74.7% for Philosophy of Homeopathy

Well Sandra discovered today that she got 74% for her philosophy of Homeopathy test.

Yesterday Andrea and Rudiger spent the day on the beach. (After discovering that they had left it too late to get reasonable prices for tickets to Cape Town... You need to book 7 days in advance to get cheap tickets!)

This morning they left for Himeville in the Drakensberg. And this afternoon I got a phone call from them to say they had arrived safely; they had met Beauty; and, they had booked their 4x4 tour up the Sani pass to Lesotho.

Jenny (my mother's sister) has been here all week over Pesach; and she has cooked a special pesahdekka cheese cake.

Which is being eaten right now. So I had better go eat!

..later

Elephants and Sandras

Elephant
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

While Rudiger and Andrea were looking at elephants (and monkeys and other things);

Sandra was learning physics. And I was teaching her physics. All day long!

Hopefully Sandra has a memory like an elephant and tomorrow, when she writes her test, will remember all the stuff she learnt today about Newton's laws of motions and force; and how to solve kinetic and force questions.

For example,
If a monkey is sitting on an elephant;s truck; and the elephant sneezes with a force of 100N how far will the monkey fly into the air and where will it land.

Well? Sandra?

huh?...

Doris never got to see a ...

monkey
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

monkey!

But Rudiger and Andrea did!

They are back from their trip to the game reserve and saw much and had fun.

(But they did not see any lions.)

They are planning to go to Cape Town (probably) this coming weekend.

They are very tired....

A bit rainy today

Well, I just dropped Sandra off at the Technikon and have eaten breakfast.

Yesterday evening I got a call from Andrea and Rudiger telling me that they had reached the game reserve successfully and had already seen an animal with one horn. (I told them it was a called a rhinocerous.) This morning they booked a tour that leaves at 4:50 am. I am guessing they should be ending their tour about now.

I wonder what they saw?

Yesterday afternoon and evening I spent hours trying to teach Sandra physics. This is not an easy thing to do at all. Sometimes I get very frustrated when something that seems so simple and obvious to me... seems meaningless and opaque to her. Her test is on Thursday.

I was planning on going to swim in the sea this morning. Buts its a bit rainy.

Its nice to be on holiday.

Oh... Rudiger asked Sandra what barley soup was; and, Sandra told him it was soup from Bali.

..later

Finished with the Shark onto the Elephants

Shark
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Andrea and Rudiger have finished playing with the sharks and this morning they are off to the game reserve to try and see some wild animals.

Last night they were driving the small Chico when the rain became like a monsoon; so bad that it was too scary to stop on the sides of the road because the car looked like it would be washed away. He had to keep driving in the middle of the road.

The rain was so strong that water came in through the air conditioner and wet Andrea's feet.

Yesterday I went swimming with Rudiger in the sea and Andrea enjoyed lying on the beach.

Its a lovely hot day for driving to the game reserve. They will be there from today until Wednesday; and have booked a tour.

Alles ist gut.

Andrea and Rudiger and Ilan and Sandra

Andrea and Rudiger and Ilan and Sandra
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Andrea and Rudiger are in Durban. We fetched them from the airport yesterday and showed them our flat, and the supermarket and fruit and vegetables and shopping malls. And we ate lunch at a restaurant.

Today we spent the day at the Aquarium and the beach. We saw dolphins and sharks.

Alles is gut.

80% for Biology

I just received a SMS from Sandra telling me that she has got 80% for biology.

Pretty good, hey!

The air tasted like salt water.

This afternoon Sandra and I went, as normal, for a Sunday afternoon stroll. Except this time Sandra was walking with a piece of card with notes written on it. When we started walking up a steep hill; she paused, turned towards me and said...

"On friday the sky was filled with see-through clouds and the air tasted like salt water."

Sandra expression

Sandra 3 tiny
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Well. The photopgraphs that Meira took when she visted us in Durban (when she came down for Richard's wedding) arrived in my email inbox today.

Here is the one I like the best.

(Click on it to see some of others.)

...later

an Ilan movie...

Sandra and I went to see The Life Aquatic at the cinema last night. After the movie Sandra decided that this movie belongs to the genre of "Ilan Movies". And its true... I think it was a work of genius.

Go and see it!

I am a Complete Idiot.

...as my wife had the pleasure of informing me this morning.

Why?

Well some friends of mine sometimes put on all night parties of trance music. I sometimes DJ at these parties too. Well, anyways, I no longer enjoy to spend the entire night at these parties as I am not as young as I used to be; and, I then end up too tired and grumpy for days.

So, what I do, now, is wake up early early and pop down to the party in the morning.

There I was, this morning, standing at the door, dressed up, quiet as a mouse so as not to disturb Sandra and...

no car keys. I could not find them anywhere....

I now know I left them upstairs at Robbie's flat when I went up there yesterday.

The Two Egypts

Well Sandra is very very stressed about her physiology test next week... (and highly irritable.)

What else... I am reading voraciously at the moment. I just finished Paul Johnson's History of the Jews and now I am reading Life after Death by Alan F. Segal.

Very good book. Very academic too.

I am currently only on the first chapter where he is describing ancient Egypt's funereal cult and the geography, politics and sociology of the era.

I in fact learnt some more about Hebrew this morning which is appropriate to Nisan and Pesach. Which happens at the upcoming full moon.

Anyways...

When Egypt is referred to in the Bible, the Hebrew word is Mitzrayim.

The word Mitzrayim in Hebrew is in a special form of the plural - a form which indicates "Two".

Its the form of a noun I would use if I want to buy two pairs of shoes etc.

So if we were to translate the word literally the Bible would always refer to the two Egypts and not to a singular Egypt. Therefore at the Pesach table I will be recounting the story of how "...We were slaves in the two Egypts but now we are free men...".

That seems strange.... Does it not???

Well, actually - it makes perfect sense.

Because Egypt was actually split into two seperate kingdoms seperated geographically by huge waterfalls. The climate and society of the two kingdoms were different and in fact they spoke such different dialects of Egyptian that people from the two different kingdoms of Egypt could not understand each other. These two kingdoms were united under the pharoah - but nevertheless they were two seperate distinct entities.

There were in fact two Egypts hence the form of the Hebrew word for Egypt - Mitzrayim.

I find that very interesting!

later...

Sickly

I have the flu.

Kabbalah Lara

A friend of mine, Lara, is off to Israel to make a documentary on Kaballah.

She sent me an email containing these words:

Anyway, I'm in London but on my way to Israel again. This time to do some filming in Tsfat. In a nutshell, I want to make a doccie (documentary film!) that dispels some of the myths of Kabbalah and highlights its light. I don't by any means, plan to give a summary on what Kabbalah is as even if this would be possible, its not what this doc about. Its more to raise a bit of awareness and to steer people away from the celebrity, cult bullshit and give them an alternative sight.

... I plan to make Tsfat my base and to interview some of the colourful and sincere characters I met when I lived there but I still need to find someone more authoritative. Someone who can maybe provide the narrative voice in my doc. I don't want it to be a 'voice of G-d' but rather someone who can explain a few basic principles and such stuff. So do you know anyone like that?

I did suggest Sarah Tov; however I do not have her contact details. (Anyone have her details?)

anyways... If anyone out there can make any useful suggestions for her to consider; please leave a comment here for her to read.

later...

Another Assignment and now 6 and not 8....

Assignment 1 INF 206d
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Well, I have just completed another assignment. (This one was 11 pages.) Which brings my total of assignments completed to 5.

I also am no longer registered for 8 UNISA subjects; but 6 UNISA subjects.

The reasons for this was that although I have been working hard and consistently there is no way I could do all these courses and be able to maintain quality and attention.

I know I can with 6 courses.

I have learnt my lesson in the past of trying to cope with more that I should - and it only results in me not succeeding at what I could have accomplished with temperance.

Apparently temperance is the key to success in worldly and spiritual endeavours.

later...

Mobile Me

Me
Originally uploaded by ilanpillemer.

Well, at last my blogging reach will attain new levels of blogdom.

I just got a new telephone as part of my two-yearly upgrade with my serive provider. This phone has a little built-in camera.

I was hoping that it would a nice enough camera that if I see something or go somewhere and feel like blogging about it - I can snap.

Well here is snap of me!

It looks good enough, don't it?

later...

Boring Boring: A Directory of Dull Things

For all those who enjoy a bit of laugh on this Friday April Fool's Day.

Link

later...