Disability Expo

Saturday we went to the disability expo at the Santon convention center looking for “gadgets” to help make everyday life easier. I don't know if I expected to much but was very disappointed with the number of exhibitors, I know of a few suppliers/distributors that could have been there. I have to say it was not busy at all, so I don't know if exhibitors feel the cost to be at the expo is to high or that the low turnout of visitors is a direct result of so few exhibitors being there or just weak advertising.

Some of the stalls that were there had some interesting “gadgets” ranging from lifts to wheelchairs and more. Something that bothered me was the amount of people working there that got no clue on the products they selling or they just don't know how to talk to us. If I ask you about a wheelchair then I want info on it from whatever and ending on whats the price. I mean it's an expo where products is displayed and you want to sell stuff and I don't want to hear “This is our range but come visit our showroom for more info or prices”, fuck I am at your expo you could of sold one now. It's a different story if measurements needs to be taken for lets say a ceiling hoist, before a final price can be given.

This brings me to my biggest worry of all, the cost of these “Gadgets”, which is just so fucking expensive. Now why the costs are so high I don't know but it must be a chain reaction of accumulation of costs and greed before reaching the end buyer. Every person that handles the products must want a cut, which is understandable I suppose. The other big thing is our exchange rate and then the import duties.

The thing is we need these stuff and at times I feel we are exploited because of our dependance on them. I know this is most likely not the case but can't completely grasp how something costing $3500 overseas ends up costing R55 000 here.

So I found 2 things at the show I'm interested in, the first is a ceiling hoist and the second is a clip on motor to turn my manual wheelchair into a motorized one. Turning a manual wheelchair into an electric one can help me a lot since shopping with my wife and daughter can be challenging for both my wife and me, the little one however has a ball of a time trying to stack up some more challenges. The only product on show to convert your manual chair was The Benoit Light Drive supplied by http://www.sitwell.co.za/ here in South Africa.

The system is light and can handled by my wife. They do take your current wheelchair and do all the necessary adjustments for you, ensuring that it is fitted correctly. I don't know the limitation of the system but I don't wanna go 4x4ing with it so it should be fine. The cost is between R 45000 and R50 000.

As a internet junkie you know I went online and did some reading on this product and by chance came across another product that offers another possibility called the e-fix power. This product was not on the show but I was able to find a supplier in South Africa and had to get in contact with them for more info.

The e-fix looks very nice as well and has less mechanical look to it and can be obtained from http://www.wheelchairs.co.za/ . When you order it they send you the fittings and you do it yourself. I'm sure if I were closer to the supplier they would do the fitting for me. The thing is the cost is R62 0000 which is a crap load of money and almost R20 000 more than The Benoit Light Drive.

At the end I it does not matter what extra features there might or might not be, its about what the medical aid will pay and how much my contribution will have to be. There are pros and cons to both products but I would rather save R20 000 and buy more gadgets with it or go on a holiday.

Is there a God?

Where do we come from? Is there a God? Is the bible the truth?

We were brought up and made to believe in God as per our holy bible. The bible was all we needed to have faith and was our foundation of our religion. I have all ways had question of the bibles version of events and how we came to be. Now there are people that believe the world is 6000 years old and the bible is the beginning and the end but I don't feel like that.

I had my own views on how and the bible was written. Recently I came across a series called Ancient Aliens which looks at a new theory called the Ancient Astronaut Theory. I found a lot of the views and or facts are very close to my own views and made me think, is there a God and has Christianity been robbed of the truth?

The series is awesome with well presented facts and interpretations from various well educated people and I for one totally subscribe to their views however the question remains is there a God and has Christianity been robbed of the truth?

In short the answer is Yes and No.. Well lets think about it for a moment. Whether the universe is 6000 years old or 15 billion years old there was a beginning and there will be an end. Whether live as we know it was seeded or created by Aliens or by chance or by whatever means there still had to be some greater power somewhere that created the very first life here on earth or any other place in the universe.

For me God created the universe, not just earth and the sun, and by the why God said “I'll throw in another 8 planets just to keep those scientists busy”. So if there was a “big bang” that was God starting his whole plan for us. We also need to look no further than our everyday lives to see God working miracles even today, but who are we to restricting God to creating lives or any miracles just on planet earth?

Has Christianity been robbed of the truth? I think not but after many generations we are stuck with a bible that has been edited and was subjected to the interpretations and views of first the authors and then the translators and finally the readers, so in the end although it might not be the whole truth it is founded and build on the truth and it does it purpose of giving us our guidelines of living a good, honest life.

At the end I believe there’s a God, I do however feel humanity does not give him enough credit nor do we comprehend or understand the full extent of his power. For those who think God can be booked up in a couple of 100's of pages and on one planet in a vast universe there might be a big surprise coming your way..

But then again I might be wrong who really knows....

Entertaining kids

Entertaining a 2 year old can be somewhat exhausting at times and we as adults can basicly humiliate our souls to keep them entertained. Thank goodness for new technology especially the internet and youtube.

Now as new parents we said from the start our child would not be a couch potato, and with all the media telling us how bad TV is for our children we went out and even bought a Practica box. In this box we have all sorts of toys, cards wood block and a complete manual on what to do on every stage of your child’s development. I 'll be honest it's a total fucking waste of money, not because I think the stuff don't work, in fact I think if you do as they tell you to it should do wonders for your child's development, but more because who got time for it? Even finding that little time required can be hard.

I think we stuck to it for about a month before throwing in the towel. We play with our girl and she gets lots of attention and stimulation and from the beginning of this year we send her to a creche. Now there she gets all the stimulation she needs and we can concentrate on just playing with her.

Now any parent who keeps his or her 2 year old child entertained without a TV, some dvd's or music are just plain awesome plus you must be dead tiered at night. She found a balance between playing with us and watching her dvd's and music. Some day's she love watching her shows other days she prefer playing outside.

The media makes this big hype over the violence in shows and blame a lot of the problems on that, however I feel, and I'm not saying I'm right, by the time a child is 10 they know whats right and wrong and can make rationale decisions. So when watching shows with violent or “harmful” content they can distinguish between what is acceptable and what's not. Just note that I feel parental guidance or PG should always be applied.

As small children learn what's right and wrong they can get confused and this is where I feel cartoons play a big role. For my 2 year old that animated character is real, it lives and its her best friend. If we show her cartoons where one character shoots the next, she will see that as acceptable, as she doesn't know the difference yet, plus what's the harm if you shoot someone he is colored black then returns to normal.

That why we are very careful on what cartoons we show her, no violence in cartoons is the best. But the best entertainment is animated music videos for kids. It keeps her busy and we as parents learn new songs to sing to our kids even if we sound like we dying a thousand deaths. To find these you can look no further than youtube and thank all those brave enough to post their kiddy songs. Here is one of Alizee's favorite music videos  Pity there aren’t afrikaans videos like this

 

Satisfied?

When are we truly satisfied with ourselves? Is it when we made crap loads of money, created something from nothing or when we got in the last word and had our wish forced onto someone else.

Where are the days where people helped total strangers with all sorts of things? I can remember my parents stopping to give hikers a lift closer to their destination especially the you guys on leave from the army, trying to make it to their loved ones. Now we to scared to stop next to the road for any reason what so ever, woman can't dare to stop with a flat they should rather drive to the nearest petrol station.

Now I'm not saying woman can't change a tire, in fact my wife is pretty good at it, however I can replace a tire and a rim. I'm also not saying that nothing will happen to a man, it's just what can happen to a woman is soooo much worse. It's a pity that we live in times like these, and even more disturbing is we don't know how bad it will be when our kids are grown up.

So we can understand why we can't really help strangers anymore but what the fuck is going on with people we know? I remember having a flat on the highway and my wife could not get the bolts loose, yea I know I'm useless in that department, have you ever seen a quadriplegic change a tire? I can't even hold the fucking wheel spanner. Back to my story, we were forced to phone for help. We had to choose between 2 people one was like 60km's away and the other may like 10 km's.

Phoning the person closest would just hang a sword over our head off, “I helped you, now you do this for me” or even the latest “They only know me when they need something”. We ended up phoning the person 60km away cause we knew his help was unconditional and it did not matter to him that we see each very seldom.

So why are people like this now or has it been like this from the beginning of time? As friend's or family members we are supposed to help each other even if that’s the only time we “know” each other. In today's world we need reasons to meet or visit friends or family, in fact we need a reason just to talk to each other.

To me its simple if I help you it's unconditional, so if you help me and you want to spread the word “they only know me when they need something” go fuck yourself and next time just say NO, maybe you will then be satisfied.

It's like the song from Jewel, you can only truly be satisfied with yourself if you give love, cause then you will get love.

Lifes litttle troubles

Why do people believe they always have it worse than others in life?

Can you kick a ball?

Can you scratch an itch?

Can you pick up your kid and comfort her when she hurts?

Can you hug her just because you love her?

Can feed yourself when you’re hungry?

Can you get your own water if you're thirsty?

Can you go take a crap or pee on your own?

If you can't do any of these, then you know you have it hard but most definitely there will still be people worse of than you. I guess some people just choose not to, even if they can ......

OOOO and If you can do above, shut the fuck up, you’re having a good live.

Well that’s how I feel. The thing is even I get so tiered of people complaining of everything when there’s nothing wrong with them or there in a situation that they have created for themselves. I would sit and listen to them going on like they a stuck record player all the time thinking, OMG you wanna switch places?

Something else I don't understand how the fuck does my disability influence someone else life even we don't live or work together, in fact we only see or speak to each other on social occasions. My wife makes some sacrifices, or adjust , and my 2 year old got no problem, so how does it work.

So why does most people feel like that? I think they are all ways looking to blame others.

Watching this clip made me realize/remember that even though I can't do any of the things listed above, there are still people worse of than me but even more important, they live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of it without blaming their troubles on someone else.

So I can't kick a ball but I can see my little girl playing with one...

I can't scratch an itch but I can feel it on some parts of my body...

I can't comfort or hug my little girl when she needs it, but OMG am I glad I have my little girl, and every now and then she comes and does the hugging and comforting.

I need help to eat, drink, pee and to take a crap... But I got someone loving and caring to help me with that.

I'm not saying I'm worse of than you, I'm saying we all have our own set of troubles don't make yours mine cause you won't take mine...

SA Government proposes salary caps

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Higher-earners-targeted-in-govt-plan-20101123

Ok so the South African government wants to place a cap on salaries.

Cape Town - The government tabled its new growth path in Parliament on Tuesday, part of which proposes a cap on salaries and bonuses for senior managers and executives earning more than R550 000 a year.

The document, unveiled by Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel, also suggests a cap on increases for all those earning more than R20 000 a month.

It proposes "moderate wage settlements" for those earning between R3 000 and R20 000 a month, "possibly to inflation plus a modest real increase", with "inflation-level increases for those earning over R20 000 a month".

This must be a joke. Have they giving this any thought? This sounds more like the minister asked his underpaid, overworked secretary to type up something cause he was to busy with his personal affairs. She's obviously pissed cause she gets paid like R3 000 and the minister's mistress gets more than R20 000, and she has to do all the hard work while the mistress get treated with fancy restaurants and sleeps in satin sheets, well at least for 30 minutes or so.

Well this is not something a hardworking Secretary would type up, she will not minimize her increases or cap her earning potential in any way. The minister must have spent countless hours thinking of the effects on motivation of the employes, the effects on the economy. What exactly is he trying to achieve from this move towards communism. “ to save jobs, create new jobs and address inequality, he said. “

Address inequality? Is he fucking serious? Prices of food, cars and houses will increase more than what he wants salaries to increase by. This will make it more difficult to eat healthy, by roadworthy cars and obtain you own house. The rich people will buy all the houses and just rent them out with annual rent increases more than salary increases.

Save and create jobs? How is it gonna save jobs? It will create jobs for sure, cause it will be better to resign every year and find a better paying job. My job will be an opportunity for someone else and someone else's job will be my opportunity and after 3 or 4 years I'll be back at my old job with a better salary and the cycle can repeat itself until they will bring in a law making it illegal to change jobs without written approval from the government.

People tent to get more pay the harder they work, why would people work harder if they will not be properly recognized. They will loose all motivation and will create a workforce that’s always on a go slow.

The other think the minister didn’t think about is the following. In South Africa over 90% of households employes a domestic worker either full time or part time and they want or expect and even demand their yearly increase and bonuses. They do not give a damn on what increase or bonus we receive and do not understand that their increase or bonuses is directly subject to that received by our selves and we might even be forced to fire or reduce their working times or salaries.

Then there are the strikes of workers not happy with even generous increases, how will the government cope with them? But hey I'm guessing it will be empty promises only to manipulate these people into thinking they are getting only the best.

I believe if you do not agree with something you must be able to give a solution to the problems. Do I have the solutions for poverty or inequality? In short NO. From the beginning of time some people were richer or “better off” than others. Some people start a job get promotions and may even become a member of the company while others joining the same company never gets anywhere. I got my ideas to relieve poverty or inequality but I'm sure there are better ideas or options out there but the minister will never know of them, he doesn't have time to ask or are just to stubborn,

Should the government decide to implement this I hope they have a good solid backup plan. The minister should realize he nor his salaries will not be protected by the government forever.

Love and all

I'm turning 40 this year, that's fucking old but I feel young. Writhing this blog takes me back almost 20 years to a time I needed love and support. I had my family and friends and from them I got more support and love I could ask for. The thing is in times where you are down and out for the count you need that little extra special thing that gives you the strength to fight for life and a future worth living for.

I think that extra special thing is different for everybody, for me though it was my then girlfriend. I think people underestimate the power of young love branding it as a simple crush way to easy. My girlfriend was only 15 at that time, young yea. Nowadays people freak out if their daughters gets little serious with a boyfriend at 15. As a father now I do understand why but I hope I always remember what power that young love has. At 15 she had the strength to deal with my accident and disabilities and stood up for me against her parents but more importantly mine. My parents made it hell for her blaming her even though she was not even in the car or the reason for me being on the trip.

While in rehab the social worker would arrange for disabled people to come give some talk on how life does not end just because you are stuck in a wheelchair. This was done every Wednesday and we had to sit and listen to how these peoples lives continued and how the coped. Now this was all fine except for one thing, the all started of with something in the line off
“I had a wife” (or girlfriend)
“but she left me after the accident as she could not cope”
“but am happily married now to someone else”

It was if we were being prepared for the day our wife's or in my case,girlfriends, will be dumping us. The thing is from the day you hear that you will be disabled for life you worry about exactly that. Family you know will stay your family but your girlfriend can walk away any time especially at the age of 15.

Well she never walked away, she stuck with me, my disabilities and continue to do so today. We got married and had our fair share of financial and family problems and today our marriage is stronger than ever with the addition of our little girl.

Life changed from all about us to all about her. I don't know if its like that for every new parent but for us it changed.