Who would have thought that a tiny, 122-metre bridge could cause such a stink? But, that's the case with the proposed bridge to Toronto's City Centre airport on one of the harbour islands.

The Toronto Port Authority wants to build the bridge so it can increase it's business to the tiny airport, expanding to over a hundred flights a day, possibly including small jets.

The City wants to halt the bridge because such an expansion would terrorise the city's waterfront and destroy any hope of restoring the lakeshore as a place for all residents and visitors to enjoy.

David Miller made the bridge the centrepoint of his mayoral campaign. I was very pleased when he won. Now I'm very pleased that he's taken quick action on his promise, and the federal government has just followed suit.

It pains me that a few greedy business people are willing to sacrifice the state of one of the city's greatest assets for extra revenue. Ruin the livelihood of the thousands of waterfront residents and discourage natural development in the area so that a few people can have a bigger home far away from the chaos they wish to create, and have a nicer car with which they can drive away from it everyday.

The desires of a few over the needs of many? Screw the few. I want my city back.

An eight-game winning streak may have come to an end, but the Leafs still own a ten-game point streak. Things are looking up in Leafland, but I think that the most important sign can't be read on a stats sheet. A winning streak is great, but says nothing of how the team will handle another regulation-time loss, or even two in a row. Being two points out of first place in the league is great, but it's a very long season, and that says nothing of how close they'll be to that top spot at the end of the season. Even last night's game, a rather poorly played one that was won only due to the superhuman feats of Eddie the Eagle, showed that the team won't be able to dominate every game. So how do we know the past few weeks are the start of consistent success rather than a bubble bound to burst in the near future?

The answer to that is usually attributed to the intangible "chemistry" in the dressing room. What makes good chemistry and how you get it is a mystery to which nobody seems to have an adequate explanation. The signs that you've got it, however subtle, are often evident. Mats Sundin taking his captaincy to heart; Gary Roberts showing leadership by on-ice example; Joe Nieuwendyk taking the rookie under his wing; Belfour and Domi sneaking into Tucker's room in a supposedly-haunted hotel to scare the willies out of him in his sleep; 20 players mobbing Renberg in celebration after scoring the winning goal in a game of shinny at practice; the entire team surrounding Belfour after the final whistle in last night's game and jumping in celebration in happy-mosh-pit manner in the goal crease.

These are the signs of a team moulding together well. It's a tremendous relief from the numerous stories of agitation and disagreement and Corsonesque drama that plagued the team last year.

The kids are all right. Add some hard work, healthy bodies, and fill the gaps with talent, and success is your result.

In other news, we have a new Prime Minister today, Paul Martin. (Can you tell where my priorities are?). His first official praise I've heard comes from Toronto Mayor David Miller after learning that Martin will personally handle a new deal between cities and the federal government: "Get out of here! That's great!"

I recently got an email from a good friend from my Waterloo days providing a general update on her life and wishing me a merry Christmas and so forth. She was an ultra-genius back at UW, but an atypical one in that her impeccable personal hygiene, complete lack of unattractive features, and general failure to convey any notion of nerdiness would not lead the casual observer to predict the perfect grades she would perpetually earn. It was, of course, never a bad idea to offer to buy her dinner when an assignment deadline was looming.

Her email included a link to her webpage, which listed her post-graduate research topics. I had to read several of them many times to even begin imagining what they entailed. They included topics like "Multi-Party Pseudo-Telepathy" and "Quantum Communication Complexity, Entanglement and Quantum Cryptography".

I know those words, but I have no idea what those phrases mean, and I expect I would hurt myself if I tried to figure them out.

The intelligence before us, then, must be of a powerful nature. Let us pray she only uses her powers for good, and not evil. Thus, I will continue to offer to buy her dinner whenever she passes through the area to ensure that I am chosen as a minion in her domain should she choose the latter option.

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you

I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you

The boys of the NYPD choir
Stood singing Galweh Bay
And the bells are ringing out
For Christmas Day

It came upon the midnight clear
That glorious song of old
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold
"Peace on the earth, good will to men
From heaven's all-gracious King"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing

Christmas, Christmas time is near
Time for toys and time for cheer
We've been good but we can't last
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast!

Want a plane that loops the loop
Me, I want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas don't be late!

And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said
Many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you.

Hail! The heav'n born prince of peace!
Hail! The son of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings
Ris'n with healing in his wings
Mild he lays his glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn king!"

Merry Christmas, and God bless...