It was Valentines day, late Friday afternoon heading towards evening. I was sitting working at home, behind on the week, when I got a call from Anique. Did she have a Valentine’s surprise in store? Did she ever. She’d run out of petrol on the N2, the notorious stretch inbound just past the airport. I… Continue reading Valentine’s Surprise
2014 World Press Freedom Index – small improvement for South Africa amidst a general worldwide decline
The latest World Press Freedom Index is out. While the news worldwide is generally negative, with all regions except for Asia showing a deterioration, South Africa improved markedly from its place in 2013, jumping 11 positions from 52nd to 42nd. Before you hammer me on my maths, this counts as 11 due to the inclusion… Continue reading 2014 World Press Freedom Index – small improvement for South Africa amidst a general worldwide decline
A bit (gasp) of running
I came home today after fetching Dorje from school to find my driveway gate forced open, and a guy inside the yard, going through my outside cupboard. His attempts to claim he was looking for work in my cupboard didn’t last long in the face of berserker Ian, and he made a dash for it.… Continue reading A bit (gasp) of running
Female participation in chess around the world
I came across a post today by Fanou Lefebvrea, a young French woman writing and drawing about her experiences of sexism and abuse as a female chess player. She addressed the post to Magnus Carlsen, the newly crowned Norwegian chess world champion. It’s a sad story, and as I was reading it, I began questioning… Continue reading Female participation in chess around the world
In memory of my mother
It was my mom’s funeral yesterday. It was a good day, and I enjoyed meeting some of her friends I hadn’t seen for years, especially from her days before I was born, and learning a little more about her. Here’s a written adaptation of what I said, especially for those who couldn’t be there. When… Continue reading In memory of my mother
Trust and asking
When I was young, I would find it very difficult to ask anyone for help. I remember many stalemates with my father, where I would stubbornly not ask, and he would stubbornly not offer. A university job cold soliciting advertising for the student newspaper helped immensely! Not asking for help is a meanness of spirit,… Continue reading Trust and asking
South Africa’s first electric car
I keep telling my son that by the time he can drive, cars won’t be the destructive beasts farting all over our planet they are now, but will run on clean electricity, and you’ll be able to stand behind one breathing clean air. The first part of the puzzle is being put in place with… Continue reading South Africa’s first electric car
Hei Hei Hei
It’s been a while since my last “I’m learning” post. Let’s see. There’s been: Learning Toki Pona (December 2009) Learning Languages Revisited (March 2009) Tune Xhosa with Ian (December 2007) Learning Mandarin Chinese, and some insight into my brain’s inner workings (June 2007) So what’s the latest language I can add to the “learned and… Continue reading Hei Hei Hei
Wiki Cape Town, Joe Slovo and a storyteller
There was a Cape Town Wikimedia meetup this week, and I got to meet a couple of new people. Victor, a Wikimedia storyteller from San Francisco, is in Cape Town, mainly to document the inspiring story of a school in Joe Slovo Park that have successfully lobbied FNB Connect for free access to Wikipedia pages.… Continue reading Wiki Cape Town, Joe Slovo and a storyteller
WordPress spam, Akismet and Cookies for Comments
This blog gets about 1 spam comment a second. Not bad for an obscure blog with, as I write this, only one post open for comments. Akismet, the spam plugin does a great job of keeping the spam out, although recently a few more spam posts have been sneaking through for moderation, perhaps two a… Continue reading WordPress spam, Akismet and Cookies for Comments