I went to the first week of fireworks at the Bonsecours Bassin on December 3rd. Andr

Today I brought my camera along…

Cars submerged under a thick coat of beautiful white cold frosty snow…

Then I went to school to do my exam. It went alright… I think I will get about 70% at the worse. The Tim Hortons in the Hall Building of Concordia University…

After I walked around a bit downtown, Crescent Street restaurants were all decorated for Christmas!

It seems this sidewalk had been cleared from it’s snow… But then someone cleared a perpendicular path and now I had to walk over this mess!

The snow in a park was almost untouched… Except for these footsteps. Illuminated by the strong yellow street lights…

Snow is so beautiful!

The morning routine for any family with school-age children is often a carefully choreographed affair. Throw in the first real snowstorm of the season coupled with uncertainty about school closings and civilization descends into chaos.

Most annoyingly, school closings are still announced only on that most inconvenient of media, the radio. As we rush around getting the kids fed and clothed, we are expected to pay attention to the music/blahblah box for that 0.5 second per half hour where we just might hear a familiar name.

As my kids were leaving to catch their bus, a friend called to inform us that their school was indeed closed. Normally we are only supposed to trust radio announcements but they were too busy talking about the Canadiens.

There has to be a better way. I have heard of a wonderful technology called the internet where updated information can be presented in a written format. Maybe I should ask some of the school boards to add Metrobloggling Montreal to the list of media that should be contacted in case of stroms?

The Winter weather that’s coming is a bit worrying. I just read a weather warning on Environment Canada’s website…

“Meanwhile another low pressure system from the american midwest will affect southern Qu

As I was about to use a CIBC ATM, I was instead greeted with a computer start-up screen. Since I have never had a problem in my many years of using automatic teller machines, I was very surprised to notice that they still use a 1996 version of the crash- and virus-prone Windows NT operating software.

Maybe it’s time for an upgrade, the machine frooze-up in the middle of the booting process forcing me to take my banking business elsewhere.

No! Not the pink sidewalks. It’s the parking meters!!!

I laughed out loud when I saw these because they were the subject of my first hard-hitting reporting for the Metroblog. OK, They are not exactly the same as the one’s I mentioned. They are actually more like the older type in the city parking lots in Mont Royal Parc and at Place Youville. It’s probably better though because they don’t require the visual clutter of the parking space markers of the new system.

I put up my little Christmas tree as well as a set of lights around my patio door. I am in the holiday spirit!

Now I want to see highly Christmas decorated houses. Any tips on which neighbourhood to go to? I usually stay in my C

I wonder what’s so new about transportation prices rising again. Every year, prices rise and nobody is happy about it. Apparently, it’s new enough for a headline about it to appear in the newspaper. At least, it’s not on the front page.

Months ago, the STM exposed three prototypes for new wagon arrangements for people to test. For a few weeks now, they made public the winner of the three on the blue and orange lines (i don’t know about the other lines). The adjusments allows more people in one wagon and less people to sit, but peresonally, I really don’t mind that.

I’ve learnt that the L-shaped arrangement of the seats allows people to get in and out more quickly, but I do believe if all seats were aligned along the sides, a wagon would be able to contain more people.

Three milestones in two days. Yesterday I turned forty and today is the first anniversary of Metroblogging Montreal. To top it off, Zeke’s “Tempest in a teapot” was our 500th entry.

I’d write something fancier of the appeals of community blogging, but I have a seminar in 10 min.

;-P