A Few Quick Notes 280

-So it seems that we did get some of the predicted freezing rain and wind. Fortunately, it seems that not as much damage was caused by this weather as could have been the case. That being said, I did notice a number of down branches on the paved area outside my window.

Though the freezing rain had ended by morning, much of the rest of the day was marred by periods of rain and wind. Given that it wasn't that warm, things were definitely on the unpleasant side of things.

-I had to head into school today for a few reasons, one of which involved a quick stop at the medical library, the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library. Amazingly, I managed to find the library relatively easily though I only had the vaguest idea where it was located. Somehow I managed to pick the the correct building even though it could reasonably been in anyone of about five buildings (at least that is my impression of the health sciences portion of the campus). Once entering the library I was surprised to see how busy it was. Almost every available space on the main floor was taken by studying students. A feature which distinguishes from the Killam Library is how well lit this library is. Not only are there windows that let light in, there are also a number of light sources and colours that seem to adequately reflect the light. The overall effect was to make it a much more pleasant environment than the Killam, which is far too dark for my liking.

-While at school I also picked up my grading for the term. I will try give these papers a quick once over and maybe start on the grading proper either tonight or tomorrow.

-A few days ago I mentioned that it seemed that the blog-off had caused our traffic to spike a little. Upon closer inspection of the numbers it seems that the real cause of much of the spike was actually Neil's review of Slumdog Millionaire. It seems a relatively large (by our standards) number of individuals found Montifax when searching for reviews of the movie.

I guess this might teach us two lessons. Firstly, blog-offs among don't really generate all that much general interest. Secondly, if you want your numbers to spike, start covering all kinds of pop/contemporary culture content. Since mass readership isn't really our goal I can't imagine we will be making many changes based on this second lesson. And considering that readership isn't really our primary goal I can't imagine that we will be taking to many lessons from the first lesson either.

-The cold I have been mentioning these past few days is still around. Aside from being generally unpleasant, it is causing me to go through tissues as though increased consumption might lead to increased wealth. Hopefully this cold will pass in the very near future.

-One of my favourite podcasts, Stop Podcasting Yourself, recently released their 52nd show, meaning that they now have a year's worth of shows. Given this significant achievement I thought that this might be a good opportunity to mention the show and encourage you to listen if you like comedy podcasts with guys talking about stuff. For those of you that still miss Richardson's Round-Up, this Vancouver based podcast has participatory elements that allow the listeners (or 'bumpers' in the context of this podcast) to really engage with the hosts and the content, which might help fill the void made by the cancellation of the aforementioned CBC show.

-As I was approaching the supermarket this afternoon I saw the lights flick off. As I entered the store it seemed that while the lights had gone off most of the other electricity drawing devices were still fully functional (including the deep-fat frier in the pre-made food section). Aside from having a little trouble finding things in certain aisles, the experience was quite fine. Had the debit machines not been functioning I think I would be of a different mind.