Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

December 27, 2022. This is the scene along highway 7 as it passes Kaladar, where we stopped for a quick break on the way home from Barrie. We made it before dark and arrived home to four very annoyed and vocal cats. https://flic.kr/p/2o8aR1H

December 26, 2022. We finally made it to my brother's house and visited with them and a collection of relatives. It was a really nice visit. Thanks to Bill and Shirley for the hospitality and everyone else for the smiles and laughter. Until next time. :) https://flic.kr/p/2o8dhff

December 25, 2022. It's late Christmas evening and I realize I haven't taken a photo of the day, so here's the hotel room. We spent most of the day here, with just a quick trip to the Shoppers for storm chips. It was fine, though, a nice quiet day instead of fighting bad road conditions and unhinged drivers. And our travel has been a lot easier than most people's out there, so I'm not complaining. https://flic.kr/p/2o7ZVCV

December 16, 2022. Winter snows are a bit early this year, and there's no chance of a green Christmas. Sad. We were told of the new policy forcing us to work in the office again starting in March, and I wondered, if it snows that day, does that count as an 'office' day that was cancelled, or an unscheduled 'home' day? What bout sick days? Much I always do doctor's appointments on 'home' days? Not liking this new policy. Not liking it at all. https://flic.kr/p/2o7vBbo

December 15, 2022. This is a Home Depot deer, spotted while I was picking up some new bright lightbulbs. We also went to the car dealership to sign the papers on our new car purchase (the exchange won't be until next week). https://flic.kr/p/2o7yaS8

December 14, 2022. That's my hand scritching Charlemagne as he enjoys the luxury of some pre-bedtime attention. A couple of meetings, and I'm still catching up with stuff from my absence. https://flic.kr/p/2o7wR3C

December 13, 2022. Cat pictures remain the stable of the daily photo. This is Julia in her little fur house, with red strings to play with, on the shelf beside my chair at the kitchen table. https://flic.kr/p/2o7y6Nw

December 12, 2022. No rest for the weary. Monday morning I was up bright and early to get back to work. First task: about 350 work-related emails that stacked up while my computer was locked on the road. https://flic.kr/p/2o7y5vG

December 11, 2022. Catching up with the daily photos after the trip, now that all the trip photos have been uploaded. This is Montreal airport the day after I arrived. Because my flight was so late, I stayed overnight at the Montreal airport hotel, an expensive indulgence that was far preferable to driving home in the dark on so little sleep (I never try to sleep on transatlantic flights). I also had a super-expensive but very nice dinner the night before. Made it home without incident. https://flic.kr/p/2o7wGNm

December 8, 2022. Also known as La Castellassa, this tower originates from the 12th or 13th century and was part of a chalet built to protect a village that dates back at least to 965 and whose residents relocated to the current site of Mont Louis in the 18th century. I discovered it while trying to follow a trail through the forest after touring Mont Louis; I had to turn back because the snow, wind and rain made the steep descent too dangerous to continue, but not before seeing this tower. I travelled to and from Mont Louis on the 'Yellow Train', a narrow gauge track that runs up into the French Pyrenees. After returning I got a ride to Barcelona airport and am sayping at the 'Sleep and Fly'. https://flic.kr/p/2o4Q3ea

December 7, 2022. This is the town of Eus, clinging to the side of a hill in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. We drove around the area talking about consciousness, representation, and whether machines can think. Outstanding day; one more in these hills and then it's the long road home. https://flic.kr/p/2o4C9n9

December 6, 2022. This is where I am staying in Prades. Off-season rates are very reasonable and I've been very comfortable here. Went to the market and then had lunch, more conversation about knowing and information. In the afternoon I explored the town of Ille-sur-Tet. Evening was my usual reading and updating for the newsletter. https://flic.kr/p/2o4tf1d

December 5, 2022. I spent the day with Ray and Neus exploring forts and monasteries in and around Prades and talking about ontologies and distributed representation. It was unsurprisingly a perfect mix for me, and we have more time over the next couple of days to do the same. https://flic.kr/p/2o4gtbZ

December 4, 2022. This is a rock outcrop where we crossed the Pyrenees at their lowest point, near Girona in Spain north toward the French border. With snowfall in the mountain passes we had to take the long route from Lleida in Spain to Prades, France. It also meant we couldn't go to Andorra, which is too bad. It was a long all-day drive but interesting. https://flic.kr/p/2o4fZYz

December 3, 2022. To wrap up the conference there was a cultural event where this singer (I don't know her name, sorry) sang some old standards. As always when I watch a good artist I noticed how the key to success is to fully immerse yourself in the performance and free yourself from worrying what the audience may think. That's also a good way to succeed at life. https://flic.kr/p/2o3WYLi

December 2, 2022. This is the boulevard down the centre of Rambla de Ferran, near my hotel. Today was presentation day; I gave what I thought was a pretty good talk in the morning, attended more of the conference after, and went for a nice evening walk. After that was the gala dinner, which began at 9:30 and had me out well past midnight. https://flic.kr/p/2o3WTQM

December 1, 2022. I didn't get a good photo of Seu Vella, Lleida's distinctive 18th century cathedral, until I crossed to the other side of the river, which I did today to attend the first day of the conference. https://flic.kr/p/2o3v37o

November 30, 2022. A November rose in Lleida spotted during my late afternoon walk. I spent most of the day preparing slides for my talk Friday. And that was basically my day. https://flic.kr/p/2o3if9f

November 29, 2022. This is the side of the old church at Parròquia de Sant Martí, Bisbe, in Lleida. I appreciated the way the symmetry combined with asymmetry and the textures in the fading evening light. Today I got caught up after traveling and planned my presentation coming up Friday. https://flic.kr/p/2o38VFz

November 28, 2022. This photo is from the back side of Barcelona Sants, where the taxi left me. Today was a travel day, from Prague to Lleida, via an air-to-rail connection in Barcelona. Travel was an all-day affair under less-than-ideal conditions (specifically, being crammed into a discount airline seat). https://flic.kr/p/2o33fkF

November 27, 2022. I started the day with the Banksy exhibit in an old subversive church in central Prague, then filled out the remainder of the day walking some 11 km and taking hundreds of photos. The city feels like Amsterdam; drugs, booze and tourists abound, there's a lot of art but a lot of it isn't genuine. https://flic.kr/p/2o2EQnP

November 26, 2022. This is a Dali sculpture, 'the Unicorn', on the banks of the river Vltava as it runs through Prague. I was up early and arrived in the city by 1:30 but with the time change and winter, it was dark by 4 or so. Still, that was enough time for a quick walk through the city in the throngs of the Saturday night crowd. Cool, but not cold. https://flic.kr/p/2o2vHMF

November 26, 2022. Just another building I walked past on the way to the restaurant for the post-conference dinner. Still under the weather and very tired (conferences always make me tired). https://flic.kr/p/2o2y4Nn

November 24, 2022. This is the view from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel. I was doing an interview and I suggested the elevator because it was likely the only quiet place, but when we got to the top this view unfolded and that's where we did it. I also sat on a makeshift panel to help replace a canceled spotlight session, and did a quick run to the Christmas market as it was closing. Quite tired today and under the weather with a cold. https://flic.kr/p/2o2AMwA

November 23, 2020. This is the Marlene bar at the Intercontinental in Berlin, generally my favourite hangout when I'm at OEB. It was a good place to rest after spending the day delivering my workshop on ethics and analytics (which, I thought, went quite well). I was up at 2 a.m. today and pushed myself to stay awake in the evening to settle into something like normal hours. https://flic.kr/p/2o1ZVz3

November 22, 2022. This is Café LebensArt, where I stopped for lunch on a long 14 km walk through Tiergarten and central Berlin. It was cold but I was well layered and was fine. All that hiking experience pays off. I was able to get a reservation to visit the dome of the Reichstag, however, when the time came, the dome was closed due to the weather. No matter; it was a great day. To bed by 5 .m., big workshop tomorrow. https://flic.kr/p/2o1Twwz

November 21, 2022. Inside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It feels great to be back in Berlin. I had a bit of a scare when my carry-on was rejected by the airline, but I receive everything fine. I was able to wander around, do some shopping (for computer gear) and visit the Christmas market before checking into my hotel for some 16 hours of sleep. https://flic.kr/p/2o1R2u6

November 20, 2022. This is a sculture in Zurich airport, a really good transit point. Drove to Montreal today, got in an airplane, SwissAir, to be precise, and flew to Zurich en route to Berlin. Things were pretty smooth in Montreal, even though I was flying economy. An afternoon departure on a Sunday helps. Spent the flight rewriting and editing the chapter on 'An Introduction to the Duty of Care'. https://flic.kr/p/2o1SowN

November 17, 2022. This is my first photo with the new phone; it's Julia sleeping on the shelf beside my kitchen chair. More computer problems this morning, with the result being that I missed my only meeting of the day. Spent a couple hours trying to fix it myself, then an how with Dell tech support, but we got the touchpad on my XPS working. More time setting that up. My phone's sim card works now. Finally I can turn my attention to my workshop next week. https://flic.kr/p/2nZMb19

November 15, 2022. The back of the bus in front of us on the way home from Costco, with the F missing n the 'New Flyer' logo. Expecting a computer from Dell today but the order was cancelled for no apparent reason. Had a productive day in spite of myself, doing an online course sandwiched between two meetings. https://flic.kr/p/2nZQWJZ

November 14, 2022. It's late afternoon and we went to the local store to get milk The Sun was low, below the clouds, bathing everything in a bright light. Wrote a couple of short reports, that's it. https://flic.kr/p/2nZPwBz

November 13, 2022. Last May while bikepacking I had to take shelter from a derecho ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derecho ) - a long storm that devastated eastern Ontario. A lot of forest areas were closed after, including Pine Grove, which was especially hard hit. This was our first time back and it's a totally different forest. Unrecognizable. Anyhow, we had a nice 6.5 km along the rebuilt pathway. https://flic.kr/p/2nZfuYZ

November 12, 2022. Today was an indoor day spent playing No Man's Sky for the most part. I'm trying to find the fastest way possible to go to the next galaxy (today wasn't it). It's so nice having an Alienware computer that can handle all the demands the newer games throw at it. https://flic.kr/p/2nZdyo8

November 10, 2022. We had to make an emergency run into the drug store today and Andrea remarked on the blotted out sign, which is indeed a bit of an oddity. The weather has been so nice this week but it has been all about work and errands. Arctic proposal was completed. More stuff prepared for instructional models. https://flic.kr/p/2nZetk1

November 9, 2022. This is some tree-like thing on out front lawn. It's right at the centre, it's pretty ugly, but it seems to be thriving. Worked on background reading for the instructional models project today, and also working toward getting a community-led Arctic project funded. https://flic.kr/p/2nZdqQ2

November 7, 2022. Charlemagne is a very long cat, which means that when he gets up on hind legs (as he often does) he's a very tall cat... almost as tall as the railing. Today was a day for catching up on a mountain of work after being sick for three days or so. https://flic.kr/p/2nZbTTr

November 6, 2022. This is a view of some seed pods in late fall, Warwick forest. We got out for a very short walk today - I'm just ending my sickness, Andrea is just starting hers. https://flic.kr/p/2nYL4HH

November 25, 2022. These are milkweed as seen from the downstairs bathroom window. It was a beautiful day today, 22 degrees and a little breezy, I wanted to cycle but stayed in all day and recovered. https://flic.kr/p/2nYQJHG

November 4, 2022. Didn't sleep a wink. Up at dawn to start a day of nothing. This is dawn in the back yard. Sick day number 3 - feeling better but I'm not used to being sick. This may be the longest sick break I've taken in 20 years at NRC. https://flic.kr/p/2nYPJHN

November 3, 2022. Dead leaves in the back yard. That's all I'm capable of today; I'm just proud I was able to step out the door for a few minutes. Sick day number 2. Spent most of the day sleeping. https://flic.kr/p/2nYQEXq

November 2, 2022. This is what remains of the hydrangea in the back yard. Sick day today; horrible sore throat. Covid negative. https://flic.kr/p/2nYNaC3

October 31, 2022. We were the 'full sized bars' house at Halloween this year. Sadly, there were no trick-or-treaters (I think we're watching the very end of that tradition). p.s. sorry about the delays uploading (and the gaps in photo-a-day) but what with illness and all else, I've been remiss. https://flic.kr/p/2nYPxUo

October 30, 2022. We went to the Canadian Premier League final today. Our team lost to Hamilton, but the city was the big winner as we put 14,992 people in the stands, which for league soccer in Canada is a pretty big deal. It was interesting to compare this game with the football game the previous day, because the two experiences were very different. Both good though. Now it's hockey season and we're tempted to go to a game, but the team has been playing so well, we don't want to mess with their success. https://flic.kr/p/2nWn8sK

October 29, 2022. It was the last game of the season today and our last hope to see a win. Did we see one? No. The team went a perfect 0-9 at home this year. Maybe next year; the games are still fun and I hear that winning makes them even more enjoyable. https://flic.kr/p/2nWs2o8

October 28, 2022. Anyone who lives with cats knows that their lives are regulated by the carts. There's 'string time', 'lunch time', and as illustrated here, 'the petting zone', meaning I must go downstairs at routine times and pause to play with at least one cat through the railing. In between scheduled interactions with the cats today I worked on an instructional methods project, reading a number of background papers on design taxonomies. It's interesting, but I also feel I step back a couple decades when I do project work. https://flic.kr/p/2nWr5EW

October 27, 2022. These plants are (or were) growing in the back yard, right up against the house, but as you can see, we had a couple of hard frosts this week and now they're just husks of their former shelves. Wrapped up work on the bookmarklet today, niggling over a troublesome graph update issue (which exposed a flaw in my graph code generally). I'm also having web server issues. https://flic.kr/p/2nWqMJG

October 26, 2022. I liked the way the tree stood out against the clouds in the background in this early morning shot (it doesn't really come out in the photo - the Pixel 4 is good but I'm pining for a new Pixel 7 pro, not yet in stock at Bell). More work on bookmarklets today, as I spent the day trying to make fetch() work in a bookmarklet. Maybe others could do it, but I wasn't able to find a good way to avoid CORS, so I streamlined it and wrote a backend solution to scrape web data. https://flic.kr/p/2nWpJxN

October 25, 2022. Chairs stacked in the Costco. I haven't actually been inside the Costco for months, but I needed to accompany Andrea today. I thought I might get a Pixel 7 pro, but the store doesn't have the Bell booth any more, so have to go elsewhere. More meetings today, and more puttering with bookmarklets. https://flic.kr/p/2nVXHYi

Octobert 24, 2022. Looking out the sliding doors behind my kitchen table spot in the afternoon, after work, as the light fades. The idea of making bookmarklets has caught my imagination and so I spent a good part of the day figuring it out and learning how to select attributes of a page and send them to a remote service using Javascript. Also a couple of meetings. https://flic.kr/p/2nVTqC2

October 23, 2022. We went for a hike in the Forêt-la-Blanche Ecological Reserve today, 4.6 km and 314 m of elevation gain. It felt a lot easier this time than the last time we were there. Beautiful fall day, warm and sunny, still with some good colour. https://flic.kr/p/2nUQEov