arbitrary user

This is Uran. Uran is my cat. I am allergic to cats. I think Uran is very pretty.

We spent the long weekend at a place in Stanford.

A list of things we did while there:

1. Braai

2. Watch BBC Food

3. Go for walks

4,5,6 etc. Braai

7. Drink.

8. Visit Birkenhead. (Overrated)

Some photos are here.

So much going on, so little time to blog about it.

• Going away this weekend… super stoked about that.
• HPT is moving along slowly. A comrade set up a bazaar repository which we’re now using to share code. Probably going to sprint a large portion of it out next weekend. If you’re a python coder, know stuff about making facebook apps and are looking for something fun to do let me know.
• Uploaded my sailing pics a few days ago…
• Because everyone seems to think that other people care about the slides they used for a presentation, here are my slides on the talk I gave at the last GeekDinner called “Five ways to live like a Capetonian” [pdf]
• If anyone knows any good way to repeatedly mount SMB or NFS shares in OSX (after reboot) please let me know.
• My site will be moving to a new box in Europre soon… ZA bandwidth costs are a pain.
• My friend rolled his had his landy rolled by someone else over the weekend but has yet to give me any more details other than a link to the pictures… Which means he’s probably pissed off with himself and doesn’t want to talk about it waiting to calm down before talking about it. Eish.
• Started using Alarm Clock 2 to wake me up in the morning. It’s a neat little app because it can wake up your macbook and does the whole fade in the music thing. Funny how the commercial 50MB competitor doesn’t seem to allow me to set up a repeat alarm or specify which days of the week I want it to run on.
• “Installed” a UPS on my friends office server a few days ago. Ubuntu detected it and Gnome Power Manager let me set what I wanted to happen when… without installing anything. Toit.
• I tend to spend more time in my virtual Ubuntu on my macbook than I do in OSX. Attempted to install ubuntu natively over the weekend but it was such a ball-ache I stopped. Dear Lazy-Web, please make an Ubuntu distro tailored for MacBooks.

kthanksbye.

Graffiti is and always has been a part of society… go read up about it. We’re talking thousands of years… even before Jesus.

Now obviously my title is rather exaggerated and designed for the express purpose of increasing my readership, but the thing is, I really am starting to get pissed off at those “Jesus Saves” people walking around painting over what they deem inappropriate.

First there was the international graffiti competition held in Cape Town where some of worlds best contemporary artists painted f-ing amazing murals on walls that made you want to stop your car and take a deep breath. 2 days later the Jesus Saves people painted that incredible wall full of art work grey. Not white, grey.

I was willing to tolerate that since graffiti is supposedly against the law… never mind the fact that supposedly these guys got permission from the owner of the wall.

Then there was “FREE ZIM!“, a piece of artwork so poignant and powerful that it made me seek it out and photograph it. It said everything that needed to be said and was a constant, daily, reminder to thousands of Capetonians of exactly what had to happen in Zimbabwe. It was also beautiful, with stencilled birds taking flight reminding me of the phoenix to our north.

Then in the height of the xenophobic attacks against Zimbabweans (and other foreigners) the “Jesus Saves” crew painted over it in a dull grey that angers me intensely every time I drive past.

Which leaves me to say, like some graffiti artists mural’d on a nearby wall: “Jesus must hate art”.

ps. For the kids out there who are going to start screaming about tagging. I am not talking about tagging. I am talking about art. Tagging is the equivalent of taking a shit on the pavement and expecting people to think you’re cool for doing it.

Me: which one have you got?
Him: Nikon S9
Me: why do you regret it?
Him: it takes bad pictures indoors. very bad. my vivitar did *much* better, and it was a cheaper camera.
Him: and it has an internal zoom lens, which makes me feel less manly.
Me: I just want to check, what was my advice regarding digital cameras?
Him: yes, I know, you were right
Him: this is the last time I’m trusting a blonde girl over a Jonathan. I SWEAR.

For the record, my advice regarding digital cameras is “Buy the most expensive Canon camera you can afford“.

Being a quasi advertising aficionado nerd person, I like clever ads. I snapped this pic with my cellphone earlier.

I’m also currently sitting in vida e caffe on my macbook via 3G.

Cliche much?

Getting my car waxed for the first time. The slick sales guy made me feel bad about how I treat my car and totally suckered me into a R350 wax.

Later, Suckers!

Ever have one of those weeks when you just can’t stop smiling because the world is just being so damn inspirational?

Ok, so here’s my list of things I am currently happy about:

1. My Moo Cards arrived: You have no idea how friggen happy I am with them. Moo is an inspirational company and yes, I would even consider living in London to be able to work there and learn from the Moo’inistas. Since everyone wanted to know, they cost $19.99 (R145) for 100 cards. Next time you see me ask for a moo card. I’ve even made my first Moo friend.

2. Civil Twilight made my day: So a couple of days ago I got a message on facebook to say that there was a CD waiting for me in Hout Bay… Apparently I was on the “list” of complementary CDs… getting a free CD is much more of a big deal when there are probably only a few in the country at the moment. Thanks boys. Much Appreciated! The album is awesome, my only fear is that I might wear out the CD. Check out their other video.

3. Mix two of my favourite things…: If I was into American football I could have called this one “mix three of my favourite things” because one of Civil Twilight’s songs, ‘Human’ will be featured on this Sunday’s special Superbowl episode of ‘House’ guest starring Academy Award winning actress Mira Sorvino. House is one of my favourites… so is Civil Twilight. Mira is ok. ;)

4. An awesome GeekDinner: The 6th GeekDinner took place in the cosy Sloppy Sams. I was MC for the evening and really enjoyed it. About 70 of us crammed into the tiny little restaurant and had an absolute blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

5. Friends: I guess it goes without saying that friends are important, but recently I’ve been finding my friends to be more than just important, they’ve been critical. Sometimes your friends can give you the kick in the bum you need to get your ducks in a row… Other times they just need to be there to make you laugh. Some friends are their to guide you, others to chide you and still others just to make you feel good about yourself. Tonight I’m going to see kitty! My long lost kitty from London!… Super stoked.

6. Synchronicity: A while back I was looking for a maid/domestic worker/housekeeper whatever you want to call them. I asked around the apartment building I live in and someone suggested an awesome woman called Nokulunga who’s been my angel for the past few months. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to come home to a clean apartment every friday. Anyways, the reason I’m mentioning this is because she’s looking for somewhere to work on mondays. She comes highly recommended.

7. Last but not least: As some of you may know, I’ve been seeing someone recently. Anything I say here will be dripping with cheese and I’d rather not put you all through that. Maybe I’ll just say yay!

Eggs Haust Ed… Long weekend. Totally Awesome though.

• Drinks with Tania and Co
• Sushi (and Beer) with Jonathan H. and Graham.
• Drinks with Kira, TRACY PAYNE, Helene and Ex G2Aers.
• Free beer, food and fire dancing at a winefarm in Franshoek.
• Breakfast at Arnolds.
• Canal Walk for too many hours.
• Braai at Lourens’.
• Interspersed with lots of Flight Of the Concorde “Rhymenocerous”

Totally Ossum.

Check out the pics. 

Maybe it’s just me but I really like this photograph. I took it through a window at 5:30am after having just woken up to the sound of a bang and some screeching tires. I love my camera.

Yes, I realise that those of you who read this stuff and happen to teach photography will probably see a gazillion problems with the photograph. But I love it and that’s all that matters.

ps. Gav, your input is still welcome.