8r4d Drinks before #disney2024 begins in earnest.

8r4d #disney2024

8r4d It’s a bird, it’s a plane… no really. It’s a plane. #travel #disney2024 begins…

8r4d When you are relegated to the back seat you get to deal with your anxiety by taking pics of the crazy #weather

8r4d They say never pick a fight with a #magpie but how about a family of five who are trying to eat your #garden and built a nest in the neighbours tree? I enlisted a small army to help. I thought I’d put my art skills to the test and painted eyes on a variety of objects like rocks, wood discs, and clay pots in an attempt to give the little birds the creeps when they contemplate their next visit. Will it work? Who knows. The worst case scenario is that I have a dozen little garden critters painted in the yard. Best case, my carrots might actually make it to harvest.

8r4d The outdoor chores payed out this week as I was doing some minor #yardwork trimming the shrubs in our front yard. A bit of paper caught my eye and it turned out to be a bit of #cash under the hedges. This five dollar bill has seen better days and apparently some little animal had a snack leaving about only four bucks behind in the mess, quite a feat considering that these modern bills are basically sheets of plastic. I did some online research and learned I can send this in to the Bank of Canada to have it replaced (as I’m sure it wont pass muster at the local Starbucks) but by the time I do the paperwork (yeah, really) then spend the stamp and wait the eight weeks for the government to do its thing, it might be more interesting just to keep the bill as a souvenir.

8r4d The new #keyboard arrived in the mail sometime this morning after a string of email notifications that I’d signed up for last week when I got the original shipping notice. So that’s that then. I’m one of those guys with a fancy retro keyboard and no more excuses not to get lots and lot of words onto paper. I think I’ll be heading over to a cafe of some sort this afternoon just simply to make up for lost time and get some #writing done. One of the nicer features of this device, and I’m sure it is pretty much standard on any old keyboard these days anyways, is the multi-device functionality. That means with the press of a key or two I can flip between typing on my iPad (serious writing) and typing on my phone (for text like this.) I could go through a lot of rigamorole with the old keyboard unpairing it, repairing it and then back and forth that way, but it was a real big pain. It may not be something I ever use, or it could be exactly what i needed to get some more extensive posts going on here. Who can say? [read more...]

8r4d Dad & Daughter #walk on Father’s day

8r4d Father’s day #running #trails with the #runcrew as they train for their mountain race in a few weeks. #rivervalley #sundayrunday

8r4d The baby #magpie chicks are learning to fly in our backyard this morning. It’s a bit of a party. #birdsong

8r4d #runclub switched to #trails #running mode this evening and we met at the Savage center to delve into the deep woods of Whitemud Creek which was slick and spicy from recent #rain … as recent as half way thru our run and a mad dash back to our cars.

8r4d I’ve had a bout of what some may call writers block. Sitting somewhere with a #coffee trying to type out a block of fiction on a regular basis is a great plan, but sometimes you just sit there and stare at the keyboard and none of it works. Today has been a bit better and I’ve got nearly a full chapter knocked out, but #writing can be a helluva chore. I saw a post yesterday that said something like: Oh so you want to be a writer? Ok: Imagine having a homework assignment every single day for the rest of your life.

8r4d I probably should’ve gone down the #keyboard rabbit hole back when I was just starting my #writing efforts on this novel, but the slow deterioration of my current wireless keyboard (pictured) has made it a bit of a necessity this week. By the way, did you know there is a whole subculture of obsessive, keyboard enthusiasts? Visiting a crazy subculture is a neat way to spend an evening and I don’t think I’ll stay there, but I did buy myself a new mid range wireless keyboard out of the deal. These are folks who go far beyond your typical Logitech or Apple office peripheral and instead build and modify, highly customizable, high-end keyboard products with in-depth details and reviews on things like the pressure sensitivity of springs, the latency of key press, transmission, typing sound profiles, and of course, battery life. My biggest concern was to treat myself to a reasonably quality, portable, smallish keyboard to help with my fiction writing on a day-to-day basis as my trusty chiclet keyboard approaches the end of its life.And ultimately as a result of my adventure thru the looking glass I opted to buy a fairly good quality, but very small profile, portable mechanical keyboard, which should allow me to keep typing and maybe even finish this damn novel soon.

Sunny Sunday and we were #running #trails in the #rivervalley —here’s some video

8r4d #running #trails on a Sunday morning in the sunshine was a great way to round out the weekend which has been a little cloudy and cool otherwise #rivervalley

8r4d The lawn was the first bit of #yardwork on my Friday todo list. It’s supposed to rain all weekend, huh?

8r4d Another morning by the lake listening to #birdsong but the #dandelion scene is a little more mature.

8r4d A seven kick #running adventure through the #trails of the northeast #rivervalley made for a wild Thursday evening.

8r4d #botanicgarden sights

8r4d Excuses to be #downtown #yeg lead me to investigate the scenery.

8r4d Mcgraw hanging out under the #bridge #buggyland

8r4d When that retirement #party you get invited to turns into a weird crossover event because the venue is also hosting a press conference for the local cfl #football team. So you drink beers and take pics with the team mascot.

8r4d I was drinking my Mackers #coffee this morning and realized that this little #face on the lid leaves the imagination with some wild connotations. I mean the beverage basically comes from the little mouth right where my lips meet it. [read more...]

8r4d Occasionally all this not-working from home leaves me missing my #lunchbreak meandering through downtown, so I hit up the take out stir fry place in the suburban shopping area for some chow mein and my free fortune cookie reminded me to put down my fork get back at it…