My hometown

Here are some random pictures I took downtown this weekend:

Parliament Buildings (Ottawa, Canada)

Parliament Buildings (Ottawa, Canada)

Parliamentary Library (Ottawa, Canada)

Alexandria Bridge across the Ottawa River (Ottawa, Canada)

Civilization Museum across the river (Gatineau, Canada)

Ice Sculpturing (Ottawa, Canada)

Inukshuk (Ottawa, Canada)

When english isn't just english

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central   "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
The West
The Midland
Boston
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Penguin Island

On the Saturday before I left Perth, Becks and I decided to make a daytrip to Penguin Island. Penguin Island is a small island, just off the coast, about 45 min south of Perth. Believe it or not, there's actually a colony of penguins that lives on this Aussie island.

Mainland Shoreline

There are 2 ways to get to Penguin Island: you can either take a ferry, or walk. The water between the mainland and Penguin Island is quite shallow, and the walk takes about 20 minutes. Becks and I were initially under the impression that the water was going to be knee high. Turns out it was actually waste high, and neither of us brought a change of clothes. We got totally soaked and ended up sitting on flattened cardboard box all the way back to Perth.

Walking to Penguin Island

Penguin Island Sign

Penguin Island is home to many types of birds, but most people obviously come for the penguins. Guess that's why nearby Seagull Island isn't a tourist attraction, hehe. The wild penguins, which were really hard to spot, live in small caves and under the island boardwalk.

Rock Formations and Caves

On the island, there is also a small habitat for penguins that were injured or orphaned. It was good place to see them up close. The Australian penguins are the the world's smallest variety of penguin, and they are a blue-ish colour.

Penguins in the habitat

And finally, one last shot of the Penguin Island coast...

I'm a lefty too

I got this test on Elaine's blog. Looks like I'm a lefty... albeit a moderate one.

Left Brain	Right Brain
53%	47%

You are more left-brained than right-brained. Your left brain controls the right side of your body. In addition to being known as left-brained, you are also known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information. You are able to retain this information through the use of numbers, words, and symbols. You usually only see parts of the "whole" picture, but this is what guides you step-by-step in a logical manner to your conclusion. Concise words, numerical and written formulas and technological systems are often forms of expression for you.

Your Left Brain Percentages
37% Linear (Your most dominant characteristic)
35% Sequential
27% Reality-based
14% Verbal
9% Symbolic
9% Logical (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages
39% Intuitive (Your most dominant characteristic)
38% Nonverbal
20% Fantasy-oriented
18% Holistic
0% Random
0% Concrete (Your least dominant characteristic)

Highs

Linear Processing

Linear processing is a method by the left hemisphere to process information. In this process, the left brain takes pieces of information, lines them up, and proceeds to arrange them into an order from which it may draw a conclusion. The information is processed from parts to a whole in a straight, forward, and logical progression.

Your Linear Analysis

When processing information using this method, you will occasionally feel the need to see the "whole picture" before you are able to achieve results. At other times, you are able to piece all of the parts together in a straight and logical progression to form a whole, which then enables you to understand what you have processing. The information, your mood, and your level of comfortable are all factors that determine your response to a linear processing problem.

Intuitive Processing

Intuitive processing is a method that is used by the right hemisphere to process information based on if it "feels" right or not. For example, a right-brained person may choose an answer on a test because they had a "gut" feeling and often they will be correct. Another example of this is how a right-brained person will know the correct answer to a math problem but will not understand the procedure of how they arrived at the correct answer. A right-brained person will usually have to start with the answer and work their way backwards in order to be able to see and understand the parts and process that create the whole.

Your Intuitive Analysis

When processing information, at times you are able to go with your "gut" instincts. At other times you may doubt your instincts, or prefer to put information together piece by piece to form your conclusion. You should be careful not to ignore your intuition, but at the same time do not solely rely on it.

Lows

Logical Processing

Logical processing is a method that is used by the left hemisphere to take information piece by piece and put it all together to form a logical answer. When information is received through reading or listening, the left hemisphere will look for different bits of information that will allow it to produce a logical conclusion. This aspect of the left hemisphere is what aids you in solving math problems and science experiments.

Your Logical Analysis

Logical processing is not one of your strengths, so you may tend to rely on a "gut" feeling to help you make your decisions from the information you have received. For example, you will often choose an answer on a test because it "feels" right, and you may be correct. This is due to the fact of your tendency to look for the whole picture but not the details that create it. You can often start with the answer and work your way back to allow yourself to see the process and parts that create the whole. You may find math problems and science experiments difficult because of this.

Concrete Processing

Concrete processing is a method associated with the right hemisphere that is used for processing things that can be seen or touched. It processes much of the information you receive from real objects. For example, a right-brained person is not just satisfied that a mathematical formula may work, but will want to know why it works. A strongly concrete person often finds it easier to solve a mathematical problem by "drawing it out" because it allows them to visualize it. The more a concrete person can visualize something the easier it is for them to understand it.

Your Concrete Analysis

When you process information you have received, the real object is not important to you. You do not have to use the real object to make sense of what you have processed. For example, if solving a math problem you do not have to "draw out" the problem in order to find or understand the answer, and you do not have to visualize something to understand it. However, this also means you often neglect the physical information provided by a concrete example. In other words, you may miss the forest for the trees, trying to deduce something complex when the answer is plain to see.

Back in the True North Strong and Free

Outside Canada Place (Vancouver, Canada)

Been back in Canada for a few days now. My flight from Sydney was delayed by 4 hours, and so I missed my connections in Vancouver. I ended up spending most of Thursday in the Vancouver airport, before taking a later flight home.

So yeah... back at home now. Some things have changed but most have stayed the same. Jet lag is still bothering me. It seems that for every step foward I make, I take 2 steps back. I'll manage to sleep in until 7:00am one day, and then the day after I'll be up at 4am! *shudder*

I was surprized to see that there's actually snow on the ground. Normally the snow doesn't stay until late December... at least.. I think. Temperatures have been hovering somewhere between 0 and -10... for everyone back in sweltering Perth. So far I haven't frozen to death... but the worst is yet to come.

Anyways.. .this seems like a really boring blog post to me... I'll try to post something more interesting soon...

bye bye Australia...

Cottesloe Beach (Perth, Australia)

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Been really busy and stressed with exams. Fortunately they all seemed to go quite well... thanks for all your prayers =)

Today's my last day in Perth... craziness! I'm heading for Sydney tomorrow, and then back to Canada later this week. Oh man.. I'm gonna freeze! It's been like 35 degrees with blistering sun here for the past week. Fortunately it doesn't seem too cold back home at the moment (7 degrees), although the temp may go below zero in the evening. At least I don't live in Calgary, where the current forecast is for snow and -24.... yes that's negative 24 for all my non-Canadian friends. You enjoying Calgary so far jh? =P

Well, that's it for now. I guess next time I update will be from the frozen north. See ya later Australia! It's been fun...

Beauty in the little things

Changdeokgung (Seoul, Korea)