-Despite a light dusting of snow late yesterday afternoon/evening, the winter continues to be unseasonably warm. Again today we're expecting temperatures close to five degrees above freezing and I'm not sure if it's even gone down to -20 at any point this month. It's just bizarre.
-A few months ago I noticed that our oven didn't seem to be heating evenly. Of course, because it did eventually heat up it took me a while to identify the problem. That the element in the oven continued to operate as normal made the problem even more baffling.
Finally, after months of procrastination we finally called an appliance service company last week and arranged for a visit by a repairman. After quickly describing the problem, the service technician got down to work and began disassembling our oven.
Before long panels were off and he was deep in the gut of the thing, where he found that the oven's second element - which was hidden in the side of the oven away from site - was shot. Fortunately, he had a replacement element on hand and he was able to have the oven back in proper working order in less than an hour.
While we were more than satisfied with the quality of the service call, it seems like a bit of a design weakness to place a replaceable element in a location that requires the oven to be torn apart to reach. That the first element lasted about fifteen years will hopefully mean that this won't be a service call we will need to make again.
-With our newly functioning oven we've both already completed baking projects. Yesterday I made a loaf of bread and Jeannette made a small batch of coconut cookies.
-In addition to regular Sunday cleaning and errands, we'll likely have to make a trip to the grocery store later today. Hurrah!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Sunday, September 27, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 624
-We are in the midst of an almost perfect fall in Regina. After a few near-frost days the temperatures have really warmed up and the skies have been free of intrusive clouds.
-Of course, while the weather has been great the leaves have been turning (and falling) at a remarkable rate. In just about a week the tree in our front yard went from green to yellow to empty.
Of course, other trees aren't changing quite as quickly and it is a great time to walk around on many of Regina's well-maintained trails.
Seriously, it's hard to imagine a much more beautiful time of year in Regina.
-And of course, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to take a related time-lapse video
[Embedded video]
-For some reason I've been quite pie-inclined for the past few weeks. I'm really having to restrain myself from cranking two or three pies (as I did last weekend).
I think I'm going to crack.
-Of course, while the weather has been great the leaves have been turning (and falling) at a remarkable rate. In just about a week the tree in our front yard went from green to yellow to empty.
Of course, other trees aren't changing quite as quickly and it is a great time to walk around on many of Regina's well-maintained trails.
Seriously, it's hard to imagine a much more beautiful time of year in Regina.
-And of course, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to take a related time-lapse video
[Embedded video]
-For some reason I've been quite pie-inclined for the past few weeks. I'm really having to restrain myself from cranking two or three pies (as I did last weekend).
I think I'm going to crack.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
A Few Quick Notes 618
-After about a week and a half of unseasonably warm temperatures we've again seen the mercury drop to something approximating the seasonal norm (even if we're still a few degrees above where we normally are). The nasty consequence of the warm weather is that much of the snow that we had on the ground melted and then re-froze as ice and because many people hadn't been completely up to date on their sideway clearing much of this ice is now on sidewalks around Regina. Snowfalls, however slight, since the drop in temperatures have conveniently masked much of the ice making walking even more treacherous than it was when it ice was exposed.
-This morning at about 8:30 I went out for a nice shovelling session. I managed to take care of our shovelling and to also shovel the sidewalks of our neighbours on both sides. Much to my surprise, I think I managed to take care of this shovelling before any humans walked along the sidewalk.
-For dinner tonight we should be having a nice batch of mushroom and barley soup. If I decide to be ambitious we may even have some type of freshly baked bread or dessert to accompany the soup (maybe even both).
-I think that after about a month since we first felt the symptons of a cold Jeannette and I are both back to about 98%. There's a bit more phlegm than either of us would like, but it's not too bad.
-This morning at about 8:30 I went out for a nice shovelling session. I managed to take care of our shovelling and to also shovel the sidewalks of our neighbours on both sides. Much to my surprise, I think I managed to take care of this shovelling before any humans walked along the sidewalk.
-For dinner tonight we should be having a nice batch of mushroom and barley soup. If I decide to be ambitious we may even have some type of freshly baked bread or dessert to accompany the soup (maybe even both).
-I think that after about a month since we first felt the symptons of a cold Jeannette and I are both back to about 98%. There's a bit more phlegm than either of us would like, but it's not too bad.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Working for the weekend
It's just after 10:00 AM and I already feel as though I've got hours of work under my belt.
The major project I've been addressing this weekend is to put the aesthetic touches on a handrail in our basement that I constructed last weekend. The posts (rather ugly 2x6s) are being painted a greyish colour while the hemlock handrail is retaining its natural colour.
The handrail was given a quick second coat early this morning and should be ready for a third and, maybe, final coat this afternoon (though I have a sneaking suspicion that a fourth or fifth coat may be ideal). As each of the first two coats have been significant improvements, I'm hopeful that these additional coats will really be worth the effort.
The first of my removable posts has now been given two coats of paint is ready to be re-installed once it has fully dried. Once this post is back in place I will swap out the other post and give it two quick coats and then re-install it. To save time I have pre-woodfilled the second post so that I can have two streams of drying occurring simultaneously. Ideally, both posts will be complete and back in place by Sunday evening at the latest.
Of course, while allowing paint and finishes to dry I've been busy taking care of other chores. Dishes, laundry, and baking have all be going on in the background. Sadly, I suspect laundry, which we've allowed to pile up all week, will also stretch through the weekend.
The major project I've been addressing this weekend is to put the aesthetic touches on a handrail in our basement that I constructed last weekend. The posts (rather ugly 2x6s) are being painted a greyish colour while the hemlock handrail is retaining its natural colour.
The handrail was given a quick second coat early this morning and should be ready for a third and, maybe, final coat this afternoon (though I have a sneaking suspicion that a fourth or fifth coat may be ideal). As each of the first two coats have been significant improvements, I'm hopeful that these additional coats will really be worth the effort.
The first of my removable posts has now been given two coats of paint is ready to be re-installed once it has fully dried. Once this post is back in place I will swap out the other post and give it two quick coats and then re-install it. To save time I have pre-woodfilled the second post so that I can have two streams of drying occurring simultaneously. Ideally, both posts will be complete and back in place by Sunday evening at the latest.
Of course, while allowing paint and finishes to dry I've been busy taking care of other chores. Dishes, laundry, and baking have all be going on in the background. Sadly, I suspect laundry, which we've allowed to pile up all week, will also stretch through the weekend.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
That time of the year
[Embedded video]
Not only is it time-lapse season, it's also baking season.
After this batch I decided to make a special, vegan version for Jeannette. Hopefully the vegan version's as tasty and sought after as the original.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 7
Bummer, the crumb isn't anything like I hoped it would be. Fortunately the taste and texture are quite palatable.
I guess at the end of the day I do feel relatively comfortable that the extra kneading does make some difference - even if I can't quite quantify it right now.
I guess at the end of the day I do feel relatively comfortable that the extra kneading does make some difference - even if I can't quite quantify it right now.
Cameron - 15
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 6
So both loaves are now out of the oven and on the cooling rack. Maybe in a few minutes they'll be cool enough to try.
Cameron - 14
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 5
So the first loaf is out of the oven and on the cooling rack.
All things considered, I'm quite hopeful that the outcome will be what I was hoping it would be.
Let's hope the second loaf, which is currently in the oven, turns as well or better.
All things considered, I'm quite hopeful that the outcome will be what I was hoping it would be.
Let's hope the second loaf, which is currently in the oven, turns as well or better.
Cameron - 13
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 4
So to misquote the Spiderman universe - "with great time comes great rising."
All of the ridges and imperfections that I created through the wet dough process have been removed through the power of rising. Of course, now I need to 'scar' the bread (I can't remember the technical term).
One term I do remember is 'crumb,' and I think that there's a chance that this bread may have been allowed to rise long enough that it will have a crumb of the sort that I've been looking for for some time.
In case you're curious, the oven has been cranked and the racks re-arranged to allow for the steam tray. And generally the excitement level in the apartment is building.
Cameron - 12
Neil - 0
All of the ridges and imperfections that I created through the wet dough process have been removed through the power of rising. Of course, now I need to 'scar' the bread (I can't remember the technical term).
One term I do remember is 'crumb,' and I think that there's a chance that this bread may have been allowed to rise long enough that it will have a crumb of the sort that I've been looking for for some time.
In case you're curious, the oven has been cranked and the racks re-arranged to allow for the steam tray. And generally the excitement level in the apartment is building.
Cameron - 12
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 3
Well, it looks as though a few of the rough edges have buffed out thanks to the rising process.
Hopefully everything will be fine when we get back from our trip to the store.
Cameron - 11
Neil - 0
Hopefully everything will be fine when we get back from our trip to the store.
Cameron - 11
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 2
Much to my surprise, the rising process has been going quite quickly. While I probably could have let the dough rise for a little more time, I just recently decided that I would move on to the next phase of the process.
So the thing I remembered as I moved on to the next process is that working with wetter dough is much more challenging than working with dough that kind of holds a shape and isn't incredibly sticky. Maybe at some point I'll need to talk to Peter to get a few tips on how to work with this stuff, but until then I am probably going to basically stick to my 'grab a handful of dough and slap it onto the baking surface' approach that I've been using.
But they'll kind of buff out as they rise, right?
So now I'm back to waiting for dough to rise. Hooray!
And we now have at least a post-a-day!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
So the thing I remembered as I moved on to the next process is that working with wetter dough is much more challenging than working with dough that kind of holds a shape and isn't incredibly sticky. Maybe at some point I'll need to talk to Peter to get a few tips on how to work with this stuff, but until then I am probably going to basically stick to my 'grab a handful of dough and slap it onto the baking surface' approach that I've been using.
But they'll kind of buff out as they rise, right?
So now I'm back to waiting for dough to rise. Hooray!
And we now have at least a post-a-day!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 1
There's no better way to up your number of blog posts than live-blogging a DIY domestic project (at least that's been my experience).
So down to the project at hand - a few years ago my mother gave me her old mixer. With the mixer came a set of dough hooks. And because I'm kind of lazy and set in my ways when it comes to bread making I'm never quite motivated enough to try making dough with dough hooks.
For the past few days I've been thinking that giving the dough hooks their shot might be worthwhile. What if all of the extra kneading that I can provide through dough hooks actually makes a difference?
So this morning I finally got around to putting the dough hooks in the mixer and adding bread ingredients to make a very basic bread (and one that some people have suggested requires plenty of kneading but that I've never knead more than a few minutes).
Immediately it became clear that unlike when a spoon is used, the ingredients were quickly and evenly mixed. With just a few more minutes the dough really started to take shape and look like dough. And because the dough I was making is relatively wet this process was much cleaner than had I tried to do it with my hands or a wooden spoon. Oh, and it was also much less wasteful.
So after the 'kneading' I was left with a dough about which I am quite hopeful: it's quite wet, it's evenly mixed, and it's been well kneaded.
Now I'll just have to see if the rising, baking, and consumption processes go as smoothly. And, as you've likely already guessed, I'll be trying to keep you updated as I work my way through the remaining stages of the production of this bread. Hopefully you fascination with the progress of this project won't cause you to spend you entire day in front of the computer hitting re-fresh again and again until you see the next update.
Back in a few.
Cameron - 9
Neil - 0
So down to the project at hand - a few years ago my mother gave me her old mixer. With the mixer came a set of dough hooks. And because I'm kind of lazy and set in my ways when it comes to bread making I'm never quite motivated enough to try making dough with dough hooks.
For the past few days I've been thinking that giving the dough hooks their shot might be worthwhile. What if all of the extra kneading that I can provide through dough hooks actually makes a difference?
So this morning I finally got around to putting the dough hooks in the mixer and adding bread ingredients to make a very basic bread (and one that some people have suggested requires plenty of kneading but that I've never knead more than a few minutes).
Immediately it became clear that unlike when a spoon is used, the ingredients were quickly and evenly mixed. With just a few more minutes the dough really started to take shape and look like dough. And because the dough I was making is relatively wet this process was much cleaner than had I tried to do it with my hands or a wooden spoon. Oh, and it was also much less wasteful.
So after the 'kneading' I was left with a dough about which I am quite hopeful: it's quite wet, it's evenly mixed, and it's been well kneaded.
Now I'll just have to see if the rising, baking, and consumption processes go as smoothly. And, as you've likely already guessed, I'll be trying to keep you updated as I work my way through the remaining stages of the production of this bread. Hopefully you fascination with the progress of this project won't cause you to spend you entire day in front of the computer hitting re-fresh again and again until you see the next update.
Back in a few.
Cameron - 9
Neil - 0
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
A Few Quick Notes 594
-At -3 it's as warm as it's been for quite a while in Regina. Amazingly, the current forecast suggests that the temperatures will remain above -10 for much of the week. Weird. I wonder if this means that if it's sunny we might even start to see some melting?
-One of the aspects of this Regina Winter that I've really enjoyed so far is that many of the trees seem to be completely enrobed in snow/frost. Consequently, most trees have turned white - so they look like those white fake Christmas trees (an effect I didn't know was real until I saw it with my own eyes).
Of course, the photos I've tried to take of the effect don't really do it justice. It is incredibly striking.
-I'm not sure how it came about, but last night Jeannette and I decided to head to a movie. I guess because New Year's Eve is such a popular party/bar night I assumed that the movie theatres, if they were even going to be open, would be empty.
Turns out I was way off. I don't think I've ever seen a busier movie theatre. Not only were there few parking spaces available, but once we got in we found that the movie we hoped to attend had a long line-up outside the theatre. By the time they finally started letting people in and we were able to grab seats the theatre was close to two thirds full (though we managed to snag satisfactory seats). Maybe even weirder is that almost everyone in attendance seemed to be between the ages of 50 and 60.
I guess this last fact about the audience composition is a little weirder when you consider that the movie we were there to see was Django Unchained, a Quentin Tarantino movie about a bounty hunting slave violently securing the freedom of his wife. Though as far as I could tell the audience seemed to like the film, though I'm not sure exactly how much they like it.
In case you're curious, Jeannette and I were both quite underwhelmed by the movie. We both had the impression that the script needed a few more trips through the editing cycle, if not a few major story adjustments. And Jeannette might disagree, but I thought the cartoonish violence didn't really do the story/historical reality justice (but I guess cartoonishly gruesome violence is kind of Tarantino's trademark).
-Oh, and for no particularly good reason I decided to make a batch of English muffins this morning.
Aside from the size (they were much too small) they turned out quite nicely and were easy to make.
-One of the aspects of this Regina Winter that I've really enjoyed so far is that many of the trees seem to be completely enrobed in snow/frost. Consequently, most trees have turned white - so they look like those white fake Christmas trees (an effect I didn't know was real until I saw it with my own eyes).
Of course, the photos I've tried to take of the effect don't really do it justice. It is incredibly striking.
-I'm not sure how it came about, but last night Jeannette and I decided to head to a movie. I guess because New Year's Eve is such a popular party/bar night I assumed that the movie theatres, if they were even going to be open, would be empty.
Turns out I was way off. I don't think I've ever seen a busier movie theatre. Not only were there few parking spaces available, but once we got in we found that the movie we hoped to attend had a long line-up outside the theatre. By the time they finally started letting people in and we were able to grab seats the theatre was close to two thirds full (though we managed to snag satisfactory seats). Maybe even weirder is that almost everyone in attendance seemed to be between the ages of 50 and 60.
I guess this last fact about the audience composition is a little weirder when you consider that the movie we were there to see was Django Unchained, a Quentin Tarantino movie about a bounty hunting slave violently securing the freedom of his wife. Though as far as I could tell the audience seemed to like the film, though I'm not sure exactly how much they like it.
In case you're curious, Jeannette and I were both quite underwhelmed by the movie. We both had the impression that the script needed a few more trips through the editing cycle, if not a few major story adjustments. And Jeannette might disagree, but I thought the cartoonish violence didn't really do the story/historical reality justice (but I guess cartoonishly gruesome violence is kind of Tarantino's trademark).
-Oh, and for no particularly good reason I decided to make a batch of English muffins this morning.
Aside from the size (they were much too small) they turned out quite nicely and were easy to make.
Monday, September 03, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 589
-It looks as though it is going to be a beautiful Labour Day in Ottawa this year, though maybe a few degrees warmer than ideal.
-Because we don't have the same morning rush to readiness today I'm hoping to crank out a batch of raspberry muffins for breakfast.
-Last night, based on a recommendation from my father, I sprayed our balcony plants with cayenne pepper water. The idea is that this will deter the squirrel from visiting the plants. I'm a little curious to see if it worked, or if the squirrel responded vindictively to the new flavour.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I engaged in a multi-hour cleaning and organizing event. Is there any better way to spend a beautiful Sunday?
-Actually, because it's move-in weekend at the local universities (and one of these universities is only a few blocks away) it was nice not to be outside and in the midst of that craziness.
-Because we don't have the same morning rush to readiness today I'm hoping to crank out a batch of raspberry muffins for breakfast.
-Last night, based on a recommendation from my father, I sprayed our balcony plants with cayenne pepper water. The idea is that this will deter the squirrel from visiting the plants. I'm a little curious to see if it worked, or if the squirrel responded vindictively to the new flavour.
-Yesterday Jeannette and I engaged in a multi-hour cleaning and organizing event. Is there any better way to spend a beautiful Sunday?
-Actually, because it's move-in weekend at the local universities (and one of these universities is only a few blocks away) it was nice not to be outside and in the midst of that craziness.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 580
-For the past few days we've had close to perfect weather until the evening when, all of a sudden, we've had the pleasure of experiencing brief, but torrential, downpours. Assuming today's forecast holds we should be in for something similar this evening.
-No matter how many dishes I do every day it seems I am never more than 30 seconds away from a half-sink full of dishes. How is this possible?
-I just made a batch of pumpkin bran muffins for breakfast. Because I didn't have quite enough pumpkin puree on hand they aren't quite as tasty as I had hoped they would be.
-Last night Jeannette's brother Alex spent the night with us. After we had dinner we walked around the downtown area a little to see the sites. As we neared Parliament Hill we could sense that something was up because we could hear something in the distance. As we drew nearer we could see that 'what was up' was that an A/V presentation was being projected on the centre block building.
This weird animated gif may give you a very limited sense of what was going on. Eventually Jeannette figure out that what were watching was the Mosaika: Sound and Light Show. We ended up staying until the show ended a few minutes later.
(Maybe this photo will help paint a slightly better picture of what was going on.)
-So our plants seem to keep on growing.
When I posted a photo of our balcony plants about a week ago they were this big.
Even though it's only a week later many of the plants have put on a few inches or, at least filled out a little.
Talk about exciting.
-Despite the fact that my family seems to think I working from an absurd premise with my wheat plants, these little guys continue to put on a few inches every few days. Apparently they aren't allowing the criticism to stunt their growth.
Check'em out now!
We'll definitely have enough for a 1/4 loaf of bread in a few months.
-No matter how many dishes I do every day it seems I am never more than 30 seconds away from a half-sink full of dishes. How is this possible?
-I just made a batch of pumpkin bran muffins for breakfast. Because I didn't have quite enough pumpkin puree on hand they aren't quite as tasty as I had hoped they would be.
-Last night Jeannette's brother Alex spent the night with us. After we had dinner we walked around the downtown area a little to see the sites. As we neared Parliament Hill we could sense that something was up because we could hear something in the distance. As we drew nearer we could see that 'what was up' was that an A/V presentation was being projected on the centre block building.
This weird animated gif may give you a very limited sense of what was going on. Eventually Jeannette figure out that what were watching was the Mosaika: Sound and Light Show. We ended up staying until the show ended a few minutes later.
(Maybe this photo will help paint a slightly better picture of what was going on.)
When I posted a photo of our balcony plants about a week ago they were this big.
-Despite the fact that my family seems to think I working from an absurd premise with my wheat plants, these little guys continue to put on a few inches every few days. Apparently they aren't allowing the criticism to stunt their growth.
Check'em out now!
We'll definitely have enough for a 1/4 loaf of bread in a few months.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 573
-Holy cow, apparently it's 25 and sunny here in Wolfville. If I wasn't currently being blasted by sun bright sunlight I might be inclined to think that such temperatures would be impossible at this time of the year.
-I guess I must now be 7 for 23 in this year's RUTRTW contest. I wish I hadn't started reporting my record as I now feel a strange obligation to continue even though I can't imagine anybody cares.
-A few months ago Jeannette and I purchased a 2 pound bag of discount dried soy beans. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I tried cooking with formerly dried soy beans. While they were fine texture wise, they ended up being sweeter (or something like that) than I expected. Also, I don't think that they were the best choice for a bean curry, but at least I now know that. Maybe they'd be better in soup?
-This morning for breakfast I decided to bake myself some banana bread. Turns out that stuff always takes longer to bake than I remember. In the end this turned out to be a pretty bad plan for breakfast.
-I guess I must now be 7 for 23 in this year's RUTRTW contest. I wish I hadn't started reporting my record as I now feel a strange obligation to continue even though I can't imagine anybody cares.
-A few months ago Jeannette and I purchased a 2 pound bag of discount dried soy beans. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I tried cooking with formerly dried soy beans. While they were fine texture wise, they ended up being sweeter (or something like that) than I expected. Also, I don't think that they were the best choice for a bean curry, but at least I now know that. Maybe they'd be better in soup?
-This morning for breakfast I decided to bake myself some banana bread. Turns out that stuff always takes longer to bake than I remember. In the end this turned out to be a pretty bad plan for breakfast.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 572
-Much to my surprise we had a few hours of snow today. Fortunately relatively warm temperatures meant that we didn't see much accumulation.
Fortunately for you, I was able to capture this non-accumulation through the power of time-lapse.
[Embedded video]
-I must be 5 for 19, with a +/- of about three on the total number of cups, in this year's RUTRTW. And to think that this represents only a fraction of my coffee consumption.
-I made a nice batch of breakfast Afghans today. I am really quite fond of this recipe.
-This evening I started making some bread. After about an hour of the bread not rising I realized that adding some yeast would probably help that out. I think I fixed things, but they still aren't perfect.
-This whole Robocall things keeps on trucking along. It seems that today's big news was that the CEO has now 'requested' to appear before a parliamentary committee and discuss the investigation.
Fortunately for you, I was able to capture this non-accumulation through the power of time-lapse.
[Embedded video]
-I must be 5 for 19, with a +/- of about three on the total number of cups, in this year's RUTRTW. And to think that this represents only a fraction of my coffee consumption.
-I made a nice batch of breakfast Afghans today. I am really quite fond of this recipe.
-This evening I started making some bread. After about an hour of the bread not rising I realized that adding some yeast would probably help that out. I think I fixed things, but they still aren't perfect.
-This whole Robocall things keeps on trucking along. It seems that today's big news was that the CEO has now 'requested' to appear before a parliamentary committee and discuss the investigation.
Monday, March 12, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 571
-We had another beautiful day in Wolfville today. I think the temperature even made it up into the low teens.
-The whole Robocall issue has really been heating up - or at least it has seemed that way to me. My day's productivity has been somewhat undermined by the supposed impending unmasking of the infamous 'Pierre Poutine.' And frustratingly, at least as far as I can tell, Mr. Poutine has not yet been unmasked.
And today's efforts weren't help by a paper from a SFU prof that suggests that negative robocalling may have had a meaningful impact hit it big on the internets this afternoon. Interestingly, Kessler, the SFU prof, cites the paper on voter demobilization I linked to a few days ago. It would seem that there isn't a large literature on the topic.
[Embedded video]
While I was tempted to go immediately, what sold me on attending is that they have managed to work time-lapse photography into their research program/film. They even have special towers to get good shots - if you don't believe me check out the trailer embedded above.
-The whole Robocall issue has really been heating up - or at least it has seemed that way to me. My day's productivity has been somewhat undermined by the supposed impending unmasking of the infamous 'Pierre Poutine.' And frustratingly, at least as far as I can tell, Mr. Poutine has not yet been unmasked.
And today's efforts weren't help by a paper from a SFU prof that suggests that negative robocalling may have had a meaningful impact hit it big on the internets this afternoon. Interestingly, Kessler, the SFU prof, cites the paper on voter demobilization I linked to a few days ago. It would seem that there isn't a large literature on the topic.
-I decided to use a bit of my freshly 'milled' 'flour' to make some bread today.
Hopefully this stuff won't taste as bad as the unbaked dough looks.
-Today I learned that a film created by father's former student, People of a Feather, will be screened at 7:00 PM on Wednesday night at the Al Whittle theatre in Wolfville.
[Embedded video]
While I was tempted to go immediately, what sold me on attending is that they have managed to work time-lapse photography into their research program/film. They even have special towers to get good shots - if you don't believe me check out the trailer embedded above.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 569
-Somehow the temperature has managed to squirt up to 13, and may even be on it's way up to 14 or higher. This temperature, along with the sun and blue skies, are contributing to a very spring-like feeling today in Wolfville. I would fine if was like this for the next few days, but I think it might slip back below zero in a few days.
-I made some banana bread for breakfast/brunch this morning.
-I love reading bound theses. Because they are typically double spaced and because the text is printed on only one side of each leaf one can really feel as though they are making quick work of the text. Last night I had gone through 60 pages before I even realized what I was doing.
In the particular thesis I am reading I am surprised by the number of exclamation marks used by the author. His subject seems to be constantly surprising or amazing him. And before you start to think thoughts about "the youth of today" you should know that this thesis is from 1960 and was written by someone who received their BA in 1944.
Because I can I will include a quote from this thesis (though this passage does not include an exclamation point). This quote comes after his description of the committee structure of other provinces, provinces in which there were typically more committee memberships than members of the legislature.
Oh, this passage reminded me that I think we forget about some of the practices from the not to distant past that were at one time common:
-I made some banana bread for breakfast/brunch this morning.
-I love reading bound theses. Because they are typically double spaced and because the text is printed on only one side of each leaf one can really feel as though they are making quick work of the text. Last night I had gone through 60 pages before I even realized what I was doing.
In the particular thesis I am reading I am surprised by the number of exclamation marks used by the author. His subject seems to be constantly surprising or amazing him. And before you start to think thoughts about "the youth of today" you should know that this thesis is from 1960 and was written by someone who received their BA in 1944.
Because I can I will include a quote from this thesis (though this passage does not include an exclamation point). This quote comes after his description of the committee structure of other provinces, provinces in which there were typically more committee memberships than members of the legislature.
At the other end of the committee spectrum is Newfoundland, which has fewer standing committee places than legislative members. In a 36-member House there are only six standing committees with five members each. These are internal economy; nominating; standing orders and library; miscellaneous private bills; municipal affairs; privileges and elections.For those of you who are curious, I don't think any of these committees, with the possible exception of Nominating, exist in the same form today - though most Newfoundland committees are still relatively small.
Oh, this passage reminded me that I think we forget about some of the practices from the not to distant past that were at one time common:
There are certain disqualifications to voting that are found in all provinces and which make certain persons ineligible for nomination to the assemblies. Judges of the federal and provincial courts may not be entered on the electoral lists. Persons wholly or partly of Indian blood and “ordinarily resident on an Indian reservation and entitled to receive any annuity or other benefit under any treaty with the Crown in the right of Canada” are disqualified to vote. Some such phrasing is found in the election laws of every province, with the proviso that Indians who served in World War I or II, or were subsequently on active service with the Canadian forces, may vote.And then there is also this one:
In British Columbia an adequate knowledge of either English or French is necessary to be a voter, and the registrar of voters may require the applicant for voting to appear before him to demonstrate his language ability. This is, perhaps, a vestige of the provision which prevented voting by Orientals in British Columbia until World War II.-Back to work.
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 568
-We had a pretty standard grey winter's day today. I guess this is fine following yesterday's snowfall as it meant that we didn't have as much melting as we have had recently, and that is always nice. Sadly, this melting is supposed to come tomorrow.
-I guess I must now be something like 4 for 14 in this year's RUTRTW contest. I really think at some point I lost track of how many of these beverages I've purchased. I do feel relatively certain that I have just four wins (three coffees/lattes and a 'donut').
-I've been intermittently following some of the 'Super Tuesday' coverage online. My sense of things is that the results we are seeing mean that the whole issue won't likely be unresolved when we wake up tomorrow morning - though US presidential politics really aren't my speciality and I could be way off.
-It's just about 11:00 PM so I threw my loaf and a half of bread in the oven. I guess I'll have freshish bread in the morning.
-I guess I must now be something like 4 for 14 in this year's RUTRTW contest. I really think at some point I lost track of how many of these beverages I've purchased. I do feel relatively certain that I have just four wins (three coffees/lattes and a 'donut').
-I've been intermittently following some of the 'Super Tuesday' coverage online. My sense of things is that the results we are seeing mean that the whole issue won't likely be unresolved when we wake up tomorrow morning - though US presidential politics really aren't my speciality and I could be way off.
-It's just about 11:00 PM so I threw my loaf and a half of bread in the oven. I guess I'll have freshish bread in the morning.
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