[Written on Tuesday]
-Another cool, clear day in Montreal. I believe that we started the day with a temperature below -20. Amazingly, we haven’t had much snow this year, only one semi-major snowfall so far.
-Work was incredibly busy last night. We had many more people than normal for a Monday, as well as a speed-dating event in the basement. Fortunately one of my co-workers stayed on for a few extra hours to help close, if she had not done this I think I would have been there until 1:00 AM, or later.
-Assignment season is fast approaching. I am really not ready for it this term, especially because of the various visits that are taking place over the coming weeks.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Texas sheet cake 2
Yesterday was Rebecca's birthday. As part of our spending quality time together during the evening, she helped me make a texas sheet cake. I first tried to make a texas sheet cake in the fall and it didn't work out as well as I had hoped; I have entitled this post to indicate this (and/or to copy Cameron's numbering). In the fall I deemed that one of the problems was the pan, so I bought a new one; I also decided doing dishes while making the icing and thus burning it was a bad idea. This time it mostly worked out well. The cake is rather flat, so it works best with a level oven, however (using my magnetic level from Santa Claus) I determined that my oven is off-level in multiple directions. Hence, my cake is taller on one half, but it still tastes good.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Work tonight
Once again, I have to go to work tonight. Mondays don't seem to be the busiest night of the week.
The up side of this is that I may do a bit more training on the bar. On Friday I sold a Guiness and a Smirnoff Ice.
The up side of me knowing a few of the basics is that I can then relieve the bartender when they are working alone.
The up side of this is that I may do a bit more training on the bar. On Friday I sold a Guiness and a Smirnoff Ice.
The up side of me knowing a few of the basics is that I can then relieve the bartender when they are working alone.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Trivia in Halifax
It's been far too long since I last posted. I haven't done much, but that's more than nothing. A couple Wednesdays ago DAGS held a trivia night at the Grad House, which they own. DAGS was looking to grad students out socializing with each other, so it organized trivia by academic affliation. As I'm always up for a competition, and because it is my deputy as DAGS rep to tell the mathies, I put together a team. In the end it wasn't too hard to put together a team even on only 2 days notice (even though I'd known for 2 weeks). Rebecca was only able to come to the second half, because she had to work in the Math Learning Centre until 10.
Trivia started late, but not too late considering it was there first time. There were 12 teams there, which is more than was expected. As a result, they ran out of chairs. Just before we started they circulated a registration sheet ?! They wanted us to write down our names and student IDs to make sure we were all grad students. I thought this was a little ridiculous. They also wanted us to use our department names as our team names, and specifically not to make up new ones. We went ahead and made up our own anyway, the Dalhousie Derivatives, and most of the other teams did too. At my prompting, the marking was done as per the Bitters way.
We bombed the first round, but we did better over the next 9 rounds than any other team. In the end, we came 3rd. The evening was enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the next one.
The rest of the mathies enjoyed it too. We're planning on hosting our own trivia night at the Grad House and inviting the profs to come out. It should work out well because booking the Grad House is free. We only have about $350 to spend for the rest of the semester. Rebecca will probably be the host.
Trivia started late, but not too late considering it was there first time. There were 12 teams there, which is more than was expected. As a result, they ran out of chairs. Just before we started they circulated a registration sheet ?! They wanted us to write down our names and student IDs to make sure we were all grad students. I thought this was a little ridiculous. They also wanted us to use our department names as our team names, and specifically not to make up new ones. We went ahead and made up our own anyway, the Dalhousie Derivatives, and most of the other teams did too. At my prompting, the marking was done as per the Bitters way.
We bombed the first round, but we did better over the next 9 rounds than any other team. In the end, we came 3rd. The evening was enjoyable and I'm looking forward to the next one.
The rest of the mathies enjoyed it too. We're planning on hosting our own trivia night at the Grad House and inviting the profs to come out. It should work out well because booking the Grad House is free. We only have about $350 to spend for the rest of the semester. Rebecca will probably be the host.
A Few Quick Notes 57
-Another winter day in Montreal today. There are a few flurries falling as I write, though nothing all that serious. It is also still about -10, though I must say that this seemed warm when I was walking around this morning. If it keeps snowing maybe I will go for a walk this afternoon.
-My father flew into Montreal this morning. He was on his way to Kingston. The original plan was that he would arrive yesterday and spend the night. Because of the “weather bomb” this did not happen, his flight was switched to this morning. The modified plan was that he would take the bus into town and we would meet for breakfast. Unfortunately, the plane was late leaving the airport, the gate was iced up on arrival, and then the luggage failed to arrive. With about 15 minutes before his train was to depart we met at the airport. Several items were quickly transferred to my bag, some hot drinks and a cinnamon roll were purchased, before we made our way to the gate.
If all goes according to plan, my father and uncle should be in Montreal as of this Wednesday evening. I am really hoping that things aren’t quite as rushed as they were on this trip. On the other hand, this is the fourth time that my father has been in Montreal since September.
-Last night Nithum and I went to a party. An open invitation was issued by one of my classmates so I asked Nithum if he was interested. After a little bit of vacillation he decided to go for it, his second party of St. Joseph in two days.
Though I was worried that we might be late, it turned out that we were really on the early side. It must have been about 30 to 45 minutes before anyone else showed up, and then another 20 before the first real group.
The heart of the party was made up of friends and classmates of my classmate’s roommates. As these people began to arrive Nithum started to recognize some of them as attendees of Friday night’s party.
It turned out that the party was infested with people that had connections to Newfoundland. Aside from Nithum and I, there were at least two and possibly four other people who grew up in Newfoundland. There was also a pretty large Nova Scotia contingent. Nithum actually seems to have wangled us an invite to the upcoming “East Coast Kitchen Party” that will be held in the same location in the coming weeks.
[Author's note: I forgot to say that I had an excellent time, sometimes I assume that everyone already knows the good things. I also forgot to thank Nicole for the invitation, it was nice to party with such a wide variety to attendees. It was also nice to hear those bawdy songs as sung by Oscar Brand.]
-As I arrived at McGill today I was reminded that today is the winter Open House. If I had a bit more energy I could probably manage to get a hold of some free stuff.
-Today needs to be a big study day. I have done most of the prep work already, I have the reading materials, the caffeine, part of the mental preparation, and the knowledge that it really needs to happen.
-Yesterday was the first day that I have not had ginseng in about four days. I am not sure I noticed much of a difference, but maybe the old stuff is not out of my system. Anyway, I definitely did not notice any downsides, and I feel as though I could even accept just a placebo affect right now.
-My father flew into Montreal this morning. He was on his way to Kingston. The original plan was that he would arrive yesterday and spend the night. Because of the “weather bomb” this did not happen, his flight was switched to this morning. The modified plan was that he would take the bus into town and we would meet for breakfast. Unfortunately, the plane was late leaving the airport, the gate was iced up on arrival, and then the luggage failed to arrive. With about 15 minutes before his train was to depart we met at the airport. Several items were quickly transferred to my bag, some hot drinks and a cinnamon roll were purchased, before we made our way to the gate.
If all goes according to plan, my father and uncle should be in Montreal as of this Wednesday evening. I am really hoping that things aren’t quite as rushed as they were on this trip. On the other hand, this is the fourth time that my father has been in Montreal since September.
-Last night Nithum and I went to a party. An open invitation was issued by one of my classmates so I asked Nithum if he was interested. After a little bit of vacillation he decided to go for it, his second party of St. Joseph in two days.
Though I was worried that we might be late, it turned out that we were really on the early side. It must have been about 30 to 45 minutes before anyone else showed up, and then another 20 before the first real group.
The heart of the party was made up of friends and classmates of my classmate’s roommates. As these people began to arrive Nithum started to recognize some of them as attendees of Friday night’s party.
It turned out that the party was infested with people that had connections to Newfoundland. Aside from Nithum and I, there were at least two and possibly four other people who grew up in Newfoundland. There was also a pretty large Nova Scotia contingent. Nithum actually seems to have wangled us an invite to the upcoming “East Coast Kitchen Party” that will be held in the same location in the coming weeks.
[Author's note: I forgot to say that I had an excellent time, sometimes I assume that everyone already knows the good things. I also forgot to thank Nicole for the invitation, it was nice to party with such a wide variety to attendees. It was also nice to hear those bawdy songs as sung by Oscar Brand.]
-As I arrived at McGill today I was reminded that today is the winter Open House. If I had a bit more energy I could probably manage to get a hold of some free stuff.
-Today needs to be a big study day. I have done most of the prep work already, I have the reading materials, the caffeine, part of the mental preparation, and the knowledge that it really needs to happen.
-Yesterday was the first day that I have not had ginseng in about four days. I am not sure I noticed much of a difference, but maybe the old stuff is not out of my system. Anyway, I definitely did not notice any downsides, and I feel as though I could even accept just a placebo affect right now.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday
Thursday night was a pretty good night. I was able to take care of some studying, though not as much as I would have liked, and then head over for Thomson House for a night of socializing. Based on my knowledge that the Archives stream had a class and my knowledge that they tend to go out for a beer afterwards I thought it would be pretty safe time to show up and meet some people that I know. It turned out that my timing was just about perfect; most of them were in line as I arrived.
I jumped in line behind them and order a pitcher of a blond locally brewed beer. While it is not my favourite drink I believe that it was what I was drinking all night.
In about an hour most of the archives people had left, but a few general GSLIS students remained. Gradually the first pitchers turned into second and third pitchers. It seemed that most people were having a very good time. One particularly enjoyable part of the evening, at least from my point of view, was the discussion I had with a separatist. I think that she didn’t quite know where I was coming from or what to expect as feel I took a pretty pro-Quebec stance, though was solidly against isolationism. Later in the evening we were swamped by Manitobans, there must have been 4 or 5.
At about 1:30 I finally realized what time it was time to head home. I was back in my room before 2:00, only a little worse for wear.
On Friday I awoke at about 11:00. For about 15 minutes I just stayed in bed listening to the radio. Eventually I got up and started doing the morning internet rounds (weather, news, email, blog, etc.). At about 11:23 I realized that I had been planning on attending the Faculty of Education Faculty Council meeting, which was to start.
After a few quick mental calculations I realized that I might have just enough time to take a quick shower and still make it. Unfortunately when I arrived at the bathroom I found it occupied, and with this my plans were ruined. I went back to my room and tossed on some clothing and got ready to go. Within about two or three minutes I was on my way, slight hangover and all.
As the meeting was to be in the Education building that was where I went. The only problem is that I couldn’t find the designated room, even though it was supposed to be on the main floor. After asking about 3 people and spending 10 to 15 minutes looking for it I was about the second person there. One of the only non-support staff there ahead of me was my cataloging professor. I continued to sit alone, talking to no one, as the others began to file in over the next few minutes. By the beginning of the meeting most of the library school faculty were sitting within a five-seat radius of me.
Eventually the Dean showed up and things began. As Friday was Australia Day we started with a brief themed slide show and Vegemite sandwich tray. Soon enough we were down to business.
The heart of the meeting had to do with Faculty of Education space allocation. It seems that the university is engaging in a major planning exercise of which we are a consequential element, particularly the library school. Unfortunately a few squeaky wheels dominated a fair bit of the meeting, even though the issues that they were raising weren’t really relevant to the current discussion. I was even able to ask a few questions, both of which I feel were quite reasonable.
Attending this meeting was quite good as it gave me a much greater understanding of several issues, including; departmental staff dynamics, faculty staff dynamics, McGill administration, strategic planning, and university committees.
After the formal meeting, with most of the faculty from the library school, I went on a tour of a potential relocation site. I, as with several of the faculty members, were pretty impressed with the potential of the building that we toured.
It was a damn good thing I didn’t back out just because I didn’t have time for a shower.
I jumped in line behind them and order a pitcher of a blond locally brewed beer. While it is not my favourite drink I believe that it was what I was drinking all night.
In about an hour most of the archives people had left, but a few general GSLIS students remained. Gradually the first pitchers turned into second and third pitchers. It seemed that most people were having a very good time. One particularly enjoyable part of the evening, at least from my point of view, was the discussion I had with a separatist. I think that she didn’t quite know where I was coming from or what to expect as feel I took a pretty pro-Quebec stance, though was solidly against isolationism. Later in the evening we were swamped by Manitobans, there must have been 4 or 5.
At about 1:30 I finally realized what time it was time to head home. I was back in my room before 2:00, only a little worse for wear.
On Friday I awoke at about 11:00. For about 15 minutes I just stayed in bed listening to the radio. Eventually I got up and started doing the morning internet rounds (weather, news, email, blog, etc.). At about 11:23 I realized that I had been planning on attending the Faculty of Education Faculty Council meeting, which was to start.
After a few quick mental calculations I realized that I might have just enough time to take a quick shower and still make it. Unfortunately when I arrived at the bathroom I found it occupied, and with this my plans were ruined. I went back to my room and tossed on some clothing and got ready to go. Within about two or three minutes I was on my way, slight hangover and all.
As the meeting was to be in the Education building that was where I went. The only problem is that I couldn’t find the designated room, even though it was supposed to be on the main floor. After asking about 3 people and spending 10 to 15 minutes looking for it I was about the second person there. One of the only non-support staff there ahead of me was my cataloging professor. I continued to sit alone, talking to no one, as the others began to file in over the next few minutes. By the beginning of the meeting most of the library school faculty were sitting within a five-seat radius of me.
Eventually the Dean showed up and things began. As Friday was Australia Day we started with a brief themed slide show and Vegemite sandwich tray. Soon enough we were down to business.
The heart of the meeting had to do with Faculty of Education space allocation. It seems that the university is engaging in a major planning exercise of which we are a consequential element, particularly the library school. Unfortunately a few squeaky wheels dominated a fair bit of the meeting, even though the issues that they were raising weren’t really relevant to the current discussion. I was even able to ask a few questions, both of which I feel were quite reasonable.
Attending this meeting was quite good as it gave me a much greater understanding of several issues, including; departmental staff dynamics, faculty staff dynamics, McGill administration, strategic planning, and university committees.
After the formal meeting, with most of the faculty from the library school, I went on a tour of a potential relocation site. I, as with several of the faculty members, were pretty impressed with the potential of the building that we toured.
It was a damn good thing I didn’t back out just because I didn’t have time for a shower.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Da Bomb
According to an email that I received from Memorial University of Newfoundland earlier this afternoon, St. John's is supposed to be experiencing a "weather bomb."
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Short clip of snow falling in Montreal
This clip was taken on January 15, 2007. It was snowing a fair bit in the early morning and afternoon (as you may recall if you read the posts from that day). I had to head over to Thomson House to drop off a key I had accidentily taken home with my on Friday. As usual, I took the short cut from the main campus across the resevoir. Just after reaching the resevoir I decided that it would be a good time to film some of the snow falling, as I did in St. John's.
Pay attention to the first few seconds if you want to see the action sequence, though it was completely unplanned and likely painful. This fall occured because the snow covered pre-existing ice, creating a rather dangerous situation. As soon as I saw this I figured out the problem and walked along the road next to the field.
If you are interested in viewing video clips that have been posted on this blog in the past use the label "YouTube" in the lower right hand corner of this blog to access these posts. If you do this my number of views for each clip will rise and I will feel satisfied.
Pay attention to the first few seconds if you want to see the action sequence, though it was completely unplanned and likely painful. This fall occured because the snow covered pre-existing ice, creating a rather dangerous situation. As soon as I saw this I figured out the problem and walked along the road next to the field.
If you are interested in viewing video clips that have been posted on this blog in the past use the label "YouTube" in the lower right hand corner of this blog to access these posts. If you do this my number of views for each clip will rise and I will feel satisfied.
Train entering Mont Royal Metro Station
Earlier today, as I was on my way home from Val's apartment, I was in the Mont Royal subway station waiting for my train. While there I decided to see if I could get a shot of the train entering the station, something that have enjoyed watching in person. After several false starts, the train did arrive and I was able to film it until it stopped.
A Few Quick Notes 56
-Another clear and cool day here in Montreal. Looks as though this should be the standard for the next little while. This weather isn’t really that bad as we haven’t had too much snow to deal with (though I personally wouldn’t mind a bit more snow).
-For dinner tonight I hope to eat one or two bratwursts that I purchased a few days ago. Hopefully I won’t forget to eat dinner as I did last night.
-Yesterday I tried some ginseng. Nithum purchase some a few days ago and offered a few vials as a sample (am I living with a pusher?). As of yet I am not really sure what I think, or if I even felt an effect. Shortly, I will try my second vial and see how I feel.
-I was able to do some laundry this morning. Doing laundry in public cities has caused me to wonder why it is people seem to almost never empty the lint trap. I find it one of the best parts of the entire laundry experience.
-For dinner tonight I hope to eat one or two bratwursts that I purchased a few days ago. Hopefully I won’t forget to eat dinner as I did last night.
-Yesterday I tried some ginseng. Nithum purchase some a few days ago and offered a few vials as a sample (am I living with a pusher?). As of yet I am not really sure what I think, or if I even felt an effect. Shortly, I will try my second vial and see how I feel.
-I was able to do some laundry this morning. Doing laundry in public cities has caused me to wonder why it is people seem to almost never empty the lint trap. I find it one of the best parts of the entire laundry experience.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 55
-Environment Canada is indicating that it is several degrees below zero, though I am having a hard time believing this assessment. Maybe it is a little cooler now that it is a touch more overcast.
-I learned that someone in my class found out about this blog from a friend. Apparently the friend was searching blogs and came upon this one. From information that she was able to gather she figured out that I must be in the same program as her friend. The relevant details, the URL, were passed along. I have been meaning to ask my classmate if she managed to read very much, or any, of our blog.
-I am thinking about taking a nap. This will give me a bit of a break before I dig into some pretty heavy reading that I need to take care of.
-Food would also be good, but I can’t say that I am that hunger at the moment.
-Today in class one of my classmates approached me about joining her group for a project. This was pretty good as I didn’t know what I would be doing for this project. I had been hoping that someone would just come up and ask me, which they fortunately did. The only bad thing is that we are still one member short of the required four, and we haven’t been able to finalize a project topic (preparation for this is why I have so much reading).
-Work was pretty dead again last night. It seems that Monday nights are not the big party night at Thomson House.
-I learned that someone in my class found out about this blog from a friend. Apparently the friend was searching blogs and came upon this one. From information that she was able to gather she figured out that I must be in the same program as her friend. The relevant details, the URL, were passed along. I have been meaning to ask my classmate if she managed to read very much, or any, of our blog.
-I am thinking about taking a nap. This will give me a bit of a break before I dig into some pretty heavy reading that I need to take care of.
-Food would also be good, but I can’t say that I am that hunger at the moment.
-Today in class one of my classmates approached me about joining her group for a project. This was pretty good as I didn’t know what I would be doing for this project. I had been hoping that someone would just come up and ask me, which they fortunately did. The only bad thing is that we are still one member short of the required four, and we haven’t been able to finalize a project topic (preparation for this is why I have so much reading).
-Work was pretty dead again last night. It seems that Monday nights are not the big party night at Thomson House.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 54
-Another cold day in Montreal today. When I woke up it was almost -20, nearing -30 with the wind chill. This is actually the first day that I have noticed frost on my window. For the next few days it is supposed to be below zero but not quite this cold.
-Yesterday was they day of my first intramural soccer game. We pulled out the win, though only because the other team defaulted. We then played a pick-up game with the two refs filling in on the other team. Though we lost the pick-up it was generally a pretty good experience. Possibly the best thing is that we learned that one of our players is pretty good in net, something I am not. I guess we will have to wait and see how our first real game goes.
-Yesterday while at the grocery store I decided to by a trans-fat laced raspberry pie. In addition to the pie I had normal purchases (frozen green beans, frozen concentrated orange juice, etc.) and a dozen bottles of beer.
When it came time to carry all of these items home I realized that I had a bit of a problem. I had to find a way to keep the pie relatively level and manage to carry a few bags as well as a dozen beer.
The solution I came to would be to cradle the beer in my arms and rest the pie on top. The remaining bags were then in my right hand. At times I drew my right hand up to assist with the cradling. This process quickly wore me out. Just as I was reaching home I was at the end of my limit.
Fortunately, another group was entering my building at the same time as I so they were able to hold several doors for me. I then had the pleasure of dealing with making my way up to the fourth floor. This was somewhat awkward as the groceries and beer were in front of me, just where my legs where each time they took a new stair. Without too many problems I made it to the top.
Possibly with my first step onto flat ground the pie slid from the box of beer and landed upside down on the floor, I was somewhat disheartened. All this effort to keep the pie in good shape, just to drop it 15 feet from my door. I proceeded to my apartment and put all of my groceries down and then went back to check on the pie, expecting the worst.
As I flipped the pie over I learned that it hadn’t really been damaged all that much. None of the filling was any more exposed than it had been before. In some ways this kind of worried me about the quality and nature of my pie. I think that in I would normally expect a pie drop from four feet to take a bit of a beating, not look the same as before it was dropped. Maybe that is what trans-fats can do for a pie, because this one certainly has a lot of those.
-Another comment about the pie was that as I was examining it I looked at the best before date. It indicated that the pie would be best before January 21. I thought to myself this would be plenty of time, literally days away. It was not until I returned home and started to unpack my groceries did I realize I had purchased this pie about 6 hours before its expiry date. Good job.
-There was a pretty long article on Stephane Dion in the Focus section of the Globe and Mail yesterday. Hopefully I will get a chance to read about it in the next few days.
-We had a staff meeting yesterday at Thomson House. Hopefully some of the suggestions I made, as well as those of other staff members, will be acted upon to help increase business. It seems that one major problem is the administrative structure of the PGSS council, it appears to be unwilling to properly delegate authority to regular staff and management.
-Yesterday was they day of my first intramural soccer game. We pulled out the win, though only because the other team defaulted. We then played a pick-up game with the two refs filling in on the other team. Though we lost the pick-up it was generally a pretty good experience. Possibly the best thing is that we learned that one of our players is pretty good in net, something I am not. I guess we will have to wait and see how our first real game goes.
-Yesterday while at the grocery store I decided to by a trans-fat laced raspberry pie. In addition to the pie I had normal purchases (frozen green beans, frozen concentrated orange juice, etc.) and a dozen bottles of beer.
When it came time to carry all of these items home I realized that I had a bit of a problem. I had to find a way to keep the pie relatively level and manage to carry a few bags as well as a dozen beer.
The solution I came to would be to cradle the beer in my arms and rest the pie on top. The remaining bags were then in my right hand. At times I drew my right hand up to assist with the cradling. This process quickly wore me out. Just as I was reaching home I was at the end of my limit.
Fortunately, another group was entering my building at the same time as I so they were able to hold several doors for me. I then had the pleasure of dealing with making my way up to the fourth floor. This was somewhat awkward as the groceries and beer were in front of me, just where my legs where each time they took a new stair. Without too many problems I made it to the top.
Possibly with my first step onto flat ground the pie slid from the box of beer and landed upside down on the floor, I was somewhat disheartened. All this effort to keep the pie in good shape, just to drop it 15 feet from my door. I proceeded to my apartment and put all of my groceries down and then went back to check on the pie, expecting the worst.
As I flipped the pie over I learned that it hadn’t really been damaged all that much. None of the filling was any more exposed than it had been before. In some ways this kind of worried me about the quality and nature of my pie. I think that in I would normally expect a pie drop from four feet to take a bit of a beating, not look the same as before it was dropped. Maybe that is what trans-fats can do for a pie, because this one certainly has a lot of those.
-Another comment about the pie was that as I was examining it I looked at the best before date. It indicated that the pie would be best before January 21. I thought to myself this would be plenty of time, literally days away. It was not until I returned home and started to unpack my groceries did I realize I had purchased this pie about 6 hours before its expiry date. Good job.
-There was a pretty long article on Stephane Dion in the Focus section of the Globe and Mail yesterday. Hopefully I will get a chance to read about it in the next few days.
-We had a staff meeting yesterday at Thomson House. Hopefully some of the suggestions I made, as well as those of other staff members, will be acted upon to help increase business. It seems that one major problem is the administrative structure of the PGSS council, it appears to be unwilling to properly delegate authority to regular staff and management.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 53
-Today was a fair bit warmer than yesterday. Actually, since the low of about -24 things have been warming up. My understanding is that we are supposed to plateau at about this temperature and then dip again. Over the next few days we are also supposed to get a little bit more snow, though nothing to really worry about.
-A few days ago I heard a rumor that McGill would be switching to all e-subscriptions for it journals (presumably keeping the paper version if that is all that is available). This would certainly be a bit of a change. It is a rather thought provoking suggestion. My initial worry is that people will get out of the habit of going to the print version, thereby basically negating the existence of print-only volumes and journals.
-Yesterday I was able to fly through about 100 pages of a management textbook. It was some of the fluffiest/fastest reading I have ever done. On the whole much of the content was very superficial, not really going into any degree of detail.
-Apparently Domtar will be coming out with a anti-microbial paper in the near future. I am curious what affect this might have on the archival world as things like mould are problematic for preservation.
-For the past two nights I have had the pleasure of hearing many back-up sirens as the municipal government removes Monday’s snow. Though I know that they are working hard I can’t quite figure out where it is they are working as many of the streets surrounding my apartment building seem to still be snow filled.
-Apparently Royal Bank mis-interpreted some of the US rules relating to the US currency accounts it was issuing. Residents will be able to open US currency accounts. To me it still seems that there is a bit more to the story that has still not come out. I have yet to see the text of the regulation that Royal Bank is supposedly following.
-Tomorrow is another workday. This one should be a bit quieter than last Friday as there won’t be a large party. On the other hand, I hope that it is busier than the first week of the term.
-Apparently the Park Avenue issue is not yet dead. The commission of last resort has been issuing cryptic statements about some kind of compromise, though I have no idea what this might be. At one point it was suggested that the street be given a dual name as occurs in New York. I guess in the next few days we will have a better handle on what will happen.
-A few days ago I heard a rumor that McGill would be switching to all e-subscriptions for it journals (presumably keeping the paper version if that is all that is available). This would certainly be a bit of a change. It is a rather thought provoking suggestion. My initial worry is that people will get out of the habit of going to the print version, thereby basically negating the existence of print-only volumes and journals.
-Yesterday I was able to fly through about 100 pages of a management textbook. It was some of the fluffiest/fastest reading I have ever done. On the whole much of the content was very superficial, not really going into any degree of detail.
-Apparently Domtar will be coming out with a anti-microbial paper in the near future. I am curious what affect this might have on the archival world as things like mould are problematic for preservation.
-For the past two nights I have had the pleasure of hearing many back-up sirens as the municipal government removes Monday’s snow. Though I know that they are working hard I can’t quite figure out where it is they are working as many of the streets surrounding my apartment building seem to still be snow filled.
-Apparently Royal Bank mis-interpreted some of the US rules relating to the US currency accounts it was issuing. Residents will be able to open US currency accounts. To me it still seems that there is a bit more to the story that has still not come out. I have yet to see the text of the regulation that Royal Bank is supposedly following.
-Tomorrow is another workday. This one should be a bit quieter than last Friday as there won’t be a large party. On the other hand, I hope that it is busier than the first week of the term.
-Apparently the Park Avenue issue is not yet dead. The commission of last resort has been issuing cryptic statements about some kind of compromise, though I have no idea what this might be. At one point it was suggested that the street be given a dual name as occurs in New York. I guess in the next few days we will have a better handle on what will happen.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Royal Bank, the US Government and the almighty dollar
Yesterday I briefly heard about Canadian dual citizens who had their American funds bank accounts closed by Royal Bank. It was suggested that the customers only found out afterwards. Furthermore, it is being reported that US government policy is the impetus for this activity, though I can’t quite understand why any reasonable person or institution would follow along (partly because none of the stories I have read have given any details about the US policies).
Mainly I am not quite sure why the US cares about this practice right now so much that they are causing banks to take this action. Many foreign nationals have been using US currency for years, without the consent of the US government. I would guess that many individuals will continue to do so in the future, even with the implementation of this crack down. Additionally, I am not quite sure how a country can control what happens to its currency once it leaves its borders. If Royal Bank, or any other bank for that matter, would like to offer accounts in foreign currencies it would seem to be up to the bank and the institution issuing their charter, not the country from which the currency originates (though maybe the international and inter-connected nature of the current banking system has caused this to change).
It would be interesting to know if the same rules are being followed in the US. In many ways I would find it hard to believe that the US is able to disallow dual citizens (people who are full US citizens) access to banking services, even if they wouldn’t want them to access these services. It seems somewhat hypocritical to expect more from banks located in foreign nations, though I guess they can boss these banks around without worrying about the constitutionality of the whole thing.
It seems that there is also an element of sloppy reporting in all of this. It was not initially reported that not all dual citizens were not having their US funds accounts shut down. The implication was that it was affecting everyone, something that is clearly not the case (as I haven’t had mine shut down). In stories that came out today it was reported that individuals would be able to have these accounts if they could demonstrate that they resided in Canada (a potentially temporary and possibly meaningless measure).
Mainly I am not quite sure why the US cares about this practice right now so much that they are causing banks to take this action. Many foreign nationals have been using US currency for years, without the consent of the US government. I would guess that many individuals will continue to do so in the future, even with the implementation of this crack down. Additionally, I am not quite sure how a country can control what happens to its currency once it leaves its borders. If Royal Bank, or any other bank for that matter, would like to offer accounts in foreign currencies it would seem to be up to the bank and the institution issuing their charter, not the country from which the currency originates (though maybe the international and inter-connected nature of the current banking system has caused this to change).
It would be interesting to know if the same rules are being followed in the US. In many ways I would find it hard to believe that the US is able to disallow dual citizens (people who are full US citizens) access to banking services, even if they wouldn’t want them to access these services. It seems somewhat hypocritical to expect more from banks located in foreign nations, though I guess they can boss these banks around without worrying about the constitutionality of the whole thing.
It seems that there is also an element of sloppy reporting in all of this. It was not initially reported that not all dual citizens were not having their US funds accounts shut down. The implication was that it was affecting everyone, something that is clearly not the case (as I haven’t had mine shut down). In stories that came out today it was reported that individuals would be able to have these accounts if they could demonstrate that they resided in Canada (a potentially temporary and possibly meaningless measure).
A Few Quick Notes 52
-The temperatures did drop to about -24 this morning, possibly the coldest temperatures that I have ever lived through. In a while I will be heading out into the cold.
-Last night I cooked a huge meal for Val and myself. I made some black beans, potatoes, vegetables, and a picnic roast. It was all pretty tasty and left me with plenty of leftovers. We then went to Thomson House for a short while and had a very enjoyable evening.
-I should get back to some readings that I have to do for class this afternoon.
-In the next few days I will try to add some of my books without ISBNs to Library Thing, though this may not be of that much interest to much of you.
-Last night I cooked a huge meal for Val and myself. I made some black beans, potatoes, vegetables, and a picnic roast. It was all pretty tasty and left me with plenty of leftovers. We then went to Thomson House for a short while and had a very enjoyable evening.
-I should get back to some readings that I have to do for class this afternoon.
-In the next few days I will try to add some of my books without ISBNs to Library Thing, though this may not be of that much interest to much of you.
Comments on Blog functionality
While many of the new features provided by Blogger make the upkeep and arrangement of a blog much easier it would be nice if a few complementary elements were also added.
I guess in particular I am thinking about the ability to add cross references (x-refs) in the label section, though this may just be a library student bias.
X-refs allow two things, referral to additional, possibly relevant, information or to the location where the location where the desired information is actually stored. The first type of x-ref is call a ‘see also’ reference while the second type is called a ‘see’ reference. In the days of the card catalogue these were quite common, and in some ways are still quite common in the world of indexes.
A ‘see also’ reference would be good when related information would be filed under two or more distinct terms. One example might be that a items relating to George Bush would be filed headings related to his position as President, as well as his position as Governor, and as a private citizen.
A ‘see’ reference might indicate that instead of information being filed under ‘Dubya’ it is instead filed under ‘Bush, George W.’ In other words, it directs the user to the authorized form of the heading.
With our current level of programming skill these references can typically be made available to the use in a very easy fashion. ‘See also’ references might be made available as a note with the label, while a ‘see’ reference might even be done automatically.
Some form of controlled vocabulary, or list of available labels, might be nice. Unfortunately, given the circumstances of the blogging world I don’t think that this is yet possible, though Neil and I could work on one for ourselves, though this would be aided by the ability to use the x-refs that I mentioned above.
I guess in particular I am thinking about the ability to add cross references (x-refs) in the label section, though this may just be a library student bias.
X-refs allow two things, referral to additional, possibly relevant, information or to the location where the location where the desired information is actually stored. The first type of x-ref is call a ‘see also’ reference while the second type is called a ‘see’ reference. In the days of the card catalogue these were quite common, and in some ways are still quite common in the world of indexes.
A ‘see also’ reference would be good when related information would be filed under two or more distinct terms. One example might be that a items relating to George Bush would be filed headings related to his position as President, as well as his position as Governor, and as a private citizen.
A ‘see’ reference might indicate that instead of information being filed under ‘Dubya’ it is instead filed under ‘Bush, George W.’ In other words, it directs the user to the authorized form of the heading.
With our current level of programming skill these references can typically be made available to the use in a very easy fashion. ‘See also’ references might be made available as a note with the label, while a ‘see’ reference might even be done automatically.
Some form of controlled vocabulary, or list of available labels, might be nice. Unfortunately, given the circumstances of the blogging world I don’t think that this is yet possible, though Neil and I could work on one for ourselves, though this would be aided by the ability to use the x-refs that I mentioned above.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
More tinkering
As some of you may have noticed, I have also tinkered with the blog a little today.
I have been able to restore the Library Things widget, giving all our readers a view into my personal book collection (I am hoping to get some of my pre-ISBN books up soon).
A new addition is a listing of all of our labels (or as I would call them 'identifiers'). If you want to follow a particular topic that we have continued to cover, presuming that you don't want to go too far back, this should now be easier. Hopefully within the next few weeks will will be able to index all of our posts (keep in mind we have school and are fundamentally lazy).
Please pass along any comments about the changes (particularly relating to funcationality) or any suggestions that you might have about ways that Montifax could be improved.
I have been able to restore the Library Things widget, giving all our readers a view into my personal book collection (I am hoping to get some of my pre-ISBN books up soon).
A new addition is a listing of all of our labels (or as I would call them 'identifiers'). If you want to follow a particular topic that we have continued to cover, presuming that you don't want to go too far back, this should now be easier. Hopefully within the next few weeks will will be able to index all of our posts (keep in mind we have school and are fundamentally lazy).
Please pass along any comments about the changes (particularly relating to funcationality) or any suggestions that you might have about ways that Montifax could be improved.
New template/layout
Blogger wanted us to upgrade from having a template for our blog to having a layout. I have now done just this. As a result we've lost the FeedBurner and the LibraryThing. Since Cameron added these at the beginning I'll let him re-add them now. You might also notice the blog fits your browser window now and that you can see the title bar, these are both things that didn't happen to me before (it could be browser based too, especially with the title bar). Personally, I like the new layout better.
A Few Quick Notes 51
-We finally got a real snowfall, according to CBC it was in the range of 20 cm. On top of this the temperature has remained below -10 and is supposed to stay there for at least today and tomorrow. Actually, tomorrow it is supposed to go even lower, though not quite as low as was predicted a few days ago.
-The snowfall meant that while I was at work last night I had to do a few shoveling checks. By the time I was at work the main problem was not new accumulation but rather blowing and drifting. Fortunately, much shoveling had been done during the day so that my rounds were really just clean up jobs.
-Today is laundry day. Since I returned from my trip home I have had more clothing and been able to allow myself to go a longer period of time between washes. In the long run this isn’t really a great situation. My ideal is to have about 7 or 8 days of clothes and then wash what I am not wearing on the last day. Right now I have much more than this and have been able to go a good number of days without doing any laundry.
The big problem with this practice is the storage of dirty clothes. My apartment is so small, and made smaller by having my bike inside, that I don’t really have the extra room that this habit is taking.
-The free book box is back.
Already this year I have been able to pick up a half dozen or so books.
-There should be another YouTube clip coming in the near future. This one was taken yesterday during the midst of the snowfall. As I was filming the snow falling a woman in front of me, and in the frame, wiped out on some snow covered ice. I felt a bit awkward but as far enough away that I couldn’t have been of any real help even if I hadn’t been filming it (as you will see in the video).
-Aside from the previously mentioned shoveling, my night at work was pretty dead. The snow seems to have driven all of the customers away. For the last hour or so of the evening we didn’t have a single customer. Hopefully it will be a bit busier in the coming weeks.
-The snowfall meant that while I was at work last night I had to do a few shoveling checks. By the time I was at work the main problem was not new accumulation but rather blowing and drifting. Fortunately, much shoveling had been done during the day so that my rounds were really just clean up jobs.
-Today is laundry day. Since I returned from my trip home I have had more clothing and been able to allow myself to go a longer period of time between washes. In the long run this isn’t really a great situation. My ideal is to have about 7 or 8 days of clothes and then wash what I am not wearing on the last day. Right now I have much more than this and have been able to go a good number of days without doing any laundry.
The big problem with this practice is the storage of dirty clothes. My apartment is so small, and made smaller by having my bike inside, that I don’t really have the extra room that this habit is taking.
-The free book box is back.
Already this year I have been able to pick up a half dozen or so books.
-There should be another YouTube clip coming in the near future. This one was taken yesterday during the midst of the snowfall. As I was filming the snow falling a woman in front of me, and in the frame, wiped out on some snow covered ice. I felt a bit awkward but as far enough away that I couldn’t have been of any real help even if I hadn’t been filming it (as you will see in the video).
-Aside from the previously mentioned shoveling, my night at work was pretty dead. The snow seems to have driven all of the customers away. For the last hour or so of the evening we didn’t have a single customer. Hopefully it will be a bit busier in the coming weeks.
Winter is here
Yesterday evening, according to Environment Canada we had a "winter storm". I believe a winter storm is a blizzard like occurence with ice pellets. There was enough snow to completely cover grass and it looks to be cold enough today so we won't lose it. Also, we have a freezing rain warning today. What seems very odd to me, is that in Halifax in the winter to seems to very consistently get warm overnight and cool during the day. Yesterday evening the temperature was about -7. This morning the temperature has risen to 0. The forecast predicts the temperature will fall to -6 by afternoon. The temperate is predicted to fall more in the evening, down to -18. I hope it warms up tomorrow night.
Unfortunately, Dalhousie is open this morning. It would seem that Dalhousie sends out an email outlining their closure policies if a storm is predicted that might close the University. This really has the potential to get my hopes up if it keeps happening.
Unfortunately, Dalhousie is open this morning. It would seem that Dalhousie sends out an email outlining their closure policies if a storm is predicted that might close the University. This really has the potential to get my hopes up if it keeps happening.
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