Time is but a measurement, a most egalitarian offender, ageing the rich and powerful and the poor and meek at precisely the same rate. There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year.
Today, I've been alive for:
35 years
420 months
12 755 days
306 600 hours
18 396 000 minutes
1 103 760 000 seconds
How does it feel turning 35? It feels an awful lot like 34. Look for my far more profound entry "Thoughts on Turning 40" in five years.
Plans for the day:
Coffee and cinnamon roll
Mow my mom's lawn
Coffee redux at Tim Hortons
BBQ
Old man chill time
Now scram ya young whipper snappers, I've got to put in my teeth and get the cream from the ice box. Now I'm cookin' with gas!
Today is Father's Day, which means the kids piled into my bed way too early to give me hugs, cards and presents they made.
I've made the super corny statement in the past that every day is Father's Day for me, but it's true. I've been blessed with the two smartest, cutest, sweetest, good-natured kids. Seriously, they're better than I could have ever imagined, and the older they get, the more I like 'em.
Note I used the word "like". It's easy to love them to pieces, but I sincerely like them both and enjoy conversing, playing and just chilling with them. Fatherhood is the best gig ever.
Here are my two babies, getting bigger and better every day.
YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time.
This retro ad is for my brother Steve. Steve consumes vast quantities of Heinz ketchup. Chime in if I'm off base here bro, but I'd guess he can kill a jumbo bottle in a single month. Maybe two.
Steve has always loved ketchup. For a while, he was even obsessed with ketchup chips. If you invite my brother to a BBQ, a single bottle of ketchup likely won't do, so ensure there's a second on stand-by.
This ad for Heinz ketchup aired in 1984. I still remember that "you're the top" jingle.
It takes more than a little rain and a couple of cool nights to dampen the spirits of a bunch of Beavers and their bewildered daddies. Even though I arrived at the camp grounds in a torrential downpour, got lost twice on the Scout grounds trying to find Radial Lodge and got my car stuck in the mud, it was a fantastic weekend at Blue Springs Scout Reserve near Acton, Ontario.
Most of Saturday was sunny and warm for the Beaveree itself, and after a brief shower in the evening, Dan Duran turned on his inner caveman and ensured we didn't miss out on the highlight of any camping trip, a kick-ass campfire and marshmallow roast.
While we patiently await the Humble and Fred 20th Anniversary Podcast of Memories, here's something almost as good.
When I was a kid, I used to play DJ and record song intros on a cassette recorder. Using Audacity, a great little free audio editor and recorder, my kids play a similar game. They like to make MP3s.
Last night Michelle wanted a couple of minutes of mic time and here's what go uploaded to my imeem account.
That should hold ya over until Dan gets me the file.
Moms rule. No matter what, I know my mom is there if I need her. That's pretty sweet.
Here's a picture of my mother shortly after she first became a mom, almost 35 years ago.
I have to give mad props to another mom I know and love. My kids have a fantastic mom, and here she is minutes after first becoming a mom, over 7 years ago.
Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there in the blogosphere, Twittersphere and biosphere.
My daughter has taken ballet, gymnastics and swimming, but this week she participates in her first organized competitive sport.
She's a proud member of the High Park Toronto FC and gets to sport a most excellent shade of green. Even though she's swimming in the extra small shorts, she promises me she'll be super aggressive on the pitch.
She happily posed for some shots this morning between rainstorms. Here she is smiling for the camera.
Four years ago, we were told the Avian flu pandemic was imminent. My wife was so worried about the avian flu virus making its way to North America that she stored non-perishable food items and litres of water in the basement preparing for lock down. She imagined a moment when the whole family would retreat to the basement quarantined while this mutating virus ravaged the rest of the city.
My wife hasn't read this pleasant Toronto Star article yet. It's about the new flu strain, a mixture of swine, human and avian flu viruses, that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico. The World Health Organization is using the P word.
Hospitals tested patients with flu symptoms for the never-before-seen virus, which has also infected eight people in the United States. No further deaths had come to light since Friday afternoon, but officials warned the person-to-person infections meant there was a risk of a major outbreak.
“It has pandemic potential because it is infecting people,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in Geneva.
In related news, this new strain of swine influenza is likely already in Ontario.
The new strain of swine influenza is likely already in Ontario, said Dr. Michael Gardam, one of Ontario's top infectious disease specialists, because about 60,000 people return to the province from Mexico every month.
"We have to assume that it is circulating in Ontario," he said. "You just have to look at air travel patterns to realize that what goes on in Mexico has to come to Canada.
Just don't tell my wife. If she finds out about this, I'll be tweeting from the basement.
Today is the 2009 Swansea Hockey Association Banquet. The Learn to Play Hockey Timbits took over the Swansea Legion from 11am to 12:15pm, enjoying hot dogs, drinks and trophies.
Those trophies are the highlights. Learn to Play Hockey earns you a participation trophy, and it's all James has been talking about for the past year. The boy loves trophies, even participation trophies.
The trophy case is filling up with participation trophies. Yours truly only earned one non-participation trophy throughout his esteemed SHA hockey career, and that was a Most Improved Player trophy from 1987 or so. That MIP trophy shone brighter than all the participation trophies combined.
Here's my son with his two (yes, two!) participation trophies proudly collected earlier today.
As the kids get older, the Easter Bunny has to raise his game to a whole new level. Back in the day, chocolate eggs were hidden in plain sight. This morning, the kids had their work cut out for themselves. In fact, I'm sure a few eggs won't be found until August.
The highlight of the hunt was the two big treats. Michelle scored a massive Hannah Montana thing while James countered with Grave Digger.
Time is but a measurement, a most egalitarian offender, ageing the rich and powerful and the poor and meek at precisely the same rate. There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year.
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Today is Father's Day, which means the kids piled into my bed way too early to give me hugs, cards and presents they made.
YouTube user 
It takes more than a little rain and a couple of cool nights to dampen the spirits of a bunch of Beavers and their bewildered daddies. Even though I arrived at the camp grounds in a torrential downpour, got lost twice on the Scout grounds trying to find Radial Lodge and got my car stuck in the mud, it was a fantastic weekend at Blue Springs Scout Reserve near Acton, Ontario.
While we patiently await the Humble and Fred 20th Anniversary Podcast of Memories, here's something almost as good.
Moms rule. No matter what, I know my mom is there if I need her. That's pretty sweet.
My daughter has taken ballet, gymnastics and swimming, but this week she participates in her first organized competitive sport.
Four years ago, we were told 
Today is the 2009 Swansea Hockey Association Banquet. The Learn to Play Hockey Timbits took over the Swansea Legion from 11am to 12:15pm, enjoying hot dogs, drinks and trophies.
As the kids get older, the Easter Bunny has to raise his game to a whole new level. Back in the day, chocolate eggs were hidden in plain sight. This morning, the kids had their work cut out for themselves. In fact, I'm sure a few eggs won't be found until August.
