May 14, 5:30 am Musings
It has been just over a week since I last mused in the morning. I have a hot cup beside me at the moment and a blank screen in front of me.
The big surprise has been birding. I have a new telephoto lens and have only used it once.
Another surprise has been my fitness program. I have not missed a day of either weight training or coulee walks in 26 days. yet have only lost 6 pounds. Although I must admit that I am feeling more energized and I am beginning to notice a slight improvement about my waist. Not a lot, but a beginning.
I am pleased with the return of mathematics to my routine. I am feeling like I am getting back into this. Group theory is the focal point, and so far it is making sense.
Reading is another plus. I am doing more of this. The book by Simon Schama is an unexpected delight. I bought it on a hunch and the hunch was a good one. After reading the first item on the ugly American I began to ask myself, what exactly is an essay. I googled "writing an essay" and read a web site that gave a series of steps for writing an essay. I then applied these steps to reading an essay and ended up creating a mind map of the article. What surprised me was the lack of structure in this article. The article flowed and was easy to read, but there was no attempt to provide a tightly reasoned piece. I have a few other books of essays. I am going to play with this a bit and see what develops.
Geocaching has been another surprise. I am doing very little of it at the moment. I am still trying to go out and search for a cache on days which have no "finds" for them, but I am not rigorous about this and miss the occasional day. However I am saving a bundle of money on gasoline.
May 6, 7:30 am Musings
There are only a few patches of snow left from yesterday's weather. It should all be gone soon. Positive temperatures do that to the snow. Yesterday was almost 15 degrees below normal for this time of year. Today will be close to normal. But we will keep the bedding plants in the garage until Tuesday.
I am normal for this time of day. The hot coffee is beside my right hand.
With the wintery weather yesterday, I stayed low and indoors. Thus no weight training, no coulee walk. But a day off once in awhile is not a bad idea. The important point is to not extend the break. The LFC is open from 10:00 am - 6:00 PM on Sunday.
May 5, 5:20 am Musings
I am feeling better this morning than I did yesterday morning. More awake, even though it is an hour earlier.
I have some work in front of me this morning as I slowly dismantle the new barbecue until I can dislodge the propane hose from the top control panel. But barring the unexpected I should be able to put it all back together again in less than an hour.
With rain forecast for later today I will size it up later this morning when it is light and decided whether to do the coulee walk or go in to the LFC and try walking on a treadmill for awhile.
I remember starting another online book on symmetry and modern algebra a few years ago.This might make a good third resource to consider as I recall it began with a description of the group of symmetry operations on a triangle and a square. Now to track that down. I think the author was Goodman.
May 4, 6:20 am Musings
I am slow off the blocks this morning. Even the first coffee has failed to perk me up. Nor the first pun.
The sun is shining and the day looks to be a lot brighter than the last couple.
Today is the day for a visit to the LFC. I will have to join the club for a few months in order to keep using the facilities. The price/month goes down as the number of months goes up. I think a 4 month period is a good way to begin. There is no doubt in my mind that by doing this I will making a commitment to the regular use of the equipment.
While visiting friends yesterday I was impressed with their new barbecue. Ours is in need of some maintenance and this may be a good time to look at a new one.
It would be nice if I received a phone call this morning saying that the telephoto lens I am interested in has arrived and that I can come down and try it out. The call should come either today or tomorrow.
May 3, 6:20 am Musings
I finally feel that I am back in the grove.
I have been following a regular diet and fitness routine for just over 2 weeks and am already feeling the difference in terms of well-being and energy levels. My 3 "free" sessions are now over. The next step is to join the club and make a longer term commitment. This is a no-brainer. Health is worth it.
Tracking information on some books I ordered from Amazon indicates they left Calgary this morning. I assume they will arrive today, although the estimated arrival date is tomorrow.
I want to visit a second photography shop in town and see if they have the Canon lens I am seriously considering purchasing. It never hurts to compare prices and subsidiary factors such as maintenance contracts. I am also looking for an Ontario wine that is highly recommended.
There are many books that I could begin reading. May 2, 6:20 am Musings
It is really miserable outside, with the rest of the week not looking much better.
On the plus side, it is nice to have the website up to date. And a hot cup of coffee in hand.
I plan to visit the LFC (Lethbridge Fitness Center) this morning. I will wait until at least 9 am so those who want to use the facilities before they go to work can do so. Also 9 am give me a chance to wake up before trying something strenuous.
My next priority is to finish reading Eliot Perlman's "The Street Sweeper". This is another activity that has been dragging on far too long. The book itself is a very good story, even though grim with descriptions of the Holocaust. Definitely unpleasant, but worth remembering, which is clearly the prime objective of the novel.
And my next to next priority is birding. I want to explore the options for a new lens as well as doing some serious reading about warblers.
May 1, 2:00 PM Musings
While walking my thoughts turned to research. Honest! I was thinking of the article by Cronbach that he wrote on the 20th anniversary of an earlier article he wrote on coefficient alpha and test reliabilities. From there it was a small leap to wondering if the Fitzgeralds' longitudinal study of ISP mathematics programs and visualization/verbalization profiles looked at the stability of the visualization/verbalization scores. I now need to read both the Cronbach article and the Fitzgeralds study more carefully. Also, I would like to see if I can browse the table of contents of Psychometrika online. I just wanted to capture these thoughts before I lose them. This may also mean that I need to add another category to my list of activities: research. But not to panic.May 1,
May 1, 8:00 am Musings
My two priorities are flipped today. I really want to finish updating the April web pages. Then I will take a coulee walk as part of my fitness routine. Once I get the web pages completed I will try to get my head around future activities.