Friday February 2, 2007 5:15 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:03 Sunset 17:27 Hours of daylight: 9:24

A. Morning Musings

5:15 am It is -10 C at the moment with a high of -7 C forecast.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Climate Change "Unequivocal" Scientists Say in Paris Report

The report goes on to say that global warming will continue for centures regardless of how much humans cut pollution. The report also says that the warming is "Very likely" caused by man. The United Nations agreement among scientists from 113 governments recommends that we work harder to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but at the same time we should begin making adjustments to learn to live with a warmer planet. This latter statement represents a change in attitude - now they are saying that global warming is inevitable and that we must begin making appropriate adjustments. I suspect that the media is focusing on this rather than on the idea that warming is a continuum and that by reducing emissions we can reduce the effect and hence the amount of adjustment. Every little bit helps, even if it will not prevent the overall impact, it will reduce it.

Canadian Headline: Deadly 18 Vehicle Pileup Shuts Busy Ontario Highway

At least two people were killed and many injured in an accident involving two transport trucks, a tanker truck which exploded, and a number of other vehicles. There was heavy snow and poor visibility at the time. Although winter driving conditions are often difficult, we do not seem to be able to make the necessary adjustments, particularly speed, and often continue to drive at the maximum speed allowed. It reminds me of the collapse of the east and west coast fisheries where we also failed to make the necessary adjustments. This does not auger well for the future, given the first headline.

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Humans to Blame for Global Warming: UN Report

This is a similar report to that on the CBC site. This article makes many more quotes from the UN report and seems to emphasize the importance of doing more to reduce greenhouse emissions whereas the CBC report tended to focus more on the inevitability of global warmng and the need to making adjustments to cope with the changing conditions.

My weight is steady at 190. I am holding on to the recommended rate of losing about 2 pounds/week. I would like to be slightly better than this, but not too extreme.

We will be driving up to Edmonton today so most Learning activities will be on hold. Periods of light snow are forecast for much of the trip so we will have to be careful.

B. Plan

Immediate
Technology	Review & edit iPhoto files for 2005	1 hr
	Begin reading "iPhoto"	1 hr
Literature	Continue reading "The Big Why" by Michael Winter	1 hr
Later
Technology	Read manual for cell phone
	Digital photography - learn about using the various manual settings
	Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac"
	Burn backup of images onto DVD
Mathematics	Make notes for "Mathematics: A Human Endeavor" ch 1
	Read "Fearless Symmetry" chap 9: Elliptic Curves
Model Trains	Add ground cover to oil refinery diorama
	Continue assembly of coaling tower
	Follow tutorial for version 8 of 3rd PlanIt
	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/Note

5:00 PM We arrived in Edmonton at 3:50 PM. The driving conditions were less than ideal for much of the trip. There was a light snowfall overnight and the road was snow covered with blowing snow and a grey overcast sky with a dull light making visibility all one color with no shadows. Between Lethbridge and Calgary we averaged about 90 km/h. The passing lane was snow covered and no one was using it. The slow lane was much better and one just accepted the fact and stayed in the lane behind other vehicles. Once we got to Calgary the Deerfoot expressway was soupy with slush spraying up over all the vehicles. I used a lot of windshield washer fluid keeping the windshield clear. The truck fishtailed a small amount going up a hill: I didn't notice any ice but I was pushing down on the gas to maintain my speed and the rear wheels started to spin a bit. No real problem but it did give us both a startle. From Airdrie to Edmonton the conditions were much better. Both lanes were clear and visibility was much better. We had lunch in Ponoka at a very nice restaurant with a relative.

Now for a special dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant which is only a few blocks away. Their shrimp and peaches in a cream sauce is spectacular!

I now have my model train diesel locomotive (I bought this in early January but this is the first opportunity I have had to be in Edmonton and pick it up): True Line Trains Gold Series CN 6700 C-liner (item #500080). This unit has a factory installed DCC and sound. This is a major addition to my model train equipment. It is my first DCC unit. This will allow me to have a clean test of DCC (when I get it installed). Thus, if it doesn't work when I first turn the power on, I can assume that the problem is with the way I have wired the system rather than with the decoder in the locomotive. Then once I have verified that I have the track properly wired I will buy a couple of decoders and try to install them in some of my existing locomotives.

D. Reflection