free thinking

Tonight I am in Scottburgh, on the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. I was in Durban this week for business, and then came up on this Friday night to Scottburgh because I am scuba diving here tomorrow. I grew up in Durban and used to holiday here as a child with my family, before we moved to the Western Cape. Until last year, I had not been here since then, more than 20 years ago.

Tonight I was alone and left to my own devices, and I took a walk under the moon along the sea shore. I found the exact set of rock pools where as a 9 year old I first donned a cheap set of snorkeling gear and put my head underwater and discovered a new world that would never stop fascinating me. I remembered sitting as a little geeky bookworm with huge tomes from Jacques Costeau on their detailed studies of whales, and octopus, and other mysterious creatures. It was quite poignant to be here today, on the eve of my dive tomorrow, to have come full circle. Tomorrow is quite a special dive. A few months ago, I was sitting the one night at home and looking at some underwater photos that I had taken, and been thankful that I had dived with almost all of the creatures that I had a longing to dive with. Whale sharks, dolphins, seals, whales, turtles, moray eels, coral reefs, lionfish, you name it. Everything except for big sharks, and I really wanted to dive with them. The very next day I went to work and a colleague came to me and said that she had won a prize that she didn’t want, and maybe I would want it. The prize was to go diving with a Marine Biologist in a shark reserve. Without a cage. Talk about shaping your future, so clearly and quickly. And now after months of trying to find a suitable date, here I am.

It was a reflective moment, under the sky and moon and clouds and stars sitting by the rock pool where I had walked as an innocent and awakening youngster. I figured that if that kid then who was so excited splashing about in rock pools with the sea life that inhabits them, would know that he would grow up and go diving in all of the best places in the world with the best gear, he would be pretty chuffed. It prompted an overview of my life. Firstly, looking at my childhood and family life, I realise now how lucky I was. My mother and father were exactly how a mother and father should be, and my brother and I were very fortunate in the childhood that we had. There were no difficult or awful issues, and that solid and simple base provided a foundation for our lives that will always give us strength. Walking on the quiet streets, I marveled at how tiny the town was, but as a child it had provided everything that we needed for a marvelous coastal holiday, and this just put into perspective for me how we really do not need to have a lot to have everything that we need. I live a life where I am often exposed to luxurious surroundings, but often we can find all we need in the very basics.

I looked also at my life as a 34 year old, and wondered how the 9 year old would have viewed it. I felt how, more than ever, that my life was perfectly poised to develop into what I have dreamed of it. I am fit and healthy and getting into better shape physically and mentally. At the end of next year I will be a CA, MBA, CFA and CFP, which is a combination that is dreadful to acquire and I have never heard of someone who has that set of qualifications, which will truly arm me with an armory of skills. My career has been developing and expanding at a rapid rate and is accelerating. I have given and received love and still do; something that eluded me for many years. I absolutely love mountain biking and am really getting the hang of it, and have a wide array of sports and hobbies that I enjoy and can do the basics of: golf, bodyboarding, squash, hiking, trail running, gym, swimming, etc. Yoga is my solace and stabilizer and going into meditation provides me with all the guidance and resolve that I need to do what it is that I need to do. While what I have achieved is still fairly modest, they are steps along a path and the grand plans that I have still seem realistic, and my life is moving towards that goal. And while it is being neglected currently due to limited time, I have artistic endeavours to satisfy my soul: writing, photography, and making music.

So, even with all the hardships along the way, I am living the life I have planned and, slowly but surely, am developing into the human being that I envision being.
With the hectic pace of my life, I never get time to pause and take a time out, so these few hours walking down the beach at night in a coastal town that shuts down at 8pm, were invaluable to me.

Now I am ready for the sharks tomorrow

So today is the next day. I completed my dive a few hours before and am in the plane one the way home to Cape Town. On the way to the airport I remembered that you are supposed to wait at least 24 hours between scuba diving and flying, and I drove straight from the boat to the plane, with me and my gear still a bit wet. During the ascent of the flight I felt pretty weird, especially my eardrums. But I seem to be OK now.
The conditions were rough for the dive. At the launch, the boat before us tried for half an hour to get out of the bay but gave up. Fortunately the Blue Wilderness skipper was really experienced and we got out quickly, although it was a rough ride which I felt in my kidneys every time I smacked back down to the rubber duck. When we reached the spot they started chucking bits of sardines into the water, and immediately the sharks came.

Unfortunately it was 2 degrees too cold for the big tiger sharks, but even the black tip and dusky sharks provided for an unforgettable experience. I was fortunate to be close to lions very recently, and now being close to sharks was another experience that will always be in my memory. The sharks are a magnificent piece of engineering and it was a true privilege to be in amongst them and witness it from close, in their natural environment. you can sense their cold intelligence. I mean, look at this thing!

And I got a good view. Like the guide said, I must have got some good photos because I was right in the thick of it. Once I got more comfortable I swam right into the “feeding frenzy” and snapped away. And almost got my arm snapped off when I could not resist and tried to touch a passing shark. Main rule is keep your limbs together, and I stretched out to hold one shark and another darted in.

It really was a dream come true, and now I am highly enthusiastic to dive with more sharks. It has also reinvigorated my love for sea life, and made me remember how important it is to conserve the magic of sea life and all natural biodiversity. The scale of overfishing is shocking, and it is a sobering thought to think that mankind is emptying the teeming seas. We all need to do our bit to stop this. It would be a tragic loss of incalcubale proportions.

Click here to see the pictures – enjoy. Damn, there are some crackers because I got so close!

So, how is this for an interesting story.

My late wife Melanie had a slightly embarrasing name for me – “Poo Bear”
I suppose it has something to do with me being so cuddly

Anyway, when her mother was here, her mother also laughed that whenever I called her on Mel’s phone, the called ID showed “Jay Poo Bear”.

Her mother went back to Germany, after Mel passed away, and decided to get a puppy dog to make her feel better. So she looked at photos and chose a labrador. It arrived, and its name, according to its papers, was… “Poo Bear”.

In fact, its full name according to its registration papers is “Poo Bear vom Kloepperhof”.

Now, how many dogs in Germany do you think are called Poo Bear? Absolutely not one apart from this one, would be my guess. This has Mel’s humour written all over it, and it made me feel like she was pretty close to us still. She did this to wink from the other side, along with making her mom less sad with this little bundle of life in the house.

Look at him below, he is pretty cute. Deserves my name

My dogs have also helped warm my heart in these lonely days and nights. Fighting for my lap, or for the big chewy toy. And when the others are at the door for their walk, the littlest one dashing up to get the big chewy while it is unprotected, and then trying to take it with on the walk when it is half his size…

You know, I would give anything to do a simple think like walk with Mel and the dogs on the field or beach again. How we should value the simple pleasures, because when they are gone we see what treasure they were…

I was wrong. There is something worse than spam.

Gay Spam.

Why is the world such a shitty place sometimes?

People asked me what I was planning for my leave. Which country was I going to, what exciting pursuits. The answer had them puzzled:
“I am going to a quiet nature reserve. I am going to find a tree in the middle of nowhere, put my big comfortable camping chair under that tree, and sit in the quiet and do absolutely nothing at all.”

That is what I love most about camping – when you sit around a campfire, you are successfully camping. It is nothing else but staying in the outdoors. And it is so very good for you. Benefits like the abundance of fresh air and silence, and the absolute lack of traffic, computers, and phones.

Making dinner is a big challenge and deeply rewarding. Coffee, brandy, and others around the campfire. Drums and guitars. Starry skies. Naps in the shade. Afternoon walks, morning mountain bike rides. Dirty, dirty feet.

We must go again soon. I went a whole year without camping last year. Stupid.

Anyway, this is not much of a post, and its main function is to open a forum for discussion. So go ahead and post!

While you are here, read some of the other postings too.

I am going to talk about my current home, Cape Town, South Africa. This is especially for the people that do not know the city, but I think I will strike a few chords with the people who do live here.

I don’t like cities. Congested and polluted and cramped, and damned hard to lead a healthy lifestyle. Easier to end up in a pub than a forest. People become unnatural as they lose touch with their environment. Their personalities sour as they are ridden with stress and pressure and frustration. Cape Town has a population of 2 million, about the most I could handle, and spread over a wide area.

This weekend was a sunny weekend in Cape Town, and I was able to get around in the sun and fresh air. It really drove home to me again what a lovely city I am living in. Being cooped up all winter one tends to forget. But then on a sunny day you look up and Table Mountain is watching over the city, its immoveable grace a reminder of how inconsequential all our frenetic daily activities and worries really are. When the city is dust the mountain will still loom up, a firm part of Nature’s strength.

All day had been beautiful, but when it came to the sunset Saturday evening, I was just blown away. Maybe I saw it with those famous rose-coloured lenses because I was in a good mood after some heart-warming experiences. Anyway, you tell me. Here is a photo of the sunset, taken from a restaurant overlooking the beach. Is that special, or what?

Sunday morning I woke up and after playing some guitar went for a ride in the mountains to clear my head. After a long winter the legs were too thin and the belly too big, and the handling was dodgy, but it was plain fantastic to be out there on the mountain and pushing myself. I was riding along the walking path that is expressly off-limits to mountain bikers (I never obey rules that I don’t agree with) and a family stepped aside to let me go past. The one kid yelled “awesome” as I flew past, and I realised, he was right. To be able to ride along the top of the mountain with clear skies overhead and the sparkling sea on your right, a few minutes from home, is an awesome privilege.

In about a month, the beaches that are some of the most pristine in the world will be welcoming thousands of people to its shores to photosynthesise. The atmosphere for the entire summer becomes imbued with the feeling of a summer vacation, even for those of us who are working every day.

The setting is part of what makes it unique. Any location where the mountain and ocean meet is impressive. The history of the city is part of its allure, the first “civilised” centre in Southern Africa. And the cosmopolitan population add to the flavour. It is truly an ethnically diverse city, with people from our kinds of cultures, and encouraged to live out their cultures unfettered by any imposed restrictions. This is one place where you can be proud of your origin and know that people will respect it. South Africa had learned its lessons in that regard.

It really is a special city. I love to travel, and always look forward to the plane taking off and carrying me to some unknown destination to explore. But when I return home, and the plane circles over Cape Town, I am deeply glad that this is the home to where I am returning.

Going through my photos to put them on the website, I had such a longing to travel again. It really is a wonderful thing, a true eye-opener. You live your life in a certain manner, and accordingly perceive it a certain way. You do this within a society that provides a framework of reference for your character, morals, and beliefs. Then you go to another country where people live in an entirely different manner. Their attitude towards life would be frowned upon in another country, but in their country it is successful, and they as human beings are content. It really drives home the point that life is not always the way that we see it, that it is a broad and intricate tapestry ,and we should occasionally pull our face away from studying a few threads from a narrow distance, and look at the whole tapestry from a different angle so that we can appreciate its beauty and design.

We are partly shaped by our experiences. When we gone though a wide range of experiences it helps to shape us into a more complete, adaptable and durable human being.

Neural networks in computers work by training a system by feeding it input, until it is able to successfully master any input. The training is dependant on the learning it receives. Now, human brains also work with neural networks. The more broad and diverse that the training is, the better the end result.

That is partly why I find people that are too entrenched in a culture to be brittle and narrow minded. I have learned that culture can be important to give someone a base. But they should not hold unto their culture at all costs. Sometimes it is not what is needed for their personal development.