really old deeds

I found these really old deeds in work (The Northern Bank) last week, way back in the late 18th century! How awesome is that? - they were so old that they were literally handwritten, and were beautifully scribed as well. The thing that blew my mind away is that a human being with a real life like you and me sat down one day over 225 years ago and wrote this out, knowing little how one day I, Chris Scorah would stumble across them. So I guess I had better be careful of what footsteps I leave behind for someone in the future to find.

For those who don't know what title deeds are, basically it is the legal document stating the exact owener of the property, which also includes the history of every owner the property has had. The crying shame is that people are trying to push through legislation that old documents like this one should be destroyed and only the latest kept. See if you can guess the exact date of these deeds from the pic below (leave a msg if you think you have it!)

unexpected beauty

A homeless person wrote this poem for some Christians who had been hanging out with him, and I thought it was beautiful, Lord bless that man.

Looking for the lost

But found the most

In yourselves

and so much more.

early bird

I've been feeling rather lethargic of late with working in an office all day and not getting any excercise, so I decided to try out a few exercises to see what I liked. I tried a bit of cycling, and running but eventually I came across early bird swimming, and I have to say, I love it! It's so peaceful in the morning, and the people around you just want to get on with the swimming (which is great if you're not really a morning person like me!) and you feel really refreshed to tackle the day ahead of you when you get out. I fully recommend it!

The one down side to it was the first day I tried it I got the biggest mouth ulcer in history! I couldn't enjoy food for over a week! I've only just started getting over it now. If you have any good mouth ulcer remedies, please let me know!

heroes

All my favourite tv shows are returning after the writers strike in America e.g. prison break, chuck, heroes (and 4 in January!) and I'm very excited! Back on my recent theme of heroes (see this.) I loved the first 2 seasons and the first new episode was great with....

The show makes it seem real and very possible to have such seemingly super human powers. It is also good and making the heroes seem very human. This series has opened really well, completely shattering what you initially think about some of the characters. I think deep down inside of everyone there is a desire to be the hero. To have something extra-ordinary about themselves, to be the person that everyone looks to, and someone who leaves a legacy, where times has no bounds.

The problem with all these characters, Hiro, Peter, Superman is that they are all fictional, but the good news is, we have actually had some super human heroes in our time. People like Paul the apostle, the twelve disciples. More recently Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa. But the most important of all, someone who does actually transcend through time. He's our Maker, He's our Lover, He is Jesus. He has defied death and Hell, He heals the sick, He has defeated principalities and powers. He is the one true real Hero for mankind. Why should we be star-studded by the likes of David Beckham, when we have met the maker of the universe! The amazing thing is He asks us to be heroes with Him and work together, and all we have to do is believe that He died to save us. Man that is such amazing grace.

my first nerd project

Over the summer I have been coding a record storing database for the SOS bus charity. The system inputs data through the use of forms and stores them in a record base format. It stores information about visitors, volunteers and night shifts. It can perform statistical analysis and search queries based on pretty much an critieria you want and it also has nifty import/export and password systems that I am particularly proud of.

One problem was that I programmed in Visual Basic and had to use Microsoft Excel as a front-end, as this was a user specification. Personally for this kind of system Access would have been much easier to use, but Excel does provide some nifty statistics functions. Other alternatives would have simply hard coding with Java/SQL. See below for a pic! I also recently completed a simple record input form, with sort & search functions for the Northern Bank to make it easier for them to enter mortgage data. So if anyone out there is needing a records or office based solution or just any other minor programming why not give me a shout.


Look out for the possibility of bringing one of these bad boys to lurgan!

my foot take two

Some people may remember the horrific picture of my left ankle after going over it when I was climing slieve commedagh a few years back. For those who have not yet seen it, or would like to be reminded, check the links below to see what I mean...

http://file010a.bebo.com/large/2006/04/11/00/250301291a575657356b667010685l.jpg

Well today it was the turn of my right ankle. I was bitten on Thursday by some repugnant little creature whilst playing tennis in the park during the twilight of the evening. I didn't think much of it, because I seem to get bitten regularly these days (although up until a few years back I never used to!), but today I felt a discomfort that can only be described like old woman ankles. So I rolled back my trouser-leg, pulled off my socks and lo and behold, my foot & ankle were the size of a cricket bat! I have no idea how such a little bite could cause such an angry reaction but there you have it. Just as a warning, if you are squeamish, you may just want to look away now...


On a philisophical note, apparently I have an above average number of feet.

Anyone for a cone of credit crunch?

Melanie made a funny point the other day, that the term "credit crunch" sounds like a flavour of ice-cream, and I guess it does, wouldn't you agree? It seems all we ever hear on the news these days is fuel & energy crisis, cost-of-living increases (since when does living have a price?!), food prices rise, economy at record low, recession, credit crunch. The thing is no one is doing anything about it. For example we are still not building houses with standardised solar panelled rooftops. Oil prices are going down, yet the consumer sees nothing of it. The Reason? Same reason as it has been throughout the ages, people are making money from others suffering. Frankly, I am so sick of hearing about rising costs and didn't the Bible predict it anyway? And on that note that's all I am gonna say on the matter, so here's what I think a credit crunch ice-cream would look like!