My day has just been made!!

Scientists 'gone crazy'
01/11/2007 07:28 - (SA)

Paris - Elephants on LSD... sexual turn-ons for turkeys... attempts to restore corpses to life: all feature on the list of the "craziest scientific experiments of all time," New Scientist reports.

Here is a selection from the Top Ten, appearing in this Saturday's issue of the British science magazine:

Elephants on acid

In 1962 US researchers, curious about what might happen to an elephant injected with LSD, fired into a tusker a syringe-full of the drug, about 3 000 times the maximum dose for a human being.

The elephant trumpeted violently, keeled over and died within an hour, despite attempts to revive it with anti-psychotic drugs.

"It appears that the elephant is highly sensitive to the effects of LSD," the researchers sheepishly concluded, in a paper published by the August journal Science.

Reversing death

Seeking to restore life to the deceased, Robert Cornish, a University of California scientist in the 1930s, seesawed corpses up and down to circulate the blood while injecting adrenalin and anti-coagulants.

Forced off the campus for his controversial experiments, Cornish continued at home, building a lab that included a heart-lung machine built out of a vacuum cleaner and radiator tubing.

Thomas McMonigle, a prisoner on death row, volunteered to be Cornish's guinea pig, but was turned down by the State of California, which worried that if McMonigle came back to life, he would have to be freed.

Eyes wide open

In 1960, University of Edinburgh sleep researcher Ian Oswald wondered if it was possible to sleep with one's eyes open. He got volunteers to lie down on a couch, taped their eyes open, placed a bank of flashing lights in front of them, attached electrodes to their legs to deliver painful shocks and blasted loud music into their ears.

Three plucky volunteers signed up for the experiment. Despite all the impediments to sleeping, an electro-encephalogram (EEG) monitor of their brain showed all fell asleep within 12 minutes.

Turkey turn-ons

Pennsylvania State University's Martin Schein and Edgar Hale discovered that male turkeys, when placed in a room with a lifelike model of a female turkey, mated with the surrogate as eagerly as they would the real thing.

Schein and Hale experimented to see what was the minimum sexual stimulus, gradually removing parts from the model one by one until the male bird finally lost interest.

"Tail, feet and wings - Schein and Hale removed them all, but still the clueless bird waddled up to the model, let out an amorous gobble and tried to do his thing," says writer Alex Boese for New Scientist.

"Finally, only a head on a stick remained. The male turkey was still keen. In fact, it preferred a head on a stick to a headless body."

The South African Driver's Licence Saga

OK, this is from the New York Times,and is their view on getting a licence n good ol' rsa. Selected quotes followed by the link for the FULL story.

OMG this is SO funny.

“People seem to judge by the long queues that the system is not working,” a spokesman for the Transport Ministry said at the time. He added, soothingly, “It’s not true.”

“I have attempted to call the call center — in quick succession — 271 times. Not joking,” one miserable soul wrote in November on the Internet site drivers.com. “I have gotten though to music and voice prompts 18 times. Each time this lasts for three minutes, before you are disconnected.”

Even though the K53 method has been used for a dozen years — or perhaps because so few drivers have obtained licenses — traffic accidents and deaths are rising fast, to 15,400 fatalities last year, up nearly 9 percent from 2005. The fatality rate per mile traveled, the best measure of road safety, is five times that in the United States, which is in turn higher than in most developed nations.

Based on Britain’s national driving exam, the K53 effectively requires an applicant to imagine that he is driving a live claymore mine under assault by guerrillas in bumper cars. The hand brake must be engaged silently at all stops (ratchet-clicking is strictly forbidden), and all mirrors must be checked every seven seconds. Points are deducted for glancing at the gearshift, driving too slowly, failing to ensure that head- and taillights are securely attached, failing to check the play on the clutch pedal, failing to look beneath the car for leaks and several score other sins.

It is helpful to learn South Africa’s extensive and sometimes charming traffic code, which sometimes rates children between 6 and 13 as one-third of a passenger and includes a road sign that depicts a stick-figure man astride an ostrich.

More here

hehehehehehehehehehehehe

Autobahn!!

Autobahn speed limit decision
29/10/2007 10:24

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday ruled out introducing a national speed limit on motorways, as proposed by her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners.

"That is not going to happen with me," she said in an interview on German television, restating her party's long-held stance.

She said the existing system, which sets limits on stretches of highway deemed to be dangerous, was the best way to guarantee safety. And traffic jams were just as damaging to the environment as driving fast, she said.

The SPD, in an uneasy coalition with Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), voted on Saturday to introduce a speed limit of 130km/h to help reduce C02 emissions.

Some environmental groups say speed caps would cut vehicle CO2 output by 5% immediately and 15% in the longer term, once more fuel-efficient cars are used.

Germany's motorways were built without speed limits by the Nazis and since World War Two the country's influential car industry has lobbied hard against any national rules.

Drivers' association ADAC had also rejected the idea although some polls show up to 60% of Germans favour it.

Knockin on Heaven's Door

Guitarists gather for grand musical moment

October 29 2007 at 03:12AM

Shillong, India - More than 1 700 guitarists in India's remote north-east region played a Bob Dylan classic on Friday in an effort to break a world record for the largest ever guitar ensemble.

The guitarists of all ages and skills performed Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door in the hill state of Meghalaya to start a month-long Autumn Festival in state capital Shillong.

The world record will be declared after officials nominated by the Guinness World Records submit their report, Robert G. Lyngdoh, chairperson of the local tourism development forum told the gathering, which included a four-year-old guitarist.

"Meghalaya has once again broken a world record with the 1 730-strong guitar ensemble which played for a continuous five minutes in perfect rhythm," said Lyngdoh.

The current Guinness record - 1 683 guitarists - for the largest ensemble performance, of Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water, was set on June 3, 2007 at Kansas city in the United States.

The annual Indian festival, aimed at promoting Meghalaya and seven north-east sister states, created a new world record last year for the largest drum ensemble, comprising 7 951 people.

Metallica - For whom the bell tolls

Make us fight on the hill in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey
On the fight, for they are right, yes, but whos to say?
For a hill men would kill, why? they do not know
Suffered wounds test there their pride
Men on fire, still alive through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know
[chorus:]
For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

Take a look to the sky just before you die
It is the last time you will
Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry
Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery
He hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be
Now they will see what will be, blinded eyes to see
[chorus]

May his spirit live forever

Lucky Dube: rastas never die

October 25 2007 at 07:33AM

By Poloko Tau, Therese Owen and Janet Smith

An emotional Skipha Shabalala, the lead guitarist in Lucky Dube's band, conjured up the memory of Bob Marley in praise of Lucky Dube at his packed memorial.

The words from Marley's political anthem, Redemption Song, were potent with new meaning as Shabalala provoked the 2 000-odd crowd at the Bassline in Newtown, Joburg, on Wednesday to consider the savagery of crime.

"How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look?" he reminded the crowd.

Dube was killed in what police believe was a botched hijacking in Rosettenville last Thursday night.


Shabalala was one of several speakers, including a subdued but defiant Hilda Tloubatla, of the Mahotella Queens, and Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who urged the mourners to act against crime in whatever way possible.

The memorial service began on a profound, spiritual note with a group of Shembe church followers, dressed in crisp white, kneeling down in prayer at the front of the venue before marching inside.

The way they carried themselves was in stark contrast to a near-chaotic scene earlier at the main entrance when about 200 people tried to force their way in.

Inside, people on the benches were shoulder to shoulder. Their attention was soon diverted when Dube's music started blaring out of speakers outside, and his music - as it always did - calmed everyone down, creating an ecstatic wonderland of dance on the grass in front of the club.

A giant outdoor screen allowed fans, many draped in the red, green and gold of the Rastafarian religion, to follow proceedings inside.

A fan, jumping up and down, exclaimed: "Nobody can stop reggae. They might have taken him (Lucky Dube) away but reggae will remain. The message remains and will forever be there."

Also caught up in the emotion outside was Ras Moeng, a fan, who said: "Dube has left a legacy, so has Bob Marley and many others. Reggae is here to stay, so is Rastafarism.

"As for the brothers who committed this barbaric act, they must know that they have robbed us of a jewel, a lion and a true African. May his spirit live forever."

Speakers at the memorial included Ivor Haarburger, CEO of Dube's record company, Gallo; Trompies star and music activist Eugene Mthetwa; and the SABC's CEO, Dali Mpofu.

Vavi's long speech, met with giggles and some applause, was contentious. He replaced the scheduled Kid Sithole of the newly launched Creative Workers Union of South Africa on the programme to attack "monopolistic" recording companies and music pirates, as well as the SABC for not giving enough airplay to local musicians.

Vavi used the opportunity to call for all those present to join a protest march to the office of Safety and Security MEC Firoz Cachalia immediately after the memorial.

In contrast, Dube's two daughters - Laura (11) and Bongi (21) - held on to each other for strength when they read an obituary. And Zulu traditional musician Bhekumuzi Luthuli cried openly on stage when he performed a tribute to his close friend and stablemate.

A hush fell on the crowd.

Haarburger warmed to the nostalgia of the moment when he recalled how, when he met Dube, then 21 years old, the musician had already released five albums: two Zulu traditional records and three English reggae albums.

"Twenty years ago, a seven single cost R2,95 and an LP R9,60," said the music company boss. "Now, Lucky's Slave and Prisoner (albums) are still in the top 10 in South Africa's all-time sales."

There was also applause for Tloubatla, who introduced a political dimension to her tribute when she blamed "foreigners" for Dube's death.

Four suspects - two Mozambicans and two South Africans - appeared in court on Tuesday in connection with the murder, and the case was postponed to October 30 for a bail application.

"Why are we being ruled by foreigners in our country?" Tloubatla shouted, but master of ceremonies Sipho Mabuse was quick to correct her after her speech, urging mourners to place their trust in the judicial system and not take the law into their own hands.

Music celebrities, including top artists such as Deborah Fraser, Rebecca Malope, Thandiswa Mazwai and Simphiwe Dana, were at the service to pay their respects, while superstar Ringo Madlingozi and kwaito stars Arthur and Mdu mingled backstage.

Thousands of messages have been arriving at the Gallo offices for a week, and among those read out were condolences from top British musician Peter Gabriel, who once shared the stage with Dube, and the presidents of Gambia and Senegal.

The Ministry of Arts and Culture was represented by Professor Keorapetse Kgositsile, who read out a statement from Minister Pallo Jordan.

There were powerful performances from the Mahotella Queens and the Soul Brothers but it was when Dube's own band took to the stage that it really hit home that the superstar was gone.

The words of his immortal hit Rastas Never Die were changed to the chant: "You can kill Lucky, but nobody can stop reggae."

And Shabalala's love for his bandleader and friend would probably carry the warmest echo: "Lucky was a legend, an icon, a father, a prophet, a devoted family man, indeed a great teacher. He believed in truth and respect."

Can you walk home drunk?

I wish i could embed this somehow .... but i can't so bleh.

Anyway *grin* lotsa fun, i've only go to about 71m, practice makes perfect!!!

can you walk home drunk

Demands

‘We want this! And that! We demand a share in that, and most of that, some of this, and f**king all of that! Less of that, and more of this, and f**king plenty of this! And another thing, we want it now! I want it yesterday, I want f**king more tomorrow, and the demands will all be changed then so f**king stay awake!’

As per Mr Billy Connolly

Speedster pays R32 000 in fines

By: Anna Cox
October 23 2007 at 07:05AM

One of Johannesburg's worse traffic offenders, a man identified only as Mr S. Essa, has appeared in the Randburg magistrate's court and was forced to pay R32 000 in fines.

This was both for fines which had accumulated under his own name and for those he had received while using false number plates.

An additional charge has been added for defeating the ends of justice, and he will appear in court again in two weeks.

Essa was arrested through the new number plate identification technology used by Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) traffic officers.
'This man has absolutely no regard for the law'

He was caught doing 202km/h on the N3 at Fourteenth Avenue while using false number plates.

Essa has 41 traffic offences, including four speeding offences for exceeding the speed limit by over 60km/h - for which an admission-of-guilt fine cannot be paid.


Officers scanned the registration number, which was found to belong to a VW Golf.

They (officials) gave chase and Essa was caught and arrested.

He was getting as many as five different speeding fines in one day.
'Very few motorists will be able to escape it'

At the same roadblock, a red Porsche was caught doing 246km/h.

Traffic officers, however, couldn't catch him. However, through the number plate identification machine it was found that the driver too, had wrong number plates on the vehicle.

Two digits in the number had been switched around.

JMPD officers plan to arrest him this week, and he will also be charged with defeating the ends of justice.

The JMPD director responsible for case prosecutions and courts, Gerrie Gerneke, said the number plate identification machine was proving to be a big success in catching people using false number plates.

"We are pushing for a high fine for Essa, even a possible suspended jail sentence. It is a very serious offence. This man has absolutely no regard for the law.

"He thought he would get away with it because he was using false number plates. The Porsche driver, too, thought he could get away with speeding by swopping the two digits around," Gerneke said.

He noted that 10 000 vehicles using false number plates were on the computer system.

"When motorists complain about the fines they are getting for cars which do not match theirs, we immediately log it onto the system so that when cars go through our roadblocks we can identify them.

"On Sunday alone, three out of nine cars we stopped were using false plates, and the drivers were arrested," said Gerneke. "This technology is a first for South Africa, and very few motorists will be able to escape it."

The machine picks up vehicles with outstanding warrants, and stolen cars or those used in heists and hijackings.

At one roadblock this month, 19 vehicles which went through in six hours were found to be stolen. "We did not have the manpower to chase them, so they got away, but we will catch them at other roadblocks," Gerneke said.

This article was originally published on page 8 of The Star on October 23, 2007
______________________________________________________________________________

I read this and only thought "another" until i read carefully, a lot of detail coming out here. The last paragraph says it all: "19 vehicles which went through in six hours were found to be stolen. "We did not have the manpower to chase them, so they got away". So they have this wonderful technology, but it' not being effective for getting the stolen vehicles, those get away, but only you dear fool ctizen stand still for them to bloody your knuckles. Yes there is application, and i would have to agreed that guys like Mr Essa should be punished, but again, they parade him around like a pariah, and cite stolen vehicles escaping the roadblocks, while studiously working at harvesting your cash.
This is not about justice, this is not about road safety. What gets me is they try and make it to be. How the hell can he stand there and say that the 19 cars known to be stolen, just got away. So you got 19 people that are in stolen vehicles, KNOW they're in stolen vehicles, that are still out there, despite us as the collective citizenry having paid for measures to be put in to place to stop them?
This is africa, everything breaks down here.

Kyalami

Track day

Ok, the previous pics need an explanation....

Saturday was the Michelin Superbike School, which i was fortunate enough to attend. What an absolutely brilliant day, from start to finish .... and i even took the good vibes home with me.

Started at about 7am, with people arriving etc. Coffee and muffins, then into the classroom. I was surprised, in that the classroom sessions were not really intense, merely laying guidelines and ground rules for getting on the track. But the ideas were those that carried over into the street as well, which i think was why most of the guys were there.

The track sessions were intense. The only way i can describe it is .... i can't. The heat, the noise, the power, the adrenaline, the speed ......

I was voted the most improved rider in my group. Not the best, or fastest mind you. But so much came together on the track for me, stuff i have learned in theory, but never had the chance to put into action.

A track is a magic place, where reality is suspended, no taxis, oil slicks, roadside kerbs or bmw drivers late for a meeting. Flat hard asphalt, wide and free .... and motorbikes. I've wanted to get on a track since i can remember, used to get pit tickets for killarney in cape town. The smells and noise and heat are irrestable to impressionble kids (like me :D). But honestly, being able to take a bike onto a grand prix racetrack was beyond anything i had dreamed. MY bike too. Shian ;-)

Since saturday, i've put a couple of kilos onto the bike, just brekfast run type rides, but already i can feel the improvement. Confidence. Knowledge. Experience.
All coming together to produce a comfortable, and SAFE ride, for my passengers and i.

I'm not a track person. Fun, exciting, educational and a lot more. But for me it's only a small step to the outside world. Giving me the tools to be where i want to be ... far away gliding over a long forgotten mountain pass. Somewhere where when you stop, it's quiet. And no-one will hassle you. Everyone greets, because you do that kind of thing, when you leave these cities. After all, the bike is a means to an end for me. A very nice means make no mistake, and one that even heightens the end. But a means to work and back, and away and back ... ever returning to the fold.

R.I.P.Lucky Dube

A well-spoken man and a great friend'

October 19, 2007

By Lebogang Seale

Pay your tributes to Lucky Dube here

World-acclaimed reggae singer Lucky Dube has been shot and killed in a hijacking.

The incident took place just after 8pm on Thursday night when Dube went to drop off his son at his uncle's house in Rosettenville, southern Joburg. Two men approached him and opened fire.

An injured Dube tried to flee but drove his grey Chrysler sedan into a tree and died on the scene. No further details were available as his son, who reportedly witnessed the incident, was still in shock.

Among the first to arrive at the scene were fellow musicians Mzwakhe Mbuli, Ringo Madlingozi and Deborah

Fraser.


Mbuli said: "It's a contrast that while the country is preparing itself for the Rugby World Cup final, we are robbed by this tragedy.

"How do you celebrate when you're in mourning? I hope the police get to the bottom of this and arrest the culprits," he said.

According to a witness, the hijackers opened the musician's door and shot him twice.

"Dube tried to drive away and hit a black Opel Corsa and then lost control of his car and hit a tree."

Dube's recording company, Gallo Records, paid tribute to the musician.

"He was a soft, well-spoken man, and a great friend," said Ivor Haarburger, the CEO of the Gallo music group.

Haarburger said Dube was the best reggae performer in the world and that he had bigger following internationally than in South Africa.

"He was huge in (the rest of) Africa, he could draw 40 000 to 50 000 people to a concert," Haarburger said.

He said Dube had recently been spending time overseas, getting his material released and had been talking of a new album. "But we were nowhere near to recording."

Lucky Dube was born on August 3 1964 in Ermelo, Mpumalanga. He launched his career as an mbhaqanga singer in 1979 and switched to reggae in 1984 to express his anger against apartheid.
_________________________________________________________________________

FUCK THIS!!!!! The stupid and cold hearted braindead fuckers who allow this to perpetuate must be taken out and shot. 9mm to the back of the head. And i am talking about jackie selebi.

I have picked up rumours that people are being encouraged to boo mbeki off the stage at the rugby world cup .... do it! show these worthless pieces of shit what the people have to say. HATE SPEECH ...HELL YES ... i hate these creatures of misery and i will NEVER stop calling for their summary execution. fuck the justice system, they've fucked that up too. Come here, let US show you justice.

I am so sad about this .... i love music, i enjoy reggae, and i love the south african spirit that Lucky Dube was famous for .... PEACE and LOVE ... its the ONLY way :(

Music please

Lane Splitting

The second one should not have happened. I think his concentration was caught by what was other side of the truck. But he was up and about, the reason we all wear that funny looking gear.

Helen Zille

This woman gets my respect every time i see her. This is her cycling to work for transport month. Look, i ride a motorbike daily, i will not ride a bicycle to work.
Its too dangerous, i'm not kidding here. And cold. And far. And hard bloody work, which i don't get paid for!

This is what leadership is about.

Toilet humour

Well this guy was born in a "rest room", and so i guess it's not his fault. But he's decided (and he has a good point) that the toilets are the seat of hygeine and good health. The house is christened Haewoojae, which means “a place of sanctuary where one can solve one’s worries” in Korean. Appropriate.
He became a mayor, and started cleaning up all the toilets, not just cleaning, but beautifying too. Flowers and paintings etc, and yes, it works.

"Designed by the founder of the World Toilet Association, SIM Jae-Duck of Seoul, the US $1.6 million toilet-shaped home will open on November 11 this year. The 419-square-metre (4,508-sq-foot) concrete and glass structure features four amazing deluxe bathrooms. The home has a showcase bathroom screened by a glass wall located in its centre. Other toilets tout features that range from elegant fittings to the latest in water conservation devices. An electronic sensor will raise the lid automatically when people enter and there will be music to entertain them while they relax."

Ok, getting eery towards the end, i HATE toilet / elevator stuff, rather get some windchimes outside :-D

Net nanny

Matric papers offered on net
15/10/2007 07:20 - (SA)

Johannesburg - A 20-year-old man who allegedly offered matric exam papers to friends on an internet service was taken into police custody for questioning on Sunday.

Captain Dennis Adriao told Primedia Broadcasting that police received an anonymous SMS tip-off on the 32211 Primedia Crime Line.

It named the man who was allegedly offering the matric exam papers.

The Johannesburg Flying Squad Reservist Unit then raided a house in Azaadville on the West Rand.

"Investigations indicated that the man posted an entry on Facebook last week making the claim. Upon questioning him, he said it was merely a prank.

"We confiscated a computer and cellphone and investigations are continuing," said Adriao.

A decision whether to prosecute the man on a charge of fraud would be taken shortly.

Primedia's Crime Line Manager Yusuf Abramjee said members of the community were continuing to pass on information and "we thank them".

Over 240 suspects have been arrested since the launch of the anti-crime initiative in June this year.

Stolen property, drugs and counterfeit goods to the value of R14.5m have been seized.

"We want to again appeal to the public to continue to break their silence and anonymously SMS 32211 (at a cost of R1) or go to www.crimeline.co.za.

"No matter how small or big the crime, blow the whistle," said Abramjee.
________________________________________________________________________

Yes, but this man did not commit a crime .... yet?
While i applaud the manner in which the police followed through, and the fact that it is taken seriously. Um .... yes, i have 253 uncut diamonds in my possesion.

On the basis of the above, they can arrest me and impound my personal property. This is based on a tip off to facebook. Um, maybe, maybe not, but this thing about arresting people for online posting does NOT bode well.

I guess it's about how it's enforced (as ever) but yes, people are taking notice of who says what. Careful ....

Pumpkin pie

SA farmers keep their eyes on the pie

October 14 2007 at 04:10PM

South African farmers have set a new Guinness World Record for the biggest pumpkin pie ever made, SABC reported on Sunday.

The previous record was held by Americans with a pie of 920kg.

Farmers belonging to the Transvaal Agricultural Union weighed in with their attempt at 1 150kg.

The record bid took place at Rayton, east of Pretoria.

More than a ton of pumpkin had to be peeled, cooked and mixed with other ingredients. Four hundred litres of milk, 240 dozen eggs, five kilograms seasoning and 124kg of custard powder were used for the pie.

The pumpkin pie would be distributed among the poor, SABC reported. - Sapa
________________________________________________________________________

That is awesome!!

Tie me kangaroo down, sport ....

Ancient murals found near Euphrates

October 10 2007 at 02:01AM

Damascus - Mural paintings dating back 11 000 years have been found in a building on a bank of the River Euphrates in northern Syria, a French archaeologist said on Tuesday.

Eric Coqueugniot said they were the oldest murals found in the Middle East.

"Geometric paintings - black, white and red - have been found on the wall of a house in Jadeh," he said, adding that they were discovered in late September in a circular house with a diameter of about seven metres.

The house was in a riverside village dating from the start of the neolithic era in the Middle East, 9 000 years BC.

The researchers found numerous flint objects at the site along with a figurine of a man. - Sapa-AFP
_______________________________________________________________

Curious .... 11000? Me goes goes digging.

Buzkashi

Central Asia, principally Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.




The national sport of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other unpronounceable Central Asian nations, it involves a large amount of ululating Arabs tearing around a large area on horseback, trying to wrestle the carcass of a goat from each other in an apparent effort to reaffirm every negative stereotype the world has about them.

The two mounted teams try to throw the dead goat over a goal line or into a tub. This elicits a great deal of enthusiasm, so we assume it constitutes scoring a point. Play is rough, and competitors often wear protective clothing to protect themselves from other riders’ boots, whips and probably stray bullets.

Origins:
We have no idea. Obviously when the good people of Central Asia started this game, they were having too much fun to write anything down for future posterity.

Interesting fact:
Buzkashi games can go on for several days, which says as much about the stamina of the players as it does about the total lack of any alternate form of entertainment in the regions the sport is played.



___________________________________________________________________________

Wow ... all we gotta do now is get this going on scramblers ... perhaps the dead goat can be replaced too ... but weeheee *grin*

i was here

yes ... and again YES

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

2. A day without sunshine is like... night.

3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

4. 42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

5. 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

7. He who laughs last thinks slowest.

8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

9 . The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese

in the trap.

10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

11 . A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

14. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

15. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

16. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

17. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

18. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

19. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

21. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

22. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

23. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

24. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.

25. Just remember, if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

26.Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright

until you hear them speak.

i go here

Don't get sick

Medics must pay up, or else...
03/10/2007 22:21 - (SA)

Bloemfontein - Thousands of health practitioners from across the health sector have been removed from the rolls of their respective professional bodies, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) said on Wednesday.

Council spokesperson Tendai Dhliwayo said the HPCSA recently erased 9 440 health workers countrywide who failed to pay their annual dues.

Dhliwayo said: "Though April 1 of every year is the deadline for practitioners to pay, the HPCSA this year gave its practitioners a three months grace period to pay before erasures occurred. "

The council had 125 074 healthcare practitioners registered and practitioners could not perform their duties if they were not registered.

Could re-apply to get names back on rolls

Dhliwayo said the council realised there was a shortage of healthcare personnel.

"The council has embraced a more accommodating stance than a reactive one to give every practitioner room to pay up."

Those practitioners who were erased could re-apply to get their names back on the rolls after paying the relevant penalties and the outstanding fees.

The Northern Cape and Eastern Cape regions recorded the least number of practitioners erased due to non-payment of their annual fees this year.

The Northern Cape lost 215 out of 2 823 and and the Eastern Cape 564 out of 7 470 registered practitioners.

Gauteng were the hardest hit as it lost 2 850 out of 42 746 and KwaZulu-Natal 1 933 out of 22 296 practitioners.
__________________________________________________________________________

Again, for those not in SA, the health industry is in shambles. Getting sent to a govt hospital is a trasumatic experience, and most likely a deadly one too.

We are importing cuban doctors. We have a common thief and alcoholic as a health minister. And our doctors have an annual fee to pay. If you don't pay, you're not a doctor anymore. This despite the fact that we had some of the best medical training institutions in the world.

A friend who recently qualified has been keeping us up to date over the years. 18 hour days, very unsafe and unsaitary conditions. Years worth of community service, and absolutely unforgivable salaries. Then, once they qualify, they have additional fees to pay. No wonder they're all leaving. Surely once a person has become a doctor, they are a doctor for life? I mean, short of malpractice, what invalidates such intense training and knowledge?

These doctors cannot just set up a practice. They have to apply. Then there is the legislation regarding pharmeceuticals, and the dispensing fees. They are completely monitored controlled and in effect, fucked over.

It makes me sick.

Round and round the mulberry bush

Ok i'm supposed to post something. Something interesting funny or serious.

But at this point in time i couldn't give a fuck.

About much.

Peace

Full contact chess

Yes, it is around.

Where: Finland.
What is it?
Pretty much what the name implies. It’s a hybrid sport combining chess and boxing, one that the organizers claim is the ultimate test of brains and brawn. Competitors play a round of chess and then box the living crap out of each other.

The game is split into 11 four-minute alternating rounds of chess and boxing, starting and ending with the chess. At the end of the chess round, the board is removed from the boxing ring and the competitors then beat the piss out of each other for a further four minutes. Then the board is replaced and the thinking caps come back out. Winning comes either from a checkmate or a knockout.
You immediately see the flaw in the rules: A good boxer can simply sleepwalk through the opening chess round, then beat his opponent unconscious once the boxing starts. In other words, it’s possible to win without knowing anything at all about chess.

Origins:
The game in it’s current format came from the mind of Serbian cartoonist Enki Bilal, who penned a graphic novel featuring the game in 1992, but purists argue that the game was originally conceived in the 1991 Finnish film Uuno Turhapuro, herra Helsingin herra, in which a man makes chess moves over a hands-free telephone headset while simultaneously beating the shit out of another man. This makes one wonder why they don't do actual chess boxing that way, but who are we to tell them how to do their jobs.

Interesting fact:
Chess boxing was the inspiration for The Wu-Tang Clan song “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’” from their debut album, a fact made very evident by the lyric "Steamrollin niggaz like a 18-wheeler/with the drunk driver drivin, there's no survivin'."

Ain't it so?

Woman's Poem

Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?"
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.


Man's Poem

I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with huge boobs who owns a liquor
store and a golf course. This doesn't rhyme and I don't care.

Questions that need answers

1. If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?

2. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

3. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

4. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

5. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

6. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

7. When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?

8. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a racing car not called a racist?

9. Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?

10. Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?

12. 'I am' is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that 'I do' is the longest sentence?

13. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

14. What hair colour do they put on the driver's licences of bald men?

15. I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons and forks so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use? Toothpicks?

16. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the postmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

17. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

18. No one ever says, 'It's only a game' when their team is winning.

19. Last night I played a blank tape at full blast. The mime next door went bonkers.

20. Ever wonder about those people who spend £2.00 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards: NAIVE

21. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?

22. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhoea, does that mean that one enjoys it?

Froggies

See-through frogs

27/09/2007 19:16 - (SA)
This picture from Hiroshima University professor Masayuki Sumida shows a see-through frog with visible organs, blood vessels and eggs under the skin (Hiroshima University, AFP)

Tokyo - Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing see-through frogs, letting them observe organs, blood vessels and eggs under the skin without performing dissections.

"You can see through the skin how organs grow, how cancer starts and develops," said the lead researcher Masayuki Sumida, professor at the Institute for Amphibian Biology of state-run Hiroshima University.

"You can watch organs of the same frog over its entire life as you don't have to dissect it. The researcher can also observe how toxins affect bones, livers and other organs at lower costs," he said.

Dissections have become increasingly controversial in much of the world, particularly in schools where animal rights activists have pressed for humane alternatives such as using computer simulations.

Sumida said his team, which announced the research last week at an academic conference, had created the first transparent four-legged creature, although some small fish are also see-through.

The researchers produced the creature from rare mutants of the Japanese brown frog, or Rena japonica, whose backs are usually ochre or brown.

'Dramatic changes'

Two kinds of recessive genes have been known to cause the frog to be pale.

Sumida's team crossed two frogs with recessive genes through artificial insemination and the offspring looked normal due to the presence of more powerful genes. But crossing the offspring led to a frog whose skin is transparent from the tadpole stage.

"You can see dramatic changes of organs when tadpoles mutate into frogs," said Sumida, whose team is seeking a patent.

Such frogs could theoretically exist in the wild but it is "virtually impossible" they would naturally inherit so many recessive genes, Sumida said.

The transparent frogs can also reproduce, with their offspring inheriting their parents' traits, but their grandchildren die shortly after birth.

"As they have two sets of recessive genes, something wrong must kick in and kill them," Sumida said.

Illuminating frogs

While the researchers relied on artificial insemination, they said that genetic engineering could also produce transparent and even illuminating frogs.

Sumida said researchers could also inject into the transparent frogs an illuminating protein attached to a gene, which would light up the gene once it manifests - for example, showing at what stage cancer starts.

Sumida said it would be unrealistic to apply the same method to mammals such as mice as their skin structure is different.

It's raining it's pouring!!!

Ok, i made it to work alive. And not even too wet.

The air is clear WOW what a pleasure. This is the only time JHB air is breathable, just after rains, then it's lovely and crisp and clean.

Please folks, be careful, the roads are vey slippery, and for some reason car drivers sem to think they must drive harder when it rains. I was reading the Arrive alive blog (right under road safety) and already the ambulances are working overtime.

You have the rest of your life to finish this journey.

African Index confirms SA is unsafe

September 27 2007 at 12:42PM

South Africa being the third least safe place out of 48 countries on the African continent, indicates that SA is critically unsafe, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.

The party's spokesperson on Safety and Security MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said that the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which ranked SA as third most dangerous after "war zone" countries Sudan and Burundi indicated that what citizens of this country had been crying out for years, was the truth.

"South Africa's safety and security performance is utterly abysmal. The fact that we are just 30 points above the most dangerous country in Africa, and right now, probably the world, must act as a loud wake-up call to the Minister of Safety and Security."


She added that countries including Congo, Angola, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe Rwanda and Liberia were far safer in terms of safety and security.
'South Africa's safety and security performance is utterly abysmal'

"Although the government will continue to throw money at the crime problem, such an approach has had only limited success," Barnard said.

She said it was likely that companies and individuals would continue protecting their own security themselves.

"This threatens to spawn a vigilante environment... if a spate of violent robberies and killings of foreigners is repeated during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the negative consequences for future tourism and foreign investment will be severe."

Bernard said the DA had made suggestions to government to address the shortage of detectives, and to increase facilities and equipment for the South African Police, in order to combat crime.

"ANC spin-doctors are already attempting to denigrate the Index, stating that there is this hullabaloo over crime, and that South Africa is one of the safest countries in the world - for the ministers and their cronies perhaps, but most certainly not for the rest of us," Barnard said. - Sapa
_________________________________________________________________________

I was kakked out recently about my blog, it was said to be too negative, especially about the current state in south africa. But honestly, look at this. This is not being "negative" nor "pessimistic" .... it's being bloody realistic, something south africans themselves, in fact PEOPLE are bad at.

We are only behind WAR ZONES ... people being shot in the street etc for NO reason. Ok ... call a cell phone worth R50 a reason to kill someone.
I don't post the horror stories here, others do that, and the media. But for the love of god we read it hear it SEE it daily. Anyone who remains eternally optimistic will get killed through absolute and utter ignorance. This IS war, except the war is again against the govt of this country. Not black vs white, but people vs govt. It's happening again. Here. To us.

Black and white both are suffering. Even shanty huts are being broken into at night, the householders assaulted for their meager possesions. People are afraid to go out at night. Those that believe things are ok learn very quickly how wrong they are, and seem surprised. But their deaths are in vain ... no-one is listning.

Fotr fuck sakes i love this country. It's the only land i've ever had and i've always been proud. But when ANC spin doctors are constantly working to lie to us ... things have gone too far. Mbeki just fired someone, n fact the Scorpions head, wwhile overseas. Can you imagine being fired when the boss is away. Yet the fear that suggests from the president is telling.

*sigh*

Maybe not as bad as Myanmar ... yet, but this bunch of fuckups leading the anc certainly plan to get us there. The pigs (police) are still the world's best in terms of riot control, and the worst for helping the tax paying citizens.

I'm reading a story about a guy who found a 5 year old kid wandering around drunk. Police stations turned him away, telling him it wasn't their jurisdiction (ie problem).

You tell me, and please, gimme feedback, i'm starting to tear my hair out over this.


PS BTFW .... how is is that the richest country is africa is also the 3rd least safe? THIS IS AFRICA GODDAMN .. the most pathetic continent of the lot, and even the RICH countries can't look after their own.

Myanmar (again)

Myanmar breaking news

GOVT moving to quell demonstrations

Monks beaten in Myanmar crackdown
26/09/2007 08:57 - (SA)

Yangon - Myanmar security forces beat hundreds of protestos with batons on Wednesday and arrested dozens more as they moved to crush nine days of mass rallies that have shaken the country's military rulers.

A day after warning that the biggest show of dissent here in 20 years would no longer be tolerated, police baton-charged hundreds of students and Buddhist monks who had defied the decree to gather at Myanmar's holiest shrine.

Witnesses said dozens of protestors, including some of the revered monks who have helped turn public anger into a mass nationwide movement in just a few days, were detained during the clashes in the main city of Yangon.

After the crowd scattered in the frenzy of beatings, armed soldiers used barbed wire to cordon off the area around the Shewdagon Pagoda. About 500 monks were believed to be holed up inside.

It was the first time authorities in this impoverished and secretive country, which has been in the grip of the ruling generals for decades, had used violence to break up the recent series of protests.

But a human chain surrounded 200 monks who gathered in a separate demonstration in Yangon, where crowds of 100 000 people have taken to the streets in recent days in defiance of the junta.

Troops fired tear gas as the number of demonstrators started to grow.

Dusk-to-dawn curfew

The clash conjured memories of the last big showdown between the people and the junta in 1988, when similar mass demonstrations ended with security forces opening fire. Around 3 000 people were killed.

Protests have also been held in other cities in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in recent days. It was not immediately known if security forces elsewhere were also cracking down.

Authorities had ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew late on Tuesday, and troops poured into the streets on Wednesday morning, stretching barbed wire across roads and standing guard at pagodas to try to stave off any new effort to protest.

Troops also deployed outside the headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the opposition party headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi - a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has long been under house arrest.

"We will continue our marching. We are doing this for the well-being and safety of the people," one senior monk told AFP.

"We have already decided to risk our lives for the people, although there might be some clashes," he said.

The unrest began last month when the junta drastically raised the price of fuel overnight. The move left many here unable to afford even transport to their jobs, piling on the misery in one of Asia's poorest nations.

'A 19-year reign of fear'

The initial protests - rare enough in a country where the military quickly crushes any show of dissent - began with only a handful of demonstrators marching through the streets.

But hundreds of people began lining the streets to cheer them on. After the monks joined the movement, the numbers of protestors swelled. Around 100 000 people marched in Yangon on Monday and Tuesday.

The possibility of a violent reaction from the regime has drawn sharp criticism from the international community.

At the United Nations this week, US President George W Bush announced new sanctions on Myanmar.

"Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma, where a military junta has imposed a 19-year reign of fear," he told the UN General Assembly.

"The ruling junta remains unyielding, yet the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable."

China, one of the regime's closest allies, called for stability but said it would stick to its policy of non-interference.

Myanmar

Protests Reach 100,000 Mark

As many as 100,000 anti-government protesters led by a phalanx of Buddhist monks marched Monday through Yangon, the largest crowd to demonstrate in Myanmar's biggest city since a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the military.

From the front of the march, witnesses could see a one-mile stretch of eight-lane road was filled with people.

Some participants said there were several hundred thousand marchers in their ranks, but an international aid agency official with employees monitoring the crowd estimated said the size was well over 50,000 and approaching 100,000.
____________________________________________________________________

I've added this blog on the right, something to keep an eye on. Myanmar is under the most brutal regime, and south africa has already snubbed them, something Tutu had lots to say about. Point is, nobody minds a corrupt military leadership, so long as we don't have to hear about it. The techies that side are constantly working to get their story told, via pictures or accounts, but the govt is working equally hard at blocking them. Deadly game of cat and mouse.

20 Axioms of Riding

1. Every ride is optional. Every parking is mandatory.

2. If you push the bars left, the bike goes left. If you push the bars right, the bike goes right. That is, unless you continue pushing the bars all the way, in which case the bike will go down.

3. Riding isn't dangerous. Crashing is dangerous.

4. It's always better to be on the sidelines wishing you were on the track than on the track wishing you were on the sidelines.

5. The only time you have too much fuel is when you are on fire.

6. The rear wheel is just a big fan on back of the bike used to keep the rider cool and his butt relaxed. Going into a corner too fast and slamming on the rear brake causes the "fan" to abruptly stop. When this happens you can actually see the rider start sweating and his butt become tense.

7. When in doubt, slow down. No one has ever hit something too slow.

8. A good ride is one from which you can walk away. A great ride is one after which you can use the bike again.

9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

10. You know you've left the side stand down when all left turn are bat-turns. You know you've left the center stand down when your in 1st gear at 4000 rpm going nowhere.

11. Never let a motorcycle take you somewhere your brain didn't get to three seconds earlier.

12. Always try to keep the number of times you put your side stand down equal to the number of times you put the side stand up.

13. There are two simple rules for riding smoothly and fast in snow and on ice. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.

14. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience.
The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

15. If all you can see in your mirrors is sparks and all you can hear is screaming from your passenger, things may not be as they should be.

16. In the ongoing battle between objects made of metal, rubber and fiberglass going 100+ miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose. Same holds for cars, large trucks, and animals taller than you. Draws don't count.

17. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.

18. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.

19. Remember, gravity and centrifugal force are not just a good ideas.
They are laws and are not subject to appeal.

20. The two most useless things to a rider are the braking distance behind you and nine-tenths of a second ago
_____________________________________________________________________

Yeah, i love getting back to the simple things, like check your sidestand.

MY CRASH COURSE IN ENGLISH..

14 September 2007
MY CRASH COURSE IN ENGLISH..

Czech biker wakes up speaking like a native
By Jeremy Armstrong

A SPEEDWAY rider who could barely speak English came to after a crash in Scotland speaking it fluently.

Czech teenager Matej Kus was knocked out cold when a fellow competitor ran over his head as he rode for Berwick Bandits in Glasgow.

Team chiefs said the 17-year-old, who rides for a team in Prague, could barely string an English sentence together before he was concussed.

But when he regained consciousness after nearly an hour, he appeared to have an almost flawless command of the language.

Berwick Bandits promoter Peter Waite, 50, said: "When I met him at the airport on Saturday, he only spoke broken English and had a very strong accent.

"He rode for us on Saturday in Berwick and did fine but then on Sunday in Glasgow, in the third ride, he crashed and was thrown over the handlebars. He went from 60mph to a halt and after he was thrown off, a rider ran over his head with his bike.

"He was knocked out for three-quarters of an hour and the doctor was very concerned about him.

"They had to work on him to bring him round.

"Even then, he did not know who he was, where he was, what his name was, the fact he was riding in Glasgow. It was terrible.

"But I noticed as soon as he came round he was speaking fluent English."

Matej was taken from the Glasgow Tigers' Saracen Park track in Possilpark to hospital.

Peter said: "It was the same at the hospital. On Saturday, he could barely string a sentence together, then by Sunday at 11pm he was speaking perfect English. It was just unreal."

Matej was well enough to travel back to Berwick with the rest of the Bandits team on Sunday night and flew back to Prague on Monday.

Peter, a former rider with Berwick, said: "I have heard of this kind of thing when people get a bang on the head and come to speaking good French or Spanish.

"I have just never heard it myself. It was really amazing."

Oxford University research has found that patients with so-called foreign accent syndrome had tiny areas of damage in various parts of the brain, which might explain the changes.

Dr John Coleman, a doctor in phonetics at the university, said one explanation was that Matej's inhibitions in speaking a foreign language had been removed by his head injury.

Matej's agent Pavel Kubes said: "He had English lessons with a tutor when he was at school so that must have stayed in his subconscious.

"It is amazing to think the accident could have made him speak the language again."

One

I can't remember anything
can't tell if this is true or dream
deep down inside I feel to scream
this terrible silence stops me

now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
that there's not much left of me
nothing is real but pain now

hold my breath as I wish for death
oh please God, wake me

back in the womb it's much too real
in pumps life that I must feel
but can't look forward to reveal
look to the time when I'll live

fed through the tube that sticks in me
just like a wartime novelty
tied to machines that make me be
cut this life off from me

hold my breath as I wish for death
oh please God, wake me

now the world is gone I'm just one
oh God, help me hold my breath as I wish for death

darkness imprisoning me
all that I see
absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
trapped in myself
body my holding cell

landmine has taken my sight
taken my speech
taken my hearing
taken my arms
taken my legs
taken my soul
left me with life in hell

Metallica

Racism

I touched on this the other day, but i think it deserves a spot of it's own. But it is not only racism, it includes sexism, athiesm, and all sorts of god-complex type attitudes, including religion.

We are human. This involves quite a lot of *stuff*. The chemical, physical and spiritual, and also intellectual. It's the last where the problem comes in, we think too much. But with such complex beings, it seems inevitable we would start thinking about ourselves, and othes like us. This is where it all goes pear shaped.

Thr truth is, we think a lot of ourselves. Imagine the reaction when Darwin tells people: Your ancestor is a baboon, this in victorian england. The shock, the horror, the absolute impertinence!! Now feeling good about yourself is one thing, but honestly, we all sit down to shit.

Somewhere along the line, some people decided that they were better than others. It started with our tribe is better than theirs, then quickly became more complex. Fom there they decided that women were inferior, and any woman who disagreed was promptly beaten up. The other tribe regularly got attacked, and any captured and not eaten were treated like foodstuffs, or animals.

So we ended up with a bunch of males running around being assholes. It was very obvious. So musch so that the assholes started looking like animals themselves. At this point they realised that they can't only beat people up, they have to justify it. So they started thinking about how to beat people up and get away with it. They decided that god told them that they were better. Easy enough, since anyone who didn't accept it didn't believe in god, and that would not do. So this group had made themselves gods, even the gods agreed, but you couldn't ask the gods yourself, that's what THEY were there for. God said so.

Then came the ultimate insult. They started realising that god hadn't said anything. Either to them or anyone else. Now they always have something to say about everything, and they're gods guys right? So if a god doesn't say something about everything, he's not a god. Ergo, no comment = irrelevant, and most likely not even there. Hence athiesm. Now here we have about the dumbest idea in the history of the world. THERE IS NO GOD. Oooooooooooooo .... i like that idea. That means .... I'M THE BOSS. No-one or thing better bigger or likely to prove me wrong.

Now here the story gets muddled. You got the guys who believe they're better than the others because they think so. Then you have more who believe they're better because god said so. Then you have the others that think that, because they also think that god isn't there. And anyone who doesn't agree with ANY of the above, well kill them, it'll give the others something to think about.

So i'm right you're wrong and if you disagree i'll kill you. But if you agree with me then the other guys will kill you. And if you truy point out how fuckd up it is, we'll all get together and have a lynching. Because NONE of us can afford to have these illusions broken by a little bit of reality?

*sigh*

All well and good in cave man days, but exactly as i have descibed continues globally today, everywhere. The latest fashion is: i have a lot of money. I am worthy of a lot of money. You don't have a lot of money, ergo you are not worthy of it, ergo i am better than you. Anyone with logic skills, try argue that. It was Ben Franklin who said: All men are born equal. I can't believe someone so smart said something that dumb. They're not, they should be, but they are most definitely not.

The thing that bugs me the most, is the inherent stupidity. I may be smarter then you, fitter, stronger, quicker, more emotional and many other things. But never can i claim to be better in a whole sense than anyone else. As i said, we're all the same animals. Assuming you're better than others means that you have lied to yourself. And once you do that, you misguided. Easy enough to fix something where the person knows better. But these people don't like being told how it is, so they choose to believe the lie, to the exclusion of anything else. Then they try convince you that they are scientific men, rational, thinking free men.

If you read this, know that you are an animal. You eat, breathe, shit and sleep like me, and just like the monky in the zoo. I guess if hearing that disturbs you, you have issues. You need a reality re-assessment. But it's all good. Humility is one of the greatest character traits, and requires honesty and a very realistic world view.

Ok this thread gone on far too long, but thanks for reading, let me know what you think. Peace.

Roads

The roads are wild today. Unpredictable and nasty. There were so many cars, taxis, trucks and bikes, of all shapes and sizes. Fucking trucks better watch out though, they're driving like they own the road. Going to have to give them *stuff* to think about.

So many bikes on the roads!! It's good, mostly, i mean, morepeople on the roads means that the roads are emptier, which is great considering. But none of these boys have been driving for the last few months, epecially not in traffic, which is it's own bastard. Read about some girl dropped a scooter on Hans Strydom last night in traffic. Fortunately not hurt seriously, but no gear, tracksuit pants basically.
All these guys you see without jackets .... Just imagine them sliding along the tar, at a SLOW 40km/h *shudder*

I'm not trying to be an alarmist, but i've fallen. This is just about being smart, which is the same as not being stupid. That's not hard is it?

Yeesh, i just remembered the one bike i saw .... wow it actually goes. Old green kwaka ... about a 750/900 i thik, smoking, no back lights, back wheel was about 10cm across, no more. Not exactly what i would go into traffic on.

I am discovering new things daily though, like hooting at taxis ... it works!! Because you never really know if they are going to sideswipe you out of absolute apathy. I also drive with brights on, sorry to cagers who are annoyed, but i'l take any chance i get thank you. I also interact with drivers, thank them for pulling over, and swear when they don't, or actually if they don't i go round anyway. If they try kill me i swear at them. But banging the hazards when i guy moves over helps "image" saying thank you etc, and the guys in front will see an orange flick behind them, so dual purpose. Most of the guys are really cool in cars. Same people same time same placve every day, biker dude coming past, i guess makes them react in some way. Just because it's different to sitting there staring at some chick doing makeup.

I need to get busy working.
Oh btw - IT RAINED LAST NIGHT!!!!

Only a little but hey, every drop counts. Garden happy, air clean, me smiling.

1000!

1001 in fact :p

Hey, in this crazy world 1000 anything (except rands) goes a long way.

Me pats myself on my back *grin*

PEACE & LOVE & CHICKENWINGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Bill Hicks

Why I Ride
By: Bill Hicks

Riding along on my two wheel machine
the pavement takes from me the painful reprieve

Thoughts and fears leave my "brain cloudy" mind,
but only those that are worried or unkind

The sky expands my horizons, inner peace and compassion's
my soul rides beside me and intercepts all distractions

Reality is around me, but I have a cleansed mind to confront it
frustration is behind me, the foe that cloaked and compounded it

Please understand that this is my sanction
its not the chrome or image or acceleration

It's not an escape or a good place to hide
it's approaching Zen that makes me ride

If this touches close to why you must ride
you are my brother or sister in kind

And I hope to share a few miles or a friendly high sign
as we pass while I'm out "untanglin my mind"

_________________________________________________________

I don't know for it is the same, but the name Bill Hicks ... can't be too many of them. He was a comedian in America, died of cancer a few years back, still quite young too. Brilliant, but ecause of that he wasn't famous, he pissed too many people off. Very VERY direct, even on stage, and was way ahead of his tme in what he was saying. I'll be looking for more of his stuff soon.

Manto's Mantra

You may have to click on it, it's a bit small here, but well worth the read!!!

Black Diamond

Against The Wind

Artist: Stratovarius
Album: Fourth Dimension

Words & Music by Tolkki/Kotipelto

Once again I try to make things work
facing all the power of society
Searching all the answers of the life
Ill never make it on my own

Was I meant to fail everytime
Seems to me thats my destiny
Is this all thats left to me
Confusion and bad memories

But now my time has come
No more running in the dark
I want much more than this
I really want it all

Against the wind we run
to every place under the sun
Weve got so much power inside
We will never give up
Against the wind we go
towards the new shore
together well forget the sorrow
its forever gone
________________________________________________________

Right we had the sex, and the drugs, what's left but some rock n roll?

This band is something else, new, alive, loud and technically brilliant....

I'm going to go find a you-tube clip, just to give an idea ...

Peace Love & Chickenwings!!!!!!!!!!!

Types of drugs

Dagga: This is the most common drug in South Africa as it is cheap and readily available.

It is either smoked or ingested and takes only a few minutes to take effect, bringing about feelings of euphoria, hallucinations, increased perceptions (not always accurate), short-term memory loss, giggling, anxiety and paranoia.

Long-term effects include glassy, red eyes, sleepiness at strange times, loss of motivation and interest in activities previously enjoyed, weight gain or loss, memory lapses, concentration difficulty, lung and respiratory problems and difficulty learning new things.

Ecstasy: Usually in tablet form, small and white in colour, but can be yellow/brown.

It is a stimulant and can have a mild hallucinogenic effect.

Effects include euphoria, heightened emotional and sensory experiences, and uninhibited feelings and enhanced energy.

The long-term effects of this drug are not known, but it is known that it can change the structure of the brain and prune the serotonin receptors.

Psychological effects include fits of depression, anxiety attacks and feelings of intense paranoia.

Heroin: pure heroin is a white powder with a bitter taste; illicit heroin can be white/dark brown. It is usually snorted, injected or smoked.

It is two to three times more potent than morphine and cuts through the blood brain barrier 100 times faster than morphine does.

Injecting heroin into a vein can produce an effect in four to eight seconds; injecting it into a muscle or under the skin can produce effects in five to eight minutes.

Heroin depresses the central nervous system. It locks onto the body’s endorphin receptors ad mimics the body’s feel-good hormones.

The symptoms include mood swings, personality changes, dilated pupils, changes in weight and appearance, slurred speech, decreased sex drive and retarded social and emotional development.

Tik: this is otherwise known crystal meth. It is also known as the "stay-awake drug that makes you violent" and is one of the most popular drugs of choice in South Africa, especially amongst the youth.

Recent studies showing children as young as 13 are using it. It has been marketed as a weight-loss product and some of its side effects include psychotic symptoms, hallucinations and violence.

It’s also known as “tuk-tuk”, "tik", "crystal", "straws" and "globes". It is highly addictive and is often manufactured in the home, which means it is readily available on the streets.

Mandrax: This comes in pill form and can be swallowed or injected, but is usually smoked. The tablets are crushed and mixed with dagga.

The effects take place after a few minutes and the user will feel relaxed, calm and peaceful. But after the effect wears off, some users could feel aggressive.

Symptoms of excessive use include nausea, vomiting and stomach pains. Red, glazy and puffy eyes are common.

Cocaine and crack: It’s a white powder and is a local anaesthetic which acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system.

Cocaine is inhaled, injected, smoked or applied directly to the nasal membranes or gums.

Minutes after taking this drug the user will feel a sense of euphoria and excitement, confidence and strength.

Death from cardiac or respiratory arrest is a symptom of excessive use and other symptoms include ulceration of the nasal membrane, weight loss, tremors, insomnia, impotence, constipations and seizures.

Personality changes include deceptiveness, stealing, a superior attitude, short-temper, work-related problems, depression, being accident prone, confusion, anxiety, paranoia, dulled emotional responses and a loss of interest in sex.

Magic mushrooms: It can take from 15 to 60 minutes for effects to be felt and trips can last between three and six hours.

The effects include pupil dilation, distorted vision, hallucinations, ataxia, and feelings of euphoria, mood swings, laughter, anxiety, paranoia and confusion.

Magic mushrooms can act as a trigger for latent psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia.
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Very nice precis of the major ones. Found in a news 24 article here.
As interesting as what they say, is what they don't say. Absent is LSD, which despite all the hype, is noticable because it is untraceable, and leaves no physical damage to the system.
Magic mushrooms as a "latent psychological disorders" .... now i read recently an article about a certain strain of afrikaans blood, traced to a lady who came to south africa in the 1700's, where the people have gone overseas, and had a "latent psychological disorder" triggered, purely by the high stress experience of living overseas. So whether or not you use mushrooms is irrelevant to whether you may be a closet schizophrenic.
Now for my favourite drug .... alcohol. What a depressing, unhealthy, unsocial bucket of vomit is the alcohol trade. Broken homes, abused kids and mothers, lost jobs, broken cars, dirty smelly worthless old men with more money than dignity *puke*. Another news24 article today asked about drug tests by the roadside. But alcohol, because it is legal and accepted, seems to be less of a threat (?)

Remember folks, drugs are good for you. Your government makes you take drugs from day 1, and at regular intervals along your life. These drugs make you sick, make your body week, and cause immense pain, and you are told it's good for you!!! BTW .... did anyone know that with baby vaccines, there is a difference between the govt issued stuff, and that which you can buy? The govt issue stuff knocks the baby out (sick) for about a week. Intense pain, misery etc.

SAY NO TO DRUGS. So every time i light a spliff i say NO, then smoke it stukkend.

Don't work, have sex

12/09/2007 11:23 - (SA)

Ulyanovsk - The governor of a central Russian province urged couples to skip work on Wednesday and make love instead.

And if a woman gives birth in exactly nine months time - on Russia's national day on June 12 - she will qualify for a prize.

"It's normally something for the home - a fridge or a television set," Yelena Yakovleva at the Ulyanovsk regional administration press office, said.

"It doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy."

Regional governor Sergei Morozov told employers to contribute to a Kremlin campaign to boost the birth rate by giving couples Wednesday off to have sex.

Russia wants to reverse a trend in which the population is shrinking by about 700 000 people a year as births fail to outpace a high death rate boosted by Aids, alcoholism and suicide.

This is the third year Ulyanovsk region, famous as the birthplace of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin, has dedicated a day to encouraging couples to produce more babies.

Prizes will extend equally to unwed women who produce children on the right day, though the biggest prizes will go to married couples.

On Russia Day this year, a family won a jeep after their fourth baby was born on the holiday.

This year a record 78 babies were born on June 12 at the main hospital in the regional capital of Ulyanovsk, beating the 2006 total of 26, said chief doctor Andrei Malykh.

"The scheme is working. People want the prizes," he said.

A mass wedding and special lessons for children at school on how to deal with having a brother or sister are also planned in Ulyanovsk city, which is about 900km from Moscow.

This week First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, said he wanted to stabilise the population at about 142 million by 2015 and boost it back to 145 million by 2025.
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Gotta luv the ruskies!!!

Zille for president

Cops Arrest

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I don't care what other spins people may wish to add to this story, this wman is doing it!!! Standing there with her sign amongst the poor people, demanding basic rights, like SOME protection from police against those who would do us harm.

What happens? They arrest HER for some technicality, which is doubtful in any case. From what i can see, they decided that the leader of the peaceful and legal march had contravened on some minor way, and promptly arrested him. The marchers, among whom the MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN was found, stood outside the police station and demanded his release. Now this lady knows something about the law in this country, and i don't believe she would behave in a flagrantly illegal manner. She disobeyed a police order, according to reports. Now please understand that while police do have the authority to order people, it is at best a tenuous right that they have, and only applicable in extreme situations. They don't realize that, and honestly believe that if they tell you to shut up, and you do not, they have the right to arrest you.

This march was to protest the fact that known drug dealers were left alone by police to sell drugs to schoolkids. I repeat. Drug dealers are selling drugs to schoolkids, and the police are doing nothing. How clear does THIS issue need to be? The proof of this pudding is in the way the policve arrest the protesters, and NOT the drug lords, who must have paid their bribes this month.

This wonderful new south africa, this rainbow nation. Only fucking rainbows around are seen by the drug dealers, their users, and the corrupt PIGS.
Seriously, where in the world do you see a mayor arrested while protesting against the free trade enjoyed by drug dealers. Drug dealers. Drug dealers. Not children. Not mothers. Not hard working fucked over fathers. Drug dealers. They get all the rainbows they want, while the fathers are sent to hell daily, kept nicely out of the way. It's the parents of these kids that were peacefully, legally using their god-given right to freedom of expression that were arrested, presumably while the drug dealers watched. God damn their souls to everlasting hell.

Although, there is a bright side to all this. The people now know where they stand. And the people of the cape flats have had enough. Next up is vigilanteism. They've done it before. The police implored them to follow the rule of law, which they did now, and the result is for all to see. The PEOPLE will come for you drug dealers. They will attack you in your house, burn your house, and your car, and kill you when you try escape. Ahhhhhhhh mob justice, very under-rated lately. They've done it before, and after this slap in the face from the police, you got to bet they're already planning an example to be set.

I wish them luck, and courage in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Happy monday everyone

I need to type something up. Otherwise my brain really will rot. Constant fear of mine *shudder*
The weekend was good to me, mostly, did a lot of gardening, hard work, sore body, burnt skin, and the garden weeds just sneer at me .... as they do. Fixed the pool heating, only to realise the roof was leaking, so saturday and sunday on the bleeding roof. *bleh*
Well it kept me out of mischief and shuld please the family (their royal asses) and hey, nothing beats a warm pool *grin*.

Took the bike for a service this morning frst thing, then i realised why monday mornings are bad for that kinda thing. Please folks, remember this. The guys are all yawning and stretching and blinking their eyes like they woke up only after getting to work (most likely). Not really nice for them to practice on YOUR vehicle.
And they didn't have an air filter ..... *sigh*. If you don't know, an air filter on a bike is a bugger to get to, cos it's under the tank, in a box. Either way they're going tosort that once they get stock, and one hundred and summin rand for 1 spark plug (!) of course i needed 4. But once they do the filter it will be worth it.

Late to work, e-mails galore, check on the news, fuck this country's bullshit. Was watching the traffic while i waited this morn. Either single user cars, or overloaded taxis. Extremes. The VERY rich and the rest. But honestly, they're not rich, they're just getting by. But the cars are all newish. So take some of those lazy fucking white wankers in their airconditioned cars, and get them onto bikes. And help those taxi commuters get bikes too, suddenly they'll all be equal. It IS that simple. Then those arrogant prats can wake up before leaving for work, and those bloody women can do make up before leaving home. I think what bugs me is the arrogance. Completely heedless to the reality in fornt of their noses. *sigh*

I was rearing to go this morn, but this city just wears you out. Ignorance is bliss. Lots of really happy people round this place, just ask them. I started slowly though .... yellow line on the highway, best way when you're not tops. Crikey, that hell run through 2 lanes of cars ...... anybody got a camera i can borrow? It's like a cross between comedy, horror, mystery and plenty of suspense. One month of recording to work and back, i'll gaurentee an hour long documentary on the foolishness of JHB traffic. No really i like this idea.

When truth is the same as fiction...

September 06 2007 at 07:45PM

Warsaw - A Polish crime writer has been jailed for 25 years after authorities found he had committed a murder that had been described in one of his thrillers, officials said on Wednesday.

In his 2003 book Amok, Krystian Bala described in detail the brutal murder of a Polish businessman.

Police found that the fictional crime had similarities with a case in 2000 when a body was fished out of the river Oder in the town of Wroclaw, near the German border.

Prosecutors said Bala had humiliated, tortured, starved and later killed his victim, who had a love affair with the writer's wife.

"The court has sentenced Krystian B to 25 years in prison for the murder of his ex-wife's lover," said a spokesperson for the court in Wroclaw.

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Talk about researching your subject (?)

Bully to the cops for being bright enough to see the obvious, our cops i don't think read much of anything. Seems a creepy guy though, certainly thorough. Wonder if the wife is good looking?

Prisoner digs his way to freedom

Sinisa Josic

September 05 2007 at 03:59AM

Maribor, Slovenia - A Slovenian inmate completed an audacious prison escape attempt on Tuesday by digging through a one-metre-thick wall, jail authorities said on Tuesday.

"By examining the security camera recordings, it was determined that the prisoner escaped through a hole dug through the wall on top of the workroom," a statement from the prison said.

Although the escape from the institution in the northern Slovenian city of Maribor was discovered 10 minutes later, the 24-year-old former detainee remains on the run, it added.

Television reports said that the successful freedom bid by Sinisa Josic was not the prisoner's first escape attempt.
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Not that i want prisoners running around outside, they deserve to be there. But this is again where i find the human spirit is an awesome thing.
A 1 metre thick wall???
OMG that's HUGE!!! Ok, he had time, and patience, but sitting and scraping at cement, with most likely a metal spoon is a real achievement. Hi escape was discovered 10 minutes after he left, and he's gone.

Salut to that man wherever he is, i wish his freedom well.

Airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god

September 05 2007 at 11:00AM

Kathmandu - Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.

Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem.

The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said.

"The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights," said Raju KC, a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been.

Local media last week blamed the company's woes on an electrical fault. The carrier runs international flights to five cities in Asia.

Julien DuPont

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8tim7fqMJI&NR=1



What more can i say?