My Picks for RNC and DNC in 2008

I've always had an active interest in Canadian politics, but U.S. politics always seems consistently intriguing (I even have a Bush/Cheney '04 golf shirt that I wear from time to time, though I don't think I'm allowed to wear it into work anymore (too political). Well, none of these people need and introduction, so quickly, here are my picks for who will win the Republican and Democratic conventions and will represent their party in the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections.

DNC:

Hillary Clinton. I am not a fan of Hillary at all, and even though I'm a staunch conservative, part of my essense is being capitalistic and as such, I cashed in on a worthwhile investment - a hand-signed copy of Hillary's book "It Takes a Village". I will sell it once she reaches the apex of her political career and I can get several thousand dollars for it. So from an altruistic sense, I am rooting for her (only so my investment can soar in value)

Why I think she will beat out Barack Obama: Sadly, I don't think that the U.S. is quite ready for a Black prez just yet, pure and simple, despite what TV shows like 24 would have you believe. I think Obama's capable of leadership and while I disagree with almost everything he stands for, I would choose him over Hillary if I had to (she definitely has secret agendas, as her time with Bill has shown). But I think Hillary will win. I don't forsee any other candidates giving these two a run for the money. Yes, even John Edwards - he's a tad too ambitious, in my view - and yes, I feel sympathy for his wife, but he's not one of those "lead by example" types. Plus, I saw him on the 2004 VP debate with Cheney, and Cheney smoked him.

GOP / RNC:

I am lukewarm with the available frontrunner choices. I would go with Sam Brownback in an instant, but we all know that unfortunately, he's not going to win, since he's considered way too conservative/right wing for the mass electorate (last I read, he was at the bottom of the heap). So here's my predictions.

John McCain - Yes, I know that Giuliani is the current frontrunner, but he carries a lot of baggage with him. Failed marriages, a very soft social conservative stance...I doubt he will get the evangelical wing support. I also know while James Dobson and FOTF has stated he will not support McCain, not everyone is a Dobson supporter and McCain does have a distinguished service record for his country. I think this will be trumpeted in the next year. It's too bad Cheney's not running - he would be perfect. I would love to see Condoleeza Rice run, as she would make an awesome prez, but once again, I don't think the U.S. electorate is ready to pick a Black President. Besides, her being a single woman also will probably hurt her if she runs, since I think most Americans would prefer to see a family man or family woman in the white house.

Birthday Freebies

For anyone interested, there are some places which recognize your birthday by giving you free stuff. Since it is my birthday today, and I always love free stuff, I'll check out some, if not all of these (in the Toronto area).

What a Bagel! - One dozen free bagels on showing proof/ID that it's your birthday
Tucker's Marketplace - Free Buffet Meal
Town and Country - Free Buffet Meal (unfortunately, the only location is downtown now - I'll probably use up the gas money to save money)
Pizza Pizza - Free slice of pizza (even though I think Pizza Pizza is the worst of the worst for quality, I may still take advantage of this).
Casey's - $15.00 off the meal
Lokshen Alfredo (Italian restaurant) - Meal is free or you get $20.00 off your meal

There are also a number of different places where you can register on their website and they will send you a birthday coupon for a free meal. Too late for that (this year), so I'll take advantage of the live offers. At the very least, I will defintely get those dozen bagels.

Oh...gotta run. Iss is just waking up...

Happy Feet - Movie

***SPOILER WARNING***

My wife, son and I watched this movie last night on DVD. I'm not sure what the big deal was with this movie. It wasn't that great. And while I would not say it outright sucked, it was pretty close. I can't believe this movie was given awards instead of Cars, which was a much better animation movie. Thankfully it was only a rental, and it was a better rental than the last one we had (Borat, which was TERRIBLE - not funny and way too crude for our liking - obviously, our son did not watch that one!).

Where to begin with Happy Feet... First, it was way too long, for such a simple storyline (if it can even be called that). This is the first movie that my boy (4) actually asked several times "is it over yet?" He also took the remote and paused it numerous other times and walked out of the room, into the kitchen and drank a glass of milk or ate something, not rushing to get back. He definitely was not glued to his seat, by any means. The fact that he has not done this with any other movie is an indication that this movie didn't really draw him.

The big apparent "draw" of the movie - the music. Lots of music - but it wasn't for kids. Kids did not know the words and frig, why do they have to have stuff like "I'll make love to you, if you want me to" and "I just want your body, baby..." These were all long-gone adult songs. What a terrible selection of music. The only part that I thought was good was when the Latino penguins did Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now", but it was cut short. Also, the female penguin Gloria's singing voice was annoying (speaking of which, when I think Gloria in animation, I still think of Madagascar, which was an awesome movie).

The animation - for the people who thought that the animation of the penguins and the textures of the same were great - you obviously did not watch Over the Hedge. There's a movie where they did an amazing job on the animal fur and skin and eyes and what not. The Happy Feet characters weren't all that cute, actually.

I've never been a fan of Nicole Kidman, but she really blew in this movie. Also, Robin Williams' antics continue to be annoying, even in a new millenium.

The dancing - it was OK for animation and there were several highlights, like when the penguins entered the water and were doing synchronized swimming. Some parts of the dance theme were hard to understand - the humans at the end started dancing with the penguins - why? And the humans stopped fishing because they saw a dancing penguin in the zoo? I thought it was more sensible when they showed the human banter about the problem and one guy said something like, "I don't want to live in a world without penguins". That seemed more of a believeable impetus to stop taking the penguins' food rather than due to a tap-dancing penguin performing. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Adult themes - did they not think adults would not notice Mumble and Gloria come out of the ice, happen to fall into a 69 position, followed by doggie style? Frig...why can't they just make a kids' movie without all this crap. OK, my son had no idea what was going on, but still, why do they need to try to appeal to this to get laughs. Julie and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes several times.

The movie tried to inject political themes, which, for a movie directed at kids, was a bit over the top for me. I am no environmental tree hugger, but in this case, making the zoo/marine centre seem like a uncaring place of desolation does not represent the massive amount of animal lovers who actually work at the zoo.

Scary moments - When that killer seal is chasing Mumble - my son actually covered his eyes - but it was good that in the end, the tension was diffused when he penguins were laughing at the seal moving so slow on land. Also, the predator birds trying to attack Mumble. If this has to be targeted towards a kids' audience, it would have been more appropriate for the 10-and-over crowd.

Annoying characters - the "Lovelace" character, in my opinion, added nothing to the movie. Seemed to be yet another stereotype, one which I won't bother getting into. The best characters, in my opinion, were the Latino penguin gang, but sadly, they were stereotypically portrayed - I'll just leave it at that.

The film did have several positive elements. One, was the whole friendship/belonging theme, and it was prominent right until the end when Mumble's father was shown to be repentant for not siding with his son when pressure by the community elders. The other was the fact that it is OK to be different and have different talents and giftings. And while I thought that the environmental message was a bit too prominent, there is a message in there about how actions can potentially have effects on the food chain. Also, I appreciated that the amount of crude material was kept to a minimum.

Overall, though, this definitely was not something that caught my child's attention. And to me, I could not get it out of my head that the movie seemed like the Penguin version of Footloose or Dirty Dancing. I also could not help but consciously make comparisons to the March of the Penguins documentary (which was much better). For Julie and I watching it as adults, it was a bit too lengthy, had left a lot to be desired, and we didn't exactly feel happy after watching Happy Feet.

Tattoos and Body Piercing

Since Julie has graciously planned out many activities on my birthday today, I will afford her the courtesy of me getting a (somewhat) proper night's sleep. So this posting will be much shorter than the others. I don't really want to spent the whole night blogging (since I am recovering from a nasty sinus infection), but here's a topic near and dear to my heart...and it's not what you may think, with me being a staunch conservative.

Most guys working in the IT industry or are card carrying conservative (I will use big-C or small-c here, whatever tickles your fancy) or church elders generally do not have a past like mine. Without generalizing too much, but also stating this based on conversations with many other IT professionals, conservatives and church elders, I can probably say I do not represent the norm when it comes to past experiences with body piercing or tattoos, and am surprisingly moderately neutral on this topic with a few caveats.

First, my own experiences. I have had most body parts pierced at one point in my life. And no, my parents and siblings do not know this - and I'm pretty sure they won't read this blog since they don't even know I have a blog). I had (at the most) 14 concurrent piercings in my ears (combined) - some of them were um...self-performed, a navel piercing that caused too much pain, a nipple piercing that got too itchy and was irriated by clothing, and a nose piercing that was never really completed (stud came out after it went in - due to the sensitivities in my nose - I sneeze countless times if I get nasal pain). I also have several tattoos that many people don't know about, most of them were again...self-performed via instructions from a friend whose Dad was in the slammer and relayed to him how to ink yourself.

These days, the tattoos are obviously there, but I tend to wear oversized t-shirts and baggy clothing to cover them in the summertime. Why? They look terrible. I've seen worse on other people, but do I really want people to see this big black sperm image on my arm (I was once nicknamed Jerm the Sperm). The piercings have, for the most part, closed up and I say for the most part, because I know for a fact that some have not since I tried to put in studs a few years back and of course, it was before bed, and I forget to take them out and when I woke up, my wife had a freakshow on me for foolishly trying to do something which just did not look good anymore (she was probably right).

Anyway, some advice from a guy who's been there, if you want to get a body piercing or tattoo.

1) Think long-term. Mike Tyson probably screwed himself out of a corporate white-collar desk job when he got ink on his face (and it looks pretty dumb too). For myself, I thought it was pretty cool when I was a kid, but now, particularly in the summertime, I really regret getting some of the tattoos.

2) Some things are not worth the health risk. Personally, a labaret or tongue ring never appealed to me - there is so much bacteria in the mouth and particularly with the labaret, it never quite heals over, so you're looking at possible frequent infection. Ear piercings are generally pretty safe, at least the lower-risk parts of your ear (I have heard that protruding cartlidge bit does have higher risk because infections in that area are much closer to the brain. Also, I've never had a Prince Albert, but not sure what the appeal is - I have heard it can get pretty uncomfortable.

3) Despite what you may think about what should and should not be the ideal, people will and do judge you by how you look - I took out all my piercings (for good) when I got my first full time job - I just know you don't wear 14 piercings to an IT office job - that is, if I want to remain gainfully employed.

4) For the Christian, consider what tattoos are saying about you before you get them. Are the tattoos giving a positive view of Christ and your walk with Him? Or is it bringing shame to Christ's name. While I am not 100% certain that the Bible has a 100% definitive stand on tattoos - yes, it says it pretty clearly in Leviticus but it also says that you should not wear clothing made of two different materials either, or you should not trim your beard or the hair on the sides of your head - since Christians are no longer bound by the law, I am not sure it applies - however, I think that the New Testament has several guidelines about holy living - I think before you get a tattoo (or do anything else for that matter), consult the Bible to find out whether what you are doing is bringing glory to God. While I am neither here nor there on tattoos or piercings, I also don't take a lassez-fair attitude on it either. Particularly with tattoos and their permanency, it's definitely a decision that should be thought through before getting one. Last summer, we went to Edmonton and while I don't swim, I took videos and photos of my wife and son at the massive West Edmonton Mall waterpark. Of course, in a waterpark, there are many people who show off their tattoos (unfortunately, there are other things that people show that probably shouldn't be shown, but that's another story for another post). There was one girl who had Matthew 7 tattooed on her upper back (like, the whole chapter) - it was pretty cool. There's one way to share the gospel, I suppose.

Pitfalls & Shortcomings of Forced Multiculturalism

It is often said of Toronto that it is a great world model for showcasing and highlighting cultural diversity, toleration, ethnic co-operation and so forth. You may concur with this statement. Toronto is indeed a city which is comprised of people from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. There is hardly any doubt about that, as one quick trip to viturally anywhere in the city will show. However, despite all of the liberal rhetoric, the question must be asked, "Does cultural diversity, multiculturalism, and toleration" really foster a greater sense of cohesion among people of different backgrounds, or is it stifling collective growth?" In observing the social climate over the past two decades, along with drawing from personal experience, I would conclude that multiculturalism may not be as beneficial as some people think.

By my surname, you may have correctly concluded that I am of Asian descent. I, like my younger brother and sister were born in Hong Kong, and in 1977, my parents emigrated to Canada along with their three children, and we spent five years in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1982, we moved to Ajax, Ontario where my Mom, Dad, my sister and her husband still live. In both Edmonton and Ajax, I have seen my fair share of racial tensions, and have concluded that prejudice and racial tension stems from an unwillingness to get to know another person, particularly taking the initiative to fight off initial prejudices. However, read closely here: interaction goes both ways.

From grades 4-8, I attended a school in which the student population was overwhelmingly white, with a very small handful of visible minority students. As such, it was not terribly surprising that from time to time, I would hear the occasional oriental joke, names, and what not, and 100% of the time, the person doing the taunting has never met me before (there were exceptions, of course). A funny thing happened though, with many of these kids. Once they got to know me, the jokes and name-calling ceased. But here is the rub and the central point: I did not allow the name-calling (as hurtful as it was, trust me) to force me into a ethnic ghetto community, or to avoid difficult situations and relationships, orto react in a way which re-inforces the prejudice.

Once I made friends (some of whom were previously enemies), these new friends of mine would often come to my defence whenever someone else cracked a joke. From an early age, I had realized that people did not necessarily have a problem with me, but that they are making generalizations based on age-old stereotypes, and it was perhaps their way of dealing with something different. The best way, I found, to dispel these stereotypical notions is to get to not let their jokes get the best of me, while at the same time making efforts to try to know the other person, emphasizing commonalities instead of differences. To this day, I take this approach, even in my business relationships, not focussing on a colleague or client's known reputation, but simply taking on relationship and one interaction at a time, finding common ground and building from that point.

In saying all of this, here is where I see the current state of race relations in a melting-pot of a city. First off, advocates of multiculturalism argue that people are co-existing well within what has been called a "mosaic". Is this really true, though? In Toronto, there are numerous ethnic communities located in certain geographical points, which may rightly be argued as being segreational. There is Chinatown, Greektown, the Italian community, the Jewish community, the Black community, Little Portugal, and so forth. All the communites have their own little shops set up, their own restaurants and their own local hangouts. Sure, this may be great for tourist attractions, and I have definitely benefited from the tasty food offered up by these communities, but what about for relationship building? To paraphrase Reginald Bibby, who in his essay, "Is multiculturalism tearing us apart?" observes that although multiculturalism is beneficial in that it allows one to maintain their culture/heritage, the broader benefits of this cultural diversity are not realized unless interaction occurs between people of different cultural backgrounds." This is so true. Think about it. Let's say I enjoy humour. You are a person who also enjoys humour. If both of us do not make an effort to meet and discuss jokes, and what not, are we not robbing ourselves of an opportunity to share our mutual fondness of humour, and make one another laugh?

Of course, one may argue with me that these folks are making a valuable contribution to our collective society as a whole by setting up a business and stimulating the economy. I guess this may be technically true, but just who are the majority of the patrons of these establishments? I have found that many ethnic businesses draw their business mostly from within their own community. How does this benefit Canadian society as a whole, other than the feds getting some more tax money from businesses - at the very least, the feds don't discriminate - they'll suck you dry (monetarily speaking), no matter what your nationality is. My dad told me a while back that I'm an idealist; that I should deal with the stark reality that people are not comfortable with others who are different from them. My concern is not whether this behaviour or mindset exists, or whether it is real, but rather, is it right?

A person who believes that there are no racial problems in North America had better take another look. If the O.J. Simpson verdict more than a decade ago was any indication, racial problems are alive and well. Just recently, it was reported that, in the American South, some white teachers were caught doing hanky panky with black underaged students. The debate on many news sites focussed more on whether this will stir up racial tensions (since if it was a black adult and an underaged white female - the response probably would have been much different, and I tend to concur).

Personally, I see many factors which contribute to current existing racial tensions. For instance, it seems quite chic these days for people to cry racism at the drop of a hat. I have a real problem with people who do this. Of course, at times, this charge is valid, but in some cases, it is not. I am a frequent contributor on RedFlagDeals.com, which is a Canadian bargain-hunter website. Recently, some guy got on and said that he was an Asian guy who was seated at the back of a Swiss Chalet and he felt that he was a victim of racial discrimination. I read that and thought, "give me a break!" I am happy to get any spot after waiting - this person obviously already had something in his head. Thankfully, he was overwhelmingly chastised for taking such a ridiculous view, particularly when it was at a well established franchise restaurant (known to hire many visible minorities) in a large Asian surburban area, and besides...in 2007, almost every company out there has a zero-tolerance policy towards any type of discrimination. One would have to be foolish in order to do something like that.

When people are labelled as racist, when in actuality they are not, it can easily foster a sense of resentment and obvious defensiveness. In more than a few cases in Canada, when a white police officer shoots a black individual, all of the sudden, it becomes a racial issue, and more fuel is added to the fire. Forget the fact that the black person may be actually committing a crime, no different than a white person or anyone else getting shot in commiting the same crime. No doubt, there is policy brutality out there, there is unfair racial profiling going on, and no doubt, there are crooked cops, but one's first reaction should be to find out all the facts, rather than playing the race card on the first round.

I also feel that hiring quotas and associated affirmative action policies may be doing more harm than good. Sure, these practice may have evolved from honourable intentions, but the problem, as I see it, is that it is simply reverse discrimination. My arguments here are nothing new, as countless people have echoed these sentiments. As the old cliche goes, two wrongs do not make a right. I also find it to be a slap in the face of the individual being hired. Who wants to be hired on the basis of their skin colour? I certainly would be tremendously insulted if I found out that I was hired not because of my abilities or my aptitude or my attitude, but rather by what I look like in order to fill a quota. Hiring quotas/affirmative action may completely ignore one's skills and educational background, both of which a person has had to work hard to obtain. Furthermore, what message is this sending to visible minorities, women, and the disabled? That they can't "cut it" unless they need a certain push? That's nonsense. To be quite blunt, people should be hired on the basis of merit and qualifications, not by their colour or what they have between their legs. If I or my wife or my son was in a burning building, you can be pretty sure I'd like a person to rescue me (that is, if I needed to be rescued) who could actually lift me. I wouldn't care what they look like, but if they can save us, hey, that's what counts.

Finally, two trends which trouble me greatly. The first one is criticism which I get saying that I am a cultural traitor, that I am too westernized, etc. All of this criticism comes from, thankfully, only a handful of people. Put quite simply, this is my response: there is no doubt that environment plays a role in one's development. As such, I was essentially brought up in North American culture, like millions of other Asians. I had very little difficulty in adjusting and adapting to Canadian culture. Frankly, I thought it was quite cool that I was able to "get the best of both worlds", as my parents would make efforts to try to ensure that I had some knowledge of my cultural background (and to this day, I am so thankful for this). Since a very early age, I was enrolled in a Chinese heritage program, and for a good seven years in Toronto, went through the program (it was on Saturdays), often scoring high on exams, penmanship contests and what not. All the while I was also attending public school and learning Canadian history, art, gym, and so forth. To this day, I can still carry a conversation in Cantonese as well as English. I really suspect that my critics are not making much of an effort to get to know me first (yet, am I crying discrimination per se?). As well, I suspect that these people have had a harder time adjusting to Canadian culture, and may resent my relative ease of adjusting. I believe that it comes down to one's willingness to accept his/her new country and learn some of its customs. So many minorities complain that they are being misunderstood. The question which I often pose is, "are you making an effort to get to know someone else?"

As a Bible-believing Christian, I have been struggling with the second trend for a number of years. The second trend concerns itself with how culture and ethnicity affects the local church at large, and while I can easily devote an entire article on this topic (I probably will), I will try to keep this short and concise. Over the years, I have been more and more convinced that homogenous churches are nothing more than ethnic social clubs (I'm not just talking all-Asian churches here, but I'm talking about all-white or all-black churches as well - both of these are in abundance in the Toronto area). Of course, I have met a number of people at homogenous churches who put the Word of God first over cultural aspects, and I know of quite a few very Godly men and women who hold leadership positions in ethnic churches. Still, I wonder what the role of the ethnic church is, other than to impart the message of the Bible to those whose mother tongue is not English. The young people at many of these churches are completely fluent in English. There are services which are entirely in English. Yet a number of these young people do not attend camps and church retreats unless they are with other churches of the same ethnic background. Somehow, I don't doubt that parents are to blame here. I am entirely convinced that homogenous churches provide a certain degree of cultural comfort, and feel so strongly about this topic that when a guest speaker came to one of our church and missions courses at the college (many years ago when I was young) and spoke on this topic, I openly debated him about why I do not believe that the homogenous church is fostering that universal bond between the body of Christ (usually, I don't say anything in class). Instead, the body has splintered off, with one part not being terribly sensitive the others.

I used to attend an all-Chinese church, as it was our family church. In 1995, I left that and joined an non-denominational multi-cultural, multi-ethnic church. Our pastor (who has since left) had a great conversation with me once about the fact that even though a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural church grows a lot slower than an ethnically homogenous church, the Biblical model is that there should be no distinctions between believers (Galatians 3:28, I think). As such, I really think our church is doing great things in bucking the megachurch trend (most of the large megachurches in the U.S., with some exceptions, are pretty homogenous).

Well, these are my thoughts on this matter. Please, by all means feel free to share yours. I would be interested to hear what you have to say. Thanks for taking time out to read this.

Introduction & Welcome to Jeremy's Blog

Well, tomorrow (in about 19 minutes) is March 31, 2007, and I am officially turning 34. In some ways, it is a bit on the surreal side, since I now realize that I am about one year away from the obligatory prostate exam. I am six years away from being officially declared over-the-hill. This is also my last year of being able to check the 18-34 age checkbox on many surveys and registration forms. Oh, the changes that will be up-and-coming.

I may as well take a moment to tell you a bit about myself, since in a way, it is a good, comforting reminder to me, that at 34, my mental faculties are still functional, at least to a minimal level. And in the event that I subsequently forget any information about myself, this will serve as a good reference and reminder point.

My name is Jeremy. I am a proud Canadian, living in the Toronto area (technically, I am not in Toronto proper, but for continental reference, I live close enough). I am happily married, and have a wonderful little boy. I work in a management position in a large U.S.-based Information Technology services company - been there for 10 years this year. I serve at my church on the Board of Elders (how I made it on there is anyone's guess, but I suppose it's proof positive that God has a sense of humour). I volunteer with a kids' group weekly, which I absolutely enjoy doing.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading copious amounts of books. I am not exaggerating here - one year - 2003, I actually set a personal best by reading 54 full-length books for the year. I love to read, and it's something that, unfortunately, I grew into more later into life. My wife and I have a nice collection of books in our personal library at home, so much so that we can probably put a sign on our front lawn advertising our house as a used book store (that may come later).

While I don't necessary have a lot of natural talents (for instance, I golf, but am terrible at it; I fish, but have never caught anything, despite the fact that I have enough angling gear to at least make me appear as if I know what I am doing; I play tennis, but lose in straight sets), the one thing I would say that is a natural gifting is my writing ability. It is nothing to boast about, but at the very least, I know that I can write fairly well. In fact, when I was younger, I was heading towards a career in journalism, being accepted at a fairly respected journalism school at a university in Canada. This was after a childhood of excelling at the literary arts (reading, spelling, etc.). In 1991, I won "Letter of the Week" for the Toronto Sun (one of the popular newspapers in Toronto, though I have since fallen off the bandwagon a good 15 years ago). In my late teens/early twenties, I was a regular contributing writer/reviewer for Heaven's Metal (now simply HM) magazine in the U.S., and my e-zine works can be found if you type in my name on a basic search engine. In college, I served as Managing Editor for our school's magazine, and contributed a few articles to boot. Why I ended up not pursuing a journalism career is an entirely different topic, and one that will take up an entire posting of its own a little later. Suffice it to say, I have no regrets.

Four more minutes before I am officially one year older. What else can I tell you in the meantime?

I am a proud, card-carrying member of the Conservative Party of Canada. This is an integral piece of information to pass along, since it will help you better understand the philosophical and political framing of some of my blog material. If it seems that I am a bit opinionated, it is because I am. However, I do try to convey my sentiments in a open and respectful manner. You may not agree with me at times, but thank God we live in free country where we have the freedom to be able to express divergent viewpoints without fear of reprisals or criminal prosecution. That being said, sometimes I will admit, I do let my emotions get the better of me, but I suppose I can chalk that up more to my convictions being pretty strong on some topics.

I am also a born-again Christian, which obviously heavily frames my viewpoint on things. I accepted Christ as my Saviour on October 2, 1991, and the journey since then has been about constant growth. I am still growing in my faith, learning through making many, many mistakes, and being thankful that salvation is not based on what I've done in my life (since I'm sure I would fail any test for "being nice").

I previously had a mom-and-pop type blog that I hosted myself, but I could never get the comments and layout working quite right. True, I am a certified IT guy, but web publishing has never been my strong point, even though I am conversant with HTML, but sometimes, it's just better to use existing tools out there, rather than trying to re-invent the wheel.

I see it's 12:02AM now, on March 31. My dear wife, Julie, has planned a wonderful day of celebration for me culminating in an evening out at Herongate Dinner Theatre in Pickering, Ontario (we are going to see Forever Plaid, which I understand at one point was a broadway production). Tomorrow afternoon, she and our son will be making home-made cinnamon rolls for the first time from scratch! That should be totally awesome.

Well, let me go ahead and post this and I'll add more tonight, since the night is young, the family is snoring away, and I am not exhausted in the least. Thanks for reading this, and I hope and trust that it is received well.