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Sunday March 25, 2007 5:30 am Lethbridge Sunrise 7:24 Sunset 19:50 Hours of daylight: 12:26
A. Morning Musings
5:30 am It is +11 C at the moment with a forecast high of +14 C
CBC Headline: Security Council Raises Stakes Against Iran
The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to increase the economic sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment program. Much like North Korea, this appears to be a game of diplomacy, with the media making it a headline story. For me, the real issue is one of trust. Iran says it has the right as a sovereign nation to develop uranium for peaceful purposes. I agree, but the concern is that it will also be used for military purposes. Their word is not enough, yet they do not see that. Surely there is a way to ensure that the usage is strictly peaceful, but Iran seems to be unwilling to pursue this as they say that their word is good enough and that additional measures are an affront to their integrity.
Canadian Headline: Remove Menu pet food, regardless of date, stores urged
The company is asking that all pet food stores remove all products produced by the company regardless of date in an effort to ensure that no more pets are affected by the contaminated food. So far about 14 pets in Canada, the US and Mexico have died. While I recognize that pets are an important part of many peoples lives, I am not sure that I view this as a national tragedy. I also have had trouble in the past with stories that get more attention than far more serious stories involving people, such as the ongoing genocidian activities in Africa.
Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Iran 'To Try Britons For Espionage'
This now appears to be an effort on the part of Iran to trade these British hostages for 5 Iranian prisoners being held in Iraq. The games of diplomacy continue. The threats and counter-threats all seem so childish.
My weight is steady at 188.
B. Plan
Immediate Mathematics Read & make notes on The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems 1 hr Technology Convert LPs to MP3 format 2 hr Review iPhoto images from Mexico 2 hr Literature Continue reading "Of This Earth" by Rudy Wiebe
1 hr History Begin reading "Maya" 1 hr Philosophy Begin reading "How Are We To Live?" by Peter Singer 1 hr Later Technology 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 Begin reading "Algebra: Abstract and Concrete" by Frederick Goodman Model Trains Add ground cover to oil refinery diorama Follow tutorial for version 8 of 3rd PlanIt 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
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 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
5:50 am One of my "major goals" is to review the week's pages each Sunday. But first I will put the coffee on.
The first item last Sunday was that my weight was 190. It is now 188. A loss of 2 pounds in a week is considered excellent but I would like to aim for something closer to 3 pounds. Overall I am pleased with this program. I have lost 8 pounds since returning from Mexico and am still aiming for a goal of 180. But it is slow going. Patience is important. The real long-term goal is to maintain the 180 once I reach it.
My conversion of LP records to MP3 format is progressing slowly but steadily: I now have 13 records converted (7 during the last week) but there are still another 28 to go. At my current rate that will take another month. Patience again. I finally grabbed my cell phone by the horns and now feel that I can use it without much difficulty. I know how to text message as well as speed dial.
Mathematics is back on the front burner. I am making steady progress with both calculus as well as with some preliminary review of pre-requisite skills such as algebra and functions. Why do this? A simple answer is because I like to. It is analogous to doing crossword puzzles. But I am beginning to spend some spare time with these. Larry got me interested in them while in Mexico. At the moment I am having difficulty finding ones at my level. Some are too easy while many are too difficult. The "Humongous Book of Calculus Problems" is a good review of basic skills, and one that I am enjoying. Doing a few of these problems is very much like doing a crossword puzzle. I should also have a look at some of my recreational maths books.
Reading Literature is also a regular activity. Good. During the last week I finished reading two novels and then bought 4 new novels. This remains a very important component of my daily life.
I took a couple of photos of our May tree as it begins to bud and form new leaves for the summer. I must remember to take regular pictures of this.
On the negative side, I have yet to begin reading my books on Mayan culture. And I have not reviewed my images from our trip to Mexico. Nor have we gone birding since our return. And my model trains are not yet running.
Returning to the positive, the coffee tastes great.
6:45 am Early morning is a good time to convert an LP to MP3.
9:05 am Two hours, two LPs converted. Both were Mexican brass, one was Herb Alpert and th Tijuana Brass. While listening to the records I happened to glance at a Peter Singer book, "How Are We To Live?". I must add this to my list of immediate activities.
10:30 am After reading the first chapter of "How Are We To Live?" by Peter Singer, I tried to capture a few of the important points in terms of two diagrams:
The second diagram attempts to capture the overall topic in terms of two orthogonal dimensions, both of which are operative to different degrees when any particular event arises. The first diagram simply identifies a number of events mentioned in the chapter. Now to replace this with my template for notemaking.
Philosophy 01 March 25 |
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Here are a few images of our walk to Tim Hortons for a soup and sandwich.
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Along McMaster blvd |
walkway path |
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walkway path |
walkway path |
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walkway path |
Approaching shopping center |
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Tim Hortons coffee shop |
lunch |
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lunch |
Nicholas Sheran park |
1:30 PM Here are two more photos showing the beginning of the spring activity of the May tree in our backyard.
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7:00 PM I finally got around to having a close look at the photos from our Mexico trip. I at least culled out most of the "hopeless" ones. I will create a DVD of all of the images for Larry and Mary Ann. I am also thinking of adding a subset of these onto these web pages. For any given day, I will try to select the best Mayan ruins images, the best bird photos and the best touristing photos. The maximum for any day will be 10 + 10 + 5. I will give this a try for day 1 (February 12).
D. Reflection