Tale behind the tail

KatieB has a collection of different ornamental elephants and I also have some in a box in my old office, I had never unpacked them and put them in a place of honour like in my older office (I move a lot!). The reason being that I had a severe dislike of the place...

Since moving to the new office my mood has improved and as soon as our furniture and last alteration is done my elephants will be revealed!

So today I will tell the tale of my Elephant theory...

I never had a real reason why I had begun collecting elephants except maybe that my Mom also had a few but now I know... I am an Elephant person.

Elephant persons are people that dream big and do things in big ways but with grace, caring and gentleness, not in a brash way but one cannot miss it either. Gentleness and caring because if you have ever seen a mother elephant with a calf you will know why I say so, Elephant people also surprise others... all of a sudden they are there, doing what they do with enthusiasm and determination. Just like that big Bull Elephant surprised me one night in the Caprivi... we were on guard duty when all of a sudden the stars disappeared... we heard a gentle rumble and realised that this elephant was snacking on the berries of the tree above our bunker... we remained very quite and after what felt like hours he moved off just as silently as he had come.

So there you are, we are Elephant people, KatieB and I. We both care and regard our fellow humans with gentleness as we go about our adventures together, just like the elephants trekking over the savanna.

But the most amazing thing about elephants is that they can communicate on so many levels we humans cannot hear or even comprehend...and so can Elephant people.

Oh and some of us Elephant people are not like elephants... I am useless at remembering things if I do not jot it down or blog about it!

Another thing is the elephants never move faster than the slowest of the herd and are always passing on what they know and learn to the other herd members. Something I never used to do but find myself increasingly doing so. Passing on what I have learned at work never used to be a pleasure, now I find it an exiting thing to do. The same goes for my hobbies and interests, I find that sharing these is so much more pleasurable than when I was younger.

I think as we grow older we lose that aggressive competitiveness and become mentor minded. It sure helps make life less stressful and seeing the light of discovery in another persons eyes is amazing.

The title actually comes from one of the most endearing things elephants do... they very often walk trunk to tail behind the leader... secure in the knowledge that someone has taken the lead and will guide them to were ever they need to go.

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent." Dr. Seuss (1904 - 1991), Horton Hatches the Egg

Walkabout of the Old Farts

The Aborigines do it and I am planning to do it too... go walkabout that is. I am planning a holiday for 2008 and with a few mates of former military persuasion we have tentatively hammered out a plan to do a battlefield tour of the places we trod as troopies last century. As this is a major operation of epic proportion it has to be well planned to ensure a flawless execution. So I will be updating the project from time to time.
An appropriate name will also be needed, I suggested "Ops Grumpy Old Fart", so far it seems to have been accepted!
More to follow...

Straight Laced and bare feet...

I always though it meant exaggeratedly proper but over on Ian's shoelace site I found out that it was the method I used to lace my army boots, with my own twist though. I used this method but made a knot that kept one end of the lace under the first eyelet and then wound the free end of the lace around the top of my boot and tucking the end under this loop. It made for quick tying of the laces and gave a comfortable but firm grip that never came loose. My mates were always amazed at how fast I could get my boots on or off... the only times I never took them off was out on patrol, then one slept with your boots on... no wonder I like going barefoot.

I quess that makes me a Barefooter. On that subject, here is a song from Barefoot... the band that is... the song Rain reminds me of the rain we had today, I hope we get some more...
I see you I'm running But I don't know my way I'm so afraid to tell you All I need to say The heavens are falling And I can't get awayI'm so ashamed for leaving
And letting go of faith I see rain living without you It's not the same living without you again I feel pain living without you here I see rain I came here believing that I had much to give But all I had was illusions where do I begin I found as I tried to understand your words

There's nothing you should cling to If your heart's not in your hand I see rain living without you It's not the same living without you again i feel pain living without you here I see rain Facing honest questions Slowly turning me around Building up what's broken down
"Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolise a way of living — being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It's the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It's a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature."
— Adele Coombs, "Barefoot Dreaming"

Radicalism at it's best... PG18!

It is not often that one comes across a group playing your thoughts on a subject...


Oh... yeah... my first YouTube postin! Ahem, apologies for some of the language but this is the first time that I think it fits the song! Here are some of the lyrics, the rest are on their site as well as downloads for the song, please support em if you can. The leader Rich Ward also explains why they would rather you download, listen and then buy their music. I always knew performers sometimes got ripped off but this is just crimminal, maybe that is why their music is a tad aggro?

Open Season - Stuck Mojo
Music: Ward
Lyrics: Aborn, Nelson
String Arrangement: Eric Frampton

I speak peace when peace is spoken, But I speak war when your hate is provoking, The season is open 24-7-365, Man up yo time to ride, No need to hide behind slogans of deceit, Claiming that you're a religion of peace, We just don't believe you, We can clearly see through, The madness that you're feeding your people, Jihad the cry of your unholy war, Using the willing, the weak and poor, From birth drowning in propaganda, rhetoric and slander, All we can say is damn ya

My forefathers fought and died for this here
I'm stronger than your war of fear
Are we clear?
If you step in my hood
It's understood
It's open season

There should be Open Season on the music middlemen if you ask me.
Update I: Cross posted at Megalicious Mayhem... my resident madness.
Update II. Seems like YouTube is trying all sorts of shenannigans to hide this video without outright banning so I have put the url up in the title of the lyrics just in case.
"A change in the way that we, the music fans, get access to and discover new bands and music has been underway for a few years and now it seems like a revolution against the music business itself is finally on the horizon. This is a revolution that sees musicians, not the music industry, controlling the music we create and how our fans get access to it." Rich Ward

The thin Pork Line and Daar Ver in Darfur

JD is a mate of mine that still dons Cammo from time to time to do his bit, we have a Porcine problem of note in the Eastern Cape with an outbreak of Swine Fever, due to the fact that our Boys in Blue are conducting the war against crime they have asked the Army to stand in for them at the roadblocks that have been set up to enforce the Bacon Quarantine. Most roadblocks have a section of troopies, a Copper and a Vet/Dept. Agriculture representative to carry out searches of any vehicles that come from the affected province.
Hey... I am rambling... go read for yourself and see what the boys of John's Unit are up to.
On the subject of army and deployment... check out Capt. Werner's blog on his deployment in Darfur, a bit more exiting than checking for bacon smugglers. Not that stopping the bacon is less important...
Sorry John... we made real Swine of ourselves today ribbing you about the task at hand.

Countdown

Well, we have an event! All the things are in place and even a great sponsorship for some cash prizes! All in all a great team effort, well done guys and gals. I do belive that since I have roped some of the ladies onto the organizing team things have started to happen...
I completly forgot the recipe yesterday, maybe it is a good thing, I think in the mood I was it would have been awefull... will make up for it next monday, a double helping will be served! It is amazing how my mood has improved since last night, must be the re-emergence of positive radiation... It really does help if you force yourself to think and feel positive, almost like a switch that flips over... Got Winamp on a positive beat as well, Alice Deejay going full blast with Will I ever but the lyrics for tonight will be The Final Countdown as made famous by Europe and featured in Rocky 4, one of Sylvester Stallone's classic series of fight movies, not that they were a favourite of mine, I prefered the Rambo series all because I could nitpick the silly combat tactics, just a pity most people relate Special Forces soldiers to this misrepresentation even today. As a veteran I have the utmost respect for these men, especially our own Recces, with their motto “We fear naught but God”.

The Final Countdown - Europe
We're leaving together
But still it's farewell
And maybe we'll come back
To earth, who can tell?

I guess there is no one to blame
We're leaving ground
Will things ever be the same again?
It's the final countdown...

We're heading for
Venus and still we stand tall
Cause maybe they've seen us and welcome us all
With so many light years to go and things to be found

I'm sure that we'll all miss her so
It's the final countdown...
The final countdown...
It's the final countdown.
And we exit today with this gem:
"ERROR 406: file corrupt: config.earth -- reboot universe? (Y/N)"