Wednesday December 10, 2008 6:40 am Lethbridge

It is +6 C with a high forecast of +8 C. Sunrise 8:18 Sunset 16:31 Hours of daylight: 8:13.
See current Lethbridge forecast here. See current Lethbridge news here.

This page last updated on: Thursday, December 11, 2008 5:15 AM

A. Morning Musings

Most of the little snow that we had has melted overnight. But the wind continues to blow. Chinook weather. There is a change due on Saturday as the high will be about -20 C. That is a drop of almost 30 degrees. But the warm weather has been very nice.

Today will be largely devoted to chores - much of it shopping for food for Christmas. We have yet to buy our turkey, and we are short on many regular items, including wine. Should be a fun outing. With some cold weather on the horizon we want to be set up before it arrives.

I think I have some work ahead of me with Ship It! I am beginning to learn that one needs to be very meticulous with the detail before one has a satisfactory set of sessions.

I have had my first sip (of coffee). I do like it.

I am feeling a bit, but not too much, sorry for Kull. His year alone in southern Chile is really taking solitude seriously. And his personal quest to better understand the effect of such an experience is great. But it seems a shame that he has embedded this experience within the requirements of completing a Ph. D. This then looks more like work, (i.e. I must keep a journal, I must read these books, I must make reflective notes on the books). I like the parts that are more along the lines of I must survive and his many intelligent approaches to the various difficulties he encounters. But he rarely lets go and simply enjoys the moment. He practices meditation but only under a particular regime. He uses a sweat lodge once a month. It strikes me that he is a classic "westerner" trying to relax according to a timetable. Incredibly, he is still "wound up" after 7 months of living alone in the wilderness.

I am comparing his year with mine. He is alone in the wilderness, I am comfortable in a home in a small city. We both read and we both keep a daily journal. But the major difference between us is that my activities are self-initiated, self-organized, and self-evaluated whereas he is having to satisfy an external set of requirements for a Ph. D. I decide what I want to read and let my choices flow depending on the moment. I decide to try something like geocaching and find that I really enjoy it. I have had a life-long desire to have a "good" model train layout and now I am almost there. I thought I would spend time learning and relearning some mathematics, but have let that slip for the time being. No problem. I am thoroughly enjoying what I am doing. In fairness, I think Kull is also thoroughly enjoying what he is doing.

Learning Category	Planned Activities for Today	Time
Literature	"Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes" (2008) by Robert Kull	1 hr
Model Trains	Carry out tests and maintenance on my rolling stock	1 hr
Technology	Install software for Logitech V320 cordless optical mouse	1 hr
Model Trains	Set up Ship It! sessions	1 hr
Technology	"Born Digital" (2008) by John Palfrey & Urs Gasser	1 hr