To 2011...

A prosperous and blessed New Year to all our friends.
The Bouwers

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Economic Recovery Slows with Weak Job Creation in June

The economic forecasts are becoming less optimistic as the $787 billion federal stimulus measure is losing the artificial momentum it created in 2009. Economists are predicting darker days lies ahead. The artificial boost to the unemployment rate (currently at 9.5% - boosted as nearly 400,000 Census workers were counted as "employed") dropped when more than 200,000 temporary federal Census workers completed their contracts. Here's a good report from the New York Times.

Although the stimulus kick-started the US economy back into action at a crucial time, the White House is again calling for more spending. I'm no economist, but surely continuing to spend money you don't have will come back to bite you in the behind. After Greece went bankrupt recently European leaders have announced a conservative fiscal policy, getting their own budgets in order and cutting back on spending. It makes sense - if I incur debt I won't be dining out for a while. I'll be reckless if I keep using the credit card. Simple.

Here's sincerely hoping the the forecasts are wrong and the economy picks up in the Fall.

Sixteen Grand Slam Titles

In a lopsided encounter on Sunday, Spanish world number one Rafael Nadal, defeated Czech Thomas Berdych to win his 2nd Wimbledon tennis crown to add to his 1 Australian Open-and 5 French Open titles.

Tennis commentators and enthusiasts are already debating how long it will take Nadal, who is only 24, to overtake Roger Federer's record 16 Grand Slam titles. Although the Swiss master is not near retirement, not many is expecting him to have much more Grand Slam success - not with the likes of Nadal, and other young upcoming stars like Brittain's Andy Murray, Serbian Novak Djokovic, Sweed Robin Soderling, and Berdych around.

I'm one of those who has found great pleasure in watching the sublime skills of King Roger - hoping that he has one more Slam left in those legs. Oh, and his mother is a South African tannie! Some consolation after years of unfulfilled promise watching Wayne Ferreira play. ;-) 2010 might be his last year.

The New Vuvuzela iPhone Ringtone!

Lovers of the metre-long South African plastic horns can now blast them from cell phones. Probably to the annoyance of everyone else. Eish!

The Dutch designers Moblio has created a Vuvuzela-2010 app that's available in Apple's iTunes music store. One user comment called it "so stupid, it's awesome". In spite of complaints by annoyed players and viewers alike, FIFA persists that fans must be allowed to blow the horns that are already symbolic of the South African tournament.

According to Moblio there has already been more than 750,000 downloads of the application!

Cold Front Brings Snow To Parts of Western Cape

A cold front in the Western Cape has brought snow to Ceres and the surrounding areas. Capetonians have been flocking to the Boland town to catch a glimpse of the rare white stuff.

On the left is a picture taken in the Matroosberg mountain range outside of Ceres by a friend of the family.

The Thing About the Vuvuzelas...

What's long, plastic, brightly colored, and very anoying? A vuvuzela of course!
The incessant noise from these horns turns out to be a source of great irritation for many soccer fans. Folks, it's kind of a big deal that this FIFA World Cup 2010 is hosted for the first time on African soil - ye'all wanted an African experience - South Africa is giving you a fantastic one!
Bafana Bafana is not doing too well either, so please allow the South Africans their small pleasures. How does the saying go - When in Rome...?

Either way - here's what old Adolf thinks about these Vuvuzelas - a must see!

A Busy Hurricane Season Up Ahead?

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting a very busy hurricane season this year. A record number of storms are expected, with the first storm of 2010 already in sight. Fortunately it seems to be petering out to nothing but a gust of wind, but weathermen are basically saying "Buckle up".

What makes this worse news is that one or more storms could cross paths with the infamous "English spill" - the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. The potential heavy weather could increase the current threat of polution and contamination for the Gulf Coast and the pristine Florida Panhandle coastline. Storm surges could push the oil miles inland to the coastal wetlands.

Apparently the reasons for the expected stormy season are twofold:
South Florida has experienced one of the longest, coldest Winters in decades, the coldest in Miami since 1981, and the 2nd coldest recorded Winter ever in Miami Beach. (We had a ball "picking" cold, limp iguana from the trees!) Now, water temperatures in the Atlantic is approximately 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than usual. Hurricanes feed of the hot air rising from the ocean - once a storm hits the Gulf of Mexico, they usually "explode", or pick up speed quickly, due to the warmer water.
Secondly, the El Nino wind conditions that discouraged storms last year, are absent in '10.

Hurricane season in the Carribean and Florida traditionally starts in June and ends around November.

Mary Poppins!

Attending the famous musical Mary Poppins at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts was another highlight in June. The quality of the lyrics, the beat of the music, the choreography starkly contrasted with today's instantly produced "art".

A Yachting Trip Up the East Coast

In my line of work the chance to take a trip up the East Coast of the US of A, and that in a luxury $1.4 million yacht, doesn't come along every week. The past weekend, with Sarah working through the final prerequisites of her Masters degree, I happily took the invitation that came my way.

Apart from a bumpy start due to a stubborn Northern breeze across our bow, it was plain sailing. The choppy ocean conditions had Captain Grant head up the Intercoastal instead.

The Intercoastal is the waterway of natural and man-made canals that stretches all along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. By taking it, one can avoid the hazards of traveling the open sea, although travel is slower. But it's beautiful, a real privileged two-day feast of a trip. We saw loads of birdlife, sea turtles, manatees, hordes of snowbirds (the kind with the fishing rod in one hand and the coffee/whiskey mug in the other!), and an uncountable amount of dolphins.

The dolphins loved playing in our wake, riding the waves like surfers, getting a free ride. Quite an awesome sight watching 'em play. I'll post some dolphin pics once it's downloaded.

St. Augustine's port is where I waved farewell to the crew, who continued up to Long Island, and urged my rental's nose back South towards Miami and home.

Ladies & Gentlemen - The Winner is...

Sarah was recently awarded the Miami-Dade County Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award.

True to character, my dear wife doesn't like the spotlight, hence why she probably kept it quiet. With humility and dignity she accepted it, and told no-one - neither before nor after.

Congratulations Sarah!

How to Clean Up Your Facebook Profile

We moved into our current abode after living nearly 3 years in an apartment in West-Miami. During the packing process we were amazed at the amount of junk two people can gather in such a short time - most of it stuff we really didn't want or needed. Know the feeling?

Facebook has been around since 2005, about the time we moved to Miami, Florida. During a few years a FB account can accumulate a lot of junk, weird applications, and even "friends" you cannot remember! It's important to clean your Inbox once in a while, and even more essential to do the same for your FB account. After all, it's public.

The following article on the Mashable website provides some fantastic tips on how to get this task done: How To: Clean Up your Facebook Profile.

Standup Comedy Night, Seminole Hard Rock & Casino

The comedians were OK, the company was great.

A Visit to the Florida Keys

It's a 3 hour trip from the Gables down to Bahia Honda Key State Park.
But there's much to see during the 120+mile-long trip. This was taken
just South of Islamorada.

More Problems with AT&T

We've been experiencing problems with our AT&T lines for two weeks now - due to bad customer service. Enough to drive you up the walls! ;-)
My wife explains (typed on an iPhone, so there might be spelling errors):

AT&T is the worst company ever. Repeatedly they have ranked the lowest in customer satisfaction. Today was a prime example of why. After 3 calls to disconnect my landline, 2 botched bills, 1.5 hrs on hold I was finally told yes I could disconnect my landline and have only an Internet line. This however was after repeated harrassment about keeping the landline because "ma'm geeting rid of your phone line is not a smart way of saving money." Nevermind that i don't use the landline and have enough roll over minutes to last me until July if I was to run out of minutes on my cell. Furthermore though, who is he to tell me how i should be saving money???
After being repeatedly assured that my internet would still work once it was disconnected, I came home to find that not only was my phone disconnected but so is my Internet. Coveniently disconnected after service hours and representatives won't be available until Monday at the earliest.

A Toast to the New Year

Here's wishing all our valued friends and family the most prosperous, productive, and blessed 2010!

We ended a rather sedate 2009 of on a high with a adventurous road trip through the North-Eastern United States, driving more than 3,000 miles, and passing through 12 states in the process. Spent some great quality time with the family, saw it snowing for the first time, had my first white Xmas with Sarah's lovely family, and ski'd.

We ventured off the beaten track on occasion, a surprise finding of Colonel Sanders' first KFC and tavern/inn in a little Tennessee mountain town with a population of less than 200, stood on the spot in Harper's Ferry where John Brown was hanged, had the most expensive Indian food ever in Washington D.C., the best ever(!) Afghan food in Georgetown, visited all the neighborhoods in the nation's capital, and even had a delightful conversation with an authentic 17th century shoemaker in Williamsburg.

The best however, was the memorable time spend with great friends and family - they made the 16 days fly and their companionship and conversation rejuvenated us.

We are ready for 2010 - it is going to be a spectacular year!

God bless.

This Is Where I Am Now

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.”

—M. Scott Peck(1936-2005); Psychiatrist, Author

Hillsborough River State Park Camping Trip

Camping trip - Hillsborough River State Park

Sleepless Night In South Beach

An absolute blast!