2009-09-30
Click for some photos of s'mores.
ZA2009 Archive September 2009
2009-09-29
Tracy and Mark went in to Cape Town so that she could interview a pastor of a large evangelical congregation. Mark played his Nintendo DS while Tracy did the interview. After the interview, they went to the V&A Waterfront to check out some of the shops and play mini golf.
Catherine went to the movies with the daycare people. They saw "Up" and enjoyed it.
I worked at Stellenbosch today and had interesting meetings regarding solar radiation measurements and wind turbine technician training.
--Matt
2009-09-28
Mark continued his break between 3rd and 4th term today. Catherine had Playball at daycare, make up for a previous Monday rainout.
As a family, we went to visit friends Bob and Lianna who recently had a baby girl named Catherine Anne. Their other daughter, Julia, is slightly older than Catherine, and they played nicely together.
I worked at Stellenbosch today on an abstract for a paper for a conference in Phoenix next year. The topic is learnable lessons from South Africa's energy situation, and I have several South African co-authors.
--Matt
End of 3rd Term
This was the last day of Mark's 3rd term. Just one more to go.
The Sustainability Think Tank met this afternoon, and we had a very interesting discussions, as usual.
I taught my refrigeration class tonight in Bellville. Due to the performance on the previous test, I gave an extra hour of review on thermodynamic properties for those who wanted (needed) it. I was pretty tired after three hours of teaching on my feet.
Otherwise not much happened.
--Matt
2009-09-22
Not much happened today.
Catherine went to daycare and received an invitation to an October birthday party.
Mark's class did reports on various disasters. Mark had "Black Death."
Tracy had an interview with someone who is an expert on the Zion Christian Church (ZCC).
I went to Stellenbosch, met with our pastor about Bonhoeffer, and helped Mark with his homework before picking up Catherine.
There is a lot of construction on the highways around Cape Town. Here is a link to an article about it. We're definitely in the middle of it. Getting to CPUT's Cape Town campus is difficult because of the Hospital Bend traffic.
Finally, I added another photo to the "Best of the Best" gallery.
--Matt
2009-09-19
We spent this day recovering from our previous late night. Catherine took a car-nap. And, otherwise, we tried to lay low.
We did have an outing down the street to the outdoor festival at the Welgevallen NGK. We bought some potjiekos which we ate for lunch and dinner.
Then, later in the afternoon, we drove with Tosca to the University of Stellenbosch sports fields for a hike. It didn't work out due to ornery children. Enough said. So, back home for dinner, baths, and bed.
--Matt
2009-09-16
I taught my refrigeration class at CPUT today. I had to return their first test, and the results were not good. For the first time in my teaching career, I'll be doing a retest on some of the fundamental aspects that we covered.
The rest of us went our own ways today. Not much else to report.
--Matt
SARS
A colleague at Calvin (Steve) sent me this article about internet speeds in South Africa. The stunt proves a point that is quite true: internet speeds in South Africa are slower than in the U.S. But, it is fast enough, and we've been thankful for email and Skype this year.
A couple notes about today. Catherine went to daycare and had a good day. She and I played Three Billy Goat's Gruff this evening after dinner. She loves to be "thrown" into the "river."
Mark's first "Once Upon a Pumpkin" production was this evening. Tracy attended and said it was really fun. The kids had a blast, and Mark did well as one of the "boys who watch the girls go by." Catherine and I will attend on Thursday evening.
Tracy worked on her paper, completing another section.
I went to Paarl to visit the South African Revenue Service (SARS) office. (Think IRS here.) I joined the queue that formed on the sidewalk at 08h30. I saw the SARS agent at 12h30: 4 hours! But, everyone in the queue was basically pleasant and there were no problems. Thankfully, I brought a 100-page economics paper. I finished it. The topic was an endogenous unified growth theory that explains Malthusian stagnation, the post-Malthusian period, and continuous growth. Written like that, it looks boring. But, trust me, it was very interesting and relevant for a research project on which I'm working.
Once at the window, the SARS agent was very helpful. She actually completed my South African tax return for me and submitted it electronically, all in 10 minutes! Plus, I should receive a South African taxpayer's ID number in the next week. So, as they say here, we're all sorted. (Until I have to file again next year.) Not much grading was done. I guess I'll work on that tomorrow.
--Matt
2009-09-14
Catherine went to daycare and had Playball today. She said they rolled hoops down the street. The best thing is that she got an ink stamp on her tummy "because we were all such silly monkeys."
Mark went to school and had another practice for the "Once Upon a Pumpkin" production that begins tomorrow evening and runs for three nights.
Tracy began writing the paper that is the result of one of her research project this year. Her project is very timely, as there have been some recent developments in the church-state-civil society arena that are quite interesting.
I went to Cape Town for a research meeting in the morning. In the later afternoon, I went to the second Waste Workshop at the Sustainability Institute. This was a followup to the first Waste Workshop. We talked a lot of rubbish.
I have to go to the Paarl office of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) tomorrow. The goal is to obtain a South African taxpayer ID number.
I added another photo to the Best of the Best gallery.
--Matt
2009-09-13
We had a very cloudy and rainy Sunday. We did church in the morning. Not much else to report. So, I'll post another photo in the Best of the Best gallery.
--Matt
2009-09-12
Click for details of things that worked and things that didn't as well as several photos from today.
2009-09-11
I spent the day grading my refrigeration tests. And, I dealt with Standard Bank to try to get our cheque card working (again). They don't know why the same card works at ATMs but generates "Card Blocked" messages at businesses. The "solution" is to order a new card for us (again). It will be here in a week.
Tracy went to Kayamandi where the students she was supposed to tutor didn't pitch (again).
Mark went to chess club after school.
Catherine baked cookies at daycare.
--Matt
2009-09-10
This was another pretty normal day. I worked at Stellenbosch in the morning and had a meeting with the Sustainability Think Tank at 13h00. After that, I picked up Mark from school and did homework with him.
Tracy did research, focusing on her literature review.
Mark is getting excited about his school's upcoming production of Once Upon a Pumpkin (next week Tuesday through Thursday).
Catherine was pretty tired this evening, because she is not taking naps at daycare.
--Matt
More Rain!
We had yet more rain today. By late afternoon, skies were clearer, but the mountains were still covered with clouds. Maybe tomorrow will be sunny.
I had a meeting with Louis in the afternoon where we looked at Microsoft Project to help with planning some waste-to-energy projects. I also dropped off Mark's application for the swimming program. He'll start swimming later this Spring (October). The person who collected Mark's application asked "Don't you want to sign up for 1st term next year as well?" I had to say that no, sadly, we won't be around for that term. It is very hard to conceive of life away from the Western Cape at this point in time.
Tracy started reading the material she has gathered in preparation for writing her research paper.
Mark and Catherine went to school and daycare today.
--Matt
Where Did the Mountains Go?
We had rain nearly all day today. Tomorrow promises to provide more of the same. Yuck. The title of this post comes from the fact that neither Table Mountain nor the Stellenbosch mountains were visible today: the rain clouds obscured everything.
We all went our separate ways today: Catherine to daycare, Mark to school, Tracy at home doing research, and I was in Cape Town at CPUT where I had a research meeting and I worked on a test for my refrigeration students.
--Matt
2009-09-04
On this Friday, Catherine had a "baking day" at daycare. They made biscuits (an American would say "cookies").
Mark went to chess team practice after school today. He has a tournament tomorrow.
Tracy went to Kayamandi today, but the students who she is supposed to tutor didn't bring their homework. So, there wasn't much to do.
I worked on "setting" the first test for my refrigeration students. Then, I went to CPUT's Bellville campus where I did a little work and answered several student questions.
--Matt
2009-09-03
Today was rather normal, which is to say, rather good. So, I added another photograph to the Best of the Best photo album.
2009-09-02
Bang the Drum
Tracy went to a book launch for book on John Calvin written by John DeGruchy.
Mark had tutoring after school.
Catherine went to daycare, and was a delight all evening, according to Tracy.
I went to CPUT-Bellville today and taught my refrigeration class. Next week will be the first test, so the students were very attentive and concerned about learning this evening.
One of my favorite South African bands, Mango Groove, will be releasing a new studio album later this month. It will be the first new Mango Groove album in 13 years. I found the cover art for the new CD online (see right). It's a small thing, but I'm pretty excited.
I added a new image to the Best of the Best gallery.
--Matt
Archbishop Tutu
Tracy had dinner tonight at the John Calvin 500th birthday conference. The keynote speaker was former Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu. Tracy said the dinner was delicious, the entertainment was great, and Tutu was an awesome speaker.
I had a meeting with Martin and Mark on sustainability and economics. We're targeting a paper to be published in the journal Ecological Economics. Today was our kickoff meeting, and we have a lot of reading to do. Systems dynamics theory may play a role in our paper. Probabilistic modeling may also have a part. Lots to learn and do.
Mark returned to school today and went to chess club in the afternoon.
Catherine had a party at daycare today, which she enjoyed. "There were balloons," she said.
--Matt