Category Archives: Commentary

Having followed Matt Green’s walk across the US last year, I was ecstatic to see that he’s made a followup post, 1 year later, about what he learned on his walk.  Do yourself a favour, take half an hour out of … Continue reading →

Posted on September 6, 2011 by | Leave a comment

What do you see?

Posted on September 6, 2011 by

I haven’t read Steinbeck’s East of Eden, but this excerpt is quite fascinating. Samuel sat in the buggy beside Lee, and his clobber-footed saddle horse shuffled clumsily behind. “What’s your name?” Samuel asked pleasantly. “Lee. Got more name. Lee papa … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Commentary, Culture, Education | Tagged | Leave a comment

Lewis Pugh “Human Polar Bear” goes head to head with Shell

Posted on April 5, 2011 by

I received this via email and whether or not it is exactly what it claims to be, it remains a good speech.  (If you can look past the bit about global warming!)  It is apparently the content of a short … Continue reading →

Posted in Apocalypse, Commentary, Culture, Governance, Health, Science | Leave a comment

Petrol Price to rise by 65c

Posted on March 30, 2011 by

I hear the petrol price is expected to rise by another 65 cents next month. I strongly recommend that you read this carefully and start  looking for cheaper transport now.   Here are a few pointers to get you started.

Posted in Commentary, DIY, Humour | 2 Comments

The Sunk Cost Fallacy

Posted on March 30, 2011 by

David McRaney has a great post up on the “You Are Not So Smart” blog about the misconception that we make rational decisions based on future values of things. When you lose something permanently, it hurts. The drive to mitigate this … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Culture, Marketing, Risk | Leave a comment

Durban, SA’s corruption capital

Posted on March 28, 2011 by

I received an interesting article by Richard Pithouse via email today so off I trotted to the quoted website, that of The South African Civil Society Information Service, whoever the hell they are, to verify that the article is more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Durban, Elections, Governance | 1 Comment

Change the South African job climate

Posted on January 13, 2011 by

Great to see somebody thinking about our economy in new ways.  Don’t hold your breath, this isn’t going to happen, but man I certainly wish it would. The aim of every economy should be to get as many businesses going … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Commentary, Culture, Governance, Ideas | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Privacy boundaries on the internet

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Here I go off again, quoting Ethan Zuckerman on privacy.  Very good article though.  And Coach Ryan has now had the memorable experience of ducking questions about his wife’s feet in a press conference, leading to a sentence which may … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Culture, Internet, Privacy, Security | Leave a comment

Incredible tour of the Paris Underground

Posted on December 28, 2010 by

Sleepycity has an incredible post showing an unofficial tour and exploration of the Paris Metro.  Read it! via Kottke

Posted in Art, Commentary, Culture, History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The FTC’s do-not-track list

Posted on December 23, 2010 by

Jonathan Zittrain makes an interesting point with regards to the FCC’s proposed do-not-track list. Imagine if your wait for a customer service agent — and level of flexibility in making a return on a regrettable product purchase — depended on … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Culture, Governance, Internet, Tech | Tagged | Leave a comment