South African football Passion

South African football fans have a lot of passion. That has never been in doubt. But whether the players on the field have passion for what they are doing is a different matter all together. I watched most of the match Bafana Bafana - Guniea match in my hotel room (Eurosport has great coverage of the African Nations Cup) and the performance was demoralising. Most of the players just didn't seem interested - esp the big name players like McCarthy and Vilakazi. And to top it off, they played really bad football, constantly loosing possession and having very few shots on goal (I don't think a single shot actually came close to going in).

At this rate - it will be an embarrassment in 2010. What SA needs is not more big name players - but players who want to be on the field - players who are disciplined to devote time to their performance - like Zim, who even against all the odds against Senegal (albeit helped by some poor finishing from the Senagalese) kept the scoreline at 0-0 for over60 minutes and even though they lost, I think they had more chances of scoring in one half than SA did in the entire match!

Budapest Phlog (part 1?)

The first picture of Budapest is a bit misleading - Budapest is really a very beautiful city, a very cultural city - and the title of "Pearl of the Danube" is very apt. It is especially beautiful at night and I am somewhat disappointed that the cold nights have somewhat curtailed my night time explorations. The cold has also meant that taking photos at night is almost impossible as playing around with the camera settings while wearing gloves is difficult at best. So with apologies to Ilan (who has probably trademarked "phlog" by now) I present you my phlog of Budapest - with some commentary after most pictures.

Friday morning, I found out that one of the workshop attendees, Martin Springer was planning on visiting a few sites around Budapest before flying back. So I decided to join him - and it turned out quite interesting towards the end.



We started off at the "Millennium Palace of Arts" - a large complex of theatres, opera halls and the Ludwig Museum of Modern Art. In most cases, modern art does not really do anything for me as I find most of it a load of pretentious bullshit - but there are some pieces that does make one think - like the stuffed pig watching a TV show featuring the butchering of a pig, or the anti apartheid piece featuring the Durban July. There were a few Picassos (didn't think they were great) and a few Warhols (found them better than the Picassos but still nothing great) but my favorite was the work titled "Play it by Trust".







We then went to visit the Hungarian parliament - one of the most impressive buildings in Budapest (via a few detours). The interior is amazing featuring gold plated artwork and one of the oldest surviving crown jewels.



We had a light lunch at the the central market - one of the old style markets - and then while walking back to the hotel, we came across the district headquarters of the socialist party - the remnants of the communist party that once ruled Hungary. We were invited inside by the office manager (who happened to be outside) and we found a few old men playing cards ... a far cry from the old days I think. After Martin left for the airport - I decided to try out one of the many thermal baths in Budapest (and a 70 degree sauna). While it was an interesting experience, I can't really say it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.



Budapest at night - Parliament on the left.



Woke up to snow on Saturday morning - ironically the warmest day so far at 6 degrees during the day! Went on a city tour courtesy of the workshop organisers in the morning.



Heroes square - celebrating 1000 years of the Hungarian nation.



The largest open air ice rink in Europe - after my experience in NY, didn't even consider trying out again.



Anonymous - yes that's his name



St. Peters Basilica - the most beautiful church I have visited - even if you consider the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur



View from the Fisherman's Bastion - one of the towers of the old Buda walls.



A mythical bird that guided the Hungarian tribes from the Ural mountains



Sculpture fountain at the Buda castle



Philosopher's Garden featuring 8 philosophers including Jesus, Budha, Mahatma Gandhi amongst others



Buda (left) and Pest (right) from the Philosopher's Garden



The statue park - one of the most interesting concepts in Budapest - a good collection of Soviet era statues including Lenin, Stalin and Marx.



Freedom Statue towers over Buda from the Citadel - an old fortress.



Statue of St. Gellert faces the Elizabeth bridge - one of the most impressive bridges over the Danube. Features a natural waterfall below the statue.



Hibernating bat in a cave. The bat is about 6 cm in length.



The only known occurrence of green stalactite



Snowing outside the cave

5th INDICARE Workshop

So yesterday, I was the first speaker at the 5th Indicare workshop. Unlike the other workshops/conferences I have been to - this was a different experience; and was quite refreshing in some ways. This was not an academic conference but was much more of an interaction session between academics, industry, consumer organisations and specialist groups. The format was a bit similar to panel discussions - 2 or 3 presenters gave a 20-30 minute presentation which was then followed by a panel discussion of about 15 minutes.

But the best part was the interaction with the consumer organisations and specialist groups - interaction that is not present at academic conferences. For example, there were two presentations from blind associations (one from Hungary, another from England). In most cases, software developers completely ignore disabled people during their designs - and even though computers can help empower the disabled and let them overcome much of their disabilities, much of the software lets them down. A very positive feedback in this regard, is that one of my key contributions to the field - negotiations - can be an effective solution to much of the problems posed by accessibility.

I also had a chance to talk to Martin Springer from DMP - a sort of rival project to my PhD project. We had some very long chats, and on many different aspects of DRM and computer security in general - I think this was probably the most useful part of the trip.

So a valuable trip overall - and many thanks to INDICARE for inviting me and for funding the trip!

First Thoughts: Budapest

Greetings from a cold Budapest, where the outside temparature is about 2 degrees Celcius. Budapest lies almost directly northwards of Cape Town, but due to the lack of a direct flight, I had to take a detour through a surprisingly warm London (was about 9 degrees at 6am ... substantially warmer than the last time I was there in November when it was about 1 degree at noon).

On first impressions, Budapest has a strange mix of modern, ancient and the really ugly (most possibly soviet era) buildings all seemingly next to each other. The picture is the view from my hotel room, showing one of the many bridges across the Duna river, and some of the older parts of Budapest. Anyway, I am off to explore around the hotel, and check out the distance to the conference venue.

Gravy Planes

So there has been a huge outcry over the expense of Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka's holiday. While I do think, that the expenses touted are high, and is a waste of taxpayer money - I do see another side.

Because she is the Deputy President, it can be expected that her security entourage (for herself and her family) would need to travel with her - and she is not responsible to pay for their expenses. Flying such a large group of people in Business Class (if not First Class) to Abu-Dhabi is an expensive deal; and considering the time of the year, I wonder whether they would have even got seats! So, a private jet would seem to be ideal - esp as, she would be expected to travel back from holiday should there be an emergency. Thus the expense of a private jet and the bodyguards should not be in question - but rather, whether the taxpayer should pay for "her" portion of the holiday. Considering that she earns quite a bit, (as does her husband), I think it would be reasonable for her to pay her portion of the expenses - not for the bodyguards etc - but just for her family and guests.

It is interesting to see, as always, that the debate around the issue has been on the two extremes - she should pay for all of it (from the opposition camp and Phumzile detractors) and she shouldn't pay for any of it (from the government) ... what ever happened to compromise?

Hungarian Phrasebooks and Rejections

It's sort of bittersweet - on one hand I am leaving for Hungary on Tuesday evening to attend the 5^th INDICARE Workshop, where I am incidentally the first presenter. I am also getting to spend a few nights in Budapest, and I have heard from many people that it's a very interesting city to visit. So my thanks must go to INDICARE for organising and paying for the trip - very much appreciated - and I hope my presentation is useful to the workshop.

The first thoughts that ran through my mind when I did get the invitation was the classic Monty-Python skit. The Hungarian language is not related to any of the Latin languages, so communication might be very difficult - as even the simple words are so different. Hopefully, my list of common words (greetings, yes/no, numbers, directions etc) in my European guidebook (which has been remarkably useful for the past year) does not suffer the same fate as the guidebooks in the skit.

As for the depressing news - I just found out that the two papers I submitted to IFIP-Sec in Sweden were rejected. However they both come with more than 6 pages of comments, so hopefully I can re-edit the papers and submit it somewhere else and get them published.

Internet for the masses

I went to the Mowbray library on Friday afternoon, and I see that the Cape Town municiaplity is putting in computers with Internet access for the public. I think it's a brilliant idea, and not only do the public get access for free, they also get access to office and a few other things. I am not sure of what software they are using - I should look it up.

The Internet speeds however don't seem to be that great - the old lady using one of the terminals was getting quite irritated by the distinct lack of progress in downloading the pages of the net. What I did find interesting during the few minutes I had a chance to look at the system, was the terms and conditions for use. Apart from the usual, "do not download pirated copyrighted material" and the somewhat lesser condition of "do not download pornographic material", there was also a good deal about good Internet habits and practices. However, while the intentions are good (and the information was quite good too), the whole document was placed together with the terms and conditions during the registration process, and I doubt many people will end up reading all the material.

Movie: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

I was first introduced to CS Lewis' classic Narnia series by the BBC version of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", which my dad had borrowed from the British Consulate library in Maseru. I was hooked, and since then I have re-read the series countless times, and have also re-watched the BBC version of the movie quite a few times.

I went to watch the latest version of the movie yesterday, with Arun, an old friend I hadn't seen for a long time. This version has definitely got the "Lord of the Rings" treatment in terms of the special effects and the general polish and look of the film. That was expected. However, the movie itself was not a completely faithful translation of the book - with a number of scenes present because of the sheer drama and spectacle and not because it featured in the book. There were also a few scenes, especially involving Edmund (the wayward brother) that give a slightly different twist to his personality.

In terms of acting, the girl who played Lucy was brilliant. I can't really say I liked Tilda Swinton - she just did not pass off as evil as she is portrayed in the book. And in the words of Arun, Aslan was just the "fattest lion he had ever seen". In all honesty, I think that the BBC version was better but this is by no means an objective viewpoint.

Terrorists and Torture

I watched The Living Daylights on e-tv on Friday night, and in my opinion, is one of the best James Bond movies ever. Timothy Dalton's portrayal of James Bond as a cold and calculating secret agent makes it a lot more realistic in my opinion when compared to some of the other James Bond actors esp Roger Moore. What I found more interesting was the British support for the Mujahedin in Afghanistan, the very same people who would later become the Taliban and subsequently give rise to the Al Qaeda.

These facts are not new, but I wonder how many movies post 9-11 will dare to show the connection. After all, consider the various insults being traded over Speilberg's new movie - Munich (to be released in 2006 in SA, released two days ago in the US) - which explores Israel's retaliation to trackdown the killers of the Israeli athletes in the 1972 Olympic games.

The main problem with terrorism is with its definition - one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Even "Carlos the Jackal" can be considered a freedom fighter of sorts, fighting for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), one of the largest factions of the current PLO.

The main reason I started thinking of all this was after reading an article in the Financial Times from a week or so ago discussing torture - and how the US practices torture even though it's not defined as torture (the article alleges that the US conducts emotional torture on terror prisoners and since the US defines torture as physical pain, they are not committing "torture"). This is off course coupled with the allegations by Saddam that he has been tortured while in US custody. There is apparently a call by some Americans (according the FT article) to re-legalise torture for terrorism suspects - which is what brings this back to terrorism. Who or what is a terrorist? And, when does a person become a terrorist?

Movie: King Kong

It's long, quite predictable (which is not helped by the fact it is a remake and that the trailers and reviews give away so much of the story), and a brilliant piece of cinema. I remember an ad for the pay channel TCM which showed snippets of classics to make up what made a great movie - King Kong has them all. The acting is good (Naomi Watts is brilliant as Ann Darrow - I did not think she could act), the effects are spectacular and it has a bit of everything - comedy, tragedy, a love story (actually 2) and a whole load of action.

But above all, the movie is immersive - I didn't feel bored and was absolutely fixated by what is happening on the screen. Overall, this movie is not a "Lord of the Rings", but it has everything that makes a great movie.

Blockhouse

Reinhardt, his friend Christie (sp?) and I cycled up to the blockhouse this morning. It's an interesting ride - involving a lot of painful uphills and being the least fit, I took the longest with the most number of stops. Coming back down was a lot more fun though :) Reinhardt and I would like to make this a regular thing ... so I should get fitter soon (assuming I eat properly and reduce my junk food intake ... tough choices ...)

Wedding Bells

Not mine - but this weekend was Jason (Brickhill) and Melanie's wedding. It is very weird to see your friends getting married - although to be honest, this was a wedding that was foretold a long time ago.

It started off with an interesting bachelors party for Jason - he was dressed up as a boxer (with the words "The Champ" on the back) and we hit Long street after dinner at Newscafe in Greenpoint. While I do have lots of photos of the night, I think for my own safety, I will not publish them online ... it's best not to rile up lawyers too much ;)

The wedding itself was interesting for me, simply because I have never been to a western/Christian wedding before, and there are some big differences to a traditional Hindu wedding. For starters, there is the issue of time - traditional Hindu wedding ceremonies take about a week at least, with at least 2 major ceremonies - one at the bride's house and the other at the groom's house. Then there is the food - Indian weddings are usually all about food. No really, most people I know end up judging how good the wedding was on the quantity and quality of the food. This is in no ways a criticism of the quality of food at Jason and Mel's wedding - the food was excellent - but the differences are interesting none the less.

But in the end, there is a lot of cultural differences in weddings, and not just the issue of arranged marriages. Traditional Indian weddings are major celebrations, carefully planned according to the astrologers, involving numerous "aunties" and a big hole in the bank account. They are effectively the social event of the year for the extended family - and the extended family is a big thing for most Indians.

On that note - a last bit about future wedding possibilities - Megan Butler caught the bride's bouquet (not sure what the proper term is) ...

The R81 Pizza

We had a little "farewell party" of sorts for Siya last night at Primis in Cavendish. True to style, some rocked up late but a good time was had by all. But the highlight of the evening had to be the pizza ordered by Siya and Wanda: Margherita with Chicken, Salami, Bacon, Mushrooms, Mixed Pepper, Onions and Extra Cheese - an order that left our waiter amused and doubtless questioning the sanity of the table party (after our previous antics, including having a pizza topping only on one side of the pizza).

Last one out ...

In February 2000, about 10 guys from Westville Boys' High School's class of 99 came to study in UCT. Over the past 6 years, at least 2 other guys from the class of 99 have studied at UCT. Since 2002, the number of guys still studying has steadily dropped, and as of today there are just 2 of us still "studying" at UCT. And of the two of us, Sam is graduating (hopefully) in June, leaving me all alone.

In most respects, other than Sam, I have lost contacts with most of my fellow schoolmates. Some like Chris, Ken, Tapiwa and Ross, I have kept in touch, mainly through bumping into them on Main road or at cricket matches in Newlands. And as of today, I doubt I will see any of them ever again as they move one with their lives to different parts of the country (and even to different parts of the world).

Yesterday Carl was giving out Christmas cards - a habit he wants to start early to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances over the long run. Today, as I was saying goodbye to my graduating friends, I realise how many people I have probably lost touch with - even though I might have had very strong friendships with them.

Who wants to live forever?

No not the Queen song, but rather a very interesting article on Wired, which looks at some of the downsides of living a long life - not the current average of 70-80 (in the first world) but rather for 150+ years. After all, the search for immortality is one of the oldest.

And I agree with the author - why would anyone want to live that long? And with the earth barely coping with 6 billion people, can you imagine what it would be like if everyone lives for 150 years? And there are off course the practical problems - when do you start retirement? How many anti-aging creams do you need to buy so that you look hip and young? What would be a pensionable age? And what would you do if you live for 150 years or would you just die of boredom?

Massive Gig Alert

Seether is coming back to SA next year and they are touring the major cities in a massive gig put together by 5FM and Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Colab Mix features amongst others Fatboy Slim, Simple Plan (ironic after the debacle involving 5FM and Mark Pilgrim), The Rasmus, Prime Circle and The Parlatones. More bands are coming through to make up 12 hours of music so the rather steep price of tickets (R430 for golden circle) is quite justified in my opinion.

Obz Fest 2005 (lots of photos)

Saturday was a busy day - air show in the morning, Obz Fest in the late afternoon/evening. Still less strenuous than last year, which involved a hike on Table Mountain followed by Obz Fest ... Before my reflections on Obz Fest, a bit of social commentary.

Like last year, I was quite amazed (though not really surprised) at the number of drunk kids. I know, that as a person who does not drink, it is somewhat hard to understand, but is it necessary to drink to have a good time? And kids weren't only drunk - some were stoned, and most spotted a cigarette in their mouths - and that's the worst thing about a festival like Obz Fest - people blowing their cigarette smoke into your face! It is obvious that anti-smoking laws and the yearly rise in sin taxes have not hampered kids from picking up the habit. On a positive note, it was great to see such a mix of people - old and young, rich and poor all jiving to great music. Undoubtedly there were petty thefts, but there did not seem to be any major incidents.

This year's Obz Fest was bigger with a second stage and more shopping area, although it featured fewer well known bands and a lot more up and coming bands. Like last year, I started off by meeting up with an old friend I hadn't seen for quite a few months. We started off at Cool Runnings (where my friend Mary was meeting a few friends) which actually seemed more packed than Obz Fest itself, which was probably due to the exorbitant prices being charged outside. We then went to see Polaroid (featuring Mary's boyfriend, Daniel, as a guest bass guitarist) playing on the second stage. We both agreed, while they had some good songs, we would not buy their CDs (if they ever got to that stage). In their defense, it must be said that the sound on the second stage was pretty bad.

Mary left after Polaroid finished, while I hung around for the last act, Black Betty, an all-girl string trio featuring a bass guitarist, a guitarist and a violinist. Unfortunately the sound really played up and eventually the band just gave up playing. Their music was interesting (a bit of a country/hip-hop mix) and I am tempted to go to a gig they are playing at on Thursday featuring amongst others Godessa and Polaroid.

After the demise of the second stage I went to see what I can best describe as "performance art". It mainly featured a white guy rapping with a DJ spinning some tracks - so what - Obz version of Eminem? But it was not only his rapping - his performance also included a few lines of opera singing, a bit of a ballad and a stage dive! I only caught the last part of his performance, and I am not even sure of the name of of the act (I think it is Waddy Jones). I would have loved to see the full act.

That was followed by some good punk rock with the "Dirty Skirts", which, while not brilliant, was nevertheless not bad and quite enjoyable. They are not yet ready to set the world alight in my opinion, but they were certainly very energetic.

 

Not being a huge fan of reggae, the next performance put together by the "African Dope Sound System" was not really the highlight of the evening. That said, there are a lot of people who like Reggae in Obz, and quite a few seemed to have lit up in support. Just one comment about reggae though - do they all have to talk with the Jamaican accent and lingo? I mean, surely home grown reggae does not need to have the Jamaican accent and lingo to be credible?

By now the crowd was building up, and even though a lot of people left after the reggae was finished (allowing me to squeeze to the front) more people packed in to see the final two acts - Bed on Bricks and Hog Hoggidy Hog.

Bed on Bricks are a brilliant act, this being the fourth time I have seen them perform live. At last year's Obz fest, Bed on Bricks were an opening act, this year they were one of the featured bands! Their music, while mostly rock, also features a bit of ska and they have some really interesting songs. But above all, they have an awesome stage show and where else can you get a rock act featuring an oil can guitar?

Bed on Bricks were followed by Hog Hoggidy Hog, which prompted a massive mosh pit from the kids out in front. That was strange as the Hogs play primarily ska - hardly music to mosh to. Added to that, was the fact that the kids just couldn't mosh properly throwing elbows and legs into everything! That said, Hog Hoggidy Hog were great and capped off a great day.

Ysterplaat Air Show

Saturday morning, I went to the Ysterplaat Air Show - my first air show. For R30 (no student discounts) it was quite an interesting experience. It featured mostly air acrobatics, including some crazy men jumping out of aircrafts while they were performing acrobatics and a display by the reigning world champion (picture), although there were some super-sonic jet displays. Having spent extensive time in the Air and Space museums in Washington DC, air shows I found the air show to be an interesting demonstration of some of the "displays".

Foreign Aids

For a well known comedian, Jameson Hall was surprisingly quite empty for Pieter Dirk-Uys' free show. But for those of us that did go, it was a great show, although the show did have a message - not about abstinence from sex, not about AIDS or HIV but more about overcoming fear and talking about sex. The show was not strictly the show he takes around to schools and such; but rather a show about the show (metashow?) and he covered a wide range of subjects - from condoms (why its better to buy than to get freebies), Thabo Mbeki, PW Botha and talking about sex. He likened the battle against AIDS like the battle against Apartheid, handled badly by politicians, filled with rumors and misinformation and very little support for the people who are doing their very best.

Fighting AIDS is more than a ribbon. It will take more than reading statistics once a year. Ultimately, fighting AIDS requires education and support of both those who have AIDS (so that they can continue living and enjoying life) and those who don't (so that they do not get it in the first place). And while South Africa has placed lot of emphasis on the later, statistics and the harsh reality is that it does not seem to be working. What I find interesting is that the same tactics are used elsewhere in the world - Metro stations in DC proclaim "if there are 5 people on the platform, one person could have HIV"; similar messages in London while India has some rather interesting ads aimed at dissuading adultery. But it is the very statistics in India and the self proclaimed ones in DC that suggest that the messages aren't really working.

And as Pierter Dirk-Uys' commented - its not only about the message but about the practice. If condoms are inconvenient - because they are of the wrong colour, size or just takes to long to extract from the packaging - they won't be used. And while we seem to have perfected the message, acting on the message is far from perfection.

Old People, Anti-Terrorism Police and Obs Fest

There shouldn't be any connection between the three topics in the title, but there could always be an old man (or woman) who is suspected as a terrorist hiding out at Obs Fest. Obs Fest (the sixth one I think) is this Saturday and involves a lot of good, free live music, a street fair, lot of hippies and a generally good time. I enjoyed it a lot last year, and am looking forward to it this year - anyone keen on joining me? Its on Saturday 3 Dec, the bands start about 3pm and continue to at least midnight! On the note of live events, Pieter-Dirk Uys will give a free performance on Jammie Steps tomorrow!

UCT has recently moved most of the student services in lower campus (like student health, SHARP and Citiwise driving school) from Protem to a site next to University House and opposite the land affairs department. Apparently, Protem will be the site of a new junior girls res. The new site used to be an old age home which raises the rather obvious question (IMO) - what happened to the old people? Surely they haven't all passed on ....

In an earlier post, I talked about being questioned by the anti-terrorist cops in London. As I stated earlier, I found the situation quite amusing but it seems that the new anti-terrorism laws are no laughing matter. Bruce Schneier talks about the use of the terrorism laws to stiffle free speech, while there have also been incidents where these laws have been used to stop from people taking photos on roads or walking on bicycle paths! What has the world come to?