Wyndham Carseland - Take 2

Got around to processing the remainder of my shots from an October 8th camping trip. I've got a long way to go in terms of thought and application but I am pleased with my improvement over the last year or so. I love this, and I want to share it (both the activity and the end results) with others who enjoy it as well.

Seriously, I need some exercise. Grab your camera, call me up, and lets go shooting. Wherever, whenever, and whatever.


A run-of-the-mill shot from a gravel bank in the river.


A flower, cropped in a "bookmark" style which I've become fond of lately.


Friends of the family, father and son with their dog. We were out on a gravel-bar with our slingshots, target practice on rocks and driftwood.


The moon about 10 minutes after sunset. I took a highly bracketed set of shots here to give me he glow, the lit landscape, and a detailed moon which I could then combine together once I got home.


4-minute shot of the road beside our campsite. Didn't expect the truck to go through, I liked the results though.



Another 'bookmark' crop, taken from the shot which I posted with the original bunch.

Jonny's Most Premium Christmas Party

We're growing up, and it seems that our schedules fills up earlier with each year we add to that count. So now you have 2-months warning, I've already missed deadlines for some but I hope that I haven't missed the window for rest of you.

December 16 is my family's annual Christmas party and you are formally invited. The format of past years has seemed agreeable to most so I won't be changing much, I am open to ideas though. The usual stuff being: food, games, movies, gingerbread architecture contest (prebuilt, we lack construction facilities here), and maybe some movies (Grinch, Charlie Brown, He-Man). We'll probably commence festivities around 7:30 or so.

Give me a call or email if you plan to come.

The Aftermath

So you saw me rant about Africa. Surprisingly, there was no swift response from the Almighty saying "you're wrong." Doesn't mean that He agreed with me (we're talking about THE love here), but He didn't strike me down.

He has been working on me over the last few days though. Examining how my faith reality can mix with an otherwise cynical and angry political reality. What has come out of it is an idea of parallel motivations and working. I still say that something needs to change over there (Africa or wherever), that is undeniable. We're talking about systematic restructuring of governments, communities, and the entire way of life. But this cannot trump my compassion for the hungry, homeless, persecuted, and ill over there. I've gotta try and hit both.

Giving food to people while working to help them build the infrastructure (people, tools, education, etc.) for them to eventually make their own food. Curing their diseases while working to help them train doctors and buy medicine on their own. Providing for widows and orphans while working towards social programs to help reduce the root causes behind both of those conditions.

And, arguably the most important part, in these actions, showing love to these people and sharing the truth. We have missionaries who march in to places, shove God down people's throats, and ruin societies. Then we have humanitarian organizations which deal with the physical needs but don't address the spiritual. God cares about these people, body and soul.

Flirtatious Jonny

I think most people would agree that I am anything but flirtatious. My sexy body doesn't exactly have the women running (at least towards me) and I'm often much too shy to talk, much less flirt, with available ladies in my life. So, basically, my flirtation muscles haven't exactly had a workout in a while.

But, Ah HA!, the telephone rings! A pleasant sounding young lady greets me as Mr. Harris and asks if I'd be willing to spend a short while answering some questions for her regarding financial management and investments. I ask you now to try and imagine a more dry subject. I agree nonetheless and she proceeds with her questioning. By the third question she has clearly ceased her strict adherance to the script before her and we are laughing together about my ridiculously conservative investment habits and my ignorance in many areas of the industry due to my 'grandfathering' in plans through my parents. Of course I can remember very little of my witty banter now but I swear that I actually heard her giggle at one point. This congenial banter continued throughout the conversation. She reached the usual statistical questions but I would, once again, swear that there was more something more than statistical curiosity in her voice when we came to the questions about my age and marital status.

Ya, I could have imagined it all. Every person on her call list tonight might receive that same smile (I learned early on in life to tell if someone was smiling while talking on the phone), but I'm gonna sit here and savour the dream that I managed, with whatever wit and charm I could muster, to catch the eye (or ear as it may be) of a young lady somewhere here in Canada. A guy's gotta dream!

[Please note that the following is political. I could talk at length about my desire to see discipleship in place in these situations, but that's just not what I've chosen to talk about here. Do not doubt my devotion to that goal]

"The question isn't 'how do we fix this?' The question is 'How can we help Africans to do this for themselves?'"

This is the tagline for a short talk given by a lady named Jacqueline Novogratz regarding her work in the provision of aid to Africa and other developing areas of the world. Her talk gave voice to concerns which had long been running within my head without the necessary structure to accurately and, more importantly, persuasively present them. But more importantly, she answered those questions, or at least set me on the path to answering them for myself.

I have always struggled with Africa. I'd like to think that I am known among my friends as a man of compassion and caring, but yet too often I not only skip over the "send money to this starving family" infomercials but, instead, actively think and speak against them. Cyler came back from watching Uganda Rising and was clearly moved, I was almost angry with him. Here is one more example of a manipulative film trying to get us to pour more resources and time in to that continent. One of the largest arguments of mine simply being "why should I give you money if you decided to bring 8 (8!!!) children in to the world when you already couldn't feed yourself." Don't even get me started on the AIDs epidemic, again with the "STOP HAVING SEX!" solution. It is a horrible attitude, the children are indeed starving and the need for help is obvious, but I had many many reservations holding me back. I spent many years as a fan of the darwinian school of thought, and though, thankfully, I now acknowledge the Almighty God and His place over everything, I do still carry with me some of the "realism" involved in darwinism. In this case in particular, if the needs of the population have grown beyond the production of the land (and/or trade/barter relationships within reasonable distances) then the population will be 'naturally' balanced by the reasonable reduction in offspring production combined with the dying off of the weaker members of the society who cannot withstand these conditions. Unfortunately, the site of an empty pantry apparently makes people randy and we've got just enough modern medicine over there to keep very unhealthy people alive much longer.

That is harsh, and from the comfort of my room it is all too easy to say, and I know I'd be saying different if I were looking in to the eyes of starving child in some sub-saharan country. But I honestly wonder what we are supposed to do.

The bible talks about the poor and encourages giving to them, but are we talking about the same poor? The crippled beggar, a province struck with a famine one season, a widow without family (crippled in a high-patriarchal society), these are the poor that we are told to help. In these terms, has Africa ever not been crippled? Has it ever actually had a good growing season? Has it ever actually had a husband? I don't know my history very well, maybe it was an absolutely perfect land before colonialism. Is it the pollution belching plants over here in the developed world that are causing global warming, expanding the deserts well beyond their original borders? Is it the implanted, high-catholic "every sperm is sacred" mentality which is actually at the root of the over-population? Is it the attempts to change them over from a barter-based economy to capitalism?

I don't know what the truth is, but, at the moment, all I see is a massive chunk of infertile land populated by a massive population of remarkably fertile people, apparently opposed to birth control. I struggle, politically, with the idea of endlessly pumping money in to this pit which, from what I've seen so far, doesn't have much hope of actually becoming self-sustaining.
Ever had a leech attach itself to you? I'm told that the desire to dispatch that creature in the most expedient manner is overwhelming. Africa is a plush leech, made soft and cuddly enough to help us forget the staggering resources that are flowing out of us, in to it.






So that was my attitude, chosen not for its apparent virtues (none) but simply because I couldn't see anything else. This speech by Ms. Novogratz clearly delineated a realistic approach for the support and, more importantly, the sustainable growth of Africa. A realistic alternative to the status quo, helping them become productive members of society or, at least, getting them the real help which they need, instead of just handing over spare change. A treatment of the root cause, instead of simply addressing the symptoms. This gives me hope, because I now actually see all of the developing countries as they truly are, brimming with possibility for growth, ready for a change in a positive direction. The change in my mind is remarkable, it is no longer a leech. A lion with a thorn in its paw. I can actually say that I am beginning to see the proud creature which Africa could be once it gets to its feet.

Just to further clarify, for those who now think I am a monster, what I had said in this post is representative of a mindset which has recently changed. The questions that I ask here still remain strong in my mind, but I've got a new dose of compassion , hope, and (arguably the most important) passion to see what I can actually do in this area.


Watch the video. I'd love to hear what you think.

Awesome Angry Duck

It is rare that I let my TV sit on the Treehouse childrens network for longer than a second or two, but, by chance, I stumbled across this TV show which absolutely intrigued me. It is simply called Pocoyo (apparently it means "a little of me" in spanish, but it is rooted in the mispronunciation of a bedtime prayer by the daughter of one of the producers).

The animation is excellent, the characters are interesting and cute, but, most importantly, the duck is sarcastic! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Fussy Duck




The Big Sneeze

I like my car

For those who have not driven with me in my car, we need to go do on a road trip or something. Mostly because if you haven't ridden in my car, we obviously haven't been hanging out enough. But if you needed more of a reason, maybe an awesome video will convince you.

The list

Most people have a list of what they hope for in their future spouse. I've found issues with this method in the past, especially with the heartache and limitations it places on relationships which are clearly from God but yet don't fit this man-made mold. But there is one list which I love and keep close to my heart as I wait. It was provided by (at least try and look surprised) C.S. Lewis.

My Dear Wormwood.
So!

Your man is in love - and in the worst kind he could possily have fallen into- and with a girl who does not even appear in the report you sent me...

I have looked up this girls dossier, and am horrified at what I find. Not only a Christian, but such a Christian - a vile, sneaking, simpering, demure, monosyllabic, mouselike, watery, insignificant, virginal, bread and butter miss!

The little brute!

She makes me vomit. She stinks and scalds through the very pages of the dossier.

I've always believed that, apart from God, the ones who know us best are our enemies. They see us without rose coloured glasses, they aren't forgiving, and they don't pull any punches. Here is a list written as if by a demon, encompassing exactly what I hope for in a woman. I hope that she does truly stink and scald through the dossiers of hell.

A great big cup of gross incompetence

The title basically describes how I started my morning. A morning leading in to a day which saw me in the office of the vice-president of operations, in Banff under the scornful glares of a group of delegates from my company, and in the office of my manager who was threatened with dire consequences if he ever let anything of this magnitude happen again.

The setting:
The largest conference on remediation in Alberta (my company listed as a major sponsor of the event).
A booth space at the conference, paid for months ago with a cheque equivalent to a large portion of my yearly income.

I am in charge of organizing our delegation and the materials for every tradeshow that my company attends. This was the case here as well. What was different is that I somehow forgot to organize a volunteer to transport and setup our tradeshow booth at the conference.

An angry call from the VP yesterday to my boss (I was in class, so they didn't call me) saw two of my coworkers in a panicked drive up to Banff with the booth, arriving just in time to set it up on day two of the three day conference, after our spot (proudly labelled with the handy reservation tag) sat empty for 36 hours between the booths of many of our largest competitors.

Today was a blur from when I first arrived (glare from my boss boring a hole in to my skull) to when I left (glares from delegates arriving back from the conference). Sat through a meeting with the VP, fighting the urge to break down in tears or throw myself through the plate-glass window behind him. Spoke with my boss after his meeting with the VP, a meeting which basically gave him the promise of dire consequences should anything like this happen again...

I hate that I screwed up. But more than that, I hate that my boss was pilloried for this. He asked me to handle this, he is too busy, he shouldn't have to check in on me every 5 minutes just to be sure that I'm doing stuff right. I screwed up and I got a "do better next time" while he got blamed for it. That's not right, and it bothers me immensly. I said so, to both of them, but I guess this is how hierarchy works. It feels horrible though. Not only did I shame myself, but I shamed my boss and my entire department...

Tommorow's gotta be better.

(Note: Today wasn't all bad. Got a good email back from my beloved Sindy. I miss her, so it is very nice to get a dose of Sindy reality once in a while, even if only by email. I'm a pretty "set-in-my ways" kinda guy, not easily forced out of a rut. Sindy is one of the only people in my life who really managed to push me beyond myself, I am very thankful for it. I've got a long way to go, especially in the area of interacting comfortably with people, but I definitely give her credit for getting that process started within me.)

Weekend at Wyndham Carseland

Was out camping this weekend (actually still am, just in the city to drop my sister off at work). Wanted to toss these photos up.

The first two are different variations (minimal and heavy postprocessing) of the same photo. The latter three are longer exposures taken last night at around 11pm or so. The moon in the second last one is fake. I took two shots (same framing) and then combined them in Photoshop. The different shutter speeds (3 seconds compared to 1/100 of a second) were necessary due to the simple fact that the moon is quite bright. For those not well versed in astronomical trivia, the moon has an albedo of 0.07 which, basically, means that it reflects 7% of the light which hits it. This means that the moon, averaged, will be around 7% as bright as the sun (still rather bright).

The last photo is ugly and boring but I'm tossing it up here because I thought it was a neat experiment, a 4 minute exposure of a road near my camp site.






30 seconds, F/8


3 seconds, f/8


4 minutes, f/8