... in paradise

As the plane landed in Cape Town on New Year's eve, the captain asked the flight crew to take their seats, and that we would shortly be landing in paradise. Cape Town in December is certainly paradise - I love it. And going there for New Year's eve, although a very short visit, was certainly a great decision.

And even as we flew over the slums - into Cape Town - and again out of Cape Town (although this time, the flight went round Cape Point too) - I certainly agree - Cape Town in summer is paradise.

White Tiger

Winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize, Aravind Adiga writes a tale about a smart man, Balram Halwai, - who rises from poverty to becoming a multi-millionaire, successfull business man in the New India. And it is the journey that is really the focus of the story - filled with corruption, virtual slavery, family and social presssures and even murder - it is a very stark contrast to the traditional tale of success.

What is really tragic, in many respects, about the story - is that it is in many respects an honest potrayal of the class, social and economic divide of India. The tales of corruption - while maybe exaggarated, are not tales that would not ring true at some point.

And in the end, you realise - that the story could be really set in any other third world country. You will get smart boys forced to work, to pay off some family debt instead of going to school. You will find social pressures dictating what the person can do as their living. And, it will be the very select few, who can trully escape their background and trappings of their birth. In fact, in the times of financial turmoils; this tale probably rings true for everyone in the world ... and in the end, we would all support Balram Halwai's actions ...

Movie: Religilous

Comedian Bill Maher, presents a rebuttal to religion - esp. the Abrahamic religions. Personally, I feel that the God Delusion, did a much better job. Maher does raise valid points - but his presentation, and atagonism towards some of his interview subjects are not going to help spread his message.

Cradle of Humankind

There was only one tourist attraction I knew of in Gauteng - the Cradle of Humankind. And it has taken me almost a year to actually get round to going there. The Cradle of Humankind is in itself a bit of a distracting idea as a tourist site - because the area covers a very large area, which includes towns, farms and game reserves. At its core, there are two major "attractions": Maropeng Visitor Centre and The Sterkfontein Caves. Both can be easily visted in half a day, and thus a combined ticket of R130 for adults is quite affordable.



The Maropeng Visitor Centre is an incredible showcase about evolution of man - and a very interesting exploration of the homo sapien species. It is incredibly hands on, and the information is very interesting and very accessible. More than a musuem, it is also somewhat of an experience - from the idea of exploring the various facets of the evolution of earth itself to the various aspects of biological evolution.



The Cradle is off course famous for the various fossils discovered of our earliest ancestors, and Maropeng has a fairly sizable collection of original fossils and casts.



The Sterkfontein caves is off course what made this area famous; and with the improvements in facilities it is certainly a lot more accessible (although there are areas where one needs to crawl through). The caves themselves are not that impressive in themselves, but it is still a very interesting experience.



Over all, the recent focus on improving the facilities have meant that these are really accessible to visitors. They are both facinating places to visit; and I am glad I finally went.

Wonder Cave

Wonder Cave, also in the Cradle of Humankind is inside the private Rhino and Lion game reserve. An abandoned mine, the cave is a massive cavern with some spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. It is a steep climb down stairs, followed by a small mining lift - but it definitely worth the effort and the R50 entry fee. It is a small detour onthe R512 from Johannesburg, and definitey worth a stop over.

PCFormat's DRM Article

I am not a regular buyer of PCFormat - but when I saw the DRM article advertised on the cover, I could not resist. Since I do consider myself somewhat of an expert on DRM, I was interested to see what the magazine had to say. And in most respects, it was very much what I thought it would be; although a lot less hysterical and to be fair, a lot more balanced. However, there are a number of points I would like to raise - so here it goes.

Firstly - what is DRM? Strictly speaking - DRM is about the control of usage and access to electronic data. It is not about copy control. In fact, every DRM system that has tried to enforce copy control has been a failure - and are usually led the bad rap - such as Sony-BMG's rootkit. It is physically impossible to restrict copying - computers work by copying data all the time. The way copying is controlled is through restricting the use of electronic data - but not physically restricting copying. It is an important distinction.

Secondly, DRM is not strictly about copyright enforcement - it is about license enforcement. This is the reason that music DRM has failed, and probably will never succeed. Music has never been sold as being licensed to the buyer - instead the buyer has always "bought" an instance of a musical performance. To apply DRM directly to this model was stupid, and has consequently failed.

Software is different - it has always been distributed and used as being licensed. You do not own a game. You own a license to play the game. You do not own a copy of Windows XP. You own a license to use Windows XP. Consequently, DRM fits in a lot better to the model for Software Protection - it is a natural extension to what has always been practiced, but never really been enforced.

But does this mean that the economic and usability models being applied to current software is correct? No. Previously, I could get a license to play a game on unlimited number of machines for R400. Now, I get a license restricted to play on 3 machines for R400. That is not economically justifiable. Likewise, usability of phoning a number, hanging on for 20 minutes while reciting 20 letter numbers is not user-friendly.

In my opinion, DRM was rushed to the market - mainly because the old business models in the music industry could not cope with the new economy. There is a lot of research that needs to be done - a lot of it is being done. There is a lot of use for DRM, and the power it can hand to the user could be immense. If done properly, the user could be in a position to determine, how, who, why, when and where another entity could use their personal data - that is powerful. However, competing DRM standards (there are at least three organisations in the standardisation game: OMA, MPEG and W3C), competing interests and a general fuck up due to the immature introduction of the technology has meant that real progress has been really slow.

Movie: Synechdoche

In "Being John Malkovich" Charlie Kaufman explored the world through one person's eyes (and a lot more than that). In Synechdoche, he explores a whole city. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a nutty director who has just won a grand prize to put on the most ambitious play ever. So, he tries to replicate New York - and the actors basically start living the play. And through the play, he tries to explore and understand himself - although I think he fails spectacularly.

It is a lot more, and is quite a roller coaster - but is ultimate very complex and hard to unravel. It is a lot more than Being John Malkovich; a lot more than the Truman Show; but ultimately it does not have a clear cut story or purpose. But I did not really expect it to.

World's Most Dangerous Places

The British Telegraph has a list of the worlds 20 most dangerous places, and South Africa features alongside the usual suspects of Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Sudan and Palestine.

I don't think it is a fair comparison at all - while crime levels in South Africa are higher than many other countries in the world - I don't think we are in the same danger as people living in Iraq for example. And in the same vein, there are also a few other countries on that list that should not make the list for the same reasons in my opinion - Jamaica and India are the prominent ones.

Downtown Jozi

I have said it before - downtown Johannesburg is facinating; and together with the urban renewal projects, it is regaining some of its old glory. Unfortunately, in the weekend it's not really a very vibrant city - it is quiet and everything is closed up. Which is a pity - because it does not really encourage people to come and walk around. And it is really a stark contrast to what it is like during the day. The photos are primarily taken in and around Rissik, Symonds and Harrison streets - streets I have driven a number of times during the day, shuttling to and from client offices. I never really have time to admire Jo'burg from the driver's seat, and for that alone I really enjoy walking around Jo'burg.



Byers Naude Park, from the City Hall looking at the Library. It looks very different during the week, full with people. Next time, maybe I should walk around and take photos during the workday.





Old Mining equipment, on Main Street. Main Street is facinating, and gives a great iverview of the mining heritage of the city, and the key people involved. It is also very pedestrian friendly.



One of the many adverts adorning the Jo'burg skyline



A kwaito group was filming their music video on the streets (it is not to dificult to close down a street over the weekend). Not sure who they were - but the miming was fun to watch.

Movie: Quantam of Solace

This is not much of a traditional Bond movie in some respects - no Q, no gadgets, no dumb villain leader. But there are still beautiful locations, baddies to hunt down and beautiful women.

This is also the first Bond movie I have seen that is a sequel - rather than a stand alone story; and going forward, the ending suggests that the next movie will also be a sequel. This in itself will be a departure, and not such an unwelcome departure in my opinion.

The movie itself was quite action packed, although somewhat convoluted at times (a lot of hand-to-hand) - but personally, I really liked the scene in the Opera - I just don't remember Bond movies being artistically inclined.

The Wisdom of Whores

I am normally a very fast reader - but due to various circumstances, I never really got round to finishing The Widom of Whores until recently, even though I started in late August! And it is definitely a great book!

A lot has been written about HIV and AIDS, and in some ways this is another book to that pile. It is however, possibly the most honest book I have read on the subject. The author, a journalist turned epidemiologist has spent a long time in the field of HIV and AIDS research - and her insights are facinating, and sometimes brutal. It is a frank account of not only how HIV and AIDS epedimics are badly managed in terms of response (not only in South Africa) but also of the politics, the ideologies and most of all the difference in cultures that are seemingly not understood.

Fundamentally, HIV is spread in two ways - unprotected sex and blood transfusions. But most HIV response teams do not tackle either of the core issues directly, largely for moralistic grand standing. Unproteted sex? People are not supposed to have sex before marriage. Or most people do not have multiple simultaneous partners. And drug abusers - why should they get more sympathy with clean neadles? The fact that some cultures do not consider multiple partners immoral - or that some prostitutes do not consider their work cheating on the partners have just not permeated up to the powers that be.

More than anything, the book exposes the flaws in the standard research practice of boxing things into neat categories. That, and the gross ineficieny of ideology driven health care support - even when the ideology is not religious.

While the book is centred largely in South East Asia, the lessons and discussions raised are just as relevant in South Africa. But, whether the book has any effect in fixing the world, that probably has a very a expected answer ...

Movie: Brideshead Revisted

Set in Britain, between the Great Depression and WW 2, Brideshead Revisited is a very interesting "period" movie, with a somewhat confused purpose. On one hand, it is very much a classic love story, between a man with very humble beginings and the rich daughter of English nobility, but where the couple's differences in religion makes it even more difficult to make it a success. Then there is the seemingly romantic relationship between the gay son and the man. Added to this is a mixture of bad parenting, alcohol abuse and the very obvious gap in wealth.

It is very much an interesting mix of characters, great individual performances and some very intersting dialogue. But over all, the movie does seem to lack a central theme - but maybe that is by design. As the daughter states, "What does Charles Ryder really want?" A question, that is never really answered.

Movie: Body of Lies

I am not sure what the whole point of the movie was - there is a CIA agent in the middle east, who is very good at what he does; his interfering boss who sometimes does more harm than good and a terrorist cell similar to Al Qaeda. Somewhere in this, there is also th eobligatory love story.

There is lot of things this movie could have done. Instead, it is a slow, meandering walk through nothingness. Yes, the Americans are shown as arrogant, uncaring and selfish - yet the good guys still win! This is not a Syrianna, or even a Bourne type of spectacle and intrigue. It is, in my opinion, utter rubbish.

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.