A soon to be realised eschatological dream... Or an empty hope?

Don't get me wrong. I love my Macbook Air! It is 'near' perfect... It is light, has the most incredible screen of any computer I've EVER owned, it is thin, has a perfect full keyboard, it is FAST, it has a 6 hour battery life... Oh, and did I mention that it is a Mac!?

BUT, being the perfectionist that I am, I am not quite satisfied with it... You see, I've been drooling over the Windows 'Netbooks' that a few of my friends are toting. It used to be that if you wanted a computer the size of a DVD cover you would have to buy a Sony Vaio TZ series (which would cost you a kidney, your first born child, and your home)... Now, however, one can get the Acer Aspire One, or the HP Mininote, or a Lenovo, an Asus, an LG... the list is endless, which is tiny, fast, and costs less than R5 000 (about 300-400 US$).

Of course the only serious downside with all of these machines is that they RUN WINDOWS! I can only imagine the torture and the pain ;-)

Well, the rumour mill has been running at a pace second to none! Mac 'evangelists', fanboys, and Mac lovers all over the world are praying that Steve will announce an Apple Netbook at Macworld early in January this year... However, the chances of this happening are slim to none!

Here's a wonderful post from my friends James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel over at jkontherun.com that expells that myth!

5 reasons you won’t see a netbook unveiled at MacWorld

Apple netbook rumors swirl around every few weeks and with MacWorld breathing down our necks in just a few short days they are rearing their ugly head once again. It is clear from all the constant netbook blathering that the Apple faithful want a netbook, a small, cheap Mac to haul around in an expensive case.

I hate to burst your bubble but we’re not going to see [Steve Jobs] anyone offer an Apple netbook at MacWorld. Apple has stated over and over again they will not do one and here are five reasons you won’t see one at MacWorld:

1. Apple can’t build one. Now before you get your undies all twisted that’s not me talking, that’s Steve Jobs himself. “We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk”. One thing that all netbooks share is a very low price point so there you have it, Apple can’t make one.

2. OS X deserves a better home. Apple firmly believes that OS X is the best thing since sliced bread. You’ve seen the “I’m a Mac” ads so you know that’s true. There is no way that Apple is going to put OS X on anything cheap like a netbook.

3. The iPhone is better than a netbook. Apple has already told us that the iPhone gives us the “real Internet”. There’s no way they are going to offer up the “fake-Internet” just to sell a “piece of junk”.

4. Netbooks have small touchpads. You’ve seen the gigantic touchpads on all the new MacBooks and Pros. Apple has seen the light and shown it to us and that is how we know that multi-touch is mandatory for a mobile computer. Have you seen the tiny touchpads on netbooks? No multi-touch, no Apple netbook.

5. Apple is a firm believer in the “Charlie Brown” marketing philosophy. This philosophy is not compatible with super cheap notebooks. Apple knows that offering a cheap notebook just once would be the same as Lucy letting Charlie Brown kick the football…

PS. I am writing this post on the second oldest computer in our home... A blueberry iBook G3 (running OSX 10.3.9, 3Gig hard drive... It still has a 6 hour battery life and is the COOLEST computer I own!). But, if the formatting of this post is a little out, blame the OLD version of Safari...

Giving thanks a year later - Donald Ian Forster

This morning I woke early to spend some time looking through photos (this photo on the left shows my dad about a few months before his death - it was taken at my mom's 60th Birthday celebrations), reading a few scripture verses, and spending some time in prayer and meditation.

It was on this day last year (31st of December 2007) that my father, Donald Ian Forster, passed away. He was 64 years old and had suffered a number of sever strokes in the two years leading upon to his death. For the last two years of his life he suffered paralysis in his left limbs, but he was quite stoic and upbeat about it!

I love my dad. He was an inspiration! He grew up in Zimbabwe (which was were I was born), he served in the police and army and attained the rank of Captain in the British South African Police (BSAP). He trained as an accountant and restarted his life completely on two occasions. First, after he any my biological mother were divorced (I was two), and second when he left Zimbabwe with just his car (it was a brand new Mercedes!), what he could carry in it, and his wits to start him off! He did well in South Africa and provided a great home for our family (my step mom, Margie (who is realy the only mother I have known), my brother Robin, and my step sister Sueann and step brother Gary).

I see a lot of my father's character in my own. Sometimes it is good, sometimes I recognise elements that are not so good (I think most men can identify with this!)

Well, today I give thanks for his life. I pray that my mom, brothers and sisters, will continue to find healing and peace.

I am reminded that I too will follow that path. So, I'll make the best of this day. I will love my wife and children with abandon, and I will do my best to take better care of my body! Thank you Lord for time, and for the blessing of being able to love and be loved! I am thankful that I can put 2009 in perspective by remembering some of the joys and sorrows of 2008.

May the year ahead be a truly blessed one for all of you!

Atheist London Times columnis admits "Africa needs Jesus".

It's not so much what is said, but who is saying it, that makes this story marvelous!

So much of the work that I do is about finding ways to change people's everyday lives for the better - this is a fundamentally Christian thing to do! God does not want 'converts' to Christianity, rather what God desires is the every person should experience the blessing of living in God's Kingdom of grace, mercy, provision, healing, wholeness and eternal shalom! This is what Jesus died for, and this is what Christians, and Christian groupings (such as Churches) should live for...

Of course Africa needs all that Jesus died to bring - but then again, so does America, and Eurpoe and Asia....

Here's the lovely article (I found it here):

Look at this extraordinary article from a Times of London columnist:

But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

Matthew Parris, the columnist, goes on to talk about how living in Africa, he'd observe that African Christians behaved different from their unbelieving countrymen. They had joy and self-confidence. They weren't afraid of the world, especially the unseen world of ancestors and spirits. They'd look you in the eye. Christianity, writes Parris, breaks the mind-forg'd manacles of tribalism and philosophical passivity. He goes on:

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I'm afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

I have to say that the first thing I thought about when I finished this article was something Maria, a Hispanic Pentecostal immigrant who used to clean our house, told me when I inquired about her faith one day. She said she had been raised Catholic in a desperately poor Mexican village. She left her Catholic faith because, as she put it, the priest never said anything that would help the people change their lives. She was not all that articulate, but what I understood her to be saying was that the Gospel as preached by the priest in her parish conditioned her people to passively accepting their lot in life. The Pentecostalism she had learned gave them a sense that God is here and now and active in their lives -- and can transform those lives.

Interestingly, I'm reading now the galleys of an extraordinary forthcoming memoir by Julie Lyons, whom you might recall from her fearless Bible Girl columns in the Dallas Observer. Julie is white, but she's been worshiping for years in a black Pentecostal church in southern Dallas. Her memoir centers on the life she, a white Yankee chick from the suburbs, found in that inner-city black charismatic church. I was telling my wife last night about Julie Lyons' book, and how she doesn't try to downplay the problems within black Pentecostal Christianity, but how much Julie's book helps me understand why that kind of Christianity -- morally stern, highly emotional -- appeals to the poor, whereas my kind of Christianity struggles to do so (an Orthodox priest once lamented to me that our church in this country is primarily a middle to upper middle class thing). As Julie writes in her book, you might not like the rigorous moral structure proclaimed by her church, but it has brought structure and dignity to the lives of poor people who have struggled mightily for just that sort of thing, against awesome forces arrayed against them. And, again, it is a Christianity that is bold, audacious even. Those believers expect God to work miracles in their lives; church is an occasion to encounter the Holy Spirit and have your life changed, not to be confirmed in your complacency (as Julie believed her Reformed Protestant childhood church was).

There is lots for us Orthodox, Catholics and mainline Protestants to learn from the Pentecostals. And Africa needs Jesus. So does America.

Handlebars and Polar SX625 watch... Some good exercise!

I love this watch! It is my standard 'go to' watch for cycling and
travel. I wear the heart rate monitor when I ride, it also has a
sensor mounted to my bike that tells me my speed, distance, altitude
and a host of other very useful information. I connect it to a
Windows machine that I have installed in Parallels on my Macbook Air.
That way I can monitor how long I train for, what distances I'm
riding, ensure that I ride within my chosen heart rate zones to build
strength and work out my heart.

Exercise is good for you! I am trying to get ready for my 9th Argus
(in March 2009). I ride the Argus in the morning and fly out to the
UK that evening to do some teaching for a week... SO, I want to be as
fit as possible! Yesterday I did 50 km ride in the wind (it felt like
100kms!) From our home near Erinvale in Somerset West, past the Lord
Charles Hotel out towards Blackheath, turned right onto Winery road
(nice hills past 96 Winery Road), left onto the R44 to Stellenbosch,
out to Stellenbosch, turn around and head back to Somerset West, up to
Steynsrust bridge, left over Irene Ave, past Parel Valley and home!

More 'otium sanctum'... feels great!

Riding to 'the Heads' in Knysna

My friend Graham Vermooten and I out on a ride to 'The Heads' in
Knysna. My 'broken leg' did quite well up the Hill! Two days later
we rode from Knysna to Plettenberg bay... Now THAT was a serious ride!!!

The transforming power of the Christ of Christmas.

It was great to have lunch with our friends John and Debbie van de Laar today. I felt a sense of belonging to something 'bigger' as we shared over the meal. Our time together reminded me just how blessed we are with gifted people in our denomination, the Church, and of course God's Kingdom.

This has been a fairly pensive Christmas for me. I have been taking some time to reflect on the year that has passed, on my faithfulness and courage in serving Christ and spreading His love and light... Sometimes I am pleased, frequently I am not satisfied by my lack of commitment and engagement with what truly matters. Anyway, this morning early I reflected upon this little quote and scripture reading in my prayer time.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

- John 1:9-13

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

- Hamilton Wright Mabie

My prayer for you, and those whom you love, and particularly for those whom you struggle to love, is true peace! I pray for a peace that passes all understanding. I pray for a kind of all encompassing peace that breaks boundaries, that removes prejudice, that drives home love, that renews hope, that spurs God inspired action - the peace of Christ that changes the whole world!

In 2009 I want to give myself even more completely to spreading the conspiracy of Christ's love! Please remember to pray for me and for those whom God has blessed me to love - Megie, Courtney and Liam.

Thanks to each and every person who has taken the time to read my blog, to comment, and to engage with me.

Sunset in Knysna and the dialectic of the spiritual discipline of simplicity

This little video was shot in Knysna on the porch of my friend Graham Power's home on Thiesens' Island (a development that he did some years ago). It must surely be one of the most beautiful places in the world! The home in which we have the privelage of staying is absolutely stunning - it is comfortable and a wonderful place to be rejuvinated. But, it takes discipline, spiritual discipline to be precise, to enjoy it without wanting to own it!

Here's a few thoughts on that from the video.

Tomorrow I shall be visiting here with John and Debbie van de Laar. And, we're staying with our other friends Graham and Diane Vermooten from Media Village.

Feeding of baboons

Yes, quite sad! I guess I'll go hungry for one more day! ;-)

Taking BMW 650GS for a little spin!

There she is, my BMW 650GS at the end of the old Sir Lowrys pass road (where it meets the N2). What a great day! Tomorrow we leave for Knysna!







Yup, that's the video! It was a lovely ride! Hot and overcast, but it was great to be back on my BMW again. She is a lovely bike - I don't ride her enough.

Cory Doctorow - a magnificent interview on giving away your work, and doing EXCEPTIONALLY well for it!

Update 14 February 2009 - If you've arrived at this post to download copies of 3 of my books for FREE you're at the right place! Simply scroll down the page and you'll find links to download the PDF copies from scribd, or read them online if you don't want to download copies. I'd love to hear back from you!



Rich blessing,



Dion



____

Cory Doctorow is a truly exceptional individual. I've read a number of his books and enjoyed them immensely - Little Brother is the most recent one (which I listened to on MP3).



Cory is also the person who convinced me of the value of giving away my books! There are two reasons why I do this:



1. I would rather have people engaging with what I write than make money from it. I prefer the notion that my ideas touch, challenge, and perhaps even change people, to having a few extra dollars in my bank account! You see, I am quite realistic about my ability to write. I know that I will never be able to make a living from what I write. It takes someone with a unique talent, or the support of a media machine, to get this right - I know a few persons who are creative and gifted enough to do this (e.g., see my friend John van de Laar). So, I would rather give my work away than live under the delusion that I could live off it.



2. I buy the idea that information should be shared! Don't get me wrong, I understand that artists and educators often need to make their livelihood from what they spend their days creating. But I think there are more creative models for making a living from your ideas, thoughts, and insights - again John is an exceptional example of this. John offers a service as a primary revenue stream (he inspires people in person, shares the gift of music, the depth of liturgy, and imparts skills in his workshops). John's 'products' (books and CD's) are a support to this process, they are not the sharp point of the arrow, rather they are the shaft that supports it. So, after persons have been engaged, encountered, enriched, and blessed, he can offer them the opportunity of taking that journey further, deepening their understanding etc., by buying one of his books or CD's. In John's instance simply 'giving away' ALL of one's work is not feasible. But, you will see that he gives away a LOT of his work!



Now, this is not quite as easy for me since what I've written thus far is quite specialized (it is mostly academic and it is not directly related to the kind of teaching and speaking that I do when I travel the world - although I will say that I do have plans to correct this!) In my case, since I cannot support what I do with my days and hours by what I've written, I simply give my thoughts away to be shared, critiqued, and used. After all, these are my thoughts! It is not as if they are separate from who I am. When people read what I've written it should give them a deeper insight into my theology, faith perspective, and spirituality - even if I am not directly relating what I've written to what I am currently doing.



Cory's approach is somewhere between John's and mine. Cory's expertise in both in story telling (fiction, narrative etc.) and in Creative Commons licensing. So, what Cory does is a bit like what John does. He will share his insights on Creative Commons, the internet, new media etc., and then sell and promote his products as a 'shaft to the tip of the arrow'. However, since his writing is not DIRECTLY related to the speaking and teaching topics for which people engage him (i.e., he writes fiction and is most frequently asked speak on licensing law, new media etc.) he is also a bit like me. His motivation (at least in the early days when his books where not that well known - a bit like me!) was simply to share the hard work and ideas that he had developed freely so that others could use and enjoy them.



The incredible outcome of that has been two victories! First, he has shared his ideas with incredible success and this has made him much more sought after as a speaker, teacher, and expert. But, the second spin off of his 'free sharing' has been that his books are now best sellers! So, he gives them away for free, but so many people want to own paper copies (with lovely colour covers etc. perhaps to put on their shelf, or give as a gift, or to make notes, or read next to the pool) that he is making a LOT of money from the sale of his books!



This has been my experience. The sales of the three books that I have the rights to give away (I have written 6 books to date and own the rights to three of them - you can find out more about my books here) have climbed significantly each time I give them away for free. Again, I must reiterate that I don't sell my books to make money! I would be blessed if I had enough money to simply give away paper (printed) copies as well, but that is costly. So, the sales of my books are simply used to restock what I've printed so that I can sell and give more copies away.



Well, here's a wonderful interview with Cory Doctorow - see the end of the video for his thoughts on Creative Commons and publishing (and his incredible success as a result).







And, here are free copies of my books, once again! Please download them, print them out, give them away, email them to friends and use them absolutely freely! I give glory to Christ who gave me the time and ability to write them, and I pray that they will be a gift to you!



An uncommon spiritual path - the quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity. Download the PDF file (click here)

Read this doc on Scribd: An uncommon spiritual path - the quest to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity.

Christ at the centre - discovering the cosmic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths. Download the PDF file (click here)

Read this doc on Scribd: Christ at the centre - discovering the Comsic Christ in the spirituality of Bede Griffiths

A prayer guide for use during examinations (with grateful thanks to Roger Prentice). Download the PDF file (click here)

Read this doc on Scribd: Prayer guide for exams D Forster 2007 ebook

If you would like to own 'paper copies' of any of my books please drop me a line if you're in South Africa (unfortunately I cannot give those away for free), or please buy copies from Amazon.com if you're outside of South Africa.



Technorati tags: free books, download ebook, Cory Doctorow, Christmas gift, Creative Commons



If there is anyone who would like to put the code for my books on their website or blog (perhaps in the format above) please just drop me a line on email - I would be truly grateful for the exposure, and would gladly send you the HTML code to copy and paste into your site.

O Sapientia - the final approach to Christmas

Bishop Alan (see http://bishopalan.blogspot.com for his blog) wrote a truly wonderful reflection on the change from the Benedictus to the Magnificat on the 17th of December. We are now on our 'final approach' to the celebration of the birth of Christ. These words are truly an inspiration:

O Sapientia, quae ex ore altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

[O wisdom that proceeds from the mouth of the most high, reaching powerfully from end to end, sweetly (elegantly, smoothly, gently) ordering everything: Come teach us the way of good judgment.]

I love the emphasis upon the fact that the 'word incarnate' (the truly wise Word) "sweetly" and elegantly orders everything by teaching us good judgement. May prayer for you, and for myself, is that we will be sensitive and disciplined enough to encounter that wise Word this Christmas and be changed by Him.

Rich blessing for this final week of Advent!

The REAL Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas message. Deep, life changing, and hilarious!

Yes, I could hardly hold back the tears as I poured over those carefully selected words - it has been a very long time since I've experienced such joy from a Christmas message...

Go here: http://tinyurl.com/4kc6g5 to read it for yourself. I guarantee, you'll never be the same again...

Oh, and while you're at it, why not check out the rest of the site?

;-) All in good humour!