My Personal Information Page

I was born December 21st, 1959, in a small town in Northern Ontario, called Kapuskasing, where I spent my first 17 years of life. This probably explains my love of nature and passion for the great outdoors: I especially enjoy canoeing . My idea of Utopia is a gentle river, a blue sky, and White-Throated Sparrow calling from the trees on the shore.

Even when I was a very young child, I've almost always had pets. I currently have two companion animals, a pair of Lutino Cockatiels named George and JoJo. George has been with me for many years, but JoJo is much younger than George, and more recent. George is the suckiest affection-hog you'll ever meet; he loves it when I rub & scratch his head & face. JoJo is just slightly less cuddly, prefers to cuddle up to my lips as opposed to having her head rubbed. She's also a little more rough-playing than George. Other pets I've had include a Lovebird named "Ozzie", an African Grey parrot named "Bogey", a Nanday Conure named "Buddy", and a sable ferret named "Kit". When I was much younger, our family always had various fish, Budgies and Guinea Pigs.

I also enjoy:

a good laugh whenever I can get it
reading or watching Shakespeare
good wine and food
a beer with friends after playing softball or volleyball
many kinds of music, including:

folk
contemporary
rock, soft and hard
oldies ('50s - '70s)
classical

not

rap, R & B, or Hip-Hop
dance/techno
country & western
bagpipes

playing guitar. I have a Takamine 12-string acoustic-electric, and a Fender Stratocaster (1968 Reissue, Japanese) with the proverbial whammy bar.
movies. Everything from old musicals (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra,...) to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Bugs Bunny cartoons
Until my knees started complaining, I used to run in relay races, and I still play a little slow-pitch softball in the summer and volleyball both summer (outdoor) and winter (indoor). I also ice skate and roller-blade occasionally (also not good for the knees, but what the heck).
Grey Owl, very controversial early Canadian conservationist (one of my "Most Respected People"; I love reading his works and learning more about him. Here is an excellent biography of him., including some rare photos.) One of the most moving things I've ever read is one of his short stories, called "The Tree". If it were available online anywhere, I'd put a link here, but it is copyright protected. Nonetheless, it pretty much sums up how I feel about nature... I highly recommend it to anyone.
The Avro Arrow, Canadian aircraft extraordinaire of the late 1950s, which unfortunately suffered a tragic and highly controversial political death in February 1959. Here's a fabulous site dedicated to the Arrow.
astronomy (MyStars! is a tool I highly recommend)
science in general
I've also dabbled in writing, and would like to do more of it when I retire. Here's a sample... the story of a Walk in the Park.

On the negative side, I do tend to be somewhat opinionated (but try to remain diplomatic), and I'm not always very patient. Well... all right, I can be downright impatient, but I find that's less apparent the older I get. And I think I have a pretty darn good sense of humour.

And for Canadiana history trivia buffs, my maternal great-great-grandmother was apparently a first cousin to Louis Riel's mother.