Blind Faith

Today was intense. I had to wake up earlier than normal and leave to Greytown where I was to address field staff on corporate changes that impacted them little. On route, I discovered that the road was closed and the detour added 20 km to my journey. The return journey (via Stanger) was longer than anticipated. I had to during this journey deal with a plumber who was sent to repair my leaking geyser, and a salesman for a solar geyser (which I opted to buy), and the pest control people who were scheduled to fumigate my house today. I then attended a staff safety function and then took my mum out to her favourite restaurant to celebrate her birthday. I am not writing this for sympathy or because I have decided to start blogging about all my mundane daily activities but rather to share with you that during the course of today I also completed a 320 page (4 CD) novel!

The audiobook industry does not pay me royalties, but I am beginning to think more and more, that maybe they should. I understand that audiobooks may not be everybodies cup of tea but I implore you to try it at least once before dismissing the idea. The reward is hours of entertainment and enlightenment to replace the wasted time spent merely driving. Contact me if you would like me to recommend some of the better ones (and if you are an audiobook publisher, contact me if you would like that recommendation to be one of your books :)).In preparation for the journey today, I picked up an audiobook from my library by an unknown (to me at the time) author and a title I had never heard off (Ben Elton, 'Blind Faith'). I thought the book was clever and very funny and used this charm to get you to lower your guard so that much more introspective and thought provoking ideas could be volleyed at you. To ensure that I don't give away too much (and because I am too tired to try and sumarise this book at 1am), I will copy and paste the basic plot from wikipedia. If you intend reading the book, please do not read the wikipedia article as I think it gives away too much. Ironically Ben Elton, the author, turned out to be the co-writer on one of my favourite TV series ever, 'Blackadder'.

“The story takes place in London approximately 50 years after many parts of the Earth have been subjected to rising water due to global warming. The remaining population believes that "only perverts do things in private", and obsessively blogs and uploads their lives in a sort of voluntary panopticon society( in this context it refers to a society where you are never alone or allowed to keep any secrets and you are continuously under surveillance). A wholesale rejection of science (which is blamed for "The Second Flood") has taken place, and religious faith is compulsory under new "Wembley Laws" (statutes passed by mob assent)”... (source: Wikipedia)

The book is very sexually explicit so perhaps not my pick for an audiobook that may be played in the presence of either children or prudes. Think of an alternative future where the hippies appear as the dominant religious force in the world but treats the populace like the early church treated science. But, I have digressed too long. It is now time to make my point which is simply,

“Why does one have to be either a creationist or an Evolutionist?”

This is a theme that is explored constantly in the book but I suspect Mr Ben Elton loaded the dice in favour of the evolutionists. I am an engineer, thereby an applied scientist. I need to use logic, evidence and reasoning daily to arrive at either a conclusion or a solution. Daily may be an overstatement as we often spend time at meetings where solutions or conclusions are rarely found. But I am also spiritual and believe in a God and believe that the notion that our presence here on earth was a result of successive evolutions stemming from a fluke that occurred 4,5 billion years ago, fantastical.

I have never read the Origin of Species (and neither do I suspect I will, as I imagine it would be rather dull) but I believe in Evolution. I do not believe that we evolved from monkeys but that early man, in all liklihood, looked nothing like we do today. Our present form, dependent on geographical location, is a result of natural selection and evolution. I believe this, and yet still believe that all this is the work of god.

Today, thanks to the power of google and my predisposition to waste time on the internet, I learned that there is actually a term for my belief. I am a 'Theistic Evolutionist'. Hooray, I am not alone. I doubt that this will have any impact on any impending fatwa's but it was comforting to discover that a middle ground existed. Although disclaimers should often be at the start, I like to think, 'better late than never'. It was never my intention to offend anybody and if I had, then I sincerely apologise. If I am to expect tolerance and understanding for my beliefs, in this age of islamophobia, then know that I intend to be tolerant and understanding of all religions and beliefs, even the belief that there is no God.

And the Mean shall inherit the Earth!

I always told myself that if I have nothing to contribute to the solution of a problem, I will not discuss it, but it appears as if though 2011 is the year in which I will break all self imposed bans. Following on the heels of my recent blog on religion (which I also told myself I'll avoid) is a blog (more a rant) on the state of society today. Such a topic is surely worthy of more than a few paragraphs and l have no intention of doing justice to it in this piece. I would like to merely comment on recent observations and my subsequent mullings.
 

To understand where I am coming from I need to set the scene. On Monday afternoon I was driving to the bank and saw a lady standing on the side of the road carrying a sleeping child. She was obviously looking for a lift so I pulled over and asked if I could help. She said she was going to Chatsworth but agreed to accept a lift to The Pavillion shopping centre instead, explaining that it would be easier to get a lift form there. She got into the back seat with her child and we were on our way. The rest is as quoted below:

“So, where about Chatsworth are you from?”, I enquired.

“Oh, I don't live in Chatsworth. I am going there to commit suicide”, she replied

“WTF” is what I said in my brain except I said the words out in full. She proceeded to explain to me all her woes (dead husband, hungry children, no rent this month, imminent death of her children etc etc), remembering to remind me at regular intervals that today she was going to kill herself and her children. I gave her some money when we got to Pavilion (a lot more than she may have deserved, and too much to admit here). I did not fall for her scam. I knew I was being conned, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt anyways. Maybe out of pity for her child who was now awake. Maybe because it was the easier thing to do.

This was the second time in the last month that I have been the victim of such a scam. The other guy admittedly had much better props with crutches, a plastered leg and a wife in labour at the hospital. I am not writing this because I wish to be contacted by a Nigerian banker telling me how he needs my assistance to get access to a large stash of cash. I am writing rather because this decline in our human-ness sickens me. People who are kind, good meaning (although slightly naïve) would always fall victims to people wishing to exploit these characteristics. When people get conned as a result of greed, then that makes sense. But to con a person because they had the compassion to listen to your sob story and although they may suspect that you and your broken leg may not be legit, they help anyways. In short, when did kindness become a character flaw!

When I joined child welfare, I stopped giving money to street children because I believed that it would prevent them from seeking out the assistance that is there (a topic for another discussion). Should we stop encouraging these con artists to get them to seek out the help they need? Perhaps? But if you are going to take that approach regarding your social responsibility, it would only make sense if you contribute to an organisation that can assist. Don't not give loose change to a streetchild assuming the moral highground if you do not contribute to a programme that helps these kids.

If you see a lady lying on the side of the road in pain and stop to see if you could be of assistance, and then get hijacked, everybody you relate the story to will ask you, “why did you stop?”. “You deserved it for being so stupid”. I am surprised insurance policies don't have a naïve clause in their policies.

“If you were hijacked because you naively thought there was a fellow human being in need, then your excess will be double or R50 000, whichever is the greater”

When I discuss this with people, 7 times out of 10, they would likely reply that you should phone the authorities and ask them to send help. The other 3 often swear at you and tell you to 'wake up'. If you had just been hijacked and were then flung from a moving car only to land in a pretzel-like formation at the side of the road, I am sure you would be consoled in the hope that perhaps one of the cars that drives by would call for help and that an ambulance was going to get there as soon as possible.

A good friend once told me that people who recite poetry in everyday conversation appear to others as pretentious twits. She never said anything about the people who include poetry in their blogs! The passage below is an excerpt from Kahlil Giban's 'The Prophet' from the section on 'Giving'. The entire section is my favourite part of the book but these particular verses are always close in thought.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights, is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be, than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

As stated at the beginning, this is just a rant because I think this situation sucks. I don't have a solution and am just lamenting our social evolution. For me, personally, I think I am going to stop feeling compelled to help anyone who asks but will find a charity that helps with the social upliftment of families. If I see somebody in need of assistance I will assist. All I ask is that any hijackers reading this please take what you need and leave me at the corner of a road somewhere. To all the others reading, if you ever come across a guy who looks like he just had his iPhone and car (note the priority) taken by some hijackers, please give him some money to get home.

On building model cars

In my last blog, I briefly discussed how limited time is for the modern father and tried to use that as an excuse for not finding more time to write. Naturally, the very next day, I am writing about yet another hobby that I have taken up. Model car building.

The first model I built was not even my own. I was in Standard 5 (Grade 7) and my best friend had received a model Apache helicopter for his birthday. I would love to say that it was the greatest thing we had ever done but I had an amazing childhood and unfortunately making a model helicopter did not rank high in our Top 100 experiences. The next model was a solo effort many years later. It was a Ford Estcourt RS Cosworth Rally Car. I used that experience to learn how cars worked. Using plastic cement to glue together the suspension made me understand the mechanics of the modern day car, and that incidentally could explain my two left feet when it comes to anything related to automotive repairs.

Destiny has re-united me with this old hobby (really long story involving a mosque, an old train set and a Honda NSX) and I purchased the Tamiya model kit for a Nissan Skyline R34 GTR V-spec or as it is often referred to 'Godzilla'. The GTR got it's nickname from it's complete dominance in the Japanese racing circuit and this was the last GT-R that was supposed to be built. Nissan thankfully went back on their word and the GT-R (sans the skyline badge) was reborn. I have had the pleasure of being driven in one and the experience was mind blowing but I digress.

Rear suspension of Skyline R34 GTR

I intend building this car slowly, patiently, enjoying the experience and hopefully one day including it in the display cabinet in my office where it can park alongside the Escourt that is presently there. Tonight I made the rear suspension and assembled and painted the exhaust. tomorrow I intend to attach the suspension and the exhaust to the chasis. I'll keep you updated on the progress form time to time. On one hand I am hoping for this hobby to instill in me a sense of patience and the appreciation of taking the time to do something slowly and precisely. On the other, I am clinging to my childhood and want a new toy. Methinks, either way I win!

My Return to the Web

The title to this blog entry is a bit misleading. I never left the web. I just could not find the time to blog and I find myself wondering, is this it? Is this the slow steady decline that leads to me not writing anymore? Am I losing interest in this hobby?

The simple answer is, No. I seem to think in blog these days which is not much different to how I used to think, except the voice in my head just uses more sophisticated words. Here is my dillemna. I would often watch/ read  something that I have an opinion on and think, "hey. maybe I should articulate that on my blog." (OK, I don't actualy use the word 'articulate'). The problem is that my opinion is influenced by information/ experiences that are in my head, so for you to get where I am coming from, I have to explain all that to. By the time all that is formulated (in my head), the task of writing it all down sometimes seems too much or I have moved on to the next thought process. Then there is twitter, facebook ( I admit to still logging in, even after watching "The Social Network"), and now Pushnote. Pushnote is very new and I must admit that the reason I like it so much is because the spammers etc. have not caught on to it yet. Check it out on www.pushnote.com.

I suppose another reason for my brief hiatus was the fact that this year, my return to work form annual leave co-incided with my daughters first week of school. That left me having to get up an hour earlier than I was normally used to and about 3 hours earlier than I was getting up during my break. So I would often fall asleep whilst reading to my daughter (she generally tucks me in before getting the light and going to sleep :)) i.e. no time for any Nightly Notes.

Completely unrelated, driving my daughter to school in the morning has become my favourite time of the day. It is about a 15 minute commute and she uses that time to ask me the most interesting questions. Not interesting like "Who is God?" or "Why do boys and girls have different parts?", although I am sure those are on their way but cute questions like,

" How does water get into the tap?"
"Why do birds sit on telephone wires?"
" Why do we have buses?"

It's enough to even make traffic bearable! Now that i am getting into the routine I think I may find the time o write more and I will continue to write cos I have lots to say and  not because I have to write.

Choosing a good kitchen knife

For as long as I can remember I have had a fascination with knives. As best as I can recall it, it started with my grandfather who similarly used to collect knives. He was in a different league though. He had most of the knives in his collection engraved and used to allow me (under strict supervision) to bring them down form his cupboard every now and again. Being his eldest grandchild and without competition his favorite grandson (my sister was his favourite grandchild), he always told me that the collection would be mine one day and that I would have to care for them like he taught me how to ( a fairly uncomplicated task that involved covering them with vaseline and storing them in wax paper). My father gave them away 2 days after my grandfather died while I was away and I thought it would be wholly inappropriate to go reclaim my inheritance (sans legal documentation). I have however held on to a pair of Kitana Blades that he had, and my wife will be ecstatic to hear that I am moving them from our bedroom to be the centrepiece in my new office.

I have previously written on what a huge MacGyver fan I was growing up so I pestered my parents constantly to keep buying me swiss army knives and I would take any opportunity to whip out my Victorinox and save the day. I particularly liked using the screwdriver to open up appliances that generlly stopped functioning after one of my “services” and who could forget those awesome survival knives that used to have a storage compartment in the handle.

Now older (yet surprisingly not much wiser), I am preoccupied with the idea of buying myself a very nice set of Kitchen Knives. One of my best friends, who also happens to be one of my favourite cooks, had convinced me of this investment many times over and I have made the illogical conclusion (generally associated with passion purchases) that her knives and superb knife skills was what contributed greatly to the awesomeness of her food. I had decided that when the time came for me to make this investment , I would buy a Wusthof 18 cm Cook's knife (which I am told is used for 90% of your tasks). The two primary things holding me back from the purchase was the price vs how often I really cook and my inability to sharpen the blade. Enter Anthony Bourdain!

 The Wusthof 18cm Cook's Knife

Some would call “Kitchen Confidenial” an autobiography and others 'a guide into the fascinatingly hidden world of a modern restaurant kitchen'. Irrespective, it is a great read that is peppered with tidbits of knowledge that the reader could use to improve his cooking skills or at the very least, his future menu choices. He argues that as an amateur chef, do you really need a knife ( like a Wusthof or Henkel) that is so heavy, so expensive, so difficult to maintain? He recommends rather the lightweigth, easy to sharpen and relatively inexpensive vanadium steel Global Knife from Japan, which in addition to all of the above, looks cool. I was sold. Relatively inexpensive and easy to sharpen! This was what I had been looking for.

You would be surprised to discover that, as it stands, I still dream of oneday owning a Wusthof. The price of Global knives have, after the glowing recommendation by Anthony Bourdain and other New York chefs, increased to the point that presently in South Africa, a Wusthof knife is about R100 ($13) cheaper than the equivalent Global knife. I am happy to continue using the non-branded chef's knife I have for now. It is heavy enough with a complete piece of steel from tip to handle that feels great in my hand. I have decided to invest in a knife sharpener though and since I dont have the time or patience to acquire the skill of sharpening knives with a sharpeneing steel, I have opted to buy the Scanpan 3 stage blade sharpener which seems simple enough to use.

Fun fact: a bit of unrelated information related to cooking that I was thrilled to discover recently. Whislt doing a roast chicken on the Weber, my sister who was reading a recipe book asked me why the symbol for pounds was lbs? I had never contemplated that and immediately whipped out my phone to google the answer. It turns out that pound is short for pound weight which translated in latin is Libra Pondo. The Latin usage was shortened to libra, which naturally was abbreviated 'lb'. We adopted the pound part from pondo, yet kept the abbreviation for libra.

Islamic Terrorists and why they should be stopped!

When I started this blog, I had made an unsaid pledge to myself that I will try and stay clear of religion. My reasoning was simple. I have little knowledge of source text (i.e I have read mainly  books that have been translated and abridged ) and I am still searching for many things and would not want my confusion or percieved logic to affect/ hinder anybody who may be further done the spiritual path. Islam is a way of life and you need to remain balanced which I admit I am not. I tend to favour Service to Mankind over Service to God. It is not something I say with pride. I would like to achieve a balance in my life but that is an ongoing struggle. I think that maybe if I excel at 'service to mankind', all my other flaws/ deficiencies would be forgiven and that if those that believe in the Gospel of Christopher Hitchens are proven correct then, at least I would have made the lives of some a bit more bearable.

What could have possibly happened to get me to go off on this tangent? It is an old saying that goes something along the lines of, 'If you do not speak out against an injustice then you become complicit in the act itself.' I speak of the attacks over Christmas on Churches and worshipping Christians and priests in muslim-majority lands. The most notable were the attacks in Nigeria, Baghdad and Alexandria. Reading accounts of the attrocities committed leaves me with a feeling of utter disgust and shame. Shame that this barbarism is being carried out in the name of Islam.

The only time I recall feeling more disgust and fury was when I discovered how the Taliban had destroyed the Budhas of Bamyan because they were regarded as idols. If you have no idea what I am refering to then let Wikipedia be your guide on this one.

Wikipedia link to Buddhas_of_Bamyan

It is for idiocy such as this that I beleive that the Taliban deserve all the warmth and cosiness that there cave offer during the Afghan winters. Lukily there are also muslim clerics who have strongly condemned these attacks and I am told that the Kutbah (lecture) by Shaykh Sadullah Khan at Claremont Main Road Mosque on Friday was very informative and riveting. A brief synopsis of the Kutbah is attached below and I strongly urge everyone to read this because he quotes from the Quran and more importantly describes verbatim the protection offered by the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)to the Christians of St Catherines Monastery which is a church at the foot of Mount Sinai and possesses a collection of Christian manuscripts that is second only to the Vatican.

Brief synopsis of Lecture by Shaykh Sadullah Khan condemning the actions of Islamic fundemantalists

I too condemn these acts of terrorism but will refuse to use the Quran or Islam to explain why this is wrong because I do not believe that these loons deserve that privilege. And before I am accused of looking at this from only one perspective and that I should consider the similar persecution of muslims, allow me to save you both the time, and effort. I am aware of the persecution of muslims in Kashmir, Iraq, Chechnya etc and this too is a source of considerable pain but one does not justify the other and any assertion to the contrary is both childish and nonsensical.

Short term goals for 2011

Is it just me or does 2011 just not sound right? I guess as South Africans we were overloaded with 2010 everywhere for so long that 2011 in comparison was always going to be 'just another year'. Actually since the Indians are hosting the Cricket World Cup in 2011, and soccer in the Indian community was only big with the girl from "Bend it Like Beckham", I wonder whether 2011 for the Indians would be like what 2010 was for us. If that is the case then I suppose the Brazilians who will completely forget 2015 since it will fall between the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

I don't generally make resolutions because they never seem to last' prefering to make rather set myself short term goals for the year. These often don't materialise either, but at least there's a plan. Right? In any case my goals for this year are:

1) To write more

I started the blog last year and it proved to be really cathartic. It gave me a chance to express myself and pour some of my thoughts into a public forum. Although the readership has been great (and shocking), I wold have appreciated more comments thereby starting a conversation/ discussion which would be awesome. It also got me noticed and I started writing for Durban Live and will this year start writing for two additional websites ( www.izimvo.com and www.safindit.co.za ). I hope to branch out a bit and cover more live events and experiences but food remains my passion so I will continue to talk to some of Durban's great chefs and visit a lot of restaurants. 

My blog will remain my opinion page but I am thinking of seperating some of the content i.e. things relating to parenting will be posted on the page "In the Knight's Garden". If you have no idea what I am talking about then it is very likely that posts appearing on that page will have no relevance to you. Similarly, material that is humorous will be on the page " On a Knighter Note". Any further pages will be dependent on whether I can think of other ways to include the word Knight into popular phrases.

2) To build my Man-Cave

Superman had the Fortress of Solitude, Batman had the Bat-Cave so I think I am in good company here for thinking I need this personal space. Since my father is not the ruler of Krypton (on most days) and I do not have access to the Wayne Billions I am going to settle for a 3.5 m x 4 m room in my outbuilding for now. I don't plan to make it exclusive i.e. my girls being 8 months, 4 years and 32 years are not going to understand my need for this space that only I am allowed into. I just want it to be designed by me, to my taste and to be void of any Barney toys. I will post pics when completed but essentially I just need a desk , a comfy place to relax/ read and space for my books. You're thinking why does this sound like an office. You would be correct. It is, but telling guys you have a man cave sounds cooler and the construction expenses will be used as a legitimate tax deduction.

3) To maintain my body weight and Shape

I am being sensible here and not setting outlandish targets like I will lose 2 kg this year. I will be content to maintain my current fitness level and body shape ( which is presently not good). I will be happy to lose some weight and get fitter but I am definitely not ready to start buying XL T-shirts or go up another pants size. This has nothing to do with vanity, I just want to look good when I meet old friends from my past! If I was losing my hair at a more rapid pace I would seriously be considering a red sport's car.

4) I need to learn to speak and understand Zulu

I am extremely embarassed by the fact that I cannot speak Zulu yet and have decided that I have put this off for too long. Especially if I consider being more involved in social organizations or disaster management in the coming years, I think it is imperative that I am able to understand first hand what is being communicated. I am going to start by purchasing a guide (not a person, a book with an accompanying CD) to start and maybe consider lessons from there.

So these are my goals for this year. I hope God grants me the strength to achieve them whilst remaining a loving Husband and awesome Dad. 2011 suddenly seems full with possibility, yet it still refuses to roll of the tongue. Bring on 2012 (on the proviso that the Mayans were high when making predictions regarding the end of the world).