Rotundus.com

Today is the day that the insurance runs out on my car, so I made it out to the tracks in the vehicle one last time, and "studied" while awaiting some trains in the overly hot weather.

One idea that came to mind during that time was the possiblity of doing something with Google Maps. They have fairly close-in satellite views from around my house (a coal train running past Ryan's workplace in the shot that they've got), but unfortunately this doesn't extend into the canyon.

Assuming that they've got most of the Fraser Valley covered, using the Google Maps API one might be able to throw together a nice site with a list of railfanning spots for the Fraser Valley. I know that people can use the API and add in their own location markers, so something like this might work rather well.

On the topic of religious freedom in Canada, there was an interview recently broadcast on CBC radio from a retired professor at the Royal Military College of Canada.

A few quotes from this interview for you:

• "We could also help the general cause of religious freedom by introducing a code of moral practice for religions," he said. "They will never achieve unity so why not try for compatibility? Can't religious leaders agree to adjust doctrine so all religions can operate within the code?"
• "I won't try to propose what might be in the new code except for a few obvious things: A key item would have to be a ban on claims of exclusivity. It should be unethical for any RRP to claim that theirs was the one true religion and believers in anything else or nothing were doomed to fire and brimstone. One might also expect prohibition of ritual circumcisions, bans on preaching hate or violence, the regulation of faith healers, protocols for missionary work, etc.,"