Preparations for SparseRunner

Finished the last part of the competition analysis for New Zealand and felt a wave of release come over me, very much a “last day of school” feeling. This is terrible, as the last thing I should ever allow myself to feel is freedom. There is no slacker worse than I when that feeling takes hold.
 
Thankfully, we have SparseRunner coming for the weekend, taking in Ottawa on his ongoing tour of the world’s mathematics conferences. I’m really looking forward to meeting him, actually – but unfortunately Mrs. Ottawacker is having to go up to Sundridge for the weekend to conclude (almost) the emptying of her father’s house. Still, Ottawacker Jr. will be there, and I am not sure SparseRunner knows what he is letting himself in for.
 
After a mundane afternoon doing emergency tidy-ups of rooms, Mrs. Ottawacker and I looked through the fridge and noted nothing we dared eat. So, she hied herself to Farm Boy as per Ottawacker Jr.’s request and bought some burgers. Oh My God, they were awful. As I cooked them in the pan, the oozing coagulation of oil and grease and water and God knows what else Farm Boy use to bulk out their meats meant I had to empty the pan twice (see blip) to be able to complete the cooking process. Thank God SparseRunner wasn’t here to see that. It’ll be the last meat I eat from Farm Boy.