Round 2

So for just over a week Jeannette and I have both been battling our second cold of the Winter.  Fortunately for both of us, this version seems to be a little gentler than the first one - just an intermittent cough and phlegminess.

It's really quite annoying that we've now spent the first 5 of 8 weeks of the year at least a little under the weather.  Hopefully this won't continue as we move into Spring and Summer.

A Few Quick Notes 618

-After about a week and a half of unseasonably warm temperatures we've again seen the mercury drop to something approximating the seasonal norm (even if we're still a few degrees above where we normally are).  The nasty consequence of the warm weather is that much of the snow that we had on the ground melted and then re-froze as ice and because many people hadn't been completely up to date on their sideway clearing much of this ice is now on sidewalks around Regina.  Snowfalls, however slight, since the drop in temperatures have conveniently masked much of the ice making walking even more treacherous than it was when it ice was exposed.

-This morning at about 8:30 I went out for a nice shovelling session.  I managed to take care of our shovelling and to also shovel the sidewalks of our neighbours on both sides.  Much to my surprise, I think I managed to take care of this shovelling before any humans walked along the sidewalk.

-For dinner tonight we should be having a nice batch of mushroom and barley soup.  If I decide to be ambitious we may even have some type of freshly baked bread or dessert to accompany the soup (maybe even both).

-I think that after about a month since we first felt the symptons of a cold Jeannette and I are both back to about 98%.  There's a bit more phlegm than either of us would like, but it's not too bad.

A Few Quick Notes 617

-After several weeks of unRegina like Winter weather, we've finally moved on to the type of Regina winter weather I've come to know and love - it's about -20 and sunny.  As far as I'm concerned this is almost perfect Winter weather.  It just doesn't get better than this.

-While doing some supplementary shovelling today (I did the driveway, paths, and sidewalk immediately after the snowfall) I had the pleasure of taking in some of this wonderful Winter weather first hand.  Of course, to prepare for the low temperatures I put on my coat, mitts, scarf, face mask, and hat.  I was amazed to find that when I came in about 30 minutes later I was really sweating (and at no point did I feel cold).

-A few months ago This American Life began a new spin-off show - Serial.  Almost immediately Jeannette and I became rabid listeners.  During the run of the show we more or less restricted ourselves to the weekly podcast and the various discussions we would have with each other after each new episode was released.

Now that the podcast's first season has ended but various related stories have been independent news outlets we've gotten sucked into the Serial Reddit vortex.  We can seem to spend an entire evening just reading Reddit comments about alternate theories of a 1999 Baltimore murder case.  When not reading these comments I am compulsively contemplating my own (or Jeannette's particularly good) theory/ies of the case.

How is it possible that I am spending more time thinking about a 12 episode podcast now that it has ended than I did while it aired?  How can I be waiting for new articles from The Intercept, articles that I know will just upset me, with a greater sense of anticipation than I had for new episodes? (I've probably checked for the concluding segment of the Kevin Urick interview 20 times today.)

-At some point soon I may have to start thinking about what to make for dinner tonight.  On the other hand, because of our ongoing illnesses it seems likely that neither of us may be as inclined to eat in a timely fashion as we normally might be.

Sickness

Starting on about New Year's Eve I began to feel a cold coming on.  Over the next few days things progressed rather nicely and before I knew it I was in the midst of suffering through a full-fledged cold.

By Monday and Tuesday of this week things were in such full swing that I stayed home from work.

By Wednesday, though still present, the cold was beginning to taper off.

Thursday wasn't great, but it also wasn't that bad.

Today's been pretty cough and phlegm filled but otherwise pretty good.

Of course, just as I was starting to get a little better Jeannette began going in the opposite direction.  Now that she's a few days in, Jeannette's just about where I was at the beginning of the week.

Kind of a disappointing way to ring in the new year.

On the Train 6

It turns out that I am not quite as forward-thinking as I might like. Instead of using the bathroom stall with the nonfunctional door I broke down and used the handicapped stall. I am a little disappointed with myself.

The internet connection that we have has been quite intermittent for the past hour or so, making it quite difficult to keep our devoted readers up to speed with regards to our progress.

In case you are curious, I don't think that the old guy has barfed since that instance I mentioned a while ago. I presume his seatmate is quite that this is the case.

Though we have been making good progress and are working our way across Ontario, we still have a ways to go before we reach Quebec and Montreal.

On the Train 4

According to Kirsten the bathrooms are still as progressive as I previously described. Strangely, Kirsten decided to forego a visit because of this fact (how can someone so young be so old-fashioned). I am thinking that I might try them out shortly, if only to prove that I am a forward-thinking type who is not stuck in the past.

The guy across the aisle from us just puked in his coffee cup. Yum. I think his seat-mate is less than impressed.

Absence Explained

Some of you are likely wondering why in the dying days of this year's blog-off I have been a somewhat inconsistent poster. The answer, at least for the most part, is that I have been a little under the weather for the past 10 days or so. I managed to pick up a rather pesky cold from Neil that I have as of yet been unable to shake. Fortunately, this cold hasn't really been as bad as some colds I have had, though I have felt particularly tired for the past few days.

Then, to make things worse, last night I decided to eat enough raw carrots and red peppers to make myself feel even more ill. If you are curious, it turns out that about 2 pounds of carrots and about 2 red peppers will do the trick (though it isn't a trick I recommend doing). The good thing about this trick, at least compared to the cold, is that the effects seem to be of a shorter duration.

I am really hoping that by tomorrow I will be back to something that is much closer to normal.

Edit: I will also blame this lingering illness on some of the poor quality posts that I have made recently. I have definitely been having a harder time concentrating on things like writing and coherence since I have had this cold, which is rather unfortunate for you guys.

Blog-off Score

Neil: 0
Cameron: 33

Not such good times

Over the past few days I haven't been posting quite as frequently as I might have liked (there is a competition that I am trying to win). I suspect that at least part of the reason for my diminished rate of posting is that I have been somewhat ill for the past few days.

It seems that Neil had a cold and then somehow transferred it to both Rebecca and I.

While this cold hasn't been too bad, it has been a bit of a bummer. The coughing and the nose-blowing are two related aspects that I am finding particularly unpleasant.

Hopefully I will be back in normal blogging form for the final few days of this year's blog-off (I need to be on the look out for a late sprint to the finish from Neil).

Blog-off Score

Neil: 0
Cameron: 28

A Few Quick Notes 332

-While today was pretty overcast we didn't seem to have any precipitation, which was a nice change. Hopefully our several weeks of largely overcast weather will soon be coming to an end.

-I seem to have picked up Neil's cold, which brings my count for the season to two. I am not sure if there is any particular reason, but I don't think I have ever been sick so frequently as I have been in Halifax. It seems that every month or two since I have been here I have come down with a cold that has been with me for at least a week. Hopefully this isn't the way things go for the rest of my time here.

-Kirsten should be arriving in about a week. I am really looking forward to spending some time with her. I hope she knows what she wants to see as I can't really think of too many fun things to do in Halifax as a tourist.

-Yesterday I took a few more pictures of some of the plants. As you can see, the tomatoes are continuing to grow quite rapidly. I think there is something about removing suckers to encourage fruit growth, unfortunately, I don't know exactly what the suckers are, or when to remove them. I guess until I figure this out I will just let things go and continue to grow freely.



The beans, which have all grown since this photo was taken, are still some of the best performing of the plants. Though not visible in this photo, I am very pleased to report that the yellow bean plant to the right of the planter is finally showing some bloom, which I hope will lead to blooms.



None of the other plants, aside from the thyme, seem to be close to producing anything edible. I was really hoping that by mid-July we would have some production, but it looks as though that is not likely to happen (aside from some thyme and a few yellow beans).

-We had another Ultimate game yesterday. We managed to pull out a win, though I can't say that I contributed all that much. Unfortunately, the field, which was the same one we have played all of our games on, was still rather wet and muddy. I think the moisture lead to a increased number of dropped passes. It seems that we are trying to schedule a make-up game for Friday, though I don't know if this has yet been confirmed.

A Few Quick Notes 324

-Though today started off looking rather overcast, by mid-afternoon things had turned around quite nicely. By late in the afternoon one could have safely gone so far as to say that it was a nice day.

-In the last post a I documented the developments of some of the plants on our balcony. It seems that I should probably do the same for the plants in my bedroom.



I guess I might start on the left, with one of the pots that looks as though it isn't doing much. I guess this pot looks as though it isn't doing much because it doesn't seem to be doing much. I planted some corn seeds a while ago but they seem to have done nothing. I will give this a few more days and if there is no growth I will either try planting a little more corn or maybe something different.

The aloe droplets continue to grow more quickly than I would expect a succulent to grow. I think that in the not too distant future I should consider re-potting them, but I guess this will likely have to wait until I have something to put them in that is a little nicer than a margarine container.

The pepper plant's continued growth pleases me a great deal. I am looking forward to the first flowers and peppers so that I may be reminded which type of pepper plant this is (we have a few type so pepper seeds and I can't remember which I planted in this pot).

The corn seems to be doing quite well for the size of the pot in which it is growing. The plant on the left seems to have stopped making upwards progress and now stands at about 41 inches. The plant on the right, whose development has somehow been delayed, continues to grow quite rapidly. Unfortunately, neither of the plants are yet showing signs of the development of ears of corn. I am hoping that such growth will be come visible on the larger plant in the very near future.

The thyme, which, as usual, is difficult to see, continues to grow rapidly. I think that in about a week or so I might be able to harvest a little more, or I might just wait and let the plant grow until I know what I want to do with all of my dried thyme.

The pot furthest to the right has some pepper seeds, one of which sprouted. In this case I am confident that the peppers I planted are a type of pepper that are supposed to produce rather nice looking purple (which turn to red) hot peppers. Hopefully a few more of the seeds will sprout in the coming days.

-The pots in the next window over also seem to be showing signs of growth, but not quite as much as the plants I have already described.

In this row of pots the two at the far end have chives (which are just starting to show signs of growth), the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh have purple hot peppers, while the fourth pot has thyme. Hopefully these plants are at least somewhat visible in this photo.




-We have another ultimate game tomorrow. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to practice this week because of the rain. I think a practice would have been good as a few of our players are pretty inexperienced and are still unfamiliar with all of the rules. Anyway, I am looking forward to the game (and hope that attempts to arrange will be successful).

-Some time past midnight on Thursday night I had the good fortune to pass a kidney stone. Amazingly, I didn't clue in to what was happening until it had already happened.

I can't tell you want a relief this stone was. Not only did I feel an immediate reduction in general pain and discomfort, knowing that the stone has passed has been incredibly relaxing. After a few months of somewhat regular pain and discomfort you almost forget what it feels like not to have a stone working its way through your system.

-As most of you likely know by now, the NDP won a decisive victory in Tuesday's election. Contrary to the many predictions of doom and despair, the sky has not yet fallen and, as far as I can tell, things seem to be carrying on as were in the past. I will be sure to let you know if things suddenly come to a grinding halt and the world ends.

A Few Quick Notes 319

-As it is dark outside right now I can't see exactly which type of precipitation is falling, but it sounds as though we have made the transition from mist to something approaching drizzle or rain. What has been most impressive about today is that the temperature has been steady for the last several hours, seemingly unaffected by the setting of the sun. If all goes as forecast we could be in for some thunder showers this evening.

-For the past few days we have been on the lookout for the weekly flier bundles that are usually deposited in our lobby. By about 9:00 PM tonight I decided that I would just head out to the grocery stores to pick up the fliers myself. Having had a chance to examine the fliers I am not sure whether the trip was worth the effort as there really weren't that many deals to get all that excited about. Maybe we will have better luck next week.

-This morning while I was drinking coffee and reading the paper I heard a knock on the door, which is rather unusual because one normally has to get through the security door before they can reach the apartment. It turned out to be the superintendent and a maintenance worker. It seems a leak had been discovered in the basement and they were worried it was coming from our tub. Fortunately after some examination in our bathroom and in the basement, as well as in the neighbouring apartment they were able to determine that the leak was actually coming from next door, which is quite nice from our perspective, though rather unfortunate for our neighbours.

-We are still in the midst of an election in Nova Scotia though one might know this if they were just passing through. This seems to be one of the lowest key elections I have ever witnessed, and doesn't seem to have really picked up steam or slowed down since it started. I wonder if people will remember to vote on June 9.

-It seems that I may have a way to have my hand truck transported from Montreal to Halifax. Though I didn't know it until today, it has been stored in a dining room since September. I get the sense that Steven, and presumably Nithum and their roommate, will be glad to be rid of it once and for all.

-Several days ago I started developing a cold. There are few things that I can think of that are more fun than a cold in the summer.

-A few days ago, while still in PEI with my father and Neil and Rebecca I tried to come up with a math joke that was a play on teaching how to integrate functions. While the original was a little crude, I think I managed to improve it a little today. The moderately improved new version is "Do Irish math profs integrate functions by inviting Catholics and Protestants to their parties?"

While working on this quality piece of math humour I came up with another wonderful joke, though this one is likely better spoken than read.

Q: Which Canadian federal government agency should you contact to locate you sister?
A: CSIS

Maybe it still needs some work.

It seems that a major problem with my joke writing attempts is that I just don't know what is funny.

More bad news on the Swine Flu front

It seems that CBC is now reporting that another 4 cases of Swine Flu have been confirmed in Nova Scotia. Not surprisingly it seems that these are related to the original four cases.

I was just beginning to think that maybe Nova Scotia would luck out and the outbreak would be limited to the original four cases, but I guess this was not to be. Hopefully the early knowledge and subsequent precautions will allow this second outbreak to be contained. Now that I think about it, I don't really know when it is that people with Swine Flu are contagious.

On a related note, Mary (through somewhat passive means) brought my attention to this map, which seems to show reported instances of Swine Flu. If I get around to it later today it would be neat to find an equivalent map from the WHO, or a similar body.

A Few Quick Notes 309

-Though occasionally overcast, today was a generally nice day. As far as I can tell, it was generally warmer than predicted. Apparently tomorrow is to be the first very warm day of the year, with temperatures that are expected to go as high as 26. If this is the case, it could be a little warm for my liking.

-I am now 2/22 on this year's Roll Up the Rim to Win contest. As supplies of cups are running out or have run out, I don't imagine that I will manage to really improve my rather dismal record at this point. I guess I need to re-group and come at things strong next year.

-Just moments ago I woke up from a nap. Originally the nap was supposed to be 45 minutes at most, it turned out to have run 1 hour and 15 minutes. As I ended up setting my alarm incorrectly I guess I am luck that I ended up only sleeping for an extra 30 minutes and not several hours.

-If my most recent 'stache was any indication, it seems that temporary tattoos may last longer than mustaches.

While I was out walking last night I realized that I had a conference to attend today which. Though it may have been unnecessary, I thought it would be best if I shaved before attending this morning's opening session.



-The conference, which is on the European Union and is my first full-fledged academic conference, is quite informative. Unfortunately, I was relatively tired for most of the day (the 9:00 AM starts really hit me hard). There are a number of sessions tomorrow that should be quite good.

-It seems that the swine flu problem in Nova Scotia has only gotten worse since it was first reported yesterday. CBC is now reporting that it seems that the disease has likely spread beyond the original four cases, which should not be all that surprising considering that it is contagious. As you might have expected, this news hasn't really comforted me.

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).

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.

A Few Quick Notes 284

-Though it has been above zero all day we managed to sneak in a few hours of relatively heavy snowfall this morning. As temperatures have remained above zero some of the snow seems to have already started to melt. Hopefully this doesn't mean that if we get the forecast below zero temperatures we will have ice-covered sidewalks for this next few days.

-After making it to bed at 3:30 AM (remember the daylight savings time effect) I was a little surprised to find myself awake at 5:00. Almost immediately I realized the reason I awoke was because the fire alarm was ringing. As I was starting to figure things out and head towards my door the alarm finished sounding, much to my surprise. After a quick trip to the bathroom and exchanging a few pleasantries with Neil I made my way back to bed. Some time later, though it may only have been 5 minutes, I heard fire trucks pull up to the building. As you might have guessed, I didn't get up to see what had happened.

-For a few days I have been meaning to report on this season's Roll Up The Rim To Rim stats. So far I have been doing surprisingly well, I am presently standing at 1/3, which is about as successful as I might reasonably hope to be at this stage. Though a number of my family members seem to think that I consume this coffee every day, this is clearly not the case. I think what they have failed to take into consideration is that now that I have a coffee grinder the coffee I can make at home is drinkable, which means I purchase coffee only for consumption in class.

-My cold seems to be relapsing a little. I blame Neil.

-I recently mentioned that I attended a meal at a fancy hotel on Friday. I forgot to mention the salad that was served. If I recall correctly, the salad was primarily composed of spinach leaves, topped with some cheese and nuts, and garnished with a few cherry tomatoes. The only component that I might have considered eating was a single piece of some kind of red lettuce or cabbage. I am almost surprised that they didn't top off whole affair with a honey coated shrimp.

A Few Quick Notes 281

-Today was another pretty passable day, though I didn't make it outside so I don't know if the wind made things unpleasant.

-Environment Canada seems to have recently added 2 days to their forecast, making it a 7 day forecast. A friend of mine who is a meteorologist suggested that he doesn't listen to anything more than 48 hours out, so I wonder how useful these additional two days will be, especially given their track record with the 5 day forecast.

-Almost as soon as I woke up this morning I started making a batch of bread. After not too long a period of time I was able to tap into the first loaf, which happened to be the first thing I had to eat all day. Just a few minutes ago I managed to kill of this first loaf. It has been a while since I have killed off an entire loaf of bread in a single day all by myself.

-We had pinwheels for dinner tonight. I think everyone was satisfied with my menu choice.

-While preparing the aforementioned pinwheels I listened to the 1968 episode of Hearing Voices. It was a great. In episode included coverage of the 1968 Democratic convention riots, including a section of tape during which a reporter was gassed and a number of political speeches from the year. The only present-day content was a set of two interviews with former Merry Pranksters about their time with Ken Kesey and Acid Tests. Throughout music from 1968 was included to set the mood.

Actually, this is just one of a number of very good episodes of Hearing Voices that I have been listening to lately. The more I listen the more impressed I am with this show. I particularly enjoy their use of archival material. Anyway, if you like public radio documentary shows Hearing Voices might be to your liking.

-Just a few minutes ago Neil had to take the plunger to our toilet. I had noticed a problem a few minutes earlier but somehow managed to forget to deal with it in any way (though that had been my intention). Fortunately the problem wasn't particularly severe, nothing few strokes of a plunger couldn't take care of.

-While I still feel the remnants of my cold, it is definitely less potent than yesterday. Hopefully it will be completely gone in the very near future.

A Few Quick Notes 280

-So it seems that we did get some of the predicted freezing rain and wind. Fortunately, it seems that not as much damage was caused by this weather as could have been the case. That being said, I did notice a number of down branches on the paved area outside my window.

Though the freezing rain had ended by morning, much of the rest of the day was marred by periods of rain and wind. Given that it wasn't that warm, things were definitely on the unpleasant side of things.

-I had to head into school today for a few reasons, one of which involved a quick stop at the medical library, the W.K. Kellogg Health Sciences Library. Amazingly, I managed to find the library relatively easily though I only had the vaguest idea where it was located. Somehow I managed to pick the the correct building even though it could reasonably been in anyone of about five buildings (at least that is my impression of the health sciences portion of the campus). Once entering the library I was surprised to see how busy it was. Almost every available space on the main floor was taken by studying students. A feature which distinguishes from the Killam Library is how well lit this library is. Not only are there windows that let light in, there are also a number of light sources and colours that seem to adequately reflect the light. The overall effect was to make it a much more pleasant environment than the Killam, which is far too dark for my liking.

-While at school I also picked up my grading for the term. I will try give these papers a quick once over and maybe start on the grading proper either tonight or tomorrow.

-A few days ago I mentioned that it seemed that the blog-off had caused our traffic to spike a little. Upon closer inspection of the numbers it seems that the real cause of much of the spike was actually Neil's review of Slumdog Millionaire. It seems a relatively large (by our standards) number of individuals found Montifax when searching for reviews of the movie.

I guess this might teach us two lessons. Firstly, blog-offs among don't really generate all that much general interest. Secondly, if you want your numbers to spike, start covering all kinds of pop/contemporary culture content. Since mass readership isn't really our goal I can't imagine we will be making many changes based on this second lesson. And considering that readership isn't really our primary goal I can't imagine that we will be taking to many lessons from the first lesson either.

-The cold I have been mentioning these past few days is still around. Aside from being generally unpleasant, it is causing me to go through tissues as though increased consumption might lead to increased wealth. Hopefully this cold will pass in the very near future.

-One of my favourite podcasts, Stop Podcasting Yourself, recently released their 52nd show, meaning that they now have a year's worth of shows. Given this significant achievement I thought that this might be a good opportunity to mention the show and encourage you to listen if you like comedy podcasts with guys talking about stuff. For those of you that still miss Richardson's Round-Up, this Vancouver based podcast has participatory elements that allow the listeners (or 'bumpers' in the context of this podcast) to really engage with the hosts and the content, which might help fill the void made by the cancellation of the aforementioned CBC show.

-As I was approaching the supermarket this afternoon I saw the lights flick off. As I entered the store it seemed that while the lights had gone off most of the other electricity drawing devices were still fully functional (including the deep-fat frier in the pre-made food section). Aside from having a little trouble finding things in certain aisles, the experience was quite fine. Had the debit machines not been functioning I think I would be of a different mind.

A Few Quick Notes 279

-It seems that we have received some of the freezing rain that Environment Canada predicted, but so far things aren't too bad. I certainly hope that we don't sustain significant damage to trees and infrastructure (a possibility that Environment Canada pointed out).

-I am quite glad that the blog-off has ended. Now we can get back to blogging at a regular pace. The end, in particular, was really quite tiresome.

Interestingly, the blog-off did improve our traffic numbers. I get the sense that part of this is that we were posting some content that was topical and of interest to those searching the internet (as a number of our new hits came from internet searches). Anyway, I presume that our traffic will drop off to its normal trickle now that we are back to normal.

I guess the key question is whether Neil will be able to continue posting now that we know that he has it in him.

-I am still somewhat on the ill side of things, which is a little frustrating. Hopefully this won't last too much longer.

A Few Quick Notes 278

-We have had temperatures above zero for more than 24 hours as this afternoon. Noticeable results of such conditions include significantly diminished snowbanks and ice sheets. With a few more hours of such weather it seems possible that we could lose most of the snow that we have been accumulating since the new year. On the other hand, Environment Canada is predicting that it will drop to -13 tonight, so much of this melting will likely be halted in the relatively near future. Aside from the above freezing temperatures, things have been pretty gray for most of the day, and at times a little drizzly.

-Neil has shocked me with two more blog posts. Maybe he will manage to creep up on me and still win the blog-off. At this point I have to concede that it is within his reach.

-I may have mentioned yesterday that I am feeling a little under the weather, a condition which has carried over to today. The two most significant consequences of this condition are an inability to concentrate on school work as much as I might like, and that I won't be able to play in this evening's Ultimate game. A third notable consequence is that I have been sleeping much more than usual. Yesterday I ended up taking three naps and going to bed early (of course, then I spent a while tossing and turning).

-A few days ago we had a several hour power outage. Though I didn't realize it at the time, Neil has since informed me that this even messed up our phones so that one of the cordless phones is no longer functional and a wall unit doesn't function at full capacity. Neil is hoping to get some new phones on his way to Ultimate, which will hopefully solve our phone problem.

Blog-off
Cameron: 34
Neil: 20