Writer, Dabbler In Things
I live near the Toronto shoreline in an area where we’re lucky enough to have various sized parks in easy walking and biking distance. It’s always been a joy to walk around because of the openness (physically, and for one’s eyes and soul to stretch a bit), and because you never know what birds you … Read more
It’s been a solid week of progress and fundraising. My burgeoning moustache is definitely growing in (if slowly), and I’ve been way ahead of the curve to meet and well surpass my commitment of walking 60 km for the month. You can see my webpage and keep up with my progress here. (The mobile version … Read more
I’ve noticed a couple of things in my walks through some local parkland over the last few days. First, the squirrels are getting chubby. Squirrels are ubiquitous in Toronto. Common enough that visiting for a while, and certainly when you’ve grown up here, you don’t think twice about them. Common enough that with seeing them … Read more
I just completed a walk that took me upwards of 6 km. That wasn’t just because I really should walk more often, but in particular it’s for my Movember commitment to walk 60 km this month. A few observations I made along the way: 1. When I’m walking with intent for distance instead of pleasure, … Read more
We had a surprising accumulation of snow this past Sunday. It was my favourite kind of snowfall–big flakes that come down steadily but without driving or blinding; the perfect kind of silent snowing that you see in picturesque scenes in movies–and it stuck around for days in an unusual stillness of weather. The following morning, … Read more
I realized some years ago that I had long preferred to not touch up my photos. I would sometimes need to–cropping is not uncommon to lop off bits distracting from the focus, of course; and I knew that certain photo printing services (remember those, fellow old people?) would tend to print a bit dark compared … Read more
I recently had a minor epiphany. Or perhaps not so minor. My wife is a teacher and has regular report cards due, which is always a slog in the household: She’s barely keeping her nose up out of the added work that’s on top of the plenty of work she normally has. It’s a couple … Read more
I’ve just realized how much I enjoy finding art in unexpected places. I knew decades ago that I liked seeing artwork done with spray paint on buildings that you may pass by on a walk somewhere or when the subway zips past the walls of businesses that some daring artist sees as a canvas–I’m reminded … Read more
When I went to get the snow tires swapped out at the dealership today, I was told that there were already a few people waiting inside, and so for the sixty to ninety minutes it would take to do the swap, it would be best if I… well… went somewhere/anywhere else, is what the maintenance … Read more