I'm making great progress on The Prometheus Option. Unfortunately it's going to be a monster, just like The Storm Winds Rise.
I just got back from PyCon 2015 in Montreal. My Python programming skills are only about seven months old, but I'm good enough that the introductory sessions were way too elementary, the intermediate sessions were on familiar topics, and the advanced sessions were either too advanced or not advanced enough. I didn't get much out of it. I doubt I'll go again.
Then I got a nasty stomach / intestinal bug last Sunday that kept me either in bed or in the bathroom for three days. This prevented me from doing the thing I really wanted to do at the conference: interact with the programmers and contribute to some open source projects. Dammit.
I did get a lot of writing done in the evenings and on the two last days of my stay, when I really should have been exulting in my restored intestinal fortitude and exploring the city. I did take a seven mile walk through the city on Thursday. I walked up and down the Mont Royal itself. From there I got a good view of the leafless trees and chilly, hilly countryside around the city.
On the whole, though, the only part of the trip that I can consider successful was the writing. It was just about the only thing I really wanted to do. Tourism isn't exciting when you're on a business trip by yourself.