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
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
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.
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.
Monday, 12 March 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, 10 March 2007
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...
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...
Wednesday, 07 March 2007
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
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
Tuesday, 06 March 2007
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.
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.
the hype continues
So, in response to all the hype about the documentary about Jesus' family ossuaries being found, thanks to a documentary (mockumentary?) by director James Cameron and Filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici. Check out the following links:
http://losttombofjesuschrist.com/
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2007/0305lost-tomb-review.asp
http://dev.bible.org/bock/node/106
They put it much better than me. Question, has anyone else noticed the growing animosity towards Jesus Christ? We are becoming far more polarised on the issue of who Jesus is. Over the past few years we have been bombarded by Time, Newsweek, etc with very strong claims which attempt to undermine the gospel accounts of Jesus. His birth, His death and resurrection, and His life here on earth. I expect this to grow, and I expect the proponents of these stories to continue in trying to malign the name of my King. My only concern is those who are led astray due to bad information being the order of the day... the Dan Brown's don't bug me personally, but when they reach those who would otherwise simply be following Jesus, and they cause them to stumble, then I get annoyed.
As the apostle Paul said - (1 Cor 15:1-4,12-22)
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
...
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
http://losttombofjesuschrist.com/
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2007/0305lost-tomb-review.asp
http://dev.bible.org/bock/node/106
They put it much better than me. Question, has anyone else noticed the growing animosity towards Jesus Christ? We are becoming far more polarised on the issue of who Jesus is. Over the past few years we have been bombarded by Time, Newsweek, etc with very strong claims which attempt to undermine the gospel accounts of Jesus. His birth, His death and resurrection, and His life here on earth. I expect this to grow, and I expect the proponents of these stories to continue in trying to malign the name of my King. My only concern is those who are led astray due to bad information being the order of the day... the Dan Brown's don't bug me personally, but when they reach those who would otherwise simply be following Jesus, and they cause them to stumble, then I get annoyed.
As the apostle Paul said - (1 Cor 15:1-4,12-22)
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
...
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
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