Last Saturday I went flying at Wilderness, about halfway between Capetown and Port Elizabet. The weather was great and I took a few pictures with my cellphone. Now that I know about this place, I will come more often. Apart of the nice scenery, the number of German and British tourists impressed me most. I have also 'shot' a short video clip which I will post to Picoblogger. Greetings, Mario :-)

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On friday, 2 days ago, my eldest daughter, Emerèi, had a 'sports day' at the school. Unfortunately it rained early in the day and the kids were asked to go back to their class rooms. I went with and used the opportunity to take a picture of her while playing :-)

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Now how is this for a future cell phone? Can you make out what is going on? The top part is the screen as is the bottom part. Basically is a 'screen input device' but only on the bottom part is touch sensitive. The whole cellphone is a huge screen. The keyboard is projected onto the bottom screen if needed. Also the color can be changed as wished (after all is just a big screen) Because the 'top screen' is not hampered by the extra screen input layer, the resolution will be good enough to be viewed in direct sun light. No info is given when the cell will become available (2010 ? ? ?)

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Last day at preschool

While driving home from work, I saw a group of kids crossing the road. I immediately recognised the teacher and then I remembered, my child went with her class to the local beach, today been the last day at school before the 'summer' vacation.

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Lazy sunday afternoon

Usually I go flying on weekends, but this time around we went to the cattle range in Tsitsikama. It belongs to my wife's brother and is the place where I do most of my outdoor activities. Here is my 'extended' family sitting in the garden.

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Can your pc play .3gp videos?

If your pc can play files encoded in the .3gp format have a look at one of my first videos filmed with my N70 while flying low over the Lady Sleeper ridge with my paraglider - Gin Bolero Plus :-)

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Check this cell phone !

Ever wondered what the tiniest cell phone looks like ?

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The 3 Clowns :-)

Here is a pic of my 2 toghters and their nice(right).

Happy birthday to my son !

Last weekend (Saturday) my, son Michael, turned 2. We/he had the usual party and went to 'Spur', our local restaurant which caters for kid parties. I've played with him more then usual (picked him up the whole day) and now I am lying in the bad (3-day) with a sore lower back :-( I am getting 40 in 2 months and I guess that may have something to do with it too. Anyway here is a picture of Michael with his older sisters blowing the 2 candles. Greetings from Jeffreys Bay. Mario :-)

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I enjoy my Gin Bolero Plus

On a sunny day, a short while back, me and a local buddy decided to see what the late winter may throw at us 'thermal' wise. After a nice flight of 50+ minutes up and down the 'Lady Sleeper' mountain range, I took this picture with my - cellphone ! I did not think much of it until I saw it on the pc's screen. Not that bad for a cell phone. Here it is, for you to judge. Greetings from South Africa. Mario :-)

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She loves ballet

Emerei, my eldest child, just discovered a new 'hobby'. She even went so far to designe her very own dress for the occassion. (with a bit of mom's help thou)

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26/05/2006

This blog comes from my cell using the 'direct post' function when taking a picture. (2mp mode)?It also has one tag attached. (my home page)

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My first posting from my new phone

Huh ! Now check this - a picture taken with my N70's secondary camera (usually used for video phone conversations) and posted to blogger strait from my cell :)

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My family :)

Here is a picture of my family as of 2005-12-25. My wife holds Michael, while Emerei sits on my lap. The one standing is Marina. The occasion? - well look at the date ;-)

The very first paraglider winching for our club.

Yesterday our club instructor surprised us by asking the club pilots to drive at a nearby airfield as opposed to a suited hill/mountain. Now I ain't a club pilot yet, but I still went to the airfield just to see what is all the fuss about. What a suprise it was to see the instructor next to his vehicle which had a paraglider winch attached at the back. After a 'crash' course - off we went. First the instructor himself and then the older/experienced pilots. At first I was a bit 'afraid' but after watching the others, I had a go. And what a experience it was ! We - the student pilots - took the show over going again and again. Some of us got up to 200m on occasion. I had winched 4 times by the time the sun went down. What a day !

Joyful life :-)

On many a occasion I ask my self - is it all worth it? And each and every time I come to the same conclusion - Yes it is. Some of my friends never married and don't have any children. They certainly enjoy a good life, doing what ever they want, when ever they want it. Also they have no responsibilities (or very few) which certainly is easier on ones stress level, but then again looking at the picture below - I beg to differ.

Working night shift - farm patrol

Hey look at this picture I manage to take hastely while working in Krans Plaas area. We got complains from the public that someone is stealling sheep. For the past week or so I and my buddy, patrolled the area in our police 4x4 vehicle. It was pure luck - while playing with my buddy's brand new Samsung D600 camera cellphone, a leopard cross the small gravell road just in front of us.

My home town as seen by Google Earth.

I thought you might like this.

Now, I am a paraglider pilot and I regulardly use Google Earth to find new flying sites. While looking for 'aerial adventures' around my home town, Google Earth come up with this picture. I thought not bad and decided to share it with you. Remark: NORTH is to the right !
Greetings from Jeffrey's Bay,
Mario :-)

And yes I enjoy my work (sometimes)

Sometimes I wonder should I be happy or sad about the job I am doing for 13+ years now. On most days we are under staffed and the criminal have on occasion better equipment then we do, but then again there are days when we have the upper hand;-)

Weekend holiday

After 3-days of safe guarding the local election deep in the savana up the slopes of the Drakensberg mountain, close to the Lesotho border, I've decided to take my family and get away for a long weekend. We went to the Erste River private complex close to the see in a secluded area. I love it here not only because of the indigenous vegetation and clean beaches but also because of its safety. The whole village is guarded and the only entry/exit road is blocked by a 6feet electrically opened security gate. Because only tourists/visitors have access to the premisses, one can safely leave all sorts of items around the house without fearing their 'loss'. Also there are a few bush buck roaming around in broad day light without fear of people ! (No body to kill or snare them.)

The picture I took in haste thru the sitting room window while watching kricket :-)
Greetings from Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa.
Mario

Someone just tried to brake into my house !

Can you believe it. While I was busy writing the previous blog (03:19) , three blacks just tried to brake in. The dog (a 50Kg Doberman) barked like mad in the kennel but still one of the thiefs jumped over the 6 foot wall into my yard. I went outside to see what is going on and the criminals jumped back out again and run into the nearby bushes across the road. From this night on I will let the Doberman in the garden at night. In the previous blog I was talking about a picture which did not get posted because of all the commotion. Here it is thou :-)

Hey did you know that 1 out of 3 males between 16 and 60, belonging to a certain population group in South Africa, are or have been investigated/interrogated by the police at one time or another because their 'unlawful' behavior ? I work with the crime unit here in my local town and have a few other statistics but can't disclose them because of the 'general crime disclosure moratorium' which has been placed by the South African government to avoid embarrassment, en mass emigration and a drying up of foreign tourists. :-(

Here I 'go' with my Gin Bolero Plus

Huh and what a flight it was. In almost zero wind (and turbulence),I manage to stay 'up' for just over 3 min. The pic is taken just prior to my final turn to align for a perfect beach landing. I had 3 wonderfull/similar flights that day. None of them where longer than a few minutes because of the weak conditions, but still just enough to log them in my new book. At one time a few seagulls joined me along the top side of the ridge and they weren't afraid at all, although the formation was pretty close at times, making the most of the weak air currents. What a feeling :-)

Emerei rides alone - for the first time !

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Hello again. Today at around 14:30 Emerei, my eldest daughter (5y), rode for the first time, all on her own. She has been riding horses since 3years old, but was afraid to do it alone. And what a ride it was. She was so confident, even asked the trainer at one time to let her gallope (thanks God he said NO). It looks like she is 'hooked' to riding. The only remaining question now is - who is going to pay for it all ?

Sample pic - Samsung D500

Hey,how about this cellphone picture quality! While waiting for the order at a see-food restaurant with my wife and jung son, I played with a D500's cam (my wife's) and realized it has some 'focus' setting which seems to work hand in hand with the white balance. I took a few pics and I was surprised by their overall quality. I've send one to my NOKIA 7650 smart phone where I've cut a 640x480 frame,basically doing in 4x zoom (original size was 1280x1024). From my 7650 I've uploaded the pic here for you to judge the quality.(my cell's picture quality is a far cry from this) .Time to upgrade I guess.

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