Comment : Hi everyone, welcome to my mobile photoblog! This photo of me was snapped by Serena while a bunch of us were enjoying some yummy ColdStone ice cream at Southpoint. Comment : BEGIN 2005-07-09_15:35.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 BEGIN 2005-07-09_15:35a.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Finley Forest condo
Comment : Here's a view of my lovely condo in Finley Forest! It's been my trustworthy basecamp for seven years now; so sorry to leave. Anyone interested in buying a 2bd 2ba 750sqft condo? :) BEGIN 2005-07-10_12:31.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : CBCNC English service
Comment : Sunday morning, English worship at church! Here's Tim encouraging us to be "completely humble and gentle", words of truth from Ephesians 4. BEGIN 2005-07-16_16:35.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Jordan Lake BBQ
Comment : Our church had a BBQ picnic Saturday at Jordan Lake; we had a huge turnout, too, with lots of new faces. In past years we went to the beach on the ocean, but the drive was pretty far.
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Comment : After most everyone has left, as I relax in the warm breeze under "the chequered shade", this is my view looking up.
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Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Moving week!
Comment : It's crazy just how much junk I've accumulated in seven years here! This is just the "bare minimum" computer gear I'm taking with me on the plane; there's much more the movers are taking in the truck. Comment : Cable modem, laptop router, Ethernet switch, Vonage ATA, phone, answering machine for the Bellsouth line. Comment : BEGIN 2005-07-21_16:16.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Packing day! Comment :
Oh boy is it worthwhile to have a professional packer come; just one guy was able to pack up our whole condo in one day. Dozens of boxes of just the right size and shape, several rolls of packing tape, and many pounds of that wonder of modern material science, packing paper. Tomorrow it'll all be loaded on the truck -- in the sweltering 95° Carolina summer heat! Comment : BEGIN 2005-07-22_15:42.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Last look at my condo
Comment : *sniff* One last look at my home for the past seven years...
All of my stuff has been loaded on the truck, and we'll be staying in a hotel for a couple days before flying out. Praise God, the house wasn't even on MLS yet, and already it's under contract! We're hiring folks to clean and repaint the place before closing. With all the rooms empty, the laminate hardwood floors really stand out and look nice!
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BEGIN 2005-07-25_06:29.jpg
Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Flight to BC
Comment : Well, I'm off! Getting on board my early flight to Toronto and thence to Vancouver, I'm a bit tired but looking forward to arranging for my new house in Langley. Comment : BEGIN 2005-07-25_20:39.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : PT Cruiser rental
Comment : It's near the end of a very full first day in BC; I had some headaches from my bank messing up a good chunk of money for the downpayment on my house, and other problems ... that I probably shouldn't post on a public website ....
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Anyhoo, so Dollar car rental ran out of compact cars and gave me a free upgrade to this brand-new eggplant-purple Chrysler PT Cruiser! It's only got 139km on it. It's cute and funky and turns heads, but I have to say it isn't very ergonomic, and visibility out the windows and mirrors is terrible.
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Comment : Dinner in Langley
Comment : Dinner at Nando's Portugese Chicken in Langley. The chicken was pretty good, although even the mildest lemon sauce was still spicy for me. It's pretty cheap for the area; I can't find many restaurants between Wendy's fast food and Olive Garden ritzy.
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Yes, that is a Nestea in the background; it's about as close to Southern sweet tea as I can find up here. I think I'm gonna have to start brewing my own sweet tea....
BEGIN 2005-07-26_20:46.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2005:07:26 20:46:29
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 300.0mm (35mm equivalent: 381mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0020 s (1/500)
Aperture : f/6.3
ISO equiv. : 800
Exposure bias: 1.67
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Mt. Baker from Fraser Hwy
Comment : If it's not obvious, this photo wasn't taken with my Treo's cheezy camera; this Comment : is with the 1D and 100-300/5.6L zoom cranked all the way telephoto. The Comment : weather's been just beautiful, with crystal clear skies, so as the sunset light Comment : faded in the magic twilight hour, I knew I had to act fast to find a good view Comment : of Mt. Baker. I careened around in the little purple PT Cruiser until I found Comment : a great spot along the Fraser Highway -- if only there weren't all those pesky Comment : power lines! Ah well, can't win 'em all.... Comment : BEGIN 2005-07-27_14:15.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Here's my new campus!
Comment : This building houses the student resource centre and the cafeteria; it's not the building where my office is, but it is more photogenic, especially on a day like today with the beautiful blue skies! BEGIN 2005-07-29_17:29.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : My TWU office
Comment : Yep, it's official, I have an office! #5 in the basement of the Neufeld Science Centre, on the north end. It's technically even a "corner office", although I only have windows on one side. Gets plenty warm in the afternoons, though! BEGIN 2005-07-29_21:49.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Goodnight photo: speedometer
Comment : One last photo for today -- pretty cool to see a speedometer that goes up to 240! We don't see that in the U.S.! I'm not too sure the PT Cruiser's dinky engine could actually do 240kph without a steep downhill slope and stiff tailwind, though... BEGIN 2005-07-30_18:36.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : First night at my new home
Comment : Well, it's my first night to actually stay in my new house -- but there's still a lot that needs to be done! I've got no appliances yet (fridge, stove, washer, dryer), no gas hookup (so no hot water), no shower curtains or doors, and no keys! (but they did give me the garage door opener.) BEGIN 2005-07-30_18:44.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : View from my bedroom window
Comment : That barren wasteland is where they're gonna build yet another office park; hopefully it won't block too much of my lovely view of ... the backside of Costco. You probably can't see it in this photo, but I just saw a pair of rabbits foraging in there; poor bunnies! Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-01_20:04.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Surrey Chinese Baptist Church
Comment : Ah, I'm a bit late on this update; this photo was from yesterday afternoon -- I visited Surrey Chinese Baptist Church, just 15min away from my home. I had a good time hanging out with the college kids there and talking with their English pastor Brian Nelson and Rev. Jeff Kwok, who's filling in for a year while they hunt for a senior pastor. Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-03_16:12.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Car shopping: Corolla XRS
Comment : Well, among my many purchases upon moving to a new location, a new car is now on my shopping list. Here's a peek under the hood of a 2005 Toyota Corolla XRS, a precision-tuned 1.8L four-cylinder 170hp engine block with designs taken from the beefier Celica. I took it for a test drive; it was fun with a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission, but at CDN$25k it's a little pricey for me. BEGIN 2005-08-06_14:56.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Lunch is served!
Comment : Finally, all my appliances are in -- but my furniture and stuff hasn't arrived yet! After two weeks, I've gotten tired of eating out every meal, so when my stove arrived I got just enough to cook a bare-bones meal: a WalMart CDN$1.30 bowl, CDN$0.50 glass, plastic utensils, non-stick skillet, etc. Lunch today is chicken tenders with carrots and lettuce, sauteed in a raspberry nectar, served over raisin bread. A nice cold glass of that same fruit juice tops it off! Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-06_21:46.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : My new car! BEGIN 2005-08-07_10:50.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Surrey Chinese Alliance Church
Comment : Proceeding in order of increasing distance from home, this Sunday I visited the Surrey Chinese Alliance Church at their new building in the nice neighborhood of FraserHeights. Oddly enough not so many people I met at the church were actually from Surrey; several lived in Coquitlam or Langley. It's a beautiful sanctuary resplendent with gilded chandeliers and marble floors; unforunately the acoustics are just horrid with echoes from all those hard surfaces. Comment :
Today, as the first Sunday of the month, was a combined communion service at 11am; normally the English service is at the universal English service time of 9:30am. After an enjoyable chat with the college students, I was graciously invited to lunch by Ken+Waling, together with Waling's mom (who also speaks Hokkien!). Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-09_15:32.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Mommy and Daddy
Comment : Yay, my mommy and daddy are here! Just for a few days to drop some of their stuff, then they're off again. They've definitely got more stuff than I do; I'm giving them the master bedroom for their use, while I take the smaller bedroom with the bright south-facing windows. The master bedroom also has this nifty window seat where you can sit and enjoy the view... of more townhomes across the way. BEGIN 2005-08-11_12:03.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : BC driver's licence
Comment : Well, within 60 days of moving to BC I had to get a new BC driver's licence -- but they kept my old Washington license! Aw well, my new card is pretty. The licence swap was fairly painless; I just went to ICBC Driver Services in Cloverdale, took an eye test and had my photo taken, then they gave me an interim paper licence on the spot and mailed me this card later. Comment :
Comment : Yesterday my furniture finally arrived; it works out since my parents are also in town for these few days, so they can help me unpack and organize. Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-11_12:09.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Car CV boot repair
Comment : Here's the epilogue to my little ditch incident with my new car -- when I foolishly wrapped a rope around my axle to tow the car out, the rope messed up the driver's side outboard CV boot (the rightmost rubber accordion-like thingy). CDN$50 for the replacement boot, plus an hour and a half of labor. sigh shortly after recovering from the ditch, I read in the owner's manual about the specially designed hardpoints on the chassis just for towing! Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-14_09:58.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : CCGChurch in Burnaby
Comment : For church this week I'm hanging out with my dad as he speaks at the Mandarin-speaking Chinese Christian Gospel Church in Burnaby. Comment : He really liked the bright colors of the flowers out front at the Edmonds Community Centre, so I snapped a photo of him with the flowers. BEGIN 2005-08-17_13:02.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : My little corner office
Comment : Here's my home away from home -- my little corner office, with nice big windows on one side. Apparently word travels fast in the department about my dual-flat-panel setup; I get questions about that! It's just nice to have more screen real-estate; in addition I have twelve virtual desktops in my Windows setup. I'm even thinking of bringing in an old 15" CRT to test out how PowerPoint shows from my laptop would do on a projector.
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Ah, enough tech-talk....
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Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Steaks on the grill
Comment : Thanks to Vinny, tonight we're having some yummy rib steaks tonight on the George Foreman electric grill! Steaks are pretty fast to cook, and we tend to eat a lot of them, but now that I'm living in the Lower Mainland, I'll have to investigate some of the huge selection of excellent Chinese food! Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-19_18:01.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Orientation meeting
Comment : Meh, today was pretty much swallowed up by an all-day orientation for new staff/faculty, here in the President's Conference Room at the Reimer Student Centre. It was cool to hear people from all the various sectors of the university give their vision for how the university fits together. But goodness, did it have to take all day? Ah well. Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-21_09:27.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Immanuel CRC in Richmond
Comment : Sunday worship at Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Richmond! More than ten years ago my dad pastored at this church for a few years, so it was real cool for my dad to return to guest speak today. They've grown in that time; now they have three services, in Mandarin, English, and Hokkien. Lots of old friends and many new ones! Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-22_16:29.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Community Day at TWU!
Comment : It's a great way to start off the school year, with a big extended worship service with all the staff and faculty, over 500 people jammed into the cafeteria. We had wonderful sharings and testimonies, and the worship team did a good job of interweaving hymns and praise choruses to get us on our feet every now and again. Sure wouldn't see this at a secular university! BEGIN 2005-08-24_15:45.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Faculty retreat!
Comment : Our cozy group of about 150 from the full-time faculty at TWU and ACTS met at beautiful Cedar Springs in Sumas, WA for our annual overnight faculty retreat. We had some spirited and passionate discussions about how to exhibit our faith in Christ Jesus as the core of our (1) teaching, (2) community service, and (3) scholarly research. It was educational and challenging to learn some of the vocabulary that's used in non-science disciplines. Comment : BEGIN 2005-08-25_14:03.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : FNAS BBQ
Comment : BBQ for all the science departments! We had an all-morning meeting for the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences (FNAS), followed by a burger BBQ out in the beautiful 23-degree (C) sunshine. That's John Byl in the center in the blue. BEGIN 2005-08-28_10:25.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Seattle ECC at Carkeek Park!
Comment : In kind of a last-minute spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, I drove 2hrs to church today down to my old home church, ECC in Seattle. Today was a special joint service at Carkeek Park; thankfully the weather held up -- it was just right, not raining but not too hot, either! It was great to see old friends from all of the English, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations. Comment : BEGIN 2005-09-02_19:30.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Balcony after a long day
Comment : Yep, you've seen the view from my balcony before; but this time, there's a hot air balloon! And for once, it's not the Re/Max hot air balloon that regularly advertises over Langley. This balloon came close enough that I could hear the periodic roar of its burner wafting over the breeze. Comment :
Comment : This week has been pretty busy as we're gearing up for the start of the semester next week; I haven't updated this blog in a few days. The papers I've been spending most of my time staring at aren't terribly photogenic; sorry! Comment : BEGIN 2005-09-03_11:26.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Dennis, Joyce, and Jennifer visit! Comment :
It was a short visit, but we did get a full day together to hang out and relax, sleep in for a bit, watch the sailplanes overhead, and eat some yummy Korean BBQ in crowded downtown Vancouver! Comment :
Comment : This picture was taken on the Fraser River waterfront while we were walking around historic Fort Langley. The date stamp is wrong; I took the photo yesterday but didn't get around to blogging it til today... BEGIN 2005-09-04_11:32.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Sunday worship at TWU
Comment : Sunday worship service at TWU during orientation week for the out-of-town parents and students. Comment : Trinity doesn't usually have its own worship service on Sundays, since students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to serve in their own churches in the area. Today was specially for the out-of-town parents who were away from their own churches. Shown here is President Neil Snider giving a message of exhortation on the Vision, Intent, and Means that King David had in preparing his son to build the temple of God, an example to us today of seeking God's will and carrying it out in actions. BEGIN 2005-09-08_20:13.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Home after first day of classes!
Comment : Wow, that was kinda tiring. Up til classes started I thought I was pretty well prepared, but once the semester started, I realized just how much still needed to be done! I had my first lecture all neatly prepared with PowerPoint slides and everything -- then the video projector wouldn't turn on for me... *sigh*. But it was great to meet some of my wonderful, diverse students! I have to try to memorize their names soon.... BEGIN 2005-09-09_19:42.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Yep, another sunset from my balcony. Comment :
Sorry, can't help it; the rich yellows textured by wispy post-storm clouds are just too beautiful to resist. My cheezy camera phone doesn't do it justice, but neither would my fancy digital SLR. Comment : In the other direction there's a thin sunset rainbow in the mist; the rainbow doesn't have a full color spectrum because the earth's atmosphere at sunset has already filtered all the colors except the vibrant firey reds and oranges. BEGIN 2005-09-11_08:40.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Sunday worship at ECBC
Comment : Sunday worship at ECBC; it's quite the mega-church! Comment : The sanctuary is huge and beautiful, and the worship service was quite Comment : slick. Not too many folks there at the start of service at 8:45am, but Comment : by about 9:00, the sanctuary was pretty full, probably over 400 people. Comment : Afterwards we had a pleasant lunch with some folks from Zion fellowship. Comment : Comment : BEGIN 2005-09-15_16:07.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : T and T grocery
Comment : Sunday evening grocery shopping at T&T oriental grocery in Surrey; Comment : there's some good stuff there! They've got all the good stuff we can't Comment : get in the U.S., and even their "normal" food -- seafood, chicken, Comment : steaks, veggies -- is fresher and cheaper than the Safeway or Save-Ons Comment : just down the street from my home. I picked up some fresh-baked raisin Comment : buns, gai-lan, awesome chicken tenders, and lots of longan. Just for Comment : kicks, I also picked up a few rambutan -- a hairy red/maroon Comment : egg-shaped fruit with white meat and a large seed. It grows in Thailand Comment : and Malaysia; that was the last place I ate some, many years ago. BEGIN 2005-09-20_12:29.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Praise chapel at TWU! Comment :
Chapel is held every day, but within the short half-hour timeslot, there isn't time for singing every time. Most chapels have special guest speakers or presentations. Every Friday, though, the whole chapel time is set aside for worship and praise! And once every couple months, there's also a Sunday night extended worship time.
Comment : Despite the gray rainy weather today, we had a big crowd packing the gym bleachers and floor, gathered together to worship God! BEGIN 2005-09-20_12:45.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Sunday worship at VCEFC
Comment : Sunday worship at VCEFC, the Vancouver Chinese EvFree church! Comment : This church originally was a church plant by an EvFree church in HongKong; the Cantonese congregations are quite big and growing. The English side recently had some upheaval from the departure of the English pastor, but the lay leadership is stepping up to the plate and handling things pretty well in the leadership vacuum. A partnership with Regent college is helping with the teaching ministries in Sunday sermons and fellowships. Comment :
Comment : Here Lesley is sharing during English service about her recent short-term missions trip in China. Comment : BEGIN 2005-09-24_17:02.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:09:24 17:02:51 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 32.0mm (35mm equivalent: 41mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0016 s (1/640) Aperture : f/5.6 ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Deception Pass with X-group friends! Comment :
A few folks from X-group in Seattle
Comment : took a day-trip up, so I met them halfway at Deception Pass; later we
Comment : came back up to Richmond for dinner.
Comment : Here's our lovely little picnic on Bainbridge Island, with the soaring
Comment : structure of Deception Pass Bridge in the background.
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Photo from the
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Comment : 2005-09 Deception Pass album.
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Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Calvary Christian Church in Surrey!
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My next-door neighbor attends this Pentecostal Holiness church; he invited me out, so I popped by for a visit this Sunday morning. Pastor Gordon McDonald's message from Joshua24:15 was a good challenge to make a commitment to choose God over the distractions of life. There's a Mandarin-langage service, too, as well as a gaggle of Asian youth kinda caught somewhere in the middle. Comment :
Comment : Oh yes, there is a cross on the top of the spire in this picture; I just wasn't looking carefully and clipped it out of the frame. BEGIN 2005-09-25_14:41.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Lion's Gate bridge from West Vancouver.
Comment : After church I had a fair bit of time and no specific lunch plans, so on a whim I hit Hwy1 straight out to West Vancouver -- that was a fun drive! North and West Vancouver are known as some of the most expensive areas in the Lower Mainland to live in. There's some beautiful architecture in those multi-million dollar homes! After a leisurely lunch at a small overpriced sandwich place, I wandered down to this nice beach within view of the Lion's Gate bridge. The bright sunshine, cool breeze, and rhythmic waves are very soothing. BEGIN 2005-09-30_08:28.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Sunset amidst the storm
Comment : Yeah, this is what the Pacific NW is really like, none of this weird mid-70's sunny blue sky junk like we'd been having for the past few weeks! Grey and rainy all day long, that's the stuff! But no matter how dreary the day feels, around here the sun always seems to poke out right around sunset, glimmering gold and shafts of fire underneath the fast-moving clouds. BEGIN 2005-09-30_23:52.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:09:30 23:52:16 Resolution : 401 x 600 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.125 s (1/8) Aperture : f/2.5 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Comment : FNAS Christmas dinner!
Comment : Yeah, I know it won't be Christmas for another three months -- Comment : but everyone in our department's so busy in December, we decided to have Comment : the annual Christmas potluck dinner/social at the end of September instead! Comment : The Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences is pretty much everyone who's in Comment : some kind of science at TWU; we are kind of a minority at a liberal-arts Comment : school. Heather and her husband Greg kindly hosted our get-together at Comment : their home in Surrey. Comment :
Comment : It's part of the big Vancouver Chinese Alliance Church, but the English congregation here is actually bigger than at the old Knight St campus. They are apparently also on this "one church multiple campuses" kick. The Fraserlands building is quite impressive, stadium-style seating for probably over 500, an underground parking garage, and lots of classroom space. BEGIN 2005-10-02_19:35.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Fraserlands English service Comment :
Pastor Lawrence giving the benediction at Fraserlands English service. Today's sermon on contentment and the 10th commandment was good, thoroughly prepared, with lots of Biblical references, but it did feel a bit like he just read the whole sermon to us from his notes. Comment :
Comment : After church, it was nice to eat and hang out with some of the LIGHT young-adult folks -- Josh, Swan, Jason, Vi, Mel, Ginny, Jeanie, and everyone whose names I've forgotten already! Comment : BEGIN 2005-10-02_19:36.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Flat tire in Surrey Comment :
Comment : Lots of updates today... I think I'm trying to compensate for a lack of blogging during the week! Comment :
Comment : So I had another minor car adventure today -- nothing big, though! Just a screw in my right front tire, my $200 right front tire.... The scary part is I didn't even realize I had a flat at first; the shocks just felt hard and the car pulled a bit to the right. I drove on the highway for a good 20-30km before the alignment bugged me enough that I pulled over to check it out. It was kind of a slow leak, the tire wasn't totally flat, but flat enough that it was pretty warm. Comment :
Comment : Ah well, those stock Contis have no wet traction anyway; I've been thinking of swapping them for some Kumho ASXs or Falken 512s. Comment : BEGIN 2005-10-02_19:45.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Dinner on Birch Bay waterfront. Comment :
Comment : One last update for today; this is from dinner tonight at the Blue Fish cafe, about ten minutes southwest of Blaine. The food wasn't anythig special, and it cost in US dollars about what the same meal in BC would have cost in Canadian dollars. But there's still some affinity to me in being in Washington state, and it was relaxing to watch the gentle waves as the sun set and the sky faded into twilight. A nice end to a pleasant weekend. BEGIN 2005-10-08_17:00.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Brunch in Bellingham, WA at Lychee Buffet. Comment :
While waiting for my new Falken tires to be mounted at Discount Tire, I walked around in search of food. This buffet looked worth a shot, but I was wary from past bad experiences with unfamiliar Chinese buffets. I walk in the door, they have pretty good business for 3:30pm, and even some vaguely Asian-looking customers -- so far, so good! Sneak a peek at the food: first table has all the standard cheap filler (deep-fried everything, fried rice, etc.) But the second table -- clams, small oysters, fresh salmon, and hey look the back table has sushi and crab legs! Plus, apparently I got in just as they were changing from lunch to dinner at 4pm, so I got the lunch rate -- USD$11. Comment :
I prolly could still find cheaper better buffets in BC, but in Bellingham it was a pleasant surprise to find Comment : this -- a good pick for my ... only meal for the day ... yeah, my tummy's not gonna like this ... BEGIN 2005-10-09_16:57.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : My desk at work! Comment :
Comment : Yeah, this is why I don't blog much during the week -- not much to blog about! This is pretty much what I stare at most of the week, except for class time when I get to interact with students. Chapel punctuates the day nicely, too. Comment :
Comment : Midterm season is starting: everybody, both students and faculty, gets a little more busy and a little more stressed. It's a good test of our character; we show our true colors! Comment : BEGIN 2005-10-09_17:09.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : UBC Alumni house and Faculty Women's Club.. Comment : Irene and Arthur from ECBC were kind to invite me over for Thanksgiving dinner at their very nice home on UBC campus. I had a little time to kill after lunch with the Fraserlands folks, but not enough to make a trip back to Langley worthwhile. So I grabbed a hot cocoa and wandered around some of the scenic views of English Bay on University endowment lands. The alumni house was locked and deserted, but the lovely gardens were quite well-kept and had beautiful panoramic views of the water and neighboring islands. BEGIN 2005-10-13_10:05.jpg Resolution : 480 x 640 Comment : Some beautiful fall colors on TWU campus. Comment :
Comment : Walking to chapel I spotted a small break in the clouds and some sunlight on these amber leaves. We're gearing up for the long, cloudy, rainy winter, so we treasure the brief glimpses of the sun! Comment :
Comment : Midterms have been really swamping us, faculty and students alike. It's always a blessing to be an encouragement to the students in some small way, amidst the pressures of school -- even when we're the ones giving them exams! But we're still their cheerleaders, "on their side" and praying for their success. Comment : BEGIN 2005-10-16_12:35.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Ah, a typical rainy Sunday afternoon in BC. Comment :
Comment : This morning involved a lot of driving; I had to fetch mail and gas up Comment : in Lynden, WA early this morning, before driving all the way Comment : back to the west side of Vancouver for church. It was good to Comment : see Pastor Ted at Lord's Grace church again; I hung out with Comment : them for a bit a couple months ago during their summer conference Comment : at TWU. Comment :
Along the way home after church, this bright yellow Integra Comment : Type-R caught my eye; it had a big 3in tailpipe but sounded like Comment : it had a resonator. BEGIN 2005-10-18_11:38.jpg Resolution : 480 x 640 Comment : Blue skies behind TWU bell-tower Comment :
Comment : The sunny days are getting fewer and farther between now, so we treasure Comment : the beautiful blue skies! The bell tower in front of the Alloway Library is Comment : inscribed, "You sound out the words of the LORD", and the carillon rings Comment : every hour during the day, playing a hymn or other song at 10:50am, Comment : calling everyone across campus to the daily 11:00 chapel. BEGIN 2005-10-23_11:23.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Christian Life Assembly in Langley. Comment :
Comment : CLA is a local Pentecostal mega-church; I think they've got around 5000 Comment : members or so, including quite a few TWU folks. The worship service did Comment : a good job of blending together the singing, prayer, choir anthems, and Comment : Scripture reading. The congregation was quite energetic and really got Comment : into the worship; I found it a bit amusing to see the admonition on each Comment : pew: "Do not jump or dance on the balcony"! BEGIN 2005-10-30_15:02.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : The front of the BAC! Comment :
Comment : Burnaby Alliance Church, that is -- now I've had a chance to visit four Comment : of the sister churches/campuses of the Vancouver Chinese Alliance Comment : churches. Turns out we spoke to the youth group here once many years Comment : ago; I walked into the upper chapel and thought, "hmm, this looks kinda Comment : familiar...." A few college/new-grad folks were chatting with me; they Comment : asked me, "Have you visited here before? Do I know you?" -- turns out Comment : they were in youth group when I last visited! Would have been at least Comment : 6-8 years ago, I figure. BEGIN 2005-11-06_16:02.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Port Mann bridge of Trans-Canada Highway 1. Comment :
Comment : Since 1964, the Port Mann bridge has been the main auto connection Comment : between Vancouver/Burnaby/Coquitlam and the Fraser Valley, including Comment : Surrey, Langley, and Abbotsford. An estimated 120,000 cars traverse it Comment : every day, and daily commuters are used to delays of over an hour to Comment : cross the bridge. Earlier this year, there was a controversial CDN$1B Comment : proposal to twin the bridge, doubling capacity but increasing congestion Comment : in Burnaby and pollutants. Comment :
Comment : It's hard to tell in this picture, but the sun came out for a few brief Comment : minutes near sunset today; a bit of that light is just skimming the Comment : bright yellow paint of the bridge. BEGIN 2005-11-11_15:15.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Motor mount inserts for my Spec-V. Comment :
Comment : We have a two-day fall break this week, so I spent today in a relaxing Comment : diversion -- working on my car! The Sentra's stock motor mounts are Comment : pretty soft; the addition of four cheap Energy Suspension polyurethane Comment : inserts makes shifting noticeably smoother, at the cost of a little Comment : cabin vibration at idle. Comment : The two front/back motor mounts are on the engine's lower crossmember, Comment : visible here. Comment :
Comment : Today was a pretty relaxing day; it was a nice change of pace to be Comment : thinking about something other than the next lecture. BEGIN 2005-11-13_10:34.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : ECC-EKC English service. Comment :
Comment : Taking advantage of the long weekend, I hopped down to Seattle for a Comment : couple days to visit old friends -- Jessica was back on furlough from Comment : Cambodia, and I got to hang out a bit with Happyfish/X-group folks at Comment : the Chris Tomlin / Matt Comment : Redman concert at OCC. (The concert was great, albeit a bit loud -- Comment : but ooh those swirling graphics on the huge 50' screen while we were Comment : singing were so cool!) Comment :
Comment : This is from Sunday morning at ECC/East King County, in the library at Comment : Sherwood Elementary; Willy is doing announcements near the end of service. BEGIN 2005-11-14_11:34.jpg Resolution : 480 x 640 Comment : TWU's The Globe international student centre. Comment :
Comment : Every day to chapel, I pass by these multicoloured flags hanging outside Comment : The Globe. 16% of TWU students are from outside Canada/U.S., over half Comment : of whom are from China. Yet the international students are in many ways Comment : still a subculture on campus, largely segregated from the rest of campus Comment : life. The Globe is part of our efforts to reach out to the Comment : international students and make them feel welcomed and at home at TWU. BEGIN 2005-11-14_11:36.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Fruit trees on TWU campus. Comment :
Comment : As winter approaches, the deciduous leaves have mostly fallen, and the Comment : branches are bare on these fruit trees on our campus, in the open quad Comment : in front of the old chapel. Some of these trees are from the original Comment : milk farm that was here before the land was sold to Trinity. In the Comment : distance is visible the Neufeld Science Centre, where all the science Comment : faculty, including myself, have our offices and labs. BEGIN 2005-11-19_12:05.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:11:19 12:05:48 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30) Aperture : f/7.1 ISO equiv. : 640 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Lunch with my students! Comment :
Comment : It was fun having my students over for lunch; the weather was just Comment : perfect, too! I was happy for the students who came, but it was also a Comment : good thing not everyone from both classes came -- I was already running Comment : out of chairs in my little townhome! Mostly it was just a nice chance Comment : to chill and relax with the students outside of the classroom context. Comment :
Comment : From the 2005-11_Student_Lunch album. BEGIN 2005-11-25_16:39.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Early sunset behind Neufeld. Comment :
Comment : Well, I haven't seen the sun here for nearly a week already; it's often Comment : overcast, and I'm stuck inside most of the time anyway. By the time I Comment : go home, the sun has usually already set. Today I looked out my window Comment : and saw a beautiful clearing of blue sky and the warm glow of sunset, so Comment : I decided to go home early so I'd get to see a little more of the sun! Comment :
Comment : This picture was taken from the parking lot behind the science building, Comment : but the view is pretty similar to what I get from my office window. BEGIN 2005-11-28_07:12.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:11:28 07:12:15 Resolution : 700 x 468 Flash used : No CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.050 s (1/20) ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Mt. Baker and our first snow of the season. Comment :
Comment : The summit of Mt. Baker is actually snow-covered year-round, but today was the Comment : first snow of the season down here in the Fraser Valley. We got a light Comment : dusting overnight, less than a centimetre, and a little more came in the Comment : afternoon. This view is from the greenspace just behind my townhome. Comment : I woke up to white everywhere, and when I saw the clear skies all Comment : the way out to the mountains, I dashed outside with my 300mm f/2.8 lens to Comment : capture the pale blue pre-dawn glow on Mt. Baker, before the sun rose and Comment : turned it all to silhouette. Comment : BEGIN 2005-12-02_08:41.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:12:02 08:41:18 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0006 s (1/1600) ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Snowy morning in Langley.
Comment : We got a bit more of a light dusting of snow last night; waking up this Comment : morning the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was as the snow Comment : muffled everything. This is part of the view out my bedroom window. Comment :
Comment : It's still dark in the valley, and the lights in Costco's deserted Comment : parking lot are still on. Two small wisps of steam mark a farm in the Comment : distance, leading towards this set of foothills south of Mt. Baker. The Comment : sunrise burns brightly behind the mountains; in about a minute much of Comment : the color disappears as the whole sky brightens for a brand new morning. BEGIN 2005-12-17_08:16.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:12:17 08:16:30 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0008 s (1/1250) ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Foggy morning over the Fraser River Valley.
Comment : Another shot in a series of early morning photos from my bedroom window; Comment : this illustrates the thick pea-soup fog we often get in the valleys. Comment : One evening the fog was so thick I couldn't see the bright lights of the Comment : shopping centre just one block away; I thought there was a power outage! BEGIN 2005-12-24_18:38.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS 10D Date/Time : 2005:12:24 18:38:25 Resolution : 600 x 400 Flash used : No Focal length : 50.0mm (35mm equivalent: 79mm) CCD width : 22.66mm Exposure time: 0.022 s (1/45) Aperture : f/2.0 ISO equiv. : 400 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Christmas in San Diego with family!
Comment : Yep, while the East Coast is dealing with snow/ice, and BC/Seattle gets Comment : dreary rainy 5C/40F weather, I got to enjoy Christmas/NewYear's in sunny Comment : San Diego, 20C/68F and blue skies every day! Here I am opening presents Comment : with my cutie 3yo niece, Isabel! One of the presents I got her was a Comment : 24-piece "Dora the Explorer" puzzle; doesn't she look a bit like Dora? BEGIN 2005-12-25_13:42.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2005:12:25 13:42:18 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 40.0mm (35mm equivalent: 51mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.025 s (1/40) Aperture : f/14.0 ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Rebecca's family in San Diego
Comment : Sunday morning my dad had been invited to speak at CBC-SD, where
Comment : Rebecca's father pastors. I tagged along to translate (flakily) for my
Comment : dad, and after church they were kind to invite us to lunch at a nearby
Comment : Chinese place.
Comment :
Photo by Rebecca's brother, Daniel.
BEGIN 2005-12-26_10:09.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2005:12:26 10:09:32
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
Aperture : f/2.0
ISO equiv. : 1000
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Up close with Isabel!
Comment : Hee hee, she loves walking closer and closer to the camera until you
Comment : can't focus on her -- then she immediately wants to zoom in on herself
Comment : on the LCD on the back of the camera! She feels her dad's old film SLR
Comment : is defective, 'cause you can't see the results immediately on the back.
Comment :
More photos in separate album.
BEGIN 2005-12-27_11:13.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2005:12:27 11:13:25
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 58.0mm (35mm equivalent: 74mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0025 s (1/400)
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO equiv. : 200
Exposure bias: 0.67
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : With family in San Diego's Old Towne.
Comment : My dad, my baby nephew Ian, and I in a sunny plaza in the middle of Comment : touristy Old Towne. I was finally persuaded to get a new pair of Comment : Birkenstocks here -- pushed by my parents, my sister, and even my Comment : 3-year-old niece! BEGIN 2005-12-29_11:03.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS 10D Date/Time : 2005:12:29 11:03:26 Resolution : 600 x 400 Flash used : No Focal length : 200.0mm (35mm equivalent: 318mm) CCD width : 22.66mm Exposure time: 0.0040 s (1/250) Aperture : f/2.8 ISO equiv. : 200 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Snow leopard at San Diego Zoo.
Comment : Our big outing Thursday was a trip to the famous zoo in San Diego's Comment : Balboa Park. We spent a few hours there, the little ones didn't Comment : meltdown too bad, and a good time was had by all. Spent about US$40 for Comment : BBQ sandwich lunches for myself and my parents; yipes! They shouldn't Comment : charge admission -- they'll make enough money if they just force Comment : everyone to buy food in the zoo! BEGIN 2006-01-01_11:15.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:01:01 11:15:43 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30) Aperture : f/3.5 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Ling at CEC!
Comment : This Sunday (New Year's Day), we went to church with my sister, at CEC Comment : only about 20 minutes from their home. While I'm waiting in the lobby Comment : for my brother-in-law to return from dropping off the kids, I hear from Comment : behind me, "Hey, I know you!" It's Ling! We grew up together, but I Comment : haven't heard from her in years! Here we are with her new hubby Andy. BEGIN 2006-01-07_15:03.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Quarterly haircut!
Comment : I was getting a bit wooly up top, so it was about time for my Comment : four-times-a-year haircut! This time it'd probably been about four Comment : months since my last cut. It's kinda fun doing it myself, but I'd be Comment : too nervous to do anyone else's hair. All my clippers are either Comment : broken, useless, or out of alignment, so this was done mostly just with Comment : a straight razor and thinning scissors, with small scissors for cleanup. BEGIN 2006-01-14_13:33.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:01:14 13:33:48 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.040 s (1/25) Aperture : f/5.6 ISO equiv. : 1250 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Fender un-bender!
Comment : Yep, so shortly before Christmas, I had a wee little problem Comment : underestimating my new car's turning radius while turning in to my Comment : garage... resulting in the dramatic implosion of the passenger front Comment : corner of my fender. Fortunately, the front fascia (the whole silver Comment : thing lying on the ground) is all plastic, so a little hair-dryer work Comment : softened it up so I could push out most of the dent by hand. Good as Comment : new! kinda....
Comment : That white strip on the car is, interestingly enough, one big piece of Comment : Styrofoam; behind it lies the metal bumper. BEGIN 2006-01-18_21:47.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:01:18 21:47:00 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.020 s (1/50) Aperture : f/2.0 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : "Smithsonian Motor-Works" model engine!
Comment : How nifty -- Dan got me this cute little model engine for a Christmas Comment : present! It's even rated for ages 8 and up, so I'm okay as long as I Comment : don't swallow any of the small parts. And it's just like my Comment : car's engine! Except without DOHC, or fuel injection, or variable Comment : timing, or direct ignition, or balance shafts ... but it does have four Comment : cylinders! You can see cylinder 1's "sparkplug" (small light bulb) firing. BEGIN 2006-01-22_12:14.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : FEC Fujian service
Comment : So back in the days when my father was pastoring in BC, there were two Comment : major Fujian-speaking churches in Richmond -- his church (Immanuel Comment : Christian Reformed), and Fujian Evangelical Church. Apparently, ICRC's Comment : previous pastor was from Manila, and FEC's pastor Chen is from Bacolod, Comment : both in the Philippines. So most of the Chinese Filipinos in Richmond Comment : attend one of those two churches. Pastor Chen is serious, but has an Comment : affable demeanor when he's preaching in Hokkien. Here he's giving the Comment : benediction. BEGIN 2006-01-24_12:06.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:01:24 12:06:47 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 265.0mm (35mm equivalent: 337mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0008 s (1/1250) Aperture : f/7.1 ISO equiv. : 320 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Golden Ears of Mt. Blanchard!
Comment : Today I was feeling a bit unwell, so I went home early after office Comment : hours to rest up and drink lots of liquids. Along the way home, the Comment : skies cleared enough to see the twin peaks of Mt. Blanchard, just on the Comment : other side of the Fraser River. The weeks of rain we'd been getting in Comment : the valley had dusted the mountaintops with lovely white powder. Golden Comment : Ears Provincial Park gets its name from these two peaks when the golden Comment : light of the setting winter sun touches them. This view is literally Comment : from the side of the road that I take every day to commute to work. BEGIN 2006-01-28_12:09.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:01:28 12:09:03 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 71.0mm (35mm equivalent: 90mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30) Aperture : f/4.5 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 1.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Lunch with Thomas Tse and family!
Comment : Old family friend Thomas Tse was in town this weekend with his family, Comment : and invited my mom and I out to lunch at the newly remodelled Aberdeen Comment : Centre in Richmond. It was nice to see their family again after so long; Comment : I don't really have a recollection of their kids from before. BEGIN 2006-01-30_14:33.jpg Resolution : 480 x 640 Comment : Sun and grass at TWU
Comment : Yeah, the sun came out today! We don't get that a lot around here in Comment : the wintertime... I took a short break from marking papers to get out Comment : of the basement and see the sun. The backlighting really made those Comment : blades of grass shine -- but it doesn't really come through on my icky Comment : camera-phone. BEGIN 2006-02-04_15:27.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:02:04 15:27:22 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 28.0mm (35mm equivalent: 36mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.020 s (1/50) Aperture : f/5.0 ISO equiv. : 1250 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Test-driving a Skyline GTR!
Comment : OK, if you have no idea what car this is, just skip this entry and move
Comment : on....
Comment : So one of the cool things about Canada is the import laws -- you can
Comment : bring in pretty much any car you want, as long as it's at least 15 years
Comment : old. Well, 2004 marked the 15th anniversary of one very special car,
Comment : the Nissan R32 Skyline GTR! With the gracious permission of Josh at JS
Comment : Auto Studios, I got to test-drive this beauty of a GTR today. The
Comment : RB26DETT inline-6 sounds great, and the ride on coilovers is smoother
Comment : than my own car. Clutch would take some getting used to, though!
Comment : But yeah, it's more money than I ought to be spending on a "just for
Comment : fun" car.... ah well, someday...
BEGIN 2006-02-10_11:07.jpg
Resolution : 480 x 640
Comment : Sunny day on TWU campus!
Comment : Hey, the sun's out and it's a beautiful cloudless sky! For the first Comment : time in, what, three months? This topiary of the Trinity flame is in Comment : the heart of campus, between Reimer Student Centre and Douglas Hall. I Comment : snapped this quick shot on my way to Friday praise chapel, a good way to Comment : end the week! BEGIN 2006-02-12_14:10.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Ferry at Horseshoe Bay!
Comment : After church at Burnaby Alliance Church, I was on my own for lunch and Comment : didn't really know where to go for food. So on a whim, I decided to Comment : take a little drive out past North and West Vancouver, to the western Comment : end of Trans-Canada Highway 1 at cozy Horseshoe Bay. About half of the Comment : little bay is visible in this picture, and it's flanked by steep rocky Comment : walls dotted with evergreen trees. After a nice little bento box lunch, Comment : I spent an hour playing fetch with the black dog on the narrow beach; Comment : the locals say he's there all the time looking for people to play with. BEGIN 2006-02-16_17:44.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Pretty screensavers at work.
Comment : Well, it's just about the end of the work day; the sun's setting Comment : outside, and I've finished preparing for tomorrow morning's statistics Comment : lecture. I Comment : look up, and the screensavers on both my desktop and laptop have kicked Comment : in. The desktop is running Electric Comment : Sheep, and the laptop is running Flurry for Linux. Lovely Comment : mesmerizing colors! BEGIN 2006-02-17_10:55.jpg Resolution : 480 x 640 Comment : Frozen fountain at TWU.
Comment : It's a beautiful, sunny, freezing cold day here, and on my way to Friday Comment : praise chapel I walked by the small enclosed garden we have beside the Comment : library. There's not much blooming right now, but the little fountain Comment : had completely frozen over from the consistently below-freezing Comment : temperatures we've been having for the past week. I guess we don't have Comment : much to complain about, though, compared to the regular -40 temps out in Comment : the plains of Alberta and Saskatchewan! BEGIN 2006-02-17_17:28.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:02:17 17:28:55 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 280.0mm (35mm equivalent: 356mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.017 s (1/60) Aperture : f/8.0 ISO equiv. : 400 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Sunset on Mt. Baker!
Comment : It's a nice feeling to go home while it's still light outside! The Comment : short drive home from work was so beautiful, once I got home I grabbed Comment : my camera and dashed right back outside. This expansive view of Mt. Comment : Baker is from right beside a busy traffic light behind Costco, within Comment : easy walking distance of my townhome. The dark line across the bottom Comment : is the railway that runs behind TWU, parallel to Glover Rd., and into Comment : Langley city. At night from my house, I can hear the trains running. BEGIN 2006-02-18_16:00.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:02:18 16:00:43 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30) Aperture : f/3.5 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Po-wen's memorial service.
Comment : About a week ago, one of the guys I grew up with at ECC-Seattle passed Comment : away quite suddenly from a heart attack, on his 31st birthday. ECC's Comment : large sanctuary was filled to standing-room-only with people whose lives Comment : Po-wen had touched, at church and with the ECC-EKC youth, and from his Comment : years of ministry with CEF. BEGIN 2006-03-09_22:18.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:03:09 22:18:31 Resolution : 401 x 592 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 185mm) CCD width : 6.80mm Exposure time: 0.250 s (1/4) Aperture : f/2.0 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Comment : Nighttime snow.
Comment : Just because it's March doesn't mean we can't still get a bit of Comment : surprise snow, just to keep us on our toes! Today was really weird; in Comment : the morning when I got to work there was just a light rain, then as Comment : lunchtime approached, the snow got really thick, big flakes piling up Comment : even on the roads. I chickened out and went home for lunch after office Comment : hours, fearing the snow would just get worse. Of course, once I got Comment : home, it cleared up and was sunny and warm; nearly all the snow melted! Comment : Now tonight, the snow is back! BEGIN 2006-03-11_10:47.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:03:11 10:47:42 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.025 s (1/40) Aperture : f/5.6 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Comment : KSport coilovers
Comment : Coilovers (matched springs and dampeners for a car's suspension) are Comment : usually pretty expensive, upwards of USD$1000. KSport is a relatively Comment : new company, and their coilovers are several hundred dollars cheaper. Comment : So far their quality seems to be quite good, too. The new orange Comment : coilovers are on the bench; my old front suspension is on the ground to Comment : the right. The strut tower brace is also on the ground. The ride is Comment : definitely not "luxury", but handling is sharper and more precise. Comment : Freeway onramps are lots of fun! BEGIN 2006-03-12_13:20.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Fraserlands Alliance Church
Comment : I've been church-hopping for about eight months now, and while it's Comment : always fun to meet new people and network, it's about time for me to Comment : settle down. Fraserlands appears to have the largest (albeit loosely Comment : confederated) network of young adults; for better or worse, it's Comment : probably the easiest place for me to be a "nobody," just one of the crowd. Comment : It is hard, though, to build relationships; it takes a lot of initiative. BEGIN 2006-03-12_15:10.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Flowering cherry in Lynden
Comment : At least once a week I make a short trip across the border to pick up Comment : mail at my U.S. mailbox in Lynden. Lynden is still a fairly sleepy Comment : little Dutch bedroom community; the lanes are wide and quiet, and there Comment : are a lot of retirees. This photo is really inadequate to convey just Comment : how peaceful and idyllic the scene is, so you can also listen to the quiet on this Lynden street. Comment : (1:25 mp3) BEGIN 2006-03-18_18:45.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:03:18 18:45:50 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 32.0mm (35mm equivalent: 41mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.067 s (1/15) Aperture : f/5.6 ISO equiv. : 1250 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Spec-V looking to the twilight.
Comment : The townhomes on the right are part of Phase 4 of our strata Comment : subdivision, the last phase to be built. Some of the owners are Comment : starting to move in already. Last July I was the first one to move into Comment : Phases 3 and 4, and I had the whole side street to myself (well, apart Comment : from all the construction workers!). Now it's starting to get a bit Comment : more crowded.... BEGIN 2006-03-19_09:15.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : VCAC Knight St. church
Comment : This church was one of the first I visited in Vancouver; I came here Comment : about a year ago on my interview trip -- my hotel was just a couple Comment : blocks down the street. Fraserlands is a sister campus of Knight St. Comment : (yep, that multi-site model), and although the English congregation and Comment : the facilities at Fraserlands are bigger, it does feel a bit more warm Comment : and cozy at Knight St. The space limitations of the small foyer kind of Comment : force a confluence of people -- you don't really have the option of Comment : staying isolated in your own small group! BEGIN 2006-03-31_22:26.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Bible study at Gary's
Comment : The people in Kim+Willson's small group have been very gracious, I'm Comment : happy that they are open to newcomers, and that their group is growing Comment : as a result. Tonight's study was held at Gary's very nice house in Comment : South Vancouver. Apparently his street is famous or something; he says Comment : he keeps running into local celebrities that live on the same street! BEGIN 2006-04-05_10:50.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:04:05 10:50:00 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0031 s (1/320) Aperture : f/10.0 ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : TWU cherries in full bloom!
Comment : These six cherry trees in the centre of TWU campus are a memorial to the Comment : five students and one instructor from TWU's old flight school who died Comment : in a tragic airplane accident. In the springtime when the cherries Comment : blossom, it's a pleasure to relax in the shade under them, watching the Comment : petals fall like snow, with the bright blue sky overhead. BEGIN 2006-04-17_19:01.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Tulips at Bellingham's Bellwether harbor.
Comment : So, being the last-minute, work-under-pressure, procrastinator that I Comment : am, I put off doing my U.S. taxes until the very last minute. I had to Comment : cross the border to mail it off, but I got to the Lynden post office Comment : just past closing! So I pushed on down to Bellingham; the main post Comment : office there was still accepting tax returns -- as long as it's Comment : postmarked before midnight 17Apr, it's okay!
Comment : Once that was taken care of, I had some time to relax and admire the Comment : scenery on Bellingham Bay. After taking this photo, I had a nice Comment : halibut dinner at the wonderfully romantic Anthony's restaurant at Comment : Bellwether. BEGIN 2006-04-22_13:45.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:04:22 13:45:20 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 123.0mm (35mm equivalent: 156mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0020 s (1/500) Aperture : f/8.0 ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : I-90, Seattle, and Olympic Mtns.
Comment : Down in Seattle for a parent-teen family night at ECC-EKC, I took some
Comment : time on the weekend to cruise around and enjoy some of the sights and
Comment : the beautiful weather. Here I am
Comment : overlooking I-90 in Bellevue, with downtown Seattle in the background,
Comment : set against the Olympic Mountains, sixty miles further in the distance.
Comment : This view is from the 142nd Pl overpass near the Eastgate Park n Ride.
Comment :
Comment :
Photo from the 2006-04_Seattle_EKC_FUN album.
BEGIN 2006-04-23_21:44.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:04:23 21:44:11
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.067 s (1/15)
Aperture : f/3.5
ISO equiv. : 1000
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : X-group dinner at Jed+Sharon's!
Comment : We had a great time of fellowship
Comment : and conversation at the table, catching up on old times and confessing
Comment : our stories of run-ins with the police ... well, it was mostly just me
Comment : doing the latter!
Comment :
Comment :
Photo from the 2006-04_Seattle_EKC_FUN album.
Comment :
BEGIN 2006-04-29_12:04.jpg
Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Kelvin's band at streetfair in Kerrisdale
Comment : Yep, Kelvin is living his long-time dream; he's got his band together, Comment : they play regularly for worship at Seattle and EKC ECCs, and they have a Comment : few other "gigs", too! Here they are at a street fair in Kerrisdale Comment : here in Vancouver; there was a pretty good crowd, but unfortunately it Comment : was raining, as usual for the Pacific NW in April.... Kelvin himself is Comment : just off-frame to the right of this photo, but (from right to left), Comment : there's Tony on electric, Tim on guitar/vocals, Allen on congas, and Comment : Andreas on bass. I liked this photo because of the little boy in orange Comment : watching them play. BEGIN 2006-04-29_15:06.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : TWU commencement ceremonies!
Comment : The 2pm afternoon ceremonies at Abbotsford Pentecostal were for FNAS Comment : (Natural and Applied Sciences), HKin (Human Kinetics), and the Faculty Comment : of Professional Studies and Performing Arts. This was my first time at Comment : a TWU commencement, and my first time on this side of the stage, amongst Comment : the faculty. we were right up front, too; as my colleague Don said, we Comment : really couldn't yawn during the commencement address! Here Academic VP Comment : Dennis Jameson is addressing the graduates. BEGIN 2006-04-29_20:17.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Happyfish sushi all-you-can-eat dinner
Comment : Pretty full day today! A bunch of folks from Happyfish drove up to Comment : Vancouver for the day; they cheered on Kelvin at the rainy street fair, Comment : went shopping at Aberdeen, and in the evening we all ate waaaay too much Comment : at the all-you-can-eat sushi at Tomokazu on Broadway. Comment : Left-to-right, here are Ivy, Stella's feet, Grace, Erick, the back of Comment : Phoebe's head, and Jeffrey. Chris and Olivia were off-frame to the left. BEGIN 2006-04-30_14:15.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Acadia Beach at low tide
Comment : After church today I went cruising around, enjoying the wind and the Comment : sunshine, and just following "the impulses of your heart and the desires Comment : of your eyes". I found myself at Acadia Beach near UBC, parked and went Comment : for a stroll. Headed the opposite direction from the "clothing Comment : optional" part of the beach, and took a long walk on the vast low-tide Comment : sand flats. It was nice to spend some time praying in the stillness; Comment : the only sounds were the wind in my ears, the shuffle of sand beneath my Comment : bare feet, and my own breathing. I heard the Lord remind me of one word Comment : that I must not forget: WAIT. BEGIN 2006-05-02_11:25.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Trinity Lake / Salmon River
Comment : I'm just about done marking final exams, and with the lovely blue sky Comment : beckoning me outside, I took a break for a short stroll around Trinity Comment : Lake on campus. I saw a couple little turtles just sunning themselves Comment : on some logs! The Neufeld science building where my office is lies just Comment : behind some trees off-frame to the right. BEGIN 2006-05-03_14:20.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Luncheon for Dr. Snider
Comment : Dr. Neil Snider has been TWU's president for 32 years and has provided Comment : much of the vision that has sustained the university these many years. Comment : He is retiring this year; our new president Dr. Jonathan Raymond is Comment : coming on board in August. Today we had a celebration luncheon at Comment : Newlands Golf Club in Langley; there were sharing and fond reminiscing Comment : from many people who had worked with Dr. Snider over the years. Here Comment : Dr. Snider is giving a short word of thanks near the end of the event. Comment : Seated at left is his father; both Dr. Snider's parents were in town for Comment : this event. BEGIN 2006-05-07_19:59.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : PacMB Children's Choir
Comment : TWU's own Wes and Kim Janzen do a phenomenal job leading and conducting Comment : the Pacific Mennonite Brethren Children's Choir -- they just won gold at Comment : a prestigious competition in Florence, Italy! Tonight's concert was a Comment : kind of "homecoming" celebration, and they sounded just heavenly. The Comment : closing song, "Love in Any Language", brought back fond memories of when Comment : we sung that in elementary school at BCS! BEGIN 2006-05-13_11:11.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Biking at Stanley Park
Comment : Taking advantage of the beautiful sunny Saturday morning, a bunch of us Comment : folks from the LIGHT young adults fellowship took a leisurely bike tour Comment : around the seawall at Stanley Park. I think the last time I was biking Comment : was when I was a teenager, around the same route. That time we got kind Comment : of lost and ended up clear on the other side of Burrard Inlet. Today's Comment : ride was just as scenic. I think this photo was taken near where Maggie Comment : fell and scraped up her chin a bit. BEGIN 2006-05-14_18:02.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Napping ducks in New Westminister
Comment : After Bible study with Jon's small group in New Westminister, I walked Comment : to this nice little park next to city hall. I gave my mommy dearest a Comment : call and relaxed for a bit by this pond. If you look closely you can Comment : see some ducks snoozing on the island; I think a nap in the "chequered Comment : shade" this afternoon would be just about perfect! BEGIN 2006-05-21_15:46.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Magnuson Park on Lake Washington
Comment : Comment : Once a year my old church ECC has an outdoor worship service, joining Comment : English, Mandarin, and Cantonese congregations from both Seattle and Comment : East King County campuses. They estimated about 1000 people today. The Comment : nice thing for me was that service started at 10am, so I could drive Comment : down for a daytrip! Because of the threat of rain, service wasn't Comment : actually outdoors; it was in a gym at Magnuson Park. It didn't really Comment : rain, though; there were only a few sprinkles later in the day. It was Comment : nice to catch up with a ton of families who had known me since Comment : childhood! This photo is from a nearby pebble beach, after most of the Comment : people had left. Comment : BEGIN 2006-05-26_21:12.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Arthur+Irene Kong at ECBC Zion fellowship
Comment : Arthur and Irene have been actively serving at ECBC for many years in Comment : several ministries, including being counselors for the Zion young adults Comment : fellowship. Their passion and hospitality is always evident. Recently, Comment : after much prayer and careful consideration, they decided to move to a Comment : community church much closer to their home, where they will continue to Comment : serve the kingdom of God. Zion fellowship had a fond farewell for them, Comment : with prayer, sharing, a sweet PowerPoint slide show, and of course the Comment : famous Zion potluck food! Comment : BEGIN 2006-05-27_11:32.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:05:27 11:32:53 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 44.0mm (35mm equivalent: 56mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30) Aperture : f/4.0 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Breakfast gruel!
Comment : Yum, breakfast! I had planned on doing fried rice, but I only had a bit Comment : of day-old rice that was starting to turn into sludge. I threw in some Comment : leftover chicken+mushrooms, added a nice Hot House tomato for veggies, Comment : and finally -- the killing stroke -- scrambled two eggs into the mix. Comment : The result looks pretty unappetizing, even to me -- and I'll eat just Comment : about anything! Surprisingly, it didn't taste too bad... ah well, my Comment : cooking leaves something to be desired. I like my pineapple beef Comment : recipes, though! BEGIN 2006-05-31_11:16.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Drinks on the balcony
Comment : The weather's finally turning consistently warmer, and the cottonwoods produce Comment : their little white puffs that dot the air like lazy snow. The sun sets late Comment : now, and a warm breeze wafts up from below as I enjoy a glass of sweet Concord Comment : grape juice. BEGIN 2006-06-13_18:54.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:06:13 18:54:06 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30) Aperture : f/2.8 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : My sister's family in San Diego!
Comment : Yay, I got to take a short trip down to sunny southern California, just Comment : to see my sister and her family! At one point, I was sitting in their living Comment : room trying hard to read a TinTin book to my 3-year-old niece, and translating Comment : it into rather poor Mandarin .... My sister asks me, "so, was there anything Comment : that you wanted to do while you're down here?" -- you know, see Comment : Sea World, or the Coronado, or the Wild Animal Park, or any of those famous Comment : sights. I answered, looking at my ultra-cute niece, "yup, I'm doing it right Comment : now!" Comment : Comment :
Comment : We were planning on driving down to Seattle this coming weekend anyway, Comment : for a couple retreats at Camp Berachah and Camp Casey, but we ended up Comment : coming down a few days early. My mom gave us a bit of a scare by having Comment : a big spike in blood pressure all of a sudden, so we drove down to Dr. Comment : Shiu's office to get her checked out. Her EKG checks out okay, but Comment : we're down here running a few more tests to figure out what happened. Comment : Here M&D are working on their PowerPoint at my Uncle Peter's place. Comment : BEGIN 2006-06-22_17:19.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Cardiologist at Overlake Internal Medicine
Comment : Here we are talking with a cardiologist, after my mom had had an Comment : adenosine stress-test of her heart; the good news is her heart looks to Comment : be in pretty good shape. Her blood pressure is still high, so she needs Comment : to watch that and take some BP pills, and also watch her cholesterol. Comment : An echocardiogram showed that her heart valves also looked pretty good, Comment : so that's encouraging. With all these tests, together with long periods Comment : in the waiting room, it felt like we spent pretty much the whole day Comment : today in this medical center! BEGIN 2006-06-22_22:03.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Ferrari F430 at Factoria Mall
Comment : One more update for today; I think my blog updates tend to be clustered Comment : around trips! We had dinner today with family friends Kathy and Alex at Comment : a nice sushi place in Factoria, Tokyo Japanese Restaurant. They had a Comment : big selection of sushi and lots of cool specialty rolls; it was Comment : delicious! On our way in, I noticed this beautiful charcoal black Comment : Ferrari F430 in the parking lot, in front of the nearby jewelry store. Comment : Prominently visible in the back were the bright Ferrari-red dual intake Comment : plenums of the 490hp V8 -- ohhh, so beautiful... BEGIN 2006-06-24_19:20.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:06:24 19:20:24 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 30.0mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.040 s (1/25) Aperture : f/5.6 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : STCC/SFCC retreat at Camp Berachah
Comment : What a lovely privilege it was to hang out with the wonderful folks in Comment : the English Ministry from STCC and Comment : SFCC, at their first joint retreat, Comment : at Camp Berachah in Auburn, WA! Comment : More pictures in a separate album. Comment :
Comment : It was so nice to meet Lawrence, Shong, Ed, Andrew, Comment : Howard, Shara, Yi-fan, Bob, Sam, Brian, Ted, Jack, Lingo, Matthew, Evita, Isaac, Comment : Joyce, Rosalyn, Rebecca, Wei-ting, Alex, Linda, Bonnie, Chia-wen, Mavis, Amy, Comment : Sophia, Michelle, Yuri, Liang-ding (sp?), Erica, Spencer, Felix, Jonathan, Comment : Song-shiang (sp?), Tom, Lawrence+Jeanette, Chris+Pamela, and oh so Comment : many others whose names are fast slipping out of my short-term memory! Comment :
Comment : May God's Word continue to remain in their hearts, and may their purpose and Comment : identity in life continue to be rooted in Christ Jesus. Comment : "Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." BEGIN 2006-06-25_21:05.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Winding path at Juanita Park
Comment : Whew, returning to Seattle after a full weekend retreat, all three of us Comment : (M&D and I) were pretty beat. M&D had yet another meeting to speak at, Comment : but I had the night off, so I went for a nice long walk at the nearby Comment : park on the shores of Juanita Bay on Lake Washington. Comment : I liked the gentle S-curve in the perspective view of this lonely Comment : pathway.
Comment : Just after snapping this picture, I came across a young Indian father Comment : and his two small children heading the other direction on this path. Comment : They were just about to pass me, when the little girl, probably about Comment : two years old, blurted out a charming "hi!", accompanied by such an Comment : endearing smile that I couldn't help but walk with my spirits lifted as Comment : I continued on. Comment : BEGIN 2006-06-29_21:29.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:06:29 21:29:15 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 30.0mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.067 s (1/15) Aperture : f/7.1 ISO equiv. : 800 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Prayer meeting at Fraserlands
Comment : Thursday evenings are prayer meeting for the English congregation; today Comment : we had a Concert of Prayer, interspersing a few songs with short times Comment : of praying for specific categories of prayer requests. It's hard for Comment : people to come out on a weeknight, and many people are also part of a Comment : small group that meets sometime during the week. Out of a combined Comment : English congregation of over 700 at Knight St. and Fraserlands, only Comment : around 30-40 come to Thursday night prayer meetings. BEGIN 2006-07-02_07:28.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Raymond Seetoh at Bethel MB retreat at TWU
Comment : So yesterday when I popped into the office to check on things, I noticed Comment : a bunch of Chinese folks wandering around the building, so I introduced Comment : myself and asked if they needed help. Lo and behold, it was Comment : Bethel MB Comment : (and their North Shore daughter church) here on their summer conference, Comment : and Raymond was to be their speaker on the English side! Raymond is just Comment : starting at Bethel as their English pastor. So tonight I Comment : took the opportunity to hang out with them through their wild and crazy Comment : "top model" fashion show icebreaker, the wonderful student-led worship Comment : time, Raymond's passionate message on the churches in Thyatira and Comment : Sardis, and a Spirit-filled altar-call response and worship time. It Comment : was so nice to see Raymond and Rhema again, and it was such a joy to see Comment : a bit of God's working in the hearts of the young people in our local Comment : churches. BEGIN 2006-07-02_20:14.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:07:02 20:14:11 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 58.0mm (35mm equivalent: 74mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0040 s (1/250) Aperture : f/8.0 ISO equiv. : 200 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: center weight Exposure : Manual Exposure Mode: Manual Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Poplars nearby Camp Luther in Mission, BC
Comment : Over this Canada Day holiday weekend, VCAC has two retreats, one for Comment : primary-school children, at Columbia Bible College, and another camp for Comment : the teens, at nearby Camp Luther. After lunch, I had time for a Comment : leisurely drive, so on a whim I snuck over to Abbotsford/Mission Comment : to say hi to the folks at camp and check things out. Both camps are out Comment : east in the Fraser Valley, in my neck of the woods -- my home is Comment : actually closer to Columbia Bible College than it is to VCAC! BEGIN 2006-07-07_11:44.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:07:07 11:44:25 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.020 s (1/50) Aperture : f/4.5 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Family reunion: old photo albums
Comment : Our big family get-together, this year in the Boston area! I took about 1800
Comment : photos over the course of this week, so I'll be posting about one blog entry
Comment : per day. More photos in a separate album.
Comment :
Here we're browsing through some old photo albums of when Susanna was born.
BEGIN 2006-07-08_16:38.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:08 16:38:32
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 52.0mm (35mm equivalent: 66mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.077 s (1/13)
Aperture : f/4.5
ISO equiv. : 1000
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Manual
Light Source : Incandescent
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: me with Grace and Jake
Comment : Here we're having dinner at Sam's place; I'm carrying little Grace and big
Comment : Jake.
Photo by my mom.
Comment : More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-09_11:47.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:09 11:47:43
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.067 s (1/15)
Aperture : f/4.5
ISO equiv. : 1000
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: South Shore Community Church
Comment : Sunday morning my parents and I went with Adina to the local community church,
Comment : only about ten minutes away. The guest speaker that day was talking about the
Comment : churches in China; I was so grateful that the speaker spoke well and my dad
Comment : didn't make a ruckus....
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-10_10:17.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:10 10:17:26
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 44.0mm (35mm equivalent: 56mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0080 s (1/125)
Aperture : f/4.0
ISO equiv. : 1000
Exposure bias: 0.67
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: baby Grace
Comment : Hee hee, little Grace and I had some tummy time playing around on the bed --
Comment : sooo chubby and cute, oh yes!
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-10_13:23.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:10 13:23:00
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 85.0mm (35mm equivalent: 108mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0025 s (1/400)
Aperture : f/7.1
ISO equiv. : 200
Exposure bias: 1.33
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: Benny's smile
Comment : Benny's having a happy time at the beach! My mom is fond of pointing out his
Comment : two cute little dimples -- he gets it from her!
Comment :
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-10_18:16.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:10 18:16:42
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.040 s (1/25)
Aperture : f/3.5
ISO equiv. : 640
Exposure bias: 1.33
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: dogpile on me!
Comment : Elise, Benny, and Jacob lay me flat on my back right in the middle of our
Comment : hotel's dining room floor! Hmmm, need to teach them not to go around pushing
Comment : people over...
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-11_10:34.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:11 10:34:09
Resolution : 600 x 440
Flash used : No
Focal length : 50.0mm (35mm equivalent: 64mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.013 s (1/80)
Aperture : f/2.0
ISO equiv. : 1000
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: center weight
Exposure : Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: family portrait
Comment : Here's our customary family portrait that we have to do every year -- the
Comment : reunions are getting to be a bigger and bigger event, with all these little
Comment : ones: six grandchildren all age four or younger!
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-12_13:53.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:12 13:53:31
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 24.0mm (35mm equivalent: 31mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0063 s (1/160)
Aperture : f/8.0
ISO equiv. : 200
Exposure bias: 1.33
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: Horseneck Beach
Comment : Here I am with Adina and Benny at Horseneck Beach -- the sand was pretty good,
Comment : and it was not so rocky, which meant fewer painful snails for our bare feet!
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-13_19:22.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:07:13 19:22:37
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.040 s (1/25)
Aperture : f/2.2
ISO equiv. : 1000
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Family reunion: Elise at home
Comment : Here we are just chilling at home, back from North Dartmouth. Elise is dancing
Comment : away; Benny is flipping through a book, and grandpa is trying to suck in his
Comment : "hippopotamus".
Comment :
More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-07-15_18:09.jpg
Resolution : 480 x 640
Comment : Semiahmoo beach and Drayton Harbor
Comment : I love summertime in the Pacific NW / Lower Mainland -- the daylight is long, Comment : the cool breezes off the ocean are just the right temperature, and the sunsets Comment : are always stunning. Today, while swinging south of the border to pick up Comment : mail, I decided to zig out to the coast and enjoy the sunshine. I found myself Comment : outside the famous Semiahmoo resort -- no need to check in to the expensive Comment : resort, when I can walk the public beaches for free. I spent a couple hours Comment : just strolling on the rocky beach, and brought home a small translucent white Comment : pebble, an ordinary, common, little stone, but it captured my attention. BEGIN 2006-07-17_20:12.jpg Resolution : 480 x 640 Comment : Mt. Baker from Langley greenspace
Comment : After a yummy dinner of lemon pan-seared salmon with lettuce over rice, I went Comment : out for a little stroll in the slanting evening light. This pleasant walkway, Comment : maintained by the Township of Langley, runs right behind my townhome and Comment : affords a lovely view of Mt. Baker. Despite the rising land and housing Comment : prices, no houses will ever be built on this walkway -- because underneath it Comment : runs the main Terasen natural gas pipeline connecting Langley and Surrey! BEGIN 2006-07-22_20:36.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Richmond night market
Comment : Comment : These past few days have been really hot (38C/100F out in Langley), but Comment : fortunately, it cooled down somewhat in the evening. Steve and I wandered the Comment : Richmond Night Market, with its stalls of cheap trinkets and food. Crowds are Comment : not really my cup of tea, but hanging out with Steve is at least always Comment : entertaining. Comment : BEGIN 2006-07-23_19:08.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:07:23 19:08:02 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0080 s (1/125) Aperture : f/18.0 ISO equiv. : 200 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake Comment : , 121°40'36"W 48°51'58"N BEGIN 2006-07-27_11:51.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : FBI fingerprint forms
Comment : One of the complications of being a US citizen living in Canada is that Comment : I need to get permanent residency status, and there's an awful lot of Comment : paperwork involved. Fortunately, TWU contracted an immigration lawyer Comment : to help me out, but the whole thing is still very confusing to me. Comment : Today I got my fingerprints taken at a local RCMP station; we'll send Comment : them in to the FBI to get a criminal background check. I don't think Comment : anything will turn up! :) Comment : I did find it interesting that the fingerprint forms aren't merely the Comment : usual ten finger tips, but also imprints of your four fingers together, Comment : and your thumb, extending down to the 2nd and 1st phalanges. Comment : BEGIN 2006-07-29_09:27.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:07:29 09:27:27 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0063 s (1/160) Aperture : f/3.2 ISO equiv. : 320 Exposure bias: 0.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : CCGC youth tent camping!
Comment : Woot, what a fun and exhausting weekend! I had the great privilege to Comment : hang out with and get to know 17 wonderful, precious kids from the Comment : Chinese Christian Gospel Church youth groups at their first-ever youth Comment : tent camping trip to Golden Ears Provincial Park. We all had a great Comment : time together, nobody got hurt, and Sunday morning we even had a great Comment : breakfast and abbreviated Sunday service, in the tents and in the rain! Comment : Praise God for stirring in the hearts of these youth a willingness to Comment : Dare to be Different, just like Daniel in the Bible. We'll see how long Comment : they remember "Ick-Hick" -- Identity, Courage, Humility, and Consistency! BEGIN 2006-08-05_19:58.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Festival of Lights at Kitslano Beach
Comment : Steve and a bunch of other LIGHT friends and I headed out to Kits beach Comment : for dinner and the annual Festival of Lights fireworks show. It was Comment : pretty packed, but it was nice to hang out and chat for a couple hours Comment : until it got dark and the fireworks started. This year there were four Comment : countries that put on displays; Mexico won first place for its beautiful Comment : colours and creative "sombrero" designs. They broadcast a soundtrack Comment : over the radio, too. BEGIN 2006-08-06_10:01.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Sunday School with Linda on hermeneutics
Comment : English Sunday school at Fraserlands tends not to be terribly Comment : well-attended, mostly because it's at 9:15am rather than 11am as it is Comment : at the Knight St. campus. The class in the Fireside room has a pretty Comment : broad range of people, from community college students on up to parents Comment : of college students. Over the summer, Linda is leading a class on how Comment : to study the Bible. I like her attitude towards Scripture: the deeper Comment : we dive into the Word of God, the more it comes alive; and when we come Comment : across a difficult or controversial passage, our response should not be Comment : to throw up our hands and dismiss Scripture, but to dig even deeper, Comment : reading the passage in context, so as not to misinterpret it. Here Comment : Linda is excitedly diagramming the sentence flow of Ephesians 2:4-5. BEGIN 2006-08-10_14:20.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Touring SFU campus with Alma
Comment : My colleague and friend Alma finished her Ph.D. here at Simon Fraser Comment : University just last year, so she still has a lot of good contacts in Comment : the computer science department. SFU has the second-largest CS Comment : department in Canada, second only to U Waterloo, so they have a lot more Comment : resources than TWU does, we with our grand total of four full-time Comment : faculty members in CS! We listened to an interview talk by Comment : world-renowned medical image analyst Baba Vemuri, had lunch with a Comment : Alma's friends Veronica and Kim, and briefly toured the famous Comment : terraced-mountaintop architecture on campus, designed by Arthur Comment : Erickson. Yes, I believe the Quad in the background of this picture was Comment : used by "Battlestar Galactica" for a busy pre-Cylon Caprica City. BEGIN 2006-08-13_14:00.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : ECC Summer Conference at Camp Berachah
Comment : I took one last trip down to Seattle to visit my old home church and Comment : catch up with old friends; it was so much fun! There were terribly few Comment : people from the English congregation, but I had a wonderful time Comment : catching up with old family friends from the Chinese congregations: so Comment : many wise and mature Christian brothers and sisters that I had taken for Comment : granted while I was growing up. Coming back this time, my eyes opened Comment : to just how cool they are and how much I have still to learn from them! Comment : Rev. Paul Shen delivered a powerful and engaging series of messages on Comment : the church's identity as the dwelling of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Comment : I was especially struck by the reminder given in his last message in Comment : Sunday service, of the parallel drawn in Ephesians 5 between the Comment : husband-wife relationship and Christ to the church -- strong marriages Comment : and strong families are the building blocks of a strong church. BEGIN 2006-08-19_12:17.jpg Resolution : 640 x 636 Color/bw : Black and white Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Thank-you card from a student
Comment : This is from last Spring semester, but I reread it just now and it really is so Comment : touching! Wow, such a privilege that the thread of my life can intersect with Comment : the threads of students like this as God weaves His majestic tapestry. Stuff Comment : like this is why I'm here at Trinity; these little notes are better than Comment : promotions or tenure! BEGIN 2006-08-19_21:57.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:08:19 21:57:34 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.067 s (1/15) Aperture : f/2.0 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 1.67 Whitebalance : Manual Light Source : Incandescent Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Worship service in the garage BEGIN 2006-08-26_13:25.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Pastor Larry+Esther's wedding
Comment : Our VCAC youth pastor Larry has been with us for a couple years now and Comment : has a great heart for the teens; he's a real asset to the church Comment : community. I hadn't met Esther before today, but she's been leading Comment : worship at other churches for many years now, and it seems like she Comment : comes from a terrific family. Today we celebrated their wedding in a Comment : wonderful worship service at Fraserlands! I liked how the whole focus Comment : was not so much on Larry+Esther as it was on God and giving glory to Him Comment : for bringing together a devoted couple. Even the music when the bride Comment : walked down the aisle was not the traditional Lohengrin bridal chorus, Comment : but rather the contemporary hymn, "My Tribute" -- "to God be the glory, Comment : for the things He has done"! The exhortation by the bride's father (and Comment : translated entertainingly by her little brother) was really sweet, and I Comment : also thought the foot-washing ceremony was very touching -- yeah, the Comment : whole wedding was really quite moving.... BEGIN 2006-08-26_18:35.jpg Camera make : Sony Ericsson Camera model : K750i Date/Time : 2006:08:26 18:35:48 Resolution : 500 x 375 Flash used : No Exposure time: 0.017 s (1/60) Aperture : f/2.8 ISO equiv. : 100 Whitebalance : Auto Comment : Pitch-n-putt at Burnaby Central Park
Comment : Comment : After Pastor Larry's wedding, I went for bubble tea by myself to think Comment : and pray for a bit, then met up with Steve and Tyrone for pitch-n-putt Comment : at Central Park. It was my first time ever playing any golf that wasn't Comment : mini-golf, but this course is pretty easy and was a gentle introduction Comment : to golf for me. Apparently it's called "pitch-n-putt" because the holes Comment : are all par 3, so a "normal" golfer should be able to "pitch" onto the Comment : green in one drive, then sink the ball into the hole with a couple Comment : putts. Here I am still in my wedding clothes, carrying my rental 7-iron Comment : and putter; Steve is behind me. Comment : Comment : Photo copyright Tyrone, from his website. Comment : BEGIN 2006-08-29_18:24.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:08:29 18:24:08 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.020 s (1/50) Aperture : f/4.0 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Sauteed pork chop with nectarines
Comment : OK, so this blog entry is my attempt to compensate for Comment : the entry about my Comment : gruel that my sister keeps drawing attention to. Yes, I can cook a Comment : little! Here before you lie the ingredients to tonight's scrumptious Comment : masterpiece -- butterfly pork chops marinated in honey mustard dressing, Comment : softened with a dusting of corn starch, and sweetened with a teaspoon of Comment : Disaronno liqueur. These were then sautéed in virgin olive oil on high Comment : heat until golden brown, after which the peeled diced BC nectarines on Comment : the left were added, together with a splash of lemon juice. Cover and Comment : let simmer on low/med heat for a few minutes, and it was ready to serve Comment : over Thai jasmine rice! Delicious when paired with a refreshing glass Comment : of sweet iced tea. Not too bad, eh? :) Comment :
.... yeah, my audience (me) isn't too discriminating about food .... BEGIN 2006-09-01_11:21.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Casual brunch at Vinny+Joy's
Comment : Comment : Yay, I'm back in North Carolina for CBCNC's annual retreat at the beach! Comment : I flew in a day early, arriving late Thu night, and Vin+Joy were Comment : gracious enough to put me up for the night (in the room being setup for Comment : the new baby!). Here I am chilling in Vin's kitchen after a nice Comment : brunch; Joy was playing around with my cellphone. BEGIN 2006-09-02_19:08.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:09:02 19:08:20 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0016 s (1/640) Aperture : f/2.0 ISO equiv. : 1000 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Camp lunch at Ft. Caswell
Comment : Here I am with Mei and the rest of the gang at the cafeteria at Fort
Comment : Caswell. hey, their food wasn't half bad -- and I finally got my fix of
Comment : authentic southern sweet tea! It was cool to see those college kids
Comment : again; they seem so mature and cosmopolitan now! Mei still needs to eat
Comment : and sleep better, though, methinks...
Comment :
Comment :
Photo by Roger.
Comment : More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-09-03_16:49.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:09:03 16:49:07
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0020 s (1/500)
Aperture : f/8.0
ISO equiv. : 250
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : Caswell Beach with Vin+Joy
Comment : Both full days of the retreat left plenty of time in the afternoon for
Comment : fellowship and relaxation at the beach, with the beautiful white sands,
Comment : blue sky, warm breeze, and cool waters. I got a bit tired just standing
Comment : out in the sun; I didn't even go in the water with the kids!
Comment :
Comment :
Photo by Roger or possibly Jerry, I forget.
Comment : More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-09-04_09:58.jpg
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS-1D
Date/Time : 2006:09:04 09:58:56
Resolution : 600 x 401
Flash used : No
Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm)
CCD width : 28.32mm
Exposure time: 0.0004 s (1/2500)
Aperture : f/5.6
ISO equiv. : 500
Exposure bias: 1.00
Whitebalance : Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto)
Jpeg process : Progressive
Comment : CBCNC youth group photo!
Comment : Yay, the 2006 Fort Caswell retreat CBCNC youth group! Most Fridays we
Comment : won't have quite the same mix of kids: the college kids will usually be
Comment : off at school, and we have a number of newcomers that came just for the
Comment : retreat. But hopefully the group will continue to grow, by God's grace
Comment : and guidance!
Comment :
Photo by Allen.
Comment : More photos in a separate album.
BEGIN 2006-09-08_11:05.jpg
Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Outdoor TWU praise chapel!
Comment : What a great way to kick off the semester -- the first Friday praise Comment : chapel was held outside under the beautiful sunny skies, the sounds of Comment : praise and worship filling the campus! Apparently Mrs. Esther Kong was Comment : here too, somewhere up front. BEGIN 2006-09-10_15:14.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : VCAC pastoral ordination
Comment : Today was quite a full day of church events -- we celebrated the Comment : ordination of three of our pastors, Revs. Norman, Alfred, and Joe, Comment : and later that evening had a huge Comment : 40th anniversary thanksgiving dinner, with about 95 tables (nearly 1000 Comment : people) at Floata Comment : Restaurant. At the ordination, it was cool to meet folks from Franklin Comment : Gospel whose lives had been touched by Pastor Norman's work; he also Comment : helped out at Fountain Alliance for two years before coming to VCAC. Comment : The dinner that night was also fun, but just a bit loud for me; I needed Comment : to take a walk to get the ringing out of my ears. BEGIN 2006-09-12_19:54.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Soft twilight in Langley
Comment : The sun has just set, and both the blue skies above and the green earth Comment : below deepen to shades of grey. A father and his son play with a small Comment : remote-controlled car in the empty sandlot. Along the quiet pathway, a Comment : well-dressed elderly Asian gentleman walks alone. The first three stars Comment : of evening have come out: the day is officially complete. There is sound Comment : of traffic and construction site generators in the distance, but for me Comment : sitting here on my bedroom windowsill, there's only the Comment : song in my heart:
Comment : Son of God, shaper of the stars
Comment :
Comment : You alone, the dweller of my heart
Comment :
Comment : Mighty King, how beautiful You are,
Comment : how beautiful!
Comment :
Comment :
BEGIN 2006-09-20_20:10.jpg
Resolution : 640 x 480
Comment : Marking statistics homework!
Comment : Marking, marking, marking, always more marking! (That's "grading" for Comment : the U.S. folks.) Here's the fruit of my labour for the last two and a Comment : half hours -- I've marked a total of nearly 400 questions and given out Comment : a total of 1155 points. Had to finish it tonight so I can hand them Comment : back at tomorrow's 8am class. I do love teaching, especially the Comment : face-to-face interaction with the students, but I don't know of a Comment : teacher alive who actually enjoys marking! I need to start selecting Comment : only certain questions for marking. Comment :
Comment : Wow, what a gorgeous day! We Comment : know full well that autumn is nearly upon us, but we'll make the most Comment : of this welcome indian summer! Today, after helping out at Noel's fun Comment : guitar workshop, I had about half an hour to kill before helping Steve Comment : move out of his parents' basement (and into someone else's basement!). Comment : Occasionally, I'll go to cemeteries in the daytime to think and Comment : pray and relax -- ha ha, it's not morbid, just peaceful! It's Comment : amazing how quiet it is here, even in the midst of the bustle and Comment : traffic of the city. The history is cool to read, too: this big cross Comment : marks the Harrison family grave; seven family members are buried here, Comment : spanning over a century from 1850 to 1952. The only other (living) Comment : person there was a man sitting under that big tree on the right, eating Comment : his lunch by a grave. I wasn't sure if it was the touching scene of a Comment : widower reminiscing of sharing a meal with his young wife, or just a Comment : random guy eating lunch... BEGIN 2006-09-26_12:01.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Lunch in my office
Comment : Here's a view of my little corner office! Corner, but it only has Comment : windows on one side, and it's still kind of in the basement of the Comment : building. But no complaints; the windows are nice and bright; Comment : particularly good in the winter time! That desk chair is one that I Comment : brought with me from NC. The threads are stripped and the screws are Comment : falling out, but when I first moved in, Rick said that I probably had Comment : the nicest chair in the building, better than the dean's chair! I just Comment : have to make sure not to lean back too hard, or the back will fall off.... BEGIN 2006-10-01_15:15.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : View from Burnaby Mountain
Comment : For our small group activity today, Jon+Rosanna, Samson, Adam and I went Comment : for a "leisurely" 8km walk/hike around Burnaby Mountain at SFU campus. Comment : Some of those trails are pretty steep; "Cardiac Trail" is apty named! I Comment : was sooo out of shape, but Samson kept on going; he's got the strength Comment : of his namesake! Afterward I stayed behind for an hour or so to enjoy Comment : the view and the autumn sunset, to pray and reflect on the day. It was Comment : just beautiful, but it was amazing how quickly the temperature dropped Comment : as the sun set. Comment : BEGIN 2006-10-02_22:00.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Late night in the computer lab
Comment : Yes, so normally our CMPT140 Comment : class has three TAs who each take a four-hour evening shift in the Comment : computer lab each week, helping students with their programming Comment : projects. But one of my TAs is sick this week, so I decided to fill in Comment : for her; I have a ton of statistics marking to do, anyway. It certainly Comment : makes for a long day at work, though, staying until 10pm! Just the Comment : other day in office hours one of my math students made this offhand Comment : comment about how her professors who are single seemed to have more time Comment : to spend with students. Ha, that's just 'cause we have no life outside Comment : work! :) Then she added, "but some of them seem more unhappy, too". Comment : awww.... BEGIN 2006-10-06_11:11.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Friday praise chapel!
Comment : It's Friday, the end of the week, which means praise chapel! It's Comment : midterm season, so it's been a rough week for all of us, students and Comment : faculty alike. But prayer and praise are always refreshing, bringing Comment : our focus back on Jesus, the beginning and the completion of the faith! Comment : It was so cool to see some new faces on the worship team, full of Comment : youthful energy and passion in worship. The gym bleachers are usually Comment : packed out for praise chapel, 5-600 students or more, so I sneak around Comment : the back way, that puts me right on the floor in front of the worship Comment : team. After we were dismissed, the student standing in front of me Comment : actually stopped me to compliment me on my voice -- awww, how sweet; to Comment : God be the glory! BEGIN 2006-10-07_12:13.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:10:07 12:13:09 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.020 s (1/50) Aperture : f/5.6 ISO equiv. : 640 Exposure bias: 1.00 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : IKEA glass coffee table
Comment : Yep, so pretty much all this time ever since I moved in, I haven't had a Comment : coffee table in my living room. I'd planned on getting one, but never Comment : got a round tuit. Well, since small group is meeting at my place this Comment : Saturday, I had a good excuse to make a trip out to IKEA on this Comment : Thanksgiving holiday weekend! I had my sights set on a 100cm-diameter Comment : round glass table, but when I saw it in person, I realized it'd be a bit Comment : too big for my living room. Plus, like many IKEA things, it wasn't Comment : particularly ... shall we say ... sturdy. Then I spotted this table Comment : (GILLSBY, 100x60x37cm, CAD$89). It was listed as a TV stand rather than Comment : a coffee table, but its design Comment : as a TV stand means that it's considerably less flimsy than the coffee Comment : table designs. The tempered glass is supposed to handle up to 165lbs; Comment : that's about as much as I weigh! I'm quite happy with the table; I like Comment : the glass and think it looks nice. Really not kid-safe, though.... BEGIN 2006-10-08_16:28.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : North Lonsdale BEGIN 2006-10-09_18:36.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:10:09 18:36:45 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.100 s (1/10) Aperture : f/2.8 ISO equiv. : 1250 Exposure bias: 1.33 Whitebalance : Manual Light Source : Incandescent Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Dreaming about box wrenches BEGIN 2006-10-11_11:02.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Primary colours on TWU campus Comment :
Well, with the end of summer and the arrival of fall here in the Comment : Lower Mainland, I was fully expecting to hunker down for six months of Comment : wet and grey without the sun. It's such a pleasant surprise to see Comment : bright blue skies! It's still getting chilly out, and the late evenings Comment : and early mornings out here cover the valley with a soft blanket of Comment : pillowy fog. I snapped this shot on my way to chapel, walking through Comment : the central courtyard on campus. Comment :
The walk to and from chapel is a good chance to get out of the Comment : office! After long hours marking, my shoulders and trapezius muscles Comment : are getting kinda strained. Need to work on my posture! Last night was Comment : a long night in the office, staying until around 11:30 marking Comment : statistics midterms; that's no good on the back, either.... BEGIN 2006-10-14_14:37.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Dr. Raymond's inauguration as TWU president Comment :
Today we had a fancy inauguration ceremony for Dr. Jonathan Raymond Comment : as TWU's third president; the ceremony was held at Pacific Academy's Comment : rather posh Pattison Auditorium in Surrey. We all wore our floofy hats Comment : and regalia, but I still wore my trusty Birkenstocks! Comment : Honestly, I rather dislike ceremony and pomp, meh. This snapshot was Comment : surreptitiously taken from my second-row seat on stage with the faculty. Comment : Dr. Raymond is up front in the blue, right hand upheld and left hand Comment : on the Bible as he takes the oath of office. His wife Irene is on his Comment : left, and the chair of the board Allan Hedberg is on his right. The Comment : folks in red are from the Salvation Army band; they did a great job. Comment : I was quite impressed with the conductor: he was so relaxed, it Comment : demonstrated a lot of confidence in the band. Good leadership style! BEGIN 2006-10-17_18:42.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : SFU-CS Open House
Comment : Simon Fraser is one of the largest nearby public universities, and Comment : probably the second-ranked computer-science / engineering school in Comment : Canada (second to Waterloo). My colleague Alma finished her Ph.D. there Comment : a few years ago and has been a great help in building research Comment : connections there. Today the CS department had an open house with Comment : presentations from many students on their current research projects. At Comment : right here is Ghassan from the medial image analysis lab at SFU; at left Comment : is Raeef from the electrical and computer engineering department at UBC. Comment : It was so fun to get back into that atmosphere of researching and Comment : solving problems with like-minded academics; it's been a while since Comment : I've been in that scene! BEGIN 2006-10-21_21:08.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Starfield concert at Broadway church
Comment : As a culmination of the Unite in Worship training conference for worship Comment : leaders, Desperation Band and Starfield had a concert tonight at the Comment : huge sanctuary of Broadway church in Vancouver. It wasn't totally Comment : packed full, but there were still probably close to a thousand folks of Comment : all ages, from teenagers to parents. The concert was fun, and it was nice to Comment : be there with Rob, Phebe, Abby+Neil, Cliff+Libby, and Fritz+Tracy. It would Comment : have been nicer if we had had more of a chance to chat, though! It was so Comment : loud we couldn't really talk with each other much. Comment : Starfield was fantastic -- great music and pretty rockin' -- but I liked the Comment : more worshipful attitude of Comment : the Desperation Band folks. Out of the many many concerts I've been to Comment : thus far, I still have to say the best confluence I've seen of humble Comment : worship and musical excellence are the guys in Common Ground Band; their attitudes are Comment : really inspiring. BEGIN 2006-10-22_18:11.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:10:22 18:11:19 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No Focal length : 35.0mm (35mm equivalent: 44mm) CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0020 s (1/500) Aperture : f/2.8 ISO equiv. : 320 Exposure bias: 0.67 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Sunset clouds; cloudy thoughts BEGIN 2006-10-23_17:59.jpg Camera make : Canon Camera model : Canon EOS-1D Date/Time : 2006:10:23 17:59:51 Resolution : 600 x 401 Flash used : No CCD width : 28.32mm Exposure time: 0.0040 s (1/250) ISO equiv. : 320 Exposure bias: 1.33 Whitebalance : Auto Metering Mode: matrix Exposure : aperture priority (semi-auto) Jpeg process : Progressive Comment : Racing the earth's rotation
Comment : Ha ha, that was fun! On my way home from work, I saw the sun round and Comment : amber over the fields next to Glover Road, just gorgeous, and I knew I Comment : had to capture a shot of that sunset with a 300mm telephoto lens. As I Comment : was pulling into the garage, the sun was already sinking behind the Comment : neighbouring hills of Surrey; as I grabbed my camera and lens and dashed Comment : out to the balcony, there were less than 90 seconds left to pick a Comment : composition and focus, before the sun disappeared out of sight. Comment : After a tiring Monday catching up on marking and lecture preparation, Comment : that was a fun diversion! BEGIN 2006-10-27_11:06.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Japanese maple by Fraser Hall Comment :
Comment : On the way to Friday praise chapel my eye was drawn to the lovely Comment : translucent glow of this Japanese maple, softly backlit by the cloudy Comment : skies and light mist. The leaves are at the peak of their fall colour, Comment : fading from vibrant orange red to burnt ochre. BEGIN 2006-10-31_11:37.jpg Resolution : 640 x 480 Comment : Clear skies, chilly air Comment :
Comment : Brrrr, it's getting chilly out here! We had a wonderful long summer Comment : this year, but it has definitely drawn to a close. The past few days Comment : have been clear, bright, and beautiful, but cold! The high today was Comment : just barely 5C. A number of my