Ramblings along the narrow way

Another Saturday gone. Spent the afternoon playing David at snooker. I think he’s improving, with only one frame in it, ending at 4-3 frames to me.

Went round Sarah’s in the evening to watch Hotel Rwanda on DVD with some of the usual suspects. I’d already seen it in the cinema, so I already knew what to expect, but it’s a great film to watch over and over again just as a reminder of what humanity is capable of. It’s so easy to forget our mistakes, only to repeat them. I’d also since been to Africa and the film brought back memories of my time there. This only served to make the film ever more real. Definitely worth repeat viewing.

Well, it’s the third day of a series of fuel price protests and it’s all been a bit of a damp squib. On Wednesday, the media was out in force, presumably to hype up the story into profitable ‘news’ sales, following the protesters around. The hype had already caused a few to panic buy fuel, but when push came to shove, it would appear there were more reporters than protesters.

It would seem that most people have forgotten a significant reason why fuel duty is so high. Yes, it lines the Chancellor’s pockets, but it’s also there to discourage people from using motorised road transport in an attempt to reduce environmental damage.

It would seem the significant noise makers are the road hauliers, with good reason – the cost of diesel affects their profitability. Yet, according to Freight on Rail, they are also a significant contributor to environmental damage.

Long distance heavy freight belongs on the railways which can transport them more efficiently than one the road. Strangely enough, in the United States, where the road haulier is king, it is rail freight which is profitable rather than passenger services.

Whilst I understand people need jobs to survive, I am not convinced we can sacrifice the environment, which God has given us to steward, regardless.

Decided to indulge my ego by creating a quiz about myself on Bebo, to see what my friends know about me.

Fortunately my brother came top with the highest number of correct answers about me. I guess it would’ve been weird for a non-family member to beat him.

The trend amongst my friends tended to favour the people who see me most frequently during the week, with the lowest score coming from those who see me only very occassionally and those who’ve only just met me.

The most frequent wrong answers were concerning my favourite foods, which I guess isn’t that surprising as I pretty much eat everything. That and bizarre questions like favourite character from the 100 Acre Wood! 🙂

Saying that, I did have trouble recalling information about my friends as I took their quizzes. I guess this just shows we should always meet together and have meaningful conversations.

I’ve just fixed the strangest computer problem I’ve come across in a while. (I say ‘I’, but David did most of the work)

Some time ago, I set up Linux on a computer for Mim, who was familiar with computers, but not a ‘haxx0r’. The system had been running quite happily, with yum automatically keeping everything up to date, and Open Office, Firefox and gaim supplying her computing needs.

On Friday evening though, the libc runtime system file became corrupted somehow and the kernel couldn’t access it on boot. It complained of an I/O error and so reported a panic. (I guess I’d panic too if someone had disabled something that crucial to my operation). On inspection, the libc file hadn’t been touched by any software and showed the same file attributes as when it was first put on the computer. The only possible conclusion was that the hard disk had dropped a byte or two and rendered the file unreadable.

Ah well, gave her an opportunity to upgrade her Fedora Core 3 system to Core 4. Everything appears to be working again now. 🙂

A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. Ecc 7:1-6

It is so easy to go through life without thinking about the big picture. We can go through life without giving a second thought to what is beyond the immediate. Eat, drink and be merry…without remembering that tomorrow we die. It is more important that we understand our eternal destiny, rather than fill our time with the fleeting pleasures of this life.

With this in mind, are we wise enough to accept the rebuke of those wiser than us, or are we more apt to listening to fools who massage our egos? Do we truly understand wisdom? Are we seeking godliness, through knowing God through his word and applying it to our lives?

Well, spent the day at my parent’s house, where I grew up, for my mum’s birthday. It was good to be able to spend the day with the family just relaxing and eating. It also gave me an opportunity to finally distribute the gifts I had accumulated on my various excursions around the globe. The evening was spent with everyone sitting down to a rather large meal and then settling down in front of the telly to watch the last night of the proms on the BBC.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped round him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realise now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” Jn 13:1-10

Whilst Peter didn’t get it straight away…

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Pe 5:5-6

…he eventually understood what was going on.

You’re an Owl!

Old and wise, you have a thirst for knowledge and a reputation for making the right decision. This can be a lot of pressure sometimes, but you seem so relaxed and unruffled that it never seems to show. You always keep your eyes wide open and fixed on your next objective, or on the Harry Potter books, which you love. The only question you ever ask is “Who?”

Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Now the summer is drawing to a close, my violin lessons are becoming more regular now. I have a clutch of exercises to do, not very tuneful, but should improve my muscle memory and hopefully, in turn, my intonation. Getting the hang of these grade three pieces as well. This might prove a promising hobby. 🙂

Well, one of those evenings where the both the temperature and the humidity is high – which can only mean one thing – an hour running running around after an inflated leather ball with eleven other men in an indoor arena. Actually, it was strangely fun and rewarding, if not a good way to get some exercise, with the added bonus that we won. 🙂

Afterwards Ally, Dave, Nige and I headed round Sarah’s to help her in her video editing decisions. She had produced a video of our trip in Kenya with the intention of using it as a tool to raise awareness of the Kisima Project and persuade people to sponsor a child. The only problem was that it was too long, and so we’d been drafted in to help her decide which bits were unnecessary. I must admit to being very impressed with what she had produced, and it was hard deciding which bits to cut out. Anyway, we’ve left her with notes and we’ll see what she comes up with.

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
Ps 40:1-3

The Christian message, as presented in the bible, is quite simple really. Even children can understand it. The idea we are all sinners, deserving of punishment before a holy God isn’t particularly hard to grasp. The idea that God loves us so much, he sent Jesus Christ, God the Son, to save us from our sins. That he died in our place, he took on our sin and is able to transform us in to people who are acceptable before a holy God. As I said, quite simple really.

Spent a very pleasant warm summer evening round James’ place for a barbeque with the usual suspects and others. It was great to be able to sit around, eat charred chicken and burgers, as well as chat and chill with friends. We had a rather large game of empire, with Beth and myself being the eventual victors as no one could remember our names. James had also managed to neglect he was a whole year older, although his wife quickly dealt with that and a cake was duly produced and eaten.

Spent yesterday evening at the church for the concluding holiday club family evening. Throughout the week, children from around the area were invited to the church in the mornings to learn about Jesus Christ and have fun, sometimes at the same time. This was an opportunity for the parents of the children to come along and see what their children had been doing at the club.

Seeing as I was working during the week, I also only attended the evening meeting, so in a way I got a parents’ eye view of the evening.

From the large amounts of cheering and laughter, it would seem the children had a great week, playing games, making things, and learning how Simon Peter encountered Jesus in the bible. For some this may have been their first glimpse at a bible, for others they’d seen it all before. Yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ was for all of them, and their parents, and it was encouraging to hear them reciting well-known verses from the bible.

Who knows what seeds have been sown and where they’ve landed? May God water them abundantly.

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Lk 13:1-5

Q: What do the scriptures principally teach?
A: The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

(Question III from the Westminster Shorter Catechism)