It is bad enough in person

It is bad enough that I have to put up with Neil and Rebecca doing all this lovey-dovey stuff in person, but for them to put their tooth brushes in such a way that it appears that they are kissing is a bit much. If they don't find a way to keep it a little more private I may have say something about it to them. How am I supposed to concentrate with all of this is going on.

That's Numberwang

Yesterday, while doing something or other on the internet, I came across the following video. As I was watching this clip I remembered that I had heard an interview on The Sound of Young America with one of the creator's of the show on which this first appeared, That Mitchell and Webb Look. Neil, Rebeecca, and I all enjoyed people rack up Numberwang after Numberwang.



[Embedded Video]

Also, it turns out that you can play Numberwang online, if you are so inclined. During my attempt I didn't get a single Numberwang, though I think I was close a few times.

A Few Quick Notes 226

-While it did rain for some period of time yesterday evening, it was certainly much less time than I expected. On the other hand, the wind did blow rather aggressively for a number of hours, giving me at least some sense that I was experiencing a storm, and to give Halifax credit, the tree held up much better than trees in Montreal would have. I haven't seen a evidence of any branches, even twigs, being taken down by the storm (in Montreal almost any wind brought down all kinds of branches). I should note that just because the storm wasn't as impressive as I was led to believe it would be that doesn't mean it is nice here. Things are still relatively overcast, though generally calm, and a touch warmer than I want.

-For the past few days I have been working hard on a project for my comparative theory course. While I am at all enamoured with the subject of the topic, structuralist Marxism, I am glad to know that I will soon have completed the written portion of the assignment, and that by Thursday the presentation portion will be complete (though I am still not sure how I will present the material).

-Some corn that I planted a few days ago has sprouted. As questionable a proposition as the first batch of corn was, I can only imagine that corn planted later in the year has an even lower chance of success. Amazingly, it seems have have grown several centimeters since this morning.

-The plan is to have roast beef for dinner tonight. I guess I should probably think about putting that in the oven if I want to eat before 8:00 PM tonight. The other part of the plan is to have leek and potato soup (we have some leeks that we need to cook).

My take on instrumentalist Marxism

This evening, while working on a project on Marxist theories of the state I started thinking about how I could visually represent these ideas. Not surprisingly, I didn't get all that far before I ran out of steam. Fortunately, I did manage to work out one of my ideas (though that may be a generous assessment of what happened). Anyway, enjoy.

Voter Turnout in Canada

Earlier today I happened to be reading an article that discussed voter turnout trends in Canada. Unfortunately, the article was about 10 years old so many of the more recent elections weren't included, for obvious reasons, in the discussions.

I wondered what had happened in the more recent elections and thought that I might try to find the newer numbers. Fortunately, a quick Google search turned up what I was looking for, a table of the turnout rates from 1867 to 2006.

What I was most surprised to see was that while we have recently had relatively low turnouts, these numbers aren't all that much lower than turnout rates in the pre-WWII era. Even more shocking is that Canada has never had a particularly impressive turnout rate (nothing over 80%), nor have they had anything below half.

A Few Quick Notes 225

-While we don't have any rain yet, the skies have turned grey and appear as though they are preparing to really let us have a soaking. This meteorological turn for the worse would be associated with the hurricane/tropical storm system that is presently approaching the south coast of Nova Scotia. I heard one forecast this morning that suggested that some regions could get up to 10 centimetres of rain (which seems like a lot to me), hopefully they weren't talking about where I live.

-For the first time in a few weeks Neil and I didn't make it to the farmer's market. From my perspective this was mainly because we have adequate quantities of both celery and onions, each of which were recently or are on sale. The impressive thing about the present celery sale is that is the cheapest I have seen it in Halifax and it is also some of the nicest celery I have seen, a nice deep green with well formed stalks.

-Last night Neil, Rebecca, and I played a quick game of Scotland Yard. Not surprisingly, Neil, as Mr. X, smoked us. As one might suspect, Neil was somewhat more familiar with the associated strategy then either of us, something that he put to good use.

-Some of our plants seem to be doing quite well. Notably the beans and banana plant seem to keep growing a a fair pace. On the other end of the spectrum are the thyme and beet plants. In both cases these seem to keep dieing for no apparent reason. While the thyme plants does this only a few days after sprouting, the beets are now doing it a month or so into their lives. I still can't quite figure out why some of the beets seem to just die while the other seem to be doing quite well. On of my thoughts is that the container in which they are growing isn't deep enough, but that doesn't explain why some of the other plants are doing well. Another possible issue is overcrowding, though there seems to be no connection between spacing and sudden death. Some of the more isolated plants have died, as have some of the more crowded plants (the same pattern holds true for the plants that are still alive).

-This is shaping up to be another weekend filled with reading and associated school work. Most of the reading will be for two courses and hopefully result in a variety of papers, all of which will be due on or before Tuesday. As soon as the papers are handed in I will have to switch over to reading for my third course, and then, once Wednesday hits, back to one of the other two courses. It seems as though there is no way to get ahead of the game.

Does Elections Canada really want me to not vote?

Over the past several elections I have had the pleasure of occasionally temporarily residing away from my permanent address. These absences have allowed me to have the pleasure of applying for and using absentee ballots in federal and provincial elections. While not all of the conditions are the same at the federal and provincial level, it seems that the more problematic elements transcend levels of government to give some indication of a truly 'Canadian' approach to elections and voting.

The following are a few of my issues with the present conditions:

-One of the most striking elements of the absentee ballot process in Canada is how they have reversed onus when it comes to voting. Instead of it trying to help the voter cast their ballot by coordinating with the post office to ensure speedy delivery of ballots (as is done in the United Kingdom), it is the responsibility the voter to have the ballot in Ottawa by the time of the election. This takes a fair burden off of the post office and places on the shoulders of the voters as the clear implication is that no special effort will be made to have votes moved more quickly. Particularly strange is that there no guarantee that if a ballot is in the mail by a certain day that they will guarantee that it will make it to Ottawa. The implication is that you should get your ballot in the mail as quickly as possible. The consequence of this is that people are then casting their votes days or weeks before the end of the campaign, before all kinds of policy statements are released, and at a time when candidacies may still be open to change. So much for trying to be an informed voter.

-If you are voting by absentee ballot you have to provide your own stamp, meaning that it more expensive to vote for those who can't make it to the polling station. I don't mean to gripe about 60 cents, but I do find this particularly strange when you can send letters to MPs for free. That parties use this power in association with campaign literature makes it all the more surprising that my postage isn't paid with my absentee ballot. The other strange aspect of this is that it is quite clear that they can coordinate such arrangements with the post office, so why haven't they do it in this case?

-Once you get your absentee ballot you find that they don't even provide you with a list of candidates, though you are informed that you are able to vote either for a candidate or party. Maybe this is an indication that there is a problem. If your campaign period is too short for you to be able to print ballots than maybe your campaign period is simply too short. Is it really too much to ask to at least be sent an official list of the candidates, or am I just being picky?

-Something that I learned today is that the Elections Canada people seemingly don't check name of applicant against list of registered voters (even though I.D. is required presumably for this purpose). This means that people who are unregistered to vote can be sent ballots (the question is whether or not they will be counted once they are returned to Elections Canada). It seems that they could save themselves some hassle by doing the checking before they issue the ballots rather than once they get the ballots back and are trying to count them.

-Today I learned that at least one of the employees at the end of the help line is not familiar with the the term 'absentee ballot.' Rebecca tried to ask him a question about her absentee ballot and he didn't know what she was talking about. Apparently he couldn't figure out that 'absentee ballot' and 'special ballot' are synonyms.

A Few Quick Notes 224

-Today, like the past few days, has been quite nice. The sky is clear and the wind relatively low. The temperature, though it has dropped since I first arrived, is still quite pleasant, particularly if one is walking. Unfortunately, it seems that rain has been forecast for this weekend (at least I don't have to go walk to school on either of these days).

-Thinking of school, it has really been keeping me busy the past few days. Actually, to a large extent, the large quantity of reading and writing which I have been expected to do has been keeping me away from recreational activities (including blogging).

The notable exception to this trend was a trip to Yuk Yuk's that Neil, Rebecca, and I took last night. We decided to head back to see Kyle Radke, a comedian we saw on our first trip there a few weeks ago.

Just like on our previous visit, the evening was hosted by a local comedian who did some performing before each of the acts. The first two acts of the evening were from Halifax while the third was from New Brunswick. I think that all three of us weren't as impressed with the third act of the night, but that may just have been because he was quite clearly targeting his jokes to the middle-aged members of the audience.

As was the case on our first visit, all three of us really enjoyed Kyle Radke's performance. While there was some duplication of material (as one would expect) the show was consistently funny and entertaining. The material we hadn't heard before was great and was interspersed with some of the stuff we had heard, giving it a new context so that it didn't feel stale.

-I finally got around to baking some bread today. Unfortunately, my batch wasn't quite as large as I had hoped it would be. Some how I ended up with only three loaves, instead of my intended four. The bread is also not quite as sweet as usual, though that is mainly because I didn't put as much sugar as usual.

-Our neighbours, one of whom is also a political science student, will soon be moving out of their apartment. In preparation for the move the started to sell some of their belongings a few weeks ago. Neil and I took the opportunity to buy a few things, including a pair of end tables, some wine glasses, and a bookshelf. We were able to take possession of most of the item immediately, but we had to wait on the bookshelf as it was filled with books (this wasn't a particular problem as we didn't have an immediate need for the bookshelf).

Today we finally took possession of the bookshelf. Now that I have the item I really don't know where it will go. I guess I originally intended it go to in my room, but now I am not sure if I really need another piece of furniture, particularly one that is so large. Anyway, I guess I will have to figure something out sooner rather than later as I can't leave it in the middle of my bedroom for much longer.

A Few Quick Notes 223

-Today was a pretty beautiful day, though I wasn't really able to take advantage of the above average weather. One thing that is noticeable is that the temperatures are starting to drop as fall approaches. Right now one would likely want a jacket if they had to spend a prolonged period of time outside.

-The baby shower Rebecca will be hosting at our apartment is to take place tomorrow afternoon. Though I previously mentioned an aversion to baby shower games it seems that they have somehow crept onto the agenda (this may be been because of constant badgering on the topic).

Along with the scheduling, progress is also being made on the food side of things. During a break from school work I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and during another break I made a batch of humus. Rebecca is presently in the midst of making a layered ice ring for the punch. Neil and I have also made plans to make bacon wrapped scallops before we head out.

-Several days ago Rebecca told Neil and I that she had witnessed two of the neighbourhood boys jumping on the closed dumpster just outside our apartment. This afternoon, while sitting at my desk studying, I heard what sounded like a man peeing against a building. Soon after looking through my window I was able to see that I wasn't too far off in my assessment of the sound, instead of it being a man it was a young boy (he was peeing on an out-building associated with the neighbouring apartment building). Soon after he finished urinating he and a friend, who until then had been out of sight, began to climb on the dumpster and jump up and down on the lids. They started to jump from the top of the out building over an opening in the dumpster to one of the lid segments. Fortunately neither of the kids fell into the dumpster during their play session. I was also glad that it didn't last too long as it was rather loud and distracting.

-Today I read a section of Lord Durham's 1839 report about the governance of Upper and Lower Canada. I was somewhat shocked to read that he seemed to be advocating the 'execution' and 'obliteration' of French Canadian society, particularly when some of the recommendations would seem to accommodate the simultaneous existence of two or more cultures (particularly if they inhabited mutually exclusive territories).

-Tomorrow morning Neil and I are hoping to head to the local farmer's market. One reason for going is to get us out of bed at a reasonable time, though I should note that I am going with the intention of buying some celery, and possibly some onions.

-I should get back to work. I would like to read a few more things before I call it a night.

Tomorrow will be more of the same, reading and writing from dawn to dusk (or at least that is what I am imagining 3 hours of work will feel like).

Instant books are coming to a library near you (if you live in Ann Arbor, Michigan)

It seems that the University of Michigan will be introducing technology that will allow individuals to request, and receive within minutes, printed and bound copies of digitized, out-of-copyright books for a reasonable price. Interestingly, the machine will be associated with the library, what this means I don't quite know.

While I won't go as far as the manufacturer of the technology and say that its impact will be comparable to that of Gutenberg's, I do think that it has the potential to do some pretty impressive things. I guess over time we will see if this type of technology manages to take-off, or it is a high-technology solution that problem that is less of a problem in the digital environment (that this technology is dependent on digitized works that are already available leads me to believe that this may be the case).

Trapline update

As I mentioned yesterday, we seem to have been invaded by mice, or at least one mouse.

For the first several hours after the invasion had been observed the mouse could be heard gnawing at something in the wall behind the kitchen sink.



Neil first obtained a few glue traps from building management and then purchased several more traditional traps himself. The two types of traps arranged in with each created quite a visual. We were really trying to use the trapline approach to catching the mouse, it didn't have to be tricked into setting off the trap, it just had to try to leave to cupboard to set off the traps.



By the late evening the noise had ceased though none of the traps showed signs of mouse traffic. I hope that this means that the mouse has passed on (though the implication would be that it died in the wall). My theory was bolstered by some information that I received from the superintendent this evening. It seems that when they remodeled the building a few years ago they, as a precautionary measure, put poison between all of the walls. I suspect that the mouse may have consumed some of this poison and passed away.



The concern now is that if the mouse did die in the wall what are the chances that its decomposing corpse will stink up the joint? I don't think this is all that likely, though the superintendent was of the opinion that it was relatively likely.

Useful wikiHow articles

A few days ago Rebecca asked if Neil and I would mind if she hosted a baby shower for a friend of hers at our apartment. Not surprisingly, neither Neil nor I had any objections. The question the thought of a baby shower did raise related to which games would be played by the expectant mother and the other participants.

Rebecca was quick to inform me that neither she nor the mother-to-be had all that much interest in playing traditional baby shower games. Unfortunately, even though Rebecca took a very decisive stance, I haven't been able to get the idea of baby shower games off of my mind, particularly those that involve red bras and diapers.

So to get where I am trying to go with this, today, as has been happening recently, I brought up the baby shower game topic. Again I was reminded that games weren't in the cards. In response I suggested that we check wikiHow to see how they recommended a baby shower should be run, and if this somewhat authoritative source suggested games that such games be included.

I was quickly able to find the relevant wikiHow article and able to ascertain that they do in fact recommend games (though the games that they do recommend were even a bit much for me). Anyway, once I was on the wikiHow site I started to a little surfing and eventually came a across a few helpful articles, including the following:

How to be a sex kitten like Brigette Bardot

How to make a diaper wreath

How to attract the opposite sex (This article starts by suggesting that one needs to go out in public to meet people. It goes on to suggest that you need to be a 'self-actualized' person. The article concludes with a series of tips, such as the following: "Avoid buying tight clothes. You want to look cute, not like a stuffed burrito.)

How to date a stripper

How to lead addicting party games

For those of you that are curious, they have removed the article "How to have sex" as it apparently contravened their terms of use.

A mouse in the house

Several minutes ago I returned from a brief shopping excursion to find that Neil had discovered a mouse in our apartment. By the time I had returned from the store Rebecca had sequestered herself in one of the bedrooms and Neil and the superintendent's husband had laid several traps.

In the minutes after my return Neil and I were able to listen to the mouse gnawing away at something. We both suspect that the mouse somehow made it into the wall behind the kitchen cabinets and now doesn't know how to get out.

As I write this Neil is buying several more mouse traps. The plan is to surround the possible escape paths so that the mouse isn't able to make from the cabinet area alive. Hopefully the mouse decides to try and head out the way he went in so that our plan will work. If the mouse is successful with his gnawing mission we may have a reduced sense of possible escape paths.

Some of you may be wondering how we happened to get a mouse in our apartment. While we don't know exactly what happened, there is a suspicion that it came in through the front door when some new tenants were moving in on the weekend. I am quite please that the superintendent hasn't accused me of bringing it with me in my boxes, a accusation that was leveled at Nithum and I last year.

Hopefully the situation will be resolved quickly, particularly as this gnawing is quite loud and distracting.

A Few Quick Notes 222

-Today was pretty close to perfect. The temperature was pleasant, particularly if one had some walking to do. The skies were clear and there was little wind. Maybe we will be lucky and have similar weather tomorrow.

-Neil and Rebecca prepared a very tasty meal this evening. We had oven roasted potatoes, pork tenderloin, and cabbage salad. Unfortunately, I was a little late returning from class so I delayed the consumption process by some number of minutes.

-I really hoped to read a fair bit tonight, in the end I read what was absolutely essential but not enough to put me as far ahead as I would have liked.

-Neil and I checked out the law library today. We were both shocked at how much nicer it is than the main library. The level of lighting is noticeably higher. Also, the amount of work space seems to be relatively higher.

-It doesn't look as though any of us will make it to any of the Atlantic Film Festival screenings though there are films that all of us are interested in seeing. Neil was particularly bummed that he missed a film on the Rubik's cube while I am a little disappointed that I likely won't get to see Down to the Dirt.

Fiction vs. literature

Earlier this week I happened to find myself in a bookstore. While in the bookstore I noticed that along one wall they had a section that they called 'Fiction.' Across from this section was a section called 'Literature.' That they had two such categories was striking, if not because many people wouldn't differentiate between the two classes, but because it would likely be a nightmare to organize/classify.

When I asked a staff member how the books were classified she suggested that there really wasn't much of a hard and fast protocol. Classics and award winners always went in the literature section while romance and thrillers were always placed in the fiction section. The middle was, she freely admitted, a bit of a grey area.

The use of the terms 'fiction' and 'literature' in this context are very value laden. Clearly 'fiction' is a step down from literature. To shop in such a section in a store that also has a 'Literature' section might be taken as an indication that you either have poor taste or aren't much of a reader. It is conceivable to me that many may actively chose not to shop in this particular section of the store because of the message they fear it will send. On the other hand, there are some that might see shopping in the 'literature' section to be pretentious and elitist, particularly when it so clearly differentiated from popular fiction (though I imagine that this would be a smaller segment in such a bookstore).

I guess what I find surprising is that a bookstore would be so willing to risk losing sales either because of the desire of a reader not to be seen in the 'fiction' section or because a customer just doesn't know that the book they are looking for happens to be on the other side of the store.

The following are a few of the authors from the fiction section:
Joel Hynes
Bernice Morgan
Douglas Coupland


The following are a few of the authors from the literature section:
Jane Austen
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Miriam Toews

A Few Quick Notes 221

-While today has been overcast the rain that I was expecting seems not to have arrived. In many ways I wouldn't really have minded rain as I haven't really gone outside much and I don't plan on doing so.

-Yesterday while Neil, Rebecca, I were at the local farmer's market I was able to buy some onions and celery and a bay tree. The tree, if it manages to survive the winter, should eventually provide me with more bay leaves then I can possibly use. Neil's major purchase was a bottle of Glen Breton, a locally produced single malt whiskey. Neil has been following this company and their products since he heard about the problems they ran into when they tried to call their product a 'scotch.'

-I have spent substantial portions of today and yesterday reading. If things go as planned this evening this trend will continue. Actually, some of my effort may have to be moved over to writing as well as acquiring electronic versions of articles.

Presumably tomorrow will be quite similar to today.

-This morning I made a loaf of banana bread. While I wasn't able to use the recipe I used in the past I was pleased with the results. Neil and I both found that the resulting loaf, while less dense than normal, had a pretty typical banana flavour.

-Moments ago I learned that both of the nearby grocery stores close by 6:00 PM on Sundays. I wish I had known this a little earlier in the day as I would have then been able to head out to buy some food for dinner. As it stands now I will be forced to either sink to eating leftovers or to throw something together based on the odds and ends that are presently available to me.

-We now have a new chair in our living room. The new chair is a deep red upholstered 'tub chair.' So far all three of us are quite pleased with the purchase, particularly that it seems to work quite nicely with our recently acquired ottoman.

A Few Quick Notes 220

-The weather seems to have finally turned the corner and started to improve. Fortunately, with the increase of sun we have also had a decrease in heat, making the days much easier to tolerate. As far as I know this is what is to be expected for much of the rest of the week.

-Things have definitely started at school. As of this morning I have had all three of my classes, finalized my TA assignment, and secured an RA position. Along with all of these responsibilities comes a pile of reading, a pile that I hope to be able to make my way through in a reasonable fashion.

-Yesterday, while grocery shopping, I purchased a banana plant. While the plant is quite small, and in a small pot, it appears to be healthy and alive. What I don't know about the plant is whether it is the type of banana plant that might be expected to produce bananas at some stage (presumably once I transfer it to a pot of a reasonable size). I guess I will wait to see how it does in the coming days.

-Our comedy club experience last Thursday was pretty good. All of us managed to get in for a total of $12, a pretty fair price. Almost as soon as things got under way we learned that the advertised headliner wasn't going to be appearing but that we would be seeing about four comics through the night.

While the emcee had his ups and downs all three of us really enjoyed the other three comedians. Rebecca, who was a little hesitant at the begining of the night, seemed quite interested in seeing one of the comics when he comes back to headline a show in a few weeks time.

I should also say that the drinks were reasonably priced, which wasn't what we expected. Unfortunately we did experience two problems with the drinks. Firstly, the beer selection was very limited. The bar stocked only 6 types of beer, all of which were distributed by a single national brewery. Secondly, Rebecca's cola was off, so off that it didn't even smell like cola. Because the first one was so off we didn't go back for a second so we don't know if what we experienced was part of a trend or was a one-off incident.

A Few Quick Notes 219

-While there was a fair bit of rain this morning, we don't seem to have received the drenching that was predicted. As far as I am concerned this is absolutely fine because in the past few weeks we have had more rain and humidity than I think was necessary.

-This evening we will be having pot roast for dinner I am quite looking forward to the meal as beef, potatoes, carrots, and gravy are some of my favourite foods, and this is one of my favourite way to have have these foods prepared.

-I finally took the time to unpack my printer and organize my desk. These changes to my room and study space should help me get down to work in the coming days. In particular hooking my printer up will be important as many of my readings are from computer files that I will likely need to print.

-This morning Neil and I installed a few items in the kitchen.

The first item we installed was a new under-cabinet halogen lamp. The idea is that this lamp will provide light for the kitchen sink and some of the surrounding areas. As things were before this area was a little short on light, making it hard to always doing a good job of washing the dishes.

On the wall just behind the sink we installed a spice rack. Due to the location of the spice rack it is able to benefit from the newly installed light also. The main benefit of the spice rack is that we now have our spices in a location that doesn't require us to bend down and reach in to an awkwardly designed cupboard. Hopefully this installation will make using spices much easier.

-Many of the plants are still doing quite well. The corn and beans are still the tallest, though neither type of plant is anywhere ready to begin producing fruit.

Just a few days ago both types of pepper began to sprout. This surprised me as it took much less time than I expected. The other thing that surprised me about this is that many more of the seeds germinated than I expected. Hopefully these plants will continue to exceed my expectations in the coming weeks and months.

The thyme is still showing signs of trouble. Most the original sprouts have died off, though at least one is still alive. Fortunately a few new seeds have started to show signs of life, giving me how that with a change to the location of the pot I might be able to bring things around to a more positive direction.

Get a free $50 item at the Bayers Lake Brick

For those of you in the Halifax region with the ability to make your way to the Brick at Bayers Lake shopping facility you may be interested to know that there is a pretty amazing coupon in The Coast's The Best of Halifax publication.

The coupon, which is published inside the publication, is for $50 off any item in the store. The particularly impressive part is that they don't require a minimum purchase to use the coupon. This means that if you can find something that you want to buy that costs less than $50 it can be yours for free.

While taking advantage of this amazing deal yesterday the salesperson told me that all kinds of people were using the coupon to buy $50 DVD players and ottomans. This same salesperson also told me how shocked he was that the store would go in for such an incredible coupon, particularly as a minimum purchase wasn't required.

As far as I can tell the only catches are that they limit the number of coupons per customer to one and the coupon is only valid until September 10, 2008.

For those of you that are curious, I managed to buy a multi-region DVD player and ottoman for only $16 (the price after the discount had been applied). Neil used the coupon to buy a chair for $50, the chair, which was on sale at the time of the purchase, was originally priced at $200.

A Few Quick Notes 218

-Though this morning started out looking as though it would be more rain and overcast skies, things managed to clear up by about 1:00 PM. Unfortunately, clear skies don't mean no humidity, so I am still sweating away.

-Last night Neil, Rebecca, my father, and I made our way over to the local casino. The idea was to take advantage of several deals Neil had scoped out. One of the deals gave us a $20 discount on our restaurant bill while the other deals meant that we each had $5.00 worth of slot machine credits.

After we eat a very late dinner we moved our operation over to the 2 cent slot machines. Soon after we started playing I managed to enter some kind of bonus round and accumulate all kinds of extra credits. This allowed me to play until after everyone else had busted and still cash out with $5.00.

While I had an enjoyable time hitting the pleasure button I am pretty sure I won't be a regular casino visitor, and certainly not without some kind of similar inducement.

-Earlier this afternoon I baked Neil's birthday cake. Right now I am working main course. Unfortunately our plans for steak fell through when we found that the store had sold out of our desired cut. Luckily we were able to quickly come up with a good fall back plan, cheap pork chops.

-I had my first day of class today. So far things seem to be going well. I was particularly pleased to learn that it doesn't look as though I should have to buy a book for this class. Apparently many of the readings will be made available through an online service (which I will have to investigate shortly).

-Later this evening Neil, Rebecca, and I will be heading over to a local comedy club to take advantage of more birthday and student related deals. If all goes according to plan we will only have to pay a total of $12.00 in admission fees. I guess the great unknown is the price they are planning on charging for drinks (particularly as this is not the cheap beer night). As far as I know this will be the first time any of us have gone to a comedy club.

If this experience is positive I may try to head back for some of the sketch comedy or the amateur night (my preference being the cheap beer night) as each of these have relatively low admission fees.

-I forgot to buy the paper today. Maybe I will need to get my subscription going in the very near future.

Indoor Gardening

A few days ago I planted a number of types of vegetables and herbs. So far I have been amazed at the rapidity of the growth that has occurred.

The yellow beans that I planted have been productive. Since the seeds started to sprout a few days ago they have been literally growing centimeters a day. Strangely the stalks seem to be particularly tall, though not particularly leafy. Presumably the leafs will start to show themselves in the coming days.

Possibly most surprising of the seeds to have sprouted is the corn. So far several shoots have popped up, some of which are now showing the early stages of leaves. Hopefully the onset of winter (and the corresponding shortening of the days) won't be too much of a problem for the corn, though I am pretty sure that won't be the case.

The radishes seem to also have a high germination rate. Unfortunately I didn't do a particularly good job at ensuring even spacing in the planter so I now have a number plants almost on top of each other. I guess I might try to plant a few more of these in a few days so that I will have a somewhat continual harvest system going.

In the same planter as the radishes I also planted some beets. These too seem to be rather clumped together, though in this case I took much more effort to properly space the seeds. Fortunately most of these seeds have sprouted already, though the growth hasn't been spectacular or impressive.

On the herb front I have been having mixed success. The chives that I planted seem to be doing quite well, though a number of the shoots have taken odd turns in their growth. The thyme that I planted seems to have been involved in some mass die-off today. I suspect the cause of the death is due to the moisture of the soil, which has been pretty high because of the high level of humidity and the low level of direct sunlight.

The only seeds that haven't yet sprouted are the two types of peppers that I planted. As I know that these typically take some period of time to germinate I am not worried at this stage. If nothing happens in a weeks then I might start to worry.

Save on groceries in Halifax

Today while in the grocery store Neil and I found out about a new promotion that allows students shopping at Sobey's to save 10% on most items.

It seems that students attending Halifax area universities who also have an Air Miles card can get a coupon from the customer service desk that, when swiped at the check out, will cause your Air Miles card to trigger a discount of 10% on purchases made on Tuesdays from now until May 2009.

So far this seems to be a great deal, though not all that well promoted by the store. Maybe in the coming weeks we will see a bigger push to promote this special.

A Few Quick Notes 217

-Just like the past few days, today has been a mix of periods of overcast skies and periods of clear skies. Fortunately, the periods of overcast skies haven't brought too much rain with them today. Unfortunately, during the overcast and clear periods it seems to be quite humid.

-It has been so humid in Halifax these past few days I feel as though I haven't stopped sweating since I arrived. This is a particularly unpleasant feelings, and somewhat surprising as it really isn't all that hot outside.

-Last night a friend from St. John's stayed with us. While he was he played a game of Cities and Knights with Neil and I. As one might have expected, Neil ended up winning the game. Amazingly our guest gave Neil a very good run for his money and I might have had more of a chance had I not accidentally allowed myself to lose a city. Though I didn't do particularly well I am glad that I got a chance to play Cities and Knights for the first time in some number of years. Hopefully we will be able to manage to get time for a few more games in the near future.

-Since I have been in Halifax I have been sleeping on an assortment of pads and mats stacked on top of each other. Not surprisingly, this isn't really an ideal long-term bed situation, though it is surprisingly comfortable in the short term.

In an attempt to rectify this situation Neil and I went out to a nearby store that sells cheap mattresses. While the mattresses seemed to be pretty passable, I was a little disappointed to learn that they were charging $159. This price, while likely quite reasonable, seemed to be on the high side. In the end I decided not to buy one, though maybe a few more weeks on a makeshift bed will convince me to get my act together and cough up the $159 for a real mattress.

-Neil and I did a pretty ridiculous amount of grocery shopping today. First we made our way over to the Sobey's for a number of sale items, as well as a few general purchases.

After we returned to the apartment and dropped off our purchases we made our way back out, this time to head to the Atlantic Superstore, for more sale purchases and general shopping.

Hopefully this means that we will be able to go at least a day or two without heading to the grocery store, a streak that would be a Halifax record for me.