WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR TIME? A READER'S RESPONSE TO MY QUESTION

This guy was standing still spinning about 200 k.p.h.!

We all got a kick out of it!!

One of my readers and a fellow genealogist took time to reply to my blog post of yesterday [5 July 2017]. I encourage you to read and to join her; please tell me what do you do with your time? My e-mail address: neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.za 

I know I have readers all over the world - I would really like to hear from you. 

Hello Neels
I thought I would respond to your question especially as I retired at the end of 2016 so I now have much more free time.

I have been thinking about wasting time. What is wasting time? I think this means different things to different people. I am getting more sleep. Some people might consider that wasting time. I sometimes sit for a little while in my sunny diningroom watching the birds on my neighbours roof. Time waste? We have been so conditioned by our fast paced lifestyle to be constantly on the go that one can feel guilty about not being constantly productive. I have found watching SABC a waste of time. I hate soapies, adverts and polititions. I have never been a big fan of TV but did watch the weather forecast and 50/50. Both my son and I stopped watching TV some years ago but I still continued to pay the license. I decided this year to get rid of the TV and not pay the license. What a problem it is to get the SABC to understand that I do not have a TV! I followed their proceduces, submitted the form and affidavit. Each time I get a reminder I ring them or e mail them. Makes no difference to them. I have had several final demands. Now I ignore them. Time waste is ringing SABC .  Time waste is trying to ring city of joburg when they experience high call volumes. 

Yes I think I do spend too much time looking at my cell phone screen. Fb can be a waste of time but I have also learnt a lot by reading interesting articles or even watching u tube videos. One has more time to communicate with friends or family using a smart phone. One catches up with certain news items. I don't read the newspaper and don't always listen to the news on radio. My father used to subscribe to both the Cape Times and Cape Argus and often had the radio on.

Retirement definitely gives you more time to follow your hobbies. It is easier to get back to hobbies that one persued at some time than starting a completely new hobby. 

I gave up the genealogical research while working as trying to search through hundreds of documents at 10pm was exhausting. In fact I would nod off for a few seconds and nearly fall off my chair. 

I have time for the research now. I thought I had lost the all important file. I went into a bit of a panic! Fortunately I have found it and can now try to pick up the threads again.

With a lot of free time there is little pressure to get things done today, because there is always tomorrow! 

I always used to wonder what older people do with their time! Now that I am at that age group there does not seem to be so much time. The days go by quickly. The only problem is that one does not have much to show for how the time was spent. Perhaps I should write a daily journal.

Regards
Penny Evans

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WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR TIME? SPARE TIME? WASTE TIME?

My friend Alan Mason during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

What do you do with your time? We all have only 24 hours per day to "spend." I know my friend Alan Mason is a very keen photographer. Some time ago he challenged himself to take one photograph per day for 365 days. He completed it with gusto and great photos. During the World Cup in South Africa him and I went to the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg taking our cameras with to photograph this spectacle.

Do you my dear reader still tackle difficult tasks? Do you even set yourself difficult tasks just for the sake of it? Just to stimulate your life juices? 

My wife and I are still practicing law everyday of the week and I assure you that we have some pretty tough matters to attend to. Besides that we have other stuff to attend to as well, for instance growing vegetables, flowers and sculpting. 

Please write me an e-letter and tell me what do you do especially if you are older than 65 years of age. My e-address is: neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.za 

Have a look at the article that was published recently in 1843 Magazine by clicking on this link.

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How the iPhone revolutionised photography

Fashion photographer Georges Antoni and Margaret Zhang for Elle Australia

Fashion photographer Georges Antoni uses the iPhone 7 Plus on Portrait mode to photograph Margaret Zhang for the June cover story of Elle Australia. 

Can you believe this? The face of photography [pun intended] have been changed tremendously. I was a member of photographic societies in Johannesburg area for a number of years and later was "duped" into believing that members [especially very senior members] know everything about photography and what the perfect image looks like. I resigned. 

This is the new face of photography - thanks to "photography-rebels" such as Georges.

After my resignation I packed my "big" Nikon away, obtained a "mik-and-druk" [point and shoot] and experienced a tremendous freedom. I you click on this link you will see the same thing happened to this photographer: he experienced freedom from certain restraints imposed by others on photographers. Please read this article to the end. 

Some time ago Bentley  [video shots] also requested a photographer to use his iPhone to shoot an advertisement for them. Read the article by clicking on this link. Their approach to this meant having the ad "filmed, assembled and edited using the in-car connectivity and entertainment platform." Essentially, the filmmakers used an iPad Air to assemble all of the footage, and edited the entire thing in the backseat. 

Revolution in the photographic palaces!!!!

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CAMERON CARPENTER - ORGANIST EXTRAORDINARY BY THE EXTREME!!

CAMERON CARPENTER: Photo credit: internet

This man is most talented and every single time I listen AND look at his performances I am hugely impressed by his talents. Thank you Cameron for what you are doing for us to enjoy. Follow this link to his Overture to "Candide"

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CHANGES IN HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

DR PAUL PEARSALL's THE  HEART'S CODE

New findings about cellular memories and their role in the mind/heart/spirit connection by Dr Paul Pearsall - this book challenges one's mindset about life and what it entails. It seems as if his thesis is that the heart is a more powerful organ than the brain. I suggest that you get your own copy to read. The ISBN Number is: 0-7679-0095-2; the soft cover book was published during 1999. 

Just to wet your appetite please download this study by Paul Pearsall, Gary E.R. Schwartz and Linda G.S. Russer. It is only about 8 pages but loaded with mind boggling information by both recipients, their family and friends as well as some families of the donors. The authors are careful in their presentation to make categorical statements; they conclude by saying that it is advisable to conduct further research and study into it. Cellular memories? Well - it might be cutting edge thinking. 

Of course there is the contra viewpoint as well - read it here. It is obvious that this author does the normal thing: he does not deal with the evidence produced by Pearsall and his colleagues. He just makes allegations to cast dispersion on them.

I am re-reading this book. I assure you that the book is not easy reading; it challenges my normal way of thinking about what and who I am and what goes on inside my body. If science cannot proof it either right or wrong, it does not mean that it does not exist. It only means that it is not proven by science either way. The same way that science cannot proof nor disproof that God exists. It calls for a new way of thinking. Joanna Lumley recently said when she was interviewed by Monty Don at the Chelsea Flower Show 2017 that this extravaganza of plants forces you to believe in a Deity. 

Maybe, maybe one day in the future it might be just that ... 

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What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

Robert Waldinger - the chief of the research team

It is a remarkable study over a continuous period of 75 years - the longest in history. And the insights they gained can change your life - if you are prepared to take the risk. It is a risk to cultivate personal relationships. He says in so many words that personal relationships are "... messy ..." Don't I know this from very personal experience; it is an ongoing saga in my family. 

Click on this link. He regrets that there are too many ugly messy family feuds in our lives! And do I regret that as well. 

I urge you to listen to this gentle man - because Robert is so gentle. A gentle giant. 

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HOW TO TRAVEL IN RURAL ZIMBABWE: PLUMTREE

One way of travelling in the 21st Century!

I visited Plumtree in Zimbabwe the other day and traveled into the deep rural areas. Please watch the videoclips of the different modes of transport I found during my very brief visit there. 

I often heard people shouting at the top of their voices: "Mlungu!!" My companion explained that those people have never seen a white man. In the village of Plumtree a Zimbabwean approached me and asked if he may take a photograph of us together. His reason? He wanted to show his mother!

And yet I saw small kids walking about with a cell phone. 

My goal was to visit Gwamagwama in deep rural Zimbabwe and I also created a short video clip about that trip. Here's the link to that one.

Please write me a letter at neelscoertse@wirelessza.co.za and tell me what you think. 

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