Monday, May 2, 2011 Lethbridge
5:50 am
The temperature is +4 C, with a high predicted of +20 C.
From the Environment Canada website:
Today Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind southwest 20 km/h. High 20. UV index 6 or high. Tonight A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight. Wind west 30 km/h becoming light this evening. Low plus 5. Normals Max: 16°C Min: 2°C
5:40 am Morning Musings
Three pieces of news this morning, in the order they were noted.
1. The weather forecast. This may well be the first time that we have hit above normal temperatures this year. Since normal means the average over an extended period of time this is amazing. But the increase in snow melt may bring serious flooding to Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
2. The eBird web site gets updated overnight. Using the number of different species recorded my "standing" for Alberta has moved up from 19 to 16. My standing for Canada is 273 (formerly it was 345). The fact that I am this high in the ranking indicates to me that not that many people report their sightings to eBird.
3. Global news. Osama Bin Laden has been killed. Since 7/11 a decade ago he has been a lightning rod in the American media. With that focus now behind us, it will be interesting to see what replaces it. Something positive would be nice.
On a more local note, today is election day in Canada. The polls seem to be indicating that almost any outcome is possible. I think many Canadians are disenchanted with all of the alternatives before us. Perhaps some new party leaders will emerge from this. Something positive would be nice.
Now for a second cup of coffee. It is already light outside. That is nice.
Mmmm. Good.
I have set aside 1 1/4 cups of coffee to cool. This will be used later this morning when I add the remaining ingredients in the bread making machine for a loaf of dark rye bread.
What else needs to be done? One of my geocaches needs maintenance. The container is no longer there. This is one of the problems with urban caches - they are often muggled.
1:00 PM Puzzles
I surprised myself by working through a Tuesday-level NYT crossword in 45 minutes.
3:00 PM Geocaching
I have painted a small container green. The paint should be dry tomorrow and if so I will place it in a tree.
I noticed one new cache in west Lethbridge. My GPS indicated it was 1.8 km from the house so I decided to walk over and see if I could find it.
GC2TNED Lola's Cache
Success. I liked the "container" for this one.
Here is my posted log for this find: "Nicely done. SL. TFTC."
Here are 3 photos. The first is of the unpaved lane to the cache site. This is followed by the view as I approached the site, and then the final one shows the cache revealed.
This brings my total number of "finds" to 951.
5:00 PM Puzzles
My playing of Go on a 9x9 grid is improving. I am beginning to slow down and think through a few moves before acting. Having said that I am still at a level 7, which is very low (i.e. poor).
9:00 PM Literature
I am making good progress with "Irma Voth". The story is about a young Mennonite woman who is living in a remote area of Mexico. She is feeling very alone and is trying to make sense of life and her role in it. The writing reflects this confusion and is very powerful and moving.
10:00 PM
The major results of the federal election are now clear. The Harper government (Conservative) has finally won a majority in the House of Commons. But the official opposition will now be the New Democratic Party, for the first time in Canadian history. The Bloc Quebecois has been almost eliminated as a federal party and the Liberal party has also been decimated. Our local riding went Conservative, much to my dismay. Oh well. I had my vote.