Long weekends should be longer.

Normally I go camping with my friends on the summer long weekends, but due to constant rain, we had to abandon that plan and instead resort to pseudo-camping in our friend's living room. We watched plenty of movies and played many a video game, but still managed to make it outside to play a bit of football, and even try out a bit of rugby with my new souvenir New South Wales Blues ball.

Also, I have finally finished writing all the logs for my vacation. Pictures and a dedicated South Pacific page are still in the works and will be up and running soon.

I need to get some more exercise; I've done very little but sleep since returning home.

I am supposed to bike to and from the train station everyday as part of my commute to work, but there's been a threat of rain or I've had to be somewhere directly after work everyday so far.

I have yet to dust off my inline skates.

Ball hockey does not recommence until September.

I've been playing soccer, but last week's session was cut off halfway due to lightning, and I slept through the games last week. Just to add insult to laziness, I was told that there was a Portuguese girl playing that day who had tried out for Portugal's national team. And I missed it.

Today, we mourn the loss of a dear friend. After five short seasons, Futurama has been sent to the vault.

20th Century Fox has decided to cease production of the whimsical futuristic toon, despite pleas from its creators Matt Groening and David Cohen, a #1 rating on the Cartoon Network, and the tremendous following of fans, many of whom signed an online petition to save the show that, when printed and presented to Fox executives, was the size of four Manhattan telephone books.

So, unless the Cartoon Network decides to purchase the show's production rights, ne'er again shall Zoidberg scuttle, Fry drink Slurm, or Bender cheerfully invite the thousands upon thousands of viewers to bite his shiny metal ass.

A friend forwarded me this column on schooling and how your most valuable lessons are learned. The closest thing to that sort of education I got at my school was from the great Mr Dolan in grade 11 World Religions class, who realised that the best way to learn is to go and experience it yourself. If a school like the one described were opened, I would send my kids there. I would go and have kids just so I could send them there and listen to them tell stories of their day at school every afternoon.

Today's Word of the Day, courtesy of John and BuzzWhack:

Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

We've just had one of the biggest blackouts in the continent's history, as power was cut all the way from North-Central Ontario down to parts of Pensylvania and the American eastern seaboard.

I'm very impressed at how the city of Toronto handled the crisis. Good people everywhere were lending a helping hand, directing traffic, and assisting seniors and children out of stranded subways and elevators. No panic, no looting, just a bit of calm confusion.

The scene outside in my suburban neighbourhood was almost surreal. I had strapped on my inline skates for a quick ride, and saw that almost everyone in the area - young and old - was outside riding bikes or scooters, playing in the park, or just sitting out on the front step enjoying the weather. It was as if Itchy and Scratchy had been cancelled and all the kids finally came outside to play.

Does anyone have a spare $6 million I can borrow? Nananu-i-ra, one of the stops on my Feejee Experience tour, which has what I consider to be the most beautiful place on Earth, is up for sale. If we all work together, it could be ours!

After much pestering and questioning, the South Pacific page detailing my latest trip is now available here, complete with summaries, logs, and pictures.

Enjoy.