It takes so little. One sunny and warm day in downtown Toronto hanging out with friends suddenly made summer a reality. No longer just an idea, it spurred thoughts of summer plans and holidays and of spending more time with friends. It also me inspired to petition for another day to the weekend. I think "Second Sunday" would be a good addition. Maybe we'd make room for it by getting rid of Monday altogether. I mean, a Tuesday morning meeting is much better than one on Monday. I don't think anyone would miss Monday at all. I certainly wouldn't be posting it's face on milk cartons.

It's hard to believe, but it's Friday. I know, nobody told me either. It's like it just got slipped under the door while I was sleeping. The week has been both exceedingly long and shockingly short. Either way, I'll be heading to the GTA after work for some visiting with friends and family. I hope your weekend is looking as enjoyable.

Unfortunately, I was so focused on Venezuela's Independence Day that I completely neglected the fact that last Thursday, April 10 was also (Inter)National High Five Day. I don't think I high-fived anyone. I'll have to really make up for it next year. Then again, why wait? Someone's going to get a high-five today.

Ahhh, sun. A reasonably warm weekend with lots of sunshine. Throw in some friends and some ultimate. Seems like the perfect recipe. Well, it might not be perfect but not too bad. Here's hoping that perfect continues to stay within reach.

I think it is time for a vacation. A fresh start in the office would do me well, I think. Still, I haven't got anything planned. I had best get on that, and soon.

Clarification

For anyone who saw my last post and worried about me, you needn't. My concerns were mainly with things going on in the lives of those around me. I'm not about to talk about other people's problems in my blog so I left it general but wanted to be clear that that things were on my mind.

Brain... Spinning... So many things... Some good... Some terrible... I hope that wherever you are reading this, you are well.

Snow, snow, go away come again another... Season.

I guess it could be worse, my toilet could be on fire.

43

Is it:

a) The number of pounds of sugar the average American consumes each year?
b) One greater than the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything?
c) The number of things talked about on the site 43 Things?
d) The School District that "serves the cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody (Tri-Cities) and the villages of Anmore and Belcarra"?
e) All of the above?

Technology for Good

There are innumerable examples of technology being used to serve the planet and those who live on it, just as there are many cases of the opposite. In this case, I want to highlight the use of a free program to draw attention to injustices taking place half a world from here. Google Earth takes their ever-popular and useful map technology and expands it to include a navigable globe where information can be highlighted as you see fit. Well, in conjunction with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Google Earth is providing high resolution images as well as stories from the Darfur region of Sudan. For a background on the Darfur conflict, click here.

If you use Google Earth, start the program and search for "Sudan". It should show some icons and by clicking on them, will allow you to download more extensive information. It highlights villages, both damaged and destroyed, as well as refugee and internally displaced person's camps. Along with some of this are photos and videos. They can be quite graphic, but serve the purpose of allowing us to understand the horrors that are taking place. It has been much too easy for us to ignore the "plight of Africans" in the past. This is evident as the ongoing war-crimes trial of Rwandan, Désiré Munyaneza, calls witnesses to the atrocities of the Rwandan Genocide. While we still can ignore what is happening if we choose, at least we have the opportunity to gather information and to avoid making our decisions for lack of knowledge.

IPCC says we're in a SNAFU and that we may be FUBAR. :(

Always Improving

Discussion over dinner touched on any range of subjects, though our un-ending search for new ways to improve ourselves and our lives came up and technology was at the heart of it. It wasn't automatically agreed that technology is the solution to the world's ills. Perhaps it could be if human nature didn't keep getting in the way. Well, the never-ending march for improvement continues but it is comforting to know that concious decisions can be made and allowances can be made for the way we have lived our lives and the way we want to continue to do so. This article highlights decisions made in certain areas of China to tie employment success with continued care for parents and other members of the family. It seems that "filial piety" isn't going to fall completely by the wayside in the face of economic development. I think that our government coddles us just a little too much. I don't think they're willing to actively promote more socially or environmentally sustainable activities in a genuine manner. Just imagine, dropping a tax bracket for planting trees. What would you like to see the government mandate to improve our lot?

Chocolate Weekend

Mmmm, Easter (and all it's tasty chocolate treats). Not being particularly religious, holidays are more a chance for me to get together with family than to consider my beliefs. Then again, usually discussions with my family bring out my beliefs, just not necessarily religious ones. I've been the "straight and narrow" to my parents conspiracy theories in the past. I then become the conspiracy theorist in other social circumstances. It's all relative. It's always good to have heart-felt conversations. More to the point, it's good to have a heart-felt life. For us as a family, that can often involve some real sillyness. You should have seen our dinner last night. Without getting into detail, I'll just say that it was totally friendly and fun but I don't think any children's network would want to broadcast it (even if some of the humour was pretty childish). I am amazed at how much fun we can have together, and saddened when I know that's not necessarily the case for others around me. Postsecret reminded me of such walls between people in a rather odd way through the following postcard:



My family's sense of humour aside, it is impossible for me to imagine. I hope that your holiday has been more about fun (and chocolate), and less about secrets and barriers.

As many of us lick our lips, not so much at the prospect of a delicious Easter meal but rather at the prospect of a long weekend, I can't help but think of the fouforah (I've always used that word but never typed it... imagine bally-hoo but with more "f's"), that came of a Canadian-born artist attempting to display a chocolate likeness of Jesus at a gallery in New York this week. I'm not going to tell the faithful how to feel but I have to give the artist credit for bringing together the two most recognized symbols of Easter: chocolate and Jesus. I have trouble believing that any of those who put up such a vehement protest to it's display aren't going to go home and give their kids chocolate bunnies and eggs on Easter weekend. Well, whether you're faithful to religion or chocolate (or whether your religion IS chocolate), I hope you have a great weekend ahead.

I found myself looking through an old journal of mine this weekend. Though it was only a quick look, it provided something interesting: A note, written with a friend, near the end of high school. The note highlighted my "needs" when it came to finding a partner. As this is not a blog of the truest soul-bearing sort, I'm not actually going to list them for you but rest assured that I seemed to have a good idea what I was looking for. I'd venture to say that time has allowed me to recognize that they are "wants" rather than "needs" but still, I think the content holds.

Okay, I will give you one:

- must love pirates

I have a question: I'm working on a genetics project. I'm trying to create an unstoppable super-being to help bring the world safely forward but need DNA from just the right specimens. Do any of you have tips on getting George W. Bush and Stephen Harper's DNA?