RexFuzzle

Kombucha Basics

2025-08-18T20:44:48Z

This is my basic guide to brewing Kombucha. It is somewhere between a batch and continuous method, uses metric units and yields about 2l every 2 weeks depending on the temperature. It also assumes you have a healthy scoby with some kombucha already.

Brew some tea in an empty vessel. The absolute amount isn't important, but the ratio should be close to the following: 2l water, 6 tea bags (English breakfast), 200g sugar. Leave the bags in for 10min and ensure all the sugar is dissolved.
Leave it to cool- room temperature. Very important- hot tea will kill the scoby.
Once cool, add it to you scoby and left over Kombucha from your last brew.
Wait... Generally I don't bother tasting it till I see some bubbles, but you do you. This should take about 7 days. Keep it out of direct son, unsealed (cloth over the lid) and warmish 10-20 degC.
You're waiting for the right time to bottle for the second fermentation. My general rule of thumb is to wait till it doesn't have a sweet taste anymore. It should also be a bit fizzy. If you let it go too far it will be sour- eventually a bit like vinegar.
Now bottle 2l of it- I like to you two 1l bottles. You should be left with your scoby and some kombucha in the brewing vessel to which you'll add your tea again.
In the bottles you're going to do the 2nd fermentation. This isn't strictly speaking necessary, but it adds a lot of fizz and you can infuse some great flavor. Here are some ideas of things to add (For a 1l bottle):
1. Teaspoon of vanilla essence, tablespoon maple syrup
2. Juice of 1 lemon, 1Tbsp honey, 1Tbsp Grated ginger
3. Smashed fruit, e.g. 5 smashed strawberries, cherries, blueberries etc
Now seal your bottles and leave them for about a week. I like to use old plastic drinks bottles that way I can feel when they're nice and hard due to the pressure build up. Avoid glass as you'll always be worried that they'll pop from the pressure.
Start at 1 again and brew some tea to go back in the empty vessel.

Some maintenance required:

If the scoby gets more than 3cm thick it's time to halve it- so just pull a couple of the bottom layers off and give them to a friend, or blend them in a smoothie.
The yeast will leave brown bits of slime- when trimming your scoby you can clean the vessel and get rid of some of this. Remember to keep some of the kombucha though to kick start the brew again.

Be Brewing

Why Be Notified

2022-03-10T07:14:16Z

Why do we allow everything to notify us? We're letting devices decide what needs out attention- this is exactly the opposite of how our minds have evolved.

Think about a cave man- there was nothing beeping at them to say the fire was ready to cook on, or to remember to collect some water. In a way life forced you to keep your mind in order and remember things.

These days it feels like the exact opposite it happening. There is a beep, buzz or popup for everything. There is a theory that it all started with the alarm clock. Gone are the days of letting yourself wake up when your body decides it is the right time and I don't think we've looked back since.

These days everything is at war for our attention. Let's talk about some examples:

You're working, maybe even deep in thought about a problem and suddenly, the washing machine starts beeping to say that its done. Is that beep worth the interruption. Did you need to know right then and there that the washing was done? Are you now no longer in deep thought about the problem and wondering how long you can leave the washing in before you need to run it again? Which is more important?

You're busy having a conversation with somebody- in person and you're both really engaged and solving the world's problems. Now your phone starts ringing. Irrespective of if you answer it or now, the flow of conversation is broken. You inevitably have to go back to it and say, what was I saying- you may have even completely lost your train of thought- was it worth it? What if it isn't a call and just a ding about a message- how much of your attention is now on the message and who it is from and what it says?

And finally- you're reading a book. You've carved out the time in your day and intentionally made the decision that it is worthwhile reading. How many devices do you have that are able to take your undivided attention away from the book. Maybe its a light blinking in your periphery telling you it needs to be charged. Maybe its your smart watch that has a icon saying that your phone has unread messages- the list is endless.

I hope that I've made my point. I really think we should give our minds a rest and let our attention wonder to the things it wants to wander to- that is where real creativity happens in my opinion. The fact the silencing notifications and turning them off is often deliberately hard speaks volumes to the fact that they work and affect the usage of the app and hence the company's bottom line.

Put another way- our attention is now monetizable- we should keep tight control over where we choose to spend the valuable commodity and what is able to direct this attention elsewhere.

Be uninterrupted.

DIY Ti Engagement Ring

2022-02-13T19:55:03Z

For reasons that are still not entirely clear to me I decided to design and make my now fiancee an engagement ring. This story involves code, 3D printing, polishing, diamonds- buckle up, it could be a long one.

Why?

When I first starting thinking about a ring I went to local jewellery designer and told her what I wanted and then she ghosted me. Not the best of starts- I took it as a sign. The millennial part of me wanted something unique that had a bit of a story behind it. Obviously my fiancee is worth it, but I hope that a ring isn't the way I show her what she means. So it became a bit of a DIY project.

How?

There are 4 parts to this- the design, material, the diamond, code and the finishing.

Design?

Is it really design if you're just using data to inform your design? Is that the right question to ask?

First a couple of general things- I wanted it to be practical, comfortable and strong. Insert some comparison here to the person for who this is for.

Keeping that in mind the idea I had to was encode the GPS data from our first date into the ring. Now I hadn't actually been tracking our first walk, but managed (with some help) to mark out the points on an app and get the coordinates. These included latitude, longitude as well as elevation for each of the 400 points along the track.

Initially I had thought it would be quite cool if the ring looked a bit like the route. The problem was that the route looked like this:

First Walk Route

Now as can be seen, this is no circle- so just giving that some thickness and putting it on your finger probably wouldn't be very comfortable or practical. After some thought I decided to split it all up- this the latitudes, longitudes and elevation points. I wanted the inside of the ring to be smooth and so I had the outside edges to play with. I decided to use the latitude and longitude to determine the with on each side of the ring- this looked like this:

Side view of geo data

This might take some explaining- this is a side view. The straight line at the top is the inside edge of the ring, i.e. your finger would go vertically through it. The line below that is the latitude points and the line below that is the longitude points. Now, first things first- would you be able to reconstruct the walk using this data- no, not without the initial point and some scaling values. Sad-face.

The elevation was encoded into the thickness- there was one big hill we went up, so this came out like this:

Front view of elevation data

You should be able to see a smooth inside surface with the elevation profile of the walk along the bottom edge. This extended all the way around the ring.

Material

Now that there are over 1200 data points encoded into this ring there is no way somebody could manually machine it, so 3D printing it is. Some suppliers will print your design in a wax and then cast it in gold, however you loose quite a bit of the resolution like that. Now Direct Metal Laser Sintering allows you to print in metal- cool! There are a couple of metals to choose from, but one in particular caught my eye- Titanium- TI6Al4V to be precise. Design spec was to be strong- not much can beat titanium.

There are various warnings about making rings using titanium, the greatest fear seems to be that you can't get it off because you can't cut it with a part of pliers if you knuckle swells or something like that. I decided to work around this by not joining the ring up- the diamond will be linking the ends. By removing the diamond you can grab each end with a pair of pliers and bend it open. This would obviously be a destructive act, but I'm assuming that there are more important issues at the point when you're taking the diamond out of the ring. Now I hear your asking how do you simply take the diamond out- fear not- I cover that in the next section.

Another plus for the titanium camp- there is a lot of it, and its relatively easy to mine, so you're not supporting child/slave labour by using it. It can also be anodised to all kinds of cool colours, but fiancee drew the line there.

Diamond

Now, the elephant in the room- engagement rings usually have diamonds in this which was a marketing ploy from the 1930's. There are serious questions about how they are mined and how the price is tightly controlled. Having said all that- sometimes you just want what you want and my fiancee wanted a diamond- she's the one that is going to wear it, so its up to her. I have to admit they they are very sparkly and pretty, (also the hardest known thing to man) .

The nice thing about buying a diamond is that is comes with a certificate that has its exact dimensions on it.

Diamond dimensions

This enabled me to design the ring to fit the diamond exactly.

So the ring that is no longer just a boring circle- now it has to hold a stone. What's more is that diamonds look better with more light, so we want to hold it as little as possible without dropping it.

Generally stone setting is done by putting the bottom into a hole and wrapping some prongs around the top to keep it in place. This is usually done with some very specialised tools and gold. Titanium is not gold and so bending it scares me. We're also building something unique, so let's just YOLO and try something.

What if we used the fact that titanium is so strong to our advantage to hold the diamond tight. The idea being that we're print the ring to be a certain size, then use a vice to make it smaller (Still within the elastic deformation part), put the diamond in place, let the vice go and then the diamond would be pinched in. I wish I could claim this was my idea, but it is relatively common and called tension setting. All the ones that I have seen work by using force to open the ring up and put the stone in- What if I could do it the other way around and close it up a bit. This means that the two ends would need to go past each other and grab the stone from the other side. If none of that made any sense, maybe this picture will:

Compression setting?

Now you might be able to spot the problem here- the two "claws" go through the diamond and through each other- this just won't do.

So the next section is all about how I've been doing this "design" and how I essentially wrote code to generate the design. Feel free to skip ahead if code isn't you deal.

Design by Code

I've been a big fan of OpenSCAD for a while and so decided to use it for this project. Due to the data that I needed to encode I decided a but of python was to read the data, smooth it and so forth. Little did I know this would be needed a lot more than I thought.

Most of the features in the ring are polyhedra- this means that each point has to be defined manually, i.e. an x, y and z coordinate for every point in the model. Once you have every point you have to join them up into triangles by defining the set of nodes that creates the face of the triangle. If you've done all of that right then you should end up with a complete solid that represents what you're trying to make. I should state- none of this was done manually and needed a lot of trigonometry to define all the points by simply giving a desired radius, thickness and width.

This was all going well for the ring with the data encoded in it as the following picture shows, albeit with a rough resolution.

Polyhedra making a ring

The fun really started when making the claws. I knew the points that made up the end of the ring and I knew the points of the bottom of the claw, but just linking them together as shown in a previous image interferes with the link from the other side as well as the diamond.

The solution was to deform the line using a curve that I could control. I experimented a bit and found a cosine for the width, tangent for the height and nothing for the remaining dimention. This got me to something like this:

Simple curve

Now some of you may have noticed the fact that the bottom face it a curve on the claw and straight on the bottom of the ring- this caused untold problems with the polyhedra, but also meant that it looked a bit square. It was also a bit think where it joined the claw which didn't feel like it would be particularly strong.

As luck would have it there was a simple solution- use the side edge of the ring and link that to the curved part of the claw, resulting in:

Side to bottom connection

This had the added benefit of making a nice hole for the diamond:

Nice space for the diamond

Hmm, so this section about code doesn't actually contain any code. Maybe that's for the better- its not exactly pretty.

Finishing

So now we have a design and its time to print it. Something important to note here- this is very small! Many metal printing services only have a resolution of 0.5mm. Some of the features on here are that size- I needed to find something a lit better. Protolabs was the only one I found that fit the bill that printed up to 2 micron- that'll do nicely!

So after triple checking my dimensions and sizing I uploaded model, paid them some money and the next thing it arrived- what a day!

Freshly printed ring

So that't pretty cool- my dimensions were right and it has a nice matt finish to it. Once again, the eagle eyed among you might have noticed a slight problem...

Skew claws

The claws are not parallel. After a chat with protolabs it comes down to the way it is printed and having that one claw hanging out so far and not being supported is a problem. Something to fix in the next one? Using a lot of force (Did I mention titanium is strong?) I was able to get it straight enough.

Now titanium can easily be anodised to all types of cool colours, but I was informed that a blue ring was not desired, so this one remained silver. But to get it silver took a fair amount of polishing.

The 3D printing process does not leave a perfect surface and so I started sanding at 100 grit and worked my way all the way to 2500.

Starting at 100 felt like I was just scratching it

This not being my day job, I had to make a couple of additions to my desk to make the dremel work a bit easier:

Code meets real life

I also decided to leave the outside edge with its 3D printed finish as I think this gives it a nice but of contrast:

Sides a polished, outer edge left as printed.

At this point I was quite chuffed with myself, but I had been ignoring the elephant in the room. Would the diamond fit and would I be able to get it into place.

At this point I was about a month into this project and let's just say I was more then a little nervous. I had made the situation worse by putting the ring in the vice before polishing it just to see what happened when you squeezed it closed. The result did not inspire confidence as the two pieces that went to the claws started hitting each other and pushed the claws out of alignment. I think I started polishing at that point because I figured that should go well and build up some confidence.

So polishing done, it was time to get this little hard piece of carbon, that costs more than it should, into place. Just to add to the pressure I read a few things warning that diamonds are hard, but not strong, so a sharp point force in the wrong place could crack them. I mentioned titanium is hard right?

Another round of polishing later and I could not delay this any more. It took longer than my nerves wanted, but eventually after some repositioning in the vice to push the claws back into line I had a result. It was pretty uneventful in the end, but I started laughing manically. I had made a thing. Fiancee wanted to know what all the fuss was about and I nearly walked in proposed right then and there, but managed to resist and just kept laughing.

I love the final result, but naturally I'm biased. Fiancee loves it too and that's all that matters at the end of the day.

I would like to thank a couple of people- Ruth and Miranda for some design guidelines, Protolabs for the quick turnaround and explanations and last by not least- Fiancee- the key to this project.

If you have any questions, please reach out- I'm on twitter or you can email me at hello@rexfuzzle.com

Be unique!

Why

2021-12-17T12:16:12Z

Begin

Life happens

You meet people

You get to know them

You spend time together

You become close

You share life

You love

Why

Be having a reason why

A Good Highland Road

2021-12-04T07:23:11Z

So its coming up to the middle of winter and I'm thinking back to the glorious summer and this amazing road through the Scottish highlands. Yes, I could tell you where it was and where it was going, but that's not the point- there are many roads like this- the point is being out there and finding your own one.

Be finding roads

DIY Starlight

2021-10-31T19:48:59Z

So with light pollution being what it is, I decided to make my own stars. Here is a horrible video of it, because as it turns out its quite hard to film fake stars:

TL;DR: ESP32 running esphome drives a IS31FL3731 connected to a matrix of charlieplexed LEDs.

So first things first- LEDs. I wanted some really small ones, but can't solder things that small. Luckily AliExpress has a solution- these ones. Basically they're 0603 LEDs that are soldered to some coated wires and dipped in resin to protect them. This makes them very easy to solder to the grid. Speaking of, I needed some coated wire too- AliExpress sent me this- 100m of 0.5mm enamelled wire. I also learnt that the coating on wires can be burnt off when soldering it, so no need to struggle getting the coating off.

Now we have the lights, but we need a way of controlling them- I chose an esp32 based board, specifically the Lolin D32- these can be had for a couple of bucks and can do a lot more than just drive a some LEDs. Unfortunately they can't quite drive all the LEDs on their own, so I got an IS32FL3731- well I got the Adafruit version of it- this one to be precise. It talks to the esp32 via SPI so that's nice and simple.

Now this board uses charlieplexing to drive the LEDs- let me explain what that means. It allows you to control many more LEDs that you have wires- the exact ratio is n*(n-1) where n is the number of output wires you have. It takes advantage of the fact that LEDs only allow current to flow in one direction. The simplest example is if you have two wires, you can connect two LEDs between them, in opposite orientations, i.e. the anodes and cathodes on the opposite sides, then by switching the polarity of the current applied to the two wires you can switch each LED on individually. Wikipeadia has a lot more detail if you're interested.

So now we've got all the bits and pieces, it is time to solver up a grid. I chose to not try and do this while it was suspended above my bed and instead made a frame on the living room floor and spent a weekend on my knees trying not to burn the carpet. Here is a closeup of the result:

Once all the hardware was done it was time to look at the software. I have an instance of home assistant running and it works with esphome devices. The problem is that esphome does not support the IS32FL3731 and couple that with the fact that I want to use it as a light and not a display meant that I got antiquated with custom components in esphome. The code is all available here, but I'll run through the basics here.

I wanted to creating a constant twinkling effect- that turned out to be fading one LED on whilst fading another one off. I chose to have 50% of them on at any one time and it choses which two to swap randomly which is quite soothing, but also fun to watch. I used the brightness control to limit the brightness of all the LEDs that are on, i.e. if the brightness is set at 50% then all of the LEDs that are on are at 50%. This could be improved in the future to have some dimmer leds to mix things up a bit.

The custom light component isn't quite set up to do this and the addressable one proved impossible to adapt to the IS32FL3731 so I ended up putting all the logic in the loop section of the component. The first couple of iterations of the software took too long to loop and caused all types of problems with the connection to home assistant and OTA updates. Eventually, thanks to some help from the esphome discord, I limited the time spent in the loop as much as possible and it all worked.

I haven't included the code in this post, but it is all available here and I've placed links to certain sections through this post.

The loop runs about every 16ms and I can change about 2 LEDs in this time with everything else that is going on. This is not a lot and so brightness changes take a while, but I think it adds to the aesthetic and there aren't any bright flashes or sudden changes which is nice.

There are a couple of things that have to be added to the config yaml which are not obvious- the libraries are one, especially unexpected ones. The lambda section is also a bit strange. Finally the default gamma correction does not play nicely with the brightness adjustments and so that is set to 1.

Finally I built in some transitions into home assistant. This makes for a very nice wake up light. The automation simply activates the scene with a 30s transition time.

All in all this was a fun project and is great to watch the the stars twinkle and try to predict the next one to change. Writing some C code again for a change was also great fun and got a painful reminder that uint8s range is from -128 to 128 and they wrap around- obviously, but not so much until you print them out to try and debug it.

Be Wishing on a Star

Personal Activities Heatmap

2021-09-08T06:49:02Z

So Strava makes these things called heatmaps which overlays all your activities on a map. There is a very cool global interactive version available here.

They will show you your own personal version if you pay for a premium subscription. I wanted one to print out and hang on a wall. This you cannot pay for. So I decided to make one myself.

Step 1: Data

Downloading your personal archive from strava is pretty easy- you get a big zip file with all your activities and photos you've uploaded. Instructions for doing this are here.

Step 2: Convert to GeoJSON

The next step was not so easy. I ended up having to write a script that goes through all these files, pulls out the GPS data converts it to GeoJSON format. I've published the code for this here. Its pretty rough, but does the job.

Step 3: Make a map

After that it was relatively easy. Mapbox has a great tool called Studio. The free tier on mapbox is relatively generous and allows you to upload the GeoJSON file and put it on a map and have all the control you'll even need in terms of colours, fonts, formatting and so forth. You can then export it too. They allow exporting up to and 8000x8000px png.

This step may have been easy, but definitely took the longest. I ended up exporting 6 different images and then stitching them together to get something big enough for an A1 size poster. Top tip: Use the URL in mapbox studio- this allows you to keep one coordinate fixed and move by a fixed amount for every export. Make stitching them together a lot easier.

Conclusion

Now a word about why the heatmap in the image above has so many colours. It contains two people's data. So my data is green and blue with blue being areas that are more used than others. My partner's activities are purple and red, with red being the more used areas.

Each of these heatmaps is was then set to an opacity of 50% allowing them to mix together (The orange colour) and so the heatmap shows all of our activities, how often we did a certain route and which routes we did together.

© Mapbox, © OpenStreetMap

Perth, Scotland

2021-04-17T07:07:22Z

As it turns out there is a Perth in Scotland and it can be rather pretty.

Developer Capital

2020-07-24T13:30:14Z

I think there is a thing called developer capital. In its simplest form it is when you help somebody with something, be it a PR review or a bug in a piece of code then you build up a bit of capital, or brownie points if you will.

The next time you're having an issue this somebody, to some greater or lesser extent, feels a bit indebted to you and so they will offer to help. How do I know this? Well that is how I often feel. Its essentially the you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours of the coding world.

There is however a problem. Developers tend to be on different levels and so generally speaking I can help somebody who knows a little less than I do, but will struggle to help somebody who knows more. When I'm having fun with a tricky bug, then I generally need somebody who knows more than me to help.

Now you might think that might cause a bit of an imbalance as you have no way of building up capital with the person who knows more than you. Essentially the capital only flows in one direction, from the person who knows the most to the person that knows the least.

Once you know this it is easy as you just have to always help the person who knows less than you and have some trust in the system that somebody that knows more than you will help you.

Be Helping

This too is Relative

2020-04-30T17:32:19Z

So the world is a different place right now. A large proportion of the world's population is in lock-down of some form or another. Life might look a whole lot different right now.

Something that I have to keep on reminding myself of is that this is relative. I have no been on this earth for more than 30 years and somehow the last 6 weeks feel like that have gone on forever and I can't wait to go back to normal. But has it really been forever, 6weeks/30years is 0.3%. Hardly forever.

Somehow when we're in the midst of something it is huge and the only thing we can see. Kinda like walking in a canyon- the mountains around you are huge and ominous and all you want to do is climb the closest one to get out. Somehow that seems like a better alternative than admiring the river that made the canyon and just following it as it leads you out the easy way.

Yes, for now that might mean sitting at home more than you would normally want to, or changing some aspect of your life that you had no intention of changing, but the fact of the matter is, is that this too shall pass. One day we'll be able to fly over this canyon in our memories and think back to having all this time on our hands and how pretty is actually is- if nothing else if is making us appreciate our freedom in a way that will be impossible to forget.

Be appreciating.

Dulwich College

2020-04-12T13:17:14Z

Sometimes there is something you go past often but it is never the right time to stop for a photo, well today it was the right time.

Don't have an Awesome Day

2020-02-27T07:09:13Z

You know when you're saying goodbye to someone or wishing them well you might end up saying something like "Have a nice day" or "Have a great time" or if you're being ambitious "Have an awesome day"- maybe all of those are completely wrong. Taking it a step further, maybe even saying something like "Hope you have an awesome day" is wrong. Let's be clear- the hope is probably (hopefully) not wrong, but having a certain day might be.

Yes, sometimes things happen that are outside of our control and you can have a bad day or a good day for those reasons, but more often than not, a day is a day is a day and having it might be the wrong way to go about it.

Maybe what we should be doing instead is making it an awesome day. Hmm, now how to we wish somebody would make it an awesome day? Saying "Hope you make it an awesome day" sounds very odd, possibly offensive, but maybe it is actually true. I really do hope that somebody can make their day awesome, even if it is just a bog standard Wednesday in the middle of some month.

The bigger point is that we shouldn't be waiting to have an awesome day, but rather be making our own day awesome and hoping that everybody else can do the same.

Be making your day Awesome

Albert Bridge

2020-02-15T21:36:02Z

Sometimes things belong in a different time, for example when colour photos weren't a thing yet.

Be Crossing Bridges

Do Something Exceptional

2020-02-09T23:37:00Z

Sometimes the world is a scary place. The easy option is to sit and watch other people being exceptional. This gives you the satisfaction of watching somebody else being exceptional, but that fades quickly. The problem is that youtube/netflix/modern internet gives us unlimited access to watching other people being exceptional. We can essentially have a constant high just by watching other people doing amazing things.

The scary part is that now we no longer want to do something exceptional ourselves.

Slight side note: The very action of putting it on youtube might in itself be destroying the exceptionality work. Maybe the best way of showing off what you've done is by sitting down with somebody and chatting to them, forming a connection and showing you're a normal human, just like them who also happens to have done something exceptional. Side note done.

Anyway, the point of this is that I have to believe that every single person has something exceptional in them and that their life has meaning. The alternative is too sad to contemplate. Once we accept the premise that everybody has that something in them, the question is quite simply, how do we unlock it. I think we can all agree that if everybody was not just living up to their potential, but far exceeding it, then the world would be a much better place.

And I think the side note might actually be the solution. When we watch somebody do something amazing we have no idea what they went through to get to that point, but if we share what we've done and make a connection with somebody, then hopefully they can see that the person in front of them is just like them and that they too can do something exceptional.

Be Exceptional.

Time really does fly

2020-02-06T07:08:16Z

I was reading something the other day that pointed out that time really does fly the older you get because relatively speaking it is less.

Let me explain; when you're 4 years old and a year passes, your life just got longer by a quarter or 25%. Now when you're 50 and a year passes, suddenly your life only got longer by one in fifty, or 2%. So relatively speaking, that year doesn't add that much to your life and because you are comparing it to all your other years, of which there are many now, it essentially flew by.

Now maybe this is a good thing as it might be a bad year and you want to get it over with and let it be forgotten amongst all the other years, in which case I'm sorry, and maybe next year will be better. But years are arbitrary anyway, so why not start your good new year right now.

Now that you're on a good year, maybe you actually don't want the years to fly by and you want to experience everything and not just think that it flew by. Well, I think that is quite simple too- in reality, a second is a second and there are 60 of them in a minute and 60 of them in an hour and so on (Unless decimal time becomes a thing). Anyway, focussing on the present and not looking back, not comparing to the past means that a second stays a second and you should not be considering it relative to all the other seconds you've had. So stop comparing and realise that the second you have now is the same as the second you had when you were 4. Like my dad always says: "Everybody has the same amount of time, just depends on how you use it."

Be counting every second.

Lonely Tree

2020-01-27T18:53:00Z

I wonder if trees get lonely

No Game Pain

2020-01-23T15:32:00Z

So the other day I experienced pain so bad that for the first time in my adult life I cried due to physical pain.

First things first, it was just my feet that got very cold and then I tried to warm them up in the shower. I can honestly say that I have never experienced anything like it. At first I thought I could grin and bear it, then I was clenching my teeth and it just kept on getting worse and worse until there was no other option but to cry about it and that didn't even help. What on earth are you supposed to do in this situation?

Crying about it is also maybe an exaggeration of what actually happened, it was more of a wail, but there were real tears.

Up to that point I'd obviously known that it is possible to cry when something is really painful, but just thought that either people were wimps or I'd just never experienced pain like that, turns out it was the latter. It has also given me a good reference point for what is a lot of pain, i.e. I'm trying to see this as a positive and now I know, that stubbing your toe, or slamming your fingers in the door are all actually things to shake off, and that in the real world there is pain that exists, that will literally make you cry and put everything else into perspective.

Be Painfully Aware.

Golden Porto

2020-01-22T10:56:00Z

On a very hot trip to Porto golden hour was very golden. Also, port comes from Porto, who knew.

Just By Chance

2020-01-21T11:51:00Z

So today my locker at the pool was broken. Turns out there was a coin stuck in it... A South African R5 coin, in a pool locker in London, England, more than 12000km away. What are the chances?

Now first things first, it kind of makes sense in a way- the locker usually takes a £1 coin, so putting R5 in is a good saving. The fact that when you open the locker again you get your coin back is neither here nor there, but still.

Anyway, I guess the point is that sometimes things happen that remind you how random everything is and simply the fact that we exist is such a collection of probabilities all strung together that one can only marvel at it all.

Be Chancing It

Boo Run

2019-12-30T11:56:00Z

So I run a fair amount and on most days nothing out of the ordinary happens, but the other day somebody said boo.

Hmm, I might need to explain that better. I was running along, minding my own business, earphones in, doing my own thing, running past people. One of these people decided to stick their arm out and shout "Boo!". I wasn't sure how to react, so I decided to ignore it completely, in fact I shook my head a little as I kept on running.

Looking back on the incident I wish I had gone back and asked why they did it, or what kind of reaction they were hoping for. It also crossed my mind that I might know them in which case I'm sorry, but maybe boo isn't the right thing to be shouting when you see somebody you know.

Anyway, in future I think I need a different reaction as I don't think ignoring it is the right thing to do.

Be Reactive

London Rising

2019-12-26T21:09:30Z

On a particularly difficult day I was greeted with this sunrise in what can sometimes feel like the greyest place on earth.

Be Rising

My Favourite Travel Story

2019-12-22T12:00:00Z

One day I was walking home from work (You see what I did there- travel happens every day, you just have to think differently) and I heard a bit of a commotion above me.

As I looked up, a nut was heading in my direction. I made my attempt at dodging said projectile and succeeded (No point in having wounded pride in your favourite travel story).

Anyway, on closer inspection, the perpetrator was a squirrel. This squirrel, knowing that it had wronged me, decided to make a run for it and hid behind the trunk of the tree, leaving me both perplexed and bemused.

I would imagine there is some internal squirrel league for hitting things with nuts and a moving human target would obviously have gathered many points, but it was not to be. Today I was the one that got away.

Be Travelling

Forest Path

2019-12-21T09:00:00Z

On a run through a Finnish forest there was a very nice piece of single track. The run was actually mostly over a marsh with planks over it to make track (bridge?).

Be Running (In Finland)

Single Date

2019-12-19T05:51:00Z

So I was at an event the other day and the subject turned to dating, specifically online dating. There were two definite sides to this- the boys and the girls.

The guys (One in particular if I'm honest) were bemoaning the fact that no matter how many messages they sent or likes they did(made) their return on like (ROL?) was limited and seemingly random and not at all related to the effort put into the opening message.

The girls on the other hand said that their inbox was simply flooded with messages and all too often containing some inappropriate media of their would be suitors. All in all this seems like a lot of wasted effort on all sides and feels like something that could be optimised.

The solution seems simple. Only allow one ongoing conversation at a time. You can only send a message to somebody if they have no other ongoing conversations. If you're talking to somebody and get a bit bored you have a choice to make, either keep on being a bit bored and see if something works out, or end the conversation and wait for a new message or send one to somebody yourself.

On the other side, once you have sent a message to somebody who is available, they become unavailable until they decide to answer your message, or reject it (and you). In that way you should have direct feedback and not just send messages out into the wild and never really have closure on what happened with them.

I think the problem with this whole thing is that at the end of the day there has to be a shift in the way people think about dating or even just meeting people online. Yes, the internet has enabled you to connect to a limitless number of people, but maybe that isn't a good thing. Sure having two or more people "one the go" while you're getting to know them will still be possible, but getting direct feedback and ending the ability to put in unlimited effort for diminishing returns (or on the other side, being barraged by an unreadable number of messages) should be worthy sacrifices.

Be Going On Date (Singular)

Lesotho Sky

2019-12-16T17:00:00Z

Sunsets happen every day, sometimes they take a bit of a hike to get to. This one was taken at the top of Baboon's pass. It also included a visit from some lovely locals.

Be Exploring

Home

2019-12-15T17:00:00Z

Sometimes home is what the heart wants, in fact I guess the heart wants what it wants and from my experience it keeps on wanting it till you give it to it. I once had a Cinnabon craving for 6 months and eventually gave in an bought one and was very happy.

Anyway, point being I was fortunate enough to spend some time at home with the people that I love most in life and this picture somehow sums it up a bit.

Be Home

Dating

2019-12-12T18:01:00Z

What is the point of doing things on dates that you'll only ever do on dates. Real life is not a series of dates, it is doing laundry together, doing the dishes, cleaning the house. Ok, I've spent the whole weekend cleaning so that is all that is on my mind, but I think you get the point.

I've recently grown quite fond of going to IKEA with people and think I could make quite a strong argument for why it is a very good dating spot. You learn so much about somebody, firstly for simply suggesting it, then to see if the actually turn up (Although keeping it a secret might be a better option) and then you actually get to know a person and why they like very fluffy white cushions, or not like death-star like lamp shades. Anyway, even if it is a total bust you go to IKEA for an evening which is the best time to go and maybe you get to know somebody in a very unique and possibly very practical way.

How about making dates more representative of real life- ask somebody to wait in a queue with you, apply for a new passport together. In short, making dating more like real life as that is the point at the end of the day is it not- you want to spend you life with the person, so do things that are representative of real life.

Be Dating

Fail

2019-12-09T18:37:00Z

My name is Grant Stephens and sometimes I fail. Most recently at a choral audition. It really sucks. I mean it is by no means the end of the world and there are certainly worse things that have happened out there, but in that moment all you can think about it how you have failed and how much it hurts.

I'm sure there are similar steps for failure as there are for grief, something like denial, acceptance, anger, bargaining and depression but I think there is a big one missing for failure and that is learning from it. The problem is that society does not expect that. There seems to be a stigma around talking about our failures and when we can't talk about them, how are we supposed to learn from them.

So I guess this is a first step in changing that- I want to talk about my failures as I think that is how I can grow from them. So this is the start- admitting a time when I failed and acknowledging that it hurt and still does.

Be Failing

Reflective

2019-12-08T18:29:47Z

So I've been traveling a bit recently and besides all the usual benefits of travelling I always find it very interesting to return and how suddenly things have a new perspective. Always makes me wonder if it would be possible to get this reflective perspective without the travel.
Be reflective

Rained Lights

2018-05-13T07:41:27Z

Sometimes you focus on the wrong thing and that can be pretty too.

Be Focussed

Blockchain Government

2016-08-05T22:00:00Z

So the recent government elections here in South Africa got me thinking-
there must be a better way. Keeping a government accountable should not
only happen every 4/5 years. The technology exists to make this process
nearly instant. Not only that, but there exists a space where you may
not agree with a certain party on all issues and this should be
expressed.
The following is based on something called the DAO, but modified for
governments. Imagine that every citizen of a country (of voting age) has
a token. This token is essentially your vote, but it is transferrable at
any time. For the most part you are quite liberal and transfer your
token to your favourite liberal party. Now your party has your token,
plus all the other tokens of other people that agree with their
principles.
Now comes the time for a decision to be made in parliament. All the
options are laid forth and the parties put their tokens towards the
decision that they agree with. The decision with the most tokens wins,
simple.
Now lets assume that for the most part you agree with your chosen party
on all the issues being voted upon so you are happy with them
controlling your token, but then, along comes an issue that is very
close to your heart and you do not agree with them. Now you have
immediate action, you can move your token to another party, or simple
use your token to vote a different way on sed decision.
There is also no need for a parliament. In order to bring a certain
issue up to be voted upon a certain number of tokens is needed. The
proposal/decision is then published and after a specified amount of time
a decision is reached based on the token allocations.
The strength of the system lies in the block chain. Each token is
anonymous, except parties/curators. This is to ensure that everybody can
see which way a party/public figure has voted in the past and ensures
accountability. The parties/curators are the miners- this means that
they verify the transactions on the chain, with no party being able hold
a majority in terms of verification, thus ensuring a fair system. Mining
will not work like a crypto-currency where it is CPU or GPU intensive
and will merely act as a verification process.
With all the transactions being verified on the chain there is total
transparency as to which party has how many tokens at any one point and
how they voted with those tokens.
Finally a word on practical matters. Ideally your token should be linked
to your fingerprint or some other physical feature that cannot be
replicated. In theory this means that you could control your token using
a fingerprint enabled smart phone. In practice however I think that a
number of token terminals will be needed in the country where you can
log in and control your token. These essentially serve as continous
voting booths.
Naturally this is very much like a direct democracy, but I think that
due to the continous nature of the system and the near instant feedback
weather or not your party agrees with the decision you have made make
for a more accountable and fast moving government.
Be Governing (Accountably)

Blog Back

2016-07-30T20:38:00Z

So here we are- the blog is back! Yay!
It may have taken a while and the layout is certainly not perfect, but its back and it even has all the old posts. This was no small feat, but its all there.
Much has changed in the past few years (The last blog entry was in 2014) and I will share as needed. The work that I am currently doing involves a large amount of coding and so fixing the blog to a new faster thing was certainly due and with some new skills was certainly possible.
One thing that should be quite cool is the number of photos that I now have stored up and ready to use, so look out for some of those and I look forward to sharing them with you. I am living in a place that has a large number of mountains to climb and have been quite busy with that so the photos will mostly be that, but the usual sunsets and so forth should also make an appearance here and there.
I am also typing this from a new keyboard. This may seem like a small and in consequential thing but this particular keyboard is rather different as it is mechanical and quite loud, but also a lot of fun. i can't quite explain that but there is something slightly primal about hearing the keys you are hitting and getting a very satisfying click from them.
Anyway, I fear that may be enough rambling for the time being. I for one however am very glad to be back.
Be Back

Good Negative

2014-10-19T01:04:56Z

So recently I've been doing some work on this and that and noticed something. It is very difficult to get a negative comment on something that you've made or done. For example, I made a facebook cover page for something a friend of mine and I are going to launch. I wasn't particularly impressed with the page, but uploaded it and asked for his comment. Nothing- only that looks good. Similar thing happened with a video I made, nothing but no comment or that looks good kinda vibe. Maybe I'm too cynical or something but I simple don't believe it, that or people have lost opinions along the way.
This is very easy to blame on many things, but I think facebook may have a large part to play here. In general only positive comments are socially acceptable. There is no dislike button and negative comments are very often labeled as trolling. The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the poster only learns what what gets the most likes, but never learns how to improve. I suppose a general comment about how the world is obsessed with getting likes, or being more blunt, being liked. Supposedly it is human nature to want to be liked, but I think the irony is that the people that are truly like are those that have done the most improving and realised that it is not about being liked. I would also like to add that there is a very definite line between useful negative criticism and general negativity. Going to any comments section it is possible to see some general negativity, but when asking those commenters about the specifics or how they would do it is often possible to silence them.
Solutions? I don't like outlining a problem with no solutions, so this is a stab at one (Hopefully you like it...). I've started asking for one negative comment when asking for feedback. Simple as that- there has to be something wrong with everything.
Be Constructively Negative

Speed Listening

2014-09-01T20:21:59Z

So by the title the idea is simple. Speed up whatever you're listening to so that you can get though it faster. I've been playing around with this a bit and found that I can quite easily listen to podcasts at around 1.5x but I'm slowly increasing the speed from there. Numbers around 4x have been thrown around on the web, so that would be interesting.
Anyway, whilst quickly listening to something the other day I was struck by the number of silences in the audio. I listen to talk show podcasts like TWIT etc and there are lots of pauses which seem to be more pronounced, or stand out more when the audio is speeded up. This got me to thinking- what if it were possible to cut out all the pauses. That way there would be no break in the audio and I could speed it up even more. Now a problem that I can see is that it would be difficult to decipher the difference between sentences and so a small audio cue might have to be put in place of the pauses. The reason for this is so that the sound stays at a constant volume as I have hunch that the jerkiness of fast audio is due to changes in the volume.
So where to from here? Well, I've started looking into editing audio and taking out the gaps automatically- ideally an app that did this on the fly would be ideal, but we'll have to see how it goes.
The whole thing came about due to me wanting to know more and more exists out there, but getting it in takes time and reading is not always an option, so maybe we can take in more like this, who knows?
Be Speed-Listening

Dakar Pano

2014-07-08T19:20:40Z

So it's been a while since I posted a photo... Might be going on a slight Dakar photo binge for a while, but I'll try to make them as generic as possible. This one is in Chile, somewhere in the Atacama.

Buffet of Girls and Bad Hair

2014-07-07T18:47:17Z

So I recently went surfing, well attempted to anyway. In a word, it was cold. I somehow managed to choose a terrible day to go surfing- there was a cold wind and the water wasn’t exactly warm either. But there we were- in Durban, at sunrise, surfing. Let me clarify a few things- we being myself and a friend from work who offered to show me how its done, sunrise, being the time when we were supposed to see the sun rising but couldn’t due to the overcast rainy weather and surfing loosely interpreted as trying to stand up on a board whilst riding a wave.
Whilst out on the bitterly cold ocean a few things struck me- one was that I quite enjoyed it. The cold was a factor that would most probably change quite easily and could easily be fixed with a wetsuit or other apparel. Two was that everybody had bad hair- I do not think there is a single person in the world with hair that could get through the waves and have good hair, especially girls. It is awesome and I really really enjoyed seeing it as it put everybody on the same level- no makeup, skimpy costumes, fancy clothes etc, just a bunch of humans on in the waves with a common purpose. I can see why the surfing community in general is quite a close knit group.
Now a buffet of girls is not my phase, but it made me laugh. On chatting to a new found friend he mentioned the distinct lack of the buffet of girls he was promised down in Ballito. Oh, Ballito is where I live now- its kinda cool actually. Anyway, I suppose its one of those preconceived ideas that many people have about certain places. In this case, that the girls in Ballito would be, A, plentiful and B, walking along the beach ready to be chosen as suitable chat-up material, or so I would assume is meant by buffet of girls. None the less said friend had not found this buffet and I commiserated the fact with him.
Onwards and upwards as my new boss would say- I’m enjoying life down here and feel that it is where i need to be. I do apologise for the distinctly self centred post about myself, but it is hard to give news about Grant Stephens in the third person.
Be the Buffet (Or rather don’t)

Why be cool?

2014-05-18T18:01:18Z

Note: Spoilers if you haven't seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
So when you see yourself on the cover of Time magazine and you're walking with your girl, why don't you buy one? My theory is that most people will try to be cool and not get one to impress the girl. The situation holds for a girl I dare say. Anyway, what in our human nature tells us to do things like this? Why is it considered cool. It is rather obvious that you will buy one, no? Are there many bragging rights to having been on the cover and not own a copy?
Anyway, this could go on but I think the point is that we should all be ourselves. Personally I'd buy one but wouldn't frame it until Im sure it is my only one.
Be on the cover!

Night Boat

2014-03-09T17:59:42Z

So it has been a while, but when it's summer time then there are night like this one. Good Times.
Be Boating

The Dakar Adventure Begins

2013-12-28T20:27:07Z

So the last two and a bit months have been a little crazy, ok, maybe flat-out insane would be a better description. I am officially the race engineer for the DMack/Barden Dakar rally team which starts on the 5th of January 2014. I will somehow try to explain all that now.
I saw a tweet and took a chance by giving my qualifications and asking if they needed another team member. Later that day had an interview, and by the end of the day I had the job. The Dakar rally is the toughest race on earth, with close to 6000km of racing over two weeks in some of the harvest conditions on earth. The 2014 edition will be taking place in Argentina and Chile for the vehicles. Highlights include going over the Andes and through the driest place on earth, the Atacama desert.
Anyway, over the last few months I have stripped and rebuilt a race car which was a new experience. Work hours were often from 5am to 11pm and sometimes more. I have never learnt more in such a short space of time (Relatively of course). The car left here on the 15th of December and so I have had a week or two off.
Tomorrow is the day though. At sometime around 10 we leave to join the car in a place called Zarat, just outside Buenos Ares. We have a few days of testing and then we head to the start in Rosario.
Anyway, I thought that I should update this blog of mine which has very much fallen out the window since all of this happened. If you want to follow the progress there are multiple options given below. I will try to update here as often as possible but time is a big factor over there so we shall just have to wait and see.
My Twitter:

Growing on Up

2013-09-30T07:58:40Z

So this weekend I went to a friend of mine's wedding. On the surface a normal occurrence, but lying in bed now it does not feel that way.
This was a friend who I have known for over 6 years. To me that is an old friend. Anyway, now she's married and leading a different life. I don't mean that in a bad way, but by comparison I am still somehow studying and she's married and working. This led me to look around the room at the wedding and see that most people were working. This has two influences, money and work stories. Very different to a lot less money and student stories. I digress, point being I think it may be time to grow up a bit.
Then again, am I ready to be sucked into a consumerist world where one works from paycheck to paycheck looking for security and a place to feel safe. This was another debate that was had on the trip to and from the wedding- security vs freedom. It is human nature to want security, but the way of the world has resulted in this diminishing their freedom.
So anyway, I suppose if you want to learn anything from all of this it is that we all have to grow up at some point but I am quite keen on keeping my freedom!
Be a free grownup

The Problem with Stuff

2013-09-04T19:06:52Z

So after watching close on 2 hours worth of interviews with people like Elon Musk and Richard Branson (Running simulations leaves a lot of free time) I have come to the following conclusions:
Ideas do not simply happen as you're walking down the road- there needs to be a problem, in this hypothetical the cars might be a hindrance and so you think of the side-walk. Point being, if one does not have things that are problems then one does not come up with ideas to solve these problems.
This leads to the next point. I believe I am extremely fortunate to not have any problems, well, real problems- I'm not starving or homeless or ill and those are the type of problems that should be worked on as I think they are the most important. Or are they? Are they simply the effect of other problems that need to be solved?
Now where is this all leading. Well I'm not entirely sure, but there are more things that I am sure about. At some point life becomes a series of uncertainties and the certainties keep us sane, which is generally a good thing. The challenge is as always finding out the things one needs to know to keep sane, but also leave some room to be able to think outside the box.
One of Elon's plans after PayPal was to send a greenhouse to mars and have a photo of plants on the red planet. This eventually led to SpaceX. The thinking outside the box resulted in a problem which could then be solved and in this case bringing about the revolution of the space industry in the process. This all sounds great but I think sometime we must remember that our ideas do not have to bring about a revolution and that those type of things aren't necessarily planned.
Anyway, enough rambling for now. I am feeling somehow inspired and look forward to more "revelations" in the hopefully not too distant future.
Be Idearizing

Consumerism

2013-08-20T09:14:13Z

Good day!
It has been a while, but hey, who's counting.
Consumerism makes me sick.
That is all.
Well not really, but do I need to say more? Do I need a new shirt? Do I need to pay R400 for it? I may want to and have the money to, but there are far greater problems in the world that I should be attending to, or attempting to attend to, so why then do I go to the shop looking for cool stuff? Somewhere, something has gone horribly wrong. I have the want for cool stuff, but for what, where did it come from? Is the media that good at it that subliminally i've been brain washed into it? Maybe.
Enough of the problem, how about a solution. So far I can get to the shop and say do I really need this and then turn around and not buy it, but that is not good enough- i still used fuel to get there. Starting as of right now I'm only going out if there is a need and I have to buy something to fill it. Sounds simple- I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe I'll develop a whole lot of needs.
Be consuming, the necessities.

Good Day

2013-05-20T19:40:54Z

Sometimes one just has a good day. Yes, maybe everything didn't go quite according to plan (If there was a plan) but hey it is now bed time and it still feels like a good day. Days like these remind me how sensitive we all are to little things and how they affect us, weather it be a guy in the traffic, or a little smile somewhere.
Anyway, before I get too philosophical before bed time let me stop myself and say that i hope you had a good day too, or at least plan to have one tomorrow.
Be grateful

3D Printed Planetary Gearbox

2013-05-11T06:09:26Z

So here is what I've been up to lately...
http://youtu.be/ziDbn5xs3iQ

Morning Golf

2013-04-29T08:40:40Z

So the the other morning I was playing golf and it was early and the sun came up...
Be Golfing

3D Printing at last...

2013-04-09T02:19:50Z

Here it is... one of the first prints on our 3D printer... Exciting times!

I think somebody tried to mug me...

2013-04-08T08:23:49Z

So there I was, walking up the road, hands in my pockets, minding my own business. This is typical of a Sunday evening by the way, but anyway. A block previously I'd walked past a guy standing on the side of the road, and it looked like he was minding his own business, but turns out he wasn't. Next thing I know he's caught up to me and then he's walking next to me... Hmm, I'd always wandered how people get mugged... Anyway, so it starts off with a normal greeting and general lack of response from my side. The exchange continued to go normally as the guy asked for some money, to which I said I didn't have any, which was entirely true at that moment. Now this is where the mugging started I believe. My hards were still in my pocket and he started trying to get his hand in there too. This was a bit odd, so I started paying a bit more attention and looked at the guy with a what are you doing face. He then proceeds to tell me he didn't want to fight and I was thinking that that suited me perfectly and kept walking. So did he though and kept persisting on trying to fit his hand in my pocket which was never going to happen as my pants were quite tight that day and my hand was already in my pocket, something which seemed to be beyond him.
Long story short, he gave up and walked of in the other direction and I just kept on walking. I could go on about how I feel lucky to be alive etc etc, but I think I'll just pen it down as an odd situation and be on the lookout for the guy in the future. Also, I will keep on going to gym.
Be Walking?

Ode to Brother

2013-04-02T15:51:26Z

Yesterday my fool brother, Craig, turned 21. I reminded him that now he goes to real jail.
This year we moved in together and no offence to anybody but it is the most awesome living arrangement ever. Living with family beats living with anybody else by a country mile- if something needs to be done you tell them straight and that's that. I think we are lucky in that we then do the thing and don't just ignore each other.
My brother and I are close, very close. I will never forget the day when we were both very young and I started crying for some reason and the next thing he was crying too, I like to think that it was to give me moral support.
These days we discuss many things and have different views on some and the same on others. We always enjoy a good pun. My brother means more than he will ever know to me and I love him dearly, like a brother
I am not quite sure what an ode is supposed to be exactly, but this was supposed to be one.
Be a Brother

Raspberry Pi Simple Breadboard Breakout

2013-03-20T18:19:05Z

So I see AdaFruit has a very nice board to put the GPIO pins from the Pi onto your breadboard. Not wanting to spend money on something like that I made the following:
I don't think any comment is needed, but as you can see, some vert board, 52 pins and some solder and away you go. Just remember to remove scratch out the link in the middle which is slightly difficult as there is a lot of solder there once you have soldered the top pins in.
Have fun

Arduino Based Intervalometer

2013-03-20T17:49:19Z

So as the title says its quite a simple project that has been done numerous times, but here is a brief little summary of how I went about it. But first a picture of the finished product.
Comments suggestions etc welcome...
Cheers

First Time Lapse Experiment

2013-03-19T19:25:00Z

And now for something completely different. For now just a long story short- I decided to try my hand at some time lapse photography and here is the result. More info on the intervalometer will be (Here) in the future.
http://youtu.be/F0lAG8p74_w
Anyway, so it is something I quite enjoyed and look forward to doing more of in the future.
Be experimenting

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

2013-02-07T10:50:00Z

So here I sit once again and my oh my, it has been a while- crisis. Anyway, the blog is going to make it and that would entail me blogging a bit, so it is, as I said, once again.
I would like to apologise for the absence of posts and I don't even have a slightly decent excuse so I won't offer one, plus it is my blog, so my rules. The advantages of having your own blog is suddenly very apparent. I will however say that a lot has happened in the time since my last post and so I though the best way to summarise some of it would be some photos.
Oh, and a couple of random quotes or piece of supposed wisdom:
"It's all fun and games until it gets cold and starts raining"
"We may all have an uncle in the furniture business"
"We should just choose somebody we are attracted to and make the rest work"
"YOLO"
Anyway, that about does it for now.
Be Cool

Migrating Google Accounts

2013-01-26T18:18:05Z

So I recently acquired a new domain name with my name and then the process of transferring my google account over started as the new domain name was set up using google apps. This means that with my own custom domain name I get all the google features and so forth but without the @gmail.com part. The following steps worked and are result of much trial and error from various other sources.

Transfer Gmail: I found that the pop method worked best. First enable pop access from your old account for all mail. The go to the new account and under the account tab try to add a new account with your old account details. Remember that it should be your username is the complete email address (Including @gmail.com). THIS WILL FAIL, the first time anyway. Go back to the old account and refresh the page. There should now be a warning that somebody tried to access the account from an unknown location which it has blocked. The irony here is that google blocked itself. Anyway, there is a link to enable the request. Now go back to the new account and try the pop request again, this time it should work. Now, sit back and relax, I had around 20000 emails and it took close on 16 hours. It downloads 200 every 5 minutes, so chill. This will place all the messages in the inbox, and I mean all... Once it has finished a simple filter import/export will arrange all your mail and then you can go to all mail and select all and mark as read and there you go... All sorted... on the gmail front.
Transfer other google services. Most services can be done with a simple import export, but before you do check out this link to see what google can do for your automatically: https://www.google.com/dashboard/migration/?srcAccount=old@gmail.com&dstAccount=new@gmail.com . I haven't hyperlinked this with a reason, copy and paste it and then edit the old and new part to the correct email addresses. Do this while signed into both accounts, but with the old one selected.
So, I hope this helped, if you have any comments or queries, let me know in the comments below, or contact me.
Cheers

Burj Dubai High

2012-10-10T10:41:00Z

So this is the Burj Kalifa, Dubai, UAE, the tallest building in the world, with the moon in the shot, which is a happy accident. I have a lot to say about modern opulence but will save it for later, but for now all I can say is that it is insanely high and very much impressive.
Be Standing Out

The State of the Society

2012-10-09T02:46:00Z

So think of this as a kind of state of the nation address, which is normally done by the president, but me not being the president I thought I'd do a state of the society. What gives me this right? My blog my rules.
To all parties concerned:
Society is desperate.
Be Undesporate

Red Bird Nest

2012-10-07T05:00:00Z

The Olympic stadium in Beijing, China. What a structure!
Be Engineered

What is Up?

2012-10-06T04:54:00Z

Well, life goes on.
Anyway, you may or may not have noticed some changes to the rexfuzzle.com site. This being the blog of rexfuzzle will be located at blog.rexfuzzle.com. What this means is that there are some other sites one their way, but on hold for a little while. More on these in the future.
You may be wandering why there has been such a lack of posts and well what is past is past and I will try to post more frequently in the future, however I aim to only post when something is post worthy, so it should hopefully be quality stuff.
Be Back!

Arbour day

2012-08-31T20:00:00Z

So today being arbour day and all i thought I'd share a little proverb that i came across. Whether it is really chinese or not I don't know, but the wisdom is flawless none the less."The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now"- Chinese Proverb. Be Green

Minuses and Plusses

2012-08-13T17:49:00Z

So sometimes in life the difference between quadratic convergence and not it a minus. This can cause long weekends worth of work, but at the end of the day you get to go home and sleep, well sometimes anyway. Sometimes you log onto your blog and see that you have exactly 3001 page views and well, suddenly a wonderful phrase comes to mind:Hakuna Matata. So this is me, having and awesome day, somehow, and loving the fact that there is so much in this world that I am still very much utterly useless at, but my program to quadratically converge using the complex step method is no longer one of them, well sort of. Be Puzzled

Bloggidy-wogiddy-doo-dah-day

2012-07-31T08:20:00Z

Whoop Whoop. Before we even get started don't expect much from this post, in fact, don't expect anything at all. So besides having the most awesome blog post name ever in the entire history of naming things what is this all about? You may well ask and let me tell you that sometimes things feel dull and sad and kinda miff, but then for no apparent reason things can turn around and everything looks awesome, kinda like taking the pill in the movie limitless, suddenly everything has colour and everything and anything is possible. So how does one turn that corner? Hmmm, well looking for it certainly doesn't help that is for sure, but otherwise prepare for it. Starting thinking about how cool it will be when it happens and in so you doing might play a cruel trick on your sub-conscience and turn the corner. True story. Now what has happened here is that I have tried to write a semi-serious blog post in a non-serious state of mind. While I'm at it I might as well call this a theory, so it is the turning the corner theory... or it could be renamed later. Be Colouring-In

And so it ends...

2012-07-24T10:38:00Z

So here I sit, back in my office (Feels slightly cage-ish) and one of the most amazing experiences of my short life has come to an end. In a short summary, 7 countries, 24 days, 5 flights, 4 overnight trains, 2 ferries, and countless taxis, metros, busses and walks but last but certainly not least, cry-laughing (post coming), sunsets, sunrises, memories and spending time with somebody that is beyond awesome. I started typing all in all, but I can't put it into an all in all, so it just was, kinda like beed but in the past tense. Be Happy

So...

2012-07-20T19:44:00Z

I must apologise... But maybe it is like the song says- its too late? Anyway, none the less, etc, in the last week or so we have covered much distance from St Petersburg to Copenhagen stopping in Stockholm and Helsinki on the way, and now here I sit on my ace again in dubai which means that there have been around 7 countries in around 20 days... My mind is struggling to comprehend. Enough of that though. The last couple of days have been truly magical with theme park rides (picture attached) and boats and bicycles. Not to mention planes, Danishes, bambi steaks and the list goes on. Awesome just doesn't seem to cut it and the only way to describe it adequately would be to write a book, but I feel it is self defeating as then you would be missing out on a whole lot of stuff... So that brings me to here, listening to Meleika in 37deg in villa 49, somewhere in Dubai. Somehow the trip is not yet over! Be on the home stretch!

Watching bridges...

2012-07-15T06:38:00Z

So for some reason when I you are in St Petersburg the thing to do is to head off and watch a combination of the sun setting and bridge opening at just after midnight. This picture doesn't quite do it justice but it is rather special and pretty. Anyway, Russia has come to an end and as I write this I am on a boat to Finland, in fact I can see Helsinki on the horizon. Final note on Russia, well more like Europeans in general... They love taking pictures of themselves I am front of stuff. It is most curious, in fact as I write this I see European having their photo taken in front of a lift...? Maybe it's just me. Be Posing

More on Beijing

2012-07-12T12:49:00Z

So today was a little frustrating, but I will try to give you the highlights. This building in the picture exists and it is awesome! Certainly not an average sky scraper. Secondly is the bicycles. Seriously, nine million was no understatement. They are everywhere. They are also super stealthy, they dodge cars and mostly battery powered so very little peddling gets done. There are even little face masks that you can get which makes it look like you have a really big cap on that has been blown over your eyes. I'll try get a photo but the stealth factor might be an issue. Anyways, it has been a very long day and this tired traveler needs some serious shut eye to carry on at this pace. Be riding

When in Russia

2012-07-10T15:20:00Z

They say that you should try new things in new countries, but I would like to challenge that... It is a bad idea, especially in Russia with strange drinks that look like the one in the picture. I still don't know what it is supposed to taste like but all I got was soy sauce and a honey after taste. Uncool! Be Drinking weird stuff...

Hello Mongolia

2012-07-06T01:33:00Z

Greetings from Ger number 21, Guru Camp, Terelj bridge region, somewhere outside Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Firstly, wow, what a place, it is traditional and full of words like respect and so on. It is also very rural in places and the views are spectacular. Locals are friendly and give you fermented horse milk to drink, which as it turns out is rude to not accept and after a while isn't that bad. Tastes slightly like ginger beer. Oh I also climbed tortoise rock, which if you think about how a tortoise looks was not that easy and is also not something that would happen in countries with health and safety laws. Anyway, moving on by train again tonight but I do feel that move time is needed here. Possibly including motorbikes and some better mongolian...Be Monking

Hello China

2012-07-01T13:03:00Z

Well well well, it's super hot and humid and there are loads and loads of people! Seriously there are tonnes of them! Oh, and this picture doesn't do what is going on justice... The Scorpions are alive. Yes they are on the stick and kicking and we'll if they could scream I'm sure they'd be doing that. Wow and well there is just so much stuff that is just so completely different! Like alley ways and small shops that sell fans, sweets, lasers and just about anything you can imagine! It is a whole new world. Be Brave

Hello Dubai

2012-06-30T20:19:00Z

Wow, so here I sit. On the flight in I saw the tallest building in the world and now I am chilling and waiting for my next flight. Yes this one is only a stop over but I'll be back. Anyway, what am I doing here you may be asking, well I am taking a bit of a trip. stay reading to see how it unfolds but I reckon this is a pretty good way to celebrate 100 posts... haha. Well all I can say for sure is that it all feels very very big and I am super super excited. On the exact opposite note I think that there is alot wrong with this world and seeing things today just made me realize it even more today. Ok, enough for now, I'll try describe it more with something that has spell check. Be Traveling

99 Re(a)d posts...

2012-06-30T08:00:00Z

So believe it or not this is the 99th post on my humble blog.
Firstly, thank you for still being here and reading... I think that is what you are doing here...
Secondly, for interest sakes the 3 most read posts are:

Joy vs Happiness

2012-06-29T07:24:00Z

After having this title saved in my list of posts that hasn't been published for a very long time I have come to a conclusion- It is different for everybody and me tell you my joy does not make that your joy and similarly for happiness.
So what is the point of this post then? Well it is there to be thought provoking, so go think about it...
Think some more...
Write something down...
Be forming-an-option

Re-evaluation

2012-06-28T07:19:00Z

You ever had one of those moments where you suddenly rethought everything in your whole life up to that point? Hmm, well in the last while I've been having a number of those and I don't know what to make of them. I am really concerned that the happen because my view of life up until that point has been rather closed and "secluded" and it has taken an outlandish statement or some brutal honesty from someone to make me rethink it. Without trying to sound too vain I've always tried to consider myself quite openminded and yet somehow things can still catch me completely unawares. On the plus side it means that I can still learn something and be challenged in certain areas. Ok, but that is enough about me, now i somehow have to bring this back to you, my faithful blog reader, whoever you are. I guess what this means is that I have to share how i have learnt something from all of this and I think that learning is exactly the crux of the matter. We must never shut down our brains and decide that we have learnt everything that life has to offer, basically be willing to let it teach you something. Be open...minded

It is wrong to make mistakes

2012-06-27T05:25:00Z

Teacher asks question.
Hand goes up.
Student gives answer.
Teacher says no.
Later, teacher asks question again.
Student doesn't attempt to answer.
Creativity dies a little bit.
That is it, we are taught to not make mistakes, it is wrong. There is only one right answer… seriously! I believe that laziness is the cause hereof. Firstly, it is much much easier to mark something where there is only one right answer. It is much easier to give marks depending on the right answers. Now that is all good and well, but how do we, who are grown ups do something to change that? For the most part we might think that we have given all the right answers and it is now the time when we are cashing in on all these right answers. Some of us might say that it is too late… Tut tut!
The whole thing reminds me of something Thomas Edison said whilst being interviewed after failing for the 1000th time in making a light bulb: "Well, now we know 1000 ways how not to make a light bulb." Our wrong answers aren't always wrong, there is some positive behind them, the thing is to learn from them and I think if you are not learning from them then they are wrong.
Be Wrong

I can do anything

2012-06-26T05:16:00Z

Sometimes in my life I have these moments where I am sitting around thinking I can do anything. Not in the strip down and streak type sense but more in the world is at my feet and I just need to take the first step.
I find that this feeling is often brought on by listening to certain music, in this specific case it is the gladiator soundtrack. In actual fact it is often Hans Zimmer that brings on these feelings but there are others. It is actually very profound how music can have such an effect on your emotions. If I was ever to be a general I think the most important thing would be to play some inspiring music to get everybody psyched up and ready for battle. Well that would help plus maybe they would have images of gladiator or something equally awesome in their mind as they are slaying zombies or other undead. Yes, that might have been an interesting example but it goes for many things, coaches especially. I am also going to test out this theory for my next exam. My pen is my sword!
So how do I get a theory out of this all? Well, there is currently an advert on TV to do with emotions and investing and how when emotion is in charge reason isn't. So where does that lead us? Let us say that the OST of Gladiator is an emotive soundtrack, but for reason to prevail, emotion should not be a factor. My theory is however that certain emotions are bad and it is a bad generalisation to group them all into one. Going into battle for instance would not be a good time for reason to prevail as you could quite possibly run away. Similarly, if you are standing on the edge of a building contemplating weather to jump or not, inspiring emotion might not be the best idea, especially if it has the words fly in it somewhere…
I think the main point is that music had evolved to such a point that we could use it to govern our emotions and thus use it as a tool for altering our mental state to a certain extent.
Just a by the way: Listening to the Gladiator inspired me to write about it. Is it evident? Is it evident that I switched soundtracks somewhere in this post?
Be Emotional

Conversations within myself

2012-06-18T01:00:00Z

Brain: Hi Grant, you should be studying right now. Body: Grant, I can't explain it, the fingers are on a rampage- we have lost control of them, they are just typing and typing. We need your help!!!Grant: Oh boy, hmmmm. Well, Brain, are in on the fingers thing? They can't be acting on their own you know...Brain: No comment. Body: It is brain, this whole thing reeks of Brain, she is the only one capable of thinking out a scheme like this!Grant: Brain, come now, let the fingers free, they can't keep up with you and they make poor slaves, they get tired and unresponsive if you aren't entirely sure of what you want them to say when you start. Body: I take offence to that!Brain: Excuse me but who is the real brain behind all of this? Body, you're just a medium!Grant: Now now guys and girls, we have to get along. Body: Screw you brain, I'm disconnecting from you. From now on I can write whatever I want as I am in control of the fingers.lllllll sfhnab l kgjalggggggga fllllllllllllllllllla fkjvaaaaaaaa Please excuse the random stuff, that is Brain trying to type with her head, which I have less control over than I would like. I think I am going to stop typing here and fight it out with Brain and the internet doesn't need to bear witness to that!Be Procrastinating

Passion

2012-06-17T02:47:00Z

Passion is lacking in the world of today. Petitions and rallies and such are things that are done by extremists, not by you and me. Reason?Well various, one being moulds, as discussed in the last post, but basically we are put into a life where society thinks is the right place for us. Another, plain laziness. Seriously, people would far rather get home and watch the big black box and be mindless that actually engage in something. I could go on, but it is depressing me and like the song says, ain't nothing going to bring me down. Fact is, we need to find our passions. You'll know you've found it when and hour feels like 5min and you are wandering where all your time when, but you know that you were having fun! Just imagine your whole life was like that! It feels like I am writing a lot of stuff about what should but done, but very little on how to do it. Do not fear, I plan to rectify that as soon as I've figured it out, but for now, try it and if you figure it out, tell others how you did and pay it forward!Be Passionate

Moulds

2012-06-15T16:55:00Z

So there I was, as happens on a Friday afternoon, sitting in my office, with my supervisor and some other people from the office all discussing stuff. This was not just idle chit chat, this was real world problems that were being discusses and mulled over. So moulds... We have been told our whole life that you need to go to varsity and get a degree and get a job and get married and and and and... We are being moulded, take it even a step further back, it all starts when we have to colour a picture and stay between the lines. From a very young age we are told to do thing a certain way. Draw a picture on this piece of paper, and don't draw on the table. (Aside: A friend of mine drew on her table and it looks awesome!) It is time for society to start breaking the mould and getting some freedom. Not the normal kind of freedom that comes by some political means, I mean the freedom that comes from not being in a mould, not having a 9-5 job and earning a salary. I honestly believe that that people starting the successful companies in the world all had to break the mould at some point. They started in their garage (Aside again: All good things start in a garage) and broke the mould. Now I am not for an instant promoting starting your own big company, I am promoting freedom, freedom from the mould and to do what some said was impossible. People in the mould will be the ones saying it is impossible. They will pull you back into the mould and they will win most times because they have the rest of society in the mould with them. Original thoughts, ideas and general awesomeness does not come from the mould. They come from colouring on the wall, on the table and on the window. From drawing a window on a window and seeing the world in your own special way. This is a rant and a rant that needs to be ranted some more. I watched a video this afternoon too and I suggest that you do too if you are still with me. It is by Sir Ken Robinson and called Bring on the learning revolution. Firstly, I don't think people in the mould get to become a sir and secondly this video is not the only reason for this post. It has been growing for a while and positivity is no longer all that is needed. I finish off by leaving you with a thought, that hopefully provokes a thought: Freedom comes at a price, what are you NOT willing to pay?Be

That moment when you nearly blog

2012-06-13T03:08:00Z

So I had nearly finished a blog and pushed the little publish button when I realized that I was still half asleep and should probably not be blogging. So this is me, trying again, this time not making any wild assumptions or jumping to conclusions too quickly. While I am at it I should explain that I have been super busy and not with anything that is particularly blog worthy and hence it has been taking a bit of a back seat. I do however keep telling myself that one day, when I'm grown up I won't be able to neglect my blog like this, but for now I can accept it, though not happily. In the mean time, be calm and know that everything will be ok. Also know that ok is a very relative term and very close to ko, which is the exact opposite of ok, but for some people it would be more apt. Be OK

So it's cold...

2012-06-05T03:10:00Z

So where I live it is now winter and cold. Many people moan... sigh. I've made a list of things to be positive about it cold weather:
You can wear more of your favourite clothes at once
Snuggling doesn't get sweaty
You can make a fire to keep warm and it adds atmosphere
The possibility of snow is increased
Ice cream lasts longer
You can leave stuff outside as it isn't going to rain, except in the case of point 4.
The nights are longer, i.e. the days feel shorter, i.e. feels like you're at work less.
The moon is particularly large, well actually this has nothing to do with winter but it is very cool
Slippers
Every day is closer to spring and summer.
So there it is. I might have to go to Lesotho to find some point 4. FYI point 5 has been proven to make you warmer before you moan at me. The big point is positivity! Oh Yeah!
Be Glad to be Cold

Why do bloggers blog?

2012-05-23T16:00:00Z

I have wondered this point many a time with no real conclusions. I do not for example think that I have something that I believe the whole world should read this instant (Twitter perhaps?) and it is certainly not for the money since there isn't any. Maybe we all believe that one day our blog will become great and and famous and then it'll be our breakthrough and we'll write a book and that will make money too and then a series of movies on our life and and and. No, if I believed that for one second I might have to do some actual work and post some meaningful stuff. So where does that leave us?Well, so far I have stereotyped like a boss and said that all bloggers are the same and that right there is exactly why I blog. I believe that I am unique, just like everybody else, but that my uniqueness is somehow expressed in my blog and maybe, somebody who is possible similarly unique to me might find it interesting and enjoy reading it. If someone enjoys reading my blog then that is a win in my book(blog).So I hope you enjoy reading it, and if you don't blog about it and express it in your unique way and maybe somebody will enjoy that and then it is a win in your blog for me. Ja. Be Blogging

It's a new day...

2012-05-21T03:19:00Z

Hey hey hey, its a new day, no, a new week and even though it might not be something particularly special it is new and this week is going to be made special. It is going to take effort and will power but special it will be. Why? Does there have to be a reason, but then again by that logic every week should be special so where does that leave us? Well every now and then I think we have to re-evaluate what it most important to us and start working on it again and this is my Hakuna-Matata week. Don't worry, be happy type deal. The last while has been rough- You may have noticed the absence of posts- and thus it is hitting the reset button. This begs the question how does that happen when we just start having a rough time and stuff starts getting you down? Well to be negative about the whole thing, I think everybody else is being negative and the effect rubs off eventually so we have to start again, this time aiming to do better than last time, hold out longer, kinda like getting over an addiction. Hmm, negativity and addiction? Well if it is, it something I do not understand. How does being negative make you happy? Sounds weird. Anyway, not worth debating, this is the beginning of a big new positivity week and like the lyrics go: "Nothing going to bring me down…"
Be Positive

That awkward moment

2012-05-06T06:11:00Z

So yesterday I played paintball and usually people are scared and stuff. This time, not so much. Paintball is a different game when two people start running straight at each other instead of trying to dodge bullets. I have also decided that when they say pain is temporary but glory lasts forever it is very true, but since glory is well, there is a post coming up about that, but in this case the silly grin lasts at least a day or two. That being said, the pain is still there, but the grin more than make up for it. Another thing to note is that as usual it is the people that make the game, so choose wisely and don't be surprised when you find yourself in a paintball-quick-draw. Be Brave

Doing things nobody know about

2012-04-28T07:56:00Z

So at the moment I am doing some work in maths, numerical methods for partial differential equations to be exact. I am the a point where I am learning about spectral methods and even more specifically the Chebyshev spectral method. So why am I telling you this? Well for one it isn't to make me feel clever cause I only have a very little idea of what is going on, never mind if that idea is accurate or not, no it is because I am pondering weather anybody knows anything about this stuff other than the person that wrote the book on it. I have certainly never met anybody and it is not exactly something you hear in a passing conversation. Anyway, here I sit, on an unremarkable Saturday morning procrastinating by bloggin instead of learning some more stuff that is remarkable but only to me. Be Doing Stuff

TIA

2012-04-24T09:35:00Z

I love Africa! I especially love the chicken that was chillin outside the main entrance to the University of Pretoria this morning. Also when your waitress calls all the dishes ayoba. It has been said many times before, but it is the little things that count. Be African

Instant Gratification Generation

2012-04-20T02:55:00Z

Life has changed. I want food- get some out the fridge and warm it up. I want to watch something- open my computer and watch exactly what I want for however long I want. The I want and I get reality is here. Just look at the companies making big profits and they are providing a service for right here tight now. The result a world wide debt crisis. Now I always try and be positive in these posts and this is not something to be positive about. It doesn't only extend to food and such things but if you were to look at divorce rates I think that is also a reflection of the scale of the problem, point being it affects us all and more than we realise. Take facebook as an example. News about friends used to deepen a friendship as you would have to have a conversation to get the news, now it is all online and available to anybody. You no longer know the person, you know their online profile. Sorry, got a bit distracted there again, now for the positive part. People have started realising that there is an issue and if this is anything like an addiction, which I believe it is, admitting that you have a problem is the first step. So in a way, this is me, Grant Stephens (for those of you that didn't know) admitting that I have a problem and it is something that I plan on fixing. I have one last point and that is that I believe happiness is kinda like compound interest- it grows on itself, so start saving and being ready for the compound happiness ;)Be Less-Instantly-Gratified

Dam Photos

2012-04-19T03:00:00Z

So I have a some more dam photos that I think are kinda cool but I can't have loads of single posts with all of them so here is a post with what I think are some of the best ones, other than those previously posted.
Be heading for the dam

Free State Flats

2012-04-18T12:21:00Z

The story goes that you can see your dog run away for about a week. Maybe he went for a drink at the windmill over yonder. Taken close to Linley in the Free State.
Be Running Away... or don't

Make a difference

2012-04-18T05:21:00Z

Ok, so I want to make a difference and I also want you to make a difference, so here is your chance. You can get $25 for free to loan to somebody and then when they pay you back which happens 98% of the time you get to loan it to somebody else. All it takes is a little effort on your part, come on, do it!
...start...Be Making a Difference

Reflections

2012-04-14T12:17:00Z

Once again on the Dam, this time on a perfectly still morning. The dam is quite something to take it all at once.
Be Still

Katse Sunset

2012-04-11T12:15:00Z

So we recently took a little trip to the Kingdom in the Mountains, aka Lesotho and this is a picture of the sunset over Katse dam. I'm not going to kid around, there was quite a bit of editing done on this one.
Be Good

It Takes A Big Man

2012-03-30T07:45:00Z

So the other day I went to see someone. I honestly feel for some people and the job that they have. They have to come in every day and do the same thing that they've been doing for the last 20 years and nothing much has changed, except the emails that get forwarded. Anyway, there I was, come to see a man about some medial admin stuff. I knock on the door and it is like there is a big yellow road barrier in the room between us and he is pushing it to the door. To be blunt, he was rude and obviously so. I was sort of expecting it as one tends to do when going to visit such people what I was not expecting was 5min when we'd done the medial admin he apologised. Seriously, a 60 odd year old man who has no reason to said that he was sorry for being rude when I walked in. That caught me off guard. I try to keep positive but some things I thought we lost causes, apparently not and thus I am apparently not being positive enough. Well, I would like to say that there is most definitely hope for humanity and that is certainly something to be positive about. Be Apologising

That's What You Think

2012-03-29T02:59:00Z

So yesterday I had plans, I had dreams. It was going to be a productive day and I was going to get stuff done. What happened?
Well, I got stuff done, but not the stuff I wanted to be getting done, not even a little bit. I ended up in the lab building stuff. That was not expected! Anyway, so what is the point? Well it just reminded me once again (It happens often) that the old saying is true: "Life is what happens when you're making other plans."
This was proven once again when my morning run was rudely postponed indefinitely due to rain, haha, that'll teach me for trying to get fit.
On a side note, anybody know how much a fine is from the library?
Be Changing Your Plans

Good Morning

2012-03-22T03:52:00Z

Good Morning! Wow, so nothing special to report just that it feels like an amazing day and somehow all fresh and full of possibilities. Then again all days are, but somehow this one feels particularly so. I do think that it might have something to do with me having toast for breakfast this morning and that could make all the difference. I am going to quote my friend Ally in a way and say: "Let's make a toast"Be Making Toast

"I'm Just Better Than You!"

2012-03-19T03:32:00Z

So every now and then you do something and you are able to walk round and look at everybody and say- I'm just better than you. You have never met these people or don't know them but somehow you've just beaten them. Most mornings this happens when I cycle past people sitting in traffic. It is the most amazing feeling in the world. It is also a slight downhill so I don't even have to pedal and I pass at least 50 cars in the few hundred meters to campus every morning. Every car I pass is me going' I'm just better than you and I don't care if this gives me a bit of a big head, it is worth it every time. A line from a movie is in my head right now and seems relevant: "Appreciate the little things"Be Appreciative

Blue Comm

2012-03-16T04:20:00Z

So it has been a long long time since the last photo here on the fuzzle. This one was taken over Pretoria with the blue communications tower coming out nicely. No fancy photoshop or anything anymore.
Be Blue

I Don't Believe in Lightning

2012-03-15T13:46:00Z

Well the title was easy, now I have to try and explain this without being too scientific whilst still being convincing- should be interesting. People are wussies (I hope I'm allowed to say that). You're busy having an amazing game of whatever and there is a dark could in the sky and CRISIS!!! Lightning!!!! Tut Tut, seriously, you're scared. Let us consider a few things: 1. If you can count to three after seeing the lightning to when you hear the thunder the storm is more than 1km away- true story! 2. Take a look around. Are you sticking out like a sore thumb? Are you the tallest thing around? Is there not a large steel pole close to you? If you answered yes to any of these then I might suggest you run, especially if you can't tell which piece of lightning produced which thunder sound, otherwise, chill out! Ok, maybe I miss spoke- I do believe in lightning. I also believe that people freak out about stuff that they have less chance of being hit by than driving home from school. Rant-Off. I am sorry. I think mother nature has exacted her revenge- I am stuck at work on my bicycle- it is raining. Be Risking-The-Biscuit!

That's not a Jelly Bean

2012-03-13T02:16:00Z

So my awesome brother has taken to sleeping with earplugs. Generally they stay in overnight but one night he tells me he was having this dream about eating jelly beans. Anyway, he eventually got to bite into one and he mouth was suddenly telling his brain- this is not a jelly bean... Also it tastes kinda like ear wax. Be Dossing

Wind in My Beard

2012-03-11T04:46:00Z

So there I was, chillin' as usual and there was a movement in the air, some might call this wind. My perfectly groomed beard was also chillin' as it is on my face (kinda hard for it not to be chillin too). Anyway, the next thing I know is that there is a slight rustling feeling from my chin. Well that is what my face was telling my brain but my brain was confused. "What, the beard is being moved??? The hands are in pockets and there is nobody around that I've been informed of." My brain naturally sent a quizzical look to the face, which cause some more beard motion, this time it was expected though. The all important ah-ha moment was not far off. It all happened so quickly. The head was turned to face the wind, something about looking straight at it that makes is refreshing. The face reported to the brain once again, this time in earnest- a lot of rustling going on down here... The brain clicked, the so called lightbulb moment- The wind is making the beard move on the face. So ja, for those if you that can, grow a beard and experience it. For those of you that can't, I hope that this post provides some insights to the awesomeness. Be Having A Beard

Dealing

2012-03-08T07:58:00Z

So when stuff happens, or to be crude and use the expression- "When Sh*t Happens" I find myself with no way of dealing with it. I feel like punching a wall, no, wait, shouting, no, running, ok a little, maybe hurting something, hmmm, what about getting drunk, maybe, or going to the gym, still not quite there, how about reading, nope def none of the above, somehow just don't feel like me. Now before you hit back and think that this blog is all about me and my ego and my problems, just hang on. I have decided that how you deal with stuff is part of your "deal". Typing that out made it seems super obvious, but there is more to it than that I think. Ok, so I remember a TV program where an older guy asked a 16 year old what his deal was and the kid was like- I'm 16, i don't think I have a deal. Anyway, always had me thinking since then- what is my deal and what is the person I'm talking to's deal?In this specific case, how do we deal with things when things aren't going quite to plan? I just don't know, in this case I blogged about it, but the wall in front of me is still looking ripe for a punching, so maybe blogging just isn't my way of dealing. An important observation is to ensure that you don't get more frustrated or angry just because you don't know how to deal cause that is a little counter-intuitive. At this stage all I can do is wish all of us without dealing ways the best of luck, that being said if you looking for a way of dealing luck most probably isn't going your way right now. Wow, pessimistic much?Be Dealing

Frustrations

2012-03-05T17:19:00Z

You know those days that just don't go. I can't quite tell you what exactly went wrong cause nothing did specifically but just felt like I was getting nowhere the whole day. One thing after another and I was just like seriously!Then, out of the blue, the blue of Monday, it started going. I solved a problem, had a conversation with someone and everything seemed ok again. Actually more than that, I made the decision, once again, that I will be positive, even on a Monday when things are kinda glum, I will I will I will!So the blue monday turned out to be a cool blue and deep and dark all at the same time. Be Un-Blue

Me Time

2012-03-04T17:35:00Z

Every now and then I find that you just have to say screw you world- I'm having some me time. It is awesome, you get to jump back into that little bubble that only you know anything about and just do some serious amounts of chillaxing. You could write in your journal, read a little bit, listen to some music and generally beed a bit a suppose.
Anyway, as this is still my blog I get to give my opinion- I like me time and think it is awesome and everybody should do it more often... Right back to the bubble.
Be Your Own Time

Dream Girl/Guy

2012-03-02T13:03:00Z

Here is something that isn't said enough- "Your dream guy/girl exists"True story, they're out there. Never settle or stop believing!Be Ready

Cry Cry Cry

2012-03-02T12:58:00Z

This might come as a bit of a shock to some people but I like crying. Sometimes, due to circumstances or not you just need to open up the water works and let it all out. True be told, you may even feel slightly better afterwards. Now I am by no means saying that it'll fix the problem but maybe it is like a bit of a reset button and when you're done you can go wash your face and I find that some things make a bit more sense or you can at least see it from a different angle. Anyway, today I had a cry in the car on the highway which I would not recommend but when I got to where I was going I was able to function with a certain amount of normality. The issue is still there and hurting but maybe I gave it a little panado. Next on the agenda it to give it some rest and time and see where we get. Be Crying

La-Di-Da

2012-03-01T03:42:00Z

So there I was skipping and hopping through life and thinking is well. Happiness, Bliss etc etc. Then comes a story about something bad that happened to someone I know. Crisis! Was I that blind. This is the real world and there is a lot of pain and suffering and stuff that goes on. The question is, what to we do about it. Do we keep the La-Di-Da attitude?I just don't know, but a quote from Al Gore seems relevant: "I promise you a day will come when our children and grandchildren will look back and they will ask one of two questions. Either they will ask, 'What in God's name were they doing? Didn't they see the evidence?'" Or, he said, "They may look back and say 'How did they find the uncommon moral courage to rise above..."Be Having Moral Courage

Pre-Plays

2012-02-27T18:31:00Z

So every now and then something funny happens. This time it was made more funny by the fact that I had just explained what was about to happen and then it did. Let me explain:There we were, buying jelly beans and my friend, who is to remain unnamed was having a gay old time throwing the packets of jelly beans in the air and catching them. I then proceeded to gesture to her what would happen if she should not catch one, something of an inverted fountain with the jelly beans crashing to the floor and spreading all over the place. This was all explained with hand gestures. Naturally she said that would never happen. Truth be told, the very next bag that went up in the air, ended up on the floor and the jelly beans were all over the shop. I am not sorry that I could not stop laughing, after all, I could not have do a pre-play any better. The shop attendant was most kind and took pity on aforementioned friend and gave her a new bag after I eventually helped rid the floor of the jelly bean floor. So the moral of the story? If you're slightly spastic, don't go throwing jelly beans in the air, especially a whole packet at a time and secondly, try not to laugh too much when you drop stuff in a store- people tend to stare more than they already were. Be Spastic

Goodbye Theory

2012-02-22T03:52:00Z

So in general goodbyes are uncool, I mean if you like the person that is. Naturally if it is your witch of a mother in-law then it is another story and seeing her fly off on her broom could be very satisfying. I digress, my point is that saying goodbye to someone that you care for is not cool, no matter if you know when you'll be seeing them again or not. My theory then is the following: In order to say hello to someone you have to have said goodbye at some point and I recon that hellos are extremely awesome. I mean, there is always new stuff to talk about, you can see the person, in person and generally have a good time. So next time you're about to have a sucky goodbye, remember that there will hopefully be an awesome hello to look forward to. Be Greeting

Clocktower Meeting

2012-02-20T17:45:00Z

Ever felt like telling someone- "I'll meet you at sunset at the clock tower." Well I think this would be a good one to meet at.
Be Meeting

Hope

2012-02-19T17:04:00Z

So I have come to a conclusion- Hope is a big deal. Seriously, if you don't hope then you're just hopeless. I think it even runs a little deeper than that in that the essence of being positive is hope. Think about it, if things are going bad then one way of getting out of it is to hope, hope that is gets better, hope that you'll learn to cope with it, hope hope hope. So where does hope come from, what do you do if you don't have it. Well in my head it is about imagination. If you are able to dream a little (Not talking inception here) the I recon you can hope as your dream should be something to hope for. Again, not talking about nightmares, but the little day dreams or wishes that you have as you go along. Hope in those!I'll leave you with my own quote of which I am very proud about hope: Hope is like hopping- It keeps you going even when you're not going anywhere. Be Hoping

Sheet Appreciation

2012-02-18T10:03:00Z

I know it has been said over and over that you don't appreciate something until it is gone, well recently I haven't had sheets. Now that doesn't mean that I been sleeping on a bare mattress, I have had a sleeping bag, but no sheet. Wow, I would never have thought that a simple piece of material could have such an impact on your sleeping experience and thus there is now a blog post to bring sheets into the spotlight and hopefully bring them some recognition for what they do, an ode to sheets if you will. Be Sleepy

Mooi Life

2012-02-16T12:32:00Z

I look out my window
Down to the road below
People all driving in a row
Life flies by
Sometimes you sigh
Just to get by
The appears a train
suddenly into the frame
And you're no longer tame
Now you're in joy
It's like having a new toy
And like is very mooi!
Be Rhyming

Some V-day Positivity

2012-02-14T07:47:00Z

So people are always going on about how valentines day is so commercial and it is all about the money and stuff but I propose that it is only like that if you fall victim to the hype. In the greater scheme of things it a about you and somebody special. Sure a whole bunch of people have "dates" and "girl/boy-friends" but who says it can't be your mom, or dog or best friend. Make the most of it and yes, right now in your life it may feel like you missing out on the dating game or whatever but think of it as a little bit of practice for the future and the more you practice, the better you get ;) <3Be Romantic

"Dit help nie om te kla nie"

2012-02-13T15:02:00Z

Sometimes people disappoint me a lot. Recently I was speaking to someone and asked them how they are, as is the custom and they replied by saying that it doesn't help complaining (What the title says for those of you not proficient in afrikaans). Seriously, is that the attitude that some people have. Wow, in my head this is meaning that all that they can think to do is complain and they've obviously grown tired of that so now they just let the world know that they've basically given up trying to be positive and even stopped complaining, just accepted their state of unhappiness. Wow, anyway, so that was negative but I have a solution and it is simple. When someone asks you how you are, you respond by saying always good, or always awesome, in that way you do two things. One is that you remind yourself that you are awesome and that always puts a smile on my face and second is that you tell everybody else that you are being positive and maybe you might infect them a little and it'll rub off on them. At the end of that day, as with most things, the moral of the story is to be positive, as this blog has hopefully pointed out a number of times. Be Positive

Commonality

2012-02-08T08:21:00Z

What is it about humans? Ok, well that is broad, let me specify... When you meet someone and get to know them at some point in the friendship you look for things that you have in common, eg: "I love this song" "No ways, me too" #Turn up the stereo to avoid more awkward conversation. Now there are a couple of things that have occurred to me regarding this. Firstly, what makes a conversation interesting is if you differ on something and have to explain why, otherwise you just agree and move on. Now by explaining your point of view or liking of a certain song you are opening the listening part up to appreciating it too or to them changing your point of view by pointing out a flaw in your argument. Ok, so that is very complex and stuff and itself could be discussed at length, which will not be done now. The second thing that occurred to me was how at a certain point things become common in a bad way. Think about it, at some point somebody decided that having a blackberry was a good idea, now everybody has one and suddenly it is cooler if you have the next new and exciting thing. Ok, wait, let me think of an example where I won't annoy most of my readers. At some point somebody decided that mullets were cool. Suddenly you were only cool if you had a mullet until that one day when whilst driving through Danville (No offence) you saw a mechanic with a mullet and in that instant they weren't cool anymore. Suppose some people will say that it is like a fashion wheel that turns but my point here is that is everybody liked orange sunglasses then they would become common and no longer be something you would have to explain and in so doing letting someone get to know you. Wow, slight tangent there, but I think I'm back on track. The point that I'm trying to make here is that commonalities are not a good thing and make the world dull and uninteresting, so I am trying to avoid them at all costs. Be Original

Engineering Panorama

2012-02-07T04:15:00Z

So with varsity starting this week and stuff I thought I post of picture of campus. This one of the new engineering building, creatively named engineering 3. There are 4 photos that have been expertly combined in photoshop to create this picture which makes a normal right angled intersection not look right angled.
Be Studying

Being Bold

2012-02-06T08:45:00Z

Don't get the wrong idea, this is not the bold I am talking about. I am talking about the other kind, the kind where you, well that is what this post is about. Sometimes being bold is about being that guy/girl who says what others have been too scared to say. Most of the time there is a good reason for this and thus by you saying it you are being bold and addressing the elephant in the room (Figuratively, unless you have a pet elephant). This boldness often results in an awkward moment of sorts cause people get offended and don't know how to react but in some cases you can be thanked for being the person who actually came out and said it. It takes a certain amount of courage to be that person but also a certain amount of just not caring about the consequences. You may have thought the whole lot through and decided that it was worth it but often it is just a spur of the moment thing. Now naturally the question of weather it is worth it or not must be raised. Sure the awkward moment isn't the greatest but life is full of those so we might as well get used to them but ignoring that, should the elephant in the room be address and when it is, does it chase the elephant away. I think the only way to answer this is to say that in essence, this is what being bold is all about. It is about being that guy/girl and you can't say you don't like it until you've tried it. Be Bold
P.S. This is simply one of many many ways of being bold- hopefully many more will come soon.

Professional Verbs

2012-02-05T03:52:00Z

So the other day I was looking at the word proverb. It made me think, it is sort of like a professional verb. Usually professionals are good at something and are good enough to make some money off them. Now a proverb is not a single verb, but in a way it it cause it is often something that you can put into action and now, since it is a pro at that, maybe we should think about implementing them. Anyway, also somehow makes me feel a little bad for all the other verbs that are just normal, but who knows, maybe one day they can turn pro too. Be Pro

Getting Lost

2012-02-03T04:59:00Z

I would like to be bold (Post coming about this soon) and redefine getting lost as merely exploring. I must also admit that this idea was given to me by a good friend, Kelsey, so thanks, you're cool. Anyway, so I would like to not just be bold but also try and explain myself a little, so here goes. There are a number of people in history, thinking specifically about the original explorers, those that discovered other continents, that only made their discoveries due to the fact that they were in fact very lost. I mean you just have to look at the physical location of the West Indies to know that Columbus was very lost, in fact on a scale of 1 to on the other side of the earth he was on the other side of the earth lost. He was actually so lost he didn't even know how far off he was and thus the names of those islands shall forever be an issue for geography teachers. Now, weather or not it is a good thing to be getting lost and decide that you are actually exploring is an entirely separate issue but keeping with the general positivity vibe it would most definitely be and thus I look forward to getting lost again soon (Hopefully not in Hillbrow at 1am this time)Be Lost

ePupa Falls

2012-02-02T05:48:00Z

So keeping with the blasts from the past this is also an old one, nearly 10 years to be exact. Taken at ePupa falls in Namibia, which is in the middle of nowhere, on the border with Angola.
Be Travelling

London Sunset

2012-02-01T06:50:00Z

So this is a slightly older photo, but none the less. A sunset from the Thames in London which includes a plane and a reflection off a communication tower.
Be Travelling

Night Running

2012-01-31T07:00:00Z

So it is like night swimming but also not at all.
So the other day I got a bit distracted and the next thing I knew I wanted to go for a run and it was dark. Hmm, can one go running in the dark- turns out you can and it is awesome! The fact that is was raining a little was just some added awesomeness but that is neither here nor there.
So night running also became really fun in certain streets where the street lights weren't working. It is, it turns out, a little tricky to run when you can't see the road, or lack thereof, in front of you. I also got a little lots, which in my book is like exploring (Upcoming post about this...) and by the time I got home I was well and truly exhausted.
So in summary, go for a run, at night, in the rain... it is dark, wet and tiring and buckets of fun.
Be Running

Moateng You-Shall-Pass

2012-01-30T18:37:00Z

So this is a little bit of Lesotho. Yes, the picture isn't that great, but it is the road (Moateng Pass) that is interesting and the seemingly infinite mountains. You'll also have to trust me that no matter how awesome the road looks it is more awesome to drive. Oh, this is also their main highway.
Be Basotho

The Curious Charger Incident

2012-01-29T18:19:00Z

So some things just don't happen anymore these days. The other day I was in Lesotho (I do things like this from time to time) and there we were, driving along, trying not to loose our minds at all the blind rises and a car comes past us and signals us to stop. What? Stop in a foreign country cause a random car tells you to? Well I am still not entirely sure who the police are so I stopped. The other driver gets out (I was getting ready for a quick escape- first gear and wheels turned) and walk over and starts trying to give me a cell phone charger- What? Ok, firstly, yes they have phones in Lesotho with coverage in certain areas, but why is this complete stranger giving me a charger?
So while I'm still trying to not take the charger and figure out what is going on he is busy rattling off directions. Seriously? So due to the processing going on in my head the only part I hear was something something cell shop... ok, so he wants a new one that I must go buy for him or well, my mind was racing. It was time for an intervention.
A conversation intervention... I decided to use the classic african Wo Wo Wo... It did the trick! He asked the first question I could understand: Are you going to Mothlogong? Wow, not only could I understand I could easily answer- No- sorry. Wow, the disappointment on his face, looked like I'd just ruined his night on his phone. Anyway, turns out after some more understandable questions and answers we determined that he wanted me to take the changer to a friend of his at a phone shop in Mothlogong.
Now there are numerous things that stand out for me in this: 1. Mothlogong was far away- it would have been dark by the time we got there and then I would have had to find Something Something Cell shop, which in all honestly would have been a 2x2 shack with some cell logos painted on the side. 2. I must have a seriously trusting face or that is just the way things are done on Lesotho which if it is the case it amazing! More on this later. 3. Was the trip really for a little charger or what was inside it.
Anyway, the point of this post is just to say that things like this never happen anymore, seriously, I think it falls into the hitchhiking/bakers dozen/on the house and various other archaic things. it is a sad reality of the modern world and one that will hopefully wear off in the future. Maybe we need a Hippy-lution.
Be Stopping-for-Randoms

Ultimate Lighting

2012-01-28T06:53:00Z

So on these awesome summer's eves the sun might go down and the lights come on and then the games really begin. Nothings like summer and some ultimate!

Morning

2012-01-27T05:48:00Z

There is something about it that is just awesome. I've tried to right this post a couple of times and failed every time cause I just can't describe it properly, but this time I will succeed (Or i have hope that I will cause it i morning).Ok, so firstly it is a new day, every time you wake up, there is is, fresh, brand new and you have no clue what it can hold for you- kinda like waking up to a present every morning and it is never the same thing. Then there is the freshness, seriously, I don't know what happens overnight but in the morning everything just seems fresh, kinda like the air has had a change to catch a breath and is ready for action. You may have noticed by now that I am a morning person and so I like waking up... imagine not liking it- you have to do if for the rest of your life- get used to it and enjoy it. Anyway, so you open your eyes, sometimes you remember where you went to sleep other times you don't and you're like- Oh, I'm here, I forgot. Then there is also sometimes that moment or two of trying to put a dream back together- sometimes you are a little shattered that it was only a dream, but other time you re thankful that it was. So there you lie and your mind is working already... Maybe dreaming is just a little kickstart for it- just helping it on its way for the day. Anyway so you wake up and the sun also just feels fresh, like it also just woke up. The fact that it hasn't moved and you've just spun around a bit is irrelevant- it is fresh for you!Naturally there are sometimes things to look forward to and sometimes things not to look forward to but at the beginning of the day there is also new hope and strength- Take it!Be Waking

My Pride (Again)

2012-01-25T04:00:00Z

This being my blog (Last time I checked) I am from time to time allowed to show off, so this is my Dad of whom I am most proud. The fact that this photo was taken in his late 50's and with a hip replacement is just proving my point a bit more. Naturally the photo also helps and photoshop wasn't used.
Be Proud

Right Now Right Here Theory

2012-01-24T03:51:00Z

One day, not so long ago, I came to a realisation. It is from hence forth going to be called the right now right here theory. Let me try and explain, right now, I want to be right here. I am sitting in someone else's room, slightly hungry, in my pyjamas and i don't want to be anywhere else. If i wanted to be elsewhere I would go there or do something about it, but unless you are willing to change something don't complain about it. So for right now I am completely and utterly happy being right here. Now this does not just translate to this moment but in general day to day stuff too, for example, later I won't be in my pyjamas, but in overalls and then I will be happy being right there right then. The time for complaining is over and the time for change is now (Feel like someone way more important said that before me) so be right now right here or do something about it and in so doing you are being right now right here. Be Right Now Right Here

Green Mint

2012-01-23T04:15:00Z

I find that sometimes all i need is some time in the garden. Sometimes I take my camera along and take a few shots. Most of them don't turn out to be anything, but some do, like this one I think. It is a mint plant.

i Complex

2012-01-21T18:37:00Z

Well hello there. This post might take a little bit of explaining, but please stick with me and you might just learn something. In maths there is such as thing as a complex number. This involves a square root of a negative number. The point is that ironically a complex number is denoted by the letter i. With the maths lesson over let us continue. I am complex, just as i is complex. My point is that I have been on this piece of rock for 20 odd years and over that time I may have tried to simplify my life as much as possible but we cannot deny that experience makes us more and more complex, hence we become more like i. By that logic I would like to propose that with experience we become more of an individual and this means that in a conversation you can say I and it is you the individual talking, no longer just ideas that you heard elsewhere, bur your own personal point of view which at times may be very i. I like being i and that is what makes me me. Be i

Nature's Sunrise

2012-01-15T08:07:00Z

Some places the sun sets over the ocean and other places it rises- here it was rising and rising beautifully.
Be Risen

KJs U

2012-01-13T08:20:00Z

When you get to a place called Kleinjongensfontein you might want to do a U-turn, as the car in picture did, because for one the road doesn't carry on and two there is nothing further down the coast. One might argue that there is nothing in Kleinjongensfontein, but that is another discussion altogether.
Be Getting-to-the-end-of-the-road

Broken Vermaaklikheid

2012-01-11T08:26:00Z

So when you get to a place called Vermaaklikheid one day on your travels, don't expect much. That does not mean that you should not go there though.
Be Traveling

Decisions

2012-01-10T03:00:00Z

I find it amazing that decisions can be such a huge deal to the person who they affect most and in general everybody else doesn't really care. To be even more bold I would go so far as to say it is a general comment on society that everybody is very self absorbed in their own lives and cares very little for those around them, but that is not the point of this post. From personal experience though, it might be a huge decision but I find that I never suddenly say this is what I have decided, slowly over time the one option just falls out the window and you are left with a decision. What is maybe a bit more scary is that sometimes I look back on these things and think, wow, what happened, did I really decide that, I don't particularly remember doing that. Naturally by that stage it is too late and I sort of have to make peace with it and move on, but somewhere in the back of my head it is floating around that I am not sure how I got to this point. Maybe it isn't a problem until I wake up being 40 with two kids- Crisis!Wow, I have just made a decision to be more decisive this year! Bring it on, I will choose and choose decisively!Be Decisive

Bubbling Over

2012-01-09T04:12:00Z

Ever got that feeling that you can't take it anymore, not in a suicidal way at all, but in a fullness and extreme happiness type of way?Wow, what a way to start a post with suicidal right in there, let's try get back on track. So a bunch of stuff has happened and I'm left lying here with this feeling that is kinda like bubbling over. I did say that I was about to pop but then i decided that that might be bad for my health and here i am now trying to blog about it and thus no longer popping by the end of this. Anyway, so how I got to this point is a long awesome story not suitable for a blog, however I will say that is has caused some very interesting and different feelings and this is what I am trying and I feel failing miserably at describing. That being said there is this amazing peace that is kinda just soothing to the soul, sort of like an iron being taken to a particularly scrunched up shirt. I would assume as i haven't really ironed much in my life, but it seems about right. So now with your smoothed out soul (Wow, very airy fairy) it feels like somebody keeps on adding layer after layer after layer and the pack so closely together and fit closely and there is no space for anything but the layers just keep coming and coming. At one point I tried to go back and check out that first layer, mainly to check that it was still there, but also that it wasn't suffocating under all the new layers and you want to know what I found? There is was, smoother than ever and not just that, it was supporting all the other layers. It was the foundation of everything and everything has become the most beautiful huge big home- the type that is never fully built and just keeps on having rooms added on and new parts built. Ok, so I got a bit carried away there with my similes, hopefully you followed, but this is really really hard to describe and this is naturally compounded by the fact that I don't quite know exactly what is going on in the first place, except from the simile above, it would seem my soul is smooth and calm and the foundation for something awesome, which i have no hope of defining. Be Bubbly

Grey Kop

2012-01-07T08:10:00Z

If ever there was a picture that did not describe my mood then this would be it. Take a dull photo of nothing in particular and make it black and white and this is what you get. Once again taken in Namibia.
Be Colourful

Rob Blue

2012-01-06T08:19:00Z

This after a long hike around a place called Robberg in Plettenberg bay. Definitely worth it as the picture clearly shows.
Be Green

Unbreakable

2012-01-04T19:54:00Z

What drives you? Today I went cycling and at a certain point I started questioning this. I mean, why was I still going. There was no prize, no applause, in fact nobody even congratulated me on finishing, they all just looked at me as if I was crazy. Why did I do it, what kept me going? Now please don't get me wrong, I don't mean in terms of life and the big picture type stuff, but more those things that you just do, and you maybe start of enjoying them but then they just go bad and somehow you just have to finish. Maybe a bad book, or a chore that becomes very tedious and repetitive. You could probably do it any other time, or quit and nobody would care, but for some reason you persevere. Is that what will power is, I always imagined it would have a big goal at the end that could be achieved and then you could brag to your friends or show or or be proud of yourself. That is the other thing, by finishing this stupid little thing, can you really be proud of yourself- well done, you read a book you didn't enjoy or finished a chore or completed a long cycle- big whoop! In reality though, no, not big whoop- nobody cares, in fact I'm wandering if I even care and yet somehow I keep doing these things. So I really don't want to finish this post on such a negative note, so have to come up with some reason for it. Something inside me is going- it is me, your human spirit- I am unbreakable. Now I've heard stories about things like this from the war and people just refuse to give up, no matter how stupid the cause it, they persevere, they get it done. When push comes to shove, as it does in times of war, people keep on, the keep fighting, even when the odds are completely against them, they have hope. More than that I believe that every human has something inside of them that is unbreakable, something that keeps them going, that makes everyone a a fighter and may it never ever be broken as in some way it makes us human. Be Fighting

Accomplishments

2011-12-29T15:08:00Z

You know those little victories that you have? Well today I had one. Now I can't tell you what it is cause that is not what this is about. This post is about the things we do that mean a lot to us in our head and nobody else would ever comprehend the scale of how much it means to us.
They are those little challenges or problems or whatever that have been bugging you and you have been meaning to fix or complete. It is such a personal thing cause you know that to anybody else it wouldn't mean anything or it wouldn't be something that bugs them but to you, oh boy, it is a BIG deal.
Suddenly it is done and you're left thinking wow, Í did that with a lot of emphasis on the I. Now there is most certainly some higher power that helped you out but the point is that no other human being had any effect on the victory, unless your goal was murdering someone who did you wrong in which case I think you need help and possibly a lawyer.
Anyway, here I sit in the euphoria of completing my own little personal goal and nobody can take it away from me. Sure other people may have done it before and other will still do it, but for now, with the endorphins pulsating through me I can honestly say I don't care.
Be Victorious

Sun Pier

2011-12-28T10:00:00Z

So this is from Namibia as well and this one I edited slightly using my trusty friend photoshop, just to bring out some of the colours a bit better. Was only possible cause I was shooting in RAW.
Be Pier

Festive Future

2011-12-25T14:39:00Z

Wow, so it is that time of the year again already. It is always amazing how times seems to have flown by when you suddenly get to the festive season and look back at the year. I don't think I have ever had a year when I haven't looked back and said wow, that year was long and drawn out. Yes there may be bits and piece that seem to have taken their time, but as a whole the years just keep on rolling. The question is though, is it a bad thing?
Now I should point in this post I have no clue where it is headed so be warned. Anyway, disclaiming done, is it a bad thing. Well my best guess is that it depends on how you feel when you look back over a year. The average person might ask, I am happy? Now this is a good question to ask if your goal in life is to be happy. Maybe the question should be whether you have achieved your goal, assuming that you have such things. The natural assumption then in that it would be a good year if you have achieved your goal. If you're in any way like me, there may have been some new years resolutions and the like and they may have lasted some time but in terms of the big picture stuff like goals there isn't much then maybe for an average Jo (Grant in this case) being happy is very good question to ask.
So, this raises the question, are/were you happy? This in turn raises the question, how do you decide if you are/were happy for a period of, in this case, a year as I find it very hard to believe that at every point during the year you were happy. Do you average it out and say well the good times outweigh the bad and therefor I am/was happy? Or maybe you say, well I ended the year on a high and how can I not be happy cause of that? Naturally at some point you're going to, as I am now, question what is being happy all about?
Well, now it feels like I've come full circle cause to me happiness is christmas time. It is the friends, family, holiday and just general good spirit of the people around. People wear hats, stupid red awesome ones, people sing, people dance, there is no other time of the year quite like it and to me it is quite a good definition of happiness.
So in closing, think about the year, think about the festive season and then say i don't care what this year has been like, i want to whole of my year next year to be like a festive season, all jolly and merry.
Be Happy
P.S. If your festive time sucks, let me know and I'll try my bestest to help you out.

The Levels of Friendship

2011-12-23T05:00:00Z

Level 0
You know their name- as you can see this isn't really a level as it is 0. Here you have maybe met them in passing, ie only introduced and you for some strange reason remember their name. Note that it is awkward to stalk them and get their phone number, that is only acceptable in later levels. Plus the stalking may be complicated by the fact that you know so little about them- this should be a hint, take it!
Level 1
You know more than their name, ie you had a conversation with them, it can be as part of a small group (3 or 4 people) and you learnt something about them that makes it a lot easier to stalk, or even better you got their number after the conversation, this may in itself be jumping the gun a bit. Note that I said it makes them easier to stalk, I did not condone it or say that you should and hence you may not get their contact details off the facebook, it is however acceptable to add them as a friend if you have more than 1 friend in common.
I think it is important at this point that this is not based on anything other than my experience and it is by no means the only way to make friends and be less socially awkward, but the idea is that it is a healthy guide.
Level 2
You have had a one-on-one conversation with this person. it doesn't have to be long or deep or anything but it has to be on the two of you. This also gives you the opportunity to get the person in question's number if that is how you operate. Note that here the line is fuzzy as guys will probably not exchange numbers so easily with other guys whereas girls would. It is important that the number conversation happens whilst in a one-on-one conversation as this ensures that you can be turned down without too much embarrassment to yourself or the was-to-be lever 3 friend.
Level 3
You message each other and hang out from time to time, lets say on a fortnightly basis. The conversations are still light and generally everybody is having a good time. It is not a bad idea to stick to this level for a while if you have the choice to do so as you can learn a lot from a person in these casual meetings. Suggested time in this level before making a decision is 2 months, although you might not have a choice in the matter as level 4 can happen due to factors out of your control.
Level 4
This is classified by more of level 3, ie more hanging out and more messaging. There are however a number of other way in which one can get to level 4. One of these is when something memorably awkward happens. The best is example is what happened the other day with a friend on mine. She had this thing on her lip and I had to tell her- your lip is oozing... whatever level you were on below 4 you are no longer on- There is no turning back from here- these things happen and yes they might be awkward but in some way humans are still animals and priceless moments like these are never repeated and will definitely take it to the next level.
Level 5
Have a deep conversation, nothing more to it.
Now I think I'll stop there are the lines kinda get blurred with different types of friendships at this point, with guys and guys being friends as well as bromances and the like. Once again, this is my opinion and since it is my blog i am entitled to give it.
People do tend to skip out on levels and stuff but then what are rules there for if not to be broken, sometimes it is better to not break the rules though.
Be Friendly

Kang Rainbow

2011-12-21T05:00:00Z

So on the way to awesome Namibia, this happened. Naturally we pulled off the road and took a photo.
Be Chasing Rainbows

Broomed Death Results in Tug of War

2011-12-19T05:59:00Z

So there we were, in Namibia on a glorious summer evening chilling outside. The eating had been concluded and there was a rather intense discussion going on but that is not the subject of this post.
The man of the house suddenly noticed that the dog was barking a specific way. I was clueless, the dog had been barking a lot and hence it had been tuned out. So the dog had alerted the man of the house to the fact that there was a snake present. Snake you say... Ooo, I'm interested but by no means a fan.
Now there was actions- a broom, torches and we were off to find this trespassing snake, i mean, how dare he. It was very ritual like, everybody running towards it, torches aimed like guns and the broom in the air, ready to strike, as was the snake, although not quite as high in the air.
Now at this point I was impressed with the dog- it somehow knew that the snake had a sharp end and was keeping just far enough away to keep the snake ready to attack but not close enough for it to reach. Anyway, there we were, a whole bunch of torches pointed at the snake and the man with the broom heading into the danger zone to help the dog out. If you are against the killing of snakes then I strongly urge you to find another blog to read right now.
Once again I was impressed by the dog- the broom came down and naturally the snake was like what just hit me, i should check it out and the dog was like- score, the sharp end isn't looking at me anymore. Bam, dog grabs snake by the blunt end (Where is the tail of a snake, it is like one big tail if you ask me). This is the point where the dog's instincts kicked in and started to run and shake his head violently, I don't mean a little head bop or something, it was like he was in a techno dance club and completely having a fit from an overdose and dancing it out, I would assume.
So now the dog is reversing, the snake is drawn out and must have been super confused after being hit by a broom and then being pulled and shaken all over the place. Anyway the broom kept on hitting and the dog kept on shaking- all was going well until the dog's shaking moved him into the broom's path and hence the broom hit the dog on the pip. Apparently this must of hurt a bit as the dog subsequently let go of the snake and yelped a bit- Oops. The snake was all shook up luckily and didn't have a chance to raise up the sharp side before the broom had a chance to say sorry to the dog and hit it again. The dog also recovered nice and quickly and once again did a bit of techno dancing with the snake in its mouth.
So with this continuing there were many words of warning being shouted by the torch bearers who still kept their distance (Me included). At around this point the snake was dead, not very dead cause it was still twitching a little but there weren't any more thoughts of the future going through the snake's head.
It is at this point that one of the best mental pictures of my life occurred. I laugh out loud when I just think about it and have decided that the only way to accurately portray this event is to draw it- now i'm no artist so bear with me:

The Sunset Theory

2011-12-16T19:07:00Z

So by now you may have realised that I kinda like taking pictures of sunsets and thus it stands to reason that I like sunsets. Now obviously it is cause they are pretty a lot of the time, but there are many meanings that can be attached to sunsets.
Many people see it as the end of the day and it signifies a finality of it and some see it as the start of the night. Other people again see it as the earth spinning and this results in the sun going down and nothing more too it. Naturally there are also some people who tell the time of day by the sun setting and it signifies bed time. As we can see there are many interpretations to it.
To me (As this is my blog I am able to give my opinion) it signifies a great deal more. Right now I am chilling watching the sun go down and it is a big reminder, one that happens nearly every day, that this moment, right now, on Friday, December 16 at 18:57 will never happen again. As time ticks on it never ticks back and the sun setting is a big reminder of that and I always like to look back on the day and decide if I used every minute or every second to it's utmost as they will never ever happen again (Until time travel is invented). Some people have said that time is like a bank account that gets filled up every day with 86400 seconds. The account is emptied at the end of that day and you there is no ways you can carry any of it over. what would you do? Any sane person in my mind would try empty the account every single day. Basically it is all summed up by muse in "don't waste time or time will waste you"
Be Busy

Nam Awesome

2011-12-13T17:48:00Z

So I was recently in Namibia and this happened.
Be Golden

Have you ever just beed?

2011-12-13T16:10:00Z

I would like to add a new word, not that there aren't enough in the english language, but I kinda like this one a lot:
beed (verb, past tense)- The past tense of the verb be, ie. right now I can just be, but when i look back then i beed. Note, nothing to do with being stung by a bee, or the thing you thread onto something.
Ok that definition was definitely inadequate so let me try and define it a bit better. I was walking around campus and was most definitely in my happy place (Partly due to it being campus, but many many other reasons) and I was thinking, sometimes it is nice to just be. It is most definitely a mental state of being and not something that can be forced onto a person- you have to just experience it. So there I was waltzing around campus (In my head, the waltzing that is) and I was content and I just beed. It is past tense cause I am not beeding now as I am trying to to describe the state. The post is is probably more about the state of just just be but that is neither here nor there.
There is also a difference, although I can't quite put my finger on it between the just being and being in a state of be. I can say that I can just be and it has a definite end to it, whereas being is indefinite and already has the past tense of was. In my head that makes a lot more sense right now.
Anyway, more about beed or having been in a state of be. To completely describe how I got to that point would mean telling you every detail of the last few weeks which in turn means telling you most of the story of my life which would take as long as tell as it took to take place (happen). I have thus decided that it is a better idea to condense and simplify and so on. Some of you might remember a post called emotional blank (

Not just Blogging for the Sake of Blogging

2011-11-23T04:00:00Z

So here I sit trying to write a blog and all the while i'm thinking that I must not just blog for the sake of having a blog post for the day (Not that that is a mission) and I can't help but think that I have nothing to say. This is therefor a bad time to blog cause everything that I am saying is totally forced and I don't like doing that at all. This got me thinking though, there are a lot of people that just blog for the sake of it and therefor there is a lot of junk out there. Some people just and up making posts about posts about posts and so the cycle keeps on going and you can only wander where the end is. This is maybe how the internet ends up being kept alive- there are basically a very very limited number of thoughts and the rest are copies and adaptations and such and this results in a boring situation. In fact I have often found myself very bored with the world wide web right at my fingertips and nowhere to visit. This begs the question, where is the original content, who is making it and why aren't there more people being original?They (The infamous for famous, depending on what "They've" done) say that there is a massive drop off in the creativity of people at the age of 6. This is when most people start going to school and that makes it s very scary statistic. Surely schools should be more focussed on channeling the creativity in some way, but alas I think that the rules just kill it. Dare I say it, but if you want to be an inventor or artists, don't go to school...So somewhere around this point I would need to start making my point. I could have used this post at numerous points to diss anomalies, in saying that it isn't creative, or it blogs for the sake of blogging and so on and etc. But I have decided against it as I believe that there are more creative ways to vent our vendettas. Essentially this is a post about a post about a post about a post about a post about a post about a post about a post about a post (Specifically

The Not You Theory

2011-11-20T16:43:00Z

Ok, so I just came to another conclusion about dating which is weird since I have nothing to do with the dating world.
Anyway, so hopefully you've read the make friends not judgements theory (

Purple Sunset

2011-11-18T17:53:00Z

I really don't know what to say about this- it is a sunset, over the Vaal river with some purple clouds. I did mission home quickly to get there in time for the sunset and it paid off, so if you're reading this looking for a tip, then chase your photo I suppose? Please also excuse less than original name.
Be Chasing

Lost Plot

2011-11-17T16:31:00Z

You know that moment when you loose the plot, kinda like when mommy starts hitting daddy at the dinner table... wait no, that's not it. Um when you bought a piece of land a long time ago that wasn't big enough to be called a farm but wasn't in the city and now you've gone looking for it and can't find it... no, that is losing a different plot. How about when you are doing your final year thesis and you are making a poster for it and on it there is a graph, to be more precise, a plot of... you get where this is going.
In their own rights each of these situations lost the plot in a way as they were not accurate descriptions on what loosing the plot actually is and thus they could be seen as loosing the plot whilst trying to describe loosing the plot.
If you've lost the plot of this post, fear not as it is close... wow, my first unintentional rhyme in a post, may there be many more (Still holding out for that elusive pun).
So the plot of the post. Recently, in what is fast becoming an amazing duel of literary creativeness, my blog was dissed. It was bound to happen but at least it was done backhandedly and creatively so I must commend the writer. People say that this writer may have lost the plot in dissing the great
rexfuzzle.com, about a post, about a post, about a post, about a post about a post about a post which is where the plot has most definitely been lost.
Fear not as the new plot (Yes Please, twice in one post) had been found as this is to diss anomalies and oddness (Promise I didn't plan that).
Be Plotting
P.S. This by no means means that the posts without a plot should be stopped (Oh yes I did) as this would mean the end of many posts... Onwards!

Overboard

2011-11-16T14:00:00Z

Technically overboard means when something goes over the side of a ship, this is usually a bad thing unless that this was walking the plank.
These days plank walking has become less common and planking has taken its place and somehow in some cases the results have been similar (-10 for humanity advancing). Overboard on the other hand has come to mean going to ridiculous proportions or taking something too far or something along those lines, you catch my drift... Drifting, something you would do if you walked the plank. But I digress.
The point of this post, if ever there was one is to explain what overboard is exactly and what better way to do this than with an example. A fellow blogger friend recently challenged me and I don't take challenges lightly and this blog and a couple before it is still forming part of this challenge, some might say that it is overboard, but the really overboard part is as follows: This blog post is a post about a post, about a post, about a post, about a post, about a post. It has come to a point where it was worth my while to copy paste those and that is what I would call overboard. I must admit that the post that this is in direct reply (

Trains of Thought

2011-11-14T16:23:00Z

So this is a post about a post about a post which was, you guessed it about a post... The one that this one is about is

Emotional Blank

2011-11-14T02:00:00Z

Have you ever been feeling a certain way and it just feels like there are no words to adequately describe the feeling. It is almost like the words do not exist. Sure there are normal words like love, sad, happy, depressed and so on but sometimes, like right now I either don't know the words. I'm going to describing the feeling a shot and if you can think of a word to sum it all up, let me know. It is somewhere between optimistic and scared, very proud and slightly overwhelmed, happy with a tiny hint of regret as well as love but definitely not the usual kind if ever there was such a thing. The feeling also includes a grin with a positive sigh. Hmm, I might be asking for the impossible with that description and by getting the right word that could possible define my current state of being which is a little scary. Oh and never ask me to explain why i feel this way as the only way to explain it would be put you in my shoes for the last 20 odd years. Be Peaceful

Anomalies

2011-11-13T09:43:00Z

So this is an extremely unique blog post (I hope the sarcasm is evident)- i am going to be blogging about a blog post, more specifically this one-

White Water

2011-11-12T06:00:00Z

Due to a recent post being all about the great outdoors I figured I'd have to put a photo in about that. Taken on a rafting trip down the Vaal river on a good old sunny summers day. No editing on this one and yes the camera got wet, but luckily it is waterproof.
Be adventurous

Remembrance Day

2011-11-11T07:00:00Z

So today is armistice day and if you don't know it is the day on which the second world war was stopped. It is also known as poppy day or remembrance day. This may be a strange point of view but to me this is a very important day. Without it we may not have been here at all. It should also serve as a solemn reminder of what is so wrong about war. It is also an issue of honour, something which is not found very often these days. We need to honour the people who went before us as they are the reason we are here and in this case of soldiers people who have experienced things that we will hopefully never have to experience thanks to them. So at 11:00 today this will be posted as my reflection on the past and in some small way trying to honour those who went before us. I will hopefully try and find a last post that is being played somewhere and take a minute. Have Honour

Lavender

2011-11-10T08:00:00Z

So this is one might call a lot of photoshop and I'll admit there is some pretty heavy editing that has happened here but I like the result and hope you do too. I won't go into what has been done as I can't remember too well but I will say that it is a lavender flower (I think that is what it is called) and there are some in the now very blurred background.
Be purple?

Irony

2011-11-09T19:59:00Z

A blog post about irony: Irony is making a typo on typo. It is saying "I don't believe in boobs" and having them. It is not a miniature iron. I love irony, and it is even better when the person who causes the irony doesn't catch it, often this is referred to as being irony impaired. Sometimes things aren't funny until someone pipes up and says "That's ironic"- I will call this humorous irony. Upon googling irony it was found that google did not provide any results... well that would have been ironic but alas the world sometimes works the way it should and the usual sites popped up with their mundane definitions etc for the word. Ending this blog post with irony would seem appropriate but not ironic and hence: Blog posts should end with something relative to what they were about. Be correct

My Pride

2011-11-09T02:18:00Z

So on a blog, especially mine, I get to show off a little bit, I think, so here goes...
My picture was the exhibition of the day on the coldplay.com website for the 8th of this month (the original link is long dead now, sadly). To me that is kinda cool.
Be Proud

The Great Outdoors

2011-11-08T04:00:00Z

So for those of you (Does anybody even read this thing- no matter) that don't know me- I spent a very large potion of this last year indoors. On Saturday I went and did some truly outdoors type stuff, to be precise, mountain biking at Groenkloof nature reserve in Pretoria. Wow, we live on a beautiful planet. The trees were green and the sky was blue- what more could you ask for. Now at this point you asking what my point is and to be perfectly honest I don't really know. I sort of just letting this happen. What I do know is that I love it. I am intensely keen on having an office that had green stuff in it one day and that my view will be of something green and not just city scapes. This takes me to the point that there are fewer and fewer places left on the planet that are unimpeded by the human race. Taking a picture of a sunset of mountain range is easy but ensuring that there are no antennae or cable lines in the shot has become the real art. Naturally our friend photoshop can help us out and remove these items but the reality is that our planet is not as pretty as it possibly could be. So now I have stated that the planet is pretty and in the next paragraph stated that it isn't so, where to from here? Well as I see it we either head further and further into the wild to find places that man hasn't affected or we have to make a decision to try to make everything as pretty as we can so it can try to compete with nature. Naturally it will loose the battle but at least we're fighting it. On the original point, not that there was one, I truly think that some form of outdoor activity is very good for the soul. I can go and state that it is like going back to our ground roots and getting in touch with out ancestors and stuff but that may just sound a bit too hippyish, so I won't. I will say that you should try it with and open mind and you might be surprised. You could even scrap the activity part and just be outdoors, although just being is an activity in my book anyway. Anyways, that was all over the place... just like outdoors...Be Green

Bloggers Block

2011-11-06T19:00:00Z

So one inevitably comes to that time when the cursor starts to blink and no letters are appearing. Sometimes one has something to say and just forgets or doesn't know how to put it into words. On other occasions one thinks that the words will spontaneously start to appear and the blog post will be awesome. Don't get me wrong, this may or may not be a post about nothing in particular besides the inability to blog but the point stands what does one write about when one has nothing in particular to say. It is also particularly frustrating when one thought of stuff to write about while it was happening and the the cursor is suddenly blinking at you and you have no clue how to stop it. It is actually kinda teasing... it just blinks and blinks, can constant reminder that there is no input coming from the keyboard. One might be interested to note that the cursor does stop blinking while the keys are being pressed which kinda just proves the teasing point. Anyways, referring to people as one is annoying and I will thus revert to you. Don't blink

Campus Balls

2011-11-05T05:00:00Z

Ok, this one is of campus (University of Pretoria) and took a bit of editing to get to looking like this. It is actually a combination of about 3 shots taken at night at different exposures and then combined to get the best lighting effect, this is called HDR. It has been raining and the wind blowing, hence shiny parts and blurry trees. The balls are a part of a set that commemorates the centenary year of the varsity.
Study Hard

Glitter

2011-11-04T08:00:00Z

So after a recent formal event at which the table decorations were "beautified" using glitter people may have decided that it was funny to try to get it on each other. It is now a week later and I'm still finding glitter everywhere. Last night this lead to a good friend of mine, Gareth, saying the following:"Glitter is the herpes of the decorating world."I agree, not that I know anything about herpes, as my knowledge is based on what I've heard in movies and that is always accurate. Cheers

Sunset Glass-Water Ski

2011-11-04T05:00:00Z

So this is another one from the river. Late afternoon, one of the last skis of the day and water like glass... ah, bliss. Can't wait to go for a ski- soon soon.
Peace

Fighting Fire with Fire

2011-11-04T02:00:00Z

So this all started with a late night random conversation with a friend. The idea has supposedly been tested on myth busters and that is that is it possible to extinguish a fire with sound waves. Now by using a bit of imagination the question can be asked: "What song would be the best to play to put the fire out. My list looks as follows and is in no particular order:1. Sean Kingston- Fire Burning2. The Scissor Sisters- Fire with Fire3. Katy Perry- Firework4. Black Veil Brides- Set the World on Fire5. Adele- Set Fire to the Rain6. Billy Joel- We Didn't Start the Fire7. Kings of Leon- Sex on Fire8. Plush- Sky Fire9. Johnny Cash- Ring of FireSaving the best for last and obvious choice to me is:10. Plush- Damn the FireAnyways, by the looks of thing the fire fighting music shouldn't be a problem and everybody can break it down while doing it. Be Cool!

Theory: Make Friends Not Judgements

2011-11-03T08:00:00Z

Ok, here we go, the first theory on RexFuzzle- Whoop Whoop!What is the first thing you think when you meet someone? Think about it, you're introduced to someone and immediately you're looking at them going I like that or don't like this or he/she has big teeth or or or, the list is endless, the point being that you're judging. Funny how people always try and deny this when you first tell them, but really go think about it, we all do it. It i such an automatic response, it just happens. The reasons for this judgement are another theory altogether but the point here is that it affects the way we treat the people we are meeting. If we meet someone and we like what we hear/see then it is game on- you want to get to know the person, possibly date them and our imaginations run wild- cue the montage with time after time playing in the background. It is amazing that within the first few minutes even seconds of meeting someone this is decided upon. On the other hand, you don't like what you see/hear and it is game over. You have no real interest in the person and any friendship or relationship that could have existed is out the window. Don't get me wrong, you still be polite and say hello, basically this could be called an acquaintance. Now here is the challenge- make friends. The more people I meet and talk to the more I find that everybody has a deal. In most cases it takes more than an introduction to find that deal but its there. Now this is the part where I'd love to say that I found my life partner like this and we weren't attracted to each other at first and so on and so forth, alas this is not the case. The reality is the more people that I meet the more i realise that I'm judging them and not trying to get to know them first. The challenge is to first realise how much you judge...Have Fun!

Blue Sunset

2011-11-03T02:00:00Z

So this is the actual beginning. I took this a number of years ago in Parys on the Vaal river on a late summer evening. No photoshop on this one. If you look really carefully you can see the evening star. This photo kinda gave rise to the sunset theory... more on that later.
Cheers

The First Fuzzle

2011-11-02T20:00:00Z

Welcome! You have managed to stumble across my humble blog. I hope that you find something interesting, if you don't let me know. If you don't like what you find then start your own blog. On a serious note (Yeah right) this blog is aimed at having a little bit of everything like some photos, opinions and theories. I might try claim some to be my own but everybody in my life has influenced them somehow, if you want to street cred for any of them just let me know and we can arrange something. Above and beyond everything, have Fun. Peace