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I just set up a quick Daily Essentials list of bookmarks for me to visit. You’ve probably done this yourself. Here they are:

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate This site was recommended by a friend a few days ago, and I went and had another look at it just now. Really excellent.

International Herald Tribune This was by far the best international paper I found to read while I was working in Asia. It culls from many other fine papers, has an American slant, but includes a lot of the European reaction that many US papers ignore.

Doonesbury’s Daily Dose I check this one for the same reason that I like watching the West Wing. I guess I just enjoy U.S. politics more than Canadian politics — a lot easier to tell the good guys from the bad guys!

Sherman’s Lagoon Ok, this one’s just a great comic strip. No other redeeming qualities.

Slashdot Some amusing banter and interesting techie news, although I have my personal filter level set pretty high when surfing this site.

2002 02 04 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

Back home! I’ve got a few important things to do in the next couple of weeks: get my new passport (spent the requisite hour in line in the passport office today), book my ticket to Calgary, get my cellphone recharger and cut my cellphone costs, etc. etc. But I’m also working on some fun stuff: playing some new computer games (Medal of Honour, Operation Flashpoint) and maybe trying to finish an oldie, Abe’s Oddysee, now that I’ve worked my way past the end of the Scrab Temple level. (Much thanks to Kelly for tying up my main machine with CD burning, which induced me to play on the old machine!)

In short, I’m in regroup/prep/rest mode prior to the next expedition.

2002 01 29 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

After a quiet weekend (much of which was spent working on the Exultate contact management database) I hit the slopes again Monday and Tuesday. The skiing was the best yet. We had two feet of snow over the weekend, so there was fresh (and deep!) powder all over the mountain. On Monday afternoon I skied the Saratoga Bowl with Ivy’s friend Eliza, who’s an excellent skier. Saratoga is a gladed, expert area, and we took our time working our way down through it. We each had a couple of minor tumbles, but suffered no injuries. Tuesday was bright and sunny when I started at noon, and I crossed to the other end of the mountain, enjoying some of the runs that had looked too scary and/or icy when I first arrived. Again, the deep snow slowed things down considerably, and also made for soft landings when I fell down.

Today Ivy, Jeremy, Eliza and I went up north of Jackson and rented snowmobiles for the afternoon. We had a great time, although there were a couple of worrying moments when a little off-trail detour ended up with a snowmobile stuck in four feet of snow. Those suckers are heavy! We were a bit late getting back — 5:10 when we really should have been back around 4:30 — but the views along the way were fantastic and we were pretty pleased overall.

Change of plans on my end: I’m returning to Toronto on Friday to stop hemorrhaging money (damn US dollar) and save some of it for the rest of my leave! That means tomorrow is my last day of skiing here… I’ll try and get up early to get as much time in as I can.

2002 01 24 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

A skiing breakthrough today after a good lesson yesterday afternoon: I can ski moguls! This may be principally because I’ve finally had enough back-to-back ski days that I’ve got over the initial fear period and have learned to commit myself down the slope, a key part of the technique. Anyway, I’m pretty pleased with my sk33r sk1lz. 😉

I’m moving downtown tomorrow — checking out of the condo I’ve been sharing with Ivy (her boyfriend’s arriving) and into a motel. However, on the plus side I’m also getting a rental car so I will be able to see more of the area, including the Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone, and, well, anything beyond the ski hill and the town. This might be especially useful this weekend as it’s a holiday in the U.S. — Martin Luthor King day (thanks for the correction, Paul!) — and the ski hill may finally get crowded.

Hope y’all are having a good month… I wish I could afford to do this every year!

2002 01 18 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

A quiet morning here. Ivy has gone with Amanda into town to do some shopping before Amanda flies back to Seattle this afternoon. I’m taking the opportunity to rest up (I’m feeling a bit of a cold coming on) and get caught up on emails and news.

So: Jackson Hole. Quite a bit different from what I expected; it’s not at all the same scale of resort as the ones I’ve been to in Europe, or Whistler in B.C. The town is a 20 minute drive from the slopes, but the condominium complex that we’re staying in is only 5 minutes away and there’s a free shuttle bus that runs every 45 minutes as well as the town busses that go past. The resort itself has some very impressive runs, an excellent vertical, and generally very good snow conditions, but it’s much smaller than Whistler-Blackcomb, with only 10 lifts. Still, there’s a good variety of difficulty and style, with a lot of enjoyably challenging runs as well as some daunting blacks that I’m not good enough to tackle yet. I’m planning to take some lessons in the next day or two, so hopefully I can work up to some of them.

After some clear weather for the first couple of days, it clouded over late on Saturday and yesterday it snowed lightly for much of the day before clearing again. The snow is very welcome, as the wind on Saturday had blown much of the soft snow off of the more exposed trails, leaving icy patches.

In addition to skiing, I’m hoping to join Ivy, Jeremy (Ivy’s boyfriend, who arrives on Friday) and Eliza on a snowmobiling trek, snowshoeing, and/or hiking, over the next couple of weeks. There’s a lot of outdoors to cover, and a lot of options!

Keep well, and please write!

2002 01 14 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

Loving the skiing here! Y’all should come. I promise to write more details soon…

2002 01 14 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

Hello from Jackson Hole, WY! I got here on Wednesday evening after a long day of travel, and hit the slopes for the first time yesterday. The weather is nice — just below freezing, bright sunshine in the afternoon — and the snow conditions are very good, although there hasn’t been much fresh snow for a while so it’s very hard packed in places. The best thing about the skiing is the total lack of any lineups at the lifts. The mountain is a decent size, but not as impressive as Whistler, so far. The condo I’m staying in with Ivy and Amanda is great, and we’re moving to a bigger one tomorrow which will be nice.

I’m having trouble getting my laptop to do email properly, so I may not be as responsive to mail messages over the next couple of days as I’d like. Please bear with me! I’m working on it…

2002 01 11 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

Wow, I haven’t updated this in a while! I forgot to write a quick review of Helen “Bridget Jones” Fielding’s first book, Cause Celeb, which is a weird but entertaining juxtaposition of the lives of celebrities in England and the lives of volunteers at aid camps in African starvation zones. A strange book, missing some of the polish of the Bridget Jones stories, but in many cases similar in tone and humour. Worth the effort (and it took some effort towards the end to finish it) for fans of Fielding’s style. 3 out of 5.

2002 01 05 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

I’ve set up a new page for my Mediterranean trip… Come in and see the itinerary! Let me know if you want to join the discussion, or join me for some of the trip…

2001 12 30 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink

I’m back from England! As you can tell from the time of this post, I am going to be somewhat jetlagged for a couple of days. Had a great Christmas, with the annual itinerary now set, settled and comfortable. Spent the first few days with my family at my Grandmother’s in Cuckfield, and then drove with my sister to Chandler’s Ford, where my Grandfather lives. The next day, Christmas eve, the three of us drove to my uncle’s house in Michenhampton, where we spent a wonderful few days with his family, his inlaws, and his sister-in-law’s family, who are all great people. From there I took a circuitous route (’cause I got lost) down to Figheldean in Wiltshire to visit Anne Dutton and Andrew Sedman and their children Owen and Sybilla. Finally back to Chandler’s Ford for one more night, and home!

Merry Christmas to all, and have a Happy New Year.

2001 12 30 tom Uncategorized Comments (0) Permalink