The Brown Knowser

I'm going to be miserable for the next few days, possibly weeks. Do you remember that camera I purchased a couple of months ago ? I pooched it. It was a silly mistake, one that, in retrospect, the designers should have taken into consideration. You see, my Insta360 One R video camera is waterproof up to five metres. I've only taken it underwater twice: the first time was when I was chasing turtles, as DW and I were kayaking along the Mississippi River , near Pakenham. I stuck the camera into the river but the dense growth of underwater plants prevented me from seeing much. Still, it was cool that I could plunge my camera into water without a care. My Insta360 One R mounted onto my kayak, on the Mississippi River. The second time that I placed the camera under water was last Friday, on the Madawaska River, near Burnstown. And this time, things didn't go as planned. Because I hadn't used the camera in nearly a week, I thought it would be a good idea to plug it into one of...

It has been a long time since I played with the filters in the photo-editing app, Prisma . In fact, I was considering removing the app from my smartphone because the tool has limited the number of free filters and I find that I'm using it less and less. I like applying effects to some of my photos but I don't like to overuse effects. They become boring after a while. I began following a local weatherman on Instagram after he got more and more into his photography. I would find myself liking almost every photo that he posted. But then he discovered an app that applies motion to his images, such as moving the clouds or putting the flowing water into motion. It was great, at first, and I would show my appreciation by liking the image. But then I found that he applied this motion effect to every one of his photos, and I found that the effect started taking away from the natural beauty of the still image. I stopped liking the photos, and soon I wouldn't even pause to look at his...

In a few weeks, I would have been heading on vacation through Europe, had a global pandemic not gotten in the way. DW and I were supposed to travel through Belgium, the Netherlands, and all over Germany, with a couple of bicycle trips along the way. I was also going to visit some of the breweries in these countries, tasting the various beer styles of these great countries. Instead, we're stuck at home, and I can only look back on vacations gone by, and sigh. I can't wait to start travelling again, globetrotting around the world. In the meantime, I'll just have to drink locally crafted brews (hey... that part isn't so bad). Fortunately, thanks to the good folks at Spearhead Brewing Company, I can virtually enjoy some flavours from around the world with their Globetrotter Series of unique craft ales. To start their series—which began a couple of weeks ago—Spearhead went to two places: the UK and Germany. Their August selection is called India Wheat Ale and is a blend of a...

I think it's a sign that I'm getting old. On Saturday, after learning that the forecast for the region in which DW and I were set to go camping involved severe thunderstorms, leading us to cancel our reservations, we decided that we would take our kayaks back to the St. Lawrence Seaway, to paddle from Ivy Lea Bay to Hill Island, and back. The weather for this area on this day promised to be perfect, and it was. We paddled for a little more than four hours through some swift-moving currents and some challenging swells, only to paddle upstream to return to our vehicle. When we returned home, my shoulders were so sore that I even agreed to do yoga with DW to stretch out my body. Neither of us did much more on Saturday night. On Sunday, the weather in Ottawa was still decent, although hot and humid, and DW convinced me to cycle to Manotick, which is only about 10 kilometres away from home. I've only been on my bike a handful of times this summer, so a 20K ride is about my s...

What about this font? I'm not a fan of the new Blogger. The new look and feel for the behind-the-scenes tools takes a bit of getting used to and I find that the interface makes it more difficult to control, which I'm sure is not Blogger's intent. As some of you who are regular readers of The Brown Knowser may have noticed, the size of the font has varied from post to post. It's settled down, somewhat, for the last few posts, but that's only because I've given up. Before the new layout of Blogger, I would write my posts using Verdana as the font and setting the size to Large. The layout didn't allow me to specify a precise font size and I thought that Large was a bit too big, but a couple of regular readers told me that the Normal size was too small and they had trouble reading it. I aim to please. In the new layout, if I specify the body text font size as large, it appears as big as the title of the post, and that's just no good. I tried going into the...

It was just last week that I lamented how I don't get out to photograph sunsets very often, this year. The very day I wrote that blog post, I went out and shot one. In truth, I hadn't set out to capture the Senate building (formerly, the old Ottawa train station) and the Chateau Laurier as the sun sank below the horizon. I was attending my first Ottawa Photography Meetup shoot since January. Five photogs gathered—at a safe distance—to capture images of a model as she struck dance poses around the NAC. If you saw this week's Wordless Wednesday , you saw some of my work. But as she changed outfits, I was drawn to the sunset. I was surrounded by beauty that night. Happy Friday!

One of the hardest parts about writing Gyeosunim , the sequel to Songsaengnim: A Korea Diary , is that I'm working with three separate timelines and I'm trying to make them fit, so that they make sense. One of the storylines, which is set in 1988, seems to be the most difficult to work in because it's a separate story: it fits in because Roland is remembering a stressful time before the accident that the readers learned about in the first novel. One of the loose ends that I left in Songsaengnim happens when the main character, Roland Axam, talks to his friends about his previous career. I talk about it, and then don't bring it back. In Gyeosunim , I come back to it. As I've mentioned in previous blog posts , Roland Axam is one of my longest-running characters in my fiction, having been written about in lots of short stories and in a spy trilogy. All of that work has been lost over the past 30 years but I haven't forgotten it. In my new novel, Roland reflects o...

  Model: Maria Michelle Palomino

 It was about this time, in 2016, when I vowed to never set foot in the United States again.  Back then, when everyone was sure that the Orange Man-Baby would never become the next president of that country, I had seen the divisiveness and racism that had always existed explode to the forefront and I told myself that I had had enough with my neighbours to the south. I had a few very close American friends with whom I would still hold dear to my heart, but I was done with venturing across the border. The closest that I came to that border was on August 10 of last year. DW and I had travelled to the Eastern Townships in Québec and had cycled from Ayer's Cliff to Stanstead, a town that lies directly on the Canada-U.S. border. Smack-dab on the border sits Haskell Free Library and Opera House . As its name implies, it is part public library and part theatre, with seating for 400 people. It is open to both Canadian and Americans, though the entrance is on the American side of the bo...

 It was our first date since the pandemic, if not of the whole of 2020. Since the lockdown, I've been living my life between stages 1.5 and 2, even though my province is at stage 3—which I maintain is far too early, as I've written before. I tend to stay at home or close to the neighbourhood, and rarely to I do the shopping. DW and I get out in our kayaks, which is a great social-distancing activity, and we have had friends and family in our backyard, where everyone sits at a safe distance from one another. So it was a big leap for me, this weekend, when I agreed to go out with my wife for dinner and live music. We went to the Brookstreet Hotel , in Kanata, where they feature a Backyard Dinner and Live Music promotion . On the lawn that is on the opposite side of the underground parking lot from the hotel, a large white tent is erected. Open on three sides, it offers lots of ventilation. Tables are spread well apart and the maximum capacity is 85 people. The servers all wear p...

I haven't taken many sunset photos this year. I am reminded of this fact every time I look out at a glorious sunset, in awe, and wish that I had my camera with me. Or that I was in a place that would do the sunset justice. Or that I wasn't driving. Or... or... or... . The best sunset photo that I took was on August 13, 2014. My family and I were in Paris, and we decided to go to the Louvre in the evening, about an hour before it closed. The logic was that the majority of the crowds will have gone home, giving us a better chance to get close to the Mona Lisa . Everyone wants to see Mona Lisa . We entered the Louvre through the eastern entrance and through the inner courtyard. As we passed into the second, larger courtyard, where the glass pyramid stands, I was met with a beautiful sunset, casting the pyramid in shadow. The nearby fountain let water dance before the orange glow, created from a storm cloud that was making its way to the horizon but staying above the sun. I told my...

Today's Throwback Thursday doesn't go back that far: it's from only a year ago. The summer of 2019 was much better. DW and I travelled to Montreal for weekend getaways. We also went to the Eastern Townships of Québec, to cycle between the small towns and marvel at the scenery, and enjoy the food and beverages that the small, family-run restaurants and breweries had to offer. I also often found myself downtown, among the crowds, photographing the city. One year ago, tomorrow, I sought a spot to capture the sound and light show of the international fireworks festival. This year, there are no fireworks. Nothing to bring people together. I haven't been out to any festivals or other social outings. This evening, I'm heading out to my first photography meetup with a model since January, since before we kept away from each other. There are only a couple of us attending this meetup: it's outdoors, and we'll all respect the two-metre distancing. Because, next year, ...

Pens. Return-address stickers for envelopes. Holiday greeting cards. Calendars. Key chains. Note pads. Fridge magnets. Tote bags. Mittens. Socks. It's got to stop. Every year, DW and I—like so many people—make donations to various charitable organizations: the Red Cross, Heart & Stroke, the United Way, Plan Canada, CHEO, World Wildlife, Canadian Diabetes Society, Ottawa Food Bank, and many, many more worthwhile charities. We pick and choose a handful of charities each year, give what we can, and then choose another handful the next year and repeat the process. We can't give to every charity every year, but we do our best to spread our donations around. We never expect anything in return: we believe that these organizations should put every penny that they can toward the cause, including paying the hard-working people who work for these not-for-profit organizations. Of course, once we give, we expect that we are entered in their databases so that they can cont...

For many years, I've never felt obligated to open my front door when the doorbell rings. Unless I'm expecting someone, I've often been faced with solicitors who leave me feeling disturbed for answering the bell for nothing. I don't buy from anyone who I didn't ask to come to my home. Period. When we first moved into our home, DW and I placed signs near the doorbell that clearly indicated that solicitors were not welcome but we often found that the sign was ignored. Yet, because we had a blind that covered the large window on our door, neither the visitor nor we could see who was at the door, so we inevitably opened it up, only to politely but firmly tell the person or persons to go away. A few years ago, when our blind became yellowed, we replaced it with a one-way reflective film. Whenever anyone came to our door, they would see a mirror-like reflection of themselves, while we could clearly see who was there. The only time that someone outside could see...

I can't believe the storm passed without a drop of rain. Last week, I decided to try another time-lapse video on my Insta360 camera ; this time, downtown, where I haven't been since March 27. Four months seems like a lifetime, ago, especially when you consider that I have to pass through the downtown core when I commute to and from work. I parked under City Hall—it's free after 6—and walked to the Mackenzie Bridge. From there, looking north, you get what I think is one of the most iconic views of the city . I came equipped with my Insta360 One R, with the 4K lens installed, rather than the 360-degree lens. Mounted on a Manfrotto mini-tripod, I planned to mount the camera on the protective railing of the bridge. And I was prepared: some duct tape made sure that tripod was going nowhere. I also packed my Nikon D750 and my travel tripod to capture some stills while the video camera worked on the time lapse. As I had learned on my first attempt , it takes 75 minutes worth...

It still goes on to this day: "You're stupid." "You're ugly." In truth, they love each other to pieces, and DW and I are happy for that. In a few weeks, DD19 will be leaving Ottawa to study at a school in the GTA, and DD17 will miss her terribly. Next year, our youngest plans to study music in Toronto, and they'll be closer, once again. In the meantime, I hear them taunt each other with insults, not meaning a word of it. Even when they left notes for one another, on their bathroom mirror or on each other's bedroom doors. When I saw these notes, in their bathroom, in early 2016, I was horrified. "Don't treat each other this way," I said. Neither of them are offended. I don't get kids these days. But that, apparently, is my problem. Happy Thursday!

Because DW and I limit our time away from our home—shopping and kayaking seem to be the few exceptions—we've been spending more time in our backyard. Sure, a couple of years ago we added a gazebo and a fountain , and DW herself takes the time to beautify our backyard living space , but until this year, we've never really spent a lot of time in this little oasis. DW added two bird feeders to the backyard: a hummingbird feeder, situated on a post right against the back of our house, next to the window where I sit to watch TV. So far, no hummingbird has found this feeder, and so DW has cleaned out the sweet nectar and it hangs merely as a decoration piece. She's also hung a squirrel-proof seed feeder, which is hung on a lower branch on our chokecherry tree, just above the bird bath that has adorned our garden for nearly as long as we've lived here. This feeder has attracted all sorts of passerine creatures: chickadees, house finches, purple finches, goldfinche...