Cleo – aka “Funny You Should Ask” – and Waldo … our two Tennessee Walking Horses.

More pictures on Flickr hat noch mehr Bilder.

In his column on the BBC website, Zimbabwean filmmaker and columnist Farai Sevenzo sums up his experience at the Worldcup in South Africa and what this event meant for South Africa:

For the first time, the South Africans kept telling me, all South Africans have come together, people are conversing across colour divisions, we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved.

Everyone, it seems, had raised their game – from the police to the broadcasters to the boys and girls from advertising.

“Feel it,” said the state broadcaster, “it is here.”

And feel it we did.

Congratulations and Thank You to South Africa for a successful and enthusiastic event. When Germany hosted the 2006 Worldcup, it felt good to to hear people from all over the world say they felt welcome in Germany. I think this shared experience helped pull the country together and grow a new, self confident, peaceful patriotism that promotes peace and understanding internally AND externally.

I hope that the shared experience of hosting the 2010 Worldcup will have similar long-term effects on South Africa. In such a fractured country it may really make a big difference to boost national self confidence by hosting a big, international event. Clearly, this won’t solve any of the country’s pressing problems, but I hope that such a shared experience may help people to start taking down some barriers (and razor wire) and help strengthen a national identity. We will see.

Personally, this was the best Worldcup I remember watching – just looking at the quality of football played. Not all was glorious, but the good stuff was fantastic. Despite the loss, I think that the Germany – Spain game was the best match I ever watched. And most Germany matches were quite awesome to watch (not that I am biased, or anything). That team has a great future!

My second-favorite team – Ghana – also played really well and they were just unlucky in the Uruguay game. Man – what drama. There was so much drama in this Worldcup – game-drama – crazy goals, last-second-goals, dramatic referee decisions, lots of emotion, and a well-deserving, first-time champion.

Congratulations, España! Wonderful performance – beautiful football.

See you in 2 years …

Saturday we finished building the pasture fence. Wow … what a slog! We started working on this project 4 weeks ago. I rented a Bobcat and built a 200 foot/70 meter driveway through the woods up the hill to the top of the pasture. There, we installed a 14-foot/3.5 Meter gate and then we built a 1200 foot/400 meter pasture fence (see photo).

We set 76 posts  (6-inch posts in the corners and at the terminations and 4-inch line posts) and strung 5 lines of coated, high-tensile conductive wire.

For the post holes I used the Bobcat with an auger attachment and an 8-inch auger bit. We have red and brown clay with plenty of rocks in some places. So the Bobcat S175 with the  auger was the right choice.  It still took 2 days to auger all the post holes. And rocks kicked my butt in some places.

In the top South-Eastern corner, the brace post was a real problem. When I tried to auger it in the measured place I got nowhere. I moved it over a foot, and hit another rock about a foot deep. I ended up hand digging this one and I pulled out a water-melon-sized rock and another, smaller one 3 feet deep. But I got the post-hole to 4 feet and cemented it and it’s good now.

So next we need to build the shelter for the horses, clean up the brush around the pasture and we’re ready for our horses. Yes – plural … we bought another horse today …

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday was the second day at over 100 deg. F here in Durham. At RDU airport a heat record for that day was recorded at 102 °F / 38 °C.

Great week for building a pasture fence …

wieder in Halfinale … ist es vorbei. Bravo für Jogi’s Jungs – was für eine Weltmeisterschaft! Toller Spaßfußball! Aber Spanien war einfach zu gut.

Congratulations to Spain. See you in two years. Again.

Frau Angie got her way in the end – the longest session of the German Federal Assembly finally elected her faithful party soldier Christian Wulff to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The opposition candidate Joachim Gauck, a civil rights activist in Stalinist East Germany, made a respectable showing, but the refusal of the Linke Party – successor to the … Stalinist SED state party of former East Germany, prevented him from upending the candidate of the center-right coalition’s loyalist candidate.

This longest session ever was a real loose-loose scenario … Merkel’s regime looks weak, the opposition looks fractured, and the Linke  party looks like jerks. Way to go. Good luck Herr Wulff.

Here are more pictures of our new, 9-year-old Tennessee Walker “Funny You Should Ask” aka “Cleo” Click on the picture for a larger version.

Cleo the weekend after we bought her. She has turned out to be a very intelligent, talented and willing horse.

More pictures below …

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes – undeniably England was robbed yesterday. Of one goal. Not of a game, probably.  But it was also an amazing, fateful decision that brought back football history and the moment when Germany was robbed. Not just a goal, but possibly the title, at Wembley stadium in 1966 at the Worldcup final when a goal was counted for England that was not one. So we’re even now!?

Jorge Larrionda’s mistake in yesterday’s game, as well as several other dramatic mistakes by other refs, like Tevez’ offsides goal in the Argentina – Mexico game, have helped reignite the discussion about technological aids for football referees to help make such decisions. The fundamental problem why  FIFA won’t even entertain the idea seems to be Blatter’s ignorance of the technology. I think after this Worldcup FIFA needs to talk to its top referees and make serious efforts evaluating and testing some of the available solutions. It seems there are some solutions that can help referees make such critical decisions and avoid making the game look anachronistic and foolish.

The amount of technology wielded to observe these games has vastly outpaced the tools the refs have to make their decisions. It is absurd that the players can point to a replay on the stadium screen that shows the player who just scored clearly offsides, and the ref has no clear procedure to reconsider his decision to let the goal stand. I’d really like to hear Larrionda’s opinion and whether he would have liked to have a way to quickly check an electronic device to verify his decision about England’s goal. I think it is important to get the refs input and buy-in on any new tools. But Blatter’s luddism is really not helpful.

[UPDATE 6/29: Blatter says he is now willing to discuss goal-line technology. ]

… is the name of the 9-year-old, blue roan mare we bought yesterday.

"Funny You Should Ask" aka Cleo

Her stable name is “Cleo” and she is a registered Tennessee Walking Horse, which is a peculiar, uniquely American breed. She is a very gentle, curious soul with an impressive pedigree.

We had planned to start building the fence yesterday, but there was a 1-inch downpour in the morning that turned the unfinished driveway into a muddy mess which made it near impossible to get any of the fence material and equipment to the pasture. Everything was soaked, and more rain was in the forecast, so we said, “let’s get the horse”! We called this guy in Selma, NC who rents horse trailers for $65/day and he said that we could have it if we get there by noon. That was at 10:30 and it’s an hour’s drive! So we grabbed the kids, ran to the bank and got the money for the horse and drove to Selma. We got there at noon, hooked up the trailer and continued to New Bern. Right before New Bern we had to drive through this furious thunderstorm with blinding rain and massive lightning.

Read the rest of this entry »

Three days of football fun so far. I watched the opener, USA game and the Germany game at Dain’s Place and the Ghana game at home. I wore my South Africa shirt for the opener and Gloria (Dain’s cook) almost killed me!  Dain had to wear a Mexico shirt just to avoid having the kitchen staff go loco (there were quite a few SA supporters in the bar). However, Gloria did serve up her famous enchiladas, and since there was no biltong, I had enchiladas with mole sauce at halftime.

The Place was packed for the USA game and Jacob and I squeezed in to watch and have a drink. What fun! And what a game! Whenever they showed Botox-Beckham, the Place erupted in jeers.

There were few Krautheimers around for the Germany-Australia game, too. So. Much. Fun.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any German Nat’l team have so much fun at a Worldcup game. They are talented and disciplined and they seemed relaxed and ready to take on the world! Argentina watch out!

Today was the hottest day this year, so far: 96 Deg. F / 35 Deg. C and max humidity at 90%. Summer has begun in Durham!

If you have ever traveled or lived in a tropical country, you can appreciate the value of a fridge there – especially in rural areas with no access to the electrical grid. There is nothing quite like getting a cold drink from the only refrigerator within miles on a scorching hot day. However, beyond cold beers or sodas, without refrigeration, perishable foods – especially meat – are often kept in unsanitary conditions. Also many important medicines, for example vaccines, require refrigeration. So this is also a public health issue. This is a need that’s addressed by an interesting German-Swazi project:

Swaziland is one of the poorest and most rural nations in the world. Most of the villages have no running water, electricity, or refrigerators. But a new innovation is serving to make life a lot more manageable for rural families in Swaziland. The communal building in many of the villages now has a solar powered fridge. See how these responsible refrigerators are impacting many African villages.

Many of Swaziland’s villages can now enjoy cold milk and fresh meat thanks to solar powered refrigerators being installed in their villages. In a country where 1/3 of the entire population has no work to speak of and many families are suffering, this is a bigger deal than it may seem. In fact, the manufacturing of these fridges could also bring jobs and modernization to the area. These fridges are also eco-friendly and do not use the chlorofluorocarbons that are known to deplete the ozone. This is the first project of its kind in Swaziland and Africa as a whole. The program is funded by the International Climate Initiative.

From DW TV via Treehugger

Although Memorial Day is a a bit of a somber holiday, to most Americans the long weekend at the end of May is less about death and patriotism and more about celebrating the beginning of summer; about cookouts, parties, fishing trips and other family fun.

For us, last weekend was all bout bonding with our new land and with our pond in particular. We made a fire pit at the edge of the pond, set up some lawn chairs, got a couple of cheap fishing rods and spent most of the weekend, fishing in the pond (unsuccessfully) grilling hot dogs and drinking beers in our newly expanded back yard. We also got a tiny inflatable boat and took turns cruising the pond.

Curiously, the turtle that lives in the pond exhibited quite an interest in what we were doing. If the kids don’t make too much noise, the turtle seems quite at ease with our presence, and when you’re just quietly standing at the edge of the pond (fishing, for example) s/he will occasionally swim over and see what you’re doing.

I had another interesting encounter with local wildlife when I explored the woods next to the pond. I went to collect some rocks for stepping stones across the spillway, when I found a 2-foot copperhead snake.

So now we’re now wondering whether there are any big fish in the pond – there certainly are lots of tiny fish. But even though we did not catch any fish we had a great time trying, and relaxing at the pond, grilling hot dogs over the campfire with the kids and exploring the woods around it.

This evening, Laura tried out her new waders in the pond, and as she was poking around the edge of the pond she met the pond’s resident turtle: a 10-inch yellow-belly slider. The poor turtle protested some, but did not seem too worried overall. At her size (10 inches/24cm) she is pretty much as big as they come. At that size it is also much more likely that she a female, as male sliders tend to be a bit smaller in size.

In this photo you can see her hurrying back into the pond, after we put her back down. She waited for about 15 Minutes, during which she stuck her head out several times to scope the situation. Finally she got up and made for the water at a pretty determined clip. It was about 7 PM and so the shutter speed was real slow on my camera (1/8 at 1600 ISO) – that’s why she’s a bit blurry. I did not want to freak her out with the flash.

Here is a shot of the pond from the Southern end. After we let her go, she swam around in circles right there for about 20 Minutes before she disappeared.

Yesterday, Jacob and I went to the Durham Country library and he got the current Guinness Book of World Records. So I started wondering what the connection was between the book of records and beer. Wikipedia to the rescue:

On 4 May 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. He became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the koshin golden plover or the grouse. That evening at Castlebridge House he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe’s fastest game bird.

Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs in Britain and Ireland, but there was no book with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular.

So the Guinness book is really the precursor to the KGB answers service …

One of the first things you do when you start a farm is to buy a farm truck. We bought the land a few weeks ago and last week we bought a 1999 Ford F250 pickup with a 7.3 liter  Powerstroke Diesel engine that produces 235 horsepower (175 kW) and 500 foot-pounds force (680 N·m) of torque. The odometer shows over 255.500 miles and the transmission was recently replaced with a newer, 100.000-mile unit.  The interior is a bit worn and the tailgate is messed up, but the engine seems to be in great shape – it sounds great and runs like a rhino :)

The last 11 years this truck was a fleet truck – probably for a construction company, judging from the pieces of gravel and brick still stuck in the tailgate. I found it on Craigslist and bought it from a small used car lot in Fuquay Varina, NC (near Raleigh). I had a Ford mechanic in F/V check it out to make sure there were no red flags and he gave her a “clean bill of health” – so I bought the truck.

This is a very rugged truck and it’ll be really useful for hauling fence posts, gravel, logs and brush, and – later – a horse trailer, hay, etc … and of course I’ll run this truck on my homebrewed biodiesel, like the Mercedes and the Jetta.

Today, Jacob and I tested and received out purple belt in Shito-Ryu Karate-do. It was more than a year ago, since we got our orange belt, so it was definitely time. However, for me it was a bit of a painful affair, because I hurt my right foot a couple of weeks ago – not sure how – and all the stances that require putting weight on the right forefoot, or bending it, caused quite a bit of pain.

Nevertheless, we made it through the test. Despite the pain, it was actually fun. I am physically in better shape than ever. I took a 4-week brake from any alcohol and worked out quite a bit … lost a few pounds … so the test did not push me physically as much as I thought it would.

Jacob was starting to feel a bit burnt out and passing the test, and advancing to the new level seems to give him a boost, too.

Today was a great day: we bought the property next to ours! That is a huge milestone towards our dream of owning horses, because that property includes a 2-acre pasture.

When we bought our house, we were just excited about having a horse pasture next door. We befriended the two horses who lived there, Stormy and Little Bits. We secretly hoped that one day maybe the owner would want to sell the pasture.

That day came sooner than we had thought, a few weeks ago we found a “land for sale” sign next to our driveway, and a quick search of the real estate listings revealed that, indeed the property with the pasture was the land in question.

We did not hesitate and called our real estate agent, Charles, and he contacted the seller. Very quickly we agreed on a price and on the terms of the sale. We had a little bit of excitement getting the seller to move some junk off the property, but it got done in time for the closing.

The land slopes downhill from the East; the Eastern edge is almost at the top of the small hill we live on. About half of the 4.7 acres are wooded, the other half is pasture with some nice, big shade trees. There is also a small pond at the Western edge of the pasture. The property is a bit neglected and needs some work. The pasture has been a bit overgrazed and needs to be reseeded. The ground is very rocky and there is very little topsoil. But with some care and some time to recover it’ll make a fine pasture for our horsefarm-in-the-making.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I saw a hummingbird on the home security camera, so we set up the feeder last night. Sure enough, this morning, as I enjoyed my first cup of coffee, I saw a hummingbird and it went straight for the feeder. Welcome back, little helicopters!

In a recent interview about his TV Show, Dr. Stephen Hawking questioned the wisdom of trying to make contact with alien civilizations. When one of the few bona-fide geniuses of our time weighs in an any debate, it is significant. And I think the debate over whether to send signals into space or just to listen for them – active SETI vs. passive SETI – is a pretty interesting one.

I don’t think anyone with an inkling of the enormity of our galaxy and the probability of intelligent life out there can help be immensely curious about aliens. But any creatures technically advanced enough to reach us would likely view us the way most European explorers viewed the indigenous peoples of America or Africa: as “primitive” creatures sitting on land they want. So unless the earth is really completely useless to these creatures, if some advanced aliens in fact found us, we’d probably face colonization.

So I’m with the genius on this one – let’s cut out the powerful radio signals into space, let’s minimize any signal leakage into space, let’s go into stealth mode. I say we focus on evolving our own species another couple millennia on Earth and learn more about our planet and how to be decent stewards of our home. With our silly little rockets we’re not going to get far anyway. But we can certainly explore our solar system with remote probes. And we can watch, listen and learn about the universe until we’re really ready to face E.T.

Of course, no one can say with certainty what would happen if a life form  from another corner of the universe found our planet. But there is just no way of knowing until it’s too late. For all we know, a perfectly peaceful, well-meaning species might enter orbit of the earth and look down and say: “Pretty planet – shame it’s infected with this terrible disease!” and then proceed to cure Planet Earth of the disease that calls itself humanity.