February 4

Monday February 4, 2008 5:50 am Lethbridge, Alberta

It is -20 C with a high forecast of -10 C. Sunrise 8:01 Sunset 17:30 Hours of daylight: 9:29

1:30 PM

A. Morning Musings

Coffee at The Ugly Mug at 8 this morning.

The next few days will likely be spent going through numerous files, discarding duplicates and organizing the rest. I am opting for a basic time sequence, trying my best to simply place files into folders by year. Once I have done that I will set up some sub-folders such as Courses, Correspondence, Papers, etc. So far we have cleaned out a fair amount of space where we had just accumulated old technology and files. Spring cleaning, in anticipation of spring arriving soon.

Here is the ending to today's Rumi reading:

...
This talk is like stamping new coins. They pile up,
while the real work is being done outside
by someone digging in the ground.

Now to have a look at the files from three CDs. If I can get these files organized (I am pretty sure I already have all the photos from them imported into iPhoto) then this will help me when I review the remaining zip discs.

Learning Category	Planned Activities for Today	Time
Literature	Begin morning with a Rumi reading
Literature	Make notes on "The Ripening Sun" by Patricia Atkinson	1 hr
Literature	Begin reading "The Golden Notebook" by Doris Lessing	1 hr
Technology	Edit iPhoto files	3 hr
Technology	Install OS 10.5 (leopard)	2 hr

B. Actual Learning Activities

2:50 PM

The day has been excellent. In the space of two hours all three packages that I was hoping for, arrived. The new Fine nib in my Pelikan fountain pen works beautifully. Apple's OS 10.5 arrived and has been installed without difficulty. I am now in the process of testing my various software programs and peripheral devices. So far, no problems. And my two reversing loop modules for my model trains have arrived.

The snow is simply sparkling today. It is hard to capture on a small image, but here is a sample:

snow

7:20 PM

I thought I would begin reading Doris Lessing's 1962 novel, :The Golden Notebook". Unfortunately I began by reading the 1971 Introduction. This is a 17 page essay on the book (and on education) by the author. Stunning is the only word for it. It immediately reminded me of a small paperback book that was the 1985 Massey Lectures by the same author. The title gives a sense of what is to come, "Prisons We Choose to Live Inside". Now I feel I must reread this set of lectures before beginning the novel. By the Way, I read that she has just received the Nobel prize for Literature this year. Fantastic! It feels good to get outside the world of Technology, if only for a short time.

I hope to write a report on both the Massey Lectures as well as the Introduction to her novel - tomorrow. One of the delights is having both books at my fingertips. Another delight is having the novel wrapped in a beautiful fabric bookcover. This is a tactile experience that I would recommend to anyone who loves books and reading them.