For a long while, Haloscan has been providing the comments engine of my website. It has been there faithfully, informing me of your thoughts and peevs on the crud er.. “sageness” I post online.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and Haloscan is being retired as a product (or being EOL’d for those in the industry).

I’m still investigating other options (with the unwaivering assitance of Paul...not the, just a) so that you may continue to heckle me when I post my blatherings.

There may be a period of time when posting comments will be unavailable. I know this will crush some of you, but I will attempt to get something sorted as quickly as possible, thereby lessening the utter gut-wrenching dispair I know you will feel.

In the meant time, chin up, be strong and have faith. Technology will work as advertised... one day.

A recent slashdot article discussed mobile phone etiquette and how it seems that we, in general, are getting ruder to one another when it comes to talking on, or being interrupted by, a mobile.

I tend to agree.

Nothing is more irritating than being interrupted from a face-to-face conversation with a “..just a sec, I have to take this”.

No, actually, you don’t.

That’s what voicemail is for.

Here are the top eight rules for courteous mobile phone etiquette:

• 1. Lower your voice when taking calls in public.
• 2. Avoid personal topics when others can hear you.
• 3. Avoid taking calls when you're already engaged in a face-to-face conversation.
• 4. If you do take a call, ask permission of the people with you.
• 5. Avoid texting during a face-to-face conversations.
• 6. Put your phone's ringer on "silent" in theaters and restaurants.
• 7. Don't light up your phone's screen in a dark theater.
• 8. Hang up and drive.

The whole article can be found here.

Tags: mobiles

Today is my last day in Botswana. I fly out for Joburg at 13:10 this afternoon. A quick trip down to River Walk to check out the bookshop and to have one final coffee with Dad before I head unhappily back to Australia.

Plans are already being formulated for a trip in August. I have a contact at the local Harvey World Travel, whom I used on my last trip here. Chobe National Park, Kruger Park, Natani nature reserve, Madikwe nature reserve, the wines at Cape Town, diving in Mozambique and Victoria Falls are all on the cards, but probably not all of them.

New Years resolution number one: Spend a great deal less time thinking of work.

--- Update:
I have just arrived back in Perth from Joburg. Long-ish flight with a fair bit of clear air turbulence. Only a four hour wait in Perth before a four hour flight to Brisbane. The travel is almost over, but not happy to be out of Africa.

--- Update 2:
Flight to Perth has been delayed an hour..grrrrrr

--- Update 3:
Made up half an hour on the flight to Brisbane. The pilot took on extra fuel and flew lower... how nice of him.

Tags: travel

Happy New Year 2010!

While I didn't take part, I heard the locals go nuts here in Phakalane, with lots of fireworks going off. Apart from the midnight shenanigans everything seems to be business as usual, even though it's a public holiday here today.

Today was essentially a day off. I've been going flat out since the day I arrived in Botswana and today was the last full day that I'm here. We went out to have a look at the Gaborone Dam which is part of the water supply for the city. We couldn't get to the Dam wall, and were advised against trying. Some time ago the Zimbabwean itinerant workers were moved out of a park in Phakalane and have since taken up residence around Gaborone Dam. They have been causing trouble with the patrons of the Yacht club and were called "Thieves" by the local boom-gate guards. The lake formed by the dam is quite nice in spite of the current inhabitants. Being a public holiday the yacht club was closed.

The Royal Palm hotel was the place for coffee and sandwhiches, Gaborones only 5 star hotel. I've eaten here before and the meals and wines are excellent. Coffee was traded for St. Louis Premium Export Lager.

Dinner tonight was going to be at the newly opened Mokolodi Game reserve restaurant, however, public holiday and all, it was closed. So it was to the local Apache Spur steak restaurant in River Walk instead. Steak was excellent, as was the beer.

Tags: travel

Today (New Years eve) we left Maunatlala for Gaborone at around 11:30am. Just before our departure I was asked by one of the security guards (Alex) to take his picture with the "Big camera" which is how my DSLR is now referred to. I now have to figure out how to get him a print.

We were to drive through the village of Lerala which is nestled at the base of the Tswapong Hills but missed an unsigned right hand turn in one of the smaller surrounding villages. This spat us back out onto the main road again and we missed Lerala. Oh well, there's always next time.

It's nice to see the local villages are still, for the most part, very traditional with thatched rooves and mud brick walls. And while they may look rather primitive, a lot of the houses have power, water, satelite TV and I'd also wager, broadband internet. However, times change, and most new houses are being made of cement block or clay fired brick with corrugated iron rooves. Some homes are truly huge and luxurious, hinting at the hidden wealth of Botswana.

The drive back to Gabs was uneventful, aside from being passed while passing, and we stopped in Mahalapye for a bite of lunch before continuing down the A1. We arrived back in Phakalane around 5pm.

Dinner was at the Phakalane Golf Estate, one of the few 5 star restaurants in Botswana. The menu was set for New Years and fireworks could be seen over the lake. Botswana steak is still the best in the world in my opinion, after having an excellent fillet mignon with an outsanding Cab Sav from Groot Constantia. I'll be trying to bring back a couple of bottles of this drop with me.

Tags: travel