Finally, we've cemented a day in history for our visit to Loch Lomond, Stirling and Edinburgh. If you said that sounds like a lot to stuff into one day, you'd be right. I hold no illusions that we'll be able to see and do everything. But at the same time, it only costs £19 for one day with a car; and staving off the cost of another day with the car and a place to stay for a night is more than enough to make me accelerate my natural tourist tendencies.

In other news, check this out: "A team of South African and international scientists working in the Barberton area, Mpumalanga, has found evidence of microbial life as old as 3,5-billion years in volcanic glass. These glass-munching microbes can claim the title of "oldest life on Earth" at 3,5-billion years of age." There you go! 3.5 billion years old...damn, that's...um..pretty old.

I'm almost done Shake Hands with the Devil, by Romeo Dallaire, and I'm still reeling from the content. The incredible brutality exhibited by the genocidaires, the indifference of the world followed by the holier-than-thou attitude expressed by nations like the USA and France afterwards. I'd heard so much of the story before, but nothing I'd ever read compares to the vivid and personal recollections of Dallaire. Dallaire stands to me as the example of a truly tragic Canadian hero - he sacrificed everything for the cause of humanity, including himself, but ultimately failed. Not because he let Rwanda down, but because so much of the world turned its back on the cause. I'm really inspired to write something, probably a poem (because that's what I do), but the only thing holding me back right now is a fear that my articulation simply won't do justice to the subject.

Anyhow, since the library isn't open tomorrow, and we'll be gone all day Monday, my next update won't be until Tuesday. The good news is that I'll have plenty to type about on Tuesday. I'm bloody excited. Wooooo!