German Inefficiency

Every now and then, you encounter German inefficiency, which sort of pulls them back to normalcy. But the strange thing about inefficiencies that I have come across - they know about it, they are very apologetic about it; and they don't seem to do anything about correcting it.

Two recent events give rise to this post, and both happened within hours of each other. The first, happened in Mainz, where I was meant to change trains (to the airport). Ariving at the platform, there was an electronic and verbal announcement (in German, but fairly easy to translate), that the train was cancelled. For me, that is a minor inconvenience - Mainz is very well connected to Frankfurt, and the airport, so an alternate is easily found. Not so fortunate for others, who were going to places beyond the airport - and there was no ready help at hand to assist in determining the best way forward. One passenger I met had particular trouble - this train was a connecting train to yet another train. This cancellation had a massive impact on his travel plans. The inefficiency comes in, not that the train was cancelled, but how it was handled afterwards. Furthermore, the cancelled train was an Intercity Express - which run from one end of Germany to another - surely, such information should have filtered through to the booking systems?

The second instance, relates to "Tax Free" services at Frankfurt Airport. In most European countries, you can claim back a certain percentage of the VAT, if your non-perishable purchases are made through "Tax Free" affiliated stores. The store provides you with a stamped form (with the amount) and then you need to first get a customs stamp, before you can claim back the money (either cash at the office in the airport, or by credit card or bank deposit through post). The process itself is well documented and easy. however, the customs office, once you are past passport control is in Departure B only, after security. The customs office in Departure C, which is where many of the large long haul planes leave, is closed (under further notice). So, to get the custom stamp, one has to go all the way to Departure B and clear security. Those of you who have made this trip, will know that this quite a long walk - about 15 - 20 minutes, depending on how many people you share this journey with! So taking account of clearing security, the round trip was almost an hour; and luckily I was able to leave my bags in the locker in the lounge ... otherwise, I don't think the effort would have been worth the refund!

Bi-lingual schools

I discovered on Saturday, a fairly recent innovation in Germany, bi-lingual schools. The intent, I am told, is to encourage mor fluency in English. Thus, a certain percentage of subjects (in the case of my friend's children, all the sciences) are taught in English, often with native English speakers. Other subjects, are taught in German.

The thinking is obvious, the learners get fluency in two languages as they are forced to use two, with a degree of regularity, but is not forced to learn everything in the foreign language, as would be the case with English medium schools. Given the number of official languages in South Africa, maybe this is also a viable way of encouraging bilingualism? Personally, while I was taught Afrikaans at school, there was no motivation for gaining any level of fluency, since it was only one subject, and a minor one at that. Being forced to learn Afrikaans, for another subject, would have certainly provided greater practice and motivation to learn.

German Expressionism Exhibition at Mathildenhöhe

The Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt sits above a hill, close to the city centre, and is the highest point in Darmstadt. It is a purpose built exhibition hall from late 1800s built by Darmstadt's Grand Duke, as part of a wider artist colony. It also features a Russian chapel built for the Tsar, and a wedding tower. Although, the artist colony is now gone, the beautiful houses remain, and many have been maintained by their current owners, either private citizens or various organizations.

I was not too aware of Expressionism, so I went in with an open mind. The exhibition had a wide range of exhibits, from all the various forms, painting, sculptures, movie clips, music clips, architecture models and drawings and stage costumes. The exhibits are largely chronological, tracing from the founding of the movement, through world war 1 to the end in the beginning of Nazi Germany. The exhibition itself ends with Mein Kampf, where the audio guide explains that Nazism's rigid control of everything was what brought the movement to the halt.

There was an array of interesting art works, where the whole motivation was "total art", which sounded very much like other similar labels, total football or total politics. Some of the ideas have persisted, such as glass architecture and weird and wonderful stage costumes. But there was also some very weird motivations for the artists, for example a number wanted world war 1 to happen, so that they could experience war first hand, and because they believed only a war would be able to reshape the worked to their point of view. After the horrors of war, which they often depicted in their works, they were left broken and it similarly impacted on their subsequent works.

It was an enlightening experience, and sheds some interesting perspective on at least a part of German life between the wars. That in itself makes it worthwhile.

It's Spring ...

Before continuing to Bonn, I went to visit a friend/collaborator/colleague in Darmstadt. We have been trying to meet every time I lass through Frankfurt, and this is the first time we actually made it happen! While looking at his garden, I commented on how green the grass was, and he said, "for the last two days, it has been spring. I did not expect such good weather for another few months after the snow".

The weather has been quite good, daily temperature of approximately 10 degrees, and even some rays of sunshine. But the heavy winter snow has taken it's toll. Many roads have potholes, has a result of the snow, while there is flooding in quite a few towns. In fact, the Rhine river in Bonn has broken its banks in a number of places, submerging paths, trees and in quite a funny way, completely isolated a Chinese restaurant (on a boat) because the path to the boarding point is completely submerged. But the remnants of the winter are still visible - uncleared snow still lies in it's dirty, brown mush in some corners, while many of the lakes are still iced. And despite the comfortable air temperature, the wind means that many layers of clothing is still warranted. And Frankfurt airport is still prepared for more snow, with cots for stranded passengers still stacked up in the hallways.

A380

Now that there are two daily fights out of Johannesburg on the A380, a lot more South Africans can fly on it. Has it brought back the romantiscm of flying? No. But that is probably because cattle class on Lufthansa's A380 is like cattle class on it's other planes, just a few more ameneties. But it does have a few nice touches. It is really quiet for example, although my noise canceling headphones were still useful in drowning out people's conversations and the aircon. The flight map uses Google Earth bringing a more lifelike perspective on the flight details. And you can now sit in the front row and still not fly business class :)

But the romantiscm is not all gone. I sat next two young guys, who were taking their second flights ever. The first was earlier in the day,when they flew from Maputo. They are 4th year computer science students, who are taking part in an exchange program with an University in Finland. It wasqute an interesting conversation, on their interests and their wish to pursue Masters and higher, with the constraints of funding and the lack of opportunities in Maputo. But they have already turned down part time job offers In order to pursue the exchange program, and I wish them all the best.

Movie: You'll meet a tall dark stranger

I don't think I have ever watched a Woody Allen movie end-to-end, and on this evidence I am not missing much. The movie follows a family, with each person having some kind of marital problem. Alfie (played by Anthony Hopkins) leaves his wife, and then subsequently marries a prostitute. The wife, Helena, takes up the advice of a fortune teller, but does not meet her tall dark stranger. The daughter, Sally (played by Naomi Watts), wants to divorce her struggling-author husband, for her boss (played by Antonio Banderas); while the husband falls for the neighbour (and decides that she is his muse).

At the end of it all, I am left asking - was that even a story worth telling, and why did I waste 2 hours on that. The latter, was more due to the fact that there was nothing else that seemed interesting on at the movies.

Movie: El secreto de sus ojos

El secreto de sus ojos (The secret in their eyes) is an Argentine movie which won best foreign movie at the 2010 Oscars. It is a fairly complex movie with a number of interweaving threads; centered around a retired legal counselor (Benjamin) attempting to write a book on a brutal rape and murder of a young woman (Liliana).

So in part this is a murder mystery, as we follow Benjamin and his sidekick Pablo in trying to solve the crime. In part it is a love story - Benjamin's infatuation with the judge he works for; and the love of Ricardo for his now dead wife (Liliana). It is a story of corruption in the justice system, as we find out how the perpetrator is released and then hired as an official hitman. But it is the ending, when all the various strands of the story are brought together; it becomes a story about crime and punishment; it is not what you expect; and I don't think any Hollywood movie could have dared to put that ending in - and you are left wondering - what does punishment entail?

It is a brilliant story, supported by exceptional acting, editing, costumes, scenery and make-up. The story span approximately 25 years, and the characters age with appropriate changes to scenery and props. It is a well made movie, and definitely worth watching.

Body Fluids Division

Driving back from Pretoria this morning, I drove past a police vehicle which had the words "Body Fluids" written on it (in the area where the divisioin is usually stated). It's a strange name for a division, although it does make sense. Online, the only reference I could find is a SAPS training course on Body Fluids.

Just wondering if there is better terminology out there ...

Closed for Christmas

Given the rampant consumerism around Christmas, and South Africa's general tradition of making public holidays into retail therapy sessions, the number of establishments that close down during Christmas is very surprising.

As I noted last year, while travelling down the northern towns of South Africa, all types of commercial establishments - from guest houses to restaurants to shops close down; and this is also the case in Johannesburg itself. Apart from petrol stations (and the associated shops), I do not recall seeing any shop that was open during Christmas (although I did not check every mall). What was equally surprising, is the number of establishments that were closed on boxing day ...

Biker Clans

At a luncheon with M's neighbours yesterday, I met two old bikers - E and W. Both are fanatical about superbikes, and both have owned a number of such bikes in their lives. Apart from stories about speed traps (and the related fines off course), the standout conversation was on Harley Davidsons, or as E called them, "Hardly bikes".

It seems that there are at least three types of biker clans - the super bikers, the harley riders and the off road riders. W belongs to two camps - the super bikers and the off road riders; but he can't stand the Harley Davidson either. Both E and W tried to define why Harleys make no sense - they are not fast, they vibrate a lot (and are therefore not comfortable) and they are not much fun. According to E & W, the only reason that Harley has such big fan clubs, is that they have no one else to mix with ...

Doubtless, there was a lot of banter about Harleys with E & W, and E often gave long passionate defence of the super bikes and ran down the Harleys as often as possible. As a non-biker, it is the first time I have really noticed the sub clans within the biker culture. An ex colleague of mine is a passionate member of the BMW bikers group, and another colleague rides a Harley - but as E & W demonstrated yesterday; I have never really seen the various sub cultures interact (besides the toy run etc).

Just interesting ...

Songs of Migration

I missed Songs of Migration in its original run earlier in the year, but managed to get to the second last performance for the year at the Market Theatre on Saturday night. The show itself is a bit difficult to categorise - it is not a theatre performance, and although it is billed as a musical; there is no overarching story or dramatic performance. It is really a collection of musical pieces, collated with a single theme (migration) - but at the same time is devoid of the audience interaction and banter that goes with musical performances.

Songs of Migration feature a huge number of songs (about 40 IIRC), mostly written or adapted by Hugh Masekela. The show is mostly focused on black South Africa - from the arrival of colonialism, through apartheid to the modern era; although there is one song on Jewish migration, a short snippet in Afrikaans and a few African American songs focused on cotton picking.

The range of languages is amazing - almost every South African language and then some more! And this leads to my only real gripe about the show - there should really be a longer translation of all the songs, because, due to the variety of languages, there is always someone in the crowd who is not going to understand the song - even though the overall meaning is pretty clear.

In terms of the performances themselves - for me Sibongile Khumalo and Hugh Masekela stole the show. Sibongile Khumalo has a wonderful stage presence, and takes an almost matriarchal command of the performance; gluing all the various performances into some sort of an overarching tale of migration. And Hugh Masekela, for a 70 year old, he outdanced, outsang all his younger colleagues and then some more. He is just an absolutely brilliant performer. The other members of the cast also bring various talents to the fore; especially in the choral pieces.

The show is very slick and highly entertaining. I think it is back sometime early next year - so if you haven't seen it; go see it.

Gautrain Maths

The Gautrain is a really awesome way to get to the airport. And parking at Sandton and then taking the train takes away the lottery of the roads, especially in the current mix of rain and construction.

But the parking rates are way too high; and in some respects just doesn't make sense. For the airport, the first 24 hours costs R29, the second 24 hours cost an additional R29.50 and then for the third day onwards costs R97.50 a day. While the parking charge is less than the parkade costs at OR Tambo (R130 a day), it becomes much higher when the train ticket is taken into account. Only for the 2 day trip, is the Gautrain a cheaper option than driving to OR Tambo and parking at the parkade.

With the bus routes being rather limited (which I suspect is one of the reasons they are often empty) - the prospect of just jumping on to the Gautrain system is still a long way off. And until then, the economics of using the train if you don't live in and around Sandton, for anyhting more than a 2 day trip is going to be hard to justify.

AVA Expo in Sandton

Teh AVA Expo in Sandton City was billed as the largest expo for audio-video appliances in South Africa. While it was true, that a wide range of brands were represented - overall, it was a rather dull affair in my opinion. I have been building a specification for a full blown entertainment system in my head, and thus my interest in the expo - although I have learnt more through visiting individual shops than at the expo itself.

For starters, while there were live demos; most stands did not bother with demonstrations of various components and systems. Thus, for many, it was more of a paper exercise of what their systems can do instead of really showcasing what the systems can do. I do understand the constraints placed by the environment, but then the organisers and exhibitors should have thought better ways to do demonstrations.

Secondly, if the purpose was not to showcase, then the retail aspect was not that great either. Almost every system on the floor (from a AV perspective at least), had the same price as the that in the retail stores. The manufacturer reps, although fairly knowledgable on the products, did not have suffcient knowledge of all the retailers that stock their products (or were not allowed to divulge this information due to conflicts with exhibitors).

For me, the worst part of the show however was the lack of knowledge, coupled with some really bad service from some of the exhibitors. At the SONY stand (which incidentally had won the stand of the year award), the guys manning the stands had neither the product specifications, nor the pricing of the various TVs on show. Likewise, at the Mede8tor stand (a product, I am quite keen to look at) the attendant started to have a chat with a friend that walked by, leaving myself and another prospective customer alone - even though he was actually mid sentence describing the product!

Movie: RED

Although the cast was promising, I wasn't expecting much from this movie - just a standard shoot-em-up action movie. Instead, it was possibly one of the best written and well acted action movie I have seen.

The plot is fairly simple - Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), a retired (and extremely dangerous, hence RED) black ops CIA agent manages to thwart an assassination attempt; and then assembles a team to get to the bottom of who is trying to kill him (and why). His elite team is played by acting royalty - Helen Miren, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman - all retired, all itching to "kill people again".

It is a fast paced story, very well acted and very enjoyable. Certainly worth watching, especially for entertainment.

ITWeb's Misleading Reporting on Mobile Data Charges

ITWeb's comparison on mobile data charges is so misleading, I wonder how it even got through editorial review. And to top it off, the calculations are also wrong!



Lets start with the calculation error - Cell C's 2 GB rate is R149 per month, which translates to R0.07 per MB and not R0.08. It seems the journalist divided by R1000 and not 1024! The price per MB for 5GB bundle is actually 5.6c so 6c is forgivable, but the same mistake was made. I didn't make sure of the other calculations, but I assume they are equally wrong (and when you calculate it back, it makes sense too).

But the misleading part of the article is to focus only on out of bundle rates. Sure Cell C and 8ta have higher out of bundle rates, but the key question with out of bundle rates, is what was the total cost. Thus, it only makes sense to compare out of bundle charges if the total bundle cost is considered.



And then, if you consider the effective per Mb price, the real value will be shown, with Cell C and 8-ta coming out ahead.

Lastly, Cell C's pricing includes the modem which, as far as I know is not included in the other offers (I can confirm Vodacom, since I have used it). Once you take account of that, the pricing is even more competitive from Cell C!

I wonder who paid the journalist to write such crap ...

The Beatles ...

With Apple finally releasing The Beatles catalogue on iTunes, they have also released the first US concert free for streaming. What stands out from the concert, is it seems that almost the entire audience was screaming women. Which does not make it roo different to Justin Bieber or the Jonas Brothers etc ... I doubt however that any of the modern day equivalents will last as long as The Beatles.

Music: To Hire a Nurse, Doe and Zaire

The Bo was packed last night, and for good reason. Unfortunately, I arrived after the first band, To Hire a Nurse, had already started (they started on time it seems); and of the three bands, it was certainly the most interesting! Apart from the usual guitars, bass and drums, the band also features an electric violin which certainly gives the band a very different sound. Of what I did see, the violin fitted in perfectly; and the sound is somewhat similar to what Apocalyptica manages with its cellos. A very cool effect, and I now really want to see a full show of theirs!

The second band, Doe, was nice but not very interesting. The song writing was very good, but while the lead singer does sing well, I don't think her voice was always suitable. The mixing may also be to blame.

Zaire, is an indie-rock/brit rock type band with great songs, with great beats. A four piece band, they really threw a good party. I can't seem to find much about them online, besides this, and their Facebook page, but they seem to have quite a big following. They had the whole club dancing, and their music is very easy to get into. Another Parlatones in the making?

The 6 Month iPad review

It has been just over 6 months since I got my iPad. When I bought it, I did not really have too many ideas on what I would use it for. 6 months later it has become an essential tool, which although not irreplaceable, is certainly useful. And surprisingly, I use it most often at work. And over the last few months a number of colleagues phase joined me with their own iPads and there seems to be a corporate move to approve it for all.

The biggest use in a work setting, is taking notes in meetings, and the calendar and email functionality. The email application on the iPad is stunning, and integrates very well with Microsoft Exchange. The setup is quick, and in fact it can be argued that it is faster to set it up on the pad than it is on Windows! Likewise, the calendar function also integrates well and easy to use. One gripe, is that it does not seem to work well with proxies, or specifically proxies that have domain based authentication. It's not that much of an issue, but it does limit the functionality of certain applications and uses in the work environment.

Other than that, it is great for reading PDF documents, and the great battery life means that it is great on long flights. I have flown Boston to Berlin, via Frankfurt on a single charge, and spent most of the flight watching Ted videos or reading ebooks. I have a number of mini games, which are also entertaining, although some of them do seem to drain the battery life very quickly.

Surprisingly, I have found browsing on the iPad to be fairly annoying. This probably has to do with the way browse the web, and the iPad still lacking multitasking functionality. I per to open a number of windows and tabs and then switch between them,usually reading one tab while waiting for another to load. On the iPad, pages seem to reload every time I switch tabs, so it becomes quite annoying. The lack of flash is usually not an issue, except for sites like Ster-Kinekor and Computicket.

The iPad's keyboard is not awesome for very long periods, but it is usable and surprisingly accurate, even with moderately good typing speeds. This post was written on the iPad, but this is probably the longest single typing piece I have done.

Movie: Half a Confession

The Japanese Film Festival is one of the older film festivals on the Sterkinekor circuit; and this year it was showing in Pretoria last weekend, Cape Town this weekend and Johannesburg the following weekend. The selection of movies is small (5 movies) across 2 days; and the Pretoria/Jo'burg screening opportunity allows the possibility of seeing a few without spending the whole weekend at the cinema.

Half a Confession, revolves around the story of a decorated and well respected detective, who hands himself in after killing his wife. However, this is really euthanasia (or mercy killing) as opposed to murder - so it apparently is a fairly easy case; except that the detective does not wish to reveal what he did for 2 days between killing his wife and handing himself over; and is seemingly trying to protect someone.

Ultimately, while the storyline play itself out; the reason why the detective refuses to reveal his secret (or rather admit to it) becomes confusing - unless there is a cultral reference that just does not translate. It is a great drama - but was the drama actually meaningful and even necessary is somewhat lost in translation.

The movies focus on euthanasia, organ donation, trauma etc. is also a powerful angle; and is certainly a stand out point. However, even this is due to (comparative) cultural acceptance of mercy killing and suicide - I doubt a movie made in the US would eve dare to take on the subject in a similar fashion.

The movie is well acted, and if you are in CT or Jo'burg - it is worth watching.

The Girl in the Yellow Dress

It has been a long time since I went to a proper theatre production, although this fact is more due to laziness than a lack of opportunity. In fact, I think this is the first proper theatre production I have been to since I left Cape Town! So, I was looking for something different to do, and the Market Theatre's current production looked very interesting.

The play has a rich history of collaboration and past success (according to the blurbs posted on the Market Theatre's site at least) - debuted in the Grahamstown Festival, sold out shows in the Edinburgh Festival, it is certainly loud in its self promotion. This nicely ties into the overall theme of the story itself, which claims that the play was "originally inspired by Ovid's story Echo and Narcissus and psychoanalytic writings on narcissism".

It is a two person play, set in Paris, featuring Celia (and English, English teacher with some sort of a dark secret) and Pierre (a Congolese-French student, with an equally mysterious past). The humour is often driven by the complexities of the English language (I don't recall my English teachers dwelling on the complexities of past passive participles), while the drama is driven by the character's respective past histories and the complex stories they weave.

It is a very slick production, and highly enjoyable. The entire play takes place in Celia's living room, and the intimate confines of the Market Theatre's Laager Theatre, makes it a perfect venue for this production.

Market Theatre Blurb:

The Girl in the Yellow Dress premiered at the National Grahamstown Arts Festival followed by sold-out seasons at both the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and the Traverse Theatre for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival. It then transferred to Live Theatre in Newcastle, the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and the Stockholms Stadsteater before coming home to the Market Theatre. Craig Higginson's second original play, The Girl in the Yellow Dress, is an exciting collaboration between the Market Theatre and two of the UK's most prestigious theatres. ..more info
Originally inspired by Ovid's story Echo and Narcissus and psychoanalytic writings on narcissism, The Girl in the Yellow Dress is set in contemporary Paris and deals with the exchanges between Celia, a beautiful English teacher in her late twenties, and Pierre, her younger French-Congolese pupil.
Brimming with humour, rage and longing, this celebrated new South African play provides a minute exploration of an increasingly hazardous romantic entanglement and an insight into some of the tensions between the 'first' and 'third' worlds. Part psychological thriller and part a State of the Nation analysis, it tackles issues such as language, power, identity, sex, past trauma, class, exile and refugees - tensions that run through South African society and beyond.
Malcolm Purkey, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre and best known for his international hit Sophiatown, directs leading UK actress Marianne Oldham (nominated for the prestigious Stage Award for this production) in the role of Celia, and emerging South African talent Nat Ramabulana as Pierre.
Reviews from the Edinburgh Festival
"Higginson . is clearly gifted. He not only filters pressing concerns about race, prejudice and power through a highly charged two-hander, but he wraps it all up in a witty discourse about language itself." - Daily Telegraph
"..it is unusual and fascinating to see a play investigate the extent to which words can shape our thoughts and feelings as much as vice versa." - Financial Times
"exposes some painfully ugly truths about race and class, wealth and victimhood . written and directed with great skill." - Scotsman (Pick of the Festival)
"Higginson's slick, precise dialogue builds the tension . There is, quite plainly, a formidable intellect at play.This piece challenges our received assumptions about ideology, language and sexuality to strong effect and comes recommended to thoughtful audiences." - The List
"a spell-binding two-hander.You'd be hard pressed to find a sexier scene this festival than the shared naked foot stroking that turns nasty, then violent. Marianne Oldham is the new Maggie Smith." - What's On Stage
"..this gripping two-hander is a highlight of the Traverse programme." - Evening Standard