While I don't have any kids of my own, what I do have are a really great niece and nephew that I love very much: Despite not really spending much time with them over the last ten years (mostly because I lived in a different city), I'm actually fairly close to both of them, and have really been enjoying my time with them since moving back to Chilliwack. Last night my niece gave me a phone call and told me about all of the boy crushes she had while at summer camp (count 'em people, 11 boy crushes). So this post is dedicated to all the kids in everyone's lives, and how special they all are. Feel ...

The BC Children's Hospital Foundation is an organization that works to improve the lives of every child who enters and leaves the BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver. For many families, the BC Children's Hospital becomes a second home for a period time, often while they are helping a child of theirs get back to help: BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF) supports the people, places and things required to ensure BC’s kids have access to outstanding pediatric care. Since 1982, BC Children's Hospital Foundation has worked with children, families, caregivers and hundreds of thousands of British ...

I've been in Chilliwack close to two months now. It's obviously a completely different lifestyle out here, one that I'm quite enjoying. I wake up every morning to an apartment that's filled with light, and I go to sleep each night without the sound of loud sirens or drunken idiots screaming outside. But without a doubt there's one aspect of living out here that still seems unnatural -- seeing children outside. Living in the downtown core of Vancouver you don't really see a lot of kids. Sure, you see the odd infant, or on the weekend, a few kids going to the aquarium or what-not. But it was pretty ...

** I wrote this article last year on another site, but given recent events I wanted to repost it on my site. I'll talk about it more in a future entry ** I came across this article the other day, and found it particularly distressing given the prevalence of online social websites such as Facebook and MySpace these days: Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her. Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than ...

Yes, it's true. Recent research says kids as young as eight years old can now safely go on cholesterol lowering medication! Man, I can't believe they are seriously pushing that. Yes, overweight kids probably have high cholesterol, but let's focus on a solution, not a patch. Most people would probably be surprised to know that the whole science of cholesterol is pretty weak. Lots of people live their whole lives with high cholesterol and never experience any problems, and some people with low cholesterol can be in danger for a heart attack. In fact, the whole science of cholesterol (LDL, HDL, triglycerides, ...

There is a relatively new device called "The English Mosquito" which is being used in England to control where young people typically gather. The device works by emitting high-frequency sounds that only young people (typically younger than 20 years of age) have the ability to hear. Because it's fairly annoying, it causes young people to eventually leave a particular area. Human right's groups are obviously unimpressed with the blanket use of the devices: Aynsley-Green said about 3,500 of the devices are in use across England to split up gatherings of youth in areas such as parks and ...

A while ago I wrote an entry about Megan Meier, a 13 year old girl who was driven to commit suicide by means of a fake MySpace user account. Megan, Image from CNN A few minutes ago I read this article which indicates that no one involved in this tragedy will be prosecuted whatsoever. St. Charles County, Missouri, Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas said an 18-year-old woman posed as "Josh" on MySpace to find out what Megan was saying about a neighbor's daughter. The message said Megan was "mean" to her friends, Banas said. "There is no way that anybody could know that talking ...

From slashdot. Also, Rebecca just texted me -- their luggage was lost :( I told her it would happen -- it's basically a given if you bounce through O'Hare. ...