Ian and Judiet

Current Mood: Playful

So there has been a lot of talk for the past couple of years, and even more so lately, about global warming and how we can save the planet. We have to recycle this, save that, wash this and not use that which is all good and well, but my theory is much better (as you would expect :P). My theory revolves around Robots (otherwise known as traffic lights) and that if they are set up correctly, we would save a lot of fuel and such we would not be spewing out so much co2 into the atmosphere. To prove my point I did a little test the other evening while driving home from dinner.

The starting point was the Hyatt hotel in Rosebank and the destination was home in Fourways some 20 kilos away. After leaving the parking garage our car showed that we had 80kilometers left on the current tank of diesel and I wanted to see how far I could push that, or how low it would drop on the way home. On our way home, traveling at the speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour, we encountered plenty of badly timed and stupidly changing robots which mainly killed our economy, not the steep hills we had to climb as I had initially suspected.

Just before we turned off the main roads into the suburbs (about 1km from home) the car showed that we had 76kilometers to go and when we reached home 70 odd where left. Along the way the car showed as high as 89kilometers where left on the tank but those hopes where quickly dashed when we had to wait at robots without any cars utilizing the intersection, purely because there was no planning put into the robots.

My conclusion is that the powers that be should invest more time in making sure that if you drive at the speed limit you can get all the robots green on your way home, this will greatly reduce driving time, improve flow of traffic and reduce the amount of co2 that is killing our environment. I would also think that with the robots changing less we they would use less power and less bulbs so everyone wins. This obviously all goes without saying that if there is a problem/traffic not much can be done - although im sure with some investigation a better solution can be found.

Current Mood: Bored

The reason the Nintendo Wii is the best selling console at the moment is that it appeals to all age groups, young and old. Case in point is my mother in law who was introduced to Nintendo Wii this morning and she is already hooked on it. I should point out that she doesnt play any games either on PC or console yet she took to this like a fish in water. This is the reason why the nintendo is selling so well - it appeals to everyone and its easy to use no matter who you are.

What follows are pictures of Jane playing wii tennis and wii bowling.

And one video (Its large - didnt feel like making it smaller :P) After the jump

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Current Mood: Cool

So we went to fetch Judiets mom at the airport last night and while driving in I asked her how much she thinks would have changed since we where last at the international hall in January and surprisingly things are moving along very quickly. The one thing though that stood out was a new system in the parkade that shows you open parking bays with a green light above them which goes red when you have parked.  The nice thing about this system is that there is no human intervention required - everything works auto magically. Its a VERY nice touch and will make parking 100% easier. Attached is a bad photo taken on my phone. Click on the picture to see a bigger view.

10/10 Acsa - keep it up!

Current Mood: Angry

I believe that any successful person needs to be able to think for themselves and take some initiative when a situation demands it - and most people do this except the Metro Police of Johannesburg.

So I was on my way to work this morning when there was a large backup before a major intersection (Main/Witkoppen for anyone that cares) and just before the robot (with the massive backlog) where two Metro Police officers pulling people over who where driving over a yellow stripped section in an attempt to fill both turning lanes to make the flashing arrow as effective as possible. What? Why in hells name would they not think a little further than making some money and help the traffic flow through the intersection a little easier and remove the backlog. They have the whole day to pull over people for doing things wrong - yet they wont help the flow of traffic.

This is also not the first time that I have been highly annoyed with them. A couple times last week while driving to work (during load shedding) a few major intersections where out and while waiting to cross one intersection 3 metro police vehicles drove through the intersection. Now I can understand if its a little intersection somewhere in the sticks, but a large intersection that relies on working robots to keep traffic flowing (for miles around) should surely have a points man helping things out.

So please, Mr Big Chief Sir Metro Police Officer Controlling Boss Man, please make sure that traffic flows before you assign your minions to pull people off for driving over a yellow stripped section to fill up turning lanes - its just pathetic.

On a side note (a pathetic side note): The woman behind me got pulled over for talking on her Cell phone. She must be blind that she didnt think they wouldnt see her - there was a JMPD van with flashing lights and everyone was avoiding them, yet when she got caught she acted all surprised. Dumbass.

Current Mood: Confused

I was readying a post on SA Rocks about Barak Obama and his speech in South Carolina and the man has a way with words. He is inspiring and its so easy to take what he said and change it to reflect our own country. Here is what he wrote changed to fit our circumstances.

I did not travel around this country over the last year and see a white South Africa or a black South Africa. I saw South Africa.

I saw crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children alike. I saw shuttered mills and homes for sale that once belonged to South Africans from all walks of life and men and women of every colour and creed who serve together and fight together and bleed together under the same proud flag.

I saw what South Africa is and I believe in what this country can be. That is the country I see. That is the country you see. But now it is up to us to help the entire nation embrace this vision.

Because in the end, we’re not just against the ingrained and destructive habits of our current Government, we’re also struggling with our own doubts, our own fears, our own cynicism.

The change we seek has always required great struggle and great sacrifice. And so this is a battle in our own hearts and minds about what kind of country we want and how hard we’re willing to work for it.

So let me remind you tonight that change will not be easy. Change will take time. There will be setbacks and false starts and sometimes we’ll make mistakes.

But as hard as it may seem, we cannot lose hope, because there are people all across this great nation who are counting on us, who can’t afford another four years without health care, that can’t afford another four years without good schools, who can’t afford another four years of crime, that can’t afford another four years without decent wages because our leaders couldn’t come together and get it done.

Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can.

Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of the Free State to the hills of Natal, from the Johannesburg jungle to the Cape coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.

And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the South African people in three simple words — yes, we can.

Do you believe we can overcome the cynicism and fear we have in our country and become a prosperous nation? I’m always first to say to people that they are not allowed to complain about the state of things in our country untill such time as they have tried to do something about it - and i still believe that is largely true. I believe that you shouldnt complain about litter, for example, when you throw your cigarette stub out the window while driving or throw papers out your car window. I believe that if we get the smaller “morals” right, the large ones will take care of themselves. If we teach our kids the value of life and to have compassion for one another; they would not be compelled to murder or harm someone else.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter as it can be debated at length for many many days at end - but nothing is going to change until we cause the change. Are you going to help in bringing about change?