-Today was a remarkably warm day. At one point I heard that the temperature was being reported as 29, though I find that hard to believe. Also remarkable was that the sun quickly gave way to showers which then gave way to gray skies. I guess that having only one or two rainfalls in a month is not actually all that good. Presumably there will be more rain in the coming days
-With the addition of traditional spring loaded traps to the arsenal we have managed to catch our third mouse. This mouse, caught after only one night with the new equipment, was a fair bit larger than the second mouse. Though this may be the last mouse, we have replaced the used trap and will continue to keep monitoring the trap lines until we go some number of weeks without a confirmed sighting or other evidence of mouse related activity.
-After a several week absence I am back at work on a controlled vocabulary side-project that I have been working on for the past several months. The original goal was to create a vocabulary of 2000 terms, something that seemed easy at the time. It still seemed easy after an early flurry of activity. Unfortunately, after about 1300 terms it no longer seems as easy. To be fair, with a little bit of effort and organization it shouldn't be all that hard to flesh things out and add a few thousand more terms without really stretching myself too much. Adding fewer than 20 new terms a day is just laziness on my part (something which I have plenty of).
-On Wednesday I have to hand in a project, most of which was done some number of days ago. The part of the project that was holding me up was the one page write up. For hours I stared at a computer screen, edited and re-edited, and wrote and re-wrote. Finally I have something that covers most of what I want to say, but still manages to be less than perfect. I guess I am out of practice when it comes to writing papers.
-After almost a month I finally unpacked my final two boxes this evening. Sadly, the motivation was create a space for my hand-truck, which I was tired of seeing in the front entrance. At the moment, my new 10 kg bag of flour is resting on the 'bed' of truck, ready for a quick evacuation.c
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 117
-Today was another beautiful day in Montreal. It seems that we are having warm weather for a longer period of time than last year. Still, the leaves have started to turn and in some cases fall. There is one section of sidewalk not far from where I live that is covered in leaves.
-As of several days ago I started to put things on my walls. As has been the case for most of my life, I have typically chosen maps as wall coverings. The same trend has continued in this new apartment. As of right now I have two maps of Montreal, one a street map and one a public transit map, a map of Canada, a map of the US, a map of the world, and a map of the Island of Newfoundland.
-Collins was in town for a few days this past weekend. On Saturday night a few of us played Settlers and were amazed at how hot/due some numbers were. Unfortunately, my game didn’t come together and I was slaughtered in both games.
-While working a special function yesterday I was able to bartend of the first time. I was asked to hop on the bar once the line started to go outside. Because it was a drink ticket based event things were relatively straightforward and I didn’t have to make any fancy mixed drinks.
-It seems that my pocket dictionary has a list of two letter words in the back. Though they don’t come out and say it directly, I am pretty sure that they are meant for Scrabble players. The only problem, as noted by Nithum, is that not all of the two letter words they list are in the official Scrabble dictionary. On the other hand, if you can define a word and know its origin one might be less likely to challenge you (if you play that way).
-It has been a week and I am still somewhat under the weather. It seems that I am not as ill as I was about a week and a half ago, which is quite nice. Hopefully I will be back to normal health for the first time in months shortly.
-The Globe and Mail offers a drastically reduced subscription offer to current students. If you are interested in the paper this is definitely the way to subscribe (that is if you are a student). It seems that the discount is approaching 50% off of the advertised regular subscription rate.
-As of several days ago I started to put things on my walls. As has been the case for most of my life, I have typically chosen maps as wall coverings. The same trend has continued in this new apartment. As of right now I have two maps of Montreal, one a street map and one a public transit map, a map of Canada, a map of the US, a map of the world, and a map of the Island of Newfoundland.
-Collins was in town for a few days this past weekend. On Saturday night a few of us played Settlers and were amazed at how hot/due some numbers were. Unfortunately, my game didn’t come together and I was slaughtered in both games.
-While working a special function yesterday I was able to bartend of the first time. I was asked to hop on the bar once the line started to go outside. Because it was a drink ticket based event things were relatively straightforward and I didn’t have to make any fancy mixed drinks.
-It seems that my pocket dictionary has a list of two letter words in the back. Though they don’t come out and say it directly, I am pretty sure that they are meant for Scrabble players. The only problem, as noted by Nithum, is that not all of the two letter words they list are in the official Scrabble dictionary. On the other hand, if you can define a word and know its origin one might be less likely to challenge you (if you play that way).
-It has been a week and I am still somewhat under the weather. It seems that I am not as ill as I was about a week and a half ago, which is quite nice. Hopefully I will be back to normal health for the first time in months shortly.
-The Globe and Mail offers a drastically reduced subscription offer to current students. If you are interested in the paper this is definitely the way to subscribe (that is if you are a student). It seems that the discount is approaching 50% off of the advertised regular subscription rate.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 116
-Aside from a brief period of showers today was a pretty nice day. One possible flaw might be that even though the sun has set the temperature has not really dropped all that much. This trend is somewhat problematic when it comes to sleeping, or attempting to sleep.
-For the past two nights I have worked until close. While neither of the nights was problematic it certainly was tiresome. These long shifts were not made any easier by the fact that I have been suffering from a cold for the past number of days. Hopefully my Sunday afternoon shift will involve fewer keg changes than the last two.
Actually, that is the other thing that has been impressive my last two shifts. I am not sure if I have ever changed as many kegs. At one point on Thursday four went almost simultaneously. On top of that two sets of lines were not working properly and required continued attention.
-The mouse problem seems to be expanding, or at the very least continuing. While in bed after work on Thursday movement caught my eye. It turned out that one of the mice was on my bedroom floor near my closet. Shortly after its movement caught my eye it ran back into the closet.
Though I didn’t really want to do much about the mouse at 3:30 AM it seemed a pretty opportune moment, mainly as I knew exactly where the mouse was. Within a few moments I had re-arranged the contents of the closet to form a barrier, inside of which I hoped to trap the mouse. Though once the barrier was constructed I could not find the mouse. I quickly realized that the only place it could be hiding was the poison box in the closet.
With a curtain rod I tapped the box to limited effect. Confident that the mouse had to be inside I tapped again, this time more vigorously. After the second round of tapping I managed to get the mouse to leave the box and enter the open space of the enclosure. The mouse went from the box to the bedroom door, which it then managed to scurry under, meaning that to continue my hunt I would have to rummage around Nithum’s bedroom with him asleep at 3:30 in the morning. At that point I decided that the hunt was up for the night, I had failed.
Since then all that has happened on the mouse front is that I have been unable to get the motivation to go to the store and buy some wire traps for the creation of my trap line. Maybe I will get around to this on Monday (as the store where I was planning on making my purchase is closed on Sundays).
-While at Lobos yesterday I bought a few hard peaches as well as a pair of hard plums. As far as I am aware, these, aside from lemons, are my first fruit purchases of the academic year.
Actually, that is not the case. I just realized that I have purchased (during a sale) several bags of frozen raspberries.
-While listening to Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap tonight I was again reminded of a question that has been bothering me for some time. The question is whether or not Canadian Content rules apply to Mr. Bachman, and if not why? It seems that other shows could not play almost exclusively foreign music, particularly American music, and get away with it. Does his playlist mean that the rest of CBC Radio One’s content has to balance his high level of foreign content?
-For the first time today I saw an entire football game in person. The infamous McGill Redmen played the Acadia Axemen. In the final minute of play McGill managed to score to take the lead and then allow Acadia to score a field goal for the win.
The final score of 45-44 is somewhat indicative of the quality of defense. It seemed that both teams were more interested in offense.
Something else that was striking was the size of the players. Some of them were tiny and none of them were huge. I feel that if I stood next to the McGill football team I wouldn’t look particularly less athletic than most of the members of the team (though this may be a slight exaggeration).
-For the past two nights I have worked until close. While neither of the nights was problematic it certainly was tiresome. These long shifts were not made any easier by the fact that I have been suffering from a cold for the past number of days. Hopefully my Sunday afternoon shift will involve fewer keg changes than the last two.
Actually, that is the other thing that has been impressive my last two shifts. I am not sure if I have ever changed as many kegs. At one point on Thursday four went almost simultaneously. On top of that two sets of lines were not working properly and required continued attention.
-The mouse problem seems to be expanding, or at the very least continuing. While in bed after work on Thursday movement caught my eye. It turned out that one of the mice was on my bedroom floor near my closet. Shortly after its movement caught my eye it ran back into the closet.
Though I didn’t really want to do much about the mouse at 3:30 AM it seemed a pretty opportune moment, mainly as I knew exactly where the mouse was. Within a few moments I had re-arranged the contents of the closet to form a barrier, inside of which I hoped to trap the mouse. Though once the barrier was constructed I could not find the mouse. I quickly realized that the only place it could be hiding was the poison box in the closet.
With a curtain rod I tapped the box to limited effect. Confident that the mouse had to be inside I tapped again, this time more vigorously. After the second round of tapping I managed to get the mouse to leave the box and enter the open space of the enclosure. The mouse went from the box to the bedroom door, which it then managed to scurry under, meaning that to continue my hunt I would have to rummage around Nithum’s bedroom with him asleep at 3:30 in the morning. At that point I decided that the hunt was up for the night, I had failed.
Since then all that has happened on the mouse front is that I have been unable to get the motivation to go to the store and buy some wire traps for the creation of my trap line. Maybe I will get around to this on Monday (as the store where I was planning on making my purchase is closed on Sundays).
-While at Lobos yesterday I bought a few hard peaches as well as a pair of hard plums. As far as I am aware, these, aside from lemons, are my first fruit purchases of the academic year.
Actually, that is not the case. I just realized that I have purchased (during a sale) several bags of frozen raspberries.
-While listening to Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap tonight I was again reminded of a question that has been bothering me for some time. The question is whether or not Canadian Content rules apply to Mr. Bachman, and if not why? It seems that other shows could not play almost exclusively foreign music, particularly American music, and get away with it. Does his playlist mean that the rest of CBC Radio One’s content has to balance his high level of foreign content?
-For the first time today I saw an entire football game in person. The infamous McGill Redmen played the Acadia Axemen. In the final minute of play McGill managed to score to take the lead and then allow Acadia to score a field goal for the win.
The final score of 45-44 is somewhat indicative of the quality of defense. It seemed that both teams were more interested in offense.
Something else that was striking was the size of the players. Some of them were tiny and none of them were huge. I feel that if I stood next to the McGill football team I wouldn’t look particularly less athletic than most of the members of the team (though this may be a slight exaggeration).
Thursday, September 20, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 115
-Today is another beautiful day in Montreal. For a while I was going to say that it is too warm, but upon further thought I have realized that that is not the case.
-It seems that the Globe must be reading this blog. One of the comments I posted yesterday about not seeing an increase in purchasing power was the subject of their headline story. I guess now that I have their ear I should push the big issues that are close to my heart.
-For lunch today I met up with a few friends from St. John’s. They are currently on their way across the country and back. While in Halifax several days ago they met up with Neil and Rebecca. In total their trip will last about nine months.
-Shortly I will be starting another weekend of work. In addition to my regular Thursday and Friday shifts I am also to be working a function on Sunday.
-On Saturday I am hoping to see my first college football game. The imfamous McGill Redmen will be playing a team from Acadia. As exciting as this may or may not be, I am sure it will be nothing compared to the Big Ten games many members of my family have attended in the past. College football isn’t quite the same up here.
In a strange way this timing is somewhat relevant as just a few days ago I started reading Paper Lion by George Plimption. Though this is by no means a rule or strategy book, it is helping me to understand a little more about the game.
-For the past few days I have been a little under the weather. Hopefully things start to turn around in the very near future. The strange thing is that I don’t seem to be alone. I get the sense that all kinds of people in Montreal have been or are sick.
-It seems that the Globe must be reading this blog. One of the comments I posted yesterday about not seeing an increase in purchasing power was the subject of their headline story. I guess now that I have their ear I should push the big issues that are close to my heart.
-For lunch today I met up with a few friends from St. John’s. They are currently on their way across the country and back. While in Halifax several days ago they met up with Neil and Rebecca. In total their trip will last about nine months.
-Shortly I will be starting another weekend of work. In addition to my regular Thursday and Friday shifts I am also to be working a function on Sunday.
-On Saturday I am hoping to see my first college football game. The imfamous McGill Redmen will be playing a team from Acadia. As exciting as this may or may not be, I am sure it will be nothing compared to the Big Ten games many members of my family have attended in the past. College football isn’t quite the same up here.
In a strange way this timing is somewhat relevant as just a few days ago I started reading Paper Lion by George Plimption. Though this is by no means a rule or strategy book, it is helping me to understand a little more about the game.
-For the past few days I have been a little under the weather. Hopefully things start to turn around in the very near future. The strange thing is that I don’t seem to be alone. I get the sense that all kinds of people in Montreal have been or are sick.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 114
-Today appears to be another beautiful day in Montreal. The only downside seems to be that the expected high will be approaching 26, which is a little warmer than I am interested in experiencing at this time of year.
-It seems that the Canadian dollar is now within 1 cent of the U.S. dollar. What seems striking about this is that none of my increased purchasing power has become apparent. In particular, I still seem to be paying more for books. A book I purchased a few days ago is $5.00 more in Canada than in the U.S. One would think that these differences would be a thing of the past. I guess vendors are taking advantage of our historical willingness to pay more than people in the U.S.
-Our mouse saga seems to be ongoing. While we have caught two, I have seen at least one more. I also worry that I have heard a fourth.
-Today is another day of back-to-back three hour classes. From 1:30-4:30 I have cataloging and then from 5:30-8:30 I have archives. Hopefully I won’t forget to pack a meal to consume between classes.
-It seems that the Canadian dollar is now within 1 cent of the U.S. dollar. What seems striking about this is that none of my increased purchasing power has become apparent. In particular, I still seem to be paying more for books. A book I purchased a few days ago is $5.00 more in Canada than in the U.S. One would think that these differences would be a thing of the past. I guess vendors are taking advantage of our historical willingness to pay more than people in the U.S.
-Our mouse saga seems to be ongoing. While we have caught two, I have seen at least one more. I also worry that I have heard a fourth.
-Today is another day of back-to-back three hour classes. From 1:30-4:30 I have cataloging and then from 5:30-8:30 I have archives. Hopefully I won’t forget to pack a meal to consume between classes.
Friday, September 14, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 113
-While today has been generally overcast it is still quite pleasant. There is a slight breeze and the temperature is warm enough that one does not need a shirt, but not hot enough that breaking into a sweat is not an immediate problem. As long as the grey skies don't turn into rain I will be satisfied.
-While leaving the library today a friend and I saw several stacks of chairs near the free book box. As I have associated this location with free goods my immediate thought was free chairs. As we approached the stacks a sign was located that suggested that the chairs were in fact free and that people were encouraged to take as many as they wanted. Because of weight restrictions I was only able to take three, one less than I would have liked.
The chairs are not the most stylish chairs but their wooden frames seem sturdy, if old, and the red vinyl covering undamaged.
-With one of the new chairs in the living room it seemed the right time to assemble a $10 shelving unit that I purchased last Friday at Canadian Tire. Hopefully we will be able to place such things as plants and games on this shelf in the living room. While we have a few games we will have to get cracking on the plants front.
-Shortly after we moved in to our new apartment I noticed a mouse. That same night of the first sighting there were two other sightings. While we were not able to determine whether it was one mouse in three places or three mice we did go to the building manager to inform them of the problem. After several days an exterminator visited and laid a few traps.
After several days with no activity I was beginning to believe that the mouse or mice may have moved on to greener pastures (namely, the other apartments on our floor). This, it turned out, was not the case. Several nights ago I was awoken by the what I presume was at least one of the mice.
The next day I decided to place near the sight of the disturbance one of the inhumane glue traps left behind by the exterminator. As I did not want to have my pillow fall into the trap I pulled my pad into the centre of the floor. After several hours there was no change in the situation and I presumed that it would be quite similar when I returned from work.
Amazingly, one of the first things that I noticed upon my return from work was that the trap was no longer where I left it. My first thought was that it had been dragged somewhere, maybe my bed, by the mouse. After a relatively thorough examination of the area I determined that this was not the case and that the trap had been removed.
Shortly after waking up this morning Nithum was able to confirm that the trap had been removed. Apparently at about 10:00 or 11:00 last night he heard some noises coming from my room. Upon closer inspection they found the mouse in the trap. He and a friend then released the mouse in a neighbouring parking lot (apparently cooking oil does the trick).
Unfortunately I think that this may not be the end of our problems. While looking at some of the other traps I noticed that some of the poison in the living room was disturbed. Hopefully over the next several days we will learn that that was the only mouse and that we are living in a vermin free environment.
-Last night was another busy night at Thomson House. Hopefully tonight will be the same way. The only problem that I have noticed with working both Thursday and Friday is that I am quite physically exhausted by Saturday. Hopefully within a few weeks I will have managed to build up a level of tolerance that I don't yet have.
-While leaving the library today a friend and I saw several stacks of chairs near the free book box. As I have associated this location with free goods my immediate thought was free chairs. As we approached the stacks a sign was located that suggested that the chairs were in fact free and that people were encouraged to take as many as they wanted. Because of weight restrictions I was only able to take three, one less than I would have liked.
The chairs are not the most stylish chairs but their wooden frames seem sturdy, if old, and the red vinyl covering undamaged.
-With one of the new chairs in the living room it seemed the right time to assemble a $10 shelving unit that I purchased last Friday at Canadian Tire. Hopefully we will be able to place such things as plants and games on this shelf in the living room. While we have a few games we will have to get cracking on the plants front.
-Shortly after we moved in to our new apartment I noticed a mouse. That same night of the first sighting there were two other sightings. While we were not able to determine whether it was one mouse in three places or three mice we did go to the building manager to inform them of the problem. After several days an exterminator visited and laid a few traps.
After several days with no activity I was beginning to believe that the mouse or mice may have moved on to greener pastures (namely, the other apartments on our floor). This, it turned out, was not the case. Several nights ago I was awoken by the what I presume was at least one of the mice.
The next day I decided to place near the sight of the disturbance one of the inhumane glue traps left behind by the exterminator. As I did not want to have my pillow fall into the trap I pulled my pad into the centre of the floor. After several hours there was no change in the situation and I presumed that it would be quite similar when I returned from work.
Amazingly, one of the first things that I noticed upon my return from work was that the trap was no longer where I left it. My first thought was that it had been dragged somewhere, maybe my bed, by the mouse. After a relatively thorough examination of the area I determined that this was not the case and that the trap had been removed.
Shortly after waking up this morning Nithum was able to confirm that the trap had been removed. Apparently at about 10:00 or 11:00 last night he heard some noises coming from my room. Upon closer inspection they found the mouse in the trap. He and a friend then released the mouse in a neighbouring parking lot (apparently cooking oil does the trick).
Unfortunately I think that this may not be the end of our problems. While looking at some of the other traps I noticed that some of the poison in the living room was disturbed. Hopefully over the next several days we will learn that that was the only mouse and that we are living in a vermin free environment.
-Last night was another busy night at Thomson House. Hopefully tonight will be the same way. The only problem that I have noticed with working both Thursday and Friday is that I am quite physically exhausted by Saturday. Hopefully within a few weeks I will have managed to build up a level of tolerance that I don't yet have.
A Few Quick Notes 112
-Today is another pretty nice day in Montreal. Fortunately, things have started to cool down and feel a little more autumnal. For a while I was worried that I would be suffering through several weeks of summer-like conditions. Hopefully the newly overcast sky won’t lead to rain or any other form of precipitation in the near future.
-Several days ago I received my special ballot for the upcoming Newfoundland and Labrador general election. This is striking because the writ has not yet been dropped and candidacies made official. If I had been on the ball it would have been possible for me to vote in late August, many weeks before the campaign officially started.
-The mouse or mice that Nithum and I discovered several days ago does not seem to have gone away as we had hoped. Nor do any of the traps set by the exterminator seem to have worked yet. I know this because at about 5:40 AM I was woken by the sound of something being chewed or nibbled on, seemingly about 12 inches from my head. Upon figuring out exactly what it was that woke me I moved my sleeping pad to the centre of the floor and tried to get back to sleep. Unfortunately, the discovery had startled me enough that returning to sleep was more problematic than I had hoped.
-Tonight will mark the beginning of my second week back at work. Though it is likely that tonight and tomorrow night will be a little quieter than the equivalent days last week, I do hope that things are still pretty busy.
-Though my first class was on Tuesday I am already done for the week. So far they seem pretty good. Most importantly, the assignments seem to be worthwhile, something that, unfortunately, has not always been my experience in library school.
-Several days ago I received my special ballot for the upcoming Newfoundland and Labrador general election. This is striking because the writ has not yet been dropped and candidacies made official. If I had been on the ball it would have been possible for me to vote in late August, many weeks before the campaign officially started.
-The mouse or mice that Nithum and I discovered several days ago does not seem to have gone away as we had hoped. Nor do any of the traps set by the exterminator seem to have worked yet. I know this because at about 5:40 AM I was woken by the sound of something being chewed or nibbled on, seemingly about 12 inches from my head. Upon figuring out exactly what it was that woke me I moved my sleeping pad to the centre of the floor and tried to get back to sleep. Unfortunately, the discovery had startled me enough that returning to sleep was more problematic than I had hoped.
-Tonight will mark the beginning of my second week back at work. Though it is likely that tonight and tomorrow night will be a little quieter than the equivalent days last week, I do hope that things are still pretty busy.
-Though my first class was on Tuesday I am already done for the week. So far they seem pretty good. Most importantly, the assignments seem to be worthwhile, something that, unfortunately, has not always been my experience in library school.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Take a book, Leave a Book Box
Several years ago Nithum and I, while in St. John’s, came across a box in a house that encouraged people to either take or leave a book. Before moving into our apartment last year we thought about establishing a box of our own, though because of space restrictions this did not occur.
Now that we have moved to a significantly larger apartment we finally have the space to establish such a box. The box was seeded with a few discards from the collection that I acquired through frequent visits to the McGill book sale free book box. The problem with the seed books was that most of them weren’t very good, which explains why they were being given away for free in the first place.
Fortunately, today I was able to find a fair number of classics for free. The newly available books are:
-Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
-Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
-Dracula by Bram Stoker
-Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
-Lord of the Flies by William Golding
-The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Now that we have moved to a significantly larger apartment we finally have the space to establish such a box. The box was seeded with a few discards from the collection that I acquired through frequent visits to the McGill book sale free book box. The problem with the seed books was that most of them weren’t very good, which explains why they were being given away for free in the first place.
Fortunately, today I was able to find a fair number of classics for free. The newly available books are:
-Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
-Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
-Dracula by Bram Stoker
-Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
-Lord of the Flies by William Golding
-The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Reconnected to the World
After close to ten days, Nithum and I finally have an internet connection in our apartment. As one may have guessed, this period of time without such a connection was not intentional. Rather, the process of transferring our account from our old apartment to our current place of residence did not go as smoothly as we expected.
We first noticed that there was a problem when our phone did not work when we plugged it into the socket. Without phone service we expected that our DSL connection would not function properly. Fortunately within a day or two phone service was restored, though we were still not able to access the internet.
After several days and many phone calls later Nithum learned that simultaneous to our move there had been an equipment change and that our old modem would no longer work and that a replacement had been sent. Once acquired, the new modem also failed to work as we had been lead to believe it would. We were then informed that our line had to be checked, something that was to be accomplished within 48 hours.
After about 72 hours we learned that our line had just been checked and that the appropriate repairs had been made. Nithum was then told that after sitting for 19 hours the line would be functional. Fortunately, after about only 6 hours of the line sitting unused we seemed to have internet service.
Time after time Nithum was given timelines and told things that, in retrospect, appear to be complete fabrications. By the end of the experience the things he was told just sounded as though they were being made up by call center employees so that they would not have to deal with providing any actual service.
We first noticed that there was a problem when our phone did not work when we plugged it into the socket. Without phone service we expected that our DSL connection would not function properly. Fortunately within a day or two phone service was restored, though we were still not able to access the internet.
After several days and many phone calls later Nithum learned that simultaneous to our move there had been an equipment change and that our old modem would no longer work and that a replacement had been sent. Once acquired, the new modem also failed to work as we had been lead to believe it would. We were then informed that our line had to be checked, something that was to be accomplished within 48 hours.
After about 72 hours we learned that our line had just been checked and that the appropriate repairs had been made. Nithum was then told that after sitting for 19 hours the line would be functional. Fortunately, after about only 6 hours of the line sitting unused we seemed to have internet service.
Time after time Nithum was given timelines and told things that, in retrospect, appear to be complete fabrications. By the end of the experience the things he was told just sounded as though they were being made up by call center employees so that they would not have to deal with providing any actual service.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
On the Move
As of tomorrow morning I will be back in Montreal after more than four months in sunny St. John’s. I have mixed feelings about my return, though this is mainly because shortly after I return I will have to move from my current apartment to a new apartment, though how this move is to happen has not yet been sorted out. Hopefully something will fall into place (my original plan was to buy a hand truck and move things between the two places several boxes at a time).
My return to Montreal not only means a return to class and school work, but also a return to busing and other related activities. Actually just today I received the schedule for my first week back on the job. It is hard to believe that it has been more than four months since I have changed a keg or bused a table.
Aside from a few busing shifts I will actually not have all that much on my schedule for my first few days in Montreal. This should be nice, and will hopefully allow me to see more of Montreal than I would see otherwise, or these several days off may just allow me to catch up on a summer’s worth of missed naps.
My return to Montreal not only means a return to class and school work, but also a return to busing and other related activities. Actually just today I received the schedule for my first week back on the job. It is hard to believe that it has been more than four months since I have changed a keg or bused a table.
Aside from a few busing shifts I will actually not have all that much on my schedule for my first few days in Montreal. This should be nice, and will hopefully allow me to see more of Montreal than I would see otherwise, or these several days off may just allow me to catch up on a summer’s worth of missed naps.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Thesis
That is to say that I'm doneish with my Masters thesis. I handed in my thesis to my readers on Friday. I defend next Friday. Corrections are due the Friday after that.
I've been working very hard for the past three weeks in particular. The last week was light on sleep, but I made up for it by sleeping for about 13 hours Friday night. I haven't slept that well since my NSERC USRA days. I've relaxed yesterday and today, but I'm going to be back hard at work starting tomorrow, when I begin the preparations for my talk.
Presuming I pass, I will immediately start my PhD here at Dal, again under the supervision of Dr. R.J. Nowakowski, which I am very much looking forward to.
I've been working very hard for the past three weeks in particular. The last week was light on sleep, but I made up for it by sleeping for about 13 hours Friday night. I haven't slept that well since my NSERC USRA days. I've relaxed yesterday and today, but I'm going to be back hard at work starting tomorrow, when I begin the preparations for my talk.
Presuming I pass, I will immediately start my PhD here at Dal, again under the supervision of Dr. R.J. Nowakowski, which I am very much looking forward to.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 111
-Another rainy St. John’s day today. What is surprising is how much time it has actually been raining this month. Maybe we will break a record.
-In 1998 or 1999, while I was still in high school, my mother and I made a small batch of dogberry wine. If I recall correctly we ended up with about 4 bottles, one of which was given to a friend for Christmas, two of which were consumed at the time, and the remaining bottle of which was left to age. For some reason that I still can’t quite figure out it became imperative that the bottle be opened a few days ago, or we were going to toss it. As someone who develops attachments to such things I was opposed to opening the bottle and preferred that we keep it in the basement forever. Anyway, the bottle was opened and after an initial sniff test it was determined to be acceptable to serve. Amazingly it seems that aging the wine made a huge difference. What had been an almost undrinkable product 8 or 9 years ago was palatable, though not in the realm of ‘good.’ Most noticeable was the very distinct and crisp bitter dogberry taste. In a few days this batch will be but a memory and it will be time to start on the next batch.
-Earlier this week, while skimming through the Globe and Mail online edition, I came across an article about $15 cups of coffee. After several descriptions of the supposedly abundant flavour of this coffee those of a less experienced coffee drinker were also included. While this woman acknowledged that the coffee was flavourful, it seemed odd to her that for the same price she could have had something she valued more, which in her case was lip-gloss. Aside from being baffled at a $15 cup of coffee, I was amazed that someone could manage to pay $15 for lip-gloss and not feel extremely ripped off. In full-blown student mode, not only could I buy lip-gloss, but also I could likely feed myself for 2 or 3 days on that kind of money. I guess some people value on different things.
-Recently, while looking at an undated report on portable classrooms I came across discussions regarding these structures at schools that I had attended. I was particularly taken aback by the photos of sub-par portable classrooms at I.J. These photos were disturbing not only because of the poor quality, but also because I had no recollection of these facilities (I can't even imagine where they might have been). Based on the evidence in the photos it is likely a good thing that they were gone by the time that I arrived, they seemed to be falling apart.
-While we have been doing relatively well at Rose and Thistle trivia the past number of weeks we haven’t been able to convert any of our success into a coveted $50 bar tab. Three weeks ago we had the infamous transcription error, two weeks ago we were out by a point, and last week we managed to foul up the tie-breaker question.
At Bitters this week we weren’t even close. Not only did we manage to do spectacularly poorly on the Tour de France round, we also managed to mess up several additional categories. Though we finished second last, we were only about 8 points away from the leader.
-In 1998 or 1999, while I was still in high school, my mother and I made a small batch of dogberry wine. If I recall correctly we ended up with about 4 bottles, one of which was given to a friend for Christmas, two of which were consumed at the time, and the remaining bottle of which was left to age. For some reason that I still can’t quite figure out it became imperative that the bottle be opened a few days ago, or we were going to toss it. As someone who develops attachments to such things I was opposed to opening the bottle and preferred that we keep it in the basement forever. Anyway, the bottle was opened and after an initial sniff test it was determined to be acceptable to serve. Amazingly it seems that aging the wine made a huge difference. What had been an almost undrinkable product 8 or 9 years ago was palatable, though not in the realm of ‘good.’ Most noticeable was the very distinct and crisp bitter dogberry taste. In a few days this batch will be but a memory and it will be time to start on the next batch.
-Earlier this week, while skimming through the Globe and Mail online edition, I came across an article about $15 cups of coffee. After several descriptions of the supposedly abundant flavour of this coffee those of a less experienced coffee drinker were also included. While this woman acknowledged that the coffee was flavourful, it seemed odd to her that for the same price she could have had something she valued more, which in her case was lip-gloss. Aside from being baffled at a $15 cup of coffee, I was amazed that someone could manage to pay $15 for lip-gloss and not feel extremely ripped off. In full-blown student mode, not only could I buy lip-gloss, but also I could likely feed myself for 2 or 3 days on that kind of money. I guess some people value on different things.
-Recently, while looking at an undated report on portable classrooms I came across discussions regarding these structures at schools that I had attended. I was particularly taken aback by the photos of sub-par portable classrooms at I.J. These photos were disturbing not only because of the poor quality, but also because I had no recollection of these facilities (I can't even imagine where they might have been). Based on the evidence in the photos it is likely a good thing that they were gone by the time that I arrived, they seemed to be falling apart.
-While we have been doing relatively well at Rose and Thistle trivia the past number of weeks we haven’t been able to convert any of our success into a coveted $50 bar tab. Three weeks ago we had the infamous transcription error, two weeks ago we were out by a point, and last week we managed to foul up the tie-breaker question.
At Bitters this week we weren’t even close. Not only did we manage to do spectacularly poorly on the Tour de France round, we also managed to mess up several additional categories. Though we finished second last, we were only about 8 points away from the leader.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Market Research
Several months ago, while I was still in Montreal, I received an email informing me that I had been specially selected to participate in a Chapters customer research initiative called Voices Advisory Panel. If I agree to participate they, Chapters, would, from time to time, send me brief surveys relating to my book shopping experiences. As I am a sucker for this kind of thing I agreed to participate and filled out my first survey. Now several months and surveys later I have noticed a few problems with this incarnation of market research.
One of the first major problems is the incentive program. I guess the idea is that by offering me a chance to win a $50 gift card I will jump at the chance to answer their surveys. This certainly isn’t what hooked me (as I am only there because I like answering surveys), and I doubt that it hooked that many others. The more I think about it the more insulting it seems. For some untold number of months or years I am supposed to take time out of my day just for the chance to win a $50 gift card? It seems that a scheme that they might consider would be to give all participants a $5 credit on their account, making it likely that they will spend the free $5 along with a few more supplied by the participant. As a participant, not only would I think I was getting a good deal I would also likely buy more. On top of this, I think that such a scheme has the ability to create devoted customers as well as make money.
So once one gets past the less than inviting incentive scheme and onto the meat of the exercise they are confronted by a series of poor questions and a badly designed series of surveys. One of the main problems with the questions seems to be the biases held by the writers. Frequently it is assumed that we as participants view the services offered by the store in the same light as management. On the survey on bargain books they did not offer me a place to show my disdain for coffee table books about WWII shipwrecks, or for that matter most coffee table books available in most bargain book sections. If they don’t know that the prevalence of coffee table books is driving me away from the bargain book section and they don’t offer me a place to provide them with this information then their questions relating to signage will be somewhat of a waste, especially if they don’t make a corresponding change to the distasteful content. Assuming that their sales problem relates to signage, or marketing, rather than available materials is a great oversight. If all you have to sell are coffee table books then the size of the font on a sign is not going to make a difference when it comes to my purchasing habits.
The problem of poorly conceived and poorly written questions is compounded by the decision that they have made to not allow one to skip a question. In many cases each survey I find that I am being forced to provide an answer that does not truly, or even come close to, representing how I actually feel about the situation. Depending on the number of respondents who feel this way they may have a problem on their hand. It is quite likely that all of this is for naught. They could be collecting survey after survey of completely worthless data and then making marketing decisions based on their pre-conceived and biased notions of what it is their customers want and respond to.
Though to give the authors of the surveys credit, in many instances respondents are given the opportunity to provide opinions in prose. Unfortunately, those analyzing the data then have to deal with individuals like me who take the opportunity to vent their frustration about the absurdity of the survey instead of instead of dealing with the desired question. An additional problem with this type of question that I know I create is that I tend to provide answers that may use a broader interpretation of the question or expect a greater degree of change than they might be willing to make.
At the end of the day the real question might be why I am complaining so vigorously about something I have continued to do voluntarily for some number of months. I guess I might feel this way because I am not fundamentally opposed to market research that has the goal of providing customers with a more desirable set of commercial offerings (even if the fundamental goal of the company is to make money). If this research is conducted successfully and the results properly analyzed and effective policies are implemented then, hopefully, the range of products and services available will more closely suit my needs than range of products and services that was available before this research. In this particular case I find it frustrating to see what could be thousands of people, myself included, spending time on a project that will eventually see likely see no positive results as a result of this tremendous expenditure of time and effort.
One of the first major problems is the incentive program. I guess the idea is that by offering me a chance to win a $50 gift card I will jump at the chance to answer their surveys. This certainly isn’t what hooked me (as I am only there because I like answering surveys), and I doubt that it hooked that many others. The more I think about it the more insulting it seems. For some untold number of months or years I am supposed to take time out of my day just for the chance to win a $50 gift card? It seems that a scheme that they might consider would be to give all participants a $5 credit on their account, making it likely that they will spend the free $5 along with a few more supplied by the participant. As a participant, not only would I think I was getting a good deal I would also likely buy more. On top of this, I think that such a scheme has the ability to create devoted customers as well as make money.
So once one gets past the less than inviting incentive scheme and onto the meat of the exercise they are confronted by a series of poor questions and a badly designed series of surveys. One of the main problems with the questions seems to be the biases held by the writers. Frequently it is assumed that we as participants view the services offered by the store in the same light as management. On the survey on bargain books they did not offer me a place to show my disdain for coffee table books about WWII shipwrecks, or for that matter most coffee table books available in most bargain book sections. If they don’t know that the prevalence of coffee table books is driving me away from the bargain book section and they don’t offer me a place to provide them with this information then their questions relating to signage will be somewhat of a waste, especially if they don’t make a corresponding change to the distasteful content. Assuming that their sales problem relates to signage, or marketing, rather than available materials is a great oversight. If all you have to sell are coffee table books then the size of the font on a sign is not going to make a difference when it comes to my purchasing habits.
The problem of poorly conceived and poorly written questions is compounded by the decision that they have made to not allow one to skip a question. In many cases each survey I find that I am being forced to provide an answer that does not truly, or even come close to, representing how I actually feel about the situation. Depending on the number of respondents who feel this way they may have a problem on their hand. It is quite likely that all of this is for naught. They could be collecting survey after survey of completely worthless data and then making marketing decisions based on their pre-conceived and biased notions of what it is their customers want and respond to.
Though to give the authors of the surveys credit, in many instances respondents are given the opportunity to provide opinions in prose. Unfortunately, those analyzing the data then have to deal with individuals like me who take the opportunity to vent their frustration about the absurdity of the survey instead of instead of dealing with the desired question. An additional problem with this type of question that I know I create is that I tend to provide answers that may use a broader interpretation of the question or expect a greater degree of change than they might be willing to make.
At the end of the day the real question might be why I am complaining so vigorously about something I have continued to do voluntarily for some number of months. I guess I might feel this way because I am not fundamentally opposed to market research that has the goal of providing customers with a more desirable set of commercial offerings (even if the fundamental goal of the company is to make money). If this research is conducted successfully and the results properly analyzed and effective policies are implemented then, hopefully, the range of products and services available will more closely suit my needs than range of products and services that was available before this research. In this particular case I find it frustrating to see what could be thousands of people, myself included, spending time on a project that will eventually see likely see no positive results as a result of this tremendous expenditure of time and effort.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 110
-Today is another nice summer day in St. John’s. While not hot, the temperature is by no means cold, though I can imagine that some might say that it is cool. Actually, while on my early morning bagel run with my sister, she claimed it was cool enough to need a jacket. Not surprisingly, at least from my perspective, she soon found that it was actually warm enough and removed the jacket.
-As some of you might have been able to deduce from comments written above, Georgetown Bakery has re-opened after their summer hiatus. Not surprisingly, it was pretty busy, many people obviously wanted their fix after going two and a half week without Georgetown products.
-On the subject of stores, several weeks ago I learned that the NLC store on Water Street will be closing in the near future, though I don’t know an exact date. Prior to learning that it was closing I learned, by reading NLC’s annual report, that, comparatively, it did not make that much money. For the year reported, the small store in Churchill Square and the Water Street stores had similar revenues.
This closure may cause some of you to worry that your access to high-end wines will be disappearing, but this is not the case. It seems that controversial new store, built on what was once a field, even now has a better selection of high-end wines than the Water Street store.
-On Tuesday, as is my practice, I went to the Rose and Thistle for their weekly trivia night. As the evening was to get underway promptly at 9:00 PM I arrived a little earlier than usual so that I would be sure to have a good table. Not surprisingly there wasn’t a big rush and upon my entry I became one of only two patrons in the bar. This wasn’t so bad as I had a free copy of the Town Cryer (sp?) with which I was able to distract myself.
With plenty of time to spare Peter showed up and we patiently waited for things to get underway. As we should have expected, this didn’t really happen at the pace that we had been lead to believe it would last week. As usual things got underway ten or fifteen minutes after 9:00 PM.
As the first fifteen questions were being asked there was a definite sense among the participants that they were on the easy side of things. Even if this is the case, my experience is that the second half is typically more difficult than the first half.
Anyway, as we proceeded to the second half we were feeling pretty good about the early round, and pretty good about the questions in the second round, though were definitely a few that we did not get. Unfortunately, the host did not open up a question about the boroughs of New York that would have allowed me to earn us an extra point. Anyway, thing were still ok. Fortunately this week, unlike last week, there were no instances of last minute changes or disagreements that lead to the correct answer being exchanged for the wrong answer. Shortly after the final question we handed the host a copy of our answer sheet (so that he can confirm the score we have given ourselves).
As the correcting started out positive feeling continued, it seemed that we had a few that several other teams had missed, though we also missed a few. By the time the grading had stopped we appeared to have 24 out of a possible 30.5. As the host counted down from 30.5 our hopes of winning grew, particularly as he a steadily approached out number without anyone else announcing a higher score. Suddenly he reached 24 and we alerted him of our having attained that score.
It seemed that another team also was trying to indicate that they too had a similar score. Actually, as it turned out, they were thought that they had 24.5. After the host checked their answers it became clear that they actually had only 24. The host then went on to check our score. Within a few minutes he came over to our table and indicated that he only was able to count 23 on our sheet. We then started to go through the questions one by one, that was until we reached the question about what “SWAT” stood for. It seemed that on the answer sheet that we had given him we had actually written “special tactics and tactics” instead of “special weapons and tactics” as we had written on our copy of the answer sheet. The biggest burn was that we had actually written the correct answer on the back of the sheet that we had handed him. I guess we will just have to be more careful next time.
-Several months ago, May 1 to be exact, I placed an ILL request at the A.C. Hunter library. Since the placing of the request over three months ago I have heard nothing from the library. By this point I would think that they might say that they will not be able to procure the book or give me some kind of time frame, or even just let me know that they haven’t forgotten about the book. I guess I should go back and let them know if they don’t have it shortly then it will be to late, I will have left the province. I just didn’t imagine that it would take more than 3 months (particularly when there is a free version of WorldCat with which they could have located a copy book in about 1 minute).
-Last night I played a game called ‘kubb.’ Apparently this game’s history can be traced back to the Vikings a thousand years ago. The basic premise of the game is that teams are trying to knock down the opposing team’s blocks before their own are knocked down. As one might guess, with a thousand years under its belt many variations have been developed, each of which adds a particular element to the game. If you are curious, it was pretty fun as well as simple. It should also be noted that this is definitely an outdoor game (though as a child I definitely would have been tempted to play a modified version in the living room).
-After reading a biographical timeline outlining the major events in Benazir Bhutto’s life in today’s Globe and Mail I examined their short list of sources. Along side such sources as the Encyclopaedia Britannica and H.W. Wilson were Wikipedia and Famousmuslims.com. While I don’t know exactly how these sources were used, I certainly hope that any information from any of these less than completely credible sources was confirmed in more credible sources. I really would not have expected the Globe, or any self-respecting newspaper, to turn to Wikipedia on such a subject, particularly when certain parties might be interested in presenting her in a certain light. While I don’t know that this is happening, I would still think it too risky to use Wikipedia because of the ease with which such tampering could occur.
-As some of you might have been able to deduce from comments written above, Georgetown Bakery has re-opened after their summer hiatus. Not surprisingly, it was pretty busy, many people obviously wanted their fix after going two and a half week without Georgetown products.
-On the subject of stores, several weeks ago I learned that the NLC store on Water Street will be closing in the near future, though I don’t know an exact date. Prior to learning that it was closing I learned, by reading NLC’s annual report, that, comparatively, it did not make that much money. For the year reported, the small store in Churchill Square and the Water Street stores had similar revenues.
This closure may cause some of you to worry that your access to high-end wines will be disappearing, but this is not the case. It seems that controversial new store, built on what was once a field, even now has a better selection of high-end wines than the Water Street store.
-On Tuesday, as is my practice, I went to the Rose and Thistle for their weekly trivia night. As the evening was to get underway promptly at 9:00 PM I arrived a little earlier than usual so that I would be sure to have a good table. Not surprisingly there wasn’t a big rush and upon my entry I became one of only two patrons in the bar. This wasn’t so bad as I had a free copy of the Town Cryer (sp?) with which I was able to distract myself.
With plenty of time to spare Peter showed up and we patiently waited for things to get underway. As we should have expected, this didn’t really happen at the pace that we had been lead to believe it would last week. As usual things got underway ten or fifteen minutes after 9:00 PM.
As the first fifteen questions were being asked there was a definite sense among the participants that they were on the easy side of things. Even if this is the case, my experience is that the second half is typically more difficult than the first half.
Anyway, as we proceeded to the second half we were feeling pretty good about the early round, and pretty good about the questions in the second round, though were definitely a few that we did not get. Unfortunately, the host did not open up a question about the boroughs of New York that would have allowed me to earn us an extra point. Anyway, thing were still ok. Fortunately this week, unlike last week, there were no instances of last minute changes or disagreements that lead to the correct answer being exchanged for the wrong answer. Shortly after the final question we handed the host a copy of our answer sheet (so that he can confirm the score we have given ourselves).
As the correcting started out positive feeling continued, it seemed that we had a few that several other teams had missed, though we also missed a few. By the time the grading had stopped we appeared to have 24 out of a possible 30.5. As the host counted down from 30.5 our hopes of winning grew, particularly as he a steadily approached out number without anyone else announcing a higher score. Suddenly he reached 24 and we alerted him of our having attained that score.
It seemed that another team also was trying to indicate that they too had a similar score. Actually, as it turned out, they were thought that they had 24.5. After the host checked their answers it became clear that they actually had only 24. The host then went on to check our score. Within a few minutes he came over to our table and indicated that he only was able to count 23 on our sheet. We then started to go through the questions one by one, that was until we reached the question about what “SWAT” stood for. It seemed that on the answer sheet that we had given him we had actually written “special tactics and tactics” instead of “special weapons and tactics” as we had written on our copy of the answer sheet. The biggest burn was that we had actually written the correct answer on the back of the sheet that we had handed him. I guess we will just have to be more careful next time.
-Several months ago, May 1 to be exact, I placed an ILL request at the A.C. Hunter library. Since the placing of the request over three months ago I have heard nothing from the library. By this point I would think that they might say that they will not be able to procure the book or give me some kind of time frame, or even just let me know that they haven’t forgotten about the book. I guess I should go back and let them know if they don’t have it shortly then it will be to late, I will have left the province. I just didn’t imagine that it would take more than 3 months (particularly when there is a free version of WorldCat with which they could have located a copy book in about 1 minute).
-Last night I played a game called ‘kubb.’ Apparently this game’s history can be traced back to the Vikings a thousand years ago. The basic premise of the game is that teams are trying to knock down the opposing team’s blocks before their own are knocked down. As one might guess, with a thousand years under its belt many variations have been developed, each of which adds a particular element to the game. If you are curious, it was pretty fun as well as simple. It should also be noted that this is definitely an outdoor game (though as a child I definitely would have been tempted to play a modified version in the living room).
-After reading a biographical timeline outlining the major events in Benazir Bhutto’s life in today’s Globe and Mail I examined their short list of sources. Along side such sources as the Encyclopaedia Britannica and H.W. Wilson were Wikipedia and Famousmuslims.com. While I don’t know exactly how these sources were used, I certainly hope that any information from any of these less than completely credible sources was confirmed in more credible sources. I really would not have expected the Globe, or any self-respecting newspaper, to turn to Wikipedia on such a subject, particularly when certain parties might be interested in presenting her in a certain light. While I don’t know that this is happening, I would still think it too risky to use Wikipedia because of the ease with which such tampering could occur.
Monday, July 30, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 109
-Though today was supposed to be rainy and overcast this was not the case. Just like the preceeding two days, Monday turned out to be a pretty clear and pleasant day. Arguably, the only problem with any of the past three days has been heat. On Sunday we even managed to make it all the way to 30 C (86 F). Fortunately, the humidity has been relatively low, making the temperatures much more tolerable than they would have otherwise been.
-A few days ago, while poking around the PEI government website I came across a body that I had never heard of before, the Anne Authority. This is the body that officially licenses Anne of Green Gables products. A list of companies so licensed can be found here. I guess when one character is such a substantial part of the economy it pays to kept track of the products that represent that image. Another question that may soon arise is what happens when Anne enters the public domain or if that is even possible?
-These past few weeks have been pretty disappointing when it comes to trivia results. Consistent with our current Rose and Thistle slump, we finished several points away from first. Pop culture keeps killing us. Though on the plus side, one of our wrong answers did cause me to learn that Casanova became a librarian in his retirement.
Unfortunately, my old trivia stand-by, Bitters, has also been less successful in these past few weeks. Again I would say that my scores are being impacted negatively because I don't watch TV, many movies, or listen to popular music.
-On a related topic, in a week from tomorrow Rose and Thistle Trivia will be adding a fancy/crazy tee-shirt component to the mix (for one week only). As I know that the host is a touch anti-American I was thinking that decking the team out in US army shirts might do the trick, but I am not sure. Another idea was that we buy a few white tee-shirts and then cover them with some of the host's favourite topics, particularly collective nouns and animal habitats, though maybe this would be a bit to much. Any ideas would be appreciated because I think just tossing on a few Hawaiian shirts won't be enough for the win.
-On Friday the Gorch Fock came into port. Since her arrival I have been informed by two independent sources that this German naval training vessel is a very famous ship in Germany. While many people were taking photos of the ship (as I was also) it seemed that many of the photos didn't really capture the entire ship. It seemed that to accomplish one would have to be a bit higher. Fortunately the ship was docked right across from the parking garage. Upon ascending to the top level I learned that not only was I the only one there, but also that I had a pretty good view of the ship and the harbour as a whole.
-For some reason I have not been posting very much. In many ways this is hard to explain because it is not as though I have been occupying my time with important time-consuming activities. It actually seems as though I have been accomplishing less in these past few days, particularly as I have been reading less than usual. More striking is that I actually managed to post today, particularly considering that I have spent several hours on work related matters already this evening. Maybe that is the trick on both fronts, work at home in the peace and quiet of an isolated room without the common distractions of an office environment.
-A few days ago, while poking around the PEI government website I came across a body that I had never heard of before, the Anne Authority. This is the body that officially licenses Anne of Green Gables products. A list of companies so licensed can be found here. I guess when one character is such a substantial part of the economy it pays to kept track of the products that represent that image. Another question that may soon arise is what happens when Anne enters the public domain or if that is even possible?
-These past few weeks have been pretty disappointing when it comes to trivia results. Consistent with our current Rose and Thistle slump, we finished several points away from first. Pop culture keeps killing us. Though on the plus side, one of our wrong answers did cause me to learn that Casanova became a librarian in his retirement.
Unfortunately, my old trivia stand-by, Bitters, has also been less successful in these past few weeks. Again I would say that my scores are being impacted negatively because I don't watch TV, many movies, or listen to popular music.
-On a related topic, in a week from tomorrow Rose and Thistle Trivia will be adding a fancy/crazy tee-shirt component to the mix (for one week only). As I know that the host is a touch anti-American I was thinking that decking the team out in US army shirts might do the trick, but I am not sure. Another idea was that we buy a few white tee-shirts and then cover them with some of the host's favourite topics, particularly collective nouns and animal habitats, though maybe this would be a bit to much. Any ideas would be appreciated because I think just tossing on a few Hawaiian shirts won't be enough for the win.
-On Friday the Gorch Fock came into port. Since her arrival I have been informed by two independent sources that this German naval training vessel is a very famous ship in Germany. While many people were taking photos of the ship (as I was also) it seemed that many of the photos didn't really capture the entire ship. It seemed that to accomplish one would have to be a bit higher. Fortunately the ship was docked right across from the parking garage. Upon ascending to the top level I learned that not only was I the only one there, but also that I had a pretty good view of the ship and the harbour as a whole.
-For some reason I have not been posting very much. In many ways this is hard to explain because it is not as though I have been occupying my time with important time-consuming activities. It actually seems as though I have been accomplishing less in these past few days, particularly as I have been reading less than usual. More striking is that I actually managed to post today, particularly considering that I have spent several hours on work related matters already this evening. Maybe that is the trick on both fronts, work at home in the peace and quiet of an isolated room without the common distractions of an office environment.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 108
[Written on Monday July 23, 2007]
-From yesterday’s rain and wind we have returned to the realm of beautiful weather. Fortunately, today managed to be beautiful without being oppressively hot and humid. High levels of humidity have been particularly problematic these past few days.
-As I was eating breakfast this morning I started to think about what I might want for lunch. Aside from the normal, and somewhat mundane, options, I thought that I might like a piece of the coffee cake that I baked on Sunday. As I was the only one in the kitchen I didn’t have a chance to make these sentiments known to anyone else. I continued along my way and tried my best to keep up with my typical morning routine.
After showering and dressing, I descended to the kitchen to finish my lunch preparations. Almost as soon as I walked in I noticed that my mother, father, and sister were sitting at the dining room table, each with a plate of scrambled eggs and cake in front of them. To add insult to injury, they left half a corner piece in the pan.
- While cataloguing a 1971 report on the population characteristics of unincorporated communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, I was struck by the first sentence of the report. The report opens by stating that it "provides basic detailed information…." While one can read it differently, it seemed a little odd to me that information could be considered basic and detailed at the same time. As I flipped through the report, this veracity of the statement became obvious. None of the information was complex, but certainly was detailed with age and gender breakdowns provided for very particular geographic locations.
-From yesterday’s rain and wind we have returned to the realm of beautiful weather. Fortunately, today managed to be beautiful without being oppressively hot and humid. High levels of humidity have been particularly problematic these past few days.
-As I was eating breakfast this morning I started to think about what I might want for lunch. Aside from the normal, and somewhat mundane, options, I thought that I might like a piece of the coffee cake that I baked on Sunday. As I was the only one in the kitchen I didn’t have a chance to make these sentiments known to anyone else. I continued along my way and tried my best to keep up with my typical morning routine.
After showering and dressing, I descended to the kitchen to finish my lunch preparations. Almost as soon as I walked in I noticed that my mother, father, and sister were sitting at the dining room table, each with a plate of scrambled eggs and cake in front of them. To add insult to injury, they left half a corner piece in the pan.
- While cataloguing a 1971 report on the population characteristics of unincorporated communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, I was struck by the first sentence of the report. The report opens by stating that it "provides basic detailed information…." While one can read it differently, it seemed a little odd to me that information could be considered basic and detailed at the same time. As I flipped through the report, this veracity of the statement became obvious. None of the information was complex, but certainly was detailed with age and gender breakdowns provided for very particular geographic locations.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 107
-Today is another rainy day in Newfoundland (or at least St. John’s). The weather managed to change from just about perfect, or even on the hot side of things, to overcast, humid, rainy all in one night. Hopefully things will have dried up a little by the time I have to walk to work tomorrow morning.
-Though I did not have a particularly good reason to do so, I baked my first coffee cake this morning. After a quick search for the recipe card I was able to find what I was looking for. As all of the ingredients are pretty common I did not have to head over to the store before the baking process started. The only problem I encountered, and this hardly counts as a problem, was that about half way through the process I realized that my mother has been baking double batches of this cake for the past twenty-something years. As I had only added enough ingredients for a single batch my cake turned out to be much smaller than I had originally expected. Aside from the size, the cake turned out quite nicely. So far I have managed to finish off about a third of the cake, though I imagine that I probably will have to switch to a slightly more substantive food in the near future.
-Running out of propane is one of the more frustrating summer experiences. Several times this summer I have gone out to start up the barbeque only to find that it would not ignite. After a few minutes of fiddling around with the tank and nozzles it usually becomes apparent what the problem is. In this case I was a little thrown because some gas escaped, giving me the false sense that an empty tank was not the problem. Anyway, after eliminating all other possibilities and lifting what felt like an empty tank, I was pretty sure that that was it for my desire to barbeque last night.
-For the first time in about a year I was able to break out my Pictionary easels. Five of us engaged in a few exciting and vigorous games. In my opinion, Dougal’s drawing of civilian by first drawing a solider and then crossing it out to indicate a ‘not-solider’ stands as one of the better drawing sessions of the night. As usual, there were also a few correct guesses that occurred so quickly and with such sparse drawings that it is hard to believe that anything could have even been realistically guessed.
-While typing that last section I learned that Word does not recognize the name ‘Dougal.’ While I know that this isn’t the world’s most common name, I certainly would have thought that it merited at least a degree of recognition by the Microsoft empire, particularly when they recognize ‘McDougall.’
-This past week was a relatively unsuccessful trivia week. We managed to do quite poorly at the Rose and Thistle. The large number of pop culture questions really did us in. At Bitters I managed to be only 2.5 points out of second place. Unfortunately, we (at my proding) ended up making a few last minute changes that lost us a few points, though not enough to cost us the victory.
-Though I did not have a particularly good reason to do so, I baked my first coffee cake this morning. After a quick search for the recipe card I was able to find what I was looking for. As all of the ingredients are pretty common I did not have to head over to the store before the baking process started. The only problem I encountered, and this hardly counts as a problem, was that about half way through the process I realized that my mother has been baking double batches of this cake for the past twenty-something years. As I had only added enough ingredients for a single batch my cake turned out to be much smaller than I had originally expected. Aside from the size, the cake turned out quite nicely. So far I have managed to finish off about a third of the cake, though I imagine that I probably will have to switch to a slightly more substantive food in the near future.
-Running out of propane is one of the more frustrating summer experiences. Several times this summer I have gone out to start up the barbeque only to find that it would not ignite. After a few minutes of fiddling around with the tank and nozzles it usually becomes apparent what the problem is. In this case I was a little thrown because some gas escaped, giving me the false sense that an empty tank was not the problem. Anyway, after eliminating all other possibilities and lifting what felt like an empty tank, I was pretty sure that that was it for my desire to barbeque last night.
-For the first time in about a year I was able to break out my Pictionary easels. Five of us engaged in a few exciting and vigorous games. In my opinion, Dougal’s drawing of civilian by first drawing a solider and then crossing it out to indicate a ‘not-solider’ stands as one of the better drawing sessions of the night. As usual, there were also a few correct guesses that occurred so quickly and with such sparse drawings that it is hard to believe that anything could have even been realistically guessed.
-While typing that last section I learned that Word does not recognize the name ‘Dougal.’ While I know that this isn’t the world’s most common name, I certainly would have thought that it merited at least a degree of recognition by the Microsoft empire, particularly when they recognize ‘McDougall.’
-This past week was a relatively unsuccessful trivia week. We managed to do quite poorly at the Rose and Thistle. The large number of pop culture questions really did us in. At Bitters I managed to be only 2.5 points out of second place. Unfortunately, we (at my proding) ended up making a few last minute changes that lost us a few points, though not enough to cost us the victory.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Bad cataloging
On Thursday I was looking for an item, in which form I would find the item I wasn't quite sure. Fortunately, I had what appeared to be a largely complete citation. My first step was to look in our catalogue, which unfortunately yielded no positive results. From there, I went to the uncatalogued section of the library and quickly, with the assistance of a co-worker, located the related series of documents. After a quick skimming of the titles I came to the conclusion that we did not have what I was looking for. It seemed as though my next option would be to find the item in an electronic form, the odds of which seemed pretty good as it was a government document.
In just a few moments I was able to find something that appeared to be the document in an online location, though I was not sure if it was the same version of the document that had been cited, as the citation did not include a description or page number. I was quickly becoming aware that the citation with which I started wasn't as complete as I would have liked, something that is frequently quite an inconvenience and cause for much time wasting.
From the vast open plains of the untamed Internet I turned to the more restricted confines of Amicus, the catalogue of Library and Archives Canada. Again, within just a few moments I was able to find something that resembled the item I was looking for, though my skepticism was rising with each new approach.
Unfortunately, there were major differences between several of the records in the union catalogue (which is what Amicus is) that I was searching. The physical descriptions of the items varied drastically from record to record. In two or three cases the item was supposedly 18 pages long, in others it was 89, and some just indicated that it appeared on pages 72-89 of some other document (without saying which document).
Eventually, once I turned back the to those fruitful unfenced plains that we call the Internet, I was able to find a reference to the original form of the item indicating that it had been a paper published as part of a collection of papers with a collective title. From there I was able to recall seeing the title on the shelf and then use the pages numbers indicated in some of the Amicus records to locate the item.
This experienced has caused me to reaffirm my belief that the use of proper citation formats is critical, if not for the average reader than for the future researcher or librarian (or library worker). Additionally, analytics, or the practice of creating separate catalogue records for discrete intellectual entities found within larger bodies of work, needs to be undertaken with great care because it otherwise runs the risk of making the task of identifying a particular item more difficult. It also seems that certain institutions supplying catalogue records to Amicus need to improve their quality control, otherwise the usefulness of Amicus might become greatly diminished.
On the other hand, without such mistakes I would be able to have the satisfying experience of finding something that was marginally more difficult to find than it should have been. To modify and reverse an opinion jokingly expressed by my cataloging professor, bad cataloging keeps reference librarians employed.
In just a few moments I was able to find something that appeared to be the document in an online location, though I was not sure if it was the same version of the document that had been cited, as the citation did not include a description or page number. I was quickly becoming aware that the citation with which I started wasn't as complete as I would have liked, something that is frequently quite an inconvenience and cause for much time wasting.
From the vast open plains of the untamed Internet I turned to the more restricted confines of Amicus, the catalogue of Library and Archives Canada. Again, within just a few moments I was able to find something that resembled the item I was looking for, though my skepticism was rising with each new approach.
Unfortunately, there were major differences between several of the records in the union catalogue (which is what Amicus is) that I was searching. The physical descriptions of the items varied drastically from record to record. In two or three cases the item was supposedly 18 pages long, in others it was 89, and some just indicated that it appeared on pages 72-89 of some other document (without saying which document).
Eventually, once I turned back the to those fruitful unfenced plains that we call the Internet, I was able to find a reference to the original form of the item indicating that it had been a paper published as part of a collection of papers with a collective title. From there I was able to recall seeing the title on the shelf and then use the pages numbers indicated in some of the Amicus records to locate the item.
This experienced has caused me to reaffirm my belief that the use of proper citation formats is critical, if not for the average reader than for the future researcher or librarian (or library worker). Additionally, analytics, or the practice of creating separate catalogue records for discrete intellectual entities found within larger bodies of work, needs to be undertaken with great care because it otherwise runs the risk of making the task of identifying a particular item more difficult. It also seems that certain institutions supplying catalogue records to Amicus need to improve their quality control, otherwise the usefulness of Amicus might become greatly diminished.
On the other hand, without such mistakes I would be able to have the satisfying experience of finding something that was marginally more difficult to find than it should have been. To modify and reverse an opinion jokingly expressed by my cataloging professor, bad cataloging keeps reference librarians employed.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 106
-Today started off on the cool side of things, as so many days do, and eventually turned out to be quite respectable. The temperature seems to be near 20 with a clear sky and slight breeze, a significant improvement over some of the rain filled days that we have experienced recently.
-This winter and early Spring I took a (mandatory) management course at library school. At the time it seemed as though I wasn't really learning anything all that useful. One main focus was on the uses of different types of analytical and strategic planning tools.
One technique that came up time and time again was “SWOT analysis ” (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). For various projects we had to use this technique, though I am not sure if I every really saw the utility.
Earlier this summer I finally saw a situation in which I thought that I might be able to use this analytical tool. I decided to conduct a SWOT analysis on my life. Unfortunately, at least based on my mis-use of this analytical tool, it seems that my weaknesses and threats outweigh or overpower my strengths and opportunities.
I really worry that some of this may have been tainted by my not having properly identified either my primary problem or desired objective (which would place this analysis in context). Maybe if I become motivated I could try and conduct a full-fledged strategic planning exercise on my life (though we all know I will never be motivated for this to happen).
-Today, the day after my phone was installed, I noticed that the phone was ringing. Actually, as the phone is so new, it took me a while to recognize what was happening when it was ringing, though I eventually did figure out that the mysterious sound was the sound of a ringing phone. As I was somewhat confused I forgot to answer with my typical intro and instead just said "hello."
The person on the other end asked if she had reached motor registration. Obviously I replied that she had not reached her intended number. She then indicated that she had somehow been transferred, seemingly by an automatic transfer system. I really hope this call is not indicative of things to come, if so these calls could become tiresome very quickly.
-So far this summer I have had very bad luck when it comes to catching cloths on relatively blunt doorknobs and handles.
In June, while moving some boxes from one location to another, I was walking backwards while pulling a cart when I somehow managed to catch my left rear pocket on the door handle, the result being that the handle popped through the fabric and I was hooked on the door.
A few weeks later I was walking by an old card catalogue when the right sleeve of the long sleeve shirt I was wearing caught on a drawer handle and tore a small hole in my shirt. I wonder if this may be the first piece of clothing damaged on such an innocuous piece of furniture?
Shortly after my run-in in with the tricky card catalogue I was walking next to a cupboard and managed to catch the left front pocked of my pajama pants on the rounded cupboard doorknob. Within about a second I managed to have a tear that was several inches long.
As I have been wearing pants every day (a workplace concession) I have noticed that just about every pair of pants I own has small holes near the inside seem at about the height of my knee. While these wholes surprised me at first because of their unusual location and frequency, I think that I have figured out a possible cause.
It seems that they are all in about the same area that tends to get caught between two kegs of beer when one engages in the exciting activity of keg stacking (as one might do if one changed kegs on a semi-regular basis). I guess from now on I will have to be more careful about which pants I wear to work unless I want to live by the maxim “tighter jeans means less caught fabric.”
-This winter and early Spring I took a (mandatory) management course at library school. At the time it seemed as though I wasn't really learning anything all that useful. One main focus was on the uses of different types of analytical and strategic planning tools.
One technique that came up time and time again was “SWOT analysis ” (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). For various projects we had to use this technique, though I am not sure if I every really saw the utility.
Earlier this summer I finally saw a situation in which I thought that I might be able to use this analytical tool. I decided to conduct a SWOT analysis on my life. Unfortunately, at least based on my mis-use of this analytical tool, it seems that my weaknesses and threats outweigh or overpower my strengths and opportunities.
I really worry that some of this may have been tainted by my not having properly identified either my primary problem or desired objective (which would place this analysis in context). Maybe if I become motivated I could try and conduct a full-fledged strategic planning exercise on my life (though we all know I will never be motivated for this to happen).
-Today, the day after my phone was installed, I noticed that the phone was ringing. Actually, as the phone is so new, it took me a while to recognize what was happening when it was ringing, though I eventually did figure out that the mysterious sound was the sound of a ringing phone. As I was somewhat confused I forgot to answer with my typical intro and instead just said "hello."
The person on the other end asked if she had reached motor registration. Obviously I replied that she had not reached her intended number. She then indicated that she had somehow been transferred, seemingly by an automatic transfer system. I really hope this call is not indicative of things to come, if so these calls could become tiresome very quickly.
-So far this summer I have had very bad luck when it comes to catching cloths on relatively blunt doorknobs and handles.
In June, while moving some boxes from one location to another, I was walking backwards while pulling a cart when I somehow managed to catch my left rear pocket on the door handle, the result being that the handle popped through the fabric and I was hooked on the door.
A few weeks later I was walking by an old card catalogue when the right sleeve of the long sleeve shirt I was wearing caught on a drawer handle and tore a small hole in my shirt. I wonder if this may be the first piece of clothing damaged on such an innocuous piece of furniture?
Shortly after my run-in in with the tricky card catalogue I was walking next to a cupboard and managed to catch the left front pocked of my pajama pants on the rounded cupboard doorknob. Within about a second I managed to have a tear that was several inches long.
As I have been wearing pants every day (a workplace concession) I have noticed that just about every pair of pants I own has small holes near the inside seem at about the height of my knee. While these wholes surprised me at first because of their unusual location and frequency, I think that I have figured out a possible cause.
It seems that they are all in about the same area that tends to get caught between two kegs of beer when one engages in the exciting activity of keg stacking (as one might do if one changed kegs on a semi-regular basis). I guess from now on I will have to be more careful about which pants I wear to work unless I want to live by the maxim “tighter jeans means less caught fabric.”
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Anudder night at da Rose and Thistle
So me and da b’ys was down to da Rose and Thistle for anudder crack at da trivia championship. We was all down dere a few before da event because dere has been some load a people some a dhese weeks. Anyways, me an de b’ys was dere and ready to go but we were practically de only ones dhere.
So we sits around for a while, me drinking beer and Peter on da Strongbow, when da missus gets up and starts ta giv’er. B’y, she laces into dem questions some good.
We does OK on da first one, I guesses dad she’s talking about da buddy dat made Coke (and we finds out dat she is when we corrects de quiz). Anyways, when we gets to da second questions we gets smoked. Da missus has da gall to ask da name of da group dat wrote de song for CSI. Like I knows dat. Jaysus, me and da b’ys don’t watch TV (we spends our time on da hinternet).
So over da next few questions da missus goes on givin’er, some of dem we knows, oddurs we got no clue.
By da time me beers’ gone she’s done wit da first fi’teen. We sits dere, me and da b’ys, trying to tink about CSI and I keeps saying da Pretenders, but da b’ys says she’s an group den dat, so I says da Monkees, and den de b’ys says dat dey plays dere own instruments. Wit out da words da b’ys is telling me to screw off, so I goes back to da Pretenders (da b’ys can screw off demselves).
When da missus gets back up dere and gets going it don’t take no time for her to get all dem questions out. B’y, I starts ta wonder how she makes it seem so fast, b’y she flys.
All of a sudden she’s getting on wit some question about Europe and da ‘masses.’ B’y, I got no idea what she’s getting on wit, but I goes and says ‘Hitler.’ One a da b’ys jumps in and says “b’ys, don’t forget Uncle Joe” so we goes and writes dat down. De oddur b’y says he likes Hitler (not like dat, but for da answer). In da end we goes wit Stalin cause a touch a da socialism never went astray.
Da missus kills off da night wit da final few questions and we goes on to da correcting part of da night. Soon enough we sees that we did pretty well, dough we made a mistake or two. We learns dat it wasn’t Fleetwood Mac or da Pretenders, or even da Monkees dat wrote da CSI song, but instead da frigging Who, jaysus. Soon enough we gets to da questions about da masses and learns da we shudda gon wit da gut (Hitler dat is) cause it wasn’t Stalin dat done said da thing about the masses.
When we gets to da end we sees da we were after gettin’ 25. So as da point count down nears us we starts ta get excited. B’ys, its been some long time since we won (were due). Anyway, when da missus shouts out 26 and da team at da bar shouts and hollers all I can tink of is dat bastard Stalin, infectin minds, making people tink he said stuff he didn’t. Me fist come down on da table and we goes.
Next week me and da by’s is gonna win, we deserves it.
So we sits around for a while, me drinking beer and Peter on da Strongbow, when da missus gets up and starts ta giv’er. B’y, she laces into dem questions some good.
We does OK on da first one, I guesses dad she’s talking about da buddy dat made Coke (and we finds out dat she is when we corrects de quiz). Anyways, when we gets to da second questions we gets smoked. Da missus has da gall to ask da name of da group dat wrote de song for CSI. Like I knows dat. Jaysus, me and da b’ys don’t watch TV (we spends our time on da hinternet).
So over da next few questions da missus goes on givin’er, some of dem we knows, oddurs we got no clue.
By da time me beers’ gone she’s done wit da first fi’teen. We sits dere, me and da b’ys, trying to tink about CSI and I keeps saying da Pretenders, but da b’ys says she’s an group den dat, so I says da Monkees, and den de b’ys says dat dey plays dere own instruments. Wit out da words da b’ys is telling me to screw off, so I goes back to da Pretenders (da b’ys can screw off demselves).
When da missus gets back up dere and gets going it don’t take no time for her to get all dem questions out. B’y, I starts ta wonder how she makes it seem so fast, b’y she flys.
All of a sudden she’s getting on wit some question about Europe and da ‘masses.’ B’y, I got no idea what she’s getting on wit, but I goes and says ‘Hitler.’ One a da b’ys jumps in and says “b’ys, don’t forget Uncle Joe” so we goes and writes dat down. De oddur b’y says he likes Hitler (not like dat, but for da answer). In da end we goes wit Stalin cause a touch a da socialism never went astray.
Da missus kills off da night wit da final few questions and we goes on to da correcting part of da night. Soon enough we sees that we did pretty well, dough we made a mistake or two. We learns dat it wasn’t Fleetwood Mac or da Pretenders, or even da Monkees dat wrote da CSI song, but instead da frigging Who, jaysus. Soon enough we gets to da questions about da masses and learns da we shudda gon wit da gut (Hitler dat is) cause it wasn’t Stalin dat done said da thing about the masses.
When we gets to da end we sees da we were after gettin’ 25. So as da point count down nears us we starts ta get excited. B’ys, its been some long time since we won (were due). Anyway, when da missus shouts out 26 and da team at da bar shouts and hollers all I can tink of is dat bastard Stalin, infectin minds, making people tink he said stuff he didn’t. Me fist come down on da table and we goes.
Next week me and da by’s is gonna win, we deserves it.
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