The battle of Good vs Evil

Good: the end of the semester is two weeks away.
Bad: I have a pile of marking to do – a pile that is steadily growing, no matter how many students I encourage to take extensions.
Good: the new furnace will be installed this Friday (and not this February, as the phone message we received last week indicated).
Bad: I spent the better part of the daylight hours on Saturday replacing the ballcock assembly in the toilet.
Good (bonus): I get to use the words ‘ballcock assembly’ and watch people struggle against the giggles.
Good: I had dinner with Maher Arar* last night. He was here to give a talk on ‘Human Rights in a Post-9/11 World’ – the Centennial Theatre was packed with students, profs, and locals (who I think I’ll take to calling ‘the Village People.’)
Bad: My inner sceptic is apparently dormant. Arar is a nice guy, and his story is terrifying. I’m finding it very difficult to approach his talk objectively and critically – perhaps it’s the cynic in me, more willing to believe evil on the part of the government – be it the Bush League, the Syrians, or our own Martinettes – than on the part of a nice guy (despite his background in engineering).
Good: Did I mention the end of the semester?
Bad: Did I mention the end of the semester?
So, when all is said and done, the math seems to indicate that Good is currently prevailing against Evil (except, of course, that this calculation requires math, which brings us back to a tie).
*The link above will take you to Arar’s site. You can also find loads of information about his case and related incidents elsewhere on the net, including the substantial coverage provided by the CBC.