• Tilt
• Askew
• Do a Barrel roll
• What Is The Loneliest Number
• Where is Chuck Norris
• Recursion
• The next one you must start fresh: then search for google gravity and click on “I’m feeling lucky”. Now look for the search box and search for more stuff
• once in a blue moon
• The next one, also start clean, search for google pig latin and click on “I’m feeling lucky”

English not your preferred language? Try these url’s for language variations on Google:
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-elmer
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-hacker
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-piglatin
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-bork
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-klingon

Or for the ultimate blast from the past:
Enter “Google Pacman” and hit “I’m feeling lucky”

Have fun!!

Dear friends,

Today could be the day we save the free Internet. We’ve flipped the White House and Congress is on the back foot. Now Wikipedia’s blackout has pushed the US web censorship bills to the top of the news. Today we’ve reached the tipping point. Let’s bury the bill for good. Click to sign the petition:

Today could be the day we save the free Internet.

The US Congress was poised to pass a law allowing officials to censor access to any website around the world. But after we delivered our 1.25 million strong petition to the White House, it came out against the bill and with public pressure at a boiling point even some bill backers are switching sides. Now, the Wikipedia – led blackout protest has rocketed the public campaign to the top of the news.

We are turning the tide. But the dark forces of censorship are trying to revive the bill right now. Let’s bury it for good today. Click to sign this emergency petition to save the Internet now and if you’ve signed already, to email, call, Facebook, and tweet Congressional and corporate targets. Then send this to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_action_center_b/?vl

The bill would make the US one of the worst Internet censors in the world — joining the ranks of countries like China and Iran. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) would allow the US government to block any of us from accessing sites like YouTube, Google, or Facebook.

We got the White House to switch sides and now our global campaign and the growing public pressure is forcing Congress to abandon the bill. Last weekend, Senator Cardin, who cosponsored the legislation, announced he will vote against it! Then six prominent Republicans penned a letter requesting that the bill be shelved. Now the lower house vote is reportedly on ice.

Just days ago we were told it was impossible to stop the corporate censorship cabal, but now this is at a tipping point and amazingly we could win! Let’s stop US censorship today. Sign this emergency petition to save the internet now and forward it to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_action_center_b/?vl

This US legislation could infringe on all of our freedoms. But if we win, we will show that when people unite with one voice from all over the world we can stop the abuse of power anywhere. We have brought this bill back from the brink. Now, if we amplify our voices today, we can put an end to the most powerful Internet censorship threat that the world has ever seen.

With hope,

Dalia, Ian, Alice, Ricken, Diego, David, and the Avaaz Team

Sources:

White House statement:
https://secure.avaaz.org/whitehouse_internet_statement

Wikipedia joins web blackout in SOPA protest (BBC):
http://www.avaaz.org/bbc_sopa_wikipedia

American Censorship’s fact sheet on SOPA:
http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html

Everything you need to know about Congress’s online piracy bills in one post (Washington Post):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/everything-you-need-to-know-about-congresss-online-piracy-bills-in-one-post/2011/12/16/gIQAz4ggyO_blog.html

SOPA and PIPA sponsors caving in to opposition (Talking Points Memo):
http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/sopa-and-pipa-sponsors-caving-into-opposition.php

White House will not support SOPA, PIPA (Huffington Post):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/14/white-house-sopa-pipa_n_1206347.html

Controversial online piracy bill ‘shelved’ until consensus is found (The Hill):
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/204167-sopa-shelved-until-consensus-is-found

( And off course, Shell argues that this would not happen in South Africa )

Alarming study finds “fracking” chemicals in groundwater.

In a shock report that has sent shockwaves through the global oil and gas industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency has found fracking as the likely source of contamination of groundwater in the state of Wyoming, USA.

The finding is based on a three-year study of groundwater contamination near the town of Pavillion. 

The deep water well monitoring study  found that synthetic chemicals, such as glycols and alcohols consistent with gas production had been detected as well as  hydraulic fracturing fluids, including highly noxious benzene concentrations well above Safe Drinking Water Act standards. The study also reported high methane levels. 

The EPA said in the report that it is “concerned about the movement of contaminants within the aquifer and the safety of drinking water wells over time.’ 

The report included the EPA findings on Private and Public Drinking Water Wells in the Pavillion area of Wyoming and confirmed that ‘chemicals detected in the most recent samples are consistent with those identified in earlier EPA samples and include methane, other petroleum hydrocarbons and other chemical compounds.”

“The presence of these compounds is consistent with migration from areas of gas production”

Treasure Karoo Action Group chairman, Jonathan Deal said, “This report is enormously significant in the debate on hydraulic fracturing in South Africa.
There are more than a thousand cases, especially in the US, where fracking is blamed for groundwater contamination, but the oil and gas industry consistently claim that that they are unaware of any documented cases. 
 
“The industry hides behind jargon and avoids the facts that are generally accepted  and in the public realm. 

“After this damning report, which follows other simmilar reports, it is no longer possible for those championing fracking to make the claim that they are unaware of documented cases of groundwater contamination,” he concluded.

* This report was prepared by Treasure Karoo Action Group

From Avaaz:

Dear friends,

In 24 hours, world leaders meet to discuss the global economic crisis, and banks and big corporations are sponsoring the meeting in exchange for an all access pass. This, while ordinary citizens are locked out. Let’s raise a massive petition to Nicolas Sarkozy to kick out the corporations and keep the G20 for the people.

It’s unbelievable. The G20 — the most powerful summit of world governments — meets tomorrow to discuss the global economic crisis, and who is sponsoring the meeting? Banks and corporations!

No wonder the site of the meeting — the French city of Cannes — is completely locked down to any ordinary citizens, while banks and large corporate CEOs have all access passes to tell our governments what to do.

Corporations have captured our governments, winning vast corporate bailouts despite destroying our economy. Now they are buying their way into the very meeting that could decide the financial future for much of the globe. Together we can persuade summit host Nicolas Sarkozy to cancel the sponsorship — let’s build a massive public outcry that causes a media firestorm and forces Sarkozy to kick out the corporate sponsors and clean up the G20. Sign the petition and forward widely:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/occupy_g20/?vl

The line between corporate power and responsible government has steadily blurred. Politicians take money from corporations for their campaigns, make policies that reward them when in office, and then take high-paid jobs with them after they leave. It’s corruption, plain and simple.

Now Société Générale, a French bank that received a US$12 billion bailout three years ago and has a massive vested interest in Europe’s response to the Euro crisis — this summit’s main topic — has paid to have its logo prominent as an official sponsor. The US Chamber of Commerce and its equivalents from other countries are invited for a cosy ‘B20 summit’ to tell our leaders what they think.

The only way to get policies that protect jobs, tackle speculators and guarantee a fair future for us all is to kick back against the lobbies and prise our leaders away from corporate interests. Let’s tell Nicolas Sarkozy and the other leaders that their future depends on ditching the sponsors now and agreeing to no more corporate capture of our governments. Sign the petition and send to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/occupy_g20/?vl

The global economic crisis resulted from greed and narrow self-interest. But when people are most under pressure they can come together in amazing ways, as we have seen repeatedly this year. From Wall Street, through London, to Melbourne, tens thousands of people are today occupying their cities — we can join them in their call for responsible government and kick the corporations out!

With hope and determination,

Alex, Maria Paz, Emma, Ricken, Morgan, Wissam and the rest of the Avaaz team

SOURCES

Business leaders press G20 (Financial Times)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/21ccfea6-02e6-11e1-899a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1cMLOw7GP

Business 20 summit parallel to the G20
http://www.b20businesssummit.com/guests/business-organizations

Ottawa Steered Clear of Corporate Sponsorships for G20 (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/news/ottawa-steered-clear-of-corporate-sponsorships-for-g8-g20/article1608401/

List of G20 Cannes Sponsors
http://www.g20-g8.com/g8-g20/g20/english/the-2011-summit/partnerships/partnerships.69.html

Société Générale gets $12 billion in AIG bailout (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/business/16rescue.html

“Elie Metchnikoff, a Nobel-prize winning biologist at the Pasteur Institute, first suggested that lactobacilli might counteract the putrefactive effects of astrointestinal metabolism in 1908. He attributed the long and healthy life of the people of the Caucasus Mountains to their consumption of soured milk”

From: http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/fermenting/kefir.shtml

More links:
http://www.kefir.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir

I read somewhere else that Kefir should not be sold as it’s considered a holy gift from the gods and that selling it would violate the spirit in which is was given to humans. Since I got my gift of a small batch of Kefir grains from Elmarie, I’ve had huge success in growing it, to the extent where I’ve multiplied and given grains I’ve grown to 3 friends on top of giving away the cultured milk in fair quantities simply because I can not use that much myself.

So as another experiment in my latest series “Doing things differently” which I mentioned last time, I’m going to offer to trade a live batch of kefir (or just the fermented milk if that’s what’s in demand) for something (or a service of some sort)from anyone willing to play along. Seeing as these grains will potentially provide them with a lifetime’s worth of kefir, I’m not going to accept a beer. Having said that, I’m curious and open minded to see what’s on offer. This is all just for fun, come and play. I’ll have a spare batch ready in about 1 week.

To keep it simple for starters, I’ll trade in the Gauteng area only for now, unless there’s a really simple transport option available.

But it passes. It goes. The change settles in, like a new picture on the wall.
Eventually, we don’t notice it anymore. Our skin regains lustre, we smile
without sarcasm, we genuinely do want to eat a sandwich and have it
taste good. We want, again, to share things with people. The cracks in our
frames fill up with substance; our hearts pump blood instead of nothing.
We take risks again, we want to love again. I think more than being loved,
we want to love.”

Read the whole thing on Kath Fourie’s site – pretty damn good!!

In four days, MPs could pass an outrageous secrecy bill that undermines the constitution and South Africa’s democracy — helping the government keep wrongdoing from the people and enabling cover-ups of corruption and human rights abuses. But there are four people that could make or break this bill: the Chief Whips.

Despite top lawyers warning that the bill is unconstitutional, the majority of MPs are expected to vote it through. But it will be up to the Chief Whips to rally the MPs to vote for or against the bill. If we flood their inboxes with messages from across South Africa calling on them to respect the law and oppose the secrecy bill, they could think twice about pushing it through.

Let’s appeal to the Whips’ sense of democratic responsibility and call on them to protect hard-won constitutional rights and freedoms, and transparent government. Click now to send a message straight to their inboxes and urge them to say No to the Secrecy Bill, then share this with everyone — we will release the number of messages sent to the media on the eve of the vote.

  http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_secrecy_bill/?vl

Throughout the last year, we have joined campaigners across the country to stop this draconian law. But despite repeated objections from communities in the Right2Know campaign, the media, academics, lawyers, politicians, COSATU and even high-profile figures from within the ANC, last Monday the Committee adopted a draft that is seriously flawed: the security sector will have carte blanche to label anything it terms national security as classified, and anyone who possesses or publishes that information can be jailed for up to 25 years, even if the information is in the public interest.

Whistle-blowers, journalists or anyone who discloses classified information for the public good — information that exposes abuse of power, human rights violations or wrongdoing — could be punished. It’ll be up to the police, defense and intelligence forces to decide what we should or should not know. This will both thwart our ability to keep tabs on our government and obstruct important anti-corruption investigations.

But we know that our outcry works – in the last year, massive public pressure has won some important changes from the original draft. Minimum sentences have been removed, the power to classify information is now restricted to the intelligence and security sectors, and the definition of what needs to be classified due to national security has been limited. Now if we all stand together again and object to this shocking final draft, we could push the Whips to move against the vote and force a redraft that protects both the government and the public. Click now to send an message to the Chief Whips now and send this to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_secrecy_bill/?vl

If this law passes it will trample on our constitutional rights, muzzle the media and critically damage this fragile democracy. Our massive movement opposing this regressive bill has repeatedly pushed back and won clause after clause. Now this is down to the wire, and we only have five days. If we stick together and raise our voices now, we can persuade the National Assembly to stand with the people that they represent, not endorse this democracie’s destruction. 

With hope,

Alice, Sam, Pascal, Ricken, Mia, Shivendra and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

Campaigners call to scrap Protection of Information Bill
http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-01-right-2-know-calls-to-scrap-secrecy-bill/

Protection of Information Bill could be taken to Constitutional Court
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/info-bill-could-be-destined-for-concourt-1.1130197

Committee passes final draft of Protection of Information Bill to the National Assembly
http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/info-bill-anc-gets-its-way-1.1130624

Lets start with last Sunday:
The boulder hunting expedition (“aka Things to do while you’re trying not to worry about whether she likes you or not”)
I had Monday off, thus making myself a nice long weekend (Tuesday was Woman’s day). I heard of some boulders in Pretoria so I decided to go look for it, pretty good fun and I managed to find 1 of the 3 reported sites, see some wild life and just plain have a good walk.

PS: I was invited for videos later

Gautrain. It works!! (Monday)
What fun! The whole Gautrain card system was a bit confusing at the start, but all the staff is super helpful and once you’ve figured it out, it’s quite simple (probably like most thing s in life?) We took a trip to Hatfield, had a very trendy meal at a deli and returned to Centurion. The one thing that stood out for me is that the total waiting time there and back was probably less than 5 minutes.

Josie Field Woman’s day show @ Cafe Culture. (Tuesday)
I can’t really say much more than this is a must-see artist. She has such a strong voice and the setup of her singing, playing and Kevin Vincent Leicher completing the sound with a second guitar and some backing vocals is pretty much perfect.

Planet Joy, Shadow Club & Arno Carstens (Saturday):
Awesome!! It’s been a while since I enjoyed all the bands in one night so much. Perfect venue (except perhaps that they might want consider dampening the stage area a bit to help the sound), good service, fun crowd.

Karen Zoid (Sunday):
The whole Park Acoustics vibe and more. She went to some effort to make it fun for the kids which was nice to watch. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around stopping a party at 5pm, but I guess Sunday will always mean Monday, which means work. eeeeeuuuww!

Other random news:
I’ve sold my curtains – don’t need them now and I was made an offer by someone I loaned them to for a while.

No, it’s not to fund some nasty habit.

I’m having mixed success with “Be kind to Emile’s liver month”. A couple of the mornings in the past week was not so much a success as a reminder of why we’re having the BKTELM, but hey, practice makes perfect.