Good weekend. On Saturday, I went to Rapid Radio and bought an Alpine CDM-9821 cd head unit. Spent most of the afternoon/evening installing it. Very happy with it ... :-)
Rapid Radio were having a big sale, seeing as it's the end of the NZ financial year. I recommend them, they know what they're doing. They are probably a bit on the expensive side though ... nevertheless I think it's worth going there, cause I got some good advice.
On Sunday, J and I were on junior church, and we were looking after some 9 year olds, 3 girls and 6 boys.
That was pretty cool - we both enjoyed it. A couple of the boys were trouble-makers, well actually just one guy in particular. You have to get pretty stern with them to get any response.

what a morning. My car battery was flat this morning - the result of me playing around with my car stereo last night. I had to rewire the aerial to get the radio going, and tidy up some other stuff. Anyway, I went to leave for work - couldn't even get the starter to turn over.
I went and got the battery from J's car and attempted a jump start. Didn't work. J finally got out of the shower, worked out that I hadn't left yet, and helped me to shift her car next to mine, so we could try another jump start (properly this time, with her car running.) Still no go. We towed my car up to the road, and tried a push start. Nope. Towed it up a steeper side street, and tried a backwards roll start. Nope. A passing neighbour lent us his jumper leads (they looked to be of better quality than my cheapies), still didn't work.
Finally, had one more trip to the top of the street, and I tried a forward roll start. Popped it in 2nd, and "wow!" it worked!

So I was about an hour late to work today ... at least it was a beautiful fine sunny morning. The moral of the story is don't play with your new toys too much, unless you've got a big grunty battery.

It's a gorgeous day right now in Auckland. I was driving to work, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was a crisp 17 degree morning. For some reason, it's just lifted my mood, and it feels like everything is going well. It's strange how that happens, I'm sure we've had other good mornings this week, but today feels different.

RHC pull day, it was all good. For some reason it didn't seem that hard. Maybe because I'm not used to the exercises, so I don't try too hard. (Except for incline curls at 3 x 10 x 12.5kg - straight after standing curls, that was pretty hard).
Oh yeah, and S* had a record number of people in her Pump class (I showed up right at the end for the abs track and stretching). J missed me in there though, so I didn't even say goodbye before work. I better txt her.

Been reading NZ Mountain Biker magazine. I think it's part of my "needing a hobby" thing coming through ... I used to love mtb'ing about 10 years ago. Used to ride to uni.
And the other thing is rock-climbing, there's a wall just round the corner from work, but I don't have anyone to climb with.
what will i do???

**RHC log**
Bench 3 x 10 x 60kg
Incline 3 x 10 x 17.5kg each
Seated press 3 x 10 x 9kg each
Incline fly 3 x 10 x 12.5kg each
Side lat raise 3 x 10 x 6kg each
Close grip bench 3 x 10 x 40kg
**/RHC log**

Ok, it was a cardio day today. Persuaded J to get out of bed and go running but only because I was instructed to do so at the beginning of the week. She said, and I quote, "I want you to get me up and out of bed to go running, even if I want to sleep in ... "
I'm a lot smarter and I never issue any such blanket statements that might come back to pull me out of bed. In fact, I'm really lucky cause J takes pity on me when I'm sleeping in (she's such a softy) and just leaves me to it.

Still feeling the need for a hobby. Maybe rockclimbing at the indoor wall round the corner from work.

**boring diary-type post**

the weekend was all good. Friday night, went and watched Bad Boys II, (was ok, i like the car chase with the ferrari). Otherwise, average sort of movie - wouldn't really recommend it.
Saturday, helped move furniture and stuff for some friends and family. Good to see them though ... and it's nice to be helpful once in a while ... :-)

legs day again this morning, was in a bit of a rush cause got up late etc etc ... still, i'm going to persevere with the RHC schedule.

Oh and must remember to research the feast of the passover ... J & I are doing junior church this week, and that's the theme.

**/boring diary-type post**

yay for friday. it was the RHC pull day today. Widegrip pull downs, seated cable row, bent over rows, upright rows, incline dumbell curls. Plus the ever-present cardio.
This new program means I won't be going to Pump for a while ... which means on Friday, no classes with S*. Probably a good thing. (S* is a small blonde instructor who is not unattractive, shall we say).
(Best to be diplomatic here, seeing as J reads this ...)
J, you far surpass all other women in beauty and grace, and your elegance is without equal...
(there we go, nicely covered ... )

I went to the Impact World Tour strong man show last night. It was ok. On the plus side, you got to see "fat men breaking concrete tiles," some people snapping baseball bats, ripping phone books, bending iron bars, and there was a nicely integrated gospel message worked into the whole thing as well. On the minus side, it was too loud, there was too much hype (how many times can one guy say, "Auckland, make some noise!") and I'm too old for this sort of thing. The whole vibe for the performance part was on getting the crowd excited and shouting and screaming. However, I think people automatically shut up and hold their breath when something big is about to happen ... you know ... there's a hushed anticipation as we wait to see whether the next guy will knock himself out when breaking the tiles with his forehead.

It was good to go out with the guys though ... haven't done that in a while. Lotsafun :-)

My legs are still a bit sore and stiff ... well, that's what you get for neglecting them for so long, and then hammering them without warning. On today's menu was the upper body "push" workout. 4 sets of 15 for: Benchpress (40kg), incline dumbbell (2 x 12.5kg), seated dumbbell (2 x 6kg), dips, and skullcrushers (lying french press - 17.5kg). Plus 20min of cardio.

It didn't hurt as much as legs ... perhaps because I'm more accustomed to upper body workouts from doing Pump for so long. It's a similar thing so far, lighter weights and high reps.

I'm still amped on the RHC - it must be the novelty value.

Re: RHC - yesterday was legs day, it involved 6 different leg exercises. As a result, I am having difficulty walking today ... even sitting down involves taking my time and being careful. Beware the squats, they hammer your glutes ... 4 sets of 15 ... ouch ...

the Word for Today was about the Canaanite woman who went to see Jesus to ask him to heal her daughter.

"First, Jesus refused to answer her. Next, He said, "What I have is only for the Jews." Finally, He said, "It wouldn't be right to give the children's bread to dogs." But she refused to be shut down, put off or discouraged. Listen to her: "Have mercy on me." She's not asking for what she deserves, she's crying out for what she needs. As a result Jesus broke every precedent, removed every obstacle and answered her prayer. And if you'll persist, He'll do the same for you too!"

I think if I was her, and Jesus said "it wouldn't be right to give the children's bread to dogs" I might have got upset that I was being called a dog ... and just walked out. And been bitter for the rest of my life, that the so-called Saviour was a Jewish elitist with no time for Canaanites.
But then maybe my need would have been so great that it would have broken down all my "self-respect" and pride, and I would have been so humble as to say "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." I don't know what I would have done ... it's amazing, the number of challenges that Jesus gave people ... Nicodemus, the rich young ruler, Zaccheus, the woman at the well ... they were all challenged in one way or another. What if it had been Matt the Canaanite ... something to ponder anyway ...

I've kinda started on the Rock Hard Challenge (see bulletin boards on Muscle and Fitness website).
It's a 3 month gym program, I don't know if I'll stick to it yet, because I haven't committed in my mind to the one program for 3 months. I may mix it up with other stuff.
Here's month 1
However, it has novelty value, and that's worth a lot when it comes to gym stuff. Things do become a bit boring after a while - same old pump, same old run, same old this and that.

I'm feeling torn. And it's all due to my web-counter (you know, thing that tells you how many people have read your webpage).

On the one hand, it's strangely gratifying to see that people are taking the time to read your blog (or at least visit the page). Almost makes it feel worthwhile and not-a-waste-of-time. It makes me want to write more, to keep fresh material up there for the audience. I'm a slave to acceptance. Go the counter.

On the other hand, I feel that perhaps I write too much rubbish and not enough of substance. There are sooo many better pages out there, so many more expressions of wonder and joy and emotion and feeling. My words just don't cut it sometimes. I'm a slave to inadequacy. Ignore the counter.

It was an epic weekend. Jeff & Karina got married on Saturday capping off a year of marriages for the two families. As I hinted at before, I am now related to a family that I already know well.
This is not to be entirely unexpected, for the church community that we grew up in is very tight, and it's more often than not that two of the young people that grew up there eventually marry each other.
I guess that's how it used to be in the old days, when people lived in villages or towns. Weddings were probably much more of a community affair back then. Nowadays, it's usually a two family + random friends thing ...

Anyhow, Jeff is married, Mum & Dad will have to get used to another empty bed in the nest, and we all take a deep breath and think "how time flies". Jeff my little bro who used to believe my every lie (apparently I told him all sorts of fibs when we were young) ... junior tennis champ ... soccer star ... the guy who used to sit in the back seat and comment when i went over 50km/hr when i was learning to drive ... who pretty much threw himself head first over the big tabletop at Turoa ... is now starting his own family.

All the best, mate.
(PS. now my shoulder is recovering, we will have to schedule the next press-up/arm-wrestle challenge ...)

**Start ramble**
All right. Apologies are in order. I hereby apologise for the rather tired, jaded, sleep-deprived, disfunctional state of four Aucklanders this morning ...

In the meantime I shall make mental notes along the lines of "I will not go out later than 10pm on a school night ..."

I went round to see Steve last night, and it was all good - the reminiscing, and just general random conversation. Just kindof stayed too long. Must go for more of a endurance program in future, more often for a lesser time (like more reps with lighter weights). Wow, I'm finding gym analogies for things now. Maybe I think about the gym too much.
**End ramble**

I'm trying to get a grip on how to construct my next post. However, in the meantime, check out deviantArt. So much cool art ...

ok, well, pursuing this philosophy thing for a bit: What is truth?

I wish I had something useful to write here, but I don't. Every time I look at a philosophical discussion on the web eg Hot Abercrombie Chick or some such thing (in fact I even found possibly the only philosophical discussion on the GTP Gran Turismo Forums), there is usually a reference to this guy Immanuel Kant.
From what I gather, he was a 18th century philosopher, who made some sort of statements about logic, metaphysics, and some other stuff.

"Kant supposed that the appearance of the external world depends in some measure upon the position and movement of its observers."

"Kant's most original contribution to philosophy is his "Copernican Revolution," that, as he puts it, it is the representation that makes the object possible rather than the object that makes the representation possible. This introduced the human mind as an active originator of experience rather than just a passive recipient of perception."

I think what he was saying is that knowledge depends to some extent on the human mind, not just on observations and reasoning.

All I know is that my head hurts when I start reading this sort of stuff.

In the words of Forrest, I guess that's all I have to say about that. For now.

i spent some time today reviewing some old emails in my hotmail account.
There was some junk in there like old birthday invitations from 2 years back, but also some stuff from people I haven't seen for years. I don't know how you'd classify them - I think of them as my friends, but I haven't seen some of them for 4 years or so. Some of them I haven't emailed in probably a year or so.
However, I'd like to think that maybe when circumstances allow it, I'll be able to meet up with them and it'll be like old times. I know in reality people move on, times change, relationships change, heck, everything is constantly changing. But even so ... maybe when J & I go on a big world trip we'll be able to stop in and see Claude in San Francisco, Suzy in Jackson Hole, Phil in Denver, Sarah & Elizabeth in Minneapolis, Mark in Sweden, Craig in London, Paul in Europe somewhere, Graham in East Timor, Vanessa & Vinni in Zurich. (Sorry if I missed anyone out ...)
And talk and laugh about the old times, and then all the new stuff that's happened ... yeah, that would be cool.

I guess that's nostalgia for you.

Ok, pop quiz. Or rather, pop IQ test:

The Classic IQ Test (by Tickle)

You have to go and do the usual sign up stuff (it's an emode test). It's only 2 pages long, about 40 questions and will take about 15 minutes.

Here's what it told me:
Your IQ score is 138

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns. And that's just some of what we know about you from your IQ results.

Ah, the start of another week. Like a new day dawning.

Actually, no, it's not that flash. In fact, I'm tired already, and I'm struggling for motivation to chug through another day. Work is ... shall we say, not exactly the most exciting thing in the world.

Nevertheless, this IS an exciting week for on Saturday, my bro is getting married.

And just to relate a small story about the significance of this:
A year or so ago, I was trying to install a boost gauge in my car. So i go down to Repco, and talk to this guy there, his name is Glen. Little do I know that I will end up related to him ...
Y'see, Jeff my bro will marry Karina who is Royce's sister, and Royce (who is coincidentally my very good friend) is married to Ange, and Ange is the sister of Glen.
So that makes Glen my brother's wife's brother's wife's brother.
Or, my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's brother. In turn, I am his brother-in-law's brother-in-law's brother. How cool is that.