Friday, November 26, 2010

Sunrise, Sunset

More photos walking to and from (the last one) work. As much as we might dislike winter, it has a certain beauty to it. I've taken these shots multiple times, but each time it's a little different angle or light or reflections. Every day is different.




Friday, November 19, 2010

Snow!

Winter arrived yesterday with a pile of snow and cold temperatures. Penny pointed out the snow piled up on the berries on a tree at Innovation Place. I only had my iPhone though, so not a fancy photo.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Another great video. Ken Robinson is always entertaining and thought provoking.

This planet is finite

Feds slammed for stance on Mackenzie Valley project | Sierra Club Canada

God forbid we should "constrain development". Maybe they should wake up to the fact that we live on a finite planet that inherently "constrains development". We should be smarter than bacteria in a petri dish developing without constraint - until they crash.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Friday, November 12, 2010

Tracks to Nowhere


A foggy morning on the train bridge. (Taken with my iPhone.)

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Tea House Trek

We're in Banff for the Mountain Book and Film festival. We had the day free Wednesday so we went to Lake Louise and hiked the 12 km roundtrip up to the Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House. It was a beautiful day - clear blue skies and fantastic views of the mountains. It was a little icy down by the lake where it had been melting and up at the tea house there was 4 or 5 inches of snow, but overall the trail was in good shape.

It was nice to actually get outside in the mountains. It's always frustrating, and more than a little ironic, to go to the mountains and then sit indoors hearing about the wonders of the outdoors! Especially when the weather is beautiful.

We probably would have walked right by but luckily another hiker pointed out a mother and a young mountain goat just beside the trail. I think I got some good photos of them. (I'll post some photos when I get a chance.) For a change they were close and there was plenty of light. Impressive creatures.

A few minutes later we ran into another couple and we told them to watch for the mountain goats. They asked if they had been "aggressive". The question puzzled me at first but then I remembered there had been a recent freak incident where someone had been killed by a mountain goat. A new thing for people to get freaked out about, despite the fact they're far more likely to get killed or hurt driving than hiking.

We passed a woman on the trail who had just arrived on the bus from Bellingham Washington that morning. She'd had a few days left on her bus pass and decided to take advantage of it. She told us her husband had passed away earlier in the year and since then she had been traveling by bus and train all over the United States. You can imagine either her husband hadn't liked travel or else his death had made her realize that if you put things off too long you may never do them. Good for her! There are many ways to have your own adventures, it doesn't have to be the big name National Geographic style adventures that we hear about at the festival.

Bulls in a China Shop

People on this planet are like the proverbial bull in a china shop.

At best, the "enlightened" bulls are starting to think maybe they should leave some china for their children and grandchildren to break.

The idea that maybe they should just leave some parts of the place alone, for good, doesn't seem to occur to them.

Even when we do protect things we have a "funny" way of going about it. Banff National Park is great, but what kind of "protection" includes a large town full of McMansions, many hotels, a golf course, multiple ski resorts, and a four lane Trans-Canada highway?


Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Everest Circus Continues

Everest gets cell service

And people wonder why I never wanted to climb the big E. Not exactly a wilderness experience.

Monday, November 01, 2010

A Historic Landmark ... in Handwaving

The "agreement" reached last week at the Convention on Biological Diversity is making headlines about its "success". But the only "success" is in committing to nothing and spinning it as a huge step forward.

And according to A Ghost Agreement they haven't even published the "landmark" agreement. Gotta love that kind of openness.