Israel@60

Last night the Oras went to the NZ launch of the 60th celebrations for Israels 60th birthday.
On 29 November 1947 the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181 which set out the partition of the British Palestine Mandate area into a Jewish State and an Arab State in economic union, with Jerusalem under international control. The Israeli portion was smaller than the currrent nation but that was still unacceptably big for the Arabs.
The voting was 33 countries in favour, 13 countries against and 10 countries abstaining. This result was more than the necessary two thirds majority needed to pass the resolution.
New Zealand voted "YES"
Later the Arabs attacked trying to destroy the new country gambling that they could wipe it out. They failed with consequences lasting all these 60 years. The Arabs are rotten gamblers.

Hatikva is the national anthem of the State of Israel.

The text comes from a poem by Naftali Hertz Imber called Tikvatenu, first published in Jerusalem in 1886. It soon became popular throughout the Jewish world and in 1933 was adapted as the anthem of the Zionist Movement by the 18th Zionist Congress. Upon establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Hatikva became the national anthem.

HATIKVA

Kol od balevav penima
Nefesh Yehudi homiya,
Ulfa'atei mizrach kadima
Ayin l'Tziyon tzofiya.

Od lo avda tikvatenu,
Hatikva bat sh'not alpayim,
Lihyot am chofshi be'artzenu
Eretz Tziyon virushalayim.

THE HOPE

As long as deep within the heart
A Jewish soul stirs,
And forward, to the ends of the East
An eye looks out, towards Zion.

Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free people in our land
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Life in the (Techno) Slow Lane

Yesterday I came face to face with the fact that I am in the slow lane. My laptop had smoked up the motherboard. (The hardrive blew 3 days from new. Go HP!) Searches for another board were fruitless. Talking about the problem with a friend, he said he would ask his son if I could have his laptop as it is the same model. Negotiations were successful with the boy upgrading. So here I am with my hard drive and RAM in the donated laptop blogging. My tech guy has removed the sticker "It's cool to walk to school" as it was more appropiate to the last owner. Did I mention the kid is 5 years old?

Ski Field Closed due to Volcanic Eruption

The Dome hut was't buried by mud the day before.
The Lahar path goes through the Far West T Bar area.
Conveniently, the ash fall out did not affect the snow inside the ski area. Last time it ruined skiing.
Snowmen are always popular. Ruby, Isaac and Jonathan
Betsy
Family Tradition - Nachos by the river at Whakapapa

This ski season we had some passing excitement when the field was closed for a day due to a volcanic eruption. It happened at night in cloudy weather so no one actually saw it. Three men were in the dome hut when a rock came thru it, crushing one man's leg.
That was Tuesday, 25th Sept 07. Closed Wednesday. Nice weather Thursday, lets ski!
We went down Friday and had a great couple of days. There can't be too many ski fields around the world where eruptions are just part of the deal.

Anniversary Card Wars

Anniversary time again. Third year in a row that Mrs Ora is out of town for it and this time it's a biggie - the 20th. I was feeling a little out of sorts about when her friend Carole asked me why I didn't just drive to Tauranga and have dinner with her there? Well, it's only Tauranga, not the moon, so why not?
It would be nicer as a suprise so Carole and I worked together to Keep Mrs Ora guessing. Yes, she was very suprised when I arrived. In recent years I have been getting custom cards done, which I enjoy. Mrs Ora isn't really into the card thing but she thought she should make the effort and duly posted one off. Funny thing was she sent it to my work but at the wrong address. As it had no return address on it, we assumed I never get to see it but it did actually turn up later in the week. Maybe the "happy anniversary" on the envelope inspired the PO to investigate the address a bit more.
We enjoyed a nice meal in downtown Tauranga before I climbed back into my chariot for the 3 hour trip home. Nice to be together.

Through The Eyes of a Six Year Old

This is my photojournal (Jonathan)
I like these toys
This is my brother Isaac
This is my beach. It's like sand and stuff.
This is my brother Zane. He doesn't often smile so it pays to take a photo when he does.
Here's my Hippo
And I like a bit of TV! Jono

The Things You See

I met a new friend in Kansas!

Winterized

I recently went to Canada and the USA with my work. It was a great trip in the company of 4 other guys. The trip over was like Ground Hog day. I left on Easter Sunday morning, having breakfast at the airport. After arriving at Sydney and going back two hours, breakfast was still on the menu at the lounge. Then 13 hours flying to LA and over the dateline so it's Easter Sunday morning . Again.
We got up to Canada and it was around zero degrees most the time. After the meetings we did the tourist thing and went to Niagra Falls. The mist coming up was freezing anywhere it collected like the handrail in the pic. Air Canada is a strange outfit to deal with. One bag never arrived. You get to do all the check in work yourself then get abused in the final stage by the cranky chick. Your bag is too heavy. Can I use some of my travelling companions allowance as he is not checking a bag? Certainly not! Geoff, would you mind checking your bag after all and carrying some of my stuff? Sure.
She told me in no uncertain terms that I would need an immigration form to enter the USA. I pointed out that I had done that 3 days before and the Visa was valid for 30 days. No, thats not the entry date,thats the "Valid till" date. Whatever. I didnt bother with the form ( actually the most confusing and difficult form you will likely meet, plus fill in your name and details THREE times. Whats with that?) Entry back to the States was problem free without the form despite what cranky chick said. Go Air Canada!

Valentines Day

We did a low key Valentines this year. Takeaways and a movie. We got some Indian takeaways and went down to the waterfront and set up our table. There were two bus loads of tourists there when we arrived. It was dinner at the big wheel. That is where I proposed 20 years ago. I like to think that our marriage is like the view from there - a bright future in a pleasant situation.
After a rather nice time there, we packed up and headed off to the circle lounge to enjoy "Music and Lyrics" in the comfort of armchairs.
A low key Valentines but very enjoyable.

Sold Out!

For a bit of variation here's a couple of my Trademe ads for your entertainment. These sadly were not available for public enjoyment for very long on Trademe as both items sold within minutes. I like to think that the story helped!




**ROCK DRILLS & BREAKER** Start your own quarry

2 handheld rock drills and a breaker. Compressed air operated. The drills are 1" and come with a big selection of rods. Many rods are new. Handheld you can get down about 1.2m which we did in a farm metal pit when we went from brown rock into blue. Skinny 1" explosives were available which we used. The dream was to build a rig based on a post driver mast to get down the full length of the long rods. Good if you have more time than money! Not sure if it still applies but farmers could access explosives with no probs a few years back. Isn't democracy wonderful?
The breaker went ok although the last time I used it, it was reluctant to get going. With some encouragement it did it's thing ok.


**ANVIL** Impress your mates with the size of this
This is a major anvil set on it's own frame. I don't know how heavy it is but if you can lift it you have some serious muscle. Loaded free with my tractor when you collect!
This is possibly the most impressive piece of gear you can have in your workshop. Why not offer a free beer to anyone who can pick it up?
Bid now because you know you need it!

Summer in the Bay of Islands

Isaac goes hard out
The boyz checking out the sheep
Betsy has it sorted
Ruby at the helm
Team Twin
Jonathan's footprints in the sand

Yes, life is too short not to spend summer in the Bay of Islands. Here's a few things the kids have been up to.