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.

From rear window	South patio
Both images taken at 11:40 am

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.

B. Plan

Immediate
Health	Walk & exercise	1 hr
Technology	Charge iPod; review iTunes website; play some music	1hr
Literature	Continue reading "Virginia Woolf: The Inner Life" by Julia Briggs	1 hr
	Complete reading "Selected Works of Virginia Woolf" - Jacob's Room	1 hr
Model Trains	Trim coal loads for 100 ton quad hopper cars	1 hr
Later
Chores	Investigate water softeners for home
Technology	Read manual for cell phone
	Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac"
	Begin reading "iPhoto"
	digital photography - learn about using the various manual settings
Mathematics	Read "Fearless Symmetry" chap 9: Elliptic Curves
Model Trains	Add ground cover to oil refinery diorama
	Continue assembly of coaling tower
	Purchase DCC system
History	Read Watson "Ideas"
Philosophy	Read & make notes for "Breaking the Spell"
GO	Complete reading "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go"
Puzzles	The Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #10

C. Actual/Notes

	Technology 02 January 2
Technology Notes
8:00 am This morning I decided to bring myself back up to speed with my iPod. The first step was to charge it up to full power. Simply inserting the iPod into my Altec Lansing speakers accomplishes this. Concurrently, I downloaded iTunes7.0.2 and installed it on my MacBook Pro. Done. I then used the Apple menu -> Software Update to check for updates to iLife, QuickTime & OS X. Everything was up to date. Great. But ... when I opened up iTunes there was no music listed. I was eventually able to use the Finder to locate the files on the hard drive but I could not find a way to link them to the iTunes window. I looked at every possible menu option but with no success. Then, for no real reason, I tried dragging the iTunes Music folder from the Finder window to the iTunes window. SUCCESS! The system immediately updated the list and I was now operational on the computer. As soon as the iPod was charged, I spent a few minutes re-familiarizing myself with the menu options and quickly had music in my ears. I have yet to order/download any music from the iTunes Store. SUMMARY of the session: I was frustrated with the problem of getting my music to appear on the iTunes window. I spent the better part of an hour trying various alternatives before I finally got it working. However it is now working so I guess all is well.

	Model Trains 01 January 2
Model Trains Notes
9:00 am Just before the new year I bought a package of 6 coal loads (Magnuson 439-565 HO Bethgon) for use with my 100 ton quad hopper cars. I tried fitting these loads but it became immediately clear that they would all require some trimming before they would fit in the cars. I spent an hour doing this and now have 4 of the 6 coal loads installed in cars. 10:20 am SUMMARY of the session: Many sessions are like this. I spend an hour or so fiddling with some detail and slowly make progress. 8:30 PM I just finished trimming the remaining two coal loads. That completes another small task. The coal looks really great in the cars.

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.

	Literature 02 January 2
Literature Notes
9:30 PM I have just completed reading Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf's third novel. I am reading her novels in conjunction with a biography of her by Julia Briggs. link to back cover My first impression of this novel is one of delight. It is such a departure from conventional English literature, with its quick glimpses of inconsequential events. Yet, suprisingly, one ends up with a very deep sense of the person, Jacob Flanders. Why? Perhaps it is because this is actually how we form impressions of everyone. Almost everything about another person is hidden from view, yet we form deep impressions based on the most fragmentary evidence. This is a grand novel. SUMMARY of the session: I am now looking forward to reading what Julia Briggs has to say about this novel.

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.