Just a note and some links from April for you:
Wow this is pretty great! #localfirstsoftware #lofisoftware
Boats to Nanaimo for the National Association of Japanese Canadians conference
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
This past weekend we were blessed with gorgeous clear blue skies as we took the ferry from Tsawwassen across the Georgia Strait to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. Swartz Bay? But, it says “Nanaimo” in the title? you observe. And yes, you are correct. Although there is a ferry from Tsawwassen direct to Nanaimo, we decided to land at the southern end of the island and spend the Friday afternoon driving up the east coast of the island, visiting all those tiny little towns that I have heard about but have never actually visited before.
Hit a nice meditation milestone today. 🧘
Went on a short walk in the rain 💦 and did the thing! 🙌 Also took some shots of wet flower petals and small waterfalls 🌸
I’m on the last boat! Heading home ⛴️
Made it!
Totem pole and cherry blossoms in Duncan BC 🌸
I’m on another boat! ⛴️
I’m in a boat! ⛴️
I’m on a boat! ⛴️
Is this our “freedom fries” moment?
Let’s go back to a website 🎶
(When there used to be an end to the page 🎵)
I really like this convention. Helps to make very readable commit messages.
Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey
Sunday, April 20, 2025
The Vaisakhi parade in Surrey is said to be the biggest in the world, attracting over 500,000 people! (See these aerial photos from last year to get a sense of the crush). This year’s parade also saw the appearance of two of the candidates in the upcoming election for our next prime minister: Jagmeet Singh and Pierre Poilievre. I was down on the ground, in the mix, surrounded by the celebratory masses with my older daughter.
Cherry Blossoms of Vancouver
Friday, April 18, 2025
For the past couple of years in Japan I have been really enjoying the cherry blossoms. I made cherry blossoms the theme of the Micro.blog photo challenge last year. Prior to that, in Kelowna, we didn’t really have the cherry blossoms… for years… But now, here in Metro Vancouver, I have noticed how many sakura trees there are around the city! Cherry blossom viewing is a real event here, with a festival and everything!
Daddy and daughters at the range 🏹🎯
“Even in Kyoto, I long for Kyoto”
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Very nice to see this send-off of John Dougill, an influential member of the English-speaking community in Kyoto. I have a number of his books and he came to Iki for a few days while I was there. I had the privilege to tour him around the island and talk about travel writing. I learned some valuable lessons during that trip. Here are a couple of his blog posts from Iki:
Completed rewatching S01 of Andor tonight. Ready for season 2! 💫
Finished listening to The Martian Contingency by @maryrobinettekowal.com 📚 I love all the (good) characters, and it is so cool to read about “real life” issues in space! As always her narration is top notch. This one was sexier 🌶 than the others… but I guess it is set in the ’70s 😉