Technologies and Trades building

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Mom, Floyd, and I saw the new Technologies and Trades building at Lethbridge College last week.  Mom got a bit tired near the end – it just creeps up on her suddenly.  But we saw enough of it.

This will be my first year in this new building.  All those who did the course in the normal two years will not have the chance to be in this new building.  Luckily, doing it in 3 years, I’ll spend my final year in there.

I brought a list of my classroom numbers, published a month ago.  I’m thinking they have since changed the numbers of rooms from a month ago.  Why do I say that?  One of my classes, Fluid Dynamics I think, was in room TT1933.  What’s the problem with that?  TT1933 is now a men’s restroom.  I saw my newly numbered classrooms today – TT1939, TT1940, TT1941, TT1942, and TT1981.  I guess I’m not having classroom in any restrooms.

second laptop image

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I took my school laptop in to be re-imaged – a second time.  I was expecting Steve to give me the gears about this, and he didn’t let me down.  I explained that I’d put the wrong drive to be imaged last week, so it must be done again, and that I wiped the first drive.  He noted that he would prefer that he change the drive to make sure it was wiped.  “What’s to stop you from using that drive after school is done next year?  You could be using all that free software.”

Frankly, it never dawned on me that I could do that.  I believed that none of it would work because it would all expire.  I would not be able to update the license for most software, and I wouldn’t be able to use the rest because I wouldn’t be connected to the school’s servers.

“I tried to find way not to bother you about this because I know you’re busy.  But I couldn’t.”  I asked a classmate, “T“, if I could image mine from his – a kind of carbon copy from his to mine – but he hasn’t gotten his done yet; T is out of the country until the very day of school.

quips

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I renewed my license today.  It expires in a week (my birthday).  I just happened to notice the expiry date while doing some other paperwork.  Good thing – otherwise, I’d have never noticed.  There were about 20 people in line.  A woman said, after small talk about the lineup, “I thought I’d chosen a day that there wouldn’t be a crowd.”  I replied, “Maybe you did!”

This is the kind of thing I’d normally have an English lesson on, if I were still teaching ESL.

The true meaning of the end comment was:

  1. You came here before when there wasn’t a crowd, and now you’re back.
  2. There really aren’t many people here today.  This isn’t such a big crowd.
  3. I had no idea what to say, so I said something that makes no sense.  My bad!
  4. There may be not as many people today as on other days; this could be a slow day, comparatively.

puncture resistant tube, cycle in dry coulees

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I got on my Giant bike this morning to cycle up a sweat only to find it anaeris.  I patched the rear tire yesterday but apparently missed a small hole.  Canadian Tire sells a puncture resistant tire tube, so I bought one.  It’s quite heavy, but with all the add-on stuff, the bike’s heavy anyway.  Better to be heavy than weak.  That’s why I have a full mountain bike, not a hybrid.

To test out my new tire, I went for a ride in the coulees.  Wow – very dry, hard, dusty ground out there.

more:

cycle in dry coulees 20170901_190303 panorama.jpg
cycle in dry coulees 20170901_190321 Allan.jpg
cycle in dry coulees 20170901_190334 Giant bike.jpg

Lot of fun.  The tire survived.

Sask-Man didn’t happen

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I didn’t actually get to Saskatchewan or Manitoba.  I went to BC instead.  I heard Father was in hospital again.  He’d had a seizure a few days previous but was home from hospital the same day.  When I got there this time, he was just going in for routine preparation for more radiation on his tumour.  They kept him in for a few days and was still there when I left.

I’d intended to be on my way the next morning but wasn’t able to.  Someone I planned to meet wasn’t available until late in the day, so I didn’t leave Chilliwack until after 5pm.

On my way back home I stopped at Othello Tunnels the first night, Arosa Rance B&B the second, and Pass Creek Campground the third.

It looks like I won’t be making it to Manitoba after all – at least not this time around.

heading to Sask-Man

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I think I’m heading East to Saskatchewan and Manitoba tomorrow.  I was going to go today but had a headache and decided to wait.

I’ve kind of finished all I wanted to do to my new server and its web sites, and I have a more-or-less completed list of other things I wanted to accomplish this summer, so there’s no reason not to go.

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new Ongoing Letter online … again

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Hi everybody.  This is the latest attempt at going on with my Ongoing Letter, my blog to the outside world.  It’s my third attempt at using a CMS (Content Management System) on a database server and the third generation of the allansplace web.  Hopefully it’ll take this time without any server-self-destruct buttons being pushed.  We shall see.

There are also some changes to the other webs.  If you already know the addresses, you’ll also know they’re not quite up-and-running yet.  Check back often.

In the mean time, enjoy!

Yup.  It’s been ages since…

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November 20, 2001

Yup.  It’s been ages since i’ve written anything.  Fall is upon us, leaves are changing colour outside and falling to the earth.

Sun is low in the sky making our balcony full of plants happy.  Not only is the sun lower but the trees are barer now allowing more sunlight to come in.  A good reason to like winter the most.

i’m exercising almost every day now making my wife happy.  She says i’m too damned skinny.

Our cats are gone to live with my dad.  The apartment is pretty quiet now.  Better for them, even though they don’t know it right now.  They’ve lodged themselves in the basement and won’t come out to visit.  I’m sure they miss us and wonder just what the hell is going on.  A valid concern, but given a month or so i’m hoping they’ll come around.  They left us November 5th.  We went to the aeroport with us in cages on an aeroport express bus, none to happy, meowing most of the time.  Then they got wheeled around the aeroport to the quarantine office in their cages for an hour.  Then another 1-hour bus ride to the Air Canada freight building.  Then another hour with us.  Then, between 11am & 4:30pm, they sat waiting to get onto the plane.  Wow.  Think that’s bad?  They then sat 12 hours in the belly of an Air Canada cargo jet in extreme noise and extreme cold.  Naughty, i’ve figured out while he was living here, hates noise.  Hates the radio or TV being on.  Can you imagine now much he’d hate 12 hours in a plane?  Both of them, i think.  No wine, no pillow, no on-board movies.  Just cold & noise.  Only to get put in the aeroport for 4 hours while Aizlynn argued to convince the aeroport people to hand them over.  Yvonne, my step-mom, said she’d pick them up but later changed her mind, though her name was still on the documents.  So Aizlynn picked them up from Air Canada, and Yvonne later came & got them.  <sigh>  Anyway, they’re now sitting in their basement.  Apparently they left a couple little presents on the living room floor.

Just called now to their house.  Apparently they’re playing downstairs in the basement but won’t come up to be seen.  Makes sense – they’re not going to be sad & morose forever.  Gotta start being cats again.

I got a package from my sister just the other day with a package of bran, another of wheat germ, and a Canadian Living Christmas cookbook for Hanmee.

later

Aizlynn, my sister, has been taking driving lessons for the past month.  Her test is on December 17, 2001.  Wish her luck!

Turns out Hanmee’s mom is recovering…

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Thursday October 11, 2001

Turns out Hanmee’s mom is recovering nicely.  Yes, it probably was a stroke, despite what the docs say.  Her face is pretty much back to normal, both in shape and feeling in her skin.

Winter is settling in now, and leaves are falling.  Cold weather has hit a week or so ago.  Cold nights, i’ll tell you.  But during the past couple nights, the floors in the apartment (especially the bedroom) have been really warm.  If you’re viewing this “ongoing letter” from a Palm or Handspring or whatever PDA or cellphone, you won’t see the photos.  Sorry!

I’d been downloading a bunch of movies, sit-coms, and other stuff from the internet through a program called Morpheus.  Kind of like Napster, i suppose, but Napster was limited to only music.  Morpheus shares music, documents of any description, videos, photos, software, and whatever else people want to put on there.  Video games, porn, MP3s, news programs not normally available, newspaper clippings, etc.  Just anything, in other words.

I got a package in the mail today from mommy!  Socks, bran (yes, bran, for baking), a bottle of New Skin (liquid bandage), some Korean money, a calendar from Lethbridge Community College, and a letter.