hasta la vista...

I have Vista Business edition installed on my Macbook. I think I posted about it earlier. I hardly use it, but when I do it is a refreshing change and I don't come up with too many problems worth griping about. Well, tonight was different. I wanted to watch a DVD on GoogleWhacking my friend loaned me, and I happened to be in Vista running Virus updates and patches... Well, i insert the DVD, and it politely tells me that i'll use Windows Media 11 to show it. Fair enough, click ok. Then Windows Media moans that I don't have the correct plugin to watch a DVD. huh? This can't be right. Cancel or Web Info... Web Info obviously: I get this...

"If you're running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, DVD capabilities are included as part of the operating system. If you are running Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Enterprise, you can enhance your DVD playback experience by purchasing a DVD decoder pack or by upgrading to a more powerful edition of Windows Vista. "

(Don't believe me? Click here and see!)

Excuse me? PURCHASING? So shelling out a few grand (in ZAR) for Vista wasn't enough to buy me the rights to play a movie, I gotta pay another $15?

This is laughable! I would love them to add this side note: "If you happen to be a mac user, you can alternatively reboot into Mac OS X which comes with your machine at no extra cost and watch a DVD on the included DVD player." Because this is exactly what I did. Shame, poor Vista Business and Enterprise users...

I can actually imagine the suits back at the MS Redmond HQ who thought of this. "I'm a business user and I NEVER need to watch a DVD at work, all I do is type spreadsheets and write proposals."

charity begins at...

www.rayofhope.co.za

Check it out, every year a bunch of people throw a Christmas party for various orphaned kids. They have a day full of fun, food and gifts. I know for a fact the money goes directly to the kid's benefit as I've attended last year and seen it myself! People, consider digging deep in your pockets if not getting personally involved. Else get involved next year... Details on the site.

Out of interest, the site was done by the hard work of the students of my training course. Contact me for more info on that.

new pics up

Saturday night my friend Max convinced me that we need to go out and take some night pics with our cameras. We went to a look-out in Linksfield Ridge where we snapped away happily. My first few weren't done with a tripod, but then I used Max's and the results were significantly better. My Camera is a Sony Alpha 100 that I got in April. Check out the album here.

i deserve

I tasted fruit that was forbidden
I murdered trust that you had given
And now I'm living in a place that's not my home
The pain in your heart made you regret
The moment we spoke, did you forget?
Will my transgressions bring us all to our sweet end?
Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself. I don't know
Or is it that your mercy is much more than I deserve?

Betrayed by more than just a kiss
I did much more I must admit
Instead of letting it all end you bring new hope

(words to the song "I Deserve", by Third Day, from their second album - Conspiracy Theory # 5)

some thoughts on science in the Bible

The thought was raised from an infidel friend that if the bible is in fact of divine origin, it should have some proof testifying to this fact.
The example he gave was the book containing the number PI to the 100th decimal or something about nuclear fission that we only know about now. Now, there is no PI to the hundredth or Nuclear Fission appendices in the bible. He has actually raised a very good point. It would be a strong argument for the Divine involvement in the scriptures if anything known (discovered) only recently was embedded in scriptures written thousands of years ago.

One must remember not to let today's general knowledge dim this gem. To put it in perspective, if only man-made - one would expect the scriptures to only contain commonly held views at the time of them being written. And so anything true and verifiable that goes against the common wisdom of the day, should stand out glaringly, which it does.

OK, so let's see some substance. One great place to start is in the book of Job. According to Henrietta Mears, Job is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, books in the bible. What a great place to start. Also, much of Job has God boldly declaring Himself and questioning Job's knowledge in contrast to God's wisdom.

Job 26:7 mentions that earth free-floats in space. "He stretches out the north over the void, and hangs the earth upon nothing". Common wisdom of the day said that the earth sat on a large animal.

Here are some other references that you might find interesting. Bear in mind, the bible is not a science text book, but when it touches on topics of science, one would expect it to be accurate if indeed it is true. This is what we find:

Bible: Light moves (Job 38: 19,20)
Wisdom then: Light was fixed
Science now: Light moves

Bible: Air has weight (Job 28:25)
Wisdom then: Air was weightless
Science now: Air has weight

Bible: Each star is different (1 Cor 15:41)
Wisdom then: Stars were the same
Science now: Each star is different

Bible: The earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22)
Wisdom then: The earth was flat
Science now: The earth is a sphere

This one is pretty impressive --
Bible: The ocean has springs (Job 38:16)
Wisdom then: Ocean only fed by rivers and rain
Science now: The ocean has springs. The ocean is very deep, with almost all the ocean floor being in total darkness with enormous pressure. It would have been impossible for Job (or anyone in the time of Job) to explore the springs in the sea. In the 1970's, with the help of deep diving research submarines that were constructed to withstand 6000 pounds-per-square-inch pressure, oceanographers discovered springs on the ocean floors.

Some more amazing facts:
The bible describes the Hydrological cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7; Jeremiah 10:13; Amos 9:6). Four thousand years ago the Bible declared that God "draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man" (Job 36:27-28). The ancients observed mighty rivers flowing into the ocean, but they could not conceive why the sea level never rose. Though they observed rainfall, they had only quaint theories as to its origin. Meteorologists now understand that the hydrological cycle consists of evaporation, atmospheric transportation, distillation and precipitation.

The universe is expanding (Job 9:8; Isaiah 42:5; Jeremiah 51:15; Zechariah 12:1). Repeatedly God declares that He stretches out the heavens. During the early 20th century, most scientists (including Einstein) believed that the universe was static. Other believed it should have collapsed due to gravity. Then in 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble showed that the distant galaxies were receding from the earth, and the further away they were, the faster they were moving. This discovery revolutionised the field of astronomy. Einstein admitted his mistake, and today most astronomers agree with what the creator told us millennia ago - the universe is expanding!

Check out many more items here: http://www.eternal-productions.org/101science.html

leopard bites some users

Ok, so I was a bit spontaneous. I should never hastily rush and install a new Operating System the day of it's release. Nope, nothing is wrong, well at least with my installation! But i'm hearing reports of bad installs (blue screens of death) and other reports of odd things, like the latest version of Java not being supported on Leopard. Hmm. Hopefully those can quickly be resolved, and luckily I didn't encounter the blue screen and I'm not a Java developer (though I aspire to be one day!)

So, I'm fortunate - no hassles and an awesome OS, pity that these things are marring what would otherwise be a most excellent upgrade. I guess the pressure of a set deadline gets to everyone, even Apple.

leopard being released today

OK, For a while I resisted. I told myself that I wouldn't be one of those sad individuals who's go to an OS launch and buy the new OS just because. Well now it seems I've stooped to a new level, I'm going to be one of those sad individuals. Leopard will be in my paws in a few hours... Hopefully I'll smile more than when I successfully put Vista on my machine.

I'm not going to do a review like EVERYONE ELSE who has both a mac and a blog. I'll spare you all...

victory whine made from sour grapes...

My comments on this article: http://it-online.co.za/content/view/162500/142/

I think the hi-jacking of the event into a political game is both sad, pathetic, and counter-progressive. Yes, political correctness does have an ugly side, and it's bearing itself here.

I have a question for the politicians: if there were a majority "of-colour" representation in our team, and instead of going to the finals we failed to reach the semi finals, would your of-colour-lust be appeased?

It should be about talent. Sure, train up anyone, get them skilled, but then choose a team on talent and teamwork, not on melanin levels.

time to reflect

Very often for me a large part of living in the city means that some important things get neglected. You get so caught up in the buzz that things go un-noticed or unprayed for, sometimes for months on end.
Some bad news this morning reminded me how important it is to keep praying: for the people in our neighbourhood, for our leaders in government. For justice of the wicked and mercy for the oppressed and destitute. I was also reminded to pray for our brothers and sisters in places where freedom to follow God is hindered or outlawed.
Check these stories:

CHINA: Prominent House Church Leader Repeatedly Beaten by Police – China Aid Association
On October 11, prominent house church leader, Hua Huiqi, was repeatedly attacked by police at his home. According to China Aid Association, "Hua was reading his Bible at his home despite police surrounding his house. He was sent to Beijing Tiantan Hospital, because he lost consciousness after repeated beatings from the police." China's Public Security Bureau (PSB) recently put Hua under house arrest. PSB officers had been surrounding his house when they attacked him. Pastor Hua's 77-year-old mother, Shuang Shuying, remains very ill in prison, serving a two-year sentence. VOM contacts say she is being held hostage by police in order to put pressure on Pastor Hua to reveal names and information of believers. Pray for Hua's speedy recovery and for God to encourage him. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict his attackers and draw them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

GAZA STRIP: Gaza Bible Society Worker Murdered – Christian Broadcasting Network
On October 7, 26-year-old Rami Ayyad's body was recovered near the Teachers' Bookshop in the Palestinian territory of Gaza where he worked. His body had stab wounds and bullet holes. According to the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Ayyad was kidnapped the day before by an unidentified group. CBN quoted the spokesperson for the Palestinian Bible Society, Simon Azazian, who said, "We do not know the exact identity of the group, but we know he was martyred for his faith in Christ." The report added, "Ayyad told co-workers he'd noticed a car with no license plates following him. At 6 p.m. (on Saturday), his wife received a phone call from him saying he'd been taken captive by a group of people and would be home late. A second phone call relayed the same message." Rami is survived by his pregnant wife and two young children. Pray the Holy Spirit comforts his family during this difficult time. Pray Rami's testimony will bring non-believers, especially his killers, into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Ask God to protect believers in Gaza. Psalm 23, Psalm 91

SUDAN: Suicide Bomber Kills Youth, Wounds Others in Sudanese Church – VOM Sources
On September 27, a suicide bomber in military clothing detonated a grenade, killing five youth and critically wounding four others, in Sudan's Upper Nile state. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in Sudan, "A pastor was having an overnight service in Khorfullus town, when an unidentified man walked into the service and detonated a grenade, killing himself, five children and critically wounding four others, including the pastor and his wife." VOM contacts added that the bomber was dressed in full military clothing, normally worn by government officials. VOM is assisting families affected by this tragedy during this difficult time. Pray God comforts and encourages the families of those killed. Pray for a speedy recovery for those injured. Psalm 118: 17, Isaiah 40:31

source: Voice of the Martyrs USA

what a weekend!

saturday: crater cruise.
I started off really early to get to my friends place on time to get to the race in Paryl on time for the start. On my way, half asleep I drove past Hans Strydom drive and found the sign said something like MollyBingo drive. Another name change, another sense of foreign familiarity. I pressed on.
We got to Parys in time for the start but stared up at the ominous storm clouds with hesitation. Should we pack it in and go find breakfast somewhere? No, we ride. I remembered that I didn't bring my raincoat and prepared myself for a very wet 106km. The funny thing about the start of the race, is that we didn't officially start! We were looking for the start, riding around Parys on our bikes, and got directed by some very friendly cops along the way, little did we know that we'd joined the actual race.
The nice thing bout the crater cruise, i was told, is that it's flat. Well, this year they decided to throw in a hill or two. Which was nice variety, but I don't do hills too well.
I was an incredible race, and great to see so many people participating. See, we actually caught up with a bunch of people at the one crossing of the crater, which was bottle necked and had a queue of riders going back far. Being from Joburg, queues and lot's of people was a welcome sight. In races (esp. sprint adventure races) - it's normal for me to be so far back that you don't see others for a long way!!
After an hour or two, the clouds gave way to some sun and we got a good roasting. Better than being drenched in my opinion!
My friend was right, those last 10km were the longest 10km in my whole life! So much for me gunning it in the end. I was very glad when i saw the finish line, but they tease you - you're right there, and then the route turns away and you go through this bushy one track maze before you actually get there. All in all, it was a great race. Not too much corrugation also, I think they'd graded many of the dirt roads.
I'll definitely do it again. Next time, I'll gun it in the last 10km!

sunday: what a game!
What can I say, what an awesome game. Both teams played with heart but we were really performed well. It was a very exciting game to watch, esp. those break-away tries (well, one official and one not awarded)!
All I have to say about next Saturday is: BOKKE!!

apple getting greener

A very interesting trend to watch in corporations (those which manufacture products) - is their attention to the environment. This is obviously a positive effect of not only laws passed, but pressure applied from various environment lobby groups. While I'm not a vegetarian tree hugger myself, I fully stand on the fact that we should look after God's creation as best we can, and so I recognise the good progress we're making on this front.

Check out this link here.

council of europe's parliamentary assembly: stomps on creationism

"The Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe... The Parliamentary Assembly therefore urges the member states, and especially their education authorities to firmly oppose the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution and in general resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion and to promote the teaching of evolution as a fundamental scientific theory in the school curriculum."

See the story here.

Ok, so a few points.

• The stomping out of creationism as an option presented at school levels, happening in the political arena, is a clear display of censorship based on fanaticism. To fanatically opposed something because you fear it'll be fanatical would actually be quite funny if it wasn't so sad.
• If the science of creationism is bad and unscientific, show us scientifically, right? I mean, an attitude of "it's not evolution so it's unscientific" doesn't display the empirical kind of science you want to supposedly promote.
• See my previous post on truth. If macro-evolution (pond-scum to man) is true, then presenting an alternative view in the scientific arena will stimulate thought, and it will allow our young future scientists to present a decent case against creationism. If however, it is not true, then you certainly have something to worry about because more holes will be poked into it. Is that what concerns you?
  
• To prohibit creationism to protect human rights? I'm actually struggling to read between the lines here. It could either mean, 1) we don't want young, scientifically justified creationists blowing themselves up in buses in central London.. or 2) we value our new evolutionarily-justified values and freedoms to do whatever we please without feeling guilty about a God, so we want to keep this and not have some creationist having a strong case. We don't want these young creationist students to come into parliament in a few years and change our laws to remove our self-serving freedoms.
  

I happen to be a creationist, and a young-earther-6000-years-since-Adam kind! And I notice how we teach our kids that same sex relationships are natural (though biologically this doesn't float) - and on the other hand, we refuse to tell our kids about intelligent design and creationism, because it might impact our lifestyle later.

more free stuff

Went into CycleLab at the Extreme Centre on William Nicol to pick up packs for the Crater Cruise race this weekend. Popped inside CycleLab and was pleased to be told about an EAS promotion they're having. I left fully equipped for the race on Sat with energy bars, gel, and even powdered drink. Check it out...

truth

The very fires used to try destroy the truth provide a light and heat which reveal clearly the truth being attacked. Ultimately, truth cannot be destroyed. It can be put down, killed and buried for a period, but in it's very nature it has the ability to rise up again and boldly proclaim itself. People can mock it, deny it, try to ignore it, but it stands regardless of our best or worst efforts.

desmond tutu lashes out

Desmond Tutu has made some surprising statements recently in an address in Cape Town. I say surprising not because they are words that you don't hear often, I say this because they betray his so-called calling as a man who represented the church, who was a bishop even. It gets ugly when (supposed) ministers seek political esteem.

What he said can be seen here: Heaven's not for Christians only.

Let's look at some of his statements quickly:

• Most of us think God is a Christian, but if you think that God is going to tell the Dalai Lama 'you're a good person, but sorry you're not a Christian' then (I say) rubbish.

Um, ok. I also say rubbish, here's why: Getting to heaven is NOT based on good works, but on God's work done in Jesus Christ. To sum it up quickly, we're all rubishes, whether we believe it or not. If judged by the law of God, even the Dalai Lama would fall short, even Ghandi, even Mother Theresa! Mother Theresa won't get to heaven on her good deeds, but on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, and her reliance on that will attribute God's righteousness to her by FAITH, which should cause her to live a devout life, full of good works.

I agree that God is not a Christian, a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God, and God the Father.

• "We've conveniently forgotten that Christians burnt witches at the stake. It wasn't pagans responsible for the Nazi genocide - it was Christians," Tutu said.

Woah D.T., what's with the poison for the people you claim to serve and represent? Anyhoo - The biblical definition of a follower of Christ is just that, a follower of Christ. The bible states clearly that if you claim to love God, yet hate your brother, you're a liar and the truth is not in you. My argument would be, someone doing heinous things would NOT qualify to be called a follower of Christ, even if they proclaim it themselves. It's kinda like me saying I'm a vegetarian while tucking into a large juicy steak.

Besides, in my opinion - It is a stronger argument to say that Nietzsche and evolutionism influenced Hitler more than Christianity.

• He said it had also been claimed that apartheid was supported by the scriptures and the symbol of the Ku Klux Klan was a cross.

Ah yes, I hear this often. Anything can be twisted way out of context to suit your needs. I think that D.T. wants to take something that still incites a lot of raw (and validly so) emotion, namely racism, and pin that blame badge to Christianity. History does reject this though, it was Christianity that freed up America from slavery. The same in Britain with John Newton and William Wilberforce. I believe it had a strong role to play in freeing up this nation too. All the while, in all cases, you have your people twisting scriptures to justify their views.

To sum up, I think D.T. has used some popular pithy sayings to gain acceptance from his audience. I don't think he's looked into the topic, and it's clear he no longer stands on orthodox Christian teachings. In fact, he seems to have turned about-face, attacking the church with his views which lean towards universalism.

I'll end with a quote from G.K. Chesterton (from Orthodoxy):

Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true.

new delicious built in symfony

From the Symfony website:
If you are a reader of TechCrunch, Read/WriteWeb, or ZDNet you may already know that there is a preview of the next version of del.icio.us. What you might not know is that the next version of Delicious is built with symfony. Of course, Yahoo! extended and modified symfony to fit their needs, but what's great is that they could actually do it, and that they will contribute their modifications back to the community in the form of plugins and bug fixes.
See more here.

This is obviously great news for all us Symfony developers. If you're a PHP'er I would highly recommend checking out this great framework.

i love free stuff!

For the next 60 days Sitepoint is having a promotion for a full copy of one of their books, Ruby on Rails Web Applications, to be available for PDF download for free. It's available here.

Also, though this is old news, Symfony's development book is available online for free here. This is a really excellent book for Symfony developers, I bought a copy cos flipping thru a new shiny book is always nicer.

make me Thy fuel

I heard this from a talk by Ravi Zacharias...

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

by Amy Carmichael

linux ipod woe's

In reading this article, it's clear that Apple are effectively shutting out Linux users from using the new iPods. There is currently no iTunes for Linux, and no signals that one will be developed in the near future. They have changed the structure of how the iPod works, encrypting the database with a hash that ties that database to the iPod.

My opinion is this: that Apple should be more platform friendly towards Linux, especially with it's iPod support. Look at Adobe releasing the Flash plugin for Linux, as well as Microsoft's Silverlight plugin. Bring out an iTunes-light for Linux, make it open-source, let the Linux community manage it themselves. Sure, people will know the inside of your software, but rather have it this way and control it, than have some person reverse engineer it and you're left with the impression of being the big bad guy.

Maybe don't even make it open source, but release a core linux version with an API, and let the people build it.

You successfully took the digital music arena, which was a mishmash of illegal copying, file sharing, etc - and made a very lucrative business model from it. I'm sure you can do the same in this case if you apply yourselves.

!!!

is the news trying to make me cry?

take a look at this: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/1255.html

:-/

hopes for fast internet DASHED

Regarding the undersea cables.

A few weeks ago I got really excited at the prospect of decent internet bandwidth. While primary thinking of myself, my own usage, and my business - I also thought about how positively it would affect our economy and our international business ties.
Now, just a few weeks later, what was a beam of hope for many of us has disappeared as the dark clouds of bureaucracy drift in.

What is OBVIOUSLY more important to our Minister of Communication, is ownership and control over this pipe, obviously, because it can be quite a lucrative endeavour, because if it's locally owned, the pricing for the bandwidth can be unrealistically high, and once again the popular pass-time of milking the countrymen (as seen in the new car industry, the cell phone industry, the banking industry and currently the internet connectivity industry) can ensure than some key players make their fortunes.

This...
Sickens...
Me...

What can be done? Honestly, what is left for your average South African to do? I mean, if we take to the streets in protest (which we won't) will it actually matter? What will make a difference, when people in high positions are so feverishly set on greed rather than the good of the nation.

Is that truly the theme of this continent: The benefit of the few at the expense of many? Why are we marching to the beat of something which shouldn't be part of what South Africa is all about? No no no NO. That's the old system! Times of change must come, they have to.

Zille detained

Now and then I get an uneasy feeling, like I get a glimpse of something that should set off warning bells, but then I look around, and either no one else has noticed, or they just don't care. Like one of those movies where you're watching and things slip quickly into a precarious situation. Perhaps it's just a healthy dose of paranoia or a tendency for the dramatic; even so, sometimes I think we don't join the dots where maybe we should. I'll do another post on this soon, taking a completely different direction...

Hearing about what happened to Helen Zille yesterday concerned me. She was arrested and detained for an apparently legal and peaceful march. Read the details here and here. Two other things sprung to my mind: the farewell to the deputy minister of health, which i commented on here. Also the whole McBride incident (which is a whole other story).

In my mind, there are three probable explanations of yesterdays activities: 1- it was just an embarrassing bungle on the part of the police. Hindsight is 20/20 they say, and perhaps under the circumstances, they just thought they did what they should. 2- Some officer felt his authority challenged, and his ego got damaged and so he acted stupidly/rashly. 3- this was a calculated (political) move from the powers that be, in which case we'll probably never find this out. There are other possible scenarios, but from what I've heard these explain things the best to me. With my view on the deputy minister's dismissal, you can probably guess which explanation I'm currently leaning on! I do, however, sincerely hope I'm wrong.

do better now...

Some more awesome stuff, once again from Ravi Zacharias' podcast, he quoted this poem:

He came to my desk with a quivering lip,
the lesson was done.
"Have you a new sheet for me, dear teacher?
I've spoiled this one."
I took his sheet, all soiled and blotted
and gave him a new one all unspotted.
And into his tired heart I cried,
"Do better now, my child."

I went came to the throne with a trembling heart;
the day was done.
"Have you a new day for me, dear Master?
I've spoiled this one."
He took my day, all soiled and blotted
and gave me a new one all unspotted.
And into my tired heart he cried,
"Do better now, my child."
(Footnote 1: Anonymous, “A New Leaf,” James G. Lawson, compiler, The Best Loved Religious Poems (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1961). Used by permission.)

Are you in need of forgiveness? The Cross is for you. God offers you a new sheet today. Will you receive it?

(quoted from here)

skeptik

After reading some of the skeptical writings of a friend of mine, and being troubled by the fierceness of his stance against God specifically and religion generally, I was poignantly reminded that as this world spins into more decay and selfishness, people are running in the wrong direction to find their solace. The sick and weak, in a fit of rage attack the one with the cure. As a lesser wordsmith than those I'm about to quote, I will leave it to them to express what I see, in a way that does so better than I could:

But the new rebel is a Sceptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it. Thus he writes one book complaining that imperial oppression insults the purity of women, and then he writes another book (about the sex problem) in which he insults it himself. He curses the Sultan because Christian girls lose their virginity, and then curses Mrs. Grundy because they keep it. As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, and then, as a philosopher, that all life is waste of time. A Russian pessimist will denounce a policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. A man denounces marriage as a lie, and then denounces aristocratic profligates for treating it as a lie. He calls a flag a bauble, and then blames the oppressors of Poland or Ireland because they take away that bauble. The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite sceptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.
from Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton


The Romans gave to us our legal ideals. The Greeks gave to us our philosophical ideals. The Hebrews gave to us our moral ideals.

• The Hebrew's pursuit was symbolized by light. "This is the light that lighteth every man that comes into the world." "The people that sat in the darkness have seen a great light." "The LORD is my light and my salvation."
• The pursuit of the Greeks was knowledge. "These things are written that we might know that we have eternal life." The Academy was a Greek invention.
• The pursuit of the Romans was glory - the glory of Rome, the glory of the Caesars, the glory of the eternal city, that wasn't built in a day.
  

Paul, who was born a Hebrew, a citizen of Rome, in a Greek city, says this in Second Corinthians 4:6: "God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness, has caused his light to shine in our hearts, to give to us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus our Lord.
...
How that captures every longing and ideal! All are ultimately shown to us in a face. Here we see the ultimate expression of God, the culmination of God’s revelation. It was not restricted to the philosophy of Greece, the spiritual experience of the Hebrews, or the glory of an earthly city. “Do you want to see God?” ask the writers. Look at the face of Christ. That face beckons you not to a smorgasbord of fleeting tastes but to a life of eternal joy.

by Ravi Zacharias, from here and here.

timeout

I've found the perfect app for the hours-on-end-in-front-of-computer users. It's called Time Out and its free. What this program does, is it forces you into a break at a scheduled time by blanking out your screen. You get normal and micro breaks. A normal break defaults every 50 minutes and lasts 10 minutes, a micro break happens every 10 minutes and lasts 15 seconds. You can change the duration at will.

The only thing I didn't like about this app, was the picture that came up during the break... the whole yoga meditating person thing... I think I found that as distasteful as a new-ager would find a message popping up saying "Jesus is the only way to God". So, learning from another tip on how to change program pictures, i tried to see if I could change the image, and I did.

This is what the original image looked like:


Here's how you change it. You select the TimeOut.app file in Applications (obviously after you've installed the program). Right click and go "Show Package Contents". Go into the Contents and then Resources folder. You'll see the icon as TimeOutBreak.png. Replace it with this one (or any png file you want to use, just name it TimeOutBreak.png):

And voila, the new image is called. Now I just need to figure out how to edit an icon file. :)

hear ye, hear ye

Just found something pretty awesome on the human ear. I like AIG's explanation of things, mainly because they reject the secularisation of everything and make the presupposition that God designed the universe as per the bible's explanation.

Then, using the ears we've just learnt about - check out the Truth for Life podcast, with frequent sermons by Alistair Begg. His stuff shakes up many incorrect assumptions very clearly but directly using the scriptures.

Another podcast you want to check out is that of Ravi Zacharias, called Let My People Think.

the message is clear

On the sacking of deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge:
It seems that climbing in, getting involved and doing something useful are not as highly regarded as being in agreement. You could be useless, just agree that garlic and lemons is good for HIV sufferers, stick around. You could be useful, but a clash or challenge means you're gone.
This "agree with me or you're outta here" attitude is indicative of that of a tyrant. I'm not saying Mr Mbeki fits that description entirely, just that he shares some characteristics, and that, is scary enough.

Now, obviously this is all speculation as no official reason was given for her dismissal. However, I sense something is very wrong.

Read more here.

a handful of unix (Part 1) (for new mac users): ls, locate, man, export $PATH

Here are some tips which I've needed to use recently in setting up my new mac (yes, I upgraded)... You'll need to use your handy terminal, though I prefer using iTerm. I've also started with very basic commands for absolute newby's:

ls

In terminal, the UNIX commands on a mac are similar to your old DOS commands. With a few noteable exceptions. Go ahead, open up a terminal (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal) and type the following: ls

ls is short for list, it's similar to the DOS command dir. Now try ls -al
See, more details, including hidden files, which are prepended with a period.

cd changes directory. cat displays the contents of a file. less does the same but allows you to scroll.

man

Very simple. Type man locate to get the manual pages for the locate command. It's a text help file explaining how to use the commands. If you want to see how to properly use the man pages, you can see the man page for man... so that would be typing man man.

locate

This function is the terminal equivalent of Spotlight, except, it looks everywhere! You simply type in locate php.ini, and it finds all the file references of php.ini for you. At first run I got an error message saying the database wasn't present. A brief look in the man page and I found the command to update the database (you should ideally run this every so often to just update all your references for locate. Do this before you run locate if you haven't used locate for a long while) - /usr/libexec/locate.updatedb

(It might be different on your system, so then just read your man page to find out how to update the locate-DB)

export $PATH

OK, this is more of a self note for me, so that I can use it if i need to do this again, because some of the bookmarks I had for $PATH stuff no longer link to valid sites... phhffft. ok.

For a shell script, the PATH variable used is stored in the .profile file (technically if you're using BASH - if you have no idea what i mean, ignore this) in your user directory. You can set up Textmate to respond and edit files by using the mate command from a shell. (here's how)
So, once this is done, open up .profile in Textmate and edit it. Mine looked like this:

test -r /sw/bin/init.sh && . /sw/bin/init.sh
export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin:/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin"
export EDITOR='vi'

I edited this and changed it to:

test -r /sw/bin/init.sh && . /sw/bin/init.sh
export PATH="/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/bin:$PATH:/usr/local/bin"
export EDITOR='mate -w' #textmate as editor, waiting for file to close before continuing
export LESSEDIT='mate -l %lm %f' #textmate as editor for the LESS command, by pressing v

What export does, is make the PATH variable available to sub shells, and you put it in .profile because that's read when you fire up a shell. A shell is a session in Terminal or iTerm (in simple terms).

Something to remember: UNIX commands in the terminal are case sensitive, which means the command locate will work, but Locate or LoCatE will not work.

OK, most of you are either bored to tears cos you know already, or bored to tears cos you have no idea or inclination to get into the shell. This is for the other folks, yes, both of them!

mac: nifty way to schedule a task

OK, so I need to run a task frequently on my mac. A daily download of a wallpaper to my desktop from National Geographic, and every two days to do a project backup (which I ought to burn to disk and take off-site).

So, what are my options... cron, and iCal. Yes, I found that out today, as an alarm for an event, not only can I set a chime to go *TING* - I can run a script or open a file... This leaves lots of possibilities!

So, I fire up iCal, add a new task called getwallpaper, and set the time to 9AM. Then I change the repeat option to every day.

Now, my iCal is littered on each day with an obscure entry. We'll deal with that in a moment.

I head over to the alarm selector, and select open file (the script is an app, so the run script option didn't work in this case) - I choose my app which collects my wallpaper.

Now, to tidy up, I click the plus [+] icon in the bottom left corner, and add a new calendar, name it Scheduled Tasks. It should appear in the top left side panel with a tick. Uncheck the tick and the events disappear. So I don't need to be bothered by my scheduled events.

I did the same for my backup, except I set up a Custom repeat option so that it happened ever week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Next time, I'll use Otto (Automator) to control the backup and zip the file afterwards.

Cron is another more scripty-geeky-terminal way to do this, and I'm keen to explore that when I get a chance. I got this info from here, and they also explain how to do this in Windows.

Here's a grab of the iCal screen, with my nifty National Geographic desktop, before I unchecked the Calendar so that they disappear. Wow, am I really that empty this week?

intolerance

What I got from the Stand To Reason site. Definitely worth checking out...

When Tolerance Is Intolerant

Greg Koukl

There’s one word that can stop you in your track. That word is “tolerance.”

Let’s take a look at the confusing and mistaken ways tolerance is used in our culture today.

Using the modern definition of tolerance, you will see that no one is tolerant, or ever can be. It’s what my friend Frank Beckwith calls the “passive aggressive tolerance trick.” Let’s start with a real life example.

I had the privilege of speaking to seniors at a Christian high school in Des Moines. I wanted to alert them to this “tolerance trick,” but I also wanted to learn how much they had already been taken in by it. I began by writing two sentences on the board

"All views have equal merit and none should be considered better than another."

“Jesus is the Messiah and Judaism is wrong for rejecting that.”

They all nodded in agreement as I wrote the first sentence. As soon as I finished writing the second, though, hands flew up. “You can’t say that,” a coed challenged, clearly annoyed. “That’s disrespectful. How would you like it if someone said you were wrong?”

“In fact, that happens to me all the time,” I pointed out, “including right now with you. But why should it bother me that someone thinks I’m wrong?”

“It’s intolerant,” she said, noting that the second statement violated the first statement. What she didn’t see was that the first statement also violated itself.

I pointed to the first statement and asked, “Is this a view, the idea that all views have equal merit and none should be considered better than another?” They agreed.

Then I pointed to the second statement—the “intolerant” one—and asked the same question: “Is this a view?” They studied the sentence for a moment. Slowly my point began to dawn on them. They’d been taken in by the tolerance trick.

If all views have equal merit, then the view that Christians have a better view on Jesus than Jews is just as true as the idea that Jews have a better view on Jesus than Christians. But this is hopelessly contradictory. If the first statement is what tolerance amounts to, then no one can be tolerant because “tolerance” turns out to be gibberish.

“Would you like to know how to get out of this dilemma?” I asked. They nodded. “Return to the classic view of tolerance and reject this modern distortion.” Then I wrote these two principles on the board:

“Be egalitarian regarding persons.”

“Be elitist regarding ideas.”[1]

The first principle is true tolerance, what might be called “civility.” It can loosely be equated with the word “respect.” Tolerance applies to how we treat people we disagree with, not how we treat ideas we think false. Tolerance requires that every person is treated courteously, no matter what her view, not that all views have equal worth, merit, or truth.

Don’t let this new notion of tolerance intimidate you. Treat all people with respect, but be willing to show them where their ideas have gone wrong. The modern notion of tolerance actually turns this value on its head. It’s one of the first responses deployed when you take exception with what someone has said. “You’re intolerant.”

To say I’m intolerant because I disagree with someone’s ideas is confused. The view that one person’s ideas are no better or truer than another’s is simply absurd and contradictory. To argue that some views are false, immoral, or just plain silly does not violate any meaningful definition or standard of tolerance.

The irony is that according to the classical notion of tolerance, you can’t tolerate someone unless you disagree with him. We don’t “tolerate” people who share our views. They’re on our side. There’s nothing to “put up” with. Tolerance is reserved for those who we think are wrong, yet we still choose to treat them decently and with respect.

This essential element of classical tolerance—elitism regarding ideas—has been completely lost in the modern distortion of the concept. Nowadays if you think someone is wrong, you’re called intolerant no matter how you treat them.

Whenever you’re charged with intolerance, always ask for a definition, then point out the contradiction built in to this new view.

Most of what passes for tolerance today is intellectual cowardice, a fear of intelligent engagement. Those who brandish the word “intolerant” are unwilling to be challenged by other views, to grapple with contrary opinions, or even to consider them. It’s easier to hurl an insult—“you intolerant bigot”—than to confront the idea and either refute it or be changed by it. In the modern era, “tolerance” has become intolerance.

As ambassadors for Christ, however, we choose the more courageous path. In Paul’s words, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). In a gracious and artful way, we accurately speak the truth, and then trust God to transform minds.

coldfusion 8 released

July 30th is a good day. I've been 30 for 4 days. I'm with the girl of my dreams. Life is good.

And now CF 8 has been launched. I'm busy downloading it now! Just in time for one of my major projects starting, which was done in CF 7. CF 7 didn't work easily on my intel mac, but CF 8 is a universal binary, and the beta installed and worked just great. So now I have successfully moved across entirely to my mac.

Even though my main area of focus is now PHP and Symfony, I guess I'll always have a soft spot for CF. And will continue to develop in it if the demand is there.

Watch this space for the new Auction Explorer Books site in Symfony, and the new MISA site in ColdFusion; all due this year (before Leopard!). Like I said, life is good.

another funny

OK, we're gonna focus on Christopher Walken, because, everyone loves him, and also, cos he's hilarious. You can't not like the guy.

So, first check out the cooking lesson, then trundle over to Kevin Spacey doing a Christopher Walken impression as he tries for the role of Han Solo.

automator

Just a quick note to you mac users, once again the other day I was blown away by some standard mac features, this time it was by the little OS X robot called Automator.

I had some music backed up, a double disc-set and I needed to rename all the files, to prepend them with the singer's name. I could have sat and clicked through and taken 8 minutes (pfff, not likely), I could have written a shell script (but I don't do that much) - so I tried automator. It was easy, and I was done in under 3 minutes. Most of the time was figuring it out. I did it again to show someone and it took me seconds...

So, check out automator, one of the little things jammed into a mac which helps with mundane repetitive tasks. After all, repetitive tasks are what a computer should be good at!

Some download-able scripts are available here. Or use the built in steps and play around...

survivalphrases.com

I've recently been exploring some podcasts through iTunes and have found an overwhelming number of helpful lessons, discussions and tips! Podcasting is not exactly new stuff, but I'm finding the quality of these free lessons remarkable. One I discovered today, in my quest to learn Vietnamese was one from survivalphrases.com. They offer free audio lessons, and give you the option of paying for premuim material (a downloadable PDF, some bonus lessons, etc). I haven't bought it yet, but have downloaded the lessons and found them very good.

Also found some Russian lessons. Search iTunes store for "spoonful of Russian" and you should find it. There are many languages to choose from. But my joy with iTunes doesn't stop there - there are many IT related podcasts too! My favourites are the Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast, Apple Quick Tip of the Week, php|architect's Pro PHP Podcast.

There are also free lectures and discussions available from iTunes U, or iTunes University.

at last!!!

This news made me want to cry big fat tears of joy! Something South Africans have all heard about, experienced while travelling, and if you're like me, dreamed of for years now: inexpensive REAL broadband! People, this is the real thing, I repeat, this is not a drill! Check it out:

2009 target for undersea fibre optic link
Seacom has awarded the SEA Cable System supply contract to Tyco Telecommunications, a business unit of Tyco Electronics. The 13 000km project will involve the construction of the undersea fiber optic network providing high capacity bandwidth connectivity between South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, India, the Middle East and Europe.

http://www.it-online.co.za/content/view/108384/142/

friend hit by a taxi

We all know that enough is enough when it comes to taxi's on the South African roads... but it's only when something comes close to home that we get shocked awake. A fellow cyclist and friend was plowed through by a taxi two weeks ago, he survived, in much pain, and has been in hospital for two weeks. He was riding on the side of the road in Sunninghill on the road that borders Leeukop Prison and the Seventh Day Adv. church. This is his story: He heard the taxi behind him hooting, so he climbed off his road bike and started moving off the road when he was struck. The rest of the story was told to him by an eye witness because he only came to about 30 minutes later. The taxi stopped a few hundred metres down the road because he was dragging the bicycle. He climbed out, removed the bike and started walking back to my friend. He then saw that another car had stopped to help, turned, ran back to his taxi and sped off.

FG (my friend) came to when the people who stopped started helping him up to take him to hospital. He had a severe concussion because his helmet's strap had snapped and he had a full blow to the head when he hit the ground. He had also lost most of his front teeth. He's alive, and I thank God for that, but I am filled with an anger at this injustice. Because no one saw the driver, or got the license plate, the police discouraged him from opening a case.

It's as if taxi drivers (the guilty ones I'm referring to) see themselves as freedom fighters, using their taxi's as weapons, carrying weapons too in some cases. Taking on even cops if they get too authoritarian. And it's not getting any better. Doing nothing doesn't make it go away. I really don't know what the answer is, how do you get people to grow a conscience?

So, while our government is working very hard at the task of clamping down on smokers and people who discipline their children... it seems it's up to the minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to face up to the reality of crime in our nation, all while taxi drivers rampantly plow down the innocent. Something is wrong people, something is very wrong.

my new site

Well, it was due for years now, and I've finally done it. I designed, built and wrote the content to this in 2 hours, so if you notice any problems, please let me know!

http://www.assemble.co.za

If you haven't clicked the above, then I dare you.

Comments welcome, and you don't need to be nice. And yes, it's only HTML and CSS, no fancy stuff. Built using Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, Fireworks CS3, and Textmate. Right, Over and out.

better than quicktime!

For a while now I've been struggling to see some various avi codecs using quicktime. Stuff that just works nicely on my windows box just seems to be riddled with headaches on my mac. Well last night I discovered a little app called the VLC player.

How this happened: 1) Quicktime moaned that it couldn't play the movie correctly, so it sent me to the Quicktime site. Fortunately, I knew it was an XVID codec I needed (see, before, I didn't actually know - surely Quicktime should also tell us WHICH codec we need, not just send us to a list of 10 Quicktime plugins saying "pick a codec, any codec... oops, wrong codec").

2) I went to the XVID site, and downloaded the plugin, but at the same time I saw a link to another video player, suddently the mist started to clear and the sun came out and a chorus played in the background (it was late).

3) I downloaded this app also, and found my Quicktime plugins didn't solve the problem, so I installed VLC and happily forgot about Quicktime. What's great is that it is also multi platform, and responds to the Apple remote control too (Windows Media doesn't!).

It also supports Windows Media formats, and does a much better job than the Windows Media Player 9 for Mac. I'm impressed, so check it out.

anti-virus: ClamXav and ClamAv

Although the mac is reputed to have few or no viruses (a few have been made as proof of concept but they aren't really comparable to what windows users experience), it's better to take precautions. I've recently installed ClamXav, which came on one of the MacFormat DVD's. It's a freeware Anti-Virus for Mac. It comes from another project called ClamAv, which is for other platforms. It works well and you can also set up schedules to do a Virus scan, as well as a Sentry, which can watch certain directories always (for example your mail attachment or Downloads folder).

Now, although the risk is less for us mac users, we should be responsible and allow this to apprehend Viruses that could otherwise be passed on in an email to our colleagues or friends. It's like paying your TV license, it's the right thing to do.

the little coding factory comes to life...

The first training workshop on Saturday was a great success. We jammed 10 people into my little flat to learn web development, starting with HTML. 5 people couldn't make it, which means next workshop might need to be in a new venue!

To backtrack a bit, the idea behind this free training is to equip people who want to get into web technologies with the necessary skills so that they can become available for work. There is already a lot of interest in using the students for non-profit and corporate work, and two potential job interviews await the best.

The manual is available online here. More manuals will be done as we progress.

If you are interested in using the newly produced web developers for your own corporate or charity project, contact me directly.

Christian monastery attacked in Gaza

by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook (from PMW Reports newsletter)

During the recent fighting in Gaza between Hamas and Fatah, the Christian community in Gaza was also targeted. The Palestinian paper Al-Ayyam reported that “Armed masked men… stole, destroyed and burned down a monastery and a church school in Gaza, after they bombed the main gate with RPG shells… they destroyed the main gate of the monastery with an RPG shell, and then entered the church and destroyed everything in the monastery: The crosses, the holy books, computers and photocopy machines." They appeared to be members of Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades, however, the Hamas has directed the blame at the Palestinian Authority police.

It should be noted that while this may have been a Hamas attack on the church, the Christian community has been suffering under Fatah rule as well. Ever since the West Bank cities were given over from Israel to the Palestinian Authority the Christian population has been living under very difficult conditions.

Palestinian writer Khaled Abu Toameh recently reported in The Jerusalem Post on the ruin of the Christian community of Bethlehem:

"The conditions of Christians in Bethlehem and its surroundings had deteriorated ever since the area was handed over [from Israel] to the PA in 1995…. 'Every day we hear of another Christian family that has immigrated to the US, Canada or Latin America… The Christians today make up less than 15 percent of the population'… "Samir Qumsiyeh [said]: "I believe that 15 years from now there will be no Christians left in Bethlehem."

When the West Bank was under Israeli administration the Christian population of Bethlehem was over 60%.

This attack on the Gaza church, though more aggressive than the actions in Bethlehem, seems to be part of a Palestinian pattern of marginalizing the Christian community.

The article from Al-Ayyam appears below. As the story of the Christian community in Bethlehem is important for the understanding of the Christian predicament under the Palestinian Authority, The Jerusalem Post article has likewise been reprinted below.

Al-Ayyam, June 18, 2007
Armed masked men, said to be part of Al-Qassam [Hamas] Operational Force, stole, destroyed and burned down a monastery and a church school in Gaza, after they bombed the main gate with RPG shells…

Father Manuel Muslem, the leader of the Latin community in Gaza, said that the armed men who carried all sorts of weapons, including machine guns and RPG launchers, burst in to the monastery and the Al-Wardiya Church school yesterday after they destroyed the main gate of the monastery with an RPG shell, and then entered the church and destroyed everything in the monastery: The crosses, the holy books, computers and photocopy machines… And he explained that the damage caused to the monastery, only on the inside, will require over 100,000 Jordanian Dinar to restore, all the more so the walls and the outer gates which were damaged by the shells and were entirely destroyed.

Muslem indicated that he got a phone call from President Mahmoud Abbas, who expressed his identification and his love for the people of the Christian community… similarly, President Abbas promised the church that the [Palestinian] Authority will be the faithful protector to its people, without differentiating between a Christian and a Muslim.

In a response to the blame directed at the [Hamas] Al-Qassam Brigades and the Operational Force… the spokesman of the Operational Force, Islam Shahwan, said that the events of theft, destruction and burning of some of the institutions are absolutely not part of the values and measures of our people…

[That] those who attacked the Al-Wardiya Church school wore the clothes of the Operational Force and bore symbols saying “Al-Qassam,” Shahwan explained that, concerning the Al-Qassam Brigades, since there was a agreement with them, and they completely left the street, only men of the Operational Force and of the Palestinian police stayed there. He denied [the claim] that this destructive way is the way of the Operational Force.
[Al-Ayyam, June 18, 2007]

The Jerusalem Post
Bethlehem Christians claim persecution
Jan. 25, 2007
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

A number of Christian families have finally decided to break their silence and talk openly about what they describe as Muslim persecution of the Christian minority in this city. The move comes as a result of increased attacks on Christians by Muslims over the past few months.

The families said they wrote letters to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the Vatican, Church leaders and European governments complaining about the attacks, but their appeals have fallen on deaf ears. According to the families, many Christians have long been afraid to complain in public about the campaign of "intimidation" for fear of retaliation by their Muslim neighbors and being branded "collaborators" with Israel. But following an increase in attacks on Christian-owned property in the city over the past few months, some Christians are no longer afraid to talk about the ultra-sensitive issue. And they are talking openly about leaving the city.

"The situation is very dangerous," said Samir Qumsiyeh, owner of the Beit Sahur-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station. "I believe that 15 years from now there will be no Christians left in Bethlehem. Then you will need a torch to find a Christian here. This is a very sad situation." Qumsiyeh, one of the few Christians willing to speak about the harsh conditions of their community, has been the subject of numerous death threats. His house was recently attacked with fire-bombs, but no one was hurt.

Qumsiyeh said he has documented more than 160 incidents of attacks on Christians in the area in recent years. He said a monk was recently roughed up for trying to prevent a group of Muslim men from seizing lands owned by Christians in Beit Sahur.

Thieves have targeted the homes of many Christian families and a "land mafia" has succeeded in laying its hands on vast areas of land belonging to Christians, he added.

Fuad and Georgette Lama woke up one morning last September to discover that Muslims from a nearby village had fenced off their family's six-dunam plot in the Karkafa suburb south of Bethlehem.

"A lawyer and an official with the Palestinian Authority just came and took our land," said 69-year-old Georgette Lama.

The couple was later approached by senior PA security officers who offered to help them kick out the intruders from the land. "We paid them $1,000 so they could help us regain our land," she said, almost in tears.

"Instead of giving us back our land, they simply decided to keep it for themselves. They even destroyed all the olive trees and divided the land into small plots, apparently so that they could offer each for sale."

When her 72-year-old husband, Fuad, went to the land to ask the intruders to leave, he was severely beaten and threatened with guns. "My husband is after heart surgery and they still beat him," Georgette Lama said. "These people have no heart. We're afraid to go to our land because they will shoot at us. Ever since the beating, my husband is in a state of trauma and has difficulties talking."

The Lamas have since knocked on the doors of scores of PA officials in Bethlehem seeking their intervention, but to no avail. At one stage, they sent a letter to Abbas, who promised to launch an investigation. "We heard that President Mahmoud Abbas is taking our case very seriously," said Georgette Lama. "But until now he hasn't done anything to help us get our land back. We are very concerned because we're not the only ones suffering from this phenomenon. Most Christians are afraid to speak, but I don't care because we have nothing more to lose."

The couple's Christian neighbor, Edward Salama, said the problem in the city was the absence of law and order. "We are living in a state of chaos and lawlessness," he said. "The police are afraid of the thugs who are taking our lands." Salama expressed deep concern over the conditions of Christians in Bethlehem, noting that many were leaving the country as a result of the deterioration. "When I see what's happening to Christians here, I worry a lot for our future," he said. "They are targeting Christians, because we are seen as weak."

The Lamas said they decided to go public with the hope that the international community would intervene with the PA to halt the land-grab. "We will fight and fight until we recover our land," Fuad Lama said. "We will resort to the courts and to the public opinion for help.

"Unfortunately, Christian leaders and spokesmen are afraid to talk about the problems we are facing. We know of three other Christian families - Salameh, Kawwas and Asfour - whose lands were also illegally seized by Muslims."

A Christian businessman who asked not to be identified said the conditions of Christians in Bethlehem and its surroundings had deteriorated ever since the area was handed over to the PA in 1995. "Every day we hear of another Christian family that has immigrated to the US, Canada or Latin America," he said. "The Christians today make up less than 15 percent of the population."

People are running away because the Palestinian government isn't doing anything to protect them and their property against Muslim thugs. Of course not all the Muslims are responsible, but there is a general feeling that Christians have become easy prey."

Please feel free to forward this bulletin, crediting Palestinian Media Watch.

Apple drops the ball

In what most deem is a big risk, Apple decided to release Safari 3 public beta to the masses. By masses I mean both PC and Mac platforms. This move could have been ingenious, if the product was the usual Apple offering. However, it has fallen short, FAR short of expectations. Where is the "3 years into the future" design thinking that Apple are famous for? What, I can shift my tabs around and find things?? What were you thinking? Yes, the time is now to get PC users in, but do it with a product that isn't absolutely terrible! Think of a bunch of amazing browser innovations, build in some ideas from the firefox plugins if you can't think of them yourself. And reduce the features in favour of making it a little more stable. Yes, it's a beta, but my download didn't even start up after it was installed! I'll look again when there is a better offering, but my opinion is, most people wouldn't be bothered.

Another note on Safari. It claims to be a standards based browser and the best for web developers to test their goods on. In my experience, being a web developer, I find it dreadful to use. I've never thought much of Safari, and no amount of hype thrown at a bad product will ever turn it into a good product. I'm just concerned that Apple start resting on their good innovations in the previous few years, and rely on riding the wave of hype. This won't cut it with PC users (remember, they don't worship Apple), it won't work on a bad browser, and also, let's hope Leopard has more to offer than a few shiny makeovers and some irrelevant functions.

Adobe are getting this right, concentrating on workflows and cutting down production times. I'm hoping Apple don't get sidetracked and that recent popularity hasn't gone to their heads. That being said, I'm still a big fan of the company. I guess the expectations are high because people have become accustomed to only the best from Apple.

dumpers busted

I caught this truck dumping rubbish illegally behind the centre at Chilli Lane. This area was completely clear before I went away in March 2007, I used to ride through there on my mountain bike. It has now been turned into a dumping ground by builders in the area (possibly).

This was taken on 12 May 2007 at 2:17PM, from the entrance to the Virgin Active gym. The license of the vehicle is TZJ708GP.
One word comes to mind: BASTARDS.

photoshop CS3

Firstly, WOW. I mean it. Photoshop has come a long way since I was cutting up impossible designs by graphic artists back in the late nineties with Photoshop 6. Since going my own route in business meant keeping legal software, which meant limiting myself to the necessities - I have used the Macromedia Suite of software since Studio MX. Now with the merge of Adobe and Macromedia, I get all the MM stuff I know and love like Fireworks, Flash and (ahem) Dreamweaver, and then now I get my hands on Photoshop too, and a bunch of other Adobe specialities. After attending the Adobe Live show (workshop more-like) last week, I've been using a few of the tips that I've learnt, and I'm loving using it again.

This pic is an example of that. I took 3 pics on my holiday in Vietnam, and Photoshop, all on it's own, has stiched these together, keeping the layers and masks - creating the most amazing panorama-style photo. I didn't even use a tripod. Behold - Photoshop CS3, making "awesome" a matter of simplicity. (Sounds kinda Steve Jobsy hey?)

Note: The original doesn't have those little crack-lines I see, that's due to my bad resizing skills, or something. It did produce a 120+ Meg PSD file!

billings

I've stumbled upon some awesome software for the Mac-equipped own-business user/ freelancer/ developer. It's called Billings, and it is a time management and billings management system. It works so well and has allowed me to become more professional in my time-keeping and billing, and at the same time the half hour estimate and invoicing tasks have been reduced to a minute or two.

It's also quite motivating for a freelancer to work and see exactly the time being spent. I want to have integrity as a foundation of my business, and this product helps me do that.
The best is, it only costs 74 Canadian dollars, which means it's already paid for itself in the time I've saved in my last 5 invoices!

I get a kick out of supporting smaller lesser known software companies/individuals if their product is good and worth the money they ask. This is definitely worthwhile. In my books, it's up there with amazing software like Textmate, Yojimbo, ConceptDraw Project, OmniOutliner.
Nice work guys, thanks.

good ol' Chuck

"Behold, I am vile." --Job 40:4 One cheering word, poor lost sinner, for you! You think you must not come to God because YOU are vile. Now, there is not a saint living on earth but has been made to feel that he is vile. If Job, and Isaiah, and Paul were all obliged to say "I am vile," oh, poor sinner, will you be ashamed to join in the same confession? If divine grace does not eradicate all sin from the believer, how do you hope to do it yourself? and if God loves His people while they are yet vile, do you think your vileness will prevent His loving you? Believe on Jesus, you outcast of the world's society! Jesus calls _YOU_, and such as you are. "Not the righteous, not the righteous; Sinners, Jesus came to call." Even now say, "You have died for sinners; I am a sinner, Lord Jesus, sprinkle Your blood on me"; if you will confess your sin you shall find pardon. If, now, with all your heart, you will say, "I am vile, wash me," you shalt be washed now. If the Holy Spirit shall enable you from your heart to cry Just as I am, without one plea But that Your blood was shed for me, And that you bid me come to You, O Lamb of God, I come!" you shalt rise from reading this morning's portion with all your sins pardoned; and though you did wake this morning with every sin that man has ever committed on your head, you shalt rest to-night accepted in the Beloved; though once degraded with the rags of sin, you shalt be adorned with a robe of righteousness, and appear white as the angels are. For "now," mark it, "_Now_ is the accepted time." If you "believe on Him who justifies the ungodly you are saved." Oh! may the Holy Spirit give you saving faith in Him who receives the vilest. (by Charles Spurgeon, modern-englishified by me)

textmate and svn

I'll keep this short cos I know I'll bore many. I needed to install svn on my mac, which was relatively straight forward. I found that the graphic interface plugin to the Finder left a LOT to be desired. It was nothing near as easy as the TortoiseSVN on pc. So, after manually clicking through about 200 files, I was fed up enough to read the manual and try the command line version, which works great. Ofcourse, the first time i got thrown into VI on a commit I panicked, forgetting my all important commands: i for insert, escape for stop inserting, :wq to write and quit. Simple? yes, but try that after you've started typing wildly into the editor who you've just told to divide by zero in VI commands...

Enter Textmate. I've been happily using Textmate to edit my code and then apply the changes to SVN from command line. No more, it's all built into Textmate as an SVN Bundle! Pretty impressive.

ok, now i am relaxed!

well, i haven't been posting much since i been on leave (a week ago I left for Vietnam) - but that's been because my trip has been so eventful, and relaxing, that posting to my blog is the last geeky thing i've thought about. I have a few moments now, so here goes.

I'm on the beach in a place called Mui Ne (said "mooi ne"), and while it's windy, it's so nice being here. I'm super sunburnt, and super relaxed! I love it here and am using this spot to do a few odd jobs (the work doesn't stop)...

This is one of the best kite surfing spots around apparently, and there are schools where you can learn this art, but it's a bit out of my budget right now...

Here is the view from my office! ahh, life is tough hey! :)

OK, check back soon, but not too soon...

this road

As I'm about to embark on a journey to the other side of the world, I'd like to post the lyrics to one of my favourite songs. It's about travelling also, but more about our life's journey than a physical trip. Sometimes a journey can impact your life's journey also - which is what I'm hoping and praying for in this trip. My next posts will be from Hong Kong, Vietnam and Australia. I thank God for this opportunity, and I'm so grateful He hasn't given up on this earthen vessel.

This Road - Jars of Clay

All heavy laden acquainted with sorrow
May Christ in our marrow, carry us home
From alabaster come blessings of laughter
A fragrance of passion and joy from the truth
Grant the unbroken tears ever flowing
From hearts of contrition only for You
May sin never hold true that love never broke through
For God's mercy holds us and we are His own
This road that we travel, may it be the straight and narrow
God give us peace and grace from You, all the day
Shelter with fire, our voices we raise still higher
God give us peace and grace from You, all the day through

groenkloof

Had another great ride at Groenkloof Nature Reserve this Sunday. We arrived late and had to storm into the reserve to catch the rest of the group. Using our Navy Seal training, we determined which part of the reserve they were on and intercepted them speedily. (well, me less speedily and more exhaustily).

We spotted some zebra and this pic was taken while i cycled past. I've also seen giraffe, wildebees and a variety of buck and small animals at the reserve. I love it.

quizlet

Every few weeks or months, you come across a site that just blows you away. Either because of it's look, or more often, because it is the execution of a brilliant idea. Enter Quizlet. It's a study aid site, the 21st century i-need-my-computer version of flashcards, and it is so well done I have to mention it to the at least one person I know reads this who isn't me.

It's great for learning vocabulary, also for definitions, dates, anything flash-cardy. I'm going to use it to memorise scripture, and learn more French and Russian vocab. Heck I might throw up some Vietnamese sets myself.

How it works it simple. You register, then from there you can either Create your own set of words, or look at the thousands of existing sets. With a set you can familiarise yourself with it, learn it or test yourself. Your stats are all recorded too. I think it's a great idea... What's even more facinating, is this site was built entirely by a high school student.

textmate, e-texteditor and notepad++

With more power failures in Sunninghill, I decided to take my wireless connection and go elsewhere with my laptop. It was an opportunity for a home-cooked lunch, so mom-wards I went! I had some time to spare, so I decided to check out TextMate on my macbook. I downloaded some screencasts (video tutorials) available on their site and off I went. The next 12 minutes was seasoned with "wow" and "no flippen ways!" as I saw some of the nifty TextMate features in action. The software fits the hand of a developer like a glove, in a completely different way to the other great IDE's such as Eclipse. It was there, sitting in the satisfaction of having eaten a home cooked meal, that I bought TextMate for 39 euros.

My first hint at Textmate's brilliance was when I saw it being used in a Symfony demo a few weeks back. Fabien used TextMate to code up some awesome AJAX controls in his cart demo (Available from the Symfony site). It seemed to do all the slog work for him, and I was impressed. Then I saw that TextMate won the Apple Design Award for best developer tool in 2006. I started telling my friends about it and they asked "is there a Windows version". I checked, nope sorry. Or so I thought, until yesterday, when the Wikipedia entry led me to the e-texteditor. The developer is in essence copying TextMate features to this beta editor. I'm running the trial beta version of that now, but I haven't yet been able to get some coding done with that. I still prefer Notepad++ for now. When I get more familiar with TextMate, I think I'll progress to e-texteditor also. Check out Wesley's comment on Notepad++ here.

free designs, free IDE's

OK, I've known about this for a while, and I've told some people, but I think the site needs more credit. For those of you looking for a free designed website, where all you need to do is adapt the content and throw in your logo, look no further. Check out www.oswd.org. Terms and conditions may apply, you might need to leave the designers details in the source code or something. Definitely worth checking out for a quick and nasty look. I sometimes send people there to tell me the kind of look they're looking for, and design accordingly - customising it.

Now, I've just heard on the Hal Helms and Jeff Peters podcast that there is a nifty new IDE for web developers called aptana. It's based on Eclipse and apparently is very well suited for web development, including AJAX, CSS, HTML and your scripting languages of choice (PHP, Coldfusion et al). I'm busy downloading it and will rant or rave about it later.
The other thing they mentioned was wink. Looks good but I don't need that now. It's a presentation builder of sorts, recording what you're doing on screen. Check them out...

SA government to switch to open source!

Well, what can I say but wow and at last. It makes sense, and is perfectly do-able.

I interrupt this news flash to report that I just completely freaked out when something moved under my foot, slamming my knee into my desk. In my mind, it was a Park Town Prawn, in reality, it was the wires behind my desk... ow. Even so I'm glad it wasn't a mini Geiger monster.

OK, back to open source. Why spend thousands of rands per computer of software for normal day to day business activity when you can use an open source alternative. See, I don't only blast the government..
Read up more here: http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1377&s=news

free thought

Something I heard Ravi Zacharias quote, which left me chuckling sadly...

Creed by Steve Turner

We believe in Marx, Freud and Darwin
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy is OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything is getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in
horoscopes, UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man
just like Buddha, Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher
although we think His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same--
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it's compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds,
and the flowering of individual thought.


"Chance" a post-script

If chance be the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky,
and when you hear

State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!

It is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.