Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

October 31, 2019. This is what it looked like outside today as I drove home. This was actually better than it was earlier when we were wrapped in a thick fog. Now it's just dark and steady rain. Bleah. Spent today working on updating my projects database and some other odds and ends. Still trying to get my luggage back. https://flic.kr/p/2hDkMff

October 30, 2019. The original Bones lasted more than 15 years, first in Moncton, then here. Son of Bones is enjoying his third Halloween.The grave stone came last year, when the village dug a burial plot in our front yard and put a sewage line in it. https://flic.kr/p/2hDou1N

October 29, 2019. This is what I saw first thing today as I prepared to go back into the office. Fog. Regular meeting, and an afternoon spent catching up on email and admin tasks. Made a slide for a group presentation. https://flic.kr/p/2hDppst

October 28, 2019. Back home, running errands, replacing clothes that are somewhere in my lost baggage. This is the bridge at the Gloucester Costco. Posted my photos from Casablanca today. https://flic.kr/p/2hD78xa

October 27, 2019. Started my day thinking I had missed my flight in Abidjan, but made it just in time. This is the view from inside Casablanca airport; the crow is made from tires. Back home now. Still don't have my luggage. Apparently they 'closed the file". I don't know what that means - except I guess that my luggage has joined the giant pile of unclaimed luggage in Abidjan airport. Still trying to get it back. https://flic.kr/p/2hBv3QG

October 26, 2019. Today was my day to explore Abidjan, and after exploring the downtown area ('Plateau') and visiting the Cathedral, I headed to the nearby Parc National du Banco for a nice long walk in the rainforest. Pictures hardly do it justice, but this one comes close. https://flic.kr/p/2hAGrRb

October 25, 2019. Today was the last day of the conference. These were part of a display in the conference hotel (not where I was staying; I'm at a hotel near the airport, an arrangement that has worked out quite well, as traffic has been nothing near the problem it is in other cities). https://flic.kr/p/2hAJWxy

October 24, 2019. 'Plateau' is the name of Abidjan's central business district, seen here from the hotel. After the panel, I took a walk around the hotel area - a short walk, because of the heat. Today jet lag caught up to me a bit, leaving me tired and irritable. https://flic.kr/p/2hA9bYt

October 23, 2019. The view from a rural area in Abidjan. The weather here: cloudy, rainy, and oh so hot. I spent the day at the conference today, with limited opportunities for photos. But the workshop experience was everything I had hoped for, by itself worth the cost of coming here. https://flic.kr/p/2hA967t

October 22, 2019. I arrived at an early morning hour sans luggage and promptly went to sleep until the afternoon. Then I had time only for a quick dash to Carrefour to buy some emergency supplies, then back to the hotel, some food, and back to sleep for the night. So I only had time to take a phone camera photo outside the window of the cab. Here it is. https://flic.kr/p/2hzGLm7

October 21, 2019. On the way to Abidjan I had a 13 hour layover in Casablanca. I made the most of the time and went for a madcap quick exploration, diving into the old city, having lunch at Rick's Cafe, waking through some sketchy markets, visiting the Hassan II Mosque, walking along the seawall, exploring a beach from which there was no exit, having a pumpkin spice frappacino in a shopping mile, walking through the upscale La Corniche resort area. A fascinaging city I would visit again. https://flic.kr/p/2hyYxdC

October 20, 2019. I stayed up all night last night watching the ball game, listening to KEXP video and working on slides. Then I spent the day sleeping, waking in time to drive to Montreal and finih today by flying to Morocco. https://flic.kr/p/2hy4Sv6

October 19, 2019. It was a beautiful October day and I spent as much of it outdoors as I could, but that wasn't much, as we ran errands and I spent a lot of time reading journal articles and preparing to travel tomorrow. Still, I did manage this picture from the corner down the road. https://flic.kr/p/2hxvs3c

October 18, 2019. This is a slightly different view from normal of the M-55 building, taken while walking to a meeting this morning. Finished my handout for E-Learning Africa. Flight leaves Sunday night, I have a full day in Casablanca Monday, then early Tuesday morning I arrive in Abidjan. https://flic.kr/p/2hxjTvt

October 17, 2019. Fall colours at NRC. Today was a very productive day, not so much in terms of research, but in getting forms filled, flights booked, appointments made, and the like. In other words, all the stuff that I'm really bad at and postpone as much as possible. https://flic.kr/p/2hxfTYB

October 16, 2019. I ordered an Internet in a Box and it arrived today. Worked with it a bit, got it running with ease, but still haven't figured out how to put my own content into one. Now that I have one in my hands, though, I can see how it's supposed to work. Next step: DIY with a Raspberry Pi. https://flic.kr/p/2hwhjCk

October 15, 2019. Reasonably productive day in the office today catching up on stuff missed while I was away. I took this photo on the way home, taking a dead-end side road off Russell Road to find this track in the fall forest. https://flic.kr/p/2hwkdjm

October 14, 2019. I took a much needed rest day today, not venturing outside (except to take this picture from our back yard), spending the day playing video games and watching baseball. https://flic.kr/p/2hwiTs9

October 13, 2019. Because I will be out of the country on election day next week, I went to the advanced poll today and earned myself the right to complain for the next four years. It was also a shopping and errands day. Not much time this busy October. https://flic.kr/p/2huTKab

October 12, 2019. Union Station has always been under construction. They appear to be almost finished (but not quite, because there can never be a time when it is not under construction). Took the train from here back to Casselman and home again. https://flic.kr/p/2hu6R2E

October 11, 2019. This is a scene from inside Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, where I had lunch. This restaurant is very good and very popular - I had to arrive early for lunch to avoid a long wait. But it was delicious. I took a nap in the afternoon and then wandered around downtown before settling in for some jazz at the Rex. https://flic.kr/p/2htMiT9

October 10, 2019. Presentation day. I photographed this scene at the old city hall just before going in to give my talk. I couldn't help but notice the juxtaposition of the wealth and power and the homeless man sleeping on the street. It was in the back of my mind throughout the talk and coloured a lot of my comments. https://flic.kr/p/2htMe2R

October 9, 2019. This is the view from my hotel room, looking down Dundas. There's a lot of construction in this area as new sky-high Toronto pushes out this older less-affluent part of the city. More conference summaries today, more work on my talk. https://flic.kr/p/2htM9Qz

October 8, 2019. First day in Toronto. I was up bright and early to get to the conference across the street from Toronto City Hall. Created a bunch of session summaries and spend an evening arguing politics with Rory McGreal. https://flic.kr/p/2htM6pB

October 7, 2019. This is the Casselman railway station as I wait for the 7:55 to take me directly to downtown Toronto. The train ran a bit late, but I got a ton of work done on my talk on the 5-hour ride. https://flic.kr/p/2htM2Kx

October 6, 2019. I have an early day tomorrow, but still we went to the Metcalfe Fair this afternoon. We didn't see any show horses, which was a bit of a surprise. It was a bit cool and the crowd was a bit off, but it was still a good time. https://flic.kr/p/2hrbWnt

September 5, 2019. I know I'm supposed to be working really hard right now, but I decided I needed the break more, and spent most of the day playing video games again. https://flic.kr/p/2hrbsLb

September 4, 2019. Got working on my presentation for next week, but it was pretty hard to work without heat in the office, and when the internet stopped working that pretty much did me in. Went home, worked some more, then told myself to relax and play some video games. Pictured. https://flic.kr/p/2hrdg2d

October 2, 2019. We have a local blue jay who is feeding on the crab apples (they're very small, perfect blue jay size). Got started on my Toronto presentation today with a good outline and some references collected. https://flic.kr/p/2hpwXQj

October 1, 2019. It was so foggy it was actually dark at midday. It was also very cold in the office. So a dank day overall, but I was still pretty productive, getting paperwork done and stuff off the table, https://flic.kr/p/2hpw1mh

September 30, 2019. Busy day with paperwork today, but I got out at lunch to buy a pair of pants and take a quick walk through this tiny park just inside the Vanier Parkway. https://flic.kr/p/2hoBWRa