-Today has been another in the series of less than stellar days that we have had recently. Unlike recent days, thundershowers have been forecast for this afternoon (something of a meteorological rarity in St. John's).
-On Saturday night I went bowling with Greg and Nikita. We first played a game of ten pin before switching over to five pin. The five pin game we played was incredibly close. As we entered the tenth frame it was still anyone's game, though I quickly managed to knock myself out of contention by muffing up my first ball. Eventually Greg found his way to the top, and Nikita to second place, leaving me at the back of the pack.
-Yesterday, while looking through the pantry, I came across some bean soup mix. Not surprisingly, as I am fixated on cooking beans, I decided to try to prepare some of the soup. While I seem to have followed most of the instructions and used most of the called for ingredients it still seems as though the soup as that less than ideal smell that I so frequently get when I prepare beans.
While I have not yet had a chance to try the soup (it will be served for supper tonight) I am pretty sure that it won't be that good, and yet another piece of evidence to suggest that I am completely unable to prepare beans (including coffee).
-This morning, as I prepared myself for work, it appeared to be raining. Given this information, and a desire to have dry clothing at work, I decided to wear my rain suit to work. It seems that almost as soon as I started on my way to work the rain basically stopped, though I was still wearing my rain suit (and sandals). As I continued to walk I hoped that the rain would start, mainly to justify my wearing of a somewhat preposterous outfit (particularly if it is not really raining).
Anyway, the rain stayed away and I was able to arrive at work completely dry, though this had nothing to do with the fact that I was wearing a rain suit.
-We played a few games of Settlers yesterday. I managed to win a few of the games. By the end of the day I was considered enough of a threat to merit the pre-game burn call (an honour that had previously only been bestowed upon Neil). Even more impressive was that I will still able win the final game even though the "burn had been called."
-While looking through some LCC schedules today I learned that their is a class number for materials about the 'hardcore unemployed.' Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find the class number that would be used for materials about 'hardcore folk music.'
-As it was a little cool this morning I decided that I would wear a sweater under my rain suit. As I was to be heading to a library it seemed most appropriate for me to wear a cardigan. Once I arrived at work I found my boss was also wearing a cardigan, and the other worker had a cardigan (though she wasn't wearing it). I presume my other co-workers would have been wearing cardigans had they not taken today off.
-Just as I was about to head to work my mother asked me if I had been planning on shaving before going to work.. Surprisingly, I actually had been planning on shaving, but seem to have let it slip my mind in the pre-work rush. I guess it will have to wait for another day (likely Wednesday).
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Needed Maintenance
Yesterday I learned that my friend has a new blog. My guess is that this blog will primarily document her experiences in Laos over the coming year, and then, presumably, her life thereafter (if she decides to keep it going).
Anyway, this got me thinking about the various things (mainly links) that are on this blog. It seemed reasonable to include a link to Nicole's blog, as well as tidying up a few of the links that Neil and I haven't really thought about for some period of time (basically since we put them up many months ago).
So this morning I finally tidied things up a little. A few of the broken links, or site that are no longer updated, have been removed, and a few that I do regularly check have been added. Also, I finally ditched the Library Thing widget that I hadn't updated in about a year.
Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to add a few more, and possibly a little structure, to the links that we do provide in the sidebar of the blog (as I know many people use this site to satisfy a range of information needs).
Anyway, this got me thinking about the various things (mainly links) that are on this blog. It seemed reasonable to include a link to Nicole's blog, as well as tidying up a few of the links that Neil and I haven't really thought about for some period of time (basically since we put them up many months ago).
So this morning I finally tidied things up a little. A few of the broken links, or site that are no longer updated, have been removed, and a few that I do regularly check have been added. Also, I finally ditched the Library Thing widget that I hadn't updated in about a year.
Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to add a few more, and possibly a little structure, to the links that we do provide in the sidebar of the blog (as I know many people use this site to satisfy a range of information needs).
A Few Quick Notes 190
-Today, like yesterday, is not as nice a day as I would have liked. Instead of having sun and clear skies we are back to fog and rain. This deterioration in physical beauty seems to have caused the temperatures to have dropped by about 10 degrees, presumably just because mother nature likes to kick people when they are down.
-At some point yesterday afternoon I decided to bake some bread. When I eventually got around to rounding up the necessary ingredients I found out that I was going to be a little short on the fats side of things.
Fortunately a quick trip to the store put me back on track (and also reminded me that we were short on oats).
As I started collecting the flours and grains I learned that we had some kind of multi grain flour. As I had never seen this used before I thought that I would give it a try and see how it worked. One noticeable difference is that the bread has more visible grains than before (even though I have tended to use many non-flour ingredients).
Eventually we ended up with 8 grainy loaves. Unfortunately, as is commonly the case, I had no interest in tasting the bread once it came out of the oven. Luckily, my father was able to taste the bread and seems to have given it a basing grade.
-Yesterday evening I received an email that suggested that I wasn't fully/properly registered for my ultimate team this summer. While this may be the case (though I did complete the online registration) they seem to have received my money and also placed my name on the team list. I am not sure how these two things occurred without my full-fledged registration.
-It seems that we are either entering wedding or now completely in the middle of wedding season. My parents will be attending a wedding this afternoon while I have one to attend in a few weeks. It seems that I know of at least one or two other couples who will also be getting married this summer.
What I don't quite understand is why so many of my acquaintances are getting married this particular summer, and why I haven't experience so many weddings in past summers. On the other hand, this could just be the beginning of a multi-year trend among members of my peer group (as we are entering the marrying age).
-My laptop is painfully slow.
-Last weekend I was able to remove a bookcase from the area between my desk and my bed. My room now feels much more open. What I am now wondering is why I didn't work on this issue as early as last summer (when the bookcase mysteriously appeared in my room).
-As usual, this morning I made my way over to Georgetown bakery to buy a dozen bagels. Unlike recent trips, I was not accompanied by my sister, who is at Guide camp. Though her absence meant that I had to do everything myself I would still classify the trip as a success.
-At some point yesterday afternoon I decided to bake some bread. When I eventually got around to rounding up the necessary ingredients I found out that I was going to be a little short on the fats side of things.
Fortunately a quick trip to the store put me back on track (and also reminded me that we were short on oats).
As I started collecting the flours and grains I learned that we had some kind of multi grain flour. As I had never seen this used before I thought that I would give it a try and see how it worked. One noticeable difference is that the bread has more visible grains than before (even though I have tended to use many non-flour ingredients).
Eventually we ended up with 8 grainy loaves. Unfortunately, as is commonly the case, I had no interest in tasting the bread once it came out of the oven. Luckily, my father was able to taste the bread and seems to have given it a basing grade.
-Yesterday evening I received an email that suggested that I wasn't fully/properly registered for my ultimate team this summer. While this may be the case (though I did complete the online registration) they seem to have received my money and also placed my name on the team list. I am not sure how these two things occurred without my full-fledged registration.
-It seems that we are either entering wedding or now completely in the middle of wedding season. My parents will be attending a wedding this afternoon while I have one to attend in a few weeks. It seems that I know of at least one or two other couples who will also be getting married this summer.
What I don't quite understand is why so many of my acquaintances are getting married this particular summer, and why I haven't experience so many weddings in past summers. On the other hand, this could just be the beginning of a multi-year trend among members of my peer group (as we are entering the marrying age).
-My laptop is painfully slow.
-Last weekend I was able to remove a bookcase from the area between my desk and my bed. My room now feels much more open. What I am now wondering is why I didn't work on this issue as early as last summer (when the bookcase mysteriously appeared in my room).
-As usual, this morning I made my way over to Georgetown bakery to buy a dozen bagels. Unlike recent trips, I was not accompanied by my sister, who is at Guide camp. Though her absence meant that I had to do everything myself I would still classify the trip as a success.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 189
-I awoke this morning to find that I was in the midst of another fine day. Just like the recent past, things have been sunny and warm (but not hot). Hopefully this means that things have finally turned around and that the overcast skies of late May and early June are done with.
-Yesterday I received a notice from the IRS that my economic stimulus cheque is on the way. Today when I arrived home from work I found that it had arrived. Unfortunately, I may have to use the money to pay my tuition fees rather than stimulate the US economy. Maybe if they keep giving these out I will eventually be able to spend on in the US.
-Just before sunset I realized that it would be a great time to ride my unicycle. All that I needed to do to get the machine road-ready was to add air to the tires. Amazingly, I don't seem to have lost much riding ability in the off season. Unfortunately, I still don't seem to be able to idle or ride backwards (skills that I will try to work on later this summer). In total I probably rode a kilometer or two (which is a nice distance when one is just getting back in the saddle).
Later in the evening, once I realized that my mother would have the car for a good chunk of time, I decided to get my bike out and ride to the grocery store. Just like with the unicycle, the only maintenance that was required was the addition of air to the tires (something that was quickly dealt with). Soon enough I was making my way on the largely up-hill trip to the grocery store.
Hopefully my riding of both wheeled-machines will continue. Eventually I would like to be able to ride out to Cowan Heights without too much effort (but this might be a ways off as I don't know when I will have the time to practice).
-We had an ultimate game tonight. The final score was 15-2. We were slaughtered, and in no way aided by my consistently poor play.
-Frequently on my way to work I stop for a coffee, which I then drink as I continue my walk. While it is common for me to find a number of people in line ahead of me, the lines tend to be of manageable lengths and move quickly. Even lines extending past the entrance and out into the lobby can be dealt with in only a few minutes.
Though I hadn't seen a particularly long line at this coffee shop for the past number of weeks I was looking forward to witnessing one again, if only so I could watch the skill with which members of the line were processed. It seems that I got my wish the morning. The line extended well into the lobby (but not as far as I have seen it on occasion).
Something that I noticed almost as soon as I entered the line was that it seemed to be comprised of one-off customers as opposed to regulars. The result of such a line composition is that the staff can't pre-pour/prepare a regular order as they normally can.
-Today while cataloging I read that Snow Crab should really be called Queen crab. The report went on to suggest that the name Snow crab was only used in the marketing of the product.
A related report stated that both Iceland and Giant scallops are harvested off the coast of Newfoundland.
-Yesterday, while at work I noticed that there seemed to be a fair amount of dried grass under and around my desk and chair. At first this really baffled me because there didn't seem to be too much dried grass in the other parts of the library. Eventually I reached the conclusion that I must be picking up the grass on my walk to work as cross a dew soaked field and then depositing the grass as my shoes dry while I sit at my desk. As I find the presence of this grass somewhat embarrassing I may have to make an effort to dislodge the grass from my shoes before I enter the building.
-Because of my sister's successful completion of grade 7 we went out for dinner tonight. The restaurant that was selected for the occasion was Tangled Up in Blue. The restaurant serves dishes based on Australian cuisine and happens to be owned by a woman that was in my elementary school class. The experience and food were quite pleasant. As other reviews have suggested, the coffee and deserts seemed to be particular strengths.
-Yesterday I received a notice from the IRS that my economic stimulus cheque is on the way. Today when I arrived home from work I found that it had arrived. Unfortunately, I may have to use the money to pay my tuition fees rather than stimulate the US economy. Maybe if they keep giving these out I will eventually be able to spend on in the US.
-Just before sunset I realized that it would be a great time to ride my unicycle. All that I needed to do to get the machine road-ready was to add air to the tires. Amazingly, I don't seem to have lost much riding ability in the off season. Unfortunately, I still don't seem to be able to idle or ride backwards (skills that I will try to work on later this summer). In total I probably rode a kilometer or two (which is a nice distance when one is just getting back in the saddle).
Later in the evening, once I realized that my mother would have the car for a good chunk of time, I decided to get my bike out and ride to the grocery store. Just like with the unicycle, the only maintenance that was required was the addition of air to the tires (something that was quickly dealt with). Soon enough I was making my way on the largely up-hill trip to the grocery store.
Hopefully my riding of both wheeled-machines will continue. Eventually I would like to be able to ride out to Cowan Heights without too much effort (but this might be a ways off as I don't know when I will have the time to practice).
-We had an ultimate game tonight. The final score was 15-2. We were slaughtered, and in no way aided by my consistently poor play.
-Frequently on my way to work I stop for a coffee, which I then drink as I continue my walk. While it is common for me to find a number of people in line ahead of me, the lines tend to be of manageable lengths and move quickly. Even lines extending past the entrance and out into the lobby can be dealt with in only a few minutes.
Though I hadn't seen a particularly long line at this coffee shop for the past number of weeks I was looking forward to witnessing one again, if only so I could watch the skill with which members of the line were processed. It seems that I got my wish the morning. The line extended well into the lobby (but not as far as I have seen it on occasion).
Something that I noticed almost as soon as I entered the line was that it seemed to be comprised of one-off customers as opposed to regulars. The result of such a line composition is that the staff can't pre-pour/prepare a regular order as they normally can.
-Today while cataloging I read that Snow Crab should really be called Queen crab. The report went on to suggest that the name Snow crab was only used in the marketing of the product.
A related report stated that both Iceland and Giant scallops are harvested off the coast of Newfoundland.
-Yesterday, while at work I noticed that there seemed to be a fair amount of dried grass under and around my desk and chair. At first this really baffled me because there didn't seem to be too much dried grass in the other parts of the library. Eventually I reached the conclusion that I must be picking up the grass on my walk to work as cross a dew soaked field and then depositing the grass as my shoes dry while I sit at my desk. As I find the presence of this grass somewhat embarrassing I may have to make an effort to dislodge the grass from my shoes before I enter the building.
-Because of my sister's successful completion of grade 7 we went out for dinner tonight. The restaurant that was selected for the occasion was Tangled Up in Blue. The restaurant serves dishes based on Australian cuisine and happens to be owned by a woman that was in my elementary school class. The experience and food were quite pleasant. As other reviews have suggested, the coffee and deserts seemed to be particular strengths.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Google Analytics: A few days on
As I mentioned a few days ago, I recently started tracking usage on Montifax with Google Analytics. While we are only about two weeks into the tracking there are a few trends that seem to be developing.
Most notably, it seems that our users are, as expected, coming largely from regions inhabited by people we know. This means that St. John's, Halifax, and Montreal are three of the world-wide hotbeds of readership, while a few other North American cities have also shown up on lists of locations of people checking the site. As time goes on we seem to be getting the occasional hit from other countries and other parts of Canada and the US. I think that I was most surprised to see China, Turkey, and Indonesia on the list of countries that have had Montifax related activity from inside their borders. As exciting as it is to get a new country, these still don't represent a large portion of overall readership/visitors (as I wouldn't want to assume that just because one visits a blog that they actually read the content).
Another trend seems to be developing in terms of daily visitors. Though we had one day with only about two, a more typical days see anywhere from 7 to 13 people check the site. While not staggering by any means, it does seem to be regular (and more volume that I can generate by checking on three different computers).
A more surprising trend is that on most days one or two people find Montifax through web searches (and on a few days up to three people found us Montifax this way). While most find us through Google, a few have found us through Yahoo (but those seem to be the only search engines people have used to find us). The range of search terms used to find us is quite impressive. Not only have people been found us when searching for the Goobies Moose, but also when searching with the following search strings: 'she served us topless,' 'market research coffee table books,' not wearing underwear,' and 'newfoundland beer consumption.'
While it seems that part of the point of Google Analytics is to help webmasters/administrators increase traffic we haven't seemed to be able to use the service to achieve such ends. Mainly access to the service has allowed us (more specifically me) to see how people are accessing the site and generally how many readers we get on a daily basis. While most of this isn't all that important or useful I have enjoyed having the information. Furthermore, this gives me something else on the web to check on a daily basis when I really can't find some more useful way of using my time.
Most notably, it seems that our users are, as expected, coming largely from regions inhabited by people we know. This means that St. John's, Halifax, and Montreal are three of the world-wide hotbeds of readership, while a few other North American cities have also shown up on lists of locations of people checking the site. As time goes on we seem to be getting the occasional hit from other countries and other parts of Canada and the US. I think that I was most surprised to see China, Turkey, and Indonesia on the list of countries that have had Montifax related activity from inside their borders. As exciting as it is to get a new country, these still don't represent a large portion of overall readership/visitors (as I wouldn't want to assume that just because one visits a blog that they actually read the content).
Another trend seems to be developing in terms of daily visitors. Though we had one day with only about two, a more typical days see anywhere from 7 to 13 people check the site. While not staggering by any means, it does seem to be regular (and more volume that I can generate by checking on three different computers).
A more surprising trend is that on most days one or two people find Montifax through web searches (and on a few days up to three people found us Montifax this way). While most find us through Google, a few have found us through Yahoo (but those seem to be the only search engines people have used to find us). The range of search terms used to find us is quite impressive. Not only have people been found us when searching for the Goobies Moose, but also when searching with the following search strings: 'she served us topless,' 'market research coffee table books,' not wearing underwear,' and 'newfoundland beer consumption.'
While it seems that part of the point of Google Analytics is to help webmasters/administrators increase traffic we haven't seemed to be able to use the service to achieve such ends. Mainly access to the service has allowed us (more specifically me) to see how people are accessing the site and generally how many readers we get on a daily basis. While most of this isn't all that important or useful I have enjoyed having the information. Furthermore, this gives me something else on the web to check on a daily basis when I really can't find some more useful way of using my time.
A Few Quick Notes 188
-Though things started off poorly today, by mid-morning we were in the midst of a rather fine day. Again, we had clear skies and reasonable temperatures. As far as I am concerned I can deal with the crappy, overcast mornings if the afternoons and evenings were always this nice.
-As I was preparing my lunch this morning I noticed that we were out of carrots, and peppers. While in past months this wouldn't have been too much of a problem, I am presently in this midst of a quite the vegetable surge. So for the first time in almost a month I didn't have to prepare vegetables with the rest of my lunch. On the consumption end this was also a little frustrating, a few carrot sticks would have gone quite nicely with my sandwich and piece of gingerbread.
-It seems that I missed the first episode of the Gordon Pinsent obituary show. More troubling is that I may have completely misunderstood when it was to air. It now looks as though I was 12 hours off the scheduled time. Even worse that just missing the show or the correct time is that I have now learned that it is likely that the show will only be broadcast during the work day, making regular listening almost impossible.
-Last night my parents, sister, and I played Pictionary. My parents played on a team against my sister and I. More than ever before it seemed as though there were a ridiculously large number of all-plays. It seemed that we could hardly go a turn without an all-play hitting.
Even worse than the large number of non-category specific all-plays was the one that Kirsten and I were stuck on for about 30 minutes. We couldn't seem to catch a break. Do any of you know how hard it is to draw 'hangover' for a 12 year-old girl? Another one that we were hit with, 'box cars,' was particularly hard considering that we haven't had trains in this province for longer than Kirsten has been alive.
Not surprisingly, we were smoked. I am not sure that we even made it half-way around the board. I guess my desire to exchange Cranium for Pictionary as the family game isn't quite about to happen.
-At about 2:00 PM today Kirsten called to see if I was free to go to Mount Pearl. At first I wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about, particularly as I was then at work and would be for the next few hours (and I knew that they knew this). Eventually I was able to piece things together and confirm that they were in fact just about to head to Mount Pearl, and seemingly thought that I could just drop work and take the trip out with them. They didn't seem to quite understand that being at work means that I can't just take off with no notice, even if I will eventually have to head to Mount Pearl at some point this summer to get a new driver's license photo taken.
-For a second Thursday in a row my weekly ultimate game will fall on a Thursday. Though I am likely in a minority, Friday would really be preferable to this. Furthermore, this is likely to be a hard fought game against one of the more experienced teams (More Cowbell) in our division. Hopefully we will be able to pull out a victory.
-As I was preparing my lunch this morning I noticed that we were out of carrots, and peppers. While in past months this wouldn't have been too much of a problem, I am presently in this midst of a quite the vegetable surge. So for the first time in almost a month I didn't have to prepare vegetables with the rest of my lunch. On the consumption end this was also a little frustrating, a few carrot sticks would have gone quite nicely with my sandwich and piece of gingerbread.
-It seems that I missed the first episode of the Gordon Pinsent obituary show. More troubling is that I may have completely misunderstood when it was to air. It now looks as though I was 12 hours off the scheduled time. Even worse that just missing the show or the correct time is that I have now learned that it is likely that the show will only be broadcast during the work day, making regular listening almost impossible.
-Last night my parents, sister, and I played Pictionary. My parents played on a team against my sister and I. More than ever before it seemed as though there were a ridiculously large number of all-plays. It seemed that we could hardly go a turn without an all-play hitting.
Even worse than the large number of non-category specific all-plays was the one that Kirsten and I were stuck on for about 30 minutes. We couldn't seem to catch a break. Do any of you know how hard it is to draw 'hangover' for a 12 year-old girl? Another one that we were hit with, 'box cars,' was particularly hard considering that we haven't had trains in this province for longer than Kirsten has been alive.
Not surprisingly, we were smoked. I am not sure that we even made it half-way around the board. I guess my desire to exchange Cranium for Pictionary as the family game isn't quite about to happen.
-At about 2:00 PM today Kirsten called to see if I was free to go to Mount Pearl. At first I wasn't exactly sure what they were talking about, particularly as I was then at work and would be for the next few hours (and I knew that they knew this). Eventually I was able to piece things together and confirm that they were in fact just about to head to Mount Pearl, and seemingly thought that I could just drop work and take the trip out with them. They didn't seem to quite understand that being at work means that I can't just take off with no notice, even if I will eventually have to head to Mount Pearl at some point this summer to get a new driver's license photo taken.
-For a second Thursday in a row my weekly ultimate game will fall on a Thursday. Though I am likely in a minority, Friday would really be preferable to this. Furthermore, this is likely to be a hard fought game against one of the more experienced teams (More Cowbell) in our division. Hopefully we will be able to pull out a victory.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 187
-For the third day in a row we have had pretty decent weather. While we now have blue skies, they were not visible when I awoke. Strangely, the temperature seems to be higher than predicted, but still not particularly hot and unpleasant.
-At some point during the night before last I was awoken by the ka-chunk feeling of a kidney stone moving through my innards. Fortunately this wasn't a bothersome enough experience to truly jar me from my sleep (probably because I knew that there was nothing that I could really do about the matter at that point in time). Anyway, after a few brief, but sharp, spurts of pain I seem to have reverted back to my status quo antebellum (and the 'bellum' would be a reference the mono that I experienced last summer).
-While looking through the Globe today I saw an article about a new CBC Radio One show to be hosted by Gordon Pinsent. My understanding is that the show will basically be radio obituaries for individuals who are not particularly well known. As I am a big fan of obituaries and CBC Radio One I will have to make an effort to tune into the first show this evening (though it would really be better if the show was available via podcast).
-The newspaper also gave me some surprising news about George Carlin. It seems that Mr. Carlin passed away on Sunday.
Just a few days ago I listened to an interview that suggested that Mr. Carlin played an important role in the growth/changing of American comedy. His use of 'obscenities' might be the aspect of his comedy that is most famous, and, at the time, groundbreaking.
-Yesterday, while looking through my wallet I noticed that I had a few unused Roll-up-the-Rim winners that I hadn't used. All three of them were doughnuts. I guess it would seem that I might not eat as many doughnuts as I once used to.
-While at work today I competed in a long putt competition. The goal was to get one's ball as close to an 'x' on the ground as possible. Due to a slight mis-understanding of the rules I didn't take advantage of the fact that I could bounce by ball off the walls as well as the door behind the 'x.' The result was that my balls were pretty wimpily swatted done the course for poor results while other were really rocketed a the target for fair degrees of success.
-At some point during the night before last I was awoken by the ka-chunk feeling of a kidney stone moving through my innards. Fortunately this wasn't a bothersome enough experience to truly jar me from my sleep (probably because I knew that there was nothing that I could really do about the matter at that point in time). Anyway, after a few brief, but sharp, spurts of pain I seem to have reverted back to my status quo antebellum (and the 'bellum' would be a reference the mono that I experienced last summer).
-While looking through the Globe today I saw an article about a new CBC Radio One show to be hosted by Gordon Pinsent. My understanding is that the show will basically be radio obituaries for individuals who are not particularly well known. As I am a big fan of obituaries and CBC Radio One I will have to make an effort to tune into the first show this evening (though it would really be better if the show was available via podcast).
-The newspaper also gave me some surprising news about George Carlin. It seems that Mr. Carlin passed away on Sunday.
Just a few days ago I listened to an interview that suggested that Mr. Carlin played an important role in the growth/changing of American comedy. His use of 'obscenities' might be the aspect of his comedy that is most famous, and, at the time, groundbreaking.
-Yesterday, while looking through my wallet I noticed that I had a few unused Roll-up-the-Rim winners that I hadn't used. All three of them were doughnuts. I guess it would seem that I might not eat as many doughnuts as I once used to.
-While at work today I competed in a long putt competition. The goal was to get one's ball as close to an 'x' on the ground as possible. Due to a slight mis-understanding of the rules I didn't take advantage of the fact that I could bounce by ball off the walls as well as the door behind the 'x.' The result was that my balls were pretty wimpily swatted done the course for poor results while other were really rocketed a the target for fair degrees of success.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 186
-For a change, the sun was actually visible and the skies blue when I arose this morning. My memory is that this is about the first time that I have had this experience in about a month. To go along with this visibly nice weather the temperatures have actually risen and are now year room temperature. Unfortunately, cloud cover has threatened, but been defeated, at several points today.
-As part of the seemingly never ending room clean-up that I have been working on for weeks I managed to do some coin rolling today. While it took me a while to get through the few pounds of coins that I had, it didn't take as long as I originally imagined that it would.
When everything was sorted and wrapped I ended up with:
-19 rolls of pennies for a total of $9.50
-6 rolls of nickels for a total of $12.00
-5 rolls of dimes for a total of $25.00.
With a few quarters and loonies tossed into the mix the total of sorted coinage was approaching $55.00.
-After an abortive trip to Plaza Bowl for some Saturday night bowling I ended up going for a beer at Big Ben's Pub. As Greg, Nikita, and I walked in it was immediately clear that this wasn't all that happening a night at this local pub. Aside from the three of us, everyone in the bar was playing or watching the VLTs.
Though some might not be so keen on such a bar experience, I was actually pretty pleased. We didn't have to wait in line at the bar. Prices were pretty standard, and would have been great if we had noticed the specials sign when we walked in. Possibly most importantly, the place wasn't too loud. We were able to carry on a conversation without yelling or trying to be heard above the noise of the other clients.
-Yesterday we received a call from some friends. They were calling to tell us that they were in Witless Bay and wondering if we would be interested in having them for dinner if they could get some fresh snow crab. Not surprisingly my parents quickly agreed.
Though I am not an eater of crab (or any invertebrates) I did enjoy watch the process of consumption, particularly as it involved covering the table with newspaper and then piling exoskeleton on the table. Also, like fondue, the meal tends to be longer and more drawn out than usual as the cooking is done during the meal rather than before (making it a very social food).
-Great to see that Neil has finally posted again. It is somewhat impressive that only when he is getting ready to move can he find the time to post.
-As part of the seemingly never ending room clean-up that I have been working on for weeks I managed to do some coin rolling today. While it took me a while to get through the few pounds of coins that I had, it didn't take as long as I originally imagined that it would.
When everything was sorted and wrapped I ended up with:
-19 rolls of pennies for a total of $9.50
-6 rolls of nickels for a total of $12.00
-5 rolls of dimes for a total of $25.00.
With a few quarters and loonies tossed into the mix the total of sorted coinage was approaching $55.00.
-After an abortive trip to Plaza Bowl for some Saturday night bowling I ended up going for a beer at Big Ben's Pub. As Greg, Nikita, and I walked in it was immediately clear that this wasn't all that happening a night at this local pub. Aside from the three of us, everyone in the bar was playing or watching the VLTs.
Though some might not be so keen on such a bar experience, I was actually pretty pleased. We didn't have to wait in line at the bar. Prices were pretty standard, and would have been great if we had noticed the specials sign when we walked in. Possibly most importantly, the place wasn't too loud. We were able to carry on a conversation without yelling or trying to be heard above the noise of the other clients.
-Yesterday we received a call from some friends. They were calling to tell us that they were in Witless Bay and wondering if we would be interested in having them for dinner if they could get some fresh snow crab. Not surprisingly my parents quickly agreed.
Though I am not an eater of crab (or any invertebrates) I did enjoy watch the process of consumption, particularly as it involved covering the table with newspaper and then piling exoskeleton on the table. Also, like fondue, the meal tends to be longer and more drawn out than usual as the cooking is done during the meal rather than before (making it a very social food).
-Great to see that Neil has finally posted again. It is somewhat impressive that only when he is getting ready to move can he find the time to post.
What's up with me
So it's been a while since I've posted. I'll start off with a quick summary of my last couple months.
In October, I got home safely from my trip to Georgia for the INTEGERS conference. November must have been pretty uneventful, because I don't remember it. Christmas was a little lame, haha, but good. In January I went to a conference in Banff. The conference was in my research area, Combinatorial Game Theory, and I was happy to meet Elwyn Berlekamp and Richard Guy among others. After the conference I spent a couple days in Calgary with friends (who shall remain nameless as per Cameron's convention). Then I spent about 24 hours in/going to/coming from airports, finally arriving back in Halifax. In February, March and April I was mostly doing schoolwork. However, in that time I attended talks given by Gwynne Dyer, Preston Manning and Art Benjamin (a mathemagician). Also, I went to the East Coast Combinatorics Conference (ECCCCCCCC) in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In May, Rebecca and I found a place for the three of us to live in September. Subsequently our living room was filled with boxes shipped on Montreal.
Next week, Kirsten comes for a visit and we're moving.
Today, Rebecca's father arrives. He drove here via the Port-aux-Basques ferry. Also, I have a ultimate (frisbee) game today. I joined a team that played last year and has a couple of my friends on it. Today will be our third game. Our record so far is 1-1. Fortunately all our games so far have been at 'The Commons', which is within walking distance. Unfortunately next week's game is much further away, and thus I'll have a bum a ride with someone.
I'll finish'er off with a quick weather report. It is sunny, and the internet says it is warm. Our apartment is quite cool became the hasn't been hitting our side of the building for very long, and not much other than direct sunlight warms us up at 27 floors.
In October, I got home safely from my trip to Georgia for the INTEGERS conference. November must have been pretty uneventful, because I don't remember it. Christmas was a little lame, haha, but good. In January I went to a conference in Banff. The conference was in my research area, Combinatorial Game Theory, and I was happy to meet Elwyn Berlekamp and Richard Guy among others. After the conference I spent a couple days in Calgary with friends (who shall remain nameless as per Cameron's convention). Then I spent about 24 hours in/going to/coming from airports, finally arriving back in Halifax. In February, March and April I was mostly doing schoolwork. However, in that time I attended talks given by Gwynne Dyer, Preston Manning and Art Benjamin (a mathemagician). Also, I went to the East Coast Combinatorics Conference (ECCCCCCCC) in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In May, Rebecca and I found a place for the three of us to live in September. Subsequently our living room was filled with boxes shipped on Montreal.
Next week, Kirsten comes for a visit and we're moving.
Today, Rebecca's father arrives. He drove here via the Port-aux-Basques ferry. Also, I have a ultimate (frisbee) game today. I joined a team that played last year and has a couple of my friends on it. Today will be our third game. Our record so far is 1-1. Fortunately all our games so far have been at 'The Commons', which is within walking distance. Unfortunately next week's game is much further away, and thus I'll have a bum a ride with someone.
I'll finish'er off with a quick weather report. It is sunny, and the internet says it is warm. Our apartment is quite cool became the hasn't been hitting our side of the building for very long, and not much other than direct sunlight warms us up at 27 floors.
Friday, June 20, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 185
-As predicted, today was another was a relatively low quality day. We started things off with overcast skies, low temperatures, and a little precipitation. This was followed my more of the same, but with a little less precipitation for much of the work day. Just as I was walking home from work the precipitation levels picked up a little, though not too much. It seems more of the same has been predicted for the coming days (only on Tuesday is any sun predicted).
-Some of the beans that I planted almost three weeks ago have started to sprout. In particular, it seems that one or two, maybe even three, of the scarlet runner beans have popped up. At least one of the yellow or green beans has also showed signs of life.
These recent developments are giving me some hope that I will be lucky enough to have a few more plants over the coming days. Maybe I will soon have a much better sense of how much re-planting will be needed.
-Soon after returning from work I decided to take a quick nap. Unfortunately I ended up sleeping for almost three hours. Now, later in the evening, I feel much more awake that I would like to be at this time of day.
-Almost as soon as I awoke from my nap I saw a recipe for bread on my floor and decided to try and make it. The deciding factor was that the recipe was for beer bread, a concept that I found particularly enticing.
As the recipe was from a British flour bag things were done a little differently. Instead of in cups ingredients were listed in grams and ounces and millilitres. This difference allowed me to use our kitchen scale for the first time, something that was a little easier than I would have predicted.
Another difference with regards to this batch of bread from others that I have made recently was that I made it in a mixer using a dough hook. While this cut out the hand stirring it did make things a little easier, particularly the kneading and initial mixing.
A third major difference was that the bread called for only one session of rising. I am typically used to letting my dough rise twice, the second time in the pans in which the bread will eventually be baked.
-As the bread was baking I realized that my friends Dave and Amanda were just about to move away. As it was likely that they would be driving I thought that they could possibly use a loaf of bread on their travels, and dropping such a loaf off would be an excuse to see them off.
As the bread was just about to come out of the oven my parents returned and agreed that the idea seemed reasonable, the only problem being that they were due to leave very early the next morning.
Eventually we just decided to head out and try to find them and drop off the bread and say good-bye. Fortunately, almost as soon as we pulled into the driveway at the house where we suspected they were staying Dave pulled up the drive. Soon after Amanda joined us in the driveway and we were able to talk for a while.
-To kill the day off I will be engaging in some Settlers. Hopefully we will have good boards, unlike some of the more recent games I have played.
-Some of the beans that I planted almost three weeks ago have started to sprout. In particular, it seems that one or two, maybe even three, of the scarlet runner beans have popped up. At least one of the yellow or green beans has also showed signs of life.
These recent developments are giving me some hope that I will be lucky enough to have a few more plants over the coming days. Maybe I will soon have a much better sense of how much re-planting will be needed.
-Soon after returning from work I decided to take a quick nap. Unfortunately I ended up sleeping for almost three hours. Now, later in the evening, I feel much more awake that I would like to be at this time of day.
-Almost as soon as I awoke from my nap I saw a recipe for bread on my floor and decided to try and make it. The deciding factor was that the recipe was for beer bread, a concept that I found particularly enticing.
As the recipe was from a British flour bag things were done a little differently. Instead of in cups ingredients were listed in grams and ounces and millilitres. This difference allowed me to use our kitchen scale for the first time, something that was a little easier than I would have predicted.
Another difference with regards to this batch of bread from others that I have made recently was that I made it in a mixer using a dough hook. While this cut out the hand stirring it did make things a little easier, particularly the kneading and initial mixing.
A third major difference was that the bread called for only one session of rising. I am typically used to letting my dough rise twice, the second time in the pans in which the bread will eventually be baked.
-As the bread was baking I realized that my friends Dave and Amanda were just about to move away. As it was likely that they would be driving I thought that they could possibly use a loaf of bread on their travels, and dropping such a loaf off would be an excuse to see them off.
As the bread was just about to come out of the oven my parents returned and agreed that the idea seemed reasonable, the only problem being that they were due to leave very early the next morning.
Eventually we just decided to head out and try to find them and drop off the bread and say good-bye. Fortunately, almost as soon as we pulled into the driveway at the house where we suspected they were staying Dave pulled up the drive. Soon after Amanda joined us in the driveway and we were able to talk for a while.
-To kill the day off I will be engaging in some Settlers. Hopefully we will have good boards, unlike some of the more recent games I have played.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Amicus, where did you go?
Soon after I arrived at work today I logged into Amicus, the Canadian National Catalogue, as is my practice. All seemed to be going as normal until about an hour or so into the day. All of a sudden I seemed not to be able to complete my searches, and then eventually I became unable to even access the splash page.
Assuming that this was a brief glitch I decided that I would leave it alone and come back in a few days. As I checked back during the problems were clearly still persisting.
Eventually I thought that maybe there would be an update or explanation somewhere online. Unfortunately, as the entire Library and Archives Canada site was inaccessible the most obvious location for such a notice was unavailable. In the end I tried to look in a few place, all of which turned up nothing. As I am pretty sure that there must be a message board with comments related to this occurrence I may have to continue my searching tomorrow (even though the problem has now been resolved).
Not surprisingly, with Amicus down, I decided to head over to the Library of Congress catalogue, assuming that their classifications of particular items would be pretty authoritative. Once in the catalog I learned that they too were having service problems. In this case the message I received indicated that they had reached their maximum user capacity.
While it is quite possible that this is what happened, I wonder if they were operating at diminished capacity as I have a very hard time believing that it is such a popular site that it would max out its capacity. Who knows, maybe I hit prime East coast cataloging time. As I don't use the service as much as I use Amicus I am not really in a position to say that this doesn't happen every day at that time.
Hopefully everything will be back on track tomorrow and their to serve my classification related needs.
Assuming that this was a brief glitch I decided that I would leave it alone and come back in a few days. As I checked back during the problems were clearly still persisting.
Eventually I thought that maybe there would be an update or explanation somewhere online. Unfortunately, as the entire Library and Archives Canada site was inaccessible the most obvious location for such a notice was unavailable. In the end I tried to look in a few place, all of which turned up nothing. As I am pretty sure that there must be a message board with comments related to this occurrence I may have to continue my searching tomorrow (even though the problem has now been resolved).
Not surprisingly, with Amicus down, I decided to head over to the Library of Congress catalogue, assuming that their classifications of particular items would be pretty authoritative. Once in the catalog I learned that they too were having service problems. In this case the message I received indicated that they had reached their maximum user capacity.
While it is quite possible that this is what happened, I wonder if they were operating at diminished capacity as I have a very hard time believing that it is such a popular site that it would max out its capacity. Who knows, maybe I hit prime East coast cataloging time. As I don't use the service as much as I use Amicus I am not really in a position to say that this doesn't happen every day at that time.
Hopefully everything will be back on track tomorrow and their to serve my classification related needs.
A Few Quick Notes 184
-Though today was forecast to be a nice day, things don't seem to have worked out like that. Instead of the predicted clear skies and temperatures in the mid-teens we seem to have overcast skies with temperatures holding steady near 10 degrees. Furthermore, the forecast has now gone from including some sun in the 5 day forecast to now a copy/paste approach of just predicting rain/fog for the next five days.
-I had a pretty large lunch today. Along with my roast beef sandwich I had two lamb chops, two carrots, and half of an orange pepper.
-Amazingly I am already sending things to Halifax for the Fall. Rebecca's father will be transporting a few boxes to Halifax for me. Hopefully such planning will mean that I won't have all that much to pack when I eventually get around to moving myself there at the end of the summer.
-We managed to pull off another win at tonight's ultimate game. As with the past two games, playing against relatively new teams has been helpful. The plan is to get a practice in before next week's game, something that I think will be useful.
-For the first time I was able to legitimately use the subclass VD (Naval seamen). As petty a joke as it is, I was quite pleased to have actually come across a book that topic that I was allowed to catalogue. If my luck keeps up, maybe I will eventually get to put a Bible in the BS section.
-Last night, while heading into a bar, I was IDed. This shocked me as the person I was walking in with is exactly 3 months older and was not IDed. Furthermore, that they are IDing me suggests that I look as though I am no older than 18, which is something that I find hard to believe. Also, how many eighteen year-olds go out on a Wednesday night at a non-happening bar with someone who looks so much older?
Anyway, I guess it isn't that big a deal, but for some reason it really gets to me.
-I had a pretty large lunch today. Along with my roast beef sandwich I had two lamb chops, two carrots, and half of an orange pepper.
-Amazingly I am already sending things to Halifax for the Fall. Rebecca's father will be transporting a few boxes to Halifax for me. Hopefully such planning will mean that I won't have all that much to pack when I eventually get around to moving myself there at the end of the summer.
-We managed to pull off another win at tonight's ultimate game. As with the past two games, playing against relatively new teams has been helpful. The plan is to get a practice in before next week's game, something that I think will be useful.
-For the first time I was able to legitimately use the subclass VD (Naval seamen). As petty a joke as it is, I was quite pleased to have actually come across a book that topic that I was allowed to catalogue. If my luck keeps up, maybe I will eventually get to put a Bible in the BS section.
-Last night, while heading into a bar, I was IDed. This shocked me as the person I was walking in with is exactly 3 months older and was not IDed. Furthermore, that they are IDing me suggests that I look as though I am no older than 18, which is something that I find hard to believe. Also, how many eighteen year-olds go out on a Wednesday night at a non-happening bar with someone who looks so much older?
Anyway, I guess it isn't that big a deal, but for some reason it really gets to me.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 183
-Though today started off just like yesterday, overcast with hints of precipitation, things have really turned around. We now have clear blue skies and temperatures above 10. Hopefully this will last a few days, or at least a few more hours.
-Yesterday I managed to get two quick games of Settlers in. The first game, though eventually won by Peter, was remarkably close. I was about a card away from winning the turn before Peter eventually won. Fortunately, things turned around for me in the second game and I was able to trounce my opponents, even though I started with only 4 numbers.
-Last night I continued with my room cleaning operation. I was able to recycle all kinds of papers and documents that I have been storing, but not touching, for years. Another important step forward was the filing of a number of classes of documents, including pay stubs and bank statements. Hopefully with another few hours I will have things under control (though I know that even at the end of this process I will still have too many belongings).
-Through Google Analytics I have learned that at least two people seem to have found the site because of Google searches for the Goobies moose. This means that not only were people looking for things relating to the Goobies moose, but also that they selected a link to Montifax at some point during their search. I can't imagine that they were anything but disappointed by the results, particularly as it was only mentioned in passing, and certainly not discussed or described to any great extent (though note that I am re-using popular search terms to try and generate more search related traffic).
-As I was leaving work I noticed that my sunglasses seemed to be bent. As I was gently trying to unbend them they snapped in my hands. Not only does this mean that I managed to break my sunglasses, it also means that I will be without sunglasses for my ultimate game tomorrow, something that may or may not be a problem.
-Yesterday I managed to get two quick games of Settlers in. The first game, though eventually won by Peter, was remarkably close. I was about a card away from winning the turn before Peter eventually won. Fortunately, things turned around for me in the second game and I was able to trounce my opponents, even though I started with only 4 numbers.
-Last night I continued with my room cleaning operation. I was able to recycle all kinds of papers and documents that I have been storing, but not touching, for years. Another important step forward was the filing of a number of classes of documents, including pay stubs and bank statements. Hopefully with another few hours I will have things under control (though I know that even at the end of this process I will still have too many belongings).
-Through Google Analytics I have learned that at least two people seem to have found the site because of Google searches for the Goobies moose. This means that not only were people looking for things relating to the Goobies moose, but also that they selected a link to Montifax at some point during their search. I can't imagine that they were anything but disappointed by the results, particularly as it was only mentioned in passing, and certainly not discussed or described to any great extent (though note that I am re-using popular search terms to try and generate more search related traffic).
-As I was leaving work I noticed that my sunglasses seemed to be bent. As I was gently trying to unbend them they snapped in my hands. Not only does this mean that I managed to break my sunglasses, it also means that I will be without sunglasses for my ultimate game tomorrow, something that may or may not be a problem.
Good but not quite great
Over the past few weeks I have had to frequently use Amicus, the Canadian National Catalogue, a service maintained by Library and Archives Canada. One of the important feature of this service is that it shows which libraries (of those that participate in the program) have copies of particular items. Also, Amicus acts as the catalogue of Library and Archives Canada, Canada's national library. While this is typically a relatively pleasant experience, there are a few quirks that I haven't been able to figure our, or don't quite like.
One of the more useful features relates to call numbers. When Amicus lists the various libraries that have a particular item they also indicate whether or not it is available for inter-library loan, and what the local call number is. This last feature is something that I have been finding increasingly useful as one tends to be able to view a range of call number, or classification numbers, that have been assigned to a given book. Not only does this help overcome some of the inadequacies of the Library of Congress Classification schedules indexes, it can give some insight into how others have approached the classification of a particular item.
Unfortunately, poor indexing makes finding particular items more difficult than it should be. Because the catalogue records are culled from catalogues maintained by other libraries, not all records are of the same quality or follow the same rules. One of the most problematic and noticeable of these irregularities is the frequent inclusion of the leading article in the 'title' field. Because articles are not always included or ignored one has to perform two searches, one with the article and one without, when browsing a listing of available titles.
A related problem is one of multiple records for the same item. As records are gather electronically, without human interference, even small differences result in an additional record being created rather than the integration of the holdings information into a single record (as would be desirable). While I do see that this is a difficult problem to overcome it makes looking for items with minor differences difficult, particularly if the records lack detail and specificity.
More interesting is that sometimes a library's catalogue will show that they have something, but the item is not reflected in the location list in Amicus. At first I thought that this must be associated to update frequency and changes to the local catalogue, but upon further inspection it seems that items catalogued years ago are not being reflected in the Amicus records. Now that my seemingly plausible theory has been shot down I have no idea what explains they differences.
In a more limited number of cases the opposite of the above situation occurs. In some cases Amicus indicates a library has something but then the library's own catalogue indicates that they do not actually have the item. Fortunately, I am not involved with inter-library loan activities, but if I was I am sure that these problems would be pretty frustrating.
One of the more useful features relates to call numbers. When Amicus lists the various libraries that have a particular item they also indicate whether or not it is available for inter-library loan, and what the local call number is. This last feature is something that I have been finding increasingly useful as one tends to be able to view a range of call number, or classification numbers, that have been assigned to a given book. Not only does this help overcome some of the inadequacies of the Library of Congress Classification schedules indexes, it can give some insight into how others have approached the classification of a particular item.
Unfortunately, poor indexing makes finding particular items more difficult than it should be. Because the catalogue records are culled from catalogues maintained by other libraries, not all records are of the same quality or follow the same rules. One of the most problematic and noticeable of these irregularities is the frequent inclusion of the leading article in the 'title' field. Because articles are not always included or ignored one has to perform two searches, one with the article and one without, when browsing a listing of available titles.
A related problem is one of multiple records for the same item. As records are gather electronically, without human interference, even small differences result in an additional record being created rather than the integration of the holdings information into a single record (as would be desirable). While I do see that this is a difficult problem to overcome it makes looking for items with minor differences difficult, particularly if the records lack detail and specificity.
More interesting is that sometimes a library's catalogue will show that they have something, but the item is not reflected in the location list in Amicus. At first I thought that this must be associated to update frequency and changes to the local catalogue, but upon further inspection it seems that items catalogued years ago are not being reflected in the Amicus records. Now that my seemingly plausible theory has been shot down I have no idea what explains they differences.
In a more limited number of cases the opposite of the above situation occurs. In some cases Amicus indicates a library has something but then the library's own catalogue indicates that they do not actually have the item. Fortunately, I am not involved with inter-library loan activities, but if I was I am sure that these problems would be pretty frustrating.
Monday, June 16, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 182
-Not surprisingly, today was filled with rain and overcast skies. As was the case yesterday, winds were low, and temperatures were at least approaching ten for much of the day. Apparently, though I don't know on what basis this is being suggested, we are due for some temperatures in the teens and maybe even a clear-ish day in the the near future.
-It seems that when writing my post about our foray into the realm of usage stats with Google Analytics I hadn't noticed that we seem to have actually had one hit apiece from both Indonesia and South Korea, though I can't imagine why. I guess in the future I will need to pay more attention to the light shades of green on the map displaying the origins of our visitors. Sorry if anyone's feelings were hurt through my omission.
-Kirsten and I took another trip to the library this evening. I did a little reading in one of the books that I checked out last trip and also skimmed/read sections of political science journals. My general goal is to re-familiarize myself with some of the literature of the field before I return as a student in the fall.
-Today I was able to set up my Dalhousie email address. Unfortunately, this was much more complicated that in should have been. Instead of quickly creating a NetID and password I hand to dink around for a long time and then eventually use a backdoor that Neil found to finally have a password issued. Though I couldn't believe it at first, I think that Dalhousie might have a less user friendly system than McGill.
The big plus of the Dalhousie system is that they allow me to get my university email in my Gmail account (which is particularly important considering how cumbersome the webmail application is). While McGill allowed this for a period of time they eventually clamped down and disallowed the access that was needed, costing me valuable minutes a day.
-On Thursday I should be sending a few more things to Halifax, this time with Rebecca's father. I guess I really should start to box some of this up so that it will be ready to go when he arrives in two day's time.
I am particularly looking forward to being able to use the mixer once I arrive. While in Montreal I was forced to return to the stone ages and mix everything by hand. A few of the other kitchen related implements will also be quite nice (particularly when complimented by those already possessed by Neil and Rebecca).
-It seems that when writing my post about our foray into the realm of usage stats with Google Analytics I hadn't noticed that we seem to have actually had one hit apiece from both Indonesia and South Korea, though I can't imagine why. I guess in the future I will need to pay more attention to the light shades of green on the map displaying the origins of our visitors. Sorry if anyone's feelings were hurt through my omission.
-Kirsten and I took another trip to the library this evening. I did a little reading in one of the books that I checked out last trip and also skimmed/read sections of political science journals. My general goal is to re-familiarize myself with some of the literature of the field before I return as a student in the fall.
-Today I was able to set up my Dalhousie email address. Unfortunately, this was much more complicated that in should have been. Instead of quickly creating a NetID and password I hand to dink around for a long time and then eventually use a backdoor that Neil found to finally have a password issued. Though I couldn't believe it at first, I think that Dalhousie might have a less user friendly system than McGill.
The big plus of the Dalhousie system is that they allow me to get my university email in my Gmail account (which is particularly important considering how cumbersome the webmail application is). While McGill allowed this for a period of time they eventually clamped down and disallowed the access that was needed, costing me valuable minutes a day.
-On Thursday I should be sending a few more things to Halifax, this time with Rebecca's father. I guess I really should start to box some of this up so that it will be ready to go when he arrives in two day's time.
I am particularly looking forward to being able to use the mixer once I arrive. While in Montreal I was forced to return to the stone ages and mix everything by hand. A few of the other kitchen related implements will also be quite nice (particularly when complimented by those already possessed by Neil and Rebecca).
More vacation time than I can use
A few days ago I learned that, due to my contractual status, I will be due some vacation/sick days. Just today I received an email confirming how many days I would be due and when I can take them.
It seems that I get about 2 days a month and they can be used as either sick days or vacation days. The only catch when it comes to these days is that one can't use them until one has been employed for 60 days.
Under normal circumstances this likely wouldn't be much of a problem. But when one only has a 13 week contract it is a bit of a different matter. As I will only be working 65 days this means that I am not even eligible to take any of the days until my last week of work, at which point I can't possibly use all of my available days.
Fortunately there is a handy solution to the problem, if one can even consider this a problem. It seems that if I don't take the days I will just be paid for them, meaning I basically have a week of pay after the termination of my employment, which will be quite nice (particularly as it will likely be a high cost week). Fortunately, I will likely have some medical condition crop up that will manage to throw all of this out of whack and thus prevent me from being paid for post-termination days.
Now that I have figured out my vacation/sick days I need to figure out how to get out of my pension. And I guess while I am at it, I might as well try to find out if I have inadvertently been signed up for any other benefits that I might want to at least know about before I fail to take advantage of them.
It seems that I get about 2 days a month and they can be used as either sick days or vacation days. The only catch when it comes to these days is that one can't use them until one has been employed for 60 days.
Under normal circumstances this likely wouldn't be much of a problem. But when one only has a 13 week contract it is a bit of a different matter. As I will only be working 65 days this means that I am not even eligible to take any of the days until my last week of work, at which point I can't possibly use all of my available days.
Fortunately there is a handy solution to the problem, if one can even consider this a problem. It seems that if I don't take the days I will just be paid for them, meaning I basically have a week of pay after the termination of my employment, which will be quite nice (particularly as it will likely be a high cost week). Fortunately, I will likely have some medical condition crop up that will manage to throw all of this out of whack and thus prevent me from being paid for post-termination days.
Now that I have figured out my vacation/sick days I need to figure out how to get out of my pension. And I guess while I am at it, I might as well try to find out if I have inadvertently been signed up for any other benefits that I might want to at least know about before I fail to take advantage of them.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Google Analytics and Montifax: A Partnership Built in Heaven?
About a week ago I learned of a new service provided by Google. The service is called Google Analytics and it provides relatively detailed traffic statistics for websites. One adds a section of code to one's website and then sits back and waits for the various stats to role in.
Almost immediately I thought that such a service could be used with Montifax so that Neil and I could get some sense of our readership. Not only would be be able to tell, to a limited degree, how many people were reading Montifax, but where they lived and how they were coming to the site (i.e. searches, referrals, or direct traffic).
So far none of the stats that have become available have been that surprising. Most of the readers, such as they are, are from the St. John's/Mount Pearl area, with Halifax the obvious second place. New York and Michigan (the two locations from which my uncle would check the site) are also represented. On top of that there seem to be a few people in the Montreal region, the Toronto region, Alberta, and B.C. (On the other hand, there are a number of people that could be reading by means not accessible to this application, RSS feeds being the most obvious means by which this could be occurring).
Even less surprising than the locations of the readers are the numbers. I would guess that the handful of regular readers are all people that are known to me (as I can't imagine anyone that didn't know Neil or I taking the time to read this).
In many ways having this knowledge makes writing these posts much more personal than it previously was. In the past it was possible, though unlikely, that just about anyone could be reading my posts at any time. While this is still true, I now have firm evidence to suggest that it isn't likely the case and that I do in fact basically know on a first name basis anyone who is likely to read this content.
Anyway, as time goes one and we gather more data it will be interesting to see if the usage and readership stays the same, or if it shows any change.
Almost immediately I thought that such a service could be used with Montifax so that Neil and I could get some sense of our readership. Not only would be be able to tell, to a limited degree, how many people were reading Montifax, but where they lived and how they were coming to the site (i.e. searches, referrals, or direct traffic).
So far none of the stats that have become available have been that surprising. Most of the readers, such as they are, are from the St. John's/Mount Pearl area, with Halifax the obvious second place. New York and Michigan (the two locations from which my uncle would check the site) are also represented. On top of that there seem to be a few people in the Montreal region, the Toronto region, Alberta, and B.C. (On the other hand, there are a number of people that could be reading by means not accessible to this application, RSS feeds being the most obvious means by which this could be occurring).
Even less surprising than the locations of the readers are the numbers. I would guess that the handful of regular readers are all people that are known to me (as I can't imagine anyone that didn't know Neil or I taking the time to read this).
In many ways having this knowledge makes writing these posts much more personal than it previously was. In the past it was possible, though unlikely, that just about anyone could be reading my posts at any time. While this is still true, I now have firm evidence to suggest that it isn't likely the case and that I do in fact basically know on a first name basis anyone who is likely to read this content.
Anyway, as time goes one and we gather more data it will be interesting to see if the usage and readership stays the same, or if it shows any change.
A Few Quick Notes 181
-Today has been another sub-par day with overcast skies and occasional periods of rain. Fortunately, things weren't too windy or too cold. Hopefully this type of weather will either bring the capelin or come to an end, either option being relatively acceptable at this point.
-The banana bread I made yesterday turned out pretty well. I modified, by adding chocolate chips, a recipe handed down to my mother from my grandmother. I think that I will likely try to make the recipe again, but in future attempts I might add both nuts and chocolate chips.
-Earlier today I had a very odd head related experience. Each time I chewed I felt as though there was an echo in my head. Tapping on the right side of my head lead to the same experience. Fortunately, through the power of sleep I was able to rid myself of the problem and get myself back to just a normal headache situation. Though more painful, the second phase of the condition was much less disconcerting.
-For dinner tonight I had boiled carrots, green beans, lamb chops, and a quick bread. For desert, while my family was having bananas foster, I had a fairly large helping of carrot sticks.
-While cleaning the basement yesterday we came across some old hard-wood flooring that we didn't have any plans for. I suggested that we give it to Jeff, a friend of mine who works in the world of wood and wood products.
This evening Jeff came over to pick up the wood, along with two faucets. This was great because it allowed us to clear up a section of the basement while giving something useful to someone that can actually use it.
-My own bedroom cleaning program seems to have stalled. While I was able to make some progress a few weeks ago I haven't managed to finish the job. Maybe I should try and put away my papers from Montreal, something that would at least be a step in the right direction. Also, removing the things I plan on giving away (along with the empty beer bottles) would also be a good next step.
I kind of feel that if I am able to clear some of these things out I might be able to install, for the remainder of the summer, a stereo system that is presently stored in the basement (though this would be somewhat unnecessary and would take up all of the space that I gained through my cleaning).
-I am definitely beginning to get nervous about my transition to Dal in the fall. I really hoped that I would have done more preparatory reading by now. Also, I really need to contact my prospective supervisor about reading and course selection. Maybe I will develop enough fear by the end of the week to allow me to move forward on this front.
-The banana bread I made yesterday turned out pretty well. I modified, by adding chocolate chips, a recipe handed down to my mother from my grandmother. I think that I will likely try to make the recipe again, but in future attempts I might add both nuts and chocolate chips.
-Earlier today I had a very odd head related experience. Each time I chewed I felt as though there was an echo in my head. Tapping on the right side of my head lead to the same experience. Fortunately, through the power of sleep I was able to rid myself of the problem and get myself back to just a normal headache situation. Though more painful, the second phase of the condition was much less disconcerting.
-For dinner tonight I had boiled carrots, green beans, lamb chops, and a quick bread. For desert, while my family was having bananas foster, I had a fairly large helping of carrot sticks.
-While cleaning the basement yesterday we came across some old hard-wood flooring that we didn't have any plans for. I suggested that we give it to Jeff, a friend of mine who works in the world of wood and wood products.
This evening Jeff came over to pick up the wood, along with two faucets. This was great because it allowed us to clear up a section of the basement while giving something useful to someone that can actually use it.
-My own bedroom cleaning program seems to have stalled. While I was able to make some progress a few weeks ago I haven't managed to finish the job. Maybe I should try and put away my papers from Montreal, something that would at least be a step in the right direction. Also, removing the things I plan on giving away (along with the empty beer bottles) would also be a good next step.
I kind of feel that if I am able to clear some of these things out I might be able to install, for the remainder of the summer, a stereo system that is presently stored in the basement (though this would be somewhat unnecessary and would take up all of the space that I gained through my cleaning).
-I am definitely beginning to get nervous about my transition to Dal in the fall. I really hoped that I would have done more preparatory reading by now. Also, I really need to contact my prospective supervisor about reading and course selection. Maybe I will develop enough fear by the end of the week to allow me to move forward on this front.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 180
-So far, today has been a pretty sub-par day. Not only have we had to deal with the typical overcast skies of the past few days, but also with intermittent rain. Fortunately, the wind has been relatively calm so even if you are out walking things aren't too bad.
-Not surprisingly, as it has been no higher than 10 degrees all week, my beans have still not sprouted, or shown any other signs of life. My fear, which is growing by the day, is that I will need to re-plant, which may cause production to be so delayed that I will have to leave the province before I can reap the rewards of home grown vegetables.
-As is our Saturday tradition, Kirsten and I made our way to Georgetown Bakery to pick up some bagels.
On the way there we stopped, as is our habit, at a local coffee and doughnut shop to pick up traveling drinks. As we approached the counter the manager recalled our order from last week and wanted to know if we would be having the same. Though this isn't a particularly new experience for me, I am pretty sure that this is the first time such a situation has arisen for Kirsten.
-Things finally reached a breaking point and my parents have decided to conduct a major junk removal operation in the basement. Hopefully this will result in more operational space, less crap, and a fully operational lathe work station.
The project, which will be large, will likely carry over into tomorrow, and possibly into the early part of the week. We likely won't even be able to start on some of the space issues until the crap levels have been reduced.
Aside from a general reduction of crap, the greatest benefit to me will likely be a functional lathe and lathe tool sharpening area. I will hopefully be able to use this area to do some lathe based bowl making this summer.
-I think that I will be having homemade chicken rice soup for dinner tonight.
-This afternoon I went for a walk downtown. While in the downtown core I stopped for a coffee, which also signalled the halfway point of my walk. By the time I started to climb the hill surrounding the downtown area I could feel the effects of the espresso based drink. While I am not sure if my heart was beating more quickly, I was certainly feeling more edgy.
-If things go as planned, Kirsten and I will make some banana bread this evening.
-Not surprisingly, as it has been no higher than 10 degrees all week, my beans have still not sprouted, or shown any other signs of life. My fear, which is growing by the day, is that I will need to re-plant, which may cause production to be so delayed that I will have to leave the province before I can reap the rewards of home grown vegetables.
-As is our Saturday tradition, Kirsten and I made our way to Georgetown Bakery to pick up some bagels.
On the way there we stopped, as is our habit, at a local coffee and doughnut shop to pick up traveling drinks. As we approached the counter the manager recalled our order from last week and wanted to know if we would be having the same. Though this isn't a particularly new experience for me, I am pretty sure that this is the first time such a situation has arisen for Kirsten.
-Things finally reached a breaking point and my parents have decided to conduct a major junk removal operation in the basement. Hopefully this will result in more operational space, less crap, and a fully operational lathe work station.
The project, which will be large, will likely carry over into tomorrow, and possibly into the early part of the week. We likely won't even be able to start on some of the space issues until the crap levels have been reduced.
Aside from a general reduction of crap, the greatest benefit to me will likely be a functional lathe and lathe tool sharpening area. I will hopefully be able to use this area to do some lathe based bowl making this summer.
-I think that I will be having homemade chicken rice soup for dinner tonight.
-This afternoon I went for a walk downtown. While in the downtown core I stopped for a coffee, which also signalled the halfway point of my walk. By the time I started to climb the hill surrounding the downtown area I could feel the effects of the espresso based drink. While I am not sure if my heart was beating more quickly, I was certainly feeling more edgy.
-If things go as planned, Kirsten and I will make some banana bread this evening.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 179
-As I suspected, things the skies were pretty overcast as I made my way to work this morning. Fortunately, as the day progressed things turned around a little, only revert to their original status for the late afternoon and evening. Fortunately neither the wind or precipitation were particularly noticeable or bothersome.
-It was quite nice to have some fresh bread for breakfast. Tomorrow I plan on having a little blood pudding with my bread. I was able to pick up two nice slabs of the fabulous breakfast 'meat' for only 88 cents.
-Today my major food preparation project was a chicken lentil curry. I was motivated to make this dish because I had previously agreed to watch my sister this evening, and also to prepare dinner for her.
While the curry component of the dish wasn't quite overwhelming, or really even all that noticeable, it was quite an inoffensive dish. My only real regret was that I was forced to use lentils rather than chick peas (but that is what happens when the local grocery store doesn't stock a standard run of groceries).
-After dinner my sister and I made our way over to the local university library. While there I collected and began to read a few books that relate to political science. My sister spent her time studying for her upcoming junior high exams.
Though we only spent about an hour in the reading room I think that it is safe to say that both of made progress and were glad that we made the trip.
One of the best parts of the trip from my perspective was that I was able to test out my alumni borrowing privileges. As I hoped, everything went off without a hitch and I was able to borrow about six books (and should be able to renew them online if need be).
Hopefully trips such as these will leave my sister with a positive impression of libraries. Maybe I will have to make a point of heading up there with her again to solidify her positive impression of the place.
-Again today I found some abuse of the TD 195 class number. What is it that is so attractive about this particular number that causes it to be so freely used by catalogers?
-It was quite nice to have some fresh bread for breakfast. Tomorrow I plan on having a little blood pudding with my bread. I was able to pick up two nice slabs of the fabulous breakfast 'meat' for only 88 cents.
-Today my major food preparation project was a chicken lentil curry. I was motivated to make this dish because I had previously agreed to watch my sister this evening, and also to prepare dinner for her.
While the curry component of the dish wasn't quite overwhelming, or really even all that noticeable, it was quite an inoffensive dish. My only real regret was that I was forced to use lentils rather than chick peas (but that is what happens when the local grocery store doesn't stock a standard run of groceries).
-After dinner my sister and I made our way over to the local university library. While there I collected and began to read a few books that relate to political science. My sister spent her time studying for her upcoming junior high exams.
Though we only spent about an hour in the reading room I think that it is safe to say that both of made progress and were glad that we made the trip.
One of the best parts of the trip from my perspective was that I was able to test out my alumni borrowing privileges. As I hoped, everything went off without a hitch and I was able to borrow about six books (and should be able to renew them online if need be).
Hopefully trips such as these will leave my sister with a positive impression of libraries. Maybe I will have to make a point of heading up there with her again to solidify her positive impression of the place.
-Again today I found some abuse of the TD 195 class number. What is it that is so attractive about this particular number that causes it to be so freely used by catalogers?
Ten Ways to Help the Environment
Over the past few years most of us have been bombarded with rhetoric and propaganda about the importance of being conscious about our impact on the environment. In particular, many of us have been advised to think about applying the three R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) to the greatest extent possible in our daily lives.
Unfortunately, most of these pleas and exhortations seem to fall on deaf ears. We still see huge gas guzzlers on the street and empty coffee cups in the gutters. People don't seem to be getting the message and taking it to heart.
Today, I realized that part of this problem might be that many of the advisories promoting environmental consciousness don't come with corresponding suggestions about how to put the related principles into effect. Explicit suggestions about how members of the public can go about reducing, reusing, and recycling need to be made available.
In an attempt to fill this ozone hole sized void I have come up with a few simple approaches and practices that (if adhered to) will significantly contribute to the reduction of green house emissions and levels of other pollutants, while simultaneously significantly reducing one's average household consumption.
1. Take cold showers
Not only are cold showers more energy efficient than warm showers, they have a tendency to make the showerer want to do things as quickly as possible. My suspicion is that shower related water use could be cut in half by simply implementing this one change to one's showering regime.
R's Used: Reduce
2. Use old newspapers as wallpaper
Some people like to change their wallpaper on a yearly, or at least semi-frequent, basis. Not only is this wasteful but it is also expensive and time consuming.
If one insists on making such changes to their décor the least they can do is use previously used paper to cover their walls. For a grey appearance standard newspapers will do the trick. If more colour is desired the decorator can use either fliers or colour comic section.
An additional benefit of this suggestion is that as the layers of paper begin mount over the years they will begin to also act as insulation, thus reducing heating and cooling costs.
R's Used: Reuse, Recycle
3. Burn garbage to heat your dwelling
Many people buy wood or oil to burn to heat their dwellings. Not only is this wasteful and detrimental the environment, it also is quite expensive.
People should take advantage of the fuel sources that already exist in their home before they move to external sources. Newspapers are an obvious first choice, but garbage generally can be used. This technique is a particularly environmentally friendly way of getting rid of those pesky plastics that aren't recyclable.
R's Used: Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle.
4. Eat directly from pots and pans
While many suggest that it is polite to eat from plates and bowls, this is clearly wasteful and hurtful to the environment.
Every effort should be made to eat something directly from the vessel (e.g. pot, pan, or bowl) in which it was prepared. Not only does this save on water during the washing process, it also saves on time (the environment's best friend and ally).
R's Used: Reduce, Reuse
5. Wear less clothing
Clothing these days is quite bulky and frequently made from nasty synthetic fibers. Not surprisingly, neither the bulk nor the synthetic content is doing the environment any favours.
People should make an effort to wear fewer pieces of clothing (maybe you could skip wearing underwear 3 days a week) as well as clothing that uses less fabric (meaning briefs rather than boxers). A close to full application of this principle would mean that women would wear bikinis while mean would wear those nice, tight, small swimming shorts. The only downside of this principle is that heating costs would go up in the winter (but surely there would be a net gain in the environment's favour).
R's Used: Reduce
6. Download or stream movies instead renting physical copies
Many of us have been advised that downloading or streaming movies is bad. This is not the case. Downloading or streaming movies (and there are many legal sources) prevents the need for the creation of those ghastly discs and cases, most of which just end up broken.
An additional benefit of this principle is that it means fewer trips to rental locations will be necessary. This will mean less wear and tear on both footwear and cars.
R's Used: Reduce
7. Consume hard liquor instead of beer or wine
While many of us, myself included, prefer beer and wine to hard liquor, these options are clearly not the environmental choice. Not only do beer and wine frequently have more associated wood based packaging, they provide less impact by volume. This means less hard liquor has to be packaged and shipped to get a larger number of people drunk. Clearly this is the option that should be promoted given the fragile state of the environment.
R's Used: Reduce
8. Vacations should only be take to dreamland
While many of use like to take vacations to new locations this is not a sustainable practice. Jets, cars, and trains all produce damaging emissions, none of which can be justified with the leisure argument.
A viable alternative to the traditional vacation is to take an extended trip to 'Dreamland.' Not only is this trip more financially viable, it also completely reduces any of the additional green house gas emissions associated with a trip to parts foreign. Clearly this is the type of trip that those concerned about the environment will be taking in the years to come.
R's Used: Reduce.
9. Use glow in the dark paint on walls and ceilings
Instead of trying to remember to turn off the lights when you leave the room why not just do away with electric lights altogether? While this might seem to be quite a sacrifice at first, it really isn't all that big a deal. The lost light can be replaced by painting the ceiling and walls with glow-in-the-dark paint. This will mean that each affected room will be constantly glowing and that you don't need to think about turning anything off or on when you enter or leave.
R's Used: Reduce
10. Cook meat only until it is rare
While many of use really like to consume a well cooked meal from time to time, very few of us think about the energy expenditure that is associated with the process. Having an electric element or propane burner on for hours on end is actually quite burdensome.
When cooking meat only cook it until it is rare, anything else is unnecessary and wasteful. A well done steak isn't a culinary or taste choice but a giant middle finger pointing directly at Mother Earth.
While vegetables can't be rare or well done, they can be served raw or just cooked enough that they are warm. Either of these options is preferable to the nutritionally and environmentally unsustainable practice of over cooking vegetables.
R's Used: Reduce.
Unfortunately, most of these pleas and exhortations seem to fall on deaf ears. We still see huge gas guzzlers on the street and empty coffee cups in the gutters. People don't seem to be getting the message and taking it to heart.
Today, I realized that part of this problem might be that many of the advisories promoting environmental consciousness don't come with corresponding suggestions about how to put the related principles into effect. Explicit suggestions about how members of the public can go about reducing, reusing, and recycling need to be made available.
In an attempt to fill this ozone hole sized void I have come up with a few simple approaches and practices that (if adhered to) will significantly contribute to the reduction of green house emissions and levels of other pollutants, while simultaneously significantly reducing one's average household consumption.
1. Take cold showers
Not only are cold showers more energy efficient than warm showers, they have a tendency to make the showerer want to do things as quickly as possible. My suspicion is that shower related water use could be cut in half by simply implementing this one change to one's showering regime.
R's Used: Reduce
2. Use old newspapers as wallpaper
Some people like to change their wallpaper on a yearly, or at least semi-frequent, basis. Not only is this wasteful but it is also expensive and time consuming.
If one insists on making such changes to their décor the least they can do is use previously used paper to cover their walls. For a grey appearance standard newspapers will do the trick. If more colour is desired the decorator can use either fliers or colour comic section.
An additional benefit of this suggestion is that as the layers of paper begin mount over the years they will begin to also act as insulation, thus reducing heating and cooling costs.
R's Used: Reuse, Recycle
3. Burn garbage to heat your dwelling
Many people buy wood or oil to burn to heat their dwellings. Not only is this wasteful and detrimental the environment, it also is quite expensive.
People should take advantage of the fuel sources that already exist in their home before they move to external sources. Newspapers are an obvious first choice, but garbage generally can be used. This technique is a particularly environmentally friendly way of getting rid of those pesky plastics that aren't recyclable.
R's Used: Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle.
4. Eat directly from pots and pans
While many suggest that it is polite to eat from plates and bowls, this is clearly wasteful and hurtful to the environment.
Every effort should be made to eat something directly from the vessel (e.g. pot, pan, or bowl) in which it was prepared. Not only does this save on water during the washing process, it also saves on time (the environment's best friend and ally).
R's Used: Reduce, Reuse
5. Wear less clothing
Clothing these days is quite bulky and frequently made from nasty synthetic fibers. Not surprisingly, neither the bulk nor the synthetic content is doing the environment any favours.
People should make an effort to wear fewer pieces of clothing (maybe you could skip wearing underwear 3 days a week) as well as clothing that uses less fabric (meaning briefs rather than boxers). A close to full application of this principle would mean that women would wear bikinis while mean would wear those nice, tight, small swimming shorts. The only downside of this principle is that heating costs would go up in the winter (but surely there would be a net gain in the environment's favour).
R's Used: Reduce
6. Download or stream movies instead renting physical copies
Many of us have been advised that downloading or streaming movies is bad. This is not the case. Downloading or streaming movies (and there are many legal sources) prevents the need for the creation of those ghastly discs and cases, most of which just end up broken.
An additional benefit of this principle is that it means fewer trips to rental locations will be necessary. This will mean less wear and tear on both footwear and cars.
R's Used: Reduce
7. Consume hard liquor instead of beer or wine
While many of us, myself included, prefer beer and wine to hard liquor, these options are clearly not the environmental choice. Not only do beer and wine frequently have more associated wood based packaging, they provide less impact by volume. This means less hard liquor has to be packaged and shipped to get a larger number of people drunk. Clearly this is the option that should be promoted given the fragile state of the environment.
R's Used: Reduce
8. Vacations should only be take to dreamland
While many of use like to take vacations to new locations this is not a sustainable practice. Jets, cars, and trains all produce damaging emissions, none of which can be justified with the leisure argument.
A viable alternative to the traditional vacation is to take an extended trip to 'Dreamland.' Not only is this trip more financially viable, it also completely reduces any of the additional green house gas emissions associated with a trip to parts foreign. Clearly this is the type of trip that those concerned about the environment will be taking in the years to come.
R's Used: Reduce.
9. Use glow in the dark paint on walls and ceilings
Instead of trying to remember to turn off the lights when you leave the room why not just do away with electric lights altogether? While this might seem to be quite a sacrifice at first, it really isn't all that big a deal. The lost light can be replaced by painting the ceiling and walls with glow-in-the-dark paint. This will mean that each affected room will be constantly glowing and that you don't need to think about turning anything off or on when you enter or leave.
R's Used: Reduce
10. Cook meat only until it is rare
While many of use really like to consume a well cooked meal from time to time, very few of us think about the energy expenditure that is associated with the process. Having an electric element or propane burner on for hours on end is actually quite burdensome.
When cooking meat only cook it until it is rare, anything else is unnecessary and wasteful. A well done steak isn't a culinary or taste choice but a giant middle finger pointing directly at Mother Earth.
While vegetables can't be rare or well done, they can be served raw or just cooked enough that they are warm. Either of these options is preferable to the nutritionally and environmentally unsustainable practice of over cooking vegetables.
R's Used: Reduce.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 178
-Today was another less than stellar day. To begin the day skies were overcast and there seemed to be a fair degree of water on the ground. Fortunately, as morning gave way to afternoon the clouds gave way to blue skies. Sadly, the temperature held steady at about 8 degrees for much of the day.
-People seem to be going nuts about tomato contamination. That there is such wide-spread mass hysteria made it all the more surprising that the local grocery store is still stocking and selling American grown vine-less tomatoes.
-While walking home from work with Peter I decided to make some bread. Part of the excuse was that I would use the session to show him how I go about making bread, a method which is aggressively improvisational.
Almost as soon as we returned home and started to assemble the ingredients I noticed that we were going to be short on milk. Amazingly, we were also short on powdered milk, a problem with which I never expected to find myself.
Gradually I was able to work my way around that particular problem by combining the swallow's worth of milk that we did have with the powdered milk, some water, and a few swallows worth lactose free milk.
I next learned that we were out of butter. This meant that I was forced to switch back to margarine for the day, something that really wasn't too much of a sacrifice.
After heating the milk I started to add the other ingredients and really get under way. Soon enough, after adding a bit of this and a bit of that, I was ready to let the bread rise for the first time. Magically, this period of rising coincided with dinner.
Soon after dinner I was able to slap the formed slabs of dough into pans to let them rise for a second time. This too occurred quite quickly, meaning that before long I had my first four loaves in the oven.
Within less than 2.5 hours I passable product ready for consumption. Now I just have to remember to put the bread away before I go to bed.
-I had flank steak, green beans, asparagus, and potatoes for dinner tonight.
-Since returning I have made a point of packing vegetables with my lunch. For the most part this has been pretty good, particularly now that I am not restricting myself to only packing carrots.
-My beans still seem to be showing no signs of growth. If there aren't any sprouts by next Saturday I may have to re-plant.
-People seem to be going nuts about tomato contamination. That there is such wide-spread mass hysteria made it all the more surprising that the local grocery store is still stocking and selling American grown vine-less tomatoes.
-While walking home from work with Peter I decided to make some bread. Part of the excuse was that I would use the session to show him how I go about making bread, a method which is aggressively improvisational.
Almost as soon as we returned home and started to assemble the ingredients I noticed that we were going to be short on milk. Amazingly, we were also short on powdered milk, a problem with which I never expected to find myself.
Gradually I was able to work my way around that particular problem by combining the swallow's worth of milk that we did have with the powdered milk, some water, and a few swallows worth lactose free milk.
I next learned that we were out of butter. This meant that I was forced to switch back to margarine for the day, something that really wasn't too much of a sacrifice.
After heating the milk I started to add the other ingredients and really get under way. Soon enough, after adding a bit of this and a bit of that, I was ready to let the bread rise for the first time. Magically, this period of rising coincided with dinner.
Soon after dinner I was able to slap the formed slabs of dough into pans to let them rise for a second time. This too occurred quite quickly, meaning that before long I had my first four loaves in the oven.
Within less than 2.5 hours I passable product ready for consumption. Now I just have to remember to put the bread away before I go to bed.
-I had flank steak, green beans, asparagus, and potatoes for dinner tonight.
-Since returning I have made a point of packing vegetables with my lunch. For the most part this has been pretty good, particularly now that I am not restricting myself to only packing carrots.
-My beans still seem to be showing no signs of growth. If there aren't any sprouts by next Saturday I may have to re-plant.
Banjos and Blocked Discs
Though Tuesday had been cold, grey, and slightly windy, the walk home from work was not particularly unpleasant. At no point on my trek did I even think about unpacking my rain jacket, though it safely stowed in my backpack.
Within a few minutes of returning home things definitely started to deteriorate. By about 6:15, as I was packing my things for my approaching Frisbee game I started to think that it might be a useful item to have along. Though as things turned out, with a last minute pre-departure rush, I didn't get a chance to transfer the coat to my new bag.
As the car was pulling out of the driveway the weather was in the midst of taking a turn for the worse. Drops of precipitation were quickly becoming apparent on the windscreen, and the wind was doing its best to makes its presence felt.
By the time I arrived at the playing field in Cowan Heights sheets of foggy rain were visible in the sky, and causing those in the region to become gradually wetter. These walls of precipitation seemed to shimmer as distant winds changed the course of the falling drops. Very quickly I was able to determine that it our game, if it actually took place, wouldn't be occurring under ideal conditions.
Soon after arriving I made my way to the sidelines where I watched the first game of the night come to a close. As this was happening members of my team gradually began to arrive,
Almost as soon as we began to congregate several of us wondered if it would be possible for the game to be postponed and played on a day with temperatures above 5 degrees. Just as the game was to get underway this seemed the likely outcome.
A representative from the team approached us and asked us if we were interested in delaying the game. Not surprisingly, we quickly consented to re-scheduling. To confirm the propriety of this action our team captain went to speak to a league representative (who happened to have been playing in the previous game). By the time our teammate returned with the go-ahead the other team relinquished their offer to postpone the game.
After a brief moment of frustration our team accepted that we that we would be playing in less than ideal conditions, and that we would now be forced to win the game.
Without a warm up we took the field and started the game. Not surprisingly, the wind and water slowed the progress of the game. Throws that weren't taken off course by the wind frequently slipped through the hands of their intended recipients. By half-time, which occurred 45 minutes in, each team had only scored a handful of points (though our handful was slightly larger).
After a very hard fought drive our team finally managed to score a point against the wind in the dying moments of the second half. Not only was this a feat in and of itself, it also gave us a two point lead with only a few moments left in the game. Instead of playing out the remaining seconds of the game the opposing team conceded defeat.
Aside from the weather, the game really was quite a pleasant experience. The opposing team, while largely inexperienced, were enjoyable opponents.
Soon after the game I made my way over to the encampment of the opposing team to try and catch a ride back to town. While arranging the details with one member of the team another member of the team asked if anyone was going downtown. As this was my precise destination (or as precise as 'downtown' can be) I asked if he would mind giving me a ride.
While he was obviously making the offer to those on his team he didn't seem too put out at the thought of giving me a ride. Not only did he insist on giving me a ride all the way to my destination (though I had indicated that anywhere downtown would be perfectly acceptable), he also provided very pleasant conversation on the way there.
As my ride gave me a ride to the steps above the Ship I was able to head directly from my Frisbee game to a concert I planned on attending.
The performance, which was by Old Man Luedecke, was to be a CD release party for the artist's new album.
Almost as soon as I entered I was able to find Peter, who I had already planned to meet, and his brother, Chris. In the following moments, while scanning the crowd, I was pleased to see that there were a number of other individuals in attendance that I hadn't seen since my return.
When Chris and I eventually made our way over to pick up some drinks I was able to speak to a few of the people I had spotted in the crowd. Jeff, whose new house I attempted to visit on Sunday, expressed his disappointment that our trip to his place had met with failure. He encouraged me to try and make another trip out during the summer. In the following moments I had the pleasure of talking Terry, an individual I met while in Harlow a few years ago.
Soon after I made it back with the drinks the main act began his performance, and what a performance it was. From the introduction to his first song he had the capacity crowd in his hands.
Introductions to songs were both touching and humourous, and always appropriate for the performance. Fortunately, unlike most shows in St. John's bars, the volume level was completely appropriate for the performance. Nothing was too loud, but everything was clear and crisp.
As the show progressed it became quite clear that Old Man Luedecdke was quite capable of maintaining the attention of the crowd with just a banjo and his voice (as well as the frequent percussive stomping of his foot).
My only complaint about the show was the single set that comprised the show wasn't long enough, particularly considering that cover was twice the standard rate. Though, as Chris pointed out, he certainly left the audience wanting more.
From downtown Peter and I made our way back home. Miraculously, in the time between the beginning of the show and our departure the weather seemed to have improved drastically. The once cloudy and threatening skies were clear and calm, making for a pleasant walk home, which was a great way to end the day.
Within a few minutes of returning home things definitely started to deteriorate. By about 6:15, as I was packing my things for my approaching Frisbee game I started to think that it might be a useful item to have along. Though as things turned out, with a last minute pre-departure rush, I didn't get a chance to transfer the coat to my new bag.
As the car was pulling out of the driveway the weather was in the midst of taking a turn for the worse. Drops of precipitation were quickly becoming apparent on the windscreen, and the wind was doing its best to makes its presence felt.
By the time I arrived at the playing field in Cowan Heights sheets of foggy rain were visible in the sky, and causing those in the region to become gradually wetter. These walls of precipitation seemed to shimmer as distant winds changed the course of the falling drops. Very quickly I was able to determine that it our game, if it actually took place, wouldn't be occurring under ideal conditions.
Soon after arriving I made my way to the sidelines where I watched the first game of the night come to a close. As this was happening members of my team gradually began to arrive,
Almost as soon as we began to congregate several of us wondered if it would be possible for the game to be postponed and played on a day with temperatures above 5 degrees. Just as the game was to get underway this seemed the likely outcome.
A representative from the team approached us and asked us if we were interested in delaying the game. Not surprisingly, we quickly consented to re-scheduling. To confirm the propriety of this action our team captain went to speak to a league representative (who happened to have been playing in the previous game). By the time our teammate returned with the go-ahead the other team relinquished their offer to postpone the game.
After a brief moment of frustration our team accepted that we that we would be playing in less than ideal conditions, and that we would now be forced to win the game.
Without a warm up we took the field and started the game. Not surprisingly, the wind and water slowed the progress of the game. Throws that weren't taken off course by the wind frequently slipped through the hands of their intended recipients. By half-time, which occurred 45 minutes in, each team had only scored a handful of points (though our handful was slightly larger).
After a very hard fought drive our team finally managed to score a point against the wind in the dying moments of the second half. Not only was this a feat in and of itself, it also gave us a two point lead with only a few moments left in the game. Instead of playing out the remaining seconds of the game the opposing team conceded defeat.
Aside from the weather, the game really was quite a pleasant experience. The opposing team, while largely inexperienced, were enjoyable opponents.
Soon after the game I made my way over to the encampment of the opposing team to try and catch a ride back to town. While arranging the details with one member of the team another member of the team asked if anyone was going downtown. As this was my precise destination (or as precise as 'downtown' can be) I asked if he would mind giving me a ride.
While he was obviously making the offer to those on his team he didn't seem too put out at the thought of giving me a ride. Not only did he insist on giving me a ride all the way to my destination (though I had indicated that anywhere downtown would be perfectly acceptable), he also provided very pleasant conversation on the way there.
As my ride gave me a ride to the steps above the Ship I was able to head directly from my Frisbee game to a concert I planned on attending.
The performance, which was by Old Man Luedecke, was to be a CD release party for the artist's new album.
Almost as soon as I entered I was able to find Peter, who I had already planned to meet, and his brother, Chris. In the following moments, while scanning the crowd, I was pleased to see that there were a number of other individuals in attendance that I hadn't seen since my return.
When Chris and I eventually made our way over to pick up some drinks I was able to speak to a few of the people I had spotted in the crowd. Jeff, whose new house I attempted to visit on Sunday, expressed his disappointment that our trip to his place had met with failure. He encouraged me to try and make another trip out during the summer. In the following moments I had the pleasure of talking Terry, an individual I met while in Harlow a few years ago.
Soon after I made it back with the drinks the main act began his performance, and what a performance it was. From the introduction to his first song he had the capacity crowd in his hands.
Introductions to songs were both touching and humourous, and always appropriate for the performance. Fortunately, unlike most shows in St. John's bars, the volume level was completely appropriate for the performance. Nothing was too loud, but everything was clear and crisp.
As the show progressed it became quite clear that Old Man Luedecdke was quite capable of maintaining the attention of the crowd with just a banjo and his voice (as well as the frequent percussive stomping of his foot).
My only complaint about the show was the single set that comprised the show wasn't long enough, particularly considering that cover was twice the standard rate. Though, as Chris pointed out, he certainly left the audience wanting more.
From downtown Peter and I made our way back home. Miraculously, in the time between the beginning of the show and our departure the weather seemed to have improved drastically. The once cloudy and threatening skies were clear and calm, making for a pleasant walk home, which was a great way to end the day.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
'Round the Bay and back
On the weekend I took a day trip with Greg and Nikita to visit a number of communities in the Northwest Avalon region, that is after we made a quick trip South to visit Witless Bay.
Unfortunately, or visit to Witless Bay was less successful than desired. The friend we were hoping to visit hadn't yet returned from a trip to town. After a exploration of the property we ended up leaving, actually just as the owner was heading out from St. John's.
The next destination was 'Trinity,' though this was somewhat confused because we didn't have map in the car. Two of us thought that going to 'Trinity' meant leaving the Avalon and heading out past Clarenville, while the third person thought that it meant turning off towards Harbour Grace.
Once we had basically sorted out that we weren't going to the town of Trinity, but a town on Trinity bay our navigational confusion was lessened. At about the time were managed to clarify the supposed destination we happened to be approaching the picturesque town of Dildo.
Not surprisingly, there was unanimous agreement that we take a side trip down to Dildo. As we approached the town we stopped to take pictures of all kinds of signs with the name of the town on them. The highway sign that simply read 'Dildo' with an arrow below was one of the more amusing of these signs. Another particularly good sign was one for a local gift shop. Aside from the name of the business, the sign also had an image of a wooden statue of a man dressed in fishing garb with a sign that had the words 'Captain Dildo.'
Though it might be a sign of our collective sophomoric sense of humour, each of these instances of the name 'Dildo' caused us to laugh and generally behave as though we were 10 and hearing about matters sexual for the first time.
After a quick trip through town, with a stop at the Captain Dildo statue, we returned to the main road and continued on our trip. Within a few minutes we reached the metropolis of Islington.
Almost as soon as we arrived in town Nikita pointed out her grandmother's house (which was the day's destination). We pulled into the driveway and went up to meet her uncle, who was working in the garage.
Soon afterwards we made our way into the house and were introduced to Nikita's grandparents. After a few minutes of pleasantries Greg and I headed out to explore the region. Fortunately, before we left Nikita's grandmother was kind enough to warn us about the perils of driving around in the town. This was great. Most people wouldn't have been so concerned about our ability to get lost, something that is inherently difficult when there is only one road.
Anyway, we were soon back on the road and heading North. We eventually made it through all three of the 'Heart's' towns (Delight, Desire, and Content) before driving back through town and then out the other side.
Soon after we again departed town we noticed a warehouse like building on the edge of town. As we didn't really have any particular plans we decided to get out and see if we could figure out what it was. My initial thought was that cages outside suggested that it might be a mink cage factory, but that was just because there were a bunch of cages outside.
Anyway, aside from the cages and metal mesh, there weren't really that many clues as to what the building was used for. At one point Greg decided to go around the building in one direction while I decided to go in the other direction. As I was heading back to the front of the building I heard a scream and some barking. Immediately I ran to the front of the building, which is where the noise was coming from. It soon became clear that the building wasn't abandoned, as we had suspected, but that it was occupied by a guard dog.
Fortunately the large yellowish dog, though loud and aggressive, was contained in a cage, thus preventing it from attacking Greg. Nonetheless, this gave us enough of a fright that we decided that the rest of the exploration could wait for another day.
Once back in town we stopped at the two stores and asked the workers what the building was used for. The employees in the second store were able to confirm that it was a mink cage factory, and that there was a mink farm just a little further up the street.
We then returned to pick up Nikita and started to make our way back to the Trans Canada Highway. As we were leaving town we rolled down our windows to help us find the mink farm. As inferred, it really did give off quite a smell, and that smell wasn't opulence and beauty.
Anyway, soon enough we were back on the highway and heading back towards town. It shouldn't have been so surprising, but traveling by highway was really much faster than the back roads route that we took to Islington.
Soon enough we were in Goobies, Newfoundland's most famous re-fueling station. As was expected of us, we stopped at the Irving restaurant for dinner. As usual, this was a pleasure, though the service was a little slower than we might have desired. A little bit more surprising was that the coffee, unlike the coffee served in many Newfoundland diners, was good.
Once we finished dinner we made our way across the parking lot to the the world famous Goobies moose. This moose is a life size statue of a moose made from some kind of metal frame and covered in an unidentifiable non-metallic material. Of course, as it is obligatory when it Goobies, we tried to climb the moose. It seems that age has not really changed my Goobies related activities.
Soon enough we were back on the road and heading down the final stretch of road before St. John's. As we entered town we remembered that earlier in the day we had discussed a possible trip to Fort Amherst. As none of us had any other plans we decided to just head straight over to the abandoned WWII site.
Like all of the other similar WWII ruins in the area, this one causes me to feel something that I haven't quite figured out. Seeing them now, with no ceilings and rusting hulks that used to be guns, makes it hard for me to imagine them as they must have been in when they were operation encampments.
From the former WWII site we made our way to the local chain bookstore. After an extended period of browsing and and several impulse-buy close calls we check out. I was then dropped off back at home, where I had started the journey about 10 hours earlier.
Unfortunately, or visit to Witless Bay was less successful than desired. The friend we were hoping to visit hadn't yet returned from a trip to town. After a exploration of the property we ended up leaving, actually just as the owner was heading out from St. John's.
The next destination was 'Trinity,' though this was somewhat confused because we didn't have map in the car. Two of us thought that going to 'Trinity' meant leaving the Avalon and heading out past Clarenville, while the third person thought that it meant turning off towards Harbour Grace.
Once we had basically sorted out that we weren't going to the town of Trinity, but a town on Trinity bay our navigational confusion was lessened. At about the time were managed to clarify the supposed destination we happened to be approaching the picturesque town of Dildo.
Not surprisingly, there was unanimous agreement that we take a side trip down to Dildo. As we approached the town we stopped to take pictures of all kinds of signs with the name of the town on them. The highway sign that simply read 'Dildo' with an arrow below was one of the more amusing of these signs. Another particularly good sign was one for a local gift shop. Aside from the name of the business, the sign also had an image of a wooden statue of a man dressed in fishing garb with a sign that had the words 'Captain Dildo.'
Though it might be a sign of our collective sophomoric sense of humour, each of these instances of the name 'Dildo' caused us to laugh and generally behave as though we were 10 and hearing about matters sexual for the first time.
After a quick trip through town, with a stop at the Captain Dildo statue, we returned to the main road and continued on our trip. Within a few minutes we reached the metropolis of Islington.
Almost as soon as we arrived in town Nikita pointed out her grandmother's house (which was the day's destination). We pulled into the driveway and went up to meet her uncle, who was working in the garage.
Soon afterwards we made our way into the house and were introduced to Nikita's grandparents. After a few minutes of pleasantries Greg and I headed out to explore the region. Fortunately, before we left Nikita's grandmother was kind enough to warn us about the perils of driving around in the town. This was great. Most people wouldn't have been so concerned about our ability to get lost, something that is inherently difficult when there is only one road.
Anyway, we were soon back on the road and heading North. We eventually made it through all three of the 'Heart's' towns (Delight, Desire, and Content) before driving back through town and then out the other side.
Soon after we again departed town we noticed a warehouse like building on the edge of town. As we didn't really have any particular plans we decided to get out and see if we could figure out what it was. My initial thought was that cages outside suggested that it might be a mink cage factory, but that was just because there were a bunch of cages outside.
Anyway, aside from the cages and metal mesh, there weren't really that many clues as to what the building was used for. At one point Greg decided to go around the building in one direction while I decided to go in the other direction. As I was heading back to the front of the building I heard a scream and some barking. Immediately I ran to the front of the building, which is where the noise was coming from. It soon became clear that the building wasn't abandoned, as we had suspected, but that it was occupied by a guard dog.
Fortunately the large yellowish dog, though loud and aggressive, was contained in a cage, thus preventing it from attacking Greg. Nonetheless, this gave us enough of a fright that we decided that the rest of the exploration could wait for another day.
Once back in town we stopped at the two stores and asked the workers what the building was used for. The employees in the second store were able to confirm that it was a mink cage factory, and that there was a mink farm just a little further up the street.
We then returned to pick up Nikita and started to make our way back to the Trans Canada Highway. As we were leaving town we rolled down our windows to help us find the mink farm. As inferred, it really did give off quite a smell, and that smell wasn't opulence and beauty.
Anyway, soon enough we were back on the highway and heading back towards town. It shouldn't have been so surprising, but traveling by highway was really much faster than the back roads route that we took to Islington.
Soon enough we were in Goobies, Newfoundland's most famous re-fueling station. As was expected of us, we stopped at the Irving restaurant for dinner. As usual, this was a pleasure, though the service was a little slower than we might have desired. A little bit more surprising was that the coffee, unlike the coffee served in many Newfoundland diners, was good.
Once we finished dinner we made our way across the parking lot to the the world famous Goobies moose. This moose is a life size statue of a moose made from some kind of metal frame and covered in an unidentifiable non-metallic material. Of course, as it is obligatory when it Goobies, we tried to climb the moose. It seems that age has not really changed my Goobies related activities.
Soon enough we were back on the road and heading down the final stretch of road before St. John's. As we entered town we remembered that earlier in the day we had discussed a possible trip to Fort Amherst. As none of us had any other plans we decided to just head straight over to the abandoned WWII site.
Like all of the other similar WWII ruins in the area, this one causes me to feel something that I haven't quite figured out. Seeing them now, with no ceilings and rusting hulks that used to be guns, makes it hard for me to imagine them as they must have been in when they were operation encampments.
From the former WWII site we made our way to the local chain bookstore. After an extended period of browsing and and several impulse-buy close calls we check out. I was then dropped off back at home, where I had started the journey about 10 hours earlier.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 177
-While not all that warm, today has been a pretty nice day. Temperatures were steady for much of the day, hovering within a degree or two of 10. More importantly, the sun has been out since this morning, and even more unusual was that it's presence wasn't marred by clouds diminishing its effectiveness.
-This morning, as is our habit, Kirsten and I made our way over to Georgetown Bakery to pick up a dozen sesame bagels. Unlike other trips, in this instance we left the house before 8:00 AM. The only negative side-effect of this early departure is that we weren't able to stop by and pick up a drink at the local coffee shop, as is our practice, because the store didn't open until 8:00 AM
The great benefit of the early departure time was that it meant fewer customers where there, and that a much greater selection of goods was available (not that this last fact mattered as we were only interested in buying one thing). It was very enjoyable not to have to worry about person ahead of us in line buying all of the particular item we had our eyes on.
The only exciting part of the return trip was the belated visit to the coffee shop, and that wasn't that exciting. Kirsten and I kept things simple by sticking to our usual orders.
-Earlier this evening, while I was in the midst of baking some cookies, I noticed that the barbecue that I had started in the late afternoon seemed to have gone out. In some ways this wasn't all that surprising as we have been doing a fair bit of barbecuing these past few days, and not once have we run out of gas. Anyway, the problem was that we now had a partly cooked pork roast on the spit and no effective means of finishing the cooking.
Eventually my father was able to head out to pick up more gas, but not without a delay of at least an hour. Since his return the gas has been hooked up and the flow and flame re-started. Hopefully things won't take as long as I fear they will (if they do we won't be eating until about 9:00 PM).
-Yesterday my team played its first Ultimate game of the year. Much to our surprise we won 15-0, and managed to finish the game in much less than an hour. While I don't think that it is likely that we will win all of our games with such authority, it would be nice if we continued to score as effectively.
-This morning, as is our habit, Kirsten and I made our way over to Georgetown Bakery to pick up a dozen sesame bagels. Unlike other trips, in this instance we left the house before 8:00 AM. The only negative side-effect of this early departure is that we weren't able to stop by and pick up a drink at the local coffee shop, as is our practice, because the store didn't open until 8:00 AM
The great benefit of the early departure time was that it meant fewer customers where there, and that a much greater selection of goods was available (not that this last fact mattered as we were only interested in buying one thing). It was very enjoyable not to have to worry about person ahead of us in line buying all of the particular item we had our eyes on.
The only exciting part of the return trip was the belated visit to the coffee shop, and that wasn't that exciting. Kirsten and I kept things simple by sticking to our usual orders.
-Earlier this evening, while I was in the midst of baking some cookies, I noticed that the barbecue that I had started in the late afternoon seemed to have gone out. In some ways this wasn't all that surprising as we have been doing a fair bit of barbecuing these past few days, and not once have we run out of gas. Anyway, the problem was that we now had a partly cooked pork roast on the spit and no effective means of finishing the cooking.
Eventually my father was able to head out to pick up more gas, but not without a delay of at least an hour. Since his return the gas has been hooked up and the flow and flame re-started. Hopefully things won't take as long as I fear they will (if they do we won't be eating until about 9:00 PM).
-Yesterday my team played its first Ultimate game of the year. Much to our surprise we won 15-0, and managed to finish the game in much less than an hour. While I don't think that it is likely that we will win all of our games with such authority, it would be nice if we continued to score as effectively.
Neil, you can phone it in
When we decided to started this blog about a year and a half ago it was Neil that took initiative to come up with the name and the account. All I did was provide encouragement and a commitment that I would participate (if any thing actually resulted from the effort). In the months since the initial flurry of activity the pendulum seems to have swung the other way.
These days I provide basically all of the posts and am responsible for changing or adding any additional features to the blog. Neil, if he does post, does it very sparingly and with great caution (as he wouldn't want to drain the well too quickly).
This lack of activity is somewhat strange as I know that he must spent at least a few hours online every day. Though during this time he can't seem to find just five or ten minutes to work on a project that he started in 2006.
This spring I hoped that I had finally added a new feature that would finally get Neil to post more. The new feature meant that all Neil had to do to provide content was go to the blog and press a web button, enter his phone number, pick up his phone, and then talk. This seemed pretty easy as far as I was concerned, certainly easier than pressing a bunch of keys on a keyboard to try and form words and sentences.
It seems that even if I make it so that Neil can just phone it in he still won't post. I have no idea what to do next in my haphazard, on-again-off-again quest to get Neil to provide more posts than there are quarters in a year.
If any of you have any other suggestions of things that might get Neil to post more please feel free to let either of us know.
These days I provide basically all of the posts and am responsible for changing or adding any additional features to the blog. Neil, if he does post, does it very sparingly and with great caution (as he wouldn't want to drain the well too quickly).
This lack of activity is somewhat strange as I know that he must spent at least a few hours online every day. Though during this time he can't seem to find just five or ten minutes to work on a project that he started in 2006.
This spring I hoped that I had finally added a new feature that would finally get Neil to post more. The new feature meant that all Neil had to do to provide content was go to the blog and press a web button, enter his phone number, pick up his phone, and then talk. This seemed pretty easy as far as I was concerned, certainly easier than pressing a bunch of keys on a keyboard to try and form words and sentences.
It seems that even if I make it so that Neil can just phone it in he still won't post. I have no idea what to do next in my haphazard, on-again-off-again quest to get Neil to provide more posts than there are quarters in a year.
If any of you have any other suggestions of things that might get Neil to post more please feel free to let either of us know.
Bean Update
Though I have been making sure that my beans are properly water and well cared for, it seems that none of them have yet done me the favour of sprouting. This is a little frustrating as it is just about now that I should be seeing some action on that front.
Possibly, the unseasonably cold weather and lack of sun has something to do with the delay. If this is the case, and considering that I am not sure when this will change, I really don't know when I should expect these plants (I am trying to think positively) will sprout and then start to produce food.
On the other hand, there does appear to be some evidence that runs contrary to this theory. Other plants in the same flower bed seem to be doing quite well and have either become apparent or grown in the week since the beans were first planted.
Anyway, I guess all I can do is wait and continue to water the plants/seeds until I have a little more information (such as visible sprouts).
Possibly, the unseasonably cold weather and lack of sun has something to do with the delay. If this is the case, and considering that I am not sure when this will change, I really don't know when I should expect these plants (I am trying to think positively) will sprout and then start to produce food.
On the other hand, there does appear to be some evidence that runs contrary to this theory. Other plants in the same flower bed seem to be doing quite well and have either become apparent or grown in the week since the beans were first planted.
Anyway, I guess all I can do is wait and continue to water the plants/seeds until I have a little more information (such as visible sprouts).
Friday, June 06, 2008
TD 195.P4
It seems that one (or maybe many) of the cataloguers at MUN has an obsession with the classification number 'TD 195.P4.' At least one person is willing to use this number for all kinds of documents that are related to Hibernia or aspects of the offshore oil industry, whether or not they related directly to 'Environmental effects of industries and plants.' My reading of the schedules would cause me to be of the opinion that it should only be used for items dealing with matters related to the 'environmental effects' of the petroleum industry, rather than as a catch-all class.
The problem, or frustration, is that that while copy-cataloging I then have to go back and re-classify the document in question. Typically, in line with my own personal preferences, I end up putting many of these documents in 'HD 9574 N4.'
The problem, or frustration, is that that while copy-cataloging I then have to go back and re-classify the document in question. Typically, in line with my own personal preferences, I end up putting many of these documents in 'HD 9574 N4.'
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 176
-After a day of heavy rain, things seem to have dried out a little. Unfortunately, the skies are still slightly overcast and threatening rain. The temperature is about 14, which is just about perfect for walking.
-The fifth season of Mile Zero Ultimate (MZU) started this week, though yesterday's games were rained out. Unfortunately, it seems that MZU will no longer be playing games at the MUN field. This an unfortunate loss not only because it was a good field, but also because it was conveniently located with good parking.
My team's first game is this Friday at 7:00. Hopefully at last half of our team will show up for today's practice so that we have a sense of how things will look at the end of the week.
-In the past few weeks I have started to notice that canned tuna prices are quite variable. Some of the cheaper varieties seem to be available for about $1/can, while prices can head towards $3 for more expensive varieties.
Obviously, I tend to buy the cheap varieties, in part because I am generally cheap, and also because such prudence is necessary given my current financial situation. Though when shopping for canned tuna on Sunday I decided to splurge and pick up a can of the high stuff, as well as a can of the cheap stuff. I was curious to know if there was really any good reason to be paying twice as much for tuna.
For lunch the past two days I have consumed the two recently purchased cans of tuna and come to the conclusion that there isn't really a particularly good reason to buy the expensive stuff, unless you are particularly keen on having nice big pieces of meat. Strangely, it is even possible that the cheaper can was more flavourful (which may be why it was cheaper).
Anyway, I guess this is all to say that I now feel quite comfortable buying cheap tuna, particularly when my sighted taste-test suggested no notable quality differences.
-Using LCC schedules for my various classification related activities has been much more fun (if that is the right word) than I thought it would be. Not only do I get to analyze what others have done when classifying items, I also get to try and work through the problem myself. I wonder if once I have done hundreds or thousands this enjoyment level will begin to diminish.
-The fifth season of Mile Zero Ultimate (MZU) started this week, though yesterday's games were rained out. Unfortunately, it seems that MZU will no longer be playing games at the MUN field. This an unfortunate loss not only because it was a good field, but also because it was conveniently located with good parking.
My team's first game is this Friday at 7:00. Hopefully at last half of our team will show up for today's practice so that we have a sense of how things will look at the end of the week.
-In the past few weeks I have started to notice that canned tuna prices are quite variable. Some of the cheaper varieties seem to be available for about $1/can, while prices can head towards $3 for more expensive varieties.
Obviously, I tend to buy the cheap varieties, in part because I am generally cheap, and also because such prudence is necessary given my current financial situation. Though when shopping for canned tuna on Sunday I decided to splurge and pick up a can of the high stuff, as well as a can of the cheap stuff. I was curious to know if there was really any good reason to be paying twice as much for tuna.
For lunch the past two days I have consumed the two recently purchased cans of tuna and come to the conclusion that there isn't really a particularly good reason to buy the expensive stuff, unless you are particularly keen on having nice big pieces of meat. Strangely, it is even possible that the cheaper can was more flavourful (which may be why it was cheaper).
Anyway, I guess this is all to say that I now feel quite comfortable buying cheap tuna, particularly when my sighted taste-test suggested no notable quality differences.
-Using LCC schedules for my various classification related activities has been much more fun (if that is the right word) than I thought it would be. Not only do I get to analyze what others have done when classifying items, I also get to try and work through the problem myself. I wonder if once I have done hundreds or thousands this enjoyment level will begin to diminish.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 175
-It seems that the pleasant weather of yesterday was not meant to last. By this morning the skies were grey, and by about 11:00 AM rain had started to fall. Not surprisingly, the temperatures also seem to have dropped noticeably.
-Last night, while downtown, I managed to go to two notable George Street bars for the first time. First my friend Greg and I visited Trapper John's because Greg's brother Chris was performing. After a beer we moved down the street to the Sundance/Beer Market complex of bars. Eventually we made it into the Sundance proper.
Not surprisingly, I don't think that I will turn out to be much of a regular at either of these two bars. While the Sundance seemed to be satisfying its customers, it didn't seem to be providing an atmosphere that I found in any way appealing or tempting.
I also found it strange that at both locations I recognized very few of the patrons. It seems that at most St. John's bars I visit I tend to run into at least a few people that I know or recognize. I guess it is quite possible that I am a little out of touch with the current customer base, or that most of my peer group has left the region.
-For the first time in a few years I have been using my 2001 iMac. Under normal circumstances one might thing that a computer of such an age would be less than ideal. The only thing that makes it tolerable is that my newer laptop has been pretty slow these past few months. If I use them both simultaneously, as I am doing now, I can manage to make better use of my time than if I only used one of the computers and was forced to wait for the various processing functions to take place.
The other fringe benefit of the iMac is that the built in speakers are of a much higher quality than those available on my laptop. This means that I can use my computer as a jukebox, which is surely a slightly lower order purpose than was originally intended by the designers.
-I keep meaning to head to the QEII library to do some preparatory reading for my upcoming course of study. It seems that I just don't ever quite have the motivation to make it up there. Eventually I will have to do this, and sooner really would be better than later. Presumably I should also email my supervisor-to-be to get some suggested readings. Again, sooner rather than later would be better.
-Yesterday, while conducting a major junk removal operation in my closet, I found a certificate affirming my Texas residency. It seems that all one needs to do to be a resident of Texas is write that one has the intent of some day moving to Texas, and then visit the state on an annual basis.
As I haven't even visited the state once I presume that my residency status has lapsed, but that it could be renewed by another written commitment. Unfortunately, I don't think that I will be able to honestly write such a statement at this time.
-I feel that this post may be slightly more scatter-brained than most. Hopefully it is at least marginally coherent. Maybe if Neil decided to post now and again he could provide some content that is slightly less muddled.
-Last night, while downtown, I managed to go to two notable George Street bars for the first time. First my friend Greg and I visited Trapper John's because Greg's brother Chris was performing. After a beer we moved down the street to the Sundance/Beer Market complex of bars. Eventually we made it into the Sundance proper.
Not surprisingly, I don't think that I will turn out to be much of a regular at either of these two bars. While the Sundance seemed to be satisfying its customers, it didn't seem to be providing an atmosphere that I found in any way appealing or tempting.
I also found it strange that at both locations I recognized very few of the patrons. It seems that at most St. John's bars I visit I tend to run into at least a few people that I know or recognize. I guess it is quite possible that I am a little out of touch with the current customer base, or that most of my peer group has left the region.
-For the first time in a few years I have been using my 2001 iMac. Under normal circumstances one might thing that a computer of such an age would be less than ideal. The only thing that makes it tolerable is that my newer laptop has been pretty slow these past few months. If I use them both simultaneously, as I am doing now, I can manage to make better use of my time than if I only used one of the computers and was forced to wait for the various processing functions to take place.
The other fringe benefit of the iMac is that the built in speakers are of a much higher quality than those available on my laptop. This means that I can use my computer as a jukebox, which is surely a slightly lower order purpose than was originally intended by the designers.
-I keep meaning to head to the QEII library to do some preparatory reading for my upcoming course of study. It seems that I just don't ever quite have the motivation to make it up there. Eventually I will have to do this, and sooner really would be better than later. Presumably I should also email my supervisor-to-be to get some suggested readings. Again, sooner rather than later would be better.
-Yesterday, while conducting a major junk removal operation in my closet, I found a certificate affirming my Texas residency. It seems that all one needs to do to be a resident of Texas is write that one has the intent of some day moving to Texas, and then visit the state on an annual basis.
As I haven't even visited the state once I presume that my residency status has lapsed, but that it could be renewed by another written commitment. Unfortunately, I don't think that I will be able to honestly write such a statement at this time.
-I feel that this post may be slightly more scatter-brained than most. Hopefully it is at least marginally coherent. Maybe if Neil decided to post now and again he could provide some content that is slightly less muddled.
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