While looking at headlines on the Drudge Report, I came across several about the war in Georgia.
I was reading some news today linked to from the Drudge Report about the war in Georgia and came across one that had a rather strange Associated Press photo... Can this be real?
The caption reads
Either that or it may be a crazy poor Photoshop job of Iranian proportions!
Read the rest on My Way News_____________________________________________
I was reading some news today linked to from the Drudge Report about the war in Georgia and came across one that had a rather strange Associated Press photo... Can this be real?
The caption reads
Russian troops take up positions on farmland, during a search operation outside of the Black Sea port of Poti, Georgia, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008.Whoa.. I guess that Russian guy didn't notice Georgia's secret biological weapon: the Giant Stealth Cow.
Either that or it may be a crazy poor Photoshop job of Iranian proportions!
Read the rest on My Way News
Labels: ramblings
Since moving out to the country a few weeks ago we have been been trying to spend lots of time outside with the kids. A few times it has been hot enough to break out the hose to cool off.
Ellie really enjoys water and likes getting soaked. Adelaine is more interested in playing with the hose itself. Every once in awhile Ellie would pick up the hose, and then watch out! She doesn't really intend to get you wet, but she turns around quickly to tell you about what she is doing and sprays you. Gotta watch the camera..
Adelaine in their little play house.
We have also tried to get to the parks regularly. Adelaine loves the slides (slide is one of the growing number of words she has) while Ellie likes to get to the top and then chickens out. They both enjoy the swings quite a bit too.
In fact, all of us enjoy the park.
They do also spend quite a bit of time inside too. Adelaine has discovered the phone and likes reciting animal noises that she knows to anybody who will listen.
And Ellie, well, she's Ellie.
More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnstonekids/
Some people have a real knack for digging a hole for themselves.
A perfect example came my way as I was grocery shopping the other day. As a bit of background, I should tell you that I am expecting #3 in November. I have always gotten really big fairly fast, so I knew to expect a few comments and sideways glances with this pregnancy. But I was still taken aback the other day when a lady unknown to me approached me in the grocery aisle with great sympathy, clucking her tongue and saying in a loud voice, "You poor dear, you're overdue aren't you!" When I quietly informed her that no, I still had three months to go, she was shocked. "But you're HUGE! And you've dropped!" After a few more similar comments, she suddenly seemed to realize that the conversation was becoming a bit awkward and she grabbed her cart and quickly moved on. While her outburst was not terribly good for my "self-image", I have to admit that I FEEL overdue and will be very relieved when Johnstone #3 finally makes his or her appearance.
A perfect example came my way as I was grocery shopping the other day. As a bit of background, I should tell you that I am expecting #3 in November. I have always gotten really big fairly fast, so I knew to expect a few comments and sideways glances with this pregnancy. But I was still taken aback the other day when a lady unknown to me approached me in the grocery aisle with great sympathy, clucking her tongue and saying in a loud voice, "You poor dear, you're overdue aren't you!" When I quietly informed her that no, I still had three months to go, she was shocked. "But you're HUGE! And you've dropped!" After a few more similar comments, she suddenly seemed to realize that the conversation was becoming a bit awkward and she grabbed her cart and quickly moved on. While her outburst was not terribly good for my "self-image", I have to admit that I FEEL overdue and will be very relieved when Johnstone #3 finally makes his or her appearance.
Labels: Naomi
Congratulations to Anthony & Christa (MacFarlane) Willems who were wed on August 2. This was a very unique wedding to photograph as it had a Medieval theme! It really was a great wedding that gave the glory to God for all He has done in their lives individually, and in bring them together.
New photos have been added to my photography page.
Labels: Photography
We have sent out our latest prayer letter chock full of news about the Johnstone's ministry with GoodSeed Canada. You can download it here.
_____________________________________________
Labels: Prayer Letter
Yup, over a month without an update on here. But I have good reasons:
Meanwhile, why not check out some of the latest additions to my online photography portfolio._____________________________________________
- Its summer, at least in some parts of Canada.
- I am high on paint fumes after spending a few weeks painting in preparation for..
- moving to a new place and getting it set up takes time, and while there..
- we have had no internet access. And after six weeks since requesting an installation we are still waiting!!!
Meanwhile, why not check out some of the latest additions to my online photography portfolio.
He survived the systematized killing chambers and doctors of death of Nazi Auschwitz, and went on to create his own.
The Nazis systematically killed millions of powerless people, he has enabled many more millions of powerless people to be murdered.
They eliminated undesirables that they thought would undermine their society, he eliminates undesirables that may cause future crimes (by unloved and unwanted children).
Their worldview didn't see their victims as people, nor does his worldview see his victims as people.
He claims to prevent crimes and murders and save lives by taking lives.
His name: Dr. Henry Morgentaler, recipient of the Order of Canada._____________________________________________
The Nazis systematically killed millions of powerless people, he has enabled many more millions of powerless people to be murdered.
They eliminated undesirables that they thought would undermine their society, he eliminates undesirables that may cause future crimes (by unloved and unwanted children).
Their worldview didn't see their victims as people, nor does his worldview see his victims as people.
He claims to prevent crimes and murders and save lives by taking lives.
His name: Dr. Henry Morgentaler, recipient of the Order of Canada.
Labels: Rants
I have this foreboding feeling that my family is going to have a very unwelcome visitor.. one you dread its coming and wish for it to leave, but are virtually powerless to prevent. This intruder isn't a person, it is the Canadian government.
Usually, the news is a good antidote for happiness and contentment, but a couple of stories have stood out recently and gotten lots of attention in the press.
#1:: A Quebec court allowed a 12 year old girl to take her dad to court over his refusal to allow her to go on a school field trip. The judge decided that it was "excessive punishment" and permitted her to go on the trip.
An editorial in the National Post says this on the issue:
#2:: An unelected Liberal Senator brought forth a motion in the Senate to criminalize spanking.
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/
20080618/spanking_senate_080618/20080618/
While her motion passed in the Senate, it still needs to be approved by the House of Commons. The Senator has already stated that she will continue to bring this motion forward until it is accepted and made a law and she has been able to erode parental control and decision making.
Whatever you think on the issue of spanking, I think most people would agree that it is a decision that is best left up to the parents, not the nanny state.
_______
Does the state really know better than me how to raise my children? At times I think that they barely know how to run themselves, yet alone my kids. Should they have the right to stick their nose into my parental decisions that will affect the future of my child's development? They already have the education system, now they want my home.
And what about the ideas being promoted in general in our society? After several decades of increasingly liberal ideas of parenting, are they showing dividends in better behaved, more respectful, better balanced children who become better behaved, more respectful, well balanced citizens? No.. I think most observers would agree that our society is not on that idealistic upward spiral. Look at the problems faced in our school systems, workplaces and the general increase of other societal problems.. The spiral is going down, not up.
What are parents to do? On one hand some politicians are trying to interfere in families by saying spanking is a criminal activity and other forms of discipline should be use. On the other hand we have courts setting legal precedent that parents don't have the right to ground children. What is left? If this continues, then the decision making and leadership of families will shift from the parents to the children and the government, neither of which I trust to be making parenting decisions.
Where is my pen, I’m writing my Member of Parliament._____________________________________________
Usually, the news is a good antidote for happiness and contentment, but a couple of stories have stood out recently and gotten lots of attention in the press.
#1:: A Quebec court allowed a 12 year old girl to take her dad to court over his refusal to allow her to go on a school field trip. The judge decided that it was "excessive punishment" and permitted her to go on the trip.
An editorial in the National Post says this on the issue:
The courts have no business -- none -- in such routine family matters. This ruling is so profoundly intrusive we can only hope the Quebec appeals court strikes it down, and quickly.A 12-year-old Gatineau girl repeatedly disobeyed her father's rules about staying away from Internet chat rooms that he deemed inappropriate for a child her age. Eventually, she chose to circumvent his rules by going to a friend's place to access Web sites he had banned her from viewing at home. She then compounded her disobedience by posting salacious photos of herself on one of the banned sites. So the father grounded her, telling her she could not go on the year-end camping trip for her Grade 6 class.
The girl, whose parents have been divorced for a decade, then left her dad's house and moved in with her mother, even though the father has 100% custody. But because she still needed her father to sign the consent form for the field trip, she and her mother convinced a court-appointed lawyer to take the father to court.
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080620/
Quebec_appeal_080620/20080620?hub=Canada
#2:: An unelected Liberal Senator brought forth a motion in the Senate to criminalize spanking.
www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/
20080618/spanking_senate_080618/20080618/
While her motion passed in the Senate, it still needs to be approved by the House of Commons. The Senator has already stated that she will continue to bring this motion forward until it is accepted and made a law and she has been able to erode parental control and decision making.
Whatever you think on the issue of spanking, I think most people would agree that it is a decision that is best left up to the parents, not the nanny state.
_______
Does the state really know better than me how to raise my children? At times I think that they barely know how to run themselves, yet alone my kids. Should they have the right to stick their nose into my parental decisions that will affect the future of my child's development? They already have the education system, now they want my home.
And what about the ideas being promoted in general in our society? After several decades of increasingly liberal ideas of parenting, are they showing dividends in better behaved, more respectful, better balanced children who become better behaved, more respectful, well balanced citizens? No.. I think most observers would agree that our society is not on that idealistic upward spiral. Look at the problems faced in our school systems, workplaces and the general increase of other societal problems.. The spiral is going down, not up.
What are parents to do? On one hand some politicians are trying to interfere in families by saying spanking is a criminal activity and other forms of discipline should be use. On the other hand we have courts setting legal precedent that parents don't have the right to ground children. What is left? If this continues, then the decision making and leadership of families will shift from the parents to the children and the government, neither of which I trust to be making parenting decisions.
Where is my pen, I’m writing my Member of Parliament.
Labels: Rants
Ellie is facinated with my beard (this is Troy, by the way). She likes rubbing it and pulling on it. However, she does not like it when I rub her neck with it. Someone mentioned to her that she once had a milk mustache, which she quickly extrapolated into a whole beard. This is easier to create if you are intentionally messy to leave as much milk as possible on your face to create a beard (or "beart" as she calls it.) like daddy. So.. after every cup of milk she excitedly exclaims "I have a milk beart!" then giggles like a little nut.
Adelaine is our little cuddler. She is the expert hugger of the family, giving them frequently and for long periods with her head on your shoulder.
Unca Dew (Uncle Andrew) recently had a birthday and the nieces were on hand to help make it a memorable event.
This one is titled "Mischief Incarnate". I think it is a self-explanatory title.
Adelaine has figured out where her nose and mouth are. So if you ask, she will show you by squeezing her nose or usually opening her mouth wide. This time she covered it.
Ellie, our little tomboy, will bravely get up to the top of a slide then chicken out and not go down it.
Adelaine, our little girly girl, will push by her, and almost dive down any slide, regardless of size.
I guess having your tongue out increases the sensation of speed. After watching Adelaine go down about five times, Ellie figures it is safe and will give it a try.
A sign of things to come.. Ellie, part of the ipod generation. She asked to listen to her "train music" and "Larry Songs" (Silly Songs with Larry).
Driving on the wrong.. er.. left side of the road can be fun.
While in the UK I rented an exotic European car to cruise the English countryside.
Ok.. so a 1.6 liter hatchback VW Polo may not be a candidate for an "exotic" car in most people's books, but after four years of driving a minivan, just about any small car with manual transmission is exotic. Anyway, I had a blast with this little car as we whizzed down the the left side of the road, got dizzy on roundabouts, and took the scenic route many times (a euphemism for getting lost). Too bad I couldn't have put handles on the top and checked it as baggage for the trip home.
It didn't take long to get the hang of the British roadways and systems. Their roads are in excellent condition compared to Canadian roads, an easy thing for a frost-heave free country to do. They also have LOTS of signage on their roads and road surfaces. Unfortunately, I started my driving experience pretty much in the centre of London. I picked up the car just across the river from the British Parliament and spent the next 1.5 hours trying to learn to drive on the left, navigate roundabouts (which make for easy u-turns should you get lost), and dealing with traffic in a major city. Obviously, I survived.
There were, however, three things that I continually found difficult to adjust to in driving the UK:
1) Getting in the correct side of the car.
2) Knowing where the left side of my car ended. After driving for 20 years sitting on the left side of a car, I intuitively know where the right side of the car is. But suddenly sitting on the right and driving from there.. I struggled to gauge the distance. When driving down a narrow road with parked cars or a stone wall on your left, and oncoming traffic expecting you to move over, it can be very difficult to figure out how far to the left you can go before you smash your sideview mirror. I saw a lot of busted mirrors over there, so I guess I wasn't the only one.
3) It is a small country. I kept looking at the maps at places I want to visit and thought that I didn't have time to get there. Then a local would tell me, "oh, that is about a 30 minute drive." I get a kick out of foreigners in Canada who can't grasp the immense size of my country, but I couldn't get over how small England is. At one point I drove from the west coast to London on a single tank of gas!
Gas was very expensive in the UK. When I left Canada it was selling for about $1.12/liter. Over there I would look at gas prices and see 1.20 and think it wasn't too bad, until I remembered that that price was in British pounds, equally twice that amount in Canadian funds. So about $2.40/liter is what I was paying. Good thing it was a small car.
Most cars there are very small. I guess it is the survival of the smallest when you combine the narrow roads and high gas prices. Trying to drive a typical North American vehicle would be suicidal over there. They would need to use the jaws-of-life to pry your vehicle out of the average town streets.
___
I have come to some new conclusions about driving. North American roads are the "bunny slopes" of of the world's roads. UK roads, are by comparison, the black diamonds. Here in Canada we have wiiiiide, relatively straight roads with very slow speeds. UK roads are narrow with no shoulders, winding and fast! Don't get me wrong, it was a blast driving on them, but a bit unnerving at first. Streets in a town are barely two lane, with cars parked on both sides where ever they want. Winding country roads with no visibility and driveways coming on over a blind hill will still have a 50mph (80 km/h) speed limit!
My grand plan for this tourism part of my trip to England had been to have no plan, just drive around to a few different regions and stop to take photographs of the idealized, pristine English countryside. What I hadn't counted on was the roads. Driving in the rural areas of Southern UK are akin to going through a green tunnel at breakneck speeds. The first problem was that I often could not see much of the surrounding countryside. The roads usually had a stone fence with hedge growing on them. The next problem was that when you did see something to photograph there was no place to pull over. These roads have no shoulders, and by the time I found a spot to stop, I was already too far away to walk back.
Typical road in the Cornwall region. 50mph with no shoulders and limited visibility.
Here are some short clips of me driving around the UK countryside to give you an idea of what it was like.
Roundabouts
Roundabouts were one of my favorite parts about driving in the UK. They are very efficient in moving traffic and you rarely had to stop at intersections. They also have spoiled me a bit and now my wife has to now listen to me complain about annoying stop signs, three and four way stops.
Roundabouts can easily handle many roads coming from different angles to the hub, unlike some crazy intersections that can be found here in North America. You do need to have an idea where you want out before you get on the roundabout. I saw roundabouts having as many as six roads coming off them. The signs leading up to such a roundabout look a bit like a spider, a center circle with lots of arms radiating out.
On a roundabout, drivers inside the roundabout have right-of-way (or is that left-of-way in the UK...). So, whether it is a simple roundabout with only one lane of traffic around the centre hub, or a large multi-lane one on a highway, you must yield to traffic within the circle. This graphic from wikipedia illustrates a more complicated one. It looks crazy, but pick a car and follow it through the roundabout. It is actually pretty straightforward, in a roundabout sort of way.
_____
Overall, I really had fun driving over there. My favorite thing to do, was randomly exit the highways and drive through countryside that very much fit the stereotypes I had in my mind of the English countryside. It was lots of fun to get lost._____________________________________________
While in the UK I rented an exotic European car to cruise the English countryside.
Ok.. so a 1.6 liter hatchback VW Polo may not be a candidate for an "exotic" car in most people's books, but after four years of driving a minivan, just about any small car with manual transmission is exotic. Anyway, I had a blast with this little car as we whizzed down the the left side of the road, got dizzy on roundabouts, and took the scenic route many times (a euphemism for getting lost). Too bad I couldn't have put handles on the top and checked it as baggage for the trip home.
It didn't take long to get the hang of the British roadways and systems. Their roads are in excellent condition compared to Canadian roads, an easy thing for a frost-heave free country to do. They also have LOTS of signage on their roads and road surfaces. Unfortunately, I started my driving experience pretty much in the centre of London. I picked up the car just across the river from the British Parliament and spent the next 1.5 hours trying to learn to drive on the left, navigate roundabouts (which make for easy u-turns should you get lost), and dealing with traffic in a major city. Obviously, I survived.
There were, however, three things that I continually found difficult to adjust to in driving the UK:
1) Getting in the correct side of the car.
2) Knowing where the left side of my car ended. After driving for 20 years sitting on the left side of a car, I intuitively know where the right side of the car is. But suddenly sitting on the right and driving from there.. I struggled to gauge the distance. When driving down a narrow road with parked cars or a stone wall on your left, and oncoming traffic expecting you to move over, it can be very difficult to figure out how far to the left you can go before you smash your sideview mirror. I saw a lot of busted mirrors over there, so I guess I wasn't the only one.
3) It is a small country. I kept looking at the maps at places I want to visit and thought that I didn't have time to get there. Then a local would tell me, "oh, that is about a 30 minute drive." I get a kick out of foreigners in Canada who can't grasp the immense size of my country, but I couldn't get over how small England is. At one point I drove from the west coast to London on a single tank of gas!
Gas was very expensive in the UK. When I left Canada it was selling for about $1.12/liter. Over there I would look at gas prices and see 1.20 and think it wasn't too bad, until I remembered that that price was in British pounds, equally twice that amount in Canadian funds. So about $2.40/liter is what I was paying. Good thing it was a small car.
Most cars there are very small. I guess it is the survival of the smallest when you combine the narrow roads and high gas prices. Trying to drive a typical North American vehicle would be suicidal over there. They would need to use the jaws-of-life to pry your vehicle out of the average town streets.
___
I have come to some new conclusions about driving. North American roads are the "bunny slopes" of of the world's roads. UK roads, are by comparison, the black diamonds. Here in Canada we have wiiiiide, relatively straight roads with very slow speeds. UK roads are narrow with no shoulders, winding and fast! Don't get me wrong, it was a blast driving on them, but a bit unnerving at first. Streets in a town are barely two lane, with cars parked on both sides where ever they want. Winding country roads with no visibility and driveways coming on over a blind hill will still have a 50mph (80 km/h) speed limit!
My grand plan for this tourism part of my trip to England had been to have no plan, just drive around to a few different regions and stop to take photographs of the idealized, pristine English countryside. What I hadn't counted on was the roads. Driving in the rural areas of Southern UK are akin to going through a green tunnel at breakneck speeds. The first problem was that I often could not see much of the surrounding countryside. The roads usually had a stone fence with hedge growing on them. The next problem was that when you did see something to photograph there was no place to pull over. These roads have no shoulders, and by the time I found a spot to stop, I was already too far away to walk back.
Typical road in the Cornwall region. 50mph with no shoulders and limited visibility.
Here are some short clips of me driving around the UK countryside to give you an idea of what it was like.
Roundabouts
Roundabouts were one of my favorite parts about driving in the UK. They are very efficient in moving traffic and you rarely had to stop at intersections. They also have spoiled me a bit and now my wife has to now listen to me complain about annoying stop signs, three and four way stops.
Roundabouts can easily handle many roads coming from different angles to the hub, unlike some crazy intersections that can be found here in North America. You do need to have an idea where you want out before you get on the roundabout. I saw roundabouts having as many as six roads coming off them. The signs leading up to such a roundabout look a bit like a spider, a center circle with lots of arms radiating out.
On a roundabout, drivers inside the roundabout have right-of-way (or is that left-of-way in the UK...). So, whether it is a simple roundabout with only one lane of traffic around the centre hub, or a large multi-lane one on a highway, you must yield to traffic within the circle. This graphic from wikipedia illustrates a more complicated one. It looks crazy, but pick a car and follow it through the roundabout. It is actually pretty straightforward, in a roundabout sort of way.
Why are roundabouts safer?
"The physical configuration of a modern roundabout, with a deflected entry and yield-at-entry, forces a driver to reduce speed during the approach, entry, and movement within the roundabout," the center says.
"This is contrary to an intersection where many drivers are encouraged by a green or yellow light to accelerate to get across the intersection quickly and to 'beat the red light' and contrary to old traffic circles where tangent approaches also encourage, or at least allow, high-speed entries." http://www.drivers.com/article/334/
I guess I need to get on town council to get roundabouts in this town.
_____
Overall, I really had fun driving over there. My favorite thing to do, was randomly exit the highways and drive through countryside that very much fit the stereotypes I had in my mind of the English countryside. It was lots of fun to get lost.
Labels: ramblings
