HANDEL'S MESSIAH
It still feels a little odd to me to be preoccupied with the holiday season and the impending financial year end, but I suppose that’s the nature of the job. I have high hopes that this year will be the smoothest trip through the whole year end process yet. This time last year, I was in blissful ignorance about catastrophe waiting for me in January, but I go into it now with eyes wide open. I like to think that skills handling large amounts of textual data are more finely honed now, though. Over the last year, I have spent more time than I would like to admit in the perl documentation and playing around with sed and awk. I have lots of data files that I receive from an external source as well as data that I am free to access with SQL. It’s my goal this year to better rationalize all of that data so I can quickly and efficiently isolate discrepancies. Well, it sounds like a good idea, we’ll see if I can actually pull it off.
Ο ΘΕΌΣ ΠΙΣΤΌΣ
Scotland was quite wet, by far more so than the usual climate around here. Still, I think I’d bring back the rain over the snow that graced my view this weekend. It just seems too early to be bathed in a world of white. I feel blessed to have travelled so much over the past few years, and to have been able to occasionally escape the Edmonton climate. There is still so much of the world that I would like to see, but I think I have been fortunate in my explorations thus far. The title was tweeted by John Piper recently, and it made me think about the faithfulness of God in our lives. It’s usually not what we expect, but it’s always there.
DOWNTOWN ARENA
Quoted from http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/City+council+approves+arena+deal/5609980/story.html: Downtown Arena EDMONTON - The Oilers could be playing in a fancy new rink by 2015 after city council gave the go-ahead Wednesday to a $450-million arena intended to transform downtown Edmonton. “I think it’s an incredible opportunity for us to redefine our city,” said Mayor Stephen Mandel, who has spent the last five years promoting the project. “It’s always easy to say no … it’s courageous for council to say yes.”
INNER HEBRIDES, SCOTLAND
Well, after an extended period out of the country, I am finally back home. I still feel like I am several time zones out of sync, but I suppose that will slowly wear off after a few more work days. It was, in truth, a fantastic respite from a frenetic schedule, and I am very grateful to have had it. It was so easy to disconnect in the Inner Hebrides. They are gorgeous in a stark way, with the dominant features being verdant fields, rock, and sheep. The picture above is from the Isle of Staffa, where Mendelssohn was inspired to write the Hebrides Overture after seeing Fingal’s Cave. Though it doesn’t appear so from the shot above, they are right before an enormous cliff. I got vertigo just from looking off of it.
SEPTEMBER: THE BEST SUMMER MONTH
If I’d had to guess at the beginning of the summer when I figured we’d have the best weather, it certainly never would have been September. Still, of 2011, I’d say September was about the most comfortable and driest of the weather we’ve had. And I made hay. Went camping last weekend in Peter Loughheed park, which was truly gorgeous. I have not been able to sit outside in the evening near the end of September in a T-shirt and be completely comfortable in a very long time. Of all the things that I miss most while living in the city, it’s really probably the stars. I never really see them with all of the city lights in the background, and when camping in the west here, they're more spectacular than ever. Between that and the hiking, it's a little slice of heaven.
REQUIRED AMERICAN READING
The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr Obviously, there are many problems currently with current American government in place, and it is extremely frustrating to watch them (not) work. Part of the problem in Washington at the moment in my estimation is the degree of ideological purity being exercised particularly by the right. There is a consistent belief that consequences be damned, spending should be cut dramatically with no rise in revenues. What’s more, it appears so far that they are willing to throw the rest of the nation under the bus to score political points.
MICROSCOPIC MAJESTY
I can’t go out and spend $5,000 on camera and lens set, though I like to fancy myself that I could put such a device to good and effective use if I had one. This picture was taken this last weekend in BC, and was photographed with such a device (Nikon D700). Again, that sort of expenditure is beyond me, but it’s hard to deny how effective it is. There is really no comparison between the type of shot I can manage with the D700 and what I can do with a Fujifilm EXR. You can take interesting photos with both, but the true stunners require the size and quality sensor only found in a dSLR. Maybe one day, and until then, you can admire nature’s glory in the above (with a bit of my dab hand in Photoshop).
U2: EDMONTON
Now actually, I went to this concert on the first of June, but as it was definitely the highlight of the month, it has earned its post. This concert was notable for being the first stadium rock concert I have ever been to and by far the closest I have ever been to the stage in a live performance. I was well within the inner circle (between stages) and at the closest roughly ten feet to the massive stage. Little wonder then that it was the best show that I have ever been to. With over 30 years worth of hits, and more Grammy awards than any other rock group, it was over two hours of pure delight. I had been hoping they might perform some new songs, but they stuck to their past successes and a couple of covers. Still, it was brilliant, and they are a phenomenal band to see live. Highly recommended.
SUMMER LONG WEEKENDS
There are few things better than a summer long weekend accompanied with beer battered brats cooked on a grill and corn on the cob slathered with salt and butter. Pair that with a balmy sunny evening, and it’s a good recipe for relaxing bliss. It takes a small eternity for winter in Edmonton to end, but when it does, we are rewarded with an above average summer, with exceptionally long daylight hours and moderate temperatures due to our high latitude. I have high hopes of taking advantage of that while it lasts.
VULCAN AND THE NETHERLANDS
I actually first went to Vulcan years ago while I was a summer research student, but I took my snapshots on this odd Yashica APS film camera that had some serious problems with it’s automatic focus (it had been dropped). I lost the camera at some point that summer, and so I never got the roll developed. I have been meaning to get back ever since to get another photo of the exhibit, but it’s not exactly a convenient location. When my Uncle mentioned last weekend that he needed to pick up a horse trailer out in that area, I seized on the chance to revisit the iconic model of the Starship Enterprise and the somewhat tacky billboard featured above. And if Leonard Nimoy thought it was important enough to visit, then it’s certainly worth a visit by me.