Yesterday I was the victim of a homophobic attack. I use the word “attack” for lack of another. It involved a lot of spitting and heavy words but didn’t come to physical violence. The threat of it was definitely there but my attackers were unsure of themselves. Unsure if I was gay or not. As […]
2009
Posted inTech
What the Yahoo-Microsoft deal means
Yahoo and Microsoft concluded an agreement last week that will see Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, used on Yahoo. This effectively creates a new rival to Google, the search-engine giant. How does this affect us? Locally Bing has an estimated search market share of 4% and Yahoo 2%. Their combined market share of 6% is still […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Meeting of Zille, Cope, ID and UDM is the way forward
Whether the “vehicle” with which to challenge the ANC’s supremacy emerges sooner rather than later from the secret meetings held between the parties set out in the heading above is not the crucial issue but rather the fact that they recognise the need for it. Independently they can win many battles but the war will […]
Posted inLifestyle
The art of minding other people’s business
I plonk my bag of groceries on the bar counter at Malone’s American Diner on Tongren Road, Shanghai, and the bar staff immediately walk over and inspect the contents. They stare in awe at the large container of freshly picked and washed lettuce, the blocks of cheese and the bread. Wu Hao wrinkles his nose […]
Posted inLifestyle
Creating successful families II
(See part 1 here) I managed to get my two siblings seated around a table. With all three of us living in different parts of the country, it was not often that we all got together. And every time we got together, we were reminded of how great it was to be together again. It […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Were South Africa’s municipal workers justified in strewing rubbish over the streets?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Were South Africa’s municipal workers justified in strewing rubbish over the streets?
Posted inNews/Politics
Would reducing the legal limit save lives?
So the AA — that’s the Automobile Association, not Alcoholics Anonymous — is calling for the legal blood-alcohol limit to be reduced to the equivalent of one beer an hour, effectively halving it. This was in response to the tragic deaths of two Outsurance pointsmen who were on their way to the 702 Walk the […]
Posted inGeneral
The theatre of war
We had lunch the other day with a British soldier friend. A nice civilised Dim Sum before she shipped out to Basra. This was going to be her second tour, having already done a tour in Helmand. Of course we spent a lot of time talking about the war and what it was like out […]
Posted inGeneral
Return of the king
The current Formula One season has been stagnant and boring. We’ve seen many boardroom squabbles between Formula One Teams Association and Max Mosley (president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile sports governing body) that nearly erupted into a breakaway motorsport league over the rules and regulations. But Wednesday July 29 will arguably go down in […]
Posted inTech
Amazon’s e-book disappearing act
If you haven’t heard, in an Orwellian faux pas Amazon recently deleted (and refunded) purchased copies of 1984 and Animal Farm from its customers’ Kindle e-readers. It was the wake-up call the anti-DRM lobby was probably hoping for, and it’s raised a storm of discussion (and confusion) about the evil that is digital rights management. […]
Posted inGeneral
Where have the crowds gone?
So what’s keeping the crowds away from Bok matches this year? Is it the coach? The selections, the decision to let the Bok reserves have their crack at run-out against the Lions at Ellis Park? Or is it, as I suspect, just much simpler than that? Let’s start with the (surely) obvious rugby reason. The […]
Posted inGeneral
Simply social
Mandy de Waal speaks to The Internet & Social Media Guy, Andy Hadfield about online banking trends. What’s the biggest challenge facing banks in this country and the world over? Simplicity. As the world and the internet become more complex, banks need to make life easier for consumers. They also need to understand social media […]