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Showing posts from January, 2018

Art Connoisseur

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January 29, 2018. While I was away my print arrived. It's an A.J. Casson print titled The Blue Heron. It was an auction bid for a local charity at the Metro store here in Casselman. Still deciding where to put it. But the main thing is, Alex approved of the choice. https://flic.kr/p/22T6vXG

The Secret Passage

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January 28, 2018. On the way home from Bayonne in Charles de Gaulle Airport. I just noticed this unassuming entrance by accident to a secret passage that runs the length of terminal L behind all the shops and gates. I wasn't until I got home that I also noticed the French flag. https://flic.kr/p/22Qv1Sh

Cambo-les-Bains

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January 27, 2018. I had hoped to go to San Sebastian but there wasn't time, so I took a bus into the country and visited the small Basque town of Cambo-les-Bains in the Pyrenees foothills. It was very peaceful, very picturesque, and not even raining! https://flic.kr/p/JYn4ZZ

Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-de-Luz

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January 26, 2018. The conference organizers and I went down the coast, first to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and then to Hondarribia in Spain. One of the highlights was this church in which Louis XIV was married to Maria Theresa of Spain on June 9, 1660. The three-tiered balcony is exceptional (but not unique, as I would see another the next day). It was a great day and I learned about and saw a lot of basque country. https://flic.kr/p/22PEzXy

Biarritz

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January 25, 2018. The weather only got worse on Thursday and I ended up cold and very wet after walking in the driving rain to take photos if Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay coastline. Worth it for the views, though. https://flic.kr/p/23RrzZb

Nive

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January 24, 2018. Bayonne was shrouded in mist this morning as we walked to the conference venue. This was the view as we crossed the Nive River on our way. I gave y talk in the morning and went to the school for lunch some activities after (I had a long conversation with the restaurant manager who described how the food was locally sourced and how the students participated in its production - the food was overall quite good though sadly the beef failed my nose test. https://flic.kr/p/22wQShk

Djébelle

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January 23, 2018. Sitting in the Adour River in front of the fortress in Bayonne this is the Djébelle, waiting for spring. Today featured a reception with dignitaries in advance of tomorrow's conference presentations. https://flic.kr/p/EeZtMp

Bayonne in the Rain

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January 22, 2018. Recovering from jet lat I took the opportunity to walk around Bayonne and though it wasn't cold it was very rainy. As I commented to one person, lousy weather results in better photos. This photo very much reflects my introduction to the city, through a blur of water on the lens and the bright colours struggling against the haze. https://flic.kr/p/EeSwKn

Traffic Jan

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January 19, 2017. The drive home. Traffic slowed to a crawl on the 417 as some guy (you can see his lights to the right) went off the road. Working on the gRSShopper aggregator today. https://flic.kr/p/FuUyow

Timmies

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January 18, 2018. We both have colds at home but I've been managing to get into work. Andrea's voice is squeaking because of a sore throat. I'm on cough lozenges and drinking plenty of fluids, including a decaf from Timmies for the ride home. https://flic.kr/p/22vD2Xb

Check-Out

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January 17, 2018. Another day, another visit to Costco. This is the usual check-out line for a Wednesday evening. The usual list: Jelly-Bellies, grapefruits, bell peppers, bosch pears, ambrosia applies, sugar snap peas, frozen cod, frozen raspberries, omega-3 eggs, frozen diced carrots with corn and peas, fudgsicles, 0-fat yogurt (for Andrea; I can't stand yogurt) https://flic.kr/p/22vCra5

No Man's Sky

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January 16, 2018. This is the Nomad, my special-class fighter in Mo Man's Sky. I often play for an hour or two in the evening while watching Jeopardy. According to the game I've played more than 100 hours so far. I like it because it's calm; sure, there can be periods of panic when you're fighting pirates, but mostly it's about exploring and building things. https://flic.kr/p/JDvDMB

High Falls Conservation Aea

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January 15, 2017. A beautiful crisp winter day, cold but not too cold. There were kids sliding in the park when I stopped by after my dental appointment to capture this pristine Canadian winter vista. https://flic.kr/p/23AmF12

Stars in the Window

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January 14, 2017. Indoors today coding gRSShopper. These are stars in our front window, the result of German Christmas market purchases. http://ift.tt/2EHGJMy

Celebration of Life

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January 13, 2017. We said good-bye to my brother Allan today. Lots of family and friends, including the whole crew from where he worked. Obit: http://ift.tt/2mAB3xb... Instead of replying with comments and condolances please consider donating to the Diabetes Association. http://ift.tt/2msMiqP

In the Fog

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January 12, 2017. It's the January thaw. Our local microclimate treated us to fog. This is the Casselman bridge, with sewage system construction happening in the foreground. http://ift.tt/2EG1l7I

Brian's

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January 11, 2017. I spent some time today coding and some time today printing pictures. This is from Brian's, a local restaurant near the highway in Casselman, where we had a nice dinner with family. http://ift.tt/2FAXkmC

Hoarfrost

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January 10, 2017. Cold day today, and we were greeted with this lovely scene in the back yard in the morning. We went into the city today and while I browsed around Rideau Centre and Chapters Andrea bought some suitably sombre attire. I discovered Rideau has a We store (as in Me-to-We) on the top floor (there's also a lounge up there). http://ift.tt/2CYGtsb

Abalone

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January 9, 2017. Another quiet day spent mostly coding. This is a red abalone (a type of sea creature that produces pearls) that sits in our kitchen. The holes are respiratory apertures. Andrea has had it since forever. http://ift.tt/2DsIjCM

Snowfall

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January 8, 2018. Quiet day today spend watching the snow fall outside and coding gRSShopper. http://ift.tt/2FrESfT

Tesla

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January 7, 2017. Another day disrupted by the events of yesterday, though we did have a nice dinner with family this evening. I had to run out for an errand this afternoon and noticed these Tesla charging stations under constriction at the Metro. Nice. http://ift.tt/2Ew0FBZ

Looking Skyward

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January 6, 2017. This is the ceiling of my bedroom. I look up and see images of dogs in the knots (can you see Snoopy in the lower left?). Today we received some terrible news and I didn't do or think much of anything else for the rest of the day. http://ift.tt/2D46mdq

Papa

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January 5, 2018. I was in Gatineau for the day today working with the people at CSPS on the business intelligence project (it was my introduction to using IBM Cognos). I spotted this on the way home. According to Google Maps it's called Papa. I quite like it. It's on Boulevard des Allumettières at Maisonneuve. It's notable because this is a new route home from the school, and i has worked out quite well so far. Very cold again today, cold enough that I was actually worried. http://ift.tt/2m7tAFU

Dentist (Part 2)

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January 4, 2018. It was back to the dentist today to get my tooth repaired (and I think this is the first time in my life I've had dental appointments on consecutive days). The main result after was a sore stomach, so I had a burger and poutine at the new A&W. Low-quality burger but the poutine was outstanding. An afternoon meeting and some coding and that was my day. http://ift.tt/2CL9YS2

Dentist

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January 3, 2017. This was my regularly scheduled hygene appointment, but with an added bonus: I got to tell them how I'd broken a tooth over the weekend. Other than dentistry - some coding, some meetings. Still bitterly cold. http://ift.tt/2AB7MGL

Back to Work

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January 2, 2018. It's back to work after far too short a vacation. The plants are a little worse for wear due to the lack of watering (though there are developments in the window plant I will cover later). http://ift.tt/2CEmWAn

New Dawn

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January 1, 2018. The sun rises behind the trees in the back yard. Today was a quiet day, bitterly cold and thus spent indoors coding the new gRSShopper editor. http://ift.tt/2lZV9jB