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After much deliberation, and much indecision I picked up something new to play with. It was a tough choice between getting a Canon EOS-20D on clearance or one of these. I found the Digital Rebel XT ackward to hold. Eventually I decided that I simply couldn't justify the extra expense of the Canon camera, and I do already have a number of Nikon lenses. I'm still not a fan of what Nikon's done as far as software is concerned, but at least there is open-source software available that can handle a Nikon D50's raw files.

I've attached a couple of full-frame JPEGs (converted from RAWs) for your viewing pleasure - one of my microwave, and another one taken on a short walk to Bowness Park this evening. I think that, excepting these two, I'll probably leave my Gallery's auto-downsize feature on so that it spits out 800x600 JPGs of everything. I wonder how much bandwidth these photos alone will take. BTW, converting to TIFF leaves me with file sizes of over 30 megabytes.

I was listening to the news on the radio this morning, and overheard that the Calgary rental vacancy rate is expected to hit 1% this year. I wonder if those vacancy rates are lowest in the country at the moment. They're certainly lower than any vacancy rates for elsewhere that I've been able to uncover by googling around.

Anyways, on a related note, my landlord/ex-roommate is looking to fill a basement suite in the house that he bought. It's looking like my rental search may be at an end. This house is about 30 minutes from the university by transit I think.

It seems that in the past while I haven't gotten around to posting anything of consequence lately. I think that the aftermath of camping - the whole arriving back in Calgary to several days of semi-homelessness threw me a little bit off. The whole I-just-want-to-sleep-in-my-own-bed vibe became pretty powerful those days. It's unsettling to think that there are those who walk around everyday without knowing where they'll be sleeping the next night.

It's also amazing just trivially we tend to treat so much of what is out there. I recall mentioning in the parking lot of the Vernon CanRC that Sunday that I wasn't too sure what province I'd be in at the end of the day, and ended up reflecting on that statement (amongst others) while driving eastwards that evening. How can one drive through some of the most beautiful and majestic examples of creation and simply overlook them?

Anyways, I enjoyed hanging out in the Okanagan for a few days and wouldn't mind a repeat at some point in the future (minus the Saturday afternoon rain/wind). Remainder, though, when packing that along with your spare tire you should also take a spare spatula (Sometimes the weirdest things that I've had sitting in my trunk have proven handy, and that trip was no exception).

I'd post a few photos of the trip, but unfortunately they're still sitting on a roll of film in the camera (I'm still debating Nikon vs. Canon and point-and-shoot vs. DSLR). Those photos include some rail shots taken from the waterfront in Salmon Arm just before heading back to Tim Hortons to meet Ryan - he'd been waiting at the wrong location. Maybe I should head to Drumheller this weekend and finish off the roll of film there.

I finally dug up the scanner once more from its regular place of residence in a box under my box. In the ensuing hour yesterday 3 rolls passed through the thing. Now in the usual place you can find the results.

• Edworthy Park: This park runs alongside the river, and trails from it can be followed all the way into downtown. Incididentally, I discovered yesterday that to get from my place to down town on foot using these trails takes about 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Tracks ... need I say more
• Cochrane / Exshaw: One afternoon I decided to explore along Highway 1A east of Calgary. It took me through the town of Cochrane and then later through the hamlet of Exshaw. Some nice scenic places along the route to take a few photos too.