Chrisma-bot

We headed out West to celebrate Christmas with my wife's family, and as this was my first official Christmas with them there was much concern that I did not have a proper stocking.

My sister-in-law surprised me by knitting this awesome robot stocking which was overflowing on Christmas morning with all kinds of gourmet treats.

I like this tradition.

Priorities.

Today I saw a woman riding a bicycle while wearing a knee length fur coat. I guess I'm glad to see that in these tough economic times, people are prioritizing what's really important in their lives.

Worldly.

Yesterday at the same eye doctor my eye tech was a Sudanese woman who grew up in Lebanon but now has dual Canadian-American citizenship. Her father teaches at a university in Saudi Arabia and after she finishes medical school in the US she is considering returning to the middle east to provide eye care for under-served communities.

Also, my eyesight it better.

Boats, floating.

All week long the highs are in the 30's and now they're predicting flurries; yet here are two guys on their way to the Potomac for some afternoon whitewater fun.

Sun Up

Jingoism?  No, not here.  Just a lovely view outside my window early one morning before work.

Locked Up.

A very cold walk along the C&O canal last weekend, we got to see some of the old locks used to transport barges and boats upriver.

It was cold, but the weather was clear and I really liked seeing how much work went into building a transportation system that is now just a relic.

Animated.

Yesterday I watched a 10 minute animated music video about Dutch defense policy and the implications future world events may have on Dutch defense budgets and priorities. It was definitely a weird Spanish history class.

Also, I am happy that the Dutch film industry is heavily subsidized -good for all of those filmmakers in the Netherlands- but why make them create hip infotainment with a foreboding soundtrack about the possibility of future international conflicts?