Bungeeeeeeee!!!!

BUNGEE JUMPING
From Wiki: 'Bungee jumping (also spelt "Bungy") is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The thrill comes as much from the free-falling as from the rebounds.

When the person jumps, the cord stretches and the jumper flies upwards again as the cord snaps back and continues to oscillate up and down until all the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy of the fall is converted into heat, sound, and other forms of non-mechanical energy.'

Call me chicken, I don't care ... this is not for me ... I prefer to just roll a joint and get a natural high. I mean, look at some of the dangers:

'There is a wide spectrum of possible injuries during a jump. One can be injured during a jump if the safety harness fails, the cord elasticity is miscalculated, or the cord is not properly connected to the jump platform.

Other injuries include eye trauma, rope burn, uterine prolapse, dislocations, bruises, whiplash, pinched fingers and back injury.'

Well, I don't have to worry about uterine prolapse but, imagine if your eyeballs pop out and do a bungee of their own; ... or worse, a lifetime of embarrassment if you mess your pants and it's posted all over the internet like the guy in the pic below:


... no thanks ...

Image Credits: Unknown

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Two Flying Crows Under The Snow

Two Flying Crows Under The Snow

Biho (Yoshikuni)
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Pics To Illustrate How I'm Building With Rock

My Cave



My rock stockpile _ I fetch the rocks from a hill on a farm about 5km away - vehicle access is limited so it means a lot of hard work lugging them to the pickup - I usually go rock-gathering in winter when the grass is short and I don't have to worry so much about snakes and spiders.


The new house is being build around the old farmhouse while I'm still living in it - first a freestanding roof was erected over the old house and now I'm building new walls around the old house, breaking down the inner walls as I go - in this pic you can see the old house (green) inside the new outer window.



Each rock has to be balanced with wedges, then tacked to keep it steady before removing the wedges and doing the final grouting - it's a very slow process ...



I use blocks of wood which I can move up and down the upright beams to keep my wall line ...



A plumb line is used to ensure that each rock is on line. It's a little more complicated in rooms where I've built the inner-wall with rock too.

You can see more pics of my stoned house here

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Serpintine Specimens

From the Source: Albertus Seba (1665-1736) was a Dutch apothecary and collector, who, in the 1730s began a project to publish a fully-illustrated catalogue of his renowned collection of naturalia. Seba oversaw the production of the first two volumes of this opus, Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri Accurata Descriptio..., issued in 1734 and 1735. Two further volumes were issued posthumously, in 1758 and 1765.

More images at the source

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Bob Cnoops - South African Artist

Bob Cnoops
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Omahova

Good rains are falling in Namibia and atmospheric conditions are right for the appearance of a much sought-after delicacy - mushrooms, or 'Omahova' as they're known here.

Two years ago, I came upon these two dudes on a highway in the middle of nowhere. They were selling these giant mushrooms which they'd collected in the bush:




The mushrooms grow only on termite mounds and appear a few days after good rain showers and cloudy, misty weather. I've been told, but unable to substantiate as fact, that the spores are distributed through the dung of cattle, whereafter they're transported into the mounds and nurtured by the termites.

It is also said that they only grow on the northern side of the mounds, i.e. away from direct sunlight.

When buying Omahova it is best to get them before they open-up like the ones in the pics. When they're open they go soggy very quickly and are prone to worm infestations.


The last pic is to illustrate how big the termite mounds can be, though some of them get a lot bigger.

I'm not usually very fond of mushrooms, but I'd kill for these. When prepared by someone who knows how to, they're divine. One method is to cut the stems as steaks and poach in buttered, fried onions, ... mmmm

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Message In A Bottle

2010 has started badly; early on new year's day I was told that the lady who looks after my house when I'm not here, had died.

Meme Anna was one of the few people I trust to take care of Stoffel and other animals properly.

She was someone I depended on heavily when I'm away in the desert.

Her death means that I have to stay here in the north of Nam until I can re-organize my life.

It also means that I'm marooned in spayce ... I've explained before why I can't afford to be online much but, instead of going cold turkey, I'll try to answer comments and post the occasional draft that I have saved ... a kind of hit-and-run operation ... (believe me, it can take 4 to 5 minutes to load a page - if it doesn't just time-out) ...

Anyway, while I'm here I'll be building and thinking.

You guys must keep in touch hey ...

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