Electronic contact

So my gorgeous girlfriend has been in Germany for two weeks, and has another there before she comes back to SA.

She left me behind to run off to Europe to expand her education through a studio for her new Urban Design course. If that sounded bitter, I appolgise, it wasn't supposed to. I'm fully behind her studying and it's Uber-cool that she could do some of the work overseas. It's really awesome :D ... but it does make my life harder.

All I can say is "Thank Tim Berners Lee for the internet!!!"... not solely the internet actually. I find myself very appreciative of the whole plethora modern communications technology. Without SMSs, GChat, Skype and Facebook, I think I'd be a gibbering wreck by now. As it is: I'm not wrecked (any more than before anyway) and there has been scaresly a gibber at all.

Electronic communication is no substitute for physical presence, but it certainly takes the edge off. I feel privileged to be able to make such mundane use of abilities that would have been the greatest of magical powers a century ago.

So the next time you're chatting to someone on the other side of the world, take a moment to appreciate what a truely massive accomlishment that is for the human race.

I miss you, gorgeous... and can't wait for your return: but you must have oodles of fun in Germany and tell me all about it when you get back.

-Odd

"Language... has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone." - Paul Tillich

Word of the Week

Jeremiad - noun

1. a prolonged lamentation or complaint.

In The News

Swiss scientists design a turbine to fit in human arteries - this little gizmo could create enough power to run pace makers and other suck bio-implants... as long as they figure out a way to mitigate the turbulence it causes.

Laser used to transfer data at 26terabytes per second - now that is FAST! and unlike similar projects, this one does it with a single multi-colour laser. So it's cheep(ish).

Is Graphene a miracle material? - a great article on a new wonder material... watch out for this stuff, it's going to be making a big impact.

Grand Co-operative driving challenge - building smarter driverless cars that can communicate with each other to make better use of the road. Cool.

Teaching robots to read - It's not quite at a human level... but this sort of research is what is going to make personal robots possible. Keep up the great work!

The Grand Gallery Of Almightily Stupid Ideas, (Number Two)

 ORT, no longer just an airport, the Open Road Tolling system due in Gauteng has been the topic of much debate, to the point where it was put on hold leading up to the elections, to save a few majority party votes.
The Freedom Front (Plus) has been a driving force behind the protests against the proposed high per kilometre tariffs, with almost all other opposition parties joining in in some form or another. Although the gantries are built and installed, they aren’t being used until the tariff issue has been resolved.

I work far enough from home that I see quite a few of these during my commute, and have recently seen, with the coming of earlier sunsets, and laterhours on a buggy project , that they are lighting these non-functioning gantries at night…

The blue lights reflect purple against the support poles, and when passing under them, I cant help think of cheesy porn movie clichés, which in turn reminds me that the Gauteng roads agency will be screwing me a bit more once these start tolling.'

Yesterday, I passed under them around sunset, and found that the blue lights see their fair share of daylight too…



Now we have been told that the project has been put on hold to examine ways to decrease the tariff to a reasonable rate. I would like to ask the question :
What is the electricity bill for lighting up approximately 42 huge gantries from before sundown for the whole night, every night, on a system that is currently not generating any income. Every cent they spend lighting these eyesores up will be included in the rate you pay once they become operational.
Maybe someone should explain to SANRAL how efficiency works…

Imagine

Imagine a political party that offers rebates when the systems aren’t working, and services aren’t being delivered, we do pay for essential services after all. To mention the hyper-ten-shin. Nothing grates me more than seeing municipal budget being blown on repairing the damage caused by striking municipal workers instead of much needed developments and upgrades, all the while my rubbish piles up outside my front door. And its coming out of my pocket, surely, when my power is out, or my garbage is standing, the local government should be refunding me for the services I haven’t received. . Anyway, that’s my bitching done, but I can, cause I vote.

Actually, no, I'm not done. I want to talk about delegated authority. As a legal entity, when I vote I am delegating my authority (to make legal and financial decisions) to a person, who represents a party. I choose this party because I believe their values are in line with my own and therefore they will most suitably represent MY needs and desires. However, that party won't necessarily "win" the election process. Therefore the party whose "values" most suitably align with the majority stands to make my decisions for me. I don't like that, not one little bit. I did not delegate my authority to you money hungry, gravy train riding, under educated and over inflated, blood sucking morons. Yet you reserve the right to spend my tax money on ineffective and outright idiotic ideas, and then, you tax me even more. You tax me for driving to work so that I can earn a living, then you tax me on that too. Then you tax me on the groceries I buy to feed my family, and double tax me on the cigarettes I smoke to cope with all the fucking taxes. I most certainly did not delegate my authority to you, and most certainly not for the above mentioned reasons.

-Simon

The Grand Gallery Of Almightily Stupid Ideas, (Number One)

So if you've been out and about in... well, Gauteng lately, you will have seen urban beautification of sidewalks using what seems to be construction rubble.

I think there were several causes for this happening.

Firstly, most of the rcks look freshly... rubbleised (?) in my opinion, likely from Gautrain blasting.

So someone in the Gautrain project had tons (literally) of rubble and decided to sell it rather than dump it.

 

They went to the owners and managers of buildings, properties, shopping centres with sidewalk that would look better and prettier with this rubble strewn alongside it. They probably had a great sales pitch.. Low cost (how much do you sell rubbish for), no maintenance, unlike if they had done a planted beautification, requiring water, fertilizer, and a human or ten to tend it.

Rubble, pay once, gaze at forever.

 

The person who seems not to have been at the meeting would be a representative of the common sense brigade, local trends branch, how fucking stupid can you get division.

This person might have pointed out that South Africa is a country with a long tradition of toyi-toyi'ng, marches and protests.

They might mention that these gatherings of people can turn into mobs at the drop of a hat.

Theymight have pointed out that if such a gathering is meandearing by your permises, and turns even a few members to the dark side of eaceful protest, and those individuals/mob decide to make you a target of their frustrations, you may have inadvertantly provided them with heavy, throwable rock-based projectiles with which to pelt your windows and patrons.

 

Unfortunately, all members of the common sense brigade are allocated to the julius malema youth league election committee, the DA's we can take gauteng meeting (I love the enthusiasm, but really...) and at the people who believe/advertise that the world is ending this weekend. (with limited success, so far).

 

[caption id="attachment_413" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="One mans rubble is another mans decoration is another mans weapon"][/caption]

Thoughts on democracy

So we've got our local government elections coming up tomorrow. Which is great because there's a possibility that together we can make a change for the better... and the fact that we get a public holiday doesn't hurt either.

I was chilling out with some friends yesterday and I made a comment about voting and one of the guys said that he isn't going to vote because he's protesting 'the system'. I had to restrain myself from strangling him on the spot...

I almost wasn't successful...

Give me a second to calm down...

...

...

...

Ok, I'm fine... Homicidal impulse controlled... nothing to see here... move along.

Sure, democracy isn't the perfect form of government... but it's the best we've got, and it only works if everyone participates. I think it was Alexis de Toqueville who said that we get the government we deserve and that really strikes a cord with me.

In a democratic system (even one like ours that is heavily weighted towards one party) the public are responsible for the people governing them and only though continuous pressure and engagement can we ever hope to improve the woeful governance we experience.

Personally, I'm hoping that the DA can take Joburg... or at least some the municipalities in Gauteng, but if they don't I'll go back next time and cast my vote again... in hope... and in the knowledge that if I don't, nothing will ever change.

And if you don't vote, you can't complain - about anything - period. If I hear you complaining and you didn't vote... I probably won't try to control my reaction.

-Odd

"A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation" -James Freeman Clarke

Word of the Week:

Opprobrium - noun

1. disgrace rising from shameful conduct; infamy.


2. scorn; contempt.


3. the cause of such a disgrace.

In The News:

Force field creates invisible multi-touch interface - awesomeness.... This thing can turn any surface into a multi-touch interface.

Android tablet robot - want a robot? there's an app for that.

Rising orbital debris levels - this is a big problem that could potentially stop all our space flight, and as far as I know there's nothing being done about it.

US Navy creates MMO to combat Somali pirates - The US Navy is getting into the crowd sourcing game... hoping that you can come up with a solution to piracy.

Ground effect robotic train - a flying train! not content with high-speed mag-lev... now they'll just make it fly. Very cool.

Election Time

Election time is coming up, and everybody has an opinion, and luckily everybody has a voice. The problem is the ones with the loudest opinions are the ones that never use that voice.

If you want the right to moan and groan about the crap-ass local (or national) government, you have to exercise the responsibility to vote. Or else shut the hell up, I don't want to hear it.

I am probably preaching to the choir here but no matter, just some friendly advice. Use it or don't use it

-Simon

Book Review: The Malazan Book of the Fallen

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is a series of heroic fantasy novels written by Steven Erikson, it is a 10 book series starting with Gardens of the Moon and culminating with The Crippled God.

This is without a doubt the best series of heroic fantasy I have ever read. Period.

The chartacters are unique and engaging and the writing style is lyric and stylish. The world (or worlds, I guess) in which it is set has to be one of the most complete visualisations of a fantasy setting that has ever been attempted.

I'm also really, really, really (seriously - I can't overstate this), really, impressed with the magic system in this series. It's unique (which is very difficult to do with the sheer amount of novels in the genre) and plays a large role both in the overall plot and in keeping the reader guessing as to exactly how everything fits together.

So what's the catch? Well... besides being a beefy 10 books long (and the books themselves might be better described as tomes), this is not a series that is intended for novices of the genre. I would suggest that anyone interested in picking up these books be quite comfortable the standard elements of the genre (mages, multiple worlds, various races and such) because the story itself is so intricate and emotionally fraught that it could be easily overwhelming if you're trying to absorb the basics too.

This isn't a series that can be easily paired down into a brief plot review, so I'm not even going to try. I will tell you that the characters are alarming powerful (these guys will really mess you up) while at the same time maintaining and communicating heart-wrenching human emotion... it's just incredible.

Also, keep an eye out for my two favorite characters Quick Ben and Andromander Rake... I almost wish the series had continued longer so that I could keep reading about them, but on the other hand I'm glad it didn't drag out ala Wheel Of Time.

From start to finish this is a masterpiece of literature. Do yourself a favor. Read it.

-Odd

"Name none of the fallen, for they stand in our place, and stand there still in each moment of our lives. Let my death hold no glory, and let me die forgotten and unknown. Let it not be said that I was one among the dead to accuse the living." -Duiker

Word of the Week:

Splenetic - adjective

1. Irritable; peevish; spiteful.
   


2. Of the spleen.


3. Archaic: Affected with, characterized by, or tending to produce melancholy.

In The News:

Quantum teleportation breakthrough could herald instantaneousness computing - the idea of quantum teleportaion has been around for a while... but they're actually developing usable applications for the theory.

Robot throws first pitch at a baseball game - all to encourage science and maths education. Robots are cool.

iPhone tracks your location - This has been huge news over the last few weeks.... Apple has since released a new version of iOS that apparently fixes this. If you're using an iPhone/iPad... update your software!

Cracker sized satellites to launch with Space Shuttle Endeavor - A new era in satellite technology? Or just creating more traffic and space-junk in orbit?

Sony Online Gaming Platform Hacked - reports say somewhere around 25 million users had their information stolen... scary, scary, scary things.

eConfusion - A new disease (Originally posted Monday, January 10, 2011)

I saw a video clip last night, apparently of the Joburg mayor giving an address that would make Al Pacino in Rain Man seem lucid. He stumbles of difficult words like 'our', almost bursting into song, and eyeing the left of his position like his wife and mistress are glaring at him from that spot. Very funny, totally indicative of the doublespeak method of saying nothing beloved by our politicians, but not quite accurate. When I saw the video, of the 'mayor of joburg', the name Amos Masondo popped into my mind. This morning I googled his face, and surprise surprise, is not him in the video. Equally, a few months ago, I got a mail of a house with fishtanks in the wall that was apparently Julius Malema's one house. Now I live in the same road as that house, and its not Julius'. Not close. I discovered it belongs to the 'Da Silvas' So what am I trying to say here. We've all got mails saying 'Bill Gates will buy you a mansion if you forward this' or 'Mars will be as big in the sky as the moon' and there's much more reason for a thinking e-mail user to question the truth of these claims, and even websites like http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ that provide the truth about such things. And usually they're a marketing scam farming email addresses, or someone out to screw with the recipient. But in the case of the Amos and Julius mails, this angle is missing. So why did the idiot who put that information into the mail in the first place do it? Why say this is the mayor of Joburg speaking, when if the author has spent 20 seconds on google they would have found out otherwise. Is it laziness? Is it a case of someone thinking they know more than they do? Is it a wishful thinking, or based on what that oke at the bar said? Regardless of the source, its a lie. And now a growing number of people in email-land think that Julius Malema has fishtanks in his walls, and that Amos Masonde doesnt have glasses or a chubby face.

[gallery]

Will the real Mayor of Joburg please stand up...

So please, dont take everything for granted, in email or life. Being informed is one of the most powerful tools of this age, and one of the most abused. And google is just a click away... use it.

Say my Name

What’s in a name, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. However, were the rose named stink weed, or stinky gourd? Would you still bend to smell this ill reputed plant? Or would you give it a wide berth?

By the same token, a man is only as good as his name. You can work many years to build a good reputation, vitally important, in life socially as well as in the workplace. And the better person you are the better your name becomes. However, and this is a big one. All the work you have put in, and over many years, can be destroyed in an instant by you or someone else.

The bible says to stay away from even the appearance of evil, which is truly sage advice. If it is perceived that you are immoral, unscrupulous or an assortment of other less desired attributes, you will be labelled as that attribute. Regardless of how inaccurate that may be, you are no longer a rose, but a stinkweed.  It may also happen that somebody else may spread a vicious rumor about you, which will spread and ruin your name. Even if it’s not true, and people know better, it still goes to cast doubt on your good name.

That’s all.

-Simon

Procrastination

As most of you probably realised, I didn't post last week... oops.

I don't even have a valid excuse... besides the fact that I was on leave (my first leave in a loooong time) and that I'm lazy. ^^

It wasn't totally unproductive... I did manage to get most of the Necromunda terrain done, and you should be able to check it out in all it's glory in a full turorial that I'll post next week.

Took time out to see both SuckerPunch and Thor this past week... both of which I enjoyed immensely:

 I know SuckerPunch has been getting shocking reviews, but I think people are taking it the wrong way... it's not a standard action thriller and it's not an in depth, thought provoking sci-fi... what it looks like to me is an original idea that showcases some seriously spectacular visuals and fight scenes while challenging the status-quo for action movie scripts (this is not the romance/action/comedy that you're used to) and I always love a movie where I can't predict the ending and I leave the cinema with a couple questions as to what exactly was going on.



Thor was... THOR!!! I really like this Super hero movie... Thor wasn't a annoying little tit like spider-man... he was THOR! I think Chris Hemsworth did a great job... as it can't be easy to bring the right amount of naivete , arrogance and honor to the role.

.

.

Oh, and I kick serious ass in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.... seriously... I'll damage you.



I'd also like to say thanks to Ian for keeping the site ticking over last week, and introduce a new poster, Simon, who'll also be joining us... Ian, Simon and myself have been good friends for years now... ever since a crazy DnD game where the three of us where all playing and DMing ourselves... it was a weird setup, great fun and probably wouldn't work with any other people I know... Good to have you guys on the site!

Thanks for reading, and come back next week for the a return to normal.

-Odd

"Thor, the mighty! Thor, the brave! Crush the infidels in your way!" -Manowar