"Hi, my name is Harold"

I can totally relate to this comic. Click the picture, and scroll to the right to read the story....

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

Australia 2008, Part 1

Hello all and sundry...

So it's nearly been a week in Aussie, and its been quite a relaxing one at that. Hence the reason for the lack of news - there really isn't much to report until now. After a very easy flight to Sydney and a quick hop over to Brisbane I spent the next couple of days taking it easy, seeing some family and catching up with the folks. On Friday, however, we traveled down the Gold Coast to Coolangatta (near Surfer's Paradise) to spend 4 days in the sun and surf. Coolangatta is a town that straddles the boarder between Queensland and New South Wales. Our hotel is in NSW, but walk 10m out the front door and you're in Queensland.... which is a bit strange in Summer considering that NSW has day light savings and Queensland refuses to adopt day light savings (some excuse about the cows and their milking times!). Hence in Summer, the one side of the road is and hour behind the other side of the road... Crazy place down under....

Thats all the news for now... but in the mean time have a look at the photo's from the 11th floor of the hotel!

An Attitude Worth Adopting

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

- Ephesians 4:31-32

Dilbert Comic!

GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE!!

For all those Saffers who are depressed and need some positive news about our home... Visit:

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/

Iron Sky

Weekly Wisdom

Man: An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be.

- Ambrose Bierce

One should absorb the colour of life, but one should never remember its details. Details are always vulgar.

- Oscar Wilde

Sole Survivor

Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
- John le Carre

1600 Year Old Wisdom

Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he hold to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men. If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, "although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion." [1 Timothy 1.7]

- Saint Augustine (A.D. 354-430)

Study: Nearly 80 Percent Of Roommates Got So Drunk Last Night

Study: Nearly 80 Percent Of Roommates Got So Drunk Last Night

Oops...

marriedtothesea.com

Why Should We Bother?

Why Bother?
By MICHAEL POLLAN

Published: April 20, 2008
From The New York Times

"Why bother? That really is the big question facing us as individuals hoping to do something about climate change, and it’s not an easy one to answer. I don’t know about you, but for me the most upsetting moment in “An Inconvenient Truth” came long after Al Gore scared the hell out of me, constructing an utterly convincing case that the very survival of life on earth as we know it is threatened by climate change. No, the really dark moment came during the closing credits, when we are asked to . . . change our light bulbs. That’s when it got really depressing. The immense disproportion between the magnitude of the problem Gore had described and the puniness of what he was asking us to do about it was enough to sink your heart." [more]

I very good article of what we are facing!

Smoking ban, fitness tests for healthier nation

By Sharri Markson
April 20, 2008 01:36am

Found at: news.com.au

"SMOKING would be banned for everyone born next year, junk food would be taxed and everyone would be subjected to a fitness test by 2020.By comparison, the cost of healthy food, including fruit and vegetables, would be reduced to reflect its low environmental impact and obvious health benefits."

Read the rest of the article here... These Aussies really are nuts!

Two Types....

The international kilogram conundrum

From the LA Times - Read the Full Story by clicking on the Link, Article by Jia-Rui Chong, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 17, 2008

GAITHERSBURG, MD. -- Forty feet underground, secured in a temperature- and humidity-controlled vault here, lies Kilogram No. 20.

It's an espresso-shot-sized, platinum-iridium cylinder that is the perfect embodiment of the kilogram -- almost perfect.

In the more than a century since No. 20 and dozens of other exact copies were crafted in France to serve as the world's standards of the kilogram, their masses have been mysteriously drifting apart.

The difference is on average about 50 micrograms -- about the weight of a grain of fine salt. But the ramifications have rippled through the world of precision physics, which uses the kilogram as the basis for a host of standard measures, including force of gravity, the ampere and Planck's constant -- the omnipresent figure of quantum mechanics.

In essence, no one really knows today what a kilogram is.

[More]

International Bureau of Weights and Measures

A copy of the international prototype kilogram under its protective casing. The real prototype, known as Le Grand K, is rarely removed from its temperature- and humidity-controlled vault to avoid damage.

The Price of Oil Hasn't Budged Since 2001

Found at: TheDailyGreen.com The article is by Dan Shapley

"The steep increase in the price of crude oil in the United States remains a headline issue, along with the falling US dollar. The drop in the dollar has caused concern in oil-producing countries which use it as the economic basis for the commodity, and often their currency. The chart below shows the spot market price of crude oil per barrel (BBL) in US dollars and in euros from 2001 to today. The price of oil has grown faster relative to the dollar than to the euro. Yet, a portion of the rise in oil prices is due to the fall of the value. Of the dollar. The graph also shows the number of barrels of crude oil per cost of an ounce of gold, demonstrating the parallel growth in commodity pricing."

Barrels of oil per dollar in blue, Euro in red and ounce of gold in purple.

Creation!

The story of Creation

Found at: http://www.plig.net/things/capetown.html
Author: unknown

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God went missing for six days. Eventually, Michael the Archangel found him on the seventh day, having a rest. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look Michael! Look what I have made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet", replied God, "and I've put LIFE on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance?" inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, Northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while Southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot. Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people." God continued, pointing to different countries. "And over there, I call this place America. North America will be rich, powerful and cold, while South America will be poor, hot and friendly. And the little spot in the middle is Central America which is a hot spot. Can you see the balance?''

"Yes" said the Archangel, impressed by Gods work, then he pointed to a small part of land at the tip of a large land mass and asked, "What's that one?"

"Ah" said God, "That's Cape Town, the most glorious place on Earth! There are beautiful mountains, vineyards, rivers, streams and an exquisite coast line. The people are good looking, intelligent and humorous and they're going to be found travelling the world. They'll be extremely sociable, hard-working, and high- achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as the best example of the human species.

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then declared, "But you said there will be BALANCE!?"

God replied wisely, "That's why I made Johannesburg."

Ikeys vs, Marties FNB Varsity Cup Final

It was UCT vs. Stellenbosch last night in Stellies, where the game was robbed from UCT by the biased Ref! Unable to tell the time, the overtime in the second half, to everyone in the stadium at least, seem to be a good 10mins over the 40mins! Oh well, we have the rematch at Intervarsity!!! Well done to both teams and thanks to Stellenbosch for throwing a good party.

Gay Scientists Isolate Christian Gene

I love Chasers War!!! These guys Rock!!!

One Year Older...

Hey! So I'm one year older... It seem like forever since March last year and yet the past couple of months have gone by extreamly quickly! I have achieved quiet a bit since my last Buff-Duff - a degree and a full time job! At the same time this last year has been a year of new things and perhaps finding out a bit more about who I am... I'm not sure i really know the answer yet, but I certainly feel as if I'm getting closer to the answer!

Thanks to all my friends and family who have supported me in the last 12 months! Thanks for all the laughs, shoulders to cry on, cups of tea and braais... Thanks for the late nights and the crazy parties, thanks for being there when I needed you to be... Thanks for putting me right and tuning me when I deserved it... Thank you for teaching me a bit more about myself and a bit more about others...

Most of all I want to say thanks to my Ma and Dad who stress over me in Aussie and who I don't get to see to often... My sister and my little bro too - I miss you guys loads and I wish I could see you guy sooner!

I am so grateful that I have the family and friends I have! I can't imagine a world any different!

Thanks, Love, Hugs, etc....

Ryan

Some Great Quotes for the week!

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
- George Orwell

Most people would rather be certain they're miserable than risk being happy.
- Robert Anthony

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.
- Blaise Pascal

Acting is not being emotional, but being able to express emotion.
- Kate Reid

The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms.
- Stephen Jay Gould

Blue Eyes Rock!

All blue-eyed humans have common ancestor

New research shows that people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. A team at the University of Copenhagen have tracked down a genetic mutation which took place 6-10,000 years ago and is the cause of the eye colour of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today.

“Originally, we all had brown eyes”, said Professor Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. “But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a “switch”, which literally “turned off” the ability to produce brown eyes”. The OCA2 gene codes for the so-called P protein, which is involved in the production of melanin, the pigment that gives colour to our hair, eyes and skin. The “switch”, which is located in the gene adjacent to OCA2 does not, however, turn off the gene entirely, but rather limits its action to reducing the production of melanin in the iris – effectively “diluting” brown eyes to blue. The switch’s effect on OCA2 is very specific therefore. If the OCA2 gene had been completely destroyed or turned off, human beings would be without melanin in their hair, eyes or skin colour – a condition known as albinism.

Read more at: http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/all-blue-eyed-humans-have-common-ancestor-15361.html

Image: The image was originally posted to Flickr by jurvetson at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/10771671/. It was reviewed on 23:07, 19 February 2007 by FlickreviewR, and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

Its the Mid Week BABY!

Well the mid week is here! Just to update all of you on whats been happening... On the weekend I just chilled and took it easy. Roy, Giselle, Bryan, Warren "Aviator" Hall and I went to for lunch in Noordhoek at the Red Herring. Monday and Tuesday where the usual beginning of the work week days. I didn't ride to work either as I was too lazy, if I'm honest! However, I woke up early this morning and after a 15 min debate while making tea I decided to ride in this morning...

As see on the Internet this morning - THE CHEESEBURGER IN A CAN! What sick mind invented this abomination!

The 90s?

Found at xkcd (http://xkcd.com/210/)

Ride To Work - Day 3 and Bonus...

A very very beautiful morning in Slaap Stad today! Unfortunately my colleague Lee got food poisoning from some dodgy prawns last night, so I felt a bit lonely this morning. On the upside, I didn't have to try and keep up with the super fit who I work with... But no matter, I will get there one day! The cycle in was fantastic...

Interesting Image for today:

Found at: http://flickr.com/photos/sepultura/2213647530/

The weather in Cape Town today!

Ride to Work - Day 2

Day 2 and I feel a bit better this morning. The ride home yesterday was great - 25 mins and with the wind at our backs we didn't take any strain. However, the prevailing wind is in our faces nearly every morning and that took its toll on me...! This morning Ray "3Poles" Chaplin (www.3poles.co.za) joined us for what probably seems a nice slow ride from my house to the office. Hopefully when I start getting fitter we can take a less direct route and really get a work out! We'll see in the next couple of weeks...

Just coming onto main road.

The weather in Cape Town today.

Ride To Work - Day 1

Its Day One of my "Get-Fit-So-Start-Cycling-To-Work-Campaign". Officially - I'm buggered! I realised why I need to do more exercise, because I'm terribly unfit... As Lee (who I cycle with in the mornings) said to me - Each day it gets better! She should know, she Cycle's from Milnerton every day!!!!

I'm not gathering STATS for this week, as my watch is at Polar in JHB getting a bettery replacement. However, from next week I will be keeping you posted on my journey to fitness...

Here is the route:


Here is today's weather!