-Today, as well as the past few days, have seen additional centimeters of snow fall over the greater St. John's area. It seems that the region is being hit by snowstorm after snowstorm. The up side of all of this is that my father has been able to maximize the use of his new snow blower.
-For some reason I decided to bake bread today. I ended up with a somewhat sweet molasses multi-grain bread, though I didn't use a recipe. This is actually the first time that I have just eye-balled all ingredients, and fortunately it seemed to have worked out.
-As tonight is New Year's eve it seems that I will have a social engagement or two. This is really not what I was hoping for. I really wanted to be able to somehow miss the entire evening, or at least just have a particularly quiet night without the interference of New Year's parties.
-Several days ago I received a small tripod that can be fastened to various object through the use of an attached Velcro strap. Last night I discovered that that the tripod can be attached to my sister's remote controlled truck. I also think that I should be able to attach the tripod to my bike's handle bars, for all the fun that will be.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 143
-Today has been a pretty traditional St. John's Christmas eve, cool, but not cold, and wet. As of late, the rain has been on the heavy side, something that doesn't mix particularly well with 18 inches of snow. If the rain keeps up there won't be enough snow for Santa to land on every one's roofs.
-Due to an unforeseen medical emergency the Christmas cooking and baking schedule has been a little modified for this year. Most notably, my cooking related duties have risen dramatically.
I rose to the occasion and prepared our traditional Christmas bread, with only a few minor hitches. Fortunately, in the end, everything seemed to work out in the end, and the nine loaves should be largely edible.
Tonight, I lead the way on the preparation of our Christmas Eve fondue meal. As this meal is cooked at the table the prep time wasn't too bad. The only hitch with this meal was that we forgot to buy bread yesterday meaning that I had to make a quick batch before dinner.
Tomorrow night, instead of the more traditional turkey, it seems that we will be having roast beef. Hopefully this won't be too complicated. I also presume that it will be a team effort.
On the 28th we will finally have our more traditional Christmas dinner with turkey and the rest of associated dishes. This is likely to also be the day on which we conduct our gift exchange, a slight detour from our typical practice.
-Neil and I attended a Christmas party last night. Not only was it great to see a few people that I haven't seen in years, there was some pretty awesome dancing. In particular, the break dancing (including the freezer door move) was pretty good.
-Though we are not doing our gift exchange until the 28th my father, uncle, and I did manage to head out this afternoon to hit the end of the Christmas rush. In all we must have visited about four or five stores between about 3:30 and 5:00. Surprisingly, the trip wasn't all that bad as it seems that most people had already finished their shopping or accepted defeat.
-Somehow I will have to managed to acquire a gift for my father between now and the 28th, though what I had hoped to purchase for him should have been ordered days ago. I am sure that things will work out in the end.
-Due to an unforeseen medical emergency the Christmas cooking and baking schedule has been a little modified for this year. Most notably, my cooking related duties have risen dramatically.
I rose to the occasion and prepared our traditional Christmas bread, with only a few minor hitches. Fortunately, in the end, everything seemed to work out in the end, and the nine loaves should be largely edible.
Tonight, I lead the way on the preparation of our Christmas Eve fondue meal. As this meal is cooked at the table the prep time wasn't too bad. The only hitch with this meal was that we forgot to buy bread yesterday meaning that I had to make a quick batch before dinner.
Tomorrow night, instead of the more traditional turkey, it seems that we will be having roast beef. Hopefully this won't be too complicated. I also presume that it will be a team effort.
On the 28th we will finally have our more traditional Christmas dinner with turkey and the rest of associated dishes. This is likely to also be the day on which we conduct our gift exchange, a slight detour from our typical practice.
-Neil and I attended a Christmas party last night. Not only was it great to see a few people that I haven't seen in years, there was some pretty awesome dancing. In particular, the break dancing (including the freezer door move) was pretty good.
-Though we are not doing our gift exchange until the 28th my father, uncle, and I did manage to head out this afternoon to hit the end of the Christmas rush. In all we must have visited about four or five stores between about 3:30 and 5:00. Surprisingly, the trip wasn't all that bad as it seems that most people had already finished their shopping or accepted defeat.
-Somehow I will have to managed to acquire a gift for my father between now and the 28th, though what I had hoped to purchase for him should have been ordered days ago. I am sure that things will work out in the end.
Friday, December 21, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 142
-Though the temperature in St. John’s has been on the rise, it still seems bitterly cold (which is what wind and water do when combined with sub-zero temperatures). Though I keep expecting it, we haven’t had much snow in the past few days.
-As hinted at in the previous post, last night my father, uncle, brother, sister, and I went to the Rooms for some free beer and an artist’s talk. The free beer, provided by Storm Brewery, was in association with the piece ‘Candahar.’ The artist’s talk was by Annette Manning.
-The fridge and freezer here are on the full side. It is my plan to get people to eat some of the contents so that we will be able to have room to store post-Christmas leftovers. As I haven’t articulated this plan to all that many residents of this house we will have to see how things go.
-My life has been relatively quiet and unsocial since my return. Maybe in the next few days I might actually get around to seeing a few people.
-This jump into the realm of socializing seems somewhat inevitable as I will be attending my grade 7 reunion on Saturday night. It should be just like library school as the gender balance was just about the same, or even a little more skewed.
-Neil is still a slacker and doesn’t seem to be able to find the time to post even though he does find the time to use his computer for several hours a day.
-As hinted at in the previous post, last night my father, uncle, brother, sister, and I went to the Rooms for some free beer and an artist’s talk. The free beer, provided by Storm Brewery, was in association with the piece ‘Candahar.’ The artist’s talk was by Annette Manning.
-The fridge and freezer here are on the full side. It is my plan to get people to eat some of the contents so that we will be able to have room to store post-Christmas leftovers. As I haven’t articulated this plan to all that many residents of this house we will have to see how things go.
-My life has been relatively quiet and unsocial since my return. Maybe in the next few days I might actually get around to seeing a few people.
-This jump into the realm of socializing seems somewhat inevitable as I will be attending my grade 7 reunion on Saturday night. It should be just like library school as the gender balance was just about the same, or even a little more skewed.
-Neil is still a slacker and doesn’t seem to be able to find the time to post even though he does find the time to use his computer for several hours a day.
Free Beer at the Rooms
So it turns out that you will be able to get free beer at the Rooms on every Thursday (except December 27th) until some time in March.
The beer, provided by Storm Brewery, is being given away in association with a piece at the Rooms called ‘Candahar’ by Theo Sims. The piece is the recreation of a traditional Irish pub, hence the beer. It is possible that as the Thursdays progress the piece will develop and adapt to those that visit. In particular, it is hoped that in the coming weeks a musical element will be added. The goal being the creation of the relatively free jam space (with free beer).
It should be noted that while the beer is free, one does have to pay for admission (which grants access to the rest of the Rooms as well).
The beer, provided by Storm Brewery, is being given away in association with a piece at the Rooms called ‘Candahar’ by Theo Sims. The piece is the recreation of a traditional Irish pub, hence the beer. It is possible that as the Thursdays progress the piece will develop and adapt to those that visit. In particular, it is hoped that in the coming weeks a musical element will be added. The goal being the creation of the relatively free jam space (with free beer).
It should be noted that while the beer is free, one does have to pay for admission (which grants access to the rest of the Rooms as well).
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 141
-Today brought with it a somewhat sizable snow storm. As of yet, the high winds and blowing snow have not been as bad as I expected, but as weather seems to be a bit tamer here than in St. John's, maybe this is all we were supposed to get. More interesting was that at about 1:00 PM we had lightning, followed by thunder. This is the first time that I have every experienced either of these phenomena in the snow.
-As of last night I and finished with my busing responsibilities. Unfortunately, a shift I had hoped would provide me with a little extra cash failed to do so. It seems that one sure way to have bad, or almost non-existent tips is to work a externally catered family friendly event. For eight hours of work we each made just a little more than we made in an hour the previous day. Of course, this didn't mean that we had to do any less work.
-My packing is going relatively smoothly. For the most part I am just packing clothing and items that I don't or won't need in Montreal in the coming months. Not surprisingly, my two extra pair of hiking boots, and the extra pair of winter boots that I have should be able to be sent back without too many problems.
The best part about this is that the packing has been very quick. As soon as some socks that I plan on packing air-dry I will be just about done.
-On Friday, after punching out at about 2:00 AM, I went over to a co-worker's apartment for a party. After a few hours I then had the pleasure of walking home at 6:00 AM. The only down side was that the sidewalks were particularly icy, which at one point caused me to slip and wipe-out just north of the Hotel Dieu hospital.
-As I will be flying out tomorrow I thought it might be good to get a sense of how much the storm is messing up today's flights. It seems that a huge number of other people are also interested in seeing how messed up today's flights are, so many that the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport web page is inaccessible because the "server is too busy." Hopefully I will eventually be able to get a sense of the delay situation. Though I don't expect this to be the case, I do hope that my flight isn't too screwed up.
-Neil did make it back safely to St. John's, though he clearly has not found the five minutes or so needed to make a post indicating such.
-As of last night I and finished with my busing responsibilities. Unfortunately, a shift I had hoped would provide me with a little extra cash failed to do so. It seems that one sure way to have bad, or almost non-existent tips is to work a externally catered family friendly event. For eight hours of work we each made just a little more than we made in an hour the previous day. Of course, this didn't mean that we had to do any less work.
-My packing is going relatively smoothly. For the most part I am just packing clothing and items that I don't or won't need in Montreal in the coming months. Not surprisingly, my two extra pair of hiking boots, and the extra pair of winter boots that I have should be able to be sent back without too many problems.
The best part about this is that the packing has been very quick. As soon as some socks that I plan on packing air-dry I will be just about done.
-On Friday, after punching out at about 2:00 AM, I went over to a co-worker's apartment for a party. After a few hours I then had the pleasure of walking home at 6:00 AM. The only down side was that the sidewalks were particularly icy, which at one point caused me to slip and wipe-out just north of the Hotel Dieu hospital.
-As I will be flying out tomorrow I thought it might be good to get a sense of how much the storm is messing up today's flights. It seems that a huge number of other people are also interested in seeing how messed up today's flights are, so many that the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport web page is inaccessible because the "server is too busy." Hopefully I will eventually be able to get a sense of the delay situation. Though I don't expect this to be the case, I do hope that my flight isn't too screwed up.
-Neil did make it back safely to St. John's, though he clearly has not found the five minutes or so needed to make a post indicating such.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Old Time Pork Cake for Christmas
About a year ago, I mentioned to Cheryl that I had a recipe for an “Old Time Pork Cake for Christmas.” After some examination of the recipe we decided that we should try to make a batch of the cake. Unfortunately, neither of us knew where to obtain either ground salt pork or candied citrus peel in Montreal.
After several weeks or months Cheryl located a butcher’s shop on St. Laurent that sold salt pork, though in a pre-ground state. Apparently the butcher’s shop was unwilling to grind the meat, as it would likely damage the grinder. So as we solved one problem we encountered another. It was only some number of months later that my mother offered to loan me her meat grinder (which I will now have to transport back to St. John’s on Monday).
The citrus peel also proved to be a problem. The problem of the citrus peel was compounded as I misinterpreted what the needed ingredient actually was. Instead of dry candied citrus peel, we were actually just looking for the more readily available wet stuff.
While I knew where to find such things in St. John’s, I didn’t have quite as much luck in Montreal. It seems that many baking or related products that one can almost take for granted in St. John’s just don’t exist in the same way in Montreal, citrus peel and salt meat being two examples. Finally this fall I was able to locate a store that sold citrus peel, both the lemon and orange varieties.
Once the ingredients, and the means of preparing them properly, were scouted, the remaining problem seemed to be time. As this isn’t any old cake, but a pork cake, the recipe recommends a three-hour baking time rather than the more standard one-hour.
As term was winding down, I was to soon return the meat grinder it seemed a little more urgent to find an agreeable time. Eventually we arranged to do it after our exam yesterday.
We started the process by visiting the stores on St. Laurent that we had previously scouted for the rare products and acquiring the desired ingredients.
In the butcher shop I asked the woman behind the counter for a cup of salt pork. She didn’t quite seem to know what I want and kept repeating ‘bacon,’ which really wasn’t what I was looking for. Eventually an older butcher came over, clearly having overheard the confusion, and with a wink, said that he would take care of us shortly.
Upon finishing with a customer he slipped into the cold room at the end of the store and vanished for a few minutes. Eventually he re-emerged holding a spike, with which he had skewered a long piece of salt pork. He asked us if this is what we were looking for and I indicated that it was. He draped the meat across a cutting area and placed his knife a few inches in and asked us if that was how much we were looking for. I suggested that we wanted a little more, maybe about another quarter inch.
He cut the meat, slipped it into a plastic bag and handed us back to the woman that had originally tried to serve us. She weighed the meat and gave us the price, $1.89. After paying I took my purchase and felt the meat, which was much softer than I had imagined.
We then went north and found the vegetarian bulk store that I had previously visited in my search for citrus peel. We quickly located the peel and scooped up as much as we thought we likely needed and went to the cash register and paid.
Unfortunately, upon arriving at Cheryl’s apartment we checked the recipe, which neither of us had examined in months, and learned that we had only purchased half as much peel as needed, and didn’t have the raisins or currants that we needed. We were also missing allspice.
A second trip was then made to the vegetarian store. We quickly re-found the peel and scooped the desired quantity. The allspice was also quickly located and an appropriate amount scooped into a bag. Unfortunately, it took us a while to find the currants, mainly because of a lack of familiarity with French vocabulary relating to dried fruit products. In the end we were able to acquire the desired products.
As we were checking out for the second time in less than an hour the cashier, who had also served us the first time, asked, in a friendly way, what it was that we were making. After a moment of collective hesitation, I stated that we were making a pork cake. At first the woman didn’t quite seem to understand what it was that we were making. Eventually we were able to express that it was basically a cake with pork, and raisins, currants, and citrus peel.
Shortly after returning I set to grinding the meat. The grinder was attached to the slat of a bench and a bowl placed beneath the outlet. Quickly at first, and them more slowly, the ground pork started to be extruded from the nozzle. Gradually more of the pork was added to the hopper until it was full and the turning of the crank seemed to be doing nothing. Somehow a break through was reached and the pork once again began to move quickly through the grinder.
Once ground, the pork was mixed with a cup of hot coffee and set outside to cool. It was about at this point that it was realized that even after two shopping trips we still did not have all of the required ingredients. We were missing two-thirds of a cup of molasses. Hugh kindly volunteered to pick some up at the local grocery store.
After the pork and coffee mixture had cooled the traditional cake ingredients, such as the spices, leavening agent, sugar, eggs, molasses, and flour were added. Simultaneously, the fruit, the raisins, currants, and peel, were coated in flour. Eventually the two mixtures were combined, both of which were of similar volumes.
The resulting dough was then added poured into a pan on top of three layers of parchment paper and placed in the oven. After a period of cleaning we basically just had to wait until the cake had finished baking, which we expected to be in about three hours.
Fortunately, the cake was fully baked after only about a two hours. The delicacy was then lifted from the pan and allowed to cool on the parchment paper.
Soon after the baking process was complete we decided to test our product and see if it had been worth the effort, or if it was even edible. Much to my surprise, the cake was very tasty and quite passable, particularly considering that it is a basically a fruit cake.
As it was a rather large cake, and of a somewhat strange composition, Cheryl insisted that I take some with me. So now, Nithum and I, just like most households in North America have a hunk of uneaten seasonal cake sitting somewhere, waiting to be served in case company drops in unexpectedly.
Fortunately, this situation will only last for a few days as it is my intention to the transport the hunk of cake to Newfoundland with me when I head out on Monday. Hopefully it will taste as good in a few days as it did yesterday.
After several weeks or months Cheryl located a butcher’s shop on St. Laurent that sold salt pork, though in a pre-ground state. Apparently the butcher’s shop was unwilling to grind the meat, as it would likely damage the grinder. So as we solved one problem we encountered another. It was only some number of months later that my mother offered to loan me her meat grinder (which I will now have to transport back to St. John’s on Monday).
The citrus peel also proved to be a problem. The problem of the citrus peel was compounded as I misinterpreted what the needed ingredient actually was. Instead of dry candied citrus peel, we were actually just looking for the more readily available wet stuff.
While I knew where to find such things in St. John’s, I didn’t have quite as much luck in Montreal. It seems that many baking or related products that one can almost take for granted in St. John’s just don’t exist in the same way in Montreal, citrus peel and salt meat being two examples. Finally this fall I was able to locate a store that sold citrus peel, both the lemon and orange varieties.
Once the ingredients, and the means of preparing them properly, were scouted, the remaining problem seemed to be time. As this isn’t any old cake, but a pork cake, the recipe recommends a three-hour baking time rather than the more standard one-hour.
As term was winding down, I was to soon return the meat grinder it seemed a little more urgent to find an agreeable time. Eventually we arranged to do it after our exam yesterday.
We started the process by visiting the stores on St. Laurent that we had previously scouted for the rare products and acquiring the desired ingredients.
In the butcher shop I asked the woman behind the counter for a cup of salt pork. She didn’t quite seem to know what I want and kept repeating ‘bacon,’ which really wasn’t what I was looking for. Eventually an older butcher came over, clearly having overheard the confusion, and with a wink, said that he would take care of us shortly.
Upon finishing with a customer he slipped into the cold room at the end of the store and vanished for a few minutes. Eventually he re-emerged holding a spike, with which he had skewered a long piece of salt pork. He asked us if this is what we were looking for and I indicated that it was. He draped the meat across a cutting area and placed his knife a few inches in and asked us if that was how much we were looking for. I suggested that we wanted a little more, maybe about another quarter inch.
He cut the meat, slipped it into a plastic bag and handed us back to the woman that had originally tried to serve us. She weighed the meat and gave us the price, $1.89. After paying I took my purchase and felt the meat, which was much softer than I had imagined.
We then went north and found the vegetarian bulk store that I had previously visited in my search for citrus peel. We quickly located the peel and scooped up as much as we thought we likely needed and went to the cash register and paid.
Unfortunately, upon arriving at Cheryl’s apartment we checked the recipe, which neither of us had examined in months, and learned that we had only purchased half as much peel as needed, and didn’t have the raisins or currants that we needed. We were also missing allspice.
A second trip was then made to the vegetarian store. We quickly re-found the peel and scooped the desired quantity. The allspice was also quickly located and an appropriate amount scooped into a bag. Unfortunately, it took us a while to find the currants, mainly because of a lack of familiarity with French vocabulary relating to dried fruit products. In the end we were able to acquire the desired products.
As we were checking out for the second time in less than an hour the cashier, who had also served us the first time, asked, in a friendly way, what it was that we were making. After a moment of collective hesitation, I stated that we were making a pork cake. At first the woman didn’t quite seem to understand what it was that we were making. Eventually we were able to express that it was basically a cake with pork, and raisins, currants, and citrus peel.
Shortly after returning I set to grinding the meat. The grinder was attached to the slat of a bench and a bowl placed beneath the outlet. Quickly at first, and them more slowly, the ground pork started to be extruded from the nozzle. Gradually more of the pork was added to the hopper until it was full and the turning of the crank seemed to be doing nothing. Somehow a break through was reached and the pork once again began to move quickly through the grinder.
Once ground, the pork was mixed with a cup of hot coffee and set outside to cool. It was about at this point that it was realized that even after two shopping trips we still did not have all of the required ingredients. We were missing two-thirds of a cup of molasses. Hugh kindly volunteered to pick some up at the local grocery store.
After the pork and coffee mixture had cooled the traditional cake ingredients, such as the spices, leavening agent, sugar, eggs, molasses, and flour were added. Simultaneously, the fruit, the raisins, currants, and peel, were coated in flour. Eventually the two mixtures were combined, both of which were of similar volumes.
The resulting dough was then added poured into a pan on top of three layers of parchment paper and placed in the oven. After a period of cleaning we basically just had to wait until the cake had finished baking, which we expected to be in about three hours.
Fortunately, the cake was fully baked after only about a two hours. The delicacy was then lifted from the pan and allowed to cool on the parchment paper.
Soon after the baking process was complete we decided to test our product and see if it had been worth the effort, or if it was even edible. Much to my surprise, the cake was very tasty and quite passable, particularly considering that it is a basically a fruit cake.
As it was a rather large cake, and of a somewhat strange composition, Cheryl insisted that I take some with me. So now, Nithum and I, just like most households in North America have a hunk of uneaten seasonal cake sitting somewhere, waiting to be served in case company drops in unexpectedly.
Fortunately, this situation will only last for a few days as it is my intention to the transport the hunk of cake to Newfoundland with me when I head out on Monday. Hopefully it will taste as good in a few days as it did yesterday.
Monday, December 10, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 141
-Today has been another cool and clear Winters day. It seems that some snow has been forecast for this evening, though I don’t think that this was really supposed to amount to much, maybe just a light dusting.
-Moments ago I was recalling the days when I used to cringe at the thought of being required to complete a 500 word or a 1000 word essay. Though I am still not the world’s most prolific or natural writer, I am able to look back on those days and laugh. Not only would it have not been possible to say all that much in 500 or 1000 words, it couldn’t possibly have taken that long if I had put my mind to it (something I still have a problem doing).
-The Globe and Mail is reporting that Joe Clark was punched in the face while walking down the street in Montreal yesterday. Fortunately this has not yet happened to me in Montreal.
-Twice in the past few days I have made wiener schnitzel. In both instances I was pretty pleased with the result.
-In about a week I will be back in St. John’s. Though I don’t have any major plans I am looking forward to the trip. As usual, I hope to be able to spend a fair bit of time reading.
-It seems that our apartment building didn’t get its usual Sunday supply of grocery store fliers yesterday. How am I to know what to buy if they can’t get the fliers out to me?
-Moments ago I was recalling the days when I used to cringe at the thought of being required to complete a 500 word or a 1000 word essay. Though I am still not the world’s most prolific or natural writer, I am able to look back on those days and laugh. Not only would it have not been possible to say all that much in 500 or 1000 words, it couldn’t possibly have taken that long if I had put my mind to it (something I still have a problem doing).
-The Globe and Mail is reporting that Joe Clark was punched in the face while walking down the street in Montreal yesterday. Fortunately this has not yet happened to me in Montreal.
-Twice in the past few days I have made wiener schnitzel. In both instances I was pretty pleased with the result.
-In about a week I will be back in St. John’s. Though I don’t have any major plans I am looking forward to the trip. As usual, I hope to be able to spend a fair bit of time reading.
-It seems that our apartment building didn’t get its usual Sunday supply of grocery store fliers yesterday. How am I to know what to buy if they can’t get the fliers out to me?
Sunday, December 09, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 140
-Today has been another cool, clear day. As there hasn’t been all that much wind the cool temperatures have not been all that problematic.
-At about 1:00 AM last night about 10 police cars, with their lights flashing, congregated on the corner of Milton and Parc. Neither Nithum nor I could figure out what was going on.
It seems that the cars raced to the location with their sirens blaring and lights flashing, only to stop at the aforementioned location. Once there, cars were able to pass without interruption on Parc, and weave through from Milton to Parc.
For about 15 minutes the police cars just seemed to sit near the corner, lights flashing. Then the police cars, without a reason being obvious, left as quickly as they arrived.
-Yesterday morning I baked two loaves of bread for breakfast. Though I have now done this on a multiple of occasions, I hope that I soon learn that bread really takes to long to prepare to be considered a appropriate thing to make for breakfast.
-Today, for no apparent reason, I baked some raspberry almond bars. Maybe later this evening I will try to sample this batch.
-Several days ago I moved my bike from street level to our balcony. A few days after that I moved my bike from our balcony to our living room. For the past number of days it has been sitting below our living room window, not particularly doing much of anything.
As the bike has been doing much these days, except taking up space, and as we don’t have a Christmas tree, nor as we likely to obtain one, I requested Nithum’s permission to decorate the bike in a seasonal fashion. Nithum OKed the idea and I have since started to adorn the bike with paper snowflakes, Christmas lights, and our lone commercially produced ornament.
-Today I read that there are 82 000 000 people in Germany and 79 000 000 cell phones. I also learned that Austria, Belgium, and China are Germany’s three largest trading partners.
-It seems that in the past few years I have started to combine foods in a frying based almost solely on availability. For instance, tonight for dinner I took out the frying pan threw in red onions, garlic, mashed potatoes, couscous, celery, and wiener schnitzel. Though I was satisfied with the result I can’t imagine that I will ever encounter it again (except the portion that was leftover and that I will eat either tonight or tomorrow).
-At about 1:00 AM last night about 10 police cars, with their lights flashing, congregated on the corner of Milton and Parc. Neither Nithum nor I could figure out what was going on.
It seems that the cars raced to the location with their sirens blaring and lights flashing, only to stop at the aforementioned location. Once there, cars were able to pass without interruption on Parc, and weave through from Milton to Parc.
For about 15 minutes the police cars just seemed to sit near the corner, lights flashing. Then the police cars, without a reason being obvious, left as quickly as they arrived.
-Yesterday morning I baked two loaves of bread for breakfast. Though I have now done this on a multiple of occasions, I hope that I soon learn that bread really takes to long to prepare to be considered a appropriate thing to make for breakfast.
-Today, for no apparent reason, I baked some raspberry almond bars. Maybe later this evening I will try to sample this batch.
-Several days ago I moved my bike from street level to our balcony. A few days after that I moved my bike from our balcony to our living room. For the past number of days it has been sitting below our living room window, not particularly doing much of anything.
As the bike has been doing much these days, except taking up space, and as we don’t have a Christmas tree, nor as we likely to obtain one, I requested Nithum’s permission to decorate the bike in a seasonal fashion. Nithum OKed the idea and I have since started to adorn the bike with paper snowflakes, Christmas lights, and our lone commercially produced ornament.
-Today I read that there are 82 000 000 people in Germany and 79 000 000 cell phones. I also learned that Austria, Belgium, and China are Germany’s three largest trading partners.
-It seems that in the past few years I have started to combine foods in a frying based almost solely on availability. For instance, tonight for dinner I took out the frying pan threw in red onions, garlic, mashed potatoes, couscous, celery, and wiener schnitzel. Though I was satisfied with the result I can’t imagine that I will ever encounter it again (except the portion that was leftover and that I will eat either tonight or tomorrow).
Thursday, December 06, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 139
-Today was another nice winter-ish day. We have snow on the ground and temperatures were below freezing, but not particularly cold.
-In a break with tradition, I will actually be doing something social tonight. I will be attending the library school Christmas party at Thomson House. As it officially started a few minutes ago I should probably be on my way.
-Tonight I finally got around to looking for some articles on DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers). From my basic understanding of these things it seems somewhat shocking that they haven’t been mentioned yet in library school. I guess we do have 4 months left.
-As I am out of bread and all other baked goods it seems that it is once again time for me to do some baking. Maybe I will get around to doing this on the weekend, and then study while the goods are in the oven.
-I had my last class for the semester last night. From here on out I have to complete one take home exam, one assignment, and a regular exam. Hopefully all will go well.
-In a break with tradition, I will actually be doing something social tonight. I will be attending the library school Christmas party at Thomson House. As it officially started a few minutes ago I should probably be on my way.
-Tonight I finally got around to looking for some articles on DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers). From my basic understanding of these things it seems somewhat shocking that they haven’t been mentioned yet in library school. I guess we do have 4 months left.
-As I am out of bread and all other baked goods it seems that it is once again time for me to do some baking. Maybe I will get around to doing this on the weekend, and then study while the goods are in the oven.
-I had my last class for the semester last night. From here on out I have to complete one take home exam, one assignment, and a regular exam. Hopefully all will go well.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 138
-Today start much like yesterday, with snow and a little bit of wind. As the day turned into night it seems that both the snow and the wind found more habitable locales as they don’t seem to have stuck around to wait for the clean up. It was also much warmer today than the day before the storm, I can’t really comment about yesterday’s temperatures as I didn’t venture outdoors.
-Today, just like the past few days, was full of schoolwork. Just moments ago I killed off another assignment, which means only about three more things on which to be graded for the rest of the semester. Unfortunately, as I have been working on other pieces of work these final three items have received less attention, though I guess I have a few more during which I can focus attention on them.
-Now that I have discovered that the space between my two window-panes can be used to cool beer I am using it more frequently for such activities. This means that I no longer have to either drink warm beer (which I don’t mind all that much) or go to the fridge when I would like a cold beer.
-My stash of leftovers is still holding up nicely. I think that I should get by for another few days without having to cook anything other than starch products and vegetables.
-Today I saw a job posting for a cataloging position in Fargo, North Dakota. I looked at the map only to find that Fargo seems to be about 150 miles from anywhere, which is nice if you like that kind of thing. I am a little more used to being about 1000 miles and a body of water from anywhere.
-At least one of you thinks that I am being hard on Montreal, which may be true. Though it is also true that Montreal has particularly dirty dust. Unfortunately, I tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive (as everyone can see the positive, and I only I can immediately spot the negative elements in any given situation). In the future, if I come across anything that is particularly striking (in a good way) about Montreal I will try to mention it, at least if I remember.
-Today, just like the past few days, was full of schoolwork. Just moments ago I killed off another assignment, which means only about three more things on which to be graded for the rest of the semester. Unfortunately, as I have been working on other pieces of work these final three items have received less attention, though I guess I have a few more during which I can focus attention on them.
-Now that I have discovered that the space between my two window-panes can be used to cool beer I am using it more frequently for such activities. This means that I no longer have to either drink warm beer (which I don’t mind all that much) or go to the fridge when I would like a cold beer.
-My stash of leftovers is still holding up nicely. I think that I should get by for another few days without having to cook anything other than starch products and vegetables.
-Today I saw a job posting for a cataloging position in Fargo, North Dakota. I looked at the map only to find that Fargo seems to be about 150 miles from anywhere, which is nice if you like that kind of thing. I am a little more used to being about 1000 miles and a body of water from anywhere.
-At least one of you thinks that I am being hard on Montreal, which may be true. Though it is also true that Montreal has particularly dirty dust. Unfortunately, I tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive (as everyone can see the positive, and I only I can immediately spot the negative elements in any given situation). In the future, if I come across anything that is particularly striking (in a good way) about Montreal I will try to mention it, at least if I remember.
Monday, December 03, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 137
-It seems that the snowstorm that we were promised for yesterday arrived some time in the early hours of the morning, The wind that was promised to come along with the storm didn’t arrive until a few hours later, and then it seemed to have been tired out by the trip as it wasn’t particularly strong.
-Twice in the past few days I have made Raspberry Almond Bars. Not only are these pretty easy, they taste good and (if one doesn’t count the butter and sugar) approximate granola with fruit.
-Today has been another fun filled day of schoolwork. So far I have put in time on at least three projects, and plan on putting in a few more hours on one of them.
Even after this small rush is over on Wednesday I will have not time to rest as I will then have to be right back at it for the following Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Though after the final three day run I am done for the year and can focus on such activities as packing, busing tables, and Christmas shopping.
-It seems that even in the winter Montreal is a city with particularly dirty dust.
-Twice in the past few days I have made Raspberry Almond Bars. Not only are these pretty easy, they taste good and (if one doesn’t count the butter and sugar) approximate granola with fruit.
-Today has been another fun filled day of schoolwork. So far I have put in time on at least three projects, and plan on putting in a few more hours on one of them.
Even after this small rush is over on Wednesday I will have not time to rest as I will then have to be right back at it for the following Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Though after the final three day run I am done for the year and can focus on such activities as packing, busing tables, and Christmas shopping.
-It seems that even in the winter Montreal is a city with particularly dirty dust.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 136
-As of yet we still have not received the snow storm that we have been promised for today. It seems that the promised temperatures did come through, meaning that it has been on the cool side all day.
-In an unnecessary attempt to beat the snowstorm, I made a mid-morning trip to a local shopping center to make a few purchases. In particular I hoped to buy batteries, an alarm clock, and a rubber pad for winter footwear. Fortunately I was able to find all of these items in one store and return home only about an hour after I departed.
With the 12 pack of AA batteries I received a small voice recorder that can double as a Christmas ornament. If Nithum and I chose to use the item in this way it will be our first, and likely only, Christmas ornament of the season.
The rubber pad that I purchased was originally intended for use in a car or van. The reason I purchased it was that it was the same price and about twice the size of other products that I saw that would accomplish the same end. Hopefully that I did not purchase a pad specifically designed for footwear won’t upset Nithum.
The alarm clock was the most time consuming of my purchases. I almost got suckered into buying a $40 clock that had projection and wire thermometer capabilities. Fortunately common sense prevailed and I made a more reasonably priced purchase. Unfortunately, I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to set the clock once I returned home. It seemed to be displaying a time but was not allowing me to change the time, only the day, month, and year. Anyway, after about 15 minutes I finally read the box and learned that I had purchased a self-setting clock (even though they include a heading in the instructions about how to set the time without actually telling you how). So far it seems to work, though I am worried about using it in Newfoundland as I don’t think that it has an appropriate time zone option.
-For dinner tonight I prepared a pot roast. As I am only one person I thought that 7 potatoes and 4 carrots would do. As it turned out, I only managed to eat three of the potatoes and will be able to have the rest of leftovers at some point this week. Combined with my previously existing leftovers, it looks as though I may not have to do all that much cooking for the next couple of days.
-In an unnecessary attempt to beat the snowstorm, I made a mid-morning trip to a local shopping center to make a few purchases. In particular I hoped to buy batteries, an alarm clock, and a rubber pad for winter footwear. Fortunately I was able to find all of these items in one store and return home only about an hour after I departed.
With the 12 pack of AA batteries I received a small voice recorder that can double as a Christmas ornament. If Nithum and I chose to use the item in this way it will be our first, and likely only, Christmas ornament of the season.
The rubber pad that I purchased was originally intended for use in a car or van. The reason I purchased it was that it was the same price and about twice the size of other products that I saw that would accomplish the same end. Hopefully that I did not purchase a pad specifically designed for footwear won’t upset Nithum.
The alarm clock was the most time consuming of my purchases. I almost got suckered into buying a $40 clock that had projection and wire thermometer capabilities. Fortunately common sense prevailed and I made a more reasonably priced purchase. Unfortunately, I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to set the clock once I returned home. It seemed to be displaying a time but was not allowing me to change the time, only the day, month, and year. Anyway, after about 15 minutes I finally read the box and learned that I had purchased a self-setting clock (even though they include a heading in the instructions about how to set the time without actually telling you how). So far it seems to work, though I am worried about using it in Newfoundland as I don’t think that it has an appropriate time zone option.
-For dinner tonight I prepared a pot roast. As I am only one person I thought that 7 potatoes and 4 carrots would do. As it turned out, I only managed to eat three of the potatoes and will be able to have the rest of leftovers at some point this week. Combined with my previously existing leftovers, it looks as though I may not have to do all that much cooking for the next couple of days.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 135
-In the past few days the temperatures have really dropped. It seems that we are now at about -15, and are scheduled to stay in this range for at least another couple of hours. More importantly, we are scheduled to get our first substantial snowfall as of tomorrow afternoon. As I plan on working on school work at the dining room table I should have a pretty good view of the proceedings.
-There are a few fire trucks that have been in front of the building next to mine for some time now. As there doesn’t seem to be too much action and no new trucks have come in the past twenty minutes I feel that I can safely rule out fire as a possibility. Hopefully nothing too serious has transpired.
-On Thursday night Steven and I went to a talk by Oliver Sacks. In many ways it was exactly what I expected, neurological problems as they relate to perception and interaction with music. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you too much about the talk as I seem to have fallen asleep for the middle section.
While question and answer sessions after talks are usually quite unpleasant this one was particularly bad. The first individual to ask a question attempted to show the breadth of his reading and depth of his intellect only to fall flat on his face. Unfortunately a few other also asked rather broad and pointless questions about the nature of music and creativity, something that clearly isn’t in Sacks’ area of expertise (and he deserves credit for willingness not to provide a phony answer). The other type of question, which I presume occur wherever Sacks’ talks, is the desire for an on-the-spot diagnosis for a friend or family member’s condition. Fortunately there was only one of this latter type of question as was totally inappropriate and impossible to answer given the circumstances.
-After the talk I went up to Thomson House for the Mustache and Cleavage Party. I was amazed to find that I was by no means the only one with a mustache. Also, several people showed up with cleavage in tow.
-Hopefully within the next few days I will be able to buy a low cost thermometer and be able to provide temperature readings from our apartment. At the moment I am sure that my room is a shockingly low temperature (so cold that I am using my windowsill as fridge substitute. I may have to try to warm things up once Nithum returns as I know that he likes things a little warmer than I do.
-Several days ago my alarm clock crapped out. It seems that the radio function and the projection function still work, but that the clock and alarm components are completely non-functional. This has meant that I have been reliant on my iPod and speakers to function as an alarm clock. The problem with the set-up is that I seem to sleep through the single beep about 1 out of 2 time. For instance, my nap this evening went from about half an hour to an hour and a half without my even knowing what was going on. Things like this can’t happen too many more time. Maybe I will have to get some motivation and try to buy a new clock tomorrow.
-There are a few fire trucks that have been in front of the building next to mine for some time now. As there doesn’t seem to be too much action and no new trucks have come in the past twenty minutes I feel that I can safely rule out fire as a possibility. Hopefully nothing too serious has transpired.
-On Thursday night Steven and I went to a talk by Oliver Sacks. In many ways it was exactly what I expected, neurological problems as they relate to perception and interaction with music. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you too much about the talk as I seem to have fallen asleep for the middle section.
While question and answer sessions after talks are usually quite unpleasant this one was particularly bad. The first individual to ask a question attempted to show the breadth of his reading and depth of his intellect only to fall flat on his face. Unfortunately a few other also asked rather broad and pointless questions about the nature of music and creativity, something that clearly isn’t in Sacks’ area of expertise (and he deserves credit for willingness not to provide a phony answer). The other type of question, which I presume occur wherever Sacks’ talks, is the desire for an on-the-spot diagnosis for a friend or family member’s condition. Fortunately there was only one of this latter type of question as was totally inappropriate and impossible to answer given the circumstances.
-After the talk I went up to Thomson House for the Mustache and Cleavage Party. I was amazed to find that I was by no means the only one with a mustache. Also, several people showed up with cleavage in tow.
-Hopefully within the next few days I will be able to buy a low cost thermometer and be able to provide temperature readings from our apartment. At the moment I am sure that my room is a shockingly low temperature (so cold that I am using my windowsill as fridge substitute. I may have to try to warm things up once Nithum returns as I know that he likes things a little warmer than I do.
-Several days ago my alarm clock crapped out. It seems that the radio function and the projection function still work, but that the clock and alarm components are completely non-functional. This has meant that I have been reliant on my iPod and speakers to function as an alarm clock. The problem with the set-up is that I seem to sleep through the single beep about 1 out of 2 time. For instance, my nap this evening went from about half an hour to an hour and a half without my even knowing what was going on. Things like this can’t happen too many more time. Maybe I will have to get some motivation and try to buy a new clock tomorrow.
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