My work takes me on many unique research journeys on the Web, sometimes to look up an aspect of information architecture, or delve into a new idea related to online interaction or online content. Sometimes I just need to look up an acronym, especially if I know what it stands for, but I don't really know what it's all about. When I found myself recently checking out SOA, I decided I had gone too far into Geekville and backed away slowly. Service-Oriented Architecture (with or without the hyphen, take your pick), is a systems architecture term, not related to the info architecture that I do, although there are some connections. Wikipedia's definition contained a selection of eight other definitions, too much for my lifetime. There's a whole other world out there beyond what I do but I've got plenty of my own knitting to stick to. Today's fascinating journey -- it was research, really! -- took me to the ospreys at Calgary Zoo. (Give it time to load, it's worth it, one of the best webcams I've seen in a long time.)

Posted by lynda at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today Bob and I have reason to celebrate -- it's our wedding anniversary. When people ask, I don't mind telling them that we met on the Internet, as it happens, exactly 10 years ago today. To be more accurate, we met on a community BBS, a now-extinct bulletin board service run by TVOntario, which is a public educational television channel. It was a meeting of minds and interests embodied in many emails that led to an actual meeting and then, well, you know how it turned out.

We both had histories, as people do, but I think we both had optimism, too, that life had possibilities we hadn't explored yet. And we were right! We've travelled to some lovely places and worked together and faced some scary stuff and there's lots more to do. Lots more to celebrate!

Bob agreed to let me post this picture of him (1988) if I mentioned that you should check out his site and, if possible, click on one of his Google ads. I told him that was pretty crass.

Posted by lynda at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last weekend was a relatively quiet getaway for Bob and I, one of our first together without any dogs in a long time. That alone made it seem quite carefree, but I confess we did miss them. We stayed in Owen Sound in a lovely Victorian house, Highland Manor, remade with considerable care into a comfortable B&B. I love to stay in places like this that have some personality to them. Even if their history isn't known, the high ceilings, giant wainscotting, and other antique features in places like this make it easy to imagine colourful tales.

As soon as we got home, I flew off to Washington to stay in Dulles, Virginia, for a few days. The architectural time-shift was quite a shock. I was surrounded by office buildings, stores and homes (although only a few of the latter) that looked barely five years old. Everything had a just-made quality, no worn edges or faded bits. Even the lawns and parking lots looked as if they'd been ordered in and rolled out just last week. There must be a more lived-in looking part of town somewhere, but I never got to it.

For the colourful realities of the place, there were, of course, the people. I met several charming, friendly folks and saw various odd and interesting characters on the streets and in restaurants. Still seeing them, in fact, as I write this from Dulles airport. Had a chuckle a little while ago as I went through the security check. The man ahead of me was repeatedly put through the metal detector, each time removing bits of his clothing suspected of causing the alarm to sound. Finally, the agent went over him with a wand and discovered a very large handful of foil-wrapped condoms in his pants pocket. No jolly laughs at that point, though, from him or his buddy, because he then had to go through a more thorough personal search. I didn't stay for that part.

Update: My flight left more or less on time, in spite of grim weather that delayed lots of people going elsewhere. I wrote the above from the airport, but couldn't post it without internet access. Now I'm home and happy to be greeted with enthusiasm by all the canines and Bob.

Posted by lynda at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Really enjoyed last night's DemoCamp at a pub in Toronto's Liberty Village area. There were three sites demonstrated, in various stages of beta, plus a nifty glove-operated 3D visualization of a site architecture. The final speaker was Damian Conway talking about the glories of Perl 6. Yes, most of the latter was wasted on me, but I did get a few of the jokes.

I don't get to all of these monthly events, but they sure have grown in just a few months. I'm beginning to recognize the regulars, some of whom I also know from TorCamp. Last night's venue was good (I had a good seat -- and good beer), but most of the future ones will be at MaRS.

And just to prove I am achieving some degree of balance, yesterday I also made three loaves of multi-grain sourdough bread.

Posted by lynda at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)