Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

February 26, 2023. We were back out snowshoeing in Larose Forest east today. And also, for the first time this season, listening to the Blue Jays on a Sunday afternoon. I started out strong but lost energy quickly; Andrea meanwhile was fast throughout and had to wait for me. I got a few newsletter posts done and uploaded a video, that's it. I also changed the date of my flight to Spain to avoid a snowstorm, but sent the wrong dates to the host. I'll be happy when this bad stretch of health is over (I just assume everything will be better in the spring). https://flic.kr/p/2ojhsUb

February 25, 2023. We have auir conditioning, so this huge gaudy ceiling fan in the bedroom serves no real purpose but decoration. Still, there's no reason to remove it. Another day struggling with itch and fatigue, during which I did nothing useful, but did at least watch the first Blue Jays spring training game of the season. I also wrote a blog post: No Man's Sky: Advice for New Players https://flic.kr/p/2ojhfTn

February 24, 2023. A grey day. Totally unproductive. I was up early again, back to bed for a while, felt like maybe I reached a turning point in my itching, hadn't really, tried to focus on work, mostly failed, and finished my No Man's Sky expedition. On the bright side, today was the first day of spring training baseball, which helped keep me sane for the day. https://flic.kr/p/2oiPj1R

February 23, 2023. This is wall art at the Riverside hospital. I started this morning with a 3.5 hour meeting, then got in the car and drove Andrea to the hospital where she underwent some tests. No news yet, but it's concerning. We went to the Costco after, where I discovered the bank was putting my dental insurance cheques on hold for as much as four weeks. Greeat! Back home and tried to recover with some relaxing video game playing. https://flic.kr/p/2oiUnyZ

February 22, 2023. Another early morning. I've been having trouble adapting to my new medication, with the main issue being that I itch all over. I can sort of manage it, but it wakes me up in the morning. Working on the exercise bike helps. Today featured a meeting around the technology adoption project. Also, a new expedition was launched in my video game No Man's Sky, which made me happy. https://flic.kr/p/2oiTWXG

  February 21, 2023. This is a building under construction behind some trees on Cyrville Road during a snowstorm this afternoon. I saw this scene as I was pulling out from the Honda dealership, a visit made necessary by a vehicle recall to update some software. The entire day was spent on my technology barriers project, from early morning, though a missed meeting, and even while waiting at the dealership. The report isn't done yet; it's a work in progress, but I feel I've learned some important things.

February 20, 2023. This is an especially picturesque birch three blocks from our house. It was a nice sunny day, not too cold, nice for a quick 3 km walk around the neighbourhood. The rest of the day was spent heads down working on my study of technology adoption barriers. https://flic.kr/p/2oifcve

February 19, 2023. This is a scene from the snowshoeing trail in Larose Forest today. We went to the east side, near Limoges, where there was a fatbike event in progress, and also sled dogs (though we didn't see any). Nice warm day, and the trail was in really good shape. We did about 4.5 km. https://flic.kr/p/2ohRsMN

February 18, 2023. This bear was carved during Winterlude, in Ottawa. We went in this afternoon to walk around the market for a bit and catch what we could of the festival. This morning I spent a few hours working again on the technology adoption project, doing some reading and note-taking. https://flic.kr/p/2ohEf8y

February 17, 2023. A pair of blue jays on the back porch after a snowfall. We've been more popular with the jays recently; must be a good selection of seeds and nuts in the feeder. Today the full day is devoted to my technology barriers report. https://flic.kr/p/2ohtKVL

February 16, 2023. While getting groceries today I stopped in for lunch here. During the noonhour it's always pretty busy, and you can get a lot of food for not too much money. No meetings today, but time spent on some paperwork to prepare for an upcoming trip to Madrid, and of course my technology barriers report. https://flic.kr/p/2ohtHHK

February 15, 2023. The birds were lined up cheek to jowl at the bird feeder, with other flying around jockeying for position. Another nice warm day today, but I couldn't get out because of, once again, meetings, including a rare get-together of the research ethics board. https://flic.kr/p/2ohu6AW

February 14, 2023. Happy Valentine, says this squirrel in the back yard. It was nice today; I actually got to try out the new bicycle for a short 3 km ride. Nice. It was also a day of meetings, including one I though would be short that stretched into something quite long. https://flic.kr/p/2ohsUY6

February 13, 2023. This is where we go to see the doctor, the family health clinic at Riverside Campus of the Ottawa Hospital (formerly Riverside Hospital). We've been doing our visits virtually for the last three years but today this visit was in person. As we're both getting on in years the visits are not short, and there's follow-up stuff. And, as usual, the only cost to us was $12 for parking. https://flic.kr/p/2oh9kg9

February 12, 2023. This is Pine Grove forest, still showing a lot of signs of the devastation caused by last year's derecho. We went out for a 6km walk on the snow-covered trail enjoying a beautiful warm February day. https://flic.kr/p/2oh6BnQ

February 11, 2023. This is a cardinal enjoying some feeder food in late afternoon. The last few weeks have been hard on the birds and I'm making sure there's food for them. Aside from a 3km or so walk around the neighbourhood today was mostly an indoor day puttering on the computer. https://flic.kr/p/2ohb4p4

  @ tdc # dailycreate # tdc4050 # ds106 # education   The word 'education' with the letter 'e' inserted in electric blue to create the phrase 'educate ion', the white text superimposed over an image of neurons and synapses in lovely deep green, red and blue shades. For https://daily.ds106.us/tdc4050/ Photo by National Cancer Institute on Usplash https://unsplash.com/photos/W2OVh2w2Kpo and text by me

February 10, 2023. The insurance cheque for Andrea's dental work came in so we took a trip to the Caisse to deposit it and buy some milk. My full day today was spent preparing and then delivering a talk on nativating the future of AI for colleges. I was pretty happy with the outcome, but not so happy I had no audio on my home recording. Happily it was recorded at the other end as well. Started new medication last night, still itchy, and I didn't sleep so well either. https://flic.kr/p/2ogq3z1

February 9, 2023. Canada has no end of ways to torment us during winter. This is the result of ice fog - it's part fog, part ice, and it clings to everything. This shot was taken quite early so we could get to the store and back before the working day (which featured a couple of meetings) could begin. Ended the day by writing a blog post on the Edocalypse, that is, what the apocalypse for educational institutions would look like. https://flic.kr/p/2ognPDB

February 8, 2023. My alarm clock on a small stand across the room (because I cannot be trusted to have it beside the bed). Another busy day - not as bad as the previous day, where I thought I was multitasking all day, but still hectic. It involved reviewing documents, attending meetings, doing the newsletter (of course), and struggling with this itchiness. Still. https://flic.kr/p/2og4Bn3

February 7, 2023. Spent a fair amount of time and a lot of money in the dentist's chair today. I've noticed over the years that my front teeth are wearing out with age, and so has my dentist, so we redid the sharp edges of all of them at once. It changes my bit, and takes a bit of getting used to, but in the long run it will ensure that these teeth remain viable for many years. But hey, I was still productive - while in the chair I attended a meeting on AI explainability and personal privacy. https://flic.kr/p/2og4zCr

February 6, 2023. Another No Man's Sky photo. I'm working but I'm also struggling to concentrate on anything with all this itching. Playing video helps. https://flic.kr/p/2og3FCe

February 5, 2023. We were back in Larose Forest today on the snowshoes. The high was supposed to be 1 degree (celsius) but the morning started out at -10 and it was still only -6 while we were out, so it was a bit chilly, but not too bad. https://flic.kr/p/2og5Z5m

February 4, 2023. So here's the new bicycle, in my basement. It's right in front of my trainer, which I've been riding every weekday morning for a month (except yesterday, dentist day). The bicycle rides a bit smaller than I was expecting, and we spent quite a bit of time in the store making sure it would fit me properly. It's too cold to take out for some shakedown rides, but I can't wait. https://flic.kr/p/2ofzj4f

February 3, 2023. This is the waiting room at the dentist, where I spent a little time before my regular cleaning and checkup. No cavities, happily, but I have to make a return visit to have the chewing edge of my incisors restored - a lifetime of eating has worn them down, and it's important to protect them from too much wear. Otherwise, more time on ontologies, and that's about it. https://flic.kr/p/2ofx2XT

February 1, 2023. Playing with Charlemagne on the stairs; you can see the walls and ceiling of the house quite clearly. Unfortunately, Char is our of focus. I don't know why my phone does that. https://flic.kr/p/2of4PVE

January 31, 2023. This is a screen shot from No Man's Sky, my video game of choice. Recently, I have achieved the feat of acquiring an S (for Supreme) class starship, freighter and multitool. Now I've embarked on a tour of multiple galaxies. Beyond that, I've been engaged in the usual work, including working on my newsletter software so it properly handles special characters. https://flic.kr/p/2of42S1

January 30, 2023. I stuck my phone out the window and photographed this snowbank at the Metro. It's probably the least effort I've ever taken for a daily photo. But it was just that kind of day - a workday, working on ontologies and such, with the weather sucking the life out of me. Dry dry air is making me itch all over. Bleah. https://flic.kr/p/2oeQdU2