Your Stars Foretold : By E.S. Kom (The Future Made Clear - dark, but clear - eish)

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 21) : Things will be pretty dark for you today, unless you remember to buy new torch batteries.

Taurus (Apr 21 - May 21) : You'll probably eat cold, raw food again today.Try to remember to get that gas cylinder filled! Be cheerful, though, and remember that your ancestors lived like this and survived - 25,000years ago.

Gemini (May 21 - Jun 22) : There will be a programme on TV tonight that you'll love. Sorree that you can't watch it 'cause it's on during your allotted "block" in the Eskom disco derby...

Cancer (Jun 22 - Jul 23) : Thought you were smart buying that generator? But we know you're going to run out of fuel tonight and the nearest working petrol station is 20km away. As you get there, we'll cut their power... Sorry.

Leo (Jul 23 - Aug 24) : Another morning without that essential cup of coffee awaits you... If you make it to 10am we'll reward you with enough power to make some, but by then you'll probably have killed 3 people and severely injured a 4th. (Don't worry, though. This is the New SA - you'll probably get away with it.)
Virgo (Aug 24- Sep 23) : Not for very much longer... What else is there to do after dark?

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 23) : Your star-sign stands for fairness and justice. That's why we're going to hit your area with three 2hr outages a day, while the area where your local MP stays will enjoy uninterrupted power throughout.

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 23) : Your area's assigned outage "block" is from10:00 to 12:30. Expect the power to go off any time before or after that. And don't think it will only be out for two-and-a-half hours, either.

Sagittarius (Nov 23- Dec 22) : Today you'll buy some food that is apparently within its sell-by date. What you won't realize is that the sell-by date is for food that has been stored in a constantly operating fridge.... Although you'll get severe food poisoning, we think you may survive if you can find an emergency ward that has back-up generators. Good luck!
Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 21) : Don't bother to go to work today. During the hours when you actually will have electricity, your network provider will not, so you won't be able to do anything anyway. Stay home and well.... there's not much to do there either, is there?

Aquarius (Jan 21 - Feb 20) : Today you'll get so fed up with our incompetence that you'll decide to emigrate. We regret to inform you that this is no longer possible... The airports have all shut down, because - well think about it! They need electricity to run the place!! You ain't going - nowhere...

Pisces (Feb 20 - Mar 21) : Today all your hopes and dreams will come true. You'll have power during "Days of Our Lives".

If today is your birthday : Use lots and lots of candles on that cake - even if they don't reflect your age. How else are you going to see to open the presents? You will receive the ideal gift - your very own miner's helmet!!

The Times - Article

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Eskom's Darkest Hour [Carte Blanche: 27 January 2008]

This was the title of last night's episode of Carte Blache

During the broadcast, they asked viewers whether or not they had faith in Eskom to solve our power crisis (sms voting):
N: 109 538
Y: 1 216

By clicking the title-link of this post, you can read the transcript of last night's episode.

Riveting stuff, I tell ya!

load shedding schedule for George and Danabaai

We just phoned our local municipalities for the latest load shedding schedules:

George:
Daily from 10:00 - 12:30 and 18:00 - 20:30

Danabaai:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 14:00 - 16:30 and 22:00 - 00:30
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 04:00 - 06:30, 14:00 - 16:30 and 22:00 - 00:30
Sundays: Random


Right, what does this mean for my business? In a nutshell: over half of my clients will have to place their orders between 08:00 and 10:00 or 12:30 and 14:00 - as I can only process these between 08:00 and 14:00. (That's a 3-hour window for George clients!)

Georgians also have a tiny one-hour window (17:00 - 18:00) in which to do all their private shopping, refueling, cooking and cleaning. Unless they wait till 20:30 - when most shops are closed.

Living in Danabaai is a lot easier. Work till 14:00 and (from 16:30) only worry about electricity again at 22:00.

Memo to self: Get a wind-up alarm clock and save the planet, as well as your working week! (Electrical ones reset close to three times a day, you know...)

the world goes even darker

Photo Gallery - Heath Ledger dies - Free People images | theage.com.au

I don't know what else to say.

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If we can laugh at ourselves, we're still fine

And with the Soccer World Cup coming our way in 2010:

Power in SA - a lucky draw

Welcome to the latest update on our power situation. Several "schedules" for load shedding in our region have been published - none of them showing the same times...

In an attempt to plan my days, I turned to the Eskom website for answers. Turns out there's no fixed schedule - whatever happens, depends on whatever happens.

[Your town is] subject to the scenarios listed at the times specified for load shedding. If any of the stages are reached today, these schedules will apply.

Brown Stage 3B
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 3B
20:00 - 22:30

Brown Stage 1A
18:00 - 20:30

Brown Stage 1B
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 2A
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 2A
18:00 - 20:30

Brown Stage 2B
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 2B
20:00 - 22:30

Brown Stage 3A
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 3A
18:00 - 20:30

In short: Cross your fingers - you might be f*(%3d today, or not.

things to do in SA when it's dead

By now, most of you should have heard about South Africa's power-shortage:

Wikipedia says:
"Due to the South African government denying funding to Eskom - South Africa's national electricity producer - for expansion, the capacity of the nation's electricity grid has not kept up with demand. From December 2005 until February 2006, rolling blackouts were implemented in Cape Town and other areas of the Western Cape. This was the result of one of two reactors at Koeberg nuclear power station being unavailable for this period, with the transmission lines from the coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga having insufficient capacity to make up the shortfall. These blackouts and the accompanying brouhaha in the media resulted in Eskom and the government announcing a number of plans for new power stations, and Eskom started returning mothballed power stations to service. However, it is expected that the supply constraints will last for a number of years.

In October 2007, rolling blackouts were implemented in many parts of the country, including the executive capital city, Pretoria, and the biggest city and economic hub, Johannesburg. At times these blackouts have been reported to last a number of days.

Although Eskom and the municipalities involved in implementing the blackouts make some attempt to provide schedules, very often the information is incorrect or is only provided after the blackout has started. A number of deaths resulted from power to hospitals being cut in the Cape Town blackouts in 2006, with certain hospitals not having adequate backup facilities. As a result, an agreement was reached to not cut power to hospitals. However, during the blackouts in Pretoria in October 2007, the City of Tshwane municipality cut power to areas including hospitals.

Eskom uses load shedding and demand side management during peak loading to prevent large scale blackouts."

Recent news headlines serve to illustrate the point further:

"Eskom gives reasons for resorting to load-shedding [January 11, 2008, 09:00]
Eskom has given reasons why their technical problems are now more serious than in the past, forcing them to resort to load shedding. Power cuts were experienced in various places yesterday as the utility resumed power cuts nationwide, due to technical problems at power stations. General Manager of demand-side management at Eskom, Andrew Etzinger says technical problems have always been there over time. The amount has been reduced slightly but what has changed is that there are no longer reserve margins to help them through. "Those times in the past, if we had a problem with a generator we would simply start another generator and make up for that difference. But we just do not have those spare generators any more". " source: SABC News

Basically, our national electricity provider doesn't have the capacity to fulfill our (growing) national demand. (More people = more houses, educational facillites & places of business = more power needs.) We need new power plants - which take time to build. (8 years, apparently.)

Thankfully, Eskom worked out a "load shedding schedule" for the country. In my area, we're scheduled to be without power as follows:

Mon, Wed, Fri : 12:00 - 14:30
Tues, Thurs, Sat: 18:00 - 21:00

(Load shedding, however, is not a 100% managable process:

"Load shedding started in some part of SA due to four generators that tripped in MpumalangaJanuary [12, 2008, 10:15]
Load shedding started early today in some parts of the country due to four generators tripping in Mpumalanga, Eskom said.The four coal-powered generators tripped yesterday night. "It is a coincidence of events that these generators tripped within hours of each other," said Eskom spokesman Andrew Etzinger."We did not plan load shedding for this weekend but the combined effect of these generators is such that load shedding has to happen," he said.Etzinger said they would load shed on rotational basis and would keep it to not more than two-and-a-half hours. He said technicians were working hard to make sure the four generators are operational soon. - Sapa" Source: SABC News

Now, thinking about how all of this has affected me, my business and those I know - I've began to think that this situation might force a new approach to business and life in general.

Obviously the first option is to buy your own generators. (Not a carbon footprint-friendly sollution though.) And what does it help if you have power, but your local supplier(s) dont?

Another idea is to restructure your operating hours.

I'm thinking a siesta on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays might be a good idea. As in Spain, I'd take those hours off for a leisurely afternoon nap - and work them in during the early evening. (There are some hitches with this idea, I admit. One being that load shedding doesn't occur at the same time, all over the country. Obviously.)

At home, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays - I'd have to have pre-prepped dinner, or braai. Bugger candle-light, I live by the sea - the stars are awesome! Another benifit of this forced "quality time" would be healthier relationships!

U-oh - gotta go. Load shedding in 10 minutes!

Have fun kids! I close at 3PM ;0)

a Roxette song comes to mind...

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Oh how wonderful January is...
It doesn't look that bad - but the wheel's control-arm-thingamabob is bent (still doesn't flap or quote musicals though), meaning the car won't move. Estimated repairs = R10 Grand.

...and in despair, I came across this

During one of the many Reformation battles, a young soldier found himself and his army being soundly defeated by the enemy. He and his comrades hastily retreated from the battlefield in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives.

The enemy gave chase. The young man ran hard and fast, full of fear and desperation, and soon found himself cut off from his comrades. The soldier eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave.

Knowing the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the chase, he chose to hide there. After he crawled in, he fell to his face in the darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and protect him from his enemies. He made a bargain with God. He promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the remainder of his days.

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance to the cave. As he watched the delicate threads being slowly drawn across the mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He thought,

"I asked God for protection and deliverance, and He sent me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?"

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would soon discover his hiding place and kill him. He soon heard the sound of his enemies, who were now scouring the area looking for those in hiding.

One soldier slowly walked up to the cave's entrance. As the young man crouched in darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a last-minute, desperate attempt to save his own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control.

As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider's web - which by now was completely strung across the opening.

He backed away and called out: "There can't be anyone in here. They would've had to break the spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on."

Years later, this young man, who made good his promise by becoming a preacher and evangelist, wrote about the ordeal. What he observed has stood by me in times of trouble, especially during those times when everything seemed impossible:

"Where God is, a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web."

aaaaaaarrrggh!

Welcome to my first working week of 2008. So far, my constant source of unimaginable joy is, wait for it, this message on my business' PC:


If you take the amount of (hard earned) dosh I've had to shell out for this biotch's maintenance over the last 4 months, I could've bought a fully kitted-out Mac Pro (the new one) with an Apple Cinema Display. Frankly, I think my business would've been better off too.

*ggrrr* PC *ggrrr*

Mark Twain on Memetics

Not sure how memes work?
This Wikipedia entry might help as well:

"A Literary Nightmare" is a short story written by Mark Twain in 1876. The story is about Twain's encounter with a virus-like jingle, and how it occupies his mind for several days until he manages to "infect" another person, thus removing the jingle from his mind. The story was also later published under the name "Punch, Brothers, Punch!"

The story is significant in that it is a fairly accurate description of a meme, and how it can replicate itself in a short time, thus acting like a virus in some respects.

(In a nutshell, the story goes a little something like this)

The narrator, Mark Twain, sees a catchy jingle in the morning newspaper. The jingle promptly attaches itself to his mind, such that he loses concentration and can no longer remember what he ate for breakfast, whether he ate at all, and what words he was going to use in his novel. The jingle mentally incapacitates him, until, a few days later, he takes a walk with his friend, the Reverend, and inadvertently transfers the jingle to the reverend's mind. As this happens, Twain experiences a sense of relief, and returns to his normal life.

Some days after Twain was cured, the Reverend visits him; he is in a terrible state, as the jingle, which keeps on repeating in his head, has already disabled his concentration. He tells Twain of some incidents where the rhythm of the jingle influenced his actions, such as when churchgoers started swaying to the rhythm of his homilies. Taking pity on the man, Twain decides to cure him, and brings him to a meeting of university students. The Reverend successfully manages to transfer the jingle from himself to the students, curing himself and, at the same time, continuing the diabolical cycle of the jingle.

Your own Album meme!!

I'm not too clear on the series of fortunate hyperlinks that led me to the blog of AtomicMrX - but I'm glad whatever happened, happened! I found this cool meme-post on his page (which he got from This Boy Elroy, who, in turn, got it from... you know how memes work).

The idea is to combine the following steps (chaos theory anyone?) to create a brilliant new album:

1. The first article title on this (random) wikipedia page, is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last (again, random) quote is the title of your album.
3. Finally, the third (you guessed it, random) Flickr picture - no matter what it is - will be your album cover.

Easy.

My band, Render Plus Systems, will soon have an awesome cover for their debut album "Taking hold of it" - based on this photograph by »Ŗǿćҝ ĢĩяŁ«™:



I'm too lazy to fire up Photoshop right now - but you get the picture ;0)

awesome feature from iafrica.com

Different worlds? Maybe not…
Jerome Simelane [Thu, 03 Jan 2008]

I am a guy and he is a guy. We are from different worlds. Ja well, no fine — what the hell do I mean? Well, here's the question: To all straight people, how many people do you know that are gay and your friends?

I am the first to confess that I never thought about it. Now, having watched a few episodes of 'Will & Grace' I feel I'm qualified to talk on this subject simply because I can laugh myself stukkend while watching the show.

It is a great programme, with sarcasm and satire that most open-minded people can relate to. It is both liberated and liberating.

I never thought I would watch a 'gay' sitcom and catch myself laughing and that got me thinking that the whole issue about straight people not relating to gay people is overstated.

In reality...

One of my life-long friends just recently came 'out' to me. What I find disturbing is that his revelation made me uneasy at first. Okay, maybe not uneasy but I was shocked and flabbergasted.

This oke, with whom I was so close, was gay and had been all along. It took me some time to process but I realised that it was not up to me to be judgmental — rather, I should be supportive.

Fully aware of the stigma of being gay, lesbian, queer, moffie, or whatever (who knows what homosexuals are called these days) made me think that my friend (and I still refer to him as my bra) was going through identity hell. He didn't need me to let his revelation get in the way of our friendship.

Which brings me to the next question: "What is so strange about someone being gay?"

Being heterosexual, I don't expect others to say: "Hey, mfowethu, look, I'm straight!" Duh! That is no revelation to me, it's like second nature. Which proves we tend to judge others, make assumptions and reach conclusions based on our own beliefs and way of navigating the world — and that subjectivity is so wrong.

What's the difference?

Back to my friend: We hang together, talk about politics, cars, sex, blah, blah, blah. In actual fact, there is, or rather there was, no difference that was 'out there' for me to evaluate.

Believe me, he is not a sissy or trying to be what he ain't. Now I know that whenever we talked about J Lo's behind, he was busy picturing Denzel Washington's eyes or Brad Pitt's torso and probably devouring Vin Diesel.

But he's still a guy's guy to me — we haven't stopped hanging out, drinking beer, chatting… (although I have to admit its hard to concur whenever he says, "That guy is cute").

So I guess if I'm going to be a friend I would have to hook him up with a decent, good-looking, to-die-for guy. I have no flippin' clue where I might find such a person, but I am making an effort. And, whoever said that "plenty of fish in the sea" thing was lying. Sometimes there aren't.

True friends

The saying, "you cannot choose family" should actually also extend to friends. We hit it off from the beginning and we have grown to know each other very well. A true friend would not desert another friend based solely on the fact that you are now attracted to a different gender.

That he was secure enough to come out is an indication that he trusts me and I admire and have a lot of respect for my bra. Not a lot of people can do that.

And even though this piece is entitled, 'Different World', how different are we, really, as people? So if you're a guy and struggling to relate to a gay friend, here's some advice — get some microwave popcorn and watch 'Will & Grace'.

I am a guy and he is a guy. Full stop.

iafrica.com | highlife | his life | features Different worlds? Maybe not…

Everything is easier in America...

Apparently, you can even do a course on "How to be gay" over there!
Check this out:

>> A course taught by professor David Halperin at the University of Michigan has been getting some attention recently. "How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation" examines "the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay male identity" via writing, studying it as a "sub-cultural practice", and conducting some sort of self-reflective class experiment.

It's actually a class that has been taught, and has inspired controversy and discussion, for a few years.

"In particular, we will examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be gay: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style, and political activism. Are there a number of classically 'gay' works such that, despite changing tastes and generations, all gay men, of whatever class, race, or ethnicity, need to know them, in order to be gay? What is there about gay identity that explains the gay appropriation of these works? What do we learn about gay male identity by asking not who gay men are but what it is that gay men do or like? One aim of exploring these questions is to approach gay identity from the perspective of social practices and cultural identifications rather than from the perspective of gay sexuality itself. What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or subjective dimensions of gay identity, including gay sexuality, that an exclusive focus on gay sexuality cannot? At the core of gay experience there is not only identification but disidentification. Almost as soon as I learn how to be gay, or perhaps even before, I also learn how not to be gay. I say to myself, 'Well, I may be gay, but at least I'm not like that!' Rather than attempting to promote one version of gay identity at the expense of others, this course will investigate the stakes in gay identifications and disidentifications, seeking ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be gay."

Then there's the alternative method: six beers, an off-campus party, and that hot freshman from down the hall you've been studying from afar. <<

I was just offered some...

Directions for Use:
Ensure baby's bottom is clean and dry.
Spread Fissan Baby Bum Cream liberally
over the bottom after every nappy change.
(?)
(I love my Mom!!)

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1 Trillion Zim Dollars

20071116-172806-1.jpg (JPEG Image, 750x363 pixels)

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Apparently, some (str8?) men need (more) help

The page cannot be displayed because you need to approach some women

The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Your Mom told me you've been online for way too long and you
need to go out and approach some women.

---

Please, try the following:

• Don't click the Refresh button. Go outside now.
• To go outside, first click Put On Shoes. On the Wussy tab, clic Time to Make a Girl's Day. The Ass is Plastered to My Chair setting should match those provided by your pickup coach.
  
• If you are addicted to information, try to cut down a bit.
• Click the Make a Commitment button and approach one woman every day. It gets easier with every approach.
  
• If you would like to be happier than you've ever been before in your entire life, click
  Go Out Into the Real World
• There are many hot women out there in the real world who are tired of wussies who won't come up to them and talk to them. If you are unable to get up, click back and pay for a coach to kick your ass.

HTTP Error 404 - File or Directory not found.

Internet Information
Overload (IIO)

---

Technical Information (for a better life)

• Go to ApproachAnxiety.com and perform a title search for the words Fear, Overcome and Exhilaration.
• Open Coaching Help, which is accessible in the Coaching Section, and search for topics titled Push Me into Approaches, Show Me How to Do It, and Understand My Irrational Fear.

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Becoming Insane

I absolutely love this! Who'da thunkit?
(And it has nothing to do with recent events. for truth. promise. really...)

Embedded Video

Good ol' Animoto

Still only 30 seconds - but fun!

Time Warp

I was going to post something profound for the New Year... and got stuck. Spent a whole day listening to old albums and browsing Facebook.

Who remembers Jam & Spoon? They had a track called "Right in the night" and I can't seem to get it out of my head! (Well, funny that... I couldn't get it out - till I typed that line! Now I've got Kylie in there!!)

Jam & Spoon:
Right in the night
Right in the night
Right in the night you'll find
That if you want to fall in love you'll fall in love

Right in the night
Right in the night sweet thing is what you'll get
When you fall in love, you fall in love

Fall in love with music, fall in love with dance
Fall in love with anything that makes you want romance
Make a little softer on the way that you go
Just think that everything you touch could turn to gold

Fall in love with everything that you would love to love
You know that laughter is a kind form to wake you up
So don't make me feel unpleasant like you do
You know that everything will fall right back on you

So fall in love with everything, fall in love with life
Forget about your troubles and be a little nice
You will not see me if you don't want to look
Just come and get me in my big big bed of love
Big big bed of love

Right in the night
Right in the night
Right in the night you'll find
That if you want to fall in love you'll fall in love

Right in the night
Right in the night sweet thing is what you'll get
When you fall in love, you fall in love

So fall in love with stories if fairy tales are true
Innocence is part of what you're losin' with your youth
Show a little confidence, show a little class
Don't kiss the past, the past ain't gonna last

Just fall in love with passion, fall in love with lust
Fall in love with all the things you're always dreaming of
Fall in love with music and you will get by

Right in the night
Right in the night
Right in the night you'll find
That if you want to fall in love you'll fall in love

Right in the night
Right in the night sweet thing is what you'll get
When you fall in love, you'll fall in love

and now... Kylie!
La la la
La la la la la
La la la
La la la la la

I just can't get you out of my head
Boy your loving is all I think about
I just can't get you out of my head
Boy it's more than I dare to think about

La la la
La la la la la

I just can't get you out of my head
Boy your loving is all I think about
I just can't get you out of my head
Boy it's more than I dare to think about

Every night
Every day
Just to be there in your arms

Won't you stay
Won't you lay
Stay forever and ever and ever and ever

La la la
La la la la la
La la la
La la la la la

I just can't get you out of my head
Boy your loving is all I think about
I just can't get you out of my head
Boy it's more than I dare to think about

There's a dark secret in me
Don't leave me locked in your heart

Set me free
Feel the need in me
Set me free
Stay forever and ever and ever and ever

La la la
La la la la la
La la la
La la la la la

I just can't get you out of my head
I just can't get you out of my head
I just can't get you out of my head...