It's just after 10:00 AM and I already feel as though I've got hours of work under my belt.
The major project I've been addressing this weekend is to put the aesthetic touches on a handrail in our basement that I constructed last weekend. The posts (rather ugly 2x6s) are being painted a greyish colour while the hemlock handrail is retaining its natural colour.
The handrail was given a quick second coat early this morning and should be ready for a third and, maybe, final coat this afternoon (though I have a sneaking suspicion that a fourth or fifth coat may be ideal). As each of the first two coats have been significant improvements, I'm hopeful that these additional coats will really be worth the effort.
The first of my removable posts has now been given two coats of paint is ready to be re-installed once it has fully dried. Once this post is back in place I will swap out the other post and give it two quick coats and then re-install it. To save time I have pre-woodfilled the second post so that I can have two streams of drying occurring simultaneously. Ideally, both posts will be complete and back in place by Sunday evening at the latest.
Of course, while allowing paint and finishes to dry I've been busy taking care of other chores. Dishes, laundry, and baking have all be going on in the background. Sadly, I suspect laundry, which we've allowed to pile up all week, will also stretch through the weekend.
Showing posts with label laundry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laundry. Show all posts
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
A Few Quick Notes 613
-Much to my surprise, we've had a few grey days in the past few weeks. Maybe even more troubling, these grey days (as well as some of the non-grey days) have been rather humid (though not quite New York/Ottawa humid). In any event, the temperatures have felt very summery (though that may just be the humidity speaking (as it's supposedly only 19 today and it feels borderline miserable).
-Last Friday night we experienced one of the most impressive lightning shows I've seen in my life.
[Embedded video]
For several hours there were near constant lightning strikes lighting the sky. For the first while there wasn't even any rain or wind where we were. If you watch the above video you should be able to hear when the rain and wind really started. It eventually became much more intense and several nearby areas are still cleaning up from the damage caused by the storm.
-Apparently I haven't been very good at keeping this up to date recently. Not entirely sure what's up with that but it certainly my plan to improve.
-I knew I didn't sleep well last night, but I was still surprised when all of us (Jeannette, the cats, and I) fell asleep in the living room for three hours (well, Pierre and I fell asleep for three hours - the ladies were still sleeping when we left). Now that I've had that rather long nap I'm feeling much more refreshed.
-I guess now that I'm so refreshed I should consider tackling a laundry folding project I've been putting off for some time?
-Last Friday night we experienced one of the most impressive lightning shows I've seen in my life.
[Embedded video]
For several hours there were near constant lightning strikes lighting the sky. For the first while there wasn't even any rain or wind where we were. If you watch the above video you should be able to hear when the rain and wind really started. It eventually became much more intense and several nearby areas are still cleaning up from the damage caused by the storm.
-Apparently I haven't been very good at keeping this up to date recently. Not entirely sure what's up with that but it certainly my plan to improve.
-I knew I didn't sleep well last night, but I was still surprised when all of us (Jeannette, the cats, and I) fell asleep in the living room for three hours (well, Pierre and I fell asleep for three hours - the ladies were still sleeping when we left). Now that I've had that rather long nap I'm feeling much more refreshed.
-I guess now that I'm so refreshed I should consider tackling a laundry folding project I've been putting off for some time?
Monday, February 06, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 560
-We've seen a sudden turnaround in the temperature today. When I woke up this morning it was about -8 but by the time I was finishing lunch the temperature was up to 3. So far this temperature change has not been accompanied by snow or any other form of precipitation.
-I'm in the midst of drinking quite a lot of coffee today. I am hoping that the this consumption will have a positive affect on my productivity today.
-Actually, so far I don't feel so bad about my productivity. Not only have I been able to do some school work, but I have also done some cleaning and housekeeping. I'm even hoping that I've done enough cleaning that Jeannette will be able to notice it when she returns home from work.
-Yesterday seemed to magically become laundry day. I think by the end of the day we had completed four loads of laundry. I am still a little unsure why so much washing was required.
-I think I may have to make a quick loaf of bread this afternoon, and maybe something for dinner.
-For the past few days/weeks I have been hearing suggestions that former Liberal MP Mike Savage would be contesting the next mayoral contest in Halifax. It seems that today Savage made the run official. I am not entirely convinced that the current mayor is particularly popular, so this could end up being something of a race.
Cameron: 10
Neil: 0
-I'm in the midst of drinking quite a lot of coffee today. I am hoping that the this consumption will have a positive affect on my productivity today.
-Actually, so far I don't feel so bad about my productivity. Not only have I been able to do some school work, but I have also done some cleaning and housekeeping. I'm even hoping that I've done enough cleaning that Jeannette will be able to notice it when she returns home from work.
-Yesterday seemed to magically become laundry day. I think by the end of the day we had completed four loads of laundry. I am still a little unsure why so much washing was required.
-I think I may have to make a quick loaf of bread this afternoon, and maybe something for dinner.
-For the past few days/weeks I have been hearing suggestions that former Liberal MP Mike Savage would be contesting the next mayoral contest in Halifax. It seems that today Savage made the run official. I am not entirely convinced that the current mayor is particularly popular, so this could end up being something of a race.
Cameron: 10
Neil: 0
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 531
-We had the pleasure of having another beautiful day today. It seems that the first part of this week isn't supposed to be quite as nice as this weekend was.
-I am now 5 for 33 for this year's RUTRTW contest. Maybe not surprisingly, all of the 5 prizes have been been free coffees.
-This weekend I was again able to take advantage of the fact that our building has not yet increased the laundry prices as promised. I am quite happy that the promised price increase has not yet been implemented, though this impending doom of the price change is a little nerve-wracking.
-A few days ago it became clear that one of the two local grocery stores has stopped carrying pate. This seems a strange development as they had been carrying a number of varieties until a few weeks ago and because the other store is continuing to carry a number of varieties. What I can't figure out is why this change would have happened at this particular moment in time.
-A few days ago I saw a CBC story about a local sexual assault that had a pretty distrubing line.
How is it that similar attacks have happened to the same woman three times?
-Gilles Duceppe seems to have requested a time change for the French language debate from Thursday to Wednesday because of a scheduling conflict - with a NHL hockey game.
Though I get the sense that at least a few of the other parties aren't opposed to such a change, I haven't heard if the change will actually be approved.
Update: Neil just informed me that the debate has in fact been changed and will now be taking place on Wednesday.
-Neil and I traded haircuts this afternoon.
-I am now 5 for 33 for this year's RUTRTW contest. Maybe not surprisingly, all of the 5 prizes have been been free coffees.
-This weekend I was again able to take advantage of the fact that our building has not yet increased the laundry prices as promised. I am quite happy that the promised price increase has not yet been implemented, though this impending doom of the price change is a little nerve-wracking.
-A few days ago it became clear that one of the two local grocery stores has stopped carrying pate. This seems a strange development as they had been carrying a number of varieties until a few weeks ago and because the other store is continuing to carry a number of varieties. What I can't figure out is why this change would have happened at this particular moment in time.
-A few days ago I saw a CBC story about a local sexual assault that had a pretty distrubing line.
The woman told police she recognized him as the same stranger who had touched her three times previously in similar incidents.
How is it that similar attacks have happened to the same woman three times?
-Gilles Duceppe seems to have requested a time change for the French language debate from Thursday to Wednesday because of a scheduling conflict - with a NHL hockey game.
Though I get the sense that at least a few of the other parties aren't opposed to such a change, I haven't heard if the change will actually be approved.
Update: Neil just informed me that the debate has in fact been changed and will now be taking place on Wednesday.
-Neil and I traded haircuts this afternoon.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 530
-Today has been pretty beautiful so far, though the forecast is for things to take a turn for the worse later this afternoon.
-I am currently in the midst of drinking what may be my last RUTRTW for the season. I wonder if it will be a winner?
-Neil and I did make it, as planned, to our local Yuk Yuk's last night. Also as planned, we got to see Graham Clark perform. Before the show I even took the opportunity to introduce myself and compliment him on his work. As far as I could tell I may have been the only bumper in the audience?
-I am currently in the midst doing some laundry. Much to my surprise, the prices have still not been adjusted up to the $2 a load prices.
-I am currently in the midst of drinking what may be my last RUTRTW for the season. I wonder if it will be a winner?
-Neil and I did make it, as planned, to our local Yuk Yuk's last night. Also as planned, we got to see Graham Clark perform. Before the show I even took the opportunity to introduce myself and compliment him on his work. As far as I could tell I may have been the only bumper in the audience?
-I am currently in the midst doing some laundry. Much to my surprise, the prices have still not been adjusted up to the $2 a load prices.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 525
-We had another beautiful day in Halifax.
-I will soon be adding another RUTRTW rim to my tally, but before unrolling the rim I will have to finish my coffee.
-Apparently Harper is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Halifax tomorrow. Of course, that this is to take place isn't particularly clear on the website. What little information I do have seems to suggest that this may be a media only event - a type of event that I think shouldn't exist.
-We will soon be watching the penultimate episode of Republic of Doyle for the season. Hopefully a Doyle Pitch or two will be written during the episode.
-In advance of the laundry price increase that is due to be implemented tomorrow we have all been doing laundry tonight. I think that we have all managed to do as much laundry as possible.
-I will soon be adding another RUTRTW rim to my tally, but before unrolling the rim I will have to finish my coffee.
-Apparently Harper is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Halifax tomorrow. Of course, that this is to take place isn't particularly clear on the website. What little information I do have seems to suggest that this may be a media only event - a type of event that I think shouldn't exist.
-We will soon be watching the penultimate episode of Republic of Doyle for the season. Hopefully a Doyle Pitch or two will be written during the episode.
-In advance of the laundry price increase that is due to be implemented tomorrow we have all been doing laundry tonight. I think that we have all managed to do as much laundry as possible.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 522
-Today has been a pretty nice day so far. Actually, it was even almost warm enough that a jacket wasn't necessary. Sadly, we are supposed to head towards snow this evening.
-I am now down to a measly 4 for 27 in this year's RUTRTW contest. This is definitely a disappointing performance.
-We played our final Ultimate game of the season tonight. Not surprisingly we managed to lose. Aside from the uneven score the game was actually pretty fun to play. As I won't be playing in the upcoming Spring leagues I suspect the next time I will be playing is this Summer.
-A few days ago I went to the hospital for a routine x-ray. As usual, I was one of the youngest people in the waiting room.
-It seems that we will soon be facing a 33% increase in our laundry prices. Bummer. Overall we have seen a 60% increase in prices since we moved in a few years ago. Things are definitely not heading in the right direction on this front.
-I had to give a lecture on Thursday. While the lecture was ongoing I couldn't really tell how it was going, for the most part the students seemed pretty non-responsive. Fortunately, two students came up to talk to me after the class about the subjects covered in the lecture. This suggests that at least a few people got something from the experience, which is comforting and pleasing.
-It seems that we are now officially in election mode in Canada. Jeannette, Rebecca, and I watched the confidence vote yesterday and Neil, Rebecca, and I watched the coverage of Harper's trip to Rideau Hall this morning. On our way from Ultimate Jeannette and I spotted re-election signs for Megan Leslie (given that they were re-election signs it is clear that they weren't just left-overs from the last election).
-I am now down to a measly 4 for 27 in this year's RUTRTW contest. This is definitely a disappointing performance.
-We played our final Ultimate game of the season tonight. Not surprisingly we managed to lose. Aside from the uneven score the game was actually pretty fun to play. As I won't be playing in the upcoming Spring leagues I suspect the next time I will be playing is this Summer.
-A few days ago I went to the hospital for a routine x-ray. As usual, I was one of the youngest people in the waiting room.
-It seems that we will soon be facing a 33% increase in our laundry prices. Bummer. Overall we have seen a 60% increase in prices since we moved in a few years ago. Things are definitely not heading in the right direction on this front.
-I had to give a lecture on Thursday. While the lecture was ongoing I couldn't really tell how it was going, for the most part the students seemed pretty non-responsive. Fortunately, two students came up to talk to me after the class about the subjects covered in the lecture. This suggests that at least a few people got something from the experience, which is comforting and pleasing.
-It seems that we are now officially in election mode in Canada. Jeannette, Rebecca, and I watched the confidence vote yesterday and Neil, Rebecca, and I watched the coverage of Harper's trip to Rideau Hall this morning. On our way from Ultimate Jeannette and I spotted re-election signs for Megan Leslie (given that they were re-election signs it is clear that they weren't just left-overs from the last election).
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 510
-For much of the day today we hoovered just above freezing. Then as evening came the temperature dropped and we started to get a little snow. Not surprisingly, this combination lead to somewhat treacherous conditions and plenty of black ice.
-Our Ultimate game this evening didn't go particularly well. Almost immediately we dropped to an 8 point deficit. In the second half things only got worse and we dropped to a 15 point deficit. Amazingly, we scored 3 points in the final minute so that brought the final score to within 12.
-I just made some very-heavy-on-garlic humus.
-For the better part of this afternoon I dealt with a major laundry project. In total I did four loads and then arranged three of these loads on drying racks. Unfortunately, it looks as though I may have another load or two do deal with tomorrow.
Score
Cameron 47
Neil 0
-Our Ultimate game this evening didn't go particularly well. Almost immediately we dropped to an 8 point deficit. In the second half things only got worse and we dropped to a 15 point deficit. Amazingly, we scored 3 points in the final minute so that brought the final score to within 12.
-I just made some very-heavy-on-garlic humus.
-For the better part of this afternoon I dealt with a major laundry project. In total I did four loads and then arranged three of these loads on drying racks. Unfortunately, it looks as though I may have another load or two do deal with tomorrow.
Score
Cameron 47
Neil 0
Monday, January 10, 2011
A Few Quick Notes 494
-To the best of my knowledge today was a pretty decent winter's day. While it was cool, though not too cool, I don't recall us having to deal with snow or other forms of precipitation.
-For the first time this year I had the pleasure of attending the class that I have been sitting in on for the past two years. As usual, this first class of the semester was something of an introduction.
-This evening I am having the pleasure of using a coin-operated washer and dryer. What fun apartment life is.
-Today seems to have been an active day in Newfoundland politics. My understanding is that a relatively unknown contender has come forward to challenge the interim leader of the PC party, Kathy Dunderdale, for the leadership of the party. Assuming that this contender's nomination papers are accepted Newfoundland could see itself with a new Premier as Dunderdale has promised to step down if challenged.
-As tomorrow is student discount day at our local grocery stores I may have to stop by one of the stores and pick up a few more citrus fruits so I can provide my reading public with a slightly better citrus update, as I am sure none of you were sated by the last waste-of-time post on the subject.
-For the first time this year I had the pleasure of attending the class that I have been sitting in on for the past two years. As usual, this first class of the semester was something of an introduction.
-This evening I am having the pleasure of using a coin-operated washer and dryer. What fun apartment life is.
-Today seems to have been an active day in Newfoundland politics. My understanding is that a relatively unknown contender has come forward to challenge the interim leader of the PC party, Kathy Dunderdale, for the leadership of the party. Assuming that this contender's nomination papers are accepted Newfoundland could see itself with a new Premier as Dunderdale has promised to step down if challenged.
-As tomorrow is student discount day at our local grocery stores I may have to stop by one of the stores and pick up a few more citrus fruits so I can provide my reading public with a slightly better citrus update, as I am sure none of you were sated by the last waste-of-time post on the subject.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Getting ready
For the past few days I have been undertaking a variety of tasks with hopes of preparing for my upcoming trip to Phoenix. Not surprisingly, some of these undertakings have been mirrored by Neil and Rebecca.
The most notable instance of this mirroring effect has been in the haircutting realm. As many of you will know, several days ago I had my hair cut. Yesterday afternoon Rebecca went for a haircut and ended up losing a few more inches than she expected to (even though it was shorter than expected I think it was a fine haircut). Neil, last night, asked me if I would be willing to take care of his shaggy locks. So now all three of us have been shorn of our gorgeous locks.
Laundry has been another area that has received attention. Yesterday I did a final load of laundry so that everything I need will be clean. Neil and Rebecca were doing some similar loads today, though I think that due to their later departure date that they may have more to do before they go.
I have also been collecting school work to bring with me. Of course this is likely going to be a waste of time as I suspect that I really won't manage to do much while I am away.
Anyway, the bewitching hour is now very near. Hopefully I am not forgetting anything key.
The most notable instance of this mirroring effect has been in the haircutting realm. As many of you will know, several days ago I had my hair cut. Yesterday afternoon Rebecca went for a haircut and ended up losing a few more inches than she expected to (even though it was shorter than expected I think it was a fine haircut). Neil, last night, asked me if I would be willing to take care of his shaggy locks. So now all three of us have been shorn of our gorgeous locks.
Laundry has been another area that has received attention. Yesterday I did a final load of laundry so that everything I need will be clean. Neil and Rebecca were doing some similar loads today, though I think that due to their later departure date that they may have more to do before they go.
I have also been collecting school work to bring with me. Of course this is likely going to be a waste of time as I suspect that I really won't manage to do much while I am away.
Anyway, the bewitching hour is now very near. Hopefully I am not forgetting anything key.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 463
-We had something of an overcast day today in Halifax. As I didn't really spend that much time outdoors the absence or presence of sun had little effect on me.
-It seems that yesterday's election in New Brunswick will result in a change of government. After a few years out of power the Conservatives have been returned to government, of course without Bernard Lord as leader. While I was more aware of the fact that New Brunswick was having an election than I ever have been before, I somehow know next to nothing about what drove this election or what any of the key issues were. Consequently, I have no idea why the voters in New Brunswick opted for such a change (that being said, I have to assume that attempted sale of the power utility may have had something to do loss of support of the Liberals).
-I recently received my new US passport, which means that I got it just in time for my upcoming trip to Phoenix, Arizona. Hopefully my first trip to a place with 'dry heat' will go well.
-I cranked out four loads of laundry today. Wow, that was a fair bit of laundry.
-I made a really sub-par batch of black bean soup this evening. I think that the soup was somewhat undermined by my inclusion of some really bad ham and canned rather than soaked black beans.
-In relation to yesterday's post about strange news article titles, I thought that I should pass along this gem from Newfoundland: Mount Pearl fire drill turns serious.
-It seems that yesterday's election in New Brunswick will result in a change of government. After a few years out of power the Conservatives have been returned to government, of course without Bernard Lord as leader. While I was more aware of the fact that New Brunswick was having an election than I ever have been before, I somehow know next to nothing about what drove this election or what any of the key issues were. Consequently, I have no idea why the voters in New Brunswick opted for such a change (that being said, I have to assume that attempted sale of the power utility may have had something to do loss of support of the Liberals).
-I recently received my new US passport, which means that I got it just in time for my upcoming trip to Phoenix, Arizona. Hopefully my first trip to a place with 'dry heat' will go well.
-I cranked out four loads of laundry today. Wow, that was a fair bit of laundry.
-I made a really sub-par batch of black bean soup this evening. I think that the soup was somewhat undermined by my inclusion of some really bad ham and canned rather than soaked black beans.
-In relation to yesterday's post about strange news article titles, I thought that I should pass along this gem from Newfoundland: Mount Pearl fire drill turns serious.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 423
-After several days of sub-par weather today has been quite beautiful. The skies have been quite clear and the temperature almost perfect (meaning the low to mid twenties). Unfortunately, we seem likely to switch back to somewhat overcast/rainy and cooler weather in the coming days. What a bummer.
-On Friday night Peter and I attended the Old Man Luedecke concert at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Unfortunately, as both of us were somewhat tired we managed to sleep through portions of most of the songs in the first half of the show. Fortunately, due to an intermission sugar hit, we were able to wake up for the second half of the show.
-Part of the justification for my renewed absence from the blog this past weekend was that I was helping two friends move. On Friday I helped Peter get his things out of residence. We then stashed quite a number of his belongings in my closet for the summer. On Saturday and Sunday I helped another friend move, a move which first required us to do some shopping and cleaning. Anyway, it was definitely a busy weekend as far as moving was concerned.
-Neil and Rebecca will be returning from their trip to Regina this evening. I am hoping to have the apartment in order and food freshly prepared for their return. Hopefully I don't get too lazy between now and then.
-A few days ago I walked into our laundry room to find one of the components of the coin injection part of washing machine on the floor. It was immediately clear that this washing machine was definitely going to be out of order. Unfortunately, several days have passed and the washing machine is still out of order. Though this wouldn't normally be too much of a problem, not having access to two washing machines has definitely slowed down some of my washing attempts. I really hope that they will get around to having this fixed in the very near future. That the machine is out of commission is particularly frustrating as I know that the washing component of the machine is still fully functional (as I have seen it in use over the past few days).
-After a few weeks of failing to read my newspapers very thoroughly, it has been great to finally get back to my daily newspaper habit. I am hoping that in the coming days I might even be able to catch up on a few unread obituaries that piled up over the past year and a half.
-On Friday night Peter and I attended the Old Man Luedecke concert at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. Unfortunately, as both of us were somewhat tired we managed to sleep through portions of most of the songs in the first half of the show. Fortunately, due to an intermission sugar hit, we were able to wake up for the second half of the show.
-Part of the justification for my renewed absence from the blog this past weekend was that I was helping two friends move. On Friday I helped Peter get his things out of residence. We then stashed quite a number of his belongings in my closet for the summer. On Saturday and Sunday I helped another friend move, a move which first required us to do some shopping and cleaning. Anyway, it was definitely a busy weekend as far as moving was concerned.
-Neil and Rebecca will be returning from their trip to Regina this evening. I am hoping to have the apartment in order and food freshly prepared for their return. Hopefully I don't get too lazy between now and then.
-A few days ago I walked into our laundry room to find one of the components of the coin injection part of washing machine on the floor. It was immediately clear that this washing machine was definitely going to be out of order. Unfortunately, several days have passed and the washing machine is still out of order. Though this wouldn't normally be too much of a problem, not having access to two washing machines has definitely slowed down some of my washing attempts. I really hope that they will get around to having this fixed in the very near future. That the machine is out of commission is particularly frustrating as I know that the washing component of the machine is still fully functional (as I have seen it in use over the past few days).
-After a few weeks of failing to read my newspapers very thoroughly, it has been great to finally get back to my daily newspaper habit. I am hoping that in the coming days I might even be able to catch up on a few unread obituaries that piled up over the past year and a half.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 412
-Today, as I feared, was less than nice. Though it wasn't as bad as I feared, there was definitely enough wind and rain to make things unpleasant. I managed to get pretty wet on my way to school.
-I am now 2/10 with regards to my Roll Up the Rim cups. I am really slowing down. I need to find a way to get myself out of this slump.
-I made two trips to the nearby grocery store today. This morning, among other things, I purchased 8 pounds of butter at $2.70 a pound. This evening we purchased, along with a few other items, 16 2 liter bottles of club soda. A pretty successful shopping day if I may say so myself.
-I definitely need to do a few loads of laundry tomorrow.
-I have been doing a little more messing around with our Feedburner feed. Among other things I think I have set things up so that our posts will be re-posted to my Twitter feed (though I can't see that this really serves any particular purpose).
-Yesterday, at about 11:00 AM our building's fire alarm began to sound. I was somewhat pleased to see that about half of those people waiting outside of the building were still in pajamas. All of a sudden that I had been asleep until 11:00 didn't seem so slack.
-I am now 2/10 with regards to my Roll Up the Rim cups. I am really slowing down. I need to find a way to get myself out of this slump.
-I made two trips to the nearby grocery store today. This morning, among other things, I purchased 8 pounds of butter at $2.70 a pound. This evening we purchased, along with a few other items, 16 2 liter bottles of club soda. A pretty successful shopping day if I may say so myself.
-I definitely need to do a few loads of laundry tomorrow.
-I have been doing a little more messing around with our Feedburner feed. Among other things I think I have set things up so that our posts will be re-posted to my Twitter feed (though I can't see that this really serves any particular purpose).
-Yesterday, at about 11:00 AM our building's fire alarm began to sound. I was somewhat pleased to see that about half of those people waiting outside of the building were still in pajamas. All of a sudden that I had been asleep until 11:00 didn't seem so slack.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 395
-We seem to be in the vicinity of 0, one of my least favourite temperatures, particularly when there is snow on the ground. As much as I would like it to drop again, I am quite aware that such a change is likely to come with quite an ice build-up.
-Neil, Rebecca, and I (along with some friends) attended the DAGS AGM last night. To get people in they provided pizza, which the executive only released after the important votes had been taken. The rest of the meeting was a bit of a re-hash of a number of the items which we have discussed all year (which seems to be the point of such meetings).
-Today seems to be laundry day. What fun.
-I am not sure how it happened, but I think that I may be a fan of, or at least appreciate, the Governor General's reserve powers (which are those prerogative powers of the Crown that have not yet migrated to the Executive/Cabinet). Who can guess what I have been reading about recently?
-I have been very generously granting Neil some extra time on his big news. He doesn't seem to be as appreciative of this as I might have expected.
Blog-off Score
Neil: 0
Cameron: 20
-Neil, Rebecca, and I (along with some friends) attended the DAGS AGM last night. To get people in they provided pizza, which the executive only released after the important votes had been taken. The rest of the meeting was a bit of a re-hash of a number of the items which we have discussed all year (which seems to be the point of such meetings).
-Today seems to be laundry day. What fun.
-I am not sure how it happened, but I think that I may be a fan of, or at least appreciate, the Governor General's reserve powers (which are those prerogative powers of the Crown that have not yet migrated to the Executive/Cabinet). Who can guess what I have been reading about recently?
-I have been very generously granting Neil some extra time on his big news. He doesn't seem to be as appreciative of this as I might have expected.
Blog-off Score
Neil: 0
Cameron: 20
Friday, January 29, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 388
-Today, unlike much of the week up to today, actually felt a little bit like Winter. Not only has the temperature been below freezing for much of the day, but we also had a little snow (though not as much as other parts of the Maritimes). As much as I enjoyed yesterday's spring-like weather, I am also enjoying the slightly more wintery feel of today.
-Oh man, what a week for domestic achievements.
On Tuesday I did some grocery shopping, though maybe not as much as I should have.
On Wednesday I baked bread and washed a few loads of laundry.
Yesterday I did the normal dinner stuff, but nothing particularly fancy (though we did do some late-night grocery shopping).
Today I went shopping grocery shopping again and baked a cake (dinner prep will start shortly).
The trend should even continue into tomorrow as I plan on doing some cleaning and preparing a turkey.
-Yesterday, as part of my TAship I had the pleasure of assisting in the invigilation of an exam. It was actually pretty fun just to stand up front and watch people as they wrote their exams. One of the aspects of the experience that I enjoyed the most was seeing almost everyone's head be tilted in the same direction (down and towards their writing space). Those that did not fit this model really stood out (these tended mostly to be left-handers in right-handed desks as opposed to cheaters).
-It seems that Elizabeth Marshall has been been appointed to the Canadian Senate to fill the vacant Newfoundland seat.
-Today I decided to have pancake mix pancakes for breakfast. I guess I was interested in comparing the ease and quality against my Batter Blaster experience of last December. Sadly, the Batter Blaster really didn't fare well against the batter mix. What I did learn is that pancakes from the mix are really straightforward and probably something that I should consider making for myself on a more regular basis.
-I went on a bit of a non-alcoholic beer binge last night. I think that over the course of about 3 hours I had almost half a dozen cans of the potent brew.
-Today, in the Globe and Mail movie reviews I came across the name of one of my sister's friends (the movie in question is Grown Up Movie Star). This was kind of funny as I don't think that I would have imagined such an experience when I first met this person as a 5 year-old. I guess if this movie makes it to theaters in Halifax we will have to make an effort to go see it.
-Don't forget to tune into the upcoming blog-off, it should be an exciting race.
-Oh man, what a week for domestic achievements.
On Tuesday I did some grocery shopping, though maybe not as much as I should have.
On Wednesday I baked bread and washed a few loads of laundry.
Yesterday I did the normal dinner stuff, but nothing particularly fancy (though we did do some late-night grocery shopping).
Today I went shopping grocery shopping again and baked a cake (dinner prep will start shortly).
The trend should even continue into tomorrow as I plan on doing some cleaning and preparing a turkey.
-Yesterday, as part of my TAship I had the pleasure of assisting in the invigilation of an exam. It was actually pretty fun just to stand up front and watch people as they wrote their exams. One of the aspects of the experience that I enjoyed the most was seeing almost everyone's head be tilted in the same direction (down and towards their writing space). Those that did not fit this model really stood out (these tended mostly to be left-handers in right-handed desks as opposed to cheaters).
-It seems that Elizabeth Marshall has been been appointed to the Canadian Senate to fill the vacant Newfoundland seat.
-Today I decided to have pancake mix pancakes for breakfast. I guess I was interested in comparing the ease and quality against my Batter Blaster experience of last December. Sadly, the Batter Blaster really didn't fare well against the batter mix. What I did learn is that pancakes from the mix are really straightforward and probably something that I should consider making for myself on a more regular basis.
-I went on a bit of a non-alcoholic beer binge last night. I think that over the course of about 3 hours I had almost half a dozen cans of the potent brew.
-Today, in the Globe and Mail movie reviews I came across the name of one of my sister's friends (the movie in question is Grown Up Movie Star). This was kind of funny as I don't think that I would have imagined such an experience when I first met this person as a 5 year-old. I guess if this movie makes it to theaters in Halifax we will have to make an effort to go see it.
-Don't forget to tune into the upcoming blog-off, it should be an exciting race.
Friday, October 23, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 365
-Though it seemed to be raining pretty heavily last night, and there were a few rain drops at various points today, overall today wasn't too bad a day. That being said, it is definitely fall now and the lower temperatures will mean that I will soon have to make the switch from my sports coats to a more substantive jacket in the coming days.
-Last night, though I don't know why I was move to do it last night, I removed most of my bean plants (as they were approaching death if they weren't already dead). This, at least as far as I am concerned, makes the balcony look a fair bit better. In the coming days I may try and deal with a few more of the plant pots as the end of the growing season is definitely upon us.
-That being said, just a few days ago we started to get our first blooms on the morning glory plants. Unfortunately, due to inattention, I missed the first bloom (but did manage to see the remnants). Luckily, when they started really hitting hard I did manage to see them, and even to snap a photograph of the whole affair.
It seems that in the days since this was taken thins have taken a turn for the worse with the plants. Actually, I imagine that they are all basically dead now as they have been outside in sub-zero temperatures.
-This afternoon I decided to make a batch of bread (four loaves). The first project gave me the necessary motivation to take on a second project, doing my laundry, as these two projects work nicely with one another because of their natural gaps and periods of inactivity. Now that I have sampled the bread and the clean duvet cover I think I can safely say that they both were completed successfully.
-The other major project of the day is some marking that I have to do for my TAship. I may also try to track down a few readings for my upcoming week's classes, though that might be a little more than I can handle in a single night.
-Yesterday, because Neil and Rebecca were attending a math conference dinner, I took the opportunity to prepare myself some marlin that I had in the freezer. It turns out that I think I really don't like marlin. The relatively small piece that I had prepared myself was about twice as much as I could stomach, which is rather unfortunate (though the good news is that I had only paid 50% of the original price for the fish). Anyway, I am just lucky that I had prepared myself 4 potatoes so that I had a satisfying meal even though I didn't eat much of the main dish.
-Last night as I was plugging away at a paper that was due this morning I turned around from my desk and got a look at my floor.
It seems that my filing system really is a little more floor based that I would like (as is my bed). I imagine that some people, upon seeing this, might have a hard time believing that I not only attended library school, but also passed.
-My bedroom plants seemed to have slowed down a little bit, but are definitely still growing. In particular, the tobacco taking up an ever increasing proportion of the window. I keep imagining that I won't even be able to see out, my view will be completely blocked by homegrown tobacco.
I guess the only thing I will be blocked from seeing is a relatively grey cement wall, so it might not be much of a loss.
-Surely there are more import topics on which I should be expounding, but I think I may have to call it for now so that I can get back to my grading and dinner prep (proper meals seem to have gone out of my schedule these past few days and I am hoping to bring them back).
-Last night, though I don't know why I was move to do it last night, I removed most of my bean plants (as they were approaching death if they weren't already dead). This, at least as far as I am concerned, makes the balcony look a fair bit better. In the coming days I may try and deal with a few more of the plant pots as the end of the growing season is definitely upon us.
-That being said, just a few days ago we started to get our first blooms on the morning glory plants. Unfortunately, due to inattention, I missed the first bloom (but did manage to see the remnants). Luckily, when they started really hitting hard I did manage to see them, and even to snap a photograph of the whole affair.
It seems that in the days since this was taken thins have taken a turn for the worse with the plants. Actually, I imagine that they are all basically dead now as they have been outside in sub-zero temperatures.
-This afternoon I decided to make a batch of bread (four loaves). The first project gave me the necessary motivation to take on a second project, doing my laundry, as these two projects work nicely with one another because of their natural gaps and periods of inactivity. Now that I have sampled the bread and the clean duvet cover I think I can safely say that they both were completed successfully.
-The other major project of the day is some marking that I have to do for my TAship. I may also try to track down a few readings for my upcoming week's classes, though that might be a little more than I can handle in a single night.
-Yesterday, because Neil and Rebecca were attending a math conference dinner, I took the opportunity to prepare myself some marlin that I had in the freezer. It turns out that I think I really don't like marlin. The relatively small piece that I had prepared myself was about twice as much as I could stomach, which is rather unfortunate (though the good news is that I had only paid 50% of the original price for the fish). Anyway, I am just lucky that I had prepared myself 4 potatoes so that I had a satisfying meal even though I didn't eat much of the main dish.
-Last night as I was plugging away at a paper that was due this morning I turned around from my desk and got a look at my floor.
It seems that my filing system really is a little more floor based that I would like (as is my bed). I imagine that some people, upon seeing this, might have a hard time believing that I not only attended library school, but also passed.
-My bedroom plants seemed to have slowed down a little bit, but are definitely still growing. In particular, the tobacco taking up an ever increasing proportion of the window. I keep imagining that I won't even be able to see out, my view will be completely blocked by homegrown tobacco.
I guess the only thing I will be blocked from seeing is a relatively grey cement wall, so it might not be much of a loss.
-Surely there are more import topics on which I should be expounding, but I think I may have to call it for now so that I can get back to my grading and dinner prep (proper meals seem to have gone out of my schedule these past few days and I am hoping to bring them back).
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 315
-As might be ascertained from the photos in the last post, we are in the midst of a rather foggy day in Halifax. Aside from the fact that it is a little damp because of the fog, it really isn't that bad, there isn't too much wind and temperature is just fine.
-When I went out for a walk this morning I made the unfortunate decision to wear my rain coat. It seems that the rain coat that I purchased a few months ago doesn't really breath. I am convinced that I came back wetter because of the coat than I would have been had I warn a coat that has no ability to repel water. I find this particularly frustrating as the last rain jacket I had didn't have this problem, it was so comfortable that I was even inclined occasionally wear it on days when it wasn't even raining.
-I just heard about this story, which just seems to be the most recent in a series of violent crime stories that have taken place in Halifax in past few days. It seems that basically every morning there has been a story about a shooting or a stabbing in the area. As far as I know they are unrelated, which makes the trend seem even a little stranger. Hopefully this dies down in the very near future.
-All three of went to a friend's house for dinner last night. I know I had a good time, and I presume that Neil and Rebecca did as well (though I haven't yet spoken to them about it so I shouldn't be so bold as to put words in their mouths).
-A few days ago when my uncle was in town we saw a thing in the harbour. As the sun was setting at the time we didn't really get a good look at it. When we went back later we had a much better view and were able to see that it was some kind of boat/rig thing that was suspended on stilt like appendages. When I took a walk along the waterfront yesterday I got an even better view, but I still have no idea what this really is (though I imagine it has something to do with the offshore oil industry). If you know, let me know, I am curious.
Edit: It turns out it was pretty easy to find some information on this thing, if want to learn more go here.
-I was able to crank out three loads of laundry yesterday. I delayed a little by some of our neighbours who decided to leave their clothes in the washer long after the cycle had ended. Eventually I moved their clothes out of the washer so that I could get on with things. While I don't really like taking this approach, I also don't like having to wait hours for a washer that isn't even in use. I really don't understand how people leave their things unattended four hours on end on a regular basis and seemingly have no concern for their neighbour's access to the (limited) laundry facilities. I know that I don't like having my laundry handled by others, and I guess I would have imagined that it was a relatively common aversion. I guess present practice seems to suggest otherwise as this is a pretty common occurrence here.
-When I went out for a walk this morning I made the unfortunate decision to wear my rain coat. It seems that the rain coat that I purchased a few months ago doesn't really breath. I am convinced that I came back wetter because of the coat than I would have been had I warn a coat that has no ability to repel water. I find this particularly frustrating as the last rain jacket I had didn't have this problem, it was so comfortable that I was even inclined occasionally wear it on days when it wasn't even raining.
-I just heard about this story, which just seems to be the most recent in a series of violent crime stories that have taken place in Halifax in past few days. It seems that basically every morning there has been a story about a shooting or a stabbing in the area. As far as I know they are unrelated, which makes the trend seem even a little stranger. Hopefully this dies down in the very near future.
-All three of went to a friend's house for dinner last night. I know I had a good time, and I presume that Neil and Rebecca did as well (though I haven't yet spoken to them about it so I shouldn't be so bold as to put words in their mouths).
-A few days ago when my uncle was in town we saw a thing in the harbour. As the sun was setting at the time we didn't really get a good look at it. When we went back later we had a much better view and were able to see that it was some kind of boat/rig thing that was suspended on stilt like appendages. When I took a walk along the waterfront yesterday I got an even better view, but I still have no idea what this really is (though I imagine it has something to do with the offshore oil industry). If you know, let me know, I am curious.
Edit: It turns out it was pretty easy to find some information on this thing, if want to learn more go here.
-I was able to crank out three loads of laundry yesterday. I delayed a little by some of our neighbours who decided to leave their clothes in the washer long after the cycle had ended. Eventually I moved their clothes out of the washer so that I could get on with things. While I don't really like taking this approach, I also don't like having to wait hours for a washer that isn't even in use. I really don't understand how people leave their things unattended four hours on end on a regular basis and seemingly have no concern for their neighbour's access to the (limited) laundry facilities. I know that I don't like having my laundry handled by others, and I guess I would have imagined that it was a relatively common aversion. I guess present practice seems to suggest otherwise as this is a pretty common occurrence here.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 306
-Today was a pretty nice day. It seems that the official record is reporting that we reached a high of 11, and stayed there for about 5 hours. Now that the sun has set the temperature has dropped rather dramatically, though it is still warm enough that I would consider having a beer on the balcony if there were any in our fridge.
-I have spent much of the past few days working on a project related to my research assistantship. Unfortunately, things have not gone quite as smoothly as I might have liked. It seems that Greece doesn't provide official English translations of as many documents as I might like. I had hoped to finish this up by today, but now it seems that tomorrow is a little more likely.
For those of you that are curious, this is much of the reason for my recent slow-down in electronic communications (meaning blog posts and email responses).
-Neil and I went to a talk by John Ralston Saul last Thursday at King's. While neither of agreed with everything that was said, we both quite enjoyed the talk. At a few points we were two of the only individuals laughing at a few of the jokes, something that made me feel pretty good.
-I made another quick batch of bread tonight. While the resulting loaves were quite edible, I really wasn't pleased with how they turned out. The dough had a very strange characteristic that I don't quite understand, maybe part of the issue was my failure to knead it sufficiently.
-I was able to crank out two loads of laundry tonight.
-Though I don't have pictures at the moment, the scarlet runner beans I planted in the living room a few days ago have sprouted and are now approaching 12 inches. Hopefully I will be able to put some more strings up shortly and get them to try to re-trace the steps of their predecessors.
Shockingly, the beans in my room have also started to grow a little, though still at a much slower rate than the beans in the living room. What is most exciting is the number of leaves that have developed on all four of the shoots. All signs are pointing to even more leaf development in the coming days.
-I have spent much of the past few days working on a project related to my research assistantship. Unfortunately, things have not gone quite as smoothly as I might have liked. It seems that Greece doesn't provide official English translations of as many documents as I might like. I had hoped to finish this up by today, but now it seems that tomorrow is a little more likely.
For those of you that are curious, this is much of the reason for my recent slow-down in electronic communications (meaning blog posts and email responses).
-Neil and I went to a talk by John Ralston Saul last Thursday at King's. While neither of agreed with everything that was said, we both quite enjoyed the talk. At a few points we were two of the only individuals laughing at a few of the jokes, something that made me feel pretty good.
-I made another quick batch of bread tonight. While the resulting loaves were quite edible, I really wasn't pleased with how they turned out. The dough had a very strange characteristic that I don't quite understand, maybe part of the issue was my failure to knead it sufficiently.
-I was able to crank out two loads of laundry tonight.
-Though I don't have pictures at the moment, the scarlet runner beans I planted in the living room a few days ago have sprouted and are now approaching 12 inches. Hopefully I will be able to put some more strings up shortly and get them to try to re-trace the steps of their predecessors.
Shockingly, the beans in my room have also started to grow a little, though still at a much slower rate than the beans in the living room. What is most exciting is the number of leaves that have developed on all four of the shoots. All signs are pointing to even more leaf development in the coming days.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 289
-Today was incredibly beautiful. While Environment Canada was reporting a temperature of 5 degrees, I am pretty sure that it was actually warmer than that in town. Of course, the sun was also out, which really helped things.
-As some of you may have noticed, I have removed the web-call button from the side-bar. This wasn't getting much (read 'any') use. And since moving from GrandCentral to Google Voice it had begun to take up much more space. I guess if you really need to contact either of us and you don't have our contact information the best approach might be to use the comment section associated with each post (not that this is a problem that comes up all that frequently).
-Today while reading the Globe and Mail I came across a few stories of note.
Firstly, it seems that G.W. Bush has now given his first post-presidential for-hire speech. The strange part of the story is not that he has decided to do paid speeches, but that the speech was given in Calgary instead of somewhere in the United States.
Secondly, apparently both Stephen Harper and Danny Williams will be attending this evening's memorial service for those lost in the recent off-shore helicopter crash. Hopefully everyone will have enough tact to behave appropriately for a memorial service. (A related note is that my sister will be performing as part of the mass choir assembled for the event). Also, CBC should be streaming the service here for those of you who are interested.
Thirdly, I read that AIG will have $165 million, equal to the sum the company recently paid in bonuses, deducted from its $180 billion of bail-out money. I found two things particularly strange about this story. Firstly, how could a company that needs bailout money justify bonuses, the company clearly isn't doing all that well. I guess those handing out the bail-out money felt the same way. Secondly, and more importantly, if the bail-out money is based on need, how can $165 million just be cut from the package. This would suggest that the sum allocated to the company isn't really based on much at all and that a few hundred million here or there might not make all that much difference. For some reason I find this very troubling. Also, according to the story, the US government "now holds about an "80-per-cent stake" in the company. I really wonder how all of this is going to play out in the long run.
-Last night Neil and I made our way to Your Father's Moustache for their St. Patrick's day event. We made the trip because one of my classmates was one of the fiddlers performing. Overall I think we had a pretty good time.
The only bummer all evening was the twenty minutes that we had to blow trying to send a package at the postal outlet across the street. The employee was very unhelpful and slow. We both suspect that it likely cost us more than was necessary for us to send the package, though as we were provided with very little information it is hard for us to be certain about this.
-Earlier today I mentioned doing some spring cleaning. I forgot to mention that I also did a few loads of laundry.
-In a few minutes dinner should be ready. We will be having pot roast. I can't wait.
-As some of you may have noticed, I have removed the web-call button from the side-bar. This wasn't getting much (read 'any') use. And since moving from GrandCentral to Google Voice it had begun to take up much more space. I guess if you really need to contact either of us and you don't have our contact information the best approach might be to use the comment section associated with each post (not that this is a problem that comes up all that frequently).
-Today while reading the Globe and Mail I came across a few stories of note.
Firstly, it seems that G.W. Bush has now given his first post-presidential for-hire speech. The strange part of the story is not that he has decided to do paid speeches, but that the speech was given in Calgary instead of somewhere in the United States.
Secondly, apparently both Stephen Harper and Danny Williams will be attending this evening's memorial service for those lost in the recent off-shore helicopter crash. Hopefully everyone will have enough tact to behave appropriately for a memorial service. (A related note is that my sister will be performing as part of the mass choir assembled for the event). Also, CBC should be streaming the service here for those of you who are interested.
Thirdly, I read that AIG will have $165 million, equal to the sum the company recently paid in bonuses, deducted from its $180 billion of bail-out money. I found two things particularly strange about this story. Firstly, how could a company that needs bailout money justify bonuses, the company clearly isn't doing all that well. I guess those handing out the bail-out money felt the same way. Secondly, and more importantly, if the bail-out money is based on need, how can $165 million just be cut from the package. This would suggest that the sum allocated to the company isn't really based on much at all and that a few hundred million here or there might not make all that much difference. For some reason I find this very troubling. Also, according to the story, the US government "now holds about an "80-per-cent stake" in the company. I really wonder how all of this is going to play out in the long run.
-Last night Neil and I made our way to Your Father's Moustache for their St. Patrick's day event. We made the trip because one of my classmates was one of the fiddlers performing. Overall I think we had a pretty good time.
The only bummer all evening was the twenty minutes that we had to blow trying to send a package at the postal outlet across the street. The employee was very unhelpful and slow. We both suspect that it likely cost us more than was necessary for us to send the package, though as we were provided with very little information it is hard for us to be certain about this.
-Earlier today I mentioned doing some spring cleaning. I forgot to mention that I also did a few loads of laundry.
-In a few minutes dinner should be ready. We will be having pot roast. I can't wait.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 276
-From what I recall, today was a pretty nice day. Actually, not only was it just above zero, I seem to have some memories of it being on the sunny side of things. Hopefully things are as nice tomorrow, though as I don't plan on leaving the apartment it won't be a huge problem for me if things aren't perfect.
-I did some laundry today. Because one of the residents of the building left their laundry in the machines the process took much longer than I had hoped. While it was a bit of an inconvenience, I am glad to have it out of the way.
-I am quickly approaching the end of reading week. While I have been able to do some reading, I haven't accomplished as much as I might have liked.
-Whoa, what a night. I put in a few intense hours on some school related things and now I am about ready to drop, but also hyped up about how much work I have. Hopefully I will be able to get to sleep in a reasonable amount of time (though I fear that I will keep myself awake).
Blog-off
Cameron: 31
Neil: 1
-I did some laundry today. Because one of the residents of the building left their laundry in the machines the process took much longer than I had hoped. While it was a bit of an inconvenience, I am glad to have it out of the way.
-I am quickly approaching the end of reading week. While I have been able to do some reading, I haven't accomplished as much as I might have liked.
-Whoa, what a night. I put in a few intense hours on some school related things and now I am about ready to drop, but also hyped up about how much work I have. Hopefully I will be able to get to sleep in a reasonable amount of time (though I fear that I will keep myself awake).
Blog-off
Cameron: 31
Neil: 1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)