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Showing posts from March, 2020

Sump

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March 30, 2020. A sump is a hole in a basement to catch water. You use a sump pump to remove that water. When the sump pump fails, you get basement water. When it happens during a pandemic, nobody responds to your calls. This little Canadian Tire replacement burned out after a few hours. https://flic.kr/p/2iKoxMd

Feeding

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March 28, 2020. First thing this morning we took the kittens for their booster shots. Then I cleaned out the bird feeder and stocked it up again. Also, we went into the city for prescriptions. Also, went to the Pet Valu for kitten toys and scratch pads. And we went on a milk run. The rest of the time I spent in my home office working. As I wrote on Mastodon, it felt like a work day today. https://flic.kr/p/2iJUgeC

Whissell Creek

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March 27, 2020. I took a short lunch-hour ride to St.Albert and back; this is Whissell Creek where it crosses Guerin Road just north of St. Albert. Spent some time this morning documenting my Covid-related work for the purpose of obtaining proper time codes; spent the afternoon doing said work. https://flic.kr/p/2iJRsgv

Home Depot

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March 16. 2019. Logged on this morning to a 'president needs this by noon' moment. A few meetings and it's all sorted with a good result. I like that we can deliver on a dime when we need to. Took a quick run into the Home Depot for furnace filters and bird seed. That plus the usual online work was my day. https://flic.kr/p/2iJBEZd

Eagle

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March 25, 2020. I took this mid-afternoon by the Nation River just outside Casselman on lunch-hour bike ride. Until this point I was planning to talk about the tens of thousands of geese I saw along the way. https://flic.kr/p/2iHJxJ8

Bird in a Bush

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March 24, 2020. It just figures that the day I removed the snow tires it snowed all day. This is the day after, with the bird feeder newly popular again. Another day spent working at home (is there any other kind?) - three meetings, and more Covid course review work. https://flic.kr/p/2iHx4gV

The Empty Dealership

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March 23, 2020. I took the car in for servicing and a tire change today (not optional when you live in the country), working from their guest area (better wifi than I have at home). They are practicing social distancing, and sanitizing surfaces, and everything else you need to do. Stopped for gas on the way home; they have a big plastic sheet protecting the clerk (great!) but no way to not touch the nozzle hundreds have touched before. https://flic.kr/p/2iH52mS

Corn Stubble

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March 22, 2020. It was a cold crystal clear day, probably too cold for a ride but I did get out for 13 km in the country. Otherwise I puttered through the day on the computer writing posts and updating the quick guide. https://flic.kr/p/2iGMikc

Mourning Doves

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March 21, 2020. The doves were too large for the bird feeder but since I just filled it yesterday there was plenty of food on the deck. Quiet day indoors today; too cold for cycling at -4 and windy. Maybe tomorrow. Getting my car tires changed Monday. https://flic.kr/p/2iGsYa4

Return of the Geese

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March 20, 2020. We went for a milk run this morning. There was a gorgeous fog covering everything, through which the geese were returning from the south. I only had my phone; I wish I could have gone back with my camera, but there was work to do (more reviewing of a coronavirus course). https://flic.kr/p/2iG6qtY

The Railway Bridge

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March 19, 2020. I spent the day reviewing a Covid course and working on e-learning resources. I was able to get out for another bike ride - my third of the year - a short and chilly 12 kilometers. This is when I'm really enjoying the benefits of living in the country. The drawback? I could really use better bandwidth. Anyway, this is the railway bridge here in Casselman. https://flic.kr/p/2iFS6FY

The Home Office

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March 18, 2020. This is my home office, hard at work. I haven't tidied it up for this photo; this is the working office. I've been focused on Covid-related e-learning support, something that is becoming my job these days. No complaints; I have a home, a job, good health, a family, and kittens. I am very fortunate right now. And focused on how I can help everyone else get through this. https://flic.kr/p/2iFQzpr

Frozen Nation River

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March 17, 2020. One nice thing about working from home is that I can get out for a quick 8.8 km bike ride between online meetings. This is a view of the nearby Nation River, still mostly frozen. https://flic.kr/p/2iFfr4w

Cedar Seeds

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March 16, 2020. Spent the day working from the home office, which is where I will be based for the indefinite future. Set up an automated user-populated calendar for events helping people move online. This is cedar from the hedge beside the house. https://flic.kr/p/2iEYBWb

First Ride of the Year

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March 15, 2020. It was below zero, but it was a bright sunny day, so I got out for my first bike ride of the season. :) 9.7 km doing some back roads on the gravel bike. Caught up on some email, edited the Quick Guide, made some posts. https://flic.kr/p/2iECCw8

Blackbirds

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March 14, 2020. Back at the Costco today, everything was quiet and normal. Back home, a quiet afternoon, watched the birds (a red winged blackbird and a starling) on the bird feeder. https://flic.kr/p/2iEiXiR

The Plague!

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March 13, 2020. Friday. Arrived at the office only to find it was closed because we had two presumptive cases of coronavirus in the building. OK, went to do grocery shopping at Costco, and couldn't even get in. This was the Metro in Casselman, with long lines as the survivalists bought all the paper products. Update: it was all back to normal by the next day and the survivalists are nowhere to be seen). https://flic.kr/p/2iEerop

Mer Bleu

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March 12, 2020. Stopped at the Mer Bleu trail on Anderson Road on the way home from the office. Got my computer issues straightened out. Updated the quick guide. Other odds and ends. https://flic.kr/p/2iEh7qS

Creating a Blog on Blogger

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Quick Guide - Mailing Lists

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Quick Guide - Web Sites

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Quick Guide - Collaborative Writing

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Quick Guide - Email (2)

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Quick Guide - Email

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Quick Guide - Email

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Quick Guide - Email

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Kitties

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March 11, 2020. Charlemagne and Julia. Working from home today. Some updates to the quick guide, but I spent most of it updating my blockchain and distributed technology notes. Yes, I have too many interests. What of it? https://flic.kr/p/2iDupUi

Supplies

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March 11, 2020. Finished up my quick how-to guide today and did some more work on the ethics paper. Also announced the upcoming ethics MOOC. Regular Costco run on the way home. It looks like business as usual in there. No I did not buy toilet paper. https://flic.kr/p/2iDuo8Y

Sublimation

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March 10, 2020. I've missed a few days of daily photos - that's what happens when I'm in the zone and busy. This was the sublimating snow on the way in to the office. I woked on my quick how-to guide for online learning. https://flic.kr/p/2iDyvxD

The Rose in Winter

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March 4, 2020. A nice day today; worked on Chapter 4 of the ethics paper (this is the one with all the ethical codes, so it's slow going) and listened to the ball game. Also played with cats, which makes me happy. https://flic.kr/p/2iAJ9Pg

Morning Mist

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March 3, 2020. It was above freezing this morning and in the brilliant sunlight there was a pretty mist to look at on the whole drive into the city. Today was a meetings day, but I did get an ethics application (for an upcoming MOOC) submitted, so there's that. https://flic.kr/p/2iAos2T

Snowscape

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March 2, 2020. Inspired by a recent photo by Alan Levine, I took this photo of the snowscape in out back yard. His photo was better, but mine exists. Finished converting the ethics bibliography this morning and got back to work on the main article again. The trick to this ethics book will be to not let it languish. It's always a challenge for me to finish things (once I've taken all the notes *I* know how the book will read, so there isn't the incentive to actually write it). https://flic.kr/p/2iApF8M

Destroyed

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March 1, 2020. Our kitten toys don't last very long. We got this just 48 hours ago. It is now being retired. This is its hood side; nothing remains of the back except shredded stuffing. I spent the day today finishing and posting my response to Weller. I feel a bit guilty, because I could have been doing productive work on, say, the ethics paper. But I wanted this out and done. https://flic.kr/p/2iAkCZ7

Vaccination Day

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February 29, 2020. It's like the Chicago song: Saturday at the Vet. We took the three kitties in for their vaccinations. They responded really well to the combination of antibiotics, deworming, eye drops (for Charlemagne) and ear cleaning (for mites). Ah, rescues. But now they're all strong enough for shots, and that's what they're getting today. Because we want them to live long and be happy. And they were calm and happy and had no problems at all, because they've learned to trust us. Back home for the afternoon, I continued writing my response to Weller. https://flic.kr/p/2iAoecQ

After the Storm

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February 28, 2020. The streets were cleared today, mostly, but there was a thick blanket of snow covering everything. Even so, I went into the office today. I had other plans but I started reading Martin Weller's book and as a result started writing a response to it. I also wrote a Part 2 for my introduction to Fastpages. https://flic.kr/p/2iAoay7

Snowstorm

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February 27, 2020. I was supposed to be in Toronto for the Big Data Challenge today, but with the train cancelled and this snowstorm on the horizon, I spent the day working on the big old ethics paper from home. Mostly what I did was write a script to convert my inconsistent hand-written references into RIS so I can import them into Zotero and output them in MLA or whatever like a real researcher. P.S. that's not the storm bending the pole, it's always like that. https://flic.kr/p/2iApoGa