The photo shows the Anglican Church in Stanford, a village about 140km/90mi east of Cape Town. The Church was built in 1863 -- the oldest original building in Stanford. The entire Church is at present being restored. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA. I have enhanced the stonework by "equalising" the photo.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pound Seats
I'm back in the Pound Seats. More than a year after I submitted my last electronic design, I have one in next month's EPE magazine (the UK's no. 1 electronics magazine) -- and the month after, EPE is to run a feature by me (see inset), which they bought from Down Under. It's a replacement for the famous (now obsolete) LM3909 IC -- only better. In fact, the LM3909 would have been dead in the water if I had designed this years earlier -- which would have been technically possible then. OBSERVATION: Except, the Aussies stuffed up my LM3909 design by turning it into a bulky module. Anyway, it's easy to convert into something as lightweight as the original.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Depressed Youth Pastor
I asked a colleague how his Church was going. He said, "We hired a Youth Pastor especially to grow the Youth, and the Youth has dwindled to eight. The Youth Pastor is depressed." I sent my colleague an e-mail afterwards: "It might not be about the Youth but the Youth Pastor -- I mean from the Lord's point of view. The depression seems to indicate that he sees it as his own work, not the Lord's work, and that may be an early, fundamental lesson to be learnt that provides strength for ministry in years to come." My colleague wrote back: "You are so right." OBSERVATION: A worthwhile investment, if that happens.
Friday, February 19, 2010
DRC Caledon
My gallery of local Churches continues. This is the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk, or NGK) Caledon, a town about 130km/80mi east of Cape Town. The foundation stone is dated 1911, and typically, for that period, is still in Dutch. It refers to 1 Samuel 7:12: "Thus far has the Lord helped us." It looks surprisingly modern. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 90k.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Flashback 1968
That's me, with Teoti at the tiller, in the remote Central Pacific. In the background is the last of the famous John Williams missionary ships. In 1994, I tried to track down Teoti. "No," they said, "Teoti is dead." OBSERVATION: This is the so-called launch, which usually pulled a similar, unmotorised boat. In those days, they didn't have passages through the reefs. The launch would pull us to the edge of the reef, then unhook us, to catch the surf. Of course, we had to wait for high tide first. You may click on the photo to enlarge to VGA.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Jumping Spider
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Every now and then, I check whether any of my electronic designs has gone into production (I mostly sell all rights to a design, so have no rights over production). If you click on Electronics at the top left of this page, you'll see some examples of designs that have gone into production. Anyway, one of my designs, unexpectedly, wasn't picked up by manufacturers. This was an electronic version of the famous Jumping Spider (EPE 2007), which undoubtedly worked better than the original pump version. OBSERVATION: I didn't need to think long to figure out what the problem might be. My Jumping Spider required fairly high power down thin wires to deliver the punch to a coil that would make it jump (see photo sequence). Son M. commented that, as children chewed through the wire, it would soon become known as Jumping Child! For this to be commercially viable, the power would need to be self-contained -- or largely self-contained (say trickle-fed from an external power source).
Every now and then, I check whether any of my electronic designs has gone into production (I mostly sell all rights to a design, so have no rights over production). If you click on Electronics at the top left of this page, you'll see some examples of designs that have gone into production. Anyway, one of my designs, unexpectedly, wasn't picked up by manufacturers. This was an electronic version of the famous Jumping Spider (EPE 2007), which undoubtedly worked better than the original pump version. OBSERVATION: I didn't need to think long to figure out what the problem might be. My Jumping Spider required fairly high power down thin wires to deliver the punch to a coil that would make it jump (see photo sequence). Son M. commented that, as children chewed through the wire, it would soon become known as Jumping Child! For this to be commercially viable, the power would need to be self-contained -- or largely self-contained (say trickle-fed from an external power source).
Friday, February 5, 2010
DRC / URC (Non) Union
Our Church is culturally diverse. There has been some definite thinking behind this -- some theology. With this in mind, during the past year, I have attended several DRC (NGK) and several URC (VGK) Churches. They have it on their hearts to unite. Yet there is no cultural diversity there at all -- at least not in worship. They are culturally separate. In Bredasdorp, for instance, there are DRC and URC Churches four blocks apart, yet there is zero cultural mixing. A member of the DRC in Bredasdorp told me: "We had a few URC members in Church, but one could see they were awkward. They didn't come back." And so the DRC and URC hold united cycle tours, united braais (barbecues), united markets, and so on. Their aspiration is genuinely touching -- but personally, I think it will not work. It is not "the unity of faith". Firstly, there has to be the faith. Then, one needs the old, the young, the women, the men, the farmers, the labourers, to testify to their faith in various ways (prayer, witness, song introductions, and so on -- it does not always need to be overt testimony). Testimony, not to their (diverse) lives, but to their faith. Unfortunately, this would seem to be a foreign notion to both the DRC and the URC, as it is typically only the dominee who, well, dominates in those Churches. The photo shows the DRC in Bredasdorp (click on it to enlarge to 260k). The foundation stone was laid in 1911. See Hope And Strength for a photo of the nearby URC.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Wart Zapper
One of my more significant electronic designs (my hobby is electronic design) was a so-called Wart Zapper. It was published in various embodiments in various magazines, and has been put into production in various forms. So it is well attested. It was a revolutionary design, as it placed electronic wart removal (and since then, the treatment of certain infections, such as cold sores) in the hands of the public for the first time. This design (above right) is the very simplest that there is. It bombards warts with a miniscule current at high frequency. The most promising theory as to why this works is that wart cells begin to resonate, so disrupting the chemical processes at the cell boundaries. OBSERVATION: Note that the circuit uses the CMOS version of the 555 timer, not the standard NE555N. The 24V supply may be obtained with two small 12V key fob batteries in series. The dispersive electrode (marked DE) is a metal grip held in the hand. The active electrode (marked AE) is a sharp(ish) metal point which is used for direct contact with the wart. In both cases, a little moisturiser aids conduction. The Wart Zapper works best with small common warts. Usually, little or no pain is experienced when it is first applied, but after a certain period of painlessness, which varies from about half a minute to 3½ minutes, subjects suddenly feel a burning or even "spine-chilling" pain inside and under the wart. This pain only lasts about half a minute, then subsides. This is necessary for the removal of the wart, and needs to be "stuck out"! There are certain cautions and further notes (accompanying a more complicated design) at Circuit Exchange International.
NOTE: Regrettably, due to copyright agreements, this design has to stay on my blog. You are welcome to link to it, and may manufacture as many as you like.
NOTE: Regrettably, due to copyright agreements, this design has to stay on my blog. You are welcome to link to it, and may manufacture as many as you like.
DRC / NGK Stanford
I received an e-mail yesterday: "Your photographs are stunning. I just love the photos of the churches. There is nothing to beat the magnificent old buildings ..." To mark this e-mail, therefore, here is another Church. This is the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC, or NGK) in Stanford village, about 140km/90mi east of Cape Town. The foundation stone is dated 1926. Like many foundation stones of the 1920's, it is still inscribed in Dutch. Click to enlarge to about 80k.
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