Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

ovember 28, 215. Spent the morning moving bixes in the living room to open out a bit more space, and the afternoon running errants, including a visit to Canadian Tire here in Casselman to schedule an emissions test and safety on the one day I have available to do these things. It's interetsing to note that they don't do emissions tests in New Brunswick. I wonder *cough* why. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1LFNmdE

November 27, 2015. Looking outside the door of the Cooperators insurance company in Casselman at the tracks. One more task completed (and a coupe of new ones generated - getting stuff done is like playing whack-a-mole). This is right where the tracks cross Rue Principale. Cold, windy, rainy day, probably the last day before the snow. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1OlcRHw

November 17, 2015. Arrived in Paris. The city was still under siege from the attacks of the 13th. Monuments, including the Arc de Triomphe, pictured. I deliberately stayed away from the targeted areas and toured the area around the Louvre and the Chapms-Élysées. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1MUr61B

November 26, 2015. This is what's left of the sundial erected in honour of Arthur E. Covington outside building M-55 at the NRC. As you can see, the sundial itself is completely missing, apparently ripped out of its moorings. I know I've seen this before, so it only happened in the last year or two. Covington was honoured for his pioneering reserach and lifetime dedication to the study of radio emissions from the Sun. His memorial deserved a better fate. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1jmzgah

November 25, 2015. This is the scene outside my car window from the parking lot where I took part in a conference call. This was in between getting my health card applied for and my driver's license applied for. Still to do: getting the car registration changed over (a four step process). Sigh. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1PdVf1v

November 24, 2015. Long day. Exhausted. No time to recover after a lot of travel. This is the night light beside my bed - the last thing I thought of today was that I needed to take my photo of the day. Worry about uploading them later; just get the shot in. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1PdVf1r

November 23, 2015. Back at the NRC campus in Ottawa, wandering between my office in M-50 and the cafeteria in M-55. These oak leaves caught my eye, as they always do. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1PdVedT

November 22, 2015. It was cold and rainy and windy in Paris, so I wandered through the Aeroville mall for a bit. Then in the morning, it's back to the airport, this time to fly Air Canada to Ottawa. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1PdVdXD

November 21, 2015. I was up bright and early - but not so early as I expected, since the Air France flight scheduled for 6:55 was rescheduled to 12:30. This is a quick photo outside my hotel window before departing. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1jmzhuZ

November 20, 2015. Papa Youga Dieng and I were invited to visit the new ALECSO building in Tunis. No, this isn't it - this is a building we drove by. The new ALECSO building is still being finished. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1jmzhuV

November 19, 2015. As part of our cultural activites we of the OIF conference toured Sidi Bou Said, the north tip and hill of Carthage. I really appreciated this tour as it was a part of Carthage I hadn't seen at all on my previous visit, and indeed, didn't know existed. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1jmzezm

November 18, 2015. Arrived in Carthage, uo first thing in the morning, and in for a full day of meetings today. Didn't really see the outside world at all. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Hr57CB

November 16, 2015. I gave a keynote to a SSHRC conference on imagining the future at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and took some time out to sneak a listen to the orchestra practicing in mid-afternoon. Evening: flight to France. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1LCxsRe

November 15, 2015. I've settled into my new pattern of commuting from Casselman to Ottawa. It starts in the morning with a coffee at Tim Hortons. This week they had a country display at the drive through - celebrating steak or something, I think. So long as there isn't any straw in my coffee, I'm happy. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1LCxsR8

November 14, 2015. This is a mural inside Oscar Romero airport in San Salvador, El Saalvador. I remember when Romero was assassinated by the junta in 1980. It was the moment, I think, that people recognized the illegitimacy of the government and the need for peace. Romero went to givce mass knowing he would be assassinated, but did so in any case. His courage is justly recognized these many years later. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1XjJN8R

November 13, 2015. After giving my talk in Guayaquil, I wandered downstairs to another part of the complex and crashed a trade show, enjoying samples of delicious coffee and chocolate from, among others, the good people at Maquita . From Flickr http://ift.tt/1XjJKKu

November 12, 2015. I tool a walk along the waterfront in central Guayaquil today. Guayaquil strikes me as clean and progressive. It has a unique feel, with the buildings overhanging the sidewalks to provide shade. This is the waterfront, looking toward Barrio Las Peñas. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1RTp30V

November 11, 2015. A full day on the Galapagos islands. I took a boat over from Santa Cruz to Isla Isabela and from there a smaller boat to Isla Tintorinos to see, among other things, this penguin. First world problem: I was an hour early for my boat to Isla Isabela because my phone did not change time zones automatically. No matter. Beautiful sunrise. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1NPpjit

November 10, 2015. The Galapagos Islands are not what we would call beautiful in a conventional sense. They are dry piles of lava with cacti and scrub brush, the shores lines with mangrove swamps. But they are endlessly fascinating, which is why it was worth a mad dash from Guayaquil to catch just a glimpse of Darwin's finches, blue-footed boobies, and giant tortises. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1MaIQr8

November 9, 2015. The photo doesn't do ot justice. This is the scene outside the window over the Caribbean Sea just before landing in El Salvador. It's my first visit to El Salvador, even if it's only an airport. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1NOAdFb

November 8, 2015. Peaceful day, not too busy, a quick trip to Costco, otherwise filling in references on a paper. These are the tracks that run by the house, as seen at dusk, just after returning from the city. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1kE7VkN

November 7, 2015. It was a full house at Lansdowne Park for the last game of the regular season, one in which the home team won to claim first place in the eastern division. Not my first game here at Lansdowne park by any means - I spent four years working in this stadium in the 1970s - but my first game seeing the RedBlacks. It was a ton of fun, an entertaining game, and yes, being able to do this is one of the reasons we moved out here. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1MPZwYA

November 6, 2015. The light is fading as I leave the office after a long day attending meetings and solving problems. I have to be careful not to stay too late in the office, because I have a half hour drive each way. It was not unusual for me to leave the office at 6 in Moncton, because I'd be home at 6:02. can't do that here. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1NXsX83

November 5, 2015. Lexi. Because you can never have enough cat photos. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1MfxfFb

November 4, 2015. We lost Bart today. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1KY8g7x

November 3, 2015. Got a coupl,e documents done this morning, and then got on a plane and flew home to Ottawa (it was *so* nice to arrive before 7 instead of after midnight). This is the Calgary skyline as seen from the airport, the city shrouded in an icy fog. Classic Calgary, From Flickr http://ift.tt/1iBHRpg

November 2, 2015. Office work and meetings, including this one up in The Bow, one of Calgary's landmark downton buuldings. Here we are on the 64th floor looking down on Calgary Tower and part of downtown. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1M8FkeF

November 2, 2015. Office work and meetings, including this one up in The Bow, one of Calgary's landmark downton buuldings. Here we are on the 64th floor looking down on Calgary Tower and part of downtown. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1M8FkeF

November 1, 2015. I had to leave Lake Louise this morning but the mountains put on a spectacular show for my departure, the newly fallen snow gleaning in rays of sunlight as bands of clouds wove their way through the mountains. Evening: Calgary, rest day indoors, and the ball game in the evening. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1iwHUmn

October 31, 2015. Lake Louise, still shrounded in the season's first snowfall. Another dat at the TESL conference; today taking in some sessions and participaating in a panel in the afternoon, then a nice evening with the organizers. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1iwDjjO