-Today has been see-sawing between sunny periods and grey periods. Despite the less than perfect weather, it is much warmer and generally much nicer than when we arrived in Regina at this time of year two years ago. At the time Wascana Lake had already frozen and it wasn't until Spring that we had temperatures this warm.
-Yes, we've now been in Regina for just over two years (though three Halloweens). Last night we had dinner at the restaurant we first visited on our first night in town. The time has really flown by.
-Yesterday we went to Moose Jaw for the day to participate in an Ultimate tournament. Because we're too old for that kind thing (though we did manage to beat two younger teams) we're really feeling the effects today in a bad way. Hopefully we won't be in too much pain by the time we need to head to work tomorrow morning.
-My Margaret Wente pumpkin was a bit of a bust - not a single kid (or parent) commented on it. Maybe today's kids just aren't up on their national newspaper columnists? Or maybe I did a bad job carving her likeness? Or, more likely, both?
Showing posts with label Ultimate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ultimate. Show all posts
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Monday, September 26, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 550
-After a few days of cooler temperatures we seem to have headed back into the mid-twenties. Though it has occasionally been a bit muggy recently, I think that on the whole this weather is fine for this time of year.
-Yesterday some friends from Halifax came out to visit. After doing some apple u-picking we had lunch and then all played some pick-up Ultimate. All in all I think we all had a very enjoyable afternoon.
-Maybe a week ago my father brought to my attention a telephone and internet deal. Almost immediately I signed up for the deal as it will mean a 50% reduction in our telecommunications costs, at least that is what I am hoping will be the case. The aspect of the new arrangement that I am a little worried about is that for maybe two days we may have overlapping service. Anyway, if we don't have a fully functioning phone or internet connection for a few days starting tomorrow afternoon don't be surprised (and I am sure that many of you might be saddened by the prospect of not getting more of these updates for a few days).
Anyway, I just hope the transition is smoother than I am fearing it will be.
-Earlier today I finished reading my first ebook (I read it on an iPad). Much to my surprise, the experience was much more pleasant than I might have expected. Of course, the book didn't have illustrations screw with formatting and as I was reading the book recreationally the fact that it didn't have page numbers wasn't problematic. I can definitely see myself reading ebooks in the future, particularly as public libraries provide larger and larger ebook collections.
-Yesterday some friends from Halifax came out to visit. After doing some apple u-picking we had lunch and then all played some pick-up Ultimate. All in all I think we all had a very enjoyable afternoon.
-Maybe a week ago my father brought to my attention a telephone and internet deal. Almost immediately I signed up for the deal as it will mean a 50% reduction in our telecommunications costs, at least that is what I am hoping will be the case. The aspect of the new arrangement that I am a little worried about is that for maybe two days we may have overlapping service. Anyway, if we don't have a fully functioning phone or internet connection for a few days starting tomorrow afternoon don't be surprised (and I am sure that many of you might be saddened by the prospect of not getting more of these updates for a few days).
Anyway, I just hope the transition is smoother than I am fearing it will be.
-Earlier today I finished reading my first ebook (I read it on an iPad). Much to my surprise, the experience was much more pleasant than I might have expected. Of course, the book didn't have illustrations screw with formatting and as I was reading the book recreationally the fact that it didn't have page numbers wasn't problematic. I can definitely see myself reading ebooks in the future, particularly as public libraries provide larger and larger ebook collections.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 545
-So far today seems like a pretty nice day, though at times I get the sense that things are momentarily not quite as bright as they might be. Maybe this meteorological indecision has something to do with the thunderstorms that are forecast for tonight and/or tomorrow morning?
-Last night Hantsport, as part of its Canada Day celebrations, hosted a hypnotist show in their fire hall. Given my fascination with hypnotist's shows I was quite interested in attending, and Jeannette seems to have felt similarly.
Unfortunately, many in Hantsport didn't take advantage of the opportunity to attend such a show and we were, consequently, part of a relatively small crowd. Actually, at one point in the show there were more volunteers on stage than there were non-participant audience members.
Eventually, four volunteers were selected as the show's primary participants.
Anyway, though it was a small crowd I am pretty sure that everyone in attendance had a great time. And maybe even more importantly, none of the participants did anything truly embarrassing or crude that they might really regret today of if they look at photos of the event.
-Yesterday while taking care of a few errands Jeannette and I acquired a few new inexpensive house plants which have since been re-potted.
Though it is quite common as a houseplant, I am kind of excited about our newly acquired spider plant. The sprouting of new plantlets in a way of propagation that I find quite fun to watch.
We also acquired some peppermint, another plant that has the ability to spread quickly. I am hoping that will will soon have a full pot of the stuff, not that I really have any plans for using it.
A small African violet was also picked up and then re-potted in a novelty boot shaped pot.
The final type of plant we picked up has a name that I can't remember. I was attracted to this plant because it is supposed to do well in low light and humid environments. It is currently in the bathroom.
-Over the past few days I have been curious to figure out the type of vine that is growing along the property line between our apartment and the neighbouring property. Yesterday I finally took something of a closer look and noticed a pattern of growth that looks something like an undeveloped bunch of grapes. Now that I have done a litte searching online I can see that the leaves are grape leaves and that these structures are likely pre-grapes. Of course, I still don't know exactly which kind of grapes they are of if they ever will be edible but I am kind of hoping that I might be able to collect a few at some point.
-Assuming all goes well and the weather holds, Jeannette and I should be heading to Ultimate this afternoon.
-Last night Hantsport, as part of its Canada Day celebrations, hosted a hypnotist show in their fire hall. Given my fascination with hypnotist's shows I was quite interested in attending, and Jeannette seems to have felt similarly.
Unfortunately, many in Hantsport didn't take advantage of the opportunity to attend such a show and we were, consequently, part of a relatively small crowd. Actually, at one point in the show there were more volunteers on stage than there were non-participant audience members.
Eventually, four volunteers were selected as the show's primary participants.
Anyway, though it was a small crowd I am pretty sure that everyone in attendance had a great time. And maybe even more importantly, none of the participants did anything truly embarrassing or crude that they might really regret today of if they look at photos of the event.
-Yesterday while taking care of a few errands Jeannette and I acquired a few new inexpensive house plants which have since been re-potted.
Though it is quite common as a houseplant, I am kind of excited about our newly acquired spider plant. The sprouting of new plantlets in a way of propagation that I find quite fun to watch.
We also acquired some peppermint, another plant that has the ability to spread quickly. I am hoping that will will soon have a full pot of the stuff, not that I really have any plans for using it.
A small African violet was also picked up and then re-potted in a novelty boot shaped pot.
The final type of plant we picked up has a name that I can't remember. I was attracted to this plant because it is supposed to do well in low light and humid environments. It is currently in the bathroom.
-Over the past few days I have been curious to figure out the type of vine that is growing along the property line between our apartment and the neighbouring property. Yesterday I finally took something of a closer look and noticed a pattern of growth that looks something like an undeveloped bunch of grapes. Now that I have done a litte searching online I can see that the leaves are grape leaves and that these structures are likely pre-grapes. Of course, I still don't know exactly which kind of grapes they are of if they ever will be edible but I am kind of hoping that I might be able to collect a few at some point.
-Assuming all goes well and the weather holds, Jeannette and I should be heading to Ultimate this afternoon.
Friday, July 01, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 544
-Today, amazingly, has turned out to be quite nice so far. The skies are blue and the wind is relatively non-obtrusive. Though as we are hitting the middle of the day I suspect that temperatures may pick up and things may become a little less bearable.
-On Wednesday afternoon Jeannette and I attended the Grand Opening festivities of the new location of the Wolfville Farmers' Market. Both of us were a little surprised that this event was held on Wednesday instead of Saturday, the day that tends to be busier and have more vendors present. Anyway, while there were able to see local MP Scott Brison looking very handsome in a nice summer suit - he was definitely be best dressed guy in attendance. Jeannette and I probably should have taken the time to introduce ourselves but we decided against it, at least partly because he was always in the midst of talking to someone.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I played an enjoyable game of pick-up Ultimate. The only problem with the game was the humidity. We all found it hard to play well and run hard given the mugginess. Hopefully our game on Sunday afternoon won't be quite so muggy.
-As this week's weather has been generally quite nice Jeannette and I have taken a number of bike rides. Today we finally made our to the local dykes were we rode from Wolfville towards Port William.
While the ride was generally quite pleasant, we did eventually encounter something of a problem. It seems that the derailleur on Jeannette's folding bike is quite low to the ground and was managing to accumulate plenty of dried grass on a particular section of the dyke. At this point we decided to turn back.
Fortunately, we were able to ride several kilometers before we encountered this problem. And now that we know what to look out for it will be pretty clear in which conditions the folding bike is not a viable option.
-Yesterday for breakfast I made another batch of pumpkin bran muffins. This time I accidentally forgot the pumpkin pie spice. While the muffins were definitely fine without the spice I do think that it really does add something nice so I hope to remember it when I make this recipe in the future.
-This afternoon Jeannette and I are thinking of continuing our holiday celebrations by heading to the local zoo. Hopefully we might finally be able to hit the zoo up for feeding time - I presume that this is the best time to be there as it likely will mean the most active animals.
-On Wednesday afternoon Jeannette and I attended the Grand Opening festivities of the new location of the Wolfville Farmers' Market. Both of us were a little surprised that this event was held on Wednesday instead of Saturday, the day that tends to be busier and have more vendors present. Anyway, while there were able to see local MP Scott Brison looking very handsome in a nice summer suit - he was definitely be best dressed guy in attendance. Jeannette and I probably should have taken the time to introduce ourselves but we decided against it, at least partly because he was always in the midst of talking to someone.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I played an enjoyable game of pick-up Ultimate. The only problem with the game was the humidity. We all found it hard to play well and run hard given the mugginess. Hopefully our game on Sunday afternoon won't be quite so muggy.
-As this week's weather has been generally quite nice Jeannette and I have taken a number of bike rides. Today we finally made our to the local dykes were we rode from Wolfville towards Port William.
While the ride was generally quite pleasant, we did eventually encounter something of a problem. It seems that the derailleur on Jeannette's folding bike is quite low to the ground and was managing to accumulate plenty of dried grass on a particular section of the dyke. At this point we decided to turn back.
Fortunately, we were able to ride several kilometers before we encountered this problem. And now that we know what to look out for it will be pretty clear in which conditions the folding bike is not a viable option.
-Yesterday for breakfast I made another batch of pumpkin bran muffins. This time I accidentally forgot the pumpkin pie spice. While the muffins were definitely fine without the spice I do think that it really does add something nice so I hope to remember it when I make this recipe in the future.
-This afternoon Jeannette and I are thinking of continuing our holiday celebrations by heading to the local zoo. Hopefully we might finally be able to hit the zoo up for feeding time - I presume that this is the best time to be there as it likely will mean the most active animals.
Friday, April 01, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 526
-After several hours of overcast skies this morning we have finally made the transition to rain/snow and high winds. Though we don't yet have a storm warning, other parts of the Maritimes have been warned about a snowstorm that is due to hit this weekend. So even if we don't get 30 cm of snow, it does look as though we will be getting something unpleasant this weekend.
-On a related note, it seems that there is an Ultimate tournament taking place this weekend that should be made pretty unfun by this weather. Actually, the likelihood of similar weather was exactly why I chose not to play in the same tournament last year. Anyway, I really hope that things aren't too unpleasant for those playing.
-After a little dilly-dallying this morning I finally got around to sending an email to Elections Canada about their less than function special ballot application webpage. Of course after sending the email I was taken to a page where it was suggested that I shouldn't expect a particularly prompt response. I guess I just hope that they change their system before too many people are discouraged from voting.
-As I was walking to an appointment this morning I came across this car.
I guess it must be an April Fool's day joke but I really don't get it.
-At first I thought a story from St. John's about the Village Mall booting Metrobus from their parking lot was an April Fool's Day joke as well, but this one seems to be real. This is definitely going to be a bummer for a number of bus riders and will again hit the people who can least afford to be hit.
My favourite part of the story was the part at the end when they talked about decreasing ridership. I wonder if the decreasing ridership might have anything to do with a decreasing quality of the service? My experience with Metrobus over the years has been that they have consistently made bus routes less useful and changed route structures so that trips to and from the same places take longer than they used to. No wonder fewer people ride the bus under these circumstances.
-On a related note, it seems that there is an Ultimate tournament taking place this weekend that should be made pretty unfun by this weather. Actually, the likelihood of similar weather was exactly why I chose not to play in the same tournament last year. Anyway, I really hope that things aren't too unpleasant for those playing.
-After a little dilly-dallying this morning I finally got around to sending an email to Elections Canada about their less than function special ballot application webpage. Of course after sending the email I was taken to a page where it was suggested that I shouldn't expect a particularly prompt response. I guess I just hope that they change their system before too many people are discouraged from voting.
-As I was walking to an appointment this morning I came across this car.
I guess it must be an April Fool's day joke but I really don't get it.
-At first I thought a story from St. John's about the Village Mall booting Metrobus from their parking lot was an April Fool's Day joke as well, but this one seems to be real. This is definitely going to be a bummer for a number of bus riders and will again hit the people who can least afford to be hit.
My favourite part of the story was the part at the end when they talked about decreasing ridership. I wonder if the decreasing ridership might have anything to do with a decreasing quality of the service? My experience with Metrobus over the years has been that they have consistently made bus routes less useful and changed route structures so that trips to and from the same places take longer than they used to. No wonder fewer people ride the bus under these circumstances.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 522
-Today has been a pretty nice day so far. Actually, it was even almost warm enough that a jacket wasn't necessary. Sadly, we are supposed to head towards snow this evening.
-I am now down to a measly 4 for 27 in this year's RUTRTW contest. This is definitely a disappointing performance.
-We played our final Ultimate game of the season tonight. Not surprisingly we managed to lose. Aside from the uneven score the game was actually pretty fun to play. As I won't be playing in the upcoming Spring leagues I suspect the next time I will be playing is this Summer.
-A few days ago I went to the hospital for a routine x-ray. As usual, I was one of the youngest people in the waiting room.
-It seems that we will soon be facing a 33% increase in our laundry prices. Bummer. Overall we have seen a 60% increase in prices since we moved in a few years ago. Things are definitely not heading in the right direction on this front.
-I had to give a lecture on Thursday. While the lecture was ongoing I couldn't really tell how it was going, for the most part the students seemed pretty non-responsive. Fortunately, two students came up to talk to me after the class about the subjects covered in the lecture. This suggests that at least a few people got something from the experience, which is comforting and pleasing.
-It seems that we are now officially in election mode in Canada. Jeannette, Rebecca, and I watched the confidence vote yesterday and Neil, Rebecca, and I watched the coverage of Harper's trip to Rideau Hall this morning. On our way from Ultimate Jeannette and I spotted re-election signs for Megan Leslie (given that they were re-election signs it is clear that they weren't just left-overs from the last election).
-I am now down to a measly 4 for 27 in this year's RUTRTW contest. This is definitely a disappointing performance.
-We played our final Ultimate game of the season tonight. Not surprisingly we managed to lose. Aside from the uneven score the game was actually pretty fun to play. As I won't be playing in the upcoming Spring leagues I suspect the next time I will be playing is this Summer.
-A few days ago I went to the hospital for a routine x-ray. As usual, I was one of the youngest people in the waiting room.
-It seems that we will soon be facing a 33% increase in our laundry prices. Bummer. Overall we have seen a 60% increase in prices since we moved in a few years ago. Things are definitely not heading in the right direction on this front.
-I had to give a lecture on Thursday. While the lecture was ongoing I couldn't really tell how it was going, for the most part the students seemed pretty non-responsive. Fortunately, two students came up to talk to me after the class about the subjects covered in the lecture. This suggests that at least a few people got something from the experience, which is comforting and pleasing.
-It seems that we are now officially in election mode in Canada. Jeannette, Rebecca, and I watched the confidence vote yesterday and Neil, Rebecca, and I watched the coverage of Harper's trip to Rideau Hall this morning. On our way from Ultimate Jeannette and I spotted re-election signs for Megan Leslie (given that they were re-election signs it is clear that they weren't just left-overs from the last election).
Monday, March 14, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 520
-Much to my surprise, today was incredibly nippy. The wind just had a way of working it's way through my three coats and into my bones. Sadly, it seems that we may be in for some more of the same tomorrow.
-I have dropped to 3 for 16 in this years RUTRTW contest. Apparently I haven't been bringing my A game to the table for about a week. I guess it is about time that I started picking things up, especially if I want to win Neil a car (I am hoping I will get a Karma assist if I try to win for someone other than myself).
-We had our first play-off game in Ultimate this past Saturday. Unfortunate our team managed to lose by four points. That being said, I am not sure if any of us had particularly bad games. I think we just failed to play well as a team. Due to an upcoming trip to sunny PEI I will be missing our game next Saturday.
-I have been regularly following the Guardian's recent post-quake/tsunami live-blogs . I really like the way that they bring together stories and developments. One of the things to which they have pointed me is a series of before and after satellite images that effectively demonstrate the amount of damage experienced by some coastal regions in Japan.
-They seem to have received another shipment of pomelos at one of the local grocery stores. I bought four. I hope to have consumed at least two by the time I go to sleep tonight.
-I have dropped to 3 for 16 in this years RUTRTW contest. Apparently I haven't been bringing my A game to the table for about a week. I guess it is about time that I started picking things up, especially if I want to win Neil a car (I am hoping I will get a Karma assist if I try to win for someone other than myself).
-We had our first play-off game in Ultimate this past Saturday. Unfortunate our team managed to lose by four points. That being said, I am not sure if any of us had particularly bad games. I think we just failed to play well as a team. Due to an upcoming trip to sunny PEI I will be missing our game next Saturday.
-I have been regularly following the Guardian's recent post-quake/tsunami live-blogs . I really like the way that they bring together stories and developments. One of the things to which they have pointed me is a series of before and after satellite images that effectively demonstrate the amount of damage experienced by some coastal regions in Japan.
-They seem to have received another shipment of pomelos at one of the local grocery stores. I bought four. I hope to have consumed at least two by the time I go to sleep tonight.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 515
-After our late week rain storm we have fallen back to sub zero temperatures. Not surprisingly, we now have all kinds of ice and whatnot. The worst part is that we are supposed to have another rain/snow storm tomorrow.
-One consequence of this relatively horrible series of weather events has been the formation of a large sheet of ice on the cement area outside my bedroom window. My attempt to do some sliding on this ice was relatively disappointing.
[Embedded video]
-Tomorrow is the final day of the blog-off. I am still trying to convince Neil to throw up a few posts before time runs out. If he doesn't throw up at least a post it will be a bit weird to post a wrap-up video and celebrate my victory.
-We had our final regular season Ultimate game last night. Unfortunately, we didn't play very well and managed to lose the game.
Score
Cameron 59
Neil 0
-One consequence of this relatively horrible series of weather events has been the formation of a large sheet of ice on the cement area outside my bedroom window. My attempt to do some sliding on this ice was relatively disappointing.
[Embedded video]
-Tomorrow is the final day of the blog-off. I am still trying to convince Neil to throw up a few posts before time runs out. If he doesn't throw up at least a post it will be a bit weird to post a wrap-up video and celebrate my victory.
-We had our final regular season Ultimate game last night. Unfortunately, we didn't play very well and managed to lose the game.
Score
Cameron 59
Neil 0
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 510
-For much of the day today we hoovered just above freezing. Then as evening came the temperature dropped and we started to get a little snow. Not surprisingly, this combination lead to somewhat treacherous conditions and plenty of black ice.
-Our Ultimate game this evening didn't go particularly well. Almost immediately we dropped to an 8 point deficit. In the second half things only got worse and we dropped to a 15 point deficit. Amazingly, we scored 3 points in the final minute so that brought the final score to within 12.
-I just made some very-heavy-on-garlic humus.
-For the better part of this afternoon I dealt with a major laundry project. In total I did four loads and then arranged three of these loads on drying racks. Unfortunately, it looks as though I may have another load or two do deal with tomorrow.
Score
Cameron 47
Neil 0
-Our Ultimate game this evening didn't go particularly well. Almost immediately we dropped to an 8 point deficit. In the second half things only got worse and we dropped to a 15 point deficit. Amazingly, we scored 3 points in the final minute so that brought the final score to within 12.
-I just made some very-heavy-on-garlic humus.
-For the better part of this afternoon I dealt with a major laundry project. In total I did four loads and then arranged three of these loads on drying racks. Unfortunately, it looks as though I may have another load or two do deal with tomorrow.
Score
Cameron 47
Neil 0
Saturday, February 12, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 508
-Today was a pretty nice day, though at times we did have a few flurries.
-We managed to lose our Ultimate game by about 10 points tonight. Strangely, and I am not sure if it had anything to do with the my new sports goggles, I had a pretty good game tonight. Unfortunately relatively early on in the game I made a rather big diving catch and managed to make contact with the ground with my right elbow, lower back, and left hip. Presently my right elbow and left hip are in some pain. And, though I didn't know it at the time, my lower back has been scratched. I am starting to wonder when the self-preservation instinct will kick in and I can stop hurling my body at the ground in an attempt to catch something that is flying by.
I am also really hoping that this newly acquired limp manages to heal itself overnight.
-We are still plugging away at Doyle Pitches. It seems that CBC having banned key writers from reading us hasn't really slowed us down.
I am still waiting to hear when the Telegram article might be coming out, though I am holding my fingers that it will be soon.
-Today I spent a good deal of time slaving away in the kitchen and I am not sure that I have all that much to show for it.
-It seems that the Canada Games officially started yesterday. I guess Halifax will be a bit messed up for the next two weeks. As I don't have a car or many regularly scheduled appointments this should be too bad for me.
-Neil really needs to get his act together and start posting if he wants to do well in this year's blog-off. Actually, I wouldn't mind if he posted just so that I didn't look as though I was over-posting for no reason.
C'mon first year winner, get you stuff in gear and throw up a few posts.
Score
Cameron 33
Neil 0
-We managed to lose our Ultimate game by about 10 points tonight. Strangely, and I am not sure if it had anything to do with the my new sports goggles, I had a pretty good game tonight. Unfortunately relatively early on in the game I made a rather big diving catch and managed to make contact with the ground with my right elbow, lower back, and left hip. Presently my right elbow and left hip are in some pain. And, though I didn't know it at the time, my lower back has been scratched. I am starting to wonder when the self-preservation instinct will kick in and I can stop hurling my body at the ground in an attempt to catch something that is flying by.
I am also really hoping that this newly acquired limp manages to heal itself overnight.
-We are still plugging away at Doyle Pitches. It seems that CBC having banned key writers from reading us hasn't really slowed us down.
I am still waiting to hear when the Telegram article might be coming out, though I am holding my fingers that it will be soon.
-Today I spent a good deal of time slaving away in the kitchen and I am not sure that I have all that much to show for it.
-It seems that the Canada Games officially started yesterday. I guess Halifax will be a bit messed up for the next two weeks. As I don't have a car or many regularly scheduled appointments this should be too bad for me.
-Neil really needs to get his act together and start posting if he wants to do well in this year's blog-off. Actually, I wouldn't mind if he posted just so that I didn't look as though I was over-posting for no reason.
C'mon first year winner, get you stuff in gear and throw up a few posts.
Score
Cameron 33
Neil 0
Friday, February 11, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 507
-Though it was quite cold this morning, today turned into a pretty nice winter's day. For a little while in the afternoon we even got a few flurries.
-My sports goggles arrived today. Hopefully I will be able to try them out in our Ultimate game tomorrow evening. I hope that putting them on in public for the first time won't be too strange ro elicit too many comments.
Jeannette also picked up a pair of glasses today.
-I made a big batch of tomato-free chili for dinner tonight.
-The 2011 Canada Games opening ceremonies are presently ongoing in Halifax. Assuming all goes as planned, I may a attend a few of the associated free evening performances.
Score
Cameron 32
Neil 0
-My sports goggles arrived today. Hopefully I will be able to try them out in our Ultimate game tomorrow evening. I hope that putting them on in public for the first time won't be too strange ro elicit too many comments.
Jeannette also picked up a pair of glasses today.
-I made a big batch of tomato-free chili for dinner tonight.
-The 2011 Canada Games opening ceremonies are presently ongoing in Halifax. Assuming all goes as planned, I may a attend a few of the associated free evening performances.
Score
Cameron 32
Neil 0
Saturday, February 05, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 505
-Though there is plenty of snow on the curbs, today was a pretty nice day. At times the temperatures even reached the above freezing mark.
-It seems that the forecast for tomorrow is just nasty:
-Oh, and there seems there seems to be a new and neat weather symbol associated with this forecast.
-Yet again we had a somewhat disastrous Ultimate game. The redeeming feature of the experience was that the other team was pleasant to play against. The end of the game was particularly unpleasant for Jeannette as she took a disc to the face (an event that will presumably lead to her having a swollen lip tomorrow).
-I made some homemade pizzas for our post-game feed. Amazingly, I think that the cheese and tomato pizza might have been a better pizza than my pepper and sausage pizza.
Score
Cameron 15
Neil 0
-It seems that the forecast for tomorrow is just nasty:
-Oh, and there seems there seems to be a new and neat weather symbol associated with this forecast.
-Yet again we had a somewhat disastrous Ultimate game. The redeeming feature of the experience was that the other team was pleasant to play against. The end of the game was particularly unpleasant for Jeannette as she took a disc to the face (an event that will presumably lead to her having a swollen lip tomorrow).
-I made some homemade pizzas for our post-game feed. Amazingly, I think that the cheese and tomato pizza might have been a better pizza than my pepper and sausage pizza.
Score
Cameron 15
Neil 0
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 503
-Today has been a pretty great day all day long. Now, presumably just for a seasonal effect, a few snowflakes are falling, though not really staying around.
-Our Ultimate team played pretty poorly in our game last night. Our poor play wasn't helped by the fact that were were missing quite a number of players. In the end we lost the game by about 7 points. Hopefully things will go better next week.
-Did you know that you can Flickr user's photostreams as RSS feeds? I know that I just learned this a few days ago and was a little saddened to think that I hadn't been taking advantage of this feature for the past few years (assuming it has been around that long).
-I am presently in the midst of making batches pea soup and butternut squash soup for dinner tonight.
The butternut squash soup is turning out a little thinner than I hoped it would. I will soon be trying to resolve the problem by supplementing the soup with some carrots and potatoes. These new additions should give the whole thing a little more body, and make it a little less like yellow water. Hopefully they aren't strong enough flavours to overpower the squash.
-We are still going 'strong' over at Doyle Pitches. My favourite of the day, at least so far, is "Doyle: Pig in the City."
-Our Ultimate team played pretty poorly in our game last night. Our poor play wasn't helped by the fact that were were missing quite a number of players. In the end we lost the game by about 7 points. Hopefully things will go better next week.
-Did you know that you can Flickr user's photostreams as RSS feeds? I know that I just learned this a few days ago and was a little saddened to think that I hadn't been taking advantage of this feature for the past few years (assuming it has been around that long).
-I am presently in the midst of making batches pea soup and butternut squash soup for dinner tonight.
The butternut squash soup is turning out a little thinner than I hoped it would. I will soon be trying to resolve the problem by supplementing the soup with some carrots and potatoes. These new additions should give the whole thing a little more body, and make it a little less like yellow water. Hopefully they aren't strong enough flavours to overpower the squash.
-We are still going 'strong' over at Doyle Pitches. My favourite of the day, at least so far, is "Doyle: Pig in the City."
Saturday, January 22, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 499
-We had another cold, clear, and crisp day in Halifax today. In many ways this was a little surprising given how much precipitation we had yesterday.
-Earlier today I remembered that we are now just a few days away from our 3rd annual Montifax Blog-off. I think that I will have to re-jig the scoring system a little so that things will be skewed a little more to Neil's favour. At the moment I am even thinking of going back to the original 5 to 1 scoring system that we used in the first year. Anyway, check back in February for exciting blog-off action.
-We had another successful Ultimate game. Though we whittled down an 18 lead to only a 6 point lead, we did manage to hold on to the lead and win. It may be hard for us to bring our winning streak to 3 as we will be missing quite a number of players next week.
-I had another big salad for lunch today. As usual, I didn't waste any valuable salad space on leafy greens. Who wants leaf taking up space when they could just as easily have something with a little more substance in their bowl?
-I guess I should get back to work.
-Earlier today I remembered that we are now just a few days away from our 3rd annual Montifax Blog-off. I think that I will have to re-jig the scoring system a little so that things will be skewed a little more to Neil's favour. At the moment I am even thinking of going back to the original 5 to 1 scoring system that we used in the first year. Anyway, check back in February for exciting blog-off action.
-We had another successful Ultimate game. Though we whittled down an 18 lead to only a 6 point lead, we did manage to hold on to the lead and win. It may be hard for us to bring our winning streak to 3 as we will be missing quite a number of players next week.
-I had another big salad for lunch today. As usual, I didn't waste any valuable salad space on leafy greens. Who wants leaf taking up space when they could just as easily have something with a little more substance in their bowl?
-I guess I should get back to work.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 496
-After some early morning snow and slush today turned out to be a rather nice winter's day. Though it was cold this evening, the air was clear and the were sidewalks relatively dry.
-We managed to win our Ultimate game last night. This was a particularly impressive feat for two reasons. Firstly, because we were short females we had to pick one up from another team, which meant that we had to take a 7 point penalty. Secondly, even with our extra female player we only had two females, meaning that they didn't have any substitutes during the game. Hopefully we play as well next week.
(Update: Jeannette was upset that I did not mention that she was one of the two female player mentioned above. Both of these players played hard the entire game and score many of our points. Jeannette has suggested, and I agree, that she likely scored about one third of our points.)
-I have managed to do a fair bit of studying this weekend, which is good as my first comp is just around the corner.
-Our salad diet is still going strong. Furthermore, for the first time in my life I have also been doing a good job of integrating fruit into my diet. Actually, I may be over doing it on the fruit front, though this will likely come back into line now that one of the great citrus sales of the year has ended.
-I guess I should get back to work. The Durham Report awaits me.
-We managed to win our Ultimate game last night. This was a particularly impressive feat for two reasons. Firstly, because we were short females we had to pick one up from another team, which meant that we had to take a 7 point penalty. Secondly, even with our extra female player we only had two females, meaning that they didn't have any substitutes during the game. Hopefully we play as well next week.
(Update: Jeannette was upset that I did not mention that she was one of the two female player mentioned above. Both of these players played hard the entire game and score many of our points. Jeannette has suggested, and I agree, that she likely scored about one third of our points.)
-I have managed to do a fair bit of studying this weekend, which is good as my first comp is just around the corner.
-Our salad diet is still going strong. Furthermore, for the first time in my life I have also been doing a good job of integrating fruit into my diet. Actually, I may be over doing it on the fruit front, though this will likely come back into line now that one of the great citrus sales of the year has ended.
-I guess I should get back to work. The Durham Report awaits me.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 493
-For better or worse, since my last update, it has continued to snow. Because of the near-zero temperatures we haven't seem much accumulation since about the time of my last post.
-Earlier today a friend of mine asked for a recipe for some lentil stew that I made about a month ago. Of course instead of providing him with something I of a straight forward answer he got the following:
This was then supplemented with the following nugget:
I am curious to hear how this turned out as these may be some of the least precise recipe instructions I have ever given anybody.
-Last night we managed to lose our ultimate game by a single point. Even more impressive than the margin of our defeat is the fact that the final point was scored with less than a second left on the clock. Bummer.
-This afternoon Jeannette talked me into going to see the movie Black Swan with her and a few of her friends. While I will give this thing credit for being well acted and, at least as far as I could tell, technically well crafted, the experience was somewhat less than enjoyable. Maybe I am just turning into my father, but I really am not too interested watching someone self-destruct on screen, no matter how artfully it is done.
-My pea/lentil soup and bread should be ready for consumption shortly. After dinner I will have to be sure to get back to work.
-Earlier today a friend of mine asked for a recipe for some lentil stew that I made about a month ago. Of course instead of providing him with something I of a straight forward answer he got the following:
I don't happen to have the recipe on me at the moment (nor did I the last time I made it), but I am quite willing to try to re-create what it was I did.
The last time I made it I think that I didn't start by adding some onions and oil to the pot, but that is normally how I would start. From there I would add the potatoes and lentils. I base the number of potatoes on the size of the batch I want to make, so maybe 3-4 cubed potatoes. In terms of lentil volume, the original recipe called for next to no lentils, I like to add close to a cup, again, it is flexible. At this point I would also add water and seasoning. As far as seasoning goes, I use vegetable bouillon/stock and black pepper. I would use maybe two tablespoons of the powdered stuff and a teaspoon or so of pepper. Add enough water (or you could use liquid vegetable stock) to cover most of the ingredients. I would say that it is better to start with less water and add more later than too much and need to boil it off.
(I typically use green/brown lentils and let them soak for an hour or two before cooking. I have never used canned lentils, but I presume you could. If you use red lentils I don't think it is necessary to let them soak).
The original recipe calls for carrots and celery, and suggests that they should be added only at the end of the cooking period. I find this works, but many people don't really like almost raw celery and carrots in their stews so I tend to add these ingredients at about the same time as everything else. It should also be noted that basically any vegetables you want should work. (For instance, when you were there I left out the celery because I know Rebecca doesn't like it and replaced it with things like frozen beans and corn.)
The great thing about this recipe is that it is quick, unlike regular stew. In all you probably only need to cook this for about an hour.
I realize this description/recipe has been a bit rambling, so if you have any questions feel free to write back or call.
This was then supplemented with the following nugget:
Also, upon consideration 1 cup of lentils seems like a lot for 3-4 potatoes, I might dial that back a bit.
I am curious to hear how this turned out as these may be some of the least precise recipe instructions I have ever given anybody.
-Last night we managed to lose our ultimate game by a single point. Even more impressive than the margin of our defeat is the fact that the final point was scored with less than a second left on the clock. Bummer.
-This afternoon Jeannette talked me into going to see the movie Black Swan with her and a few of her friends. While I will give this thing credit for being well acted and, at least as far as I could tell, technically well crafted, the experience was somewhat less than enjoyable. Maybe I am just turning into my father, but I really am not too interested watching someone self-destruct on screen, no matter how artfully it is done.
-My pea/lentil soup and bread should be ready for consumption shortly. After dinner I will have to be sure to get back to work.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 488
-Amazingly, much of the evidence of yesterday's flash snowfall has vanished. Maybe even more surprising is the fact that today was actually quite a nice day, it even went so far as to be above freezing.
-Yesterday I purchased a package of red peppers from the grocery store only to find that they were some of the worst red peppers I have ever had. What is strange is that while they don't appear to be spoiled they are definitely note quite as crisp as they should be and they are certainly lacking the flavour I am accustomed to finding in most of my red peppers. Hopefully I will have better luck next time.
-On a related note, Jeannette and I took a trip to the local farmers' market only to make a single substantive purchase (a $1 turnip). Of course, to find this turnip we had to brave dense groups and elbow our way past the better part of Halifax's aging yuppy population.
-Our Ultimate game didn't go particularly poorly tonight though we were at least a few points behind for most of the game. In the end the result was less than surprising and ended with us getting the loss. One of the most enjoyable aspect of the game was running across a member of the opposing team who happened to be on my first Ultimate team in St. John's in 2005.
-I am starting to think about getting ready for Christmas, for better or worse this hasn't yet meant that I have actually done that much to get ready.
-Aside from our Ultimate game and trip to the market, I feel as though I spent most of my day marking. Fortunately I am now just about done for the night/day/term. Before it I know it I will be back to studying for my comps.
-Yesterday I purchased a package of red peppers from the grocery store only to find that they were some of the worst red peppers I have ever had. What is strange is that while they don't appear to be spoiled they are definitely note quite as crisp as they should be and they are certainly lacking the flavour I am accustomed to finding in most of my red peppers. Hopefully I will have better luck next time.
-On a related note, Jeannette and I took a trip to the local farmers' market only to make a single substantive purchase (a $1 turnip). Of course, to find this turnip we had to brave dense groups and elbow our way past the better part of Halifax's aging yuppy population.
-Our Ultimate game didn't go particularly poorly tonight though we were at least a few points behind for most of the game. In the end the result was less than surprising and ended with us getting the loss. One of the most enjoyable aspect of the game was running across a member of the opposing team who happened to be on my first Ultimate team in St. John's in 2005.
-I am starting to think about getting ready for Christmas, for better or worse this hasn't yet meant that I have actually done that much to get ready.
-Aside from our Ultimate game and trip to the market, I feel as though I spent most of my day marking. Fortunately I am now just about done for the night/day/term. Before it I know it I will be back to studying for my comps.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 486
-Today seems to have been something of a mix weather conditions. That being said, I can't really remember much of today's weather other than that it was nice at about noon. Apparently sitting in front of a window for most of the day doesn't do much to help me remember how the day progressed on the other side of the glass.
-A few days ago I learned that home-video and 1980s and 1990s sitcom legend Bob Saget will be performing in Halifax in the new year (January 13, 2011) at the local casino. Apparently Mr. Saget tends to work blue, a fact I won't likely be able to confirm by attending the show as the ticket prices are a little out of my price range (meaning they are more expensive than free).
-Much to my surprise, my Pepsi bread was generally well received by it consuming public. Actually, of the five of us who tried it, I was the only one who was so underwhelmed that I couldn't finished my piece of bread.
-Our Ultimate experience started and ended poorly last night. While trying to catch the bus to the gym Jeannette and I learned that the bus didn't stop where we originally thought it did. When we eventually found an appropriate bus stop the bus didn't come. Fortunately, from the bus stop where we were waiting we were able to see another bus stop that had a bus going to our destination. We eventually caught the bus at this adjacent stop. After a nerve-wrackingly slow bus ride that seemed to include a stop a basically all of the stops between where we caught the bus and our destination we had to make our way from the Bedford highway to the the MSVU student centre/gym. Of course we arrived only six before our game was to start.
Almost as soon as the game stared it became clear that we were not playing quite as well as the other team. By the half-way point we were about 16 points behind. Just a few minutes into the second half of the game the power went out and we were left with only a few emergency lights. After we all sat in the dark for a few minutes we called the game, bringing our game to a fitting conclusion.
-We are all presently catching the conclusion of the most recent Amazing Race.
-A few days ago I learned that home-video and 1980s and 1990s sitcom legend Bob Saget will be performing in Halifax in the new year (January 13, 2011) at the local casino. Apparently Mr. Saget tends to work blue, a fact I won't likely be able to confirm by attending the show as the ticket prices are a little out of my price range (meaning they are more expensive than free).
-Much to my surprise, my Pepsi bread was generally well received by it consuming public. Actually, of the five of us who tried it, I was the only one who was so underwhelmed that I couldn't finished my piece of bread.
-Our Ultimate experience started and ended poorly last night. While trying to catch the bus to the gym Jeannette and I learned that the bus didn't stop where we originally thought it did. When we eventually found an appropriate bus stop the bus didn't come. Fortunately, from the bus stop where we were waiting we were able to see another bus stop that had a bus going to our destination. We eventually caught the bus at this adjacent stop. After a nerve-wrackingly slow bus ride that seemed to include a stop a basically all of the stops between where we caught the bus and our destination we had to make our way from the Bedford highway to the the MSVU student centre/gym. Of course we arrived only six before our game was to start.
Almost as soon as the game stared it became clear that we were not playing quite as well as the other team. By the half-way point we were about 16 points behind. Just a few minutes into the second half of the game the power went out and we were left with only a few emergency lights. After we all sat in the dark for a few minutes we called the game, bringing our game to a fitting conclusion.
-We are all presently catching the conclusion of the most recent Amazing Race.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 479
-Amazingly, today's forecast today seems to be lining up with reality quite nicely. Fortunately, this has meant that the day so far has been quite nice. Hopefully I will get to experience a little bit of this weather in person.
-We played our second indoor Ultimate game of the season last night. While we didn't win, we did play a much better game than we did last week. Actually, had it not been for our poor showing in the first half we would have won (meaning that we outscored them in the second half). Hopefully We will be able to play as well or better next week.
-I made a batch of bran muffins for breakfast this morning. While the flavour is fine, they definitely aren't quite as three-dimensional as I might have liked.
-Just a few minutes ago I placed an order with an Canadian online bookstore. What amazes me about these orders is the amount of time that it takes for these companies to get the goods to their customers. When I lived in New York seven years ago Barnes and Noble was able to offer same-day delivery to addresses in Manhattan and pretty speedy delivery to other addresses in the US. What's up with Canada's much slower delivery times?
-I made another dairy and tomato free pizza last night. Actually, it would have even been vegan had I not topped it with pepperoni and turkey. I was pretty pleased with the outcome, though I think that by eating it all I overindulged.
-Apparently there is a yurt company in Wolfville. Not only will they rent or sell you a yurt, they are also willing to teach you how to build your own yurt.
-We played our second indoor Ultimate game of the season last night. While we didn't win, we did play a much better game than we did last week. Actually, had it not been for our poor showing in the first half we would have won (meaning that we outscored them in the second half). Hopefully We will be able to play as well or better next week.
-I made a batch of bran muffins for breakfast this morning. While the flavour is fine, they definitely aren't quite as three-dimensional as I might have liked.
-Just a few minutes ago I placed an order with an Canadian online bookstore. What amazes me about these orders is the amount of time that it takes for these companies to get the goods to their customers. When I lived in New York seven years ago Barnes and Noble was able to offer same-day delivery to addresses in Manhattan and pretty speedy delivery to other addresses in the US. What's up with Canada's much slower delivery times?
-I made another dairy and tomato free pizza last night. Actually, it would have even been vegan had I not topped it with pepperoni and turkey. I was pretty pleased with the outcome, though I think that by eating it all I overindulged.
-Apparently there is a yurt company in Wolfville. Not only will they rent or sell you a yurt, they are also willing to teach you how to build your own yurt.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 476
-Yesterday, for the first time this year, we had a real snowfall. For better or worse, most of the remnants of this snowfall have now melted or otherwise disappeared. I presume that this means that we will now be in for more similar weather over the coming days and months.
-We managed to rather decisively lose our first Ultimate game of the new winter season. Though it wasn't our only problem, our team was not helped by a high absence rate. Hopefully more of us will turn up next week and we will be able to provide our opponents with a better game.
-The aforementioned shift towards more winter-like weather seems to have encouraged a few more mice to invade our apartment. Fortunately, aside from one that we caught a few days ago, most of the evidence that we have that these guys are living in the building comes from hearing them in the walls rather than seeing evidence of them in the apartment. I think our continued efforts to plug holes with steel wool has really helped things, though I guess I shouldn't be so confident yet.
-This afternoon Peter and I attended a talk that presented the findings of a study that examined the ways in which Dal students used the Killam Library. One of the aspects of the talk, which was quite enjoyable, that I found most interesting was that the findings of the study were not effectively integrated into the development of new library website (even though the research was conducted in a way that would provide the designers with feedback).
-We managed to rather decisively lose our first Ultimate game of the new winter season. Though it wasn't our only problem, our team was not helped by a high absence rate. Hopefully more of us will turn up next week and we will be able to provide our opponents with a better game.
-The aforementioned shift towards more winter-like weather seems to have encouraged a few more mice to invade our apartment. Fortunately, aside from one that we caught a few days ago, most of the evidence that we have that these guys are living in the building comes from hearing them in the walls rather than seeing evidence of them in the apartment. I think our continued efforts to plug holes with steel wool has really helped things, though I guess I shouldn't be so confident yet.
-This afternoon Peter and I attended a talk that presented the findings of a study that examined the ways in which Dal students used the Killam Library. One of the aspects of the talk, which was quite enjoyable, that I found most interesting was that the findings of the study were not effectively integrated into the development of new library website (even though the research was conducted in a way that would provide the designers with feedback).
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