We hope so

I'm never erasing this whiteboard.

Hell yes the right stuff

My feelings about the Monarchy are mixed. My feelings about someone from Waterloo getting props are not.

Back to Canada

The trip was brief, but good. On the way back, I took pictures of a silly thing about America:
And some beautiful things about Canada:

The 'burbs

We were in Portland to visit my dad, who gave me some much-needed moral support. It turns out my parents will be my parents even if I don't get a PhD, and that Dad was told more than once that he didn't have what it takes.

Anyway, Dad seems to have what it takes after all. He doesn't live in downtown Portland. He lives here:
This is the view from his basement balcony to his main-floor balcony:
Here's his local bar:
and here's everything Jewish:

How dare you, Portland

Andrew, Erin, Brendan and I went down to Portland, where he showed us the bridges:
...and several of the audacious things that Portland has to offer. Here's the Philip K Dick SECTION of the local book store:
Here's the theatre where we saw Dan Savage's very special film festival
Here's the warehouse district where the giant brew-pub beerhall was:
Here are their beers. Their strong, hoppy, brewed-in-house beers.

Imperfect Plans

We camped in Jasper overnight. It was -11C at the lowest. The tent had frost on it in the morning. So did the sleeping bags. We had an outstanding time.

implausible

Kyle and I happened to stop for gas in Vavenby, where they custom-made a bathroom sign for Bekka's collection.