GIVE ME BACK MY MEEBO!

:( ^ 100
As part of my usual ritual when I first get settled in for a 12 hour night shift, I will open up meebo.com, a nifty web based IM application that allows multiple logins, so you can log into MSN or Gtalk or AIM, etc. However, instead of the welcome and login page popping up tonight, I get the company courtesy warning page, indicating that this site is restricted and why haven't I become familiar with the company's acceptable use policy. I'm actually surprised that I reacted with utter shock. And then grief as the reality of the situation set in. It's not that I'm constantly im-ing with the outside world when I'm at work. In fact, it's rare that I speak to anyone during a typical night shift (except for my youngest cousin who seems to have been born with an embedded wifi chip). But it's more about being connected to an outside community, a comfort of knowing that someone is within reach (even if they are supposedly idle or away from their computer). It's probably the same sadness/shock that one feels when there is a phone service disruption. Or cable TV service disruption. Ironcially, I have neither of these services at my home, but haven't missed it (probably because I have found acceptable substitutions). So, in protest to my company for dumb policies, I'm going to blog. Who knows, they might even take that away!

PWNED ON THE TRACK
I'm usually pretty oblivious when I'm at the gym. I plug in my tunes, put my head down and off I go on the track. I'll occasionally catch the stray pedestrian or disoriented step climber stepping in front of me with my peripheral vision, but mostly I'm looking at my watch. To make sure I'm keeping at whatever pace my workout is focusing on. Recently, I was doing a distance workout, which is running at slightly faster than marathon pace for 20km. I'm aiming for a 3:30 marathon time in July and was keeping to pace. So, you can imagine my suprise when I get passed by this one guy FIVE TIMES!! And he was already on the track when I started. After my workout and typical 20 minutes b-ball shoot around in the gym, HE'S STILL THERE!!! It didn't look like he lost an ounce of stride. I'm not worthy...

FIRST CAPITAL UPGRADE TO CAMP TIMMY'S
Well, more to my car, really. Now visitors to Camp Timmy's can bring all their skis, snowboards and anything else they want to cart with them when visiting the Rockies. Thanks to M who told me about a rack system that his in-laws were no longer using and was just sitting in his storage locker. By the way, it's pronounced "TOO-LEE".







RICH CHRISTIAN
There is a very special small group in Toronto that is currently reading Sider's "Rich Christians in an age of Hunger" and using it as a study. The book starts off with a collection of stats. I believe that the average person knows that a gap exists, but not to what extent. It's shocking if one takes the time to absorb how BIG this gap is. Affluent North America is good at buffering itself from these realities (through things like, ironically, reality tv, as yet another episode of American Idol/Survivor/Amazing Race floods the networks). Some interesting points so far: it would take less than $3 billion to provide safe drinking water and sanitation systems in the developing world, and thus prevent the 6,000 children that die EVERYDAY because of a lack of these. It would sadden me to know of just 1 person to day everyday. $3 billion sounds like a lot of money and I doubt any average person has this amount just lying around. But consider this: each year, in the U.S., between $30 and $50 billion are spent on diets or programs to reduce caloric intake. And more than this is spent on golf. I suspect that reading this book will be convicting and it should be. But it can't just stop at reading...

MORE TORONTO VISITORS!
Yeah, K and C are on their way to visit Cow-gary! We'll then be heading out to Whistler for a couple of days.