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I dont think anyone could watch this without feeling choked up.
What a wonderful feat this chap did.


TOO HARD? Not for this father
well worth watching - very inspiring

TOO HARD? Not for this father! Words actually cant describe this!!

You have to read this story, and then watch the video! And I bet you
pass it on…..

The Story

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'
The father who, despite having a heart condition said 'yes.' They went on to complete the marathon together.
Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.
One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'yes' too.
For those who don't know, the Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a
2.4 mile (3.86 kilometers) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometers) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometers) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. The father and son went on to complete the race together.

NOW WATCH THIS VIDEO and view this race:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJMbk9dtpdY

CHINA............

Moving on through the seasons and still in this vast country we encounter yet another phenomenon....what can one do with all the snow and ice of winter............ .... why, have a festival...... ... .... ....
http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/Snow_Icefestival.pps

Mmmm! There are a lot of them, aren't there?

An awesome spectacular by a country that is only now allowing itself to be seen by the West.

http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/China60G.M.pps

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause in memory of the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives in military service.

At public gatherings in Ottawa and around the country, Canadians pay tribute with two minutes of silence to the country's fallen soldiers from the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and peacekeeping missions.

(This Veterans Affairs map shows the gatherings for 2009.)

Also known as Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day was first held throughout the Commonwealth in 1919. It marks the armistice to end the First World War, which came into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, a year earlier.

It isn't a national holiday across Canada, but employees in federally regulated employees do get the day off. Several provinces and territories — including Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon — do observe a statutory holiday.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/11/07/f-remembrance-day.html

We'all got a remembrance day approaching and ah know that y'all will take a moment to remember those that have.... and are laying down their lives for our safety and freedom.....

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God, Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining, Just as brightly as his brass.

'Step forward now, you soldier, How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek? To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said, 'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns, Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays, And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent, Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny, That wasn't mine to keep....
Though I worked a lot of overtime, When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help, Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place, Among the people here.
They never wanted me around, Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord, It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much, But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne, Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly, For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you soldier, You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets, You've done your time in Hell.'

ANNON

...Whatever will they think of next?

Y'all some of the luckiest people on the forum, not only do you get tuh read all that is posted (ifin that takes yer fancy) but yuh git to see a glimpse of 'Tomorrow's World'

Now ah got some high Tech stuff fer you today..... no...no... wait a minute, y'all gonna see the MUST BUYS of tomorrow....

Just when ah was getting used to yesterday along comes today!

Here we go then.... sit back and marvel......

http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/SEETHELATESTTECH.pps

I started my little computer class last night, for adults who said they were beginners. Kind of refreshing to see the unspoiled! We started with solitaire for mouse practice and there was even one lady who had never played solitaire with or without a computer. Obviously she had better things to do! I learned that the mouse is a huge barrier to adults using computers. It was very difficult for several of them to use the "all programs" menu in Windows because of the need to move the mouse almost perfectly horizontally to move into a sub menu (for some reason the sub menus could not be "pinned" by clicking on a main menu item - bug or setting?).

These people were also perceptive of computer interference with their lives. One guy said he could not get the power company to send him the bill for his new house and stop sending him the one for his old house until he walked in to the office and demanded that the clerk turn away from the computer and write down his addresses with a pencil. It seems we are plagued with computer problems and users who do not understand computers.

Another guy who hires young people for oilfield work said he has noticed a huge change in the skills they have over the years. He recently handed a shovel to a young man and asked him to put some gravel in a truck. The guy stared at the shovel for 10 minutes "as if looking for the buttons to press to make it work." Perhaps a little too much virtual reality?

And this morning I read that legal officials in Maryland (and no doubt elsewhere) are making dumb computer mistakes that mean incorrect jail sentences for people. They use a spreadsheet to figure out appropriate sentences based on various entries, and they are doing things like typing in the wrong cell. In 10% of their cases! No one checks because computers never make mistakes.

Quote:

 

...as she started working through the numbers, she came across thousands of inconsistencies and errors in the sentencing recommendations provided to judges by the commission. The errors ultimately translated into extra months and years of prison time for unlucky convicts and light sentences for lucky ones. What might have been a run of the mill economic analysis of crime and punishment turned into a shocking account of human error.
http://www.slate.com/id/2232561/pagenum/all/#p2

IMHO ..... Queenstown was much better before the rest of the world got to hear about it.

Bachelor back to sing NZ's praises
By WILL HINE in Queenstown - The Southland Times

The Bachelor is back.

American reality television star Jason Mesnick returned to Queenstown yesterday, 11 months after filming The Bachelor in the resort.

Accompanied by girlfriend Molly Malaney, who he met on the television show, Mesnick took in the region's sights with a Tourism New Zealand camera crew.

Filmed in Queenstown and the Bay of Islands last year, The Bachelor proved a ratings bonanza, with the two episodes drawing 14 million and 15 million viewers respectively in the United States.

Mesnick yesterday raved about his return to New Zealand. "Seriously, one day we're going to buy a place. I love it. New Zealand is awesome and Queenstown is the best of the awesome."
Story link

.....Demo...whats..its?

Yep, Changing Demographics now this will either turn you on and you will click to open...... or the ten dollar word in the title will turn (scare) you off....
....then again curiosity is a powerful thing........



http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/Changingdemographics.YA.wmv

This about says it all!..........


Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize .

Over the last decade the only requirement to win the prize was that the nominee had to be critical of George W. Bush
(see Al Gore, Mohamed El Baradei and Jimmy Carter).


President Obama has broken new ground here. Nominations for potential winners of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ended on February 1. The president took office only 12 days earlier on January 20.


Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize:


January 20: Sworn in as president. Went to a parade. Partied.


January 21: Asked bureaucrats to re-write guidelines for information requests. Held an “open house” party at the White House.


January 22: Signed Executive Orders: Executive Branch workers to take ethics pledge; re-affirmed Army Field Manual techniques for interrogations; expressed desire to close Gitmo (how’s that working out?)


January 23: Ordered the release of federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries. Lunch with Joe Biden; met with Tim Geithner.


January 24: Budget meeting with economic team.


January 25: Skipped church.


January 26: Gave speech about jobs and energy. Met with Hillary Clinton. Attended Geithner's swearing in ceremony.


January 27: Met with Republicans. Spoke at a clock tower in Ohio.


January 28: Economic meetings in the morning, met with Defense secretary in the afternoon.


January 29: Signed Ledbetter Bill overturning Supreme Court decision on lawsuits over wages. Party in the State Room. Met with Biden.


January 30: Met economic advisers. Gave speech on Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Met with senior enlisted military officials.


January 31: Took the day off.

February 1: Skipped church. Threw a Super Bowl party.

So there you have it. The short path to the Nobel Peace Prize: Party,
go to meetings, skip church, release federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries,
party some more.

Good grief!!!

Next time it is up for grabs I'm nominating YOU!

Aurora australis

Most of the North Americans would be familiar with the Aurora borealis or northern lights ...... here's a site which gives a few views of our version of the Southern Lights. This is linked to a weather and astrophotography site.
Aurora australis

Humans didn't evolve from chimps
Reuters

The discovery of the skeleton of an early human, who lived 4.4 million years ago, shows that humans did not evolve from chimpanzee-like ancestors.

Instead, the missing link - the common ancestor of both humans and modern apes - was different from both, and apes have evolved just as much as humans have from that common ancestor, say researchers.

The scientists stress that "Ardi" may now be the oldest known hominid, but she was not the missing link. "At 4.4 million years ago we found something pretty close to it," said Tim White of the University of California Berkeley, who helped lead the research team.

They described the partial skeleton of a female representative of Ardipithecus ramidus. The hominid species lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia.
Story Link - Ardi

In this period of austerity we all have to cut down on our spending....here is what the good and the great have been reduced to......

http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/LuxuryRides.pps

Cutting scientific red-tape
By ANDREA FOX

Relaxing regulatory controls could mean more to the science economy than increased investment.

If you've missed the message it means your only friends this year have been glow worms. The science buzz has been relentless.

The government is to launch a research-based global alliance to reduce agricultural emissions; the first chief science adviser to a New Zealand prime minister has been appointed and is speaking out; business leaders and scientists are getting cosy; taxpayer-funded Crown Research Institutes have had a hurry-up about returning 9 percent on taxpayer equity; there has been a flurry of research, business and tertiary collaborations and projects.

The government has left us in no doubt we had better start getting innovative about innovation, or economically wither.

To quote Science Minister Dr Wayne Mapp's stern message to sector leaders: "Research, science and technology will be expected to play a bigger part in improving our economic performance."

The government is hell bent on closing the $30 billion GDP gap with Australia. It says the need for science and business to get better connected is urgent.

A visitor would think New Zealand had just discovered science.

But it's worse than that, says Sir Peter Gluckman, chief science adviser to PM John Key.
Story link

Swine flu vaccine myths 'busted' by experts
NICK MILLER
October 1, 2009 - 2:25PM

Fear and misinformation have clouded the need for widepread swine flu vaccination, experts said today, at a 'mythbusting' seminar convened by vaccine manufacturer CSL.

Though the pandemic has faded for now, it could return to Australia's shores as early as February next year and the country ideally needs more than half the population vaccinated by that time, said Professor Robert Booy of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

Immunisation and influenza experts including Professor Booy, Professor Alan Hampson of the WHO's Influenza Specialist Group and Professor Terry Nolan of the University of Melbourne said they wanted to dispel some of the myths that had sprouted around the vaccine, through under informed media reports and anti-vaccination campaigners.

They emphasised the risk, especially to young people and pregnant women, if the virus returns in force next year.

And they speculated that it was only the expertise and new techniques in Australia's hospital intensive care wards that prevented a much higher death toll this year.
Story Link

Our cameras record for us scenes that at times our memories can't fully recall.... sometimes there are messages that remind us of who we are and lessons we in our approaching 'dotage' have difficulty in remembering....

http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/themost1....pps

Not many years ago we were shocked by some of these pictures yet events such as recorded here are still happening.... when will we all agree to differ?

http://www.davidburt.co.uk/documents/2005NBCPhoto_sjc.pps

NZ'S FIRST POP MAJOR STAR: Sir Howard Morrison died at his Ohinemutu home on the shore of Lake Rotorua yesterday morning.
A tribute to Sir Howard Morrison
Maori warriors lead Sir Howard Morrison's whanau
Extended family, Maori leaders and dignitaries have gathered before the body of Sir Howard Morrison to honour the entertainer's life.

As a sudden downpour of pounding rain hit the Rotorua settlement of Ohinemutu this morning, Sir Howard's body was moved into his family marae.

A slow procession of whanau was led by several Maori warriors. Police flanked the hearse, walking in the pelting rain.

Around 10am, the hearse stopped on the marae forecourt and family members carried the casket into Tamatekapua, the premier meeting house of the Te Arawa tribe, at Te Papaiouru Marae, on the shores of Lake Rotorua, Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell spoke during proceedings in the wharenui.

Others present included Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, Associate Maori Affairs Minister Georgina te Heuheu, Te Puni Kokiri CEO Leith Comer and other Maori leaders from around New Zealand.

Story Link

Bad for the model but so funny watching the anchormen.
Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsTVUbJYGso

So much for living in the Garden of Eden!

Giant eagle ruled New Zealand skies
NZPA
Last updated 05:00 12/09/2009

A new study shows that New Zealand's giant – and now extinct – Haast's eagle ruled the skies until 500 years ago, swooping down on moa.

Scientists have known about the existence of Haast's eagle since 1871 based on excavated bones, including bones carved by early Maori, but their behaviour was not entirely clear.

Because of their large size – they weighed up to 18kg with wingspans up to 3m – some scientists believed they were scavengers rather than predators.

Earlier research has indicated the eagle had enough strength in its talons to kill a moa weighing 180kg, attacking at up to 80kph, or even to attack a human child.

The latest study throwing new light on this was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Researchers Dr Paul Scofield, curator of vertebrates at the Canterbury Museum, and Professor Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales used computerised CT and CAT scans to reconstruct the size of the brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord of the Haast's eagle.

These details were compared to values from modern predatory and scavenging birds to determine the habits of the extinct eagle.

"This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient mysteries," said Dr Ashwell.

But the latest study showed that not only was Haast's eagle a fearsome predator that probably swooped on its prey from a high perch, it also it evolved over a relatively short period of time from a much smaller-bodied ancestor.

This is similar to findings by Michael Bunce, of Oxford University, in 2005, which showed it underwent a rapid evolutionary transformation and was originally related to some of the world's smallest eagle species two million years earlier. It is the only eagle known to have been the top predator in an ecosystem on land.

The eagles are thought to have struck their prey from the side, tearing into the pelvic flesh and gripping the bone with claws the size of a tiger's paw, so that the moa could be killed by a single strike to the head or neck from the eagle's other claw.

The new research is also an example of how the oral traditions of ancient peoples and scientific research can sometimes reach the same conclusion, said Dr Scofield, the lead author on the project.

"This science supports Maori mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child," he said.

Haast's eagle became extinct a mere 500 years ago, probably due to habitat destruction and the extinction of moa by early Maori, who are thought to have arrived in New Zealand, about 1280.

Dr Scofield has previously said that people living on the Wairau Bar around 1300AD co-existed with the eagle.

ONCE AGAIN HAS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD.

Council turns 'offensive' Spotted Dick into Spotted Richard to spare blushes of diners

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211960/Council-turns-offensive-Spotted-Dick-Spotted-Richard-spare-blushes-diners.html#ixzz0QXNSCv8c

ALZHEIMERS' EYE TEST

Count every ' F ' in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

(SEE BELOW)







HOW MANY ?
WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's before you scroll down.

Click on url


http://www.robinhood.ca/anniversary/default.asp?lid=1

Today is our Random Act of Kindness Day ........ RAK Day

Almost 48 years after it was first published, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child is finally topping the best-seller list, bringing with it all the butter, salt and goose fat that home chefs had largely abandoned in the age of Lipitor.

Story Link

Julia Childs in Washington DC

Did anyone else have to log in today? This is the first time ever for me and I;m wondering if something has changed with my cookies settings?

I got a Tui on the hummingbird feeder you sent. Now I wasn't quick enough to get a photo, but it appears its been trying for a while because all the liquid had been tipped out.

The Tui is about the size of a blackbird with irridescent dark blue green plumage with two white feather tufts at the throat which give its early name of the Parson Bird.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A fossil found in China of a pterosaur, the earliest known flying vertebrate, shows the creatures had unique and complex wing fibers that enabled them to fly with the precision and control of birds, researchers said on Wednesday.

The finding by a team of Brazilian, German, Chinese and British researchers backs up the theory that the reptiles that dominated the skies from up to 220 million years ago, also known as pterodactyls, were not just basic gliders.

Story link

Now that most of us have gotten used to having an internet connection to the rest of the world, I wonder how many of us could go back to the old way of communicating and research, etc.

If I had to make a choice between my TV, phone or Internet, I would keep the internet. I don't think I could be happy now without my computer.

How do you guys feel about it??

If the cable is off for a while and no TV, I couldn't care less (unless the Young and the Restless was on)....

But if my internet connection was down, I would be irritated. I was thinking about getting skype again. I used to have that. That would eliminate having to sit on the phone. I used to belong to a UK forum and they showed me how to get skype and we talked on it, sometimes three of us together.

The only trouble was, I couldn't understand them and I kept having to say "Pardon?"...you really have to listen hard because they talk fast. I love their way of talking. And the Scots too. My mom was Scottish. She had a cute accident...

So tell me folks, how would you feel about going back to the old way
and having no internet....

I don't think we have a remember when thread so I shall start one in hopes that others will join in. If I have overlooked it, please let me know...

Do you remember when most everyone (men and women) parted their hair?
I used to part mine on the left. Now I have a little bit receding on the left, funny eh?

DUNSTABLE DOWNS IS ONLY A 10 MINUTE DRIVE AWAY, WE DECIDED TO TAKE THE DOGS AND TO OUR DELIGHT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN AT LEAST A DOZEN PARA-GLIDERS UP TODAY, IT WAS AN AMAZING SIGHT. YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE GLIDERS, THERE IS A LOCAL GLIDING CLUB DOWN BELOW.

A roughly 4,500 year-old skeleton of a man, probably a warrior killed by an arrow to the chest, has been discovered on a beach south of Rome, Italian police said.

The well-preserved skeleton, dubbed "Nello," was found during a routine flyover around areas of archaeological interest in May that prompted police to probe a fissure in the ground.

"We thought it was that of a Roman solider, but then the experts identified it as dating back to the third millennium BC," said Raffaele Mancino, an official with the police division overseeing Italy's cultural heritage.

Six small vases were found buried alongside the skeleton, whose feet are missing. The young man probably lived just within a few hundred years of "Otzi," the prehistoric iceman whose corpse was found frozen in the Italian Alps in 1991.

Archaeologists said they plan further excavations since the discovery could be a tip-off to a broader necropolis in the area.

-Reuters

Hi Everyonee!

When in low spirit
To down more spirit
Is certainly not on my agenda!
Yet a wee dram or two
In my considered view...
Qualifies me as 'Responsible one armed bender'
By no means addicted
I make sure I'm restricted
To positively limited intake
So "Wake up! That man at the back!
Or you'll get the sack
Don't worry Mike! I'm paying...it's my round!
Yet......to your elder have respect
Stick around..don't neglect!
I wanna hear your wallet padlock opening sound!

11.15 a.m. Just back from a crawl around the block in a 'neither summat or nuthin' rainfall.
Collected a four pack of Irish 'medicine' at the Co-op and am now enjoying a pre-dinner glass while waiting for son to arrive for meal with us. We shall then watch the Hungarian Grand Prix.
I feel extremely sad for Felipe Massa...in hospital after that fateful crash yesterday. How unlucky could he get ...to have that lump of metal strike his head......a millisecond and it could have gone past! He is stable they say...but I think a long way to go before he is 'out of the woods'. Hang on there Felipe!! :

Aaah! I can hear m'lad has arrived! Time to go and chat eh!

Keep smilin' all of you!