Photos: Samus & Eek! Sleeping

Here are a couple photos of Samus sleeping on Eek!, on their "house". Samus kind of caught onto the clicking noise of the camera and is watching me.

[Kitchener, ON -- Nikon D70s]
 

Photos: Eek! and Joy Playing Games

Here are some photos of Eek! and Joy playing a bit of Beyond Good & Evil. You can see how much he is helping her. ;) To quote Joy: "Eek! is the cat she always wanted."

[Kitchener, ON -- Nikon D70s]

 

Photo: Size Perspective

This should put their size into perspective. Note that Eek! is extremely difficult to focus on...he throws off all attempts to autofocus.

[Kitchener, ON -- D70] 

Photo: Samus

Here is Samus staying safe in her box. She is much more cautious than Eek! but now on the second day here she is doing much better. She had a little bit of separation issues (been calling out for her litter-mates).

[Kitchener, ON -- Nikon D70] 

Photo: Eek!

Here is Eek! the Cat. Don't mind his right eye, he seems to have been scratched by another kitten. Eek! is a cute little playful boy.

[Kitchener, ON -- Nikon D70] 

Photo: Samus & Eek! Arrive

Samus and Eek! just after arriving back at the apartment. In case you are out of the loop Joy and I just got new kittens.

[Kitchener, ON -- Nikon D70] 

Camping Vacation

Well Joy and I are just about all packed (just waiting for a few more clothes in the dryer). Tomorrow we start our 10 night camping trip along Lake Erie and Huron. And to go along with the camping I just bought a new bike today (yes we are taking our bikes with us).

This is just a short message to mark the start of the trip, which will begin at Long Point. George and Carolyn will be joining us at our next stop, Rondeau, for Friday through Sunday. Pictures and all will follow, but probably not until June.

Oh, and in case you were concerned, we did make reservations at all the parks (we did it this morning).

So Long Arizona

Well I'm currently on the verge of boarding my plane back home. This is a bitter-sweet departure as it is highly likely to be the last trip here ever (for this client at least). You'd think I'd be happy to be finally rid of this place, however it did serve as my home for the better part of last year. I have to put out thanks and appreciation for the friends I made here. And a special kudos to Lacey, if you weren't here I don't know that I would have been able to manage the long stay here. :) I hope you find your escape soon.

Farewell Arizona!

Brain Age

So I picked up the Brain Age software for my DS yesterday (at the discount price of $20). On first startup I was ranked a DS Brain Age of 56. :( Not very good, eh? Well this morning I started it up, did a little of the days training, and did the Brain Age Check (i.e. test) and today's score was 41. Still not the ideal 20 (lowest Brain Age you can get), but moving in the right direction.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, you can find out more here.

T-Minus One Week

So I've now been here in AZ since Sunday, and have but a week until I'll be back home. Unfortunately a week is still a long time. :( The good news about the next week, is that when I return I have two weeks off (19th through June 2nd) and Joy officially moves in. :)

So what are we doing to mark this occasion? Well we have planned 10 days of camping in 5 different provincial parks--not including the long-weekend on Wightland Acres. We'll be starting out in Niagara at Long Point on the 24th and ending the following Saturday at Point Farms, with stops at Rondeau, Wheatley, and The Pinery (2 nights at each). I'm really looking forward to the trip, vacation, and being home. :D

In the AZ

Well just so you are all sure I made it here safely, I arrived here yesterday at 10:15 PM EDT. So far so good, it is quite a bit warmer here than there. And it seems that the air conditioning isn't working at 100%...well actually it is going 100% of the time, but it isn't much cooler for it. I suppose no one before me noticed, or bothered to let the maintenance people know. ;)

Well I'm just about to head out for dinner, but before I do I thought I'd post a couple pictures from George and my walk through Victoria Park two weekends ago.

[Kitchener, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Back and Gone Again

Well I know it has been a very long time since my last post. And as a matter of fact this post will have something in common with my previous. What is it you ask? Well I'm off to Arizona for 12 days (I'll be back on the 18th). It is a nice and short trip so that is very nice--however it is yet another trip. The good news is that after this there should be much of any travel for quite some time. :)

Hopefully while I'm there I'll take the time to do some posting (highly likely due to the smaller number of distractions there). I have a bunch of photos I took with George during a visit to Victoria Park, so hopefully I get them posted either before I leave or shortly after arriving in Arizona.

Part Way Home

I just arrived in Hong Kong--I'll assume some of you already knew that. I'm just going to do a little wandering around the airport before heading to the Cathay Pacific lounge. I'll probably have something more to say then.

Trip to Penang v3.0 Complete

In a mere 12 hours I'll be leaving Penang for the third, hopefully final, time. It has been another long trip which I'm glad is about over. The work while I've been here went well, both the project support as well as the training, it is just that it was another 5 weeks away from home, family, and friends. I can't wait to be back in the balmy 7 degree weather (warmer than when I left). I'll be arriving in Toronto just before 10PM Sunday night with a quick trip to retrieve my car from Kitchener than down to Niagara.

I have next week off so I'll be doing some rounds and primarily dealing with getting my stuff moved into the new apartment. :) So it will be a busy but fun week...and so nice to have a break from work.

So just to make people like Dad happy I'll try to ensure that I blog an entry while in HK, just so everyone knows I didn't miss my flight.

See you all soon. :)

One Day Down, Four More...

Well the first day of the week-long training course I'm giving is over. And surprise, surprise it seemed to have gone quite well. There was no fainting or anything. :) Seriously though, it really wasn't nearly as bad as I had worked myself up to believe. Heck, it can be considered kind of fun. ;)

We have gotten a little behind our schedule, but I don't think it will be anything we can't make up in the coming days.

Well, so just four more days of training left, and in about five and a half I'll be on a plan back to Ontario. :)

Oh, and all that training material my colleagues and I create looks quite impressive when printed up. :)

Photo: Cara & Michael with a Cake

The happy couple cutting the cake with a small knife. :)

[Newcastle, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Photo: Merry Bunch

We have Murray (dad), Pat (mom), Joel (brother), Joy and myself at Cara & Michael's wedding.

Notice our fancy outfits. ;)

[Newcastle, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Photo: Jolly Old Man

Jolly ol' Dad at Cara & Michael's wedding. Like his pimping costume?

[Newcastle, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Photo: Joy Tracks

Joy making tracks in the snow during our winter wander around the farm.

[Auburn, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Photo: Animal Tracks in the Corn Field

Some random animal's tracks through the corn field. Maybe someone wiser will know what kind of tracks these are...

[Auburn, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Photo: Archived Grain Wagon

An old abandoned grain wagon sitting in the barn yard.

[Auburn, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Photo: Wightland Acres Barn

The family farm as seen from the fields.

[Auburn, ON -- Nikon D70s]

Random Photos

Well just as a treat to you all, I will be posting some random photos that I've taken over the last little while. Most of them will look like winter, so if you are faint of heart you may wish to look away. ;)

New Look

Inspired by George's updated, yet minimalist new look, I've updated the look and layout of my blog.

News from the East

I know it has been a long time, but overall it hasn't been to exciting here. I probably have something to do with that...but that isn't the point. Well I quickly ran out of books to read while here--I finished the trilogy I brought last week. So without any books I had taken to playing games, and ended beating Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, so I needed something else to occupy my time.

One of those things is I just posted an entry on Through the Viewfinder for the Form project. I intend on posting an entry for Texture shortly.

I also went to the neighbouring mall to find some cheap DVDs, alas it looks like police must have been there cracking down on piracy, as almost all the DVD stores were closed. With that avenue closed I did wander into a book store. After a short while finding the English novels I came away with two books by Terry Pratchett. He comes highly recommended by Joy, so I thought I'd give them a shot. They have a style which is not unlike Douglas Adams--of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame. I ended up coming away with two of his books: Going Postal, and A Hat Full of Sky.

And as a treat I think I'll share a little quote from Going Postal:

'Now...will you take the job?'

'Oh, all right. Of course, I accept as natural born criminal, habitual liar, fraudster and totally untrustworthy perverted genius.'

'Captial! Welcome to government service!'

Jungle Living

As you all know I'm back in the jungle land of Malaysia. Well, I'm personally in no jungle, but actually just my 3rd home the Shangri La George Town. And as in previous trips, it has been a week without to much in the way of exciting news. Just the typical 11 hour days this country always seems to bring.

Once my work week was over I pretty well settled into a weekend of reading. Haven't really gone anywhere other than downstairs to eat. I have gotten through many, many pages of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I know have books I & II behind me, and almost 20% through the third and final book in the series. So my real concern now is what do I read after the remaining 380 pages are behind me? I really should have brought more than 3 books, especially with 27 days remaining.

Travels

Well I'd just like to say hello from Hong Kong.

Now to get people up to speed. For those who don't know I'm currently enroute to Malaysia...again. I found out mid-last week (confirmed on Friday) that I'd be flying back to Malaysia Sunday evening. So here I am on the other side of the world waiting for a plane to Penang.

This was not a scheduled trip, but rather an emergency trip to help the customer. I'll be here until the 9th of April (a Sunday--supossed to be a Saturday, but I don't know why the date was pushed back a day). I'll be sure to post a few things while away, even though this particular trip/route is getting old.

See everyone in April. :(

Flickr Photos

Just a little FYI. I've been posting some of my photos to Flickr (an online photo hosting service). You will be able to view the photos in higher detail here.

Through the Viewfinder: Ryan's Project 1 Photos

Tonight George, Caroline, and I went out for a couple hours of photography. We have started going through some projects outlined in a photograph book I have. Check out my post on a blog I created specifically for tracking our progress.

Through the Viewfinder: Ryan's Project 1 Photos

Escape of the Great Ape

This little monkey was trying to escape into my cube today.

Duel of the Cameras

So with a new camera in the house, of course there were many photos to be taken. George can be seen taking my photo.
Of course Alex was outraged at all the pictures.

Photography

For those of you who missed out on the news from last week, I'll share it now.

So last Thursday I finally caved and went off to buy my long sought camera. The camera I've been drooling over for the last year, has been the Nikon D70s Digital-SLR (well it was the D70 I drooled over until they released the slightly upgraded D70S). Needless to say, it wasn't a cheap investment, but it will have me set for a very long time.

I got the kit version which came with a 18-70mm lens--equivlant to 27-105mm on a 35mm SLR. So, some of you are probably wondering what that 35mm equivlance thing was about. Nikon, as well as most D-SLR manufactures, create their digital SLRs with a sensor that is not actually 35mm in size (please refer to this article for the logic behind doing so). Due to this smaller size it causes the lens to behave as if it has a longer focal length. For Nikon's DX format, the factor is 1.5 times that of the 35mm focal length. So my 24mm wide-angle lens turns into a 36mm lens when attached to my D70S (as opposed to my F65). But this does come in handy when doing telephoto work; my 70-300mm lens becomes a 105-450mm, so it does have its advantages.

First Photo Session

Unfortunately I was unable to do any special photo session last night--I was stuck monitoring my email to support work folks in Malaysia. However, George and I did end up taking some photos from his apartment. Got some nice ones of the night streets.
I anticipate many more will be taken this weekend during the Niagara Ice Wine Festival. :)

Today is the Day

Well today is the day I cave. After work George and I are going to go visit Henry's. What I come home with I'll leave you all to guess for a little bit. :)

My New Wheels

So today Mom and I went out to look at the car offerings around Bowmanville. We ended up finding one at the Oshawa-Whitby at Owasco VW.

So as you can see, it is indeed a Golf. A 2001 Golf GLS to be exact. It isn't a diesel since they really are a bit harder to find; but no problem. You'll notice it is 4-door--I hear clapping in the distance. Can't forget to mention the sun-roof and heated seats. :) Oh, it only has 62,700 KM on it, so plenty of life left in it.

The scheduled pickup time is 2PM Thursday. Can't wait to call it mine!

Just for the people who like facts and figures out there:

2001 Volkswagen Golf GLS

Certified:	Certified Vehicle
Engine:	2.0L 4 cyl Fuel Injection
Interior:	Black
Location:	Owasco Volkswagen
Kilometers:	61,702
Transmission:	Manual

Featured Equipment

• Air Conditioning
• Driver Side Air Bag
• Passenger Side Air Bag
• Anti-Lock Brakes
• AM/FM Cassette
• Security Features
• Alloy Wheels
• Cruise Control
• Front Wheel Drive
• Heated Mirrors
• Heated Seats
• Keyless Entry
• Manual Transmission
• Power Brakes
• Power Door Locks
• Power Mirrors
• Power Steering
• Power Windows
• Sunroof
• Tilt Steering Wheel

Time to Fly

With just about 2 hours and 45 minutes left, I am heading out the door to check-out. I'll see you all on the other side of the globe...well our side. :)

Picture from Dinner

Just received a copy of a picture taken at the dinner last Friday. From left to right we have: Wai Ming, Sham, and myself.

It Has Been Confirmed

So it has been confirmed that I'll be on vacation from this Friday through to the 19th of December, returning to work on Tuesday the 20th (for a few days). So in just over 25 hours I'll be on vacation (minus the flight time of course). :) Looking forward to seeing everyone, as well as being a proper Canadian citizen.

The Final Stretch

Well we are approaching the final stretch; just over three days left. :) This past weekend didn't go quite as I hoped. I had intended on going to another part of Georgetown and do a little shopping, etc. However, due to the "day-time" hours I've been living I slept far to late.

The weekend wasn't an entire waste Friday night I went to the Annual Dinner for the organization within the client company I'm working for. It was an entertaining event, if not artificially extended by their seemingly pointless skits.

Saturday was spent mostly chatting with Dad and teaching myself Mozilla XUL. For those who care to know, XUL is the language which the gecko rendering engine understands. That probably means absolutely nothing to most people. But for those of you who are still reading this, I have started to implement a BOINC Client UI.

Today I went with Sham and her family to Batu Ferringhi, where we had dinner and wandered the night market. One huge difference between Batu Ferringhi and Georgetown is the number of tourists. Batu Ferringhi is the tourist location on the island of Penang. Which is also location of the Golden Sands resort at which I could have transferred to for weekends....but I never did get around to that. Between working and sleeping I never managed to do so. :(

Anyway, I'll be seeing everyone very soon! :D

Not As Planned...

Well today didn't happen quite as planned. But I still went out for a wander around. Didn't see anything in particular, just a random stroll. I will have to say that having a 7-digit PIN number doesn't work so well. Time to research to see how I can use my Bank of America card here. :( Until I figure it out I guess I am not using my cash advance located on my BofA account.

I took a couple pictures to remind everyone of the real Penang. Note the tall KOMTAR building, it is helpful since it is the tallest building on the island, and right beside my hotel. :) Makes it hard to get lost.

Plans

Well I'm actually going to do something tomorrow. Planning on going to see the Botanic Gardens with Sham & her family. So look forward to some pictures.

I think that I'll be going to bed soon. Yes it is late, 4:45 AM and I just finished working about 1 and a quarter hours ago. Well at least there will be some good overtime. :)

Planes and Plans

Well according to the flight tracking, Joy and her mother have landed safely in Holland. I hope that they both enjoy their trip thoroughly. They will be there for about two weeks, and should be back in Ontario a day before me, on the 7th of December. I'll probably post some of the picture that find their way to me.

And for the next couple weeks, well probably the remainder of my time, I'll be working shifted hours, 4PM - 1AM local time (3AM-Noon EST). So, I get to sleep in every day now. So far it is going alright, but I've only had one day of it. :)

A Little Less Red

So, still been very little excitement here. What is everyone else been up?

Some of you will be happy to know that there is a little less red under my chin. Joel, now only has to worry about the length of the hair on top of my head.

News from Malaysia

Well I know you are all hoping for some exciting news from the exotic Malaysia. However, I'll have o disappoint you with pretty much no news what-so-ever. My time has been spent doing one of a few things: working, eating, sleeping, or reading. Finished off The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and now I am back to the never-ending Otherland.

So that is about it. Have a good day, night, or whatever time of day it is for you.

So Sleepy

I imagine a few of you are curious as to what is going on here. To put it simple, nothing exciting. My time has been spent working, and not much else. Have a good work week behind me with two days left in the week. That is never a good thing. So basically I'm exhausted.

The Tale of the Lost Luggage

Well one day in Malaysia is over, only a few left. :P I spent a lot of my day chatting with folks back home, and watching Asian TV (which mostly consisted of Western movies). But onto the point of this post. So now, just around 24 hours later, there is some news regarding my luggage. No, I do not yet have them. But according to the WorldTracer Services both pieces of have been located, and the airline (Cathay Pacific) is confirming. I suppose by confirming they mean that the airline currently in possession of them is confirming that they indeed have them. So hopefully more good news will be following.

Ryan In Malaysia

Well I have made it to my hotel in Malaysia, safe and mostly sound. More details in a little bit.

Malaysia v2.2

Well I finally made it to my hotel. And it worked out to only 44 hours door-to-door. Most of my flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia was spent sleeping. And I learnt a good lesson during my sleep. Don't sleep during final approach. If you do, the touchdown can be quite a startle.

I am here safe, and mostly sound. I after standing around the baggage carousel for a good while, they conveyor stopped. This is not a good thing. So, I have finally run into the whole lost baggage thing. The Penang airport is to forward my baggage to my hotel once they get it. Which hopefully won't be too terribly long since I am without any sort of extra clothes. They did tell me that if I didn't have the luggage at my hotel by 9:00 AM that I should call to inquire. So that sounds promising.

I really hope that it gets rounded up soon, other than the fact it has my clothes, tripod, mail for the last few months, and my degree from UW; my Vonage adapter is in there which means I'm not just a phone call to Kitchener away. :( And to top that off I cannot get this Primus calling card to work from here (or Hong Kong for that matter). Also, (yes again) SkypeOut doesn't seem to work very well to call places such as Port Colborne.

I'll let you know how this all turns out tomorrow. For now if you want to get in voice contact with me Skype or Google Talk seem to be the only way.

Malaysia v2.1

Well I am nicely in Hong Kong now. I've had a chance to wander around the airport a little. So far seems pretty much the same as last time I was here.

I would have to say that the flight from Toronto to Hong Kong has gone better than the previous flights. I think that can probably be attributed to the fact I have a lot more air-time under by belt, and I knew what to expect from the flight. And since I didn't get much sleep last night (well whatever you call the night before I left Arizona), and refused to sleep on the flight from Arizona to Toronto.

Also, I am feeling a lot less apprehensive about this whole trip than last time. I could almost say I'm completely relaxed about it. I guess I can say that all this traveling over the last year has had its benefits.

My flight was a mix of a few activities: reading, playing games, watching movies, eating, and sleeping. With sleeping and reading taking the majority of the time. The movie selection was a lot better than on the America West flight (I don't even recall what they were showing now). During my flight I ended up watching The Island, and most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both over food. Note that there were many more and all them were an closes loops, so I could have watched many more during my flight, but I did not.

Ah, food! It is great when the airline actually feeds you. The Toronto-Alaska leg had supper, steamed chicken, rice, and mushrooms; it was decent, but maybe it was the couple glasses of wine that made that decision. And the Alaska-Hong Kong leg provided us with a mid-night snack (fruit-cup, sandwich, sushi, cookies, and a Kit-Kat), and breakfast (Udon noodles with shrimp, fruit, and banana bread).

George, I would have to say that The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, was a superb book! It is one that I think almost anyone would enjoy. So, all you other readers out there, I suggest you give this book a read. With that done, I'll move onto The Curious Incident (another book George lent me...even if they aren't his books).

And now back to the present, what shall I do for the next few hours? Sushi at 11? It will be my 25^th birth anniversary.

Primary Leg of Trip Done

Well I have safely arrived in Hong Kong. The large leg of my journey is now complete (around 11 hours from Alaska to HK). This will be short, since it is from a public terminal. I'll be writing real blog entries on my laptop, which I will then post once I'm settled in Malaysia.

Now, I just have to find something to do for 7 or so hours. I think I'll have some food.

P.S. Happy birthday Joel (I am unable to get the pay-phones here to work with my calling card).

Malaysia v2.0

Well the first segment of my journey home from the desert is over. I am currently sitting in Person Intl. Airport in Toronto. I just nicely found my way through Canadian Customs, checked-in with Cathay Pacific, and to my gate, terminal 3 gate C27 in case you were interested. My flight does not board for about another hour, so I thought I would start to document my second Malaysian trip.

Just as predicted, I was up extremely late last night ensuring I had everything in order. So, what that really means is that I procrastinated my packing all the way until about 4:30 AM. But unfortunately that wasn't the only thing I had to do. Well, more accurately “should do”. After all those hours of packing I then felt I should actually get some US cash to take with me to Malaysia, since it is easily changed to Malaysian Ringgit (RM). So after all was said and done I didn't get to sleep until about 5:30 AM.

A short 3 hours later I was awake again, showering and packing all the random electronics I was charging on good old 110 volts power. Alison and John (a pair of co-works that were down for a short trip) came by the Ranch and after a quick breakfast we were on our way from Phoenix to Toronto. Oh, I forgot to mention the individual on our rental car bus (from the rental location to the airport). Just after the 3 of us got seated on the bus a man escorted by two others was brought on the bus, he had the fancy chains on his ankles and wrists. Sure is good to leave such things behind.

So, now back in the present, I am fighting off the land of dreams. I didn't actually sleep on the Phoenix-Toronto segment due to pre-occupation with The Time Traveler's Wife, and Metroid: Zero. That is all for now, I'll supply an update once in Hong Kong.

Note, this entry is likely to arrive well after the actual time in which I wrote it. This is due to the fact I wrote it off-line, to be posted when I have an internet connection again.

Bye-Bye Desert

Well as anyone would guess I'm still up packing. The good news is that this will be the last post before I head home, via Malaysia. Back to the packing thing...I won't be getting a lot of sleep tonight, but I think I will make up for it on the planes over the next couple days.

The End is Near

Well we are finally coming close to the end of this long 7 month stay in Arizona. The family is all in bed, preparing for their flight back to Canada tomorrow mid-day. In a few short days I will be following them (well with the side trip to Malaysia).

Normally one would think that I would be dying to go. However, you all may know that I really don't like moving. As strange as that may be for someone who has gone through co-op at UW and was forced to move every 4 months. When it comes down to it I really don't like having to pack up all my belongings into boxes just to have to pull them out again shortly there after. I think that the unexpected change of departure date may also be having an adverse effect on my readiness to leave. It was all worked out in my mind for departing on the 9th of December. But now I'm leaving on the 3rd of November, but not to home. Needless to say, it will be a busy couple days sorting out both my departure from Arizona, but also my trip to Malaysia.

Good-byes are never easy, and I have met a few good friends down here that will be missed. I could go ahead and say "bye, I'm never coming back", to quote Adam, but I know as long as I am at PEER Group and working on this project I'll find myself back in the desert sooner or later. So instead I'll see you all later.

Joel in Arizona

Well Joel seems to have had a good time down here in Arizona. I thought I would share a little collectino of Joel in places such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona and places along the way.

I liked that he always brings his patented look wherever he goes. :) 

Time to Exit the Desert Stage Left

It looks as if I am going to be leaving Arizona sooner than originally expected. I will be fly back to Toronto on next Thursday (November 3rd). So now you are asking "what is the catch?". And the answer to that is that later that same day I'm flying back to Malaysia.

So I will be officially out of the desert on November 3rd, and will be in Malaysia until the 8th of December. And then, right on schedule (actually a day early, but that will be killed with jet lag) I will be back in Ontario. :)

So I'll be finishing up my 7 month stay in Arizona the same way I started it; makes all nice like covers to a book.

Grand Canyon with the Crew

So we made it safely to and from the Grand Canyon. And no, contrary to mom's believes no one feel into the Canyon.

Good photos from the trip will be posted after I get some sleep. Until then you will have to keep yourself entertained with this sad photo.

[Edit: This post will look like it is almost the same as the previous. I posted this one because the previous was not showing up. But now you get two views of my one opinion.]

Everyone safe and sound

We made it to and from the Canyon safe and sound. And the pair in this picture didn't do too much freaking out at the heights.

I know this isn't the most beautiful picture, but it is meant to prove we actually went to the Grand Canyon. We will post some additional--and better--photos in the near future. 

En-route

So as of right this instant Mom, Dad, and Joel are flying over lake Michigan. They should be landing in Phoenix in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Just in case anyone cared.

Ah, the South West

I think heard one of the most ridiculous things today. I was grabbing dinner at In-N-Out Burger and as leaving I heard a teenage girl say "I love the winter" as she plays with the cuffs of her long sleeve sweater. Now it isn't exactly hot here anymore, but at 9:30pm (when I heard this) it was 22C out.

I would really like to see what would happen if you took these Arizonians and stuck them in Ontario during the winter. Hell, even right now in the autumn.

Joy and her new camera

Joy is very involved with the photos she is taking. Doesn't even realize I was taking this picture. This photo is taken at the Grand Canyon along the Hermit's Trail.

The Hermit's Trail goes west along the south rim, starting at Grand Canyon Village. The trail's lookout points are accessable via a free tour bus or on foot. Joy and I took the hybrid approach. We took the bus to the second point, and then hiked for about 4 hours until we found ourselves near the other end (just prior to a 5km gap between points). At this time we got on the bus and headed back to the Grand Canyon Village, and then onto the desert side lookouts.

More to come... 

Sedona at Dusk

Sedona gives up the nice sunset shots again. The sky wasn't the most perfect for sunset shots (didn't have much of any clouds), however good pictures were still available. 

Weekend Plans

Hi all,

What is everyone up to this weekend? Joy and I are heading to the Grand Canyon this afternoon after I am finished work (should be early afternoon). We will likely go via Sedona; catch some dinner and maybe remnants of a sunset. :) Plan checking out the Canyon for the most part of Saturday, and head home in the evening.

I imagine that Sunday will be spent around the pool. :)

Oh, we went and saw Serenity last night. Very good movie. I'm not sure what someone who hasn't seen the Firefly series would think of it though.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Crashing Waves

This photo was taken during my trip to Los Angeles with Caroline. The photo is of waves crashing through the pillars of the Santa Monica pier. 

Mouth of the Mighty Maitland River

This photo was taken on the hike George, Carolyn, Malcom, Joy, and I took during the Labour Day weekend in Goderich. The hike spanned the Tiger Dunlop Heritage and the Goderich-Auburn trails.

The photo is taken from the Menesetung bridge towards the mouth of the Maitland river. The Sifto salt mine can be seen in the distance. 

A new photo from a new camera

This one of the first photos from Joy's new camera. I got her a Nikon Coolpix 5600 for her birthday (it is a little early, but wanted her to have it for her travels to Holland in November).

This photo is a random shot of some dying flowers on her mother's kitchen table. 

Almost Home

Well it is almost time for my Thanksgiving trip home. My plan is leaving 2pm AZ time, and I'll arrive in Toronto around 9pm ON time. For those interested I'm on Air Canada flight 590. It is getting exciting, even if it is only a short trip.

And the other good news is that it is just over 2 months until I get to return home for the foreseeable future. :)