Procrastination: The Thief of Time or Mother of Invention?

It is extraordinary how exam time gets the creative juices flowing.  It is unfortunate however that my most brilliant inspirations are seldom of any use in the exam hall!  One such stroke of genius is the plan developed in conjunction with other experts to terraform the planet Mars. (Please be advised that the details have been forwarded to the patent office and legal action will be taken in the event of others using this idea).  The imminent threat of being hit by a comet in the next 250 million years makes this an urgent priority!!!  Not enough is being done to raise public awareness about this issue and i have made it my personal mission to rectify this deficiency. Humanity has exploited the resources of the earth for centuries, but think of the untapped wealth of the solar system. As i always say; Earth First! we will strip mine the other planets later!!! Or sooner as is my hope!

Price History of New technology

The PS3 has not been released yet in the US, so it will still be a while before it hit’s the South African market. I thought it would be interesting though to blog about the price of the XBOX360, which is R3699.00 for the Pro System (at Makro). Games seem to range from about R400 – R600. I thought this would be a nice way to keep a record of the current release price. This could therefore allow for future comparisons, for example; how the price is reduced overtime, as well as whether or not competition will have an affect on the pricing of both consoles. Perhaps giving an indication of when the best time is to purchase these new products.

Sure time of year and other releases of better technology come into play and the opportunity cost is going to be small (and a real study would be very complex). It is still something that has always interested me. The same can be said about Microsoft’s Zune player soon to be released vs. the Ipod (R2995.00 for 30GB).

Above is a graph on the pricing of the playstation 2 from 2000 to 2006. As expected the price has dropped over time, with it taking a big dive because of the looming release of the playstation 3 in 2007!!! I also looked at the price of the first 10GB ipod release in 2001 which was $499 whereas in 2005 the release price of the 80GB ipod was $399. But in the years between this the top prices have been around $499 for the top capacity ipod. Perhaps a conclusion from this is that technology prices for new release products are quiet similar over the years. However when is the cheapest time to purchase these products?

ABSA just doesn’t do simpler, better, faster!

Last night I tried to access my account through an ABSA ATM only to find that I apparently had “insufficient funds”.

However, two days before I had x amount in the account with a cheque still pending (and I had not accessed the account in those two days between). Neither had I reached my daily or monthly limit.

I contacted the stop card line (which I found at the bottom of the ATM slip) where I spoke to an operator, who in fact confirmed that there was NO problem with my account and who tried to convince me that the problem was from my behalf and not ABSA’s.

This morning I went into the ABSA branch in Grahamstown to enquire about my account. To cut a long story short and a morning of waiting around for my account to be opened, ABSA had in fact lost the cheque and had frozen my account. However I was given no prior warning that ABSA was going to freeze my account, and I still had to wait for an entire morning to get it opened again.

It is my money! With all the bank fees that we are charged for electronic payment etc, you would think that the system would work a bit more efficiently. After all am I not a client here that is supposed to be looked after? Is it really so difficult to call a customer to let them know that their account has been frozen? If I would have been away from friends or family who lent me some cash last night – what would I have done? I still have no idea as to what has happened to the cheque (apparently I’m going to get a letter in the mail since this is of course the most effective means of communication nowadays)!

I’m the customer here. It’s ridiculous that I have to run after my bank, when they have clearly made a mistake. It is also ludicrous that they can just freeze an account without giving the customer notification or even trying to notify me. I am considering a switch to a simpler, better, and faster bank one that keeps me inspired, motivated and involved!

Submitted a complaint on HelloPeter, follow up to come…

Blue Stingray (Dasyatis chrysonota)!

After many debates and lots of hours wasted by myself and Ross on the internet, in the library, at book shops, the ichthyology department etc… We can now conclusively say that the ray in the picture below (the one Ross caught) is a Blue Stingray (Dasyatis chrysonota). I can’t believe I’m saying this but Ross was right!!!

Watching time fly…

Looking at the calendar in my room today showed two things firstly organization (i.e. crossing the days off as they go by and not any deep psychological hatred of time as has been implied before). Secondly it showed that 2006 varsity year is almost finished…

Can’t believe how quick it has all gone by (time at varsity in general and 2006)! I still remember first year Orientation week clearly!

Laptops in the future

It seems that a possible solution to the limitation of the lithium ion batteries 8 hour barrier (before needing a recharge) has been found. Micro-engines (or engines on a chip) could be the replacement power for laptops. Laptops with micro-engines could last between 15 to 20 hours. Another interesting innovation on the software side is a Mojopac. This new software allows a user to upload applications, files and user settings to an ipod or USB storage device, and when you plug the device into another computer it will automatically run your settings. This effectively transforms your iPod or other USB storage device into a portable and private PC. This innovation could result in laptops becoming smaller because there is less need for bigger hard drive space. (Steve and I seem to find ourselves discussing this sort of crazy stuff at gym!)

Kenton Fishing Trip!

After a heavy night of partying on Friday night, we (Gregor, Gail, Ross, Rich and I) decided to go to the beach. Ross (who I think is more passionate about fishing than I am) in is usual chaotic way has only thought about the fact that bait could be quite important on Saturday morning! So we waist valuable fishing time (at least 2 hours) driving around Grahamstown looking for sardines, which are even more elusive than the fish we want to catch. Luckily we managed to find a bait shop in Kenton.

When we finally hit the beach, Gregor, Rich and I are playing a bit of fetch with a rugby ball, while Ross is rigging up his equipment (which is possibly more fun than the actual fishing). Anyway after a lot of antics and every one giving lots of advice about the bait he is using (usual fishing sager). Ross eventually gets his bait in the water (which looks like a shark would have difficulty getting hooked on). After a few bites he caught a nice ray (which we haven’t been able to identify yet), but a good reward for persistence. I suppose persistence does pay off! Gail also caught her first fish, and Rich hooked into a huge one. It was a great day in the end.