WTF? OMGH4X

Saw this numberplate yesterday on my way home. Caused some giggles in the car.

 

Full Moon Halo

Last night the moon was full and the sky was clear. The moon had a seriously big ring around it, way bigger than what I’ve seen before.

Full Moon Halo

Google revealed the following (and some awesome photos!).

A halo; also known as a nimbus, icebow or Gloriole) is an optical phenomenon that appears near or around the Sun or Moon, and sometimes near other strong light sources such as street lights. There are many types of optical halos, but they are mostly caused by ice crystals in cold cirrus clouds located high (5–10 km, or 3–6 miles) in the upper troposphere. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals is responsible for the type of halo observed. Light is reflected and refracted by the ice crystals and may split up into colors because of dispersion, similarly to the rainbow. Source: wiki

Aphelion, the True Midwinter’s Day, is always in the first week in July. This is the day when the Sun is furthest from Earth for the year. Cooler temperatures come to NZ around Aphelion Day and it is the why the first week in July is cold enough for ski-fields to open the season. Source.

Our neighbours peeked out of their kitchen window to see me standing in the middle of our driveway just after 9pm with a camera & tripod in the one hand and the telephone in the other hand, staring at the moon. I guess we’re in for some colder weather then, but at least the ski-fields opened up. I can’t wait for mid-August to go skiing again.

 

Twitter

I have succumbed to Twitter. Follow me and I’ll follow you.

 

Stop with the downloading already

Uncapped internet is awesome. Until you get the bill at the end of the month. 80GB of internet usage in May. 88GB in June. Can you say ridiculous?

I might just have to unplug & hide the router every time I leave the house.

 

10 signs on spotting a programmer

I had a good chuckle while reading through a StackOverflow question.

A poster was asking how you could identify from afar that someone was a programmer.

Some of my favourites are:
0. They use nested parentheses in normal writing (at least I do (sometimes)).
1. They number lists starting with 0.
2. They use slashed zero to distinguish the digit 0 from the letter O.
3. They complain that Google doesn’t have regular expressions support.
4. They laugh at the classic “there are 10 types of people who understand binary; those who do, and those who don’t” shirt.
5. Ask them what languages they know. You can tell the programmer by the way he names numerous languages but forgets to include ‘English’.
6. When they end a random sentence with a semi-colon;
7. They have Dilbert / XKCD comics on their walls.
8. The answer to “what kind of computer do you use?” isn’t a one word response.
9. Their family always thinks they can fix any small appliance.

With how many can you identify?

 

NZPR

We have lodged our interest to apply for Permanent Residency. Applicants need to have a minimum of 140 points to qualify automatically. We qualified automatically with a total of 215 points. A lot of the points came from my work experience in a skilled field (IT) in NZ. Even if we didn’t count the points we got for qualifications, we would still be way over the 140 point mark. Which is good.

A week after expressing our interest (and paying $400 (about R2000)) we were (automatically) selected. Now, our file will be given to a case officer and they will assess our application. After about 3 weeks (hopefully) we should get a big envelope full of paperwork that we need to check, fill in an return. But, to make things a bit more interesting, we need to provide evidence for everything. Evidence of our relationship (photos, letters, shared bank accounts etc), evidence of NZ work (letters from employers, salary slips, employment contracts etc), evidence of good character (police clearance <- this will be a helluva schlep to get from SA), evidence of good health (full medical, chest x-rays, blood tests, pee-in-the-bottle-please test etc) and evidence of qualifications. So when we eventually have all the documentation and evidence ready, we can send it back to the case officer. With $1400 (about R7000). Then, we wait for an answer. If everything is in order, we should be granted Residency somewhere around December 2009. And, then it is another $600 (about R3000) for 2 stamps in our passports to say that we’re NZ residents. Then, we can work permit free. We’ll also be able to leave the country and come back to work (currently on the work permit, if we leave the country we’re not allowed to work once we get back. Weird, I know.)

So, whoever has been asking why we haven’t been planning a holiday back to South Africa: our funds have been routed elsewhere for the time being. The trip back to SA is 2nd on the list, short on the heels of getting PR.

I’ll soon post up some pics of my dad’s trip to SA

 

Name ‘E’ is not declared

Another one of Visual Studio’s weird errors. After building & running once in debug mode I get the following error when trying to run the app again in debug mode. The only workaround that I found that sorted it out (but not fix it), is to close all designer forms, rebuild, close Visual Studio and then reopen the project. It has randomly given errors on other VS keywords, but it seems like it is E of  “End Sub” that really irks VS.

(Yes, it is VB. If I refuse to code in VB, I will most likely be without a job.)

Anyone who can fix this for me, will be my hero for a day. It gets cumbersome when I have to close & reopen VS more than a dozen times a day.

 

Pic of the day – Random Bird

Our flatmate heard a ruffle under her bed and saw this little fellow. We think that her cat brought it in, but didn’t know what do to with it.

 

Windows Live Messenger a requirement for developers?

I logged into my computer this morning, opened Visual Studio and was told that I wasn’t logged into Windows Live Messenger. I’m not sure how this is a requirement for developers using Team Foundation System, but I promptly logged into MSN to avoid any further confusion for Visual Studio

Business Objects & Crystal Reports 2008 also seems very generous, giving me -7937 more days to use Crystal! This message popped up after entering the full version license key.

 

What time is it actually?

Monday afternoon dragged by and I started to think that it was getting to be the longest day ever. The afternoon just didn’t want to come to a close. Everything was out of sync; the guy who got his coffee on the hour, every hour, went for a refill at 14:38, the lady who leaves at 4pm, left at 14:38.

All seemed right until someone pasted an error log in an email and I thought that they perfected the space-time jump. Then I realised that Windows Vista’s clock was tricking me.

So, for the better part of Monday afternoon, it was 14:38. I’m still not sure why Windows Vista’s clock freezes from time to time, but a quick resize of the task bar seemed to have refreshed the clock and it is ticking away as usual again.

 

Little applications that make big differences

Have you ever used  little “unknown” applications so much, that it frustrated you when you had to do something on someone else’s PC and they didn’t have the “special” app installed or correctly configured?

Most of us have these frequently used applications. I have the following applications installed on both my work and home PC and I use them every single day.:

• Launchy – a free utility that allows you to catalog, index and LAUNCH your most used folders, files etc, from a single point! No more need to browse through folders and files looking for that file or shortcut. It even launches your browser with a search query or doubles-up as a basic calculator. It also remembers the last app that you opens via Launchy. This is extremely handy when you are a developer and you have test applications in which you run your code. It also has predictive text, calculating what it thinks you will need and as you type, will alter the search results.

My Launchy, when launched via the hot-key, Ctrl-Space

Launchy, when in "predictive text" mode.

Launchy is fully customizable, ranging from skins, catalogs, startup mode, opaqueness, fade-times and extra plugins. Very useful for any developer or PC user.

• Project Fred is an “entirely pointless program which counts the number of keys you press and the number of times you click your mouse“. But oh so fun to have! You can upload your stats as often as you like. I usually upload my stats at the end of each work day, so that I start out fresh the next day. NOTE that Project Fred does not record what you type, it just counts keystrokes and mouseclicks. After you have created an account on the website and downloaded the very small application, an icon will appear in your systray (next to the time in the bottom RH corner). If you hover over the icon, it will give you your current stats.

Project Fred System Tray icon and current stats

Project Fred full statistics

I use Project Fred to track whether my day is worthy of being called busy. If my keyboard strokes amount to about 50k and the total distance travelled by mouse is over 0.5km, then the day is worthy of being called busy or relatively productive.

Project Fred starts up when your PC boots up and doesn’t slow down your system at all. Another very nice to have toy for your computer.

• Microsoft OneNote & OneNote Screen Capture is the replacement for print-screening-opening Paint-paste-cut out what you need-copy selection-create new file-paste selection-save. Instead of using the PrtScn button located somewhere on your keyboard (usually above the Insert-Home-Page Up button set), you can now use OneNote’s screen capture abilities. I only recently found out of this totally brilliant concept and have been using it ever since. MS Paint is as good as dead on my PC. With the use of the hotkey combination Windows Key + S, OneNote print-screens your whole screen (and greys your screen out). You can then point, click, drag and select exactly what you are after. It then opens up OneNote and displays your screen clipping. You can then either leave it there (it doesn’t get deleted) or right-click and copy the image directly from OneNote into your email / Word document.

OneNote screen clipping

The quality of of OneNote’s screen clippings is much better than Paint’s (comparing JPEG’s and PNG’s). OneNote saves all images in PNG format (which is supported almost everywhere). OneNote comes installed with Office 2007 but can be run as a standalone too. A 60 day trial is available from here. I use OneNote’s screen capture functionality every day, even if it is only to capture something I want to remember or use  later in the day.

• Fire Gestures as a FireFox addon: this is the best ever tool that I have used within a web browser. This little utility works so good that I even want to use it while browsing file directories. It is a FireFox extension which allows you to do cetain things (such as browse back, close a tab, save file etc) with 5 different mouse gestures:
  • Mouse Gestures (Move mouse with holding right-click)
  • Wheel Gestures (Scroll wheel with holding right-click)
  • Rocker Gestures (Left-click with holding right-click and vice versa)
  • Keypress Gestures (Mouse gesture with holding Ctrl / Shift key)
  • Tab Wheel Gestures (Scrolling wheel on the tab bar

The gestures I mostly use is the Mouse Gestures, especially dragging the mouse pointer to the left (same effect as clicking on the Back button in your browser), dragging the mouse pointer to the right (same effect as clicking on the Forward button in your browser), dragging the mouse down and then to the right (closes the tab).

FireFox extension - FireGestures

To see all the mapped gestures, you click on Tools then Add-Ons then you select FireGestures and select Options. Here you will be able to see all the mappings, change the colour of the FireGesture etc. I personally think that Microsoft can incorporate similar functionality into their operating systems!

 

Scooter

So, since Auckland traffic sucks at the best of times, moving around in a car is very restrictive (especially for someone like me who can’t sit still), the cost of petrol going up (and down) and parking is more expensive than petrol, we decided to get a scooter. It took us a while to decide what we want and what we can legally drive around. We found what we were looking for on TradeMe and went to have a look at the scooter. I was intrigued when I saw it, but so damn scared of the thing. Do realise I am a creature of comfort and I do not like change that much.

Ok… so now that we know what we want and where to get it and since the scooter is brand new, it needs to be inspected and given the stamp of approval. But, unlucky as I am, the scooter’s VIN plate is not attached and must be couriered in from China. VIN plate received, the inspection center wants the original ownership / importer’s papers. We requested the papers, got them eventually and the scooter was roadworthy and approved safe. Now to register it on our names. The registration center needs evidence that the scooter is actually in Auckland and that it was legally imported. So we send in a photo of the scooter and the NZ Herald and some supporting papers. But, the scooter can’t be registered on my name, since I haven’t converted my SA license to a NZ license. But, since Ettiene converted his license about 3 weeks before, it can be registered on his name. After a total of 3 weeks, we have the scooter at home now.

No learner’s license yet, so I can’t drive around. And NZ is super strict on their road rules and regulations. And we don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize our chances for permanent residency. At least we bought a helmet yesterday. With some trouble and some wating, I got a helmet in the colour and size that I wanted.

To get the learner’s license, I must be able to pass a Basic Skills & Handling practical test which comprises of:

• Slow riding - You must ride at walking speed through a lane 0.75 metres wide and 18 metres long.
• Routine stop – You must ride at a speed of approximately 20 km/h and, when given a signal from the examiner, stop so the motorcycle’s front wheel comes to rest within a marked square.
• Cone weaving (slalom) – You must ride along a slalom course, weaving between cones placed 3.5 metres apart.
• Quick stop – You must ride at a speed of approximately 20 km/h and, on a signal from the examiner, stop as quickly and safely as possible.
• Riding a curve – You must ride up to a curve from a distance of 25 metres at a speed of 20 km/h. You must then give a turn signal, adjust your speed and ride around the curve (which is 1.2 metres wide), keeping within the lines all the way.
• Stopping in the curve – You must ride up to a curve from a distance of 25 metres at a speed of 20 km/h. You must then adjust your speed, enter the curve and come to a stop within the curve.

It all seems easy enuf, but I haven’t driven a 2-wheeled vehicle in a very long time.  After the practical test, you still need to sit the written exam which is like a scratch-and-win prize ticket. You need 32 correct answers out of 35 to pass. Then, pay the licensing departing some money, accept or decline beign an organ donor and you’re on your way.

Scooter

Helmet

I think it is a good spin-off of the BMW C1 which kinda failed when the authorities didn’t approve riding without a helmet (which was BMW’s original marketing idea). My scooter is a much cheaper version .

The scooter is a 250cc, which is enuf to be legal to go on the motorways and over the Auckland Harbor bridge.

Scooter specs:

• 250cc high power liquid-cooled single-cylinder 4-stroke engine
• Electric start
• Transmission Automatic Clutchless Centrifugal Belt Drive
• 16.6HP
• 28.3″ width, 88.2″ length, 53.7″ height, 64″ wheelbase
• Dry weight of 340lb (108kg), max carrying weight of 610lb (275kg)
• Top speed of 85 mph (135kmh)
  
• 130/60-13 tyres
• Retractable roof
• Radio & speakers (yes, this intrigued me)
• CVT (constant velocity transmission)
• All the normal stuff like indicators, horn, hazard lights
• Since it has a front window, it also has a window wiper and window water-sprayer

I’m still not sure when I will face my fears and actually go for a drive on the scooter, but it will be within the next week or so.

 

Music and Memories

Everybody has experienced that eerie emotion when memories come flooding in when they hear a particular song or smell a whiff of a certain fragrance. And no two people will experience exactly the same emotion or remember precisely the same situation when they come into contact with that memory-stirrer.

We all have songs stuck in our unconscious minds somewhere, be it the song that was playing in the background when you had your first kiss or the song you raved to on that first night of summer holidays back in when you were 16. For instance, the song “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You” by George Harrison from the Beatles brings back the memories to the summer of 1988 / 1989 when I was 5 years old and my playschool / crèche had their annual Christmas party. I remember this party and this particular song because my mother gave me a very dainty gold necklace with a dove pendant. I thought that this was the best gift ever because I was never before trusted with something this delicate and precious.

Same goes with smells and the memories that are attached to them. Every time I smell orange scented bathroom spray (weird, I know), it reminds me of my paternal grandmother and the school holidays I spent in Paarl / Cape Town. It reminds me of the tidy and uncluttered house, the neatly manicured gardens and the super cold waters of Bloubergstrand. Braaivleis reminds me of the lazy summery Sunday afternoons we spent next to the pool, just relaxing and enjoying the sun.

Some other songs that trigger strong emotions within me:

All I Want (Offspring) – This definitely reminds me of high school years, sitting in the back of the bus having a smoke on the way home, being as much of a rebel that was legally possible. Although I’ve dropped most (I’ll say all…) of the extremely bad habits of 1997 – 2001, this song still reminds me of that strong emotion of wanting to be respected, accepted and just generally be left alone.

Nessaja (Scooter) – reminds me of the more carefree days of adulthood. I used to drive to PE Tech in the mornings with this song playing as loud as possible. It was usually enuf to psyche me up for the day.

As Ek Weer Kom (Bok van Blerk) – bit on the frivolous Afrikaans side of my music taste, but this definitely brings back memories of driving from Port Elizabeth to Uitenhage every Sunday afternoon for a year for indoor cricket practice. It was on the only decent CD in my mother’s car, since I didn’t try my luck with my own car on that excuse of a back road.

F**k It (Eamon) & Superman (Eminem) – Dolphin Rally 2004 in Graaff-Reinet. My first ever bike rally, even though I didn’t ride there on a bike, but rather drove my car, I still had a blast. The car was packed to the brim with 9 peoples’ baggage, booze and tents for the long weekend. These 2 songs were playing in the beer tent all weekend long. I actually can’t believe it was 4 years ago.

Iko Iko (Dixie Cups) – This song features at the start of Mission Impossible II, but was actually made popular in 1965 by the Dixie Cups. I first heard this song back in 2005 when I had my first real IT job as IT Technician / Support Controller in Port Elizabeth. It has good memories attached to it, because those were the days when we played Quake Arena III in lunchtimes and whenever the boss was out of the office. That is also the place where I picked up my own “stupid end users” stories. I think that was the nicest & comfiest job I’ve had, except for the fact that the pay was utterly crap and the boss was an ass. This song definitely reminds me that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Somewhere.

There are loads more songs that bring up a nostalgic feeling, but these are the most prominent ones that I listen to more often. These songs may mean absolutely nothing to you, but to me they are all part my life and the years I spent growing up and finding my feet in adulthood. And then again… your favourite memory jerking songs may have no meaning to me; I might not even like the song or know it for that matter.

 

Burn After Reading

We watched Burn After Reading tonite. IMO it was not worth the paper the tickets were printed on. Not even Brad Pitt, George Clooney & John Malkovich’s presence in the film made a difference. It sucked There were random flat characters, no consistency to the storyline and an absolute anticlimatic ending. And to top it all off, Brad doesn’t even get to the end of the movie. And it seemed that they invented the F-word, since it was used at least twice in each sentence.

Monday is a public holiday. I’m working Sunday and Monday. Working on the Labour weekend. Fun in the sun.

 

And then there were 3…

We (Ettiene & I) currently stay in a modest 2 bedroom downstairs unit. We have everything we need now ranging from a kitchen, laundry to a  study / 2nd bedroom. We don’t get in each other’s way or step on each other’s toes. I’m not planning on staying there for the rest of my life, but for the next 1 – 6 months, it will be fine.

Very soon (like in tomorrow afternoon) we will be 3 people in our house. And it’s not a family member or close friend that is coming for a visit. I must’ve done something terribly wrong in the past year, because we are blessed with a 18-year old delinquent with a pimped-up BMW and a Mohawk. But, he wouldn’t be a delinquent if he was allowed to drive the BMW. His license got taken away a few weeks ago when he got pulled over at 03h30 in the morning. While being intoxicated. And speeding at almost double the speed limit. He is a colleague  of Ettiene’s and actually a very sweet kid / boy / man (whatever you call an 18 YO); he just fell of the bus somewhere. He’s also South African, so we kind of feel obligated to take him in for a month.

So, now we don’t have a study anymore and the PC needs to be moved into the lounge / dining room. Which is fine for now. Until the weekend when my 7 piece dining suite arrives. We now also have to move the tumble-dryer out (definitely not into lounge) and vacate the room which is filled with random boxes and stuff we don’t use of a everyday basis. OK, so when the room gets cleared out tonight, we will have the 2nd bedroom open and he can move in.

Now, my actual problem is… we only have 1 bathroom. And 1 toilet. And the toilet is in the bathroom. Ettiene & I have come to a good working schedule in the morning, mostly due to the fast that he has either a very early shift (starting at 07h00) or a very late shift (starting at 09h30). I only start work at 08h30, so I only get up just before 07h00. In either case, we both have access to the bathroom with the time in the world to spare.

This now also means that I will have to cook for 3 now. And clean for 3 too. And share the PC with 2 other people, instead of just 1. He’ll be out before Christmas (which is about 8 weeks away) when he moves in with his brother who can’t let him in at the moment because of a space problem.

[offtopic] We went to the local supermarket’s parking lot after hours on Sunday to practice my scooter driving skills. I must say that it is quite exhilarating driving around on a 2-wheeled vehicle with the wind in your hair (even though I never drove fast than 20km/h). Will probably book my skills test appointment for somewhere around the 15th of November. So, I will be driving around legally before Christmas![/offtopic]

 

Trick or treat!

Yep, Halloween came and Halloween went. No funny tricks and all was a treat.

We went to a Halloween party on Friday the 31st of Oct 2008.  The place was extremely well decorated with “spider webs”, rubber spiders, hollowed out pumpkins and scary background music. And as always with the NZ crowd – everyone made an effort to dress up. There was a Cleopatra, a Scuba Steve, a bunch of vampires / Count Dracula’s and a few devils, to name a few. The best dressed IMO was the girl who looked like she JUST stepped of the set of Dawn of the Dead. We, however, didn’t go trick-or-treating (I think we’re a bit too old for that!), but there was enuf treats at the party to satisfy 10 little monsters.

Saturday, I went to my first barbeque since I’ve been here (and I’ve been here for more than 8 months). Although it was a gas BBQ, it sure as hell reminded me of the SA braai. It is my next mission to buy us a BBQ – summer is on its way and there is no way I am cooking every single night where we could have a BBQ every now and again.

Wednesday evening should be eventful too, since it is Guy Fawkes (5 Nov). For those who didn’t know: Guy Fawkes was an English soldier who was charged for the conspiracy to assassinate King James and the members of the Houses of Parliament in 1605. He and the rest of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators hid 800kg of gunpowder in the cellar of the House of Lords. One conspirator had a conscience and warned the Secretary of State and the cellar was searched the morning of 5 November 1605. Guy Fawkes was caught red-handed as he attempted to ignite the power charge with a torch. He was hanged, drawn and quartered on 31 January 1606. The day was appointed as a day of thanksgiving for “the joyful day of deliverance”.

Now, the Kiwi’s do things differently here. Here, fireworks can be bought at the local supermarket and you can set it off in your backyard. Back in SA, only professional firework handlers would set off the fireworks in controlled open areas. It freaks me out every time the kid next door sets one off. But, always being in the spirit of things – I’ll prolly buy some sparklers and romp around the house being all courageous and adventurous .

 

Update on our 18 YO delinquent

I must say: I am quite impressed with our new house guest. I was really gearing up for a tough 1 or 2 months, trying to pick up pieces of glass, lock the doors and buy some burglar bars.

He’s been well mannered and polite and stays totally out of our way. He’s not fussy with food and eats everything that I put in front of him. He makes up his bed (more than what I can say for myself some days) and his towel is never somewhere wet and on the floor.

Friday night, he went out with friends and only came in at 06h30 on Saturday morning and slept till 16h30 Saturday afternoon. Which meant I couldn’t use the dryer, but that wasn’t the end of the world – I wasn’t in the mood for washing in anyway. He went out again on Saturday night, only to get back home 06h30 on Sunday morning to sleep for 2 hours and start work at 09h00 again. It’s fun to be 18 and not need any sleep!

He kinda lost his boy-racer-car keys somewhere between moving in and now, so we have a pimped up beamer standing right in front of our house and no way to drive it (not that I would want to). He also got stranded at a bus station 20 km from home, without money. At least he had his mobile with him; so he sent us a text and we picked him up.

It really feels like I got utterly drunk one night, got pregnant, gave birth, skipped 18 years of delinquency and now trying to put the pieces back together.

This whole situation confirmed the fact that our house is way to small for us (even if it is only me and Ettiene). So, now I am house hunting too. Not buying straight away, I want to rent until we get Permanent Residency. I’ve seen a few, but to convince Ettiene to go and house shop is a mission on its own. Ideally looking for a 3-bedroom place, with more than one bathroom, a nice kitchen and some sort of outdoor entertainment area. Not sure whether I’ll be able to find something I like that is within my “oooh that’s a bargain” price range before Christmas, but I sure do hope so. We don’t even have place for a Christmas tree at the moment!

 

Fun in the sun

The majority of my time in NZ has been during the winter, so we haven’t really been to any of the beaches for a relaxing day out. We’ve went sightseeing when I just got here and went to see the beaches at Pakiri and Muriwai and Shelley Beach, but really only for the sightseeing, not to actually just sit on the beach and watch the people, maybe play some ball or go for a swim.

On Saturday we went to the much talked-about Mission Bay beach. Mission Bay is about 8.5km out of the Auckland City centre to the east and approximately 21.5km from our house. On our drive over there, we were graced by the presence of all the sailboats and powerboats just bobbing away in the marinas. They ranged from those real one-man-show sailboats to those big fancy ones where you kind of expect the beach-bronzed blonde babes to suddenly emerge from the deck below laughing and drinking champagne. Parking was a hassle (as it is everywhere else in Auckland), but eventually we got a nice spot quite close to the beach.

When we found our friends on the sand, we plonked down and kicked off our jandals (NZ term for flip flops). The sand wasn’t quiet as white as expected (coming from PE we prolly set the standard a bit too high) but much whiter than Goat Island or Takapuna’s black sand. I didn’t bother to venture into the water, but I was told it was very cold (leeu koud!). Quite the variety of people there too, from the primadonnas with their bleached hair and plastic nails to the ganstas with the chains on the denims that are 3 sizes too big.

The sun was baking down on us, the breeze was crisp and the company good. The delinquent fell asleep on the sand after only coming into the house at 05h30 Saturday morning bringing in another delinquent who passed out on our couch. I didn’t get sunburned, but the back of Ettiene’s legs are roasted and the delinquent will probably start peeling very soon. Nice day having fun in the sun. The change in scenery and the fresh ocean air knocked me out by 20h30 on Saturday evening, leaving me totally useless until Sunday morning. A definite will-do-again!

Sunset at Muriwai Beach early 2008

Alicia at Muriwai Beach early 2008

Pakiri's white undisturbed beach

Mission Bay Nov 2008 (Rangitoto in the background)

Mission Bay's beach November 2008

Shells on the beach - Mission Bay Nov 2008

 

No Smoking, Please!

It first happened in a park in December 1998. Sitting on a swing. Watching the summer sunset. Typical PE breeze whisking stray strands of my hair into my eyes. No pressure. Really, no pressure. It was something I wanted to try ever since I can remember. It was offered. I accepted. The headrush I had was a total out of body experience – I couldn’t move, I couldn’t talk. Just had to ride it out. The Chesterfield Light got me hooked. Maybe not immediately, but it lay the foundation for many years of willpowerlessness (yes, that’s a word now).

I never really considered myself to be a hardcore smoker, just a puff here, a drag there; until Standard 9. The new school year started, everyone dressed in the whitest socks and the bluest dresses with polished black shoes. The regular smoke-seller matriculated and the position needed to be filled. I quickly did the calculations – 1 pack of B&H Special Mild for R8.00, charging R1.00 per cigarette, if I sold 16 cigarettes a day (which was the usual case), I had enough money for tomorrow’s pack, the 4 cigarettes I smoked per day and enough money for lunch. For 2 years, I had the market. Even if someone else tried to infiltrate MY market with the same brand at a cheaper rate, I still had the market. You stay loyal to your dealer (even if it’s only cigarettes).

For the first while, it influenced my breathing in a negative manner. I started doing worse at target shooting (my passion that developed because of a bet) because I wasn’t used to the nicotine and the (much lighter than the first time) headrushes. Then, all of a sudden after a smoke, my breathing was more relaxed, I could concentrate better, I “zoned” out making me the best in what I do. It became a way of life, a statement to the world, a calming pill; I was a rebel without cause.

My dad freaked out when he found out, my mom said she knew all along. Me and my mom got closer because of the smoking. After I finished school, I smoked in front of my mom. Never ever in front of my dad. I left my smokes in the car when I visited him. But he still knew I smoked. My sister only found out after 7 years of me smoking (yup, I can hide stuff I don’t want people finding out about). I felt like a failure when she found out. I’m the older sister, I’m suppose to be the goody-two-shoes role model. She still loved me, she still does.

There is no better way to quit smoking than getting on an airplane, flying to Jo’burg, spending the night with grandparents who never knew I smoked, then flying off to Dubai, Singapore, Australia and eventually New Zealand. 2 and a half days after leaving SA (with Nicorette patches close by, I might add) I still stepped down in NZ as a smoker. I just never got around to buying a pack of smokes, ever again. Ever. And the fact that Ettiene despises smoking also greatly helped me in quitting. Yeah, I had cravings. I got cranky and irritable. How many times did I wish I had more courage to ask a passerby for a cigarette, just to show myself that it is bad. But I never did.

I am now proud to say that I’ve been smoke free for 9 months now. And I am totally anti-smoke now. I’m a goody-two-shoes now. Smoking stinks like wet ashtrays. I can smell a smoker a mile away. Everything I stood for and lived for in high school totally disgusts me now. I always thought what I would do with all the free time I would have if I would ever stop smoking – what would I do with my hands?! I still don’t have more things to do just because I’m not a smoker anymore. But, I don’t waste my time smoking either.

If I could go back to that lazy day when I sat on the swing and he offered me a smoke, I would laugh in his face and tell him to shove it. Life has so many more meaning now – I can walk up flights of stairs without wheezing, I don’t have a chronic morning cough anymore, my sinuses don’t act up anymore, I smell like a girl again and not like a wet second-hand ashtray (yes smokers, that is what you smell like), I can kiss a guy and not worry about tasting like a wet second-hand ashtray, I can wake up in the morning and just cuddle and not get up because I need a smoke. So many things that I can completely enjoy now without ruining it by the smell and habit of a cigarette. And, our car still smells fresh, even if it is almost 10 years old!

But, it was part of life and part of growing up. If I had to change any of that, I wouldn’t be the person I was today. I’m happy with who I am today. I’m a goody-two-shoes and my sister still loves me.

 

The Dentist

I’ve been having the worst tooth ache imaginable the past 3 – 4 weeks. It kept me awake at night, I couldn’t concentrate, I was groggy and turning into a real bitch.

Now, I don’t have the normal fear of dentists that all other people might have. Oh no’s – I would rather have a bum off the street pull my tooth with a rusted pair of pliers than have a dentist come near my mouth with a drill, a needle and that freakin’ interrogation light they use. Let me explain the root of this particular fear. I was about 7 or 8, wearing a pair of socks (it was winter and my feet were cold), running through our kitchen, slipping, falling and hitting my RHS front tooth against our oh-so-trustworthy Afrikaner kitchen table. It was one of those tables that were handed down from generation to generation and had thick steel legs and a melamine top that was colour-coordinated with the chairs.

So I hit my tooth against the kitchen table. And a big piece of tooth was broken off, diagonally. The broken off piece of tooth ricocheted off my cheek and landed somewhere where it won’t ever be found. There was blood everywhere. My mother was hysterical. I can’t remember whether I was taken to the emergency room or not, but I know for a fact that the tooth wasn’t fixed that evening. Or even the following morning. I was a 7 / 8 year old girl too scared to open her mouth, for the crisp PE winter wind attacked the open nerve at every opportunity. The tooth was patched up, but it never lasted for more than a few weeks. How do you stop a kid from eating toffee-apples? Or ice cream? Or biltong? Impossible. So, by the time I was 15, I got my tooth crowned for the first time.

I still visualise the dentist who did my first crown as a mix between Edward Scissorhands and Jason from Friday the Thirteenth. He gave me 3 injections, all in the same place, which felt like him stabbing 3 hot fire pokers up through my top jaw, piercing my nasal cavaties and finishing up in my frontal lobe. He drilled and buffed and did all the dentisty things. Finally, I had my crown. But, Edward Scissorhands, did a crappy job. 3 years later, the crown came out while taking a bite out of a sandwich. The crown was replaced by a new one, but the fear of dentists and injections and dental surgery never left me. It been almost 10 years since my 2nd crown was done, but I still wake up and my first thought is whether my crown is still there.

Back to recent tooth ache – the filling in my last molar fell out when I was still in SA. I just never got the time to go to the dentist to fix it up. Until now. Although I don’t have much trust in females in medicine (due to the incompetent old hag that misdiagnosed me with shingles instead of muscle spasms – good thing I got a second opinion), the [female] dentist was very pleasant and calmed me. She gave me 2 injections into the jaw joint (and it felt like the needle was going to pierce my right eardrum), but at least it wasn’t painful. She drilled and did her thing and now I can actually eat and drink without having to worry about tooth ache.

My jaw joint is still a bit stiff and sore though. And I couldn’t speak for the better part of the day due to half my mouth being numb, but at least the tooth is fixed and I can live a happy life again.

 

House Hunting

As mentioned before, we are in the market for a new rental. Since we can only apply for a home loan when we have permanent residency, we have to rent. For the past 10 months, we’ve been living in a 2 bedroom downstairs flat that has seen (much) better days. The place needs a new coat of paint, the carpets need to be replaced, the kitchen cupboards need to be removed, sanded down and repainted, and the bathroom needs work. These are only the major things – smaller things like missing door & cupboard handles, squeaky doors and a leaky roof all contribute to a not-so-pleasant stay.

Now also with the addition of the delinquent (who turned out not to be any sort of hassle) and my dad and his wife coming down in March for a visit, we agreed that we needed something bigger (and more decent). This way we also won’t be hassled by the black hell monster from upstairs or by the exuberant cost of splitting the electricity bill with someone who has a chronic need-to-use-the-washing-machine-and-tumble-dryer-on-a-daily-basis syndrome. Yes, I have a problem with paying for something I don’t use. If we only do washing on a Saturday morning and we don’t even own a dishwasher or an electric blanket or a fan that is constantly on full-force mode and we switch off lights and TV’s that aren’t in use and we don’t even use the kettle (we’re more cold drinks people), please tell me how we get to pay on average $150 (+- R850) for electricity per month? And we don’t even pay half of the electricity bill! Since we only have a 2 bedroom downstairs and the upstairs is a 3 bedroom, we thought it very fair when they suggested we pay only 2/5 of the bill. Ha! Never again in my life am I sharing a power bill again.

So, we went online house hunting. It was a slow and sometimes disappointing process. We don’t have a lot of pre-requisites for a house. As long as it is in a decent condition, there is enough windows and natural light coming in (the old place only has one small window in the kitchen and every time you wanted to do something in the kitchen, you had to switch the light on), a good amount of space and 1+ bathrooms / toilets, then we’ll be satisfied. I’m not really big into landscaped gardens or chandeliers in the dining room or pools or gay lawn decorations. We had a look at a place in the street just behind us – it had a deck and a cordoned-off backyard and ample parking, but I’m sure that the main bedroom wouldn’t be able to fit a double bed. So we took that house off the list. We looked at a very modern place (without any sort of yard) in the city, but the second bathroom “in” the garage on the 1st floor, while all the rooms were either on the 2nd or 3rd floor. It got knocked off the list too.

By this time I was getting agitated for not finding something. We had a quick look at some other properties too, but nothing that really tickled out fancies. Until… I saw the ad on TradeMe by chance. It isn’t quite in the area where we were looking and the listing was straight forward and didn’t really sell the property. “3 bedroom, 2 bathroom (1 en-suite), lounge, dining, double garage, new kitchen and spa” and a telephone number. That was it. Oh, and a few unflattering photos. But since all the other places we looked at sucked or was too small, I decided to go and have a look in any case. I didn’t have anything to do for the Sunday afternoon, so I might as well spend it looking at other people’s houses.

I got to the house and I was pleasantly surprised. There is a big back yard, a massive double garage, 3 double bedrooms, a full bathroom and an en-suite, enough storage space to keep me occupied for a while longer and sliding doors that lead from the spacious lounge onto the deck which has views over 3 or 4 suburbs. The property is located in a quiet cul-da-sac and even has a perfectly working jacuzzi (we now just need to figure out how to use the damn thing!). I told the landlord that I want the house. Without Ettiene even seeing the place. I paid a small deposit and she kept the house for me. I showed Ettiene the place later that evening after I picked him up from work and he was impressed. So, yesterday, I dashed off to the bank, withdrew the bond (full deposit) and first week’s rent and paid the landlord. We signed contracts and agreed to  pick up the keys on the 6th of December (2 weeks time!).

I had to give notice at our current place, which wasn’t a fun thing to do, since our landlord is almost family. At least everyone kept it very casual and polite. So now the big mission is to pack everything that is non-essential into boxes that we don’t have yet and to organize for a moving truck / open top Ute (bakkie) to move our furniture next week Saturday.

I also booked appointments for us to go and do our Basic Handling Skills test for Saturday morning at 10h00. We’re going practicing in the mall parking lot again tonight to see if the scooter skills are still up to date. So hopefully we will be able to scratch-and-win our way to learner’s licenses soon!

 

Boom! Head Shot

It is the first cold and crisp winter morning of a nerve-wrecking week in Bloemfontein in 1999. I’ve never been an early-riser, but for this week only I was awake real early. I can’t sleep with butterflies in my stomach. My gun is securely hidden away from prying eyes; my oversized bag holds the ammo. We are briefed with the week’s mission – we had our targets and nothing was to stand in our way. Eliminate the enemy. We packed our rifles and ammo and all the accompanying gear into the infamous blue bussie (minivan). The drive was quiet, everyone busy with their own thoughts and mental prep.

The Free State lands are covered with frost. There is a slight breeze outside, the sun just melting the horizon. Our fingers are freezing, barely moveable. We know where we’re going and the air is thick with nervousness. We get in close proximity to our targets and we are apprehensive. No-one knows what the day will deliver. Whether the wind will show its head. Whether the winter drizzle will come out to play. We all start setting up our gear – checking that the bullet chambers are still empty (although we’ve checked it a hundred times already); that the scope is set up and on target and that the army issue ammo is within arm’s reach.

The time has come. Some make their last round to the loo. Some bow their heads and ask for strength. I blank everything out. Focus on the target. Stretch my cold and aching muscles. Slow down my breathing, slow down my heart rate.  This is my time to shine. My time to make my mark. Show them what I’m made of. Get the respect I deserve.

The clock starts. I have 12 minutes to take down 10 targets. I go into the left-handed prone position with my right-handed rifle – army issue rifles were never issued for lefties like me. My right wrist aches where it broke years ago. I convince myself that pain is good. Pain and cold lets your body know you’re still alive. I get into a comfortable position. Close my eyes. Take a deep breath. Open my eyes and focus on the middle target. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the distance. Check the target in the scope. Slow down my breathing, slow down my heart rate. Zone out. Think of nothing but the target and the mission. Lock down on the target and firmly pull the trigger. The first shot always jolts me a bit. I check the scope. Check the target. 2 clicks out to the left. Check the wind flags. I should have checked the wind flags earlier. Click. Click. Breath. Focus. Breath. Target. Trigger. I check the scope again. Dead on target. I spend the next 10 minutes repeating the practiced and perfected routine of breathing, focusing and taking out the target. The siren goes to indicate the end.

All round sighs of relief can be heard. The ice has been broken. The day has started and it feels like a good day. When the safety marshal gives the signal, we all march forward like a militia unit. I feel anxious, wanting to run to the target to see the damage I’ve incurred, but I need to be level-headed and not do anything rash – never show your vulnerability. I get to my target. I know what to expect – I saw most of the damage through the scope. But there is a very fine line between being average and being at the top that can only be seen up close and personal. I examine my target with a criticizing eye – counting up my score. 3. Three is good. The lower the score, the better. I’ll have to keep this up if I want to earn the respect I want.

Over the next 3 days, we get to take out another seven targets each. They need a score out of 1000 (each target card has a value of 100 points) to calc rankings. My final score is 985. The scores are all publicly available, but nothing is official until the prize-giving. I have sussed out my enemies. Friends, yet enemies at the same time. The time has come. The school hall is packed with people from all over the country. Everyone dressed in their provincial colours. The silence is deafening. Everyone is awaiting the official results. The usual speeches carry on about the year’s events and what is in the cards for the next year. The junior results are announced first. We, the seniors sit and smile at the new talent entering the scene. The second last National team to be called out is the senior girls. Since being in standard 8 (3rd last year of school) I qualify for the senior team. Still very nerve wrecking – some of my most fierce competition has 2 years more experience than me and that’s a helluva gap!

A team consists of 6 official people that actually attended the Bisley and the 7th spot is reserved for an “in-training” person [read: an affirmative action individual needs to be in the team otherwise the sport isn't legal in terms of new government policies]. The top spot goes to a Free State girl who looks more butch than some of the male coaches. Second spot goes to our coach’s daughter (not because she’s the coach’s daughter, but because she was damn good and I never got to beat her. Ever. Go Marietjie!) I know from seeing the scores, that I need to be mentioned somewhere. But where, I don’t know. The butterflies in my stomach manifested into bats. I sit for a second and think about the whole experience – the week of sportsmanship and the year’s training that paid off. I get elbowed by the girl next to me. I hear her say, “That’s you! Go!” I get up, not quite sure what happened in the split second that I dazed off. As I start walking towards the stage, I realize that it is only the butch Free Stater, Marietjie and another Eastern Caper, Vanessa, who is standing on stage. This must mean… I’m in the team? I’m fourth? Fourth in the country? I all felt very surreal to me and I wasn’t sure what to do or what to expect. After the ceremony finished, I phoned my parents. The news still wasn’t sunken in and all I could say, in a very non-excited and plain voice, “I made the team.” My dad was ecstatic and I could almost hear my mother jumping up and down in the background. I still couldn’t muster more than a mere “meh”.

That was my first year making the SA team. Two very successful years followed for me. By the time that my high school career was finished and I was choosing subjects for Technikon, I was looking back on 5 proud years of Provincial target shooting. Keeping the school’s name up high. Earning the respect I wanted. Making my mark. Shone like the brightest star. The last 3 years had me in the SA squad. Never disappointing.

Wow. Looking back on those years, I miss it. I really miss it. But it still feels like it never happened. Surreal. The carefree days of lazing in the Free State sun in between sessions, or the paintball we played in Pretoria while waiting for the day to end. All the friends we made that you only see a few times a year. The road trips to the major cities. Never a dull moment in a school holiday. Those were the days.

Marli Vlok, ‘n leerder aan die Hoërskool P.J. Olivier op Grahamstad, het tweede geëindig op die Nasionale Skietkampioenskap in Bloemfontein. Die Oos-Kaap het die tweede plek verower op dié byeenkoms waaraan 328 skuts deelgeneem het. Marli, Marietjie Langner (Framesby), Alicia Visser (Framesby) en Vanessa Nel (Pearson) is opgeneem in die Suid-Afrikaanse Skole-skietspan. [Source]

Roughly translated to:

Marli Vlok, ‘n student at the High School PJ Oliver in Grahamstown finished second at the National Target Shooting Championships in Bloemfontein. The Eastern Cape took second place at this championship where 328 shooters took part. Marli (included in the junior SA team), Marietjie Langner (Framesby), Alicia Visser (Framesby) and Vanessa Nel (Pearson) were included in the South African Schools Target Shooting team.

Those were the days.

 

50 things you didn’t know about me

I’m not really one for lists and schedules and suchlike, but I almost feel obliged to make this list. Some stuff on the list is trivial and very random, other things I usually just don’t share.

1. I was born in October ‘83 and I was 11 days past my due date.
2. I have a sister who is almost 10 years younger than me. No other siblings.
3. I’m left handed.
4. I played EP indoor cricket for a year.
5. I have provincial colours in indoor cricket umpiring.
6. I love cooking and I can’t really bake.
7. I had colic when I was little and the aftereffects stayed with me.
8. I smoked for approximately 9 years.
9. My parents got divorced in 2000 and it was the right choice.
10. I wear a size 7 (SA) or 9 (NZ) shoe.
11. I really enjoy driving fast cars.
12. I was born in Johannesburg and spent my first 3 years in a police flat / apartment.
13. I wanted to study psychology, become a pilot, do interior design and become a teacher.
14. I have an irrational fear of change.
15. I take ages to make an seemingly easy decision.
16. I have watched all the House episodes to date.
17. I love computer games, especially FPS and simulation games. FEAR & Age of Mythology rocks.
18. The first ever computer game I finished was Captain Comic (and it didn’t have a save game mode!)
19. If I have a good book I can finish the book in a weekend. The last book that was worthy enuf was The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer. And the weekend after that – Kane & Abel also by Jeffrey Archer (I know it’s the wrong way around).
20. I have watched Hackers (1995) more than 30 times.
21. I will do anything NOT to use public transport. I have a thing against a bus.
22. I grind my teeth. All the time.
23. I broke my right wrist in the summer of 1995 / 1996 while rollerblading. I had my rollerblades for exactly 5 days. I’ve never since been on rollerblades.
24. I can walk on stilts.
25. I have recurring dreams about an empty school building and natural disasters.
26. I can say the alphabet backwards without thinking about it.
27. I quit smoking and nail biting cold turkey (not at the same time tho).
28. I’ve moved 6 times in the past 2 years.
29. I don’t like wearing shoes and I don’t like going barefoot either. Socks for me thanks.
30. I have a Sony Ericsson that was dropped in a Dubai bathroom stall and soaked in Red Bull in Ponsonby and covered in sunscreen in Takapuna and it still manages to work.
31. I’m not the tidiest person, but I know where everything is.
32. I have reading glasses for reading and computer work that I don’t use.
33. I want to take a year and travel the world, starting in Egypt and ending it with a stay in the Kruger National Park.
34. I love a good conversation / debate but I hate a personal argument and confrontations.
35. I left my Jack Russel in South Africa with my mother.
36. Spiders freak me.
37. I love Brandy and Coke (PE isn’t close to Uitenhage & Despatch for no reason) and Jack on the Rocks.
38. I don’t have any concrete future plans. I’ve got no idea where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing in 5 years time.
39. I can’t stand people with double standards.
40. I’ve never liked rice. Until I got to NZ. Now I can eat it every day.
41. I regret not spending more time with my family & friends before I left SA.
42. I am a procrastinator. Extreme.
43. I’ve had a bitch fight with a gay man and drove him to tears.
44. I drink too much coke.
45. I want to be a property magnate.
46. I force myself to drink water and I’ve quit drinking coffee.
47. I don’t eat breakfast until after 8 in the morning.
48. My first job was as a Casio keyboard salesperson in Pick ‘n’ Pay. It lasted 2 days.
49. I can play the piano but haven’t played since primary school.
50. I will most likely edit this list adding entries that I remembered on the drive home.

Feel free to comment and leave your thoughts.

 

We moved

So the weekend of the 6th of December came along and we were ready to move. Most of our belongings were packed into boxes / bags and standing around, waiting to be escorted to the new place. We got a van from Ettiene’s work and he fetched it at 9am on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, I was on my way to the AA to scratch-and-win my motorcycle learner’s license.

Ettiene and the delinquent packed up all the big pieces of furniture and took the first lot of to the new house. By the time they got back to get the second trip, I also arrived home and started packing up everything that wasn’t packed up. The last trip was done just before 16h00. And nothing was unpacked except for the food.

I still wanted to clean the old place on Sunday, but I got face-punched by the flu and I was man-down. Sunday was an exceptionally slow day, especially since I was home-alone and had to unpack all the boxes and make the place at least a bit more livable. At least the place looks decent now .

We can’t watch TV because the previous tenants thought it would be fun to cut the aerial cable somewhere on the roof and leave a dangling bit of useless nothing hanging from the roof. The good news is that the internet is working. I take my hat of to the techies from Xnet (WorldExchange) that disconnected our internet from our old place on Friday afternoon and had it reconnected at the new place on Saturday afternoon. Never in SA would you expect something like that to happen!

Ettiene fiddled with the spa pool last night and at least got that going. Hope I get better soon so that we can actually use it!

Oh, and I got my bike learners too. Ettiene made me take my first “legal” drive on Saturday afternoon after everything was moved. Driving is fine, no problem. It is the stopping I have a problem with. After my very successful first drive of prolly 1.5km, I came to a stop infront of our house, put my feet on the ground and promptly fell over with the scooter. The damn thing is heavy! No damages except to my ego and the scrape of a toe. *mental note* never drive a motorcycle while wearing jandals (flip-flops).

I still have the flu and I feel like death warmed up twice. Lemsip (NZ equivalent to Med-Lemon) and a warm bed works wonders. I just can’t stop sneezing and sniffling.

Some pics of the move.

The old place. We lived downstairs which was almost half the size of upstairs with not too many windows or natural light.

Old House - We lived downstairs

Ettiene and the delinquent moving our very old, very trustworthy and VERY heavy fridge, uphill.

Delinquent (left) and Ettiene moving the fridge uphill to the van.

The moving van. We didn’t dare park it in front of the house, just in case the damn thing couldn’t get back up the hill!

Moving van

The mess that was created in a few months’ time behind the PC at the old place.

Cabling fail

The view from our stoep (balcony / porch / deck).

View from the deck.

I’ll add some more photos once I take some more and when the place is tidy. Now we just can’t wait for the first BBQ. We’re thinking 80’s theme for the house warming…

Please feel free to leave comments.

 

Random photos of the day

If I post anything else today, I might be prosecuted for defamation of character and obscene language on a publicly available site. So, rather than ranting, I will rather share 2 random photos from my album.

The Snail

I saw this snail the one day when I got home after some shopping. It had been raining for a few days and as I got out of the car, the little snail was kinda in my face.

The Purple Gecko

While waiting in the car the one day, I played around with my camera. My key ring is usually the object of my focus.

 

A backward glance at 2008

I always thought that 2007 was the busiest year ever. I worked long hours, played or umpired indoor cricket 4 or 5 evenings every week and had quite a lot going on in my personal life.

Then 2008 rolled in. Now I firmly believe that 2008 was the busiest and most stressful year for me. I resigned from my job in January. I hate resigning. I’ve only done it twice, but it feels like you’re breaking up with someone – you’re breaking that trust link.

February was busy. I had to finalise my paperwork, close accounts, sign documents to give my mother power of attorney and argue with the banks, book national flights, sell my beloved car, say good bye to friends and family and fly to New Zealand. All this happened before the 15th of Feb. The second half of Feb had me reuniting with Ettiene and saw me as a tourist exploring Auckland.

March and April were comparatively quiet, but stressful. I had 2 interviews lined up in the first week after my arrival in NZ, but both companies wanted someone who was either more experienced or less experienced. And South African Rands don’t really last that long when converted into NZ Dollars. I had to pay rent from the day I set foot in NZ, so most of my so-called spending money went towards a roof over my head. When the middle of April rolled in, I was contemplating going back to SA, because the job hunting sucked. At the end of April, I got a job. I started early May and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. We also bought the Passat in May and it was probably the best buy and best bargain to date.

June was the worst month. It rained like I’ve never seen it rain before. And it kept on raining. Combine gloomy weather with 2 homesick puppies and you have a recipe for disaster. I was so homesick, I just wanted to get onto the first plane and go home.

In July we moved into the flat. We had nothing except for a bed, a TV and all the kitchenware. But at least we were on our own and we were happy. Ettiene had his birthday too and we spent a very well-deserved weekend away on a farm not too far out of Auckland.

In August we went skiing and we saw snow for the very first time.  We learnt how effective snow chains were and how cold cold really is. It was -4 degrees Celsius at the foot of the mountain and -9 degrees Celsius on the mountain. Later that day, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped even more. But a hot spa, a wood fire and a few bottles of wine quickly thawed us out.

September and October flew by and I worked long hours to finish a rather large .NET application. My stress levels also picked up and my health took a bad dive. We also got the scooter and gradually filled our house with everything that we needed and wanted. October at least had the Halloween party.

November saw the delinquent move in with us. We also found a bigger house to stay in. I had to visit the dreaded dentist and have a tooth fixed. We also had to give notice to our landlord (it is in the same category as resigning and breaking up).

In December, we moved to the new house and we are 99% settled in. We had some minor hick-ups at the beginning, ranging from the TV aerial not receiving any signal, the spa pool heater that didn’t want to work to our landlord giving us the wrong account number for the rent payments. We also bought our first BBQ and had our first braai at the new house. Both me and Ettiene also got our motorcycle learner’s licenses.

All in all, it was a good year. But it seems that 2009 is going to be just as busy with permanent residency and work permit applications, another ski trip, my dad coming to visit in March and just life in general. Bring on 2009!

 

How to disable CAPS-LOCK

I’ve never really figured out the idea behind the CAPS-LOCK key. Yes, I know, it capitalizes whole words without keeping the Shift button down the whole time. But, who wants to type full sentences in caps? That’s like shouting. And I hate shouting. If you really have to capitalize a word, keep shift in. Or use Word’s built-in Change Case function.

Anyway. Since I’ve started growing my nails (#27 on the list), I had to adjust the way I type because my fingers are “longer” with the extra length from the nails. I’ve now stopped typing with “fat” fingers, but the CAPS-LOCK key still gets in the way. So every time I want to capitalize on the first letter of a sentence or a word, I use the left Shift button. And by mistake press the CAPS-LOCK key too. And it irks me to go back 5 words to change the case. Word automatically changes the words and the casing to “normal” casing, but applications like .NET and SQL Query Analyzer and all other app’s that aren’t word processors, leave my bADLY cAPITALIZED wORDS as I typed them.

Which better way to get rid of it, than to hack the registry. So, the CAPS-LOCK will now be a useless button on your keyboard. It can also be remapped to act as an additional Shift key, although I wouldn’t know why you would want 3 Shift keys.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout] =
“Scancode Map” = hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,00,00,3a,00,00,00,00,00

Quick restart of the computer and voila! The annoying CAPS-LOCK key will be useless.

 

Merry (belated) Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope that everyone spent the day surrounded by friends and family and that the food was delicious and the booze free-flowing.

We spent Christmas day with Ettiene’s extended family, eating, drinking and being merry. As our luck has it, our car would decide to break on the motorway on the way to our Christmas lunch, but nothing that a few cable ties can’t fix on a V-dub.

Currently, the scooter is is pieces in the garage, thanks to mister and his tools. “I just want to see if I can fix this one little thing.” Never ever believe a man when he says that!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Drive safely.

 

I upgraded…

Samsung S630

Just before Christmas, I decided to upgrade from my mildly irritating Samsung S630 to the Fujifilm S2000HD. Some specs can be found here. I wanted to get the Panasonic FZ-28 but I couldn’t find a store in Auckland that had stock.

The Fujicam hasn’t dissapointed me yet, although I’ve noticed quite distinct chromatic aberration on one or two macro shots. And the lens gets in the way when taking macro shots with the flash on – the photos have a half-moon shadow in the bottom 2cm of the photo, but nothing that a crop can’t fix.

Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD

Some flower shots with the new cam.

2 White Flowers

Yellow Black & White

Yellow and Red

White Shine

Yellow

White with purple fringing

White bulk

White & Yellow

 

Our little getaway

For our short new year’s break, we went up north to Tutukaka & Matapouri. Lovely little towns, if you can even call it towns. Tutukaka is about 27km NE from Whangarei (say it like: fan-ga-ray). Whangarei is 170km from Auckland city and it takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to get there (remember the 100km/h maximum speed limit, dangerously curving and winding roads, road works etc). We stopped at the Whangarei waterfalls, just outside the city and although it was a pretty sight, it was kind of disappointing. I think I was expecting something bigger and more awesome. The heat was blistering and the fact that our air-con gas was non-existent didn’t help matters either.

We arrived at Pebble Cottage just before 3 o’clock. It is a small cottage in the Tutukaka valley, 2km’s from the closest beach and 10km from Matapouri. It was quiet and relaxing, not a man-made sound to be heard. After arriving at Matapouri, having a beer with some friends who were already there, we went exploring and found a little hideaway crack in the rocks, just off the sandy beach, which is just big enuf for someone to navigate through. On the other side, magnificent views of breaking waves on the rocks, endless ocean and blue skies. We finished off the day with a barbeque and a lazy evening at the beach.

The next morning, we popped into Whangarei’s sport shop and got some wetsuits, rash-shirts, flippers, masks and snorkels. It was a hot 38 degrees Celsius in the city and we hit the water as soon as we got to the beach. The sea water temperature came in a very close second to the cold Bloubergstrand water in Cape Town. It was my very first experience with snorkelling (and sea water deeper than 1.5 meters) and it was a panicky first few minutes until I got used to breathing with the pipe stuck in my mouth.

The underwater sights were amazing. From the curious little fish keeping a safe distance to the reefs and plant life. The silence, except for the sound of your own breathing, was relaxing. It was great fun and it totally drained me of all my energy. I was asleep by 21h00 that evening!

We left early for Auckland the next morning, only to decide to make a detour to Goat Island which is about 100kms from Auckland. Goat Island is famous for its Glass Bottom Boat tours and the diving and snorkelling around the island. The water was much clearer than in Tutukaka and the fish were a lot bigger too. I got splashed into the rocks a few times, leaving me with some war-scars on the knees and hands. We spent more time in the water at Goat Island and the back of my legs got sunburned in the process.

A very nice holiday, although way too short. We’ll be going snorkelling again very soon!

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Whangarei Falls

Tutukaka Beach

Matapouri Beach

Flippers

Goat Island

Lone Ranger

 

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Steam’s footprint

Seems that Steam wants to leave a rather large footprint on my pc. While trying to restore a backed up game from DVD tonight, the pc informed me that the 399GB that I have left is not enough to run Steam. Oh well, there goes my gaming

Steam Fail

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Systemshock ftw!

So where do I spend a lot of my free time? On SystemShock off course! Get all the latest hardware & software news and reviews all in one place. Fancy a discussion about a computer problem you are experiencing or just want to show off your new car – why not join up on the forums! An excellent place to make some friends and catch up on the daily news.

Thanks to Jason and his crew for keeping it a clean and fun place to be!

 

Pics of the day – Pics from Northcote Point

A shot from Northcote Point on the North Shore, looking up to the Auckland Harbour bridge. The bridge looks much less intimidating when you drive on it! In the far distance, you can see the Sky Tower.

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Shot of the Auckland city landscape. It was a surprisingly clear day for Auckland and another blistering warm day. This was taken from the other side of the bridge, at Sulphur Beach. It tide was very low and it was almost impossible to launch a boat from there.

 

Pic of the day – Long Bay Reserve

Click to see a bigger version.

Long Bay Reserve

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