Friday February 9, 2007 5:05 am Lethbridge Sunrise 7:52 Sunset 17:39 Hours of daylight: 9:47

A. Morning Musings

5:05 am It is - 16 C at the moment with a high of -13 C forecast. There is a little light snow falling at the moment.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Fatah, Hamas Agree on Unity Government

The two rival factions have agreed to stop fighting one another. This is not the first time that they have agreed to work together and then have it fall apart.

Canadian Headline: Dube Suffers Facial Laceration at Four Continents

Jessica Dube suffered a cut to her face when her figure skating partner's skate hit her in a fall at a competition in Colorado. She required surgery but the skate missed her eye and she is said to be doing well. Although this type of injury is rare, it is a startling reminder of the dangers involved in this sport.

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Water Impasse Intensifies Between States and Howard

Howard has warned the states to quit stalling in order to make the federal government look bad. The states are trying to get more concessions and money from the federal government. This is beginning to look more like politics rather than reason. But some would argue that politics is reason: each side trying to get the best possible deal.

From rear window	South patio
Both images taken at noon

B. Plan

Immediate
Technology	Review & edit iPhoto files for 2006	1 hr
	Play with manual settings on digital camera with telephoto lens	1 hr
Literature	Continue reading "The Tale of the Heike"	1 hr
History	Begin reading "Maya"	2 hr
Later
Technology	Read manual for cell phone
	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
Major Goals
Learning	Review week's pages each Sunday
	Review all pages for the month at the end of each month
Technology	Review & edit iPhoto files for 2006
	Become proficient with cell phone
Model Trains	Become proficient with 3rd PlanIt software
	Install DCC on model train layout
GO	Learn to play GO at something better than a beginner level
Drawing	Learn to draw!! (I keep saying this, yet I have yet to put a pencil to paper).
Mathematics	Continue to play with mathematics.
Literature	Continue to read Literature
Bird Watching	Continue to engage in bird watching activities.

C. Actual/Note

5:30 am There is a fresh covering of sparkling snow on the ground this morning. This has been the pattern for over a week. Yesterday we watched the car in front of us spin out of control and hit a guardrail on the road approaching the bridge across the coulee. The roads are a bit slick and one needs to be cautious and vigilant while driving, particularly on hills (going both up and down) and curves. The main idea is to avoid any sudden changes such as acceleration or braking.

The only birds I saw yesterday were the house sparrows and house finches at our bird feeders. And a few magpies. I am going to try getting a few photos using my telephoto lens and see how that works with my new skills at manipulating the manual settings on the camera. But it is still dark outside at the moment.

1:00 PM Here are two photos from today:

snow lantern	downy woodpecker

1:10 PM Birds today: downy woodpecker, northern flicker, magpies, house sparrows, house finches.

	History 01 February 9
History Notes
1:30 PM I began reading "The Maya" by Michael Coe a couple of days ago. link to back cover Here is a map that covers the main topics, slightly reorganized to suit myself: SUMMARY of the session: This is a superb educational book. It contains numerous tables, maps, photographs and diagrams. The only representation missing is a concept map.

D. Reflection