How was my summer? Busy--even busier than usual. So much going on.
As usual, I spend the majority of my time prepping for the next academic year. Sigh. Technical stuff: Manually converted all of my web pages to HTML5, and tried my hand at Inkscape to create vector images of the logos and graphics on my web pages. Hopefully, everything looks better on mobile devices now. Content stuff: Developed a new lecture topic on information design, which I should have done long ago. I got three books to get me up to speed (of course!).
🚙 In the spring, I got a new car: a Hyundai Tucson hybrid. I really wanted the plug-in hybrid but didn't want to wait 2 years (!) to get one. It often takes a while get comfortable with a new car, but not with this one. It's smooth and easy to drive, and it gets even better gas mileage than my old hybrid.
🔥 Then the wildfires hit--and kept on coming. So much destruction and chaos. My heart goes out to those disrupted and displaced by the terrible fires this year. Yeah, we had a lot of smoke to deal with in the city, but at least we were all safe. I hope the rebuilding goes swiftly.
🏖 Took the family to Aspen Beach on Gull Lake, as we do every summer. Chased butterflies and ate ice cream.
It's melting!
🦋 Then we headed to the Calgary Zoo for more butterflies. (Clearly, my wife and daughters are big fans of butterflies.)
So. Many. Butterflies.
🐱🐉 Next up: Drumheller. It's been five years since we were last at the Royal Tyrrell Museum; it's always worth the trip. And then: hoodoos.
Hoodoo?
🎬 There were a lot of blockbusters this summer. I didn't get around to doing the Barbenheimer thing. My mission, which I chose to accept, was seeing Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (Part One). There's a lot of punctuation in that title.
Mission: Completed!
🎠 I got to spend time with my youngest daughter at K-Days. Thankfully, she's not into rides (me neither). It was all about the snacks and the petting zoo.
🌷🌸🌹🌺🌼 The highlight for us though was our first real holiday in five years, and the first real summer vacation we've taken as a family, going to Victoria. The Butchart Gardens! (Flowers, flowers, FLOWERS!) Victoria Butterfly Gardens! (Butterflies, amirite?) Craigdarroch and Hatley castles! Frickin' Delights Donuts! (Owned and run by ex-Edmontonians--given them a try!) Trans-Canada Highway Mile 0 and the Terry Fox memorial statue! (Got choked up a little bit.)
(You think these look good? You should try them. Frickin'!)
RIP, Terry. GOAT!
Whew! Lots of fun, and way better than last year when I broke my toe. Way better. Un/fortunately, I also had some good news and then some bad news. But that's another post.
Why aren't you studying?
Well what are the good/bad news? Don't leave us in suspense!
It's still ongoing, with multiple rounds of good news/bad news. It should resolve soon, and then I can tell the whole story...