2007 January Week 1
Monday January 1, 2007 5:35
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:29 Sunset 16:41
Hours of daylight: 8:12
A. Morning Musings
5:35 am It is -2 C at the moment with a high of +2 C forecast. Happy New Year.
Now to get this new web site set up for another year of Learning.
D. Reflection
7:45 PM I rarely use this section, but I will give it another try. The intent
is to provide a few comments at the end of the day. I completed my primary goal
for the day without any difficulty - creating a new web site for 2007 to
monitor my Learning activities. It contained a total of 6 images (my face, the
Dumbo feather, the home icon, the Burnett shire image, 2 weather images), 6
overview pages (2007 chronology table, 2007 index, 2007 introduction, 2007
journalindex, 2007 notesindex, 2007todos), 4 project pages (literature,
mathematics, technology, trains), 2 January notes pages (literature,
technology), a January chronology page and a January 1 journal page. Each of
these pages was essentially a copy of a page from my 2006 web site, which was
then modified in a relatively minor manner to cleanup a few little links that
were no longer necessary. The one major activity was the creation of a
Literature project page. I now incorporated Literature into this web site in a
manner consistent with other projects. Good.
Tomorrow should be much quicker as I only need to create 1 new page - the
journal page for January 2. That should only take a few minutes.
8:10 PM I have just plugged my iPod into the charger.
It has been almost 6 months since I last used this. It is time for me to take a
quick refresher and get back on top of what is possible with this device.
I am going to have another look
at The Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #9. This is another activity that has been
hibernating for the last few months. Let's see what it looks like. There are 12
images, two of which are identical. All that is required is to keep track of
each possible pair and make a decision about whether I can find a difference.
Eventually there will only be one pair left where I cannot find a difference.
Now to begin. On my first pass through looking at all possible pairs I was able
to eliminate all but 5 pairs (yellow). Now to have a closer look at these five.
The second pass eliminated one more pair, leaving four pair. I was then able to
remove 2 more pair leaving only A-I or D-J as the identical pair. I have just
removed the A-I pair, leaving the D-J pair as the only identical pair. Slow and
very careful, plus accurate record keeping, are essential for this puzzle. I do
not consider these puzzles to be Learning activities, so they do not appear in
my final accounting for the day. But they are a great way to spend an hour.
9:00 PM
Tuesday January 2, 2007 6:20
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:29 Sunset 16:42
Hours of daylight: 8:13
A. Morning Musings
6:20 am It is +6 C at the moment with a high of +10 C forecast. There is a
strong wind warning of 70 kmh, with gusts up to 110.
I have the iPod charging and am
looking forward to listening to a little music later this morning. I plan to
review the iTunes web site to familiarize myself with what is available. It is
too windy for a walk today so I will divide my time between working on my model
trains and reading some Virginia Woolf. I want to return four math books to the
uni library. The outdoor Christmas lights need to be taken down and some
bottles returned to the recycling depot. Overall, a relaxing day.
4:20 PM A very relaxing day. I
am just waking up from a two hour snooze that just seemed like the right thing
to do. I did manage to get the Christmas light put away, but that was the only
chore I accomplished today. The fresh coffee tastes good, I should be awake
soon.
I am going to try Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #10. This is similar to #3, which
is the only puzzle (so far) that has me buffaloed. Sucess, with both #10 &
#11.
D. Reflection
9:45 PM This is the second entry for 2007. And my second effort at adding a
few sentences at the end of the day. The wind is up this evening but is
supposed to die down tomorrow. I think this is also the first time that I have
had notes for three different activities (Technology, Model Trains,
Literature). I am still sub-par with a lingering cough but am being very
careful about not over-extending myself and am surprised that I accomplished as
much as I did today. The fact that Edmonton finally won a hockey game helps.
Also listening to Bob Dylan on the iPod while working on the model trains was a
nice touch.
Wednesday January 3, 2007
6:35 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:28 Sunset 16:43
Hours of daylight: 8:15
A. Morning Musings
6:35 am It is +4 C at the moment with a high of +6 C forecast. The combination
of wind and warm temperatures has melted almost all of the snow.
I still have two chores
outstanding: returning the empty bottles to recycling and returning 4 math
books to the uni. I will attend to both these items early this
morning.
Reviewing my list of ToDos for the future, I noticed that I once spent time
scanning the covers of books that I was currently using. This might be an idea
worth revisiting. It does take a few minutes, but I have a few minutes. I could
place the images at the top of the appropriate notes page, much as I do with
the weather images for these journal pages.
I should also take a few pictures of
the 100 ton quad hopper cars with the coal loads in them, and insert these
images on the appropriate note pages for Model Trains. It is fortunate that I
am capturing these ideas early in the year when it is easy to make the change.
8:10 am The coffee is in the cup
and the scans of the covers of books completed and the appropriate changes to
the first two journal entries of the year made. I gave a brief thought to
scanning both the front and back covers as the back cover often has some
additional information, but decided against this when I realized that the image
would have to be almost full size for the print to be readable. However I am
still bemused by how often I have a new idea for tinkering with these web
pages. You would think by now I should know what I am doing.
10:30 am I continue to play. I have scanned a few back covers and have set up
a separate page where one can view the back cover and then return to this web
site. This definitely provides some additional information for those viewers
(including myself) who wish to see it. Pages for January 1 and January 2 have
been updated.
D. Reflection
8:30 PM Another satisfying day. I completed all of the chores that I had set
myself, made a little progress with the model train layout, and finally
returned to Virginia Woolf and Julia Briggs. I was lucky to catch the last
minute of the overtime hockey game between Canada and the US on television and
then the final shootout to determine a winner. It was hockey at its very best.
Gripping, with the outcome in the balance for a series of 7 shootouts before a
winner was determined. For Canada it was euphoric, but for the US players,
heartbreaking. Either team could have won and they both deserved to.
I am beginning to think that any day that includes at least two Learning
activities is a good day. Now for a little iPod music.
Thursday January 4, 2007 7:05
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:28 Sunset 16:44
Hours of daylight: 8:16
A. Morning Musings
7:05 am It is 0 C at the moment with a high of +3 C forecast.
I have a coffee
meet with my coffee mate at 8:30 this morning. The remainder of the day seems
free. I only have 4 items on the Immediate list for today. That is more
realistic than the 8 - 12 that I often had last year. I will phone the hobby
shop and see if the model cement has arrived yet. I would like to continue
assembling the coaling tower. I have been putting off looking at the iPhoto
book for too long. Today I will have a look at it. The last chapter on file
management and backing up of files is particularly important. This looks like
an easy day. I like that.
D. Reflection
10:00 PM The only Learning activity for the day was working on my model train
layout. That is a very enjoyable and focused activity. The time just flies by
as I concentrate on what I am doing, always looking for a way in which the
layout can be improved. I did have a glance at the iPhoto chapter on file
maintenance, but not enough to actually begin working on it. Maybe tomorrow.
Friday January 5, 2007 6:20
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:28 Sunset 16:45
Hours of daylight: 8:17
A. Morning Musings
6:20 am It is -5 C at the moment with a high of 0 C forecast.
First, a sip of coffee. Mmm, good. Now to think about the day. I have a few
little things I can do with my model train layout: attach the last 3 strips of
underbed foam in the Coaldale yard. I will make another trip to the hobby store
to buy a few more strips so I can finish nailing down the track for the entire
layout. I will then be set to begin converting the wiring to DCC. The
additional building structures can be finished at a leisurely pace.
Saturday January 6, 2007 7:20
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:28 Sunset 16:46
Hours of daylight: 8:18
A. Morning Musings
7:20 am It is 0 C at the moment with a high of +2 C forecast.
I am feeling much better
this morning - only a very slight cough when I first got up. Hopefully that is
a good sign.
2007 January Week 2
Sunday January 7, 2007 6:30
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:28 Sunset 16:46
Hours of daylight: 8:18
A. Morning Musings
6:30 am It is -1 C at the moment
with a high of +5 C forecast. There is a high wind warning with gusts to 110
kph forecast for later this morning.
I am beginning to slip making final Reflections comments at the end of the
day. Hopefully I will do better today.
8:10 am I have posted the link to my model train website ( Model Train Journal )on The Gauge forum. Now to see if I receive any feedback.
D. Reflection
8:15 PM I am remembering to make an evening entry, but notice that I forgot
take a couple of weather pictures this noon hour.
My model train website was posted this morning and the website indicates that
27 people have viewed it, but I have yet to receive any feedback.
The wind was howling today, a good reason to stay indoors. I read Virginia
Woolf's short novel, Orlando: A Biography. It was much more conventional in
form and had I had a strong sense that it was autobiographical. I plan to read
Julia Briggs chapter on it tomorrow and then prepare a set of notes. this was
my main activity for the day, and a great way to sit back and enjoy the
day.
I am feeling a little frustrated with my model train activities as I cannot
work on any models until the hobby store gets a new supply of plastic cement
and I can't begin work on DCC until the weather improves and I can make a trip
into Calgary. I may decide to buy a couple of 6" boards and a couple of
3/4" dowels and try out my idea of a second level loop on top of my
existing layout.
I also want to pursue the idea of buying a digital photo storage device (the
Epson P-3000) tomorrow.
This is also a good reason for learning some of the additional features of my
camera!
Monday January 8, 2007 8:00
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:27 Sunset 16:49
Hours of daylight: 8:22
A. Morning Musings
8:00 am It is -1 C at the moment with a high of
0 C forecast.
Monday morning is coffee at The Ugly Mug. A great way to begin the week.
D. Reflection
9:30 PM Much of the day was devoted to the Epson P-3000. It is a cool photo
storage device with an excellent playback capability. It has raised my interest
in improving my general digital photography skills. Hopefully I will make more
progress on this tomorrow.
Tuesday January 9, 2007 8:10
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:27 Sunset 16:50
Hours of daylight: 8:23
A. Morning Musings
8:10 am It is +2 C at the moment
with a high of +9 C forecast.
Wednesday January 10, 2007
8:20 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:26 Sunset
16:51 Hours of daylight: 8:25
A. Morning Musings
8:20 am It is -8 C at the moment with the temperature falling to - 23 C later
in the day. But the coffee is hot.
D. Reflection
8:50 PM This was a strange day. I spent a couple of hours viewing websites of
model train layouts. Some of these were incredibly impressive! It makes my
efforts look like the amateur effort they actually are. At one point I was sufficiently
chastened that I seriously thought of stopping what I was doing and beginning
over. Then reason asserted itself, thankfully, and I decided that what I was
doing was not that bad and that I still had a lot of Learning in front of me as
I worked on wiring the layout for DCC and to then gain some experience with
realistic operations. There will be lots of time in the future to think about a
new layout. However I can take a few steps in that direction by doing more
reading on layout planning and computer software for this.
I also spent a little over an hour reading Virginia Woolf's "The
Waves". This novel follows the lives of a half-dozen people from early
childhood through many of life's important events such as the first day of school,
graduation, university, marriage, ... (that is as far as I have read). Unlike
all of the previous books of hers, I am not enjoying this one as much. While
the metaphor of never ending waves is a good one, the lives she describes are
not worth describing (at least so far). I may decide to take a rest from the
novel and see if Briggs' commentary on it helps bring me back to a level of
interest worth maintaining.
On the plus side, we made a large pot of Begas (Hunter's Stew) today. It was
superb!
It is -17 C at the moment, and with the wind, the effective
temperature is -28 C. We have a nice fire going in the fireplace so it is quite
cosy.
Thursday January 11, 2007
5:00 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:26 Sunset
16:53 Hours of daylight: 8:27
A. Morning Musings
5:00 am It is -20
C at the moment with a high of -19 C forecast. The windchill temperature is -32
C.
Coffee at The Ugly Mug at 8:30 this morning, but I will make myself a cuppa
now to get started.
D. Reflection
8:50 PM I have just finished reading "The Waves" by Virginia
Woolf. Although I began reading this without becoming engaged, I began to
appreciate the power of the novel and found the last 20 pages particularly
powerful. I am glad I stayed with it. I will wait until tomorrow to make a few
notes on this.
My session this morning on track planning for model
trains was definitely rewarding. I am interested in the software package
RR-Track. I haven't had any response on The Gauge to my post asking for
comments on it. I will also try posting a message within the LDSIG and see if
that gets a reaction.
Friday January 12, 2007 5:20
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:25 Sunset 16:54
Hours of daylight: 8:29
A. Morning Musings
5:20 am It is -17 C at the moment with a high of -8 C forecast. The windchill
temperature is -26 C.
Saturday January 13, 2007
5:15 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:24 Sunset
16:55 Hours of daylight: 8:31
A. Morning Musings
5:15 am It is -12 C at the moment with a high of -10 C forecast. The windchill
temperature is -21 C.
Setting up a new page only takes about 5 minutes.
It involves simply copying the previous day's page, modifying the
"Previous Page" links at the top & bottom, obtaining the weather
information from the Web, and deleting any notes or comments. I also have to
add the "Next Page" links to the previous day's page as well as a
link in the Journal Index to the new page. That pretty well does it. Everything
else is detail as the day unfolds.
Now for my first cuppa.
2007 January Week 3
Sunday January 14, 2007 7:20 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:24 Sunset 16:57 Hours of
daylight: 8:33
A. Morning Musings
7:20 am It is -24 C at the moment with a high of -9 C forecast.
Now for my first cuppa.
I am between sixes and sevens this morning, and there are an infinite number
of possibilities in that interval. Learning to use 3rd PlanIt to create a model
of my model train layout. Learning to draw, which I have put off for over 50
years. Reading Richard Feynman's "Lecture Notes on Physics", all 3
volumes. Plus Roger Penrose's The Road to Reality. Cross-country skiing - but
not until I stop coughing. Having a breakfast sandwich at Tim Hortons. Buying a
Tassimo coffee maker. Getting real good at digital photography. Building a fire
in the fireplace. Reviewing my books - it is time for a cull. Spending more
time with my eyes closed and the iPod on. Playing Go at a higher level. And
then there is mathematics, particularly symmetry. Back to my model trains - to
get much better at this while running prototypical operations. To return to the
beginning: time is both infinite and finite - there are only 24 hours in a
day.
Now to return to "Between the Acts" by Virginia Woolf.
Monday January 15, 2007 5:00
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:23 Sunset 16:58
Hours of daylight: 8:35
A. Morning Musings
5:00 am It is -9 C at the moment with a high
of -4 C forecast. Almost balmy.
Today looks to be full. I have some well-defined Learning activities:
purchasing some blank DVDs, burning backup images to DVD, editing images in
iPhoto, making final notes for the two Virginia Woolf books that I have been
reading this month. I have coffee this morning at The Ugly Mug (and I hope to
take a couple of pictures of this). I am not sure if I will get around to
working on my model trains.
The early morning coffee tastes great.
I am going to
try adding a couple of news items to the beginning of the day. This should
accomplish two things and have one obvious drawback. The pluses are to give a
brief sense of the daily context and to add a small personal touch to the
journal. The minus is that it takes time, but hopefully not too much. Now for
The Ugly Mug.
Tuesday January 16, 2007 6:50
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:22 Sunset 17:00
Hours of daylight: 8:38
A. Morning Musings
6:50 am It is -2 C at the moment with a high of +1 C forecast.
I was right about yesterday,
it was full. I still have to make my final notes for the two Virginia Woolf
books. Today should be fairly busy as well. I will delay making some photo DVDs
until I have gone through the files and edited out the weak images. This
editing may take a couple of weeks. It will be something to do when I don't
feel like doing anything. I bought a magazine "Cooking Light" that
looks like it has some good recipes for stews and casseroles. There is also a
special section with 4 articles: A Fresh Start, Eat Smart, Be Fit , and Live
Well. I think I am going to enjoy this magazine. I may even pick up a few good
ideas. Just thinking about this has motivated me to try a new goal: one new
recipe a week. Another good idea would be some form of regular exercise, in
addition to our normal one-hour walks (which I have let go for the last three
weeks because of my cough and the weather - cold and windy). It is time to wake
up!
I am still coughing, but it is definitely easing up.
Coffee is now taking on a totally
new meaning. We bought a Tassimo coffee machine yesterday. So far we have used
it to make a cup of regular coffee (which was excellent) but the real purpose
is to make lattes and cappucinos. Today we will try the cappucino. We have yet
to buy the package for the latte. Meanwhile my normal plunger-style early
morning coffee tastes great.
Wednesday January 17, 2007
5:40 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:22 Sunset
17:01 Hours of daylight: 8:39
A. Morning Musings
5:40 am It is -4 C at the moment with a high of -2 C forecast. There
is a light snow falling.
I am still having difficulty accomplishing all that occurs to me in the early
morning. Yesterday I planned on completing my notes for the two Virginia Woolf
books, which I did. Good. I also resolved to try cooking one "new" recipe
each week. I have the first of these ready for the slow cooker this morning:
"Slow-Cooker Beef with Beer". Good. Finally, I began the one-hour
walk routine again. Good. But I did not begin any form of exercise routine. We
also failed to try our new Tassimo coffee machine with a cappucino. And I
didn't get any work done on editing my iPhotos. Nor did I spend any time on my
model trains (i.e. my 3rd PlanIt software). As Calvin and Hobbes say, "The
Days Are Just Packed".
About thirty years ago there was a
regular column in the Edmonton Journal called something like The News From Old
Crow (in theYukon) that was written by an Inuit woman called Edith Josie who
began it with Here are the news. I just tried googling " Here are the
news" and "old crow" and the first hit was http://www.oldcrow.ca/news.htm
8:55 am A very pleasant early morning snowfall.
Thursday January 18, 2007
5:10 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:21 Sunset
17:03 Hours of daylight: 8:42
A. Morning Musings
5:10 am It is -10 C at the moment with a high of -3 C forecast.
A quick addendum to yesterday. The "Slow-Cooker Beef with Beer"
turned out well. It was delicious. The only difference between what we had and
what the magazine portrayed was that their image showed slices of roast beef
whereas ours was more like pulled beef. The meat was so tender that it simply
fell apart when I tried to slice it. I prefer our final result to that in the
magazine. We had friends over for the meal and we ended the meal with lattes
all around. Quickly made with no fuss. The new Tassimo coffee machine is
turning out to be a nice addition. We have yet to make a cappuccino but that is
the first time we have had lattes in our own kitchen.
Allan just sent me a file
associated with the latest version of Google Earth. I downloaded it and when I
clicked on his file it zoomed right into the tree in their front yard and
placed a yellow stick-pin there indicating that was where the photo of the
koala was taken. What a startling way to begin the morning. That is the early
news from our house. The first item on the agenda for today is a visit to The
Ugly Mug. Always enjoyable.
Friday January 19, 2007 7:50
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:20 Sunset 17:04
Hours of daylight: 8:44
A. Morning Musings
7:50 am It is +2 C at the moment with a high of +4 C forecast. Windy with
gusts to 60 kmh.
C. Actual/Note
I received an email from Allan suggesting that we exchange recipes on our once
a week new recipes. Sounds like a good idea. This raises the issue of an
appropriate format. Let me play with this a bit. Here are a few guiding
principles:
1. List ingredients plus
comments on substitutions (provide for both imperial and metric measurements)
(# of servings)
2. List steps (perhaps a photo
or two)
3. Final comments on both result
and process (preparation time, cooking time, suggestions for accompaniments).
4. Provide a nutritional
analysis (important for low g.i. diets). (use FitDay software)
5. Acknowledge the source. This
is a throwback to when I was an academic. Always acknowledge where you get your
information from.
6. Make this personal. Describe
what I actually did at each step, particularly modifications and
why.
Let's try this with the recipe
for this week (made a couple of days ago):
"Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with Beer".
D. Reflection
I am chagrined to see how much I vacillate with this web site. At the
beginning of the year I had decided to omit reference to cooking and recipes.
Today I have totally reversed my decision. C'est la vie.
Saturday January 20, 2007
6:30 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:19 Sunset
17:06 Hours of daylight: 8:47
A. Morning Musings
6:30 am It is -6 C at the moment with a high of -1 C forecast.
2007 January Week 4
Sunday January 21, 2007 8:15 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:18 Sunset 17:07 Hours of
daylight: 8:49
A. Morning Musings
8:15 am It is -13 C at the moment with a high of -1 C forecast.
I am a bit slow, and late, off
the starting blocks this morning. Perhaps a coffee will help.
My model train activities
are slow as I wait for glue to arrive. However I should be making a better
effort at learning to use the 3rd PlanIt software.
On a positive note, my latest effort to add a cookbook to my website, is off
to a promising start. The idea is to have a new recipe every week. I now have 3
recipes and the fourth week is just beginning.
While glancing out our back window, at about 4 PM, I noticed a raptor on our fence. A check of my books suggests that it is a female merlin.
D. Reflection
8:05 PM A fairly
busy day. The wind was up so walking was out. I did spend a couple of hours
culling a few books from my shelves. I was surprised at how many were still
important to me, but I did make up a box for the local library. Between those
and some that went straight into the bin, I did make shelf space for about 40
books.
I also finished reading "Passage to Juneau" by Jonathan Raban. I
thoroughly enjoyed it. I plan to make a few notes tomorrow. By waiting, I get
one more opportunity to revel in his words.
The following two photos
properly belong in this section. Home made cappucino at 8:30 PM. Decadent. I
love it!
Monday January 22, 2007 5:00
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:17 Sunset 17:09
Hours of daylight: 8:52
A. Morning Musings
5:00 am It is +3 C at the moment with
a high of +5 C forecast. Another windy day - at the moment the wind is 54 km/h
with gusts to 68 km/h.
Going over the books on my
shelves yesterday, I had the good feeling of making progress since I retired. I
am not buying many books and am focusing on playing catch-up, as I concentrate
on reading those that I bought a few years ago and could not find time to
complete. "Passage to Juneau" was one such book, as were the Virginia
Woolf books. I must apply the same strategy to my non-fiction books.
Monday
mornings are always nice as I begin the week with a cup at The Ugly Mug. But I
will need a cup before then.
Tuesday January 23, 2007 5:10
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:16 Sunset 17:10
Hours of daylight: 8:54
A. Morning Musings
5:00 am It is +6 C at the moment
with a high of +9 C forecast. The wind is still there: 33 km/h with gusts to 46
km/h and forecast to rise to 50 km/h with gusts to 70 km/h. But it is not
howling like it was yesterday.
I continue to spend a couple of
hours a day reviewing my books, rearranging some, throwing a few in the
recycling, and filling boxes to be given to the city library and the uni
library. There is an aspect of cognitive dissonance here as I do not want to
admit that I spent too much money and time on some of these books.
Thinking
that, I decided to google "cognitive dissonance" and found this web
site: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/index.htm
I like the way it is organized as well as his informal style. Overall, I think
he has done a superb job of synthesizing the academic material. This is what I
should be doing with this web site. I think I have a good approach to a daily
journal but I have yet to address the issue of "so what?". As a
result of my daily activities, what is the net result as far as my understanding
of a topic goes? I also like his use of mind mapping software.
It is important to create my own maps: one each for my major topics:
Psychology, Technology, Mathematics, Science, History, Art, Philosophy,
Literature, Trains, Go, Birds, Drawing and Recipes. The danger is to treat
these charts as permanent. I need a way of documenting the evolution of each
chart. I could do this the same way I keep track of my notes: each time I make
a change I save the revised chart on the same web page so one can scroll
through the revisions.
Similarly, it is important to realize that all such maps are very personal.
They do not represent the abstract idea of what constitutes commonly accepted
knowledge - it only represents my understanding of the topic (which in some
cases may be appallingly little). Raban's travel novel is an excellent case in
point: his views on early native cultures in north-west North America are
different than much official scholarship, but they make sense.
This may also be a way to
integrate all of my books into a set of coherent wholes. Right now they seem to
be more like a set of incoherent holes.
It is still early in the morning (6:24 am). Time to play with this a little.
D. Reflection
10:30 PM I had a good iChat with Allan earlier this
evening. That is an amazing application: the voice is excellent and the image
is very good as well. Much better than a phone (and free).
Allan gave me some information on a new software program called Delicious
Library that takes information from a book and obtains additional information
and images from amazon.com. I have this working with a demo version when I type
in the title and author. The bar code reader appears to be disabled and I am
trying to find out if the Import feature is disabled as well. Since I have a
data base of my books, this would be a great feature if it works. An exciting
way to end the day.
Wednesday January 24, 2007
6:05 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:15 Sunset
17:12 Hours of daylight: 8:57
A. Morning Musings
6:05 am It is +10 C at the
moment with a high of +13 C forecast - still windy: 48 km/h with gusts to 59
km/h.
I am hoping to receive a reply
to an email I sent to Delicious Library. If the problem I had trying to import
a tab-delimited file is simply that the option is turned off with the demo
version, I will buy it.
I also want to begin exploring the idea of a mind map for my mathematics.
D. Reflection
9:40 PM A satisfying day. The early morning math session was a
delight.
Later this morning I was finally able to buy some cement for
bonding my plastic models together. This means I can now continue to work on
these models for my model train layout.
Then I received an email from the folk at Delicious Library indicating that I
needed to add a header record to my tab-delimited file in order to import
records from a database. Done. I then thoroughly explored the features and was
quite impressed with the capabilities of the package. It is tempting to order
it , but when I sit back and ask myself whether I would really gain value from
it, I find the answer to be no. I am quite familiar with most of my books and
do not need a search engine to find my way through them.
I then spent a very enjoyable hour in the afternoon finishing "The Heart
is an Involuntary Muscle" by Monique Proulx. I will try to make a few
notes in the next day or two.
Thursday January 25, 2007
5:25 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:14 Sunset
17:14 Hours of daylight: 9:00
A. Morning Musings
5:25 am It is +5 C at the moment with a high of +13 C forecast.
Friday January 26, 2007 5:25
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:12 Sunset 17:15
Hours of daylight: 9:03
A. Morning Musings
5:25 am It is -3 C at the moment with a high of -1 C forecast. My first coffee
of the day tastes great. Now to get my head around the next 16 hours. I have moved
a few items up from Later to Immediate. I have also reordered the Immediate
items in terms of decreasing importance. Now to refill by cup and begin some
early morning maths.
Saturday January 27, 2007
8:00 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:11 Sunset
17:17 Hours of daylight: 9:06
A. Morning Musings
8:00 am It is -14 C at the moment with a high of +3 C forecast. Reviewing
yesterday's list of items to be attended to, I completed 3 out of 6. I continue
to set unrealistic goals. I will shorten the list further today. The wind is
down so I will keep the walking on the list. I will begin with the other 2
items that I failed to look at: 3rd Planit tutorial and look at the manual
settings for my digital camera. I will keep the item about assembling the
coaling tower and will also do some recreational reading from "A Spot of
Bother". My mathematics activity will be postponed. I now have 5 items for
today.
2007 January Week 5
Sunday January 28, 2007 5:30
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:10 Sunset 17:18
Hours of daylight: 9:08
A. Morning Musings
5:30 am It is -1 C at the moment with a high of +1 C forecast. I had
difficulty yesterday getting my model train track planning software (3rd
PlanIt) registered. I think I now know what the problem was: I was using a
previous version of 3rd PlanIt and the registration code was for a new version
that had just been released. I have emailed a request for an unlocking key.
Hopefully I will get that either today or tomorrow. In the meantime I will move
that item from "Immediate" to "Later". I spent an hour
yesterday editing my iPhoto files for 2005. There is a lot of work needed here,
but if I put in a hour a day it will eventually be cleaned up. I have moved
that item up to the "Immediate" category. I now have a total of 5
hours/day allocated to some form of Learning activity.
C. Actual/Note
6:30 am While viewing the CNN news Web site, I noticed a link to
"America's Healthy Living Habits - How Do You Compare?". This led to
a "Cooking Light" Web site that provided an exercise routine for beginners
that involves only 30 minutes, 3 times a week. While we have both been fairly
good at maintaining a daily walking routine, I have been unable to maintain a
regular exercise routine. This seems to be worth a try.The three
meta-strategies are to (1) always pick a set time. For me, this might be in the
early morning, just after I complete the creation of this web page; (2) Adopt a
procedure that results in a gain in strength; and (3) Set a goal of losing 5
pounds. My weight has creeped up (again). This time it was a bad combination of
holiday eating, cold windy weather making walking difficult, and not feeling
that good due to a bad cough following the flu. Then again, this all sounds
like an excuse. The real issue, as always, is mental. I must be determined to
turn this around, and to stay with it. Nothing needs to be done radically, but
the overall moderate goal must be adhered to. Today is day 1. And, as before, I
will keep track of both my eating and exercise using the FitDay software.
7:50 am My slow and steady approach to editing my iPhoto images
continues. My 2005 file folder originally contained 2095 photos and occupied
3.0 GB. Yesterday I reduced that to 1949 photos and 2.8 GB. This morning I
brought it down to 1839 photos and 2.7 GB. I am now at photo #487 of 1839, so
that is just over a quarter of the way through. The progress is noticeable. But
2006 will be a challenge. I have 4633 photos taking 13.8 GB. But this editing
is very similar to the planned exercise routine. Baby steps that get one to the
top of the mountain. Much better than remaining in the valley.
8:45 am I have just finished my first try at the "Beginner Circuit
Workout". It was a real eye-opener. I am definitely out of shape. I could
barely complete the last few exercises. I was sweating profusely, breathing
hard and my legs and arms could barely keep the exercise going. Very close to
hopeless. There are a total of 9 exercises and by number 5 I was sweating and
breathing rapidly. The last 3 exercises were only partially completed. This is
like getting 15% on a math test - there is lots of room for improvement. The
real test will be to see how long I keep this up. The schedule is for alternate
days. I will continue the daily walking as well. It is also going to take a few
sessions before I have the actual movements under control. Right now I am
continually looking at the sheet of paper to see where my arms and legs should
be. Now to set up the FitDay values.
My current weight is 192 pounds.
I tend to treat all of these numbers as rough guidelines, but am not
particularly excited about minor deviations from these values. My goal to get
my weight back to 180 will put me back into the "healthy" range.
Nonetheless, I now have some targets to aim for: 400 calories of fat, 400
calories of carbs and 500 calories of protein. Now to see what I actually do
over the next couple of weeks.
D. Reflection
8:50 PM The FitDay software recommends that I eat 1248 calories/day in order
to achieve my weight loss goal of 12 pounds in 7 weeks. Today, my first day on
this regime, I had 1484 calories. Not too bad. I only want to be in the ball
park.
I set aside 5 activities this morning, and I ended up completing 4 of them. I
am getting close to being realistic.
Monday January 29, 2007 5:50
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:09 Sunset 17:20
Hours of daylight: 9:11
A. Morning Musings
5:50 am It is -11 C at the moment with a high of -1 C forecast. My weight is
down 1 to 191. I was surprised as I didn't think I would see any difference
after only one day of exercise & walking (and reduced calorie intake). I
can still feel the effect of the exercise routine in my thighs this morning.
The exercise program is only operational on alternate days, so today I will
only have walking on the schedule.
I am hoping to hear from the 3rd
PlanIt people today about my difficulties in registering my software. The new
version looks very impressive and I am eager to begin using it.
We received a brochure in the mail about Culligan water softeners - a good
reason to visit their showroom and see what it costs. This has been on my
"chores" list for months.
8:35 am iPhoto: My 2005 file folder originally contained 2095 photos and occupied 3.0 GB. Yesterday it had 1839 photos (2.7 GB) and I was at #487. As a result of an hours work this morning it now has 1736 photos (2.6 GB) and I am at #730. Not quite half way through the file. This certainly brings back many memories. I notice, it is not too difficult, that I take many more photos when in Australia than I do when in Canada. This is an incentive to spend more time focusing on local places and taking photos when we do. I am doing a better job with my model trains and recipes, but those both occur within our home. Time to get out more.
Tuesday January 30, 2007 6:20
am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:07 Sunset 17:22
Hours of daylight: 9:15
A. Morning Musings
6:20 am It is -9 C at the moment with a high of 0 C forecast. My weight is
down 1 more to 190. I was surprised again as my calorie intake yesterday was
more than that recommended to lose weight at a rate of just under 2
pounds/week, but it was less than what I was burning. I have now lost 2 pounds
in 2 days. This is similar to previous times when I have tried to lose weight:
there is a sudden drop of 2 - 4 pounds before I hit a plateau and then the
pounds disappear more slowly. The muscles in my thighs are still sore from my
exercise routine two days ago so I think I will wait a day or two more before
trying that again. But we are maintaining a good one hour walk each day.
I have yet to hear from 3rd PlanIt about unlocking my software for
track planning so that is on hold for the moment.
I wasn't able to visit the Culligan water softener showroom yesterday but this
is on my list for today. I am making sure that I spend at least an hour each
day with my camera as I want to make sure that I have an automatic habit for
using it under different manual situations.
Frank and I have hit a period of one or both of us being unable to make our
scheduled coffee times, so we will be meeting this morning. Great.
7:15 am A check of my email indicated that I have a reply from 3rd PlanIt. Now to see if I can unlock the software (version 8). Perfect.
D. Reflection
8:40 PM A good day. I accomplished 4 out 5 planned activities. I am making
slow but steady progress with my iPhoto editing and my assembly of the coaling
tower for my model train layout. I finished another novel and am now thinking
about my choice for the next one. I am now in a position to begin reviewing
version 8 of 3rd PlanIt for creating a track layout. And I am beginning to
learn how to use the manual settings on my digital camera (although I didn't
work on this today). My fitness/weight program is working fine (I have stuck to
a reduced calorie diet for 3 days now, and have lost 2 pounds). That is too
rapid a rate to keep up, but it is encouraging to be going in the right
direction. And it is encouraging to avoid any extra snacks for the entire day -
it all makes a difference. I learned a fair amount about water softeners
(Lethbridge has very hard water - on some kind of scale a score of 10 is
considered very hard, and we are 13.).
Wednesday January 31, 2007
6:05 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:06 Sunset
17:23 Hours of daylight: 9:17
A. Morning Musings
6:05 am It is -10 C at the moment with a high of
0 C forecast. My weight is down 1 more to 189. I have now lost 3 pounds in 3
days. I still have a way to go, but it is beginning to look like I will make my
goal in less than 7 weeks.
D. Reflection
9:00 PM Today was not as satisfying as the last few. The
hours just slipped away between my fingers. I am beginning to understand my
digital camera, which is a good sign. But I didn't put together an intensive
session with 3rd PlanIt and I failed to really engage in the new novel. We did
get in our walk, but it was bitterly cold with the wind. We stopped off at a
pub near home for lunch and that helped put my calories for the day over the
calories burned. Not a good way to lose weight.