Mike Thomas > Recent Status Updates

"our neighbors are desperate to belong and be connected to a people." "If the church is going to offer an alternative to the brokenness and isolation in the world, then it must be a community that is transformed by the death and resurrection of Jesus."

"You will soon realize you are not so smart, and thanks to a plethora of cognitive biases, faulty heuristics, and common fallacies of thought, you are probably deluding yourself minute by minute just to cope with reality.
Don't fret. This will be fun."

"The public peace the sidewalk and street peace of cities is not kept primarily by the police, necessary as police are. It is kept primarily by an intricate, almost unconscious, network of voluntary controls and standards among the people themselves, and enforced by the people themselves... No amount of police can enforce civilization where the normal, casual enforcement of it has broken down."

Coconuts and Bananas for breakfast!

"I used to think my cancer was an act of God. But now that I know more about the pollution, I'm rethinking that," he said. Although he lacks conclusive epidemiological evidence, Sebastian Pirozzi believes the oil spill and Greenpoint's cancer cluster are linked. "Bone cancer is very rare," he said. "To have all this rare cancer in one place? Its just too much of a coincidence."

"My daughter dived from a rock and I saw trout rises on the lake's surface" - a perfect holiday scene.

The author makes a compelling case for a six week long fly fishing road trip.

Awesome book! Have to return it to the library today, but I'm hooked, so I'll be putting it back on hold!

Reading of some facts and stories from the Klondike Stampeders journey across White Pass in the late 1890's.

The explorers receive a message from the Amazon Pirates - "Show the parrot his feathers". What could it mean?

"Publication is a powerful thing. It can bring a man all manner of unlooked-for events, making friends and enemies of perfect strangers, and much more besides."

The four arrive back at wild cat island a year after their first adventure.

Reading this classic with both girls.

I thought I should read more Canadian authors, so I'm giving Leon Rooke a shot.

Following the story of East Kootenay legend Jack Fisher. A great read so far!

Gold mining in the heady days of California.

Anne sees it all while Julian and George are away.

After finishing "Treading Water" by Anne DeGrace, I thought I'd continue the Kootenay Historical Fiction theme with this book, "Living in the Shadow of Fisher Peak". I was graciously given a copy of this book by the Author to review and am looking forward to the tale.

The story weaves through time and generations all centered around a small community on the shore of Lower Arrow Lake before the dam was built and flooded the valley.

A bicycle camping trip? Wizard!

George and Timmy are in a bind. While reading this last chapter, Eden's eyes were wide with excitement - the adventure is underway!

The Scotch Bonnet Pepper incident reminded me of similar contests I succumbed to while in the Australian Army. Seriously, don't try eating Scotch Bonnet Peppers, they are like 1000's of times hotter than jalapeños!

This chapter brings back memories of heading to Chinatown (in Sydney) with my dad to shop for fireworks - shelves and shelves of them wrapped in the crinkly red paper in the stores where the ducks were strung up in the window.

Is the "Philadelphia Mummers Parade" for real? Apparently yes - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummer...

"Affinage"