, at least for the time being.
-Earlier this evening I cut up a few vegetables. Of course it seemed like a good idea to make a time-lapse video of the ordeal.
[Embedded video]
-I attended the second half of a one day conference this afternoon. The conference was in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I arrived just after the lunch break as the Assistant Deputy Minister was speaking. By coming in part way through his talk I kind of missed the gist of the whole thing.
-We might play a few games this evening.
-The tofu kick continues. We had a tofu stir-fry for dinner and we have another pound in the fridge, ready to go.
At some point yesterday I think I heard a few rumours about snow, but I don't recall if they were about Halifax or St. John's. Anyway, as the forecast didn't seem to mention snow I put such thoughts out of my mind.
This morning I woke up to find this.
It seems that not only did we have snow, we actually had a few centimeters of snow. The worst part was that by the time I awoke much of the snow had started to turn to slush and was also be accompanied by rain.
Not surprisingly, I got soaked on my walk to school. Fortunately by the time I started to make my way back home things generally calmed down and I didn't get re-soaked.
-It was a pretty nice day until just a few hours ago, when it started raining. Unfortunately, it seems that the forecast is suggesting that this is the type of weather that we will be getting tomorrow.
-For dinner tonight I prepared a pork roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, and beans and corn. I also quickly made a raspberry pie for desert. For those of you who are curious, the lard-based crust was light and flaky.
-The pork roast was part of a relatively large piece of pork loin that I purchased a few days ago. I turned the portion of meat not included in the roast into pork chops. I was quite surprised to see that I ended up with 12, I really would have expected about 7 had I been asked to guess in advance (but fortunately I wasn't asked to make such a guess).
-I have started testing out the free samples of male-targeted toiletries I received a few days ago. As expected, I have noticed that I have that traditional from-a-bottle/stereotypical man smell. As nice is give myself the pretense of being particularly manly, I am not sure that I will be able to deal with these scented products for much longer.
-My big news from school is that yesterday a fellow Ph.D. student and I rearranged the Ph.D. office so that all six desks are accessible. Prior to our changes only three of the six desks were accessible. Hopefully the other students who use the room, who weren't directly consulted, will find the changes as positive as I do.
-Oh man, I have so much work that I have been avoiding today. I guess I should try to get a little done before I turn in.
-I guess since I mentioned that I was watching the World Series yesterday I might as well mention that the Yankees were victorious. Unfortunately, the portion of the game that I watched wasn't particularly exciting (though once I started watching I couldn't stop until it was over).
A few days ago I mentioned that I had emptied most of my container garden and was, as a result of these actions, left with quite a number of dirty plant pots on our balcony.
I allowed these pots to sit on the balcony for a few days. The most significant reason why I didn't do anything with them was because of the time commitment that would have been required. Anyway, every day they were there they were eating away at me (even more because I knew how I was going to clean them when it came time).
This afternoon while dinner was in the oven I finally got around to cleaning the pots. I filled two buckets with hot water and added detergent to one of the buckets. As you might have guessed, one of the buckets was for washing and the other for rinsing. Amazingly, this system seemed to work pretty well and in not too long (and only one water change later) I was done with the washing part of the process.
After allowing the freshly washed pots to dry outside for a few hours I moved them inside to my bedroom to finish the final stages of drying.
A little while ago I was able to stack them up. My hope is that this is where they will stay for the winter and that I will be ready to go as soon as spring rolls around and I start my early planting.
For our more observant readers, I did have to store a few of the lids/trays and the planter in my closet. For a while I was hoping that I would be able to get everything in this stack.
-I guess today was a little nicer than I expected it would be, meaning that I don't recall it raining.
-This change in the daylight allocation is really doing me in. It is now bright in them mornings when I get up on the early side of things and dark early in the afternoon. I think if it was up to me I would have kept things as they were before, but I guess the 9-5ers are a slightly more populous group that grad students without many morning commitments.
-All three of us are watching game 6 of the World Series. The funny thing is that while we are doing this we are using at least three computers (Neil and Rebecca are in the living from while I am in my room with my computer).
-A few minutes ago I looked at the grocery store fliers for the upcoming week and was pleased to see that a few of my favourite products will be on sale, notably cheap beef, pineapple, and potatoes.
-My baked fries should be ready momentarily. Much to my chagrin, I ended up throwing the entire bag on the tray.
-Today was definitely not as nice as yesterday. For the better part of the morning and early afternoon it was raining. Eventually things cleared up, though the earlier rain and low temperatures and lack of sun meant that everything was still wet at sunset.
-For the past few weeks I have been more frequently using the nice fountain pen that Neil gave me a few years ago. While I have been using this pen intermittently for the past few years, this is the first time that I have really given it sustained use. Now that I am using it on a regular basis I keep wondering why I haven't been using it on a daily basis since Neil gave it to me.
The only downside about my present rate of use is that I basically need to top-up the refillable reservoir once a day, and sometimes more frequently. Amazingly, the bottle of ink that I acquired a few months ago still appears to be quite full (so I guess each pen refilling session really doesn't use that much ink).
-I received a nice batch of four free samples this afternoon. I had been expecting that they would take much longer to arrive than they did. As the samples are all mens toiletries I will likely have a more stereotypical man smell for the next few weeks while I work my way through the body wash, shampoo, and anti-perspireant that I acquired today. Fortunately, the free disposable razor (the sample I am most looking forward to using) shouldn't impart much of a scent (unless you count blood from the nicks and cuts that are sure to result from my moderately inept shaving).
-This afternoon I learned that John Hodgman has a podcast. As far as I can tell there are only about 8 episodes so far, each of which is less than a minute, so it should be easy to catch up (though I still have a few episodes to go before I am fully up to speed with things).
-My lithotripsy session seemed to go well this morning, though things were a little delayed so I had a little more sitting around than I expected. The other thing that I keep finding weird about the experience is that during the history taking part of the process (which happens shortly after I arrive) they keep asking me different questions. The result is that it looks as though I am giving them different information each time I come even though I keep telling them the truth. I find this not only unpleasant, but very upsetting. I keep thinking that by the second or third time I should know how the process works and not be continually thrown for a loop during the history taking part of the process. Oh, and if you were curious, I received 3000 shocks at power level 3 (not that that means all that much to me).
-As far as I recall, today was a pretty nice day. As I now seem to have many fewer hours of sunlight exposure, the weather is making less and less of an impression on me (that is until it rains or is remarkably unpleasant in some other way).
-We have been having a slow internet problem for some number of weeks now. The incredible slowness of our connection was driven home today when I was at school with my computer and using a regular speed connection for the first time in weeks. Amazingly, things like my email inbox didn't take seconds to load and podcasts zipped from the internet to my hard drive. Of course the irony is that all of this happened at about the same time I received an automated call informing me that our internet service had been improved and that our connection speed had increased by 40%. (Rebecca and I are both waiting for Neil to call and either lodge a complaint or figure out what is going on, until then we will likely have to muddle through).
-I harvested some of my thyme today and have bundled it to dry. What I find amazing about this process is how little of the herb I get at the end of such a process. The last time I did this I ended up getting less than a quarter of a spice bottle of dried thyme from what seemed like a handful of sprigs. Given our slow rate of production I guess it is a good thing that I am not prone to using very much thyme in my cooking.
-On Friday I attended a seminar in the political science department. Amazingly, even after several emails from faculty and staff, I was the only student in attendance. Actually, when things started I was about 20% of the audience (and I knew three of other four audience members). I was a little surprised that so few of my fellow students attended.
-A few of my tobacco plants are now close to two feet tall. The other development is that the rate at which I am harvesting leaves is also increasing. I am starting to have a little (and I should make very clear that I really mean little) supply/stash of dried leaves. As of yet I have no idea what I might do with these leaves as I don't smoke and I am not sure that anyone that I do know that smokes would possibly want them. I guess I will just go on collecting them for now and figure something out later.
-A few days ago I made what was to be my last tomato harvest of the season.
Shortly after harvesting these tomatoes I ploughed in my plants, or, more accurately, I ditched the root heavy soil and plants. I now have a rather large collection of empty pots and garden things that I need to clean and then bring in for the winter.
Hopefully I will get a chance to do some of this cleaning either on Wednesday or Thursday, though Friday is another possibility.
-My Halloween evening didn't go exactly as planned.
Firstly, as Peter, Neil, and I were walking over to the local shopping complex to pick up some beer and last minute supplies we noticed a number of police cars with flashing lights. As we approached the scene we could see that they were talking to someone, but we couldn't really figure out what necessitated 5 police vehicles. When we entered the liquor store the security guard wasn't able to provide us with any further information.
Eventually, Peter and I made it to the political science event, which was much better attended than I expected. I think that there were about 8 people (including us) for a while, then another two arrived. Eventually, another guy and his wife (and her brothers) showed up (though they may have arrived independent of our event). All things considered I think it was a success. There has been some discussion of further events in the near future.
We ended up not making the history party because of the relatively poor bus service to the part of town where the party was being held. We basically would have had an hour from the time the bus dropped us off to the time we had to catch the last bus back to town. That this would have left us with at most 30 minutes at the party we decided that the couldn't be reasonably justified. In the end we came back and played two games of Settlers (in the second game we used the new anti-robber rule that Neil and I have been working on).
-I am due up for another round of lithotripsy tomorrow. The good news is that I appear to actually have an appointment this time, unlike the last two times I was scheduled to go in. The downside is that this will probably hamper my work schedule a little, though I guess it is worth it if it means that I don't have to pass a full-fledged kidney stone.
-Oh man have I ever been on a bit of a tofu tear these past few days. I think that in the past four days I have purchased about 5 pounds of the stuff. Originally I had been buying the high end organic stuff for $2.39 a pound, but today I discovered the bargain basement stuff that goes for 99 cents a pound (a pound of which I bought). Anyway, whether I am buying the classy organic stuff or the discount swill, I don't see how my pocketbook and general health won't be the overall winners.
-I hate it when I am tired but then can't get to sleep for hours. The worst part is that as the time passes I get more nervous about the amount of sleep that I am not getting, making it even less likely that I will be able to get to sleep anytime soon. I really wish I understood why this happens to me occasionally as it doesn't seem to correspond to how tired I feel (though it must).
-We have had some rather nice weather these past few days. It seems that it hits about 10 degrees by mid afternoon, which is just about right for walking, and then drops to near zero in the evening, which is just about right for studying, reading, and sleeping.
-It seems that I will have a few Halloween parties to attend tomorrow evening. The first I will try to visit is a poli sci grad student event at a local bar/restaurant. The idea is that they will order some appetizers and a few pitchers and then people can get other things.
The second party I plan on attending is the history grad student event. I have been invited to this event because I am taking a graduate level history course this year (and the professor hosting the party is teaching the course). Anyway, aside from the bus ride out, I am looking forward to meeting a few of the history students/types.
Oh, my plan for a costume (all creative credit must go to my friend Jess) is that I will wear a black shirt and pants and then a white collar and go as a priest. The great thing about this is if I decide the costume is too much for me to handle I can take the collar off and then just be a regular looking guy. As I am not really particularly into Halloween costumes I think that this strikes a nice balance between close to nothing and an actual costume.
-On Wednesday we had our final Ultimate game of the fall season. In contrast to past game, we really came out swinging and dominated the entire game. We ended up winning 15 to 0.
I should mention that although the score is clearly quite lopsided, the other team really didn't seem to be playing that poorly (just not scoring). Furthermore, they are one of the most fun teams to play against. There were no rule disputes or poor calls, it was really great.
After the game we invited the other team to join us for a drink at the local country bar. We chose this bar because the last time we went the place was absolutely empty and we were able to take advantage of a few of their amenities (mainly the Wii and the full-size basketball net). This time it seemed that we weren't so lucky, instead of the place being empty we walked in on a multi-week karaoke contest.
Not surprisingly, our group wasn't really into the karaoke contest. Surprisingly, the bar's workers were really quite insistent that we move some of the furniture so that everyone could see the stage. In basically every other matter the staff were great, they frequently came back to make sure we had everything we needed and at one point brought out four large baskets of party mix (a snack food).
I guess I would have to say that after a little bit of initial hesitation, I had a really good time with the other team, and just generally at this particular bar (even if it was a country bar).
-It seems that I am up for another round of lithotripsy on Tuesday. I am a little curious to see if this is actually going to happen or if they will somehow manage to screw up my booking between now and then, as they have done twice already.
-It seems that I am on a bit of a humus tear recently. For the better part of the past few weeks I have almost always had a batch of humus in the fridge that I can tap into at any time. I guess this is likely an indication of my busyness and the fact that this is a food that I can just start eating with little prep work.
-I have been rather busy with grading for the past few days. My plan is to kill off the remnants tomorrow, which should then allow me some time to prepare for my upcoming classes.
-I should probably stop wasting time and get back to at least one of the many school-related things that I really should be doing.
-Though it seemed to be raining pretty heavily last night, and there were a few rain drops at various points today, overall today wasn't too bad a day. That being said, it is definitely fall now and the lower temperatures will mean that I will soon have to make the switch from my sports coats to a more substantive jacket in the coming days.
-Last night, though I don't know why I was move to do it last night, I removed most of my bean plants (as they were approaching death if they weren't already dead). This, at least as far as I am concerned, makes the balcony look a fair bit better. In the coming days I may try and deal with a few more of the plant pots as the end of the growing season is definitely upon us.
-That being said, just a few days ago we started to get our first blooms on the morning glory plants. Unfortunately, due to inattention, I missed the first bloom (but did manage to see the remnants). Luckily, when they started really hitting hard I did manage to see them, and even to snap a photograph of the whole affair.
It seems that in the days since this was taken thins have taken a turn for the worse with the plants. Actually, I imagine that they are all basically dead now as they have been outside in sub-zero temperatures.
-This afternoon I decided to make a batch of bread (four loaves). The first project gave me the necessary motivation to take on a second project, doing my laundry, as these two projects work nicely with one another because of their natural gaps and periods of inactivity. Now that I have sampled the bread and the clean duvet cover I think I can safely say that they both were completed successfully.
-The other major project of the day is some marking that I have to do for my TAship. I may also try to track down a few readings for my upcoming week's classes, though that might be a little more than I can handle in a single night.
-Yesterday, because Neil and Rebecca were attending a math conference dinner, I took the opportunity to prepare myself some marlin that I had in the freezer. It turns out that I think I really don't like marlin. The relatively small piece that I had prepared myself was about twice as much as I could stomach, which is rather unfortunate (though the good news is that I had only paid 50% of the original price for the fish). Anyway, I am just lucky that I had prepared myself 4 potatoes so that I had a satisfying meal even though I didn't eat much of the main dish.
-Last night as I was plugging away at a paper that was due this morning I turned around from my desk and got a look at my floor.
It seems that my filing system really is a little more floor based that I would like (as is my bed). I imagine that some people, upon seeing this, might have a hard time believing that I not only attended library school, but also passed.
-My bedroom plants seemed to have slowed down a little bit, but are definitely still growing. In particular, the tobacco taking up an ever increasing proportion of the window. I keep imagining that I won't even be able to see out, my view will be completely blocked by homegrown tobacco.
I guess the only thing I will be blocked from seeing is a relatively grey cement wall, so it might not be much of a loss.
-Surely there are more import topics on which I should be expounding, but I think I may have to call it for now so that I can get back to my grading and dinner prep (proper meals seem to have gone out of my schedule these past few days and I am hoping to bring them back).
As some of you might have guessed based on my limited blogging of the past few days, I am still quite busy with school related work. Though now in addition to the regular reading and writing that has been filling my days for the past few weeks I can add marking. My first batch of the year has to be partly ready to go by tomorrow, which should be fine as I have already taken a quick read through the exam answers I need to mark. Though the completion of the job will require I go through them again in a little more detail.
Of course, on top of this I have a paper due tomorrow (though it is quite short). My plan is to shortly finish the first draft of the paper and then head over to the exams. Once I am done with the exams I hope to kill off the paper. We will see how well this seemingly simple plan works out in the end.
In other exciting news, I did find time to make some marlin for myself for dinner. Unfortunately, it turns out that either I don't know how to prepare marlin or I think marlin is pretty gross. While I am willing to acknowledge the former as a possibility, I am somewhat inclined to lean towards the latter as more likely of the two options. Anyway, it is a good think that we only had one piece in the freezer.
Back to work, at least until I start slacking off again.
