And the Heavens Opened

Reading through this month's National Geographic Magazine, I came across an article where some scientists have depicted that around some 56million years ago the epochs changed from the Paleocene to Eocene Epoch brought about by a massive and geologically sudden release of carbon, which gave caused life to prosper. According to the article, "it brought on droughts, floods, insect plagues and a few extinctions."some point in the earth's history, a large amount of carbon was released around the earth. Paleoceanographer James Zachos holds a replica sediment core depicting a an abrupt change in the Atlantic Ocean 56 million yrs ago.

This abrupt change could well have been written about in the bible. I believe that the epochical timelines are squashed together and happened far more quickly than scientists want us to believe. During the flood, the earth changed in more than one aspect. The old earth was no more. instead, was an earth with more seas, more rivers, more mountains and more lakes. The forces unleashed in the depths by the water pressure would have shifted the plates around, like crashing India into Asia and creating the Himalayas, for example. An earth with more species of animals and insects. The old predators are gone. Not saved on the ark. God started afresh.

Genesis 7 v11 says "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened."

The deeps opened up releasing methane and water - hydrogen & oxygen. The heavens opened up, releasing more water.

After the flood, the animals released from the ark, prospered in the wetter climes. Insects increased. Large older predators like dinosaurs and woolly mammoths became extinct. More methane is produced. The earth warmed up globally, for 150,000 years as per the Nat Geo article before the atmosphere was able to control the temperature and balance out the gases again.

The article goes on to depict that the earth is close to experiencing the same levels again through our use of burning fossil fuels. We know what's happening next, when we read Revelation 21!

Manhole Covers

Holes ae appearing apparently all over North Warwickshire as manhole covers are being stolen from off the roads.
It is supposedly the latest trend around these parts to sell metal for its scrap value because of the high prices they can get for it when selling to countries like china etc.
Just wait for the first serious accident / death and then the idiots will realise how stupid they really are.
Well, perhaps they won't because they are the same sort of people who steal copper from live railway lines etc.
Perhaps they'll end up in jail where they can try and steal the bars to sell for scrap instead.

World Food Crisis

Greed is the only answer why there is a sudden food crisis, and the whole culture of thinking about global warming. Conventional sources of fuel, coal, oil are beginning to diminish and people are no longer willing to invest so much in them, because of the whole lecturing about the damage such fossil fuels contribute to tbe global warming crisis, so now biofuels are suddenly on the increase, taking over from wheat and rice as the most preferred crop to grow because it brings in far more reward for the farmers than foodcrops.

Biofuels are the future, but to what extent the effect they have on food shortages and price rises in the world. I was reading Der Spiegel online (www.spiegel.de) where there is a brilliant and comprehensive article today about investors trading in food futures markets and driving up prices of crops at the end of the harvest time before the harvest is even ready. Then they are now making huge profits (93% on wheat prices) which in turn are attracting more investors and to hell with the consequences.

Who cares about real crops and real people who can no longer afford basic foodstuffs such as rice or wheat because people in plush offices are playing gambling games on their super-cool laptops and looking at figures around the world as if it were simply a game to bet upon and to try and gain as much profit as they can. Quote "Capitalism is lterally consuming itself". Quote "Many investors either don't care or are simply oblivious to the fact that by investing in the global casino, they could be gambling away the daily food supply of the world's poorest people." Guys. We need to pray. We need to pray for the world. Not for this crisis to disappear for it is predicted in the Bible; so much as pray for salvation, for endurance, for love to shine through to help those in need, and mostly for us to be in a position to help where we can, for only then will this crisis lessen the effects on the people of the world.

Ich lebe noch!!

Yes I am still alive. I know it's months since I last wrote anything on here. My mind has been a little blank recently and the creativejuices haven't been flowing all that well.
What's new?
Well, reading through Genesis and James. Some interesting stuff on Genesis 3 Cain and Abel, which I'll share with you when I get round to putting it into English!

For something completely off-the-wall and for those who like puzzles and quizzes and sole-its, a good puzzle currently running is on the bbc/torchwood website where you have to solve clues in order to get through the stages in the mission. It's fun as long as you don't take it all serious!!

Wow. Two months

Wow, time flies. It's been ages since I lasted posted something of worth on here. I could blame busyness, laziness, but in reality I suppose I have been a bit dry in terms of putting my thoughts and feelings into writing.
This period has seen me get better and finally am able to start work again next week, after more than a year off. Yeah, I know. A long long holiday. Humpf!
Will keep you posted as to how it goes after next week. Look forward to more comments about the care, or lack of it, for the elderly. There have been some revealing news stories lately. I could comment on them now, but quite frankly I'm tired, so I'll do it later.

Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown went to Gloucester
In a Week of Rain
He stepped in a puddle right over his middle
and never went there again

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain

First we had a 3 week dry spell in April, now we have a 3 week monsoon in July. Which is better? Dry, cracked ground, or floods?
The rain is a time of renewing. Rivers flooded into roads, streets, houses, buildings. Structure is being shaken. People are having to think outside of the box. Communities are rewakened, people adapting to assisting one another out of danger, and with common difficulties. It's time. New life will come after the rains. New infrastructure, new buildings, new pathways and roads, new bridges and a new look to the river banks. It's a time for contemplating that which is important. Are your posessions able to withstand the torrents of water? Is your community able to withstand the crisis together and able to come out of it stronger? Which is more important. The things of this world will rot and pass away, but life will continue, stronger in the Lord.
Are we to be like Job and sit around moaning at his lot, or are we to be like Paul, who gets up, brushes the dust and blood from his cloak and carries on with what he was doing before being punished?
We need to build life together, community in community, help those who need help as much as we can, for there you will find life and satisfaction, otherwise, sit at your window, looking at the rising waters, seeing your jaguar float away, a bit of flotsam in the current and hold onto your precious things so they can be lifted higher than the waters, but stop and think. What do I save first? Which item do I have is more important than another?
I am high and dry and proud, but my neighbour is suffering, drowning, starving, thirsty. What do I say when I see them next, over the fence on the next hot, dry day? Do I see their suffering? Can I have helped? Shared? Whatever little you can do is like a miracle to someone else.

Tie Fighter for real

We have all seen the starwars movies and the Tie fighters, the small one man craft of the empire who race around trying to eliminate the heroes. Now though, I have proof that they actually exist!
Take a look at the following video clip from Nasa. During the last minute of the clip you can clearly see one hovering in space not too far away from the space shuttle Atlantis and this was filmed during their latest mission.
Intriguing.....

Friday Nights

I was somehow sidelined into this thought this morning, during a reflective time with God. Why are Friday nights and Saturday nights almost always associated with partying, letting one's hair down, getting drunk, having a good time, going out, meeting mates, going clubbing etc?
Is it really because it is the weekend? or is there something else? Something spiritual?
Satan, was a fallen angel. He was once known as Lucifer. He was the head of worship. He was worship. He loved to worship God. He loved to worship for worshipping. He began to worship himself and this led to his downfall and to the whole realm of sin and seperation from God.
God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest and also a day of celebration, a day of worship dedicated to God for who he is and what he has done for us. The Israelites and the Jews celebrate the Sabbath from twilight of Friday through to twilight of Saturday.
We brits and the rest of the world consider our Sabbath to be on a Sunday. That is the day we set apart specifically, historically and traditionally as the day for worship and celebration. Yet this leaves the gap. The original Sabbath and its spiritual connotations were regarded highly by God and by his ordained rules. These still apply, but now the fallen Lucifer has taken over the 'gap' in our lives. The worship is still there, the celebration is still ringing around the world, but it's not to God, but to the devil and to carnal desires. Music, love, lust, drunkeness, debauchery, orgies, violence, anger, hatred are all prevalent when people lose self control. The heady mix of alcohol, laughter and drugs makes for an interesting evening of escapism, which is becoming increasingly popular in our culture today. It's the devils scheme for making people worship themselves and him. Little do they know that when they are set out to have a good time, do they fall under the spell of the deceiver.
Satan still wants people to continue the sabbatical pattern of worship, but to worship anything else but God, the father and creator, as he originally ordained.
Next time you go out to have a good time, think of the reasons as to why, and then think how you can change that why to be more effective for God.

Have we really come so far?

Reports this week in the papers regarding the care (or rather the lack of care) of patients with Alzheimers in some hospital wards where they are being treated. There is apparently very little scope for enhancement or collusion towards making these patients lives that much better. Some have not been out of the ward for more than six years. There are no facilities for exercise or even for walking around a garden. There are no activities for these people to put their minds to. So what is left but a miserable existence where the only highlight of their days are the meals and going back to bed again. It rather reminds of the dark old days of the mental home institutes where people were placed there simply because society didn't know what else to do with them and how to treat them. Nowadays there are guidelines and locksmiths and specific programmes to enable alzheimer's sufferers to improve or become that much more independent and to actually enjoy life, even if it means being wheeled around a garden in the sunshine.
What it comes down to is basic budget and priorities. Society still hold out as a general rule that alzheimers sufferers can no longer contribute to the community, are no longer needed to, should be placed somewhere out of sight and therefore out of mind, left to dwell in the confused memories of their lives until they die, but without much help from anyone else because it is too painful to care, to embarrasing to care, to expensive to care, too time consuming to care and too emotionally draining to care.
Therefore whatever care they get is given under minimum budget, to cover the basic necessities of living without giving life and enjoyment.
As the elderly population increases and the fact that there'll be more alzheimers sufferers in the future, we need to start thinking now of how society can help those sufferers in the future to have a life and enjoy it as well as they can, else we once again see the desperate and detestable places the mental institutions of old were.
We are in danger of repeating the mistakes of our ancestors when we believe we are in a society that has moved on, become more advanced and knowledgeable, yet we only attend to those who shout the loudest.

Young at Heart

Young at Heart: Germany's First Playground for Seniors - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
Imagine a playground in the middle of the park. One on which there are signs clearly indicating that this should not be used by those aged under 55. You'd think it strange, wouldn't you? Well, this latest idea has popped up in Germany. A playground for the elderly, where they can use several of the fixed features for gentle exercise and limb movement. It all goes to help those who find it difficult to exercise and who cannot compete with the pressures or prices of a gym. So now they can waltz down to the park and play in the playground, while the kids nominally should simply look on and then they can feel well enough to walk back home (hopefully). Only later during the twilight hours do the kids dare venture onto this new phenomenon.
I think its amazing idea and should be adapted and adopted in Britain. Only just dont let the elderly people have any black markers. Who knows what graffiti may appear on the apparatus!!

We need to pray

Panorama will show this this week. These guys are serious yet have got everything wrong. We need to pray for these people that they will see the true light.

BBC NEWS World Americas Row over Scientology video

A Sign, anything for a sign!

We need signs to show us the way, so when there isn't one, we tend to follow the path which many tread, even though it may perhaps be wrong. This path will look well worn, wide, inviting, yet could be a roadway, a railway track, a path which leads to the edge of a precipice, or the path which leads to temptation and sorrow of the soul, even though outwardly it may seem to be a party.
Follow the crowd, dodge the traffic, avoid the crevices, keep a parachute on incase you tumble over the precipice, keep a morning after pill with you and a block of strong coffee.
or...
find the narrow gate, with its weeds and its winding ways, a longer, challenging path, yet safe from the pitfalls and the dangers. Use this path for guaranteed safety even though it may not seem outwardly like a party and though there are not many others you can meet along the way, this path will lead you home to a joyous welcome and the savings from the hospital bill you can use for the benefit of others, who may not be as fortunate as yourself.

Of course, a sign would suffice to find the narrow gate, but would you read it anyway?

Friday 13th phobia

I have been reading Esther and in the book is the account of the start of Purim which is celebrated on 13th & 14th days of the month of Adar (which is roughly in March in our calendar).
On the 13th day there was issued an edict to destroy all the jews, which the Persian King then turned around to declare that the day could be used so that the Jews could destroy all of their enemies and get away with it, without being prosecuted and brought to account before the King.
Checking out the origins of friday 13th phobia, there is a large degree of uncertainty as to how the phobia started, with many references being presented in greek literature and perhaps earlier than that, and the fact that many nations where Jews resided in history, i.e. germany, spain, etc have the same stories and phobia.
The jews celebrate Purim with noisebangers and 'graggers' which were used to scare of Haman and his sons; to rid themselves of the spirits of their enemies, who had plotted against them.
Therefore, it being on the 13th of the month, I think this has transferred itself into our culture, either as a way of being scared, or having a phobia of the Jews being able to attack and kill their enemies or by the Jews being afraid of their enemies about to attack them. I think the former is more likely.
So other cultures developed this fear that the 13th would bring them bad luck because the Jews were in control, could rout their enemies and save their land and their peoples and boy, the devil hates it, so he has turned it around to become associated with horror and occult and phobias, a fear where things can or may go wrong simply for getting out of bed on such a day.
The Jews celebrate freedom whilst the rest of the world trembles in fear and trepidation.
Well, the rest of the world ain't seen nothin' yet !!!

Annoying

I was looking forward to writing something good today and as I lay awake at 01.30 thinking about what I was going to write it all seemed clear. Now some 7 hours later when I get a chance to sit here and write, I can't think what it was!!!

Ha! Never mind. Try later.

The Goldilocks Zone - Part 1

We are living in the "Goldilocks" zone. A zone which, according to leading scientists, is where temperatures for life and habitats are 'just right'. Not too hot neither too cold, but just right, so that water remains a liquid over most of the planet and there is life and vegetation.
Astronomers are interested in another similar planet, near the star Gilese 381, in the Libra constellation, where so far they have identified 3 planets, but only one they surmise is inhabitable and would have liquid water on the surface because they indicate that the planet lies with in the "Goldilocks Zone" of the star, so that its heat, albeit much depleted than that of our own sun, is able to produce temperatures on the planet where it is not too hot, nor too cold, but could be just right. They further surmise that there could well be alien lifeforms living on this planet. Of course, everyone is just guessing because it is 20.5 lightyears away.
I believe God created the earth first and then created the solar system and the surrounding stars and galaxies which dazzle us and which we all dream about. God made them because he wanted to see the delight in our faces at his handiwork..
Part two on myspace blog....

Tagging Dementia Sufferers

BBC NEWS UK Tag dementia sufferers - minister

I think largely this depends on how advanced people with dementia are suffering because someone may give consent at one moment and then 'forget' all about that consent and will wonder why they are wearing a strange bracelet, tag or otherwise, which they would then try to remove.
Also, if this tagging device gives a clear signal as to the whereabouts of a particular person, the member monitoring the device would need to be proactive.
They may detect that the dementia sufferer is making their way to the local shops or the pub, but how are they making their way there?
Are they dressed correctly and decently?
Have they got shoes on?
Have they got the right clothing on for the right weather?
Do they have money?
Do they carry too much money, openly displayed?
What time of day is it?
Some people can attempt to go out at any time of day, 'looking for home' (where they lived 30 - 40 years ago), or looking for their family members (who may be living in the USA or elsewhere)
or want to go to the shops but head off in the wrong direction,
or cross a busy road without the aid of a safe crossing point.
There are a 1001 different scenarios to play with here!
How long will the monitor give the sufferer before they intervene?
If this is about rights of freedom for the sufferer, at what point should we intervene?
When the tag displays it has stopped in the middle of the street for 10 mins, 1 hour or 30 secs?

As the article in the link above states: Is tagging just for our convenience or theirs?
We appear not to have the resources available to closely monitor by being physically present with a sufferer any longer.
We allow a sufferer to wander, but cannot detect what they are doing which may place themselves in danger with electricity, fire, traffic, yobbos or anything else which they may not be particularly aware of.
A tag is fine for a temporary period of time but should never replace actual physical care!

David and other people's names

Have you ever wondered that if some of the main characters in the Bible were so great and popular, why the Israelites didn't name their sons after them until much later.
If you check out some genealogical lines such as in Nehemiah or Ezra, Numbers or Matthew, you don't find another man named David or Moses or Abraham or Isaac.
Was this out of reverence for their greatness, parhaps?
or were these names their anglicised or they were known as other names originally, and because they are great, their names were altered to distinguish them from other Israelites during their times or even during the writing of the Bible, so that their uniqueness is more pronounced.
Interesting to find out.

Ezra's Gold & Silver

I am currently reading through Ezra and the amazing permission given for him and his fellow Israelites to be granted freedom to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple there. Not only could they go, but they were given gifts of silver and gold too. My NIV account mentions that there was the equivalent of 22 tonnes of silver and 3.5 tonnes of Gold given. Checking today's silver and gold market prices I worked out that they were given more than £93,000,000 worth. A phenomenal gift.
Then I wondered how would they transport the 25.5 tonnes of heavy metal for the 1000km from Babylon to Jerusalem. If they packed it on to donkeys, which could perhaps comfortably carry 50kg and possibly 100kg at a push, then they would need some 480 donkeys for the task of carrying the silver and gold, let alone all of the other paraphernalia they would take with them.
Ezra's group would have numbered between 8 - 10,000 depending on the number of women and children present. At that time, a veritable city of people crunching along the desert sands.
They took almost exactly four months to achieve the journey.

Babylon the Great

Checking out the modern day location for Babylon on Google Earth led me to a surprising discovery. I typed in Babylon in the search section and almost 40 locations popped up in one small area of earth. No, not the place in Mesopatamia between the river Tigris and the Euphrates. In fact that place didn't pop up at all. It seems that archeological features are not so prevalent on Google Earth.
No. All of the 40 or so spots were placed around the land between the two rivers, (well three perhaps,) the Hudson, the East and the Raritan rivers which pass through and around New York.
I've read many articles where people comment that the Babylon the Great mentioned in Revelation is linked in some way to New York and now even Google Earth confirms many places where the name of Babylon is prevalent within the city limits. Perhaps the correlation is stronger than we think.
The modern day city of Al Hillah lies within a couple of km from the ruins of the old city of Babylon in Iraq, a city perhaps with a deeper history and its territories marked with the battle scars of millenia, where even today, we know of fighting and battles going on between factions within Iraq and the armies of the world "pretending" to be there in the name of peace.
I wonder whose leader is more dangerous?