Wednesday, April 6, 2011 Lethbridge
5:15 am tag: Morning Musings
Yesterday I set up an activity web page for geocaching. Today I will set up one for Model Trains. Yesterday I went geocaching in the early morning but failed to find the cache. As a result of feedback from the owner I will try again this morning
However the major event (while geocaching) was to see that the ice was now almost clear of Henderson Lake. Now is prime time for trying to see waterfowl that may be migrating through the area on their way north. Seeing the Herring Gull yesterday reinforced that idea. I will be taking my camera with me this morning when I return to the area.
I also spent some time yesterday trying to figure out how to use CSS to display a photograph with a caption and have both centered on the page. The trick is to go to Google search and type in words like "CSS insert photos with captions". I have that working but want to revisit the code and make sure that I appreciate why it works.
My fitness program appears to be working. I weighed myself this morning and finally hit 190 pounds. I would like to get to 180 but will be very happy if I am at 185 by the end of the month.
Geocaching and Birding will be the main activities today.
There is now time this morning to get off the screen and do a little reading (History and Literature).
5:40 am tag: Model Trains
I have created an Activity web page for this activity. On March 29 I sent my MRC throttle and base station to MRC in New Jersey for an upgrade to Version 2 of the throttle software and Version 3 of the base station firmware. The latter will allow me to connect my system to the computer interface for the MRC DCC program.
I am tracking the parcel and have received confirmation that the parcel has arrived in the USA. I am not sure if I will receive a final message saying it has arrived at MRC, but will check at the end of the week.
Although my operational activities have come to a halt, I can still work on my layout. I have a few kits that still need assembling, years after I bought them.
I received an email message yesterday informing me that the Balancer system that I purchased last year has now been integrated into the Ship It software program. That makes sense, but I am in no hurry to obtain this upgrade. As I understand it there is no real change to the performance of the system, it is more a simple combining of the two components.
7:50 am tag:History
I have often said to myself, "I buy good books." . There is sometimes a substantial gap between the time I make a purchase and the time I read it. Not a problem. I know that I am surrounded by riches. All of these books are bound together by an infinite potential of connections, many of which occur most unexpectedly. But occur they will.
I now know what book I will read next: "Three Cups of Tea".
The last couple of pages of Wade Davis's CBC Massey Lectures, "The Wayfinders", ends with a cup of tea, and a powerful promise for the future. Which reminded me of an overhead display of a cup of tea at a gathering of mathematics educators. This is what the presenter fell back on when he was confused about a train of thought (in this case understanding the mathematics underlying Rubik's cube). And it is the icon (although of 2 coffee cups instead of 1 tea cup) that has adorned my web portal page to the Web for the last decade, and is a visual metaphor for the injunction "Think!", or maybe, "caffeine!".
Good Morning Dale!
"The Wayfinders" (2009) by Wade Davis is one of the most profound books that I have ever read. It should be required reading by everyone.
Here are two quotes (I have underlined many) from the last chapter:
"Our way of life [Western culture], inspired in so many ways, is not the paragon of humanity's potential. ... Were societies to be ranked on the basis of technological prowess, the Western scientific experiment, radiant and brilliant, would no doubt come out on top. But if the criteria of excellence shifted, for example to the capacity to thrive in a truly sustainable manner, with a true reverence and appreciation for the earth, the Western paradigm would fail." [p. 195-6]
"... culture is not trivial. ... Culture is a body of laws and traditions, a moral and ethical code that insulates a people from the barbaric heart that history suggests lies just beneath the surface of all human societies and indeed all human beings. Culture alone allows us to reach, as Abraham Lincoln said, for the better angels of our nature." [p. 198]
10:00 am tag: Birding
I returned to Henderson Lake this morning with my camera and walked the perimeter path which takes about an hour. There was only a small patch of ice at the east end of the lake, otherwise the lake was open. I saw 3 Double-crested Cormorants (my first 2011 sighting in Alberta) as well as about 6 Common Goldeneyes and 50 Ring-billed Gulls.
My best photos were of the ice:
11:30 am tag: Literature
While shopping for groceries at Costco I did my regular quick pass-by of the books and bought one:
- "Irma Voth" (2011) by Miriam Toews.
Toews is one of my favorite authors. I now automatically buy her books as soon as I see them. I have never been disappointed. She was a wicked sense of humor, one that I delight in seeing.
12:30 PM tag: Technology
I just received an update from Google for a software program called Picasa (free). I have not used this program in some time. I must remember to have a look at it in the next few days.
While I was shopping I dropped into the store where I purchased the iPad2 and bought a cover and protective shield for the screen. Now I "Have iPad2, will Travel".
10:00 PM tag:Literature
I have begun reading "The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver. This is quickly becoming a good yarn.
