Related Posts:

• No Related Posts

Nature is amazing!

(video from Science Friday via 6000 via Two Oceans Aquarium blog)

Related Posts:

• It is all in the Context
• A little light reading
• Caption Please
• New Moon: a sneak peek behind the scenes
• The Wonder of Kids

Church in the morning, followed by lunch with my Mom, Dad and sister at the Mugg & Bean (she squeezed a 20 min snooze in here at some point). Straight home to play in the sprinkler. Soon after that  Marla’s mom arrived and all the excitement that entailed.  Supper time, and then she was left alone at home with me when everyone else went to the hospital to visit Marla’s Gran, who is recovering from surgery.

So the two of us were bumbling around at home and Lili found the swimmer nappy (the pull up kind) that, although worn, was still usable. It hardly got wet in the sprinkler and she had not ‘used’ it either.

She was trying to put it on. this is a fairly amusing to observe as more often than not she would get both legs into the same hole and that would frustrate her and she would shout at the nappy, until she pulled it off and tried again. And in between that she would decide it was a hat and try to get it onto her head.

Well eventually she got it on (as far has her knees) and with no small sense of accomplishment lay back on the floor to watch whatever it was I had on the TV.

This is when the amazing deceleration occurred, from shouting at the nappy one min to this the next…

And I somehow managed to get her from there into her PJ’s, nappy changed, in the sleeping bag and into bed without waking her up.

Related Posts:

• The things kids say.
• Single Parent Week – Night 1
• I don't think I will try that again.
• Cocktails for kids
• n' Boer maak n' plan

I live in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA world cup. Cape Town is not a huge city, it has a population of about 3.5 million, and extends over an area of roughly 2.5 square km. Qatar is about 4.5 times as large but is home to only 1.7 million people.

Now, after the tournament, there are all these issues filling the one stadium that Cape Town built. I’m not sure what plans Qatar have for using the 10 stadiums they plan to build for the 2022 tournament. Here are some images that I pulled of the net of the planned Qatar stadiums. They look particularly amazing.

Al Wakra Stadium

Al-Gharafa Stadium

Al-Khor Stadium

Al-Rayyan Stadium

Al-Shamal Stadium

Doha Port Stadium

Lusail Iconic Stadium

Qatar University Stadium

Sports City Stadium

Umm Slal Stadium

Is that a freaking stadium sized video wall?

Related Posts:

• Human Trafficking – Join the fight!

But then I noticed something was a bit off. Can you see it?

All the cases are standing on their feet with their handles up in the air. All of them except one. Now I knew As soon as I came in the gate whose it was, but can you guess?

Got it yet?

A little clue?

Ok!

Related Posts:

• Where’s my stupid?
• The best laid schemes
• The Things Kids Say
• The things kids say.
• Why I hate shopping for clothes

Akismet is a plugin for a blog that catches almost 100% of spam comments and relegates them to the spam folder. Every now and then I go through the spam and delete it. Sometimes a comment is legit and it ends up in the spam folder for some or other reason, so it is good to check before deleting.

Most spam messages are obvious product placement. Every now and then someone has taken a little bit of time in crafting a message that you might think is real.  Here is an example that I deleted the other day.

This is a smart weblog. I mean it. You’ve so much knowledge about this issue, and so much passion. You also know how to make people rally behind it, obviously from the responses. Youve got a design right here thats not to flashy, but makes a statement as big as what you are saying. Excellent job, indeed.

And you know, if I had a blog that was about a particular issue, where I was trying to create a following and if this comment had been left on a masterpiece of logic and persuasion, I might have been tempted to take what they were saying seriously (despite the obvious punctuation deficiencies).

But they put it on a post I made about choosing Baby Names for my (at the time) unborn daughter. Now there is a cause to rally behind.

Excellent job indeed! (no comma)

Related Posts:

• You’re like the wife of that guy
• Some things are free, but for others you have to write a blog post
• Table Mountain From The Car

It is very sad that these threats, counter threats and overreactions had to take place at all. As Imtiaz Suliman, of the Islamic relief organisation Gift of the Givers was quoted in the media:

“Leave him to God”

Personally, what I find insulting about someone threatening to burn Bibles (or actually burning them) is that they want to insult me. What is insulting is their intent to insult. Honestly, if you want to burn a Bible, go ahead.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the Bible as I am of God who breathed it’s contents. But that is exactly it, by burning this book, you don’t destroy the content, the ideas, lessons or God behind it. By reacting strongly to this you are putting a physical object in a position of reverence, and that is practically idolatry.

Think about it this way, if your house burnt to the ground and everything in it was reduced to ashes (your family made it out safe don’t worry). What would you be most bummed to have lost? Your photo albums? Your Bible? Your Passport? Clothes? A musical instrument?

And would you be insulted, or feel that God would be offended if your Bible burned up as your house burned down?

You get what I mean? The act of burning a bible is not insulting or offensive, it is the intent that is insulting, but only because I choose to let it insult me.

So I have to side with Imtiaz Suliman on this one. Leave it to God.

Would our world not be a better place if everyone had that attitude when faced with religious insult or blasphemy?

Related Posts:

• Blasphemy! How should a Christian respond?
• More on the Strike
• Gag order?

The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

For me the promised joy was going to have an ice-cream with CJ a little later today. Unfortunately that plan has now gone askew.

The plough in this case was actually a pencil and the field was a wall at home (another Burns reference). CJ has taken to drawing on walls. And as punishment for this particular infraction I have canceled the ice-cream trip. Which is a bit of a bummer cause I was realy looking forward to it. I considered going to get an ice-cream for myself but thought that would border on cruel and unusual.

In addition to no ice-cream, CJ also had to wash the wall. I gave her a wet cloth and set her to scrubbing. It did not take long before she was complaining that “I am rubbing very hard and it is not coming off.” Next time I will take a little longer to bring in the Handy-Andy, that stuff is amazing, the marks on the wall just disappeared after a pass or two.

Now I just want to know how many times we have to go through this before she learns not to write on the walls. And then we have to go through it all again with Alicia.

Related Posts:

• Just to be different
• The Things Kids Say
• The things kids say.
• Why I hate shopping for clothes
• Single Parent Week – Night 1

Yesterday my sister (Wendy) called me and said “would it not be great if we all sent Mom a continuous stream of SMS’s throughout the day affirming her as a Mom?” I thought that was a great idea, but it’s just not the way I roll. (Sorry Wends and other sibs). I think it is a little out of character for me and really don’t want to come across as fake. So because I know Mom is one of the 5 people who read my blog (a little blogging humour there), I thought I would post a tribute to (and for) my Mom here.

I was answering a few questions the other day about parenting and how things worked when I was a kid and how I would like things to work now that I am a parent. Mainly the questions were God shaped. Something occurred to me then and I wrote this  in response to the question “If you lived in a Christian home: how good were your parents at teaching you about faith as a child?  Did your parents do most of the work of teaching you about faith, or was it left up to the church to teach you what you needed to know?“

I grew up in a Christian home.  Mom and Dad were the perfect combination, in that together they gave us kids an awesome picture of who God is. Dad was the type to discuss scripture with the teachers in the temple, while Mom was turning over tables in the temple courtyard. One calm and the other full of passion. All I can say is that my folks never left it up to anyone else to teach us about faith.

Not that Dad would not turn over a few tables or that Mom was just passion. But when I think of my Mom, the one word that comes to mind in almost every sphere of her life was passion. Not the over-the-top-always-full-of-energy passion that most people would think of, but rather an inner fire that flamed brightly when life’s wind blew and fizzed and spat when life dumped cold buckets of water.

I don’t remember much from my childhood, tiny snippets really, and I am not sure if I remember them of my own accord or if I am remembering seeing photographs of the things I think I can remember.

I remember how, every now and then, Mom would prepare what felt like a feast for lunch. We would come home from school and the whole table would be set with yummy foods (for some reason hard boiled eggs stick out in my memory). This did not happen all that often and Mom told me later that she did that ’cause she thought that is what proper Moms would do and felt bad when she did not do it. But what made those days all the more special was the fact that they did not happen every day. Thanks Mom!

I remember that Mom worked in the tuck-shop at school every now and then. Those were special days, and not just because we would get treats from the tuck-shop, it was very cool for me to see Mom half way through the school day. I can still picture her looking out of the dark space that was the tuck-shop window, smiling at me when I got to the front of the line (or was it through the door, I think we might have jumped the queue those days as well). Thanks Mom!

I remember the frank and often embarrassing (especially if it happened in front of friends) explanations Mom would give us on the sex-ed front. I am so thankful for the way Mom handled this subject in that she did an amazing job of maintaining our innocence while not keeping us ignorant. I’d often hear tall tales on the playground and think “that’s rubbish” because Mom had already had that chat. Thanks Mom!

Mom and I had some seriously verbally charged fights when I was a teenager. With neither of us afraid to raise our voices and with me forgetting my place more often than not, the yelling could get quite spectacular. Sorry I yelled at you so much Mom. It was not right. I can’t remember the substance of most of those fights, but I do know that in every one of those instances you taught me a little bit more about who I am and how I relate to the world. And while I regret fighting like we did I do believe that we would not have the friendship we have today if it were not for some of those fights we had back then. (I can’t really say “Thanks Mom” at the end of this paragraph, can I )

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me that it is not un-manly to wash your own clothes (and iron them if necessary).

Thank you, Mom, for showing me the way around a kitchen. Thanks that I can still call to get a recipe straight.

Thank you for involving me in the care of my younger siblings. I have always been comfortable around babies because of this and have loved dealing with my own babies as a result.

Thank you for accepting my choice of wife and loving her like your own child.

Thank you that both of my girls could, from an early age, recognize your house with joy as we drove around the corner, and that they love their Ouma so much (even after the “sop blu nife” incident).

Thank you for coming over every Wednesday night to sit with the girls so that Marla and I can got to Community group.

Thank you for being you Mom! I know that on the road of parenting you always have regrets ( I have built up a few in my short years as a dad), but I want to tell you that I have no regrets with regard to your parenting, I would not change a thing, and even those things that you might wish you could change have made me who I am today, and (without sounding full of myself) I think I am pretty well balanced.

Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for the last 36 years of your life. Those 36 years are the foundation upon which my life is built, the foundation upon which my marriage is built and the foundation upon which I will build the lives of my daughters.

I hope the next years of your life bring you joy, peace and much love.

Related Posts:

• The things kids say.
• I don't think I will try that again.
• Spit it out now
• Ninja Dog and the Thunder storm
• I fixed it!

The demolition was scheduled for 12:00, but at about 11:55 I could hear someone talking over a megaphone at the VIP tent about 200m away from my vantage point. The idea occurred to me to capture the demolition on my cellphone camera (the only camera I own), so I pulled the thing out and put it into video mode and pointed it in the right direction. Holding my 18mo in one arm and the camera in the other arm I strained to hear what was being said across the canal to the VIPs. Next to me Marla was arguing with CJ about what colour shopping bag she wanted to sit down on when I thought I heard the announcer say “five…four”.

“Man,” I thought “it’s happening now!” But my phone camera had gone into standby mode, so a quick fumble later I pressed record. I spent the entire time checking the phone to see if it was in fact recording. Good thing it was recording or I would have been like a friend who was standing near who proclaimed “I missed the whole thing!”.

So great work by whoever was watching the clock, you need to turn your time back by about 3 mins (especially when there are a few thousand people depending on you).

So here is my official first posting to YouTube…

My friend Phil got an AWESOME shot of the event check it out.

Did you see the implosion?

Related Posts:

• Tablecloth
• I don't think I will try that again.
• It is really not that bad
• Caption Please
• High way or the low way?