Tuesday May 15, 2007 7:00 am Jasper Sunrise 5:56 Sunset 21:43 Hours of daylight: 15:47

A. Morning Musings

7:00 am It is -3 C with a high forecast of +20 C.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Palestinians Awake To Deadliest Day Of Fighting Since Truce

Hamas gunmen attacked rival Fatah forces at a key crossing along the Israeli border, killing eight people. The battle at the Karni border crossing was the deadliest so far in three days of fighting between Fatah and Hamas. At least 17 people have died so far, bringing life in Gaza to a standstill and pushing the fragile Palestinian unity government closer to collapse. As in Iraq, but for different reasons, the Arab community has has many internal difficulties as they do with non-Arab communities. Violence is often used as a means to achieve political goals.

Canadian Headline: Thomson Agrees To Buy Reuters

Reuters Group PLC and Thomson Corp. said Tuesday that they have agreed on terms for a merger to create one of the world's largest financial news providers. It is nice to see a business story be the lead item.

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Labors IR Plans Wont Lift Building Costs: Gillard

OPPOSITION industrial relations spokeswoman Julia Gillard has defended Labor's plan to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission, saying the move would not lead to industrial anarchy and increased construction costs. This is a regular continuation of the pre-election campaign.

B. Actual/Notes

3:20 PM I am now in Edmonton after an uneventful drive from Jasper to Edmonton. I did learn about a nice coffee shop in Edson that I will stop at again on this type of trip.

10:00 PM Here is a link to the birdwatching photos for the last two days.

C. Plan

Immediate
Literature	Read & make notes for book 8 of "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky	1 hr
Later
Technology	Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac"
	Learn how to attach a digital camera to my spotting scope
	Burn backup of images onto DVD
Mathematics	Read & make notes on The Humongous Book of Calculus Problems
	Continue reading "Algebra: Abstract and Concrete" by Frederick Goodman
	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
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.

D. Reflection