Karen Zoid

I have always wanted to go to the Blues Room, but something always seemed to come up. I spotted Karen Zoid was to play last night, and just decided to go (a decision helped by the fact that I did not have to be at work at 8am :p). Blues Room itself is an interesting venue - quite intimate, but very much suited to Jazz and Blues (it's main forte admittedly) being more of a restaurant than a live music venue.

The show itself was quite varied - featuring some solo accoustic guitar (not sure of his name), some covers by Karen Zoid and the guitarist, followed by some collaboration with Josie Feild, before the main show really.

And Karen Zoid, featuring a new drummer, really delivered an amazing show. It was a high energy show, with some amazing variety - especially with the combination of covers and original music in a very seamless, slick piece. I did not really hear any "new" tracks from her new album - but it was still an amazing show. I am glad I went.

Movie: Death Race

Many computer racing games has this theme: cars/vehicles racing round the track with the objective to finish, not necessarily first, but survive. The tracks have weapon and defence powerups, which can be used to blow up opponents or survive opponent's power-ups.

Death Race is a live action version of this - with a thinly guised story to give a "plot". Actually, the plot is shit, the dialogue is worse, and acting just as shit. Really, horrible.

But the action - wow. Guns, things blowing up, the blood, the gore. In fact, if it was accompanied by cheesy music and no dialgoue, it could have been a replay ...

Movie: The Band's Visit

An Egyptian police band arrives at a small airport in Israel, and gets lost in a town in the middle of nowhere. They don't get stranded for long - just overnight until the Egyptian consulate rescues them - and the movie really only focuses on that overnight. It is a clash of cultures - a clash of religions. But it is a story of kindness, a story of rediscovering life, a story of living life. In their own way, the band repays their kind (and sometimes forced) benefactors; and you get a sense that everyone learnt something, experienced something.

It is a quirky movie, funny in places, and very different.

Backdated posts for Germany

I did not have enough time for blogging on the last two weeks of October - when I was in Germany. So, I have added some backdated posts covering my last day in Poznan (Poland), Darmstadt, Heidelburg, Frankfurt, Cologne and Hotel Petersburg ...

5 Stars and Michelin Stars ...

One of the nice facts about travelling with important clients, is that you get to stay in nice hotels and eat in nice restaurants. So, the first night was spent in the very exclusive hotel, Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersburg (hotel link, wikipedia), on top of the hill in Königswinter, just outside Bonn.

The hotel used to be the official government guesthouse (when the West German, and later German capital was in Bonn) - and thus has seen illustrious visitors including Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth II. But it's history stretches back further, and was actually built in 1892, and became the seat of the allied government after WW2. West German independence was also signed in this hotel ... making it a very intersting place.






There are some stunning views around the hotel and apparently you can see the Cologne Cathedral on a clear day. The hotel also features a Michelin star restaurant, which is where dinner was for that night.



There is also an old church on the premises - not very lavishly decorated, but interesting none the less. It was only for one night, but it was certainly an interesting experience ...

Cologne

Cologne is world famous for its massive gothic cathedral. And I was not really prepared for the size of the cathedral as I stepped out of the main station (the main station is next to the cathedral) ... it is absolutely massive, with an impressive amount of detail.



The fact of the matter is, I could not find a position to take the photo, where I could fit the full profile of the cathedral into one shot - it is too big and too tall!







Even the bells are supersized - and when they ring you can actually feel the vibrations from where I took the photo. The bells are about 60% of the way to the top of the tower.



Visitors can (after paying the entrance fee of 4 Euros), climb to the top of of one of the towers. It is a narrow set of winding stairs (barely fitting two people) and a long, long trip. In fact there is a warning - it will take at least 30 minutes to climb up and down (if you are fit) and there are no stairs - at ticket counter.

It was painful, but even though the weather was poor (it started raining shortly after I got to the top); the view was spectacular.



Sadly, I did not have much time in Cologne. So apart from the cathedral - I decided to visit the chocolate museum. The musuem documents both the history of chocolate (as a fashionable drink, to a kid's consumer product) as well as the process of making milk chocolate as we all know it. The entry fee is rather hefty, but you get quite a few samples of Lindt chocolate ... so it is all good! Afterwards, I also had a snack in the cafe - a cake which roughly translates to "3 Kings Cake" - with three sponge cakes layered with chocolate cream. All the calories burned by climbing the cathedral was promptly replaced :)

Heidelburg

It is definitely one of the most picturesque cities I have visited - complemented with the spectacular colours of Autumn. The "old town" is quite well preserved, and unusually bustling with activity - and is one of the major tourist attractions of Germany. Unfortunately, I only had a few hours to spend in Heidelburg (I made it a day trip from Frankfurt) and missed spending time really exploring some of the more interesting parts of the city.



The city is dominated by the ruins of the old royal castle, which is being partly restored. The castle grounds are massive, and provides a stunning view of the city and surrounding areas. However, I think the reconstruction starts to lose some of the charm of the whole ruins - and destroys an essential part of the appeal.



An interesting component of the castle itself, is the massive wine barrels. They were actually used, but not for long. I just wonder how the got all that wine in the barrel in the first place.



Heidelburg is university town, and many of the old buildings in the Altstadt (Old Town) features ties to the original university establishment. The university was first established in the 1300's thus making Heidelburg one of the oldest universities in Europe. It continues to be a university town, and a place of research including the world famous Max Planck Physics Institutes.


Behind the castle, up on the hill is Koenigsthul - which provides a magnificent view of the entire area. Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect, and the full impact was not visible.

Frankfurt at Night

For the rest of the week, I was in Bensheim on a training course - where I did not have time to explore the area (course ran more or less from 8am to 10pm every day). But, I don't think I missed much.

My initial plan was to go straight to Heidelburg, but all the hotels were booked out, and so I decided to base myself in Frankfurt. Despite it being an old town on the banks of a massive river, I have always found Frankfurt to be a bit dull - but the city lights did present an opportunity to take some interesting pictures.

Darmstadt

South of Frankfurt, Darmstadt is very much a technology town, featuring a Fraunhofer Institute (for Security), a well regarded university, and one of the big centres for Deutsche Telekom - research labs, offices etc. Like many other towns, the old town centre is quite well preserved and features a number of palaces, statues and old buildings. Unfortunately, I did not have much time in the town - I arrived as sun was setting and then left the following day after my work engagements.

More on Poznan

Poznan is supposedly the birthplace of the Polish nation - and the explanation given by the tourist information is fairly simple. In the 900's, the king of the area was baptised (to what would later become the Poznan Cathedral) and thus began Poland. It is quite clear that religion plays an active role in Poznan - there are many churches, and almost all of them are busy. Even on Saturday, when I was walking around Poznan, I could not really go and explore inside the churches becuase there was Mass or some other activity going on.



Classical music is also a big cultral event in Poland; and there are many concerts and events for classical music, especially featuring Chopin. The conference dinner featured a short performance by a string quartet (from a highly rated local music school) and I also went to a performance in Poznan. The latter however was slightly disappointing in the sense that it featured a German Bass Band and not Polish performers. But what was amazing was that people crammed into the theatre (of the Poznan University of Music), stood in the aisles and sides and was also crammed with kids. There was a very busy buzz of activity from people of all ages - and was not a snotty affair of well dressed people sipping champagne.



Poznan was also meant to be the easternmost residence of the last German Kaiser Wilhelm II, and he even built his castle/palace in the turn of the 20th century for that reason. It is very close to the centre of Poznan, and was opposite the venue of the conference.



A fort on a small hill near my hotel, also features a small military musuem. I did not have time to explore the museum, but they had a lot of WW2 era tanks, aeroplanes and other vehicles.



Amongst the beuaty of the old buildings and the striking new glass buildings are the dreary soviet buildings. My hotel was one of them ... certainly not one of the most comfortable or value for money hotels in my opinion.

Virtual Goods 2008

Or to give its full name, "6th International Workshop for Technical, Economic and Legal Aspects of Business Models for Virtual Goods incorporating the 4th International ODRL Workshop", held in Poznan, Poland. This workshop has had some interesting history; and I thoroughy enjoyed it last year and brings together a number of different aspects of computer science. As we become more digital, the concept of a virtual good becomes more tangible; and some of the ideas explored in the conference are more realistic that ever!

There were a few really interesting talks and presentations. The host university, demonstrated a virtual museum system, which had a wonderful way to interact with 3D virtual objects; in a very low tech solution; and a presentation by the general chair on why the "free" economic theory ultimately will not work was very interesting.

With authors from 6 continents (no one from South America, but a presenter from Tahiti!), there was a small, but very diverse group of papers and people. This was a very good workshop, and I hope I can contiue to be involved.

Toilet Signs

The Poles use different signs to indicate male and female toilets - an useful guide to anyone needing a toilet in Poland :)

Triangle: Male
Circle: Female

Very different to other places in the world, and somehow more baffling ...

Poznan

It's reputedly the oldest town in Poland - oldest surviving town that is. And it shows - penty of old European buildings - but not as well preserved as those in Bruges :p But there is also a lot of Soviet influence - my hotel for one - and a bit of more modern influence. So the architectural mish-mash makes this place quite facinating.

Poland is reputedly cheap - but I am not sure why this reputation exists? My hotel for example is definitely not worth the money I am paying in my opinion - it is not bad per say; but definitely a bit overpriced. The same goes for the restaurants and cafes - the prices seem a lot steeper; even when converted and compared in Euros. But then other prices are very reasonable - the taxi from the airport to the hotel was quite reasonable for example - so I suppose it all balances out.

Overall, it has been interesting - there is no visibility of beggars or struggling people; but it's not posh - there are not too many fancy cars or shiny houses. It is I suppose, very industrial.

A big plaza near the centre of town

The University of Economics (host of conference)

A side street with some old buildings

"Merchant Quarter" of the old town centre

A WW2 Memorial (plus Autumn leaves)

Car Insurance

So, the car I was driving since I came up to Jo'burg has been written off (although not strictly true). Basically, I stopped behind a person dropping off people (as if it was a taxi) and then I got hit from behind. The damage was a lot more than the value of the car; so it got written off.

Which is all a bit ironic; simply because I have been meaning to buy a new car anyway. But it is still damn inconvenient - I have had to rent a car for the past week or so; so that I can get around.

But what has been really interesting is getting quotes for car insurance. Being a single male aged 25; I automatically attract high premiums. In fact, I was told by one insurance agent that any car with an engine capacity over 1.6 l is considered high performance!

But what I found interesting is also the factors they do not consider when calculating risk; such as the regularity in consumption of alcohol, main driving routes, amount of Km travelled, time of travel and the maintenance record of the car - all the main factors that contribute to accidents.

Also interesting is the fact that many of the "low insurance" adverts were not low - Outsurance came out the most expensive (R4500!), Budget Insurance and Dial Direct were cheaper but still over R500 more than the quote I did take in the end. Also - Dial Direct, Budget etc - they are all still brokers - just brokers fronting for one specific insurance underwriter. So much for skipping the middle man.

So, I will get my car on 1 Nov (I am not in Jo'burg for most of October); and will post about that then ...

Movie: In Bruges

Bruges is a medieval town in Belgium; or as Ray (Colin Farrel) calls it in the movie - Hell on Earth. There are two hitmen hiding away after a job (which went slightly wrong); and it's a comic gem. Very fast dialogue - very English. It is a gangster movie meeting a comic movie set in an historic town. And it is done very well!

Movie: Vanaja

I don't usually watch Indian movies - well bollywood style movies anyway. It's not really the song and dance routines that bug me - but the actual storylines are usually all the same.

Vanaja, is I suppose also a movie about song and dance - but not the traditional musical. It is about a young village girl, who wishes to learn to dance the traditional Indian dance; and is taught by the mistress of the house where she works as a servant.

The storyline is somewhat heartbreaking; and somewhat bold for an Indian movie (dealing with child abuse for example) - the dancing is spectacular; and there is visible improvement as Vanaja improves through her training - giving a very authentic feel to the movie. And the writer/director submitted the movie as part of his Master's thesis!

Altech vs ICASA and 28 Others: The Minister Appeals

ICASA did not appeal the judgement; and in my interactions with ICASA, I have learnt that many inside ICASA are happy that they did not appeal the judgement. Managed liberalisation or not; the over all feeling on the matter was that opening up the market was the way to go.

But the minister of communications has decided to muddy the waters once again - and apparently it is for our collective good. In her infinite wisdom, the minister (although there are claims it is more the DG and not the minister herself) has decided to appeal the judgement. And most striking argument that the minister proposes is the following:

If VANS licensees are allowed to obtain Individual-ECNS licenses under license conversion, government’s managed liberalisation policy will be seriously undermined to the detriment of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) industry.

I can already see two major arguments against this statement. First, the minister did not make this argument in the case itself. While there was an argument about managed liberalisation being affected; the argument was not extended to the effect it will have on the broader industry - just to Neotel.

But it is last part that is quite funny - that giving VANS i-ECNS licenses will be to the detriment of the ICT industry. The ICT industry is composed of three types of companies: VANS (communications), software development and standard hardware/software service and support. There are 600 VANS licensees - and they all benefit from having i-ECNS licenses. So presumably; the other components will be affected by VANS licensees having iECNS licenses.

The question is - how exactly will this affect the ICT industry negatively? The minister's arguments in the appeal, will be, if nothing else - hilarious.

Whackjobs

Part of the Arts Alive initiative, Whackjobs was a one off stand up comedy show at the Bassline in Newton (on Saturday night). Hosted by the very politically incorrect John Vlismas; it was definitely one of the best stand-up comedy gigs I have been to.

The best part of stand up, is the freshness - comics can make jokes about what has happened in the recent past. And this weekend's political turmoils were exploited by most of the comedians. The variety was also impressive - and Alyn Adams' musical parodies was one of the more unique acts of the week.

Movie: Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad)

Most of the movies I have seen featuring Rio de Janeiro are about the favelas, or the slums, the druglords and the gangs that rule the favelas together with the (usually corrupt) cops. Tropa de Elite, is a documentary style, movie about the elite cops - BOPE - who try to make sense of it all.

Blood runs through the movie - but it is not only violence - the movie is an unflinching look at the whole ecosystem: cops are sometimes corrupt becuase they cannot survive on their measely salaries; because taking bullets is not worth it. And gangs and drugs do not exist in isolation: the gang lords are effectively funded by the rich/middle classes who consume the drugs and at the same time hate the favelas and the police. It is a vicious circle.

The style and cinemtorgraphy is amazing - and a thumping sound track keeps up the pace. It is an amazing movie - even if life is cheap and blood flows down the hillside.

(Nearly) Free Education?

Time has an interesting story about tertiary education in the United States - currently one of the most expensive places to have tertiary education. Basically, a number of universities are replacing student loans with grants, using the household income as the basis to determine eligibility.

This is certainly a noble pursuit - after all, if knowledge is meant to be free; surely financial ability should not impact the dissemination of knowledge. And I do not understand the author's argument, that this ultimately has a ripple effect on other universities who cannot match the generosity of the institutions with large endowments (such as Harvard). Because - does that matter?

Surely, a prospective student will only really look at two factors - the quality of the education offered by the institution and the can the student afford it. In that light, will a student who can get into Harvard (and now afford it) really look at alternatives? Yes, it does raise the prospect that the "good" students will only be going to a select number of universities - but is there any different to the present scenario?