Auf Wedersehn

Been there, done that, and then got the T-shirt too. We took Sara to Miami's Hard Rock Cafe' on her last night out down South.

Hopefully we're skiing down a Mount Tabor or Mount Washington slope in Oregon with Sara in the near future! Would love to visit Portland.

Thanks Sara, it was great having you.

Batting Practice

At the FIU Sportsgrounds there are some neat batting cages, which is where we met with some friends earlier.

I'll stop here more often after work in the future - trying to smack a ball coming at you at 50 miles/hour is awfully good theraphy. Especially after a frustrating day at the office.

In the picture, we caught Sarah at the exact moment of absolutely smashing the softball through mid-on, over the fielders head, for a beeeauuutiful four! Nice pic.

The Everglades at Sunset

Friends Michael and Melanie Joubert invited us to their fishfarm, near the Southern tip of Florida.

The farm borders the Everglades National Park and dusk is magical, transforming the land into a beautiful shadowland, lined with dazzling bright reds, oranges and purple streaks. Reminds me of sunset in Africa.

We had loads of fun trying to feed a dead fish to one of the neighborhood aligators. Mike stuck a chunk of foamalite in the fish's mouth and the current took it straight to where the aligator were lurking.
There were no gigantic hunter-prey struggle, but the scaly dude squirmed enough for us to get some good glimpses of his ancient body.

Unfortunately he was just too far away to get a nice picture, but I did manage some good shots of the sunset.

A Visitor from Portland, Oregon

Sara arrived yesterday in South-Florida amidst loud cheers in the Bouwer household.
It's been nearly three years since I last saw Sara and we are looking forward to spending some time with her, showing her as much of Miami as we can, and spending some time in the sun.
Florida is to the US what Hermanus is to Capetonians = holiday country! Unfortunately, it started raining since she arrived and South Beach's golden sand will probably not see us as soon as we anticipated!

Vreugdevure Brand Hoog! DIE BOKKE IS KONING!!

Sarah's Birthday, Universal and Isles of Adventure

Monday, October 15th was Sarah's birthday, so we stayed in Orlando and visited the Isles of Adventure and Universal Studios next door.

Since it was Monday, there were fewer tourists in the parks and the lines were much shorter per ride - 15 minutes waiting time max.
Still, there were more people than I expected, mostly the hundreds of Brits that we shared the park with, making good use of the favorable exchange rate between the Dollar and the Pound.

Sarah loved the Isles for the rides - I just watched her do the roller coaster rides, Dr. Doom's Freefall, The Dueling Dragons (Why voluntarily undergo heartwrenching, adrenaline-draining rushes?!) - and I've always wanted to visit Universal.

We saw some awesome movie sets and 3-D movies. They were preparing the park for Halloween Horror Nights and pull out all the stops! Fun to see.

It was a long 3-hour drive home after an eventful day...
Pic: Sarah sitting on the egg in the nest, Dr. Zeus's garden.

Boodskap vir die Bokke

Orlando Weekend

Florida's unofficial capital city is Disney World.
We visited the sprawling Disney city the weekend and I couldn't help admire the incredible vision of Walt Disney. It is a holiday fantast world, a city all on its own, spread out over thousands and thousands of prime acres, brought many years ago. When Walt brought the land, it was worthless as farm land, but you have to be a genuis to create something so spectacular as he did. Today, it is some of the most expensive real estate in America.

Sundat we visited SeaWorld. It's a beautiful park and the VIP beer tasting sessions are the best. Art and I left before lunch to go see the Rugby World Cup semi-final in an English pub nearby, leaving the women to peruse the park and see all the shows.

Latest News from the Rugby World Cup:

*England meet France in the first semifinal

* South Africa meet Argentina in the other semifinal

* Australia meet New Zealand at the airport!

Viva Les Bleus!!

After two incredible, but rare Rugby World Cup Quarterfinal results today, both Australia and NZ were knocked out of the competition, leaving South Africa to edge hosts France as favorites.

England 12-10 Australia
France 20-18 NZ

I'd say both results were a bit of a fluke, but surely South Africa is celebrating the Wallabies' and Kiwis' misfortune. I predict a France vs SA Final.

Johnson Controls, Inc. - a Fascinating Ethical Dilemma

Thank goodness, I'm finishing this academic block on Friday night - with a presentation. It's been a long, difficult block, being compounded by our Managmeent Ethics Class of the last month and a bit.
I'm presenting the landmark US Supreme court Case of Johnson Controls, Inc. (JC), one of the world's largest manufacturers of automotive interior systems, automotive batteries and building control systems.
A primary ingredient in battery manufacture in JC's 16 plants are lead, the occupational exposure of which pose serious health risks, especially to a fetus carried by a female employee. The company introduced a Policy barring all women, except those that could medically prove that they were infertile, from jobs involving actual or potential exposure.

On the one side, JC had a responsibility towards shareholders to maximize profits, and towards the community to provide jobs and pump money into the community through churning out profits. JC had to rid itself of the liability pregnant employees posed, while providing a safe, risk-free working environment.

On the other side, the JC Policy was directly in violation of Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, whereby discrimination based on sex, race, color or religious preferences are prohibited.
So what to do?
The case went through several courts, before final verdict went against JC. However, it provided me with some fascinating presentation material and a case to test my Ethics Models and Theory against.

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2007

Spoedvraat!
Springbok winger Bryan Habana, recognized as probably the fastest winger in the Southern Hemisphere, gets smoked for pace by Zim-born USA winger Ngwenya. Wow!

PETS

Marco and I have a difference in opinions when it comes to pets. Marco is a firm believer that a dog is man’s best friend. Without it, man is incomplete, reaching only half of his potential. All of our friends have dogs and whenever we visit he spends his time wrestling and playing with them. As soon as we’re about to leave, he gazes forlornly at them, as if they were forbidden fruit.

It’s not that I don’t like dogs, I just feel that it’s rather cruel to keep them locked in an apartment all day. It’s not like we have a yard for them to run around and play in. Gone would be the carefree, spirited weekends were we could just go, hello to responsibility that keeps us grounded in one place….

We’ve attempted several compromises. There was the fish Dot that my sister gave him for Christmas. She lasted approximately 72 hours before my sister-in-law’s boyfriend decided to end her short life by accidentally dehydrating her. Then there was the reptile “aquarium” that took place in the bathtub. That lasted until I went to take a shower. Oh, and then there was the small garden snake and bullfrog that were kept in the spare bathroom sink and somehow their portraits were burned onto my wedding album cd. What a surprise I was in for when I went to print pictures to send to a friend! Thinking that I had finally found the perfect pet, I offered to buy Marco a hermit crab or snail. They require little maintenance and take up no space but I was told they have no personality and he wasn’t interested.

Enter the ducks…

Seeing as most housing and apartment developments in this area are situated on lakes, some twisted developer thought it would enhance the properties outward beauty by installing ducks. The idea seems quaint; a peaceful lake with cute little white ducks swimming gracefully through glassy waters. However, I don’t think that much thought was given to the fact that ducks grow up and make more ducks. Now the once tranquil lakes are overrun with these things and they are now living like vagrants in the parking lot.

Marco couldn’t resist and diligently feeds them on a daily basis. There are two in particular (who by the way are gay) that he has trained to come to his call. They have moved into the bushes next to the stairwell and every morning and evening they wait expectantly for Marco to arrive. However lately, they’ve become even more brazen.

One Saturday I opened the door to take the trash out and there were the two ducks standing at our door. Now this might not seem like anything but we live on the third floor! All I could do was roll my eyes. “Honey!” I called as I slammed the door shut, “You have some friend at the door wanting to see you!” Marco’s face was priceless as he opened the door and they began to waddle their way in. “No, um, we had an agreement, no pets,” I said. “Tell your friends to leave, they’re not welcome here.” I guess the joke was on me, because later that afternoon when I went down to my car, duck poop was all over my hood and windshield.

Last Saturday we were headed to the beach. As we were putting things into the back end of the car, up waddled the two ducks. “No way,” I said. “There’s no way you’re coming with us.” Just like a child, they wandered over to the stairwell and began hopping the steps one at a time, meeting Marco half way. “Ahhh, look at the poor, lonely things,” Marco cooed. Exasperated, I looked at him. “There’s absolutely no way we’re bringing them to the beach!”

Since then, these ducks wait downstairs for us. I’ve tried going down the back staircase, leaving the house before the sun rises, parking in different parts of the parking lot. It’s to no avail, they know where I live and what I drive! Last night I arrived home, parked in another building’s parking lot and as I opened my door, there standing were the two ducks. If I don’t feed them, they get obnoxious; they honk, hiss, and flail their wings at me. I don’t know what’s scarier, them or the sight of me racing through the parking lot, papers flying, as two ducks are chasing me.

Marco finds the whole thing quite comical. As soon as he appears they become angelic, wagging their little tail feathers as if they’re pure as snow while leaving behind their nasty marks all over my windshield and hood. Recently Marco’s talked about taking the ducks with us when we move… I think I need to give in and get a dog!

A Sunday Stroll Nineteenth Century-Style

Thought for the Day

If it weren't for electricity, we'd all be watching television by candlelight.

Darth Vader at Ivy League University

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, (Try and say that fast!)who's country is apparently - financially and through the provision of weapons - supporting Al-Queda in Iraq and elsewhere, and who's government is pursuing a nuclear program, visited the United Nations HQ in NY City yesterday. Afterwards he was invited to speak at Columbia University! Uh?

This caused quite a stir, since he is viewed as one of the US's foremost enemies in the fight against terrorism. Earlier he said that one day Islam will rule the world (Yes Pinky!) and that the holocaust is a myth. Nice guy...

The US Immigration Issue

Apart from the US military presence in Iraq, US Immigration Issues are the hotly debated topic that blazes throughout the country.
It is a simple issue that, over the past decade, have been alowed to escalate to monstrous proportions, an issue with many sides, and no clear right or wrong anymore. It seems that American citizens are on the losing end in the long run.

Which is why an article on France's new Immigration Laws, featured on the liberal-leaning CNN website caught my attention:
The new French law passed by Parliament tilts the system in favor of qualified workers and increases the restrictions for others. The new residency permit - called a "skills and talent-permit" - is only for foreigners possessing skills viewed by the French government as beneficial to their labor market and economy.
This is where it gets interesting - foreigners will only be allowed access if they can earn an income. (Medical Insurance and car insurance are the 2nd highest in the country here in Miami, wher ethe top half is carrying the bottom half.)

Furthermore, the law scraps the old rule where illegal immigrants can obtain permits if they have lived in France for 10 years or more. It will now be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by authorities. The government is threatening to deport school-going children to their countries of origin, because their parents are illegal immigrants.
(My immigration process has been ongoing for more than 2 years - legally. However, immigrants coming in illegally, are granted legal residency status. If an illegal is stopped by the police without a driver's license and required car insurance, they are not allowed to ticket, or arrest them.)

Approved immigrants will be forced to sign an "Integration Contract" committing them to respect the French way of life! Wow!!
Imagine that in Miami, where many who has lived here for decades, still cannot speak English, refuse to call themselves Americans, and have not integrated into the American culture, but often mocks it.

Everyone has Rights, says the Constitution. 'Tis true, but the focus is so much on these rights that the wellbeing of American citizens are left on the wayside. In Oregon, there is a new proposal before their Education Board that will allow children of immigrants to study the curriculum of their countries of origin - in the American public schools system!
"No, you don't have to study our American history, or English, just live here, and enjoy the free education and healthcare." Being fiercely patriotic, this wouldn't sit well with me. Lamsakke!

The new law has prompted hostile reaction from the liberal parties and the Catholic church in France. At least it can be said that the French government took a decisive stand and are not blinking in the inevitable face of criticism and at the chance of offending anyone.

Uit die Ou Dae!

Wie onthou hierdie poets deur Leon Schuster?

Boxing

The other night I'm watching boxing and the one guy receives quite a beating before being knocked out. What doesn't make sense to me is why they'd interview the poor guy after the fight? Really, what is he going to say? While trying to focus with his one open eye on the camera and trying not to drool from his swollen lip.

In the seventh round you were knocked down. What happened?
Uh, it's all a little hazy, but from what I can tell, the other gentleman was punching me in the face...

Holderstebolder

Ek teken apologie aan vir enigeen wat die moeite doen om ons Blog te besoek en niks nuut hier gevind het die afgelope week nie.

Dis mirrel-van-die-kwartaal-sindroom, vermoed ek. Ons is douvoordag op, word 'n tweede keer op kantoor wakker na die eerste koppie Kubaanse koffie (- en wonder hoe ek de vy ek daar gekom het!), is besig, middagete om 'n kontak te "kultiveer", neig moeg saans huistoe, spitsverkeer-gefrustreerd, honger, oefen, groet, kuier, kook, swot, en raak voor die TV aan die slaap op mekaar se skote, net om met 'n ruk wakker te word en te besef my rooibos is yskoud en Jay Lenno vertel grappe = 11:30-00:00!

Real life that happens in between the weekend and travel pics, I guess.
Sarah vors Meestersgrade na in die Noorde. Sy is Junie klaar met haar sewende skooljaar en ons vertrou dis dalk haar laaste as werknemer van die skoolsisteem.
Ek woon hierdie week 'n Nasionale Grants Writing werkswinkel by deur die Universiteit van Miami, vroeg tot laat, maar die materiaal hou my konsentrasie gevange. My huidige studie-blok is BestuursEtiek. 'n Tameletjie - nie die holistiese prinsiepe nie, wel die realistiese studiegevalle.

Nag ou grote.