Thursday April 26, 2007 7:10 am Lethbridge Sunrise 6:18 Sunset 20:40 Hours of daylight: 14:22

A. Morning Musings

7:10 am It is +7 C with a high forecast of +17 C.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Industry Braces For Tory Climate Change Plan

The tories will release their plans to reduce greenhouse emissions today. The Tories intend to halt the rise of greenhouse gases in three to five years by forcing 700 of the largest industrial polluters in Canada to reduce their emissions. I will await the details, but I like the idea of focusing on the largest pollutors.

Canadian Headline: see above

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Labor's IR Plan Hands More Power To The Unions: Howard

LABOR'S plan to replace the Australian Industrial Relations Commission would hand more power to the unions, Prime Minister John Howard says. It appears to me that the debate about IR will be the key election issue.

My weight is up 1 to 182. I was expecting this. We had two good meals yesterday: sushi for lunch and steak for dinner. Now to focus on hitting my target of 180.

B. Actual/Notes

7:40 am The sky is bright blue with not a cloud in sight. The forecast for possible morning showers seems a bit off. I have my coffee ready. Now for some early morning Dostoyevsky.

	Literature 26 April 26
Literature Notes
7:40 am Now to begin the day with an early morning hour reading. Part II Book Four: Strains Chap. 1 Father Ferapont See Literature 25 . Chap. 2 At His Father's See Literature 25 . Chap. 3 He Gets Involved With Schoolboys See Literature 25 . Chap. 4 At The Khokhlakovs' See Literature 25 . Chap. 5 Strain In The Drawing Room See Literature 25 . Chap. 6 Strain in the Cottage Alyosha visits Nikolai Snegiryov, the former Captain, who was humiliated by Dmitre Karamazov a few days earlier. "... and he decided not to 'think' about the 'disaster' he had just caused, not to torment himself with remorse, but to go about his business, and let be what came." [p. 196] Chap. 7 And in the Fresh Air Alyosha gives Nikolai the $200 rubles but he refuses it as he views this as a matter of principle.   SUMMARY of the session: These latter two chapters are a superb description of the life of a Russian peasant family, full of compassion and sensitivity, and hardship.

C. Birdwatching

Here is the link for today's birdwatching activities.

D. 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	1 hr
	Bird watching trip to Kinbrook Provincial Park + make notes	5 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
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.

E. Reflection