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The Glory, Dignity and Dislocation of Man (with some signposts to Man's MORE... Genesis Ch.1:1-5, 26-31, Ch.2:4-9, 15-25, Ch3:1-8 - "Lets' start at the beginning" - fascinated with future - should be just as much fascinated with the past, only place we can find meaning. MORE...
Great & Glue-less Paper Car Models from Japan MORE... I found some very interesting paper car models on a site in Japan. http://art66.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ MORE...
Duckchaser - brilliant reworking of an old folding kayak design. MORE... Don from Melbourne sent me this email:- 'you might like to take a look at the design I've been playing with lately. Google duckchaser to find the plans & instructions. MORE...
My Eulogy for Dad MORE... Harold (Steve) Bates, 23rd July 1919 - 26th June 2008
The Tardus Society MORE... (following taken from an interview published in the "Pipeline", the staff magazine of the company I work for) In 1969 Kurnell's Stephen Bates sat down to read Perelandra, the second book in C.S. Lewis's famous MORE...
Where to love and communication come from? MORE... Francis Schaeffer, one of the great thinkers of the 20th century, wrote:-
Modern man is deeply plagued by the question, "Where to love and communication come from?" Many artists who pour themselves out in their paintings, who paint bleak messages on canvas, many singers, many poets and dramatists are expressing the blackness of the fact that while everything hangs on love and communication, they don't know where these come from and the don't know what they mean. The biblical answer is quite otherwise: something was there before creation. God was there; love and communication were there; and therefore, prior even to Genesis 1:1, love and communication are intrinsic to what has always been. ("Genesis in Space and Time", p12)MORE...
Do Christians get Depressed? You Better Believe It! MORE... What, not "happy, happy, happy all the time, time, time"? No. God never promises that in the Bible. Everyone, regardless of their beliefs, are to some extent bruised and broken by the historic space-time fall, with its cursing of every aspect of life. See The Glory, Dignity and Dislocation of Man to the number of people in the Bible who suffered it too. Here are some:- MORE...
A Magic Book about the Black Dog (His name was depression) MORE... The company I work for is running some seminars as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. One of the speakers was Matthew Johnstone, Kiwi, artist, advertising creator, survivor of the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Centre, and a sufferer from depression. Matt spoke about his long struggles, and how he eventually composed his book "I Had a Black Dog". Matt is a great communicator and cartoonist, and his book has few, but well-chosen words, and great cartoons. It tracks the course of his own depression and recovery (not cure). He spends a lot of his time now touring around speaking to any who will come to hear, including struggling farmers in the drought ravaged parts of Australia. MORE...
Mum's Memoirs - a Brother and a Sister MORE... May be now is the time for me to introduce one of my older brothers and my one sister still living with the parents at home in a village seething with gossip and as old fashioned as last year's hat of course. My sister was 8 years older than I but we shared a bedroom and I came to love here dearly. She was very good looking with beautiful hair but the most awful name in the world; Mabel Gertrude, what a howler, so I renamed that to Mab (remember Queen Mab of the fairies?). She had titian coloured hair so Mab was accepted and she was so happy to wear her new name like a little crown on her head. She was a much loved and happier young lady from then on. MORE...
Cheap, Durable and Simple Painting of Galvanized Steel MORE... Years ago in my job as a mechanical engineer in a large oil refinery I read a book put out by the galvanizing industry association here in Australia. I can't remember the title, but I do remember the section on how to make paint stick to it permanently. More precisely, what sort of paints will do the trick. If you are not after a super hard or shiny finish, there is a paint that is commonly available, cheap and durable, and comes in an almost infinite range of colours. What is this magic paint you ask? Plain old water-based external house-paint! In Australia we call it "acrylic" paint, though it isn't always a true water-borne acrylic resin. In the USA I believe it is known generically as "latex", though again this is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with natural rubber resin (ie, real latex). MORE...
Good Coffee Beans from my friends Stef and Aned MORE... Stef and Aned are friends of mine up in Queensland. Aned comes from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. MORE...
Linux dial-up with a SecurID one-shot password device - Xubuntu and WVDIAL MORE... Many companies, including my employer, use one-shot password devices for remote access. You dial-up the RAS number, enter your username and password, then a PPP session is established. The difficult bit is that your password is never the same. The SecurID device is a small keytag that shows a 6 digit number that changes every minute. In my case, a fixed personal PIN plus the number from the SecurID are added together to make the password. Getting that to work from a Linux client is a bit tricky, but here is how I got it working using WVDIAL like KPPP or the Network tool in GNOME. The answer is that they expect a fixed password for each connection, and don't provide a terminal mode access so you can enter the one-shot password. (or if they do, I couldn't work out how 8-<). MORE...
The Autocanoe - an amphibious recumbent trike MORE... This is one of the most wonderful machines I have seen! If I lived near to the water I think I would have to build one, for the pleasure of just going for a ride and taking to the water whenever the mood took me. I asked the designer, John Montgomery, for the picture above, and here is his website http://www.autocanoe.com/. You can buy the plans for a very reasonable price there. MORE...
Sketchboard Sermons, by Jim Duffecy MORE... When I was a young man I had the privilege of watching a great story-teller at work. Jim Duffecy sketched and spoke at the same time, and wove both mediums together into an unforgettable whole. His passion was the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his story-telling always aimed at that. I think I learned more from him than any other, and when I wanted to do some basic training for would-be Bible story-tellers in 2004, the publishers of Jim's little book "Sketchboard Sermons" kindly gave me permission to copy it for any who wanted it. Thank you, html://oacusa.org/ MORE...
A Passive Solar Addition to my Home MORE... Fortunately our house was built with a good north-facing aspect for good winter solar energy gain (I'm in the southern hemisphere; south-facing for you northerners). There is a storm-water easement running diagonally across the block, which restricted the orientation of the house, otherwise I suspect the original owners would have had it turned 90 degrees to face the street. As our kids grew we found the small house (about 10 squares, or 100 square metres) getting smaller, and in 1988 I started on designing an addition. I had done a lot of reading about passive solar design, and had done a fair bit of airconditioning design work in my job, so was very familiar with thermal flow concepts. I determined that the addition to the house would be a passive solar design, to get the maximum benefit from the winter sun and still moderate the fierce heat of summer. Where I live in Australia we can hit 40 degrees Celsius in summer, and high thirties are common. In winter it can get down near freezing. MORE...
Sixpence, my second boat MORE... Tardus was a bit too heavy and cumbersome to car-top single-handed, so I thought I'd try a one-sheet skiff, light enough to take on holidays. I settled on David Beede's "Mini-Sharpie", free plans from the Internet http://simplicityboats.com. I added about 45mm freeboard by using thin dressed hardwood for the gunwales. Other than that it is about standard. I used the same 7mm CD ply as on Tardus and the boat comes out at about 18Kg (40 pounds) ready to row. MORE...
My mother's life in brief MORE... Georgina Bates - 9th March 1918 to 7th June 2007 This is the eulogy that I prepared for Mum's funeral on the 13th June, 2007. MORE...
The good ship Tardus MORE... I guess like many I have toyed with the idea of building a boat for years, and finally decided to do something. I first came across Phil Bolger's name in the book "Cruising on a small income". The author, Ann Hill, and her husband built a Tortoise as a tender for their 34 foot junk-rigged Badger dory. Lots of Internet hours later I knew a bit about Bolger's fascinating designs and got familiar with Dynamite Payson's web-site. MORE...
My Mother's Memoirs (1918-2007) MORE... My mother decided to write down some of her earliest memories, from her childhood in England. There is some duplication here, but I think they are remarkably good for someone who starting jotting things down at age 84. They are a little bit of real history from life in the early 20th century, and in the time of the Great Depression. Bozeat Fete MORE...
Bozeat Fete - my mother's memoirs (1918-2007) MORE... A Real event! Everyone in the village and around would spend the day. With a brass band leading and two men carrying a banner we all proudly followed to our recreation building where we gathered around for a morning tea, usually Devonshire, with lashings of cream and jam and good appetites. MORE...
Wollaston Fair - my mother's memories MORE... (England in the 1920s) Every September was a week of fun. Roundabouts and swings, hoopla, coconut shies, everything to make people happy and to entice a few pence for the various games. Such a crowd of people! It was exciting just to be there. Everyone used to walk the 2 or 3 miles from the other villages around, there being no traffic to worry about. So there we all were looking for some fun. We just chased around all the stalls. The man in charge of the carousel made sure we had a lovely long ride; it gave him lots of pleasure to hear all the little voices saying "Thank You!" and he replied "See you all next year, and God bless." MORE...
Olden Days - my mother's memoirs (1918-2007) MORE... In the "Good Old Days" no one thought anything of walking everywhere they needed to go, there being no cars, buses or trains. To walk was the only form of travel. It's hard to imagine now-a-days, as things have changed so much with the roads full of people-movers, with trains, buses, trams, cars, etc, but in those early days we just had our own two legs, known as "Shank's pony" and were content. Happily we used this slow lane and managed very well, with time to stop and stare. "What is this world so full of care if we don't have time to stop and stare?" True, isn't it? This mode of transport never bothered us at all and we were quite happy to take our time and live a quiet life with our families and friends. We learnt everything we needed to know, passed all our exams and generally came through with no great effort. The quietness was good for us. We, as children, had plenty of time for play as daylight was extended naturally. We played until we were tired and then were quite happy to go to bed and read our books before sleep. MORE...
Long Ago Days - my mother's memoirs (1918-2007) MORE... Introducing the 3 Littl'Uns MORE...
The Littl'uns go Fishing - my mother's memoirs (1918-2007) MORE... (circa 1925) The "3 littl'uns" go fishing to Jack Robinson's brook, a gentle little stream. It is a lovely day and they hope to catch some little minnows. They have a penny fishing net and a jam jar with string for a handle, Bread and cheese for lunch and water to drink. Soon they caught some minnows, really pretty little things, and placed them in the jam pot with tiny pebbles and lots of greenery. Now for their own bread and cheese and a drink and a rest, then back home. They enjoyed their day and will go again soon before the school holidays end (we enjoyed longer hours of daylight in the summer, so we had lots of play time after tea). MORE...
My Earliest Memories - my mother's memoirs (1918-2007) MORE... Written in 2002 My earliest memory was my first day at school; in those days we started when we were 4 years old. I was quite happy to go, thinking of all the kids I'd have to play with. My older brother Jim took me along - he was all of 5. New kids were taken to a room where lots of equipment was kept, the most imposing being the Maypole, which only came out once a year, on the first of May. There were hoops for bowling, skipping ropes with real handles, whips and tops to spin and a rather worn out rocking horse. It went through my 4 year of age mind that I had at last found Paradise. MORE...
Hippy Days MORE...
"Tune in, turn on, drop out ......." said Dr. Timothy Leary back in the psychedelic days of the 1960s,
Boffin - is that some sort of hobbit? MORE... According to Wikipedia the word's origin is unknown. It appeared during World War II, where it was applied with some affection to the people who invented radar, early digital computers, the atomic bomb, and other technologies that gave the Allies an advantage over the Axis during the war. And yes, the Boffins were also one of the families of hobbits in the Lord of the rings, mentioned in book 1, p50, at Bilbo's birthday party. MORE...
Landlubbers! MORE... Kids' Adventure Time 2006 I really enjoyed spending a a week at a country church in the Hunter Valley as the Bible story-teller/teacher at a holiday "Adventure Time" MORE...
God Rules, God Reveals - Daniel 2 MORE...
This World of Dew - Is It? MORE... My friend C. died this week, suddenly, of a heart attack. He was 52 and super-fit (gym, running and surfing as often as he could). I still have a sense of shock and disbelief, and can only guess how his family are feeling and suffering (only God can know it all). The day I heard of it, these lines came into my mind MORE...
In a hostile world, God's people are not alone. Daniel ch. 1 MORE... Stage is Babylon the Great; with its 20km wall that was 40m thick, its famous hanging gardens (one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world), the Tower of Babel, the Temple of Marduk, and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar with its vast throne room. Centre of wealth, power, science, art and false worship.
Living in God's Time MORE... Psalm 90 Our lives are obsessed and harassed by the clock, by time MORE...
The Problem of Pain MORE... "No God But God", Part 2 of "The Story of God" by Lord Robert Winston (a venerated world expert in human fertility research, and an orthodox Jew).
He goes in search of the answer to the centuries old question: "If God created humanity, why does God allow humanity to suffer?"MORE...
Bugatti Type 35 MORE... The Type 35 was, according to Wikipedia, the most successful racing car of all time, winning over 1000 races. They were designed by Ettore Bugatti of France in the 1920s. Notable features were a small straight eight engine with roller bearings for the crankshaft allowing 6000 rpm, very high for the time, alloy wheels with integral drum brakes, a hollow tubular steel front axle (to reduce the unsprung weight - most cars then had heavy forged "I" beam front axles) and one of the most beautiful two-seater bodies ever designed. The racing rules of the day required a second seat for the riding mechanic. Bugatti happily sold the cars to anyone that wanted (and could afford one). Here is a fairly simple paper model I downloaded from http://www.ypsfanpage.de/php/basteldl.php?bogen=288 MORE...
US Civil War Mortar Boat MORE... Mortars are short distance high trajectory cannon designed for shooting over the walls of fortifications. In the US Civil War armoured barges like the model below were used to get the mortars within range. The paper model pictured below was built from a free downloadable plan from http://www.papershipwright.co.uk/index.html/ MORE...
Old Mumbles MORE... Old Mumbles is a lighthouse near the Mumbles Rocks in Swansea Bay, South Wales. It was built in 1794 and lit by two coal-burning fires, to warn ships of the danger. The paper model pictured below was built from a free downloadable plan from http://www.papershipwright.co.uk/ MORE...
Notes on the book of the prophet Daniel MORE... These are my notes on the book of Daniel from the Bible. I began about 2002. The first six chapters are essentially Daniel's life as captive and exile in Babylon. MORE...
Raphael's School of Athens MORE... Raphael's "School of Athens" is one of my favourite paintings. In it the artist depicts the many philosophers and their thought. In the middle are Plato and his student Aristotle, each pointing in a different direction. Plato, who was more concerned about the realm of the spirit and the "universals", points up to heaven. Aristotle was more concerned with the specifics, the realm of the body and nature, and points down to the Earth. MORE...
Hidden Art MORE... I read a book called "Hidden Art" by Edith Schaeffer, and it altered my approach to art and beauty. I have always had a love for both, but the pragmatic engineer side of me would often opt for "rough enough is good enough". This book showed me that everyday objects and needs can and should be treated as art and beauty. A meal can be prepared with the eye in mind as well as the stomach! A bookcase can be beautiful, even is less than 100% efficient, like my "boatcase" I built a few years back. MORE...
What I do for a living MORE... I eventually finished a degree in Mechanical Engineering, doing it part-time, with some day lectures and a lot of evening work. During that time I worked for an elevator company designing relay control systems. That was an interesting job, and I learned a lot about control of electro-mechanical machinery and about relay logic circuits. It was an old company, and in some ways a bit of a dinosaur, as they made just about everything themselves in their factory at Beaconsfield, Sydney. Even the relays were made in-house. After that I worked for a mining equipment company, in charge of local design changes for the Australian market. That was a great job, especially for a young engineer, but as the mining boom grew it became overwhelming (really 3 jobs at once) and I had a wife and baby to care for. That led me to a quieter job with a large oil refining company. MORE...
Schrodinger's Cat MORE... This is based on a famous thought experiment in quantum mechanics. If you want to know what it means, there is a good write up on Wikipedia. If you don't understand it, don't worry - I didn't either 8-(. I read about Einstein's theory of general relativity when I was younger, and did not understand that either. Lately I've made several attempts on Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" with the same result. This model is not a free download, but it was well worth the small cost. It is Schrodinger's famous cat hiding in a rubbish bin (being very unwilling to partake of an experiment with about a 50% chance of a dead-cat result!). The accuracy of the parts is excellent and it went together very well. The gears and cam are beautifully done. You can get it from MORE...
Early Years MORE... I'm a baby-boomer, born shortly after WW2. Dad was in the British Army till the end of the war, and Mum was a bus conductress with London Transport, right through the Blitz. The family (I'm the youngest) emigrated to Australia when I was 5 years old. We kids took it in our stride, as a great adventure, but it was an enormous upheaval for my parents. MORE...
Life, the Universe and Everything MORE... ...and the answer is not in fact 42, even when you know what the Question is. Years ago I read "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", the sequel to Douglas Adams' famous book "The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy" (THGG). Well finally I have read that book too! How did I find it? MORE...
Yes Indeedy! MORE... This is a free download of a mechanical model "Yes Indeedy". It is a cute sheep that nods "Yes" whenever you ask it a Yes/No question and turn the crank handle. MORE...
Citroen 2CV MORE... This is a fascinating and quirky car, France's answer to the VW just after the war, designed to carry the French farmer and his family and 100Kg of goods across the dreadful French country roads. It also could cross a ploughed field without breaking eggs in a basket on the front seat. The first ones produced had only 9 brake horsepower from their little 2 cylinder motor, and a top speed of about 40 MPH, unless going down hill. However, they did get about 60 MPG, which was no doubt well received in post-war France. Later models had bigger engines and about 30 BHP. MORE...
Uniden GPS 501 Road Hazard Alerter MORE... Do you have trouble with School Speed Zones? - Here's an answer MORE...
The 10 Laws of IT MORE... After nearly 20 years working with computers I have finally distilled out the 10 essential Laws of IT. If you work with computers, keep these handy. You will find then useful on a daily basis. They will keep you sane. You will never be stumped for an answer when something goes wrong; a quick scan of the 10 Laws and you can say "Aha, that's Law No. 6!", etc. Never trust a computer! MORE...
Daniel Chapter 4, God Delights in Mercy - (Micah 7:18) MORE... The Narrator is King Nebuchadnezzar himself. Opening Greeting - what a statement! V1-3 "It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me." No longer a god, but Most High God, Who is & rules forever, and "for me" (getting personal). No apostle, preacher can excel it. What a contrast with previous Ch3, 4-6 when boasted and threatened! Peace, not violence. He, not me! MORE...
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