So most of us who drive have passed a driving test, and one of the things they take you through is the rules of the road.
So what is the first rule of the road (in South Africa at least)?
Its not sticking to the speed limit, its no about how Beemers get right of way.
Nope, it's :
KEEP LEFT, PASS RIGHT!
I have a roughly 50 km commute to work every day (luckily its opposite the bad jams), and every day is see this rule flaunted and ignored dozens of times.
At the moment, there are very few cars on the road due to the easter break, but still, its like most people have no regard for it.
My pet peeve is when travelling along at the speed limit (lets say 120 km/h) in the right lane, and you approach a driver, also in the right lane, doing 100.
They dont have a car in front of them for over half a km, and the person "in front" of them is probably pulling away, rather than being reeled in.
Theres no significant traffic to their left, often a huge gap.
This person is, in my opinion, partially responsible for rush hour traffic (well, that and trucks - http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/tel-aviv-to-ban-trucks-in-morning-rush-hour-1.317607 )
But people think that this doesnt apply to them, everyone drives well enough in their own mind, if they thought otherwise, they'd be like Sheldon from Big Bang and not drive at all.
So I have a handy hint on how to spot if you are the asshole.
If people are overtaking you on the left, you are the asshole.
Going back to the first rule of the road, keep left, pass right.
If you have people coming up behind you and you are in the right hand lane, you have broken the rule, you arent keeping left.
Thus, they have 2 options.. slow down to your middle lane speed, or overtake you on the left.
So now they are breaking the rule.
I try to teach people doing this on the road, but dont always have the time.
So please join me in this excercise...
When coming up behind an asshole dawdling along in the fast lane, with acres of space in front and beside them, do what you were going to do anyway, overtake on the right, then get back into the fast lane as quickly as possible, then slow down to 15 km/h or so slower that the asshole.
This usually results in them moving a lane to the left.
At that stage, move back to your normal speed and get on with your day.
If enough people do this, it might teach these assholes that as much as Beemers dont own the road, Mazda 323's with a top speed of 87 dont either.
ps. I wonder how Vodacom are going to tie their red re-branding with sponsoring the BLUE Bulls.
They're already talking on the radio how the bulls can "see red" and calling them the Vodacom Bulls, or just the bulls.
There might be a whole lot of discarded blue bumper testicles in Pretoria soon!!!
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
WebManga: Goblins
Goblins is a WebManga (meaning it has a storyline that continues across the whole of the comic) created by Tarol Hunt and Danielle Stephens. Based entirely in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, it has masses of insider jokes and very cleverly plays havoc with DnD's black and white view of morality.
Goblins follows the adventures of a group of goblins, who decide that they have had enough of watching parties of adventures attacking their villages and war camps. So to better protect their people, they throw tradition to the wind and take on adventurer levels.
This story is masterfully executed, with the standard DnD character races being almost exclusively evil from the viewpoint of the goblins and these strange moral choices mixed in with traditional DnD themes and humor makes for a really gripping read.
Goblins has an extensive archive, which really must be read through from the begining if you're going to have any idea of what's going on, but it's interesting to watch how Tarol's artistic style evolves over the course of the comic and there are enough gags and truly epic fight scenes to keep you entertained.
Tarol has a great grasp of his characters, the humor is smooth (if very niche to DnD) and I think he's got the best fight scenes that I've seen in any comic, not just in the online medium.
This is a brilliant comic, and I've added it to my regular reading list. I suggest you do the same.
-Odd
Goblins follows the adventures of a group of goblins, who decide that they have had enough of watching parties of adventures attacking their villages and war camps. So to better protect their people, they throw tradition to the wind and take on adventurer levels.
This story is masterfully executed, with the standard DnD character races being almost exclusively evil from the viewpoint of the goblins and these strange moral choices mixed in with traditional DnD themes and humor makes for a really gripping read.Goblins has an extensive archive, which really must be read through from the begining if you're going to have any idea of what's going on, but it's interesting to watch how Tarol's artistic style evolves over the course of the comic and there are enough gags and truly epic fight scenes to keep you entertained.
Tarol has a great grasp of his characters, the humor is smooth (if very niche to DnD) and I think he's got the best fight scenes that I've seen in any comic, not just in the online medium.
This is a brilliant comic, and I've added it to my regular reading list. I suggest you do the same.
-Odd
"The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict." Martin Luther King, Jr.
Word of the Week
Moral - Adjective
- of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior
- expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior
- conforming to a standard of right behavior
- sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment
- capable of right and wrong action
In The News:
Google teaches computers regret - google is again pushing the envelope, this time in the field of AI
Chinese Space Program confounded by X-Prize - the capitalist model of privatising the space program seems to be paying dividends.
Robotic jet fighter passes two test flights - the first truly robotic war machine, no pilot, no remote control... it does it's own thing... does this sound like skynet to anyone else?
Crowd-sourced choir sings over the internet - such a cool thing!! 2000 people from around the world all pulled together into a single choir.
NASA gives out funding to private space firms - more on the private space industry... I want to holiday in earth orbit... how cool would that be?
Chinese Space Program confounded by X-Prize - the capitalist model of privatising the space program seems to be paying dividends.
Robotic jet fighter passes two test flights - the first truly robotic war machine, no pilot, no remote control... it does it's own thing... does this sound like skynet to anyone else?
Crowd-sourced choir sings over the internet - such a cool thing!! 2000 people from around the world all pulled together into a single choir.
NASA gives out funding to private space firms - more on the private space industry... I want to holiday in earth orbit... how cool would that be?
Friday, 15 April 2011
Its The End Of The Numberplate Game (As We Know It)
Do you play the numberplate game?
Do you know what it is?
I read about it in an obscure "Travel Game" book when I was younger.
Basically, you take the 3 letters on the numberplate in front of you, and try to make a word with those 3 letters.
So HDL 363 GP could be HuDdLe, HurDLe, HanDLe or others.
There are variations, where no 2 letters in the numberplate must touch in the word, ie: SLT coudl be SLoT, but the S and L are touching, so a better word would be SiLenT.
Also, some numberplates lend themselves to a 3 word soundbyte, ie: DRC could be DiReCt, or Democratic Republic of Congo.
If you didnt know about the game, and it piques your interest, I have bad news.
Gauteng has now run out of unassigned numberplates in the classic format, so they are now moving to a 2 letter, 2 number, 2 letter format... XX ## XX GP.
But 2 letters is a bit too easy, and all 4 letters seems quite hard. I suppose 4 letters will be easier than the recent V,W,X,Y and z combinations closing off the classic format, but I cant help feel that this simple game will never hold the same fascination it used to.
I guess time will tell.
Do you know what it is?
I read about it in an obscure "Travel Game" book when I was younger.
Basically, you take the 3 letters on the numberplate in front of you, and try to make a word with those 3 letters.
So HDL 363 GP could be HuDdLe, HurDLe, HanDLe or others.
There are variations, where no 2 letters in the numberplate must touch in the word, ie: SLT coudl be SLoT, but the S and L are touching, so a better word would be SiLenT.
Also, some numberplates lend themselves to a 3 word soundbyte, ie: DRC could be DiReCt, or Democratic Republic of Congo.
If you didnt know about the game, and it piques your interest, I have bad news.
Gauteng has now run out of unassigned numberplates in the classic format, so they are now moving to a 2 letter, 2 number, 2 letter format... XX ## XX GP.
But 2 letters is a bit too easy, and all 4 letters seems quite hard. I suppose 4 letters will be easier than the recent V,W,X,Y and z combinations closing off the classic format, but I cant help feel that this simple game will never hold the same fascination it used to.
I guess time will tell.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Here I am, but in case you were wondering why.
Hi
I'm Ian.
A lot of crap runs though my head, some of it ramblings, some of it genius, most of it somewhere in between.
What I dont have is the (drive, motivation, manageable workload, time) to Blog every week. Which I'm told is suicide for a blog.
So simple solution, ask my buddy Odd for a spot on his highly efficient weekly updates geeks and greatness blog.
I reserve the right to blog weekly, if I find the time or inspiration, but expect an occasional contribution.
The benefit of this to you is that while some bloggers write drivel to make sure theres a post this week, the drivel I write will be driven by a need to express something. or tell a cool joke I heard, or to rant.'
So as and when, I'll be posting the posts for my old neglected blog, so as to keep you all in full and proper fear of the rollercoaster of my phyche. But for now, here's my intro, and watch this space...
I'm Ian.
A lot of crap runs though my head, some of it ramblings, some of it genius, most of it somewhere in between.
What I dont have is the (drive, motivation, manageable workload, time) to Blog every week. Which I'm told is suicide for a blog.
So simple solution, ask my buddy Odd for a spot on his highly efficient weekly updates geeks and greatness blog.
I reserve the right to blog weekly, if I find the time or inspiration, but expect an occasional contribution.
The benefit of this to you is that while some bloggers write drivel to make sure theres a post this week, the drivel I write will be driven by a need to express something. or tell a cool joke I heard, or to rant.'
So as and when, I'll be posting the posts for my old neglected blog, so as to keep you all in full and proper fear of the rollercoaster of my phyche. But for now, here's my intro, and watch this space...
A new contributor...
Hey all,
We're soon to have a new contributor on The Odd Blog. Ian is going to be bringing us his mad ravings (don't tell him I called them that) and you'll be able to find them on the home page (as they're published) or under the new IanSights tab.
So watch this space and show him some love. Also... you could remind him to lose the game.
-Odd
"Though our communication wanes at times of absence, I'm aware of a strength that emanates in the background." -Claudette Renner
We're soon to have a new contributor on The Odd Blog. Ian is going to be bringing us his mad ravings (don't tell him I called them that) and you'll be able to find them on the home page (as they're published) or under the new IanSights tab.
So watch this space and show him some love. Also... you could remind him to lose the game.
-Odd
"Though our communication wanes at times of absence, I'm aware of a strength that emanates in the background." -Claudette Renner
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
50 Years of human space flight
This week celebrates the 50th aniversary of human travel in space. 50 Years ago Yuri Gagarin became the first man to leave earth's atmosphere. That was a huge accivement then, and even in today's scope it is truly epic. We are no longer bound exclusively to the planet on which we grew. It's probably the biggest step in the evolution of humanity since we discovered how to use tools.
But in the years since then, we seem to have lost our will to explore space in person. Sure, we're sending out a lot of robots into the universe... but we're retiring the Space Shuttle and NASA is seeing massive budget cuts. It's expensive to send people into space, keep them alive and them bring them back safely... but does it really count as exploration if we're not the ones doing it?
I think we're missing an opportunity here: Space exploration has the potential to act as a unifying force for humanity, to bring us all together for a common goal. The International Space Station is a good example of this, but in an environment of shrinking budgets and little political will, I'm worried that programs like this will become a thing of the past.
Thankfully the Chinese (it's always the Chinese) are still spending a lot of money on space exploration, and they may be the new leaders in humanities efforts to touch the stars.
On another note: There's a poll over on the right hand side of the page... I think it would be interesting to get your feedback on some stuff, so please check it out ^^. Thanks for reading, and please share this with your friends/family/imaginary friends.
-Odd
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space." - Douglas Adams
But in the years since then, we seem to have lost our will to explore space in person. Sure, we're sending out a lot of robots into the universe... but we're retiring the Space Shuttle and NASA is seeing massive budget cuts. It's expensive to send people into space, keep them alive and them bring them back safely... but does it really count as exploration if we're not the ones doing it?
I think we're missing an opportunity here: Space exploration has the potential to act as a unifying force for humanity, to bring us all together for a common goal. The International Space Station is a good example of this, but in an environment of shrinking budgets and little political will, I'm worried that programs like this will become a thing of the past.
Thankfully the Chinese (it's always the Chinese) are still spending a lot of money on space exploration, and they may be the new leaders in humanities efforts to touch the stars.
On another note: There's a poll over on the right hand side of the page... I think it would be interesting to get your feedback on some stuff, so please check it out ^^. Thanks for reading, and please share this with your friends/family/imaginary friends.
-Odd
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space." - Douglas Adams
Word of the Week:
Apastron - Noun
- The point at which two stars orbiting each other in a binary star system are farthest apart.
- The point at which an object, such as a planet or comet, is farthest from the star it is orbiting.
In The News:
Control a mouse cursor with brain implants - I want to be a cyborg!!
Researchers build wearable generators - It may not be a huge amount of energy generated, but if we all wear these and use them to power our personal gadgets, it could have a big impact on the global energy situation.
Boy scouts can now earn robotics merit badges - so cool! wish this was available when I was a cub...
U.S. Navy getting closer to arming ships with lasers - sweet... Laser guns are one of the foundations of Science Fiction, now I'm waiting for a portable version.
Scientists aim to improve photosynthesis - talk about tinkering with nature! still... it could have a great impact on food and energy problems.
Researchers build wearable generators - It may not be a huge amount of energy generated, but if we all wear these and use them to power our personal gadgets, it could have a big impact on the global energy situation.
Boy scouts can now earn robotics merit badges - so cool! wish this was available when I was a cub...
U.S. Navy getting closer to arming ships with lasers - sweet... Laser guns are one of the foundations of Science Fiction, now I'm waiting for a portable version.
Scientists aim to improve photosynthesis - talk about tinkering with nature! still... it could have a great impact on food and energy problems.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Robot Wars
As some of you might have read in the news last week, China is scheduled to overtake the US in science in two years. This is a major shift and will certainly speed China's assumption of the top spot on the international stage.
Scientific advancement is possibly the single greatest factor for a countries prosperity, with relatively tiny countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan punching far above their weight because they have such a strong technical nature. So how could we emulate that drive in this country?
I think the biggest challenge is to get children interested in science, technology and engineering... and this shouldn't be too hard: science is cool!
My suggestion would be to have a South African series of Robot Wars. Probably drawing the competitors mostly from our universities. With RC being such a mainstream hobby, most of the materials and circutry required and readibly (and mostly cost effecitvely) available. Having something like this as a field trip would certainly encourage students to concentrate on their maths and science marks, which can only benefit our economy.
My favorite Robot Wars competior has to be Razor:
This guy is incredible... once, it even took out one of the house robots!!! Sugoi!
So, someone, please ... steal this idea... ^^
Another cool thing about the far east becoming the world's technology leader? Chances are that we'll end up with giant robots... I love giant robots!
-Odd
Living here in Jersey, fighting villains from afar/ You've gotta find first gear in your giant robot car / *You* dig giant robots / *I* dig giant robots / *We* dig giant robots / *Chicks* dig giant robots / Nice.
Scientific advancement is possibly the single greatest factor for a countries prosperity, with relatively tiny countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan punching far above their weight because they have such a strong technical nature. So how could we emulate that drive in this country?
I think the biggest challenge is to get children interested in science, technology and engineering... and this shouldn't be too hard: science is cool!
My suggestion would be to have a South African series of Robot Wars. Probably drawing the competitors mostly from our universities. With RC being such a mainstream hobby, most of the materials and circutry required and readibly (and mostly cost effecitvely) available. Having something like this as a field trip would certainly encourage students to concentrate on their maths and science marks, which can only benefit our economy.
My favorite Robot Wars competior has to be Razor:
This guy is incredible... once, it even took out one of the house robots!!! Sugoi!
So, someone, please ... steal this idea... ^^
Another cool thing about the far east becoming the world's technology leader? Chances are that we'll end up with giant robots... I love giant robots!
-Odd
Living here in Jersey, fighting villains from afar/ You've gotta find first gear in your giant robot car / *You* dig giant robots / *I* dig giant robots / *We* dig giant robots / *Chicks* dig giant robots / Nice.
In the News:
A new nano-material detects explosives - nanotech is finally finding it's way into usable applications.
UK cancer charity tidies up Wikipedia - A great example of how crowdsourcing can work.
Fusion propelled starship - I love it when the stuff of sci-fi becomes reality.
Robots at the Smithsonian - a new robotics exhibition... full of cool stuff.
Machines to pass turning test by 2029 - I want my robot butler!
UK cancer charity tidies up Wikipedia - A great example of how crowdsourcing can work.
Fusion propelled starship - I love it when the stuff of sci-fi becomes reality.
Robots at the Smithsonian - a new robotics exhibition... full of cool stuff.
Machines to pass turning test by 2029 - I want my robot butler!
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