Jaffa is a delightful old town on the south side of Tel Aviv. (You could see the lighthouse of Jaffa way off in the distance in the earlier picture taken from my hotel window as the tallest building on the right side of the horizon.) Jaffa was practically a ruin after then war for independence here. So the city of Tel Aviv decided to revive Jaffa by making it an artist's retreat. The artists, sensitive souls that they were, didn't tamper with the old Ottoman architecture and narrow, pre-automobile streets.It had been raining for the past few days here in Israel. So I was really afraid that I'd … [Read more...]
Archives for January 2007
…AWASE…
January 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Maybe I'm just getting old, but long trips seem to just be harder on me both physically and emotionally.However, I have to say that notes like this one from my little Anna Lynn fill me with joy. It reads... "I love you. Your awase in my heart!" And the exclamation even has a little heart where the dot goes.SO SWEET!!! … [Read more...]
In Israel
January 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Tel Aviv is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It's climate is lovely. Today, it's cool and foggy in the morning (probably 45 degrees Fahrenheit), but a balmy and sunny 71 degrees in the afternoon.The Israelis are working hard to change the rocky and barren terrain into something much greener. Everywhere you go, there are new forests - many of them less than 20 yrs old. The introduction of new trees improves the environment in a variety of ways. For example, each tree stores 30-40 gallons of water in its trunk and branches. That added water is perspired gradually and, thus, … [Read more...]
Spam?!?
January 21, 2007 by Leave a Comment
What is the deal with all of the spam lately? Usually, my spam blocker will catch a couple dozen in a single week with zero spam getting through to my regular work email account. But lately, I've been getting 3-6 spams per week into my regular email account and scores (as in 60-100) spam to my spam filter. It's enough to drive a sane person outta their mind!-Kev … [Read more...]
Does the dad even matter?
January 18, 2007 by 3 Comments
Sometimes I struggle with the question of do I really matter or make a difference in the world...While self-doubt is nothing new under the sun, here are some statistics that I didn't know until recently:• 90% of runaway children are from fatherless homes• 71% of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes• 85% of youth in prison are from fatherless homes• 90% of inmates on death row are from fatherless homesIt seems like most societal ills, from crime to drug use to teen pregnancy, have a correlation with fatherlessness. So the next time I feel like I don’t matter, I'm encouraged to take a … [Read more...]
Saturday in the Park
January 15, 2007 by Leave a Comment
I had the opportunity to take the kids to the zoo. The winter weather was as good as it gets this time of year and the animals, though some stayed inside due to the cold, were in good spirits.As Dylan shows here, the meercats were a lot of fun. Dylan especially enjoyed them - with ketchup. The highlight of the trip was the Lorakeet Landing. The pretty birds are always a lot of fun and were climbing all over the kids. The zoo charges a buck for the "nectar" to feed the birds. The birds then go crazy for the sugar water and will drink it from your hands.We also got a chance to see the new Red … [Read more...]
New Japanese Game Show
January 9, 2007 by Leave a Comment
To say that liabilities laws are different in Japan is an understatement!Check out this new game show in Japan ---http://www.glumbert.com/media/tonguetwister-Kevin … [Read more...]
…The real reason why the kids can’t sleep in my bed any more…
January 9, 2007 by Leave a Comment
What parent can deny their kids a little snuggle time in their bed, right? They just want to love on you is all. Plus, they fuss. They huff. They bat their adorably long eyelashes at you and make puppy eyes. It gets really hard to say no when they do that.However, nature provides more subtle ways to urge you to get them out of your bed and into their own. For starters, they get big. As they get bigger, they get heavier while simultaneously thinking they are neither big nor heavy. And of course, they still think they're so tiny that they can lay any which way on your bed without it … [Read more...]
Response: Did Jesus Exist?
January 4, 2007 by 1 Comment
OK - so here's a tough challenge that my friend, Infidelis Maximus, poses on his religion blog (http://infidelismaximus.blogspot.com/) on October 7th in an entry titled "Why Errors in the Bible Matter": Prove that Jesus Christ exists.When you boil this challenge down to "proof" that might be acceptable in a modern US court room, you've got big problems. There's no direct evidence of Jesus of Galilee. All the evidence that we have of Jesus was created after the fact. The earliest known texts discussing Jesus, such as the Gospel of Thomas, were written no less than 15-20 years after the … [Read more...]
Mommy, can we keep a kitten?
January 2, 2007 by Leave a Comment
These poor kids don't know what they're in for! I guess the rain water forced them out of their den... … [Read more...]
