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The Transformation of Facebook

While much has been written about Facebook, this isn’t about how Facebook as a website or a company has changed, but rather how my relationship with it has changed. I am particularly inspired to write this this morning after reading this article by Cassey Johnston in Ars Technica.

•  ~3 min to read •  read more  

Caen France District Dissolved

Spending 7 months as part of the Rouen Branch meant that, in a way, they become our family, and the Caen District, which covered all of Normandy, became our extended family. Our last week in “France” was actually spent with the District at the Temple in Frankfurt. We knew that District Conference was this last weekend, and we were a little disappointed to come home just before it, but I was very surprised to receive this email:

•  ~2 min to read •  2 comments •  read more  

Reflections on France, Three Months In

So it’s been a little over four months since I arrived here in France. I’m working, but only what I’d typically consider about 1/3 of “full time” and so I’ve had lots of time to unwind and just enjoy myself. Bring newly wed, I’ve also affectionately referee to this time as a “honeymoon” too. That said, there’s a few things that stand out in my mind.

•  ~6 min to read •  read more  

Disconneted?

So it’s been two and a half weeks since I’ve had a steady internet connection. In an objective reality, that shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but in today’s fast-paced and always-on internet society, that timeframe seems to lie somewhere between an eternity and an epoch. I’ve been travelling (to Iceland and France) and so there’s been a lot to do and see, and so I haven’t felt a particular lack. I haven’t been travelling alone either, so I haven’t been lonely either.

•  ~2 min to read •  read more  

Blog Redesign — Live Now!

A blog redesign is a big step, perhaps even bigger than my homepage because my blog gets far more traffic. The concern is that people will land here and because the look is different, they won’t recognize it as ‘my’ blog.

•  ~1 min to read •  read more  

Bretona Corner

School projects make for interesting things to post. This time, it’s the presentation from a class I took in traffic modelling. I started playing with the images I wanted to use in PowerPoint and I realized that it would probably be easier (and more fun) to just put everything into a video! So I played my in-class presentation from YouTube! The presentation is on the junction of Highway 14 and the Anthony Henday (Highway 216) on the southeast corner of Edmonton.

•  ~2 min to read •  read more  

Emotional Response

‘Geers (or ‘engineers,’ to the uninitiated) have a thing for numbers, and thus like to make full use of them to solve any problem that comes their way. For example, to size a pipe, you take the flow rate (a number), work a little bit of calculus (or black magic…), and you get out the pipe diameter (another number). ‘Geers like their numbers enough they’ve even figured out how to assign numbers to things that usually don’t get numbers, like public support, personal preferences, safety ratings, the simplicity of the solution, etc.

•  ~2 min to read •  2 comments •  read more  

Alone with Myself

By nature, I am the type to keep a little to myself; I enjoy time out with friends and in public, but I too need moments from time to time to myself to re-energize and recollect. Over the years, I have grown to appreciate quiet moments with my thoughts, to contemplate the world around me and to better understand the world within.

•  ~1 min to read •  1 comment •  read more  

Spring in Paris, or the Crazy Night

A couple days ago we made a run to IKEA to get a little furniture to spruce up our place, and I came home with a painting to put on the wall (an unplanned purchase, but I like Paris, so why not?). The picture is called Printemps à Paris (Spring in Paris) and was taken by a lady from Alberta. I decided to make a video of us putting it up and it turned out hilarious!

•  ~1 min to read •  read more  

Travel Bug

Travel Bug
A couple weeks ago, I got that vibe — the one that says “Run away for 6 or 9 months, explore the world, and ‘find yourself’!” It didn’t take long for my practical side to kick in and tell me that I really couldn’t run away; I have work now and school starts up again in September. That said, I do graduate from school next April and it’s looking like I might have a little down time then, so why not run off? The question remaining then is, Where to go?

•  ~3 min to read •  2 comments •  read more  

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