Wow!

Today is certainly a great day to be Canadian! What a gold medal men’s hockey game between Canada and the USA!! It was very close, and the Americans wanted it very badly, but we wanted it just a little bit more.

With this gold, Canada has set some great Olympic records in 2010. Here are a couple off the top of my head:

• The most winter olympic gold medals by the host nation (14, previous was 10)
• The most winter olympic gold medals by any nation (14, previous was 13)

Congratulations to all our Canadian athletes, and to all the athletes from every country who participated in these 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC!!!

Hi!

Here are the pictures I took from the Standard Aero 2009 Christmas party. Click the link below for the Flickr slideshow. Enjoy!

Standard Aero 2009 Christmas Party

Hi!

For all the people who ask me "What do you want for ____?" (Christmas being the next one in line, but birthdays also apply), I've made a wishlist page.

Thank you very much!

This is a couple of weeks late, but here you go anyway. Dog-o-lanterns!

Today is Sean and Andrea's birthday!

It's cool but challenging at the same time because of the conflicting birthday parties that must be worked around. They are very good at accomodating each other, though, so that certainly makes it easier on Shannon and me.

I'm feeling in good voice today, so here we go:

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Sean & Andreaaaaaaaaaaaa
Happy Birthday to you!
And Many Moooooooooore!

Have a great day and a great year guys! Next year it's the big Three-Oh!

Today is Remembrance Day, the day when we stop to reflect upon the freedoms we have, and the sacrifices made by those men and women who made it all possible. Many people have today off from work. Enjoy it! But please make sure to remember why you have today off.

I haven't read "In Flanders Fields" for quite a while, so I though it would be appropriate to do so today and share it with you.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Don't let the media fool you folks - there are still good people left in the world! Case in point - the disappearance and return of my wallet.

This weekend, we went to a friend's cabin for Halloween with a stop to go horseback riding at Birds Hill Park on the way out. I know I had it to pay for a snack at Timmy's on the way out, and that evening at the cabin I noticed I didn't have my wallet anymore. This was Saturday. I didn't know if I left it at Tim's or lost it on the trail.

Just under two hours ago, I got a call from my chiropractor's office. I was there for my regular appointment this morning and told them about my lost wallet and how I'd need a new RFID badge (how we sign in to bring up our patient information). They were having computer problems in the morning, so they couldn't create a new card for me that day but would at my next appointment next week. I thought they were calling about this. Nope - they had my wallet.

You see, a man was walking along the trails in Birds Hill Park on the weekend and found a wallet on the ground. He saw my RFID badge with the chiropractor's office address printed on it. The same chiropractor that he goes to! He brought it in with him to his regular appointment today with the wallet and all the contents (including all the cash) intact.

I didn't get to meet him, and I don't know who he is, but THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

While the rain won’t seem to go away completely, at least now we’re getting sun with our rain. From the time I left work today until this evening when the sun set, there were sunshowers. Sometimes they were light, others (like when I left work and was walking to the bus stop) they were heavier. I took this photo and video this evening from the upstairs bedroom window at home.

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 300 employees and has the following statistics?

30 have been accused of spousal abuse.
9 have been arrested for fraud.
14 have been accused of writing bad cheques.
95 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses.
4 have done time for assault.
55 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit.
12 have been arrested on drug related charges.
4 have been arrested for shoplifting.
16 are currently defendants in lawsuits.
62 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year!

Can you guess which organization this is?

It is the 301 MP's in the Canadian Parliament! The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws designed to keep the rest of us in line!

Which one did you vote for?

Happy Birthday Lynn! Though I’m posting this today, her actual birthday was yesterday. We had a great celebration hosted by Sean & Karen at their place, and I think a great time and great food were had by all.

I forgot to bring my camera with me, so all I have to show are these pictures taken from my cell phone. Not great, but still better than nothing.

Hello,

It took longer than anticipated, but I have completed and posted the video from Sean and Karen’s wedding. Please note that because I was in the wedding party I wasn’t able to capture any video of the ceremony, only the reception and the family gathering the next day.

I hope you enjoy it. Please click here for the video, or here for the page with all videos including this one.

Hi everybody,

It took almost a week, but I’ve gone through the nearly 600 photos that Shannon and I took at Sean and Karen’s rehearsal, wedding, reception, and day-after family gathering. I’ve fixed most of the red eyes, cleared up the facial blemishes, and pared the similar shots down to leave a total of just under 400 pictures to present here. Phew!

Please enjoy! There was some video taken too, so I’ll make a montage of that footage and post it up here soon. Until then, please click here for the pics. You can also find the picture page under the Photo & Video Gallery link in the sidebar.

I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate my brother Sean and his new wife Karen on their beautiful wedding yesterday! We’re all so proud of and happy for you both, and we all love you both very much.

Congratulations!

Happy Spring everybody!!! For your enjoyment, I present the classic spring poem:


Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
I wonder where the birdie is.

There he is up in the sky,
He dropped some whitewash in my eye!

I’m alright, I won’t cry,
I’m just glad that cows can’t fly!

Good evening,

Below is the text of Jim Flaherty's Canadian Federal Budget for 2009. I don't approve of the deficit, that's for sure. The world got into trouble by spending money they don't have - a deficit won't necessarily make things better. Flaherty's justification that we'll still have the lowest debt load of all the G7 countries doesn't make it right.

For example, suppose you have seven factories spewing all sorts of toxic chemicals into the water, poisoning the fish and contaminating the drinking water. One of the factory owners says, "Yes, we're poisoning the fish we eat and the water we drink, but at least we're not doing it as much as the other six factories." Technically, it is better than the other factories, but that still doesn't make it right - you shouldn't be doing it at all. Now, keep in mind I'm not an economist - I'm an engineer. A good engineer makes the best out of the resources that are available, and having to go in debt means using resources that aren't available. Clearly, this doesn't sit well with me.

Despite that, I do think there is a lot of good stuff in there. If we've got to take Canada further into debt (yikes - I really hate to make that concession), at least there are some good projects that will come out of it.

Here it is - the text of the Budget 2009 speech: Read More...

Happy New Year!!!

I wish everybody all the best in 2009, and hope that all your goals and dreams come true. If you set goals or resolutions, make sure they are SMART goals:

• Specific (well defined)
• Measurable (can track progress and define completion)
• Agreed upon (if it involves more than you)
• Realistic (within your means, resources, laws of physics )
• Time based (enough time to complete goal but not so much that it is forgotten about until the end)

With this in mind, here are some of my goals for 2009. Read More...

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

I realize this posting is two days late, but it’s the holiday season and I’m happy to say that I spent more time with family and friends than my computer over the last couple of days. I think that makes it alright!

What is wrong with people these days?  Have you heard of the Wal-Mart employee in the US who was literally trampled to death in a stampede of shoppers bursting into the store as it opened at 5:00am on Friday November 28th?  Thanksgiving in the US falls on the fourth Thursday of November, and the Friday after that is known as Black Friday.  Black Friday is, apparently, one of if not the largest shopping day of the year (similar to Boxing Day in Canada - the day after Christmas).  Black Friday usually has stores opening up early and having huge sales. Read More...

Here is an interesting excerpt from a National Post online article.  The article is from October 27, 2008, and can be found in its entirety here: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=911549

It is an interesting viewpoint from Peter D. Schiff (known as Dr. Doom) who thinks the U.S. government should just leave well enough alone and let the market correct itself.  I personally agree with this.  If the government won't bail out individuals losing their homes, why should they bail out the huge corporations and seven-figure income CEOs?

FP refers to Financial Post - the financial section of the National Post.  Enjoy! Read More...