Judah's New Tooth!

Hey! This 5 month old baby can now roll over and can chew your finger with zest! 

Open House

Common upstairs and see our apartment!


This is our living room.


Our living room from a different angle.


The ugly part of our livingroom.*


The view out of the 'ugly part' window.


From the living room to the dining room.


From the kitchen to the dining room.


From our dining room to the kitchen.


From the hallway to the kitchen.


From the back room to the kitchen.


The back room.


Bian's office (it's too small to get a good picture of).


Going upstairs to the bedroom.


Back of the house.


Front of the house.



*We only call it the "ugly part" because of the flooring. We're hoping to find a nice area rug with which to cover it.

Hope you liked the tour! David's the only one in the family who has actually seen it for real.

Names for Christmas

Brian and I have absolutely no clue who we got for christmas this year. I'm not really sure what should be done about this, there's really no way to figure out who we have except by asking everyone else who they have, and I'm getting the feeling that that wouldn't go over well. In the intrest of not leaving this until November to deal with, what can we do? We can guess who we have, and we'll probably end up having a few folks who don't get anything then.

Welcome Home David!

 

Grandma Comes to Visit

 

Reuben's Self Portrait

Reuben decided this week that he would begin drawing. This is his first drawing of person ever! He is very talented as you can see. He also sees himself as a pretty cute "thing". 

Anyone Remember This...?

Teaching Important Life Skills

These two just love their Daddy time. Nadine is especially attentive to the proper method:) 

Our new apartment!

Soo, this last week was a fabulous week indeed. Brian and I got a fabulous apartment in a beautiful section of downtown - a five minute walk away from our pastor (which is important, after all) and a ten/twelve min walk from First CRC. We sign the papers tomorrow and take posession on August 1st. I'm so excited! Here's a few pictures of the outside of our place - we have the second floor/attic.





Our street:

Another Doctor's Visit

We went to see Evan's doctor yesterday. He's pretty much convinced that Evan has asthma, and the little guy was wheezing pretty heavily yesterday. The doctor gave us some more medication to control the swelling in his lungs, which should work in about 5 days. Apparently this medication may increase the appetite....I asked if that was even possible with Evan!! He is still such a happy little guy...even after a big coughing fit, he's all smiles! I wish I could post you a picture, but I'm not familiar with these computers at school.

THose vanBreda Genes...

There is definately a little bit of their Daddy in these monkeys.

(This is Sarah... and you thought I was joking about blogging these babies:) 

One Year Old!

So your nephew/grandson is now one year old. He has been happy and giddy ever since you all were over for the party. He is so smiley - even at the babysitter's! He takes long naps there and is the centre of attention because he is the youngest. He has recently learned how to sign "Please" when he wants more food. We told the babysitter about this, and now he signs "please" when she's having her own lunch too - even after he's been fed!!

He is currently on inhalers because the doctor thinks he may have asthma. We have to give them to him twice a day and he doesn't enjoy it very much. We'll see the doctor again soon for a possible diagnosis. His weight gain is great now. He even has a little tiny gut!

It was great to have you all over for his birthday and we hope to see you soon.
Marya, Eric & Evan

The Influence of Veggietales...

Reuben: Daddy, I was thinking... [starts to sing] "I was lying in my bed..." and I was thinking that we should go outside!

What's worse than Disney's revisionist Pocahontas?

I found this at our local library...

Click on the picture to make it bigger. 

Nadine and Reuben

Reuben: La la la...lalala laaaa la la la laaala la-

Nadine: Hi Reuben!

R: Nadine. I'm singing a song. La la lalaaaa la la laalala...la l-

N: Hi Reuben!

R: Nadine! I'm singing! Laaa la lalala lala la la la-

N: Hi Reuben!

R: Na-dine! I'm singing! La la laaaa...lalala la-

N: Hi Reuben!

R: Nadine, please stop saying "Hi Reuben." I'm singing a song. La la la l-

N: Hi Reuben!

R: Daaaaddy! I'm trying to sing, and Nadine keeps saying "Hi Reuben!"

Me: Nadine, Reuben doesn't like it when you say that, and Reuben, why don't you try singing somewhere else?

R: [walking away to the bedrooms] Lala laaa la la la la....

N: [following] Hi Reuben! Hi Reuben! Hi Reuben! Hi...

My First Review!

I've had my first review of one of my blogs!

...Granted, it would have felt a little more affirming if it was for The Answerman, the one with all the hard work and research, but I'll take what I can get.

Steve takes a picture from his front room daily and posts it at his blog. I find that satisfying and humane. At 1/125 of a second per day we get to view a slice of life in the suburbs of common decency and care.

I had no idea I was this deep...

Judah Johannes

The vital stats:

Name: Judah Johannes
Birthday: 4:52 am March 26, 2006
Weight: 6 lbs 10 oz
Length: 20"
Hair Colour: Red
Looks Like: Reuben
Interesting trivia: Born with water intact. According to the
midwife, it means that he will never drown at sea. *whew!*

Getting Ready...

Well, we've plastic-wrapped our bed. We've got the herbal bath mixture prepared and frozen. We've got separate bags packed for our kids, as well as instructions for each of their routines. We've got Plans A, B, C, and D. We've got the baby's cradle assembled, and clothes ready. We've pre-registered at the hospital, just in case. Our (new-ish!) freezer is stocked with delicious suppers prepared by Sarah (and one or two by me).

All we need now is the baby....

Disappearing Snow

What with all this warm weather and all, we're down to just 1/2 an inch of snow in our backyard. Boo.

Humour

You really have to read this webpage. It's an interview with a search engine, specifically "Ask Jeeves."

Maybe it's because I've had a really long day today, but I laughed so hard I was crying, and my cat came and sat on our couch just to stare at me as I was giggling.

*whew* :-)

-Steve

Collingwood (but I wouldn't)

Well, we've returned from our time-share special up in Collingwood, and had a great time! It started out very dicey, as we left to Exeter to drop off the kids amongst warnings of freezing rain blanketing the entire southern Ontario region. Halfway to Exeter, it started to pour, but it was okay, 'cause the temperature was plus three.

We quickly unloaded the children, then took off in a vaguely northwestern direction following the incredibly detailed and confusing directions of Google Maps. We discovered something kinda neat-- did you know that it can still rain when the temperature is minus 5? It just means that the ice builds up faster on the vehicles and roads. Funny thing, though, we didn't see any cars in the ditch on the way up. It's as if there's a line in bad weather that makes even the most cocky drivers say, "Well, okay, now I think I should drive slowly and safely."

Anyway, we made it, and our van was just covered in ice. We even had to stop twice just to bang the ice off the wipers. Our check-in lady was very nice (and had a big, big, almost freaky smile), and sent us off with our key-card to our room.




























Our room. The promotional guy giving us this deal over the phone that was a timeshare but not, assured us that our room would have:

• two bathrooms
• a fireplace
• 28" flatscreen tv
• kitchen suite
• jacuzzi bathtub
• living room

Basically what you would conjure up in your mind when you pictured the presidential suite from the movies. So exciting!

Our first warning should've been that there was no elevator up to our 2nd floor room. The resort was in the 2nd year of a $16 million renovation, and our room was in the old section. We slid the key-card through the doorknob and stepped into a small room with two twin beds, a dresser, a tv, and a bathroom. Oops.

I went straight back to the nice smiley lady and told her of the situation (apparently the nice salesman promised some things he shouldn't have...) Anyway, she talked to some people, and within 5 minutes, we were on our way to an off-site condo that had all of the above amenities, plus a heat lamp in both bathrooms. Wahoo!














We spent the first day of our three day/two night stay just giddy at what happened, and what kind of a place we were staying in! We ate an unhealthy supper of prepared chinese fingerfood heated in our fully equipped kitchen, then in the morning ate a free breakfast buffet prepared by a professional chef (big, freaking waffles). As a storm gathered itself around us, we watched the olympics, took baths, read books, and enjoyed not hearing children for just a couple of days.

We ended our stay with another nice salesman attempting to soft-sell us a $30,000, 50 year membership to the whole group of resorts that ours belonged to. He took us to the new section of the resort to show us a typical condo we would be staying in around the world. Wow. It was like our condo on polished crystal and marble. Somehow we still managed to say no...

Anyway, we made it back to Exeter inbetween storms around 5:30, where I was presented with the most disgustingly original birthday cake I've ever seen, made by Rachel and her boyfriend.

-Yes everything was bought new
-Those are melted Tootsie Rolls

All in all, a very nice weekend.

Look Upon My Works, Ye Mighty...

Yes, I have done it. Call me "Plumber Steve."

I have tackled the toilet, and emerged victorious. I have taught it its place-- I leak, not it. After replacing the gasket between the tank and the bowl (the flash of pinkish-red, look hard- it's there!), it thought it could best me by springing a new leak from its feeder pipe, but it was not to be.

With the words of advice from a Home Hardware (Home of the Handyman, Gary, actually) employee I valiantly and courageously removed the feeder pipe, and replaced it wth, that's right, a brand-new pipe. But not any pipe. No siree. This ersatz plumber was not satisfied with the status quo. This new pipe is a flexible pipe.

You can expect to hear of "Steve's Plumbing and Teaching Services" any time soon, I think.

I'm dreaming of a White Boxing Day!

So we had a nice little snowfall overnight, and today really feels like Christmas (which is handy, because we are doing our presents today). Santa already brought Evan a stocking full of little presents, but the wrapping paper was much more fun to play with/eat.

I took a picture of my lovely new piano and I'll have to get some help this week to post it so David can see it. You are all invited to come to visit and try it out!

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you are all celebrating a joyous Christmas! I hope that the weather will cooperate with everyone travelling--rain at this time of year is not so great, and we don't want freezing rain! I will be going to Stoter's for dinner tomorrow.
Love you all, and I'm looking forward to next week when I can see all of you again. Can someone please bring a web cam so we can use it for David?

MOM

Just a thought----if you have a gift for dad, why not put it in a gift bag, rather than wrap it. It will be easier for him to open it that way.

I'm coming home!

Unfortunately I woke up at 6am this morning. this is unfortunate because of the fact that I shan't be sleeping for the next thirty hours. I was hoping to get a little more sleep to prepare. Oh well. See you soon!!!

Addendum #1

Hello everyone! Just thought that I would add a bit to my list--I've called it addendum #1, because there may be more....:-)

For Dad--socks
chocolate--something that is soft and smooth--like the chocolate oranges

For me--some new mugs--not too big

Hope you all have a good week!

Brian's List

Hi everybody!

I've been encouraged to post a list here too. There are all sorts of things I'd like and they can be found here. But most of the stuff there is either silly or ridiculously expensive, so I'll provide a truncated list here:

1. Kitchenwares:
good knives or even a good knife (new or used, but sharp)
a family-sized soup pot (new or used)
an electric frying pan (prefer used, sans teflon)
vegetable steamer (new or used)
a hand-held-blender thingy (these are rarely in good condition when used)

2. Sportinggoods:
Cycling jersey (I think sized small, i'm never sure)
Snowboarding Socks
Bicycle computer
Snowboard Wax

3. Carstuff
Carnauba paste wax
Winter floor mats
Map Book

Disclaimer: List may be edited or appended at any time without notice. Any questions of clarification should be first directed to Miss Jennifer who possesses excellent taste.

Mom's List

Hello all!
Stephen just sent me some instructions, so I'm checking to see if it works!

Dad's list:

He hasn't said yet, but he needs a few long sleeved knit shirts, with a collar and a button opening (I think that is a polo shirt).
Pictures in PLASTIC frames, because they can end up on the floor and break

I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

My List:
Pedometer (I really did think of it before Marya!)
Some nice lotions-- like Chantilly or Vanilla Fields
Christmas CD of the Canadian Brass
CDs of good choral music
Offers to do my pictures!

That's a start--perhaps I'll post more later!

Love you all!

How to post on the blog...

Very first, click File at the top of this screen, then click on New Tab (if you're using Firefox. If you're using Microsoft Internet Explorer, press ctrl-N). Type www.blogger.com in the address area there. Now you can go between the two screens (blogger and gmail) by clicking the tops of the tabs (or with IE, the two windows).

1. At Blogger.com type in "[censored]" as the username, and "[censored]" as the password.
2. At the Dashboard screen, click "New Post"
3. Fill in your title, and type your message.
4. Click "Publish Post"
5. The next screen should say something to the effect of "Publishing new post. This may take a while if this is a large blog."
   
6. Finally, it should tell you that the post published successfully, and display a list of options for you-- view blog (in a new window) edit posts, make a new post, etc

Let me know where anybody gets hung up!

Steve

Eric's list

-Team Canada (Hockey Team) black Nike baseball cap
-pair of Mastercraft vice grips
-CD "The OC Supertones" - Faith Like a Child - Christian Bookstore
-Superman Logo T-Shirt XL
-Puma NHL Retro Ringer T-Shirt - size XL - team Edmonton Oilers (page 69 of Sears Wishbook)
-"Darwin Awards" book

Marya's List

Yay! I think it worked!

-flannel pjs
-pedometer
-scrapbooking markers
-gold paint pen
-christmas decorations for around our house
-one of those big exercise stability balls

One more practice, then our Christmas list...

I really hope that this text shows up this time. I don't know what happened last time, but I'm not going to spend the time typing our lists if they don't show up.

Jenn's List

Updated December 7
I can't really think of anything that I want right now. I want to be back in Canada.
A gift certificate for Ikea would be nice (though I know, it's impersonal) because I don't know yet what I need for my apartment in Hamilton....
Hmmm.... Games... Fact or Crap, Flinch, Phase 10 Dice game, Outburst....
I don't really know what else I need or want. Hmm.... A job would be nice.
Check back for more updates. Or ask Brian, Maybe he knows something I don't know...
--A long (knee length or longer) black Woolen Pea Coat, preferably with a belt.

--by the by, as I was searching for games that I'd like I found this quote: Be the first to reach 500 points and win the game! in referenc to UNO. So as I figure it, I had a good 10 year winning streak when growing up....

Sarah's List

Sarah
- large square paper punch - around 2.5 to 3 inches big.
- "Natural Alternatives to Vaccination" zoltan rona md
- subscription to Mothering magazine (I'll pay the difference)
- heat embossing gun
- black driving gloves (size large)
- haircutting scissors

Ideas for the kiddies:
Reuben will be getting a "My First Leap Pad" (garagesale find) for Christmas, so any book other than Winnie the Pooh would be a nice addition to his interactive literary learning experience

It Snowed!

I woke up this morning and everything was covered in a thin layer of snow!!!!! Yeay!!!!! On the other side of the coin I've been under the weather the entire weekend with a headcold and I've been coughing loud enough to raise the dead. It always seems that during the end of the session I'm run down and I start feeling a little ill. Oh well, we'll be getting a holiday in 27 days.

Just seeing if it works...

Commodore Memories...

My siblings (and the select few who had the strange opportunity to play the C64 game "Lazy Jones") will most likely appreciate this song file.

It brings back so many memories...
-catch the red balloons to kiss the girl at the top of the ladder
-avoid the janitors and night watchmen!
-dream about strange grey-shaded men in overcoats and fedoras walking around
-peeing in the broom closet (didn't know the games we played were so realistic, didja, mom?)

Sufjan Stevens

For those who haven't heard, the latest entry into the underground folky-type music is Sufjan Stevens. His songs are absolutely amazing, and his sound is sweeping university campuses.

I'm not a huge fan of downloading, but I can't find his christmas music anywhere to purchase on the net, but you can download his three albums at this site: http://www.chattablogs.com/quintus/archives/019666.html

I'm also not a huge fan of christmas music (I find it often overproduced, cheap, and of poor "artistic" quality...) but this stuff is great. I can listen to this.

Give it a shot-- if you don't like it, you can always delete it!

Steve

Christmas stuff

Hi all! So, about getting Christmas presents for eachother this year, what do you all suggest? I don't really know what people were suggesting last year cause I wasn't planning on being around so I didn't pay attention... I'm pretty much gonna put it out there that I'm just gonna find something that I think that my person would like cause I'm in Japan and I think that it would be a poor thing to do to pass up the opportunity to get something unusual or unique from here... but as for the price? $15? $20? $100? Who has any input on this? I'm cool with whatever gets decided, though I've already bought something for my person. So, speak up, all!

Steve's Christmas List....

(Last update Dec. 4)
List subject to updates without notice

Steve
Neodymium (rare earth) magnets

Gyroscopic and unique tops

An OED

High-power LED flashlight
-3+ bulbs
-hand crank (optional)
or
-LED reading light (so I don't bother Sarah while I'm reading in bed...)

- Graphic Novels (you can get'em used on Amazon.ca)-"Daredevil Visionaries" and "Ronin" by Frank Miller (or pretty much anything by him, Sarah can tell you if I have it or not)

-Video Hound Movie Retriever (2003 or later)

-CDs
--Michigan by Sufjan Stevens
--Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Dave can tell you what's good...)
--Orchestral Game Concert IV (info found here) (it's actually unavailable in Canada, Jenn's the only one with a chance of being able to pick it up, as it was only released in Japan....)
--Pretty much anything by Bruce Cockburn
--- MIESKUORO HUUTAJAT (Men's Choir Shouters) (hard to find, but it'd be great to have...)
"was formed in 1987 in Oulu, Finland, by a group of young men who clearly had nothing better to do." The choir currently consists of about 30 people in black suits, white shirts and black rubber ties who shout some of the most beloved tunes in the traditional Finnish songbook. Their version of The Star-Spangled Banner sounds like Aki Kaurismäki directing a choir of Marines. Truly odd

Just Chillaxin'.....

On Friday, I had to teach north of Exeter, so I dropped off the kids at Sarah's parents' place in the morning, and after school, Reuben and I took a dip in the hot tub, surrounded by snow.

Isn't he just the best looking 3-year old around? (Takes after his dad...)

I'm Googleable!

I'm finally googleable! Google has at last followed MSN and Yahoo, and acknowledged my blog's existence.

Yay!

I feel so.....accepted.... : )

Steve

Happy Birthday!

OK, everybody--all together now!!!!!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happpy Birthday dear DAVID!
Happy Birthday to you!

Did you hear that, David? All of us singing together???
Have a wonderful day!

Babyo #3

I thought that I would give quick mention of the newest coming member of the vanBreda family. Babyo is now 17 weeks old and growing. Babyo is fully formed (eyelids and brows, functioning bladder) and is now going to spend its time getting bigger.

Exciting news is that I can now feel the baby moving! This is my favourite part. I still sleep on my belly (for as long as I can) and that is when I can feel best the baby moving and rolling around. Steve has tried to feel too, however baby is too small.

We have also heard the baby's heartbeat and have another midwife appointment next week. We are forgoing the ultrasound with this baby unless necessary - so no cute picture to send out. I feel ok about that since Nadine's ultrasound picture was so scary. It was fun to see her moving around with those tiny toes? and fingers? or spinal cord? or was that her kidney?

Anyway, babyo is good and happy. I am doing well and feeling less and less tired - bedtime is now 10!
Have a great week all!

Sarah.

She was lost, and now is....come back!

Sumi's back! She returned about 2:30 am, this morning. We heard some persistant meowing outside our bedroom window, and there was a cat that looked exceedingly similar to Sumi, and increased the intensity of her meows upon hearing us call her name.

She's much thinner, but seems to be in good health. We gave her a flea treatment before we went to bed, just in case.

Sure wish I knew what happened to her....

Missing Cat

I thought I'd let everyone know that our cat has been missing now for almost two weeks. She escaped out of our screen door (or rather through the screen door), and just took off. I assumed that she'd come back (she did this about 2 months ago), but we've left our back door open for every night since then, and nothing.
I've gone out looking for her a couple times, but didn't really expect to find anything.

It's weird. I know that she's only a cat, but at the same time, I really miss her. She's been a part of our lives for four years, and now she's gone.

Just thought I'd let you guys know.

Steve

Family Christmas

So I"m going to be home for Christmas vacation, and Brian shall be joining the family Christmas. Do we know yet when family Christmas is going to happen? When do we want to draw names?

New Posting!

(There are two lines, in case you can't see it..... Eeeyayee!)

Today's the day

Wow... Evan is a pretty fair-size baby for his age-- today was his due-date! Just thought y'all might wanna see some pics...

Evan William Renkema

Visit here for the webshots gallery.

Where's the pictures?! I want to see Evan!

the countdown begins...

I just got something today that tells me that I will be required to be in toronto on July 29th for orientation, and then I will fly out to Japan on July 30th. So. That's 72 days from now. Scary, very scary. I think that I'm going to quit work after the second week in July at the latest, I'd like to have some time to see people and stuff before leaving for a year. And since Jet will be paying for my flight out, I don't have to have as much saved as I thought. Which is good.
Brian and I are going to be going to Steve and Sarah's place for dinner tonight and then heading over to the festival theatre to see As You Like It. I'm pretty excited, I haven't been to this stratford since Grade 12, and I haven't been to a play since England, I think. Hurrah for these people that want to involve the "youth" in cultural experiences though, in the past six months I've been to the TSO three times and stratford once, all for under $50 in total. Not bad, eh?
Well, I have the day off today so I don't really have anything that I need to go do, but I think that I'm going to go sit down and finish reading a book. Have a good weekend, all!

Vaccines.....

Greetings, all!

Lately, largely due to the Rubella outbreak in Norwich, I've been seriously thinking about the issue of to vaccinate or not. And it's a big question. Sarah seems to have less doubts about it than I do. And it's a terrible dillema-- Do you vaccinate, and potentially protect your children from all sorts of harmful diseases (conventional wisdom) or not vaccinate and protect your children from a whole host of potential side effects (the dissenters). Either choice, you're trying to protect your children.

And now, the outbreak in Norwich.

All this would be relatively harmless (Rubella, from what I've read, is pretty much on par with Chicken Pox), except for the number of pregnant women that have now been exposed to it and, assuming they have not been imunized, there are now a number of unborn babies at risk of growth defects or even miscarriage.

So when does one person's decisions about their health cross into the realm of public safety?

I don't know. But I have just found out yet another angle on this complex issue.

Apparently a number of popular MMR vaccines, both in the U.S. and Canada, are manufactured using inactivated human diploid cells, derived from aborted fetal tissue. It's not the only one, either. There are also polio, tetnus (sp?) and rabies vaccines manufactured using the same process.

I'm trying to find out which brands are used here in Ontario, and if they do indeed use this process.

These are the thoughts that I've been having of late about this issue. I thought that I'd share them, as this Norwich situation has probably got some of you wondering how Sarah and I have been reacting to this.

Some web-references are below.

Steve

To find the relevant sections, press ctrl-f and type in fetal or diploid.

http://www.eadshome.com/vaccines.htm

http://autism.about.com/cs/vaccinations/l/blvaccsecret.htm

http://www.thenhf.com/vaccinations_06.htm (questionable)

http://www.aspartame.ca/page_vaccs1.html#Vaccination%20Myth%20#1:

Re: Ever Wonder? Well, Wonder No More!

You asked, and the Master of Trivial Information answers!

> EVER WONDER ~~~~

> Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

The apparent lightening of hair color noted to occur with individuals who
have prolonged sun exposure during the summertime is an example of
photochemical damage to the hair shaft.

As you know --- color of hair is due primarily to melanin. It is
synthesized by melanocytes scattered in the matrix of the bulb and passes
into cells of the cortex and medulla. Dark colored hair contains mostly
true melanin, blond and red hair contains variants of melanin in which
there is no iron and more sulfur. Greying hair is the loss of pigment
believed to be progressive decline in tyrosinase (an enzyme necessary for
the synthesis of melanin), white hair results from accumulation of air
bubbles in the medullary shaft.

Chemical and mechanical injuries to the hair or scalp can produce a number
of different effects. These effects can be divided into two very broad
groups; abnormalities of existing hairs and abnormalities of hair
production.

Typical chemicals intentionally used to alter hair include bleach, dyes,
relaxers, and agents usd for permanents. Almost any type of
chemical used to alter hair will cause damage, but most cosmetic products
if used in moderation will produce minimal unwanted side-effects.

Mature hairs are biological filaments with various compartments composed of
dead cells that are dehydrated, filled with insoluble proteins and held
together by strong attachments between the cells. Chemicals that are
applied to hair can sometimes damage the structure of these biologic
filaments and cause the hair to have an undesirable appearance, be less
managable, or be more vulnerable to breakage. Once this occurs, the damage
to existing hair cannot be fully reversed. Some cosmetic products may prove
partially beneficial in repairing damaged hair but normal quality of hair
will only be achieved with the production of new hair to replace the
damaged ones.
Damage to hair fibers may also occur due to chemical or harsh
conditions,not intentionally applied to hair. Examples of such situations
include normal weathering that occurs to the ends of long hairs that have
been exposed to the environment for many years or exposure to chlorine in
swimming pools.

As for the skin, when the skin comes in contact with UV radiation, pigment-producings cell or melanocytes produce extra melanin, which is the pigment that gives us our darker colour, in order to absorb the nasty UV radiation and protect the inner cells from damage.

> Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

There is a direct correlation between keeping the mouth open and keeping the eye open. If we keep the mouth open, it will keep us from blinking.

> Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

If you had the winning lottery numbers, would you advertise that information?
Maybe the real “psychics” know but are smart enough to cash in quietly.


> Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Coincidence.

> Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

practice (v.)
1392, "to do, act, or perform habitually," from O.Fr. practiser "to practice," from M.L. practicare "to do, perform, practice," from L.L. practicus "practical," from Gk. praktikos "practical." The noun is from 1421, originally as practise, from O.Fr. pratiser, from M.L. practicare. Also as practik, which survived in parallel into 19c. Practiced "expert" is from 1568; practicing (adj.) is recorded from 1625 in ref. to professions, from 1906 in ref. to religions.

> Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?

Because you are starting the application that will shut down the operating system.

> Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid is
> made with real lemons?

Most lemon juice *is* made with real lemons (check your refrigerator). Alternate explanation is that artificial lemon flavour is cheaper than real, so in regard to taste, many people would rather save a buck with artificial flavour than have the real thing. Advertising "real lemons" for dishwashing is more of an advertising gimmick. (Plus, they never tell you how much real lemon there is in the liquid, or if there's any artificial stuff as well....)

> Why the man who invests all your money is called a broker?

broker
1377, from Anglo-Norm. brocour "small trader," from Anglo-Fr. abrokur "retailer of wine, tapster," perhaps Port. alborcar "barter," but more likely O.Fr. brocheor, from brochier "to broach, tap, pierce (a keg)," from broche "pointed tool" (see broach (n.)), giving original sense of "wine dealer," hence "retailer, middleman, agent." In M.E., used contemptuously of peddlers and pimps.

(For interest's sake....)
broke
obsolete pp. of break (variant of broken); extension to "insolvent" is first recorded 1716 (broken, in this sense, is attested from 1593). By coincidence, O.E. cognate broc meant, in addition to "that which breaks," "affliction, misery;" but that sense died out long before the current one began.

> Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Because everyone is in a "rush" to leave their place of work.

> Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

How many cats do you know that regularly eat mice?

> When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?

Believe it or not, it's people. Although pet food companies have control animal groups, they also have a human taster, to determine if it really is a "real chicken flavour."

> Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Through strength and self-control that can only come by the Holy Spirit.

> Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

Many individuals supporting the death penalty believe that no other care should
be given to such dangerous criminals. However, there are a few
considerations that maybe you might want to think about. One of these is
for the safety of the individuals administering the injection, or more
importantly the individual inserting the needles. Sometimes despite how
careful someone thinks they are being, one can receive a needle prick. Now
for the criminal, most would say no big deal. But what about the
individual responsible for inserting the needles? Any infectious or
unsterile needle would then be a hazard to this individual (a doctor or law
enforcement individual). There are all sorts of dangerous diseases out in
our world today and quite a few are transmitted through and/or by the use
of unsterile needles. I do not think you would want to unintentionally
injure any other individual associated with this process? To
unintentionally give this individual a disease, maybe even fatal, to
themselves? Also, if for some reason the lethal injection process did not
work the first time due to a bad needle (clogged or bent), the
administrators would again put themselves at risk for an additional needle
prick when they had to change out needles. So by using sterile needles, it
is a safety measure for the other individuals involved in the process and
not necessarily the criminal.

And despite this being a criminal, they are still human beings. There are
rules of ethics in our society. There are different rules for different
societies and in ours, we would like to think we afford everyone some since
of dignity, compassion, and safety; even if they are a convicted criminal.
Some societies do not think this way and do unspeakable things to convicted
individuals. It's called cruel and unusual punishment. In our society, we
like to think everyone has a right to a dignified death by a method that
does not create excessive pain or is long and drawn out. The use of
sterile needles plays into the philosophy of a dignified death and not a
cruel or unusual punishment. The individual, even though a dangerous
criminal, is afforded the opportunity for a dignified death by a swift,
clean method. The use of sterile needles fulfills this requirement.

Also, in one sense, it may be a legal issue not to afford the criminal an
opportunity to file an appeal against the use of dangerous, unsterile
needles. The thought of being stuck by an infectious needle may create
undue mental torture for an individual - cruel and unusual punishment. For
some individuals, they have no problems facing the death penalty; but it
may be quite upsetting for them to think about being stuck by an infectious
needle. It's not saying our legal system is outrageously flawed, but the
individual condemned to die still has the right to appeal and if the court
found that the mental torture the individual endured by the thought of
being stuck by unsterilized needles was cruel and unusual punishment, the
sentence may be commuted to life in prison or day of execution delayed
until another more humane execution method is identified. This affords the
criminal to live longer, file more appeals, and may not have to die at all.

> You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't
> they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Their strength lies both in the composition of its material and its shape and size. Small objects are far less likely to sustain damage in traumatic circumstances than large ones. (compare a squirrel and a full grown human falling the same distance from a tree.) (By the way, the black boxes are actually flourescent orange, easier to spot in a crash.)

> Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

First of all, wool doesn't shrink, it "felts." Wool fibers are like human hairs and fish-- covered with a layer of overlapping scales. On the hoof, the wool strands are oily, growing in neat rows, with all scales pointing in the same direction. This keeps the fibers separate and fluffy, even in a rainstorm. But then we come along and buzz-cut the animals; wash, comb, and card the wool; and then spin it into yarn. After all that aggravation, the wool fibers are stripped of lubrication and mixed up, some pointing one way, some pointing another. As the wool strands rub against one another, the up- and down-pointing scales lock together. At the manufacturing stage, this helps make a strong wool fiber. But heat and water lift the scales on the wool strand, and agitation increases the interlocking, which is why you risk turning your new lamb's wool sweater into cardboard if you wash it in a machine. This is felting. The fiber doesn't get smaller or shorter; you don’t magically lose a yard or two down the drain. It just tangles into a stiff mass.

> Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

apartment
1641, "private rooms for the use of one person within a house," from Fr. appartement, from It. appartimento, lit. "a separated place," from appartere "to separate," from a "to" + parte "side, place" (see apart). Sense of "set of private rooms in a building entirely of these" (the U.S. equivalent of British flat) is first attested 1874.

> If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

No, because: "con" is not always the opposite of "pro." In this instance, "con" is derrived from "com" meaning "together"
congress
1528, from L. congressus "a meeting, hostile encounter," pp. of congredi "meet with, fight with," from com- "together" + gradi "to walk," from gradus "a step." Sense of "meeting of delegates" is first recorded 1678. Meaning "sexual union" is from 1589.

> If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Terminal's meaning here, as seen below, means "situated at the extreme end of something"

terminal (adj.)
1459, "relating to or marking boundaries," from L. terminalis "pertaining to a boundary or end, final," from terminus "end, boundary line" (see terminus). Meaning "fatal" (terminal illness) is first recorded 1891. Sense of "situated at the extreme end of something" is from 1805. The noun sense of "end point of a railway line" is from 1888; that of "device for communicating with a computer" is first recorded 1954. Slang meaning "extreme" first recorded 1983.

> In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through
> stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods.

Yeah, no refutation to these, but the following. Though I know that human idiocy has no known bounds, has anyone actually read any of these labels personally?

> On a Sears hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping. (And that's the only time I
> have to work on my hair.)

> On a bag of Fritos: You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details
> inside. (The shoplifter special?)

> On a bar of Dial soap: "Directions: Use like regular soap." (And that would
> be how??...)

> On some Swanson frozen dinners: "Serving suggestion: Defrost." (But, it's
> "just" a suggestion.)

> On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom): "Do not turn upside down."
> (Well...duh, a bit late, huh!)

> On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding: "Product will be hot after heating."
> (...and you thought????...)

> On packaging for a Rowenta iron: "Do not iron clothes on body." (But
> wouldn't this save me more time?)

> On Boot's Children Cough Medicine:” Do not drive a car or operate machinery
> after taking this medication." (We could do a lot to reduce the rate of
> construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with
> head-colds off those forklifts.)

> On Nytol Sleep Aid: "Warning: May cause drowsiness." (And... I'm taking this
> because???....)

> On most brands of Christmas lights: "For indoor or outdoor use only." (As
> opposed to...what?)

> On a Japanese food processor: "Not to be used for the other use." (Now,
> somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.)

> On Sunsbury's peanuts: "Warning: contains nuts." (Talk about a news flash)

> On an American Airlines packet of nuts: "Instructions: Open packet, eat
> nuts." (Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?)

> On a child's superman costume: "Wearing of this garment does not enable you
> to fly." (I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)

We are the champions!

Here's a link to the Rivertown Sports site summarizing the play-offs (our team is the Black Dragons)


Here's a link to my blog where I detailed our playoff experience

And here's a picture of our winning team! (Yes, I know I look goofy :) But who can look good after playing almost two games worth of periods in the final game)

For everyone but mom... (sorry mom...)

So, check out www.stratfordfestival.ca/playon : anyone under 30 can get tickets for select performances at the Festival theatre for only $20. I think that Brian and I are going to see As You Like It on May 14 -- the musical score in it is composed by the BNL! Fun, eh?

My new Calculator

Hello all! Follow this link to see a picture of the calculator that I just bought at a rummage sale (75 cents, too!)

Bigger is better, right?

Steve

http://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/comp16.html

Neat new thing...

I've proposed a column to a local newspaper here in Stratford, and the editor said about it, and I quote, "I did find your column well-written, informative and amusing."

The column is about answering people's trivia questions that have been bugging them, things that they've always wondered about. I love this kind of stuff, and have got around 10 books for reference.

The thing is, is that they don't have enough room in their little fledgeling paper for the column, so they'll be publishing it on their website!

As soon as I find more info, I'll pass on the website so you can see what's up.

JobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJobsJo-

Wow, when you see the word like that, it actually looks quite silly, rather than stressful.

Anyway, as I have only received three calls for teaching since the beginning of January, I have decided to apply for a maternity position at the Christian school, teaching a 1-2 class, from March Break till the end of June. I realise that it will take me out of the public and catholic system again, but I need to work. Please pray for conviction that this is what I should be doing, and that if it is, I will get the job.

Thanks!