A Few Quick Notes 364

-Today seems to have been largely overcast and cool, though it hasn't rained and it hasn't been cold, so I guess it gets a passing grade. That being said, it feels as though we are now definitely in fall and not just experiencing a cold spell.

-On Tuesday night Neil and I attended the Rex Murphy book a launch that I mentioned a few posts ago. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but the talk was much more entertaining and exciting than I expected. It is likely that Neil and I were so drawn in because Rex spent a good portion of his time recounting his experiences working for Newfoundland Liberal party in the 1980s.

I should also give Rex credit for being a particularly capable public speaker. As far as I could tell, aside from a brief section at the end of his talk, he managed to speak for 45 minutes without notes and without a microphone (and with only a few sips of water). More impressive than just the fact that he accomplished such a feat was that the content, if wandering at times, was well presented and managed to draw out a number of connections that I hadn't previously made. So I guess I am recommending Rex as a speaker if you ever have the opportunity to hear him.

After the talk he signed a few books. As neither Neil nor I purchased a book we did not stick around for the signing, though I did try to snap a few photos (the quality of which were hampered by light and distance).



-Last night I joined the matheletes on a booze cruise on the Halifax harbour. It turns out that most of us weren't really prepared for what we eventually experienced, though I think that once we started to get a sense of things we were at least able to deal with the experience.

I am not sure what it says about me, but I was glad to get the chance to go under both bridges. One thing that I found strange is that only the Souther bridge (I can't remember which is which) was properly illuminated.



At one point two of us were looking at the wheelhouse and were a little bit surprised to see this.



As you might have guessed, the crew was obscured by the wheel. Sadly, they didn't try to ghost ride the Harbour Queen (as unique an experience as that might have been).

-On Wednesday it was quite wet and windy so we decided not to play our Ultimate game, though we only made this decision at the field. As we were all there and free for a few hours most of us decided to hit the closest bar, the Rodeo Lounge in Burnside.

Once in the bar we learned that not only were we basically the only customers but that they had an indoor basketball net as well as Nintendo Wii that we were able to use (and did use). Unfortunately, the mechanical bull was not in use while we were there, though now that I know it exists I have some motivation to head back at some point in the future.

I should also say that the prices were reasonable and the service was great. It was incredibly fun to play a few games of HORSE/take a few shots while hanging out and drinking some beer. It would be great if more bars had such facilities.

-I harvested quite a number of tomatoes today. I think it is safe to say that this was my biggest single harvest yet, though I hope to be able surpass this record next year.



Hopefully Neil will be able to eat them all before they go bad.