So the more observant amongst you will have noticed that I have been on a bit of a blogging break recently. The reasons are mostly related to the workload associated with buying a house. Thats right, I am now a homeowner! Please see picture of new house (True identity of house has been changed to protect the innocent from weirdo internet people). In reality its a bit smaller and not quite so much of a tourist trap.

So it seems my first house is pretty old, almost 100 years in fact. This of course is providing me with lots of reasons to stay awake at night, something I believe my father also did after buying an older house some years back. Of course there is nothing reallly wrong here it all.

Recently I have been trying to track down a 'popping' noise that seemed to come from the kitchen area, convinced it was the floor I have spent many hours with a flashlight inspecting the floor joists only to discover its the icemaker in the fridge.

Since my last blogging posts Tina and I have been entertaining our friends Sophie and Andy (Picture to follow). Between the four of use that represents 4 different countries (England, Canada, Germany and New Zealand). It was a fantastic week and I think we all had a great deal of fun, especially on our trip to the falls.

Otherwise this weekend see's Tina in Chicago with friends whilst I stay home and watch movies and work out how to change furnace filters and find someone to shovel the snow from my sidewalk whilst I am on holiday in the UK next month.

So I placed an offer in on this house (Right) and this became a learning experience. The market here has gone bonkers and its not just a buyers market but in fact its a members only club where being insane is a pre-requisite. Houses and Condos and no longer listed with an 'asking price'. Indeed most people would be mad to accept an offer anywhere near their asking price. Instead we have what amounts to a blind auction with a reserve price of sorts. So in every sense its the buyers who are setting the price and as I mentioned you have to be a bit mad to be in this club.

And if you think thats made, my Realtor tells me the same is happening to the rental market. People are blind bidding their rent!

Needless to say my conservative offer place on the house (right) was returned from the sellers Realtor with, what amounts to a rasberry attached - I doubt the seller even saw the offer.

So a new game begins, find a house you think you should be able to buy and place a bid for how much you think you can spend and make sure to include NO conditions. I.e. Forget about having an inspection after the offer is accepted, forget about getting the Mortgage approved in anything more than a single day etc.

The search continues and today I saw another house. The offers are to be made on Thursday and the game begins.

The house search continues and Tina and I spent most of Friday looking at places.

Here is one (Right) that we quite liked and I was going to place an offer today but all the electrics are somewhat old, featuring 'knob and tube' (sounds like cockney rhyming slang!) from the 30's. In addition the seller couldn't confirm the rating of the supply. In the old days houses were fitted with 60A distribution systems which was fine when all you had was a single 40watt Eddison bulb hanging in the living room that you turned on when the Queen came for tea, but todays houses with their electric ovens, clothes dryers and whatnot need a bit more juice. The extra load can cause fires and this is why insurance companies run a mile when they hear that you have it. Unfortunate cos you need insurance. So the search continues for something that won't kill me financially or otherwise!

Back by popular demand.

Alot is going on at the moment and finding time to update my blog is becoming more difficult. OK, in reality I am getting more lazy in my old age. I partly had to make an entry today owing to the date - but also cos I have a nice picture to post (See Right)

This past weekend was a long weekend for us Ontaritonians in honour of 'Labour Day' - a celebration or rememberance of something I am sure. Tina and I took this opportunity to spend some time in Algonquin Park. Algonquin is a great reserve just a few hours north of the city. It has thousands of lakes and large parts of its interior are only accessible by canoe. Its places like this that remind you how big Canada actually is (My province - Ontario alone is 8 times bigger than England but has 1/4 the population).

Anyways, Tina and I rented a small cottage and went canoing, hiking, sightseeing, swimming and horse back riding. The riding (See Right) was a bit of a first for me (not so for Tina). We found a small stables just off the highway that looked a little sketch to begin with but the owners were great. My horse (Jerome) was generally very well behaved but it soon became clear to me that horses really don't look out for you too much. He kept walking under low trees and brushing up against things. Tinas horse (Little Tank) was even worse and Tina had some trouble stopping it from eating everything in sight.

My search for a house continues and as predicted frustration begins to set in as all the good ones seem to go almost straight away. What do these people do, camp outside properties until the owners post the 'For Sale' sign and then stuff money through the letterbox and return later to pick up the keys? Jeez. I am sure this is not a good time to buy, prices are being held up by people stretching themselves when interests rates are lower than an Essex girls underbriefs.

It's been a while and I make no apologies. Things have been a bit busy. After a pretty frantic working week I started the weekend with friends to discuss our plans to go visit Shannon and Kristy (See Right) in Aussie for their wedding. Of course I drank at least 3 beers and have no memory of the discussions. luckily for me Tina kept some vague notes.

Whilst I am excited about Australia the timing is making me think twice as I shall surely need to throw fistfulls of money at the seller, lawyer, Realtor type guy, taxman, inspector and anyone else who's signature I need. So perhaps now is not the best time :o(

So, my weekend continued with Mike from work as we went to see District 9. This is a new Canadian Film (I believe) directed by a South African. Considering how ludicrous the story line appears to be the actual film itself works on a more powerfull level touching on the racial tensions in South Africa. Its defo worth a look.

On Sunday I helped moved Terri (Tina's sister) to her new downtown location. All the excercise and the swelting humidity here in the city made the whole day a bit intense and I am still trying to recover.

So this weekend Tina and I took a little trip down to the falls and Buffalo so that I could 'land'. It seems odd but getting permanent residency of Canada when actually living in Canada does not mean you mustn't 'land'. Basically this involves presenting oneself at immigration. Although this can be done within Toronto itself the wait is a little long for my liking and instead I decided to leave the country and simply come back in again - at Buffalo NY. I was hoping to pull a U turn on the bridge as I didn't really want to go to Buffalo itself but I was kinda getting carried away and before I knew it a severe looking American was asking me if I had any live animals in the car. I had to get a visa waiver and everything :o(. I wasn't worth it - Buffalo is crap to be honest. Although the buildings are impressive from a distance the streets were empty and those who were around looked desperate and angry. So Tina and I gave up looking for anything good and simply re-entered Canada over the Peace Bridge (See Right). To cut a long story short I am now resident.

The trip back was intense as a severe storm hit the area last night. The lightening was continuous and impressive to say the least. Driving through it was not so much fun. Canada like the rest of the world (except the UK) doesn't use cats eyes, so when the rain comes down at night your lucks to see any road markings.

I took a little break from this blog recently as my computer died and I had to replace it. I had lots of fun getting this new one as the price kept jumping up and down all over the place. For those interested its an Acer Aspire 6930. I had to think long and hard about getting a Mac instead but my software library is still just too good to warrant starting all over again.

The super good news is that my visa has now finally arrived! This visa lets me into Canada (yay!) which is a bit confusing cos I'm already here. So I have to go to America and then come back in. I'll do this on the weekend at Niagara Falls. This will give me all the rights of a Canadian with the exception of voting and some other stuff like running for major or something. So the next thing is to arrange a party of some kind and then buy a house, or condo - whatever.

See right, a picture of my goodself kindly taken by Harim during last weeks Kayaking expedition.

Back by popular demand! Well the news is that there is still no news - my residency is still not here and my passport is somewhere in New York :o(

On the positive, Tina and I have decided that a bit of Australia might be good to help warm us up in the middle of the Canadian winter. So we are off to partake in the wedding of Shannon and Kristy. Hopefully my passport and visa will be with me by then as I have missed enough weddings already owing to this bureaucratic detail.

Of course this places a rather large stretch between holidays for us so we are hoping to get some time in Algonquin in the mean time - just a lakeshore cottage or something ;o)

Last weekend we went to see Tinas parents new place out in the sticks of Ontario. It was fantastic,the air was clear and the bugs very bighty. Still I survived long enough to get this picture of Tina chillin' with her mom.

Wow, its taking some to get my residency papers through.

For some time I have thought of compiling a list of things about living here in Toronto that amuses / frustrate me...

1) The police - they seem so much more sexy here, they wear wrap around shades and stare a lot at the horizon. Emergency vehicles are great - it seems like your in the movies whenever one goes by.

2) A4 paper seems now to be the 'wrong' shape.

3) Driving Arghh! When will North America adopt the roundabout. Intersections are clumsy, slow and stupid.

4) The English accent seems cute / funny to me now. This especially includes the phrases like 'Hang about'

5) UK TV rocks - Channel 4 is great and you all in the UK should be happy that your not subjected to 'Americas Funniest Animals' or 'Judge Judy' - but 'Two and a Half Men' is great and I find infomercials mesmersing (See the Slap Chop Right - fantastic for preparing snacks for hamsters)

6) I have not yet seen kids open a fire hydrant and dance about in the spray on a hot day in the summer - this is a myth.

I was hoping to wait a bit until my residency arrived before posting this blog. We'll its takin' a bit longer than I hoped so I'll just continue anyways.

Last weekend I attended a celebrity charity baseball game. I think I am correct in saying that I have never played this game before but its pretty similar to 'Rounders' in the UK the rest I picked up from Snoopy. Anyways in the second game I hit a hellava slice and was duely complemented on it by our short stop Rod Black - thanks Rod! Team photo to follow shortly.

On Sunday a bunch of us got together and had a jolly BBQ at Wasaga beach (See Right). So between the muscle ache from the baseball and the sunburn from the beach only the dentist could complete my pain. Happy to say its over now but when the dental hygenist complains that they can no longer see your teeth owing to all the blood - you know your getting your moneys worth!

This week was tricky as my hours were all over the place. On Wednesday I had my dentist appointment for what equates to my first filling. This isn't really a true filling as I don't yet have a cavity - just a few worn teeth. I think North American dentistry is decidedly more preventative than UK dentistry although I have to admit that I never bothered with the dentist in the UK (not very preventative I know). Still, he fitted me out with the latest technology in fillings and to be honest I am hard pushed to even see the bugger.

We now enter into what is the second week of the City Workers Strike. No more do we have garbage collection (or day care - but who cares about that). The evidence is beginning to mount on the street in the form of garbage bags. I shot this pic (See Right) of my local park. I wasn't convinced that they couldn't have tried a little harder to make this sign more appealing.

This coming week brings us to Canada Day. A celebration of all things Canadian inconveniently placed on a bloody Wednesday.

Its been awhile and I would like to say that this is a result of my being so busy - in fact its more likely laziness.

The weather here is starting to hot up and I am beginning to find it uncomfortable at times. To add to the discomfort the city workers are on strike and I am told to expect a build up of smelly garbage before long. That and an imminent visit to the dentist and the rest of the week ain't lookin' so great!

To escape from all this I took up an offer to go 'Tall Ship'sailing yesterday. This was courtesy of my good friend Mike who won free tickets at a 'best dressed pirate' competition. I jumped at the chance in part on the off chance that I could climb the mast and get 'that' shot looking down with a wide angle lens. I thought I was doing well until I looked up and saw Mike perched at the very top. I passed up my camera and he squeezed off a few of yours truely (See Right) - Thanks Mike and thanks to the crew of the Pathfinder.

Its been a busy week. I spent the first half in team training. This mostly involves lots of team games and case studies. One aspect was to identify your team member type. This is an indicator for how you'll contribute in project teams. I was predominantly a 'plant' and 'specialist', which is handy as this cloasely matches my job description.

The weekend was pretty hectic despite my best attempts to ensure otherwise. Not to get too techy I now need a lot more hard disk space for my pictures since getting my new camera. So I purchased a new 500GB HD and am now wondering how the hell to back up 500GB of data. The ready answer is of course another 500GB HD.

Anyways. On Sunday we (Tina and I) hit the waterfront to watch the free Circque du Solais shows that are running at the moment. Of course, being free it was pretty busy and combined with an unexpected rainfall - a little short. Still I got a chance to goof about with this Ice Cream advertisement (See Right) - so all was not lost.

Sigh - perhaps when I get more energy I'll commit my rant regarding my wasted trip to the dentist and the pointlessness of bi-annual tire change. Until then kind folk ...

On Saturday, Tina and I went to the wedding of Tina's Aunt Rose. I have included a picture (Right) of the family into which I am vicariously becoming a member (I am the tallest - Its scary!). The ceremony went well and the reception was in a very nice venue that had a distinctly English feel (creaking floors and strange pictures on the walls) - a rare thing to find here in Toronto.

On Sunday Marina and Dave Finally came and took the hamsters back. No longer must I put up with the sound of the wheel at night or the musty mammalian smell. I feel a lot more comfortable with fish - they do not make noise, or smell, and the chance of them escaping and living inside my couch is very small indeed.

That evening I also took my camera out downtown to photograph the Luminato festival. This is basically a collection of visual art, normally on display in prominent public places. I was a little short on time so just got a couple of the 'Long Wave' in BCE place. I am hoping to follow this up with some of the other works later in the month.

I have no real intention of running a 'current affairs' blog but recent events in the media have inspired me.

Today, whilst driving back from work I was listening to Tony Benn - who I have recently come to admire a bit in terms of lefty thinking. He said that the discourse with politics today stems from the fact that 'people elect governments to represent them, not to manage them'. Wise words indeed if you consider past events in most countries. He finished by saying that he loves Canada - that made me smile!

On a somewhat different note I was pleased to see on the BBC website that the French military are assisting in the location of the flight recorders from flight AF 447. I found it rather nonsensical that 'they may never be found' considering that they are designed specifically to be found and more importantly most modern military passive sonar systems are designed to find things that are themselves specifically designed not to be found. So I am confident they will be dragged to the surface. My prediction (although it is somewhat informed) is that the aircraft got seriously iced up seriously quickly. If true then this might have looked a lot like a scene from the 'Day After Tomorrow'. Who knows.

So, Sam (as in Gavin and Sam) have requested that I keep my blog up to date. I was kinda thinking of stopping cos I am spending way too much time on FlickR these days discussing camera gear and Photoshop techniques with complete strangers. I recently traded 'up' my camera. I did this mostly to focus my 'prime' lenses but I am also enjoy the other trappings of a 'prosumer' camera - mostly the extra weight ;o)

Anyways, so the big news might be that I no longer have a passport! Its someplace in New York having my Permanent Residency card affixed to the inside back page. This means (when I get it back) that I shall be a 'Permenant Resident' of Canada! This lets me stay here for 5 years - thats right its not quite as permanent as some might think. Still I found the whole process a lot easier than some. The 'PR' card will mean I get a new Social Insurance Number that no longer begins with '9' (9 = 'Tourist') and therefore banks won't laugh (laugh = 'rip off') at me anymore that means I can get a mortgage (Mortgage = 'House'). So I should be a proud homeowner before the year is out. This largely means I'll be spending more time staring at listings in Realtor (Realtor = Estate Agents) shop windows.

So I posted the video you see here to the right, of our latest guests, 'Hammy' and 'Bacon' the hampsters. These are Marina and Davids in fact but we are just hampster sitting until they return from their honeymoon. Hammy did actually bite me and then Bacon proceeded an escape attempt.

So yesterday I waved my folks off at the airport as they returned to the UK after a week here with me in Toronto. To be with them I took the best part of the week off work and toured the city.

Although many of the places we went I have been before its interesting to see how they are changing over the years. In particular was our visit to the zoo (See Right). Of course many zoo animals decide not to make an appearance when you visit so each time you see a slightly differeny bunch. Thankfully monkeys are always visible.

Anyways, a good week had by all I think, including my dad who recieved a gift of a model of his boat and me who recieved some good 'ol 'traditional' pickled onions and homemade chutney (very British!)

So the wedding (See Below) seemed to go as well as could have been expected despite the torrential rain, the groom misplacing the rings, the Justice of the Peace getting the grooms name wrong and the brides father writing off his car on the way to the reception. Actually it was a great wedding. The weather cleared for long enough to get some picks, the groom found the rings and the brides father found a tow truck.

Myself and Tina were placed on the 'bridesmaids' and 'other halves' tables where we were either tee-totallers, drivers or pregnent (you can guess which I was). So from our position of sobrietory we watched the upcoming generation become inberiated at the free bar and progress to robot dancing to 'Franky Goes to Hollywood' on the dancefloor.

I took some time to chat to the wedding photographer (a distant relative of the groom) who was indeed a professional (no kit lenses and on camera flash here). Of course he had all the kit but also an interesting question 'what makes a great photo?'

Weddings! The time is upon us once more. Unfortunate that many great folk (Hi Jo / David) are getting married this year and I'm not there to see them tie the knot. Some recompense comes from my attendance of the wedding of Marina and Dave tomorrow. Oh, and the wedding of Shannon and Kristy in Sydney next year ;o)

For tomorrow's ceremony Tina has been recruited as a bridesmaid and me as a 'taxi driver'. Tina is currently rehearsing with the bride and the other bridesmaids someplace in the west end of the city. I however, have decided to prepare for my role by watching the Discovery Channel with a footlong Spicy Italian from Subway. In particular a piece on the worlds fastest toilet (See Right).

I am beginning to loose faith in the weather reporters here in Canada as they continually seem to be either 24 hours too early or late. So, each week I seem to end up planning my activities to coincide with the bad weather. On Saturday I went downtown to puchase a new super fast memory card for my camera and then go on to photograph the city. Of course it rained and shortly after capturing this be-costumed geek (see right) the heavens opened and I cowered in a pub reading a copy of 'Techonology Review'.

My Saturday mornings usually start with a nice cuppa tea and 'Man vs Wild' with Bear Grylls. From his name you can determine that a) his parents where hippies and b) Welsh. In reality he is a British nutter who seems to always end up i) Eating something nasty and ii) jumping from a great height into a body of water. In general he is c) fantastic! My favourite episode see's him sleeping inside a dead camel (after drinking the juice from its poo of course).

Looking back through my blog I notice that I haven't much talked about Toronto life. Therefore I have decided to dedicate the odd blog entry to the details that make life here so fun.

Today it is the Streetcar (AKA Red Rocket) as I heard on the radio recently that Torontos long serving fleet is due for replacement. The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) proudly announced this week that Bombardier was the clear choice to build the new fancy models. It later became even more clear that nobody really knew who was actually going to pay for them.

Either way I shall be sorry to see the departure of the existing models, some of which are as old as me. Indeed they are starting to get that 'museum' smell. I remember once 'riding the rocket' and everytime it braked a large quantity of acrid smoke rose from beneath the front seats. This, strangely did not seem to bother the occupance.

Of course the Streetcars share the road with the cars and buses and one of my first experiences of a streetcar was by driving behind one. This is actually quite disconcerting because thy are both very large (and, I presume slow to stop) and unable to steer. One aspect I should have anticipated was that they cannot 'pull over' to let passengers on and off. Instead they simply stop in the middle of the street and the riders must make their way accross the road. Of course this means that you must never pull up alongside a streetcar when it stops (as I once did). Otherwise the doors open and people end up clambering over your hood and trunk as they disimbark whilst those waiting to get on loudly curse you from the curbside.

Damn, I wanted to hire some bikes and go riding up the Humber river with Tina this weekend but all the bikes were taken. This wouldn't have mattered too much as the weather went from 'Fine and Dandy' to 'Cats and Dogs' soon after lunchtime. Instead Tina I took the Mazda to Kitchener and Waterloo to see her sister. I have to admit that these towns are not likely to win any awards for archirectural splendor but in their own way they have their charm. Funny how one is named after a famous German military leader and the other a famous British victory against the French.

This afternoon I have been sitting here copying all my Region 2 DVDs so that I can play them on my Region 1 player. I can hear you all screeming that I should have got a multi region player but they are not that easy to get hold of here (why would anyone here have a disk from other regions?). Anyways, 'Shrink DVD' is doing stering service but with almost 100 DVDs I could be here for a while. Lucky for me that 'Stranger Than Fiction' with Mr Farrell is on the box. I love this movie. Well worth a look if you have not yet seen it. Didn't know it had so many hidden mathematics references!

I have to take this opportunity to highlight to those in the UK that you should be graceful for the Met Office. Here in Toronto I could produce a more accurate weather forecast with a piece of seaweed and a hungry hamster than the guys here. Despite the various predictions the weather was fine and Tina and I took the opportunity for a walkabout downtown. On Saturday we went to Kensington Market, where the good weather drew us into a local bike shop and we checked out some of the latest cycle technology. I must admit that (from extensive experience as a youth) I always associate bikes with corrosion. Therefore I was pleased to discover a bike with almost no exposed metalwork at all (See Right). Tina thought it was just the ticket for our forecoming charity cycle ride on the Island.

I am however, generally cold to the idea of cycling about Toronto as I find it dangerous enough when driving. The conditions of the roads being so bad and the discourteous-ness of the drivers enough to rival Welwyn Garden City . Still, who know maybe in the not too distant future I might have the wind in my hair and Ford F150 - 'Super Duty' up my ass.

Easter break is behind me now and I can't help but feel a little bit jipped that here in Canadaland we only get a three day weekend.

After recovering on Friday Tina and I took a trip out to Ikea mostly so that Chunky could try out a couch he purchased in Vancouver. Why a Torontonian would buy a couch in Vancouver is a story that I can't begin to explain here. I wanted a picture of him on the couch (so at least I had something to show for my time) but left my phone in the car.

The economic situation is deepening slowly here in Canada as I hear from friends that are beginning to feel the pinch. Ontario is pretty reliant on the auto industry and the radio seems to be filled with news reports at the moment. One phenomenon (do der de do do) is the 'Pink Slip' party where laid off individuals come together with potential recruiters at a fancy bar. I always thought the worst place for an interview would be at a bar. Perhaps you'll have to play pool with your future boss (would you have to let them win?), who buys the drinks?

On Sunday we went to Tinas folks for a homecooked lunch (Mmm) and a chance to play again with little Sheba their new kitten (See Right).

Feeling slow this morning from last nights expedition on Yonge St in Downtown Toronto. Getting too old for this to be honest.

So today I am just catching up with computer stuff and watching a documentarary about Stephen Hawkin. What I admire about this guy (and there is lots to admire) is how much stuff he keeps in his head at once. I guess he can't quickly refer to reference material or his own notes so he has to construct everything in his noggin'.

I have recently purchased (invested in salesman speak) in a nice portrait lens - the Nikkor 85mm f1.8. I have been itchin' to get out and shoot with this sucker making my current condition very frustrating. Still I pointed into my fish tank and took a half decent picture of my little Chocolate Gourami (See Right). I hope to get some more creative shots with this sucker throughout this long weekend and you'll surely see them here and on FlickR.

I'm back!

Sorry for that little interruption. Technically, maintaining such an advanced website like bonass can be quite an undertaking and the odd period of downtime can surely be forgiven. Please, everyone give a big high five to Ian who is kindly hosting my site now.

Since my last post my knee became very much worse, then very much better, then a little worse and is finally OK. Of course my bad knee coincided with my visa medical examination which I had to postpone as I figure that hobbling into the clinic might give the doctor the wrong impression. Happy to say that my rescheduled medical took place early last month and I hope to have permanent residency before long.

Generally this period of downtime gave me more time to focus on FlickR which is something I have wanted to do for quite some time. From now on I shall be trying to integrate Bonass and the FlickRverse.

Oh - and Tinas parents got a new house and a new cat (See Right).

Happy to see you back!

The last day of February, and the spring seems that little bit closer.

Loath as I am to let this blog become anything as interesting as a social-political-economical rant but I haD an uncomfortable thought when on the steetcar this morning. My pension as so many these days is 'defined contribution' which basically means you throw crap loads of money at the markets and then hope you have enough at the time you retire in order to keep the second bar of the electric fire running. Anyways, all these schemes (including final salary and government pensions) rely on 'growth' in order to succeed. Indeed 'growth' is paramount in defining our future 'wealth' both collectively and as individuals. I'm not too sure I like the idea of all this growth because its exactly that - 'growth' which is pulling down rainforests, polluting the oceans and the skies and making my daily commute so very long. I'm pretty fed up with growth to be honest and would love to see a world where we all scaled back our ambitions (and populations) a bit and tried to find equilibrium - something sustainable.

I promise to post more mundane blog before the weekend is out!

Damn, I was just enjoying the full use of my body when my knee decided to stop working. The nice doctor (looked like a doctor, about 65 with a beard and glasses) thinks I have fluid on the knee. Beyond that he had no further information, not even if the anti-inflamatory drugs he prescribed will do any good. Ice, of course is the solution.

Still, I managed to celebrate my birthday literally hours before being struck down (See Right). It was an excellent night - thanks guys!

So, owing to the holiday (Family Day) and my health the working week has been reduced to just 2 days. This gave me ample time to admire my new fish (that Tina kindly gave as my Birthday present). The tank is a little overstocked now but is pretty colorful - Im gonna take some pics soon and stick them here when I get a chance.

Oh crap my dreams of untold wealth are again shattered as my auto insurance is up for renewal. BEWARNED would be immigrants, insurance is expensive! One quote I have recieved this year is almost $10k. Still, after some arguing with my insurance company I managed to convince them that a years trouble free motoring should entitle me to another 'star'. So now I have two (See Right).

Still, on the flip side its a three day weekend here - 'family day' I believe. Only the French are better at finding excuses for civic holidays with their whole 'pont' thing (a holiday of convenience to join a weekend to a poorly positioned civic date).

Its typical that I should get ill over the weekend. Still my illness didn't completely get the better of me and I made it out for the birthday celebration of Tina and Terry (See Right). It was a great evening all in all but come the end of the evening I was all used up.

Today all I could maange to do was watch 'Snakes on a Plane' and 'Predator'. Tina watched Predator with me and thinks that the alien 'is the funniest Alien she has seen'. Hard to focus on a Sci-Fi thriller when your girlfriend is laughing at the aliens hairstyle.

I'm gonna have to resort to the bus before long as Toronto driving is becoming a little intense. When driving to Sam the barbers for a mop chop I nearly lost the front of my car.

Its pensions time at work and as defined benefit schemes are not popular anymore so I am resigned to make some pretty broad assumptions. Firstly I have to decide what my 'retirement goals' are (??), then I have to decide how much to 'invest' and where to put it. Of course I need also to consider future interest rates, inflation and how long I would like to live for after I retire. 'Right' (As Jeremly Clarkeson would say) .

It looks like my Permenant Residency is going somewhere as my health exam form has arrived (although of course it says in big writing that his does NOT necessarily mean my application is going anywhere). Strangely the form I am given is in French and its includes a test for syphilis. Donc, je dois exposer ma bit - as it were!

This weekend is Tinas birthday and I write this as Tina is recieving the obligatory calls from the 'rellies'. Overall Tina does not seem to upset at being 27 - still I guess thats still 3 years from the big 30 when everything starts to go to pants.

On Friday we went out for a Birthday meal (See Right - sorry crap picture will try and get a better one off the other lads) - not Tinas - but Jens our (FOB Friend - on the far left). We all had a great time and it was good to catch up with some of my (mostly former) MD friends. We shall be having a meal to celebrate Tina (and her twin sisters) birthday next weekend.

On the fish tank front I can report that all the Platies are now stone dead and the Gouramis and my frog remain - although they are happy as Larry. This is interesting as both the Gouramis and the frog are able to breath air - if this becomes an essential adaptation for creatures that reside in my tank I have to start wondering about my abilities as a fishkeeper. Mike from work lent me his book on the ecology of planted aquariums. So when I next tear the tank down I shall re-build as a planted tank and then the fun really happens (think inch thick slime and millions of snails!)

This weekend started poorly as I reversed my Mazda into a badly parked car at a gas station. Happily the other vehicle was in such a state of deterioration that the owner was hard pushed to identify any damage at all. So we went our seperate ways with a few more scars to testify to the hazards of city motoring.

On Saturday Tina and I went to see 'Slumdog Millionaire' - generally I thought it was fantastic and a bit of a relief as I believe that Tina is starting to loose faith in my choice of movies after I dragged her to see 'Indiana Jones' and 'Marley and Me'. I would like to think that 'chaiwalah' could become part of the English language as I like it alot. I was interested to see the range of past triumphs from the director 'Danny Boyle' which include such classics as 'Trainspotting' and err.. 'Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise'.

On a sad note one of the 'Others' - a red platy has passed in the night. He/She will be remembered for 'keeping his/her head down' and 'blending in' with the other Platies.

On a rather more positive note I have finally cracked the secret to the 'Magic Eye' pictures. I think they are pretty neat and I gave myself a pretty bad headache last night trying to work is out.

My UK tax return is in and all that lovely money is sitting in Mr Darlings back pocket ready to buy more shares, securities and whatever else is necessary to prevent UK banks from failing. Mr Peston keeps me well informed of such matters. Meanwhile my Canadian tax shall be spent on propping up the failing US auto industry (Many trucks are made here in Ontario).

Anyways, the snow here keeps coming down and I thought I would include this picture (See Right) to illustrate just how much. My landlord has already had an argument with the guys opposite for dumping snow on 'our side' of the street with their little quad-plow thingy. I imagine these disputes are widespread accross Canada at this time of year.

Mike at work has been desperatly searching the net for Barack Obama jokes but came up short. The closest I came was this Fox News blunder that made me chuckle on my way to work yesterday morning. I was also pretty shocked when digging through the Barack Obama entry regarding the bills he has sponsored. Check this out (the second paragraph) - shocking that it failed!

So Mr Obama is sworn into power and a new era awaits America. In the same hour I notice that under Gordons watch the UK may well soon loose its AAA credit rating.

My tank has new occupance. On Sunday we went to Tinas folks for some lunch and on the way back slipped into Big 'Als fish shop to pick up some new color. Tina made the call and of course chose some cute little red thing (Red Platy - See Right). We got three of those (called 'The Others' in continuation of our 'Lost' them) and an African Dwarf Frog (called Locke). I have decided to rename the frog 'Boon' because I think he might be one of the first to die - but a quick check with the flashlight confirms he is still with us.

Its frickin freezing Mr Bigglesworth. On Thursday evening a midtown sprinkler system went AWOL and sprayed the highvoltage workings of our local electric sub-station. The result was 24 hours without heating or lighting. Combined with the severe cold it was not a pleasant experience. I was a bit concerned about the temp in my fishtank and in particular how Sawyer and Freckles were coping. I think if fish had teeth theirs would be chattering for sure. Still some TLC and a little boiling water and I saved them from the toilet bowl.

In response to a request from my bro I put together a little album of photos from wide lens. Most of these are just punk shots of Toronto.

Last evening Tina and I finished watching the third series of Lost. Click here if you have already seen it.

Man is it getting cold. The mercury bottomed out at about negative 20 last night and didn't climb much higher throughout the day. I do not really have a problem with the cold, I quite enjoy it actually - But when things get like this a few things become noticeable. The LCD display in my car takes ages to change, everything becomes very dry (even the snow) and I keep getting electric shocks from the static.

My fish seem to be having a lot more fun now. I tried to get a male and female and I think I have suceeded as they are basically dancing and blowing bubbles 24/7. See right, where I captured them in a more 'reflective' mood.

So America is in a bit of a situation as its unemployment rockets and Barack Obama prepares for what is effectively a 'money drop'onto his people. Bush had to dodge footware but Obama may need to dodge the more invisble force of inflation.

On a more domestic note I finally have my fish tank up and running. After a week of conditioning the chlorine has gone and the first residence have made home. The first fish in the tank have a pretty rough ride as the filtration is not yet established and the nitrogen levels can get a little intense. So when looking for my trailblazing fish I decided to get a pair of Pearl Gouramis (Sawyerand Freckles). I remember these guys from my previous aquarium experience and these guys are indestructable. Of course they are just sitting in the corner and staring at my heater, so they are happy at least. Still this leaves me without a piccy for my blog so I thought I would treat you to one of my 'video experiments'.

Happy New Year!

Tina and I went to Nathan Philips Square in the heart of downtown Toronto to take part in the New Year celebrations (See the video I shot on the right)

It was pretty cold and so we had to time it just right. A few beers in the 'Village Idiot' pub until 11:30 and then a quick and cold jog along Queen St West to get a half decent spot in the crowd. Kreeshna Turner played some songs that I am vaguely familar with and then everyone shouted the countdown and finally some fireworks.

The Transit system is free after midnight on New Years and it was a bit of a squeeze getting back - but we got there in the end.