aroona

MAF pilots Dave Forney and Paul College, both based in Kalimantan, Indonesia, have written about there experiences and adventures doing some jungle trekking between villages that they would usually fly between.  Their experiences really affirm the difficulty that isolated people have when travelling in countries like this, which are identical in parts of Papua New Guinea.

From Dave’s blog:

“You might be intersted to know that even now, a month after initially leaving on the trip, I’m still dealing with weird infections breaking out here and there on my body, as well as a continually painful and swollen knee. The shin no longer seems to be infected, but is lumpy and still quite painful. This all underscores the difficulty of travel the “old-fashioned” way out here in the wilds of Borneo, and the reason why MAF serves the national church at the ends of the earth. It is indeed a very valid ministry, and one that I’m honored and humbled to be a part of!”

read more on Dave’s blog

During World War Two there were plenty of amazing stories from this part of the world.  I read “The Airmen and the Headhunters” which tells the events following a US bomber crew escaping Japanese troops with the help of the local Dayak people, an awesome story which would make a great movie one day. 

There is a TV documentary on PBS which can be viewed here:

http://to.pbs.org/2ToXFi

It’s not very often that I finish a book in under a day, unless it’s in the New Testament, and even then there are a couple which take some time.  But this weeks Monday holiday + rain + family occupied + work staying in the office, all added up to the perfect time to at least start a book I’d picked up in the US.  I didn’t expect to finish it the same day.

Son of Hamas is the story, so far, of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the eldest son of Sheik Hassan Yousef one of the founders and leaders of Hamas.  Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic resistance movement in the West Bank and Gaza, and listed by the USA, EU and others as a terrorist organisation.

Mosab grew up in Ramallah, about 10km north of Jerusalem and at a young age began to fight back against the Israeli authorities.  As a child he saw his father arrested and jailed for months at a time and he himself was eventually arrested by the Israelis, eventually reaching a point where he agreed to spy on Hamas for Shin Bet (Israeli Internal security service).  His involvement with the Hamas leadership made him a valuable asset to Shin Bet and over the ten years he was working for them he prevented many attacks and assassinations by Hamas. During this time he was impacted by the teachings of Jesus Christ and eventually accepted the truth that Jesus is Lord and his saviour.

The book is a great testimony, helped me to understand some of what has been happening in the Middle East and motivated me to learn more about Islamic beliefs and Middle Eastern history.

Son of Hamas Facebook page

Timeline of phones Ive owned:

2010 - Google Nexus One
2008 - iPhone 3G
2007 - Nokia N95 8GB
2006 - Sony Ericsson - W810i
2006 - Sony Ericsson - K750
2005 - Treo 180G
2004 - Nokia 6310
2003 - Nokia 3350
2000 - Nokia 5110

Looks like Gizmodo managed to get their hands on the next iPhone somewhat accidentally, well for a short time.  Apple have formally requested the iPhone to be returned to them.  Confirming at least that the handset is genuine.  More on Gizmodo.

Here are some of the differences noted by Gizmodo about this iPhone – which Im hoping comes available in Australia this year as my current contract is due to expire -

What’s new:

• Front-facing video camera
• Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)
• Camera flash
• Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad)
• Improved display. It’s unclear if it’s the 960×640 display thrown around before—it certainly looks like it, with the “Connect to iTunes” screen displaying much higher resolution than on a 3GS.
• What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack
• Split buttons for volume
• Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

What’s changed

• The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound
• An aluminum border going completely around the outside
• Slightly smaller screen than the 3GS (but seemingly higher resolution)
• Everything is more squared off
• 3 grams heavier
• 16% Larger battery
• Internal components are shrunken, miniaturized and reduced to make room for the larger battery

For more details on the iPhone itself and the complete story on how they got it and Apple’s response is on their site.