So today is the last day officially of Winter. Traditionally spring starts tomorrow - 1st September. Historically, September is by far our coldest month, when it snows up past Melmoth and out at Nkandla, not far from Eshowe. In the Southern Hemisphere, our seasons are completely opposite to the Northern Hemisphere!
It always snows in the Berg in September, and there is a rash of reports on the news of either:-
Hikers freezing to death when hiking in the Drakensberg (Dragon Mountains)
Informal settlements burning to the ground because the residents insist on lighting fires in their homes to keep warm! Trouble is, if one shack burns up, around 500 others catch light!
I usually hate the cold weather, when my muscles tend to freeze up (not literally, but it feels like it!) and I can barely move, let alone walk!
The Elders at Church both are raving at how great the weather is for now - warmish days and cool nights. The temperatures are not low like they can get in September. I stand by my conviction that:-
September is by far our coldest month
February is - by a long way - our most uncomfortably humid month. October is pretty well our warmest month, but February is way more humid!
April heralds the best month of year here - not hot, not humid and definitely not cold!
Mtunzini is a great place to live! I had a reservation for dinner for 2 at a local restaurant - Zanj - Arabic for East Coast. I have eaten there before and the food is so well prepared - always! It is not that expensive, so is really worth spoiling someone special - and they dont come much more special than me! :-)
I required to change the reservation from Tuesday to Thursday, and it was no hassle - even though I had some difficulty in speaking over the phone! In Johannesburg they would have slammed the phone down on me as soon as they heard I have a speech impediment!That is why I moved from Johannesburg - there the pace of life is so fast that no-one takes the time to try to understand me! Where I live now, is way more laid back! Zululand time makes Mormon time look lightening fast!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Another new week 2
This week started out great. Yesterday, I got an annointing and a blessing at Church from the Priesthood, that gave me the strength to cope with the severe cold that I developed. The blessing worked, just as I thought it would! I feel way better than I did yesterday!
Also included in the blessing was something that I really did not expect! I was given the spiritual strength to persue my dreams! I am aware that Di feels more about me than she wants to show, and that maybe I have a huge advantage in a proposal. I have proven that I am way different to her ex husbands! The first abandonned her and I know the second who leaves much to be desired in his views of the world. Where he failed to be concerned about his kids, I was in a position that I could help out. We have a dinner date (yes - it is an official date!) at a really special restaurant.
I know that with 2 failed marriages behind her, she is reluctant to commit to a further marriage, but I know within myself that we CAN make a marriage work. I also truly believe that when I was praying about a wife in the Temple Celestial Room, I was told - by name - that Di was to be my wife! I sense that this will not be just for mortality, but for Eternity!
I even have an idea of the ring that I want to get her! Hopefully, it (or it's twin) will appear on her finger soon. I know that the Branch President would freak out if he knew that I am looking outside of the Branch to find a soulmate. The 2 other couples found their future spouses - 1 in Johannesburg and 1 in Kloof - down near Durban - in the Church, but I feel that the local stock of women is rather sparse! There is Sheila (who is a lovely person, but is definitely NOT my style, and Mary, who is probably pushing 70! Other than that there are teens and younger! I have "met someone" who is ideal - my age - and who will eventually be a great addition to the District in Zululand! I truly believe she will be a great member - and a great spouse!
One huge blessing is that she has only known me AD, so cannot compare me to the BC me - something that Michele could! I think that she felt embarrassed by how the accident that robbed me of so much happened, and was not happy that the accident occurred because she hit a pothole and blew out my tyre. This was why I was changeing the spare wheel when the bread delivery truck slammed my car into me. How many out there can claim to have barely survived bread rolls? Either that or to claim that their own sports car ran them down!
Also included in the blessing was something that I really did not expect! I was given the spiritual strength to persue my dreams! I am aware that Di feels more about me than she wants to show, and that maybe I have a huge advantage in a proposal. I have proven that I am way different to her ex husbands! The first abandonned her and I know the second who leaves much to be desired in his views of the world. Where he failed to be concerned about his kids, I was in a position that I could help out. We have a dinner date (yes - it is an official date!) at a really special restaurant.
I know that with 2 failed marriages behind her, she is reluctant to commit to a further marriage, but I know within myself that we CAN make a marriage work. I also truly believe that when I was praying about a wife in the Temple Celestial Room, I was told - by name - that Di was to be my wife! I sense that this will not be just for mortality, but for Eternity!
I even have an idea of the ring that I want to get her! Hopefully, it (or it's twin) will appear on her finger soon. I know that the Branch President would freak out if he knew that I am looking outside of the Branch to find a soulmate. The 2 other couples found their future spouses - 1 in Johannesburg and 1 in Kloof - down near Durban - in the Church, but I feel that the local stock of women is rather sparse! There is Sheila (who is a lovely person, but is definitely NOT my style, and Mary, who is probably pushing 70! Other than that there are teens and younger! I have "met someone" who is ideal - my age - and who will eventually be a great addition to the District in Zululand! I truly believe she will be a great member - and a great spouse!
One huge blessing is that she has only known me AD, so cannot compare me to the BC me - something that Michele could! I think that she felt embarrassed by how the accident that robbed me of so much happened, and was not happy that the accident occurred because she hit a pothole and blew out my tyre. This was why I was changeing the spare wheel when the bread delivery truck slammed my car into me. How many out there can claim to have barely survived bread rolls? Either that or to claim that their own sports car ran them down!
Friday, August 27, 2010
EAST COAST
Looking out of my windows, I can see the Indian Ocean - brilliantly blue today! It makes up for the way I feel today! I have just gotten over a cold - first one that I have had for years - literally! My nose started dripping two days ago. I felt kind of grim until I went to the chemist. He sorted me out with a vitamin type tablet and I think that maybe I was kind of run down. I kmow how that feels because I HAVE been run down before - literally!
I have to take so many tablets now:-
a muscle relaxant to ease my cramping muscles
a tablet to stop the flow of STUFF from my nose
tablets to improve my natural resistance
tablets to ease the bee venom that even now tends to cramp up my arm muscles (luckily I dont need these as much now!)
Pain killers if the cramping muscles get too sore to bear!
In case I am stung again, I carry capsules that reduce the effect of bee venom, so I can get to the doctor and he can inject me with adrenelin! I honestly felt after I was stung that my muscles all over were shutting down. I could not breathe or even see properly, let alone stand!
Still, I am reasonably healthy. A huge benefit of thousands of bee stings, is that I am diabetic! How is that a benefit? I no longer consume sugar in sweets, sugar in my Milo (hot malt chocolate drink!) or even in fizzy drinks. The benefit for me is that I have lost 2 jeans sizes in 2 months, and even my current jeans need a belt to hold them up, or else I will be wearing them round my ankles! It will not be long before I can trade down a further jeans size! This is a positive thing - I think!
What I see though, is that 4 years ago, I gave away around a dozen virtually new longs, of the size that will fit me in another 2 weeks or so! 12 longs at R 120 each - minimum, is R 1440!
Still, you should never look back with regret! I gave them away because I needed the space in my wardrobe - AND I was convinced that I would never fit into them again - ever!
Goes to show that ideally you should not give ANYTHING away! The only upside is that someone (12 someones actually) needy benefitted from my longs! I do however have a few jeans that are of this size.1 honestly felt that since I cannot stress my muscles out, I would never fit into them again!
Secret is that when I was run over, I suffered from minor brain damage, where the connections between my brain and my muscles was broken. My muscles cramp up more or less on demand, but do not release completely. They then cramp up completely, and dont release. I even at one stage had to see a specialist to sort out where I thought I needed a hip replacement! I need to take a tablet every day for the rest of my life!
This is however only a minor invonvenience compared to moving through the Vail - permanently!
I have to take so many tablets now:-
a muscle relaxant to ease my cramping muscles
a tablet to stop the flow of STUFF from my nose
tablets to improve my natural resistance
tablets to ease the bee venom that even now tends to cramp up my arm muscles (luckily I dont need these as much now!)
Pain killers if the cramping muscles get too sore to bear!
In case I am stung again, I carry capsules that reduce the effect of bee venom, so I can get to the doctor and he can inject me with adrenelin! I honestly felt after I was stung that my muscles all over were shutting down. I could not breathe or even see properly, let alone stand!
Still, I am reasonably healthy. A huge benefit of thousands of bee stings, is that I am diabetic! How is that a benefit? I no longer consume sugar in sweets, sugar in my Milo (hot malt chocolate drink!) or even in fizzy drinks. The benefit for me is that I have lost 2 jeans sizes in 2 months, and even my current jeans need a belt to hold them up, or else I will be wearing them round my ankles! It will not be long before I can trade down a further jeans size! This is a positive thing - I think!
What I see though, is that 4 years ago, I gave away around a dozen virtually new longs, of the size that will fit me in another 2 weeks or so! 12 longs at R 120 each - minimum, is R 1440!
Still, you should never look back with regret! I gave them away because I needed the space in my wardrobe - AND I was convinced that I would never fit into them again - ever!
Goes to show that ideally you should not give ANYTHING away! The only upside is that someone (12 someones actually) needy benefitted from my longs! I do however have a few jeans that are of this size.1 honestly felt that since I cannot stress my muscles out, I would never fit into them again!
Secret is that when I was run over, I suffered from minor brain damage, where the connections between my brain and my muscles was broken. My muscles cramp up more or less on demand, but do not release completely. They then cramp up completely, and dont release. I even at one stage had to see a specialist to sort out where I thought I needed a hip replacement! I need to take a tablet every day for the rest of my life!
This is however only a minor invonvenience compared to moving through the Vail - permanently!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Am I crazy?
Many - including my folks - think that I am crazy! In Sunday School, the class was asked "Have you ever seen an Angel?" and the teacher fully expected no-one to respond affirmatively. I said "Yes - I date one!" and the teacher - and her grandmother, both immediately said words to the effect of "Crap - that does not count!" If they dont want to hear the answer, dont ask the question! How basic is that?
I believe that when I was ordained to the Aaronic or Preparatory Priesthood, I was told that I was entitled to the ministering of angels! What gives the teacher and members of her family the right to say that I could not have seen an Angel! I was promised, and believe that this promise was not just so many words!
In fact my friend ministers to me constantly, and I call her "Angel" I get the impression that I am her angel! She signs off Emails in a way that indicates to me that she sees me as way more than a friend! Hopefully soon, there will be 2 members of the EQ Presidency who are engaged, or newly married! In a small branch, there are then likely to be 3 male members who are either engaged or newly married!
At the moment, I am suffering from a fairly heavy cold, but today I feel better than yesterday! When Di saw me yesterday, she was distressed thar I would not get to go to Durban on Saturday with her! I feel better today than I did yesterday!
It was heartwarming to see how distressed my angel was when she thought that I could not go down with her - and it has nothing to do with the fact that I said we were going in my 4x4! The roads there are so wild and woolly that a full on 4x4 is needed!
I should have plenty of photos to spruce up my blog!
I believe that when I was ordained to the Aaronic or Preparatory Priesthood, I was told that I was entitled to the ministering of angels! What gives the teacher and members of her family the right to say that I could not have seen an Angel! I was promised, and believe that this promise was not just so many words!
In fact my friend ministers to me constantly, and I call her "Angel" I get the impression that I am her angel! She signs off Emails in a way that indicates to me that she sees me as way more than a friend! Hopefully soon, there will be 2 members of the EQ Presidency who are engaged, or newly married! In a small branch, there are then likely to be 3 male members who are either engaged or newly married!
At the moment, I am suffering from a fairly heavy cold, but today I feel better than yesterday! When Di saw me yesterday, she was distressed thar I would not get to go to Durban on Saturday with her! I feel better today than I did yesterday!
It was heartwarming to see how distressed my angel was when she thought that I could not go down with her - and it has nothing to do with the fact that I said we were going in my 4x4! The roads there are so wild and woolly that a full on 4x4 is needed!
I should have plenty of photos to spruce up my blog!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday 24th
Heavens time flies by! I feel that time flies by faster and faster! When you are pre-school, the years between one Christmas or birthday took SO LONG. Approaching 50, my birthday is coming all to fast! It honestly does not feel longer than last year I was at school, and turned the Big 21! Then the long slide into retirement begins as soon as you start your first job! For some of us, this slide was more a jump off of a cliff, since I was retired on ill-health aged 35 or so! Still, since I was 21, I do have the hair to go with my status as a pensioner! It went grey before I left school, and has been getting progressively more and more distinguished ever since!
I really felt that for me to remarry, I need to find a woman who can see beyond the danaged frame that I present,and see what I used to be, and will be again when I get resurrected.
I feel inspired that my spirit inside of me is undamaged, and will be freed from the damaged frame when I pass from this life - not that I am in a hurry to do so! I have been warned that I should not be surprised if I am still damaged in the Eternities, until my disabilities are fixed! The way I see it is, I am required to endure my disabilities until I pass from mortality! I truly have faith that I will have my undamaged spirit released wwhen I die. I fail to see that I will have a body restored to an imperfect frame, then have to be re-constructed! If Someone remakes my body, they are not going to make mistakes - on purpose, just to have to fix them later! That kind of smacks of the Japs when they first started building cars! They had to build in faults so that their products were comparable to UK or USA cars - that kind of supposes that Heavenly Father WILL make mistakes, and I fail to believe that He is falable in any way! I dont think that a fair God will build in faults so that they are corrected later! That is definitely a man made concept.
The one benefit that I can see from how I am, is that a future wife will not have the BC (before crash) Steve to compare to the AD (after damage) me! Kind of a WYSIWYG concept - "what you see is what you get" That I truly believe was Micheles major hangup. She married me when I was at my skinniest, and I was really healthy. I am currently losing some bulk and have gone down at least 3 longs sizes since I was so viciously attacked by bees! That kind of shows me that I can still be given blessings from Heavenly Father! Get nearly killed by angry bees and the blessing is that you can fit into clothing that became too small - years ago! Even my shirts are fitting me more comfortably. They used to ride up out of my longs, but now they stay put!
This weekend is looking promising for me! I have plans to go down to Durban with the lady in my life! I hope that I will get the chance to sit her down and talk about US! I have learned by long experience that if you wait for opportunitiers to present themselves, you could literally wait years - you have to kind of manufacture opportunities! I do get the impression from her that she was not thinking along these lines until I said to her "What if?", but I do get the impression that "No" is not on the table, and that her hangups come from 2 failed marriages! I just need to prove to her that I am not like the other fathers to her children!
I need to convince her that being a Mormon is NOT restricting, but if you avoid the "no-no's" of the Word of Wisdom, you are kind of free to do whatever else you feel inspired to do!
I feel inspired that she will eventually join - and be a great member, and in the meantime I have been sealed, not that this sealing will stand in the Eternities! I need to be sealed again, more for a spouses salvation, than my own! I have long felt that I am expected to baptize a wife, and not to do as many believe, marry an existing member!
A member of the branch presidency tried to tell me that I should marry a member. Trouble with that - all the single female members of the branch, are either way too young for me, or are on the other end of the scale! That supposes that I can meet a suitable member, which is practically impossible in Richards Bay! I feel that I have been inspired to do missionary work and baptise a wife! Suitable women in general are few and far between. Hang on to those you know! I just know that the Branch President feels that I should marry a member, but the female pool is generally rather shallow in Richards Bay - or even in Natal.I also sense that the Branch President would rather see me single than to marry a non-member!
As usual, today is not an example of the absence of Global Warming! It really feels that GW is a complete myth - Something that people get really animated about, but practically GW is apparently from the depletion of the Ozone Layer, from an increase in Carbon Dioxide. If you believe that, the human population contributes to GW by merely breathing! Strange then that if you fly anywhere, there are HUGE tracts of land that are unoccupied - and at the least, is unoccupiable!
I really felt that for me to remarry, I need to find a woman who can see beyond the danaged frame that I present,and see what I used to be, and will be again when I get resurrected.
I feel inspired that my spirit inside of me is undamaged, and will be freed from the damaged frame when I pass from this life - not that I am in a hurry to do so! I have been warned that I should not be surprised if I am still damaged in the Eternities, until my disabilities are fixed! The way I see it is, I am required to endure my disabilities until I pass from mortality! I truly have faith that I will have my undamaged spirit released wwhen I die. I fail to see that I will have a body restored to an imperfect frame, then have to be re-constructed! If Someone remakes my body, they are not going to make mistakes - on purpose, just to have to fix them later! That kind of smacks of the Japs when they first started building cars! They had to build in faults so that their products were comparable to UK or USA cars - that kind of supposes that Heavenly Father WILL make mistakes, and I fail to believe that He is falable in any way! I dont think that a fair God will build in faults so that they are corrected later! That is definitely a man made concept.
The one benefit that I can see from how I am, is that a future wife will not have the BC (before crash) Steve to compare to the AD (after damage) me! Kind of a WYSIWYG concept - "what you see is what you get" That I truly believe was Micheles major hangup. She married me when I was at my skinniest, and I was really healthy. I am currently losing some bulk and have gone down at least 3 longs sizes since I was so viciously attacked by bees! That kind of shows me that I can still be given blessings from Heavenly Father! Get nearly killed by angry bees and the blessing is that you can fit into clothing that became too small - years ago! Even my shirts are fitting me more comfortably. They used to ride up out of my longs, but now they stay put!
This weekend is looking promising for me! I have plans to go down to Durban with the lady in my life! I hope that I will get the chance to sit her down and talk about US! I have learned by long experience that if you wait for opportunitiers to present themselves, you could literally wait years - you have to kind of manufacture opportunities! I do get the impression from her that she was not thinking along these lines until I said to her "What if?", but I do get the impression that "No" is not on the table, and that her hangups come from 2 failed marriages! I just need to prove to her that I am not like the other fathers to her children!
I need to convince her that being a Mormon is NOT restricting, but if you avoid the "no-no's" of the Word of Wisdom, you are kind of free to do whatever else you feel inspired to do!
I feel inspired that she will eventually join - and be a great member, and in the meantime I have been sealed, not that this sealing will stand in the Eternities! I need to be sealed again, more for a spouses salvation, than my own! I have long felt that I am expected to baptize a wife, and not to do as many believe, marry an existing member!
A member of the branch presidency tried to tell me that I should marry a member. Trouble with that - all the single female members of the branch, are either way too young for me, or are on the other end of the scale! That supposes that I can meet a suitable member, which is practically impossible in Richards Bay! I feel that I have been inspired to do missionary work and baptise a wife! Suitable women in general are few and far between. Hang on to those you know! I just know that the Branch President feels that I should marry a member, but the female pool is generally rather shallow in Richards Bay - or even in Natal.I also sense that the Branch President would rather see me single than to marry a non-member!
As usual, today is not an example of the absence of Global Warming! It really feels that GW is a complete myth - Something that people get really animated about, but practically GW is apparently from the depletion of the Ozone Layer, from an increase in Carbon Dioxide. If you believe that, the human population contributes to GW by merely breathing! Strange then that if you fly anywhere, there are HUGE tracts of land that are unoccupied - and at the least, is unoccupiable!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
After Church
At Church, I have been prompted that this is the season for future (not so distant) weddings!
Breeze came back from Johannesburg with a fiancee in tow! No date for their mareriage has been announced generally yet, but he has been called to the District Council, and I am aware that the District President was not ready to call him to the District Council, until this week, because it was not sure that he was going to stay in the area! I recommended that the District President inteview him and see what the complete story is! This weekend his name was sustained as a Council member!
The Elders Quorum President went to dinner with me. Whilst he was eating, he commented that he had met an interesting woman. She could not attend the YSA dance as she was busy repairing her car! How many single woman can maintain a car?
By all signs he is smitten, and this weekend he went down to Durban to see her! It was really funny to see that he worked like a man possessed, so that he could leave the Helping Hands function quickly and vanish to Durban.
The only concern that I have is that she lives in Durban and he lives on a farm between Ulundi and Vryheid! When I was dating my now ex wife, she lived at Mtubatuba, an hour north of where I worked, half an hour north of where I lived!
My relationship with the woman in my cross hairs, is moving towards where I can propose - which I really want to. I have found an engagement ring that I would love to give her. We are going down to Durban this week, and last week, I could not make our wednesday appointment, and she was really depressed. I had a chance though to prove to her on Friday that I am no ways like her ex husbands. I believe that I am inspired that she will be my wife - soon, although that is a concept that I feel, the Lords time bears little resemblance to our time!
I knew Michele for 2 weeks before I got engaged (maybe I should have taken more time, but at that point, Michele was the best for me! She only changed after I had been accident damaged. Without her, I would never have fathered Christine. I fail to see that my marriage to her was a mistake!
We are going to Durban this weekend, and will manufacture a reason t raise the question of marriage - even eternal marriage. She is reluctant to commit to marriage - I think - because she has been so badly treated by her ex's! I have shown her that I am different, I hope she realises that I am going to be married to her for eternity! I also want to tell her that she can be sealed to her father, whose death really upset her!
She is reluctant to commit to an LDS way of life, but I truly believe that she will be a member - soon! I truly believe that she is thinking along the lines of marriage, but her failed marriages have kind of scared her off of the idea of marriage!
I know that it is ideal that a Mormon marry an LDS member, but I have done my bit for my eternities, by being sealed for all eternity, even though my ex saw that 5 years WAS an Eternity. I need only temple marry her, for her prime benefit, although, I do want it to last longer than 5 years! Anyway, we will see this weekend!
Breeze came back from Johannesburg with a fiancee in tow! No date for their mareriage has been announced generally yet, but he has been called to the District Council, and I am aware that the District President was not ready to call him to the District Council, until this week, because it was not sure that he was going to stay in the area! I recommended that the District President inteview him and see what the complete story is! This weekend his name was sustained as a Council member!
The Elders Quorum President went to dinner with me. Whilst he was eating, he commented that he had met an interesting woman. She could not attend the YSA dance as she was busy repairing her car! How many single woman can maintain a car?
By all signs he is smitten, and this weekend he went down to Durban to see her! It was really funny to see that he worked like a man possessed, so that he could leave the Helping Hands function quickly and vanish to Durban.
The only concern that I have is that she lives in Durban and he lives on a farm between Ulundi and Vryheid! When I was dating my now ex wife, she lived at Mtubatuba, an hour north of where I worked, half an hour north of where I lived!
My relationship with the woman in my cross hairs, is moving towards where I can propose - which I really want to. I have found an engagement ring that I would love to give her. We are going down to Durban this week, and last week, I could not make our wednesday appointment, and she was really depressed. I had a chance though to prove to her on Friday that I am no ways like her ex husbands. I believe that I am inspired that she will be my wife - soon, although that is a concept that I feel, the Lords time bears little resemblance to our time!
I knew Michele for 2 weeks before I got engaged (maybe I should have taken more time, but at that point, Michele was the best for me! She only changed after I had been accident damaged. Without her, I would never have fathered Christine. I fail to see that my marriage to her was a mistake!
We are going to Durban this weekend, and will manufacture a reason t raise the question of marriage - even eternal marriage. She is reluctant to commit to marriage - I think - because she has been so badly treated by her ex's! I have shown her that I am different, I hope she realises that I am going to be married to her for eternity! I also want to tell her that she can be sealed to her father, whose death really upset her!
She is reluctant to commit to an LDS way of life, but I truly believe that she will be a member - soon! I truly believe that she is thinking along the lines of marriage, but her failed marriages have kind of scared her off of the idea of marriage!
I know that it is ideal that a Mormon marry an LDS member, but I have done my bit for my eternities, by being sealed for all eternity, even though my ex saw that 5 years WAS an Eternity. I need only temple marry her, for her prime benefit, although, I do want it to last longer than 5 years! Anyway, we will see this weekend!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
PROMPTINGS
I received a message from a friend who indicated that I should not limit whom I date! I know what I truly believe that I was inspired, and I dont want to put my inspiration under scrutiny!
I believe that although my target has not said "yes" yet, more importantly she has not said "no" - I truly believe that she realises that we will end up as a serious item, but the idea of another failure in the marriage stakes really terrifies her! I still feel that I have been prompted that she is destined to be my spouse!
I know that my parents dont want to see me marry her, but I think that I know best what is for me! I also have faith that Heavenly Father wants to see me married to her!
On DSTV at present is a program where they refer to the "threat of Global Warming" and I truly believe that Global Warming is a money making rip off! If we are supposed to be warming up, why is it so C-O-L-D in usually pretty warm Zululand! It is as if Global Warming is a complete myth! I hardly think that Heavenly Father would create a species that could change His creations! Sure man thinks he is bright, but how bright is it to panic about the earth being destroyed by Greenhouse gasses!
As far as I am aware, the main culprit of Greenhouse gasses, is Carbon Dioxide. The main cause of Carbon Dioxide historically is the burning of wood. Fires produce Greenhouse gasses - in fact man breathes out greenhouse gasses! Does that mean that as soon as Adam lit a fire so that he could cook his supper, he was the first man to contribute to climate change? This supposition pre-supposes that Man is more powerful than his Creator! Boy are the teachers of this concept in for a HUGE shock when they meet their creator, and one day, we all WILL.
I was amazed yesterday to see that my brand new DVD Recorder cost me so much less than my first one cost me - purely because of the leaps in technology! My first one cost me R 4 500, and the use I have gotten out of it, makes the cost really worthwhile!
Unfortunately it is suffering from age and the stress of coping with power fluctuations/failures. It can record 2 films and then destroys the disc. I bought a new one yesterday and it cost me less than R 1 300. When I first bought a DVD Player it cost me somewhere in the region of R 5 grand, but now you can buy a DVD player for under R 500. My neighbors were moaning that their Video Cassette Recorder is now completely obsolete as you battle to find a video cassette any more! Reminds me of when I was first married. We bought an Elton John LP record. Christine says "What is that?" as by the time she was born, you could not get a record disc for love nor money! When I was at school, if they had said that one day music albums would be on a tiny, shiny plastic disc and you could only play it using a laser disc! Back then, a laser was a sci-fi dream only shown in films like Star Trek. Now it is an every day - and cheap - thing! In fact I can buy blank DVD discs for under R 5 each - around 50 cents US! The first computer I was aware of, covered 2 floors of a downtown office block that covered 2 city blocks. Now you have way more power in your palms when you hold a Blackberry cell phone. Not only is this a phone, but it has a QWERTY keyboard AND a camera! In fact I have a cellphone that is a heap of maps - and it works - although sometimes my inbuillt manpower GPRS works at least as well! The one benefit is that the satellite watches my speed and warns me if I have pressed too enthusiastically on the loud pedal! When it is on, someone IS always watching you! Is this a good thing? Sure, I get to argue with it, without the risk of a black eye for my disobedience. Sometimes it insists "Turn left here - NOW" when I am aware of a faster route. I could sense an icy chill (where is evidence of Global Warming here?) when it had to admit "Recalculating route!" and I was not lost! Sometimes real men dont need to listen to the GPRS as much as the inner voice! I am also glad that it has no fists, or else I would probably be sporting a shiny black eye, right now!
I believe that although my target has not said "yes" yet, more importantly she has not said "no" - I truly believe that she realises that we will end up as a serious item, but the idea of another failure in the marriage stakes really terrifies her! I still feel that I have been prompted that she is destined to be my spouse!
I know that my parents dont want to see me marry her, but I think that I know best what is for me! I also have faith that Heavenly Father wants to see me married to her!
On DSTV at present is a program where they refer to the "threat of Global Warming" and I truly believe that Global Warming is a money making rip off! If we are supposed to be warming up, why is it so C-O-L-D in usually pretty warm Zululand! It is as if Global Warming is a complete myth! I hardly think that Heavenly Father would create a species that could change His creations! Sure man thinks he is bright, but how bright is it to panic about the earth being destroyed by Greenhouse gasses!
As far as I am aware, the main culprit of Greenhouse gasses, is Carbon Dioxide. The main cause of Carbon Dioxide historically is the burning of wood. Fires produce Greenhouse gasses - in fact man breathes out greenhouse gasses! Does that mean that as soon as Adam lit a fire so that he could cook his supper, he was the first man to contribute to climate change? This supposition pre-supposes that Man is more powerful than his Creator! Boy are the teachers of this concept in for a HUGE shock when they meet their creator, and one day, we all WILL.
I was amazed yesterday to see that my brand new DVD Recorder cost me so much less than my first one cost me - purely because of the leaps in technology! My first one cost me R 4 500, and the use I have gotten out of it, makes the cost really worthwhile!
Unfortunately it is suffering from age and the stress of coping with power fluctuations/failures. It can record 2 films and then destroys the disc. I bought a new one yesterday and it cost me less than R 1 300. When I first bought a DVD Player it cost me somewhere in the region of R 5 grand, but now you can buy a DVD player for under R 500. My neighbors were moaning that their Video Cassette Recorder is now completely obsolete as you battle to find a video cassette any more! Reminds me of when I was first married. We bought an Elton John LP record. Christine says "What is that?" as by the time she was born, you could not get a record disc for love nor money! When I was at school, if they had said that one day music albums would be on a tiny, shiny plastic disc and you could only play it using a laser disc! Back then, a laser was a sci-fi dream only shown in films like Star Trek. Now it is an every day - and cheap - thing! In fact I can buy blank DVD discs for under R 5 each - around 50 cents US! The first computer I was aware of, covered 2 floors of a downtown office block that covered 2 city blocks. Now you have way more power in your palms when you hold a Blackberry cell phone. Not only is this a phone, but it has a QWERTY keyboard AND a camera! In fact I have a cellphone that is a heap of maps - and it works - although sometimes my inbuillt manpower GPRS works at least as well! The one benefit is that the satellite watches my speed and warns me if I have pressed too enthusiastically on the loud pedal! When it is on, someone IS always watching you! Is this a good thing? Sure, I get to argue with it, without the risk of a black eye for my disobedience. Sometimes it insists "Turn left here - NOW" when I am aware of a faster route. I could sense an icy chill (where is evidence of Global Warming here?) when it had to admit "Recalculating route!" and I was not lost! Sometimes real men dont need to listen to the GPRS as much as the inner voice! I am also glad that it has no fists, or else I would probably be sporting a shiny black eye, right now!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Winter is back
Yesterday was quite warm, as has been the last few days! Unseasonably, it was quite warm - up to 28 degrees celsius. Today is much colder. It is the common belief amongst the Church District Council, that anything below a maximum of 20 degrees celsius (to convert to approximate farenheight, multiply by 8, divide by 5 and then add 32 - 32 degrees farenheight is the same as 0 degrees celsius - frezing point!)
There is snow right from Cape Town up to pretty well Durban. I know people who live in one of the high rise blocks of flats on the Berea (overlooking the city) and they swear that they have seen snow falling past their window, but it has melted before it reaches the ground! I am not convinced, but it is - I suippose - possible!
It feels cold enough that it may well have snowed up at Nkandla (just inland from Eshowe) or on the Melmoth Pass. I have found that one year, I was auditing Federated Blaikies in the Rail at Empangeni, and it was bitterly cold then - early September!
I freely admit that in summer it gets really warm and humid. The daytime temperatures are around 36 degrees celsius. I way prefer the heat to the cold. The year I was in Sandton, it was warm enough when I was run down, and I spent the winter in a really cosy centrally heated hospital ward. After I was discharged and we came back to Zululand, it snowed twice thay year! Thank Heavens I was not there - cold and grey - 2 really miserable things!
People moan about the heat in summer here, but I way prefer it to the cold!
My Landrover is in for repair to the brakes and a service. The disc pads were choked with a build up of dust and somehow the discs were damaged by being scored! No huge problem as the discs can be reasonably be purchased at a local Japan Auto Spares outlet! Strange since my Landy is of British extraction, not Japanese extraction. In any event, they will be more reasonable than they are from the Landrover agents! Typically Landrover parts are pricey, but the factory made a run for Landrover, and still had the dies to make more, so they packaged them in "No-name" boxes and sell them at a fraction of the cost! They are as good as "genuine parts" although they are not marketted in branded packageing! That is the way life goes!
I have not found an outlet for Porsche parts in the same way as Porsche is rather a specialised. Luckily I know where there is a Porsche agency in Durban where I can get things like Porsche anti freeze. I have splurged and bought myself a Porsche pair of sunglasses (fancy with Porsche etched into the one lens!) and a pair of Porsche cufflinks! A friend said to me that I should buy a Porsche T-shirt, but I dont know if I can afford R 500 for a T-shirt. I dont even think that Porsche sell T-shirts. They sell new cars with at least 7 numbers in the price tag, so why would they sell cheap T-shirts? I cannot even afford Porsche aftershave - not after I have paid R 2 000 for rally comfortable sunglasses, and R 850 for cufflinks! Maybe I'm crazy but I am happy behind the wheel of MY Porsche, with Porsche cufflinks and looking through Porsche sunglasses!
Last night the District Council had a Council meeting. We met around the desk of the District President, as we dont yet have a council table! Apparently the Physical Facilities guy feels that enough was spent on building us the chapel, so he is not prepared to furnish the rooms! What a waste! I have advised the District President that it will be possible for us to construct our own large enough table! A bit of glue, plenty of screws and covering of wood veneer and we can have a decent enough looking table! I would have made my own diningroom table - if I had a diningroom! In any event, I bought a small table in the local Game and it is great enough for what I need!
There is snow right from Cape Town up to pretty well Durban. I know people who live in one of the high rise blocks of flats on the Berea (overlooking the city) and they swear that they have seen snow falling past their window, but it has melted before it reaches the ground! I am not convinced, but it is - I suippose - possible!
It feels cold enough that it may well have snowed up at Nkandla (just inland from Eshowe) or on the Melmoth Pass. I have found that one year, I was auditing Federated Blaikies in the Rail at Empangeni, and it was bitterly cold then - early September!
I freely admit that in summer it gets really warm and humid. The daytime temperatures are around 36 degrees celsius. I way prefer the heat to the cold. The year I was in Sandton, it was warm enough when I was run down, and I spent the winter in a really cosy centrally heated hospital ward. After I was discharged and we came back to Zululand, it snowed twice thay year! Thank Heavens I was not there - cold and grey - 2 really miserable things!
People moan about the heat in summer here, but I way prefer it to the cold!
My Landrover is in for repair to the brakes and a service. The disc pads were choked with a build up of dust and somehow the discs were damaged by being scored! No huge problem as the discs can be reasonably be purchased at a local Japan Auto Spares outlet! Strange since my Landy is of British extraction, not Japanese extraction. In any event, they will be more reasonable than they are from the Landrover agents! Typically Landrover parts are pricey, but the factory made a run for Landrover, and still had the dies to make more, so they packaged them in "No-name" boxes and sell them at a fraction of the cost! They are as good as "genuine parts" although they are not marketted in branded packageing! That is the way life goes!
I have not found an outlet for Porsche parts in the same way as Porsche is rather a specialised. Luckily I know where there is a Porsche agency in Durban where I can get things like Porsche anti freeze. I have splurged and bought myself a Porsche pair of sunglasses (fancy with Porsche etched into the one lens!) and a pair of Porsche cufflinks! A friend said to me that I should buy a Porsche T-shirt, but I dont know if I can afford R 500 for a T-shirt. I dont even think that Porsche sell T-shirts. They sell new cars with at least 7 numbers in the price tag, so why would they sell cheap T-shirts? I cannot even afford Porsche aftershave - not after I have paid R 2 000 for rally comfortable sunglasses, and R 850 for cufflinks! Maybe I'm crazy but I am happy behind the wheel of MY Porsche, with Porsche cufflinks and looking through Porsche sunglasses!
Last night the District Council had a Council meeting. We met around the desk of the District President, as we dont yet have a council table! Apparently the Physical Facilities guy feels that enough was spent on building us the chapel, so he is not prepared to furnish the rooms! What a waste! I have advised the District President that it will be possible for us to construct our own large enough table! A bit of glue, plenty of screws and covering of wood veneer and we can have a decent enough looking table! I would have made my own diningroom table - if I had a diningroom! In any event, I bought a small table in the local Game and it is great enough for what I need!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Another day in Paradise
I am so glad that I am on pension. Today the air is clear and the sea is blue! Truly a beautiful day.
I am supposed to go through for another District Council meeting this evening - which reminds ne, I need to prepare something educational from the Priesthood Leadership Manuals!
I hope that the wind is not blowing pollution from the factories across the chapel. When it does I battle to breathe after about 45 minutes! Drives me nuts because the air is not usually a problem where I live. It is difficult when the wind blows from the west, and Mondi comes into play. From the South, Indian Ocean Fertilisers belches fumes across Richards Bay and Alusaf is also a problem. If the wind blows from the East, it comes directly off of the sea and is clean. From the north there is a problem with Richards Bay Minerals, who mine the heavy metals out of the beachsand. You can see evidence of these minerals when the tide is low and there is like a black soil after the waves retreat! That is raw titanium which they extract and smelt down, for export. Kind of stuns me that SA exports raw materials (Aluminium, Titanium and wood chips amongst them) but they imports the finished products. Then the workers strike for higher wages, just pushing up the cost of the raw materials, and then the cost to re-import the finished product! Try to tell them that higher wages means much higer inflation, and they look at you like you are stupid!
I am supposed to go through for another District Council meeting this evening - which reminds ne, I need to prepare something educational from the Priesthood Leadership Manuals!
I hope that the wind is not blowing pollution from the factories across the chapel. When it does I battle to breathe after about 45 minutes! Drives me nuts because the air is not usually a problem where I live. It is difficult when the wind blows from the west, and Mondi comes into play. From the South, Indian Ocean Fertilisers belches fumes across Richards Bay and Alusaf is also a problem. If the wind blows from the East, it comes directly off of the sea and is clean. From the north there is a problem with Richards Bay Minerals, who mine the heavy metals out of the beachsand. You can see evidence of these minerals when the tide is low and there is like a black soil after the waves retreat! That is raw titanium which they extract and smelt down, for export. Kind of stuns me that SA exports raw materials (Aluminium, Titanium and wood chips amongst them) but they imports the finished products. Then the workers strike for higher wages, just pushing up the cost of the raw materials, and then the cost to re-import the finished product! Try to tell them that higher wages means much higer inflation, and they look at you like you are stupid!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday 17th
This weekend, the Elders Quorum President arrived at Sacrament with a lady friend! I sense that the Branch President was scared to introduce his fiancee to me as before he finished his mission, I had snapped up the woman who he truly believed would be his wife when he came off Mission. I feel that he still kind of holds it against me! If anything, he should thank me profusely for saving him from a fate worse than death - divorce or worse, outright rejection! Since I divorced my ex, she has remarried, divoirced him and remarried again! Michele did tell me that he believed this, but she vowed that she would never have married him!
Even now, if I speak to another woman when Christine is present, she (C) glares daggers at the woman. I fear that if I find a suitable woman, Christine will make my life miserable, as she would ideally like Michele and I remarried! Secret is that it is likely to snow here in Zululand at Christmas before that happens! I dont like ANYONE (other than Heavenly Father) to influence my decisions, and certainly not a mixed up teen!
I feel that I need to get engaged without Christines involvement! It may upset her, but I need to make my own decisions - especially as regards to my future life! A big thing is that Christine is at school in the KZN midlands - just west of Pietermaritzburg!I kind of fear that I will be influenced not to remarry, to keep me available to remarry Mom. The problem with that is that I truly believe that I and Michele have different outlooks on life, and these are no longer compatible!
Besides, I have found someone whom I truly believe I have been told by God that she will be the future Mrs Killick. I did ask her "What if I asked you to marry me?" and she did not say "No way!" - and was completely taken by surprise. I get the impression that the concept of marriage scares her and I need to persuade her that I am in no way like her ex husbands! If I marry her, I intend that it will be for Eternity, not until death - or the courts - us do part! I truly believe that there is very little worse than divorce - even death - not that death is something to fear - divorce is though - especially when I was sealed for Eternity! Technically this sealing still exists, but after 2 other husbands since me, I dont believe that I will be encouraged to live with her for Eternity! If I am not good enough in mortality, then what would change in the Eternities!
What I am glad of is that a future wife will only know me as I am now, and not be able to compare the AD (after damage) me to the BC (before crash) me! The lady that I truly believe is the future Mrs Killick, only met me after Michele threatened to divorce me and I was referred to her for mental ability to cope with life! She never knew the BC me!
I sense that this was Micheles problem. She knew the skinny BC me, and cannot reconcile her image of the person she married, to the man she divorced! I truly believe that she needed psychiatric help at the time of the accident, but did not get any. She recommended a psycologist to me though, but I saw him only once, as what he was advising me was not what I believed! Moralities clashed, so I never went back to him! I then saw a psycologist in Hillcrest - a member of the Church (now the Hillcrest Stake President) but was referred to a much more attractive local psycologist, who happens to be currently divorced! I think she was really hurt by her ex, and it will take much spadework to persuade her that marriage to me will not be a mistake! She knows (or at least should, because I have told her) that I am interested!
A concern is that she is not currently a member! I have looked around Church for a suitable member, but I have never felt that anyone (not even the Branch Presidents wife) is suitable! I truly believe that in the future, she will be comfortable with membership, and I can wait! In the District, there are NO woman - of a suitable age or cultural bachground - to be married to me!
Even now, if I speak to another woman when Christine is present, she (C) glares daggers at the woman. I fear that if I find a suitable woman, Christine will make my life miserable, as she would ideally like Michele and I remarried! Secret is that it is likely to snow here in Zululand at Christmas before that happens! I dont like ANYONE (other than Heavenly Father) to influence my decisions, and certainly not a mixed up teen!
I feel that I need to get engaged without Christines involvement! It may upset her, but I need to make my own decisions - especially as regards to my future life! A big thing is that Christine is at school in the KZN midlands - just west of Pietermaritzburg!I kind of fear that I will be influenced not to remarry, to keep me available to remarry Mom. The problem with that is that I truly believe that I and Michele have different outlooks on life, and these are no longer compatible!
Besides, I have found someone whom I truly believe I have been told by God that she will be the future Mrs Killick. I did ask her "What if I asked you to marry me?" and she did not say "No way!" - and was completely taken by surprise. I get the impression that the concept of marriage scares her and I need to persuade her that I am in no way like her ex husbands! If I marry her, I intend that it will be for Eternity, not until death - or the courts - us do part! I truly believe that there is very little worse than divorce - even death - not that death is something to fear - divorce is though - especially when I was sealed for Eternity! Technically this sealing still exists, but after 2 other husbands since me, I dont believe that I will be encouraged to live with her for Eternity! If I am not good enough in mortality, then what would change in the Eternities!
What I am glad of is that a future wife will only know me as I am now, and not be able to compare the AD (after damage) me to the BC (before crash) me! The lady that I truly believe is the future Mrs Killick, only met me after Michele threatened to divorce me and I was referred to her for mental ability to cope with life! She never knew the BC me!
I sense that this was Micheles problem. She knew the skinny BC me, and cannot reconcile her image of the person she married, to the man she divorced! I truly believe that she needed psychiatric help at the time of the accident, but did not get any. She recommended a psycologist to me though, but I saw him only once, as what he was advising me was not what I believed! Moralities clashed, so I never went back to him! I then saw a psycologist in Hillcrest - a member of the Church (now the Hillcrest Stake President) but was referred to a much more attractive local psycologist, who happens to be currently divorced! I think she was really hurt by her ex, and it will take much spadework to persuade her that marriage to me will not be a mistake! She knows (or at least should, because I have told her) that I am interested!
A concern is that she is not currently a member! I have looked around Church for a suitable member, but I have never felt that anyone (not even the Branch Presidents wife) is suitable! I truly believe that in the future, she will be comfortable with membership, and I can wait! In the District, there are NO woman - of a suitable age or cultural bachground - to be married to me!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
What a feeling?
I am stunned that I feel so great! I have found that I am more able to create DVDs from my recordings of films and shows on DSTV, than is Christines sciense teacher at school. He thinks that it is impossible, but I have done it, so I know that I can. I have found that my DVD Recorder is set up in such a way that it records anything that is fed through it! As a result, I can record films and programs on my HD PVR decoder, and then I can record what I choose to, onto DVD discs! That way, I can be sure that what I record is at least clean viewing! If there is bad language (an odd swear word in the right context is maybe OK) or I just delete the recording! I have found that some films swear a lot, and if so, I delete it permanently! The downside of reviewing what I record to DVD before I do, is that it takes some time to watch the show, then record it! I know that my DVDs are clean! If a film is advertised as anything exceot Age 13 restriction, I choose not to watch it! I rather enjoy the Disney type films that are lacking in bad language, and the violence is not excessive!
I have maybe 9 or 10 episodes of "The Green Green Grass!" that I recorded from BBC Entertainment. This is a great series, with wicked British humour - that kind of speaks to me! I grew up with really clever British humour, and what I find hilarious, goes right over the heads of most people! When I watched "Johnny English" I was doubled over with laughter right throughout the film. Most of the other patrons just looked down their noses at me, but I hardly cared! I was enjoying the film way too much!
I have a wicked collection of DVDs of films that I really enjoyed when I was at school - films like Monty Python - the feature films rather than the half hour TV shows! Another DVD that I wanted but could not find anywhere is "Little Shop of Horrors" that again has humour that most people do not enjoy. I found a copy of the disc in Cape Town, and no-one borrows my funny DVDs. It is like my set of DVDs of the entire 6 films in the Star Wars set! Even now they have not released a set of the entire 6 films. Mine is kind of one of a kind set!
I dont enjoy sci - fi films but Star Wars is classified as Space Fantasy, rather than Science Fiction.
It reminds me that I HAVE walked - or rather skated - on water, or to cease exaggeration, frozen water! Still, it was water - even though it was frozen. I've done it, so anyone can!
When I was doing it, I was kind of like Peter on the Sea of Gallilee, when he too walked on water, and only started to sink when he realised that common belief is that you cannot practically do this! I spent the first half an hour clinging to the barriers, then got confidence and managed to skate! We used to throw a party in celebration of the fact that we could skate without support after a half hour or so, hanging onto the sides! We used to really enjoy these outings - especially after I learned to drive and we could take Fred - the black car - across town!
I have maybe 9 or 10 episodes of "The Green Green Grass!" that I recorded from BBC Entertainment. This is a great series, with wicked British humour - that kind of speaks to me! I grew up with really clever British humour, and what I find hilarious, goes right over the heads of most people! When I watched "Johnny English" I was doubled over with laughter right throughout the film. Most of the other patrons just looked down their noses at me, but I hardly cared! I was enjoying the film way too much!
I have a wicked collection of DVDs of films that I really enjoyed when I was at school - films like Monty Python - the feature films rather than the half hour TV shows! Another DVD that I wanted but could not find anywhere is "Little Shop of Horrors" that again has humour that most people do not enjoy. I found a copy of the disc in Cape Town, and no-one borrows my funny DVDs. It is like my set of DVDs of the entire 6 films in the Star Wars set! Even now they have not released a set of the entire 6 films. Mine is kind of one of a kind set!
I dont enjoy sci - fi films but Star Wars is classified as Space Fantasy, rather than Science Fiction.
It reminds me that I HAVE walked - or rather skated - on water, or to cease exaggeration, frozen water! Still, it was water - even though it was frozen. I've done it, so anyone can!
When I was doing it, I was kind of like Peter on the Sea of Gallilee, when he too walked on water, and only started to sink when he realised that common belief is that you cannot practically do this! I spent the first half an hour clinging to the barriers, then got confidence and managed to skate! We used to throw a party in celebration of the fact that we could skate without support after a half hour or so, hanging onto the sides! We used to really enjoy these outings - especially after I learned to drive and we could take Fred - the black car - across town!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Wednesday
Today has been non traditional Zululand weather! It was really warm in my Porsche on the way into town, to see my headshrink! I enjoy these visits, since I am in need of a way to keep from going insane! I lost so much when I was run down that I am terrified of developing post accident trauma. I am amazed that I have recovered so well, so much so that I feel that I can cope with how the crash left me - even if I am not happy with my disabilities! Beats the alternative hands down!
I am happy to report that I am losing something that I really do not regret - bulk! I fitted into a pair of longs today that I last managed to do the buttons up on - 2 years ago! Just proves that you should never really dispose of much! I gave away a lot of really good clothes when I could no longer do the buttons up on the belt! I thought that I would never again fit into them, but they were only 1 size smaller than I am now! I have - in the last 3 months - lost 2 sizes of longs and to fit into the next size down will not be too long now! The biggest problem is that my suit is now kind of too large for me! Rather that, than it is too small! I feel kind of healthier, although initially I believed that I could never fit into my smaller longs again! Now I have to think of who to give my new jeans to, as they are WAY TOO BIG for me! I can fit into my denim jeans again!
I am generally happy to live in warm Zululand, and even though it was warm today, I (and many others) are of the opinion that traditionally September is by far our coldest month! Usually it snows up at Nkandla, just west of Eshowe, that you can see from Mtunzini at night - and at Melmoth, about 75 - 80 kilometers west(ish) of Empangeni. When it snows there, it is really cold in Mtunzini.
I still get cheesed off when perfectly able people are so lazy that they park in the Disabled Bays at the shops! I am often prompted to approach these creeps and ask them if they want to be disabled, because I CAN arrange it, but I dont recommend it! I then get to hear how they are entitled to park there because they cut themselves shaving that morning! I usually respond that my heart bleeds lumpy custard for them! Unfortunately sarcasm is lost on most of these specimens! That is vwhy I display disabled parking stickers in both my windscreen and the rear window! Then those who drive behind me know that I am legally entitled to park in these bays, even if they think that they should park close to the shop doors, instead of me!
I still query the facts behind the "theory" of Global Warming. I still think that it is a plot by someone to force mortals to part with hard earned cash! If you believe the theory of the Ice Age, we MUST have been warming since the Ice Age. Try to make them believe that the Ice Age is only a theory, not supported by conclusive evidence, and you get shouted down! Personally I believe that any Ice Age was well before the space debris was organised into the world we know - maybe from previous worlds, but I fail to see that Heavenly Father would make attempts at creating worlds that need to be modified - by climate! There again, that is just me! Do I believe a "theory" as opposed to biblical evidence?
I also tend to query Darwins "Theory" of Evolution. If Heavenly Father is all powerful and all knowing (and I see too much evidence that He is!) then why would he need for His creations to "evolve?" I think that someone dug up "evidence" of evolution and made them fit comfortably into the "theory"! But then, that is just me! Adam looked the same as Heavenly Father, and is no different to man today! The cavemen that are so hairy are maybe portrayals of beings that used to inhabit the "matter unorganised" (Genesis) that was used to create the world we inhabit now! Hair is THE first thing to decay, so it is unreal to assume that "cavemen" were so hairy! That was what Darwin thought! Why then are his ideas and theories taught as being absolute truth?
Sure in summer, we get warm here in Zululand, but since I have lived here - 30 years or so - the temperatures are no hotter than they used to be! Sure when we first lived in Zululand, it got hot, but it was an unused-to benefit for us to go to the beach after work and cool down! Maybe we are more lazy as time goes on, but we dont often go to the beach anymore, and even if we go down, we tend to walk along the beach, not go swimming anymore! In fact when the sun goes down, it tends to be kind of comparatively chilly!
In fact I think that when it is so warm here in February, we moan about how hot it is, but I believe that it is no hotter than it ever used to be! In fact, man is so used to the idea that he can modify the climate (airconditioners etc) that he thinks he knows better than He who created us, and has become so powerful as to modify the climate around us! It may be getting warmer, but it must have been, since the Ice Age! Why is man, suddenly so intelligent and powerful that he can modify the climate to his detriment? What of the idea that a Supreme Creator would create something that would kill the other creations on this planet?
I am happy to report that I am losing something that I really do not regret - bulk! I fitted into a pair of longs today that I last managed to do the buttons up on - 2 years ago! Just proves that you should never really dispose of much! I gave away a lot of really good clothes when I could no longer do the buttons up on the belt! I thought that I would never again fit into them, but they were only 1 size smaller than I am now! I have - in the last 3 months - lost 2 sizes of longs and to fit into the next size down will not be too long now! The biggest problem is that my suit is now kind of too large for me! Rather that, than it is too small! I feel kind of healthier, although initially I believed that I could never fit into my smaller longs again! Now I have to think of who to give my new jeans to, as they are WAY TOO BIG for me! I can fit into my denim jeans again!
I am generally happy to live in warm Zululand, and even though it was warm today, I (and many others) are of the opinion that traditionally September is by far our coldest month! Usually it snows up at Nkandla, just west of Eshowe, that you can see from Mtunzini at night - and at Melmoth, about 75 - 80 kilometers west(ish) of Empangeni. When it snows there, it is really cold in Mtunzini.
I still get cheesed off when perfectly able people are so lazy that they park in the Disabled Bays at the shops! I am often prompted to approach these creeps and ask them if they want to be disabled, because I CAN arrange it, but I dont recommend it! I then get to hear how they are entitled to park there because they cut themselves shaving that morning! I usually respond that my heart bleeds lumpy custard for them! Unfortunately sarcasm is lost on most of these specimens! That is vwhy I display disabled parking stickers in both my windscreen and the rear window! Then those who drive behind me know that I am legally entitled to park in these bays, even if they think that they should park close to the shop doors, instead of me!
I still query the facts behind the "theory" of Global Warming. I still think that it is a plot by someone to force mortals to part with hard earned cash! If you believe the theory of the Ice Age, we MUST have been warming since the Ice Age. Try to make them believe that the Ice Age is only a theory, not supported by conclusive evidence, and you get shouted down! Personally I believe that any Ice Age was well before the space debris was organised into the world we know - maybe from previous worlds, but I fail to see that Heavenly Father would make attempts at creating worlds that need to be modified - by climate! There again, that is just me! Do I believe a "theory" as opposed to biblical evidence?
I also tend to query Darwins "Theory" of Evolution. If Heavenly Father is all powerful and all knowing (and I see too much evidence that He is!) then why would he need for His creations to "evolve?" I think that someone dug up "evidence" of evolution and made them fit comfortably into the "theory"! But then, that is just me! Adam looked the same as Heavenly Father, and is no different to man today! The cavemen that are so hairy are maybe portrayals of beings that used to inhabit the "matter unorganised" (Genesis) that was used to create the world we inhabit now! Hair is THE first thing to decay, so it is unreal to assume that "cavemen" were so hairy! That was what Darwin thought! Why then are his ideas and theories taught as being absolute truth?
Sure in summer, we get warm here in Zululand, but since I have lived here - 30 years or so - the temperatures are no hotter than they used to be! Sure when we first lived in Zululand, it got hot, but it was an unused-to benefit for us to go to the beach after work and cool down! Maybe we are more lazy as time goes on, but we dont often go to the beach anymore, and even if we go down, we tend to walk along the beach, not go swimming anymore! In fact when the sun goes down, it tends to be kind of comparatively chilly!
In fact I think that when it is so warm here in February, we moan about how hot it is, but I believe that it is no hotter than it ever used to be! In fact, man is so used to the idea that he can modify the climate (airconditioners etc) that he thinks he knows better than He who created us, and has become so powerful as to modify the climate around us! It may be getting warmer, but it must have been, since the Ice Age! Why is man, suddenly so intelligent and powerful that he can modify the climate to his detriment? What of the idea that a Supreme Creator would create something that would kill the other creations on this planet?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Richards Bay Chapel
Back of chapel
Side of chapel
Front of chapelYesterday, I was early for my District Council meeting, so I walked around the chapel, taking snapshots with my Digital Camera. This may help some of the senior couple missionaries who served in Richards Bay to remember (fondly?) their missions!
I know that Elder and Sister Downs - who baptised me (decades ago now!) will only recognise a few of the photos, as since I was baptised, the original chapel was extensively extended with the addition of the Cultural Hall behind the chapel, and the satellite dish! As a District Council we meet in the offices that are part of this "new" addition. I feel impressed that this is the groundwork for Richards Bay to be a Stake in the not very distant future!
Generally Richards Bay has attendances at Sacrament that are not as much as attends units like Port Durnford, but the mature leasdership comes from the Bay. At Port Durnford, the average age of the congregation is probably around 15 years old or so! Sure they have the numbers, but there is no way that a teen can fill senior positions - at least not yet! In fact about half of the attendance at Nseleni Branch are barely out of nappies! Cute enough, but if they cannot hold a pen, how can they lead a Stake?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Are we getting warmer?
I seriously question the THEORY (note - theory not fact!) of Global Warming! In Zululand the temperature today started at a minimum of 12 and has risen to a current 15. For Zululand that is pretty nigh freezing and I am pretty sure that it has snowed either at Melmoth (60 kilometers inland as the crow flies) - or at Nkandla, which is about 30 kilometers inland from the coast!
It is colder this year by around 3 degrees celsius, than it usually gets. Usually I freeze up when the temperatures get below 20 degrees celsius. In summer most complain if the airconditioner is on the fritz and the outside temperatures are hovering around 32 degrees celsius. If you add on the humiture factor the effective temperatures hover in the high 30's or low 40's. Even in summer, it is not hotter than it usually gets! True the humidity from the water laden sea air makes life not so easy, but since I was accident damaged, I prefer the heat to the cold, any day of the week!
To give some indication to those who live to the west of the Atlantic Ocean, water freezes at 0 degrees and boils (at sea level) at 100 degrees. Apparently on Mount Everest, water actually boils at around 35 degrees, because of the altitude!
I am losing bulk at the moment - the fat is dripping off of me - and I am not as insulated as I usually am in winter! Even my fingers are losing some bulk. Last week, I had to even buy some belts to hold up my trousers! Before, I was in danger of wearing my longs around my ankles and often they would slip down. Still this is way preferrable to having to battle to do my buttons up. I have a pair of size 40 longs that were a comfortable fit, but now even my size 38 longs are too large! It will not be too long before my size 36 longs fit easily. I kind of regret giving away my extensive collection of size 36 longs. It seems that my belief that I would never fit into them again, was far from the truth. Still, longs are not so very expensive and it is a pleasure to shop for longs in a smaller size.
Even my shirts fit better, which is a good sign. The problem that I face is that my Temple Garments are getting to be a mite loose fitting! In Zululand, you cannot just nip up to the Temple and buy new garments, so I have to survive with the new ones I bought in bulk not so long ago, until I can get up to the Distribution Centre at the Temple! Otherwise my belts have 2 functions - 1) they hold up my longs and 2) they hold up my garments! Admittedly this is a great problem to have!
I am fortunate that in summer, I get sea breezes which makes Mtunzini around 5 degrees cooler than it gets in Richards Bay. In winter the breezes seem to blow uninterrupted from the South Pole!
I am going to make a pest of myself at the District Council meeting tonight! I am expecting a report back on the problem I had last week, with confirmation from the District Clerk - it will help since the member in question is wanted for service on the District Council. I still need confirmation of the progress on the District goal for 5 or 6 baptisms a month. In Richards Bay we should be baptizing a net 2 a month, but in the first 6 months, we have lost a net 2 members! Growth can only come from 2 sources:-
1) Baptisms AND
2) Transfers in. These transfers are not to be counted as baptisms - as far as I can see! Doing the Home Teaching list, I noted that in 6 months we had 3 members move out and a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) were baptized.
There are 2 members who moved in, but at last printout from MLS, their records had not arrived, or even been called for! The BP maintains that the ones records have arrived, and this is great news, since the District President wants him on the District Council.
The other move in, has requested his records remain at Hillcrest since he still holds a calling there, which he is apparently active in, every second week!
It is colder this year by around 3 degrees celsius, than it usually gets. Usually I freeze up when the temperatures get below 20 degrees celsius. In summer most complain if the airconditioner is on the fritz and the outside temperatures are hovering around 32 degrees celsius. If you add on the humiture factor the effective temperatures hover in the high 30's or low 40's. Even in summer, it is not hotter than it usually gets! True the humidity from the water laden sea air makes life not so easy, but since I was accident damaged, I prefer the heat to the cold, any day of the week!
To give some indication to those who live to the west of the Atlantic Ocean, water freezes at 0 degrees and boils (at sea level) at 100 degrees. Apparently on Mount Everest, water actually boils at around 35 degrees, because of the altitude!
I am losing bulk at the moment - the fat is dripping off of me - and I am not as insulated as I usually am in winter! Even my fingers are losing some bulk. Last week, I had to even buy some belts to hold up my trousers! Before, I was in danger of wearing my longs around my ankles and often they would slip down. Still this is way preferrable to having to battle to do my buttons up. I have a pair of size 40 longs that were a comfortable fit, but now even my size 38 longs are too large! It will not be too long before my size 36 longs fit easily. I kind of regret giving away my extensive collection of size 36 longs. It seems that my belief that I would never fit into them again, was far from the truth. Still, longs are not so very expensive and it is a pleasure to shop for longs in a smaller size.
Even my shirts fit better, which is a good sign. The problem that I face is that my Temple Garments are getting to be a mite loose fitting! In Zululand, you cannot just nip up to the Temple and buy new garments, so I have to survive with the new ones I bought in bulk not so long ago, until I can get up to the Distribution Centre at the Temple! Otherwise my belts have 2 functions - 1) they hold up my longs and 2) they hold up my garments! Admittedly this is a great problem to have!
I am fortunate that in summer, I get sea breezes which makes Mtunzini around 5 degrees cooler than it gets in Richards Bay. In winter the breezes seem to blow uninterrupted from the South Pole!
I am going to make a pest of myself at the District Council meeting tonight! I am expecting a report back on the problem I had last week, with confirmation from the District Clerk - it will help since the member in question is wanted for service on the District Council. I still need confirmation of the progress on the District goal for 5 or 6 baptisms a month. In Richards Bay we should be baptizing a net 2 a month, but in the first 6 months, we have lost a net 2 members! Growth can only come from 2 sources:-
1) Baptisms AND
2) Transfers in. These transfers are not to be counted as baptisms - as far as I can see! Doing the Home Teaching list, I noted that in 6 months we had 3 members move out and a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) were baptized.
There are 2 members who moved in, but at last printout from MLS, their records had not arrived, or even been called for! The BP maintains that the ones records have arrived, and this is great news, since the District President wants him on the District Council.
The other move in, has requested his records remain at Hillcrest since he still holds a calling there, which he is apparently active in, every second week!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Game Reserve visit
Yesterday I was in the Reserve with 2 sets of Elders - those from Richards Bay and those from Nseleni. These are some of the sights we came across! It was really cold with a mean breeze blowing!
Where is the proof of Global Warming? Zululand has never been so cold! Global Warming is a myth as far as I can see!
As we came round a corner in the road below the Hilltop Camp there was a burnt area on the lower side of the road. In this ditch was a really large specimen of a bull elephant! Usually large elephants are not that peaceable, and I was reluctant to just drive past. We were stopped and the Elephant climbed up the bank and onto the road. He turned and walked straight past the car - not 4 meters (12 feet) away. I was watching it to see if it was peacefully walking past us, and there was no indication of it being upset. I was too scared of what it would do, to search for my camera and take a photo of it! It ambled past not 3 meters away, and you could clearly see that it was dirty from the grass fires that had gone through recently! Usually an Elephant is grey, but this one was black from the soot!
I need to find out if the Elders who were with me have photos of this specimen and see if I can get hold of one!
At present, it is again as cold as anything here! If we did not live in Zululand, you would swear that it was about to snow. It never snows at the coast, but it does snow at Nkandla, about 40 - 50 kilometers inland from here and also up the Melmoth Pass - about 70 kilometers away if you go in a straight line up towards Melmoth. I have seen the lights of Richards Bay - and of ships waiting to dock in the harbour - from the Pass at night! In fact I believe you get better sea views in Eshowe and from the Melmoth Pass than you get in most of Richards Bay.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sunday
Today was interesting in that I was speaking out at Port Durnford. I know that my talk hit home as I was talking on the Law of Tithing. All through my talk I saw nods and grunts of agreement with what I said and as I was leaving, several members took the opportunity to pay their tithing!
It feels great to talk with inspiration from the Spirit! I was fired up and put my message across strongly. When I started, I was introduced as a powerful speaker. I enjoy the members out there and have a really good relationship with the Branch President! I enjoy talking out there.
It seems every time I go out there, the condition of the road deterorates - and it was atrocious to start with!
Once the new chapel has been delivered on site, I will attach photos to my blog. I keep on forgetting to photograph the chapel out at Richards Bay, although the extensions are not generally visible from the front. For missionary couples serving when I was baptised, the chapel has been extended to the rear, by the addition of a Cultural Hall and a series of classrooms and offices, seperated from the chapel by a rear wall that folds away! At the rear, is a satellite dish to receive satellite transmissions from Salt Lake City! I have a personal satellite decoder but the dish is aimed at the satellite for DSTV transmissions. For BYU transmissions, the dish needs to be aimed in a completely different direction.
I am taking 4 missionery Elders up to Hluhluwe Game Reserve tomorrow! It is quite some time since I have seen lion, so maybe tomorrow will be a great day! i kind of figure if Heavenly Father wants to show his hard working missionaries His wonders, I may as well get in on the act and see them also. Besides I kind of know where to head to see Game!
It feels great to talk with inspiration from the Spirit! I was fired up and put my message across strongly. When I started, I was introduced as a powerful speaker. I enjoy the members out there and have a really good relationship with the Branch President! I enjoy talking out there.
It seems every time I go out there, the condition of the road deterorates - and it was atrocious to start with!
Once the new chapel has been delivered on site, I will attach photos to my blog. I keep on forgetting to photograph the chapel out at Richards Bay, although the extensions are not generally visible from the front. For missionary couples serving when I was baptised, the chapel has been extended to the rear, by the addition of a Cultural Hall and a series of classrooms and offices, seperated from the chapel by a rear wall that folds away! At the rear, is a satellite dish to receive satellite transmissions from Salt Lake City! I have a personal satellite decoder but the dish is aimed at the satellite for DSTV transmissions. For BYU transmissions, the dish needs to be aimed in a completely different direction.
I am taking 4 missionery Elders up to Hluhluwe Game Reserve tomorrow! It is quite some time since I have seen lion, so maybe tomorrow will be a great day! i kind of figure if Heavenly Father wants to show his hard working missionaries His wonders, I may as well get in on the act and see them also. Besides I kind of know where to head to see Game!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
BLOG FOLLOWERS
This morning was really heartening! The registered followers of my blog has doubled - from 1 to 2. I understand that there are other followers, but they have not registered!
Tomorrow (Sunday) I am on assignment, attending Port Durnford sacrament and giving the final talk on behalf of the District Presidency, since I am the senior member of the District Council.
I enjoy the prospect of talking as final speaker. When I was Final Speaker at Nseleni, the first sp;eaker carried on for about half an hour, so I had less time to get my message across. I gave my talk and was told that it was clear and hard punching! Drafting a talk on a given subject is a mite easier than deciding what to talk on! I have the task of talking io on "the Law of Tithing" and hopefully the message wil sink home! The best thing is that because I pay my tithing, I have been really blessed, with a Porsche AND a Landrover 4x4! When I drive on the roads, I can look either COOL or WEALTHY! I dont complain though. It is way better than looking like a pauper! You can see this and not only hear it - both are SERIOUSLY GRAND to listen to!
One of the members of Richards Bay really wants me to give him my Porsche, but I tried to tell him that there are 2 reasons that I cannot do this:-
1. I was given it as a gift, so if I give it away, then what does that say about
my gratitude?
2. There is no chance that he could hope to keep it on the road:-
a - it is too expensive - new rear tyres cost me R 3 000 EACH
b - the car would not handle the farm roads where he lives - way too
low sprung!
There is another member who says to me "Where is our car?" but he has no hope of ever getting into and out of the Porsche. Anyway, it is a reason for us to communicate and in fact to joke about it!
On Monday I and 2 missionery companionships are going up to the Reserve. I intend to go through Hluhluwe Reserve, as I found out last time I was up there, that meals at the restaurant at Hilltop Camp serves affordable meals! It used to be a carvery - eat all you want to - but it was really pricey. Now however you can order burgers and toasted samwiches off of a menu - way more affordable!
Since I was so badly stung, I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, so I have kind of sworn off of heavy sugar things (chocolates, cokes etc) and as a result, have dropped 1 longs size, and in fact my longs tend to fall off of me! I have had to buy belts, to hold my longs up. I truly think that it will not be too long before I need to shop for longs 1 or 2 sizes smaller! Bugs me that I gave away about 8 pairs of longs when I decided that I would never fit into them again.
Just shows that you should never say "NEVER" because anything is possible! The biggest problem is that my suit longs fitted me well, but now are way too loose! On TV you see programs where the current fashion is to wear your longs so low down that you display your undies! That is the opposite extreme of not being able to do the buttons up! I can feel that my hands have lost some bulk and my legs are starting to look kind of scrawny!
Maybe if I lose enough weight, I can start to run again! The loss of my running ability hit me at least as hard as my lost ability of free speech!
In our meeting on Wednesday evening, the one Counsellor on the District Presidency was killing himself laughing at me! He was stunned because I had made an impassioned plea about something and he was laughing with surprise that he had clearly understood EVERYTHING that I had said! I was querying the calling of visitors to callings in the branch, since their records are not yet here! Turns out that they CAN be called, as long as the BP has the authority to call them from their Bishop or Stake President! The existance of such permission will be sought on Sunday! The concern arose because I had not included them on the Home Teaching list, but they are not yet members of our branch, and officially cannot hold down callings! I had a thought that maybe their callings were an act of desperation rather than inspiration!
You live and you learn! Di learned something on Friday from me! She has a Blackberry cell phone, and I commented on the Qwerty keyboard layout, and she asked "What is that?" Turns out that Qwerty (first 5 letters on a standard keyboard) has become a generally acceptable word - in the dictionery - that can be used in Scrabble! Di was stunned that I would even know that! I may not be that young anymore, but I do know some things! Helps to have computer experience, which Di does not have! She is however LOVING the useability of her new cell, with it's Qwerty keyboard.
Tomorrow (Sunday) I am on assignment, attending Port Durnford sacrament and giving the final talk on behalf of the District Presidency, since I am the senior member of the District Council.
I enjoy the prospect of talking as final speaker. When I was Final Speaker at Nseleni, the first sp;eaker carried on for about half an hour, so I had less time to get my message across. I gave my talk and was told that it was clear and hard punching! Drafting a talk on a given subject is a mite easier than deciding what to talk on! I have the task of talking io on "the Law of Tithing" and hopefully the message wil sink home! The best thing is that because I pay my tithing, I have been really blessed, with a Porsche AND a Landrover 4x4! When I drive on the roads, I can look either COOL or WEALTHY! I dont complain though. It is way better than looking like a pauper! You can see this and not only hear it - both are SERIOUSLY GRAND to listen to!
One of the members of Richards Bay really wants me to give him my Porsche, but I tried to tell him that there are 2 reasons that I cannot do this:-
1. I was given it as a gift, so if I give it away, then what does that say about
my gratitude?
2. There is no chance that he could hope to keep it on the road:-
a - it is too expensive - new rear tyres cost me R 3 000 EACH
b - the car would not handle the farm roads where he lives - way too
low sprung!
There is another member who says to me "Where is our car?" but he has no hope of ever getting into and out of the Porsche. Anyway, it is a reason for us to communicate and in fact to joke about it!
On Monday I and 2 missionery companionships are going up to the Reserve. I intend to go through Hluhluwe Reserve, as I found out last time I was up there, that meals at the restaurant at Hilltop Camp serves affordable meals! It used to be a carvery - eat all you want to - but it was really pricey. Now however you can order burgers and toasted samwiches off of a menu - way more affordable!
Since I was so badly stung, I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic, so I have kind of sworn off of heavy sugar things (chocolates, cokes etc) and as a result, have dropped 1 longs size, and in fact my longs tend to fall off of me! I have had to buy belts, to hold my longs up. I truly think that it will not be too long before I need to shop for longs 1 or 2 sizes smaller! Bugs me that I gave away about 8 pairs of longs when I decided that I would never fit into them again.
Just shows that you should never say "NEVER" because anything is possible! The biggest problem is that my suit longs fitted me well, but now are way too loose! On TV you see programs where the current fashion is to wear your longs so low down that you display your undies! That is the opposite extreme of not being able to do the buttons up! I can feel that my hands have lost some bulk and my legs are starting to look kind of scrawny!
Maybe if I lose enough weight, I can start to run again! The loss of my running ability hit me at least as hard as my lost ability of free speech!
In our meeting on Wednesday evening, the one Counsellor on the District Presidency was killing himself laughing at me! He was stunned because I had made an impassioned plea about something and he was laughing with surprise that he had clearly understood EVERYTHING that I had said! I was querying the calling of visitors to callings in the branch, since their records are not yet here! Turns out that they CAN be called, as long as the BP has the authority to call them from their Bishop or Stake President! The existance of such permission will be sought on Sunday! The concern arose because I had not included them on the Home Teaching list, but they are not yet members of our branch, and officially cannot hold down callings! I had a thought that maybe their callings were an act of desperation rather than inspiration!
You live and you learn! Di learned something on Friday from me! She has a Blackberry cell phone, and I commented on the Qwerty keyboard layout, and she asked "What is that?" Turns out that Qwerty (first 5 letters on a standard keyboard) has become a generally acceptable word - in the dictionery - that can be used in Scrabble! Di was stunned that I would even know that! I may not be that young anymore, but I do know some things! Helps to have computer experience, which Di does not have! She is however LOVING the useability of her new cell, with it's Qwerty keyboard.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Thursday 5th August
Amazing that we are already in August! Feels like yesterday that it was Christmas and already that occasion is only 5 months away!
Yesterday I took my parents down to Pinetown to visit my aunt! I input her address into my GPS phone, but it was not neccessary, as my parents knew the way! We had a great visit - mainly because my other cousin - who also lives in Pinetown - was not there! Strange to say, she acts almost like a black hole for emotions and dominates all and any conversation, usually turning it to how well her kids are handling life! Strange that some kids can be absolutely perfect! I never really liked these kids who are seen by their Mom as near perfect!
We had my GPS turned on, and it directed us there with no problem. It is great to have a female voice who knows (instead of THINKS she knows) which way to go! Amazingly men CAN find their way, even if the wife says "Turn here!" and our inbuilt GPS (instinct?)kicks in - every time we sit behind the wheel of a car! Historically, who designed cars - Women? No ways! Men MUST know more about directions than women do!
In fact, who were the explorers who found their way into the dark continent - note - NO MAPS! - and they were not that "lost!? For years, I was married to a woman who thought she was the answer to all map problems, but she did not have a patch on a GPS or even the superior inbuilt GPS that males are inordinately born with!
There have been occasions where I have taken heed of my promptings and turned where maps advise it is not adviseable! I have NEVER been so lost that I needed to do what women feel is the answer - and ASK! Ask any male and he will tell you that there is no need - EVER - to ask! We KNOW, supported by our inate GPS ability - go figure!
Seriously though, maybe we men dont look like a woman, physically different, but there is something in our brains that does not exist in a female brain! New technology calls it a GPS but real(????) men call it instinct - no need to ask, we KNOW!
I cannot remember the last time I was "lost" , and to tell the truth, do we actually HAVE to remember? A map is only an indication of where men have been before, so we are never so lost as to have to stop and ASK! Maybe we are blazing a new trail to somewhere - ever thought of that? Wives with the maps dont think so, but turning down a lesser used path has not killed that many men, but probably an equal number - at least - of women!
When Lewis and Clarke crossed America, Sacajeweya (the American Indian woman - probably not spelt correctly) had a map - and they did not(?????) Whose names are remembered most? Go figure.
Yesterday I took my parents down to Pinetown to visit my aunt! I input her address into my GPS phone, but it was not neccessary, as my parents knew the way! We had a great visit - mainly because my other cousin - who also lives in Pinetown - was not there! Strange to say, she acts almost like a black hole for emotions and dominates all and any conversation, usually turning it to how well her kids are handling life! Strange that some kids can be absolutely perfect! I never really liked these kids who are seen by their Mom as near perfect!
We had my GPS turned on, and it directed us there with no problem. It is great to have a female voice who knows (instead of THINKS she knows) which way to go! Amazingly men CAN find their way, even if the wife says "Turn here!" and our inbuilt GPS (instinct?)kicks in - every time we sit behind the wheel of a car! Historically, who designed cars - Women? No ways! Men MUST know more about directions than women do!
In fact, who were the explorers who found their way into the dark continent - note - NO MAPS! - and they were not that "lost!? For years, I was married to a woman who thought she was the answer to all map problems, but she did not have a patch on a GPS or even the superior inbuilt GPS that males are inordinately born with!
There have been occasions where I have taken heed of my promptings and turned where maps advise it is not adviseable! I have NEVER been so lost that I needed to do what women feel is the answer - and ASK! Ask any male and he will tell you that there is no need - EVER - to ask! We KNOW, supported by our inate GPS ability - go figure!
Seriously though, maybe we men dont look like a woman, physically different, but there is something in our brains that does not exist in a female brain! New technology calls it a GPS but real(????) men call it instinct - no need to ask, we KNOW!
I cannot remember the last time I was "lost" , and to tell the truth, do we actually HAVE to remember? A map is only an indication of where men have been before, so we are never so lost as to have to stop and ASK! Maybe we are blazing a new trail to somewhere - ever thought of that? Wives with the maps dont think so, but turning down a lesser used path has not killed that many men, but probably an equal number - at least - of women!
When Lewis and Clarke crossed America, Sacajeweya (the American Indian woman - probably not spelt correctly) had a map - and they did not(?????) Whose names are remembered most? Go figure.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Yet another Perfect day!
This morning looks like yet another a typically brilliant day - the sun shines from an entirely clouless sky - you cannot imagine how blue, the colour blue can get! Because the sky is blue, the sea is also blue! I saw the Irish Sea when I was taken to Blckpool from Manchester, and that was kind of grey and uninviting! The bluest I have seen the sea is in the Cape Province where the beaches are white and the sea is blue, although it is very cold! Tecnically it is influenced by an ocean current from the antarctic, so it is pretty well melted ice - and it feels like it!
In Zululand I overlook the Indian Ocean, which is about 10 degrees warmer, because the ocean currents flow from the Indian Continent down past the Equator to the southern tip of Africa.There at Cape Point - no word of a lie - you can see that on the west is the cold Atlantic Ocean and on the east is the much warmer Indian Ocean. If you had to take a kettle full of Atlantic water, one of Indian water and boil them, the Indian Ocean one will boil first!
Another thing that amazes me is that At the coast water takes a lot longer to boil than it does on the Highveld (at the Temple - because of the altitude there! Tea (herbal tea) is also much hotter at the coast than it is on the highveld! This has something to do with the air pressure, which is relatively higher at the coast.
I feel that on the Highveld I battle more to breathe as there is relatively less air to breathe - let alone that what air there is, is polluted by factory discharge. Flying into Jo'burg, you can see that the air there is brown from factory discharge and from home fires lit to keep you warm! I am happy at sea level, where I hardly need to breathe - the oxygen in the atmosphere is kind of absorbed through my skin by osmosis! I wil say that when I was so badly stung, I was ventilated in hospital with pure oxygen, and I felt good! What was worrying the doctor most was that I was seemingly unable to breathe properly without the oxygen, but that turned out to be a problem with my drip! It was forcing fluid into me that my body could not expell. My diapram was distended from the fluid in my body! Only when I refused to allow the nurse to put the drip in again was I able to be "normal" or as normal as I can be - which is not what some would call normal.
I felt that my skin was bloated, and that it was the drip doing this! I felt impressed that my rising blood pressure had pushed out the drip needle. The needle popped out and my blood pressure started returning to normal. When I refused the nurse permission to connect up a drip to the needle that was put back into my wrist, she was not happy - and you could see it - but it was affecting MY body,so I felt that I was in my own rights to refuse permission!
When the nurse tried to put the needle back in, she had no end of trouble in finding a vein to insert the needle! My veins had vanished in the bloated flesh of my wrist! It took a few days for my flesh to return to normal - or at least as normal as possible! Strange that someone with no medical training - me - can be correct about my own body! Just shows me that I CAN rely on my promptings.
I also was mysteriously having problems with the cooling system on my 4x4.(I was prompted to ask the BMW trained mechanic (BMW owned the name "Landrover" when my 4x4 was built)) but he obviously did not do that. When the motor was warm, I noticed a pipe bubbling! Turned out that the clamp was tight, but not tight enough! My car was losing a tiny amount of water as it ran. Anyway, I tightened the clamp up and - touch wood - the problem has been fixed. So much good for heeding promptings! it also proves to me that I must have not done so much bad recently because Heavenly Father still feels it right to inspire me! True He was not a mechanic but He inspired the design of the cooling system. Why did He inspire it to be so complex? There MUST be a reason, even if it was to allow me to realise that I need to follow promptings!
I know that Di - and my folks - think that this is a bit "out there" but I am comfortable with my beliefs!
In Zululand I overlook the Indian Ocean, which is about 10 degrees warmer, because the ocean currents flow from the Indian Continent down past the Equator to the southern tip of Africa.There at Cape Point - no word of a lie - you can see that on the west is the cold Atlantic Ocean and on the east is the much warmer Indian Ocean. If you had to take a kettle full of Atlantic water, one of Indian water and boil them, the Indian Ocean one will boil first!
Another thing that amazes me is that At the coast water takes a lot longer to boil than it does on the Highveld (at the Temple - because of the altitude there! Tea (herbal tea) is also much hotter at the coast than it is on the highveld! This has something to do with the air pressure, which is relatively higher at the coast.
I feel that on the Highveld I battle more to breathe as there is relatively less air to breathe - let alone that what air there is, is polluted by factory discharge. Flying into Jo'burg, you can see that the air there is brown from factory discharge and from home fires lit to keep you warm! I am happy at sea level, where I hardly need to breathe - the oxygen in the atmosphere is kind of absorbed through my skin by osmosis! I wil say that when I was so badly stung, I was ventilated in hospital with pure oxygen, and I felt good! What was worrying the doctor most was that I was seemingly unable to breathe properly without the oxygen, but that turned out to be a problem with my drip! It was forcing fluid into me that my body could not expell. My diapram was distended from the fluid in my body! Only when I refused to allow the nurse to put the drip in again was I able to be "normal" or as normal as I can be - which is not what some would call normal.
I felt that my skin was bloated, and that it was the drip doing this! I felt impressed that my rising blood pressure had pushed out the drip needle. The needle popped out and my blood pressure started returning to normal. When I refused the nurse permission to connect up a drip to the needle that was put back into my wrist, she was not happy - and you could see it - but it was affecting MY body,so I felt that I was in my own rights to refuse permission!
When the nurse tried to put the needle back in, she had no end of trouble in finding a vein to insert the needle! My veins had vanished in the bloated flesh of my wrist! It took a few days for my flesh to return to normal - or at least as normal as possible! Strange that someone with no medical training - me - can be correct about my own body! Just shows me that I CAN rely on my promptings.
I also was mysteriously having problems with the cooling system on my 4x4.(I was prompted to ask the BMW trained mechanic (BMW owned the name "Landrover" when my 4x4 was built)) but he obviously did not do that. When the motor was warm, I noticed a pipe bubbling! Turned out that the clamp was tight, but not tight enough! My car was losing a tiny amount of water as it ran. Anyway, I tightened the clamp up and - touch wood - the problem has been fixed. So much good for heeding promptings! it also proves to me that I must have not done so much bad recently because Heavenly Father still feels it right to inspire me! True He was not a mechanic but He inspired the design of the cooling system. Why did He inspire it to be so complex? There MUST be a reason, even if it was to allow me to realise that I need to follow promptings!
I know that Di - and my folks - think that this is a bit "out there" but I am comfortable with my beliefs!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Hard Physical Work
This morning, I was busy relocating my caravan to the caravan park - where else? I have not moved it since I was attacked and stabbed. I was kind of stressed out as I was convinced that I would scrape the jockey wheel over the sleeping policeman. These are speed humps on the road that are designed to help reduce speed and in the Park where I live, are intended to divert the water flow in a rainstorm.
If rain flows off of the main road, straight down the slope and through the park.
Anyway, the task was accomplished around lunchtime! I spent the morning cleaning the caravan, then I towed it down the road (maybe a mile or so!) I was terrified that I would tear the jockeywheel off on a speed hump. I had to be creative with mechanical problems but it worked - more than you can say about me! I feel as able as I did after I ran my one and only marathon!
My mechanic friend (neighbor) would probably be grateful to have the chance of earning cash.
I found that it was very satisfying to achieve something - not that I want to be this exhausted again!
If rain flows off of the main road, straight down the slope and through the park.
Anyway, the task was accomplished around lunchtime! I spent the morning cleaning the caravan, then I towed it down the road (maybe a mile or so!) I was terrified that I would tear the jockeywheel off on a speed hump. I had to be creative with mechanical problems but it worked - more than you can say about me! I feel as able as I did after I ran my one and only marathon!
My mechanic friend (neighbor) would probably be grateful to have the chance of earning cash.
I found that it was very satisfying to achieve something - not that I want to be this exhausted again!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Stress
I thought that once you retired, you left stress behind you, but it appears that my lifestyle is stressful for my folks and by inference to me too! I kind of dread the day when I get engaged, as Dad will pipe up that one wife screwed my life up, so I must just remain single for Eternity!
I offered to take them to Pinetown to see my aunt who is emigrating soon. The only thing that I asked was "Please dont make it Wednesday?" I have a standing appointment to see the lady in my life AND my calling as a District Counsel Member, involves meetings on Wednesday evenings! Mom and Jackie arranged to meet on - you've guessed it - Wednesday! I have an District Council meeting on Wednesday - announced today! When I asked "could we leave Pimetown by 3?" there were tears and moaning about inconsiderableness.
I had an arguement with Dad because he feels that it is not responsible to do 170 km's from Pinetown to home before the sun sets, and he feels that 170 kms to Pinetown, 170 kms back, then 55 to Church then 55 back is way too much driving!
I have input my Aunts address in my GPS, and I know that Dad will freak out if I turn where my GPS tells me to, instead of where he tells me to!
When I take the Elders up to the Game Reserve, I drive with very few stops for 8 hours or so - at a stretch! I see that, if I can do 500 km's in 8 hours, surely my car can do 170 km's in 1 1/2 hours! When I drive to Johannesburg, I drive for a minimum of 6 hours to get to Sandton. 450 kilometers in a day is not THAT far!
I know that Dad freaks if you go faster than 60 on the open road, but that is WAY TOO SLOW for me! The speed limit is 120, so why hold up traffic by not exceeding half of that! When he drives, Pinetown is a full 4 hours drive away, just to get there!
Even at 120, I feel like the slowest vehicle on the road, because EVERYONE overtakes me - often in the face of oncoming traffic! Question - do you be a law abiding citizen and drive at the official speed limit, or do you ignore speed limits like all the pirate taxis do - with apparent immunity? I understand in Johannesburg, if you are not doing the speed limit - at least - they pull you over and throw you off the road as a traffic hazard!
I feel sometimes that I cannot win, no matter what I do!
I also had comments made that since my accident, I have become way more self involved! Where THAT one came from is a mystery to me! Maybe I have, but I feel that others are important to me! Kind of helps when I realise that I am important to them at the same time! I sometimes feel that Dad resents me for my position as a moderately well off retiree! He definitely resents my being an active LDS (Mormon) member, and this came out today! He questioned why my church membership came before my extended family? The last time he went to Church was when my brother got married! HELLO!!! - who is MORE important here, Dad or Heavenly Father?
I know that my mortal Dad thinks he is important - to the exclusion of all else - and he seems to resent that I am working on my Eternal Salvation. When it boils down, I am the only one who can get ME to the Celestial Kingdom, with the promised faithful wife - and he resents that I drive 110 km's a week to do so - unless I have meetings during the week to attend. When I was stabbed, I was Presiding Elder out at Esikhawini and when he found out, he forbade me from attending to my calling! I was living in his home so I could not go against his wishes! I just wonder what he would have said if he knew that my brother used to go out to Esikhawini, drinking in a shebeen. I will not tell him! I never felt unsafe in Esikhawini no matter how many locals were out and about! In fact, I have felt distinctly unsafe in the predominantly white town of Richards Bay! Go figure!
It seems that if the sun sets, Dad freaks that danger is close by, but he forgets that Princess Leia has very strong highbeam lights AND powerful spotlights also. Driving at night is pretty nigh more clear than driving during the daylight!
I offered to take them to Pinetown to see my aunt who is emigrating soon. The only thing that I asked was "Please dont make it Wednesday?" I have a standing appointment to see the lady in my life AND my calling as a District Counsel Member, involves meetings on Wednesday evenings! Mom and Jackie arranged to meet on - you've guessed it - Wednesday! I have an District Council meeting on Wednesday - announced today! When I asked "could we leave Pimetown by 3?" there were tears and moaning about inconsiderableness.
I had an arguement with Dad because he feels that it is not responsible to do 170 km's from Pinetown to home before the sun sets, and he feels that 170 kms to Pinetown, 170 kms back, then 55 to Church then 55 back is way too much driving!
I have input my Aunts address in my GPS, and I know that Dad will freak out if I turn where my GPS tells me to, instead of where he tells me to!
When I take the Elders up to the Game Reserve, I drive with very few stops for 8 hours or so - at a stretch! I see that, if I can do 500 km's in 8 hours, surely my car can do 170 km's in 1 1/2 hours! When I drive to Johannesburg, I drive for a minimum of 6 hours to get to Sandton. 450 kilometers in a day is not THAT far!
I know that Dad freaks if you go faster than 60 on the open road, but that is WAY TOO SLOW for me! The speed limit is 120, so why hold up traffic by not exceeding half of that! When he drives, Pinetown is a full 4 hours drive away, just to get there!
Even at 120, I feel like the slowest vehicle on the road, because EVERYONE overtakes me - often in the face of oncoming traffic! Question - do you be a law abiding citizen and drive at the official speed limit, or do you ignore speed limits like all the pirate taxis do - with apparent immunity? I understand in Johannesburg, if you are not doing the speed limit - at least - they pull you over and throw you off the road as a traffic hazard!
I feel sometimes that I cannot win, no matter what I do!
I also had comments made that since my accident, I have become way more self involved! Where THAT one came from is a mystery to me! Maybe I have, but I feel that others are important to me! Kind of helps when I realise that I am important to them at the same time! I sometimes feel that Dad resents me for my position as a moderately well off retiree! He definitely resents my being an active LDS (Mormon) member, and this came out today! He questioned why my church membership came before my extended family? The last time he went to Church was when my brother got married! HELLO!!! - who is MORE important here, Dad or Heavenly Father?
I know that my mortal Dad thinks he is important - to the exclusion of all else - and he seems to resent that I am working on my Eternal Salvation. When it boils down, I am the only one who can get ME to the Celestial Kingdom, with the promised faithful wife - and he resents that I drive 110 km's a week to do so - unless I have meetings during the week to attend. When I was stabbed, I was Presiding Elder out at Esikhawini and when he found out, he forbade me from attending to my calling! I was living in his home so I could not go against his wishes! I just wonder what he would have said if he knew that my brother used to go out to Esikhawini, drinking in a shebeen. I will not tell him! I never felt unsafe in Esikhawini no matter how many locals were out and about! In fact, I have felt distinctly unsafe in the predominantly white town of Richards Bay! Go figure!
It seems that if the sun sets, Dad freaks that danger is close by, but he forgets that Princess Leia has very strong highbeam lights AND powerful spotlights also. Driving at night is pretty nigh more clear than driving during the daylight!
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