The red sheep of the Ashley family, I'm a hospital worker, a cyclocommuter, a proud adopted Canadian, and a lifelong revolutionary democratic socialist and union activist. I live in Toronto with my wife Sandie, to whom I have been married for 30 wonderful years, and our cats.

I worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto for over 27 years; I have wound up my full-time career in the Receiving and Stores Department. As of September 2001 I have taken the Hospitals of Ontario Pension and retired to part-time work.

I have been a shop steward and activist in Local 204 of the Service Employees International Union for most of that time.

Politically, I have been a long-time supporter of the New Democratic Party in Canada. My friends back home in the U.S. are building the Labor Party as an alternative for working people to the "banks' parties", as Gore Vidal calls them.

And here is the latest weather from Pearson International Airport:

Or for Buttonville Airport instead, here:

These are a few of my favourite websites:

Cycling: touring, commuting and racing

• Bicycling: The world's largest cycling publication ...

• U F Cycling, homepage of the University of Florida's bike racing team

• Velonews

• The Tandem Link, the website for tandem cyclists

• Cycling News

• Lance Armstrong, three-time winner of the Tour de France

• City of Toronto, Cycling in Toronto, City Hall's guide to riding in my home city

Fantasy and science fiction fansites

I have been reading science fiction and fantasy since I was knee-high to a Heinlein Martian. My son Sam, of whom I am inordinately proud, writes amateur fantasy fiction and posts it on Sailor Moon Expanded.

And here are some more sf and fantasy websites:

• Kage Baker her page. The homepage of the author of the "Company" series: In the Garden of Iden, Sky Coyote,Mendoza in Hollywood, and The Graveyard Game, with more to come.

• The Bodé Homepage, for fans of the late fantasy cartoonist Vaughan Bodé, and his son Mark Bodé.

• Elizabeth Moon: Home Page, the author of The Deed of Paksennarion and some really good sf.

• Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, a pretty good TV series.

• Harlan Ellison Webderland: Homepage; Harlan is the Dirty Old Pro all aspiring sf writers need to read.

• The Jack Whyte Official Home Page; Whyte's series, The Sky Stone etc., is some of the best Arthuriana to come along in a while.

• The Bujold Nexus - The Lois McMaster Bujold Homepage; If you haven't run into Miles Vorkosigan, you haven't really been reading military sf.

• The Guild of Fans and Disciples (of Terry Pratchett); Pterry writes the Diskworld series; screamingly funny stuff!

• The Unofficial David Weber Fan Club Page; Honor Harrington is every military sf fan's fantasy admiral.

• Welcome to C. J. Cherryh's Worlds; CJ is the Cecelia Holland of sf.

• Ken McLeod, a review of his first three books Cde. McLeod is a revolutionary socialist who writes revolutionary socialist sf.

• Eric Flint writes really good Alternate History s/f and fantasy; it doesn't hurt that he's a fellow socialist too.

• The Bluejo Home Page - Jo Walton's homepage; Jo Walton is the best fantasy writer out of Britain in the last two or three years; if you can get hold of a copy of The King's Peace READ IT!

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