What I Did on my Summer Vacation (2025 edition)

In these “Summer Vacation” posts, I’d like to show you the glamorous, amazing behind-the-scenes happenings in the world of a glamorous, handsome, and rich professor. Sadly, I can only show you the stuff going on in my life. Hey, it’s all I got. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I also strive to structure these posts around an interesting, unifying theme. Last year, it was (apparently) “doing something different”. This time, it’s supposedly “the working vacation”. Let’s see...

My family kicked off the summer by heading to tropical Hawaii. Ha ha, just kidding! Due to certain, ah, global circumstances, I am not comfortable traveling to any place that rhymes with “Shmunited Shmates”. Heck, I’m not even buying Hidden Valley® Ranch dressing anymore, because on the label it says that it’s made in the Shmunited Shmates. My decision is a deep cause of concern to my daughters, who consider Hidden Valley® Ranch dressing to be one of the essential food groups. (Seriously, one of them even dunks pizza in it.) Just buy Renée's dressings instead. 🍁

So, if not Hawaii, then what domestic destination is most similar to Hawaii? Vancouver. Yes, Vancouver. It’s been 18 years since we last visited, so it was time to spend some tourist money in Vancity.

We hit all the hotspots: the Museum of Anthropology!

The Raven and the First Men (Bill Reid, 1980)

The Bloedel Conservatory! The VanDusen Botanical Garden! And the utterly charming Shaughnessy Restaurant, located right in the garden. If you’re lucky, you’ll see hummingbirds right outside the window. (I’m not lucky.)

I overcame my fear of heights by being forced onto the Capilano suspension bridge!

Capilano suspension bridge: It's super wobbly! That means it's safe!

 

Granville Island! (Lee's Donuts FTW!)

 

Grouse Mountain! Perfect for those with a fear of heights!

They’re allowed to do cool stuff in Vancouver restaurants, like set off small nuclear explosions!

Osaka Teppanyaki!

Stanley Park! The Vancouver Aquarium! Horse-drawn tours! Canada Place!

Look how artistic this photo is!

And (not to brag) the airport parkade. (Sorry, no photos.)

This was the summer of two important cultural moments. One was the 50th anniversary of the movie Jaws. It’s hard to understate just how big of an impact Jaws had when it was released. I got a Jaws-inspired shark joke book, and was the most popular kid in school for about a week, telling hilarious shark-themed jokes about people being killed in the most bloody, gruesome ways possible. (No, it wasn’t Jaws Jokes, it was 101 Shark Jokes, a much more hurriedly written book slapped together to make money off of the Jaws phenomenon as quickly as possible. Sample joke: “What hobby does a shark like? Anything it can sink its teeth into!” That passed a humour in the mid-1970s. I blame Watergate.)

To celebrate Jaws’ release, I bought the Blu-ray containing the documentaries: The Shark is Still Working, and the modestly titled but highly regarded The Making of Jaws. (The latter has a newly released sequel of sorts, made by the same director: Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story. Despite the title, it’s not as good as The Making of Jaws. Look how into Jaws I am: I even bought Shark Attack flavour ice cream! Made in Canada! It has blue raspberry (to symbolize the ocean) with grey vanilla ice cream (to symbolize the shark), and a raspberry swirl (to symbolize blood floating in the water). It's yummy, if you’re not at all squeamish about these sorts of things.

The other important cultural moment, for some reason (probably involving TikTok) was: Dubai chocolate. Yes, it’s good. But it’s not good enough for me to be on TikTok.

I took my youngest daughter to KDays where it was cloudy and drizzly, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. Thankfully, she’s not into terrifying rides that I’m sure are completely safe but nonetheless threaten to kill you the entire time.

So, it clearly seem that I have a dynamic and exciting life that most people could only dream of, I’m sure. But it’s not all fish-themed ice cream and exotic vacations. The painful reality is that (returning to my supposed “working vacation” theme) I spent the vast majority of the summer working. Those of you keenly interested in this behind-the-scenes blog will already have read my previous post on all the technology updates rolling out this year. I’ve been struggling mightily with all of the upgrades and replacements: Canvas, Microsoft Office 2024, Wooclap, Simplicity Accommodate, and Simple Syllabus.

How is the shift to this new and different technology going? Not well. Not at all. I’ve discovered bugs in Wooclap that no one has previously noticed. And I’m having so many problems with Office 2024, that the IST person who knows all the things about Microsoft actually told me (I’m not making this up): “I’m confused.” Brother, you and me both.

Dear readers and soon-to-be students in my classes, please be gentle. I know I’m going to struggle with technology this term. I’m going to mess things up. It’s going to be frustrating and confusing. I may break the classroom computer and have to wait for tech support to undo my mistakes. But maybe while we’re waiting for the technician to finish their repairs, I’ll read you some shark jokes. I have 101 of them.

Why aren’t you studying?

The 30 Years

I've been working at the University of Alberta for over 30 years. (If you count working as a research assistant and teaching assistant, it's actually over 37 years!) Every year, the University celebrates those employees who have put in at least 25 years of service in 5-year increments. At this year's ceremony, there was one person who has been working here for 50 years. Unbelievable!

If you look back at my blog, though, you won't see me describing my 25-year work anniversary 5 years ago. Because, um, they forgot. I've moved through so many roles over time, there's no way for the computer system to track me. So at least I was celebrated for 30 years--and I got two gifts to recognize and reward my many years of service! One of the gifts is a...water bottle. (I guess they figure we get thirsty after so many years of work.)

 

 

(Who's the old guy standing beside the president?)

 

Different Roles

I worked as a professional computer programmer starting in 1987, helping a then-graduate student who needed computers to run experiments for her research. She paid me out of pocket, so I guess that does not count as working for the University. A short time later, though, I was hired as an actual RA to continue in that role. This led me into doing research of my own as an undergraduate, and then starting in 1990, as a grad student myself. I worked as a TA and as occasional RA here and there.

When I graduated with my PhD in 1995, I was immediately thrust into the role of non-academic staff, taking over for the Department of Psychology undergraduate program advisor who went on holidays and never came back. I juggled that role, in addition to teaching at the U of A, Grant MacEwan Community College (now MacEwan University), and Augustana University College (now U of A Augustana Campus). I became a Faculty Lecturer at the U of A in 2000, and am now a Full Teaching Professor. I also worked as a consultant for over 20 years for Nelson Education Ltd. and Cengage Canada.

I've taught courses in the majority of buildings on campus--even some that no longer exist. (RIP, Dentistry-Pharmacy, V-Wing, and Physics Buildings.) I've taught 3-hour courses that ran only on Saturday, or only on Sunday. I've taught evening classes, and one (only one) course that started at 7:00am. (It was supposed to be for people who had jobs that started at 8:30, but it was actually just made up of students who couldn't get into other sections offered at more reasonable hours.) Teaching at Augustana in winter term was particularly brutal. My class was at 8:00am, so I had to be on the road by 6:30 to make it in time--6:00 if the weather was bad, which it often was. One memorable day there was freezing rain; I remember passing by a semi that was literally upside-down in a field.

Tallies

• 3: number of different institutions taught at
• 11: number of different courses taught or co-taught
  
• 240: number of course sections taught
• 1,350 (approximate): number of term papers marked
  
• 25,000-30,000 (approximate): number of students taught (this may double- or even sextuple-count those poor souls who have taken several of my courses)

Awards

• William Hardy Alexander Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, 2020
• Instructor of the month, Faculty of Science, March, 2017
• Kathleen W. Klawe Prize for Excellence in Teaching of Large Classes, 2014
• Instructors of Distinction Honour Roll, Faculty of Science, 2013, 2014
• Interdepartmental Science Students’ Society Instructor Appreciation award 2013, 2015, 2016
• “Celebrated” for teaching by AASUA, 2007
• Teacher Excellence Award from Delta Chi fraternity, 2003
• Department of Psychology Teaching Award, 2002
• Department of Psychology Teaching Honour Roll (20 times)
  
• Teaching Honour Roll with Distinction (144 times; sadly, the Honour Roll has been on pause since 2018)

I've sat on more committees than I can count, and worked alongside some really great colleagues. I don't have any memories of people who were jerks or selfish or anything. (Maybe those kinds of people are not the types to volunteer to sit on committees. Apparently, these people do exist.)

Okay, I've got to get back to marking term papers now...

Why aren't you studying?

What I Did on my Summer Vacation (2024 edition)

I've been doing these "summer vacation" posts for a long time. (Since 2009, it looks like.) I realize that a lot of them are very similar. That is, I do the same things. Go to Lacombe and get amazing cannoli from Sweet Capone's. Visit Gull/Sylvan lake. Check out what's new at the Calgary Zoo. Do teaching prep work. This time, though, the theme is: doing something different.

True confession time: I had never been to Quebec before. (Ok, technically, I have been to Quebec. But just to the Canadian Museum of History in Hull in 1990.) Canada is a huge, amazing, diverse country. It's about time that I explored it more. Another confession: going to Quebec was my wife's idea. (I'm legally obligated to say that all of her ideas are good ideas.) Montreal & Quebec City, here we come!

(Such a warm welcome. Thanks, random wall at the YUL airport!)

Now, I was a bit worried. How much English do people speak in Quebec? How good is my French? (It's passable: 5 years of studying Francais in school four decades ago, and a lifetime of reading French on cereal boxes. Flocons de maïs!) How confusing will the metro system be? But we didn't have any major problems. Many people are bilingual and will greet you with "BonjourHi." (Yes, just like the SNL sketch.) That's actually code for "Which language do you speak?" Only a couple of times did I have no choice but to fumble with my awful French-language ability, including ordering at Subway. It was stressful but it all worked out fine. And the metro was super-easy, convenient, and fun, too!

Now, touristy photos of the Notre-Dame Basilica and La Grande Roue in Montreal:

(Tourists everywhere.)

(I'm not scared of heights, you're scared of heights.)

Did you know there's a Museum of Illusions in Montreal? It's a global chain of museums, like a franchise. I didn't realize there were any in Canada. It was pretty cool, but I had to explain all of the illusions to my family, so it felt like giving a lecture. *sigh*

("This one is called the Rubin vase, from 1915. Are you paying attention? There will be a test!")

Not content with checking out Montreal, we then took a train to Quebec City. I've never been on a Via Rail train--and my kids have never taken a train ever. (See, the theme is really coming together! Doing different things!)

(Kinda blurry because I only had one hand free. Wait for me!)

Not only did we see the Château Frontenac from the outside, I discovered a guided tour through the inside that takes you to otherwise off-limits areas--well worth the price.

(Nice to look at, but out of my price range to stay at.)

(rue du Cul-de-Sac in the Quartier Petit Champlain)

The food everywhere was amazing: Montreal smoked meat sandwiches, poutine (of course), and crêpes. Yum!

(Cafe et Crêpe in Montreal--so good, we went back for more.)

 Montreal has an actual Krispy Kreme location. So of course I had to stuff my face.

(Sorry, can't talk with my mouth full.)

 

And then also: I did a lot of work. A lot. I changed literally every slide of every course that I teach, improving legibility and readability. Not only that, but realized that I had been using the same textbooks for a long time--decades, in one case. In reflecting on my teaching, I realized that this needed a change. So, for the first time in years, I've switched textbooks--not just for one course, but for two of them (Cognitive Psychology and Perception). It was a huge amount of work, and it took me two solid months. Most of this time is spent tailoring my lecture notes to complement the content in the new books. I think the ones I've chosen are a good fit; I look forward to getting feedback on them this term.

Now, let me continue the theme of "something different" by wrapping this up:

Why aren't you studying?

The Remote Delivery - Reviews

I'm going through (cleaning out?) some of the stuff I have left over from our abrupt switch to remote teaching and learning due to the Covid pandemic. I was online almost two full years, from March 2020 to the end of February 2022. (I previously wrote about that experience.)

(← crappy AI-generated image, thanks to Microsoft Bing Image Creator)

I never went through my evaluations and feedback comments (partly because the Department of Psychology has stopped giving out in-house teaching awards--which is another topic entirely). So here they are. Sorry, I've lost track of which courses these are from, and exactly which term. It all just blends together now.

“I really enjoyed the approach he took for the remote learning. Many profs seemed they had no clue how to go about it; some profs didn't even give anything like videos or notes. He was really fast acting in such a stressful and unique situation. I hope he knows that his hardwork and dedication to his students and his classes don't go unnoticed."

“Thank you for staying so consistent and working so hard. As a student watching and seeing that, it is truly inspiring.”

“The speed of which the instructor moved his material online. Some of my other instructors took a while to do so (which is understandable since it all caught us off guard) but it is really nice that Karsten Loepelmann had a lecture online the day the in-class lectures closed. He always updated on time as well which helped to keep me on schedule rather than waiting around for the next lectures to come.”

“The notes with blanks allowed me to listen more in class which helped me with my understanding of the material and concepts. I appreciated the ability to follow along with the PowerPoints while he voiced over the lectures. As well, the introduction and conclusion videos really helped and was something some other professors did not do.”

“I personally found that I was more motivated to engage with lectures during the set class time when they were initially conducted live, and I think some others may feel the same way. However, in the youtube format, I felt I was able to better absorb and understand the material as I could replay parts that didn't immediately register so falling a bit behind was traded off for clarity which isn't so bad in my opinion.”

“This course was very well suited to my style of learning and was one of the best classes I have taken in 4 years. The transition to remote learning was very smooth. Thank you for all the effort and enthusiasm you brought to this course, especially when everything went haywire.”

“The remote delivered lectures were of excellent quality; definitely appreciated the humour in them as well. Whether it's knowing the course material inside out, preparing well-thought out test questions, or editing his Youtube videos, you can tell this guy goes the extra mile and more.”

“Karsten was an awesome lecturer, he made the online classes probably as entertaining as they could be and he was really easy to stay engaged with. My only complaint is that there was absolutely no way to review our midterm exams and the final is cumulative so it’s impossible to know which areas we need to work on for the final.”

“Lecturer displayed content in an interesting way. Great quality lectures with great sound. Was pleasing to the ear to listen for more than 3hrs a session. Enjoyed this course overall.”

(More than 3 hours? You poor soul! Take a break, for heaven’s sake! Gah!)

“If you are going to do more asynchronous videos in future semesters, break them into smaller, better focused videos so that each one feels more self-contained and to better space out the watching to execute the spacing effect of learning.”

(Excellent application of course content. Sorry about the length. What happens is I get carried away and lose track of time. And I hate chopping a video when I'm in the middle of explaining something.)

“I was very impressed by Dr. Loepelmann's delivery of this course given the circumstances. The effort put in was noticed and appreciated!”

“I feel like there is so much content to be covered, and the online videos make are longer than class time would be. It is a lot of information to try to teach myself and remember.”

(I didn’t work out if they were longer or not. If there were longer, it’s not because I added more content to the course. I probably talked more slowly than I would in face-to-face classes, because I’m not getting feedback on whether you’re understanding everything so I just go slow.)

“Absolutely outstanding professor. He did very well at making online courses fun and interactive. Very engaging and well spoken.”

(Aw, thanks!)

Why aren't you studying?

The New LMS

LMSs are boring. Or rather, they should be boring--the less excitement, the better. First: What the heck is an LMS? A Learning Management System is used by institutions to deliver courses. They can deliver a course fully online, or be used to supplement an in-person course by hosting the syllabus, allowing assignments to be submitted, and deliver marks. So eClass is the UAlberta LMS. At least, that's our name for it. Our LMS is an instance of the open-source LMS Moodle. I'm not completely sure why "eClass" was chosen, but it's likely because no one knows what a "Moodle" is. It sounds like a cross between a muddle and a noodle, which makes no sense. So it was probably coined to make it clearer that it's the system for Electronic Class.

Previously, we used other LMSs: WebCT and a later version, called Vista (Microsoft Windows Vista was released around the same time, and boy did that lead to some confusion). At the time, the provincial government bought a license for WebCT for every post-secondary institution in the province. (I know: hard to believe. This was at a time when the government actually gave a shit about post-secondary education.) After everyone had gotten used to WebCT, the company was taken over by Blackboard, who wanted to phase it out. At that point, about 10 years ago, the University of Alberta faced a decision: force everyone to go with a new, unfamiliar Blackboard LMS or force everyone to go with a different, unfamiliar LMS. That's when we Moodled! (Ugh, sorry.)

In 2000, I taught a hybrid course (part online/part in-person), when we didn't have any LMS. I had to use a lot of hand-coded HTML. There were no lecture videos back then, just online notes and discussion forums. I wasn't interested in continuing that, and had no use for LMSs. I grudgingly learned how to use Moodle, but still relied mostly on my own hand-coded website. Again, this was before assignments were submitted online: students still handed in labs and term papers on, well, actual paper.

Grudgingly, I learned how to use eClass, gradually putting more assignments online. Some people used eClass to make MOOCs (massive open online courses) like Dino 101. But there was just no need for me to learn more. I mean, it would take something like a global pandemic to make me--and everyone else--re-examine boring old LMSs.

Oh, right. Pandemic. That's why we need an LMS.

When Covid hit, many of us instructors were in the same situation: I need to know how to do everything online, and I need to know it now. Lecture videos. Assignments. Exams. Grades. This was one of the most difficult aspects of the abrupt shift to remote teaching and learning. Many of us were constantly pinging eClass support, and when they became overwhelmed, we turned to each other for help.

By no means do I consider myself an eClass expert, but I was able to help a graduate student who was teaching their first class online. They even bought me a very nice bottle of wine as a thank-you present! So now that I'm fluent in eClass, now what? This is what: the email that sent a cold shiver of fear down my spine in September: "Transitioning to a New Learning Management System." Wha--?

That's right, starting in Fall, 2024 (and rolling out to everyone by Fall, 2025) is a new LMS. Moodle will be no more.

There are a few good reasons to ditch Moodle. There were several high-profile outages of eClass during the worst possible time: during online final exams. This even hit me in December of 2020, when eClass crashed right before my PSYCH 367 final exam. (Students were given the option to write the final at another time, or allow their term marks to serve as their final grade: 14 out of 123 students chose to write the final.) Also, even though Moodle is free open-source software, the university has to pay for servers to host it, and for developers to maintain it (fixing bugs, adding new features). All of these costs start to get pretty expensive, so going with a hosted option looks like a better option.

A company hosts the LMS, running and maintaining the servers. They may add features (maybe). And they will covert existing eClass sections to their new format so we don't have to create new ones from scratch. This last one is a verrrrrrry sore spot for a lot of instructors. We spent so much time over the last 4 years learning the ins and outs of Moodle, and now we have to learn something completely different!? There are some existing custom plug-ins that may not work in a new system. (Departments like math & stats and physics use custom software to manage their grading workflow, for example.) Most other universities in Canada that are similar to the University of Alberta have already moved to other, hosted LMSs. Even UCalgary uses D2L. I mean, c'mon. Even Calgary.

So, it's going to happen, no matter what. What's the new system going to be? I don't know; it hasn't been decided yet. But the timeline is pretty short--we should all know by the end of the month. And then the new learning curve begins. A note to students: please, please have patience with us. We're all going to be trying our best to learn this new system, and there are going to be glitches.

(One final thing. The University of Alberta provides tech support to MacEwan University, who are also using Moodle. If we ditch Moodle, it kind of puts MacEwan in a difficult spot. Maybe they'll end up hiring the eClass support staff who will inevitably be let go.)

Why aren't you studying?

Update 2/26/2024:
After much delay, it's finally been announced: we're moving to Canvas. Yay?

The Office (Good News and Bad News)

You never want to hear the words "There's asbestos in your office." That was the first bad news. It actually followed the good news of "We're cleaning the floor of your office." It's nice to look forward to a spring cleaning after a long winter of tracking snow, dirt, and muck into my office. But it's not really nice to open the door to my office and see that Bee Clean ripped up the flooring. I complained about this and a guy came and put down black tape. That's it--no fixing or replacing. At this point, I didn't even know that there was asbestos under the flooring; they only told me about that years later.

Does this look carcinogenic to you?

"No problem," he thought optimistically. "If it's a hazard, they would do something about it." But then the UCP took office and cut half a billion dollars and counting from higher education. There was no money for anything--not even asbestos abatement. And then Covid hit, and I taught remotely for almost two years. I guess that's good news? The fact that I wasn't in my office, being exposed to carcinogens. Okay, yes. That's good news.

Remote teaching eventually came to an end and I went back to my office. My asbestos-ridden, cancer-causing office. This spring, though, there was a glimmer of hope. Scarce money was being allocated to asbestos remediation. Yup, offices on the third floor would be completely redone. That's some good news, all right! The bad news is that my office is on the second floor, and there wasn't enough money for those offices. I looked jealously on as my colleagues packed up their offices. They would soon be asbestos-free, with spiffy new university-standard offices. This is the standard offices that new faculty get when they're hired: fresh paint, choice of flooring, new ceiling tiles, new window blinds. But not me: I'm old, not new.

But then--from out of nowhere--an email. Good news! More money had been allocated to redoing offices on the second floor! Except, as I peered through the documents, it wasn't so good. I'd be getting new ceiling tiles, and having the walls of my office painted. Wait, what? That's it? That can't be right. Every other office on my floor has either been completely redone (for new faculty), or was now on the list to be redone--except my office. That's, well, Bad News.

(Digression: What's the deal with ceiling tiles? The next time you're in the Biological Sciences Building, look up at all the gross, stained ceiling tiles. This building has leaks. It leaks a lot. When it leaks, it stains the ceiling tiles. Better not to look up. It's gross.)

 

I firmly outlined my case and eventually received (you see where this is going?): Good News. They would redo my office after all. It's just that, well, the renovations would start in the summer and run pretty close to the start of fall term. But there were a couple of weeks of buffer time in between, so that shouldn't be a problem. Right? Deep breath, and relax...

Packing up the office.

It took me four full days to pack up my office. Over 25 years worth of textbooks, papers, and knick-knacks. And an opportunity to pare it all down. (Marie Kondo, eat your heart out.) I went through every single thing in my office, recycling a few hundred kilos worth of old textbooks and papers, and boxing up the rest. Here's what it looked like:

 

Boxes, boxes, boxes!

(There was another bad news item that happened. The movers got tired (I guess?) and went for a break, leaving my office door wide open and all my stuff just sitting there unattended. Anyone could have just walked in and taken whatever they wanted. As if we don't have enough problems with theft as it is. Grr!)

And then I was done packing. I put it all out of my mind. There won't be any more bad news! Family vacation time in Victoria! Workers would be ripping up floored, remediating asbestos, and generally beavering away getting everything ready well before the first day of class. Except... Except not. Bad news: "delays" in getting the carpet. Which meant delays in getting everything else done, and getting all my stuff moved back. My greatest fear came true: move-in day was scheduled for September 8, with classes starting on September 5. So I'd be without an office for the first week? The busiest week of the year? Time to complain again.

Kudos to my department's executive assistant, who found me a spare office to use. I'll count that as good news, I guess.

A temporary office is better than no office?

And then, at last, finally, it was done.

 
Hmm, stripier than I thought.

Move-in day followed soon after. I've spent every spare moment over the past few weeks unpacking boxes, organizing stuff, and reconnecting computer equipment. After hours and hours of work, here's what it looks like now:

That's more like it!

All done! Good news! But...but wait. I noticed something. I stepped closer. I peered at my blinds. My old, unchanged, not updated blinds. Oh, they'll be replaced "at some point." So, some bad news after all.

Overall though, I am pleased with the reno. The office looks pretty nice. I finally have carpet like my colleagues have. And the reno gave me the opportunity to get rid of a lot of stuff I don't need. Thing are more organized, and there's a lot more room for my stuff:

Now that's good news!

Why aren't you studying?

What I Did on my Summer Vacation (2023 edition)

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.)

(This is a pretty good photo. 😎)

(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?

What I Did on my Summer Vacation (2022 Edition)

With COVID-19 on the decline, I was looking forward to my summer vacation this year! So my family and I...well, um. We did a bunch of things that we do every year. Home repairs. Calgary Zoo. (We were in Calgary during the Stampede--and we did not go to the Stampede. Kinda tells you a lot about us...) Cannoli from Sweet Capone's. Lake. Here's a photo from Gull Lake:

I mean, look at it. Wow, what beautiful...mud? And this photo has most of the beach/shoreline cropped out. Gull Lake is shallow to begin with, but I don't think I've ever seen it this low. Anyway, I'm not much of a beach person. I'm a sitting-in-the-shade-and-reading person. So that's what I did. No photos of that.

At least Bow Falls is same-old-same-old gorgeous:

But honestly, this photo could have been from any day over the past 20 years or so. Sigh.

Look, I'm trying to give you insight into my life and the things I do over the summer. At final exams in April, some students say "Have a great summer!" on their way out. That's nice, but first I have to teach a spring class. And then I end up spending almost every day of my actual summer catching up on improvements to my courses that I haven't been able to do for the past three years. (I think I made more changes/updates/improvement this summer than I've ever made before.) But do you want to hear about that? Probably not.

Okay, but! There is something new. My eldest daughter graduated high school, got three scholarships and is now a student at the University of Alberta!

Yeah, that's most definitely something new! (If you see her on campus, be sure to...not say anything to her. If you do, she'll complain that I put her picture on my blog without telling her. Shhh!)

Anyway, who has time to read (or write) a blog post when the new term has started?

Why aren't you studying?