Tuesday May 22, 2007 5:15 am Lethbridge Sunrise 5:38 Sunset 21:18 Hours of daylight: 15:40

A. Morning Musings

5:20 am It is +6 C with a high forecast of +12 C.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Harper makes Surprise Visit To Afghanistan

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has responded to criticism of his government's handling of the mission in Afghanistan by making an unannounced visit to the war-ravaged country. The surprise two-day trip comes after weeks of opposition attacks on his government's allegedly incompetent handling of the Afghan detainee controversy. Unlike that last trip, this one is designed to emphasize Canada's non-military contribution to rebuilding of the country. Politics. Not only must one be doing a good job, but one must appear to be doing a good job.

Canadian Headline: see above

Australian Headline: (from The Australian): Coalition Could Be 'Annihilated' by Rudd: PM

John Howard has warned the Coalition would be "annihilated" by a Kevin Rudd landslide in his most pessimistic assessment of his electoral prospects. Mr Howard's blunt message to Coalition MPs follows the latest Newspoll, published in The Australian today, which showed Labor maintaining a strong lead over the Government, 57 per cent to 43 per cent after preferences were distributed. Despite his grim warning, Mr Howard said there was no apparent hostility towards the Government from the public, and there was a general feeling the Government had done a good job at managing the economy. Another pre-election story.

B. Actual/Notes

5:30 am The weather forecast continues to be showers, wind, and cool temperatures. Not a great day for outdoor pursuits. But okay for coffee. I hope to finish reading The Brothers Karamazov this morning.

10:30 am The novel did not disappoint. The final hundred pages were spectacular. I made a note in the margin of many worthwhile quotes. But I will leave them there and return to the novel when I wish to review them.

C. Plan

Immediate
Literature	Read & make notes for book 11 of "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky	3 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