Well Uncle Roger has informed me that he will not be attending this years event. So I am just going to  be booking 1 cottage as oppose to the two. It is funny how 4+ months notice is just not sufficient in todays world. Oh well, I invited him up anyways so maybe he will supprise us for a day or two.  Our revised costs are about $245 each for the week (plus food and beer). The time has not changed July 2 to 9 check in at 2pm. I am going to confirm the reservation tomorrow. Now lets catch some fish!!!

 My wife bought me this book for Valentines Day. Partly because I have been reading a lot lately, partly because I have been organizing a family fishing trip for the last 3 years now and partly because I have been reading a lot of books with a philosophy twist. In the past 8 months, Americans have written all the books I have read, with an American perspective. As a consumer of content I haven't paid much heed to this and for the most part was unaware of "the American perspective"  After reading Kingwell's "Catch and Release" I felt like I was allowed into the mind of a Canadian. Kingwell is not only a Canadian but also shares my timeline in life. This was by far the most enjoyable book I have read in the last year. It's one of those ones that are hard to put down. Not because of an overwhelming desire to see what's next but just because it's enjoyable. The imagery he uses is very Canadiana and is easy (for me anyway) to relate to. His writing often made me smile in a comfortable, reflective kind of way.

"I am far too near the beginning to feel this tow of delicious craziness, but I see already wisdom in the observation that "the man who has discovered fishing counts the world well lost" Adrift in a happiness without higher purpose, occupied but not directed, my thoughts veer off in random directions. I looked around and suddenly felt for the first time as if I were inside my country's money-the old kind, anyway, with the loons and woods, and, yes, the slow, low flight of a surprisingly massive osprey over the lake's slight chop."

Kingwell packs this book with humor, reflection and wisdom that is both practical and thought provoking. Even though the book has a constant thread, fishing, it is not about fishing so much as it is about life and peace of mind. In the beginning he is very much opposed to the idea of "Fishing" and names the second chapter "Fishing Is Stupid" but comes to the conclusion that this is not the case at all:

"I now found myself, against all odds, entirely happy, miles from my computer or the nearest library, untroubled by philosophical arguments I need to untangle or positions I need to defend. The state of mind peculiar to fishing, which I have called reflection, is neither precisely analytical nor entirely aimless; rather, it's a happy wandering that may outwardly resemble calm yet inwardly accommodates the most felicitous meanders, a quivering suspension in the delights of the moment. You are there but not there, concentrating but immobile, sharp-eyed but relaxed. Fishing is as close to prefect mental equilibrium as a mortal may wish to approach, it seems to me, since the asymptotic end point it sketches is probably indistinguishable from an out-of-body experience or, indeed, death. It is, says one devotee, a sport "capable of reducing the most inquiring mind to the happy indifference of a turnip." And how determinedly do we seek that vegetative state of contentment, this oddly welcome fever of peace, this therapeutic disease."

Near the end of the book he talks about his divorce and failed relationships, he writes:

"You cannot be happy alone, and you cannot be happy together. Mourning mourns the loss of a possible future, the not-yet that now will never be. Everything ends, including you. Love is not eternal, it is not even hardy. Accepting this takes a form and amount of courage that nobody but you will see, or appreciate. You can't change any of this; you have to live with it. Is that funny or sad? You know that it is both, and neither. Once again-and as always-that is the Point."

A book that is well worth the time. I am of course going to be reading more Kingwell in the future.

I Just finished a course in xhtml at Sheridan  taught by Dan Zen. It was a continuing Education class called "Creating Web Pages HTML and XHTML Authoring Introduction.

The course was great as I now have a basic understanding of tags, preferences, tables and the exposure to Dreamweaver was fantastic.

The instructor Dan Zen is a professor in the Interactive Multimedia/Web Design area and his teaching style was very relaxed and (for lack of a better word) "fun"

The cost of the course was $400.00 and a Text book was included 'Web Publishing with HTML and XHTML' 

If your looking for  HTML enlightenment, this is the ticket to ride.

I picked this book up after seeing the movie 'The Tao of Steve" .

Thinking that their was more to the religion than the movie revealed. The book reads like a factual high school text book, not surprising since it was written by a teacher. It systematically covers the Taoism religion from Origins and history, beliefs, rituals, meditation and Taoism Today. Packed with lots of interesting facts it makes for a light read and only scratches the surface of the philosophy behind the religion. One of the interesting facts I picked up was Taoism was the birth mother of alchemy, as Taoists believed that a golden elixir of eternal life existed and early sects were devoted to the discovery of this 'life juice'. In the process many other chemical compounds were uncovered. i.e. gunpowder. Taoism is a religion that can be learned but can't be taught according to the Taoist masters.

Look, and it can't be seen. Listen and it can't be heard. Reach, and it can't be grasped... You can't know it, but you can be it, at ease in your own life.

and

The supreme good is like water, Which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content to take the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao.

In conclusion: The meditation disciplines and the philosophy of Taoism sound very interesting and may require further reading to gain a better understanding (knowing that it can not be taught may make this the best way to approach the subject) than this book provides. Yet for an overview of Taoism this book was worth the read.

Well it looks like were fishing on Pidgeon Lake this year at Maple Cove Housekeeping Cottages. I have tentatively booked a week as oppose to the long weekends of past years. We can check in anytime after 2pm on Saturday July the 2nd and have the cottages until Saturday July 9th. Bryan, thats July 2nd through 9th. It sounds a little more rustic than past retreats but it should be great. The owner sounds like a very nice lady, her name is Barb Andrews. There is a beach for the kids to play at and a dock and lots of other stuff to do nearby. Bass season will be open this year too. I have reserved 2 cottages, both are 2 bedroom deals with pull out couches. She has 3 cottages in all so we should just about have the run of the place for the week. Their is tons of parking, Dogs are cool so we can bring the woofers if we want and we can pitch tents as well if we want.Their is a fire pit (wood supplied) and BBQ's. We also have 2 boats with motors. The cost is $725/cottage/week, its more than previous years but we will be renting in the summer as oppose to spring and we will have 2 cottages as oppose to 1 for a week as oppose to a 3 day trip. If everyone is cool with that we are looking at $1450/4 or possibly 5 if Ford and spencer join us which would work out to about $365/person with 4 or $290/person with 5 for the week. or just over $52 bucks a day which sounds reasonable. Guests are welcome too so wives/others can join in if they wish, we have space to sleep 12 with out a problem. I will post more info as it becomes available. Later.

I have always wanted to read this book because of its dark, evil reputation. Machiavellian -(Suggestive of or characterized by expediency, deceit, and cunning.) was a word I became familiar with long before I picked this book up. The Prince was a very short read broken down into many chapters. Some of it was tricky due to my lack of knowledge regarding the political landscape of his time but many of the ideas Machiavelli talks about translate well into the present. For instance:

'On Fortune's Role in Human Affairs and How She Can Be Dealt With'

"I conclude, therefore, that since fortune changes and men remain set in their ways, men will succeed when the two are in harmony and fail when they are not in accord. I am certainly convinced of this: that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, in order to keep her down, to beat her and to struggle with her.And it is seen that she more often allows herself to be taken over by men who are impetuous than by those who make cold advances; and then, being a woman, she is always the friend of young men, for they are less cautious, more aggressive, and they command her with more audacity." - He was definietly no Taoist.

and

"Without a doubt, princes become great when they overcome difficulties and obstacles that are imposed on them; and therefore fortune, especially when she wishes to increase the reputation of a new prince, who has a greater need to acquire prestige than a hereditary prince does, creates enemies for him and has them take action against him so that he will have the chance to overcome them and to climb higher up the ladder his enemies have brought him. Therefore many judge that a wise prince must, whenever he has the occasion, foster with cunning some hostility so that in stamping it out his greatness will increase as a result." - I wonder if this book is required reading by US Presidents?

If this book was written today I could see the title being "How to be a successful Prince for Dummies" or with a little editing "How to run Microsoft for Dummies"

In conclusion I think the 21st century - 500+ years have taken a lot of the edge off the 'deceit, and cunning' contained in Nick's work. I mean the Pope is probably still reeling from it but the rest of mankind has demonstrated over and over again that Machiavelli did not invent these ideas he just took the time to write them down. A quick fun read.

 My wife bought me this book on a recent business trip to SanDiego. It covers the history of the Medal of Honor from inception to present and looks at the lives, before and after, of recipients from the American Civil war up to Vietnam. Some of the notables are Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Samuel Woodfill, Vernon Baker, Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura and Dwight Johnson. I found the book an easy read and the lives of the subject's fascinating. I also found the Political/Military involvement in the issuing of the award somewhat disturbing. In places the awards history is intertwined with Prejudice, political bureaucracy and a selection process that in some cases seems to lack the honor that went into achieving the award in the first place. I also felt ashamed for America and the fact that it seems to place such little concern for the well being of so many of their veterans after their service has ended. A case in point is the Death of Dwight Johnson who was shot and killed by a store clerk in a half hearted robbery attempt which was obviously undertaken by him as an act of desperation and depression.

'On May 26, an in-depth article written by Jon Nordheimer appeared in the Times. A reader responded to the article with a letter to the editor that offered poverty as a possible answer: "Sergent Johnson couldn't have bought a can of soup with his Medal of Honor at that grocery store."'

In conclusion this is a very interesting book that gives insight into what makes someone go above and beyond the call of duty at great personal risk and self sacrifice. It left me with the question "could I do the same if it were me?"

I remember seeing the trailers for this film last year. My wife and I wanted to go then but it was a very limited release, only one theater (downtown Toronto) Although it looked like a fun film we decided to take a pass and wait for the DVD. A couple of weeks ago we were thinking a night out for mom and dad would be a good idea and we went to take in a movie. This gave us a second chance to view the film. Getting to AMC 20 minutes early was almost not enough time to get a ticket as the film sold out and we had to sit in the 4th row.

As a wine lover to start with, I was pretty sure that I would enjoy the flick even if the masses panned it. I am also a big fan of Paul Giamatti (Miles) ever since I saw him as "Pig Vomit" in Howard Sterns "Private Parts" .

The movie was very entertaining, and had some great laughs in it. The character "Miles" is quite pathetic but as the film goes on you warm up to him. Thomas Hayden Church "Jack" probably best known as "Lowell Mather" from the T.V. series "Wings" was hilarious in his role as Miles buddy. Soon to be wed "Jack" wants to get as much Sex as he can in the pre wedding, week long romp through wine country  with his best man "Miles"

The film has some great moments and one of  my favorites is when "Miles and Maya" (Virginia Madsen) are discussing why they like wine. The two do a fantastic job on this exchange of dialogue and make you want to buy a bottle of pinot.  

A great deal of the film is dedicated to character development and I found myself forgetting I was watching 'actors' on several occasions.

If your looking for a fun romantic comedy I think you will find just that in "Sideways". I will be adding it to my DVD collection when it is released.  9 out of 10

Last September I started working again. It lasted for 8 weeks (almost all of them bad)

Note to self: Never again work for people who don’t have a clue about what they are doing.

After re-evaluating my priorities during the month of December I came to some conclusions

1. I detest commuting
2. I can’t stand the thought of someone else spending more time with my kids than I get to everyday and having to pay them for it.
3. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
4. Money though important can not purchase a happy journey
5. Selling stuff for yourself is always better than selling stuff for other people.
6. I love to read (thanks to those great Yahoo computer glasses)
7. Working the 9 to 5 plus a 2 hour commute left almost no time for me or my family

With this newfound knowledge in hand I decided that the best course of action was:

To find a job close to home, that would allow me to be there for my kids during the day, where I could read lots, and take some courses at school which would help me grow my home business.

I now work nights at an Esso station. 6 blocks from home. Although not the most challenging job in the world. It does have a certain charm ( I work alone, get to read all night and almost never see my boss ) My commute is 5 minutes both ways. (4 if the lights are green) And I can still run my home business during the day. I have also been able to enroll in several courses at the local college. Adjusting my sleep patterns has been a bit of a challenge but as I get older I find that if I can get 5 hours a Night day I’m good to go. I have also been able to start taking Judo Classes with my kids and I now have a green belt.

Things are getting better with my wife and I am enjoying the journey more than ever. Even though I am working at night it is safe to say "The Small Office Home Office Stay Athome Dad" Lives!