Back in the saddle

Last time we rode this road MD and me had some "Boulder" trouble, well since then Mitchell's pass has been fixed and the ride home was more like a highway trip down the mountain... but not boring at all, it still took concentration around the curves. This time it was a solo ride back to Bloem and apart from the wind quite uneventful, fortunately the trick of sticking a knee into the gale does help.
Will do some backposts with pics we took, hopefully my blogging will pick up again in 2010.

Back in the Saddle - Aerosmith
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again

Ridin' into town alone
By the light of the moon
I'm looking for ol Sukie Jones
She crazy horse saloon
Barkeep gimme a drink
That's when she caught my eye
She turned to give me a wink
That make a grown man cry

Come easy, go easy
All right until the rising sun
I'm calling all the shots tonight
I'm like a loaded gun
Peelin' off my boots and chaps
I'm saddle sore
Four bits gets you time in the racks
I scream for more
Fools' gold out of their mines
The girls are soaking wet
Not tounge's drier than mine
I'll come when I get back

I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm riding, I'm loading up my pistol
I'm riding, I really got a fistful
I'm riding, I'm shining up my saddle
I'm riding, this snake is gonna rattle


Ridin' high
Ridin' high
Ridin' high already

"Life is just a chance to grow a soul."
A. Powell Davies:

The Glory of thy Creation

Boxing day at Hoggies we went sightseeing, showing the new visitors some of the sights of this enchanting village... as we left the Chapel on the Hill this greeted us!








What is amazing to me is the way the sun fell on the tree.. which has a resemblance to a Cross. Coincidence? I do not believe that for one instance.
God is always with us and has given us the greatest gift of all.







Plaque at the Chapel...
The words say it all...



















I believe this is the message we should take with us in the coming year...
Here the rest are amazed by the sight of sun on trees...

Inside the chapel... each one with their own thoughts...

G&A in a stolen moment...


Before the Chapel we took a walk around the Labyrinth and then took a peek over the Edge...
The Labrynth

The Edge

A looking very pensive as she sits on the Edge.

On the Edge...

More edgy stuff...

G&A on the edge...

MD and M on the edge...


G&MD admiring the vista


Of course I could not resit taking some pictures of the flowers that crossed our paths...
Pelargoniums... all at the Chapel, these are new to me.

Another pelargonium.

Pelargonium in pink

Budding Aloe at the Labrynth.

Fittingly this came to mind as we drove back to the house in Hoggies.
"Genesis Chapter 2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,"

Home is where the love is.

This is our own Galaxy the Milky Way, our solar systems home in the Universe. Home to an estimated 200 to 400 Billion stars, just in one Galaxy! There are an estimated 100 Billion Galaxies in the observable Universe.
God knows each star by name, (He heals the broken hearted... He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Psalms 147: 3-4) , each person by name ("See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:16) and by inference each Galaxy by name. How amazing is that! That we, unobservable specks on an unobservable planet in an average Galaxy circling an average star on a speck of rock are known by name and Loved by the Creator of all.
I give the thanks o Lord for you are King of kings, Lord of all. May I always look upon your works and know your Majesty, may I never stop praising and glorifying your name.
Today I bring you a medley of quotes to ponder...
“The reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of a single being even to God, this is love.” Victor Hugo
“The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms” Lao Tzu
“Everything is perfect in the universe - even your desire to improve it.” Wayne Dyer
“What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing to compare it with.”
“The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.” Scott Adams
The one I like best!
“May my soul bloom in love for all existence.” Rudolph Steiner

Oh the Irony...

Ironic that a staunch proponent of Atheism gets a Bible Advert on his Blog... maybe someone is trying to tell Charles something? I used to frequent his blog but then something happened when Obama came on the scene... LFG went to the Darkside!
Update: 01-12-2009
Somehow I can no longer access his blog... I think he has banned me!

Wake up to the sleeping sun

This is a picture of Sol (25 Nov. 2009), our closest star in sleepy mode showing no sunspots at all. This is unusual because according to the past records the sun should have arisen from it's slumber of 11 yearly sunspot cycles. At the same time the earth and other planets in the Solar System have shown a downward trend in surface temperature, something that did not match the information from the Global Warming proponents. Then all hell broke loose this week when the Internet was abuzz with the leaked data from Hadley CRU which seems to support what many skeptics have been saying all along. The Hockey Stick was a lie!
Al Gore is a charlatan together with all the scientists that climbed on the gravy train this farce created.
Now scientists in New Zealand have gotten hold of their GW Experts data and cannot find the upward curve he shows in his graphs... I wonder why?
Science is supposed to be pure and unsullied by politics, financial gain and seeking prestige, it seems when it comes to Climate Science just the opposite is true, fudging of facts to meet an agenda, lies and false representation are just the tip of the Iceberg it seems.
What the good science does show is that Earth is warming in general since the last Ice Age but having a bunch of scientists misleading us with bad science has not helped the credibility of scientists in general. It is time science woke up and tossed the junk scientists out together with their political partners in crime.
"No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer." ~Thomas Browne

Traditional Spaghetti Western from Gigi...

D'Agostino, typical of the genre...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PAOAg7DJ2w
I laughed myself silly... This reminded me of all the Trinity movies with Terrence Hill (Mario Girotti) and Bud Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli) we used to watch in the drive in. Hope you all enjoy it too.
Of course there were the more serious ones starring Clint Eastwood and many other actors of note. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly being the one I remember most and the one I regard as the very best of the genre.





















Now I wish we still had drive in movies!
"You see in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig." Clint Eastwood (Man with no name/Blondie) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly 1966

The Stethoscope

Enjoy! thanks to Donna... by the way KatieB is celebrating her birthday today, wishing her all the best and many more!

I think the quote I found is apt, through the Reformation that he started many souls have come to shout Hallelujah!
"My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary."
Martin Luther (1483 - 1546)

Prototyping a screen deflector for the KLR - Part 2 and TomTom mounting

The TomTom One gps mounting.




















More of the TomTom













Detail of the Xscreen and mounting points using extended bolts.












Bigger picture with Xscreen and GPS.













Side view...













Detail of the GPS mount using the handlebar stay bar, extended nuts and aluminium section.












Front view...













How it looks...




















Another side view.













Another view showing the Xscreen mountings and TomTom cradle.




















Now I just need to fit a power plug for the TomTom 12v Usb supply and the job is done!

To be Updated/Added/Edited at a later stage...

Prototyping a screen deflector for the KLR - Part 1

After seeing what was on the market and what I had in the junkbox I decided to Pooratech an extended screen for my KLR, and this was the result so far. Call it some backyard R&D if you will. Post needs some editing and body but this was to get the pictures up in a link for the other Wild Dogs that may be interested..

Shaping and cutting the perspex to resemble something decent.

Side View of the perspex showing the curves...

Figureing out...

Pre fitting then on to the mounting with aluminum brackets...

Mounted for test ride

Not bad at all!

Quite chuffed at the results so far...

After all the effort I am quite happy with the result, it does need some more refining though.
I think it needs to be higher up and have more support from the rear, that will be in the next update.
Material used so far has been;
1 sheet of perspex (must measure it still)
Strip of 12mm Aluminum Angle cut as needed.
Strip of 25mm flat aluminum cut as needed
8 x 10mm 3mm SS button Allen head screws
6 x 20mm 3mm SS pan head screws (could not get SS Button heads that size)
6 x 3mm heat sink washers
14 x 3mm Nylock Nuts
Strips of neoprene rubber for scratch protection
Strips of 6mm sealing rubber for cushion between support and screen.

To be Updated/Added/Edited at a later stage...

Ugg the caveman speaks

I often wondered why Cavemen and other Neolithic tribes painted on cave walls and rock faces maybe now I have one reason.
They were men and us men are useless at talking... but very good at using our hands so we tend to let our hands do the talking but this seldom has the required result when it comes to communicating with the fairer sex.
Our paintings and handiwork is not understood by our soulmates, they would much rather have us say in words what we do not say but say in handiwork or other artifacts we bring back to the cave.
Men also do not need to say a lot when together with other men... It probably harks back to the days of hunting Mammoth... one had to be pretty quite around those critters or they would stampede and squash any hunters! Hand signals and bird calls probably conveyed what was needed to execute the task at hand.
We men have not mastered the use of language at all, there have been exceptions however, politicians and writers spring to mind. Neither do we feel the need to express our feelings either, lest we give the quarry an inkling of our intent. I really need to work on this language thing before I leave the cave again to go grab that woman by the hair.
"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said." Peter Drucker (1909 - 2005)

A legend passed today

Buell is no more...

Harley Davison has canned Buell and will be selling MV Agusta as well.
I personally think this is a serious error but who am I to question Corporate America? They obviously know what they are doing? Just like GM sold the Hummer to China? I think it was the Japanese that once said "Stop selling your companies if you do not want us to own them".
So much expertise is lost when this happens as well and the roll on effect for the staff involved is colossal.
I am sure that if they really wanted to the company could have saved the bike brand as well as the brains involved but it may well be that they had too many eggs in the basket and that the other two were impacting on Harley sales. I mean, who wants a Harley when for the same price you can get a Buel that handles like a racing machine?
Hopefully the Buell ideals and ideas will find a new home somewhere, I always liked the bikes they produced, albeit not in my budget range...
"Only a Biker understands the feeling a dog has poking it's head out of a car window"

What were they thinking!

I know I have been rather quite of late but after reading this I just had to vent on my blog... I mean, what were they thinking? This man has done NOTHING yet! I was hoping Morgan Tvangarai would win...
Now let me go and get a stiff drink!

Maximum Exodus

Sometimes music can really stir one's soul, especially if the performer is putting his heart and soul into the piece... watch and feel the goosebumps. There is quite a few of Maxim Mrvica's performances on YouTube, try and watch them all, you will be enthralled.

Of course the music brings back childhood memory's of drive in movies with my parents and brothers, where I remember hearing this music of Ernest Gold for the first time in the movie Exodus. Andy Williams wrote moving lyrics as well...
Exodus:
This land is mine
God gave this land to me
This brave and ancient land to me
And when the morning sun
Reveals her hills and plains
Then I see a land
Where children can run free

So take my hand
And walk this land with me
A nd walk this lovely land with me
*Tho'I am just a man
When you are by my side
With the help of God
I know I can be strong

(Repeat *)

To make this land our home
If I must fight, I'll fight
To make this land our own
Until I die, this land is mine

I remember that the movie made quite an impression on me and has probably influenced my feelings for the land of Israel. As a Christian I am even more convinced of the need for us to pray for the Holy Land God gave to the Jewish people.
"The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
Exodus, 3. 15

Thou shalt have no other gods...

I never quite got that until these last few days. I was not going to comment on MJ but as things have happened that have bearing on celebrities and life in general that have to do with hero worship I am putting finger to keyboard. God is very clear in this regard and the consequence of not following His Word.
We have filled our modern lives with gods and idols, even going so far as to create a TV show to create idols! But it is the lesser idols and gods that do the most damage, the most insidious and harmful is what causes peer pressure. For when you look up to others for approval and worth you open yourself up to getting hurt and abused, very often without even realizing it. Only by loving God and having the realization of your worth in His eyes can protect you from this.
If I knew this when I was a kid I would have been a happier person, so would many others.
"A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized." Fred Allen (1894 - 1956)

Forget Swine Flu...

Wait till you get the YoYo Flu, it makes you feel ok twice a day and rotten at least three times untill you reach the end of your tether and head off to bed...
They say it takes two weeks or a fortnight to clear up... I am halfway there!
"After you've been in a place for a while, everything starts to look... I won't say better, there's no need to go to extremes...but your everyday life does start to become...familiar."
David Assael, Northern Exposure, Russian Flu, 1990

Stop...

means STOP! Even a kid knows that... Or so I thought, this past Saturday I was gobsmacked when virtually the whole Quad class ignored this most basic of signs and proceeded to blast over the crossing at top speed. Of course the subsequent list of exclusions from the day's results was not taken well by many. Unfortunately I am not letting safety take a second place to popularity or convenience, neither did some of the race jury members, MSA now has to decide... and I will comment further when that happens. in the meantime... please Stop!

"With a stop light, green means 'go' and yellow means 'slow down'. With a banana, however, it is quite the opposite. Yellow means 'go', green means 'whoa, slow down', and red means 'where the heck did you get that banana?'" Mitch Hedberg (1968 - 2005)

"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher

Calling all South Africans @ 21:00 Today

Calling all South Africans (and people who care) to pray at this CRITICAL time, for GOD to give our country the right goverment this coming Wednesday when we go to vote...

2 Chronicles 7 v 14 d
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray,
and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.

Proverbs 29 v 2
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the
wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

In the light of the coming elections Wednesday, please, pray for our Country at seven PM today, leave the news or whatever is on MNET and go on your knees with your family for a while...

'Heavenly Father, thank you that we can take comfort in the fact that
you are in control of every situation.
We pray for a godly, honest leader for our country, South Africa.
God YOU make the impossible, possible.
We pray for a leader who will bring peace and reconciliation to our land.

We pray for a free and fair election tomorrow.

We pray that YOUR people in South Africa will keep their eyes on YOU and
that you will bless them.
We pray this in the precious name of JESUS.

Amen

Have another wonderful trip around the sun!

This is something that God sent me for this day;
God is jou SAKDOEK as jy huil...
Hy is jou HOEKIE as jy erens wil skuil...
Hy is jou SAMBREEL as HARTSEER oor jou reen...
Hy is jou 911 as jy in nood verkeer...
Maar meeste van als...
Hy is die ANKER op jou lewenspad.

God is your HANDKERCHIEF when you cry...
He is your HIDEAWAY when you want to hide...
He is your UMBRELLA when HEARTACHE pours down...
He is your 911 in times of trouble...
But most of all...
He is your ANCHOR on your life's journey.

Remember, I will always love you... have a wonderful year!

Unfailing Love

This is the last of my Passover postings...

I will rise

The grave is empty... Jesus has risen! Praise God for his redemption.

Above All

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

John 3:16
For God So loved the world that, He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Reason

The reason why I can only fall on my knees and whisper... Thank You Lord...
When I saw this on YouTube I knew what day to post it on... I wonder if the writers ever thought that the song could describe how I feel about what Jesus did for us on the Cross...

Hoobastank : The Reason Lyrics
Songwriters: Estrin, Daniel; Hesse, Chris; Lappalainen, Markku; Robb, Douglas;

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found out a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
Thats why i need you to hear

I've found out a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is You

and the reason is You [x3]

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found out a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

Jesus Messiah

Now once again it becomes time to remember the last Passover... Praise my savior Jesus!

Para mi amor

I miss you like the desert's miss the rain...
Where do you go to my lovely...
Please don't go... you're the only Angel I know...
Just some songs from No Mercy that help pass the time while MD is away in Johannesburg... The guitar playing of this group always makes me wish I could! The notes seem to tug at my heart...
Especially after our trip to Argentina I have gotten very fond of Latina music, particularly the ones from South and North America, they have a vibrancy and energy that is contagious.
So until mi amor is back I will console myself with music and doing some solo riding on the bike...
I found this amusing quote that sums up how things have gone the last few days as fitting in with the title of the first song...
"Either I've been missing something or nothing has been going on." Karen Elizabeth Gordon

Infinity...

another word for Forever or as we Christians believe, Heaven... how do we get there... easy, simple, listen to this song and find the hidden meaning that got planted there by the Holy Spirit when I started playing this song a few times...

Here are the lyrics with some "keys" in the url links... I will add some explanation on a verse by verse basis... not that there are many verses.
Infinity - Guru Josh aka Paul Walden
Here's my key = Jesus is the key of course.
Philosophy = The Gospel is the best philosophy.
A freak like me = Some call Jesus a freak as well as those that follow him.
Just needs infinity = God's "unboundedness."

Relax = Trusting in God makes one relax and worry less.
Take your time = Once you find God time has a different meaning.

And take your time
To trust in me = Psalm 56:11 In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
And you will find = Ask God for guidance, through the Word and prayer.
Infinity, infinity

And take your time
To trust in me = We need to trust like children.
And you will find
Infinity, infinity

The time goes by
So naturally = As a child of God one tends to naturally obey God.
Why you'll receive = Believing brings blessings.
Infinity

Here's my key
Philosophy
A freak like me
Just needs infinity

Relax
Take our time

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find
Infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find

The time goes by
So naturally
Why you'll receive
Infinity

These are the key Bible references that opened up the song to me as well as the ones I linked to...
Psalm 56:11

"In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid . . . "

Matthew 18:3 (New International Version)

3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I am constantly amazed how God is using music to get his message through, even when the artist/songwriter does not even believe in God! So next time, before you freak out at the music your child/grandchild is listening to relax... thank God that He is in control and will put the right words in their ears and eventually their mind will connect the dots and see his Glorious plan. Trust in Him...
Getting back to Infinity which is also a description of God's unboundedness (is that a word?), we cannot put God in a box, he is Infinitely more wonderful, powerful and loving than we could even begin to imagine. To understand him would take Eternity... and that is why he wants us to be there so that he can show us once again how he created all so that we may know that he is God and he loves us Infinitely.
That sentence above sort of loops around the word Infinity... and the Mobius loop is a symbol in one dimension which tries to show how infinitely complex the universe is that God created. I am looking forward to spending Eternity exploring Infinity.
“Love is like a mirror. When you love another you become his mirror and he becomes yours... And reflecting each others love you see infinity.”

Where do you stand?

While the world seems to be in shock it forgets how Hamas uses the funds it gets from outside.
The anti Israel block decries the support Israel receives in aid from the west but forgets to mention that the same amount of financial support goes to the Palestinians as well.
The crux of the matter is the application of this money...
Israel builds better facilities for it's citizens... the palistinians build tunnels to smuggle in weapons.
The Israelis buy seed and fertilizer for farms, the Palestinians buy fertilizer... for bombs and rockets.
Israel devotes it's energy to the upliftment of it's society, the Palestinians break down their society by perpetrating violence against Israel.
Israel leaves the settlements in Gaza complete with working infrastructure... the Palestinians blow it up anyway.
If you still think the Palestinians are being oppressed by Israel then you need to do more research on the matter.
By the way... the people called Palestinians are really part of the same people that live in the countries bordering Israel and have even less claim to the land they occupy... very conveniently forgotten by their countries of origin so that they can be used in the war against the Jews by the islamic nations.
“We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us” Golda Meir