Friday, December 22, 2006
D***** rat! (aka moral dilemma)
Well, I gotta take my rat - sorry - hat off to him - he IS a smart rat. Any normal rat would have just upped sticks and ofted himself by now via whatever route he came in by. Between us (me, the young lady Methelette home for vacation, the electronic rat repeller, the trap and the smartest brains in the known universe-ity) we have the only other exit covered and we have deprived him of food and water. But, this is Basil, superat extraordinaire, the rat that knows no shame. He has quietened down - a lot. But quiet isn't gone. Yet. We seem to have two options left. The tried and tested (locally and under cover of darkness according to neighbourhood gossip) traditional stick and bag technique - courtesy of a man in a suit that should never be allowed out except when covered by cloak of night. Or, the appealingly named (well, to an educational technologist anyway) "electronic solution" - only 39-95, comes in own brown wrapper, no need for embarassing white van outside during procedure "Uses 4 x "C" cell batteries that will kill approximately 12 rats..." with its own "flasing indicator to show rat has been killed"...
Even more EEEK!
Well, I gotta take my rat - sorry - hat off to him - he IS a smart rat. Any normal rat would have just upped sticks and ofted himself by now via whatever route he came in by. Between us (me, the young lady Methelette home for vacation, the electronic rat repeller, the trap and the smartest brains in the known universe-ity) we have the only other exit covered and we have deprived him of food and water. But, this is Basil, superat extraordinaire, the rat that knows no shame. He has quietened down - a lot. But quiet isn't gone. Yet. We seem to have two options left. The tried and tested (locally and under cover of darkness according to neighbourhood gossip) traditional stick and bag technique - courtesy of a man in a suit that should never be allowed out except when covered by cloak of night. Or, the appealingly named (well, to an educational technologist anyway) "electronic solution" - only 39-95, comes in own brown wrapper, no need for embarassing white van outside during procedure "Uses 4 x "C" cell batteries that will kill approximately 12 rats..." with its own "flasing indicator to show rat has been killed"...
Even more EEEK!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Rat-ling my cage
Encouraged by friends at dinner assuring me that Basil was best dealt with by employing traditional measures so when I got home last night I decided to find the trap and lay it. I put peanut butter (as recommended on the box) and placed it by what I figured was the hole in the side of the kitchen cupboard which Basil must be using... Went to bed. Heard no rat like sounds during the night. This morning I woke up and came to see if there was a Basil-no-more. Alas, no rat. But, also - horrors - NO TRAP!!!!! Where is rat? where is trap? What to do next?
A couple of coffees for courage and I poke a broom handle into the hole to test the lie of the land - the trap is there! Cautiously drag it back into sight but the only thing that has been caught in it is a GIANT whisker... eeek!
Repair to Homebase for assistance. Am infomed that the best non-toxic, environmentally friendly solution (aka most expensive item on shelf) is electronic scare device which will make Basil and any nearby buddies leap from their underfloor beds and head screaming for the exit...
Return to house to devise plan which will avoid seeing me switching on device and simultaneously getting crushed in rodent stampede for the door...
Watch this space for further developments as they happen!
Encouraged by friends at dinner assuring me that Basil was best dealt with by employing traditional measures so when I got home last night I decided to find the trap and lay it. I put peanut butter (as recommended on the box) and placed it by what I figured was the hole in the side of the kitchen cupboard which Basil must be using... Went to bed. Heard no rat like sounds during the night. This morning I woke up and came to see if there was a Basil-no-more. Alas, no rat. But, also - horrors - NO TRAP!!!!! Where is rat? where is trap? What to do next?
A couple of coffees for courage and I poke a broom handle into the hole to test the lie of the land - the trap is there! Cautiously drag it back into sight but the only thing that has been caught in it is a GIANT whisker... eeek!
Repair to Homebase for assistance. Am infomed that the best non-toxic, environmentally friendly solution (aka most expensive item on shelf) is electronic scare device which will make Basil and any nearby buddies leap from their underfloor beds and head screaming for the exit...
Return to house to devise plan which will avoid seeing me switching on device and simultaneously getting crushed in rodent stampede for the door...
Watch this space for further developments as they happen!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Finally,
...back online after several weeks away in the wilderness and a few adventures I'd rather forget followed by a laptop meltdown (possibly the long term effect of too much travelling) which left me voiceless for a couple of weeks until I managed to pick up this basic but operational desktop - now to begin the lengthy process of reloading programmes... sigh.
meantime, somewhere between the kitchen ceiling and the bathroom floorboards Basil the nocturnal rodent seems to have taken up residence - never a quiet moment in this house! More on this as soon as I manage to pin him down ;-)
...back online after several weeks away in the wilderness and a few adventures I'd rather forget followed by a laptop meltdown (possibly the long term effect of too much travelling) which left me voiceless for a couple of weeks until I managed to pick up this basic but operational desktop - now to begin the lengthy process of reloading programmes... sigh.
meantime, somewhere between the kitchen ceiling and the bathroom floorboards Basil the nocturnal rodent seems to have taken up residence - never a quiet moment in this house! More on this as soon as I manage to pin him down ;-)
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sophia Loren, Suez and pink flamingos...
Now, where did the last few weeks go? I didn't notice them leave so who took them? Names need to be named and I need them back......! Now! Being born on Sophia Loren's 22nd birthday I've always known I had some catching up to do (except, possibly, in the chest region) but it was only today that I realised the significance of time passing when it was confirmed that the flamingos that share my year of birth will shortly be extinct!! Even the gold ones are not safe but are, somewhat ironically, being traded frantically on e-Bay "before it is too late"! Is nothing sacred? So much yet to live up to, so little time... !
Suez? try this, historically it fits but I really just threw it in to make the title sound a little less twee!
Now, where did the last few weeks go? I didn't notice them leave so who took them? Names need to be named and I need them back......! Now! Being born on Sophia Loren's 22nd birthday I've always known I had some catching up to do (except, possibly, in the chest region) but it was only today that I realised the significance of time passing when it was confirmed that the flamingos that share my year of birth will shortly be extinct!! Even the gold ones are not safe but are, somewhat ironically, being traded frantically on e-Bay "before it is too late"! Is nothing sacred? So much yet to live up to, so little time... !
Suez? try this, historically it fits but I really just threw it in to make the title sound a little less twee!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Scarecrows and local customs!
Back when I was a kid (a while ago) scarecrows were found in fields. The idea was that they would keep birds away from eating what was intended for others. Round here though they seem to be a town phenomenon and Sunday afternoon was spent inspecting them. Sure enough they were all over, lurking in front windows, attached to lamposts, on the roof of a shop and in the park. The local supermarket even had its own black cat!
Back when I was a kid (a while ago) scarecrows were found in fields. The idea was that they would keep birds away from eating what was intended for others. Round here though they seem to be a town phenomenon and Sunday afternoon was spent inspecting them. Sure enough they were all over, lurking in front windows, attached to lamposts, on the roof of a shop and in the park. The local supermarket even had its own black cat!
More fixing the planet...
...this time about making peace with the neighbours and moving on despite some terrible things having happened - in this case Ugandans appealing, in the interest of moving forward now, that old stories be forgotten and the horrors of the Lord's Resistence Army not be taken to the Court of Human Rights.
On a more parochial level The Mail on Sunday today has a story of a very experienced woman nursery worker being taken to court for chastising a small child in her care in the manner of TV's Supernanny. It records that the parents of the child felt that there was no case to answer and made no complaint but that the case was taken forward anyway as a matter of principle.
...this time about making peace with the neighbours and moving on despite some terrible things having happened - in this case Ugandans appealing, in the interest of moving forward now, that old stories be forgotten and the horrors of the Lord's Resistence Army not be taken to the Court of Human Rights.
On a more parochial level The Mail on Sunday today has a story of a very experienced woman nursery worker being taken to court for chastising a small child in her care in the manner of TV's Supernanny. It records that the parents of the child felt that there was no case to answer and made no complaint but that the case was taken forward anyway as a matter of principle.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
More about fixing the planet!
Seems like Big Al really is winning votes finally - having adopted the Ronald Reegan method - wow 'em with a movie. The story is compelling: a planet in jeapody, millions of lives at stake and a superhero (also, interestingly called Al) with the key to saving the lot! Even the critics are hailing it as worthy of a look. But, hark, just a moment, surely this can't be the same Big Al who not so many years ago came to visit our special corner of the planet in Southern Africa and insisted on flying in (on a separate cargo plane) his own limo - so that he would not have to use any of our 'unsafe' local vehicles to drive the 5 or so miles between the airport and the President's Palace where he was expected for a light lunch en route to who knows where?
Enough said.
Seems like Big Al really is winning votes finally - having adopted the Ronald Reegan method - wow 'em with a movie. The story is compelling: a planet in jeapody, millions of lives at stake and a superhero (also, interestingly called Al) with the key to saving the lot! Even the critics are hailing it as worthy of a look. But, hark, just a moment, surely this can't be the same Big Al who not so many years ago came to visit our special corner of the planet in Southern Africa and insisted on flying in (on a separate cargo plane) his own limo - so that he would not have to use any of our 'unsafe' local vehicles to drive the 5 or so miles between the airport and the President's Palace where he was expected for a light lunch en route to who knows where?
Enough said.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Why am I not surprised?
Given what I have written below today I'm not at all surprised that a Senate committee has concluded that there was no connection between Iraq and Osama and his merry men. The full report can be accessed via this account.
I await with interest the next round of 'explanations' and 'justifications' offered for the Gulf War and its continuation.
Given what I have written below today I'm not at all surprised that a Senate committee has concluded that there was no connection between Iraq and Osama and his merry men. The full report can be accessed via this account.
I await with interest the next round of 'explanations' and 'justifications' offered for the Gulf War and its continuation.
And another thing the world doesn't need...
is a three 'flavour' airfreshner to plug into living rooms globally and rotate the aroma it delivers every 45 minutes...
Is it me? I hope not. Am I bothered? Yes. The planet needs fixing, manufacturing and releasing these things into the environment is destroying it. Why are we letting this happen? Because we shut ourselves away in our own little ghettos of supposed safety, interacting with no-one for fear of just about everything. These little small enclosed safety fantasies will not save the planet, however nicely they are scented - even on a rotating basis.
is a three 'flavour' airfreshner to plug into living rooms globally and rotate the aroma it delivers every 45 minutes...
Is it me? I hope not. Am I bothered? Yes. The planet needs fixing, manufacturing and releasing these things into the environment is destroying it. Why are we letting this happen? Because we shut ourselves away in our own little ghettos of supposed safety, interacting with no-one for fear of just about everything. These little small enclosed safety fantasies will not save the planet, however nicely they are scented - even on a rotating basis.
Everybody wants to be a hero - or why I'd ban all reality TV, and why the cult of celebrity is so dangerous.......
yes, muttering madly today - about the festivities (I use that word advisedly)around September 11. I quite agree with the view expressed by one woman saved from one of the towers that the nature of human existence is such that sooner or later such an event will happen again (Albert Camus's book La Peste - The Plague - is an excellent literary example of the principle whereby when the present outbreak is over and the disease seems to have vanished it is in fact returned to the ground and will lie dormant until conditions are right for it to re-emerge)but it worries me how the idea of vigilence gets practiced. This story about how one ex-policeman's over enthusiasm nearly ruined an innocent man's life is just the latest example of how the idea of being a superhero predominates over the option of keeping an open mind and getting to know those of other cultures and life experiences and not jumping to hasty conclusions.
yes, muttering madly today - about the festivities (I use that word advisedly)around September 11. I quite agree with the view expressed by one woman saved from one of the towers that the nature of human existence is such that sooner or later such an event will happen again (Albert Camus's book La Peste - The Plague - is an excellent literary example of the principle whereby when the present outbreak is over and the disease seems to have vanished it is in fact returned to the ground and will lie dormant until conditions are right for it to re-emerge)but it worries me how the idea of vigilence gets practiced. This story about how one ex-policeman's over enthusiasm nearly ruined an innocent man's life is just the latest example of how the idea of being a superhero predominates over the option of keeping an open mind and getting to know those of other cultures and life experiences and not jumping to hasty conclusions.
Monday, August 28, 2006
New career
OK, so I've decided I'm going to give up on the academic life since it seems impossible to convince anyone to give "such an old person" even an interview - I'm heading for the open road and the wideopen spaces across the plains and far away as a new age trucker. No more 9-5 and scrabbling in the rush hour traffic of suburbia, Wyoming here I come!
OK, so I've decided I'm going to give up on the academic life since it seems impossible to convince anyone to give "such an old person" even an interview - I'm heading for the open road and the wideopen spaces across the plains and far away as a new age trucker. No more 9-5 and scrabbling in the rush hour traffic of suburbia, Wyoming here I come!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
Blogging books
I like the idea that this medium which we are accusing of stealing our childrens' ability to appreciate the good things in life, like conversations and literature, can turn the tables occassionally, like when it presents this ongoing conversation (16/08) from Barbara Ganley about books that "really" mean something.
For the time being I'm connecting to the first question only - books that changed your life, among which must feature Rosellen Brown's extraordinary 'Half a Heart' - a novel, and James McBride's 'The Colour of Water' an autobiography and tribute to McBride's mother. Both deal, albeit in totally different ways, with bi-racial children and the relationships they have with their white mothers. It is the social context which made these books so significant - and so shocking - for me. In the former the mother surrenders her daughter to the child's father at birth because she believes there is no way that she can know how to raise that 'black' child, to all intents and purposes the Deep South socio-political 1960s context determines that there is no middle road of colour, white mother or not, the girl is black and - the part that shocked me - the mother seems to put up no fight against this at all. Almost as shocking is the fact that no-one seems to envisage any problem with the father being left to raise a girl child alone. I cannot imagine the story turning out the same way in 1960s Britain - that's not a criticism, just an observation of difference.
McBride, on the other hand, describes growing up in the ghetto alongside his complicated family, including his white Jewish mother who having refused to accept such a status quo endures lifelong censure from both black and white but remains steadfast in her convictions and her committment to her family of twelve children. The story is told alternately in his voice and hers in successive chapters and is well worth the reading.
I like the idea that this medium which we are accusing of stealing our childrens' ability to appreciate the good things in life, like conversations and literature, can turn the tables occassionally, like when it presents this ongoing conversation (16/08) from Barbara Ganley about books that "really" mean something.
For the time being I'm connecting to the first question only - books that changed your life, among which must feature Rosellen Brown's extraordinary 'Half a Heart' - a novel, and James McBride's 'The Colour of Water' an autobiography and tribute to McBride's mother. Both deal, albeit in totally different ways, with bi-racial children and the relationships they have with their white mothers. It is the social context which made these books so significant - and so shocking - for me. In the former the mother surrenders her daughter to the child's father at birth because she believes there is no way that she can know how to raise that 'black' child, to all intents and purposes the Deep South socio-political 1960s context determines that there is no middle road of colour, white mother or not, the girl is black and - the part that shocked me - the mother seems to put up no fight against this at all. Almost as shocking is the fact that no-one seems to envisage any problem with the father being left to raise a girl child alone. I cannot imagine the story turning out the same way in 1960s Britain - that's not a criticism, just an observation of difference.
McBride, on the other hand, describes growing up in the ghetto alongside his complicated family, including his white Jewish mother who having refused to accept such a status quo endures lifelong censure from both black and white but remains steadfast in her convictions and her committment to her family of twelve children. The story is told alternately in his voice and hers in successive chapters and is well worth the reading.
Too much studying, not enough gardening
My garden has become a conservation area again this summer as I have struggled to finish the thesis and do everything else and the dark corner at the bottom has systematically stiffled anything that needs light to grow - or so I had thought - until I noticed how the one remaining rosebush has risen to the challenge - spot the pink bits on the skyline!
And, yes, once I get a new job I'm going to get a better camera too :-)
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Meanwhile on the other side of the woods...
more screaming headlines from the last 7 days assure us that despite war and terrorist anarchy, justice prevails and the rights of goats are enshrined in the law, although injustice busting moggies may be less successful at securing their full allocation of lives.
more screaming headlines from the last 7 days assure us that despite war and terrorist anarchy, justice prevails and the rights of goats are enshrined in the law, although injustice busting moggies may be less successful at securing their full allocation of lives.
Heavenly body
Who says size doesn't matter? After years and years of being told that it was not the important issue, all of a sudden it seems a particular kind of heavenly body is entirely all about size. Thus, a committe of seven good men and true assembled today in Prague have ended years of intense speculation and declared that on 24th August their peers must vote to correct a mistake about Pluto made 70 years ago. Seems like poor Pluto was miss assessed back then but, with committee approval, and endorsement from everyone else, can be rebranded and redeemed as a Pluton along with former unknowns Xena and Charon ... such a relief to know that the really weighty issues of the universe are being tackled.
Who says size doesn't matter? After years and years of being told that it was not the important issue, all of a sudden it seems a particular kind of heavenly body is entirely all about size. Thus, a committe of seven good men and true assembled today in Prague have ended years of intense speculation and declared that on 24th August their peers must vote to correct a mistake about Pluto made 70 years ago. Seems like poor Pluto was miss assessed back then but, with committee approval, and endorsement from everyone else, can be rebranded and redeemed as a Pluton along with former unknowns Xena and Charon ... such a relief to know that the really weighty issues of the universe are being tackled.
Friday, August 11, 2006
methel's mutterings
trying to assemble some employment and scanning the vacancies lists this attracted my attention - by the seaside, helping those less advantaged than self and with a bit of class and culture added:
trying to assemble some employment and scanning the vacancies lists this attracted my attention - by the seaside, helping those less advantaged than self and with a bit of class and culture added:
Part-Time Research Assistant
Resettlement of Prisoners
Faculty of Education
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Exmouth
Salary £18673 pa, pro rata (new pay framework pending, up to maximum of £25633 - subject to Union ballet and agreement) - Research Assistant point 6
- whey hey girls, a chance to wear that old tutu again after all these years. Can hardly weight :-)
Saturday, July 29, 2006
"Another week older...
... and deeper in debt", as the song goes - and it's probably true though that is not what has overly concerned me this week. On the international stage more children than terrorists are dead in the Middle East while we are told a ceasefire will do no good until it comes with a lasting peace - which certainly isn't going to come along fast if there are steady deliveries of warheads arriving via Prestwick Airport.
Meanwhile in the 53rd state all semblance of a caring society vanished again as individual needs met the nanny state where commonsense is deemed subversive, and led to yet another elderly couple being torn apart until the press stepped in - do not adjust your set, reality IS at fault, as the saying goes.
Save me Lord from connecting these two stories with the thought of what I might do to the nanny state if I could just get my hands on those arms - so to speak.
... and deeper in debt", as the song goes - and it's probably true though that is not what has overly concerned me this week. On the international stage more children than terrorists are dead in the Middle East while we are told a ceasefire will do no good until it comes with a lasting peace - which certainly isn't going to come along fast if there are steady deliveries of warheads arriving via Prestwick Airport.
Meanwhile in the 53rd state all semblance of a caring society vanished again as individual needs met the nanny state where commonsense is deemed subversive, and led to yet another elderly couple being torn apart until the press stepped in - do not adjust your set, reality IS at fault, as the saying goes.
Save me Lord from connecting these two stories with the thought of what I might do to the nanny state if I could just get my hands on those arms - so to speak.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
The meaning of life - well, of blogging
Creative expression and documenting life for a small audience according to this. Rather like talking to oneself in the bad old pre- Internet days perhaps? Though that was said to be a sign of madness too..........hmph!
Creative expression and documenting life for a small audience according to this. Rather like talking to oneself in the bad old pre- Internet days perhaps? Though that was said to be a sign of madness too..........hmph!
My kinda guy...
Wearing frocks may be considered another kind of stereotyping of its own kind but at least Rob Moodie is trying to make a difference and raise some questions and awareness.
Now, how are we going to make progress on the problem of age??? I like being invisible most of the time and am not fearful of opening my mouth if I think my view will not be offered up in the course of a debate. BUT, getting any action from other younger participants once they see that the voice comes from a person who refuses to dye their hair is quite another matter!
Wearing frocks may be considered another kind of stereotyping of its own kind but at least Rob Moodie is trying to make a difference and raise some questions and awareness.
Now, how are we going to make progress on the problem of age??? I like being invisible most of the time and am not fearful of opening my mouth if I think my view will not be offered up in the course of a debate. BUT, getting any action from other younger participants once they see that the voice comes from a person who refuses to dye their hair is quite another matter!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Too long a silence...
but too much going on, too much to blog about and not enough time - gonna
take a while to catch up...
To start, seems like I am one of a very big crowd wanting to flee
to small faraway places surrounded by water. My personal favourite for when
the lottery is won is the rainbow version
Well, as they say, if you don't have a dream how are you (ever) going to have a dream come true?
but too much going on, too much to blog about and not enough time - gonna
take a while to catch up...
To start, seems like I am one of a very big crowd wanting to flee
to small faraway places surrounded by water. My personal favourite for when
the lottery is won is the rainbow version
Well, as they say, if you don't have a dream how are you (ever) going to have a dream come true?
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Truly, I despair...
we know all about the digital divide and we try to overcome it little realising that some common sense is all that is needed in cases like this! Beam me up Scotty (ie)...
we know all about the digital divide and we try to overcome it little realising that some common sense is all that is needed in cases like this! Beam me up Scotty (ie)...
Monday, May 29, 2006
1984 again...
Seems like I underestimated the number of CCTV cameras watching me - or, rather, failed to understand just what big business spying is these days. Sorry, I mean I failed to understand how important spying is in big business...either way I may have to rethink the usefulness of online shopping that in the name of convenience saves your purchase lists for reuse later - seems my convenience is only of interest if it means I will give more of my business to the same online shops next time around.
Most scary of all though is to think that in some places my employers could insist that I be 'implanted' with a small glass bubble containing a transmitter in order that they can track me and tell me what to do. There really is no hiding place.
Seems like I underestimated the number of CCTV cameras watching me - or, rather, failed to understand just what big business spying is these days. Sorry, I mean I failed to understand how important spying is in big business...either way I may have to rethink the usefulness of online shopping that in the name of convenience saves your purchase lists for reuse later - seems my convenience is only of interest if it means I will give more of my business to the same online shops next time around.
Most scary of all though is to think that in some places my employers could insist that I be 'implanted' with a small glass bubble containing a transmitter in order that they can track me and tell me what to do. There really is no hiding place.
Football footnote
A week on and the place is still talking about the Zebras win. This curiously 21st century poster offering was hand painted on a piece of cloth and hung on the back of a bus:
Madagascar is our pin code and Bafana accepted our pin code!
Seems that getting your pin code right is now understood as the key to getting what you want - wonder what this says about the 'digital divide'?
A week on and the place is still talking about the Zebras win. This curiously 21st century poster offering was hand painted on a piece of cloth and hung on the back of a bus:
Madagascar is our pin code and Bafana accepted our pin code!
Seems that getting your pin code right is now understood as the key to getting what you want - wonder what this says about the 'digital divide'?
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Blue weekend
In the old days (10 years or so ago) the real excitement on a weekend in Gaborone was to go to the airport, take a cup of bush tea in the cafe, and watch the world come and go. Things have changed now since a couple of years back when two big shopping malls came to town. And this weekend the city was positively screaming with life - all in the name of football! Blue flags were everywhere - on cars, on buildings, being waved and being worn. They were even wrapping babies in them!
Now, the more football savvy reader may be wondering how so much excitement could be generated by a team that has, at best, been ranked outside the world's top 100 football playing nations and, at worst, been ranked well outside the top 100. But, every team must have its day and Saturday saw the Zebras with a 2-0 win over Madagascar - cause enough for celebration. And, this being a COSAFA mini-tournament, when Swaziland narrowly lost their own Saturday match, Zebras found themselves faced with the prospect of a match that could give them the unbelievable chance of a semi-final place! But, against Bafana Bafana there seemed little chance. History was made around tea-time on Sunday. Having held the South Africans to a nil-nil draw at full time the Zebras hit home in the penalty shoot-out to finish 6-5. The place errupted. Car horns blasted, small children stood on walls and cheered as an impromtu cavalcade toured the streets and there was much singing and revelling... Monday morning only a few brave souls were up with the sun!
A truly extraordinary 'blue' weekend all round and one that does not bode well for 2010
In the old days (10 years or so ago) the real excitement on a weekend in Gaborone was to go to the airport, take a cup of bush tea in the cafe, and watch the world come and go. Things have changed now since a couple of years back when two big shopping malls came to town. And this weekend the city was positively screaming with life - all in the name of football! Blue flags were everywhere - on cars, on buildings, being waved and being worn. They were even wrapping babies in them!
Now, the more football savvy reader may be wondering how so much excitement could be generated by a team that has, at best, been ranked outside the world's top 100 football playing nations and, at worst, been ranked well outside the top 100. But, every team must have its day and Saturday saw the Zebras with a 2-0 win over Madagascar - cause enough for celebration. And, this being a COSAFA mini-tournament, when Swaziland narrowly lost their own Saturday match, Zebras found themselves faced with the prospect of a match that could give them the unbelievable chance of a semi-final place! But, against Bafana Bafana there seemed little chance. History was made around tea-time on Sunday. Having held the South Africans to a nil-nil draw at full time the Zebras hit home in the penalty shoot-out to finish 6-5. The place errupted. Car horns blasted, small children stood on walls and cheered as an impromtu cavalcade toured the streets and there was much singing and revelling... Monday morning only a few brave souls were up with the sun!
A truly extraordinary 'blue' weekend all round and one that does not bode well for 2010
Monday, May 15, 2006
Where am I?
Happily I don't often lose my mobile phone but, should I do so, I can now be reassured that at least IT knows where it is - all the time, and will tell me where, should I happen to be with it. Not sure if this is a feature of the phone or of the service providers - it does not seem to work in the UK but works fine across several different service providers in at least two countries in Southern Africa. Passing through Johannesburg Airport I gave it a thorough test and found it can correctly identify different parts of the airport - Departure Lounge, Airport Offices etc. and only seems to falter when it comes to different floors: the smoking lounge was identified as Departures though it's on the floor above and the Ladies Toilets as Airport Offices - apparently for the same reason. As far as I can tell its level of accuracy goes as close as a few hundered metres in some instances.
Meanwhile, as I am being astounded by the latent GPS qualities of my phone Tony is not only being blown away by the ability of other phones to recognise music from just a few bars of a tune, but also being scared by the power of search in general and audio/speech search in particular. He also records how there is now software to recognise your friends faces, and thus their pictures, from within your photo albums. I am starting to think about something I read a while ago - that each of us is captured on CCTV at least a dozen times a day
Now even I am feeling a little uneasy. Not about what may be held and used in evidence against me - I've long assumed that as a part of everyday life - but about the fact that far from only being accessible to the big boys like security and law enforcement agencies, the technology for watching the minutiae of my daily life is just as accessible to my granny, or the man at the grocery store, or - whoever.
Happily I don't often lose my mobile phone but, should I do so, I can now be reassured that at least IT knows where it is - all the time, and will tell me where, should I happen to be with it. Not sure if this is a feature of the phone or of the service providers - it does not seem to work in the UK but works fine across several different service providers in at least two countries in Southern Africa. Passing through Johannesburg Airport I gave it a thorough test and found it can correctly identify different parts of the airport - Departure Lounge, Airport Offices etc. and only seems to falter when it comes to different floors: the smoking lounge was identified as Departures though it's on the floor above and the Ladies Toilets as Airport Offices - apparently for the same reason. As far as I can tell its level of accuracy goes as close as a few hundered metres in some instances.
Meanwhile, as I am being astounded by the latent GPS qualities of my phone Tony is not only being blown away by the ability of other phones to recognise music from just a few bars of a tune, but also being scared by the power of search in general and audio/speech search in particular. He also records how there is now software to recognise your friends faces, and thus their pictures, from within your photo albums. I am starting to think about something I read a while ago - that each of us is captured on CCTV at least a dozen times a day
Now even I am feeling a little uneasy. Not about what may be held and used in evidence against me - I've long assumed that as a part of everyday life - but about the fact that far from only being accessible to the big boys like security and law enforcement agencies, the technology for watching the minutiae of my daily life is just as accessible to my granny, or the man at the grocery store, or - whoever.
Friday, May 12, 2006
1984
I have long concluded that just about everything I do and say these days is being taken down and will probably be used in evidence against me. But now I am wondering if I shouldn't be a bit more pro-active, in fact, if it wouldn't help if a lot of us were more pro-active. Perhaps if we could overwhelm the spies with domestic detail and detritus they might leave alone and concentrate on the REAL trouble makers? We could start by virtualising our shopping lists - go to Ta-da, create the list then nip down to the supermarket and retrieve it with our WAP mobile phones. We could annote the list with comments on quality and availability and then SMS it to all our friends...
Don't get me wrong, I'm in favour of keeping an eye on those who need an eye kept on them (be they criminals or would be terrorists), but I also think that the welfare of the majority is not best served by somebody tracking my every phone call or making my local library tell the govenment everytime I borrow "do it yourself flower arranging".
PS And since the BBC fails to offer the link on its story page mentioned above, the Electronic Frontier Foundation can be found here.
I have long concluded that just about everything I do and say these days is being taken down and will probably be used in evidence against me. But now I am wondering if I shouldn't be a bit more pro-active, in fact, if it wouldn't help if a lot of us were more pro-active. Perhaps if we could overwhelm the spies with domestic detail and detritus they might leave alone and concentrate on the REAL trouble makers? We could start by virtualising our shopping lists - go to Ta-da, create the list then nip down to the supermarket and retrieve it with our WAP mobile phones. We could annote the list with comments on quality and availability and then SMS it to all our friends...
Don't get me wrong, I'm in favour of keeping an eye on those who need an eye kept on them (be they criminals or would be terrorists), but I also think that the welfare of the majority is not best served by somebody tracking my every phone call or making my local library tell the govenment everytime I borrow "do it yourself flower arranging".
PS And since the BBC fails to offer the link on its story page mentioned above, the Electronic Frontier Foundation can be found here.
On the way to the airport...
A small highly streamlined and polished car zooms past proudly shouting P155 TOL in highly stylised italics. Glad to be leaving the land of CRP registrations and heading back to the bundu - even if winter is setting in there - I relish the prospect of absolute clear blue sky as far as the eye can see in all directions, heat while the sun shines, and the smell of woodsmoke when the sun has gone.
A small highly streamlined and polished car zooms past proudly shouting P155 TOL in highly stylised italics. Glad to be leaving the land of CRP registrations and heading back to the bundu - even if winter is setting in there - I relish the prospect of absolute clear blue sky as far as the eye can see in all directions, heat while the sun shines, and the smell of woodsmoke when the sun has gone.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Monday, April 17, 2006
Back in the northern hemisphere...
Well, for a few weeks anyway - and having talked a lot with friends last night about this latest time in South Africa one of them sends me this feature from today's Guardian. It rings very true, but the BBC has an altogether different take on the situation. Sure, it's all in the eye of the beholder and the situation in Berea is not good but is the range of lives in present day Jo'burg any different from that in most capital cities? Doesn't make it right of course but there's a balance to be struck, surely? And, yes, as I write this I am deeply aware that depending on whether or not you can see me it may still make a difference to how acceptable that view is as an opinion - sad but true - some things take a very long time to change.
Well, for a few weeks anyway - and having talked a lot with friends last night about this latest time in South Africa one of them sends me this feature from today's Guardian. It rings very true, but the BBC has an altogether different take on the situation. Sure, it's all in the eye of the beholder and the situation in Berea is not good but is the range of lives in present day Jo'burg any different from that in most capital cities? Doesn't make it right of course but there's a balance to be struck, surely? And, yes, as I write this I am deeply aware that depending on whether or not you can see me it may still make a difference to how acceptable that view is as an opinion - sad but true - some things take a very long time to change.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
What's in a name? 2
Thanks to a Canadian friend for this story. She has lived the last 15 or so years here in Africa but, wanting to return to North America, she is applying for jobs. How, she asks, should she answer the question "are you a member of a visible minority?" The application form is certain there are only two options: yes or no ... the form also asks her to confirm that the information she has given is true to the best of her knowledge.
Thanks to a Canadian friend for this story. She has lived the last 15 or so years here in Africa but, wanting to return to North America, she is applying for jobs. How, she asks, should she answer the question "are you a member of a visible minority?" The application form is certain there are only two options: yes or no ... the form also asks her to confirm that the information she has given is true to the best of her knowledge.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
What's in a name?
Or, perhaps, when is a name a dangerous label? Quote of this week on matters of identity must go to Dr Peter Kraska or Eastern Kentucky University, commenting on the death of (yet another) ordinary citizen at the hands of an over zealous military style SWAT team:
"The problem is that when you talk about the war on this and the war on that, and police officers see themselves as soldiers, then the civilian becomes the enemy."
The full story from the BBC is here.
Given what we know about self-fulfilling prophecies in educational and other contexts, that a child labelled by teachers or class mates as "dumb" (or whatever local term we like to use) , is most likely to become a low achiever, isn't it time to stop worrying and start making some changes???
Or, perhaps, when is a name a dangerous label? Quote of this week on matters of identity must go to Dr Peter Kraska or Eastern Kentucky University, commenting on the death of (yet another) ordinary citizen at the hands of an over zealous military style SWAT team:
"The problem is that when you talk about the war on this and the war on that, and police officers see themselves as soldiers, then the civilian becomes the enemy."
The full story from the BBC is here.
Given what we know about self-fulfilling prophecies in educational and other contexts, that a child labelled by teachers or class mates as "dumb" (or whatever local term we like to use) , is most likely to become a low achiever, isn't it time to stop worrying and start making some changes???
Sunday, March 19, 2006
global village mutterings
bluefluff reminds us of the census of the global village just as I am watching SABC news and learning that from around 8 million five years ago the number of cell (mobile) phone users on this continent has increased to 100 million and uptake shows no sign of slowing in the near future. Forget about wind-up laptops, it's a version of the mobile phone that will bridge the digital divide on this continent with wireless connectivity to the net from local government provided relay stations based in schools, colleges, community centres and hospitals. The big secret which the mainstream phone companies don't want us to know is that there is no need to wait until they put in landlines -it's actually perfectly OK to skip a technology generation and move right ahead NOW! In fact many have worked it out for themselves and there are women making a living sitting on stools by the roadside, or in the market or the shopping malls, armed with a cellphone and a car battery providing mobile support services already. If you don't have electricity at home, no worries, these women will charge your phone while you wait or, if you have a job then you charge it there. You don't actually call on your phone either, most of the transmission activity on this continent is by SMS.
bluefluff reminds us of the census of the global village just as I am watching SABC news and learning that from around 8 million five years ago the number of cell (mobile) phone users on this continent has increased to 100 million and uptake shows no sign of slowing in the near future. Forget about wind-up laptops, it's a version of the mobile phone that will bridge the digital divide on this continent with wireless connectivity to the net from local government provided relay stations based in schools, colleges, community centres and hospitals. The big secret which the mainstream phone companies don't want us to know is that there is no need to wait until they put in landlines -it's actually perfectly OK to skip a technology generation and move right ahead NOW! In fact many have worked it out for themselves and there are women making a living sitting on stools by the roadside, or in the market or the shopping malls, armed with a cellphone and a car battery providing mobile support services already. If you don't have electricity at home, no worries, these women will charge your phone while you wait or, if you have a job then you charge it there. You don't actually call on your phone either, most of the transmission activity on this continent is by SMS.
Friday, March 17, 2006
More rainbow thoughts
There is just so much to see and reflect on here. Superficially there is not so much to say except that this city has grown and grown – in all sorts of ways, and now looks more than ever like a big city one might find anywhere. There are good and bad areas, fast cars, fast food and fast bucks coming and going. But, there are more subtle changes too, that reflect the politics of recent years. Whilst many whites who could in 1994, were planning on leaving, others were planning on a closer move – to the northern suburbs of the city where self-contained and self-declared as 'secure', clusters of houses were springing like mushrooms all over the hills that form the greater mass of the outer reaches of the city. The idea was to escape the violence and insecurity which, consensus had it, was about to spread from downtown to the closer-to-centre white suburbs (including the one I am now peacefully residing in). 12 years on many, both white and black, have moved out to the clusters on the hills – creating new ghettos where those without cars are imprisoned in isolation and those with cars are destined to spend up to 4 hours a day commuting. The leafy inner suburbs they have left are quiet except for the rumbling of all those cars commuting through them to get to downtown… And, most interestingly, the security company vehicles which used to promise 'armed response' and would be stationed at intervals along the wide kerbs of the leafy inner suburbs have gone north too. They have been superseded, if not exactly replaced, by the pickups converted to tow trucks deployed by the growing number of salvage companies who monitor busy cross city intersections for the results of commuter road rage…Rainbow reflections - and a little bit of history
More than 10 years on and I am back living (temporarily) in the "rainbow nation", in fact, in Melville, Johannesburg - barely half a mile away from the street we lived on when we first arrived in southern africa in 1994. We were the rainbow family looking for hope and a home in the "new" free
Back in 1994 this city was smaller, there were fewer distractions and for many the highlight of a Sunday morning was a trip to Rosebank Rooftop Market. A curious event, this market was located on the top of a multi-storey car park in one of the smartest areas of town. Even more curious than the location was the side event that took place on the neighbouring ground floor parking lot. Here ordinary white families of mainly European origin would come and sell their worldly goods in a desperate bid to raise enough cash to leave to return to
Returning to my travelling companion, just 12 years on in 2006, I am wondering how many more circles there are to come, when and where will they all end?
Monday, March 13, 2006
Wherever I am
Circumstances have virtualised my entire working identity these last few weeks. My physical absence does not seem, however, to have been noticed by any but those with whom I normally share a bricks and mortar work space. It certainly hasn't changed the type or amount of work I have done or the people I have met, talked and collaborated with. What it has done is confirm my belief that working strictly 9-5 does not necessarily guarentee a good home-work life balance.
A BBCOnline news article takes my thoughts further as it ponders a future where we will wirelessly be virtual full time, not because we will be tied to PCs which will contain our lives but because our lives will be online all the time, hosted by other people through web-based programmes containing all that is important to us. We may be physically wherever we will (choose to) be and from wherever that is we will be wirelessly able to access whatever bit of us we want just then (in fact, just as we can do already with del.icio.us). Which leads me to wonder whether if I leave enough of me in different applications accessible online I might actually be able to fully automate the working part of me, make my physical me professionally redundent. I might then gain physical autonomy without losing the material advantages of paid employment...
Circumstances have virtualised my entire working identity these last few weeks. My physical absence does not seem, however, to have been noticed by any but those with whom I normally share a bricks and mortar work space. It certainly hasn't changed the type or amount of work I have done or the people I have met, talked and collaborated with. What it has done is confirm my belief that working strictly 9-5 does not necessarily guarentee a good home-work life balance.
A BBCOnline news article takes my thoughts further as it ponders a future where we will wirelessly be virtual full time, not because we will be tied to PCs which will contain our lives but because our lives will be online all the time, hosted by other people through web-based programmes containing all that is important to us. We may be physically wherever we will (choose to) be and from wherever that is we will be wirelessly able to access whatever bit of us we want just then (in fact, just as we can do already with del.icio.us). Which leads me to wonder whether if I leave enough of me in different applications accessible online I might actually be able to fully automate the working part of me, make my physical me professionally redundent. I might then gain physical autonomy without losing the material advantages of paid employment...
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Last word on the topic!
Really - this has got to stop. This is not supposed to be a blog about (in)conveniences. Things are getting out of hand.
I was grateful to Nog for introducing me to a site counter that worked and happily installed it. Worked a dream and I waited patiently for the next day to see what results it produced. Opening up the detailed record I was horrified to find that the advertising on the site is VERY focused - on whatever you have most recently blogged about. Horrors! My page is covered with adverts associated with toilets!! Need a composting toilet? There's a company on my counter results page! Need toilet partitioning (whatever that might be - sounds anatomically challenging)? Try my blog counter for more details!
And, of course, no doubt this post will just make matters worse... gotta go and have a think about what I might choose for my next post, hmm, this could take a while! Feel free to help me decide...
Really - this has got to stop. This is not supposed to be a blog about (in)conveniences. Things are getting out of hand.
I was grateful to Nog for introducing me to a site counter that worked and happily installed it. Worked a dream and I waited patiently for the next day to see what results it produced. Opening up the detailed record I was horrified to find that the advertising on the site is VERY focused - on whatever you have most recently blogged about. Horrors! My page is covered with adverts associated with toilets!! Need a composting toilet? There's a company on my counter results page! Need toilet partitioning (whatever that might be - sounds anatomically challenging)? Try my blog counter for more details!
And, of course, no doubt this post will just make matters worse... gotta go and have a think about what I might choose for my next post, hmm, this could take a while! Feel free to help me decide...
Saturday, February 18, 2006
I promised myself....
that I had blogged enough about identity and public conveniences and that I would turn my attention to more mundane matters from now on. Then I had another encounter. In total innocence I was striding towards the prospect of a decent lunch, not a care in the world except gratifying the rumbling in my stomach. In anticipation of gastronomic joy I had in mind to wash my hands. A door ahead looked promisingly like a familiar washroom. And then all of a sudden there IT was - the sign. I've seen it before but never given it much thought. With benefit of recent reflection however I have to reconsider. "This toilet is intended for those with special needs. All others are requested to use toilets on other floors"... It's me isn't it?
that I had blogged enough about identity and public conveniences and that I would turn my attention to more mundane matters from now on. Then I had another encounter. In total innocence I was striding towards the prospect of a decent lunch, not a care in the world except gratifying the rumbling in my stomach. In anticipation of gastronomic joy I had in mind to wash my hands. A door ahead looked promisingly like a familiar washroom. And then all of a sudden there IT was - the sign. I've seen it before but never given it much thought. With benefit of recent reflection however I have to reconsider. "This toilet is intended for those with special needs. All others are requested to use toilets on other floors"... It's me isn't it?
Friday, February 10, 2006
Once your eyes are opened...
This identity thing is starting to get serious. Wandering around a new (to me) part of the building today I noticed a sign 'Male toilet upstairs'. Unable to resist, I went upstairs but, alas, no corresponding female sign to be found! Instead, next to a door marked 'Male' was a sign with an arrow 'Accessible toilet'. Further down a long corridor however another door insisted 'Accessible toilet ONLY - please use toilets on other floors'. I retired, confused...
This identity thing is starting to get serious. Wandering around a new (to me) part of the building today I noticed a sign 'Male toilet upstairs'. Unable to resist, I went upstairs but, alas, no corresponding female sign to be found! Instead, next to a door marked 'Male' was a sign with an arrow 'Accessible toilet'. Further down a long corridor however another door insisted 'Accessible toilet ONLY - please use toilets on other floors'. I retired, confused...
Thursday, February 09, 2006
What is this person?
They brought me a name today. In fact, more than a name, a big heavy piece of painted metal with a name inscribed in blue and some semi-attached bits of black plastic. "It's very adaptable" they said "you can put it on the table, clip it to a door (which door??) or stick on the wall!" Now, I know this name, I mean, I've seen it before, it's not a bad name, it's served me well in many ways BUT it's not the whole story and I just don't see why I should plaster it up on a door or a wall or a table as if it (and I) is a thing!
I looked around me at others. I have been here 4 months and I pretty much know who everyone is and they know who (they think) I am. Only one or two had a 'name' like I just got. I couldn't help myself. "Why?" leapt out of my mouth. "Well you haven't been here long enough to have a wobbly desk leg needing a prop, or a window needing to be wedged shut, don't worry, you'll find a use for it!".
They brought me a name today. In fact, more than a name, a big heavy piece of painted metal with a name inscribed in blue and some semi-attached bits of black plastic. "It's very adaptable" they said "you can put it on the table, clip it to a door (which door??) or stick on the wall!" Now, I know this name, I mean, I've seen it before, it's not a bad name, it's served me well in many ways BUT it's not the whole story and I just don't see why I should plaster it up on a door or a wall or a table as if it (and I) is a thing!
I looked around me at others. I have been here 4 months and I pretty much know who everyone is and they know who (they think) I am. Only one or two had a 'name' like I just got. I couldn't help myself. "Why?" leapt out of my mouth. "Well you haven't been here long enough to have a wobbly desk leg needing a prop, or a window needing to be wedged shut, don't worry, you'll find a use for it!".
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Preamble:
According to my wise old mum, when it comes to kids it's not a matter of boys and girls but of "how?" and "why?" She will tell you she has "one of each". I will leave it to you to decide which of them I am. Suffice it to say, for me there are only questions which time has taught me should rather be viewed in terms of answers waiting to be found...
According to my wise old mum, when it comes to kids it's not a matter of boys and girls but of "how?" and "why?" She will tell you she has "one of each". I will leave it to you to decide which of them I am. Suffice it to say, for me there are only questions which time has taught me should rather be viewed in terms of answers waiting to be found...
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