Circumspectat

2005-06-16T15:28:00.000+10:00

G'day again,

Just decided that since I had finished my exam today, I could take some time out and actually post on this again. =0) I don't actually know why I do this tho...I really don't fancy myself as an extrovert...But I could be wrong. I should probably just can this thing...It seemed like a great idea at the start, but in retrospect ... its not really what I thought it would be...

Miss Corby

2005-05-30T12:12:00.000+10:00

G'day again...

I don't usually stick my neck into the political issues going on around the world to say too much about them... But I think people need to realize that had she been caught here and convicted, we never would have really heard about it in most circumstances...

The Bali judge gave the decision that he thought was right. He is a man elected by his country to pass judgments on legal issues within their jurisdiction. So I believe that regardless of what is happening, we need to honour his authority and treat him accordingly. I've seen a few news bulletins that have made him out to appear like a monster of sorts. This isn't right, regardless of whether what sort of man he is, God has given him the authority to be there. (Romans 13v1) So we must treat this man with respect despite what happens.

I don't mean to sound mean and cold hearted but we do have to consider what is actually happening here in a higher playing field...not spiritual, just above what the media prints... As far as I can determine from the limited knowledge I've received, she has had a reasonably fair trial, and she has received a reasonable sentence. I believe that we should honour this and help her take this thing thru the courts the way it is meant to be done, not by trying to boycott Bali. We achieve nothing but mining away at our values and standards by trying to do that. We are trying to overturn a government in a distant land and have them conform to our will simply because we think we know something and we don't like what happened with it...That is very sad.

I think we should show the world how righteous and noble we are as a country and respect their judgments, comfort those involved and do all we can (while respecting their authority) to see that our people are properly looked after and receive fair trials. Miss Corby is not the only one in prison right now over such matters either, and some of them around the world face execution if convicted. So lets be sensible about this and not ignorant fools swayed by the media and the whims of people crowd.

We're better than that...

Question of the day...

2005-05-25T22:25:00.000+10:00

Ok....just got asked like a million times this week... what would my dream girl look like?... Well... maybe Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel.... don't really know... and what sort of question is that anyway?

OK...so...China? Its been talked about as developing a huge arsenal of nuclear bombs and stuff, then we don't' hear about it anymore... What's going on? Conspiracy theorists of the world unite!!! hahaha, no please don't... you'll just kick up a huge storm over some trivial bits of information... But what is the political stance between various countries... its an interesting topic and I have just started getting into it more... NB Lacho... great book for you to read. The cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy... really good stuff mate! hahahaha...

Well... off again!
Ciao

At last...

2005-05-25T11:58:00.000+10:00

Well... I am sad to admit that it has been quite some time since my last posting on this thing...=0)

Hahaha, or I could look at it another way...I've just been too busy living life to post a blog...either way works =0)

I have been severely out of touch with the world of late, my usual schedule includes reading my textbooks, doing assignments, working and then doing the assignments and reading textbooks. =0) I haven't had much time to read some quality news of late...

So are there any things happening in the world that I need to be brought up to speed on?

I just read that Richard Branson is thinking of having a loyalty rewards stratergy with Virgin air. He seems to be quite an excellent business man... It would be great to have a chance to sit down and talk to him one day about how he does it all...

Does anyone have any great links to the news that doesn't deal with trivial issues like who's staring in a new movie and how much their earning... I mean its great that they got the job and stuff, but honeslty...I think there are more important things to know about. Political stability of china for instance...

Anyway, enough blabbering...
I've got to get back to the uni work....again...=0) hahaha

Climbing the walls...

2005-05-04T22:09:00.000+10:00

Ok...totally random thought during my study period today...how cool would it be if a robot could climb the walls. I thought it was sooo cool, so did a little research into how Gecko's and spiders manage to do this amazing stunt. I found a pretty cool website too.... (Ok so its a kids science site but the concept is still the same. =0) Anyway...

Oh... and I apologies to everyone for my appalling spelling too. Has anyone seen xXx2 yet? Remember that flying drone in the beginning of the movie? Well...I figured out that you could get a single rotating blade to keep the drone afloat so long as you get the body to rotate in the opposite direction to the rotor at a fast enough rate to keep it stationary, relative to the rotor that is. That way you could have a gyro inside the actual body which would give you directional movement...ie, if the gyro tipped the weight to the right then the machine would dip on the right side and the upward lift generated by the rotor would continue giving the upward lift but now its directed to the right side. So it would move to the right, same for left, up and down would just need more lift and the unit to spin faster. Getting the electronics in to the machine would be a little tricky tho...it would need to be very well engineered and fitted as the resulting forces would be huge...duel rotating blades would create a quieter effect too...all this from a few batteries too. =0) Sounds like a ton of fun!!! If I ever figure it out, I'll let you know!

Why do leaves fall...

2005-05-03T18:51:00.000+10:00

Today was quite an eventful day... I had a dream come true too! But first let us pay some respect to my old colorado's ...hahaha, well, as many of you will be pleased to hear, they are finally gone...after four long years, they finally bit the bullet. =0) Only to be replaced by yet another pair of colorado's! hahaha. Nice boots these are =0)

Ok, so the dream coming true? Well...I had almost $100 to spend in a book-shop! I only wish that all the books ever written were in this shop as it had a very limited range to choose from, but none the less, I managed to spend over the given amount after only an hour of tough scrutiny =0)

I was watching the leaves fall on the huge maple outside my bedroom window yesterday and I got to wondering why on earth do these trees loose their leaves in the winter? So...I looked it up and found out that because of the type of leaf structure and the lack of protection that this tree can provide to its leaves, it drops them in order to ride out the harsh winter weather. It clogs up the veins in the leaf until there is no more nutrience being fed into the leaf, then the leaf drops. The trees that don't drop their leaves are able to produce chemicals that prevent the leaves from freezing, some such as the pine produce a wax coating on their leaves too. This is of course a very crude explanation of what actually happens. Check out this site for me information...

Josh, I hope you don't mind but I've also included a link to your blog on here. I think these things are quite interesting and although I can't update it daily, I will do my best to post as often as possible. Cheers for the encouragement too!

Also, the engineer who is being held captive in Iraq by the 'Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq' has been given very little chance for survival according to some politicians. Regardless of how strong his belief is in God, I believe that we should still pray that God will help him to draw closer to God no matter what. Also that his life will be an influence and a beckon for those that are in a tough situation.

Anyone read about the Holy Wars in the bible? Check out this "holy war"....hahaha, some people are very interesting...

later all!

Today's post

2005-05-01T14:44:00.000+10:00

G'day,

Well...for everyone that's been asking, the swelling in the knee has gone down and xrays conclude that nothing is broken, just a bit of irritation in the tendons and stuff. =0) I should be able to get back into running and stuff in about a month or so. So all good news, and thanks for your concerns. =0)
I've been studying for my midsemester that's on tomorrow. It's cool stuff, just lots of little details that need to be considered to get the right answer =0)

Hey Josh, thanks for the offer on borrowing that book, but I've already got a signed copy from my Dads library =0)

Good news...it's not broken!!!

2005-04-26T14:35:00.000+10:00

Well, yesterday we went and had an amazing day at paintball! During which, I did possibly the most spectacular dive behind cover ever. =0) luckily it doesn't appear that any tendons on my kneecap are damaged too bad, and it doesn't appear to be broken, just a major amount of swelling and tenderness in the tendons or something. =0) So all is good! Just have to wear a huge knee brace thing for a couple of days...it was definitely worth it tho =0)

Today's reflections

2005-04-21T23:30:00.000+10:00

I read in the news today that Northern Territory naval patrol boats have used live ammunitions to hinder the illegal Indonesian fishing trawlers in Australian waters. I've got mixed thoughts about this,;
a) ok, they are only fish. Why run the risk of killing people over a few fish...Yes they need to be dealt with and they are messing with the Australian eco-system. Since Australia is surrounded by water we need to take care of that which is ours and ensure its balance and beauty is there for the generations to come.

b) if they don't stop them now, and send a strong warning to everyone else out there that these illegal practices will not be tolerated in Australian waters. These boats are apparently huge and have been specifically modified (from what it appears in the articles) to help the fishermen escape capture.

I also received an email from a very good friend of mine the other day, talking about religion and the times. He presented me with two very interesting websites, deception in the church articles by Simpson, and cutting edge. Both of these sites provide some interesting information about the Catholic church as well as some other ministries like Benny Hinn and Youth Alive NSW. I wonder, when presented with information like this, what is the best course of action to find out how valid a source it is for any of the information provided and how do we validate its credibility. My first thought would be to ask God and the Holy Spirit for guidance and help in determining the spirit and the outcome (fruit) of these articles. Are they intended to make people aware for their own good as to what these people believe to be happening, or are they intended to bring discention amongst people who don't know much about the topic at hand. While I don't agree with some of the things mentioned on these sights (those few things that I've read), I wonder what other people (with more wisdom and knowledge in the matter than I or my friend have in the matter) actually think about it.

I would also like to say a very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Marzena for tomorrow!!! hahaha.

Decisions

2005-04-20T22:12:00.000+10:00

I've just finished reading the book"Decisions of Daring Achievers" by Philip Baker (link to his blog site is on the right). It is quite a remarkable book and and i highly recomend it to everyone! Thru tho course of reading it, the whole world opened up to a bunch of new ideas and situations i'd never considered before. Talking to some of my friends and reflecting on some of the decisions that i've personally faced, i noticed that the majority of this generation don't actually like making decisions. We over analyse and worry about what the future may actually bring and whether or not a better situation will present itself in the future. We are plagued by the suggestions, of what if it doesn't work out, what if its the wrong choice, what if they never talk to me agian, what if they find out the truth, what if... why don't we look at the flip side of that coin. What if it does work out, what if it was the right choice, what if they become best freinds, what if they like the truth, what if... Possiblities are endless, but we need to weigh up the costs. We need to consider what if it doesn't work out the way we want and what if it does work out the way we want...is it worth the risk? If not, then choose not to do it, if its worth the risk, then choose to do it. Then once the decision is made do all that we can to fulfill our word.

Just reading it, it sounds easy, but some of the decisions i've had to face and I'm sure that a lot of others have had to face hurt! Some of them are really not easy at all!! But God is on our side and in our weekness He is able to show His strength. He has given us wisdom and friends to be accountable with, and so once we've obtained council and exercised wisdom then we'll have nothing to worry about; as if we're heading towards God, then having done all to stand, we will stand...

interesting link for the sea squirt

2005-04-20T20:57:00.000+10:00

This thing has got me totally fascinated!

The Red Sea Squirt

2005-04-20T19:21:00.000+10:00

Thanks Stuart Thomson!! (sorry mate...u a no p) if you didn't read the comment he wrote then i've put it up here. Its awesome!

Stuart wrote:

The Red Sea Squirt (Ciona intestinalis) hatches as a tiny little tadpole
and has all the features a tadpole should including a brain. When the tadpole
finds a rock to attach to its body begins to change. As the tadpole changes into
an adult its body folds in half crushing its brain and once the brain is crushed
the sea squirt uses it to feed itself as it continues to change. Once it is
finished changing and is attached to the rock it continues living without a
brain. Adult Red Sea Squirts eat and reproduce without ever needing a brain to
get along. It is their children the tiny little tadpoles that will need a brain,
until they too crush theirs and eat it.Jones, Nathan
E.http://www.ma.psu.edu/~lkh1/biol240/WWsum04.html

My first post!

2005-04-20T19:00:00.000+10:00

Well its my second really, the first went down in a blaze of nothing when my browser crashed.

However, i have finally succumbed to the mass migration of blogging! =0)

So i read to day that they have elected a new pope! Being as old as he is, has the conclave elected an interum pope to give them more time to get themselves to gether and wiegh up what it is exactly that they are looking for in the next Pope? What about the new Pope? What do you think of him? the media paints him as being a fundamentalist and very strict in his conduct and beliefs? Is this just coming from the current perspective of the world? A perspective that does not really hold in high regard their promises and find it increasingly hard to make decisions and stick to them (evident in the growing rate of divorces)? I wonder...

Hey totally useless fact that i got from an amazing book written by Philip Baker (Decisions of Daring Achievers). Did you know that there is a certain sea squirt that has a tiny brain and its whole purpose is to find the right sort of rock for the sponge to spend the rest of its life. Its sole purpose for the beginning of its life is to find this rock where it will stay untill the day it dies. Upon finding this rock it then no longer requires it brain...so it simply eats it!!! Very interesting! If you've heard of this and you have a great link to this let me know! I want to find out more! Do other creatures eat their brains, and once the brain is eaten how then does the creature survive? I assume it would be similar to the way cocoroaches survive after they have had their heads cut off (they apparently die of starvation when this occurs).

Anyway, i'd best be getting back to some uni work now.