I’m learning Toki Pona. Most people seem to think Toki Pona is a massage technique, some sort of tantric practise, or a musical instrument. It must be the Polynesian-sounding name, but it’s more exciting than that! Toki Pona is a constructed language, similar to its more famous relatives such as Esperanto and Interlingua. Anyone who… Continue reading Learning Toki Pona
Hopeful Monsters
It’s been a long time since I’ve come across a book so unexpectedly startling as Nicholas Mosley’s Hopeful Monsters. At the end of it, I find myself wordless and in awe, as if I’d experienced a flash of satori, wanting to but unable to say anything of the insight. I can find surprisingly little written… Continue reading Hopeful Monsters
All hail a break in routine
I live in Cape Town, where they say it rains all winter, and blows all summer. Thunderstorms and hailstorms are something those living upcountry get to experience in all their glory. I remember working in Middleburg and standing outside in awe to watch the dramatic lightning storms. Nothing like that happens in Cape Town, right? Perhaps… Continue reading All hail a break in routine
Routine
I’ve never been one for routine. I’ll try anything once, twice if it was fun, but after three times I’m starting to think about the next thing. Yes, Jack of all trades scoff the specialists, but did you know the term was originally one of praise, and the master of none part was tacked on… Continue reading Routine
Swahili Wikipedia now the largest African-language Wikipedia
The Swahili Wikipedia has just passed the Afrikaans Wikipedia to become the largest African-language Wikipedia by number of articles. African Language Wikipedias – number of articles Language 1/1/2007 16/12/2008 3/8/2009 Swahili 2980 7807 12631 Afrikaans 6149 11285 12568 Yoruba 517 6246 6261 Amharic 742 3251 3333 Lingala 292 1074 1148 Full list of Wikipedias So… Continue reading Swahili Wikipedia now the largest African-language Wikipedia
Obstreperous Olive
I’ve just come back from Obstreperous Olive, the latest incarnation of the famous Geek Dinner. It was lots of fun again, with talks ranging from Fritjof Capra’s systems thinking, Umberto Eco’s Mouse or Rat essay on translation, Clean Code and whether to dump someone with clinical depression. That was just at my table. The actual… Continue reading Obstreperous Olive
Climate Change – am I a sheeple?
After a few of my recent Ethical Co-op newsletters referred to climate change, I wasn’t too surprised to get contacted by those who believe it’s all a hoax. Some emails were highly aggressive, others were friendlier, simply aiming to inform me that I’m mistaken. The most recent issue of Biophile magazine also had a feature… Continue reading Climate Change – am I a sheeple?
Which is the best search engine?
If you’re tempted to leave Google, and wondering if Yahoo have upped their game, or whether Bing is revolutionising search, take a look at Blind Search. You can enter a search term, and get the three sets results you’d get from Bing, Google and Yahoo, without knowing which is which. You can then vote for… Continue reading Which is the best search engine?
A Wikipedia ban and the wisdom of a 5-year old
I’m sure many people enjoyed an outrageous weekend. Going to a strip club, drinking too much, behaving outrageously and then getting banned from ever returning. That sort of thing. My version involved almost getting banned from Wikipedia. Technically I’d broken a fundamental Wikipedia rule, reverting an article three times. Since I’m absolutely passionate about the… Continue reading A Wikipedia ban and the wisdom of a 5-year old
MTN, Vodacom and Cell C square up against a Faraday Cage
Hold the Nobel Prize for Science. Visting friends last night, they excitedly told me that they had a Faraday Cage. U had put her phone in the cage and tested it by trying to ring it (it connected outside the cage), but couldn’t get a signal. Wanting to see this wonder in action, I put… Continue reading MTN, Vodacom and Cell C square up against a Faraday Cage