-We are presently in the midst of a multi-day rainfall. While this has encouraged me to stay inside a little more than I would have otherwise, it really hasn't been too bad. Though I keep expecting heavy rain we have mostly just had relatively light rainfall with periods of heavy misting.
-Though it didn't feel like it, officially we received 53 mm of rain yesterday. Having the forecast and the weather station at the airport instead of in town leads to something of a disconnect between the forecast and reality, as we saw yesterday. I suspect that today's continued rainfall warning, which is this now suggesting "Additional rainfall amounts of 50 to 80 mm are expected," is also likely reflective of the geographic particularity.
-Last night, because we wanted to take advantage of a Video Difference free rental coupon, Jeannette and I rented Mystery Team, a new independent comedy from the US that I first heard about in an interview on The Sound of Young America. Though there were a few moments of somewhat cruder than necessary humor, on the whole the movie was quite enjoyable and funny.
-My SSHRC application has been chewing up some of my time of late, though maybe not as much as it should be. Anyway, I have now completed a second draft. Hopefully with just a few more revisions my application will be ready to submit.
-Last night I prepared beef ribs. Did they ever not turn out. Not only did there seem to be even less meat than on pork ribs, they seemed much fattier and less tasty. I think that in the future I will be giving these a skip. This is a bit of a bummer as I really like beef and was hoping to find a new cut of beef to enjoy.
-I spent much of yesterday studying/reading and plan on spending much of today engaged in similar activities. Actually, because I have been doing stuff like this I have had to dramatically cut down on the number of naps I am taking. I haven't taken so few naps since my junior high days.
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 462
-Today was a predominately overcast day in Halifax, though we did have occasional periods of more intense sun.
-Today at the grocery store I was able to purchase 22.2 pounds of food for $5.97. Even more impressive is that 20 of those pounds cost only $2.98. For those of you who are curious, I purchased 10 pounds of potatoes for $1.99, 10 pounds of carrots for $.99, and 2.2 pounds of green beans for $2.99.
-We had roast beef and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. I quite enjoyed the meal, though isn't really that surprising as roast beef and mashed potatoes are two of my favourite foods (not that most of you really care).
-On Saturday I was reminded of my embryonic attempts at game development a few years ago with Montifax: The Board Game. Maybe I should try to bring this project back to life, at least on a part-time basis. I think it would be neat to eventually have a playable version of the game, even if that is as far as it goes.
-Friday's Pauly Shore show has come and gone. And while I didn't manage to get free tickets to the show, I was able to find something of a review from someone who did. As a side note, I can confirm that the local comedian, Peter White, who is positively mentioned in this review is as funny as suggested. I had the pleasure of seeing this guy perform a few weeks ago at a show at Bearly's.
-Even though it is now after midnight, I should get back to work and try to finish an article I have to read.
-Today at the grocery store I was able to purchase 22.2 pounds of food for $5.97. Even more impressive is that 20 of those pounds cost only $2.98. For those of you who are curious, I purchased 10 pounds of potatoes for $1.99, 10 pounds of carrots for $.99, and 2.2 pounds of green beans for $2.99.
-We had roast beef and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. I quite enjoyed the meal, though isn't really that surprising as roast beef and mashed potatoes are two of my favourite foods (not that most of you really care).
-On Saturday I was reminded of my embryonic attempts at game development a few years ago with Montifax: The Board Game. Maybe I should try to bring this project back to life, at least on a part-time basis. I think it would be neat to eventually have a playable version of the game, even if that is as far as it goes.
-Friday's Pauly Shore show has come and gone. And while I didn't manage to get free tickets to the show, I was able to find something of a review from someone who did. As a side note, I can confirm that the local comedian, Peter White, who is positively mentioned in this review is as funny as suggested. I had the pleasure of seeing this guy perform a few weeks ago at a show at Bearly's.
-Even though it is now after midnight, I should get back to work and try to finish an article I have to read.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 396
-We had another marginally cold day today. This means that it was below freezing, but not particularly cold or unpleasant. Amazingly, we still haven't had much snow this winter (so I presumes that this means that we are due for a dumping).
-Yesterday we had beef stir-fry for dinner and tonight we had shepherd's pie. I guess I am not doing such a good job avoiding red meat (at least intermittently I have been more successful than I have been these past few days).
-I am thinking that I might try to start some temporary terrariums with herb/for herbs. Just imagine how much time and effort I will save by not having to water this plants on a regular basis. Then, once they are a big bigger and the warmer weather has arrived I can transfer to the outdoors and more standard living conditions.
-I still have some marking to do, but so far it is going well.
-On Monday I have a mid-term. This will be the first mid-term exam I have had to write in years. As I have been completing the readings and whatnot I am not particularly concerned about my knowledge of the material, but I guess I should try to do some reading and reviewing before the exam.
Blog-off Score
Neil: 0
Cameron: 22
-Yesterday we had beef stir-fry for dinner and tonight we had shepherd's pie. I guess I am not doing such a good job avoiding red meat (at least intermittently I have been more successful than I have been these past few days).
-I am thinking that I might try to start some temporary terrariums with herb/for herbs. Just imagine how much time and effort I will save by not having to water this plants on a regular basis. Then, once they are a big bigger and the warmer weather has arrived I can transfer to the outdoors and more standard living conditions.
-I still have some marking to do, but so far it is going well.
-On Monday I have a mid-term. This will be the first mid-term exam I have had to write in years. As I have been completing the readings and whatnot I am not particularly concerned about my knowledge of the material, but I guess I should try to do some reading and reviewing before the exam.
Blog-off Score
Neil: 0
Cameron: 22
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Sunday night feed
Maybe a week or so ago, while I was still in St. John's, I suggested that my friend Peter come over for dinner tonight (which was to coincide with his late-afternoon return to Halifax). Perhaps not surprisingly, yesterday's winter storm seems to have caused a number of flights to be delayed or cancelled. Unfortunately for Peter his flight was one of those that was negatively effected. For a while it looked as though a simple delay in the time dinner was served would allow Peter to participate. As the afternoon progressed it became clear that even a late dinner wasn't likely going to be enough.
The upside of expecting to have a dinner guest was that it motivated me to cook a slightly more substantive meal than I might otherwise have been inclined to prepare, though my more limited academic obligations may have inclined me towards such a meal even without a guest.
Because of a great beef sale we decided to go with roast beef. To accompany the beef I prepared mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, cauliflower, and gravy. As regular readers will know, this isn't a particularly elaborate meal as far as this apartment is concerned (it is actually pretty standard). What made the meal slightly more elaborate was that I included a desert: sticky toffee sponge pudding.
Neil and I over consumed a number of components of the first course and have thus decided to hold-off on the desert component of the meal for a while (maybe a few hours).
Hopefully I will get a chance to offer Peter a make-up dinner in the not to distant future.
The upside of expecting to have a dinner guest was that it motivated me to cook a slightly more substantive meal than I might otherwise have been inclined to prepare, though my more limited academic obligations may have inclined me towards such a meal even without a guest.
Because of a great beef sale we decided to go with roast beef. To accompany the beef I prepared mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, cauliflower, and gravy. As regular readers will know, this isn't a particularly elaborate meal as far as this apartment is concerned (it is actually pretty standard). What made the meal slightly more elaborate was that I included a desert: sticky toffee sponge pudding.
Neil and I over consumed a number of components of the first course and have thus decided to hold-off on the desert component of the meal for a while (maybe a few hours).
Hopefully I will get a chance to offer Peter a make-up dinner in the not to distant future.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 348 (Addenda)
-Shortly after my last post I realized that there were a few more pressing items that I meant to include.
-For the past few weeks I have been thinking that I don't wear ties frequently enough. Yesterday I decided that to day would be the day I would try to slip back into the habit. By evening I finally got around to putting on my shirt, tie, pants, and jacket.
Basically as soon as I was dressed I decided to start preparing dinner. Of course boiling water and then eating food made me uncomfortably warm and I had to remove the jacket and tie. Later in the evening, when everything had been returned to its proper place on my body, I went for a walk. By the time I got back was incredibly hot and uncomfortable. I had forgotten that my neck would get sweaty while wearing a tie. I may try this again in the near future, but the neck sweat issue may be the deal breaker.
-A few weeks ago I mentioned I acquired a Twitter account. For the most part I don't really post much or have any inclination to post. Occasionally I am struck with ideas for a post and am unable to focus until they have been tweeted. Anyway, I had such an idea today.
While in retrospect it may not be as funny as I originally thought, I still think it merits a RT here. Anyway the post was: S brk h cn't ffrd vwls.
Do people get it? I feel that I should give people a chance to try to get it before I explain it.
-For the past few days I have been trying to reduce my beef consumption. Unfortunately this has been rather difficult as there are all kinds of beef-based left-overs in the fridge.
-A few days ago I learned about a CBC application for iPhones/iPod Touches that allows users to listen to streaming versions of Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, and television audio. The problem with this service, rather than the idea, is that the available streams are incredibly limited. St. John's, Halifax, and Montreal are all unavailable. Amazingly, Goose Bay, Inuvik, Iqaluit, Whitehorse, and Yellowknife are all available (though I imagine that their combined population may not be as large as even St. John's). More great attention to listener's interests by the CBC. Isn't it great that they provide the signals that are of the most interest to people with the least access to wireless/iPhone service?
-For the past few weeks I have been thinking that I don't wear ties frequently enough. Yesterday I decided that to day would be the day I would try to slip back into the habit. By evening I finally got around to putting on my shirt, tie, pants, and jacket.
Basically as soon as I was dressed I decided to start preparing dinner. Of course boiling water and then eating food made me uncomfortably warm and I had to remove the jacket and tie. Later in the evening, when everything had been returned to its proper place on my body, I went for a walk. By the time I got back was incredibly hot and uncomfortable. I had forgotten that my neck would get sweaty while wearing a tie. I may try this again in the near future, but the neck sweat issue may be the deal breaker.
-A few weeks ago I mentioned I acquired a Twitter account. For the most part I don't really post much or have any inclination to post. Occasionally I am struck with ideas for a post and am unable to focus until they have been tweeted. Anyway, I had such an idea today.
While in retrospect it may not be as funny as I originally thought, I still think it merits a RT here. Anyway the post was: S brk h cn't ffrd vwls.
Do people get it? I feel that I should give people a chance to try to get it before I explain it.
-For the past few days I have been trying to reduce my beef consumption. Unfortunately this has been rather difficult as there are all kinds of beef-based left-overs in the fridge.
-A few days ago I learned about a CBC application for iPhones/iPod Touches that allows users to listen to streaming versions of Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, and television audio. The problem with this service, rather than the idea, is that the available streams are incredibly limited. St. John's, Halifax, and Montreal are all unavailable. Amazingly, Goose Bay, Inuvik, Iqaluit, Whitehorse, and Yellowknife are all available (though I imagine that their combined population may not be as large as even St. John's). More great attention to listener's interests by the CBC. Isn't it great that they provide the signals that are of the most interest to people with the least access to wireless/iPhone service?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 318
-Though I don't think it actually rained today, it has been relatively overcast and somewhat cool. If things go as forecast, we should have similar weather until the end of the weekend.
-Several days ago I moved a number of my plants out to the balcony for the summer. One of the things that I have already noticed is that the move seems to have really slowed down growth, particularly as far as the beans are concerned. Under normal indoor conditions the beans seem to grow several inches a day at this stage, but in their present location growth seems to have almost ground to a halt. As I have a little less familiarity with the rate of growth of lettuce and tomatoes I haven't yet really been able to observe a change in growth patterns.
I am hoping within a few days we should have a little more sun and warmer temperatures and that these will allow more rapid growth than I have seen in the past few days.
Given the previously described conditions it is not particularly surprising that some of the recently planted seeds haven't been showing signs of germination or growth. I am hoping that in a few days at least the peas will start to come alive.
-We had barbecued burgers for dinner tonight. While I quite enjoyed them, I likely didn't need three.
-A few days ago I wrote about malt based beverages and linked to a Slate article about the demise of Zima and the market position of other malt based beverages. As a consequence of this article I have been examining some of the products mentioned in the article only to find that malt based non-beers don't seem to be quite as common in Canada as they appear to be in the US. Notably, the Slate article suggests that Smirnoff Ice does not contain vodka in the US. I checked a box a few days ago and learned that in Canada it does. Also, all of the Boone's products that I have examined contain some kind of fruit wine, rather than a malt base (though it is not always clear what the fruit wine is). The further consequence of this article is that I have now had to start thinking a little more about products sold in multiple countries and to what extent they might be re-formulated, and to what extent reviews of products from one country are applicable in another country. I guess none of this should come as all that much of a surprise given my cross-border experiences with both Corn Pops [or the Wiki article that explains the differences] and Mountain Dew (the Canadian and American versions of these products vary rather dramatically from each other).
-Several days ago I moved a number of my plants out to the balcony for the summer. One of the things that I have already noticed is that the move seems to have really slowed down growth, particularly as far as the beans are concerned. Under normal indoor conditions the beans seem to grow several inches a day at this stage, but in their present location growth seems to have almost ground to a halt. As I have a little less familiarity with the rate of growth of lettuce and tomatoes I haven't yet really been able to observe a change in growth patterns.
I am hoping within a few days we should have a little more sun and warmer temperatures and that these will allow more rapid growth than I have seen in the past few days.
Given the previously described conditions it is not particularly surprising that some of the recently planted seeds haven't been showing signs of germination or growth. I am hoping that in a few days at least the peas will start to come alive.
-We had barbecued burgers for dinner tonight. While I quite enjoyed them, I likely didn't need three.
-A few days ago I wrote about malt based beverages and linked to a Slate article about the demise of Zima and the market position of other malt based beverages. As a consequence of this article I have been examining some of the products mentioned in the article only to find that malt based non-beers don't seem to be quite as common in Canada as they appear to be in the US. Notably, the Slate article suggests that Smirnoff Ice does not contain vodka in the US. I checked a box a few days ago and learned that in Canada it does. Also, all of the Boone's products that I have examined contain some kind of fruit wine, rather than a malt base (though it is not always clear what the fruit wine is). The further consequence of this article is that I have now had to start thinking a little more about products sold in multiple countries and to what extent they might be re-formulated, and to what extent reviews of products from one country are applicable in another country. I guess none of this should come as all that much of a surprise given my cross-border experiences with both Corn Pops [or the Wiki article that explains the differences] and Mountain Dew (the Canadian and American versions of these products vary rather dramatically from each other).
Sunday, April 26, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 308
-Today has been pretty nice so far, though at various time during the day the forecast was calling for rain. At the moment, it is supposed to be overcast, though the sky seems pretty clear and blue to me. I guess this is what you get if the weather station is at the airport (which is out of town) and you live downtown. Anyway, I guess I shouldn't really be complaining.
-For the most part yesterday was beautiful, which made the thunder, lightening, and rain that appeared suddenly last night all the more surprising. At first Neil and I weren't sure if the flash was saw was a large camera flash, or lightening. The thunder clap several seconds later confirmed our suspicion that it was lightening. A few minutes later we had a little rain.
-Yesterday Neil and I helped a friend of mine move from our neighbourhood to the north end. Aside from the fact that the apartment we were moving out of was on the third floor of a building without elevators, and that the apartment we were moving into was on the second floor of a house, the move was relatively smooth and painless. Unlike other friends I have helped move, this couple had basically everything ready to go when Neil and I showed up. All we had to do was move the large items from the apartment to the truck, and then from the truck to the apartment.
When we had finished unloading the truck and were ready to return it we found that it would not start, even with the assistance of jumper cables and another truck's battery. The upside of this was that the rental company sent a tow-truck and eventually ended up towing the truck. Not only did this save everyone on our side of things a fair bit of time, they should also have a significantly lower rental bill (if they even have a rental bill).
-I decided to make another batch of bread today. At the moment it is in the fridge rising. I need things to slow down so that I won't need to bake it until after dinner.
-We will be having pot roast (beef) for dinner tonight. It turns out that the cut of meat that I bought yesterday is much bigger than I thought it was, which is great
-For the most part yesterday was beautiful, which made the thunder, lightening, and rain that appeared suddenly last night all the more surprising. At first Neil and I weren't sure if the flash was saw was a large camera flash, or lightening. The thunder clap several seconds later confirmed our suspicion that it was lightening. A few minutes later we had a little rain.
-Yesterday Neil and I helped a friend of mine move from our neighbourhood to the north end. Aside from the fact that the apartment we were moving out of was on the third floor of a building without elevators, and that the apartment we were moving into was on the second floor of a house, the move was relatively smooth and painless. Unlike other friends I have helped move, this couple had basically everything ready to go when Neil and I showed up. All we had to do was move the large items from the apartment to the truck, and then from the truck to the apartment.
When we had finished unloading the truck and were ready to return it we found that it would not start, even with the assistance of jumper cables and another truck's battery. The upside of this was that the rental company sent a tow-truck and eventually ended up towing the truck. Not only did this save everyone on our side of things a fair bit of time, they should also have a significantly lower rental bill (if they even have a rental bill).
-I decided to make another batch of bread today. At the moment it is in the fridge rising. I need things to slow down so that I won't need to bake it until after dinner.
-We will be having pot roast (beef) for dinner tonight. It turns out that the cut of meat that I bought yesterday is much bigger than I thought it was, which is great
Friday, April 10, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 302
-Though the forecast is calling for rain it is quite sunny at the moment, as can be seen in the photo below. If I recall correctly, a similar situation arose yesterday. I guess if Environment Canada is going to be wrong, I would rather have it go in this direction.
-As I was working on assignments earlier this week I wasn't able to bake bread on Wednesday, as has been my habit this term. Finally this morning I found the time to start a quick batch, which is presently in the oven. I am quite looking forward to sampling a few slices shortly.
So far things are looking pretty good, at least if this photo is any indication of the eventual outcome of the loaves.
Update: I have just removed the bread from the oven and it seems to have turned out quite nicely, though I guess I won't really know this until I sample it. Unfortunately, one of the three loaves seems less inclined than the others to leave its pan. At the moment I have just left it there, hoping that it may decide to detach itself at some point in the near future. I really hate it when this happens.
-At about the same time as I was putting the dough in the oven to rise I decided that I would like to make some French bread. After quickly consulting the Joy of Cooking I determined that I had all of the required ingredients (flour, water, salt, and yeast), and would be able to move ahead with the project.
Not only is dough much harder than I expected, it really doesn't look quite right. Hopefully things turn out a little better than I am expecting them to. I guess I will let you know.
Update: The dough has now been formed into rather ugly baguette-ish loaves. Hopefully this stuff manages to be edible.
-Last night Neil and I made a last-minute pre-Good Friday trip to the grocery store. While there we realized that we needed to pick up a few supplies for dinner tonight. After a brief examination of the meat section we decided to go with an on sale leg of lamb.
Only today did I realize that having lamb on Good Friday is probably a little uncommon, some might even go so far as to call it distasteful.
-On Wednesday Neil and Rebecca took advantage of a video rental coupon and rented two movies for the price of one. The two they chose were House Bunny and Transporter 3, each modern classics in their ways.
They watched House Bunny on Wednesday night. I ended up trying to watch House Bunny on Thursday afternoon but gave up after about 7 minutes. I ended up joining them for the Transporter 3 viewing last night. Not surprisingly, I wasn't particularly impressed with this film either, though were a few somewhat inventive strip/fight scenes that were quite funny and completely unbelievable. I think it might be safe to say that I likely won't try to seek out either of the other Transporter movie (which I didn't really know existed until last night).
-When Neil and I were returning these movies last night we decided to try to take advantage of another coupon and see if we could get a free rental. I ended up selecting Slumdog Millionaire, a film Neil and Rebecca saw in the theatre some number of weeks ago.
While I thought the movie was just fine, I am not sure if I was quite as amazed by it as some people seem to have been.
Unfortunately, as we were finalizing the rental we realized that as today is Good Friday I will be unable to return the movie until Saturday, and thus be charged for one day, negating the benefit of the free rental coupon. Maybe I will see if I can call customer service and have them remove the charge from my credit card.
-It turns out that having a nap and an energy drink on Wednesday evening was a bit of a mistake. I didn't manage to make it to sleep until some time after 5:00 AM. As I had to wake up at 7:10 this was a bit of a problem. Fortunately I made it through to the afternoon without falling asleep.
-After class yesterday I met Neil and a few friends at the Grad House closing party/barbeque. I was quite glad that they had the barbeque. I eventually had four (small) burgers. As I hadn't eaten since breakfast I really needed the food.
The party was a little funny as they were using it as an opportunity to get rid of stock before closing. They seem to have sold out of draught beer quite early on and basically just had bottles left by the time I was ready to order a beer.
The sign at the bar suggested that "everything" was $3. I asked about the lone can of Guinness and was told that it was $5. I kind of get the sense that one of the parties involved in this transaction didn't understand the word 'everything,' and I am pretty sure I wasn't the one with the problem. In the end I went with a bottle of a locally brewed beer.
-As I was working on assignments earlier this week I wasn't able to bake bread on Wednesday, as has been my habit this term. Finally this morning I found the time to start a quick batch, which is presently in the oven. I am quite looking forward to sampling a few slices shortly.
So far things are looking pretty good, at least if this photo is any indication of the eventual outcome of the loaves.
Update: I have just removed the bread from the oven and it seems to have turned out quite nicely, though I guess I won't really know this until I sample it. Unfortunately, one of the three loaves seems less inclined than the others to leave its pan. At the moment I have just left it there, hoping that it may decide to detach itself at some point in the near future. I really hate it when this happens.
-At about the same time as I was putting the dough in the oven to rise I decided that I would like to make some French bread. After quickly consulting the Joy of Cooking I determined that I had all of the required ingredients (flour, water, salt, and yeast), and would be able to move ahead with the project.
Not only is dough much harder than I expected, it really doesn't look quite right. Hopefully things turn out a little better than I am expecting them to. I guess I will let you know.
Update: The dough has now been formed into rather ugly baguette-ish loaves. Hopefully this stuff manages to be edible.
-Last night Neil and I made a last-minute pre-Good Friday trip to the grocery store. While there we realized that we needed to pick up a few supplies for dinner tonight. After a brief examination of the meat section we decided to go with an on sale leg of lamb.
Only today did I realize that having lamb on Good Friday is probably a little uncommon, some might even go so far as to call it distasteful.
-On Wednesday Neil and Rebecca took advantage of a video rental coupon and rented two movies for the price of one. The two they chose were House Bunny and Transporter 3, each modern classics in their ways.
They watched House Bunny on Wednesday night. I ended up trying to watch House Bunny on Thursday afternoon but gave up after about 7 minutes. I ended up joining them for the Transporter 3 viewing last night. Not surprisingly, I wasn't particularly impressed with this film either, though were a few somewhat inventive strip/fight scenes that were quite funny and completely unbelievable. I think it might be safe to say that I likely won't try to seek out either of the other Transporter movie (which I didn't really know existed until last night).
-When Neil and I were returning these movies last night we decided to try to take advantage of another coupon and see if we could get a free rental. I ended up selecting Slumdog Millionaire, a film Neil and Rebecca saw in the theatre some number of weeks ago.
While I thought the movie was just fine, I am not sure if I was quite as amazed by it as some people seem to have been.
Unfortunately, as we were finalizing the rental we realized that as today is Good Friday I will be unable to return the movie until Saturday, and thus be charged for one day, negating the benefit of the free rental coupon. Maybe I will see if I can call customer service and have them remove the charge from my credit card.
-It turns out that having a nap and an energy drink on Wednesday evening was a bit of a mistake. I didn't manage to make it to sleep until some time after 5:00 AM. As I had to wake up at 7:10 this was a bit of a problem. Fortunately I made it through to the afternoon without falling asleep.
-After class yesterday I met Neil and a few friends at the Grad House closing party/barbeque. I was quite glad that they had the barbeque. I eventually had four (small) burgers. As I hadn't eaten since breakfast I really needed the food.
The party was a little funny as they were using it as an opportunity to get rid of stock before closing. They seem to have sold out of draught beer quite early on and basically just had bottles left by the time I was ready to order a beer.
The sign at the bar suggested that "everything" was $3. I asked about the lone can of Guinness and was told that it was $5. I kind of get the sense that one of the parties involved in this transaction didn't understand the word 'everything,' and I am pretty sure I wasn't the one with the problem. In the end I went with a bottle of a locally brewed beer.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 297
-Today was another great Spring day. According to Environment Canada it made it as high as 13, which is quite a nice temperature. If things had been a little brighter it would have been almost perfect.
-We had pot roast (beef) for dinner tonight. In addition to the standard carrots and potatoes, we also had corn, green beans, and cauliflower, making for a rather colourful selection of food.
-Yesterday I posted a YouTube video in one of my posts. For some reason it didn't seem to work. I have since uploaded the video again, and it now seems to be working. If you are so inclined you can watch it in yesterday's post or here.
-I finally added an 'App' to my iPod Touch. The 'App' I have added, Remote, allows me to control the iTunes program on my computer from my iPod, thus turning my iPod into a remote control. While this might be somewhat useful at some point, I haven't really had much cause to use it in the four hours since I downloaded it. Maybe I will try to acquire one or two more free 'Apps' in the coming days.
-I don't understand why it is that Environment Canada will report that it is a temperature higher than the forecast temperature and then not change the forecast to reflect reality. This always baffles me. I know opening a window isn't a particularly sophisticated technique, but sometimes it seems to work.
-This morning, for breakfast, I decided to make another batch of Cowboy Coffee Cake. I still don't know why the recipe has the word 'cowboy' in the title, but so far I am quite impressed with the results. Unfortunately, the recipe caused me to use all of our brown sugar.
-Because all of our brown sugar had been used in the cake baking, I ended up making a late afternoon trip to the grocery store. Aside from replenishing our sugar supplies, I also snagged a few vegetables. I am particularly looking forward to consuming some of the newly acquired celery and radishes, two of my favourite vegetables.
-While at the store I forgot to pick up a can of kidney beans. This means that I will have to put off my 'Bean Brownies' until at least tomorrow. While I hope these turn out well, I am not really sure what a brownie with beans will taste like. Though I guess if I was willing to make pork cake I might as well try brownies with beans.
-There is nothing quite like being woken up from a nap by kidney stone related pain, particularly when it is coming from the 'clean' kidney. Yum.
-A few days ago Neil, Rebecca, and I happened to purchase a few inexpensive used DVDs. After watching one of them, Cleaner with Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris, I decided to check out the synopsis on the back. As I was reading the synopsis something struck me as a little off, it seemed that the name they were assigning to the main character was different than the name that I remembered being assigned to the character in the movie. After a little checking I was able to determine that my recollection was correct, and that they had screwed up on the back of the DVD case. This would seem to be a rather embarrassing mistake to make in this circumstance. It also suggests that the individual writing the blurb on the back of the case hasn't even seen the movie, or a copy of the script. I now wonder what information such blurbs are actually based on.
-The scarlet runner beans in my bedroom are continuing to grow at a reasonable pace. I think that with a few days more growth I will be able to more effectively photograph their development.
-Last night I ended up using some of my new potting soil and planting a few tomato and watermelon seeds. As I am a little more hopeful that the tomatoes will actually be productive more tomato seeds were planted. Hopefully I will start to see signs of germination in a few days. (The pots are not in the same location as the spider mite infestation, in case you were wondering).
-We had pot roast (beef) for dinner tonight. In addition to the standard carrots and potatoes, we also had corn, green beans, and cauliflower, making for a rather colourful selection of food.
-Yesterday I posted a YouTube video in one of my posts. For some reason it didn't seem to work. I have since uploaded the video again, and it now seems to be working. If you are so inclined you can watch it in yesterday's post or here.
-I finally added an 'App' to my iPod Touch. The 'App' I have added, Remote, allows me to control the iTunes program on my computer from my iPod, thus turning my iPod into a remote control. While this might be somewhat useful at some point, I haven't really had much cause to use it in the four hours since I downloaded it. Maybe I will try to acquire one or two more free 'Apps' in the coming days.
-I don't understand why it is that Environment Canada will report that it is a temperature higher than the forecast temperature and then not change the forecast to reflect reality. This always baffles me. I know opening a window isn't a particularly sophisticated technique, but sometimes it seems to work.
-This morning, for breakfast, I decided to make another batch of Cowboy Coffee Cake. I still don't know why the recipe has the word 'cowboy' in the title, but so far I am quite impressed with the results. Unfortunately, the recipe caused me to use all of our brown sugar.
-Because all of our brown sugar had been used in the cake baking, I ended up making a late afternoon trip to the grocery store. Aside from replenishing our sugar supplies, I also snagged a few vegetables. I am particularly looking forward to consuming some of the newly acquired celery and radishes, two of my favourite vegetables.
-While at the store I forgot to pick up a can of kidney beans. This means that I will have to put off my 'Bean Brownies' until at least tomorrow. While I hope these turn out well, I am not really sure what a brownie with beans will taste like. Though I guess if I was willing to make pork cake I might as well try brownies with beans.
-There is nothing quite like being woken up from a nap by kidney stone related pain, particularly when it is coming from the 'clean' kidney. Yum.
-A few days ago Neil, Rebecca, and I happened to purchase a few inexpensive used DVDs. After watching one of them, Cleaner with Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris, I decided to check out the synopsis on the back. As I was reading the synopsis something struck me as a little off, it seemed that the name they were assigning to the main character was different than the name that I remembered being assigned to the character in the movie. After a little checking I was able to determine that my recollection was correct, and that they had screwed up on the back of the DVD case. This would seem to be a rather embarrassing mistake to make in this circumstance. It also suggests that the individual writing the blurb on the back of the case hasn't even seen the movie, or a copy of the script. I now wonder what information such blurbs are actually based on.
-The scarlet runner beans in my bedroom are continuing to grow at a reasonable pace. I think that with a few days more growth I will be able to more effectively photograph their development.
-Last night I ended up using some of my new potting soil and planting a few tomato and watermelon seeds. As I am a little more hopeful that the tomatoes will actually be productive more tomato seeds were planted. Hopefully I will start to see signs of germination in a few days. (The pots are not in the same location as the spider mite infestation, in case you were wondering).
Sunday, January 11, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 256
-We are presently in the midst of a rather satisfying snowfall. As of yesterday there was some concern that this could turn into a storm, but this seems to have been averted and thus the spat of cancellations we all hoped for have been called off. I am a little curious to see if we will end up getting the predicted 15 cm, though things seem to be on track for such an accumulation at the moment.
-Neil and I played squash on Thursday. This was the first time I had ever played. Much to my surprise, I found I quite enjoyed the game. Aside from being unable to consistently hit the ball my main problem was my superb ability to knock my legs out from underneath me, a skill that was previously unknown to me. Our plan is to try and play on a semi-regular basis, though we will see how effective academic commitments are in interfering in such a plan.
-Neil and I had another Ultimate game last night. Again we were slaughtered, though the team we were playing was quite pleasant and sportsmanlike about the whole affair. Hopefully next week's game is a little better.
-It that this weekend is shaping up to be rather meatful. We had roast beef last night and will be having turkey this evening. This should mean that we will have plenty of leftovers for the next few days.
-We have really been going through carrots since we returned a week ago. Yesterday Neil had to buy a second 10 pound bag.
-For those of you in the Halifax area, it seems that Sobeys has a few pretty good deals this week. Most noteworthy are the buy one get two free selections, which include hams, potatoes, and pork chops. The three of us are already assuming that at least two trips will be needed to fully take advantage of all of the deals.
-Neil and I played squash on Thursday. This was the first time I had ever played. Much to my surprise, I found I quite enjoyed the game. Aside from being unable to consistently hit the ball my main problem was my superb ability to knock my legs out from underneath me, a skill that was previously unknown to me. Our plan is to try and play on a semi-regular basis, though we will see how effective academic commitments are in interfering in such a plan.
-Neil and I had another Ultimate game last night. Again we were slaughtered, though the team we were playing was quite pleasant and sportsmanlike about the whole affair. Hopefully next week's game is a little better.
-It that this weekend is shaping up to be rather meatful. We had roast beef last night and will be having turkey this evening. This should mean that we will have plenty of leftovers for the next few days.
-We have really been going through carrots since we returned a week ago. Yesterday Neil had to buy a second 10 pound bag.
-For those of you in the Halifax area, it seems that Sobeys has a few pretty good deals this week. Most noteworthy are the buy one get two free selections, which include hams, potatoes, and pork chops. The three of us are already assuming that at least two trips will be needed to fully take advantage of all of the deals.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 254
-Today was a pretty beautiful day. Not only was there no precipitation, but the skies were clear and the wind was low. Additionally, while cold, it wasn't particularly unpleasant or unreasonable. It seems that our luck is not to hold as rain is predicted for later in the week.
-Much to my surprise I received a pressure cooker for Christmas. I guess the idea is that beans can be cooked rather effectively in such devices, though I have not yet tested this assertion, which might help me overcome my inability to properly cook beans.
Maybe even more importantly, it seems that, if the claims on the box are correct, such devices should really reduce the required cooking time. The recipe booklet included with the pressure cooker is even so bold as to suggest that it can cook potatoes in only 10 minutes (which would be pretty amazing). Their claim that they can cook a whole turkey in 25 minutes is also pretty impressive.
Anyway, today I managed to put the device into service when I cooked beef stew for dinner. Though I didn't notice an incredible reduction in cooking time I think that it is likely that in the future I would apply more heat, thus building the required pressure more quickly, and thus starting my time savings at an earlier stage. I think what may have most impressed me about the experience was how much steam was released once I eventually decided to release the pressure. If I recall correctly, steam spewed out of the valve for several minutes once opened.
-Neil and I had an Ultimate game last night. Almost as soon as the game started it was clear we were outmatched and were likely to lose the game. Anyway, the eventual result was that were beaten more soundly than we have ever been beaten as a team before. Hopefully next week's game goes a little better.
-Though the selections have not been formally approved by the Graduate Coordinator, as of this evening I have finally decided which courses I will be taking this semester. The unfortunate part of my schedule, aside from the back to back seminars, is the 8:30 AM class. Maybe I will be able to shake my aversion to mornings for the duration of the semester.
-Much to my surprise I received a pressure cooker for Christmas. I guess the idea is that beans can be cooked rather effectively in such devices, though I have not yet tested this assertion, which might help me overcome my inability to properly cook beans.
Maybe even more importantly, it seems that, if the claims on the box are correct, such devices should really reduce the required cooking time. The recipe booklet included with the pressure cooker is even so bold as to suggest that it can cook potatoes in only 10 minutes (which would be pretty amazing). Their claim that they can cook a whole turkey in 25 minutes is also pretty impressive.
Anyway, today I managed to put the device into service when I cooked beef stew for dinner. Though I didn't notice an incredible reduction in cooking time I think that it is likely that in the future I would apply more heat, thus building the required pressure more quickly, and thus starting my time savings at an earlier stage. I think what may have most impressed me about the experience was how much steam was released once I eventually decided to release the pressure. If I recall correctly, steam spewed out of the valve for several minutes once opened.
-Neil and I had an Ultimate game last night. Almost as soon as the game started it was clear we were outmatched and were likely to lose the game. Anyway, the eventual result was that were beaten more soundly than we have ever been beaten as a team before. Hopefully next week's game goes a little better.
-Though the selections have not been formally approved by the Graduate Coordinator, as of this evening I have finally decided which courses I will be taking this semester. The unfortunate part of my schedule, aside from the back to back seminars, is the 8:30 AM class. Maybe I will be able to shake my aversion to mornings for the duration of the semester.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 241
-Today was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and the temperatures were pleasant all day.
-For dinner this evening we had roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables. The beef was particularly beefy, which is how I like my beef.
-After dinner I started to make pea soup. The primary goal was to use some ham that I cooked a few days ago, it also was a good place to use some celery that is just a few days from kicking the bucket.
-A few days ago while looking at a flier I noticed that the store was selling a few things that I was interested in purchasing. Most importantly, the store was selling a card table for less than $40, which seemed like a good price.
This afternoon Neil and I took the bus to the store and scooped up the last of the tables. While in the store we also managed to pick up a few additional items that were on sale for at least 50% off of the regular price.
-In a break with recent tradition, last night I actually managed to socialize with some people other than Neil and Rebecca (not that there is anything wrong with them). I first went over to a classmate's house for a few beers before heading to a party at his friend's place. Though I didn't know all that many people I had a good time. It was particularly nice to get out and relax for a few hours.
As it was Halloween and a costume party I ended up dressing up. As I didn't have much time or money with which to pull together an elaborate costume I went as a pirate (vest, bandanna, and nautically themed 'tattoos'). Brian, my classmate, made a rather elaborate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. outfit. Amazingly, while everyone was in costume very few, if any, of the attendees were in gore based costumes. As I am not a fan of such costumes I was quite pleased with the choice of costumes worn by the other guests.
-For dinner this evening we had roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables. The beef was particularly beefy, which is how I like my beef.
-After dinner I started to make pea soup. The primary goal was to use some ham that I cooked a few days ago, it also was a good place to use some celery that is just a few days from kicking the bucket.
-A few days ago while looking at a flier I noticed that the store was selling a few things that I was interested in purchasing. Most importantly, the store was selling a card table for less than $40, which seemed like a good price.
This afternoon Neil and I took the bus to the store and scooped up the last of the tables. While in the store we also managed to pick up a few additional items that were on sale for at least 50% off of the regular price.
-In a break with recent tradition, last night I actually managed to socialize with some people other than Neil and Rebecca (not that there is anything wrong with them). I first went over to a classmate's house for a few beers before heading to a party at his friend's place. Though I didn't know all that many people I had a good time. It was particularly nice to get out and relax for a few hours.As it was Halloween and a costume party I ended up dressing up. As I didn't have much time or money with which to pull together an elaborate costume I went as a pirate (vest, bandanna, and nautically themed 'tattoos'). Brian, my classmate, made a rather elaborate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. outfit. Amazingly, while everyone was in costume very few, if any, of the attendees were in gore based costumes. As I am not a fan of such costumes I was quite pleased with the choice of costumes worn by the other guests.
Monday, September 29, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 226
-While it did rain for some period of time yesterday evening, it was certainly much less time than I expected. On the other hand, the wind did blow rather aggressively for a number of hours, giving me at least some sense that I was experiencing a storm, and to give Halifax credit, the tree held up much better than trees in Montreal would have. I haven't seen a evidence of any branches, even twigs, being taken down by the storm (in Montreal almost any wind brought down all kinds of branches). I should note that just because the storm wasn't as impressive as I was led to believe it would be that doesn't mean it is nice here. Things are still relatively overcast, though generally calm, and a touch warmer than I want.
-For the past few days I have been working hard on a project for my comparative theory course. While I am at all enamoured with the subject of the topic, structuralist Marxism, I am glad to know that I will soon have completed the written portion of the assignment, and that by Thursday the presentation portion will be complete (though I am still not sure how I will present the material).
-Some corn that I planted a few days ago has sprouted. As questionable a proposition as the first batch of corn was, I can only imagine that corn planted later in the year has an even lower chance of success. Amazingly, it seems have have grown several centimeters since this morning.
-The plan is to have roast beef for dinner tonight. I guess I should probably think about putting that in the oven if I want to eat before 8:00 PM tonight. The other part of the plan is to have leek and potato soup (we have some leeks that we need to cook).
-For the past few days I have been working hard on a project for my comparative theory course. While I am at all enamoured with the subject of the topic, structuralist Marxism, I am glad to know that I will soon have completed the written portion of the assignment, and that by Thursday the presentation portion will be complete (though I am still not sure how I will present the material).
-Some corn that I planted a few days ago has sprouted. As questionable a proposition as the first batch of corn was, I can only imagine that corn planted later in the year has an even lower chance of success. Amazingly, it seems have have grown several centimeters since this morning.
-The plan is to have roast beef for dinner tonight. I guess I should probably think about putting that in the oven if I want to eat before 8:00 PM tonight. The other part of the plan is to have leek and potato soup (we have some leeks that we need to cook).
Sunday, September 07, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 219
-While there was a fair bit of rain this morning, we don't seem to have received the drenching that was predicted. As far as I am concerned this is absolutely fine because in the past few weeks we have had more rain and humidity than I think was necessary.
-This evening we will be having pot roast for dinner I am quite looking forward to the meal as beef, potatoes, carrots, and gravy are some of my favourite foods, and this is one of my favourite way to have have these foods prepared.
-I finally took the time to unpack my printer and organize my desk. These changes to my room and study space should help me get down to work in the coming days. In particular hooking my printer up will be important as many of my readings are from computer files that I will likely need to print.
-This morning Neil and I installed a few items in the kitchen.
The first item we installed was a new under-cabinet halogen lamp. The idea is that this lamp will provide light for the kitchen sink and some of the surrounding areas. As things were before this area was a little short on light, making it hard to always doing a good job of washing the dishes.
On the wall just behind the sink we installed a spice rack. Due to the location of the spice rack it is able to benefit from the newly installed light also. The main benefit of the spice rack is that we now have our spices in a location that doesn't require us to bend down and reach in to an awkwardly designed cupboard. Hopefully this installation will make using spices much easier.
-Many of the plants are still doing quite well. The corn and beans are still the tallest, though neither type of plant is anywhere ready to begin producing fruit.
Just a few days ago both types of pepper began to sprout. This surprised me as it took much less time than I expected. The other thing that surprised me about this is that many more of the seeds germinated than I expected. Hopefully these plants will continue to exceed my expectations in the coming weeks and months.
The thyme is still showing signs of trouble. Most the original sprouts have died off, though at least one is still alive. Fortunately a few new seeds have started to show signs of life, giving me how that with a change to the location of the pot I might be able to bring things around to a more positive direction.
-This evening we will be having pot roast for dinner I am quite looking forward to the meal as beef, potatoes, carrots, and gravy are some of my favourite foods, and this is one of my favourite way to have have these foods prepared.
-I finally took the time to unpack my printer and organize my desk. These changes to my room and study space should help me get down to work in the coming days. In particular hooking my printer up will be important as many of my readings are from computer files that I will likely need to print.
-This morning Neil and I installed a few items in the kitchen.
The first item we installed was a new under-cabinet halogen lamp. The idea is that this lamp will provide light for the kitchen sink and some of the surrounding areas. As things were before this area was a little short on light, making it hard to always doing a good job of washing the dishes.
On the wall just behind the sink we installed a spice rack. Due to the location of the spice rack it is able to benefit from the newly installed light also. The main benefit of the spice rack is that we now have our spices in a location that doesn't require us to bend down and reach in to an awkwardly designed cupboard. Hopefully this installation will make using spices much easier.
-Many of the plants are still doing quite well. The corn and beans are still the tallest, though neither type of plant is anywhere ready to begin producing fruit.
Just a few days ago both types of pepper began to sprout. This surprised me as it took much less time than I expected. The other thing that surprised me about this is that many more of the seeds germinated than I expected. Hopefully these plants will continue to exceed my expectations in the coming weeks and months.
The thyme is still showing signs of trouble. Most the original sprouts have died off, though at least one is still alive. Fortunately a few new seeds have started to show signs of life, giving me how that with a change to the location of the pot I might be able to bring things around to a more positive direction.
Friday, July 04, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 194
-Today has been another nice day. The skies are clear and the temperature is above 5.
-Something I didn't mention in the last post is that our team received our jerseys just before our ultimate game yesterday. While one might think that this should be good, I am not really so sure.
Unlike in past years when I had solid colour jerseys, this year my team has camouflage jerseys. Not only are our jerseys the only multi-colour jerseys, they are also the only ones that are tank-tops (which doesn't happen to my favourite shirt style). Even more frustrating is that the cut is a little strange, possibly just the regular t-shirt cut, but without the arms, instead of a specially designed tank-top design.
My impression of the jerseys so far is that they look and feel as though we are running around with garbage bags instead of shirts. Hopefully as I become more familiar with the item it will become more comfortable, and that I be so self-conscious about wearing a camouflage tank-top.
-A few years ago I started to use the comment function available in some OPACs whenever I see cataloging decisions I don't agree with. While I occasionally remember to go back and check and see that some of my suggestions are taken I always wonder who it is that gets the pleasure of going through these comments, and how many such comments come up in the run of a day.
-It looks as though I will be having steak and potatoes for dinner tonight. I am pretty sure that I could handle such a meal several times a week.
-Today I started working on some trivia questions. The plan is that I will try to host trivia at Bitters on a night I don't also have ultimate, which seem to be few and far between. Hopefully my rounds will come together in the next few days
-Something I didn't mention in the last post is that our team received our jerseys just before our ultimate game yesterday. While one might think that this should be good, I am not really so sure.
Unlike in past years when I had solid colour jerseys, this year my team has camouflage jerseys. Not only are our jerseys the only multi-colour jerseys, they are also the only ones that are tank-tops (which doesn't happen to my favourite shirt style). Even more frustrating is that the cut is a little strange, possibly just the regular t-shirt cut, but without the arms, instead of a specially designed tank-top design.
My impression of the jerseys so far is that they look and feel as though we are running around with garbage bags instead of shirts. Hopefully as I become more familiar with the item it will become more comfortable, and that I be so self-conscious about wearing a camouflage tank-top.
-A few years ago I started to use the comment function available in some OPACs whenever I see cataloging decisions I don't agree with. While I occasionally remember to go back and check and see that some of my suggestions are taken I always wonder who it is that gets the pleasure of going through these comments, and how many such comments come up in the run of a day.
-It looks as though I will be having steak and potatoes for dinner tonight. I am pretty sure that I could handle such a meal several times a week.
-Today I started working on some trivia questions. The plan is that I will try to host trivia at Bitters on a night I don't also have ultimate, which seem to be few and far between. Hopefully my rounds will come together in the next few days
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 178
-Today was another less than stellar day. To begin the day skies were overcast and there seemed to be a fair degree of water on the ground. Fortunately, as morning gave way to afternoon the clouds gave way to blue skies. Sadly, the temperature held steady at about 8 degrees for much of the day.
-People seem to be going nuts about tomato contamination. That there is such wide-spread mass hysteria made it all the more surprising that the local grocery store is still stocking and selling American grown vine-less tomatoes.
-While walking home from work with Peter I decided to make some bread. Part of the excuse was that I would use the session to show him how I go about making bread, a method which is aggressively improvisational.
Almost as soon as we returned home and started to assemble the ingredients I noticed that we were going to be short on milk. Amazingly, we were also short on powdered milk, a problem with which I never expected to find myself.
Gradually I was able to work my way around that particular problem by combining the swallow's worth of milk that we did have with the powdered milk, some water, and a few swallows worth lactose free milk.
I next learned that we were out of butter. This meant that I was forced to switch back to margarine for the day, something that really wasn't too much of a sacrifice.
After heating the milk I started to add the other ingredients and really get under way. Soon enough, after adding a bit of this and a bit of that, I was ready to let the bread rise for the first time. Magically, this period of rising coincided with dinner.
Soon after dinner I was able to slap the formed slabs of dough into pans to let them rise for a second time. This too occurred quite quickly, meaning that before long I had my first four loaves in the oven.
Within less than 2.5 hours I passable product ready for consumption. Now I just have to remember to put the bread away before I go to bed.
-I had flank steak, green beans, asparagus, and potatoes for dinner tonight.
-Since returning I have made a point of packing vegetables with my lunch. For the most part this has been pretty good, particularly now that I am not restricting myself to only packing carrots.
-My beans still seem to be showing no signs of growth. If there aren't any sprouts by next Saturday I may have to re-plant.
-People seem to be going nuts about tomato contamination. That there is such wide-spread mass hysteria made it all the more surprising that the local grocery store is still stocking and selling American grown vine-less tomatoes.
-While walking home from work with Peter I decided to make some bread. Part of the excuse was that I would use the session to show him how I go about making bread, a method which is aggressively improvisational.
Almost as soon as we returned home and started to assemble the ingredients I noticed that we were going to be short on milk. Amazingly, we were also short on powdered milk, a problem with which I never expected to find myself.
Gradually I was able to work my way around that particular problem by combining the swallow's worth of milk that we did have with the powdered milk, some water, and a few swallows worth lactose free milk.
I next learned that we were out of butter. This meant that I was forced to switch back to margarine for the day, something that really wasn't too much of a sacrifice.
After heating the milk I started to add the other ingredients and really get under way. Soon enough, after adding a bit of this and a bit of that, I was ready to let the bread rise for the first time. Magically, this period of rising coincided with dinner.
Soon after dinner I was able to slap the formed slabs of dough into pans to let them rise for a second time. This too occurred quite quickly, meaning that before long I had my first four loaves in the oven.
Within less than 2.5 hours I passable product ready for consumption. Now I just have to remember to put the bread away before I go to bed.
-I had flank steak, green beans, asparagus, and potatoes for dinner tonight.
-Since returning I have made a point of packing vegetables with my lunch. For the most part this has been pretty good, particularly now that I am not restricting myself to only packing carrots.
-My beans still seem to be showing no signs of growth. If there aren't any sprouts by next Saturday I may have to re-plant.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 173
-While today has been a little warmer than yesterday the high of 12 was a little disappointing. Fortunately, the sun was a little more visible than it has been these past few days and the rain seems to have temporarily stopped. While we are supposed to carry on in a similar vein tomorrow, it seems that the middle of the week will put us back into the rain and fog cycle.
-Tomorrow my father and I are scheduled to head out on a converted fishing vessel to go iceberg hunting. Though one might expect me to know approximately where we are going I don't. Hopefully we are able to see a few impressive bergs, and maybe even scoop up a few of the smaller pieces of ice.
-This afternoon my father and I removed a section of wall at the adjoining house. This is the first demolition of this house that I have taken part in since my demolition party of '05. Unlike the last time, this experience involved less beer and tools more complex than bare hands and feet.
-In a few minutes, even though it is less than ideal weather, I will head out to the back patio and toss a few burgers on the grill. It is likely that once Greg and I finish eating that we will head to the downtown region, though this hasn't been settled. As I have to leave on the early side for my boat trip I hope not to stay out all that late.
-Yesterday my sister went on 'tour' with her youth choir. This is her first tour with the choir since she joined last fall. While previous tours have taken choir members to such places as England and Denmark, this trip will seem them visiting such towns as Gander and Harbor Breton. As far as I can tell she seems to be enjoying things so far, though I have no idea how the singing is going.
-I think that the recent posting drought is likely related to the over abundance of posts that occurred while I was in Sint Maarten. After such an output and the subsequent diminished excitement level the idea of posting every day has seemed difficult and somewhat unimportant (as I guess this entire exercise is anyway). Anyway, I guess I will see if I can continue somewhat regular posting as we enter the Summer.
-Tomorrow my father and I are scheduled to head out on a converted fishing vessel to go iceberg hunting. Though one might expect me to know approximately where we are going I don't. Hopefully we are able to see a few impressive bergs, and maybe even scoop up a few of the smaller pieces of ice.
-This afternoon my father and I removed a section of wall at the adjoining house. This is the first demolition of this house that I have taken part in since my demolition party of '05. Unlike the last time, this experience involved less beer and tools more complex than bare hands and feet.
-In a few minutes, even though it is less than ideal weather, I will head out to the back patio and toss a few burgers on the grill. It is likely that once Greg and I finish eating that we will head to the downtown region, though this hasn't been settled. As I have to leave on the early side for my boat trip I hope not to stay out all that late.
-Yesterday my sister went on 'tour' with her youth choir. This is her first tour with the choir since she joined last fall. While previous tours have taken choir members to such places as England and Denmark, this trip will seem them visiting such towns as Gander and Harbor Breton. As far as I can tell she seems to be enjoying things so far, though I have no idea how the singing is going.
-I think that the recent posting drought is likely related to the over abundance of posts that occurred while I was in Sint Maarten. After such an output and the subsequent diminished excitement level the idea of posting every day has seemed difficult and somewhat unimportant (as I guess this entire exercise is anyway). Anyway, I guess I will see if I can continue somewhat regular posting as we enter the Summer.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sint Maarten: Day 15
My father and I, due to the impending arrival of another visiting faculty member who is to occupy our apartment for the next couple of weeks, had to share bedroom facilities last night. Fortunately, the room and bed are both quite large.
At about 4:00 AM we were both awoken by a loud noise. At first neither of us could figure out what was going on and where the noise was coming from. Eventually I realized that it was coming from the window next to my side of the bed.
I lifted up the blinds to see a young guy (presumably a student) pounding on our window. Once he noticed that we were aware of his presence he demanded that we open our door. Not surprisingly neither of us were all that inclined to do this. Somehow he motioned that we should meet him at the door. Once there my father was still disinclined to let him in, even though he continued to insist that we should.
Presumably this was just an incredibly drunk student who ended up at the wrong apartment and assumed it was his own. Hopefully this escapade didn’t play out again at the correct apartment. I can’t imagine that such an event would please a roommate greatly.
We eventually woke for the day at about 8:30. Our first order of the day was breakfast. We then made our way over to Mullet Beach for some morning snorkeling. The hope was that by going in the morning the water would be clearer than it had been during our recent afternoon visits.
Almost as soon as we arrived at Mullet Beach I had the sense that the water was likely on the cloudy side (though we could see some rocks). My father suggested that I go in and head all the way out to the headland to see if things were better out there. I would then give him the signal as to whether it would be worth his while to come in.
Two things that weren’t all that surprising then occurred. Firstly, I immediately noticed that the water lacked the desired clarity. It may have actually been cloudier (or more filled with sand and particulate matter) than during any of our earlier visits. Secondly, my father did not wait for me to give him the clear sign. Instead, basically as I was floating to put on my flippers he came in. Fortunately, I was able to get him to turn back before he made it all the way out to the headland area. As we were both heading in we realized that it was actually quite a dangerous location for snorkeling and swimming because one could be dashed on rocks that were previously unseen.
Once we were nicely de-sanitized and full salinized we made our way over to the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items. I was finally able to buy a few bars of Lifebuoy soap for a friend in St. John’s, and we also were able to buy a new box of garbage bags for the apartment. We then continued our journey to try and find a car wash and car vacuum cleaner. The latter of these to items was relatively easy to find, the former was quite challenging. We eventually gave up on the search and decided to just head to a place on the French side of the island that we knew had such a service
We returned to the apartment, where we both showered and cleaned up before heading back on the road. Soon enough we were back on the road and heading towards Marigot.
As we were near Baie Rouge my father spotted and iguana like lizard and asked if I had seen it. As I hadn’t seen it he suggested that we could go back to see it. This seemed as though this likely wouldn’t be worth our while, as lizards don’t have a tendency to hang around. He then informed me that the lizard was dead, so he was pretty sure that it would be there when we went back.
Two vehicles ran over the lizard just as we were approaching it. One squished the guts out while the other crushed the animal’s head. This meant that by the time I good a good look the carcass was a fair bit flatter and less lizard like than when my father had spotted it just a minute or so before.
Once we made it to the outskirts of Marigot we immediately found the car wash. We then observed that they also had vacuum cleaners. Soon enough our car was being cleaned by the Karcher brand automatic car wash. The most amazing thing about the process, aside from the lack of a building to house the machine, was how little water was used. The entire process likely only took a few litres of water. The air drying apparatus at the end of the wash was also quite neat. Sensors allowed the blower to follow the profile of the car instead of just blowing in the direction of the car.
We next moved over to the vacuum cleaner. I removed the mats while my father went in to get a token. I then stationed myself on one side of the car while he stationed himself on the other. We then proceeded to hand the wand back and forth to maximize the use of our limited sucking time. Though we didn’t have quite as much time as we could have used, we did make pretty good progress, certainly enough that the car won’t be an embarrassment when we transfer it to the next user.
Though unplanned, I ended up driving the car back to the Dutch side of the island and then all the way over to Simpson Bay. Once in Simpson Bay we made a few more last minute grocery store purchases. I was also able to get a coffee. While ordering my coffee in the McDonald’s (one of the few places that I have seen that offers take-out coffee) I noticed that they also sold beer (Heineken and Presidente). This is almost enough to make me want to go back and get a meal and a beer. The motivation is even greater because I wasn’t able to do so while in Paris thirteen years ago.
Once back in the apartment we had lunch, which killed off a fair bit of our remaining food. After lunch my father went back to work on his test questions while I proceeded to start dealing myself games of solitaire. All in all, it wasn’t a particularly successful series of solitaire games. Much to my surprise, my hours of recent playing time don’t really seem to have improved my skill level.
At about 3:30 we left the apartment to pick up the incoming visiting professor. We hoped to be able to get a video clip of the plane as it landed. Unfortunately, just about a block away from the university we saw a plane approaching the runway. By the time we reached the runway it was pretty clear that that was the plane we were hoping to see.
Though we arrived at the airport after the plane landed we were in the arrivals area long before the person we were picking up emerged. As soon as she did emerge we were able to head out to the car and head home.
After we spent a few minutes catching up (with particular emphasis on what my father had already taught the class) we, along with another visiting professor, made our way over to a restaurant for dinner. We had been invited to dinner by the chair of the physiology department.
The restaurant was built or floating on the lagoon. We were seated in a section of the restaurant that was quite far out into the lagoon.
Though the restaurant seemed to try to push the lobster, 60% of us went for the mahi-mahi. The newly arrived professor went for shrimp and the department chair went for filet mignon. In retrospect if I had known how large the filet mignon would be I would have chosen that instead of the fish (not to suggest that I wasn’t pleased with my selection).
Soon after we stopped eating we noticed that some fish were swimming around in water just behind where we were seated. Very quickly a very large (about four feet long) fish was spotted. This encouraged a little more attention to be paid to the section of water that was illuminated by the restaurant’s lighting system. For the most part we saw only minnow sized fish.
In the next few minutes a few more sightings of the same fish, or others of comparable size were made. Eventually, just as we were about to leave, my father spotted a large fish. He is quite sure that it was a shark, and though I didn’t get as clear a view, I do think that this is conceivable.
On our way back to the university we stopped at the grocery store so that the two visiting professors with whom we were traveling could pick up some groceries. While in the store I broke down and purchased a pouch of Red Man. For years, maybe since my first viewing of The Sandlot, I have wanted to try this stuff, though have never been inclined to pay full Newfoundland prices ($13.00) as I can’t imagine that it will do any thing for me except make me sick (and maybe a little light headed).
Once the shopping had been paid for and bagged my father retrieved the car from the underground parking lot behind the store. We then folded down the back seat of the car and loaded the groceries into the trunk. Unfortunately, about two bags didn’t quite fit, so they were then left in the back seat with our two passengers.
After we returned to the apartment my father and I started to pack while the new inhabitant started to put away her groceries and arrange the kitchen to her liking. Soon enough my father and I finished packing. Not surprisingly, he went back to question writing while I did some reading.
Eventually all three of us (meaning those staying in the apartment) headed off to bed. I know that I was asleep before my father, but I have no idea by what margin.
At about 4:00 AM we were both awoken by a loud noise. At first neither of us could figure out what was going on and where the noise was coming from. Eventually I realized that it was coming from the window next to my side of the bed.
I lifted up the blinds to see a young guy (presumably a student) pounding on our window. Once he noticed that we were aware of his presence he demanded that we open our door. Not surprisingly neither of us were all that inclined to do this. Somehow he motioned that we should meet him at the door. Once there my father was still disinclined to let him in, even though he continued to insist that we should.
Presumably this was just an incredibly drunk student who ended up at the wrong apartment and assumed it was his own. Hopefully this escapade didn’t play out again at the correct apartment. I can’t imagine that such an event would please a roommate greatly.
We eventually woke for the day at about 8:30. Our first order of the day was breakfast. We then made our way over to Mullet Beach for some morning snorkeling. The hope was that by going in the morning the water would be clearer than it had been during our recent afternoon visits.
Almost as soon as we arrived at Mullet Beach I had the sense that the water was likely on the cloudy side (though we could see some rocks). My father suggested that I go in and head all the way out to the headland to see if things were better out there. I would then give him the signal as to whether it would be worth his while to come in.
Two things that weren’t all that surprising then occurred. Firstly, I immediately noticed that the water lacked the desired clarity. It may have actually been cloudier (or more filled with sand and particulate matter) than during any of our earlier visits. Secondly, my father did not wait for me to give him the clear sign. Instead, basically as I was floating to put on my flippers he came in. Fortunately, I was able to get him to turn back before he made it all the way out to the headland area. As we were both heading in we realized that it was actually quite a dangerous location for snorkeling and swimming because one could be dashed on rocks that were previously unseen.
Once we were nicely de-sanitized and full salinized we made our way over to the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items. I was finally able to buy a few bars of Lifebuoy soap for a friend in St. John’s, and we also were able to buy a new box of garbage bags for the apartment. We then continued our journey to try and find a car wash and car vacuum cleaner. The latter of these to items was relatively easy to find, the former was quite challenging. We eventually gave up on the search and decided to just head to a place on the French side of the island that we knew had such a service
We returned to the apartment, where we both showered and cleaned up before heading back on the road. Soon enough we were back on the road and heading towards Marigot.
As we were near Baie Rouge my father spotted and iguana like lizard and asked if I had seen it. As I hadn’t seen it he suggested that we could go back to see it. This seemed as though this likely wouldn’t be worth our while, as lizards don’t have a tendency to hang around. He then informed me that the lizard was dead, so he was pretty sure that it would be there when we went back.
Two vehicles ran over the lizard just as we were approaching it. One squished the guts out while the other crushed the animal’s head. This meant that by the time I good a good look the carcass was a fair bit flatter and less lizard like than when my father had spotted it just a minute or so before.
Once we made it to the outskirts of Marigot we immediately found the car wash. We then observed that they also had vacuum cleaners. Soon enough our car was being cleaned by the Karcher brand automatic car wash. The most amazing thing about the process, aside from the lack of a building to house the machine, was how little water was used. The entire process likely only took a few litres of water. The air drying apparatus at the end of the wash was also quite neat. Sensors allowed the blower to follow the profile of the car instead of just blowing in the direction of the car.
We next moved over to the vacuum cleaner. I removed the mats while my father went in to get a token. I then stationed myself on one side of the car while he stationed himself on the other. We then proceeded to hand the wand back and forth to maximize the use of our limited sucking time. Though we didn’t have quite as much time as we could have used, we did make pretty good progress, certainly enough that the car won’t be an embarrassment when we transfer it to the next user.
Though unplanned, I ended up driving the car back to the Dutch side of the island and then all the way over to Simpson Bay. Once in Simpson Bay we made a few more last minute grocery store purchases. I was also able to get a coffee. While ordering my coffee in the McDonald’s (one of the few places that I have seen that offers take-out coffee) I noticed that they also sold beer (Heineken and Presidente). This is almost enough to make me want to go back and get a meal and a beer. The motivation is even greater because I wasn’t able to do so while in Paris thirteen years ago.
Once back in the apartment we had lunch, which killed off a fair bit of our remaining food. After lunch my father went back to work on his test questions while I proceeded to start dealing myself games of solitaire. All in all, it wasn’t a particularly successful series of solitaire games. Much to my surprise, my hours of recent playing time don’t really seem to have improved my skill level.
At about 3:30 we left the apartment to pick up the incoming visiting professor. We hoped to be able to get a video clip of the plane as it landed. Unfortunately, just about a block away from the university we saw a plane approaching the runway. By the time we reached the runway it was pretty clear that that was the plane we were hoping to see.
Though we arrived at the airport after the plane landed we were in the arrivals area long before the person we were picking up emerged. As soon as she did emerge we were able to head out to the car and head home.
After we spent a few minutes catching up (with particular emphasis on what my father had already taught the class) we, along with another visiting professor, made our way over to a restaurant for dinner. We had been invited to dinner by the chair of the physiology department.
The restaurant was built or floating on the lagoon. We were seated in a section of the restaurant that was quite far out into the lagoon.
Though the restaurant seemed to try to push the lobster, 60% of us went for the mahi-mahi. The newly arrived professor went for shrimp and the department chair went for filet mignon. In retrospect if I had known how large the filet mignon would be I would have chosen that instead of the fish (not to suggest that I wasn’t pleased with my selection).
Soon after we stopped eating we noticed that some fish were swimming around in water just behind where we were seated. Very quickly a very large (about four feet long) fish was spotted. This encouraged a little more attention to be paid to the section of water that was illuminated by the restaurant’s lighting system. For the most part we saw only minnow sized fish.
In the next few minutes a few more sightings of the same fish, or others of comparable size were made. Eventually, just as we were about to leave, my father spotted a large fish. He is quite sure that it was a shark, and though I didn’t get as clear a view, I do think that this is conceivable.
On our way back to the university we stopped at the grocery store so that the two visiting professors with whom we were traveling could pick up some groceries. While in the store I broke down and purchased a pouch of Red Man. For years, maybe since my first viewing of The Sandlot, I have wanted to try this stuff, though have never been inclined to pay full Newfoundland prices ($13.00) as I can’t imagine that it will do any thing for me except make me sick (and maybe a little light headed).
Once the shopping had been paid for and bagged my father retrieved the car from the underground parking lot behind the store. We then folded down the back seat of the car and loaded the groceries into the trunk. Unfortunately, about two bags didn’t quite fit, so they were then left in the back seat with our two passengers.
After we returned to the apartment my father and I started to pack while the new inhabitant started to put away her groceries and arrange the kitchen to her liking. Soon enough my father and I finished packing. Not surprisingly, he went back to question writing while I did some reading.
Eventually all three of us (meaning those staying in the apartment) headed off to bed. I know that I was asleep before my father, but I have no idea by what margin.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sint Maarten: Day 9
We awoke early this morning to have a quick breakfast before heading out to Orient Beach, where we hoped to get a lesson on how to sail a small catamaran.
As the sky looked a little clearer than it has for the past few days, we decided to stop by Pic Paradis on the way. While things were slightly more visible, Anguilla and the distant parts of the island weren’t as visible as we hoped. On this trip we also made our way a little further from the main look out, something that allowed us to see much of the land surrounding the lagoon as well as the Orient Beach area. The other notable feature of this trip was the number of lizards that we saw as we were walking out and back. Unlike previous trips we have taken on the island, we saw all kinds of different patterns and colorations within a short distance. Typically we see only one or two types of lizards on a given trip.
Once we reached Orient Beach we learned that the company from whom we had hoped to receive a lesson were book until the afternoon. We arranged to return for an appointment later in the day and left a deposit. The modified plan was to return for a lesson from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM and sail by ourselves from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
After we completed our booking obligations we started to make our way back to the university so that my father could put a few hours in on his lectures.
Somehow in Marigot we became slightly turned around and ended up taking a road we had not yet taken. This road went south from Marigot and spit us out between Simpson Bay and Philipsburg. As we were making our way from the new road to the road to our residence we had to take several backstreets. While driving down one of these streets we saw an iguana sized and styled lizards dart in front of our car and across the road. This confirmed for us that larger lizards do exist on the island, but just aren’t as prevalent as the much smaller ones.
On this trip we also ended up behind a large tour bus for a period of time. While this normally wouldn’t be too much of a problem, in this case the bus was so large it blocked our view of the road completely. Also, while we were climbing a steep hill the bus stalled, at first stopping, and then starting to roll down the hill towards us. While under many circumstances this would be an undesirable situation, but not one that was insurmountable, the presence of a van behind us added to the level of stress. It seems that the van didn’t understand that the bus was rolling back down the hill, forcing us to back up. The result was that we were stuck between two much larger vehicles, one that was somewhat out of control, and one that didn’t grasp the severity of the situation.
Once we finally made it back to Cupecoy and the university my father went into the university to work while I was tasked with acquiring food for lunch. I first made a trip to a newly opened store that is just up the hill from our apartment. The problem with this store, as I was to find out, is that much of the food is of the prepared variety, elevating the prices beyond what I was interested in paying.
This state of affairs meant that I would have to head into Maho to visit the larger grocery store. As I was planning on buying some beer and considering our schedule, this meant that I would be driving in. So for the first time outside of Canada or the US I put a key in the ignition and started the car.
One of the immediately noticeable features of driving in Sint Maarten is the frequency with which one encounters speed bumps, many of which are not clearly marked. As I have been a passenger in a car here this wasn’t too much of a problem.
The other feature that sets this island apart from much of North America is the use of the traffic circle, or roundabout. I was able to successfully negotiate one at the intersection in front of the grocery store. Though it seemed straightforward enough, I am sure adding traffic to the mix might leave me with a different impression.
The shopping trip was quick and painless. I was able to quickly locate everything that I planned on purchasing and return to the apartment in a few minutes. Much to my surprise, the trip back was as painless as the trip out, which is nice as driving isn’t my favourite activity.
Upon returning to the apartment I prepared myself one of the chicken breasts that I had just purchased. Once I had finished lunch I spent a little time on my computer.
Just before 2:00 PM my father returned from work to have lunch before our return journey to Orient Beach. This was a pleasant surprise as I expected to meet him about twenty minutes later at the car with sandwiches for him to eat along the way.
We were soon on the road again, making our way back to the other side of the island. It soon became clear that we were making good time and on course to arrive at the sailing place early. Soon after arriving at the beach we noticed that there were many more cars than when we left. People had started parking in just about any and all available places large enough to fit a car. As we were cruising through the first parking lot we were lucky enough to find the a proper parking spot near to the pathway to the beach.
Shortly after the car had been parked and our belongings appropriately accommodated, we started to walk down the beach towards the facility. Immediately it became apparent that the cars we had seen in the parking lot were associated with additional beach-goers. The place was much busier than we had seen it on either of our two earlier trips (both of which had been earlier in the day).
Once we reached the sailing facility we found a staff member to alert him of our presence. He was able to tell us that we would likely be a few minutes late because Yvon, our scheduled instructor, had started his last lesson several minutes late.
While waiting we, but mainly my father, spoke to the guy manning the facility while the other employees were giving lessons and supervising activities. He was from the Marseilles region and had spent a few months living in Sarnia and working at a Bank of Montreal branch to improve his English (which was pretty good). I get the sense that he was much more enamored with the local climate that that which he would have encountered in Sarnia. This guy, who’s name I don’t know, also told us that Yvon, from Breton, had only arrived from France two weeks ago.
Eventually, after several other arrivals and departures, Yvon showed up and we were ready to go. He took us to the boat and showed us the various key components. We then launched the boat, each of us hopping in from the water. Apparently my father had been able to hop in from water only knee keep while I hopped aboard from water that was up to my chest (this is not to suggest that I am more manly, but to show that the water became much deeper with the length of the boat).
Once we were on the water Yvon gave us directions as to how we should set the sails and how to perform different turns. While this process would have likely been marginally improved if his English had been better, I think we were both able to understand his instructions fairly clearly.
After a few practice turns and maneuvers we started just sailing around the bay. As we were heading towards the northern section of the beach we all heard a snap and then saw the jib fall into the ocean. Moments later, almost in slow motion, the mast began to fall from the center of the boat towards the back. As mast hit the water and frame of the boat it snapped out of the pin device holding it to the boat. While my father and I were wondering if we might be able to put the mast back up Yvon had located the broken part and realized that such a feat would be impossible. And though we didn’t know what he was doing at the time, he also tried to remove the sail from the mast so that it couldn’t catch the wind.
Within a few minutes of our mishap we managed to wave down a jet-ski rider and ask him to notify the company about our predicament. As much as I would like to think that he told someone, I really doubt it. Several minutes later another individual on a jet ski stopped by, clearly offering to let someone know. We could see this guy go to the right place and let Yvon’s co-worker know about our situation.
Shortly after the second jet ski stopped by we could see that one of the company’s inflatables was heading towards us. After a somewhat heated and abrupt exchange in French that was too fast for my father or I to catch, the boat returned to its original posting. Yvon then explained that he was unable to tow us as he was supervising a group of windsurfers (who were pretty far away from land). He also explained that another boat would be sent to assist us.
A few minutes later the second boat arrived, and the first boat returned. The three company employees seemed to be discussing what happened and what should have been done given the situation. The guy in charge of the first boat, and the one that seemed to be senior, seemed to be displeased that Yvon hadn’t taken in the sail and done a better job of arranging things. The three of us on the catamaran then tried to remove the sail from the mast and had about as much luck as Yvon had had previously by himself. It was pretty clear that the sail wasn’t going to go anywhere while we were still at sea.
The first boat again departed while the second boat was arranging a towline with Yvon. We were then transferred to the inflatable while Yvon stayed on the catamaran to ensure that the mast and sail weren’t blown into the water. When we started heading back to shore Yvon was on the sail, a position that soon displayed its weakness as wind caught the sail and toyed with Yvon. We stopped and allowed Yvon to insert himself under the sail at the front of the craft.
The two problems, both relatively minor, of the towing were that the mast was not attached to the boat and was dragging, requiring Yvon to hold the mast in place for the duration of the trip, and that the dual rudders had been pushed to an extreme position by the fallen mast.
Soon enough we were back at the beach. My father and I hopped out of the inflatable and made our way over to help Yvon beach the disabled boat. This time both of us were chest high in water as we pulled the boat ashore. Once ashore the three of us pulled the boat onto the beach so that it would be out of the way and unable to drift out.
Shortly after we had returned ashore we made our way back to the building to collect our belongings and return our life jackets. While there we arranged to go out again (for no additional charge) on Tuesday at 3:30. Hopefully we won’t have a similar problem the next time we go out (but it should be noted that two out of the four times my father has been in sailboats using wind power the masts have gone down, so we have a good chance of having another such mishap).
As we walked back to our car it was quite nice to realize that we had had a seawater experience and managed not to have sand in every available location on our body. In particular, not having sand in my hair and ears was quite nice, giving me a new appreciation of why people might engage in wind related activities rather than surf related activities.
While making our way back home we decided to stop at a store on the French side to pick up some ‘Beurre de France,’ which we had been told is more flavourful than typical butter. Though the store had only a few varieties of French butter it did take us some number of minutes to make our selection (the main determinants of which were salt content and price).
We also stopped at a grocery store on the Dutch side to pick up some steak for dinner. While in the grocery store I happened to see that they sold yucca root (also know as cassava). We decided to buy a piece as we had both had a positive reaction to it when we had consumed it a few nights ago.
Soon after we returned home my father went online to find out how to cook yucca root. Once he found a relatively simple recipe that basically involved boiling and then seasoning I started to prepare dinner. The most laborious and time-consuming aspect of which was the peeling, chopping, and boiling of the yucca root (which should suggest that it wasn’t a particularly trying meal). While I was taking care of the food my father was working on some laundry.
Just as my father was transferring the laundry from the washer to the drier I was serving our food. Moments after I finished this process he returned and we were able to eat.
Again, as we had carrots and green beans to accompany our yucca root and steaks, my grandmother would have been pleased with the variety of colours on our plates. To our pleasant surprise the yucca root turned out quite well. When we have it again the only modification to my preparation will be to ensure a more uniform size of the pieces before they are boiled.
After a brief stint on our balcony we went both went to bed well before 10:00 PM, and possibly even before 9:00 PM (something I don’t know as I don’t have a clock in my room). It seems being adrift in the Caribbean Sea for a half hour really tired us out.
As the sky looked a little clearer than it has for the past few days, we decided to stop by Pic Paradis on the way. While things were slightly more visible, Anguilla and the distant parts of the island weren’t as visible as we hoped. On this trip we also made our way a little further from the main look out, something that allowed us to see much of the land surrounding the lagoon as well as the Orient Beach area. The other notable feature of this trip was the number of lizards that we saw as we were walking out and back. Unlike previous trips we have taken on the island, we saw all kinds of different patterns and colorations within a short distance. Typically we see only one or two types of lizards on a given trip.
Once we reached Orient Beach we learned that the company from whom we had hoped to receive a lesson were book until the afternoon. We arranged to return for an appointment later in the day and left a deposit. The modified plan was to return for a lesson from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM and sail by ourselves from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
After we completed our booking obligations we started to make our way back to the university so that my father could put a few hours in on his lectures.
Somehow in Marigot we became slightly turned around and ended up taking a road we had not yet taken. This road went south from Marigot and spit us out between Simpson Bay and Philipsburg. As we were making our way from the new road to the road to our residence we had to take several backstreets. While driving down one of these streets we saw an iguana sized and styled lizards dart in front of our car and across the road. This confirmed for us that larger lizards do exist on the island, but just aren’t as prevalent as the much smaller ones.
On this trip we also ended up behind a large tour bus for a period of time. While this normally wouldn’t be too much of a problem, in this case the bus was so large it blocked our view of the road completely. Also, while we were climbing a steep hill the bus stalled, at first stopping, and then starting to roll down the hill towards us. While under many circumstances this would be an undesirable situation, but not one that was insurmountable, the presence of a van behind us added to the level of stress. It seems that the van didn’t understand that the bus was rolling back down the hill, forcing us to back up. The result was that we were stuck between two much larger vehicles, one that was somewhat out of control, and one that didn’t grasp the severity of the situation.
Once we finally made it back to Cupecoy and the university my father went into the university to work while I was tasked with acquiring food for lunch. I first made a trip to a newly opened store that is just up the hill from our apartment. The problem with this store, as I was to find out, is that much of the food is of the prepared variety, elevating the prices beyond what I was interested in paying.
This state of affairs meant that I would have to head into Maho to visit the larger grocery store. As I was planning on buying some beer and considering our schedule, this meant that I would be driving in. So for the first time outside of Canada or the US I put a key in the ignition and started the car.
One of the immediately noticeable features of driving in Sint Maarten is the frequency with which one encounters speed bumps, many of which are not clearly marked. As I have been a passenger in a car here this wasn’t too much of a problem.
The other feature that sets this island apart from much of North America is the use of the traffic circle, or roundabout. I was able to successfully negotiate one at the intersection in front of the grocery store. Though it seemed straightforward enough, I am sure adding traffic to the mix might leave me with a different impression.
The shopping trip was quick and painless. I was able to quickly locate everything that I planned on purchasing and return to the apartment in a few minutes. Much to my surprise, the trip back was as painless as the trip out, which is nice as driving isn’t my favourite activity.
Upon returning to the apartment I prepared myself one of the chicken breasts that I had just purchased. Once I had finished lunch I spent a little time on my computer.
Just before 2:00 PM my father returned from work to have lunch before our return journey to Orient Beach. This was a pleasant surprise as I expected to meet him about twenty minutes later at the car with sandwiches for him to eat along the way.
We were soon on the road again, making our way back to the other side of the island. It soon became clear that we were making good time and on course to arrive at the sailing place early. Soon after arriving at the beach we noticed that there were many more cars than when we left. People had started parking in just about any and all available places large enough to fit a car. As we were cruising through the first parking lot we were lucky enough to find the a proper parking spot near to the pathway to the beach.
Shortly after the car had been parked and our belongings appropriately accommodated, we started to walk down the beach towards the facility. Immediately it became apparent that the cars we had seen in the parking lot were associated with additional beach-goers. The place was much busier than we had seen it on either of our two earlier trips (both of which had been earlier in the day).
Once we reached the sailing facility we found a staff member to alert him of our presence. He was able to tell us that we would likely be a few minutes late because Yvon, our scheduled instructor, had started his last lesson several minutes late.
While waiting we, but mainly my father, spoke to the guy manning the facility while the other employees were giving lessons and supervising activities. He was from the Marseilles region and had spent a few months living in Sarnia and working at a Bank of Montreal branch to improve his English (which was pretty good). I get the sense that he was much more enamored with the local climate that that which he would have encountered in Sarnia. This guy, who’s name I don’t know, also told us that Yvon, from Breton, had only arrived from France two weeks ago.
Eventually, after several other arrivals and departures, Yvon showed up and we were ready to go. He took us to the boat and showed us the various key components. We then launched the boat, each of us hopping in from the water. Apparently my father had been able to hop in from water only knee keep while I hopped aboard from water that was up to my chest (this is not to suggest that I am more manly, but to show that the water became much deeper with the length of the boat).
Once we were on the water Yvon gave us directions as to how we should set the sails and how to perform different turns. While this process would have likely been marginally improved if his English had been better, I think we were both able to understand his instructions fairly clearly.
After a few practice turns and maneuvers we started just sailing around the bay. As we were heading towards the northern section of the beach we all heard a snap and then saw the jib fall into the ocean. Moments later, almost in slow motion, the mast began to fall from the center of the boat towards the back. As mast hit the water and frame of the boat it snapped out of the pin device holding it to the boat. While my father and I were wondering if we might be able to put the mast back up Yvon had located the broken part and realized that such a feat would be impossible. And though we didn’t know what he was doing at the time, he also tried to remove the sail from the mast so that it couldn’t catch the wind.
Within a few minutes of our mishap we managed to wave down a jet-ski rider and ask him to notify the company about our predicament. As much as I would like to think that he told someone, I really doubt it. Several minutes later another individual on a jet ski stopped by, clearly offering to let someone know. We could see this guy go to the right place and let Yvon’s co-worker know about our situation.
Shortly after the second jet ski stopped by we could see that one of the company’s inflatables was heading towards us. After a somewhat heated and abrupt exchange in French that was too fast for my father or I to catch, the boat returned to its original posting. Yvon then explained that he was unable to tow us as he was supervising a group of windsurfers (who were pretty far away from land). He also explained that another boat would be sent to assist us.
A few minutes later the second boat arrived, and the first boat returned. The three company employees seemed to be discussing what happened and what should have been done given the situation. The guy in charge of the first boat, and the one that seemed to be senior, seemed to be displeased that Yvon hadn’t taken in the sail and done a better job of arranging things. The three of us on the catamaran then tried to remove the sail from the mast and had about as much luck as Yvon had had previously by himself. It was pretty clear that the sail wasn’t going to go anywhere while we were still at sea.
The first boat again departed while the second boat was arranging a towline with Yvon. We were then transferred to the inflatable while Yvon stayed on the catamaran to ensure that the mast and sail weren’t blown into the water. When we started heading back to shore Yvon was on the sail, a position that soon displayed its weakness as wind caught the sail and toyed with Yvon. We stopped and allowed Yvon to insert himself under the sail at the front of the craft.
The two problems, both relatively minor, of the towing were that the mast was not attached to the boat and was dragging, requiring Yvon to hold the mast in place for the duration of the trip, and that the dual rudders had been pushed to an extreme position by the fallen mast.
Soon enough we were back at the beach. My father and I hopped out of the inflatable and made our way over to help Yvon beach the disabled boat. This time both of us were chest high in water as we pulled the boat ashore. Once ashore the three of us pulled the boat onto the beach so that it would be out of the way and unable to drift out.
Shortly after we had returned ashore we made our way back to the building to collect our belongings and return our life jackets. While there we arranged to go out again (for no additional charge) on Tuesday at 3:30. Hopefully we won’t have a similar problem the next time we go out (but it should be noted that two out of the four times my father has been in sailboats using wind power the masts have gone down, so we have a good chance of having another such mishap).
As we walked back to our car it was quite nice to realize that we had had a seawater experience and managed not to have sand in every available location on our body. In particular, not having sand in my hair and ears was quite nice, giving me a new appreciation of why people might engage in wind related activities rather than surf related activities.
While making our way back home we decided to stop at a store on the French side to pick up some ‘Beurre de France,’ which we had been told is more flavourful than typical butter. Though the store had only a few varieties of French butter it did take us some number of minutes to make our selection (the main determinants of which were salt content and price).
We also stopped at a grocery store on the Dutch side to pick up some steak for dinner. While in the grocery store I happened to see that they sold yucca root (also know as cassava). We decided to buy a piece as we had both had a positive reaction to it when we had consumed it a few nights ago.
Soon after we returned home my father went online to find out how to cook yucca root. Once he found a relatively simple recipe that basically involved boiling and then seasoning I started to prepare dinner. The most laborious and time-consuming aspect of which was the peeling, chopping, and boiling of the yucca root (which should suggest that it wasn’t a particularly trying meal). While I was taking care of the food my father was working on some laundry.
Just as my father was transferring the laundry from the washer to the drier I was serving our food. Moments after I finished this process he returned and we were able to eat.
Again, as we had carrots and green beans to accompany our yucca root and steaks, my grandmother would have been pleased with the variety of colours on our plates. To our pleasant surprise the yucca root turned out quite well. When we have it again the only modification to my preparation will be to ensure a more uniform size of the pieces before they are boiled.
After a brief stint on our balcony we went both went to bed well before 10:00 PM, and possibly even before 9:00 PM (something I don’t know as I don’t have a clock in my room). It seems being adrift in the Caribbean Sea for a half hour really tired us out.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
A Few Quick Notes 153
-Today is another standard winter’s day in Montreal. If I recall correctly, temperatures have been below zero and we were blessed with a few flurries.
-Last night, while laying in bed reading I heard the building power down and saw lights flash off. After a brief investigation I noticed that the Hydro Quebec truck was stationed outside our apartment building, seemingly working on things. This suggested to me that we would be without power for some number of hours (as was the case last time they worked in the same way).
My main concern was how I would go about waking up the next morning as my alarm clock was plugged into a non-functional power outlet. After a few minutes I decided that I would bank on the power being back on by 8:30 AM.
I set my iPod alarm and then hooked it up to my speakers, making sure that both were also plugged in. My desire being that the power would be back and that the speakers would be powered by the time I wanted to wake up.
Fortunately, by about 5:17 AM the power came on and I was able to ensure that my normal alarm was properly set so that I would be up for class.
-Tonight I made some short bread. It came out a little differently than I expected, so I hope it is edible. One of the surprising things about most of the recipes that I came across was that they called for brown sugar when I would have expected white sugar.
-The several times that I have tried to buy beef for roasting this week have failed. It seems that the stores either don’t have, or are out of the appropriate sale cuts of beef.
-Last night, while laying in bed reading I heard the building power down and saw lights flash off. After a brief investigation I noticed that the Hydro Quebec truck was stationed outside our apartment building, seemingly working on things. This suggested to me that we would be without power for some number of hours (as was the case last time they worked in the same way).
My main concern was how I would go about waking up the next morning as my alarm clock was plugged into a non-functional power outlet. After a few minutes I decided that I would bank on the power being back on by 8:30 AM.
I set my iPod alarm and then hooked it up to my speakers, making sure that both were also plugged in. My desire being that the power would be back and that the speakers would be powered by the time I wanted to wake up.
Fortunately, by about 5:17 AM the power came on and I was able to ensure that my normal alarm was properly set so that I would be up for class.
-Tonight I made some short bread. It came out a little differently than I expected, so I hope it is edible. One of the surprising things about most of the recipes that I came across was that they called for brown sugar when I would have expected white sugar.
-The several times that I have tried to buy beef for roasting this week have failed. It seems that the stores either don’t have, or are out of the appropriate sale cuts of beef.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)