Hello moon

Thank you thisisnthappiness.

Toyrun was awesome!

Four days of Benoni North Sports Grounds, walking and pulling and pushing and hanging and throwing and running and talking and listening and sun and flowers and water and bikes. Yeah bikes. Bright shiny painted chromed noisy motorbikes, in the thousands.

The Toyrun party was a good one this year, and all there had a great time. Sadly it wasn't as well attended as we'd hoped, but i think that's true more often than not. No idea on toy counts yet, but as usual the mountain of toys and variety beggars belief. I need to get to some of the handouts, just to complete the year. I hate xmas time but playing santa's little helper really is where i must be. Did you hear about the dyslexic who sold his soul to santa? The bikers were the usual sorts, apparently one guy spent R2000 on tickets for a kids cancer charity. Most were very well behaved, although the temptation of showing off on grass was too much for most, which led to only one off, but many fast beating hearts. I have to mention too, the variety of bikes on display was supreme. Nowhere else in the world could you find such a varied collection of well loved machines.

It was an honour to work with the team. Men and women of all shapes and sizes and dispositions, all pulling together to make it work. The two head marshalls, Andre and Devon deserve special mentions, each having excelled in keeping masses of bikers as safe as possible, under difficult conditions. EMPD made a surprising mass appearance which for safety was perfect. It also looks really good when the ride is preceeded by official police escourt. The other organisers were all outstanding examples of selflessness and charity, and the entire event was powered by hard work by many, many people. But this year was good, it had the right festive atmosphere that infected all who were involved, even the hired workers were a jovial and enthusiastic bunch.

The grass. My most vivid impressions are of the grass fields stretching as far as the legs could carry. Each foot of it teeming with life, bees, flies, miggies, flowers red and yellow and purple, small unidentified other plants sitting quietly amongst the grasses. The constant flow of people all through the day coming to enjoy the space in peace. I felt a strong sense of being a custodian for the fields, of being responsible to them. Each tree was a shelter from the sun, the grass a welcoming seat, the bees amiable company, the constant breeze bringing clouds of all shapes and sizes. The skies a constantly changing panorama of blues and whites and greys and birds of all hues.

My body needs rest, but my mind is at peace.

EDIT:
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/bikes-quads-karts/toy-run-bikers-party-all-the-way-1.1187910

Toyrun

If you want any info:

send a blank email to: info@toyrun.org.za.
or phone me :)

Guys, anyone who reads this, pass it on please, and bring toys, as many as you can. More is better, i'd rather have 10 small gifts than 1 large one. Teddy bears look great, but kids over 10 aren't really into them? They'd rather have stationary, so they can work their way out of the hole they're in, or toiletries, so they can have some dignity.

peace and love

PS, apologies for the colour, it was created by a biker, ok?

Black Tuesday

http://www.zapiro.com/cartoon/589725-111122tt

Sensible Police Tactics Against Occupiers

www.Moonofalabama.org

"Lt. John Pike of UC Davis defends himself against an ongoing attack by radical left wing students camouflaged with hoods."

We teach life, sir.

*silence*

Kommetjie

My favourite place in the whole world! Thanks to Deevi for sending it for me.

Outlaw

"Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is."

- Clint Eastwood, "The Outlaw Josey Wales"

Old books

Golden Ratio

11 11 11 11 11 11

Just sayin' ...

Full moon, seems like everyone has gone moggy again, 2 bikers taken out by the blue light assholes, another shot in a semi road rage incident.

As Aquila Ka Hekate pointed out, already the xmas madness has started.

And all i want is for it to rain.

Pseudoscience and Heretics

PDF: http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/ridley_rsa_millar_speech_scientific_heresy.pdf

Matt Ridley's speech at the Angus Millar lecture - http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2011/angus-millar-lecture-2011-scientific-heresy

FROM: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/11/01/thank-you-matt-ridley/#more-50468

So I learnt lesson number 1: the stunning gullibility of the media. Put an “ology” after your pseudoscience and you can get journalists to be your propagandists.

Lesson number 2: debunking is like water off a duck’s back to pseudoscience.

Lesson number 3. We can all be both. Newton was an alchemist.

That’s lesson number 4: the heretic is sometimes right.

Lesson number 5: keep a sharp eye out for confirmation bias in yourself and others.

Lesson 6. Never rely on the consensus of experts about the future. Experts are worth listening to about the past, but not the future. Futurology is pseudoscience.

In conclusion, I’ve spent a lot of time on climate, but it could have been dietary fat, or nature and nurture. My argument is that like religion, science as an institution is and always has been plagued by the temptations of confirmation bias. With alarming ease it morphs into pseudoscience even – perhaps especially – in the hands of elite experts and especially when predicting the future and when there’s lavish funding at stake. It needs heretics.

Revolution

Thank you LeContainer.

Fog Harvesting

Tshiavha - When plumes of fog gather above the rocky mountains encircling a remote South African village, children look at them with excitement, knowing they will have clean drinking water at school.
Erected in 2007 with the help of a local university, the fog trapped in the nets provides up to 2,500 litres of waters on a good day.

“The water is clean and safe with no chemicals added to it,” said Lutanyani Malumedzha the principal of Tshiavha primary school.

According to Malumedzha, access to clean water had significantly improved school children's health and reduced the outbreak of waterborne diseases.

“Children used to bring their own bottles of water to school during the hot and dry months. The water was collected from muddy wells and not suitable for human consumption,” said Malumedzha.

In some areas, communities share drinking water with cattle.

Although South Africa's water quality is rated among the best in world, rural communities lag behind when it comes to having running water.

“We have learnt to appreciate water and treat it as if it was a precious commodity,” said Malumedza.

“Not a single drop is wasted. Some of it goes there,” said Malumedza pointing to a vegetable garden which provides food for the school feeding scheme.

The four-metre high mesh net which stands outside the school's playground resembles a volleyball net, except for a gutter at the hem where water droplets fall, leading to a water tank a few metres away.

There are no electronics involved and the system requires little maintenance, Malumedza said.

Killers

This is a warning to all bikers out there: the pigs, in this case the provincial piggies, in unmarked cars, are prepared to kill you, either by riding into you, or shooting you.

IOL: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/he-was-going-to-kill-me-1.1169654

“I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t turn around to look who it was because there were potholes all over the road. I couldn’t see any blue flashing lights and there were no sirens. I was panicking. I thought that those inside wanted to hijack me,” he said

It was as Van Zyl turned on to the R514 that the traffic officers collided with him, apparently on purpose, striking his handlebars and front wheel, forcing him to crash.

Van Zyl was thrown across the VW Golf and into a pavement and traffic light, smashing his rib cage and tearing ligaments.

He claimed one of the traffic officers from the car walked up to him and began pistol-whipping him before shoving his gun into his helmet and threatening to execute him.

“I couldn’t move. This traffic officer was screaming that he was going to kill me.

“It was only after another motorist stopped to help me that the officer walked off,” he said.

Changes

Things change, and i'm going through one of those times. I've already slowed on my posting, and probably will further. I'm not abandoning it yet, the thought occurred to me, but honestly i feel too deeply for this blog and the people i share ideas with to walk away, just changing slightly.

peace and love