Ozzie Pool Elephants

Picture: Brenda Rudolph

Because we both hail originally from the Dark Continent, Steve Bean and myself immediately thought about what elephants do, when we spied these pool noodles in Ivan and Branda's pool. The night was balmy, the water was 29C, and good friends were all around. So we cooled them down a little. It was loads of fun. For us. Not sure that Richard Fairhead quite understood these crazy Zimbos.

Luciano from Beijing

Thanks to Andrew Pitchford for this clip

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Amazing shark fetus

Photo: Mark Taylor

I was taken to an aquarium today: Underwater World, here on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. In a place called Mooloobaba.

This photo shows a live shark fetus developing inside a glass womb. It should develop fully and get 'born' under the watchful eye of the
scientists there.

Just in case you need to find me!

I am staying with Ivan & Brenda Rudolph this weekend, in Wurtulla on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, where it has been raining since I arrived, two sharks have chomped off people's hands (don't they have Health and Safety here?) and I am discovering the local version of Joburg's Hadeedaa birds, cawing away nicely in the garden somewhere.

Search the future

We all know how much we have come to rely upon a Google search here, a Google search there, a Google search everywhere ... and those geniuses at Google have simply done it again. Their boffins in the Australian labs (g'day fellas) have come up with some amazing new search algorithms that will allow you to search for new web content even before it appears on the web. Released this week (01 April 2008), one wonders how other search engines will be able to better this new feature.

gDay was developed in Google's Sydney engineering centre and can accurately predict future events and internet content. It does this by using machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques from a system called MATE™ (Machine Automated Temporal Extrapolation).

Check it out for yourself - imagine the possibilities for sports results, betting, gameshows, etc.

Google Press

Proof of Age

Rob, Carey and a cutie-pie called Rachel

We received this cute pic today. Carey met our Michelle at nursery school in Harare ... well lets just say it was moons ago now. Seems like yesterday sometimes. Moo and Carey have been the best of friends ever since, and now we get to see them both grown up, married, and young mums. No wonder I can feel the aches and pains in my body ... we are no longer spring chickens, no matter what psychobabble we keep trying to telling our brains! Rob and Carey settled some years back in Sydney, along with the rest of her family, our old friends the Frosts. Actually, their wedding at the end of 2001, was the very last wedding I officiated at in Zimbabwe, before we moved to Johannesburg, and the very next wedding, my first in South Africa, was Michelle's! The Frost family has intersected and passed through our lives in many ways over the years, and it is good today to remember them all, and give thanks to the Lord for each one of them, for thy are special in our memories.

Action Man Andy Absails for Children's Hospital

Andy Gibb starts his 31 story descent for charity

Rose's brother Andy lost his right leg (many years after a motorcycle accident in his teens and many painful surgeries over the years) a couple of years back, and recently abseiled down a 31 story building in Perth, Australia. I get giddy just looking at the picture, but Andy went over the top and all the way down, raising $1500 for a Children's Hospital. Good on you, mate!