Saturday, January 29, 2005

Elektra

We went on a date tonight! Got a baby sitter, got the helmets on and jumped on the warrior and headed for the movies followed by an iced coffee for me and pina colada smoothie for Jude. We went to see Elektra.
Not a bad movie. Jennifer Garner does a pretty good job in it and the special effects blended well into the movie. The story line was well paced but was pretty predictable. There were still plenty of surprises though and the martial arts was very well choreographed.
A great night.

Oh and little Lleyton Hewitt the Aussie battler has made it to the mens final! C'mon Lleyton!


Posted by: Jethro | 11:50 PM |

Friday, January 28, 2005

Shock Horror Federer is out!

I am so annoyed at myself. I went to basketball and was home in time to watch the second half of the second set. Fine - 1 set all and Federer and Safin were settling in for a tough battle. Federer won the 3rd set and I thought now its pretty much plain sailing - he only needs one more. I was feeling a bit sore after a pretty hard workout at basketball, so (big mistake) I lay down on the couch sometime in the 4th set ... and woke at 2:30am. I never even saw the epic struggle in the 5th set but to my dismay upon checking the result Safin won! (Wifey never even woke me when she turned the TV off!)
Now I suppose Lleyton will beat Roddick and then go on to win the final! All my careful planning to help Roger win has gone astray.

Come on Lleyton! He could do it you know.


Posted by: Jethro | 2:43 AM |

Thursday, January 27, 2005

What a game!

Lleyton Hewitt defeated David Nalbandian in 5 sets. An epic thriller.
It looked all too easy after the first two sets were fairly comfortable wins for Lleyton. However David fought back (with the help of some fireworks that upset Hewitt's game). The last set went for over 90 minutes before Lleyton finally won it 10-8. The game at 9-8 was the first time a serve was broken in the set with Lleyton setting himself up for the win. Being the second server in the 5th set he was always under extreme pressure. Several times Nalbandian was only 2 points away from the win.

Now I have a difficult decision. Do I go and play basketball tonight at 7:30 or do I stay home and watch Federer vs Safin. I think I will go and rush home - the bball court is only 6 minutes away anyway so I won't miss much.


Posted by: Jethro | 7:21 AM |

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Federer beats Agassai in straight sets quarter final

I didn't see the match though I am hoping for some highlights or a replay later. Federer has defeated Agassai 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Safin also defeated Hrbaty in straight sets. Currently Roddick is playing Davydenko, and Hewitt is yet to play Nalbandian.
The semi finals are looking pretty tough now. Here is the draw as I am calling it.
Hewitt will beat Nalbandian and Roddick will win over Davydenko. I am picking Roddick to beat Hewitt in the semi and Federer to beat Safin leaving a Federer vs Roddick Final.
I will update this as the matches progress.


Posted by: Jethro | 3:42 PM |

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Princess Leia is alive and well

Is this princess Leia? Check for yourself. Or is she the new Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Timoshenko?


Posted by: Jethro | 11:01 PM |

Eschatology defined briefly

Russ Lipton writes an brief definition of the three views of end time theology, Postmillenialism, Premillenialism and Amillenialism.
I have to say that I am mostly a post millenialist - leaning toward amillenialism.
So now you know!


Posted by: Jethro | 10:17 PM |

Sunday, January 23, 2005

More Tennis Agassai is good!

How good is this bloke? I just finished watching him beat Johansson. OK - watching is a loose term. I was in the lounge and the TV was playing the match and I did hear a a fair bit more than I saw. I slept through the second set and most of the 3rd set. Still inspite of my not helping him by cheering from home Agassai managed to win 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. How good do you have to be to beat a fellow who throws down a record 51 aces! Still he did it and now he comes up against my pick for the tournamnet - the number 1 player in the world Roger Federer. That is going to be one awesome game to watch!


Posted by: Jethro | 4:38 PM |

Friday, January 21, 2005

Home again Jiggety Jig

Well I am home ) but tommorrow I am away again :(
The good news is I get to ride the Warrior down to the Gold Coast for a seminar. The bad news is it is raining - I hope it is dry in the morning.
I am home most of next week - yeah!


Posted by: Jethro | 11:49 PM |

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Federer defeats Suzuki in style but not without effort

Well Federer won 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 but it wasn't as easy as the score sounded. He had his serve broken for the first time this year, he had to run a lot and scramble for returns, some of which were absolutely amazing, and he was pressured by a guy who played like he never believed he was going top lose until he actually did. Suzuki played some amazing shots, pulling off passing moves, lots of volleys at the nets, lob volleys and even some aces.
To no avail however as Roger turned on some amazing tennis. This guy really is good! The "flick" return of a cross court volley that he made while the ball was right out of court to cross the net and land inside was just incredible.

I just finished watching Agassai clinically defeat Schuettler 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 and this game was as easy as it sounded. Schuettler pulled some nice moves out of the bag but it was like he was playing in a different class. Agassai is a true tennis robot. He walks efficiently to each serving or receiving position, serves quickly and efficiently, plays great tennis and ignores the odd shot that he cannot get to. I thnk he may go a fair way this year. It will depend on whether his recent hip injury will prey on his mind and cause him to hold back a little just when its needed.


Posted by: Jethro | 1:17 AM |

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Federer Vs Suzuki

I am about to go and watch Federer play Suzuki. I have never seen Suzuki play before so will be interested to see what he trys to pull out of the bag. I can't imagine that he would take more than a handful of his own service games from Roger though.
More reports after the game.
I didn't see Federer's frst round game so am excited about this one.


Posted by: Jethro | 9:28 PM |

Weekly round up

I am not intending to leave stuff out of here - just that time gets away from me and I end up lumping a whole bunch of unrelated stuff into the same blog entry.

I am travelling - away - not at home. My laptop is not properly configured for remote work and I am missing vital files - that frustrates me - its my own fault - which is more annoying than the actual problem!

On the other hand I am in a guest house in town and I get lots of uninterrupted time (while not at clients) to work on other clients stuff, websites and other projects. I also play a fair bit of sport. Last night I played squash for an hour and a half, tonight soccer for about an hour. Tomorrow we may get a game of AFL in - here's hoping! Tonight the socccer was with mostly university graduates and students. They complimented me on my fitness and football skills which I was happy about. There were many of them who couldn't run as hard or as long as this old fella!

It has been extremely humid here. I got out of the airconditioned car at the mine site this morning and my glasses immediately fogged up with the humid air. We had a mild thunderstorm and a spit of rain during the game of soccer - very welcome!

The camp food is also free and plentiful. So I have lots to be thankful for. I miss my beautiful girls though.


Posted by: Jethro | 8:22 PM |

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Australian Tennis Open 2005 is finally here!

I am about to watch Lleyton Hewitt take on Arnaud Clement in his first round match. I expect him to win. Tim Henman as usual is doing it the hard way, dropping the third set in what should be an easy win.
Most of the Australians are already out with only a three progressing to round 2. Alicia Molik among them
Roger Federer did it easy defeating Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.


Posted by: Jethro | 8:47 PM |

Monday, January 17, 2005

Sundry Linkage

Links to a few different sites I have looked at recently.
Tsunami satellite before and after pics.
Tall Skinny Kiwi
One Hand Clapping
Neil Stonechild inquiry - a disturbing (real) account of police leaving aboriginals to die in sub zero temperatures in Canada.
The Irvins
The Wildebeest's Wardrobe - excellent blog - witty and pithy and ironic all bound together with a dash of realism (read the account of the RPG day).


Posted by: Jethro | 11:04 AM |

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Home from the LAN and awake!

30 hour LAN's are a pretty intense time. The good thing about them is that you are not rushed and you tend to get your fill of gaming for a while. They are also a good bonding time for the guys and girls (yes we have girls come!) who are there. We use it as an extension of our ministry in the church as a way of developing relationships. From there we can invite people to home groups and church.
There is a full write up on the LAN on the KROSTech website.

Today we kicked around the house in the heat and then decided to go to the beach for dinner. It was very relaxing to have a Sunday with no stress and rush. A much needed break.

This week I am off to the coal mines again (literally) for some more work. Back to dialup access only while I am away (boohoo).

We have also finally booked the tickets for the "Family Reunion". We are going to NZ in April to reunite all my siblings with their parents. There are mum and dad, 6 of us and four spouses and 8 grandkids so far. Will be fun.


Posted by: Jethro | 11:22 PM |

Friday, January 14, 2005

Man from Snowy River 2

We watched The Man From Snowy River 2 tonight on the projector on the wall. The kids loved the horses. Its a pity theres a bit of bad language on it - fortunately fairly mild.
Uncle Jono is a great hit with the girls, reading Tintin to Miranda and playing hide and seek with all of us. He and I have been working on videos and his laptop as well as some other work I have on.
Last night we went and played squash. I ended up doing spome coaching of the lads but then Jono gave me two great games! He's getting better.
Tomorrow I am off to the 30 hour lan!


Posted by: Jethro | 1:25 AM |

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Angie explores Viking Relics

Our friend Angie in York, England has posted a great article with pictures of their trip through an Underground Viking Museum (Jorvik Viking Centre) in York.
Check it out!


Posted by: Jethro | 9:57 AM |

My brother is here

My mad brother the missionary from Ukraine is here!
He has come back to sunny queensland from the cold and snow of Ukraine. He is going to spend a few days visiting his nieces before heading off on more travels - to New Zealand for a month and then back to Oz and then eventually back to Ukraine again.
Read all about him on his blog. The good stuff is in the PDF newsletters he posts regularly.


Posted by: Jethro | 8:52 AM |

Friday, January 07, 2005

Tim Hawkins - Generation Changers

I attended the first session of the weekend Cultivation Retreat at church tonight for youth ministry leaders. Tim Hawkins from Sydney is the guest speaker.
He challenged us on being generation changers. Speaking from Psalm 71 he gave us the following 4 decisions that a generation changer makes.

1) I will trust in you alone - Psalm 71:7
Don't be distracted or tempted to trust in anything or anyone else than God - especially when things seem to be going smoothly. This includes the youth pastor, youth strategy and ministries, senior pastor etc.

2) I will be a powerful example - Psalm 71:7
We are an example to the young lives we influence - so be the best possible example.

3) I will never give up - Psalm 71:9
Challenge - Will you stay working with young people long enough to get good at it? (3 years as a minimum)

4) I will proclaim your righteousness alone - Psalm 71:15
The people we work with need to understand our fallacies and our need to repent - that we are not perfect. We need to proclaim God's righteousness alone. Other wise they are set for a crash when their 'hero" falls.

All challenging stuff. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend.


Posted by: Jethro | 11:53 PM |

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Tsunami Thoughts

I have to say I didn't hear about the tsunami until a couple of days after it happened. I don't watch TV news or read the paper. I don't even read internet news.
I figure I'll find out anything important enought to know sometime or other if it hasn't happened to me directly.
Regardless I am shocked at the huge number of casualties. Makes the attack on the twin towers seem pretty insigificant in terms of the sheer number of deaths. (I am not making light of the atrocity).
I will offer no opinions. I am not qualifed. There are plenty of others doing so.
Here are some links I have come across.
Buzz Machine
Keith Pleas Blog
Julia Lerman Blog


Posted by: Jethro | 11:05 PM |

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Took some people for a ride today after church

Sam, her mother and sister all had a ride today on the back of the Warrior.
They are all excellent pillion passengers so it was a joy to cruise for about 20 minutes with each one. The bike was not noticeably slower while riding with them, though afterward I noticed a slightly quicker acceleration.

I started working for the church today. I am now the Financial Controller and seing as this is the start fo a new financial year am working on budgets, cashflows and opening balances. Fun stuff! It is great to work in an environment with other christians. The work is only 3-4 days a month with an extra week or so this month to get it kicked off.


Posted by: Jethro | 9:57 PM |

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Riding the Warrior

The Warrior is a JOY to ride!
I am having a blast on it.

Criticisms first.
Ground clearance on pegs is too low - I am scraping footpegs way below what I feel is safe. The rear tyre is showing no wear for the last 7 to 8 mm because I can't lean that far over.
The front forks feel a little spongy and wobbly during heavy braking from high speed.
The standard muffler restricts the engine a little too much.

Good things.
It sounds FAT!
It is really comfortabe to ride.
Acceleration is smooth and effortless even from under 1000 RPM in top gear. In fact that sounds really good!
Brakes are firm and easy to use. No grabbing.
It corners well. There is no need to wrestle the bike around.
The pillion seat is ok. I took my daughter to church this morning on the bike. She loved it!

On the grass the bike is great fun.
Yesterday we took the PeeWee 50 to Grandmas place because she has a big back yard of grass. I rode the Warrior around also, and found that winding the power on even gently is enough to snap the rear end out on the grass. So doing it on purpose several times I was able to set up a controlled powerslide. I never felt like I was going to lose it. The front end is so far away from the taily rear and it self corrected the slides automatically. I had to force it to get it crossed up further. FUN!

It is possible to lock the rear up on compression when downshifting on the tarmac.

I have lots to learn about the bike but I have to say it is probably the most fun bike I have ever owned. Yes the Blackbird was fun - but scary as well. This beast looks mean but it is as gentle as a lamb!


Posted by: Jethro | 1:33 PM |

Saturday, January 01, 2005

New Years Eve Bonfire

Here are some of the pics from New Years Eve.
Bonfire with friends with sparklers and marshmellow roasting followed by a game of cards and playing inside.




Posted by: Jethro | 4:55 PM |

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2005!


Posted by: Jethro | 1:02 AM |