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.

A Few Quick Notes 173

-While today has been a little warmer than yesterday the high of 12 was a little disappointing. Fortunately, the sun was a little more visible than it has been these past few days and the rain seems to have temporarily stopped. While we are supposed to carry on in a similar vein tomorrow, it seems that the middle of the week will put us back into the rain and fog cycle.

-Tomorrow my father and I are scheduled to head out on a converted fishing vessel to go iceberg hunting. Though one might expect me to know approximately where we are going I don't. Hopefully we are able to see a few impressive bergs, and maybe even scoop up a few of the smaller pieces of ice.

-This afternoon my father and I removed a section of wall at the adjoining house. This is the first demolition of this house that I have taken part in since my demolition party of '05. Unlike the last time, this experience involved less beer and tools more complex than bare hands and feet.

-In a few minutes, even though it is less than ideal weather, I will head out to the back patio and toss a few burgers on the grill. It is likely that once Greg and I finish eating that we will head to the downtown region, though this hasn't been settled. As I have to leave on the early side for my boat trip I hope not to stay out all that late.

-Yesterday my sister went on 'tour' with her youth choir. This is her first tour with the choir since she joined last fall. While previous tours have taken choir members to such places as England and Denmark, this trip will seem them visiting such towns as Gander and Harbor Breton. As far as I can tell she seems to be enjoying things so far, though I have no idea how the singing is going.

-I think that the recent posting drought is likely related to the over abundance of posts that occurred while I was in Sint Maarten. After such an output and the subsequent diminished excitement level the idea of posting every day has seemed difficult and somewhat unimportant (as I guess this entire exercise is anyway). Anyway, I guess I will see if I can continue somewhat regular posting as we enter the Summer.

A Few Quick Notes 161

-Today was another pretty nice day in Montreal. We didn’t really have much of anything in terms of abnormal weather conditions, I mean, it wasn’t even all that cold today.

-Seems that I am now 6/27 with Roll Up the Rim so far this year. During class this afternoon, one of my classmates was convinced that I was about to win one of the boats. Both of us are dreading such an occurrence as we would have no particularly good way of dealing with such a prize at the moment. The joke is that if we win a boat we will have to have to store it at our parents’ houses.

-A few days ago a few co-workers and I were talking about the unpleasant experience that is drinking spruce beer. If I recall correctly, the general consensus, or maybe just what I thought, was that this stuff should be avoided at all costs.

As I was walking down the beer/pop aisle at the grocery store a few days ago I noticed that the store brand made a spruce beer. Assuming that they would have cut come of the spruce flavour and added some sugar, I decided to give it a try, for old times sake.

After letting it chill in my fridge for a few days, I eventually got around to trying it. Shortly after pouring myself a fair sized glass I tried it, only to find that it tasted pretty much like tree. The 40 grams of sugar per 355 ml seemed to have done nothing to make it sweet and tasty. I very quickly reached the conclusion that I wouldn’t be having any more.

When Nithum returned a few days ago I mentioned that he was welcome to have as much of the spruce beer as he wanted, and that whatever he didn’t drink we could just throw away. After his first taste he thought we could keep it around for a while, he would give it a chance.

Later that same evening I went into the kitchen and found that the spruce beer had been removed from the fridge and placed on the counter. It seems that Nithum’s infatuation hadn’t lasted even a full evening. Sometime in the next couple of weeks one of us will get around to throwing the rest away, though we don’t’ want to rush it as who knows who may want to try some.

-I should be working on assignments right now, particularly my presentation on the development of support for intellectual freedom in the American library community. I have plenty to do on that front, far more than I like to admit to myself.