kids

The kid in this picture has a big cast on his arm, but this doesn't stop him from doing risky things. We met at Leeside Park, near Hastings and Cassiar, in an underpass and had seen him around at other parks.

It's been a busy time at the mainwriter headquarters. The "new year" isn't even that new any more; in fact, the first month of it seems to be whipping by pretty quickly.

I am officially on vacation - and enjoying lots of offline family time. This year Santa brought my son a PlayStation 3 and we cleared out a spot in our little townhouse now known as "The PS3 Lounge."

Our local school - Laura Secord - is trying to win votes for a new playground. About 9,000 kids in the area would be served by the new playground, including an estimated 350 children with disabilities.

Yesterday my son played the new, much-anticipated Call of Duty - Black Ops war video game at a friend's place - released right before Remembrance Day. Today I took him to a Remembrance Day ceremony where we saw an old veteran cry.

Ideas are called for. Lots of them. So I'm pumping them out of my brain.

Embracing the pre-teen boy experience has been pretty hilarious, if you look at them the right way. Don't see the "obnoxious" aspect. Try "mischievious" and "playful" and "full of energy." Think of wild kingdom and picture the younger, smaller, way more hyper version of the larger animal. Pre-teen chimpanzees or tigers.

The sights, scents, and sounds of Qualicum Beach at low tide reminded me why it's great to be alive.