Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

March 27, 2016. We had dinner with the family this evening at a local restaurant, but I forgot to take a photo, so the photo of the day is from the first local bike ride of the season, a 27 km jaunt doing a loop to St. Albert and back. There were thousands and thousands of geese on the river. It was a beautiful sight. Accomplishments for today: - wrote 'Types and Tokens' From Flickr http://ift.tt/1oftPwp

March 26, 2016. This is a scene from the Home and Garden show at the EY Centre in Ottawa, where we spent several hours this afternoon. I bought some hot sauce and looked at things like garage accessories and deck refinishing, while Andrea bought beeswax boot leather polish and looked at paint and such. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1pRukyu

March 25, 2016. I bought a new chair for my office ('the Executive', from Costco) and Alex has laid claim to it. Now he looks like he's lived on that chair forever. Accomplishments: - new chair - posted Good Friday hangout video - posted article 'Emergence/Recognition' From Flickr http://ift.tt/1pRujKZ

March 24, 2016. One thing I enjoy about working with NRC is that I never know what to expect. Case in point: this little enterprise set up on the first floor I spotted as I went to a business strategy meeting (yes, another five meeting day). Accomplishments: - recorded a nice video on the thinking behind thye LPSS concept and architecture From Flickr http://ift.tt/1VOS6aa

March 23, 2016. It's very pretty as seen from my home office windoww, but it's not what I wanted to see this morning. Today is no-meetings Wednesday, so I had five meetings. Accomplishments: - some backlog grooming done - interview with the Conference Board of Canada From Flickr http://ift.tt/1VOS3Ls

I hads a meeting in Ottawa today right mear this fine building, the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine. Back at it today, no real accomplishments but wall-to-wall meetings, all productive. From Flickr http://ift.tt/25m7m2w

March 21, 2016. Last morning in San Diego. Just before leaving for my flight I spotted Boaty McBoatface cruising through the harbour and held my phone outside the 24th floor window to take a clear shot. Probably not the wisest thing I've ever done, but it worked. P.S. Avoid Air Canada Rouge if you can. Little tiny seats smaller than I am. From Flickr http://ift.tt/25m7kaX

March 20, 2016. I spent the day visiting Tijuana, Mexico. You can take the city train to the border and walk across to the city - you have to traverse a couple of highways and a river to get to the central area, so it's a bit of a hike (8km in total for me). It was more than a three hour wait to get through customs on the way back, which really is just ridiculous. From Flickr http://ift.tt/25fN62D

March 19, 2016. I took this photo in the last few minutes before my presentation Saturday. I was surprised by how many Canadians were represented here at the conference - the poster section, for example, featured a clear majority of Canadians. There was just enough time to add the image to the last page of my slides. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Rv5JLK

March 18, 2016. I both liked and disliked this presentation at the WCCPD conference in San Diego. It was long - 2 hours - and wandering. There were many long pauses.It was based largely on interaction with a backchannel (I out up a lot of comments which kept things moving :) ). The audience appreciated him and seemed to be engaged by him. In the end the conclusion was that 'health is personal'. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Rv5JLD

March 17, 2016. I made it all the way to Sunset Cliffs natural afrea in San Diego, a good 28 km for my first bicycle ride of the year. Accomplishments: - produced video for NRC01PL course From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Wwlgcv

March 16, 2016. Chicago. Transferring at O'Hare. It's hard to believe how tiny the seats on the United Airlines flight were. At some point, I commented, these seats will be illegal. Seriously, you can't make airline seats smaaller than the people who are sitting in them. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Wwlikz

March 15, 2016. Quick one-day turnaround at home. Time enough, though, to take a cat photo. Accomplishments: - inspected the upgrades to the house and paid the contractor the bulk of the money owning - finshed and uploaded my slides for the San Diego Conference - Completed a video with Helene for the online course - flew home and had time to take a cat photo From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Wwlgco

March 14, 2016. Busy day in the Moncton office. There wasn't enough time this trip. This is the hotel kitsch on display behind the front desk at the Four Points. Nice, but sterile. The haddock in the restaurant was OK. Accomplishments: - planned the next sprint From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Wwlikt

March 13, 2016. Laughingly, the 4 Points hotel ranks itself as 4.5 stars on its website. In reality, it's just another highway hotel. I ordered prime rib at the restaurant, but decided I couldn't eat it after a few bites - it was like sponge, but completely flavourless. From Flickr http://ift.tt/21zrMjY

March 12, 2015. Mall day. We went into the city to walk around St. Laurant shopping centre. Also, I need to remember to upload these the day they're taken so I can remember my accomplishments. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Rprah7

March 11, 2016. This is in my office. What I like about the statue is the imperfections - for example, one of the ears is a lot bigger than the other. Spent the whole day in the office today mostly in meetings. Accomplishments - wrapped up the funding meeting - wrote a short item on LPSS From Flickr http://ift.tt/1TU2gaa

March 10, 2016. I'm up at 6:30 most mornings and usually start the day with 7 kilometers on the trainer in the basement (ie., 15 minutes). So I frequently see the 6:61 train just as I'm finishing. I was a bit early this morning and loved the foggy atmosphere so I hustled out to take this photo. Accomplishments: - video on 'the MOOC ecosystem' - presented monthly program report - slides and presentation for virtual worlds conference online From Flickr http://ift.tt/1TU2iib

March 9, 2016. Busy day back home again. I have jusst a sshort few days before I'm on the road again, so I have to be eefficient. Accomplishments: - LPSS report for monthly business meeting - complegted funding program submission evaluations - timee data entry up to date - put the cardboard boxes in the hall - recorded a hangout video for the NRC01PL course From Flickr http://ift.tt/1QNl04Z

March 8, 2016. An easy morning, then to the airport along this highway bordering the Sea of Marmara just south of Istanbul. Ten hour flight home, and I was in bed by nine - not two in the morning, as was typical when returning to New Brunswick. That makes up for a month of commuting. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1UgbT1k

March 7, 2016. Meeting earlier in the day, then through late afternoon I walked along the shore of the Bosphorus at Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul. That's Kız Kulesi (aka the Maiden's Tower, aka Leander's Tower) in the foreground at right; it dates from 1110, the middle of the Byzantine Empire period. In the background are the Blue Mosque (middle) and the Hagia Sophia (right). From Flickr http://ift.tt/1X7oF1n

March 6, 2016. This is the fortress at Rumeli Feneri standing at the mouth of the Bosphorus on the Black Sea. It's an Ottoman ortress, but parts of it appear much older, and there has probably always been a fortress on this hill. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and a lot of people were out to enjoy the sea shore. Accomplishment: - going to the Black Sea without a plan to get back, and gettng back. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1QvDp8q

March 5, 2015. This is the room where I spoke today in Istanbul. It turned out (quite by accident, but who would believe me?) that the topic of my talk was similar to the article I wrote yesterday. Accomplishments: - Keynote - The Future of Educational Media - Informal Seminar on the future From Flickr http://ift.tt/1p7dHhY

March 4, 2016. I spent the entire day in my hotel room - this is the artwork above the desk wheer I spent the day working. I should have been preparing my talk but instead I wrote an article. Accomplishments: - wrote The 2016 Look at the Future of Online Learning From Flickr http://ift.tt/1p7dJq1

March 3, 2013. I'm back at the Hagia Sophia for a second time; it is well worth the return visit. Unlike last time, though, I was also able to visit the Roman cisterns and the Blue Mosque. Nothing like a cold raining day to make att the tourist attraactions accessible. And nothing beats jet lag like a 13 km walk through the city. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1LXEdyO

March 2, 2015. I spent the night and the day traveling to Istanbul. This is the misque in the Şişli district of the city. It was raining and I was able to take one photo before the battery died on my phone. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Y89ZjH

March 1, 2015. The long wait is over. I celebrated the beginning of sprint training by pulling out the 'Angry Jay' shirt for the Tuesday live hangout for my online course. And after the hangout, a delightful afternoon baseball game from Florida. From Flickr http://ift.tt/1Y89Zjy