My wife is gonna be PISSED

You owe me one.

So, I'm at home working on a proposal to fix a company's online presence (they have five Facebook pages and one Facebook group. They really need me.) when I get a phone call from 604-259-0402.

I assume (well, actually, hope with fingers crossed) that's it's someone ready to offer me a full-time job so I can pay off some of the creditors who are also calling.

[Hire me, I'll fix your Internet presence for food. (I mean cash, I'll fix your online presence for cash. {Cash which I can use to buy food!}{I miss food.})]

So, I answer the phone and Bonita tells me I've been selected to receive a Disney vacation including:

• Seven days six nights Caribbean cruise
• Rental car with unlimited mileage
• Disney World
• Orlando Magic card good for discounts on attractions

Because I registered for it.

Celebrate the bullet

In a another lifetime my buddy Marc and I would rent the video (no not the DVD, the VHS video, which lets you know how long ago this was and in what galaxy this took place) Bullitt so we could fast forward to watch the legendary ten minute 53 second car chase.

Then we'd watch whatever other videos we'd rented.

We never watched the rest of the movie. It was years before I finally watched the complete movie, and, with all due respect to Steve McQueen, that's a terrible movie.

A really, really terrible movie.

I don't recommend it.

So, I have good news for you!

Best. Spam. Ever. (continued - now with more crazy)

Speaking of crazy...

Way, way back, shortly after the earth cooled I received an email. (Yeah, that's right, I had email before it was cool. [That's right, I had email before the earth cooled. {I know, I know, but it seemed like a better joke before I typed it, and if I had to suffer through it, then you do too; and the email I'm referring to arrived in April, this year}]).

Anyhoo, the this email was appropriately caught in my spam filter which I have to check periodically because there is the remote possibility someone will have offered me a job in my field of training paying well enough to pay off my training.

(Will write words, make video or take pictures for food.)

Ampersand

There's only one reason I have any idea what that word means: the car magazine Road & Track.

I actually never had a subscription, I paid full price to buy it off the magazine rack.

I did this for years because I enjoyed it that much.

I once had a subscription to Car and Driver, but I became tired of the libertarian politics.

And I think P. J. O'Rourke is over-rated.

(I also never got the show Seinfeld, so I admit I may be the one with the problem.)

Politics VS Sport

My editorial published in the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, November 10, 2010.
I have done this myself as a political geek, and I’ve seen it done on television and heard it on the radio.

The misdeed is referring to politics as a “sport”.

The comparison is an obvious and easy one to make, which is why it is so common.

But it overstates the importance of sport, while understating the importance of politics.

Well, except for hockey.

And football.

Oh, don’t forget soccer.

And if you’re going to mention soccer, you may as well bring up cricket.

Sports can play an important role in society with the benefits of exercise, socialization and the opportunity to test one’s resolve.

Reflections on Father's Day

Yes, I imagine my father as Bing Crosby.

This was my first Father's Day.

Not just because this is my daughter's first Father's Day, but because this was the first Father's Day I participated in in a meaningful way.

As has been mentioned previously, my father was not a part of my life, for reasons which are not, and likely never will be, clear to me.

I've also not had a male equivalent in my life, so there was nothing to note.

Kind of like being Jewish at Christmas, there's all this stuff going on, but it has nothing to do with you.

Like so many things about fatherhood for me, Father's Day is new ground and I have no previous frame of reference.

Yes, there is TV, but I don't think The Brady Bunch should be a frame of reference for anything except hairstyle's in the 1970's.

My first Father's Day was great, I received cards from my daughter, wife, and, surprisingly, my mother (she says I'm a cool dad [no, she doesn't]) and good wishes from many friends.

My daughter and wife are my blessing and I'm looking forward to our life and the memories we'll create together.

Related video

Politics, it’s a good thing

My editorial ublished in the Kitimat Northern Sentinel, October 20, 2010

Politics can be an admirable occupation.

It isn't always, but it can be.

At its best it ensures all people are persons, all persons are free and not owned, and those free persons can be the kinds of people they would like to be.

At its worst, wars are started based on specious theories, certain people are made scapegoats for societal ills and the state is reshaped to benefit few, rather than many.

It's unlikely a municipal by-election in a small town in Northern British Columbia would address such heady topics, but politics at the local level affects people's lives on a daily basis, and can affect how they live in profound ways.

We are fortunate in Kitimat to have six people willing to put themselves in a position to serve the public in such a way.

Municipal politics is unique in the three levels of government in Canada in that, municipal politicians serve and live amongst their constituents.

At the senior levels politicians go away to work, and even their "local" offices may not be local for all the constituents in large ridings such as ours.

Municipal politicians are always at hand, and even more so in a small community.

Regardless of any disparaging thoughts one may have of the current and past mayors and councils, we would be much worse off if people did not think enough of Kitimat to be willing to serve the city and its people.

The situation Kitimat finds itself in is not unusual, it did not happen overnight and it will not be corrected overnight regardless of who is elected in the by-election or next municipal election.

In choosing to run for council, the six candidates have made themselves vulnerable and exposed.

For this, all six candidates and past candidates, whether successful or not, should be commended for their courage.

We in the media have an integral role, not to make sure politicians get their message out, but to ensure the truth of the candidates is known.

Citizens also have an important role to play.

It’s not just to vote, but to vote in an informed way, to know what we believe in and learn which politicians support our beliefs.