Monday, July 23, 2012

Where Is Suuranys?


Many have expressed an interest where it was that my "other engagement celebration" took place. It was at a place called Suuranys, here marked with a red/yellow dot at the top of the satellite photo. The photo shows the northern wall of the Langkloof. The yellow line at the bottom traces the scenic Route 62, which traverses the Western and Eastern Cape. At bottom-right is the town Kareedouw (marked with an A). Jeffrey's Bay is a well known location off the right of this image. Then notice the thin line -- a spectacular dirt pass -- that climbs the "wall" from the hamlet Assegaaibos just to the right of Kareedouw. The name of the pass is also Suuranys.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

A Design Tested

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Every now and then, I stumble upon an electronic design of mine being tested on YouTube. Here is my (click here) Matchless Metal Locator being tested -- a six minute video, which I think is very nicely done. This design was published and went into production in Australia. The sound needs turning up a lot in this demonstration. The demonstrator rightly points out that the circuit needs regulation. OBSERVATION: The design was innovative, in that it greatly simplified IB design by replacing analog with digital circuitry.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

AFM Parow

I lost my way to Church this morning. Without intending to therefore, I attended the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM, or AGS) in Parow. The photo shows a prayer session at the end of the service. The pastor had six points. Here are the first three: 1. The Church is busy sleeping, in a lost world, 2. The Church is busy with the wrong things, when it should be busy with Him, and 3. Christians are busy with things of the flesh, when they should be desiring the Lord above everything. He said that Christians, wherever they may be, should really stop saying: "There's no hope for this Church," when God is "the God of faaaaaaar more!" (Eph 3:20). The pastor switched freely between English and Afrikaans. OBSERVATION: I did a professional measurement of the sound level in this Church (my latest hobby) -- more of this in a future post. You may click on the photo for VGA.
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NOTE: Soon after I posted it, the above inexplicably became South Africa's most popular blog post.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Hillsong Cape Town

Last night, I attended Hillsong Cape Town (see photo). Here are some impressions. The Church was very well attended, and very well organised -- to the extent, though, of seeming staged. The message, while it was "lite", was spiritually encouraging, and focused on the Lord. There was a strong emphasis on weekday activities, and on generous giving. The congregation was mostly White yuppie. The leaders, who often elicited responses from the congregation, were all non-South African. Having studied Church leadership, and having formed my own opinions as to what makes a Church work, Hillsong rated highly. Noise levels were extreme.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Woodlands Congregational

Here is another Church for my "Churches Gallery": Woodlands Congregational Church in the Tsitsikamma District. Woodlands is a village which lies some 600km/375mi east of Cape Town. Unfortunately I have no further information on this Church, although it is, as best I know, served as an "outstation" of Kruisfontein Congregational Church.

DRC Kareedouw [2]

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This is a photo of the Dutch Reformed Church Kareedouw. It has the typical "twin symmetry" of a Dutch Reformed Church. The Church was built from 1908-1909, and was extended from 1929-1930. In 1910, only eight houses surrounded the Church (see Remote Church as an example of where this policy failed). OBSERVATION: This is a combination of two wide-angle shots -- this Church is difficult to photograph due to its surrounding embankments. You may click on the photo to enlarge to 300k.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

DRC Kareedouw


I took this photo today of the "technical desk" in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) Kareedouw -- about 600km / 375mi east of Cape Town. The dominee (on the monitor, top left) preached on the inspirational or "infectious" example of elders in the Bible. Someone commented: "The message was good. But he stopped short of the vital." His singing was stunning -- in my experience, an unrivalled performance. Attendance was modest.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Dog's Breakfast


Some rural children had been eating breakfast with their hands. Afterwards, a dog (a hunting dog) licked them clean. I captured this earlier in the week with my Leica, in the early morning sun. You may click on the image to enlarge to 300k.