Thursday April 19, 2007 6:05 am Lethbridge Sunrise 6:32 Sunset 20:29 Hours of daylight: 13:57

A. Morning Musings

6:05 am It is +1 C with a high forecast of +3 C. The snow that fell yesterday melted overnight. But we are still about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Gas Prices Fuel Small Jump In March Inflation

The consumer price index rose 2.3% in March. It is nice to see this as the lead story. It is a signal that there was nothing dramatic happening on the world or national scene.

Canadian Headline: see above

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Murray Irrigation To Be Switched Off Without Rain

Unless there are heavy rains in the next two months, the Murray-Darling River system will not have enough water in it for irrigation. This is much more serious news as Australia is still suffering from long term drought conditions.

My weight is up 1 to 186. I am optimisitic that I can bring it back down today.

From rear window	South patio
Both images taken at 12:35 PM

B. Plan

Immediate
Mathematics	Continue reading "Algebra: Abstract and Concrete" by Frederick Goodman	1 hr
Literature	Read & make notes for book 4 of "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky	1 hr
Birds	Update database to include 2007 Mexico trip	2 hr
Later
Technology	Convert LPs to MP3 format
	Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac"
	Burn backup of images onto DVD
Mathematics	Read & make notes on The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems
	Read "Symmetry" by David Wade
	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
	Follow tutorial for version 8 of 3rd PlanIt
	Continue assembly of coaling tower
	Purchase DCC system
Birds	Create notebook pages birding in Mexico	1 hr
History	Begin reading "Maya"
	Read Watson "Ideas"
Philosophy	Read & make notes for "Breaking the Spell"
	Begin reading "How Are We To Live?" by Peter Singer
Literature	New York Times easy crossword puzzles
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

6:20 am I have a coffee meet at 8 this morning. That is always something to look forward to. The weather is still not conducive to walking, but I may force the issue as I need the exercise. But the day is beginning as dull and overcast.

12:20 PM I have put 2 hours into updating my bird database for February 12 - 14. All of the birds in iPhoto for those three dates have now been tentatively identified. The images have yet to be transferred to the web page for February 14, but the bird watching web pages for February 12 and February 13 are now complete.

12:35 PM Here are two more photos showing the beginning of the spring activity of the May tree in our backyard. There has been a light rain all morning, which is preferable to snow.

D. Reflection