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Thursday, 31 October 2002
Ouch - hepatitis A.
Ouch - meningitis.
Ouch - yellow fever.
Ouch - typhoid.
And as the day grows older, so the pain in the arm gets worse.
Cholera exemption, thank goodness.
A whole bag full of malaria tablets. Another bag full of mosquito repellents.
Mike, I am looking forward to the gory tests at the Dar es Salaam airport. The camera is packed and I am sharpening my arrows. (See comments to yesterday's post.)
******
She doesn't have a name yet, but the working title is "Daisy".
This little one is coming home.
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Wednesday, 30 October 2002
This is so exciting. Or perhaps not. I just heard today that I will be spending 10 to 13 (perhaps 14) November in Dar es Salaam!
Now, I am not quite sure how to feel about this because Virgos don't like places where they need to squat over a hole in the ground too much. They are also very fussy about the kitchen that their food comes from.
Two colleagues have just recently returned from Tanzania and the stories they had to tell were chilling. For a Virgo, anyway.
Nevertheless, I am quite excited about this trip. Tomorrow I have an appointment at the travel clinic for a yellow fever, meningococcal meningitis, cholera and hepatitis A shots. And some malaria tablets.
Dar es Salaam must be quite something!
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Monday, 28 October 2002
FARRAGO, by Michael P. DeLuca
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Sunday, 27 October 2002
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE USES FOR BRAIN STIMULATION
- Relaxation and meditation by entraining your brain into desired states
- Enhancement of learning capabilities (super learning)
- Sleep induction (for treating insomnia or just for falling asleep quicker)
- Focusing attention and enhancing awareness
- Alleviation of headaches and migraines, as well as other pain
- Preparation for stressful situations
- Self hypnosis and/or subliminal programming
SKEPTICISM WARNING
Some people also claim that the following might be achieved with brain stimulation. However, there is no direct scientific proof of any of these, so a bit of a skeptical attitude is recommended.
- Enhancing psychic capabilities like tendency towards out-of-body experiences,
remote viewing, telepathy, telekinesis, etc.
- Mental and astral projection
REQUIREMENTS
- Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME, or Windows NT/2000/XP operating system
- At least 90 MHz Pentium processor. The faster the processor, the more complex
output BrainWave Generator can produce.
- A stereo-capable sound card.
WARNING!
The following people should not use brain entrainment products like BrainWave Generator:
- People subject to any forms of seizures or epilepsy
- People using pacemakers
- People suffering from cardiac arrhythmia or other heart disorders
- People taking stimulants, psychoactive drugs, or tranquilizers
If you fall in any of these categories, do not download or even try BrainWave Generator!
STIMULATING THE BRAIN WITH BINAURALBEAT FREQUENCIES
The easiest way of applying stimulus to the brain is via ears. Other senses could be used as well, and vision is actually used quite often (often in addition to hearing).
However, humans cannot hear sounds low enough to be useful for brain stimulation, so special techniques must be used. One such special technique used is called binaural beats.
If the left ear is presented with a steady tone of 500Hz and the right ear a steady tone of 510Hz, these two tones combine in the brain. The difference, 10Hz, is perceived by the brain and is a very effective stimulus for brainwave entrainment. This 10Hz is formed entirely by the brain. When using stereo headphones, the left and right sounds do not mix together until in your brain. The frequency difference, when perceived by brain this way, is called a binaural beat.
THE EFFECT OF THE AUDIBLE FREQUENCIES USED
To get a stimulus of 10Hz, you may use tones of 500Hz and 510Hz, or 400Hz and 410Hz, or 800Hz and 810Hz, or so on. The only requirements are that the tone is heard well enough and that it is below about 1000Hz. Below 1000Hz, the wavelength of the skull is sufficiently small so that the sound waves curve around it.
You may try out different audible tones with BrainWave Generator and see which ones work best for you.
I am going to download this now.
I guess that if this plan works, this blog is going to look very different from the next entry onwards. And, I might even pay you an astral travel visit! Keep the beers cold!
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Saturday, 26 October 2002
It is Saturday. I am glad I am not HERE!
******
WEEPING
Bright Blue
I knew a man who lived in fear
it was huge it was angry
it was drawing near
behind his house, a secret place
was the shadow of the demon
he could never face.
He built a wall of steel and flame
and men with guns to keep it tame
Then standing back he made it plain
that the nightmare would never ever rise again
but the fear and the fire and the guns remain.
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
he tells the world that it's sleeping
but as the night came round I heard
it slowly sound
it wasn't roaring it was weeping
it wasn't roaring it was weeping.
SAX SOLO - Basil Coetzee
And then one day the neighbours came
they were curious to know about the smoke and flame
they stood around outside the wall
but of course there was nothing to be heard at all
"My friends", he said, "we've reached our goal
the threat is under firm control
As long as peace and order reign
I'll be damned if I can see a reason to explain
Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain".
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
he tells the world that it's sleeping
but as the night came round I heard
it slowly sound
it wasn't roaring it was weeping
it wasn't roaring it was weeping.
SAX SOLO
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
he tells the world that it's sleeping
but as the night came round I heard
it slowly sound
it wasn't roaring it was weeping
it wasn't roaring it was weeping.
Composed by: Heymann/ Fox/ Cohen/ Cohen
Recorded and released by Bright Blue in 1987. One of South Africa's greatest songs... includes instrumental references to 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica'.
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Friday, 25 October 2002
Look at the *s*t*a*r*s*, see how they shine for you .....
******
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Wednesday, 23 October 2002
REST IN PEACE, RICK.
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Tuesday, 22 October 2002
Do you use the Google toolbar? This message is from them:
Put your idle computer time to good use
Google would like to request your help on Google Compute, a new feature for the Google Toolbar. By turning on this feature, you can allow your computer to work on complex scientific problems when it would otherwise be idle. The work it does is automatically sent via the Internet to researchers who combine it with information sent by thousands of other users.
The first beneficiary of this effort is Folding@home, a non-profit academic research project at Stanford University that is trying to understand the structure of proteins so they can develop better treatments for a number of illnesses. In the future Google Compute may allow you to also donate your computing time to other carefully selected worthwhile endeavors, including projects to improve Google and its services.
The Google Compute feature of the Google Toolbar shouldn't affect your regular computing activities and you can easily disable it at any time for any reason.
To learn more about Google Compute before installing, please read our Frequently Asked Questions. In particular please read the parts on Privacy and Security, which you must read and accept if you decide to try Google Compute. If you do not own this computer please ensure that you have the permission of the owner/administrator before enabling this feature.
Do you want to try Google Compute?
Hmmmm. Perhaps. But, I think I'd rather capture aliens.
******
See the sidebar on the left? I have updated the links and added some interesting blogs to the collection. As I have said before - I read ALL the blogs listed on this site. Some daily, some weekly. I read them them all.
Yes, I do.
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Monday, 21 October 2002
Mommy cat's name is Muesli. In about 4 or 5 weeks one of the little ones will come and live with me. Not a replacement, but certainly a sweet distraction.
All together now, say "Aaaaaaah ..."
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Sunday, 20 October 2002
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Friday, 18 October 2002
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Thursday, 17 October 2002
Advertisment on my way home.
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Wednesday, 16 October 2002
Do you think you will be blogging 12 months from now?
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Tuesday, 15 October 2002
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Monday, 14 October 2002
 Yep. It is entirely possible that I am not quite normal. I enjoy reading restaurant menus and was literally overjoyed to find amazon.com's menu section.
The selection, although it contains a large number of menus, does not cover many cities. It only covers:
Boston
Chicago
New York
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, D.C.
I was most amused to see the fare offered at the African restaurants: mainly chicken, fish and goat. Urgh. I am pleased that I do not live in a region where goat's meat is standard on the dinner plate. (But then, in South Africa the mopani worm is regarded as a delicacy and we eat "waterblommetjies", see my entry on 9 September. Also see the Samp and Blog entry on 22 July.)
The amazon.com menus are also categorised by type of food served at the restaurants, such as Pan-Asian, French, fusion, etc.
It would be nice to see some menus from Tokyo, Paris, Sidney, Dar es Salaam, Hong Kong and other areas where the cuisine might be a bit "unusual".
Oh, well. Bah humbug to whatever normal might be.
I enjoyed reading the menus!
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Sunday, 13 October 2002
******
To Michael and Scrib, who could not wait for later: More to follow. Later.
******
This is the original photo that I took yesterday afternoon. (See yesterday's entry.)
******
More later.
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Saturday, 12 October 2002
I had tea and sympathy with mom and dad this afternoon and took the scenic route home. On the way I took this photograph (and then jazzed it up a little bit):
******
Today, please tell me what you DON'T like about this site. I want to make some changes, but don't know where to start.
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Friday, 11 October 2002
 SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL—During a visit to the teeming slums of São Paulo Monday, Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua warned the city's starving masses against the evils of contraception, urging them to "be fruitful and multiply" and do "everything in [their] power" to resist the mortal sin of birth control.
"In Genesis, God commands us to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the Earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish and birds and every other living thing," said Bevilacqua, speaking before more than 200,000 malnourished São Paulo slum dwellers. "It is not for man to decide whether the world should have more babies than it can reasonably support. God will decide whose seed shall find purchase and when."
The gathering, which took place on a muddy hillside crowded with tin-and-tarpaper shacks, was one of many to take place around the world Monday - a day Pope John Paul II declared World Childbirth Day. more...
Now that's really smart!
******
On 15 August there were 5922 blogs listed on Eatonweb and I did a quick analysis of the available data. Today there are 7283 blogs listed. I said I would do the analysis again when 10 000 blogs are listed ... we are getting there! Please go and update your listing or list your blog if you haven't yet. I am eager to play with those figures again.
******
The HeadGear-condom-selling-lady.
(See 9 October's entry.)
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Thursday, 10 October 2002
"They've supplied me with a Bic razor and I consider cutting my throat.
But the thought of failure is just too awful to contemplate."
A Prison Diary - Jeffrey Archer
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Wednesday, 9 October 2002
I quite like these ideas, they seem to make blogs a little more interactive.
Guess I better do some thinking and come up with a FLIGHTLESS FARRAGO project soon. Perhaps.
Sometimes I feel like the tree that is falling in the wood with nobody around to hear it falling. At times there are passersby who comment.
Occasionally some try to stop the tree from crashing to the ground. This was very evident when I was blogging about Huffies - the messages, emails and comments were very comforting and deeply appreciated. (I miss her so much.)
People being NICE towards each other. It is a warm community to be in.
Thank you.
******
Hmmm. Now they are selling condoms at traffic lights. What next?
And, what kind of name is "HeadGear" for a condom anyway?
I told the lady who accosted approached me, while I was waiting at the traffic lights, that I had no use for condoms. I didn't want to go into detail regarding the reasons for this, so I promptly got a lecture on AIDS and safe sex.
Good for them!
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Tuesday, 8 October 2002
Said something that aught to be in a book of famous quotations, but isn't?
******
I start to experience a strange, quiet panic. It's like going back to square one. Like going to school for the first time, or into the army, or a drama school audition. Like you've got no experience to help you through the ordeal ahead. Mind you, every first performance in the theatre feels like that too. This thought provides comfort. Yes, I'm frightened, but it's a bracing kind of feeling. How many people in other jobs get challenged like this again and again? I stare out at the crowds in the streets. I'm going to try and be Charlie Chaplin in a few hours' time, I think. It's a scary, risky, possibly dumb thing to do, but it might make me a film star. That's what's happening to me today.
What's happening to you?
Source: Beside Myself. An Autobiography - Antony Sher.
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Monday, 7 October 2002
(See yesterday's blog entry.)
******
Oh, for peace sake Saddam!
Rome - Italian porn star and former parliamentarian "La Cicciolina" has offered to give herself to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in exchange for world peace, according to an interview published on Friday.
"I offer myself to Saddam in exchange for universal peace," the Hungarian-born actress, whose real name is Ilona Staller, told Catalan daily El Periodico.
"I would do it holding my nose and closing my eyes. I would do it for peace," she said, adding that she had already made the offer to the Iraqi leader during the 1991 Gulf war.
When asked if her well-known stunt of exposing her breasts during political appearances in Italy had not undermined her credibility, the porn star answered: "My breasts have never done anyone any harm, while (Osama) bin Laden's war has caused thousands of victims."
La Cicciolina, who on Thursday attended the opening of Barcelona's 10th erotic film festival, was formerly a deputy for Italy's Radical Party.
She made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Hungarian parliament in April.
- Sapa-DPA
Yuck!
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Sunday, 6 October 2002
I cannot believe that people are still falling for the 419 scam! Are people really walking around with their senses amputated? This time it is a French national that was lured to South Africa. Ho-hum.
******
I need to update my list of 100 things. Some things there are no longer true .... Next week. Maybe. It's going to be tough.
******
This afternoon we went for a drive around town and came across a crew shooting the new Volkswagen Polo Diesel advertisement.
The street was a mess - part of the scene they were shooting included the Polo's near misses with debris created by some or other explosion. It was all very exciting to watch!
While Cape Town is being used for a lot of movie and advertisement filming, the locals are getting tired of finding alternate routes to their regular destinations over weekends.
But, we may not complain, we can do with the revenue and exposure.
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Saturday, 5 October 2002
LITTLE TREASURES
******
Okay, own up already!
Today I was not allowed to view my own site, most of my "regular reads" were down and now blogrolling isn't woking.
Who broke the internet?
******
My ISP (M-Web), is 5 years old. To celebrate, they are running a competition.
I am touched. Specifically beacuse they obviously took the fact that I value my (very expensive) time online and that I am of at least average intelligence, when they devised the competition.
And then they still send snail mail statements!
******
 You are not authorized to view this page
What's with that?
All morning I have not been able to view FLIGHTLESS FARRAGO. I thus assumed nobody else could either.
I also couldn't FTP any updates.
Perhaps it is time to move on from Netfirms. But, where to?
******
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Friday, 4 October 2002
For all those people who came visiting here because of a "LaughLab" Google search, here is the world's funniest joke:
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground.
He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head.
The other guy whips out his cellphone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?"
The operator, in a calm, soothing voice, says: "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."
There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: "OK, now what?"
Hmmm ... I don't think it is all that funny at all.
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Wednesday, 2 October 2002
To everyone who sent kind thoughts and condolences, thank you very much.
I got Huffies from a local SPCA when she was only two weeks old, she was still too little to eat on her own and I had to feed her with a syringe.
On Friday we still thought that she had a fighting chance. The vet suggested that she stays at the vet until Sunday so that they could put her on a drip and flush out the toxins in her body caused by the reduced functioning of her kidneys.
I went to visit Huffies late on Friday night. There was no change in her condition. On Saturday she seemed weaker and struggled to stand. I spent a lot of time with her on Saturday, hoping for an improvement.
On Sunday morning the vet said there was nothing more he could do for Huffies and that she probably only had a day or two ahead of her. He suggested that the kindest thing I could do for Huffies was to have her put to sleep. This was not an option. I asked whether I could take her home. He wasn't happy with this, but let me take her, with drip and all.
We spent some of Sunday sitting outside in the sun. At this stage Huffies was unable to sit upright at all anymore. I had to hold her and position her in her normal "I want to wee" position so that she could do what she needed to do. My heart was breaking ....
By about 4pm Engela and I decided to take her to the emergency vet to have the drip removed. (The normal vet was only going to open a bit later.) Huffies did not have to spend her last hours with that damn thing attached to her! The emergency vet gave us the same prognosis, perhaps a day or two.
We took her home and decided to make her last few hours as comfortable as possible. We fed her everything she always liked best. Marmite, yogurt and Horlicks. She didn't want to eat anything she had to chew, and because she could not sit up to eat, I fed Huffies with a syringe again. Full circle, 17 years later.
Huffies spent the evening sleeping on my stomach, every now and again I would feel her trying to move and I would hold her upright to wee or would feed her water through the syringe.
On Monday morning Huffies was even weaker and looked like a battle weary soldier. We took her off to the vet again, where the vet again suggested that we have her put to sleep. At this point I could no longer fault his thinking. There was no quality of life left. The vet knew this, Engela and I knew this and I honestly believe that Huffies knew this.
What I was also wanting to avoid was that Huffies should experience a seizure, something that kitties with chronic renal failure often experience in their last hours. Huffies did not need to go through this!
Huffies went quietly and peacefully. Engela and I stayed with her until the end and then a little bit longer.
I am having a tough time doing things that would normally, by the nature of the relationship Huffies and I had, include Huffies. It is going to take me a long time to adjust to the heavy emptiness that is currently all consuming.
One of the things that Huffies loved to do was hop onto the scanner and find her way to my lap while I was working at the computer.
That is how this scan happened.
Huffies and I often blogged together.
Tonight I am blogging for Huffies.
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FARRAGO: n. (pl. -s or US -es) medley, hotchpotch.
©2002 FARRAGO, and all that.
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