BBC News: "SA Pigeon 'faster than broadband'"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8248056.stm

Broadband promised to unite the world with super-fast data delivery - but in South Africa it seems the web is still no faster than a humble pigeon.

A Durban IT company pitted an 11-month-old bird armed with a 4GB memory stick against the ADSL service from the country's biggest web firm, Telkom. Winston the pigeon took two hours to carry the data 60 miles - in the same time the ADSL had sent 4% of the data. Telkom said it was not responsible for the firm's slow internet speeds.

The idea for the race came when a member of staff at Unlimited IT complained about the speed of data transmission on ADSL. He said it would be faster by carrier pigeon. "We renown ourselves on being innovative, so we decided to test that statement," Unlimited's Kevin Rolfe told the Beeld newspaper.

'No cats allowed'

Winston took off from Unlimited IT's call centre in the town of Howick to deliver the memory stick to the firm's office in Durban. According to Winston's website there were strict rules in place to ensure he had no unfair advantage. They included "no cats allowed" and "birdseed must not have any performance-enhancing seeds within".

The firm said Winston took one hour and eight minutes to fly between the offices, and the data took another hour to upload on to their system. Mr Rolfe said the ADSL transmission of the same data size was about 4% complete in the same time.

Hundreds of South Africans followed the race on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.

"Winston is over the moon," Mr Rolfe said. "He is happy to be back at the office and is now just chilling with his friends."

Meanwhile Telkom said it could not be blamed for slow broadband services at the Durban-based company. "Several recommendations have, in the past, been made to the customer but none of these have, to date, been accepted," Telkom's Troy Hector told South Africa's Sapa news agency in an e-mail.

South Africa is one of the countries hoping to benefit from three new fibre optic cables being laid around the African continent to improve internet connections.

Crop Walk 2009

I don't get to post about special releases as often as I'd like. Some of my favorites are very private, and it would be disrespectful to reveal the details of them. But I feel so very blessed to be able to meet the people I meet and watch the doves minister to them through their feathered beauty and symbolism. I fee so blessed, in fact, that it often brings tears to my eyes. So today, as I was reading, I came across such a special quote that exudes a compassion and understanding for the thankful emotions that sometimes overwhelm me in my "job."

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”~Washington Irving

Speaking of special moments in my work: Crop Walk 2009 took place in Caldwell, Idaho this year, near West Valley Medical Center. A Breath of Heaven Doves were there to fly for them as a kick off to the walk. So many of the same compassionate and loving faces were there that have been since we've been a part of the event. And there were some special new ones, as well. They were all people from local Lutheran churches, gathered together to raise funds to take care of the hungry. This is one of my favorite charitable events to release the doves at. I believe they were our first charity, in fact, for whom our hearts were tugged to serve. May this event bring much relief to many in need this year, as in all years prior, and those in the future! Amen.

St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration

This upcoming weekend is the St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration. This is one of our premier releases each year. It's the entire experience we rejoice in: The masses of amazing women celebrating femininity and fitness together -- and the high energy that eminates from the city of Boise for blocks as we all gather there! It's quite the experience, and our birds surely feel the positive excitement as they soar with their own strong wings, to soar for us!

Because of the rainy weather last year, we chose to cancel the release. It was raining cats and dogs! Those wonderful women still had a very fun, memorable year! However, this year, the weather forecast looks stunningly gorgeous and A Breath of Heaven Doves, both the feathered and the human-type, are ready to CELEBRATE!

The race will take place in downtown Boise, right at City Hall, bright and early this Saturday morning, September 26, 2009.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I am so thankful my white birds can live in a spacious loft home -- a home they have a burning desire always to return to. They have room to fly at will. And then, when we open up the lofts, or they are released, they fly joyfully, freely, into the sky, to "dip their wings into the orange sun rays."


So, though I deeply embrace the symbolism behind Maya Angelou's beautiful words, I take them not only figuratively, but literally... I feel the hope behind them as the caged bird sings... and also the beauty of the truth and significance in comparing experiences with the human soul to the desires of, and heights that can be reached, by birds of flight.


~I know why the caged bird sings~

by Maya Angelou

The free bird leaps
On the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.


The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Fly Away

This poem touches my heart on such a personal level. I've met so many amazing little birds who seem to have crossed my path in need of help. It was my pleasure and honor to assist them to their freedom. So many have been tiny little sparrows, still residing in their pink transluscent skin, too young for even feathers. Daily love, warmth, shelter, and feeding as they squeaked and bounced their awkward heads for food, built a place for them in my heart. But, yes that day always comes when they need to be set free -- to be encouraged to take wing and fly freely to live their lives -- just as they would have, had nothing befallen them and separate them from their parents. I love on them as much as is fair, and tend to them painstakingly, trying to mimic nature as much as possible for them. But alas-- the time to let them go (literally and figuratively) inevitably comes. And that is a day brings emotions you could surely guess...

There is warning of that day: They start exercising their wings instinctually. Like little helicopters, they flap harder and harder, bouncing off of any surface like they are skipping a jump rope. They grow stronger. Soon, they are fluttering, flitting about. As a child, I'd always thought the parents taught them to fly. But apparently, God fully equipped them with an innate prompting to fly, and how to prepare for it.

And so, in this poem, Paul Holmes outlines the feelings that course through me on "the big day." Through his words, I see that he has a "knowing" about the relationship between a person and a bird. And so, most comforting is his final line...

Fly Away by Paul Holmes, UK

Fly away, little sparrow,

Fly to the wide blue sky,

Enjoy your new-found freedom,

Of this I won’t deny.

I’m so happy to see your wing

No longer bruised and broken,

So pleased to release you,

Of this I’ve often spoken.

I’ve fed you with my hand,

Cared for all your needs,

Brought you back to health,

Fed you with finest seeds.

Your feathers were so dirty,

At death’s door you did appear

But, with a little kindness

You revived, to my great cheer.

So, now, with a little sadness

I send you back to your friends,

And as I watch you stretch you wings

A shiver down my spine it sends;

I’m happy now that you are free,

Back to where you belong

Perhaps you’ll return to my window-sill

And reward me with your song…

"To Paint the Portrait of a Bird"

"TO PAINT THE PORTRAIT OF A BIRD"

by Jacques Prevert

To paint the portrait of a bird,

Paint first a cage with an open door.

Then paint inside the cage

Something beautiful,

something useful to the bird.

Place the canvas against a tree

In a garden or a forest

And hide behind the tree

Without speaking or moving.

Maybe the bird will arrive quickly

But it could take years.

Don't be discouraged. Wait.

Wait all the years if need be:

the bird's quickness or slowness

will not affect the success of the painting.

When the bird arrives(if it does),

be completely silent and wait

until it enters the cage --

then softly close the door

with the paintbrush.
Erase one by one the bars

And, being careful not to touch

The bird's feathers,

Paint the tree,

choosing the best of its branches

For the bird to perch on.

Paint also the foliage

And the cool breeze

And the rays of the sun;

Paint the sounds of the animals,

The plants, the summer warmth.

Then wait until the bird decides

To sing or not to sing:

If not, it is a bad sign

And a sign the portrait is bad,

But singing is a good sign --

A sign that you can sign.

Very softly, pluck a feather

From the bird and write your name

In a corner of the canvas.

9/11 Memorial Dove Release Tribute

The Idaho Press Tribune's reporter Greg Kreller put together a moving tribute to the 9/11 Never Forget Golf Tournament in Eagle, Idaho which took place on September 11, 2009. The event was kicked off with a memorial tribute to those who lost their lives on that day and remembrance of how our lives all changed significantly because of the tragedy of that day. Included in the photography are pictures of our dove release. Here is a link to that piece: Never Forget Golf Tournament