Polling and Website Visits

I've learned a lot about driving traffic to my website in recent weeks. Using very basic web analytics, I can clearly see what attracts attention (visits) and what does not. Last night, I peaked in terms of daily traffic when I posted a very unscientific and anonymous poll asking "Who are you most likely to support for Mayor on Election Day?"

Of course, had I just displayed the poll on www.russellthomas.ca, nobody would have known it was there unless they happened to pop in for a visit. So, I announced the poll in my Facebook status and provided a link then tweeted about it on Twitter. Response was instant with Mayor Blake taking a commanding lead in the first five minutes.

I was very careful to note that the poll had absolutely no scientific verifiability; it was just for fun. The simplistic interface that I use allowed me to limit the number of times a person could vote to once per computer. I thought it was fail safe. It was not. Somebody figured out, after a couple of hours, that if they cleared their history they could return to the sight and vote again and again, making it appear that their candidate was more popular than they actually were. With this discovery, and with the realization that campaigns could shape the results of the poll, I felt the best move was to remove the temptation.

It was fun while it lasted. Three things are clear to me: 1) the majority of the people in my social media universe appear more likely to support Melissa Blake (as of today), 2) it is definitely a two-person race, and 3) having an interactive component on my website increases visits dramatically.

I am a marketing and communications professional, but each day of this campaign I'm learning new things and seeing great ideas all around me. Ross Jacobs (www.rossjacobs.ca) announced that his campaign would provide rides to and from the polls on Election Day and during the advance polls. A bold move, the offer aligns perfectly with one of the pillars of his campaign, which is increasing the voter turnout. Sheldon German (www.sheldongermain.com) was running around our neighborhood before supper last night, dashing from house to house in between intermittent showers and hail, saying hello and dropping off his flyer. I'd been told by several Councillors that Sheldon campaigns harder than anyone; I completely believe it.

I've purposely share lots of information about the election on my website, providing links to the other campaigns and some of the press that has occurred in print these past several weeks. One person on Twitter commented that he or she appreciates the work that has gone into that and returns quite regularly to see what is new. I try.

I got up in the middle of the night to change out the poll, having realized that visitors may have figured out a work-around to the one vote per computer thing. As luck would have it, our Internet connection was out for maintenance, so I returned to bed content in the understanding that the poll would have to wait until morning.

September 29, 2010 - 198 pounds, 35.3% body fat

Under the Lights, In front of the Camera

The Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce came up with the brilliant idea of getting all the candidates in front of the video camera to answer a series of questions. The results would be graded and published in the Connect newspaper, and available online via YouTube. Executive Director Diane Slater shared the vision with me months ago. Taping day was yesterday.

Heather and I drove home from Edmonton early in the morning on Sunday. For the first half of the trip she lobbed questions at me testing my ability to answer articulately and off the cuff. It was a great warm-up for what was ahead later in the afternoon. While her questions were issue specific, the shape of the video questions would be a little more general.

The rules were simple. I was to do my best to look directly into the camera, not at the panel of seven people at the back of the room. It was to have the feel of a living room chat. Each question would be displayed to the interviewee's right, adjacent to the timekeeper. I would have three minutes to answer a series of 10 questions, with 2 minute, 1 minute and 30 second warnings delivered via flash cards. There would be no preview of the questions and the answers would be available completely unedited, no matters what happens.

"Sounds great," I said. "Let's do it."

Brandon and Bob put on the microphone and got me settled in a plush easy chair and the moderator began asking the questions.

Focused on looking directly into the camera, I didn't refer back to the question on the flip board and didn't see the flash cards warning me about the time as they were out of the light off in the distance.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Did I go over?" I asked. Several heads nodded. "Oops."

"I can't see the time flash cards," I said. "Can you come a little closer? And don't bother with the flip chart, I won't be looking over there." I had been warned that many of the previous interviewees ended up going back and forth from the questions on the flip chart to the panel, not spending enough time speaking to the viewer in the camera.

Questions two through ten went better, the answers delivered within the three minute window now that the time cards were successfully in my peripheral vision.

Brandon, the camera operator, had asked me to sit still ten seconds at the end of the interview, while the camera kept rolling.

"Russell, we want to thank you for taking this time and sharing your views and ideas for the voters of Wood Buffalo," said the moderator.

"Whew! That was hard," I said, thinking the camera was off, the interview over. It was not.

"Don't worry about it," said Bob Nyen. "People will appreciate the honesty!"

So, there it is. My answers, complete with brain farts, pregnant pauses, foibles, circuitous answers and a couple of good anecdotes will be available on the My Community My Voice website within the week. The report card will be published in the Connect newspaper on the Friday before Election Day.

Thanks to the panel for embracing the gargantuan task of grading the candidates. While it was tough being in front of the camera, I think their job is tougher-no question.

At the end of the day, voters will be able to watch the responses over and over again, getting unparalleled access into the character of the entire slate of candidates. What a terrific idea.

Dylan Surgery Adventures, 2010, Part 4

The 90 year old couple in the elevator loved the suppository story this morning. They had a nice laugh, a rare treat for a ride in the usually quiet and impersonal elevator.

I was feeling a little out of place today, not having to take over at Dylan's bedside. His mom insisted on staying with him, even after having done the night shift.

I'm here now, on the bed next to the window overlooking the Stollery atrium as Dylan watches some TV. Nadia has gone to shower and get refreshed at her Auntie Doris's house just a few blocks away.

Writing on a BlackBerry is way different than on the laptop. My thumbs get quite a workout dancing from key to key. I've become used to this keyboard over time. I keep thinking how nice it would be to have an iPad for circumstances like this, when I have no WiFi signal and plenty of time on my hands. While the BlackBerry provides access to the Internet, it's slow and clunky. Maybe I ought to take a trip to the Apple store?

I guess another option would be to get one of those Internet sticks. Is that what they are called? I just wouldn't want to pay for something that I would only need from time to time. As George Carlin used to say: "It's a mystery!"

As it is hard to picture what Dylan is going through, I thought that sharing his leg splint situation might help. He has a cast on the lower half of his left leg, where they did some reconstruction work on his foot. Over top of that he has a Zimmer splint, to ensure that his leg stays perfectly straight. He has an incision on that leg, on the side near the top of the femur, where they cut and realigned the bone and attached a metal plate.

He also has a Zimmer splint on the right leg where they did some additional work, transferring some ligaments and taking out the plate on his femur that was put in two years ago. He also has a large dressing on his hip where they took some bone grafts for the foot reconstruction.

Between his legs he is sporting a custom-made wedge, designed to keep his legs spread about 45-degrees for the first couple of weeks post-surgery. The wedge actually helps when it comes time to turning him on his side or transfering him to his reclined wheelchair. They also have two gel packs under his heels to prevent bed sores.

So, this is Dylan's limited world for the next many days. Eventually, the physiotherapists at the Glenrose will begin the slow and steady process of getting him weight-bearing and eventually, vertical.

A lot has been said and suggested about our health care system in Alberta. But our experience has been outstanding. The nurses and doctors are wonderful, committed, generous and empathetic. The facilities are first-rate and welcoming. We expect the same and more from the Glenrose starting on Monday.

We live in a place of gratefulness for all the blessings that have been heaped upon us and our son. Whether a kind word on Facebook, a silent prayer from far away, or an in person visit, every positive intention gets our attention and our profound gratitude.

Dylan Surgery Adventures, 2010, Part 3

In the middle of the night the Stollery is quiet. All I can hear is the hum of the air exchange system and the drip of the IV. The air in Dylan's room is crisp, cool; staying warm requires hiking the blanket right up to my chin and wrapping it around my fists. His monitor and PCA chirp and beep sporadically throughout the night, sometimes incessantly, until the nurse catches on that something needs to be checked and fixed. We both wake up, Dylan grumbles about the machines, and slips back into his slumber as soon as the noise stops; I follow closely behind.

This has been a rather solitudinous experience compared to last time when we were in a shared space, with patients and families rotating in and out every couple of days. A room of our own provides minimal distraction and human interaction. We've exchanged a view of the great outdoors and roommates for a view of the great atrium and privacy.

Time deprivation is hugely in play in this spot. The ambient light provided by the atrium casts an androgynous glow that masks all sense of the hour. Jumping out of a deep sleep, I would be completely lost if not for the clock on the wall above the sink.

The pain docs have been trying to find the right mix of drugs to eliminate the regular pain episodes that Dylan had been experiencing. If last night is the measure, then they have achieved success. Outside of his stomach being a little agitated by having to swallow a bunch of pills, the night was absent of any searing pain.

Amanda was his night shift nurse. As I type, she'll be getting ready to tag out and head home for some sleep. She is a larger lady, with a small streak of blue in her hair, and a tremendous bedside manner that makes it easy for Dylan to get roused every two hours for his medication and the requisite tests and checks. The balance she achieves between encouragement and insistence is excellent.

All the nurses have their unique characteristics, qualities that set them apart from each other. The difference in the docs is even more striking. I had a few words with Dr. Dulai about the resident who participated in the surgery and has popped by on several occasions.

"He has the bedside manner of a prune," I said.

She laughed.

"Sometimes these students get so wrapped up in the science that they forget about the people," she started. "It's important for us to get feedback like this, otherwise there would be no way for us to know."

"I think I got the resident in trouble," I whispered to Dylan.

"I think so," he said.

Dylan is halfway through his stay at the Stollery Children's Hospital, resting comfortably, watching some TV when the drugs wear off enough to leave him lucid, and visiting with the few of us who take turns being the resident "parent". Heather and I have covered most of the shifts with Grandpa Joe spelling both of us off from time to time. Nadia has been fighting a flu since she arrived in the big city and has stayed away, not wanting to share her germs with the patient (and patients).

It is 7 am. Dylan is wrapped up, leaning to the left of his bed, watching Spongebob Squarepants on the little extendaTV that stretches out from the wall to a spot 18 inches in front of his face. I'm going to get dress and duck down the back staircase to grab a coffee. The elevators are not fast enough for me, and God knows I need all the exercise I can get.

~about an hour later~

All Dylan knew is that they wanted to roll him on his side and that it would hurt. He didn't know they were going to insert a suppository. The scene provided a welcome moment of levity for everyone.

"OK, on three," said the nurse.

"One," as they each grabbed a spot. "Two. Three."

The team of three began carefully rolling him onto his side to expose his oblivious behind.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ohhhhhhh?"

A slight pause.

Everyone erupted in laughter. As always, Dylan's comic timing was perfect.

Dylan Surgery Adventures, 2010, Part 2

During the first night post-surgery, Nina woke Dylan up every two hours to go through a battery of tests and checks.

"On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most pain imaginable and 0 being no pain at all..." she began, repeating the same drill we heard just a few hours earlier.

"Can you wiggle your toes?" she continued, as the toes began moving around, first the left then the right.

And just as easily as he awoke, he slipped back into sleep as soon as she covered up his feet, tucked in the blankets and walked away into the dimly lit hallway.

Several times over the past 24 hours Dylan's pain edged up into the 10 range. Tired, frustrated, aching, he reached for my hand and pulled me in. I stroked his forehead, like I did when he was a baby, though he is now a young man. His long flowing hair feels nice, as I push it away from his ears and back over the top of his head. The cries subsided as the morphine kicked in and he was asleep again.

The first several days after an orthopedic surgery are all about managing the pain as the bones and tissue begin to recover. Connie, the daytime nurse, shared that things were very different with pain management when she graduated 25 years ago.

"In those days you'd get an injection in the hip," she said. "And you'd have to wait four hours for another one, no matter how much pain you felt."

Now, pain management is a carefully constructed stew of morphine, Valium, and other delights designed to minimize delusions and discomfort. Dylan has a little button called a PCA (Patient Controlled Analgesia) that he can press to release extra doses of morphine when the regulated stew proves to be insufficient.

We both slept in fits and starts through the night, Dylan in his super-slick fully-automated hospital bed, me on my single mattress next to the window. Eventually, all the beeps, chirps and alarms faded into the background and became part of the nocturnal sound scape and we slept.

Dylan Surgery Adventures, 2010, Part 1

We are a five minute walk away from where Dylan is having surgery, in the hotel across the street from the Stollery Hospital. The Timms Centre for the Arts is to my left as is the muted downtown Edmonton skyline, a small sliver of blue offers hope to what is a rather cloudy day.

What goes through one's mind when they're staring in the face of a four or five hour surgery? Dylan was laughing and joking, practically giddy in anticipation of the experience. While only 11 years old, he seems to have the wisdom of ages, and a serene trust in the universe, that things will work out just as they should.

Two years ago we waited right in the hospital, struggling for comfort in various waiting rooms, all of us on pins and needles. This time around we're more relaxed, Heather and I in our hotel room, Nadia over at a friend's place. The hours tick by and Dr. Dulai is still working away on a multitude of procedures that will greatly improve Dylan's walking abilities as he heads into his teen years.

We suspect that he will sleep most of the day as his body tries to figure out what has happened. I will take the first night shift, settling in on a fold out chair next to his bed in ward 4-D.

The Harvest of Hope

Right in the middle of my stint as a celebrity waiter at The Harvest of Hope fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society, I looked up and took in the view. It was as if I was in the middle of a beehive with all kinds of movement and colours scurrying about, a high frequency buzz, random, frenetic.

This event has become one of the staples of the fall fundraising season in Fort McMurray along with the Keyano College Foundation Gala and the Hospital Foundation's Festival of Trees. Over 350 guests piled into the ballroom at the Sawridge Inn & Conference Centre cashing in their real money for Harvest of Hope play money. In exchange they got a tax receipt and currency to tip the celebrity waiters that provided them cutlery and napkins, fetched their drinks and served their food. In between they sang and danced for tips, responded to dares and pretty much did whatever it took to coax the guests back to the entry table to buy more fun money.

The Realtors seem to be top dogs when it came to raising the big bucks. Lisa Hartigan from Remax was a bucketful of energy and ideas, completely unafraid to stir the pot and do all kinds of business. By the time I left she was north of $11,000. Jason Blair was right up there as was Christian MacNeill, a former student executive at Keyano turned realtor with Prudential. Marty Giles from Ford, guitar in hand, was in the top five, along with my new friend and Council hopeful, Don Scott from McMurray Law Office.

Council candidate Ross Jacobs was auctioneer for the event and put my Heart Project on the block along with some Calgary Hitmen tickets donated by CEDA. The package went for somewhere in the $700 range which was awesome. Now whether the purchaser was more interested in the hockey tickets or my art work, I have no idea. I'd like to think the latter, but in the craziness of the moment, it's impossible to tell.

My favourite part of being a celebrity waiter was doing the serving. I love to serve. It takes me back to my days as a room service attendant at the Holiday Inn in Saskatoon. I really enjoyed balancing a tray full of food, negotiating tight turns and crowded elevators to safely arrive at the guest's door. I'm less comfortable with the goofy stuff and asking guests for money, but I still found myself on stage with an incredible lady from Atco Gas, doing a duet of Paradise by the Dashboard Lights by Meatloaf. Terri and I raised over $400. I'm sure I sounded awful, but she was spot-on perfect through the entire 8 minutes that seemed to go on forever.

In the end, the celebrity waiters, about 35 strong, managed to raise over $70,000. Silent and live auction items likely took the total well beyond $100,000.

I acquiesced to my exhaustion after six hours on my feet and drove home to my wife, head spinning from one crazy night. We put up our feet, watched a couple of episodes from season six of The West Wing, then drifted off to sleep.

September 19, 2010 - 197.6 pounds, 35.3% body fat

What is the thickness of my skin?

Every new adventure in my life has a served purpose, to scare, to challenge, to unsettle, to test, to make me a better person. This election run is another adventure that is sure to do all those things, win or lose.

"If I can keep my head, when all about me are losing theirs...."

I heard that my name came up a number of times at a recent event, questions were raised about my ability to juggle multiple projects and whether I would still be able to handle the rigors of Council. Questions even came up about how I was going to handle things with my son being in the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital for several months recovering from leg surgery this fall.

And while these queries are deeply personal, they are fair questions from citizens that want to make sure their vote is going to the right person. I respect that questions are being asked and am eager to answer them all.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that when I commit to something, I see it through to the end, even when the waters get choppy in the middle.

A colleague wrote: "Want something done? Give it to someone who's busy." That's me. I'm busy, but I get things done. I'm busy, but I still find time to rest, relax and be with my family. I'm busy, but I'm incredibly adept at juggling multiple priorities without becoming overwhelmed.

Hey, I'm no different than anyone else. There are days when stress and workload builds up and I need a serious decompression session. I had one of those just the other day. But I worked through it, shared things with those who are close to me, and carried on.

My son Dylan is about to go in for corrective leg surgery, a procedure that has been planned for a long time and one that he (and us) has been through before. God willing, everything will go well and my full intention, if successful in this election, is to meet all the obligations of being a Councillor. Trips to visit my son will pop into the schedule when they can, and when they can't, we'll hook up on Facebook and chat about our respective days.

Keep those questions coming!

September 17, 2010 - 197.6 pounds, 34.6% body fat

Campaign Update

Nomination Day is just around the corner. On Monday morning, Renee, our Campaign Manager, will drive down to Jubilee Centre and pass in the notarized nomination form and the $100 fee required to become officially nominated for Council in Ward One of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Heather, Dylan and I will be heading down Highway 63 that morning, going to Edmonton for Dylan's second major leg surgery. So, while my council candidate colleagues are putting their respective campaigns into hyper drive, I'll be focusing my attention on my son and his post-surgery recovery at the Stollery Hospital.

Things have been heating up in the weeks leading up to the official start of the campaign. There are over ten declared candidates in Ward One with several more expected to appear by the close of nominations. Our team has been busy fundraising, getting our signs and promotional materials ready and softly getting our message out.

I use words like "our" and "we" because this campaign is really about a whole set of people who have a similar belief to mine. This is not a solitary venture, nor is it an "all about me" extravaganza. I like to think I represent thousands of hard working, dedicated folks, who love this community and want appropriate leadership at Council to chart the best path forward. These are people who I've worked with, played with, volunteered with, over 15 years of creating positive change in Wood Buffalo. Their faces and their voices, their experiences and their dreams are the foundation and the fuel of "our" campaign. Collectively, this is OUR HOME. This is OUR FUTURE.

Want to help "us" and be a part of "our" campaign? Visit our website and send us a note. www.russellthomas.ca.

September 16, 2010 - 197 pounds, 35.3% body fat

Recycling is Grand

Whenever I load up the car with buckets full of tin and tubs of paper scraps then drive the three blocks to the recycling depot at Safeway, I smile. I smile some more when I see others pull up and start to unload their sundry items that just a few short years ago ended up in the landfill.

Our recycling efforts have been dialed up a notch after the implementation of the bag bylaw at the beginning of September. Now, we have to think once, twice, three times before jumping in the vehicle to go and buy groceries or other things. Heather and I have been preparing for this for a long time and seem to have eased into this plastic bag-less environment relatively unscathed. There are others, whose experiences have not been so easy.

One of my Tweeters has pledged to drive to Edmonton for his groceries in protest of this imposed lifestyle change. He says that 40-minute long line-ups are a direct result of the bylaw. He also bought a reusable bag that broke on first use. Ouch! Frustration speaks in words that may not make any logical sense, but on an emotional level resonate beautifully. Our Chamber President aptly pointed out that this person (who shall remain nameless) is punishing local businesses for something that was and is completely beyond their control. This same person is punishing themselves, too, by taking 9 hours out of their life to drive to the city and in so doing putting a lot of miles of wear and tear on their vehicle, all because they prefer the convenience of plastic. Strange choice in my mind.

All things being equal, we've come a long way in a short time. Just ten years ago almost everything went to the landfill: newspapers, flyers, milk jugs, tins, empty jars. It hurts my soul to think we once lived that way. While it may take awhile to get used to it, cutting out our addiction to plastic bags is another great step in the right direction.

Leadership is Tough!

Anyone who says that leadership is easy, isn't really getting a true leadership experience. Leadership is fun, sure. It is often exciting, certainly challenging, and on a regular basis, downright tough.

Have you ever had to tell someone something they didn't want to hear? Has the future of the organization ever felt like it rested on your shoulders? Have you been able to keep your head when all around you were losing theirs and blaming it on you (Kipling)?

I am in the enviable position of being surrounded by strong leaders, both at work and in the community. They have courage, follow their convictions, remain steadfast in the face of adversity and have a clear vision of where they want to go.

Councillor Sheldon Germain is leading the Northern Classic project. It is no easy task: chairing a large group of talented leaders throughout the community in the organization of the biggest junior hockey league game in the history of Alberta, all in about three months from start to finish. It's a tall order at the best of times, a gargantuan task in the middle of a re-election run.

Claude Giroux is the Executive Director of Events Wood Buffalo. He is the "fearless leader" of a great group of special event experts who organized and executed SummersEnd, Fort McMurray's newest major festival. He kept morale high and the site operating smoothly despite torrential rain through half of the four-day event. And despite everything, his leadership and incredible spirit resulted in a Tuesday morning headline that read "Summers End Festival a Home Run".

Sana Elache is the Chair of Leadership Wood Buffalo. She is one of the remaining original leaders of this 5-year old organization whose mission is to increase leadership capacity in our region. Her commitment to the vision, inspiring individuals to make a difference, is helping to take the organization to the next phase of its existence, a transition that is inherently tough.

We are surrounded by great leaders. They embrace, without even thinking about it, one of the great notions of leaderships expressed by Dr. King almost 50 years ago.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~Martin Luther King, 1963

Leadership is tough. It is a life-path fraught with steep hills and dangerous curves. You have to keep the car on the road despite inclement weather, blowouts, and obstacles. When something pops up on the road out of nowhere, you have to react appropriately, or someone is going to get hurt. Sometimes you have to find alternate routes to get to where you are going, but as a leader that destination is always in your mind.

I dedicate this post to all the leaders out there, scattered through all levels of organizations, businesses and institutions. You are often challenged, sometimes maligned and occasionally vilified, but you are doing important work and are invaluable to our community, region, province and country!

SummersEnd Rain

I can't believe this rain, it doesn't want to stop. We escaped the pounding of water received by much of Saskatchewan and southern Alberta earlier this summer, instead watching from a distance and appreciating our northern perch, sunny, temperate, perfect. But, as SummersEnd Friday turned into Saturday, rain clouds were approaching.

Tim Hus was on stage, warming up the crowd for one of the greatest Canadians, Stompin' Tom Connors, as the black (and I mean black black) clouds swirled to the north, lightening bolts cutting through the sky every few minutes. MacDonald Island Park CEO Tim Reid was on the phone with concert promoter Kenny Hess discussing options should the storm park itself above the concert site. The light rain became heavy as Connors came from stage right, his requisite piece of plywood in hand, ready to stomp it out in Fort McMurray.

The concert went on as the water fell and the electrical storm moved on and out. Umbrellas peppered the reserve seats in front of the stage and makeshift canopies started appearing on the VIP sections on both sides of the site. The rain kept falling, harder, more insistent.

I lasted a couple of songs before going home, shocked at the number of people still lined up shoulder to shoulder, waiting to try the more popular rides in the Blueberry Midway. Rain or no rain, the midway was here, and people were going to soak in every minute.

That was Saturday night. The rain continued through much of Sunday, the finals of the Shell DanceXplosion, Barney Bentall & the Legendary Hearts, April Wine and more midway rides. It reappeared on Labour Day Monday, pelting Wood Buffalo as the line for the rides continued at SummersEnd.

I love the headline for the news release that went to local media late last night from organizers, Events Wood Buffalo: SummersEnd 2010 Wet and Wild - a most perfect description for a weekend of fun.

Photo above: Barney Bentalls & the Legendary Hearts at SummersEnd

Thoughts on the Heart Project

The truth is that anyone and his dog can do the Heart Project. All you need is a piece of wood, the shape of a heart sketched out in pencil, a pair of scissors, a magazine you're comfortable cutting to shreds, a brush and some Hodge Podge. Oh, you also need the patience of Job and about 30 or 40 hours of time. There is little to no skill required, just a commitment to see the vision through to the end.

I've been thinking of the Harvest of Hope as I've been scaling up the outside of the heart with shades of red, orange, brown and yellow-thinking of the symbolism between this familiar shape and the fight against cancer.

The Heart Project, as I imagine what it will look like when it's done, represents:

Thousands of individual stories, each with their unique shape, texture, colour, people, circumstance.

The random acts of kindness and cruelty that weave through the quilt of a journey with cancer.

Every story is different, filled with nuance, hope, despair, longing and most importantly, love. Heart.

The outside of the Heart Project is a montage of patterns, letters, words, images, colours that represent the autumn-the harvest, the harvest of hope that happens when people come together in solidarity with a common purpose.

The heart itself will be bathed in blues, representing the cold cruelty of those who suffer with cancer, and those who suffer alongside the suffering.

The warmth of the harvest surrounded by the harsh reality of the perilous journey, together creating a beautiful montage of compassion and a whole lot of heart. Or, something like that.

I'm still trying to figure out how to use the Heart Project at the Harvest of Hope to raise money for the fight against cancer, assuming I get it done in time. Some may wonder why I'd spend hours hunched over this kind of an art project during arguably the busiest time of year, and probably the busiest autumn of my life. I would say to them, that we all need time for reflection and silence, and for me, the Heart Project provides a mechanism for both-pause that refreshes and quiet that calms my soul.

September 5, 2010 - 198.2 pounds, 28.9% body fat

DanceXplosion

The idea for the Shell DanceXplosion came to us in the early stages of planning the first SummersEnd, a new festival to put the wraps on Wood Buffalo's warm season and welcome fall. We were looking for the right programming element to put on the main stage during the day, struggling to find something that would align with our mandate and make sense. Dance hit us upside the head and offered the perfect solution in a community teeming with dancers.

In the first year I took pictures and watched. In year two I've been enlisted as a judge, which is hysterically funny because my wife is convinced I swallowed a can't-dance pill when I was a teenager and that is what has scarred my movement abilities. And while I can't put a routine together to save my life, I can see the difference between a good one and a bad one-or, at least that's what having a judging sheet allows me to do.

Most of the dancers are teenagers or younger, though there is one young lady who is the mother of a couple of kids. They are mostly females, though a couple of guys are in the mix with a bucketful of talent to shake things up. Without exception, they are loaded with skill and determination and the task of picking winners is not going to be easy. Thank goodness I get to watch them three days in a row. I trust that my brain will eventually sort things out.

September 4, 2010 - 197.8 pounds, 28.4% body fat

Bananas Day

It had been a long day, one that I described as bananas to a number of people. I had left the house early in the morning, not even seeing the boys, and returned in the evening after a two-hour meeting that went for three-and-a-half hours, just after they had gone to bed. In between those two moments I dealt with people who were stressed, projects that were struggling and ideas that were just getting off the ground. It was a very full day.

By the time I pulled into the house, the relief of seeing my wife was palpable. I had really missed my time at home and was grateful to be back.

"Ben just went down if you want to say goodnight," she said.

I turned on the light in the hallway as I walked into Ben's room. He was lying high up on his pillow, eyes closed, big smile on his face. I bent down to give him a kiss.

"I sure missed you today Son," I said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, as he tucked in his blanket, turned over on to his side, and went to sleep.

It felt like having me home was the definitive period at the end of his day and that he was so joyful that I was there to finish the sentence. Perfect.

I wandered down the stairs to Dylan's room, told him how much I had missed him, gave him a hug and a kiss, then said goodnight. A similar sense that all was right in the world swept over both of us.

Heather and I settled down into our familiar spots on the long sofa and popped in the latest episode of The West Wing, and the day that had me wanting to make monkey sounds because it was so bananas drifted away as we dived further into Season 5.

September 3, 2010 - 199.2 pounds, 28.6% body fat