Saturday, May 28, 2011

What happened to Air France Flight 447...?

I don't usually like to post anything that might be a "downer" on my blog, but this one grabbed my attention a while ago.
Ever since Air France Flight 447 went down over the Atlantic on 01 June 2009, I have followed reports of all the investigations into the cause of the crash.

Investigators have been putting together information gained from the "black boxes" of the ill-fated flight, which were recently recovered among the remains of the Airbus A330 on the sea bed, roughly 7 miles from the spot where ATC lost contact with the aircraft that night.

Read all about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/world/europe/28flight.html?_r=1

Maybe it's just a morbid fascination of mine, but I always like to hear what causes air crashes, and what airlines and aircraft manufacturers have done since, in order to make aviation that much safer.
I am also in no way qualified to talk about how to fly a plane and other such things, but it's always amazing to read the comments that readers post after articles like the one linked above.

Comments offering scathing criticism for the deceased pilots are rife - ranging from what they should have done, to what they did not do correctly etc. etc.
Sitting in front of ones laptop, quietly reading a neat, bulleted play-by-play of the final moments of such a flight, is surely a far cry from what chaos it must have been for the 3 pilots who were actually giving it 200% to try and save that plane.
Multiple alarms sounding in the cockpit, stall warnings going off, instruments not providing accurate information, and all of this happening at high altitude and speed (not to mention the responsibility of 216 other human lives onboard) - I take my proverbial hat off to these men, who gave it their all, right until the end.


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Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday frivolousness... :)

A FRIDAY RIDDLE :)


You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed.

On your right is a sharp drop off, on your left is an elephant
travelling at the same speed as you.

Directly in front of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is
unable to overtake it.

Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you.

What must you do to safely get out of this HIGHLY DANGEROUS
situation  .....?



...


...


...


GET YOUR DRUNK ASS OFF THE MERRY-GO-ROUND!


Hat tip to Vonny for this one... :)
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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Rocket Shop - The most painless way to buy a Kindle in South Africa...

Kindle this, Kindle that - for years now I have heard family, friends and colleagues talking about the Kindle.

I never really understood what all the hype was about, which is why I started to research the device a bit more earnestly a few months ago.
Finally, after much review-reading and research, I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and become the proud owner of what has to be the most famous E-Book Reader out there.

That was about 2 months ago, at which point I enthusiastically logged onto my Amazon.com account, and proceeded to add 1 x 6" Kindle (3G + WIFI) to my empty cart.
Excellent - just need to specify the payment method and shipping and I should be good to go - right? WRONG!

Trouble is, Amazon.com are really fussy when it comes to delivery in foreign countries.
There are some products that they simply refuse to ship to South Africa - for example they will deliver the Kindle, but not an extra AC Adapter for it. No reason specified.

Then there is the fact that once the product actually arrives in the country 2-3 weeks later, the Post Office will send you a collection slip, and you will need to pay some form of import tax on the delivery - a few hundred rands if I am not mistaken.
It all adds up to a whole lot of complexity and time, for what should be a rather simple purchase.

Thankfully though, there is another way to get your hands on a Kindle in double quick time if you live in South Africa.
Enter Rocket Shop - a locally-based online store who keep stock of the Kindle and selected accessories, and who in my opinion at least, are outdoing themselves by way of great customer service.


I was literally about to finalize my Amazon.com order yesterday, when I stopped for a second and tried to Google for Kindle resellers locally.
Thanks to Rocket Shop, my Kindle was delivered this morning. Unbelievable.

Obviously Amazon.com can supply the Kindle at a lower price, but once you add shipping and local taxes into the mix, you end up in the same price range.
Add next day delivery into the mix, and you have a winning formula.

Apart from the Kindle, Rocket Shop also supply a whole range of other IT-related products (Apple Macs, Laptops, Gadgets, etc.).
Head on over to www.rocketshop.co.za to view their full product range, and thank you to Lizzy for saving me a mountain of effort and for keeping me updated at every step during the order process :)
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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I love the Google doodle today - it's a celebration of African unity!

Google doodles are always fun, but today's one holds a special place for me since I live on the African continent :)
Check it out - it celebrates Africa Day (which falls on 25 May, in case you are reading this via the email subscription service :):


Gr8 work as always Google!

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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Hoola spotted outside the Amazon!

Something weird has been spotted in the Amazon jungle recently, and it's been dubbed the "Hoola" after the scientist who discovered it - Dr. Javier Hoolavez.

Apparently it has been shown that its bite has adverse affects on its victims, both animal and human...
Check out the video of the Hoola below:



Head on over to www.hoolaeffect.com or check out this link for more info on this scary new species.

Warm autumn colours in chilly Johannesburg...

Johannesburg really is an incredible sight during the autumn months.
Deep reds, yellows and browns come out as the largest man-made forest in the world heads into the dry winter months.

I snapped these shots with my trusty Nokia N97 over the past few weeks, including a few sky / cloud shots - really awesome.








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