Technology

Last evening we watched a documentary on Silicon Valley and all the discoveries and innovations that have come out of there the last 60 years.  Amazing, and things that I remember.  In the summer of 1972, I was building circuits to control and experiment for one of the Physics professors.  It introduced me to transistors and resistors, and was the most basic computing with And and Nand gates.  I taped the copper plates and then dunked them in acid to remove the unwanted conducting material.

Our hotel is 300m from the airport -- thanks to the internet search I did to find something close.  We have an early flight to Stockholm tomorrow morning so that we can get our rental car and make it to the grandkids before bedtime which is about 18:00 (6 pm to those uninitiated to 24 hour time).  Again, an internet search.  I have all my paperwork printed out so that it is easy to present at the appropriate place .  I am not quite confident enough to do everything on my phone, yet.

I needed to find a grocery store once we landed in our room -- thanks Google and on the phone it led me there with instructions the whole way.  I paid with my Mastercard.

And so I am amazed by how far our technology has come.  But we have monumental problems facing us in terms of environmental damage.  I guess I believe, that the impossible dreams of today will find a solution, for the sake of my grandchildren.  Reuse, repurpose, recycle.

Trading winter scenarios

Yes it is January and that means winter, but winter can have different faces.

Consider the face of Hamilton/Toronto area on Monday.  It was -16, snowing steadily and a strong wind.  It made for a most unpleasant day.  The car had to be brushed off.  The crawl along the 407 and 401 to the airport took 2.5 hours.  Almost every flight on the departures board was delayed or cancelled.  The KLM flight at our gate just before us had been diverted to Ottawa and then couldn't get out so the poor people who were meant to leave at 6 pm were told at 9 that they had to make other arrangements.  We were 2 hours late getting into the plane and then another hour waiting to get de-iced, but we made it out.

Now consider winter here in Ponta Delgada.  I am sitting on our balcony overlooking the city and the harbour.  The ocean is calm and the sunrise has been lovely.  It is +16 and forecast to go to 17 during the day and only 15 tonight.  There is the sound of a workman sawing something occasionally, but other than that, a bit of a traffic hum and birds.

I am happy with my choice!

Tuesday, November 6

Another suitcase, another hall -- or in this case, another room. 

This is the twelfth different room that I have stayed in since leaving home.  I have managed to stay in this one for two nights which seems a luxury after the one night stands at the beginning of this trip.  It is nice to unpack and feel like you are settled.  I guess that is why the bike and boat option is my preferred tour, but when that is not possible, one lives out of the suitcase.

Speaking of the suitcase......yes it was damaged on the flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm and it was replaced but it was a boring blue one, so I decided to keep this one and give the other to Rich and Jenn.  It is packed to the 23kg limit -- a little bit of juggling necessary this morning.  There is a 800 gm mandelmasse in the carryon.  At Arlanda, this was taken out and examined and I suspect that will happen again here, but at least it goes through.  I don't think confit de canard in a can could expect the same treatment.

Reflections on the trip.  Loved the bike tour.  They did well with the hotels and maps, but I am glad that I had my phone for gps.  Thoroughly enjoyed my time with Rhonda and Robert in St. Louis.  The week on Gran Canaria was great with the Swedes.  Next time I would probably just meet them there rather than the awkward flights, although, I would have liked an extra day in Sweden. 

The time here outside Frankfurt was nice.  I'm glad I took the extra day to see some of the city and not have three flying days in a row.  I did some specific sightseeing in the morning and in the afternoon I took a city tour.  Not sure there is too much more to come back for.  Now, don't think that I visited all the museums, but I did see the uniquely Frankfurt things and have sampled the special apple wine of the region.

And so it is back to Canada.  The shuttle to the airport leaves in 40 min.  The weather back home is supposed to be very windy, to the point it may cause traffic problems.  We shall see.  Going home to grey and cold November..........

Friday, Nov.2

Well, it has been sea, pools, beach, rocks, delicious food and sunshine here the last 7 days.  I am sure that Gran Canaria has lots to offer the tourist, but that is irrelevant to me.

As I explained to my 5 year old granddaughter, I am here to spend time with her, her sister and her parents.  That may be hard for a little one to understand, even one as sharp as TvE,

(given that this is a vacation that the four of them have been looking forward to), but that is the absolute reality for me who lives an ocean apart from this branch of my family.  Skype is nice, emails with pictures and facebook posts do keep me in touch with what is happening 6 hours away, but there is nothing like being there to hold a hand, read a story, play a game, build a sand castle, or inspect rocks to cement a relationship.  I want them to remember me as someone who played, laughed and adventured with them and now is the only time I am assured to create those memories and build those bonds.  Seize the day-- or in this case, the week.

Pictures are great, but it is because they will remind them of the feelings and the caring when someday, hopefully in quite a distant future, I am not there to cuddle them in person. 

Friday, October 26

Train travel is civilized, especially here on the ICE train from Basel to Frankfurt airport.  All the seats have fold down trays or, like where I am sitting, tables facing the seats opposite.  I elected not to reserve a set on this train, and therefore I have had to move to accommodate those who did.  No problem, there was a very nice young man who volunteered to put my 23 kg suitcase up on the storage shelf and then bring it down when we reach the airport.

There was nice young steward who came by with a trolley with coffee and snacks -- reminds me of Harry Potter, but the selection was not nearly as interesting.  Wifi is complimentary on the ICE (inter city express) and most people are talking to their phones or computers.  In addition, you can connect to the ICE site and select from a number of books that they will read to you as you sit back and relax.  Nice!

The next part of this adventure involves flying to Sweden this afternoon and meeting up with Rich, Jenn and the 2 sweeties tonight for supper.  We have a hotel for tonight and then are on a flight early tomorrow to Gran Canaria where we will be in a two bedroom apartment on the beach.  We booked all inclusive so that everyone gets a vacation.  Sounds grand.

Standing at the Lufthansa counter reminded me that the one and only time either of my parents made a trip back to Germany, it was my father, in 1963 (just after the Cuban missile crisis), who flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt where one of his brothers picked him up.  Dad didn't recognize him after 10 years. For us kids, the highlight was all the Lufthansa freebees that were brought back.  What a long time ago.

Tuesday, October 23

Not often do we get to step into someone else's life.  Visiting usually means a disruption of regular routines and putting on special meals, going places one would not normally go.  How the other person really lives, is lost in a flurry of trying to impress, or trying to show them everything there is to see or do in your area.  It is an artificial situation for both the host and the guest.  Now, some people go visiting for that purpose, to be entertained or catered to.  I have always felt very uncomfortable in that kind of a situation.  In university, I could not go to visit my best friend's family because I felt it was too much of an imposition.  As a young adult and then parent, I enjoyed entertaining, but it was the totally artificial situation I described.  I was not content in it, because, honestly, I felt no one went out of their way for me like that.  I thought that was the mark of true friendship.

How wrong I was!

In the fall of 1986, I agreed to canvass in my neighbourhood for some foundation -- I think it was liver.  It involved knocking on doors on my street and asking for monetary support.  I detest asking other people for money, but felt it was a civic duty.  I did not know all the people on the street, especially the ones at the other end who had moved in more recently.  But the knock on one door changed me.  The lady who answered it had recently moved from England with her husband and two boys, one of whom was in the same school as my son.  I don't know why we clicked, but we did.  Soon we were shopping together, walking together, talking on the phone (my kids always said they knew who it was when I was on the phone for more than a few minutes as I normally hated long discussions and ended calls as quickly as possible).  She took care of my house when we were away and I took care of hers.  We ended up buying vacation condos in the same complex in Collingwood.  They took my daughter to concerts, I helped her son with cooking.  She moved away in 1996 and I was sure that our friendship would be over, but no.  I visited her several times in England and then in France when she moved there.  The most remarkable thing is that we pick up as though no time has passed since we were last together.  We both have grandchildren and compare notes and insights.  We both had aging mothers, mine has just passed away this summer, hers just celebrated her 90th birthday. 

We are now both gray and we laugh about that.  We have to remind each other to start relaxing and we laugh about that.  We compare concerns for our kids and how to love them but not smother them,  and we laugh about that.  We look at each other's grandchildren pictures and the funny things they do and say, and we laugh about that.  As you can tell, we laugh a lot!  There is no pressure to change oneself, each is accepted as they are and valued as that individual.  Friendship is a wonderful thing and I am truly blessed to have Rhonda as my friend.

Sunday, October 21

Yesterday was a train day, from Mainz to Basel, via Mannheim.  The train system may be a few minutes late at times, but then they make it up.  The ICE train that delivered me to Basel at 14:50 had left Amsterdam at 8:05.  That's fairly impressive,  considering the track problem just south of Koln which had meant that the train could not use the express corridor (where, I was told, it hits speeds of 300km/hr).  The fastest I saw on the monitor was 200, and it felt so smooth.

Rhonda was at the station in Basel and we step so easily back into our friendship.  It is wonderful!

Today I attended church with Robert.  He goes to a nice little church here in St. Louis.  A few years ago they got a new priest who is bringing in new people especially families.  I was told that the style has changed and the music, though still liturgical with lots of responses and chants, definitely has a modern feel.  My french is good enough that I could make out most of the singing (it was printed in the bulletin).  My oral language is much poorer, but I was able to figure out on which Gospel passage the sermon focused.  There were new members welcomed to the parish and we were all invited for a glass of wine in the foyer.  We did not stay.

Instead, this afternoon we visited Neuf Brisach, a fortified town built in an 8-point star.  It has 3 rows of trenches making it virtually impossible for attackers to survive.  The walls are impressively thick and very well preserved, considering it was built in the last of the 1600s. Today tourists are welcomed not only by the ancient fortifications, but also various art installations in the moat.

This will be a week to relax -- a welcome change from last week's rush.  But I love both!