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Showing posts from 2015

A Christmas Wish

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Merry Christmas  To all my family, friends, clients and readers. It's a time to reflect on what's really important in life and what friendship means. May you have big dreams for your future and share your love as far and as wide as possible. You are all precious to me. My world would be much smaller and lonelier without you. Be safe, filled with peace and love this Christmas time. Thanks to all of you for regularly reading my blog posts.

Let The Power Carry You Through.

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Fun in the sun, lazing on the beach after a refreshing swim in the Indian Ocean in December 2013. This is what living is all about. When I look at this photograph it inspires me to ensure that I make time to unwind like this again. At the time I visited my son and his lovely family in Kwa Zulu Natal. Quality time was spent with them and I also swam with my granddaughter in the surf. She really enjoyed that. If I focus on this picture and close my eyes I can still imagine the setting, the sound of the waves, the smell of the salt water and the warm sea sand under my towel.  What I love about swimming in the ocean is the immense power of the currents and the waves. Most of the time you can only go with the flow because the forces are so great. When you body-surf and the wave crashes on you you realise how powerless you really are. That's when you learn to work with these forces to get the most out of the experience. Isn't life like that sometimes? When you have d...

Tomorrow Starts Today.

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This is what happens early in the morning when most people are snuggled up in their cosy beds. I go out for a refreshing ride on my mountain bike. It rained through the night and there were delightful puddles of water to splash through, a blessed relief from the awful drought. I followed a different route this morning involving fast downhills and tortuous uphills - no boredom there! In May of this year I had a scary episode with my heart. The doctor recommended that I go for an angiogram and then have stents implanted in my arteries. Well I survived without that and was determined to recover naturally. After my return from Parys I was all pumped up to get fit and ready for another race, but the episode with my heart was a huge disappointment causing me to change those ideas for a more sedate life. But deep inside of me that isn't who I am. I am the never-give-up-never-give-in kind of guy - nothings going to get me down. So eventually I am getting back on track to where I wan...

Swimming Pool Safety Nets

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They have created the safest pool nets at SA Pool Nets & Covers. All installations are supervised by the owner. Years of experience and proper care in ensuring customer satisfaction makes their swimming pool nets the right choice. Many South African homes have a pool and it is wise to make sure that children and pets are always protected from accidents and kept safe. SA Pool Nets & Covers will gladly provide interested people with a quotation according to their needs. There is an explanation on how to measure your pool on their Contact page before phoning for the free quotation. This is the start of the holiday season and we want to avoid unnecessary accidents and tragedies that may happen to our precious children or pets. Why not have a look at what they have to offer on their website. They also support the Rhino Fund which goes towards the protection of endangered wild Rhino. To view some of their work you can follow the link http://www.sapoolnetsandcovers....

Black Friday Cheer!

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So here we are on Black Friday - something I had no knowledge about until I Googled it. Yesterday I was doing the rounds visiting some clients when my scooter suddenly cut out under me. This was far from home. What to do? I lifted up the seat to access the battery where the fuse was questionable in the past, but I had forgotten to keep the screwdriver in the bike for emergencies. Slowly pushing the bike (like paddling) whilst sitting on it I continued with the road I was on, my mind trying to come up with a solution to my predicament. From previous posts you will see that this bike was a tricky lady and the mechanics that worked on her were not the best. They usually made all sorts of claims about how good they were but never delivered 100% on their promises. Anyway, continuing down the road I stopped opposite a small business operating from a home - they fix things like industrial polishers and floor scrubbers. I explained my predicament to the owner and he delegated ...

The Purpose of Living

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My screensaver on my computer I wake up and see it's 3:30 a.m. and go to the kitchen for a cup of tea. With my bible I settle into my lazy boy and open the Word at the beginning. There I read about how God created light and the account of how the earth was made. After reading that I get to the part that says, "Let us make people in our image to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life. So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them." Then God blessed them. A bit further on in the account I read about how he communicated with man. The rest of the bible is full of this communication between man and God. So I relax and think about this for a while until Maggie, my wife comes to the lounge and looks at the messages on her mobile phone. She discovers that my nephew committed suicide. Shocking news! My mind is full of questions about how this could have happened, but no answers come to mind. He seeme...

Pool Safety

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Pool safety is always a priority all year round, but as we are in the middle of Spring it is a good time to focus attention on making this a priority. After all, what is the life of your child worth? Is he or she safe around the pool when you are not there? What about small pets also? You can go to the website of SA Pool Nets and Covers to see two kids playing on one of the pools they fitted with a cover. The big bonus to having the cover over your pool is complete peace of mind. You also save on water evaporation, chemicals and dust or dirt landing in the water. There is also a slight increase in water temperature.  Why not contact the owner for a free quotation right away?

My Own Responsive Website Design - Ashworthweb

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Responsive Website Design (RWD) - What is that? With so many people browsing the Internet on their mobile phones and tablets - outnumbering those using conventional laptops and desktop computers - us web masters have found ourselves in a position where we had to adapt quickly to this change. There is always something new to learn, hey.  Briefly RWD means that you can view a website on a mobile device without having to struggle to read what's there and without having to scroll sideways or enlarge the page on your screen. It is something completely user-friendly. My website had not been kept up to date since I was always working on someone else's site and never got around to fixing my own. Today I decided it's about time and got stuck in. If you visit http://www.ashworthweb.co.za you will see what I accomplished in one day. It's straight to the point - nice and lean as well as easy on the eye. Since I have been converting my clients' websites to RWD...

Nesher Private School (Delmas School)

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On 4 September 2015 I created a mobile responsive website for an Afrikaans Private School called Nesher ( http://nesherprivaatskool.co.za/ ). Private schools are important institutions that educate our children and provide an important function in our society. We definitely need smart kids who will lead in the future. Nesher is one of those places that nurtures future leaders. They also make use of Learning Receptiveness Profiles, a brain-based assessment tool to determine the neurological wiring of a child, discovering how uniquely they process information, in which mode they prefer to learn, their emotional readiness for learning and it also indicates areas for further development. To learn more about how this cutting edge technology can help you, click on this link  http://www.neurolink.company/#!assessments/c1c5f . Today I posted more photographs to their Opportunities page (Geleenthede) . The photos show the wide variety of activities the pupils enjoy at Nesher. The chi...

SA Pool Nets And Covers Mobile Responsive Website

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SA Pool Nets and Covers also now have a mobile responsive website so that visitors can access their website via smart phones and make use of their excellent services. They started in 2012 and continue to grow in leaps and bounds. Their website is at www.sapoolnetsandcovers.co.za . As the name implies they can supply and install swimming pool safety nets, covers, solar blankets and net alarms.

SA Platforms Mobile Responsive Website

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SA Platforms now have a mobile responsive website at www.saplatforms.co.za . They continue doing a fantastic job of renting or selling cherry pickers and mobile lifting platforms of various configurations to companies needing these machines. They also provide excellent training to operators of these machines. Well done!

Trials And Tribulations With A Scooter

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On 10 March 2012 I collected my first scooter, a Big Boy 250 cc Citiflite - it already had 2459 km on it since it was second hand. Needless to say I was elated since I love the feeling of freedom that comes from riding a motorbike. But this was a scooter and I needed to adjust to the different style of riding - smaller wheels and no clutch. The ride was much lighter than the BMW 1200 RT that I owned before and it was considerably down on power as well. Riding my newly acquired scooter was wonderful, but it didn't take long for trouble to rear its ugly head. The first problem was with starting. Sometimes it would start and sometimes not. This situation grew worse over time until  it wouldn't start at all. Asking for advice from a motorcycle dealership wasn't helpful eithe. Recruiting a family member to service the scooter lead to another dead end. In the end it was towed away to another dealership where it spent about two weeks in the workshop - part of the problem w...

Ultimate Weight Loss Formula

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Here is the ultimate weight loss formula. But beware there are some serious side effects when you start the program. You might find yourself spending money on trying to alleviate some of the symptoms to make the experience more comfortable. You may develop symptoms like aches and pains in your muscles all over your body. When this happens don't consult your doctor. Back pains may occur at times. Sometimes another side effect can be the feeling of limbs that feel like lead. Just ignore those feelings. Psychologically you may get thoughts of doubt and wanting to give up. Warning! Ban those ridiculous thoughts from your mind! Another symptom is often loneliness when taking your formula. If that happens, start talking to yourself. Those are the cons. Here are the pros. Lose about 600 g per week if taken correctly. Feelings of freedom and release of stress - euphoria can occur. Being energised for longer periods. Brain functions take a giant leap for the better. Better self...

Southern Skies 2015

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Southern Skies 2015 24 Hour Race was great. This year the weather was sunny with a slight chill in the air. We arrived in Parys on Friday afternoon and found the perfect spot to camp. A little while later Sean, Janine and kids arrived and we pitched our tents and unpacked our gear. The new additions to our team were Wouter and Mundy. Maggie and I visited the registration counter and also bought some new riding gear. When they announced that the course was open for a test run I was all for it and went for the ride to see what they had created. After climbing and climbing over various sections I finally came across the most awesome downhill stretch. Throwing caution to the wind I allowed my bike to build up speed and I literally flew down the single track as my full suspension mountain bike glided effortlessly over uneven patches. I was tempted to look down at the bike computer on the handlebars to see how fast I was going, but decided that all my attention was needed to remain in...

Horses In The Mist Coming Up Again.

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On 10th October 2013 I mentioned that I added this picture to my blog post for future motivation. As I sit and type this post I have an aching body. I suppose it serves me right for not riding consistently for more than a year. About two weeks ago I was informed that we would be riding again in the 24 hour race. Late this afternoon we were on our mountain bikes doing 8 kilometres. Around 6 kilometres my backside couldn't take it anymore, but we pressed on. Tomorrow morning I will have to drag myself into an upright position when I get up. Whilst riding I commented to my wife that two years ago we were so fit that we didn't feel a thing at the end of a long ride. Now it's hard slogging to get riding fit again - like starting all over again. We are really looking forward to the event. Both my wife and I have full suspension bikes which should make the ride a lot better. This time I am going to take pictures which will help with my future posts. Hopefully I will find th...

Blogging is Rewarding

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I feel so blessed doing some writing in my blog because so many people read what I write about. I just want to say thank you to all my readers. You are a real encouragement to me. I thought I'd just add a photo of me and my granddaughter in the sea near her home. She just loved the fact that I went for a swim with her and I was so blessed by that fact that she enjoyed it and showed her appreciation.

23 Years in Business

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23 Years ago I ventured out into the unfamiliar realm of self-employment. That was on 5 February 1992, just before Nelson Mandela was made a free man by Mr. F. W. de Klerk. At that time I had no clue of what to do or how to run a successful business. I was retrenched and on my own. Now I can look back with a smile on my face because I can say, “I made it.” So here is a story that proves a point. I am quoting it from my blog post on Typepad: “I read a story of how a young boy lost his left arm in a car accident. You can imagine how devastating this was for him. He eventually took up judo. His judo master taught him one move only. He could not understand why the sensei only taught him that one move. In his first tournament he easily won his first two matches. The final match was against a more difficult opponent. It seemed as though he had met his match and the end seemed like it wasn't going his way. Through perseverance the boy finally won with that one move wh...

Cycle Competition 2015

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Three years after our last   Southern Skies 24 Hour Race in Parys and another invitation to compete this year again. If we enter, what lies ahead for us? Are we still up to the challenge? At this moment I don't know who will be in our team, but this is a picture of our members in 2012. My wife and I are on the far left and my son-in-law and daughter are on the far right.  In terms of preparation my wife, Maggie, and I would have to start practising daily to get ourselves back into shape again. We also need to have our mountain bikes serviced. Besides that we also need to make sure that our camping gear and equipment are all ready. We would have to get some powerful LED lights for riding at night. Maybe I should consider taking a voice recorder along so that I don't miss out on recording events as they are happening - better for blogging about our experiences afterwards. Keeping a record of experiences like these are great for when I'm older and don't feel like ...

Will This Happen In 2015 - For Me?

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What does 2015 have in store for us? I would like to think that it's going to be far better than 2014. For one thing I know more than what I did last year. Believe it or not last year was a great year, but I feel on the seat of my pants that this year will be a cracker. All I have to do is make the most of opportunities that come my way. As it is I'm practically sitting on a huge opportunity, but can I pull it off? Now the question is, what would I do if I made a million with this opportunity? Yes, it could happen. And yes, maybe it won't. But, looking on the positive side, if it does happen, what would I do with the proceeds? Here's my wish-list. A BMW 1200 RT. I had one before and had the thrill of my life riding it. The newer model from has a much lower centre of gravity for better handling and loads of power. Yes, I like riding motorcycles because I not only feel at one with the machine (almost like riding a race horse), but I also feel at home in nature - i...