Note to self: don’t tell everyone in the world to download something on one day if your server can’t cope with the pressure.
Update
I am now downloading firefox… At 9kb/s. Whoop-de-doo. Speed!
Because I was bored and wanted to try out a new web browser, I added Safari to my extensive collection of web browsers (IE7, Firefox 2 (for the next few minutes, at least), Lynx and Opera). It’s horrible. I always wanted to download Safari, because it uses the KHTML rendering engine, as Konqueror does (which I never really liked either). Uses Safari for windows is like using a browser rendered at 800×600 and maximised to fill a regular screen.
We have received several answers to prayer concerning Burma. The main news is that my father has arrived into Burma safely with all the relief money. Another good piece of news is that he will be having air conditioning in the Hotel he is staying at. It is the hottest time of the year in Burma at the moment, and he has had trouble sleeping the last two times.
The believers in Burma have decided it is best if they distribute the money, rather than him, because they feel it is safer that their relief efforts to be associated with westerners. Please pray for trustworthy, Spirit-filled Christians in Burma to be found to look after the distribution of money. This is not to say we know of any that aren’t, but just that those especially well equipped for the work would be found.
Google will be donating up to $1m to the relief fund. The page linked also contains a map showing the path of the cyclone, so that you can understand more where the affected areas are. If you are considering donating money yourself, please consider donating through my father, as money donated to him will go directly to Christians in Myanmar. That is if you want your money to go to a definitely Christian source.
My father’s ordered a visa for Myanmar, please pray that he gets it without hassle.
To repeat, you can e-mail my dad for more personal details about the Myanmar disaster, or to donate money at:
If you have not yet heard, Burma has been hit by Cyclone Nargis. The news today was that the death toll has reached more than 22,000. This hits particularly close to home because my father has visited Burma twice in the past year or so, the second time taking Ally with him, and we have had personal letters from several of the people who will be most affected by this disaster.
One man runs an orphanage. He has given up everything, a degree, a good standard of living, to live in a small house in which he looks after as many orphans as he can possibly fit in. His house has been completely destroyed. My father says that many of the believers he has met are in similarly built houses, which do not stand a chance against the wind.
Please pray for God’s provision and help for the people of Burma, many of whom do not have water or electricity at this time.
If you are interested in having e-mail updates on the situation in Burma, please e-mail my father at:
This morning I picked up a recent copy of national geographic and read through an article about environmentalism in Iceland. It was talking about the dilemma Iceland are facing surrounding renewable energy. Iceland has thermal and hydroelecticity in abundance, but also has an incredibly beautiful landscape, which the exploitation of such power sources, would, and is in the process of, destroying. ‘Green Energy’ and environmentalism have therefore in this case become enemies. You can see pictures on the National Geographic Website.
The reason I say all this is that it reminded me that for some time I’ve been wanting to find a good Physics magazine. It turns out physicsworld.com is a good one, and it’s online, so I don’t have to pay anything, which is of course a bonus. It’s the level of physics which is actually interesting, unlike ‘New Scientist’, which is just annoying… And produces articles which provide ‘proof’ for pantheism.
I may be wrong, but I thought if you could read German, you might be interested in reading my oral presentation. There may be some factual and grammatical errors, but I’m quite pleased with it overall. Today I was reading about the issues mentioned concerning skiing in the December 2007 issue of National Geographic, so it’s quite topical really.
Die Schweiz ist die Heimat des größten Gletschers Europas, der ‚Aletsch-Gletscher’ heißt. Wenn dieser Gletscher schmelzen wird, so wird das Schmelzwasser genug sein, um täglich für sechs Jahren einen Liter Trinkwasser für jede Person auf der Welt zur Verfügung zu stellen. Eis für den Gletscher fließt aus vier verschiedenen Quellen und trifft zusammen am ‚Konkordiaplatz’. Hier ist die Eisscholle am tiefsten. Wenn man auf dem Konkordiaplatz steht, so steht man auf 900 Meter dicken Eis.
Anderseits, trotz des furchterregenden Ausmaßes des Gletschers ist es doch zerbrechlich. Seit dem Höhepunkt seines Ausmaßes in 1859/60, ist der Gletscher rund 3 Kilometer zurückgegangen. Diese Auswirkung des Klimawandels wird in der Schweiz überall erlebt.
Ski-Alpin in der Schweiz ist auf dem Aletsch-Gletscher erfunden worden. Heutzutage wird in den Alpen Ski gefahren, vor 120 Jahren war es jedoch noch unbekannt. Der Brite Knocker ist als erste in der Schweiz über dem Eis mit Ski geglitten. Mit 19 Jahren hat Engländer Arnold Lunn in 1908 den Alpin Ski Club in London gegründet. Die Volkstümlichkeit der Skisportarten ist in dem letzten Jahrhundert schnell gestiegen, und jetzt ist Skifahren der Nationalsport der Schweiz und Österreichs. Daher ist Schnee und Wintersport ein teil der Nationalidentität der Schweiz.
Trotzdem, kann Skifahrer nur in einer Höhe von mehr als 1800 Metern betrieben werden. Die Skiorte, die Niedriger liegen, müssen ihre Pisten mit Kunstschnee bedecken. Zusätzlich, beschleunigt die Erderwärmung, und der Klimawandel wird sehr gefährlich für Schweiz und die Zukunft der ganzen Alpenlandschaft. In 2007, fragte die Klimaforscherin Helga Kromp-Kolb ob es sich lohnte, wieder in Beschneiungsanlagen zu investieren. Dazu sagte sie voraus, dass die Skiorte nie wieder Touristen anziehen wurden, wenn es so wenig Schnee gäbe. Wenn ihre Voraussage zu trifft, so müsste die Tourismus-Industrie der Schweiz sich ein neues Image geben.
Der Treibhaus-Effekt hat eine Auswirkung nicht nur für die Touristen, sondern auch für die, die in der Schweiz leben. Oft ist es der Fall, dass die Felsen auf den Bergen mit Eis bedeckt sind. Wenn das Eis schmelzen würde, so würden die Felsen, welche auf den Bergen stehen, in die Täler rollen. Die meisten Menschen leben nicht auf den Bergen, sondern in den Tälern. Deswegen, sind Barrieren auf den Hängen gebaut worden, um die Dörfer gegen Steinschläge zu schützen.
Der Aletsch-Gletscher ist für die Umweltschützer besonders wichtig, weil er in der UNESCO-Weltserbeliste steht. In dem Bericht um Aletsch ist Energieeinsparung gefordert. Jedoch, benutzen Skiorte usw. Doch fossile Brennstoffe und andere Produkte die für die Schmelzung der Gletscher verantwortlich sind. Diese Tatsache stellt die Frage, ob das Naturerbe der Schweiz Klimawandel überleben kann.
I watched a video today about the ATLAS particle detector. It showed how it was constructed and so on, step by step. As an aspiring engineer, the sheer complexity of this project and the multidisciplinary nature of it is incredible. Thinking about it, the design team would have to contain world-class physicists, mechanical and civil engineers. As far as the sheer complexity of this project, my impression is that it quite easily rivals the space program (although it is an awful lot cheaper). Man went to the moon with less computing power than you have in your mechanical wristwatch, but to give an idea of how much computing power CERN requires, have a look below, I’ll give one small statistic.
If all the data CERN will produce this year were put on CD, the pile would be 20km high. (~15,000,000 gigabites per year)
I think CERN press statements may be the summer release we should most look forward to.
On thing that must be said is that the titles of these videos do not help to remove the impression that these scientists sitting in a cave for years of their lives to study physics are just a little white and nerdy.
I used to check Peter Shackelford’s blog every week to see if he’d updated. But alas, the man got married and dropped of the edge of the world. Well, that was for a while, and he’s been back for a while now. Apparently he runs a sort of international charitable film thing. I had a quick look today, and although I didn’t look long enough to find out what it’s all about, I did get to see some really brilliant short interviews and short videos taken in Africa. Peter and Amanda’s blogs look to be really brilliant, and I’m looking forward to reading more of them.
In addition to adding these links to my sidebar, I’ve cleaned up some of the old ones, and added some new ones. \/ Look down there \/.
I know I don’t post often, but it’s not like you’re hanging on my every word, so that’s alright. However, it is much to my distress that A certain someone no longer updates their blog. Now, Ally, I know you’re busy. But the truth is, you already have a first, so it’s not like it’d be impossible just to give us a little post.
My brother Mark, as you probably know, is George Verwer’s Go-fer this year. Take a look at George’s website for some of the latest updates on what George and Mark have been getting up to.
Of particular note is this video below. George was saved through Billy Graham 53 years ago, and for the first time he has been able to meet him. It’s a real blessing for Mark that he was able to be there too.
If you get the opportunity, please pray for Mark. Here I’m assuming there are some people who read this who don’t know all about my family already, but I will carry on. He will be preaching for the first time in his life this weekend. He will be standing in for George in a meeting, and I’m sure at the best of times that will be a challenge. You probably know that Mark’s not a confident speaker, but he’s definitely someone who could be an encouragement to the people he speaks to. He has to speak in a big missionary conference on the topic of ‘What is God doing in short term missions’, and another topic at a church, which I forget.
Monika just left to go back to Tenerife today, after visiting her Sister in Belgium. We were able to see her for a few days at the start of the Easter holidays, which was a great encouragement.
Another encouragement we received over the holiday was a visit from the O’Flahertys. The O’Flahertys are a wonderful Christian family, and the times we spend with them are always times we can thank God for.
Now, I believe there’s something of a group photo somewhere…
I lent my camera to the boys, and unfortunately that’s the most people I’ve got in one shot. However, it’s got to be said that that photo has character… (I’m terrible at spontaneous portraits, I’m glad someone just messes with my camera every now and then).
If you don’t know anything about the reformation, Alastair could probably lend you a book on it (and I have Martin Luther’s biography, if anyone wants that). I say this, because I am in easy contact with practically everyone who reads this blog.
If anyone could give me a link to an overview of the reformation, I’d appreciate that. There is the wikipedia page on the reformation, but that’s written from a secular point of view and is too long for a human being to read on screen.
Update: There are several good articles linked in the comments of this post
