Hi everyone! It has been one hell of a whirlwind week up here in the Nation’s Capital. My son has developed a hacking cough and fever, meaning he has had to skip daycare the last few days, and then my wife got sick, making for an extremely low-key Valentines’ Day, and we had 30 centimeters of snow in one 12-hour period, meaning just about everyone stayed home from work this past Wednesday. Looking at these photos, would you have gone to work?

I was more than happy to call in sick for the day.

I was also in negotiations with a Honda salesman over purchasing a 2016 Civic LX. Thankfully, my boy’s cold seems to be finally waning now that the weekend is upon us (but he still has a cough, and my wife and I are now sick), the snow has been plowed (for the most part), and I’ve closed the deal on my new car. No more squealing fan belts, bald winter tires, failed environmental tests, and 150-degree mid-July days driving around with no air conditioning. I’ll miss my rusty old 2004 silver Civic (yes, writing a book CAN indeed mean still driving something that looks like it was found in an abandoned warehouse in the worst part of town), but I’m thrilled to have a car with touchscreens, surround sound, and a complete lack of rust coming my way in a few days. And I’m looking forward to christening it with a cranked-up-to-11 listening session of AC/DC’s Back in Black, the only album that should be considered when breaking in a new car, by the way.

But now on to the reason you’re likely here. A few days back, some of you may have seen Jeff “the Dude” Bridges starring in a Super Bowl commercial as his legendary character from The Big Lebowski. OK, so maybe I’m being hopelessly optimistic that there is going to be a sequel to this 1990s classic film, but one has to have dreams, doesn’t he? This week, I’ve added an article about former Seals defenseman Ted “Dude” McAneeley. The article goes over his early days growing up in Cranbrook, B.C., the roles his father and twin brother played in his life, and his greatest NHL thrill up to that time. Enjoy this rare piece from the Hockey News in the articles section.

That’s about all for this week, I’m afraid. My cold is starting to take over, and there’s a good chance I’ll be sleeping on the floor in my son’s room tonight (again) because if I don’t he will likely be visiting my wife and I’s bedroom every time his hacking cough wakes him up. Might as well just take the floor and hope I sleep well enough to function tomorrow. Good times…

Until next time, stay gold, and stay healthy!