I recommend that anybody new to Wikipedia editing starts, if possible, with one of the smaller Wikipedias. It’s far more fun, contributions will probably be openly welcomed, and there’s less likelihood of experiencing some sort of bureaucratic nightmare. An example fresh in my mind is the OpenCart article, which doesn’t exist. Anyone attempting to create… Continue reading June 2015 African Language Wikipedia Update
Le Chocolatier and the chocolate scam
When I was involved in Ethical Co-op (from its startup in 2005, until April 2014), there was a remarkable stream of dubious products presenting themselves for potential sale, trying to market themselves as organic in order to charge higher prices. One of my favourite tasks was investigating and rejecting a product due to not meeting… Continue reading Le Chocolatier and the chocolate scam
South African Banks SSL Security
After coming across an article testing the security of the SSL implementations of Australian banks, I decided to run the same tests on the South African banks, using SSL Lab’s SSL Server Test. I have a little bit of inside info into some of the banks systems, so was not too surprised how bad the… Continue reading South African Banks SSL Security
30 Artists in 30 Days #30 – Gabby Young
(Slightly more than) 30 days have raced by and the final choice is nigh. I settled down for a long night of searching, determined to make discovery number thirty a special love affair. I had multiple tabs open with possible candidates, but never got past the first one. It was ecstasy at first sight, and… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #30 – Gabby Young
30 Artists in 30 Days #29 – Unwoman
The penultimate 30 Artists in 30 Days, artist number twenty-nine, is cellist-singer-songwriter Unwoman. The name was apparently inspired by the unwomen from Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, and refers to the label given to women who didn’t fit into that rigid society. Her music, described by Russian gothic label Shadowplay as “dark trip wave”,… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #29 – Unwoman
30 Artists in 30 Days #28 – Taylor Davis
30 Artists in 30 Days number twenty-eight is violinst Taylor Davis. Starting out by performing video game covers, Taylor started doing originals as well in 2013, and has recently released her first original album. Currently Taylor has 370 patrons pledging $1,857.00 per performance video. See Talor Davis’ Patreon page. See all the 30 Artists in… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #28 – Taylor Davis
30 Artists in 30 Days #27 – Walk Off the Earth
30 Artists in 30 Days number twenty-seven are one of the biggest artists on Patreon, Canadian band Walk Off the Earth. They began in 2006, and have mainly built their following on their Youtube channel, which has over two million subscribers. Their Wikipedia page describes them as an alternative rock, ska, and reggae rock band,… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #27 – Walk Off the Earth
30 Artists in 30 Days #26 – Christopher Bill
30 Artists in 30 Days number twenty-six, Christopher Bill, reinvents an instrument that I associate with military bands and bad high school music. The trombone is made cool again as Christopher covers well-known songs with just his trombone and some creative looping. Currently Christopher has 48 patrons pledging $287.50 per video. See Christopher’s Patreon page.… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #26 – Christopher Bill
30 Artists in 30 Days #25 – Tony Lucca
30 Artists in 30 Days number twenty-five, Tony Lucca was born into an extended musical family, spent time as an actor, and released his first album in 1997. A grizzled veteran of the music scene who’s been through the record label grinder, he was one of the early-adopters and started on Patreon in 2013. Currently… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #25 – Tony Lucca
30 Artists in 30 Days #24 – Phil J
What drummer, usually hidden in the corner while the egotistical vocalist laps up the glory, wouldn’t like to be the centre of attention? 30 Artists in 30 Days number twenty-four is drummer Phil J, and in his featured video below you can spend almost the entire video watching, undistracted by any vocalists, his yellow socks… Continue reading 30 Artists in 30 Days #24 – Phil J