I'm back from a week-long vacation visiting the in-laws in Alberta, Canada.
I helped my 76-year-old mother-in-law get a new 17" laptop computer ($599) to replace the $2,200, Windows ME-running, 64MB Compaq desktop she was sold in 2001. And a new cell phone. And got the DVD player hooked up. And reconfigured the 65-year-old neighbour's cell phone to his liking. And arranged to replace her $20/month dial-up Internet with $20/month hi-speed Internet. And setup a GMail account for her. And showed her how to copy photos from her (rarely-used) digital camera to Picasa. And how to access Open Office that I installed for her. And how to use GMail.
By Saturday, I was exhausted. (She just emailed me to report the high-speed was installed this morning. So the GMail lesson stuck.)
But I did find time to sneak away and visit the Central Alberta Railway Museum, a slightly run-down acreage out in the middle of nowhere and 20km southeast of Wetaskiwin. All-day visit and a 1:30pm train ride for $4.
The museum is focused on Canadian Pacific Railroad, and emphasizes rolling stock of more recent vintage. No steam locomotives.
(Click the thumbnails for the larger image.)
I helped my 76-year-old mother-in-law get a new 17" laptop computer ($599) to replace the $2,200, Windows ME-running, 64MB Compaq desktop she was sold in 2001. And a new cell phone. And got the DVD player hooked up. And reconfigured the 65-year-old neighbour's cell phone to his liking. And arranged to replace her $20/month dial-up Internet with $20/month hi-speed Internet. And setup a GMail account for her. And showed her how to copy photos from her (rarely-used) digital camera to Picasa. And how to access Open Office that I installed for her. And how to use GMail.
By Saturday, I was exhausted. (She just emailed me to report the high-speed was installed this morning. So the GMail lesson stuck.)
But I did find time to sneak away and visit the Central Alberta Railway Museum, a slightly run-down acreage out in the middle of nowhere and 20km southeast of Wetaskiwin. All-day visit and a 1:30pm train ride for $4.
The museum is focused on Canadian Pacific Railroad, and emphasizes rolling stock of more recent vintage. No steam locomotives.
(Click the thumbnails for the larger image.)
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