-At the moment is experiencing an intermittently heavy rainfall. The only good news is that it is not too cold, actually it is almost 10 degrees outside.
-I am gathering that today is the day we 'spring forward,' but I have absolutely no idea what time it is right now. I feel that clocks in our apartment might be displaying three different hours. The worst part is that it is surely the latest of the three times.
-Last night we were able to watch Gushue play Stoughton in the first play-off game of this year's brier. Of course this means that we were able to see the measure for 1 in the tenth and Gushue horrible shot in 11 to set Stoughton up for the win. Bummer.
-Yesterday I finally made it to the library to pick up my prize for placing third in the library video contest. As some of you have guessed, the bracelet flash drive that I mentioned yesterday was part of the prize, the rest of the prize was a re-usable cloth bag. Of course, while we were picking up my prize Jeannette and I entered a raffle and Jeannette ended up winning the same two items and a $15 credit that can be used towards things like photocopying or on-campus food.
-I think I am now 3 for 14 in this year's RUTRTW contest. Yesterday's 0 for 3 run didn't do much to help my record.
Showing posts with label curling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curling. Show all posts
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 518
-Today, though occasionally windy, has been pretty nice so far. Presently it is sunny and near zero. As far as I know we should have similar weather for the next few hours at least, and maybe even tomorrow.
-My RUTRTW record for this year has now slipped to 2 to 10, which is fine but not particularly praise worthy. I think my problem is that I have not been consistently using my rim-roller.
-This year's Brier has been strangely distracting. Yesterday I was drawn into watching the entirety of the Newfoundland vs. Alberta game and this morning I suckered into watching some of the Nova Scotia vs. Alberta game. The worst part is that I will surely be tempted to watch a few more of the Newfoundland games before the whole thing is over.
-Rebecca's brother, who has been visiting for the past few days, will be heading home tonight, though not before we feed him a few pancakes.
Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have been so foolish to consume the entire package of discount blackberries I purchased this morning, I could have saved a few for pancakes. Woops.
-Given the aforementioned distraction that is the Brier, I should probably not allow myself to be too distracted by this blog and get back to work.
-My RUTRTW record for this year has now slipped to 2 to 10, which is fine but not particularly praise worthy. I think my problem is that I have not been consistently using my rim-roller.
-This year's Brier has been strangely distracting. Yesterday I was drawn into watching the entirety of the Newfoundland vs. Alberta game and this morning I suckered into watching some of the Nova Scotia vs. Alberta game. The worst part is that I will surely be tempted to watch a few more of the Newfoundland games before the whole thing is over.
-Rebecca's brother, who has been visiting for the past few days, will be heading home tonight, though not before we feed him a few pancakes.
Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have been so foolish to consume the entire package of discount blackberries I purchased this morning, I could have saved a few for pancakes. Woops.
-Given the aforementioned distraction that is the Brier, I should probably not allow myself to be too distracted by this blog and get back to work.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 517
-After several days of subzero temperatures we had a surprisingly warm day today. Somehow we managed to make it up to a high of 9 degrees, though this did come with a little rain.
-My RUTRTW is record is now 2 to 8. While this isn't great, I am comfortably above average.
-We watched some of the Brier coverage today. Newfoundland managed to win a close game this afternoon with a double by Gushue in the 11th. It seems that Newfoundland isn't doing quite as well in the match that is currently underway against BC.
-I prepared a big batch of wiener schnitzel this evening. I was pretty satisfied with the results.
-Somehow I allowed myself to be talking into preparing a batch of cupcakes this evening. Though I haven't yet sampled one I get the sense that they are edible.
-My RUTRTW is record is now 2 to 8. While this isn't great, I am comfortably above average.
-We watched some of the Brier coverage today. Newfoundland managed to win a close game this afternoon with a double by Gushue in the 11th. It seems that Newfoundland isn't doing quite as well in the match that is currently underway against BC.
-I prepared a big batch of wiener schnitzel this evening. I was pretty satisfied with the results.
-Somehow I allowed myself to be talking into preparing a batch of cupcakes this evening. Though I haven't yet sampled one I get the sense that they are edible.
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 408
-The streak of good weather continued through today, at least that is my recollection of things. What I have been finding most impressive about our recent good weather is that while it will go as high as 5 or 6 during the day it will then drop to close to -5 or -6 at night, which means something close to a 10 degree temperature swing in just a few hours.
-Not only is Gushue out of the Brier, the team that handed him his first loss of this Brier, Alberta, are now the champions. It seems that Neil and Rebecca, unbeknownst to me, decided to make their way to this evening's final game. Apparently they scored discount tickets from a scalper and had pretty good seats for what was, at least according to them, a pretty good game (even if Alberta did win).
-We managed to lose both of our Ultimate games on Saturday. This didn't really surprise me as the first team we were playing beat us rather soundly just a few weeks ago and the second game we were playing after already having played a game earlier in the day. It seems that we have one game left for the season/play-offs.
-On Friday my seed order arrived. I purchased some pea, bean, and tomato seeds.
Yesterday, with a neighbour/friend I planted a number of these seeds in small starter kit that I purchased a few weeks ago. I am already looking forward to this year's harvest. Hopefully I will be able to provide you with a few more details about what I expect to grow when I have a little more time.
-The time change has been brutal, and I don't think I have really even noticed it yet. Tomorrow morning is going to be incredibly painful.
-Not only is Gushue out of the Brier, the team that handed him his first loss of this Brier, Alberta, are now the champions. It seems that Neil and Rebecca, unbeknownst to me, decided to make their way to this evening's final game. Apparently they scored discount tickets from a scalper and had pretty good seats for what was, at least according to them, a pretty good game (even if Alberta did win).
-We managed to lose both of our Ultimate games on Saturday. This didn't really surprise me as the first team we were playing beat us rather soundly just a few weeks ago and the second game we were playing after already having played a game earlier in the day. It seems that we have one game left for the season/play-offs.
-On Friday my seed order arrived. I purchased some pea, bean, and tomato seeds.
Yesterday, with a neighbour/friend I planted a number of these seeds in small starter kit that I purchased a few weeks ago. I am already looking forward to this year's harvest. Hopefully I will be able to provide you with a few more details about what I expect to grow when I have a little more time.
-The time change has been brutal, and I don't think I have really even noticed it yet. Tomorrow morning is going to be incredibly painful.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 406
-We had another nice day today, though it was a little cooler than it was yesterday. Amazingly, though it is still only early March, people are starting to act as though we are through with Winter for the year (which would be fine with me if it is the case).
-I am now 2/4 with regards to Roll Up the Rim to Win cups. I am pretty sure that the added pressure of playing for someone else is really helping me pick up my game.
-Today I attended a political science/public administration seminar. Unfortunately, someone, in the atrium adjacent to the seminar room, was holding a fashion show of sorts. This relatively disruptive (and presumably relatively base) event included not only loud club-appropriate music, but also live commentary on the models and their attire. Considering the enormity of the distraction the presenter did a very good job of powering through and getting his points across.
-Neil has been on the prowl for the past day or two. The target of this prowling has been below retail price Brier tickets. Thus far his rate of success has been relatively low, though he did manage to score a $20 ticket for tomorrow morning (the regular price would be $29 plus fees).
-Our chin-up progress seems to be chugging away nicely. As of tonight I am up to 9 'proper' chin-ups. While I know that Neil has been practicing and generally getting better I don't exactly know what is current PB is. (For those of you who are curious, though it is not apparent in the comments sections these chin-ups reports seem to be shockingly popular among our mid-20s female readers. I find this pretty funny because this is some of the content that I have felt the most hesitant to post, at least that was the case until I knew that one or two of our dedicated readers were following our progress with baited breath, or something approximating baited breath.)
-I am now 2/4 with regards to Roll Up the Rim to Win cups. I am pretty sure that the added pressure of playing for someone else is really helping me pick up my game.
-Today I attended a political science/public administration seminar. Unfortunately, someone, in the atrium adjacent to the seminar room, was holding a fashion show of sorts. This relatively disruptive (and presumably relatively base) event included not only loud club-appropriate music, but also live commentary on the models and their attire. Considering the enormity of the distraction the presenter did a very good job of powering through and getting his points across.
-Neil has been on the prowl for the past day or two. The target of this prowling has been below retail price Brier tickets. Thus far his rate of success has been relatively low, though he did manage to score a $20 ticket for tomorrow morning (the regular price would be $29 plus fees).
-Our chin-up progress seems to be chugging away nicely. As of tonight I am up to 9 'proper' chin-ups. While I know that Neil has been practicing and generally getting better I don't exactly know what is current PB is. (For those of you who are curious, though it is not apparent in the comments sections these chin-ups reports seem to be shockingly popular among our mid-20s female readers. I find this pretty funny because this is some of the content that I have felt the most hesitant to post, at least that was the case until I knew that one or two of our dedicated readers were following our progress with baited breath, or something approximating baited breath.)
Monday, March 08, 2010
The Brier, up close and personal
Yesterday afternoon, maybe at about 1:00 PM, Neil talked me into giving him a quick haircut. As the reason for the haircut was so that he could look his best for his trip to the Brier later that afternoon I obliged and not too long afterwards he and Rebecca went out to see Newfoundland play Saskatchewan in the 4th draw.
After this game all three of us meet up for dinner at a restaurant near the Metro Centre (the location was chosen because they were giving a 10% discount for people with Brier tickets). Following our very pleasant meal Neil and I made our way back up the hill to the Metro Centre for the 5th draw. Our primary goal was to watch the Newfoundland and Alberta game, though I was pleased to hear that Stoughton and the rest of the Manitoba team were to be playing on one of the other ices.
Almost as soon as we settled into our seats it was quite clear that Neil had picked great seats. We were in the third available row and near the middle of the sheets. We could see both houses clearly, though the one to our right was definitely a little closer. Because we were near sheet A, the televised sheet, the game was also being shown on the arenas jumbotrons, meaning that we were able to get somewhat frequent overhead shots of the stones in play.
In contrast to the quality of the seats, the food service stood out as pretty sub-par. The first problem that I encountered was that the on-site Tim Hortons (and remember that we are at the Tim Hortons Brier) did not have a full range of sizes (they just had medium and large). Another problem with this Tim Hortons was that they were not handing out Roll Up the Rim cups (which was definitely disappointing). The other major food problem was that the concession stands were not fully stocked, in particular they seemed to have run out of sausages. Though it took me a minute to warm up to the idea, I eventually became quite psyched about the sausage combo only to have my hopes crushed by supply problems.
As much as I enjoyed the experience, the game itself was a bit of a disappointment. Players on both the Newfoundland and Alberta teams missed some pretty open shots and made some bad calls. In the video below Koe, the Alberta skip, misses a hit for two allowing Newfoundland to steal two and Gushue, the Newfoundland skip, missed a hit and roll which allowed Alberta to take three.
[Embedded Video]
For those of you who are curious, Korab seemed as friendly as always and was the only one (on either team) who really engaged with the crowd as the game progressed.
After the game Neil and I decided to head to the Brier Patch, the nightly live-music/party associated with the Brier (admission is free with a Brier ticket). As Neil and I were walking in to the event from the stadium I was a IDed. This is something that bothers me more than it should (though I think I am somewhat justified in thinking that the system is jacked when I know that the person they have let in just before me is more than two years younger than I am). While I don't think that I am at risk of becoming a Brier Patch regular it was pretty fun to see some of the curlers treated like celebrities as they walked through the crowds. Just moments after our arrival the group next to us dragged Jeff Stoughton to their area for a few photos.
After this game all three of us meet up for dinner at a restaurant near the Metro Centre (the location was chosen because they were giving a 10% discount for people with Brier tickets). Following our very pleasant meal Neil and I made our way back up the hill to the Metro Centre for the 5th draw. Our primary goal was to watch the Newfoundland and Alberta game, though I was pleased to hear that Stoughton and the rest of the Manitoba team were to be playing on one of the other ices.
Almost as soon as we settled into our seats it was quite clear that Neil had picked great seats. We were in the third available row and near the middle of the sheets. We could see both houses clearly, though the one to our right was definitely a little closer. Because we were near sheet A, the televised sheet, the game was also being shown on the arenas jumbotrons, meaning that we were able to get somewhat frequent overhead shots of the stones in play.
In contrast to the quality of the seats, the food service stood out as pretty sub-par. The first problem that I encountered was that the on-site Tim Hortons (and remember that we are at the Tim Hortons Brier) did not have a full range of sizes (they just had medium and large). Another problem with this Tim Hortons was that they were not handing out Roll Up the Rim cups (which was definitely disappointing). The other major food problem was that the concession stands were not fully stocked, in particular they seemed to have run out of sausages. Though it took me a minute to warm up to the idea, I eventually became quite psyched about the sausage combo only to have my hopes crushed by supply problems.
As much as I enjoyed the experience, the game itself was a bit of a disappointment. Players on both the Newfoundland and Alberta teams missed some pretty open shots and made some bad calls. In the video below Koe, the Alberta skip, misses a hit for two allowing Newfoundland to steal two and Gushue, the Newfoundland skip, missed a hit and roll which allowed Alberta to take three.
[Embedded Video]
For those of you who are curious, Korab seemed as friendly as always and was the only one (on either team) who really engaged with the crowd as the game progressed.
After the game Neil and I decided to head to the Brier Patch, the nightly live-music/party associated with the Brier (admission is free with a Brier ticket). As Neil and I were walking in to the event from the stadium I was a IDed. This is something that bothers me more than it should (though I think I am somewhat justified in thinking that the system is jacked when I know that the person they have let in just before me is more than two years younger than I am). While I don't think that I am at risk of becoming a Brier Patch regular it was pretty fun to see some of the curlers treated like celebrities as they walked through the crowds. Just moments after our arrival the group next to us dragged Jeff Stoughton to their area for a few photos.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Brier Attire
Since my last post I have been wondering what I should wear to an event like the Brier.
As it is artificially chilled and I will be sitting for period of time I imagine pants, rather than shorts, will be what I want to wear from the waist down.
More complicated is the torso/upper body. While the sun will set as I am out I will probably need to bring a somewhat warm jacket. Though I wonder if it will be cold enough for me to wear this the entire time? Or will I want to take it off and wear a sweater with a shirt? Will this make me to warm on the walk there?
The other thing that I have been thinking about is whether I should wear something that might indicate my association with Newfoundland. Unfortunately, most of the items of clothing that I have that would demonstrate such an association are tee shirts (which might be a little hard to publicly display in a chilled stadium). A further problem is that most of the tee shirts that I have that might indicate 'Newfoundland' to some people would likely only have such connotations for people very familiar with Newfoundland. Presumably most people wouldn't really know that my Dominion Ale or 'I [club] baby seals' shirts would be intended to be statements of support for a particular team.
My thought at the moment is that I might try to wear one of these shirts, but in association with a cardigan and my winter jacket. If it is warm enough I would then be able to open my sweater and display my obscure reference to Newfoundland to those in attendance.
I can't believe that I have spent so much time thinking about this, and then that I took the time to outline my thoughts in writing. One might get the impression that I don't have hundreds of pages of reading to do in the coming weeks.
As it is artificially chilled and I will be sitting for period of time I imagine pants, rather than shorts, will be what I want to wear from the waist down.
More complicated is the torso/upper body. While the sun will set as I am out I will probably need to bring a somewhat warm jacket. Though I wonder if it will be cold enough for me to wear this the entire time? Or will I want to take it off and wear a sweater with a shirt? Will this make me to warm on the walk there?
The other thing that I have been thinking about is whether I should wear something that might indicate my association with Newfoundland. Unfortunately, most of the items of clothing that I have that would demonstrate such an association are tee shirts (which might be a little hard to publicly display in a chilled stadium). A further problem is that most of the tee shirts that I have that might indicate 'Newfoundland' to some people would likely only have such connotations for people very familiar with Newfoundland. Presumably most people wouldn't really know that my Dominion Ale or 'I [club] baby seals' shirts would be intended to be statements of support for a particular team.
My thought at the moment is that I might try to wear one of these shirts, but in association with a cardigan and my winter jacket. If it is warm enough I would then be able to open my sweater and display my obscure reference to Newfoundland to those in attendance.
I can't believe that I have spent so much time thinking about this, and then that I took the time to outline my thoughts in writing. One might get the impression that I don't have hundreds of pages of reading to do in the coming weeks.
Brier Bound
As I mentioned in a post a few days ago, Halifax is hosting this year's Brier, the national men's curling championship. This is, arguably, the most prestigious curling tournament/bonspiel in the world and annually draws some of the best curlers from across the country.
I presume that almost as soon as Neil heard that the Brier would be in town he decided that he wanted to go. A few weeks ago he finally settled on tickets, a two draw package for today. The first game will be the afternoon draw and will see Newfoundland play Saskatchewan. Neil and Rebecca will be attending this game.
The second of the games will be this evening's draw, which will feature a game between Newfoundland and Alberta. Neil and I will be attending this game together.
Though Neil tells me otherwise, I am a little concerned that curling may be a little bit difficult to watch from a stadium. I am hoping that the loss of the overhead camera angle won't make things too hard to see (though I guess I won' really know until I get there.
It seems that our tickets also get us access to the Brier Patch, some kind of party event that takes place each evening and involves live local music. While it seems likely that Neil and I may swing by for a few minutes (just to get the most out of our tickets), I really can't imagine this being my kind of thing.
I will let you know how this all works out.
I presume that almost as soon as Neil heard that the Brier would be in town he decided that he wanted to go. A few weeks ago he finally settled on tickets, a two draw package for today. The first game will be the afternoon draw and will see Newfoundland play Saskatchewan. Neil and Rebecca will be attending this game.
The second of the games will be this evening's draw, which will feature a game between Newfoundland and Alberta. Neil and I will be attending this game together.
Though Neil tells me otherwise, I am a little concerned that curling may be a little bit difficult to watch from a stadium. I am hoping that the loss of the overhead camera angle won't make things too hard to see (though I guess I won' really know until I get there.
It seems that our tickets also get us access to the Brier Patch, some kind of party event that takes place each evening and involves live local music. While it seems likely that Neil and I may swing by for a few minutes (just to get the most out of our tickets), I really can't imagine this being my kind of thing.
I will let you know how this all works out.
Friday, March 05, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 404
-Today has been a little chilly, though this hasn't really been much of a problem for me as I spent most of the day indoors. More problematic is that it has also been somewhat overcast, which certainly makes things less pleasant than the need to be.
-I haven't yet figured out what Wednesday night's police action was. I was hoping that it would show up in their daily update blog but it seems not to have made the cut.
-Yesterday we had chicken pot pie for dinner while I went with shepherd's pie tonight. What's up with all of the not-pie pies? Am I going to have to make a regular fruit pie just to balance things out?
-It seems that the Association of Canadian Archivists will be holding their conference in Halifax this summer. The upside of this being the case is that at least one friend of mine from library school, Mary, will be making the trip East to attend the conference. I am hoping that a few more of the archives students may also make the trip, though I didn't see any their names on the conference program.
-Halifax is hosting this year's Brier. Neil attended the first round of this year's Ford Hot Shots this afternoon at the Metro Centre. We have tickets for two games on Sunday. The plan is that Rebecca and I will each attend one game while Neil will go to both of them.
I recently realized that I haven't yet asked Neil if he got a chance to see K-Mart (Kevin Martin) and team while he was attending this afternoon's festivities. Apparently they, along with their gold medals, were to be part of the event and available to sign autographs (I imagine that Neil might have also been able to ask K-Mart what he thinks of the nickname 'K-Mart').
-I should get back to work.
-I haven't yet figured out what Wednesday night's police action was. I was hoping that it would show up in their daily update blog but it seems not to have made the cut.
-Yesterday we had chicken pot pie for dinner while I went with shepherd's pie tonight. What's up with all of the not-pie pies? Am I going to have to make a regular fruit pie just to balance things out?
-It seems that the Association of Canadian Archivists will be holding their conference in Halifax this summer. The upside of this being the case is that at least one friend of mine from library school, Mary, will be making the trip East to attend the conference. I am hoping that a few more of the archives students may also make the trip, though I didn't see any their names on the conference program.
-Halifax is hosting this year's Brier. Neil attended the first round of this year's Ford Hot Shots this afternoon at the Metro Centre. We have tickets for two games on Sunday. The plan is that Rebecca and I will each attend one game while Neil will go to both of them.
I recently realized that I haven't yet asked Neil if he got a chance to see K-Mart (Kevin Martin) and team while he was attending this afternoon's festivities. Apparently they, along with their gold medals, were to be part of the event and available to sign autographs (I imagine that Neil might have also been able to ask K-Mart what he thinks of the nickname 'K-Mart').
-I should get back to work.
Monday, August 10, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 341
-We are presently in the midst of a rainy period, which is somewhat of a contrast to the past few days. The other major change in the weather is that it is a fair bit cooler today that it has been the past few weeks. It is cool enough that I might actually be tempted to put on a sweater at some point today or this evening.
-As is common for us these days, Neil and I had an Ultimate game last night. Unfortunately, only 5 of our players showed up so we didn't have enough people to field a full team. In the end we picked up a few players from the other team and played a game. In the game that we did play, though it won't count in the traditional sense, we managed to win by a score of 15 to 7. In the second half we score 8 points to their 2.
Unfortunately, one of the points, I believe the last point of the first half, I managed to jam one of my toes. Though I didn't feel much at the time, this were definitely a little less pleasant by the time I tried to go to sleep last night.
-On Saturday night after catching a few Busker Festival shows with Neil and Rebecca we decided to head to the local casino to see if would could also catch some free live entertainment there. As it turns out, we missed the final show of the evening by about an hour, but we did manage to spot Team Gushue.
-On the subject of spotting people, as we were walking to the Busker Festival I ran into a friend with whom I attended junior high and high school who seems to be living here now. It was quite fun to run into someone who I haven't really seen much since high school.
-I just baked another batch of bread. This time I ended up with four loaves. Hopefully I will have room for about three of them in the freezer.
-In terms of food production, my balcony garden seems to be on a good roll these past few days. Aside from continued pea growth, I have finally spotted about a dozen scarlet runner beans, though they are still quite a ways away from being ready for consumption. The tomatoes are also continuing to grow quite rapidly. At last count I had about 20 tomatoes ranging from as small as only millimeters cross to about as large as a full-sized grape. I am really looking forward to further harvesting activities.
-As this post makes clear, I have been doing a very good job of avoiding my school/thesis related work. I guess I should try to put a few hours in starting now. I really wish that I wasn't so skilled in the art of procrastination, it really doesn't seem to help me out all that much.
-As is common for us these days, Neil and I had an Ultimate game last night. Unfortunately, only 5 of our players showed up so we didn't have enough people to field a full team. In the end we picked up a few players from the other team and played a game. In the game that we did play, though it won't count in the traditional sense, we managed to win by a score of 15 to 7. In the second half we score 8 points to their 2.
Unfortunately, one of the points, I believe the last point of the first half, I managed to jam one of my toes. Though I didn't feel much at the time, this were definitely a little less pleasant by the time I tried to go to sleep last night.
-On Saturday night after catching a few Busker Festival shows with Neil and Rebecca we decided to head to the local casino to see if would could also catch some free live entertainment there. As it turns out, we missed the final show of the evening by about an hour, but we did manage to spot Team Gushue.
-On the subject of spotting people, as we were walking to the Busker Festival I ran into a friend with whom I attended junior high and high school who seems to be living here now. It was quite fun to run into someone who I haven't really seen much since high school.
-I just baked another batch of bread. This time I ended up with four loaves. Hopefully I will have room for about three of them in the freezer.
-In terms of food production, my balcony garden seems to be on a good roll these past few days. Aside from continued pea growth, I have finally spotted about a dozen scarlet runner beans, though they are still quite a ways away from being ready for consumption. The tomatoes are also continuing to grow quite rapidly. At last count I had about 20 tomatoes ranging from as small as only millimeters cross to about as large as a full-sized grape. I am really looking forward to further harvesting activities.
-As this post makes clear, I have been doing a very good job of avoiding my school/thesis related work. I guess I should try to put a few hours in starting now. I really wish that I wasn't so skilled in the art of procrastination, it really doesn't seem to help me out all that much.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Mr. Gushue and the Brier
It seems that Newfoundland's Brier team, skipped by Brad Gushue, has lost to Manitoba's team, which was skipped by Jeff Stoughton. This loss means that Newfoundland is out of the play-offs for the year.
Upon learning this news I suggested to Neil that I could make a make a joke on Montifax along the lines of "don't send a Pearlian to do a man's job." As he didn't think such a comment would be appropriate (presumably he thought that not everyone would see the humour) I have decided not to include such a joke about the loss. He is probably right, such a comment could be offense to those from Mount Pearl. Instead Montifax wishes the Newfoundland team the best of luck in next year's Brier (which is to take place in Halifax, if I am not mistaken).
I guess we now have to wait and see which two teams will make the final.
Upon learning this news I suggested to Neil that I could make a make a joke on Montifax along the lines of "don't send a Pearlian to do a man's job." As he didn't think such a comment would be appropriate (presumably he thought that not everyone would see the humour) I have decided not to include such a joke about the loss. He is probably right, such a comment could be offense to those from Mount Pearl. Instead Montifax wishes the Newfoundland team the best of luck in next year's Brier (which is to take place in Halifax, if I am not mistaken).
I guess we now have to wait and see which two teams will make the final.
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 287
-As noted previously, today was pretty great. The skies were clear and the wind was relatively low. The only slightly problematic element was that it was a little on the cool side of things, but as I didn't really spend all that much time outside this wasn't much of a problem for me.
-It seems that I am still dealing with the cold I picked up some time ago. The only remaining symptom seems to be my runny/stuffy nose, and even this is much less of a problem than it was a few days ago.
-London's Mayor Boris Johnson posted his chutney recipe on his blog today. It is definitely worth checking out. It is exactly the kind of recipe I would expect from Mr. Johnson.
-It seems that an individual Neil and I went to elementary school with is the sole survivor of the recent off-shore helicopter crash on the Grand Banks. I have heard that he is showing signs of improvement, which is great, though he is obviously still in a tough spot.
-The plants are continuing to grow rather nicely. In particular the thyme and new corn plants seem to be making the most progress, though the banana shouldn't be ignored.
The most impressive growth that I noticed today relates to the second ear of corn. It seems to have started to ooze all kinds of the tassel-like things at the end of the ear. I think they have grown rather noticeably since I took the photo a few hours ago.
As has been their habit for the past few weeks, the scarlet runner beans keep growing and sprouting new leaves. Still no sign of blooms.
I have started getting some of the plants to follow a second string back across the window. This doesn't seem to be going quite as smoothly as the first string.
I really like they way the beans have wrapped themselves around each other.
-I planted a few scarlet runner beans in my room yesterday. If all goes as planned they should be following a string and traversing my bedroom window in no time.
-It seems that Brad Gushue has secured himself a spot in the Brier play-offs. Gushue and team will be playing Jeff Stoughton on Saturday afternoon.
-It seems that I am still dealing with the cold I picked up some time ago. The only remaining symptom seems to be my runny/stuffy nose, and even this is much less of a problem than it was a few days ago.
-London's Mayor Boris Johnson posted his chutney recipe on his blog today. It is definitely worth checking out. It is exactly the kind of recipe I would expect from Mr. Johnson.
-It seems that an individual Neil and I went to elementary school with is the sole survivor of the recent off-shore helicopter crash on the Grand Banks. I have heard that he is showing signs of improvement, which is great, though he is obviously still in a tough spot.
-The plants are continuing to grow rather nicely. In particular the thyme and new corn plants seem to be making the most progress, though the banana shouldn't be ignored.
The most impressive growth that I noticed today relates to the second ear of corn. It seems to have started to ooze all kinds of the tassel-like things at the end of the ear. I think they have grown rather noticeably since I took the photo a few hours ago.
As has been their habit for the past few weeks, the scarlet runner beans keep growing and sprouting new leaves. Still no sign of blooms.
I have started getting some of the plants to follow a second string back across the window. This doesn't seem to be going quite as smoothly as the first string.
I really like they way the beans have wrapped themselves around each other.
-I planted a few scarlet runner beans in my room yesterday. If all goes as planned they should be following a string and traversing my bedroom window in no time.
-It seems that Brad Gushue has secured himself a spot in the Brier play-offs. Gushue and team will be playing Jeff Stoughton on Saturday afternoon.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Scotties Update: Not so Strong
This year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts started on Saturday, February 21st. I was rooting for Heather Strong from NL. Her team started poorly. She played well on Tuesday and on Wednesday she beat two of the better teams to give her a 5-4 record. She was set up to play two of the worst teams on Thursday and if she won both she was guaranteed to at least be in a tie-breaker, and I think she had a chance to finish as high as second, because she had beaten most of the teams she could have tied with. However, on Thursday she failed to follow my advice and instead choked. She finished 5-6, having lost to all the teams with the same or worse record.
Jennifer Jones is in a tie-breaker with PEI today. Last year Heather Strong and Jennifer Jones played in the equivalent tie-breaker, with Jennifer Jones winning and then going on to win the whole thing. I'm curious to see if that will happen again.
Curling
Team Strong: 1
Other losing teams: 5
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Curling Clip
Yesterday a few of us library school types went curling. Officially, this was a McGill ACA sponsored event, though there were many more library students than archives students. As far as I could tell, everyone had a good time. Hopefully this sentiment is evidenced in this short clip.
[Embedded Video]
[Embedded Video]
A Few Quick Notes 154
-While the past few days had been quite cool, today is significantly warmer. When I first went out today I was surprised to find that a full winter coat wasn’t really necessary. More recently, some wet-ish snow has started falling and melting in the above zero temperatures.
-In the past few days I have been listening to the The Sound of Young America family of podcasts. In particular, I have been listening to The Sound of Young of America and Jordan, Jesse, GO, both of which are particularly enjoyable in remarkably different ways.
-For the past few days I have also been trying to work on a grad school application. While I have been putting in hours the product doesn’t seem to be materializing. For some reason I seem to be handcuffed in terms of productivity. I wish that I could find a way past this impediment (the same holds true with other academic work).
-Yesterday about 20 library school types went curling at the Royal Montreal Curling Club. Officially, the event was held by the library school wing of the ACA (a Canadian archives organization), though more participants were from the library stream. The other thing that was noticeable was that most of the participants were library rather than archives students.
While I was one of the more experienced curlers I didn’t really manage to make all that many shots. Part of this I blame on the curling club liaison indicating that the ice was fast, something that was quite clearly not the case.
Fortunately, I was able to impress people with my yelling of ‘hurry’ and ‘hard.’ Most people don’t quite expect me to be as loud as I am.
-Last night I made some nice chicken, potato, and vegetable soup. I will likely have some of this for dinner tonight, how exciting.
-In the past few days I have been listening to the The Sound of Young America family of podcasts. In particular, I have been listening to The Sound of Young of America and Jordan, Jesse, GO, both of which are particularly enjoyable in remarkably different ways.
-For the past few days I have also been trying to work on a grad school application. While I have been putting in hours the product doesn’t seem to be materializing. For some reason I seem to be handcuffed in terms of productivity. I wish that I could find a way past this impediment (the same holds true with other academic work).
-Yesterday about 20 library school types went curling at the Royal Montreal Curling Club. Officially, the event was held by the library school wing of the ACA (a Canadian archives organization), though more participants were from the library stream. The other thing that was noticeable was that most of the participants were library rather than archives students.
While I was one of the more experienced curlers I didn’t really manage to make all that many shots. Part of this I blame on the curling club liaison indicating that the ice was fast, something that was quite clearly not the case.
Fortunately, I was able to impress people with my yelling of ‘hurry’ and ‘hard.’ Most people don’t quite expect me to be as loud as I am.
-Last night I made some nice chicken, potato, and vegetable soup. I will likely have some of this for dinner tonight, how exciting.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
My Return to St. John’s (I am actually back now)
I finally made it back to St. John’s early Saturday morning. Much to my surprise, the trip to the airport and then from Montreal to St. John’s went very smoothly. I even encountered a very pleasant Air Canada employee as I was checking my baggage. If my memory serves me correctly, I must have been inside the security area within about five minutes of being dropped of at the airport.
The only delay that I encountered during the trip was the wait to pick up my bags in St. John’s. It seems that about four or five flights arrived with in a few minutes of one another. For some reason only about one person was loading luggage onto the baggage carousels. The one individual was dividing his efforts between the flights, giving each about one load before switching to another flight.
From the airport we went directly to the grocery store as my parents seemed to not have any food in the house. This was a pretty quick shopping trip, though we did end up buying a 15 pound turkey on a whim.
Early the next morning I was able to head over to Monty’s to pick up a copy of the Globe. Though he didn’t say anything, I believe that Mr. Monty (not his real name) did recognize me from my years of continued patronage. From there I hit the Tim Horton’s on my way back. At this point I learned that there are still some Roll Up the Rim cups in St. John’s, though they seem to have sold out in Montreal (or at least the places I frequent).
It was then on to my haircut. My hair length is now “respectable.” I am thinking that in a few weeks I may even go shorter still. What I find strange is that I have still not really noticed the loss.
My weekend of curling started at just before noon. Amazingly, this was the first time I had ever competed in the Bon Voyage, an annual mixed bonspiel. We were beaten pretty badly in our first game, though we managed to come back in our second game that evening, only to be eliminated this morning. My body is really feeling these few ends, demonstrating the affects of age and lack of practice.
Hopefully in a day or so I will be on the Newfoundland schedule, though as it stands right now it may take a little longer.
The only delay that I encountered during the trip was the wait to pick up my bags in St. John’s. It seems that about four or five flights arrived with in a few minutes of one another. For some reason only about one person was loading luggage onto the baggage carousels. The one individual was dividing his efforts between the flights, giving each about one load before switching to another flight.
From the airport we went directly to the grocery store as my parents seemed to not have any food in the house. This was a pretty quick shopping trip, though we did end up buying a 15 pound turkey on a whim.
Early the next morning I was able to head over to Monty’s to pick up a copy of the Globe. Though he didn’t say anything, I believe that Mr. Monty (not his real name) did recognize me from my years of continued patronage. From there I hit the Tim Horton’s on my way back. At this point I learned that there are still some Roll Up the Rim cups in St. John’s, though they seem to have sold out in Montreal (or at least the places I frequent).
It was then on to my haircut. My hair length is now “respectable.” I am thinking that in a few weeks I may even go shorter still. What I find strange is that I have still not really noticed the loss.
My weekend of curling started at just before noon. Amazingly, this was the first time I had ever competed in the Bon Voyage, an annual mixed bonspiel. We were beaten pretty badly in our first game, though we managed to come back in our second game that evening, only to be eliminated this morning. My body is really feeling these few ends, demonstrating the affects of age and lack of practice.
Hopefully in a day or so I will be on the Newfoundland schedule, though as it stands right now it may take a little longer.
Monday, March 26, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 83
-Today has been another cool, grey spring day. Though today has been damp, it fortunately has not been all that rainy. By Wednesday it seems that we might be in for some sun.
Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day, much nicer than I had expected.
-For a few hours yesterday afternoon about 10 of my classmates and I curled. Though I have more experience than anyone else that played it would have been hard to tell by my record. I was completely unable to read the ice and also felt as though I was thrown off by the slip-on slider that I was using. The good thing is that everyone seemed to have fun. Maybe for next year I will have my own equipment.
-It seems that the annual Roll Up the Rim contest is just about over. It looks that I might finish the year with a 3/31 record. My longest winning streak was 2, which occurred on Saturday and Sunday.
-Today is election day in Quebec. Only yesterday I received my first election literature. Throughout the entire campaign no one has come by our building to drop off materials. While many of us are non-Quebecers, I think that this is unacceptable.
For the first time in Quebec history election day means no classes. I don’t exactly know why this policy has been implemented as people all over the world are able to vote and teach or go to school. Strangely, while McGill classes have been cancelled today all other services are being offered as normal.
-My friendly neighbourhood pigeons have been back almost every day for the past few days. The construction project on their favourite part of the neighbouring roof doesn’t seem to be bothering them all that much.
-I finally made it to Fairmont Bagels yesterday. It was as good as I had been lead to believe. I managed to eat four of the six that I purchased by the time I returned home.
Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day, much nicer than I had expected.
-For a few hours yesterday afternoon about 10 of my classmates and I curled. Though I have more experience than anyone else that played it would have been hard to tell by my record. I was completely unable to read the ice and also felt as though I was thrown off by the slip-on slider that I was using. The good thing is that everyone seemed to have fun. Maybe for next year I will have my own equipment.
-It seems that the annual Roll Up the Rim contest is just about over. It looks that I might finish the year with a 3/31 record. My longest winning streak was 2, which occurred on Saturday and Sunday.
-Today is election day in Quebec. Only yesterday I received my first election literature. Throughout the entire campaign no one has come by our building to drop off materials. While many of us are non-Quebecers, I think that this is unacceptable.
For the first time in Quebec history election day means no classes. I don’t exactly know why this policy has been implemented as people all over the world are able to vote and teach or go to school. Strangely, while McGill classes have been cancelled today all other services are being offered as normal.
-My friendly neighbourhood pigeons have been back almost every day for the past few days. The construction project on their favourite part of the neighbouring roof doesn’t seem to be bothering them all that much.
-I finally made it to Fairmont Bagels yesterday. It was as good as I had been lead to believe. I managed to eat four of the six that I purchased by the time I returned home.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 82
-My dreams of unicycle riding this week are fading quickly. Just moments ago I got up from reading and looked out my window to find that it is snowing a quick pace. While it is likely that there won’t be too much snow and that it won’t last, it still manages to screw things up for this evening. Other than that, it has been a reasonable day with the temperature just a few degrees above freezing.
-With a change in strategy I have now managed to get my Roll Up the Rim record to 2/28. This morning, instead of going to the McGill Tim Horton’s, I went to the shop on the corner of University and Sherbrooke.
-I hope to make some butterscotch pinwheels later this evening. It seems that I haven’t made these in a few months, which is unfortunate as they are quite tasty.
-The ‘Mustache and Cleavage Party’ at Hot Squad Headquarters (Nicole’s apartment) was a success. It was amazing to see how many guys grew rather impressive mustaches for this event. I had expected only a handful of actual mustaches, but was surprised to see that most guys had genuine facial hair. With all the mustache action I can’t say I even noticed the cleavage, and whether or not there was much.
-Tomorrow about 12 library students, including myself, will be going curling for a few hours. It seems that I will be skipping one of the team. It should be fun.
-I think I should go and eat some more of lettuce free salad.
-With a change in strategy I have now managed to get my Roll Up the Rim record to 2/28. This morning, instead of going to the McGill Tim Horton’s, I went to the shop on the corner of University and Sherbrooke.
-I hope to make some butterscotch pinwheels later this evening. It seems that I haven’t made these in a few months, which is unfortunate as they are quite tasty.
-The ‘Mustache and Cleavage Party’ at Hot Squad Headquarters (Nicole’s apartment) was a success. It was amazing to see how many guys grew rather impressive mustaches for this event. I had expected only a handful of actual mustaches, but was surprised to see that most guys had genuine facial hair. With all the mustache action I can’t say I even noticed the cleavage, and whether or not there was much.
-Tomorrow about 12 library students, including myself, will be going curling for a few hours. It seems that I will be skipping one of the team. It should be fun.
-I think I should go and eat some more of lettuce free salad.
Friday, March 23, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 81
-Today has been a pretty nice spring day here in Montreal. While there is still plenty of snow on the ground things are generally pretty pleasant. The only problem seems to be that there is some run-off accumulation at some corners. I am hoping that it will stay like this so that either tomorrow or Sunday I will be able to take my unicycle out for a quick ride.
-I am now 1/27 on Roll Up the Rim. It seems that I might want to try changing the location of my purchases, especially on the weekend as I don’t really enjoy the Saturday and Sunday staff as much as the weekday staff.
-On Sunday afternoon about 12 of us will be curling for a few hours. It seems that I will be one of the most experienced curlers there. It seems that I will be responsible for giving people a bit of an introduction before we start (it seems this way because I volunteered to do this). The kink in the game is that we will be playing with three teams, kin-ball style. I am looking forward to skipping my foursome to victory, though I am not sure that I can afford to buy drinks for two losing teams.
-Tonight is the night, the mustache and cleavage party. For the past month or so I have had my mustache in anticipation of this event. The only problem is that during this month I have grown attached to my mustache. I might have to keep it for beyond tomorrow.
-Back to work tonight, another chance to keep people in clean glassware.
-Today I made a pretty big lettuce and leaf free salad. My salad contained chopped carrots, chopped celery, and chopped red onion. As I don’t eat vinegar, my salad dressing was comprised of lemon juice and olive oil with a few herbs and spices. With two corned beef sandwiches this turned into a very satisfying lunch.
-The pigeons keep coming back to the roof across from me. This really impresses me as there is a pretty intensive construction project ongoing. We will have to see what happens in the future though as their favoured brick structure is no longer available.
-I am now 1/27 on Roll Up the Rim. It seems that I might want to try changing the location of my purchases, especially on the weekend as I don’t really enjoy the Saturday and Sunday staff as much as the weekday staff.
-On Sunday afternoon about 12 of us will be curling for a few hours. It seems that I will be one of the most experienced curlers there. It seems that I will be responsible for giving people a bit of an introduction before we start (it seems this way because I volunteered to do this). The kink in the game is that we will be playing with three teams, kin-ball style. I am looking forward to skipping my foursome to victory, though I am not sure that I can afford to buy drinks for two losing teams.
-Tonight is the night, the mustache and cleavage party. For the past month or so I have had my mustache in anticipation of this event. The only problem is that during this month I have grown attached to my mustache. I might have to keep it for beyond tomorrow.
-Back to work tonight, another chance to keep people in clean glassware.
-Today I made a pretty big lettuce and leaf free salad. My salad contained chopped carrots, chopped celery, and chopped red onion. As I don’t eat vinegar, my salad dressing was comprised of lemon juice and olive oil with a few herbs and spices. With two corned beef sandwiches this turned into a very satisfying lunch.
-The pigeons keep coming back to the roof across from me. This really impresses me as there is a pretty intensive construction project ongoing. We will have to see what happens in the future though as their favoured brick structure is no longer available.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Brier Results
It appears that this has been one of the most disappointing weekends in the history of Newfoundland curling. On Saturday Ms. Devereaux’s team lost in an extra end at the World Junior Curling Championship. On Sunday Mr. Gushue’s team lost in the Brier final.
Mr. Gushue’s team gave up three in the ninth to trail by four. This was a gap that his team wasn’t able to overcome.
Mr. Gushue’s team gave up three in the ninth to trail by four. This was a gap that his team wasn’t able to overcome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)