Big Mistake

Labelmaker + 8 year old.

Earth Hour in Vancouver

Last night we participated in Earth Hour by turning off lights and unused appliances between 8:30 and 9:30 pm.

Margo had gone to bed early. Sarah and I started turning things off at 8. Around 8:15 I took our camera and went for a walk over the ridge of our hill to see what recognizable lights would go out around the city. Streetlights stayed on, and those are the biggest light sources, so it was harder to notice lights turned off, but I did notice two changes.

In downtown, the red light of the Scotiabank tower (just to the right of centre) went out.



And the lights of the Lionsgate Bridge also went out.

Sarah's hip hop performance

Apologies in advance for the poor quality of the photos - I was sitting pretty far back from the stage.

Sarah's school put on a hip hop show on the last day before spring break. There was a special dance instructor who worked with the kids in each class all week - Sarah was very excited. Photos are below.

As far as academics go, Sarah's report card was very positive this term and it looks like she has been working hard on the things that were a bit of a problem last term. She was very pleased with her results.

Cheers,
Margo

Blocked

Awwwww ... now I'll never get into Sarah's room!

Bike Routes

I rode to my office this afternoon. It took me just over an hour on the way back, and the way there was much longer. I tried two different routes. On the way in, much of it was on an urban trail, but some of it is on unpaved trails - pleasant on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but maybe not the best thing for a regular commute. The ride back included a long stretch next to a railway through an industrial area. There was some broken glass in the bike lane, something which may come and go, but is likely to be common along such a roadway. So there's no best route for me yet.

It's the hills that slow the trips down. These are serious hills! I don't think I've ever lived in such a hilly area. I can't go anywhere without a climb. And they're big ones. From our neighbourhood, we look down on some condo towers a dozen blocks away. So on any given route, I've probably got at least two hills that are like riding up the inside of a skyscraper. And living on a hill, I've always got that last climb on the way home.

I'm sure I'll be riding my bike to work regardless, but I wonder how often.

Family of Geeks

I was online in the living room checking my email when I noticed Margo was also online in her office and so, with Sarah watching over my shoulder, we started chatting. Now Sarah's on my iMac so she can chat with us too.

Not long ago I put Ubuntu on Margo's old laptop, which we now keep in the living room. So now our third grader is fluent in three operating systems.