Chicken guns and bubble circles

This weekend was amazing for a few reasons, take a look at this! How can we say they are not intelligent!

Then I was reminded how Great our God is when we watched this video as evening service;

If you get the chance get hold of both the DVD's;
Colossians 1: 13-17
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Chris Tomlin - How Great is Our God

VERSE(1):
The splendor of a King,
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice,
All the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light,
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at his voice,
And trembles at his voice

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God

VERSE(2):
Age to age he stands
And time is in His Hands
Beginning and the End,
Beginning and the End
The Godhead, Three in one
Father, Spirit, Son
The Lion and the Lamb,
The Lion and the Lamb

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God

CHORUS(2)
Name above all names
You are Worthy of all praise
and My heart will sing how great
Is our God
(x2)

CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God


CHORUS(1):
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God
More about the Laminin molecule... and a feeble attempt to debunk God's word and work... sorry dude... Snopes is not Gospel truth!
Then later we saw a doccie on the design behind the Airbus A380, the biggest passenger plane in the world and how a chicken gun was used to show how composite laminates strengthen the aluminium used in the making of this marvel of human technology... which pales in comparison to what God has already done in nature...

I mean, look at that and tell me that is not Divine Engineering!
Psalm 139:14 declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." So before you go and design the next amazing technological wonder consider what God has already done and...
"Make sure the chicken is thawed before firing it from the chicken gun" Unknown

Where does reality stop?

Amazing technology! This makes me realize we live in an amazing age. One where reality and virtual reality seem to be merging into one. No wonder many people do not know what the truth is any more.
Yet one thing is becoming even clearer to me day by day, that is that God loves us and wants us to be his children and not to be blinded by what we hear and see in the media...
So even when we lose sense of reality and seem to get immersed in a world that is whirling by, seemingly out of control know that He is Lord and loves you.
"No suffering or tragedy will ever separate you from God’s love." (Romans 8:35-39)

Invisible but not hidden

Technology seems to be catching up to SciFi at a rapid pace these days...
That got me thinking that no matter what you do... God always knows. There is no Invisibility Cloak to hide under, unless of course you confess your sins and ask for them to be washed away.
That and the teachings of a few Sundays got me thinking of how we see the Blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit that is compared to living water... in fact when you think of it they are the same... when we let the Holy Spirit fill us every day we get washed by His blood as well. Amazing!
Of course at the same time we put on the Armour of God and become His soldiers, not to fight a physical enemy but the ones in the heavens... the Holy Spirit is then like an Invisibility Cloak to protect us from the attacks that will come our way.
"Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

HID me... for all the KLR Wild Dogs...

How to fit HID lighting to your 2008 KLR. One of the best farkles in my opinion.
Main beam on before HID
First thing of course is to get a kit from Bikegear for a H7 type globe system.

When your parcel arrives it will be in this neat box that you can use to store KLR bits and bobs in neatly...
Start by removing the windscreen.


Then you need to loosen the 6 bolts that hold the fairing to the bike, 4x 6mm Allen heads and 2x 4mm as indicated in the pictures.






Then gently move the fairing forward and disengage from the instrument cluster... don't break anything! Let the fairing rest on the front fender/mudguard as you do this.



Once moved forward by around 200mm you will be able to unplug the indicator leads and the headlight leads, be careful as the whole lot can fall off at this stage.

The indicator leads...

Close up...

Right...

Left... Now for the headlight leads...



Once the leads are all unclipped/unplugged you can take the fairing off and put it in a safe place where you cannot step on it/fall over it/drop the bike on it or otherwise destroy it... Beware Murphy lurks where tools are involved!
Now comes the tricky part... where to mount the HID ballast, my first thought was to mount it on the instrument mounting.


but after taking a good look again it seemed that it would make a good fit inside the fairing... more on that later...

After fitting the ballast begin preparation to fit the globe in place of the OEM H7 one... Take out the OEM globe by pulling of the lead then removing the rubber cover... this is what it looks like after being removed

Then undo the retaining clip...

You will find that the OEM globe has an adapter between the globe proper and the lead...

H7 globe and adapter...

H7 and adapter removed, this is used to retain the globe in the light fitting itself with the retaining spring/clip. It is 34mm OD by 9mm thick where it the retaining clip rests.
The problem is that the kit has no adapter! Fortunately I found a substitute for the dimensions needed... 3x rubber tap mounting washers! They are the right OD and have the right size hole as well as being 3mm thick! Volia!



I cut a small slit in each washer to enable them to be slipped over the leads of the HID globe. Actually I removed about 1.5mm, this makes the washers fit better in the light fitting...
Now fit the HID globe, pop the washers behind it and clip in the retaining spring, then connect the HID globe leads to the ballast... retaining clips to the small tab... if you get it wrong it will not work but will also not fry anything. "Whew! glad to hear that!"

Put the boot back and secure with some Duct Tape, you will have to slit it to get it over the HID globe leads...
Once you have fitted the HID system you can put the fairing back and test things.
This is what it looked like...

Now comes the interesting part... the plug tabs on the OEM light lead needs to be slightly crimped as they tend to be loose on the HID lead tabs... be careful... the plastic around the plug can break but does bend enough when gentle pressure from a water pump plier is applied.
The HID is polarity sensitive in respect of the connection to the OEM light socket, I tried it one way and the HID did not work... if this happens to you just swap the leads around and it should work.
Oh yes, do not test on a battery charger... it cannot deliver the starting amps the HID system needs to fire up the HID Globe. Rather do the final testing and connecting on the bike.
When the HID fires up and everything works as it should you can proceed to refit the fairing... except it wont fit! What now?
Aha! Found the problem... this support on the instrument mounting is the problem... the ballast is now taking up the same space as this pipe section wants to occupy...

The pipe too long...

The remedy is to unclip all leads again... put the fairing in a safe place and grab the hacksaw! yes... you need to trim around 20mm off this projecting pipe... then you will have space for the ballast and fairing support to live together... without causing strife. Once that bit of surgery has been performed you can file the end smooth and give it a dab of matt black spray paint... do not want the Rust Monster to get a hold on your bike now do you?
Once the fairing is back in place start by inserting the top 2 bolts first... do not tighten all the way... now do the two bottom 6mm ones followed by the smaller 4mm ones and their spacers... once they are all seated you can tighten them all snugly.
That is basically the lot... now check that everything works

and if so pack away all your tools... gear up and take your KLR for a test run.
While I was doing this farkle I also fitted a few other things like LED lamps for the indicators, lighting and high beam... I also converted my indicator and neutral lamp to be the RH and LH indicator lamps... and fitted an amber neutral indicator LED... and also fitted a switch to give Shrek a Hazard warning facility, more about these mods here...

at the same time the temperature hovered around this... chilly...

I also had my apprentice Myoo looking on...
I like the quote I found as well... it fits in with the purpose behind fitting the light... to be safer at night and to avoid chaos!
"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting."
Alan Dean Foster, "To the Vanishing Point"

Ja well, hasta la Vista baby...

This Rockwood is very funny in the light of what is happening over in Richmond at Microsoft... Sales of all their software seems not to be meeting expected targets world wide... I wonder if Ubuntu may have had a hand in that as well as the unwillingness of users to move over to Vista with the resultant hardware expenses that it entails? Sometimes it pays to listen to what the customer wants and not what you think he needs... Long live the Penguin!
I have recently bought an Asus Eee PC, running Linux on a 2 Gig solid state disk! I can surf the net, connect via Skype, get E-mail, do spreadsheets, run presentations and write letters... what more do you need if you are an Adventure junkie like me? The neat part is that the little machine weighs less than 1kg with it's mains power supply! Ideal to take on bike trips too.

Had fun using it as a digital jukebox as well, plug in my USB external drive and all my music can be played as well. Will be taking it with us on our Argentina Adventure as well... Come to think of it, this baby has more power than the first Mainframe I worked on... amazing...
"Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vaccuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons." Unknown, Popular Mechanics, March 1949

Men are such losers

Especially men that leave a woman in the lurch like over at Scully's place. I think there is a special place in heaven for women that give up their babies for adoption when they realise that they would not be able to provide for them otherwise. There is a special place in hell for the loser men though.
I was going to finish my missive but after reading her story I think there is more editing to be done before I can publish it, I keep running across a blog or something on the Internet that spurs me to add more to it as these words I read have a way of making me want to add or redact the ideas I have. So bear with me as I apply some more time to the musings of a gentleman... it sort of has to do with being one.
Part of being a gentleman is to help when asked for advice or expertise and as a few people have asked me how things work blog wise I have cobbled a blog together to do just that. I hope RobC's Blogbashing Guide may be of assistance to some of those bloggers out there that are not as techno savvy as I am. I will be putting up the first guide on how to create a blog roll in Blogger using the Customise option. KatieB has been invited to join the team by the way. As a woman and newish blogger I think she will be a good sounding board for the blog and I am sure she has at least a hand full of questions too.
I leave you withe the lyrics from Mark Owen's song Child...
Sleep peacefully now my child
I hope that you go away
To a place where your dreams can play
Wipe all the tears from your eyes
There is a sky of blue
This is your time of truth

Like a bird high on the wind
May you fly away
Like a snowfall in the spring
may you cares melt away
Child, innocent child
our hope lies inside
your starry eyes
my innocent child

Hero, now that you are free
You have no need to fear
so go out and find your smile
Like a candle in the stream
May you float away
Like a feather on the breeze
May you blow away

Like a candle,
Like a snowfall
Like a feather
like a bird:fly away
Like a candle,
like a snowfall
like a feather
like a bird..fly away

Sleep peacefully now my child
I hope that you go away
to a place where you dreams can play
"The first duty to children is to make them happy, If you have not made them so, you have wronged them, No other good they may get can make up for that." Charles Buxton

Have you had my meatballs yet?

I blame Patrick for this result! How is it possible? Me? the archetype nekkid cook like Jamie Oliver my hero! I love four things in life with a passion, well maybe more than four but the top two are my kids then Bikes and Cooking! This sucks...

You Are a Learning Cook

You've got the makings of an excellent cook, and the desire to be one. But right now, you're just lacking the experience. You couldn't be a top chef yet, but you could be an apprentice.

Are You A Good Cook?

Clearly Blogthings has never had my Italian Meatballs yet, I am famous for them... I am peeved... Speaking of peeved, Blogger via IE is broken... I just cannot log in! Yet when I dropped a comment over at KatieB and gave my log in data I could access the dashboard... what is up with that! Thanks KatieB for letting me use your comments as a back door to my blogs, Firefox has no issues in this regard. I suspect it was the recent Java Update that Microfart insisted on doing... grrrrr.
I was pleasantly surprised by my seamstress though... she fixed my favourite jeans as well as the two new ones I had splitteddowntheseam and my boxers I sometimes use for sleeping... sometimes things are not as well stitched as one would like and as the saying goes... a stitch in time saves nine. The total wa R36.00, works out to R6 per item! Now I must dig out all the other duds that need some love and attention, I love a pair of well worn jeans but some I have in my cupboard are not for public use any more, unless they can be made respectable once more... I hope so.
Oh... by the way... "Bloemfontein - Wing Eddie Fredericks struck twice in three minutes to clinch the Free State Cheetahs' 44-18 (half-time 10-6) win over the Blue Bulls in an enthralling Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein on Saturday." What can I say... the White Tornado is at it again! M just let me know that the Cheetah Girls won their game as well... 15-11! (Doing a victory war dance!) Whoooo boy!
L went to see Die Hard 4 and she enjoyed it... must be good then for her to enjoy a Man Thing movie! I may go and see it tomorrow if M feels up to it after his flight back from Cape Town. Either that or The Bourne Ultimatum or The Simpsons... I need a laugh or two. I also picked up a copy of Shrek3, the soundtrack and 100 80's Hits. Some good music on both albums... so I will exit with track 11 from Shrek...

What I Gotta Do - Macy Gray

Oooooooooh

Yeah, Girl a boy and a girl,
Never thought I'd have babies,
Looking up to me,
Wanna give them all the world,
Yeah, trying to make it, always gone,
You say, mommy don't go, ooh ooh,
And I don't wanna leave, uh uh (I don't wanna leave).

It's what I gotta do,
There's no place that I'd rather be than there with you,
It's what I gotta do to take care of you,
Make it right, ooh (make it right, make it right)
And I never make it,
But I have to hope you understand the circumstances,
I'll be there the second I get the chance,
What I gotta do.

Yeah, only you can rely,
Wanna give you the best of everything,
So I miss some things,
But you're always on my mind (always on my mind)
Yeah, I'm gonna show you the world,
But it ain't easy, ooh ooh,
But I don't wanna leave you (I don't wanna leave).

It's what I gotta do,
There's no place that I'd rather be than there with you,
It's what I gotta do to take care of you, (oh yeah)
Make it right, ooh (make it right, make it right)
And I never make it,
But I have to hope you understand the circumstances,
I'll be there the second I get the chance, (I'll be there)
What I gotta do.

Stars are in your eyes,
The sun is in your flower,
Easy to my churches,
You show me what my purpose is,
Girl, a boy, and a girl,
Sweetest in my world (sweetest in my world)
Hey hey, hey hey heyyyyyaaaah.

It's what I gotta,
It's what I gotta,
It's what I gotta take, ooooh.

It's what I gotta do,
There's no place that I'd rather be than there with you,
It's what I gotta do to take care of you, (a girl, a boy, and a girl)
Make it right, ooh (make it right, make it right)
And I never make it,
But I have to hope you understand the circumstances,
I'll be there the second I get the chance,
What I gotta do.
What I gotta do.
What I gotta do.
What I gotta do.

"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining." Jef Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal

Some men never grow up...

and keep buying naff toys like my new LCD screen, by the way the Blog on screen is pretty Naff too, worth a peek if you are geek inclined.

Then there is a Numeric keypad,

Soundblaster Live USB for better sound,

External USB Drive,

Laptop accessories,

and...

a HP laptop. These will have to last a few years though! The kitty on screen is Amber, looking all pensive.
I am quite chuffed with the external drive's performance and will be getting one each for the kids as well, one can never have enough drive space!
“Technical skill is mastery of complexity, while creativity is mastery of simplicity” Erik Christopher Zeeman