A Few Quick Notes - 626

-It seems we've finally begun to move towards late Fall and then Winter.  A few days ago we had our first flurries of the season and we've not had a real snowfall enter the forecast (though I'm not completely convinced it will materialize).

-I guess that means it's finally time to start thinking about putting the snow back on the car?  It feels as though we only took them off a few weeks ago.  Bummer.

-Much to our surprise we ended up with about 72 Trick or Treaters by the time we made our way across town for a party.  Had we stayed we surely could have broken 80 as the streets were still teeming as we pulled out of the driveway.  At least from the candy perspective it was good we left when we did - we were basically on empty.

-As we spoke to a neighbour and her son just before we left we were informed that one of our other neighbours (on the de classe side of the street which isn't technically even on our street) was jumping out and chasing kids with a real chain saw.  Maybe this had a negative impact on our numbers?

-To attend our Halloween party I dressed as a Saturday morning hockey Dad.  Of course, because I have no idea what a Saturday morning hockey dad really looks like I just wore my paint and tar stained jeans (they're my only jeans), a tee shirt, a flannel jacket/overshirt, and a toque.  Of course, I also grabbed the largest size coffee available from Canada's favoured coffee retailer.  I'm not really sure if I looked like a hockey dad at all, but at least I got to look like a dirt bag for a bunch of uncostumed people at the party.

A Few Quick Notes 625

-While we had grey skies and a little rain today, I think I still have to classify the day as generally nice.  Most importantly, the temperatures, which can really start to dip in October in Regina, have stayed relatively warm.

-After a few weeks of procrastinating I finally got around to calling my home insurance company about our most recent renewal rate, which was a fair bit more than I expected.  The explanation for the jump, which made more sense than I expected, paired with being walked through various fee lowering options made for a relatively pleasant experience.  Of course, the online quote from their competitor that I was trying to grab at the same time which eventually came in much higher than what we're paying didn't hurt either.  Apparently I wasn't being ripped off as much as I feared I was.

-Well, there's nothing like a parliamentary election to make for good TV viewing on a Monday night.  And of course it's hard to be an election result that will likely lead to two leadership contests in the near future.  The only bummer in all of this is that the two parties (one is certain and the other seems likely) that may be in search of a new leader both use various universal membership voting mechanisms to select their leader.  As a view of political events I much prefer delegated conventions with real on-the-floor horse trading.

-Also, I can't recommend viewing a Canadian election in Regina enough.  Things kicked off with the polls closing in Newfoundland just as we returned home from work.  30 minutes later the rest of Atlantic Canada entered the mix.  Just as the first 33 races were pretty much resolved we had enough time for a quick walk around the neighbourhood before the major onslaught of polls everywhere from Quebec to Alberta closing.  By about 8:00 PM the final outcome was really starting to come into focus.  We were basically in bed at our normal hour.  (Of course, our riding - Regina Lewvan - was one of the last to be resolved and was so close that it may now be subject to a re-count.)

Back in Newfoundland election viewing means a very late night with the excitement not really even starting until after when I'd want to be in bed.  It's all very uncivilized.

A Few Quick Notes 624

-We are in the midst of an almost perfect fall in Regina.  After a few near-frost days the temperatures have really warmed up and the skies have been free of intrusive clouds.

-Of course, while the weather has been great the leaves have been turning (and falling) at a remarkable rate.  In just about a week the tree in our front yard went from green to yellow to empty.

Of course, other trees aren't changing quite as quickly and it is a great time to walk around on many of Regina's well-maintained trails.

Seriously, it's hard to imagine a much more beautiful time of year in Regina.

-And of course, I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to take a related time-lapse video



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-For some reason I've been quite pie-inclined for the past few weeks.  I'm really having to restrain myself from cranking two or three pies (as I did last weekend).

I think I'm going to crack.

A Few Quick Notes 616

-Today has been see-sawing between sunny periods and grey periods.  Despite the less than perfect weather, it is much warmer and generally much nicer than when we arrived in Regina at this time of year two years ago.  At the time Wascana Lake had already frozen and it wasn't until Spring that we had temperatures this warm.

-Yes, we've now been in Regina for just over two years (though three Halloweens).  Last night we had dinner at the restaurant we first visited on our first night in town.  The time has really flown by.

-Yesterday we went to Moose Jaw for the day to participate in an Ultimate tournament.  Because we're too old for that kind thing (though we did manage to beat two younger teams) we're really feeling the effects today in a bad way.  Hopefully we won't be in too much pain by the time we need to head to work tomorrow morning.

-My Margaret Wente pumpkin was a bit of a bust - not a single kid (or parent) commented on it.  Maybe today's kids just aren't up on their national newspaper columnists?  Or maybe I did a bad job carving her likeness? Or, more likely, both?

A Few Quick Notes 603

-After a few false starts, we've finally had a full-fledged snowy winter's day in Regina.  At the moment I'd say that we have somewhere between 5 and 7 cm of snow on the ground, though I guess my estimate could be a little off due because zero-ish temperatures are leading to some simultaneous melting.

-Because of the snowfall I'll have to head out for some shovelling later today.  I tried to do some shovelling a few weeks ago when we had another small snowfall but there wasn't enough to really clear.

-Last weekend we purchased a discount vegetarian Indian cookbook.  The night we purchased the book we prepared about four of the dishes in the book.  They were great.  The only problem with the book is that it has lead us to over eat.  Of course, this overeating hasn't discouraged me from fantasizing about preparing even more dishes from the book this weekend.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

-A few months ago we purchased a food dehydrator.  Since that time we've been really into dried apples and fruit leather.  Turns out that with a few hours of dehydrating time you can turn a dozen apples into nothing more than a few grams of dried apples/fruit leather.  The problem, if you can say there is a problem, is that the dried fruit can be consumed almost instantly and without the feeling that you're chewing through multiple apples in a matter of seconds.

-Turns out I should probably do some fish tank cleaning today.  Do Saturdays get more fun?

-Last weekend, while socializing with neighbours, one of the guys recommended a pomegranate de-seeding technique.  When I finally got around to trying it last night I was amazed that it was actually as easy and effective as promised.  You really have do the whole thing in less than a minute.



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A Few Quick Notes 602

-Though cloudy, today wasn't a particularly cool day.  Since our sudden and unexpectedly resilient snowfall of a few days ago I expect full-blown winter to arrive with each dawn.  When I leave the house and discover winter hasn't yet arrived I'm both pleased and disappointed.

-The arrival of winter would be even more welcome if our fireplace was fully functional.  At the moment the chimney is in need of a serious cleaning.  Until we have it cleaned we won't be able to determine if it's safe to use, and if not how much work might be required to make it so.  While I'd really like to have a fully functional fireplace this is likely something that will have to wait until at least next year.

-We went on a somewhat lengthy shopping trip this afternoon.  As usual, once we're out on our weekend shopping trips we keep remembering additional items that we've been meaning to buy.  Also, at least this normally happens, we tend to forget a handful of items necessitating future trips.  Fortunately, the items that we forgot today weren't so important that we'll have to head out today or even tomorrow.

-My 'smart' phone, or at least its operating system, has been behaving somewhat erratically for the past few weeks.  It seems that the major update has really negatively impacted the operational capacity of the phone - despite the fact that this was presumably exactly the opposite of what the developers intended with the new update.  Anyway, it's definitely been a frustrating way to waste a few hours.

-Now that we're a few weeks into fall the sun has started setting not long after I return home from work.  While this is to be expected, the transition has been happening a little more quickly than I expected.  It won't be long before my walks to and from work will occur mostly in the dark.

-A few days ago I combined a few ingredients and made some pea soup.  I'm continually amazed at how simple, yet tasty, pea soup can be.  Maybe even more impressive, is that the stuff seems to keep getting better in the following days.

-Turns out homeownership is definitely time-consuming.  This weekend I had the pleasure of spending a fair bit of time installing a single board above one of our basement windows.  Not only will this board be used to hang a blind, it will also improve our house's security as it will also prevent one of our windows from easily being pushed in from the outside.  While I'm not pleased at how long this project took, I am pleased with the results.

A Few Quick Notes 554

-Though we have finally dropped down to sub-zero temperatures in Wolfville, things are still looking quite nice today.  A few recent dustings of snow are making things look particularly festive.  I am even hopeful that we may manage to squeeze out a nice sunset this afternoon evening.

-My Christmas preparations, aside from some gift shopping and thinking about all of the cleaning I will likely need to do, started in earnest today when I made some bread that I eventually intend to use for the turkey stuffing.  As much as I am willing to admit that it does seem a bit weird to intention bake bread to allow it to go stale, it seems even weirder to me to buy bread with the intention of letting it go stale.  Anyway, the deed has been done and the bread is now working its way towards staleness.

-The individuals previously associated with our phone number are still receiving daily calls from creditors.  While I seem to have talked a collection agency into not calling, we are still receiving regular calls for another individual from a major financial institution.  As I have already spoken to the company once I don't really know what my next step is (the calls are automated, making one-on-one interactions with the staff difficult).

(While writing this I had to deal with another such call, though this time from a person.  I suspect I was talking to a collection agency, but as there number was blocked I can't confirm this hunch.)

-I probably listen to too many podcasts.  I consume them while cooking, cleaning, walking, procrastinating, and riding the bus.  They're the best.  And there's little I like more than discovering a great new podcast with an archive I can compulsively listen to over the course of a few days.

Anyway, this is a long way of saying that I have recently found two podcasts that I am in the midst of acquainting myself with.  The first one, HOW TO DO EVERYTHING, which seems to be NPR/WBEZ associated, is pretty light and concerns itself with a Richardson's Rounduppesque assortment of topics.  The second one, 99% Invisible (which I discovered thanks to a recent Radiolab episode), is a little more serious and generally deals with topics relating to architecture and design.

Post-shovelling

At about 10:40 the snow had almost come to a complete stop. Obviously this meant it was not time to start shovelling.

I set out with the shovel left to us by the previous tenant. At first thing seemed to be going quickly as the snow was light and easy to shovel. Then, after a few minutes, I noticed that the shovel I was using was really quite short. It didn't even come up to my waist.

The shortness of the shovel, I noticed, was forcing me to bend over quite dramatically. While I could sustain this position for a while it soon became clear that the entire driveway was going to be a bit of a challenge.

The other problem that I soon noticed was the that the snow seemed to be getting heavier as I kept going. I am not sure if this was an illusion, or if increasing temperatures were causing a change, or if the snow nearer the road was heavier, but an already bad situation was seemingly becoming even worse.

Of course, I managed to use the collapsable emergency shovel to clear enough snow to allow us to access the car. Assuming that we aren't ploughed in over night we should even be able to exit the driveway without too many problems.

Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to use this driveway access to make our way to a local shovel store to acquire a more suitable shovel. I really don't think I can do the driveway again with that less than adequate shovel.

Oh, and I would guess that we had about 40ish centimeters of snow.

It's really getting old now

The snow keeps on falling and leaving my increasingly useless reference point.

It's getting old now

This snow stuff keeps on coming. If I had to guess I would say that we have at least 15 cm, though I am not sure how accurate a guess that would be. And the wind has definitely started to pick up. The wind has picked up so much that my 'reference point' is now pretty much completely useless as any indication of the amount of snow that we have received.

Maybe this next photo will give a more accurate sense of the conditions here.

As I hope you can see, we are still in the midst of the snowfall.

It's worse than I thought

Just a few minutes ago I returned from a trip out into the eye of the storm to retrieve a stuck Jeannette (she and the car had been unable to make it up one of the steeper hills in Wolfville). Anyway, any sense that I might have had that things were slowing down was probably premature. The snow is still coming down quite quickly and it is incredibly slippery on the roads. Even walking on the roads can be tricky. Furthermore, while it still isn't particularly strong, the wind has definitely started to pick up a little.

For those of you who are becoming attached to photos of my reference point, here is the picture I took at about 1:15.

My sense of things is that the accumulation is increasing. Unfortunately, when choosing reference points, I didn't even do a particularly good job of choosing a point that would clearly show the full extent of the accumulation. I would guess that this post is several centimetres shy of what you would find on the ground.

Some nice accumulation

At about 10:15 I took this photo.

At about 11:00, or 45 minutes later, I took this photo.

Not only have we had a fair bit of accumulation in the past 45 minutes, but during that time the snow flakes also seem to have become a little bit larger and fluffier.

A Few Quick Notes 553

-Though I didn't spend much time outside today while the sun was up, my recollection is that it was a nice day (though maybe a bit chilly).

-Bright and early this morning started doing some dishes. Once I finished with the dishes I moved on to a single loaf-sized batch of bread. The bread looks good, but I haven't yet gotten around to sampling it.

-After a few hours of work I took a break to make a batch of hard candy. The break became somewhat extended when I managed to burn the first batch (the temperature seemed to jump from 300 to 350 in about 60 seconds). Fortunately, the second batch went according to plan.

What didn't exactly go according to plan was the shaping of the resulting candies. It turns out that they were a little harder to shape by hand than we hoped. Fortunate we were able to cut them in a way that resulted in candies of a reasonable size.

Now that we have something of a handle on the process we may try another batch in the near future.

-Even though I spent a while with the dishes the morning they have continued to accumulate through the day (I guess the baking and candy making projects haven't helped). I hope that somehow by the time I go to bed they are under control.

A Few Quick Notes 552

-Though chilly, today was a beautiful day. Much to my surprise, there are even remnants of the dusting of snow that we received a few days ago. I think it is safe to say that we are definitely into late fall now (even if on Wednesday I saw people sitting on the sidewalk in shorts and a tee-shirt while reading the paper).

-Today, at Jeannette's insistence, we made our way to a local Christmas craft fair. While much of the content was a little too Christmasy for me, there were a few vendors selling some really neat products.

Though for some time Jeannette has been telling me that this thing is a big deal, I really didn't think that it was going to be as big as it was. Not only were there more vendors than I expected (maybe even twice as many), the event seemed to be attracting hundreds of people, likely thousands over the course of the three-day event. It was really quite surprising.

-A few days ago I had the pleasure of doing some multiple choice grading. The upside is that this process is much easier and faster than essay grading. A downside is that, because I wasn't involved in the creation of the test, I don't have as good a sense of the areas where the students are and aren't doing well.

-I am in the midst of keeping a food diary for kidney stone related reasons. Knowing that I will have to record each thing I consume has encouraged me to think a little more closely about my consumption patterns. While, at least for the most part, I don't think I am too bad, I do think that this process has encouraged me to skip a few unnecessary even snacks that I might have otherwise been careless enough to have. (I am not sure how the observation process is impacting the data collection, but there is definitely some impact).

-I should probably head back to the kitchen to check on some food I am preparing for dinner. Assuming all goes well we will be having some dal (with vegetables) and rice. If I manage to get the recipe down I may end up making this on a semi-regular basis.

A Few Quick Notes 551

-I guess I have to say that today is a pretty nice day, though it is a little cooler and not quite as bright as I might consider ideal.

-Though Jeannette and I have driven past the set of the HBO Canada show Call Me Fitz countless times we have still not yet had a Jason Priestly sighting. I guess I can't say that I am particularly surprised that I haven't had such a sighting because I really don't have much of a sense of what he looks like.

Maybe more than having a Beverly Hills 90210 alum in our midst, I like that New Minas is serving as a stand-in for Detroit.

-Assuming all goes as planned, Jeannette and I will be playing some pick-up Ultimate this afternoon. Assuming things keep getting colder, this could be one our last such events for the year.

-For some reason it has been about three weeks since I last posted an entry in this series. Sadly, a mass outcry relating to the paucity of these posts did not develop in the way I might have expected given the longevity of the series. It is almost as though we don't have a particularly active or large readership here at Montifax.

-Last night I heard that various Occupy X protests were being shut down or picking up. For some reason I haven't yet heard much follow up today. Maybe the situations are still unresolved? All I know is that even though the streets of Wolfville were teeming with people last night, by this morning things seemed to have cleared up. I guess there just isn't much of an Occupy spirit in Wolfville these days.

(Apparently there was supposed to be some kind of Occupy Halifax event yesterday. I wonder if it happened in Cornwallis Park?)

-Now that I have passed my comps I have to start working on my thesis. So far things haven't moved particularly quickly. Hopefully that will change in the very near future.

A Few Quick Notes 550

-After a few days of cooler temperatures we seem to have headed back into the mid-twenties. Though it has occasionally been a bit muggy recently, I think that on the whole this weather is fine for this time of year.

-Yesterday some friends from Halifax came out to visit. After doing some apple u-picking we had lunch and then all played some pick-up Ultimate. All in all I think we all had a very enjoyable afternoon.

-Maybe a week ago my father brought to my attention a telephone and internet deal. Almost immediately I signed up for the deal as it will mean a 50% reduction in our telecommunications costs, at least that is what I am hoping will be the case. The aspect of the new arrangement that I am a little worried about is that for maybe two days we may have overlapping service. Anyway, if we don't have a fully functioning phone or internet connection for a few days starting tomorrow afternoon don't be surprised (and I am sure that many of you might be saddened by the prospect of not getting more of these updates for a few days).

Anyway, I just hope the transition is smoother than I am fearing it will be.

-Earlier today I finished reading my first ebook (I read it on an iPad). Much to my surprise, the experience was much more pleasant than I might have expected. Of course, the book didn't have illustrations screw with formatting and as I was reading the book recreationally the fact that it didn't have page numbers wasn't problematic. I can definitely see myself reading ebooks in the future, particularly as public libraries provide larger and larger ebook collections.

A Few Quick Notes 488

-Amazingly, much of the evidence of yesterday's flash snowfall has vanished. Maybe even more surprising is the fact that today was actually quite a nice day, it even went so far as to be above freezing.

-Yesterday I purchased a package of red peppers from the grocery store only to find that they were some of the worst red peppers I have ever had. What is strange is that while they don't appear to be spoiled they are definitely note quite as crisp as they should be and they are certainly lacking the flavour I am accustomed to finding in most of my red peppers. Hopefully I will have better luck next time.

-On a related note, Jeannette and I took a trip to the local farmers' market only to make a single substantive purchase (a $1 turnip). Of course, to find this turnip we had to brave dense groups and elbow our way past the better part of Halifax's aging yuppy population.

-Our Ultimate game didn't go particularly poorly tonight though we were at least a few points behind for most of the game. In the end the result was less than surprising and ended with us getting the loss. One of the most enjoyable aspect of the game was running across a member of the opposing team who happened to be on my first Ultimate team in St. John's in 2005.

-I am starting to think about getting ready for Christmas, for better or worse this hasn't yet meant that I have actually done that much to get ready.

-Aside from our Ultimate game and trip to the market, I feel as though I spent most of my day marking. Fortunately I am now just about done for the night/day/term. Before it I know it I will be back to studying for my comps.

A Few Quick Notes 487

-Today has been incredibly warm. At the moment Environment Canada is reporting that it is 11 C, which is even warmer than it was this afternoon. Of course, these warm temperatures are possibly the precursors of a rain and wind storm that is to hit the region shortly. Hopefully this last part of the equation doesn't come to fruition and the warm temperatures a sign of nothing more than warm temperatures.

-Today, while walking to school, I noticed that the electrical infrastructure along my street was humming. At other locations along my walk I noticed a similar phenomenon. While walking around in my neighbourhood this evening I noticed that the humming was still on going. Though sound in and of itself is not particularly ominous, that it is all of a sudden coming from pieces of infrastructure that haven't historically emitted a sound is definitely a little off-putting.

-Jeannette was kind enough to forward me the following video about the TA experience.



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It seems hardly like fiction.

-I think my first high school principle may have just died. I will need to confirm whether or not this is actually the case.

A Few Quick Notes 486

-Today seems to have been something of a mix weather conditions. That being said, I can't really remember much of today's weather other than that it was nice at about noon. Apparently sitting in front of a window for most of the day doesn't do much to help me remember how the day progressed on the other side of the glass.

-A few days ago I learned that home-video and 1980s and 1990s sitcom legend Bob Saget will be performing in Halifax in the new year (January 13, 2011) at the local casino. Apparently Mr. Saget tends to work blue, a fact I won't likely be able to confirm by attending the show as the ticket prices are a little out of my price range (meaning they are more expensive than free).

-Much to my surprise, my Pepsi bread was generally well received by it consuming public. Actually, of the five of us who tried it, I was the only one who was so underwhelmed that I couldn't finished my piece of bread.

-Our Ultimate experience started and ended poorly last night. While trying to catch the bus to the gym Jeannette and I learned that the bus didn't stop where we originally thought it did. When we eventually found an appropriate bus stop the bus didn't come. Fortunately, from the bus stop where we were waiting we were able to see another bus stop that had a bus going to our destination. We eventually caught the bus at this adjacent stop. After a nerve-wrackingly slow bus ride that seemed to include a stop a basically all of the stops between where we caught the bus and our destination we had to make our way from the Bedford highway to the the MSVU student centre/gym. Of course we arrived only six before our game was to start.

Almost as soon as the game stared it became clear that we were not playing quite as well as the other team. By the half-way point we were about 16 points behind. Just a few minutes into the second half of the game the power went out and we were left with only a few emergency lights. After we all sat in the dark for a few minutes we called the game, bringing our game to a fitting conclusion.

-We are all presently catching the conclusion of the most recent Amazing Race.

A Few Quick Notes 485

-As of about an hour ago it has been snowing. So far their isn't even a centimeter but the grass across from my window is definitely tinged with white.

-Irony of ironies, after going on and on about my search for an unscented antiperspirant my newly acquired unscented antiperspirant's odor is making me feel ill. I almost feel as though I should take a shower to get this stuff off of me.

-The female owner of the two puppies that had been using the grass across from my window as a toilet now seems to be taking her dogs a little further afield to expel their waste. Over the past few days I have seen the small dogs and their owner walking up and down our street. Whenever I see the owner I wonder if she recognizes me as the guy watching her dogs play and use the toilet from his bedroom window.

-For a while Montifax routinely took positions for or against things (being opposed to the re-naming of Parc Avenue in Montreal being one of our prominent stands). For better or worse, this tradition seems to have fallen out of practice over the past several years.

It seems fitting that we re-introduce this feature to the blog with a position that Neil and I both whole-heartedly support.

The position we are taking is against Earl Grey tea, likely the grossest of the teas. This stuff is just foul. Neither of us know why people drink it.

-I attended my department's Christmas party on Thursday evening. Unlike the version of the party I attended 2 years ago, in this instance students sat at tables with professors and vice-versa. All in all, it was a very pleasant event (a fact that was aided by the respect that was paid to my dietary limitations by the organizer).

-I believe it was yesterday when I purchased a 10 kilogram bag of flour for $5.35. What a price.