GOAL decided to go ahead, just before christmas, with a complete overhaul of their DCYP, Disadvantaged Children and Youth Program. The paper based workflow is to be completely moved online. And I'm supposed to have this finished when? Before the end of January of course.

Then, the National Auditer's Office of Tanzania also needs a new website. Why not. When do they want to be finished? Well, not later than February, of course.

SACSIS is wrapping up moving to a new server, with a completely overhauled content... read more

For Christmas, we camped out under the stars on one of Sierra Leone's Turtle Islands, a hundred kilometers or so due south of Freetown, and really only reachable by canoe, a good eight hour sail from River No. 2, itself a good hour south of Freetown by car.

With the nearest proper shops being in Freetown itself, we had to bring all our supplies, which primarily meant water, beer and liquor. And some food. And we had to bring in camping gear. In which we nearly succeeded, Niamh and I missing a mattress, which resulted in some sleep-challenged nights and painful backs in the morning.

Fish were caught, though not speared, bottles with messages were posted, the name game was played,... read more

November 22nd 2012 has been dubbed Black Tuesday, here in South Africa. The National Assembly, with an overwhelming majority, approved the Protection of State Information bill, which could land individuals publishing state secrets in jail for up to 25 years. So much for whistle blowing, in a country where corruption is a major problem. Whistle blowers, coming into posession of state secrets, now have to immediately hand them over to the country's security services, or blow their whistle from behind bars, the bill having no room for the concept of the public's right to know.
Even though the party line is that the bill would protect South Africa from foreign 'spies',... read more

The Joburg photowalkers, organized yet another walk around Joburg, this time in and around Braamfontein, yet another area of downtown Jozi which has been regentrified in the last few years, and now even sports a ... read more

That's right, plebeians, for the second time ever, I am a world record holder.
Granted, it's me and 12500 others, but still.

My gym of choice, Virgin Active, organized a world record attempt tonight, trying to get the largest amount of individuals on spinners, spinning at the same time. All gyms, a good 250 worldwide, had a spinning class at the same time, and the rules required a continuous spinning of 15 minutes.

I somehow doubt, though, that my name will end up in the Guinness book of records, this time.

The first time I visited downtown Joburg was in 2004. It was something of a daredevil experience, due to the constant reports of high crime rates in South Africa, the fact that pretty much all businesses had vacated the downtown area to set up show in the northern suburbs, typically Rosebank or Sandton and the personal reports, telling us how dangerous and unsavory downtown Johannesburg had become.
Nothing happened, of course, but we did sense a certain tension, apparent under the surface, as everyone was going about their daily routine. And we did feel like we achieved something by the time we got out of town, having gone in and coming out unscathed.

Since, I've... read more

It's a pain to get mobile internet access in almost any country, but my experience in South Africa this week was one of the worst ever.

On the day of my arrival, I walked into the Vodacom store at the airport. They wanted 20 euros for a sim card. The next door MTN only wanted 6, but their system was down, meaning they wouldn't be able to register the card.
The next day, a Sunday, I wanted to visit a Cell C store, who offer the cheapest Internet in the country. The store was closed, but a nearby ... read more