1. Downes

    The Bridge

    by
    November 21, 2019

    November 20, 2019. This is the railway bridge at Casselman (I can also see it, at a different angle, from my kitchen window). I’ve been focused on my current paper on ethics, preparing for a trip that might not happen, and watching the days grow shorter as winter extends its…
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  2. Downes

    The Plant

    by
    November 19, 2019

    November 19, 2019. Another day spent working on my ethics paper, and also adding publications to my c.v. As I walked outside under this sky I thought “the mark of a good sunset is that makes you feel small.” https://flic.kr/p/2hNbfXy…
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  3. Downes

    Luggage

    by
    November 19, 2019

    November 18, 2019. Just as I was about to submit my claim, I got a call from Montreal airport saying the luggage was coming in on the 7 pm flight. That was Saturday. Sunday evening I got a call from the Grayhound station in Ottawa. Monday at lunch time I…
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  4. Downes

    Base

    by
    November 19, 2019

    November 16, 2019. In retrospect, I should have built my base in No Man’s Sky on a planet that has more colours. Still, I like my super-heated world, and though there’s zero point to doing it, I’ve been enjoying the task of creating a large city on a world near…
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  6. Downes

    Nomad

    by
    November 19, 2019

    November 14, 2019. I’ve started working on my paper on AI and ethics. I also played a bit with some VR as part of a study. I can’t wait to try VR with No Man’s Sky – this is my space ship, ‘Nomad’. https://flic.kr/p/2hNb1d8…
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  8. Downes

    Geranium

    by
    November 19, 2019

    November 12, 2019. First day back in the office today and right back into the fray with a meeting. But it was all OK. Spent the day catching up on email. Home tired with only enough time to capture this photo of out three year-old geraniums. https://flic.kr/p/2hNaVhS…
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  10. Downes

    Roma

    by
    November 10, 2019

    November 10, 2019. I was up at 4:00 to catch a cab at 5:00 that never showed up. It turns out that it is not easy to get to the airport early Sunday morning in Cagliari. Still, I managed. This mosaic was on display in Rome’s Fiumicino airport – it…
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  11. Downes

    Cagliari Botanical Gardens

    by
    November 10, 2019

    November 9, 2019. I was up bright and early and at the conference to deliver my paper. The presentations ended around 1:30 so I had time to visit the botanical gardens (in the rain). Early night tonight because I have a super-early flight to catch. https://flic.kr/p/2hJ3VJ1…
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  14. Downes

    Airport at Dusk

    by
    November 7, 2019

    November 4, 2019. Looking out at Ottawa airport as I set out. First they would stuff me into a tiny CRJ, then into a 787 crammed to the gills where I could not move for 9 hours, then an even tinier seat in an A-320 that somehow sat 180 suffering…
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  15. Downes

    Cagliari

    by
    November 7, 2019

    November 6, 2019. Walked some 13 kilometers through the city – from the Bonaria cemetary, where this photo was taken, to the high point in the city, pictured in the photo. Then a few more km in the evening. First impressions – I like Cagliari a lot. https://flic.kr/p/2hGApBM…
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  17. Downes

    Wind

    by
    November 3, 2019

    November 1, 2019. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but there was a gale force wind all day – it knocked down trees, cut power, and generally wreaked havoc. My day consisted in part of a tour of the NRC fire safety facilities – interesting art deco architecture from…
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  18. Downes

    Overflow Parking

    by
    November 3, 2019

    November 2, 2019. The Cost was for some reason really really crowded today, so we had to park in the overflow parking lot (usually I can just drive behind the store and park in the back, but even that was closed off. Today was a day for errands as I…
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  19. Downes

    Rain

    by
    October 31, 2019

    October 31, 2019. This is what it looked like outside today as I drove home. This was actually better than it was earlier when we were wrapped in a thick fog. Now it’s just dark and steady rain. Bleah. Spent today working on updating my projects database and some other…
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  20. Downes

    Fog

    by
    October 31, 2019

    October 29, 2019. This is what I saw first thing today as I prepared to go back into the office. Fog. Regular meeting, and an afternoon spent catching up on email and admin tasks. Made a slide for a group presentation. https://flic.kr/p/2hDppst…
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  21. Downes

    Son of Bones

    by
    October 31, 2019

    October 30, 2019. The original Bones lasted more than 15 years, first in Moncton, then here. Son of Bones is enjoying his third Halloween.The grave stone came last year, when the village dug a burial plot in our front yard and put a sewage line in it. https://flic.kr/p/2hDou1N…
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  23. Downes

    Flight

    by
    October 27, 2019

    October 27, 2019. Started my day thinking I had missed my flight in Abidjan, but made it just in time. This is the view from inside Casablanca airport; the crow is made from tires. Back home now. Still don’t have my luggage. Apparently they ‘closed the file”. I don’t know…
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  24. Downes

    A Walk in the Rainforest

    by
    October 26, 2019

    October 26, 2019. Today was my day to explore Abidjan, and after exploring the downtown area (‘Plateau’) and visiting the Cathedral, I headed to the nearby Parc National du Banco for a nice long walk in the rainforest. Pictures hardly do it justice, but this one comes close. https://flic.kr/p/2hAGrRb…
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  25. Downes

    Thin Men

    by
    October 26, 2019

    October 25, 2019. Today was the last day of the conference. These were part of a display in the conference hotel (not where I was staying; I’m at a hotel near the airport, an arrangement that has worked out quite well, as traffic has been nothing near the problem it…
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  26. Downes

    Plateau

    by
    October 25, 2019

    October 24, 2019. ‘Plateau’ is the name of Abidjan’s central business district, seen here from the hotel. After the panel, I took a walk around the hotel area – a short walk, because of the heat. Today jet lag caught up to me a bit, leaving me tired and irritable.…
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  27. Downes

    Under African Skies

    by
    October 25, 2019

    October 23, 2019. The view from a rural area in Abidjan. The weather here: cloudy, rainy, and oh so hot. I spent the day at the conference today, with limited opportunities for photos. But the workshop experience was everything I had hoped for, by itself worth the cost of coming…
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  28. Downes

    Abidjan

    by
    October 24, 2019

    October 22, 2019. I arrived at an early morning hour sans luggage and promptly went to sleep until the afternoon. Then I had time only for a quick dash to Carrefour to buy some emergency supplies, then back to the hotel, some food, and back to sleep for the night.…
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  29. Downes

    Casablanca

    by
    October 22, 2019

    October 21, 2019. On the way to Abidjan I had a 13 hour layover in Casablanca. I made the most of the time and went for a madcap quick exploration, diving into the old city, having lunch at Rick’s Cafe, waking through some sketchy markets, visiting the Hassan II Mosque,…
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  30. Downes

    Night Flight

    by
    October 20, 2019

    October 20, 2019. I stayed up all night last night watching the ball game, listening to KEXP video and working on slides. Then I spent the day sleeping, waking in time to drive to Montreal and finih today by flying to Morocco. https://flic.kr/p/2hy4Sv6…
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