Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

April 29, 2022. This is a large tractor coming down the street in St. Albert, where I am on my normal 25 km training ride. Warmer today, but still pretty windy. Definitely not nice summer conditions. Still working on data literacy, though I made much less progress today. I'm really battling the pulled or strained oblique muscle (or maybe something more; it's pretty painful). https://flic.kr/p/2nhEyoy

April 28, 2022. I thought it was a groundhog at first, but the muskrat's hairless tail is distinctive. Taken alongside the Nation River on a quick loop to St.Albert and back. Cold today and windy. Good progress today on the appendices. https://flic.kr/p/2nhC8ND

April 27, 2022. I don't know what it is about cats and cardboard, but they are unnaturally attracted to it. Working on the appendices of my data literacy report today - a sign that it's almost done! https://flic.kr/p/2nhC1t8

April 26, 2022. Living with four cats means that your every activity is monitored and timed. Cats crave routine, and part of the daily routine is string time, after supper around seven (if I'm late for supper, or late for string time, I hear about it). A couple of meetings today, but otherwise, data literacy. https://flic.kr/p/2nhuRRp

April 25, 2022. I've been completing an expedition in No Man's Sky this week - there's a full playlist of video recordings if you're interested (though I can't imagine that you would be). Otherwise, it's all data ethics all the time. https://flic.kr/p/2nhsssN

April 24, 2022. We saw rows on rows of turtles sunning themselves in Mer Bleue today. WE also saw garter snakes mating, a wide variety of birds, and all sort of plants springing back to life. It almost feels like spring. Almost. https://flic.kr/p/2nhsfUD

April 23, 2022. This is the weir at Crysler, a town about 20 km from Casselman. I did a loop through Crysler and Berwick for a cold 50km today. I did a short TikTok of the weir and learned from a comment that I've been spelling the name of the town wrong all along. I also worked on the data literacy paper, because there is no rest. https://flic.kr/p/2ngCdR8

April 22, 2022. This is a field between Casselman and St. Albert. It was cool, but I did the 25km route today after work. Most fields aren't showing a crop yet, but you can tell everything is ready for another growing season. https://flic.kr/p/2ngENE5

April 21, 2022. This is my view from the exercise bike in the morning. I toggle back and forth between CNN and Breakfast Television. Last week I took a week off to rest my sore obliques, but I'm back at it this week, gingerly. Today was another full day of work on data literacy, soon to be finished. I also wrote a short post on Leftish called ' The Debt '. https://flic.kr/p/2ngDoyL

April 20, 2022. Happy 4-20. This is the parking lot at the Costco. I took it thinking how everything seemed blue, black and white. Such odd spring colours. Aside from picking up groceries, I spent the entire day (once again) on data literacy. I know; same thing every day, day in and day out. That will change. https://flic.kr/p/2ngjsiZ

April 19, 2022. I was thinking today what a world without plastic would look like. This is my sink in the downstairs bathroom, and almost everything on it is plastic (just the Gold Bond is metal). Some meetings today, but otherwise totally focused on data literacy. Almost done; making the final push. https://flic.kr/p/2ngi51d

April 18, 2022. These new Ravager tires arrived from Amazon and will hopefully be the answer to my tire needs for my Anticosti Island bikepacking expedition. This Easter Monday was spent working on data literacy and playing No Man's Sky (which I'm streaming live on YouTube). https://flic.kr/p/2nggL7m

April 17, 2022. We spotted this deer while hiking in Guindon Park, near Cornwall. It was a bit cool and the ground was *very* soggy. Still, the Jays won and the sun came out for a bit and we saw deer and snakes and birds and squirrels, so overall it was a good day. Just under 6km. https://flic.kr/p/2nfeCsW

https://flic.kr/p/2nf4qax

April 15, 2022. I thought I might go out for a bike ride but we had gale force winds all day. It blew one of the bird feeders off the stand. Tried to play (and live stream) video games instead but the power cut out several times. Basically a rest day. https://flic.kr/p/2nf4mc7

April 14, 2022. This is the optometrist in Embrun. I drove Andrea here today so she could pick up her new glasses. The frames are dark and they make her look a bit Ingrid Michaelson. I also went out for a ride today but didn't take any pictures (I did, however, record a video for my ' Project Anticosti ' channel and another for TikTok). https://flic.kr/p/2nePn5c

April 13, 2022. This print by Jason Carter was part of my gift from the NRC for 20 years of service; it now hangs on my home office wall. I also received a really nice 20-year pin. I actually passed my anniversary date last November and had given up on this ever arriving. Same today as every day: working on data literacy. For the NRC. https://flic.kr/p/2nePA7B

April 12, 2022. This is my typical everyday lunch. On the left, some squash and some warmed up tuna. On the right, some Babybels, an eff, two wheatabix patties (I pout the tuna on them ) and some bread (I put the egg on it). https://flic.kr/p/2neJ3Lu

April 11, 2022. This is one of the many many painted cows dotting the region around St. Albert and Casselman, all celebrating the dairy industry here in eastern Ontario. This one is right at the St. Albert cheese factory (home of world famous cheddar and curds), taken on one of my spring bike rides there and back. I was feeling good after the weekend and through the ride, but my obliques flared up again once I got home. Bleah. https://flic.kr/p/2neFGBo

April 10, 2022. This is wintergreen, spotted on our walk in Pine Grove Forest today. It was new to me; Andrea pointed it out and told me some about it. I did a TikTok video about it, and as of this writing (a few days after the fat; I'm lagging in my daily videos) it had reached 19.1K views - easily my most popular TikTok. https://flic.kr/p/2neE9nE

April 9, 2022. This is an image taken with the new camera of a nearby creek swollen from spring runoff. It's actually a v-shape about 10 feet deep in the middle, and is usually just a little stream at the bottom. This was taken during a quick 25km bike ride to St. Albert and back. I've been having problems with lower abdominal muscle strain (just like last year) so I took it pretty slow. https://flic.kr/p/2nehJbj

April 8, 2022. Today was opening day, a day that every spring brings a renewal of hope and happiness, not just for the upcoming baseball season, but also for the upcoming spring and warm season. Made good progress on data literacy today. https://flic.kr/p/2nehp2L

April 7, 2022. We took the kittens to the vet today for their 1-year booster shots. It took two shifts, as Julia decided to elude capture for an hour. I otherwise had a short meeting, did work on data literacy, and as usual did the newsletter. https://flic.kr/p/2nehFBb

April 6, 2022. Testing the new camera at the junction of the Nation River and the Castor River near Casselman. More meetings, and I had to go into the office to get my green computer replaced. On the way back I decided to drop in on Bernie (not expecting he would be there) and got caught up on things (long story short: they locked down my other's retirement home because of Covid, that's the only reason Bernie was at home, but it looks like they're gradually reopening). https://flic.kr/p/2ndU8tD

April 5, 2022. This Easter bunny is on a porch on the main street here in Casselman. Day of three meetings. In between, worked on the newsletter and tried to sort out an email bug. https://flic.kr/p/2ndT3eb

April 4, 2022. I took Andrea to the optometrist today; this is brush just behind their parking lot in Embrun. As usual, new glasses cost an arm and a leg. Today starts a week with a lot of meetings, and between meetings I'm working on my data literacy paper. https://flic.kr/p/2ndVsAR

April 3, 2022. This is a white-breasted nuthatch, observed during our walk to the Upper Canada migratory bird sanctuary today. Large parts of the trail were flooded, but we were still able to walk a bit more than 5 km along an often muddy (and sometimes still frozen) trail, spotting a large number of birds. Another nice win for the Blue Jays today, and we're planning to be in T.O. to take in the Canada Day series against the Rays. https://flic.kr/p/2nctWib

April 2, 2022. This is a typical early spring scene around here. I took the new camera for a jaunt to St. Albert and back again on the gravel bike. The new wider tires take a bit more effort (this will be repaid with better performance on gravel). The quality of the photo seems to be pretty good. I was also pleased with my video tests (I don't even have to rotate video; the camera knows when it's recording in portrait mode for TikTok). https://flic.kr/p/2ncsssF

April 1, 2022. Here I am in a food court opening and testing out my new Fujufilm X-T200. Not the greatest of shots, but that wasn't the point. Why this camera? It records video quite well, and will also take decent photographs, allowing it to fulfill multiple roles on bikepacking adventures (where weight counts). https://flic.kr/p/2ncvf64

March 31, 2022. This is a view of my ship flying past a space base on a small moon near a giant planet in No Man's Sky. Thinks like this (if we can get more comfortable headsets) are the real killer app for VR. Some meetings today plus work on my data literacy paper, and also upgrading my X-T200 and setting it up as a webcam. https://flic.kr/p/2nbXyWe

March 30, 2022. I saw this along Coventry Road walking toward the Best Buy today. I was in the city to change my tires, walked a short distance to purchase a GoPro. In fact I never did buy the GoPro - I came home with a FujuFilm X-T200 mirrorless camera instead. It shows the value of going to the store sometimes. I wanted the GoPro to address one need - a way to record video on my upcoming bikepacking adventures. But this camera will record the video, but also addresses the need for a lightweight camera, can be charged by USB, and can even get into sporting events. It also works as a webcam. https://flic.kr/p/2nbUC2p

March 29, 2022. Here's what it looks like when I fill up my car. It's up about $10 over what it cost when I bought it in 2018. This - plus the electrical charge - will get me about 400 km, which means I'm paying this every three or four weeks. So the rising price of gas has some impact on me, but not very much. And it's hard for me to be sympathetic with people who bought an F-150 without regard for gas prices or the environment. Today was a meeting day, including participation in a panel on data ethics. https://flic.kr/p/2nbUxWL