Rainwater Rambling Archive

Tennessee Titans

I haven't updated the work blog since the spring, but after I catch up with this one, I'll get working on it. This week I went down to Nashville, Tennessee for an EPA conference on Ambient Air Monitoring. There were three of us from work who went down. We made plans to go down early on Sunday and catch the Tennessee Titans football game. The were 0-6 before the game and the last game they lost 59-0. Here is downtown Nashville.

The LP Field stadium.

We bought tickets off the internet before heading down.

Before the opening kickoff, three paratroopers landed in the stadium.

It was my first NFL game and according to one of the guys I was with, it was pretty tame compared to a Bills home game.

It must have been us because the Titans won their first game of the season. They have since gone on to win three in a row.

The Nashville skyline at night.

Gaylord Opryland

The conference was at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Conference Centre. The place was ginormous, on the shuttle from the airport, the driver said they give you a map when you check-in and warned us not to lose the map. Even with the map, finding my room was a challenge. It is the largest non-casino hotel in the world. There are 2800 plus rooms.

There are numerous restaurants and bars within the complex. This restaurant revolves.

There are a couple of atriums and a quarter mile artificial river. When it was christened, water samples from more than 1,700 rivers throughout the world, including every registered river in the United States, were poured into the Delta River.

As you can see the river isn't that deep.

They were setting up for thei Country Christmas which runs from November 20-January 2. They claim that they start decorating for the Country Christmas in the second week of July. Here they were setting up a giant Christmas tree.

Later in the day when I walked by they had the lights on, but it looks like a couple of strands didn't work.

Outside they go all out with the Christmas lights. Each of the branches on these trees had lights wrapped on them.

There is Christmas stuff all over the hotel.

The shuttle back to the airport.

Uncle Tak on Television

An episode of Landscape As Muse was on the Knowledge network. It was episode 49 from Season 5 called "The West Coast with Takao Tanabe" the following is the description of the show.

" A critic once remarked that if you've seen one Tanabe, you've seen them all. Revered painter Takao Tanabe doesn't disagree with this statement, yet it hasn't stopped him from painting landscapes for the past thirty-five years.A close examination of his canvasses reveals subtle changes in atmosphere, colour, tone and a lack of visible brush strokes.

Camera and sketchbook in hand, Tanabe travels on land and sea in the North Vancouver Island area, bringing six decades of painting history to bear on the vistas and horizon line of the sea and islands."

This file is 61MB, it is the episode converted to flash video.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Chloe Back Home

I was off today for Remembrance Day, so I went to the school for their Remembrance Day ceremony. They do a great job and the last couple of years they have invited a bag piper to participate. Chloe went in yesterday for her surgery. She was spayed and had her back dew claws removed.

She was very happy to see me when I picked her up. She stayed overnight at the vets.

She is doing well, we opted for the laser surgery, so her recovery should be quicker and there are no stitches.

Volleyball Season

It is junior girl volleyball season, both Angela and Claudia tried out for the team. Claudia didn't make the team, but she got some good experience for the next two years. There were no grade fours who made the team. This is Angela's last year as a junior.

This was their first game of their four game season.

Unfortunately they lost the first game of the season, 2 sets to 1. Angela played well and enjoys the game.

Rick Mercer Report

Back in September I managed to get some tickets to the Rick Mercer Report. Grandma Swan came out to stay with the girls so Susan and I could stay downtown for the evening. I picked the date because it was a holiday week for me and it meant I wouldn't be traveling this week.

We booked a room at the Royal York Hotel. Our room was facing the lake and it was a corner room so we had a view of the Air Canada Centre and looking west along Front Street.

WE did some shopping and a lot of walking. We did some of the underground PATH system and then back up to street level.

We had some time to relax at the hotel before dinner and the show. Watching rush hour at Front and York.

We had dinner at Joe Badali's on Front St. and then it was a short walk over to the CBC Building. We had to wait in line to pick up our tickets and then we waited in another line to go up to the studio. The studio is up on the 10th floor.

We were allowed to take pictures as long as the camera's were not on. He would come out and introduce each of the video segments.

They tape all of the desk portions live.

After the show, Rick Mercer will meet anyone who wants to wait in line. We had no where to go so we stuck around to meet Rick and get our picture taken with him. Here he is signing our tickets.

I asked him if he got up to Alert, as that was one of the places he was suppose to visit this season. He said they didn't make it and they eventually ran out of daylight, but the militay has said they will take him up.

Looking down at the atrium from the tenth floor. The banners hanging are the couples from the Battle of the Blades.

Down in the foyer you can see into the museum and there is Mr Dressup's Tickle Trunk.

Out in the foyer is Casey and Finnegan's Treehouse.

Susan in front of a giant Rick Mercer.

It was back to the hotel and some shots of the Toronto nightlife.

Royal York Hotel

The early morning light.

We could look out the window and watch the CN Tower, with it all lit up, it was like a night light.

An empty intersection.

Looking down to the lobby of the Royal York.

Susan waiting for me to check out.

Some of the intricate detailing on the columns.

Looking down towards the main entrance.

Uncle Tak Exhibition

If you're going to be in Banff, Alberta between now and January 31, 2010 be sure to stop at The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. There is an exhibition called Whyte Winter Wonderland featuring Mountains in Winter by Takao Tanabe. From the Whyte Museum website,

The exhibition features 14 new watercolour works by Takao Tanabe. These images capture the feel of winter in the Canadian Rockies. Tanabe spent several winters teaching at The Banff Centre in the 1970s and 80s. It was a later artists’ residency there, funded by a Fleck Fellowship, that inspired these winter artworks. As a response to this selection, we have included watercolour paintings and prints by other artists from the Whyte Museum’s collection, who have also celebrated winter in their work.

Kodak Moment

Claudia and Chloe fell asleep watching tv tonight.

Backyard Fun

We took advantage of another good weekend and the girls rake up the last of the leaves in the backyard. First they all had to try on the yard waster bag. Can you tell who is who?

Chloe going crazy for the broom. It looks like she is stuck to the broom.

She kind of looks like a little ewok.

A little more calm.

Sesame Street Google

During the first week of November Google was celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street. Chances are if you did a google search that week you saw one of these google banners. For those that missed it here they are.

On the actual anniversary day they had the entire Sesame Street ensemble.

Final Trip?

What should be my final trip before the end of the year starts tomorrow for four days. I'm heading to Chapais, Quebec up near Chibougamou. I'm flying to Montreal, then to Val D'or and then it is another 4.5 hour drive to Chapais. The weather is suppose to be good and the operator has said there isn't too much snow on the ground. This trip gets me to Prestige Aeroplan status, but I fell short of the Elite status.