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Showing posts from August, 2019

Amphitheater

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August 30, 2019. The photo doesn't quite convey it, but when the clouds and the land combine like this it feels like I'm looking into a giant amphitheater. This was along Russell Road where I took a back road home scouting out a potential biking route. Good news today as I sent in paperwork on a paper presentation in Cagliari in November. Also, a podcast interview came out today. https://flic.kr/p/2h8576x

Crab Apples

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August 29, 2019. Finally coming out the other end of my cold. I got caught up on a lot of email and small tasks. The highlight was listening to Bryan Alexander's webcast today. These are crabapples growing on the NRC campus. https://flic.kr/p/2h8537A

On the Hoist

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August 28, 2019. This is the car getting routine brake maintenance at the 25K mark. I took the day off work and hung around St. Laurant mall for a few hours... then the servicing dragged on and on to eventually take 5 hours. Still pretty tired from being sick but I'm on the mend. https://flic.kr/p/2h7M22c

Under the Weather

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August 27, 2019. Monday was a sick day - no newsletter, no photo, just a day having a nasty cold. Tuesday was better, sort of - I made it into the office and attended a meeting but still spent the day with a headache. https://flic.kr/p/2h7K4D7

Ottawa Pride

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August 25, 2019. Still very much under the weather but we still managed to get out to this year's Pride parade in the city. The weather was perfect, which made it a lot easier. I have a ton of photos which I'll post soon. Now I need to take some Neocitran. https://flic.kr/p/2h5pfrS

Lexi

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August 24, 2019. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride, but unfortunately I woke up sick, went back to bed, and slept until the afternoon. I didn't do much of anything all day except wait to recover. This is Lexi, our 13-year old kitten in the sink waiting for water. https://flic.kr/p/2h5pv77

Back Yard

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August 23, 2019. Feeling under the weather today and really only had energy to snap a quick photo outside the back window. This, therefore, is our back yard - yes, where all the flower and insect pictures come from. You can see the milkweed forest in the shadow and the wealth of goldenrod along the back. https://flic.kr/p/2h5pm5j

Polly

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August 22, 2019. This is Polly. She's 16 years old and looking more and more frail - though she's still alert, has an appetite and moves around. We spent more time working on the blockchain-IPFS app today, almost out of time. https://flic.kr/p/2h5mzXS

Bee and Goldenrod

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August 21, 2019. Another photo from the back yard. I was pretty busy today, working on a React-Express app in Docker. Halfway done. I tried to video my work but my experiment with PowerPoint screen recording failed. https://flic.kr/p/2h3xeAo

Spider

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August 20, 2019. This is a spider in the window, photographed after a relatively productive day. The laptop is working, so I was able to get a Docker-based Node app up and running. I had also planned to cycle this afternoon, but I got out of the office late, and then when I reached my starting point in Hammond, here was a huge fire. So I made it a Netflix evening instead. https://flic.kr/p/2h3x5Ja

Future Costco

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August 19, 2019. This is the site of a future Costco on Olgivie Road, where I went for coffee at lunch time. Though we need a new large Costco, I think this location will have all the traffic problems the old location had, and more. I had a nice productive day today (despite the slow NRC internet), getting a Docker Node Express application up and running, and starting on a React client. https://flic.kr/p/2h1RbuJ

Resting

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August 18, 2019. This is the view from my usual last-stop resting spot just south of Casselman on the final leg of a 71km bike ride. The weather was mixed all day but I avoided the raindrops and had a pretty good ride. https://flic.kr/p/2h1ogwS

Bank Street

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August 17, 2019. It was a rainy Saturday and hence a day for errands in the city, including this visit to Bank Street. This area was my hangout when I was in my late teens, especially the pool hall and pinball arcade to the right. https://flic.kr/p/2h1opqd

Beetle on Yarrow

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August 16, 2019. A Friday in which the videoconferencing system was not working and the internet was slow. Updated my calendar - the fall travel schedule is filling up. https://flic.kr/p/2h1o44S

Innes Road

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August 15, 2019. An ordinary scene from an ordinary day as I waited to turn left into the Costco on Innes Road. Work involved mostly me trying to make the internet work in the office and the office internet not working. https://flic.kr/p/2h1n8RD

2019-08-14-2749

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August 14, 2019. Five-banded thynnid wasps (Myzinum quinquecintum) cluster on a grass stalk - my guess is they're ingesting cellulose for a new nest. Worked on the newsletter and background reading on Ethereum clients. I have a sore oblique from yesterday. https://flic.kr/p/2gXitvj

Russell Trail

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August 13, 2019. After work today I took a bike ride along the Russell trail, riding 25 km from Anderson Road to Hammond, and then back again. It's harder cycling on gravel, but I appreciate the lack of traffic. This followed an ordinary day in the office where I attended a small staff meeting, made a video about coding, worked with a student, and wrote my newsletter. https://flic.kr/p/2gX4aaW

Salt and Pepper

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August 12, 2019. I went downtown over lunch to pick up a rubber eye protector for my camera viewfinder and took this photo through the window of a closed bar on Bank Street. I liked the shadows, the texture and the contrast. Spent the day working on React apps in Node. https://flic.kr/p/2gVVn1S

Threshing Machines

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August 11, 2019. With 243 threshing machines operating around him - a world record - event organizer Francois Lartour celebrates raising $100K to fight against breast cancer. It was a remarkable event and a privilege to be able to attend. More photos from the event. https://flic.kr/p/2gV5Sju

Wasp

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August 11, 2019. I had planned to go for a ride today but I woke up feeling brutal and decided to sleep instead. So the main activity for the day was watching the Blue Jays game. This is a photo from the front yard of a wasp checking out the goldenrods. https://flic.kr/p/2gV4vWM

LRT

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August 9, 2019. This is the LET station at Blair Road, near where I work. Construction is a year and a half late, and they're having quality issues. They can't figure out why - but they also approved a tender for the next stage that didn't meet the technical qualifications. SNC Lavalin. I don't know why they're mystified. https://flic.kr/p/2gV3UCg

Lexi

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August 8, 2019. Spent the day in the office working on content addressable OERs. At home, took this photo of Lexi for #InternationalCatDay https://flic.kr/p/2gV3H9E

Love the Way

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August 7, 2019. Spent the day working on revisions to a paper and looking at ways to improve my web page. This is the train that passes the house on a regular basis, the good ol' 906. https://flic.kr/p/2gTmazC

Daylilies After the Rain

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August 6, 2019. First day back after vacation and I ran into a wall of computer problems. Sigh. And after five weeks of near perfect weather we had (much needed) rain most of the day. At least the lilies had a good day. https://flic.kr/p/2gRDhwX

Hostas

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August 5, 2019. Today was the last day of vacation this year and I spent it relaxing, writing a short magazine article, and playing No Man's Sky. These hostas are in our front yard and I used the late afternoon sunlight to try for a bit of a different perspective on this common plant. https://flic.kr/p/2gQThzF

The South Nation River

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August 4, 2019. Today's bike ride took me downstream to where the South Nation River empties into the Ottawa, through places like Plantagenet, Jessup Falls and Wendover. The wind wasn't really my friend, and the Jays lost, but it really was a beautiful day for a bike ride. This is the South Nation River near Pemberton. https://flic.kr/p/2gQ3E9v

Red Milkweed Beetle

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August 3, 2019. I had planned a ride today but woke up too tired to think about it, so I stayed home and photographed this beauty in the back yard. https://flic.kr/p/2gPhH34

Riceville

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August 1, 2019. Just a short 61 km ride today on a near perfect day for cycling. I slept in, created a nice newsletter, had lunch, and then did the ride. This cabin is just east of Riceville, northeast of Casselman. https://flic.kr/p/2gMYjJ4