Richard Heinberg will be in Cape Town, talking about ‘Peak Oil’. He’s been invited by SANE, and will be talking in Rondebosch on May 7. Full press release below. Richard Heinberg will speak on Oil, the Environment, the Economy, and Avoiding Catastrophe The South African New Economics Network (SANE) has taken the initiative of inviting… Continue reading Richard Heinberg talk on Peak Oil
Linux now more popular than Windows 95!
I’ve said for a while that Linux cannot possibly claim to have made it (whatever that means) as a desktop OS until more people are using it than Windows 95. Looking at IOL’s technical user statistics as broadly representative of the South African market, December saw 0.7% of our readers using Windows 95 against 0.54%… Continue reading Linux now more popular than Windows 95!
Oil highs and the demise of the suburbs
The oil price, in dollar terms, has hit a record high. The main driving force behind the rise seems to be supply shortages. It’s inevitable that shortages will continue to worsen, as oil is a commodity in short supply, and the remaining supplies are more and more difficult to extract. Rapidly increasing demand from China… Continue reading Oil highs and the demise of the suburbs
Patricia in porn shocker and the Daily Voice’s flight to the bottom
Paging through the Mail & Guardian the other day, someone asked me whether I’d seen that Patricia had been in a porn movie. Patricia de Lille in a porn movie? Had she been fingered in the training of MDC operatives by the Zim government and this was an attempted smear? Was it something she did… Continue reading Patricia in porn shocker and the Daily Voice’s flight to the bottom
Wikinews, Google News and AFP
You’re probably wondering what the mighty, yet new Google news has in common with the mighty veteran AFP (Agence France Presse), and the embryonic Wikinews. Wikinews is starting to gain some momentum. At first, the news there was a late, and sometimes poorly-written, version of the mainstream news. But things are starting to pick up.… Continue reading Wikinews, Google News and AFP
After the Eclipse, by Tom Rymour
Walton recommended a rare treat of a book, and I’ve managed to steal enough time, and let Dorje get up to just enough havoc in order to finish it. The treat in question was After the Eclipse by Tom Rymour (published by Discobolus). The author’s name (real name Tom Learmont) is apparently derived from Thomas… Continue reading After the Eclipse, by Tom Rymour
Dmoz and Chefmoz
I’ve volunteered (and been accepted) to become an editor on dmoz, the open directory used by many search engines. I already see my free time disappearing , what with Wikipedia and now Dmoz. For now I’ll be editing the section on South African news and media. Dmoz also has a sister site called Chefmoz, a… Continue reading Dmoz and Chefmoz
500th Wikipedia edit
I’ve made my 500th edit to Wikipedia (at least to the English version. I’ve also contributed a few to the Afrikaans version, albeit armed with dictionary – one of the instructions is be bold after all). Rather unexcitingly, it was a vote for deletion of an article I’d prepared for moving from Wikipedia to Wiktionary.… Continue reading 500th Wikipedia edit
Suckered again
My cellphone was stolen again. It’s certainly ironic two days after a post entitled Happiness is a new cellphone. It was a classic diversion. I was sitting in Crush, a sandwich bar type restaurant in Cape Town, grabbing a quick lunch. 4 or 5 men walked inside. I didn’t really pay much attention until 3… Continue reading Suckered again
New Cape Town tabloid – the Daily Voice.
Well, the secret of IOL’s departure from Newspaper House is out. We were moved to make way for a new tabloid called the Daily Voice. The new tabloid is apparently seen by Independent Newspapers as a spoiler. Something so trashy it won’t impact Argus sales, but enough to stir things up for the rival Sun… Continue reading New Cape Town tabloid – the Daily Voice.