Wake Me Up When October Ends

I've just finished reading C.S. Lewis' "The Magician's Nephew," which is the prequel to "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." This novel was short and other than some British countryside dialogue, a pleasure to read. <spoilers>There are some obvious influences from the Bible, the usual Good vs. Evil theme, and even World War II surprisingly. As it's aimed towards children I'll accept the way-too-happy-endings for now.</spoilers> I will continue reading The Chronicles of Narnia with "The Horse and his Boy" next.
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I'm now waking up just after 06:00 on weekdays and have been going to the gym every single day (except for Thanksgiving and this past Sunday) since the end of September. I feel good so far but I still need to work on increasing the duration of my cardiovascular exercising. Why? A disastrous result from Sunday's CN Tower Stair Climb - 00:21:23 - is proof enough. I could have trained for this event but it was a fun challenge and a great reason to hang out with fellow Swordfish friends. My inital goal of 15 minutes was very high so I will aim for under 18 minutes next year.

Notes to self about the CN Tower Stair Climb:

• Started breathing hard after 20+ "flights" of skipping steps
• Began pulling self up with railings after 50 flights
• Hardly skipped steps in the 80-120 flight range
• Paused for a breather around the 100th flight - could've used some water
• Climbing over 1,776 steps was tiring for the heart and lungs - and not so much for the legs
• Still had energy to climb the remaining steps after punching in card at final flight 143!

Turkey Day

Kaitlyn says: Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (She can't talk yet - but enjoy the food, friends, family, and the holiday!)

Grading the 2005-06 TV Season

(Updated 2005.10.10) I personally don't own a TV but I still manage to watch new shows - albeit a few days later than the original airing. Below is my first report card of some new (and returning) programs, in no particular order.

• 2005 World Series of Poker: 99%. You can't go wrong with the biggest hold'em poker tournament(s) in the world. Please replace Norman Chad or get him to stop trying to be funny. He isn't funny.
  
• The 4400: 77%. Why does the season always suddenly end?
• Stargate Atlantis: 77%. Dr. McKay is funny as usual and the Wraith are still around.
  
• Prison Break: 95%. Wow. A clever new thriller/drama that keeps you wanting to know more. Like Lost.
  
• Family Guy: 80%. First few episodes have been so-so. They need more Quagmire.
  
• Stevie Griffin - The Untold Story: 85%. Hilarious and uncensored as it should be.
• House: 87%. No one knows what the hell medical terms they're saying, but the smart humour and characters in the show are unlike any.
• Threshold: 72%. Can Carla Gugino keep this afloat? The alien plot is intriguing but the cheesy characters and subpar special effects leave you thinking this could be better. (Upgraded from 67% on 2005.10.10)
  
• How I Met Your Mother: 72%. NPH is the reason to watch this sitcom. Lose the laugh track please!
• Weeds: 90%. A fictional suburbia in California centred around a marijuana-dealing widow. How can this not succeed with a familiar formula of dirty secrets and smart humour.
  
• Desperate Housewives: 90%. Speaking of dirty secrets and smart humour...
  
• My Name is Earl: 85%. A clever comedy with Jason Lee. It'll be interesting if Earl really does complete his list.
  
• Lost: 95%. If you're not watching, you're the one who's lost. Ouch.
• Reunion: 72%. Retro 80's music won't go out of style.
  
• Invasion: 72%. Hard to suspend disbelief that the antagonist has two kids. Shouldn't he be playing poker?
  
• E-Ring: 62%. Talk about just-in-the-nick-of-time predictability.
  
• The Apprentice - Martha Stewart: 67%. Does Martha know reality TV should at least be entertaining? Not such a good thing.
  
• The Apprentice: 82%. The most attractive female candidates yet.
  
• Numb3rs: 85%. An unexpected change in the cast but the crime-fighting brothers haven't missed a beat.
• Grey's Anatomy: 85%. It's all about character development and doctor-doctor r-ships.
• Curb Your Enthusiasm: 77%. I can't remember what happened in season four. It doesn't matter.
• Smallville: 77%. A new intro and cast changes and more messing around with the Superman movie/comic mythology. The usual.
  
• Supernatural: 82%. I thought X-Files and Buffy covered all the possible supernatural stories. But this is scary. (Upgraded from 77% on 2005.10.10)
  
• Ghost Whisperer: 72%. Is Love enough to keep another new sci-fi drama around?
• Alias: 72%. Whoa, a lot of surprises here. But c'mon, it's not that damn easy to hack into any computer system or search for information that quickly... (Updated on 2005.10.10)
  
• Everybody Hates Chris: 85%. Not a rehash of Rock's standup (but there are some subtle references to it) after all. (Added on 2005.10.10)
  

Shit. Am I really going to follow all these programs?

Report Card Legend
Under 70%: Won't hurt to stop watching. It's probably better not to watch then.
70-80%: I've watched this much of it, might as well see what else happens.
80-90%: Good show and high entertainment value.
90-100%: Don't even think about missing it.