The Good:

- almost done with one of my big projects
- almost finished paying down student loan(~R9k to go)
- attended a very good TED show
- got a few books on the grand sale from kalahari.net(Noam Chomsky’s Universal Grammar, Lucky Jim, Atheist guide to Christmas, and two other textbooks)
- made a few investments in kiva.org
- compliments from the CEO
The bad:

- overwork
- stress levels(should be down tomorrow )

Fine for the rest.

The Cape Town Stadium is infinite times better than Newlands. The whole layout, the ease of entrance and exit. The massive restrooms, the quick and easy access kiosks. The “further from the pitch” claim in support of Newlands I don’t buy now either. It is basically the same, just with an increased capacity for ~20,000 more people. Just outside you are at the V&A, with countless pubs and great atmosphere. We parked right next to the stadium, and with a traffic holdup of about 5 minutes, we where out of there.

Indeed, a pleasant experience it most certainly was.

Go Black Stars

So yes, quick life update.

I have been pretty busy lately. Busy with a bunch of projects, mostly websites and related web based projects. Other than that, my time is spend reading as much as I can on various coding languages, and design aspects. I am also reading as much as I can about professional photography, everything from WB balance to getting the perfect vintage photo. Yesterday I picked up a Molecular Biology textbook as the subject has been a fascination ever since I completed the first chapter of Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker. A book that has no doubt had a great influence on the minds of many people, including Stephen Fry and Douglas Adams. I am not sure if it was Hawking’s – A Brief History of Time, or The Blind Watchmaker that nudged me to finally reject theism, as I read them in quick succession, but no doubt both opened my eyes to the grandeur of the natural.

Stargasing has taken a back seat the last week, it was again mostly overcast at night and the annoying bats are a bit off putting. I have however had a good morning not many moons ago, when I for the first time had a glimpse of Jupiter as it rose in the East at about 05:00.  Almost all the moons where visible, only one hiding in it’s shadow. My Oxygen 3 filter has also arrived at the post office, but I have yet to go and collect it. It will be useful watching the moon in the Northern Cape, when I go visit my brother.

Work has been crazy, but it is a lot better than sitting around doing nothing. I am learning at a rapid pace, so it’s all good. Tomorrow I have a photo session and will take headshots of the staff, so something new for a change, which should also be good experience gained. Our new branding strategy has been approved, sort of, now the big stakeholders still have to give the big thumbs up. No doubt, the approval of the new branding will force me to start again almost from scratch, but at least it is something different than dull maroon currently used.

My student loan is almost payed of in full. At the end of October I would have payed my R72k loan in about 11 months, which I guess not a lot of post grads can do. I consider myself extremely lucky in this regard, but alas, hard work also pays I suppose. This will hopefully look good on my credit report Tomorrow(err, today) I will also pay this year’s study fee, so I am almost broke.

Only thing being neglected the last couple of weeks, is sleep. Sleeping hours have been mostly reduced to between ~03:00-06:00, with a full nighter every now and then followed with a afternoon nap. I really need a recharge. And apparently a haircut.

Edit: Yes, forgot to add a pic, so this will just have to do

http://richarddawkins.net/articles/4913-deciphering-the-chatter-of-monkeys-and-chimps