M10 the Greens (aka The Hatch)

The final pack up has been a shocker… But it’s good to finally be leaving! This lingering around has got a bit much. There have been loads of lasts (like the last drink at the rat, last sleep at the hatch, etc…). It’s been a great four years, which has definitely left its mark.

 

Drawing inspiration from Lord of the Rings quotes!!!

It has become a tradition since first year to watch motivational clip’s from movies before an exam. A famous scene that we watched a lot was the helms deep battle where this quote comes from:

“Yes. Yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep, one last time.”

And given that this is my last exam at Rhodes this definitely applies… It’s going to be good to be finished (or in Lord of the Rings style; to ride out and meet them)!

Exam Lunch…

Gregor found these great German vienna sausages (typical), so we have been eating them constantly for lunch over the past few days! They are perfect for a quick lunch…

It’s a pity we didn’t find them earlier on in the year! Damn…. (Ya mom i know they are probably not the most healthy food, but its exams)! Also finally cracked Gran’s the Romans said it all quote:
CERVISIA POTA, PULCHRITUDO CERNITUR, translated it’s : I’ll have another, Barman!

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?

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!)

My first time… (our first time)

This is Russell’s first blogpost. He has been so nervous about blogging that I (Gregor) am writing the post for him. We designed the template this afternoon using a good ol’ Web 2.o design style (I now call him Russ 2.0). This is officially Chip Trips first blogpost.