At the Tshimologong Precinct in Braam
Tshimologong Precinct, a set on Flickr.
This space in Braamfontein is currently a run down old nightclub, which has been empty for three years or more. In the next three months, it’s going to be converted into the heart of a massive tech revolution that will sweep Johannesburg and, eventuallly Africa. That’s the plan, any way.
Happy with today’s progress…
So I haven’t updated this much lately, despite promising myself I’d keep a record of my African ‘journey’. Part of the reason has been work, and part is that I did an eight week Coursera course on data analysis, which took up literally every spare hour I had from the end of January until mid-March. It was awesome, and I’ll blog about it properly later this week. The other reason is this:
It’s my RepRap Prusa Mendel 3D printer – I purchased most of the parts, loosely assembled, back at the end of last year before I moved to Johannesburg. It took me a while to source the bits I didn’t have – motors, electronics and so on – and I’m still missing a sheet of glass for the print bed. Today’s been the first time I’ve had chance to work on it for a while, and progress is good. In terms of the structure there’s nothing left to add barring the belts, pulleys and print bed. Tomorrow I need to start soldering together the electronics – bought as a kit from Open Hardware.
Road deaths in South Africa
I’ve lived in South Africa for five months now, and think of myself as pretty well settled in. The one thing I won’t ever get used to, however, is the shocking standards of driving on the roads. Especially by people in big, expensive, fast cars who really should know better. I’ve been researching a story on it and one block I’ve come up against is that there’s been no good, reliable and detailed stats about accidents on South African roads released for two years now. Despite the fact that – by some estimates at least – the road death toll is now higher than the much talked about murder rate (and a more democratic killer of all classes and creeds too).
I’m not the only one – there’s gaping holes that should be obvious to fill in the WHO data published on the Guardian today, such as a who’s actually being killed out there on the highways and byways. But the staggering fact remains: fewer people drive here, but the roads are more congested and around ten times more dangerous than in the UK. It really, really doesn’t have to be like that.
On the positive power of programming
I don’t usually reblog my own work, but this was one of the best things I’ve covered since I’ve been in South Africa. GirlGuides: The positive power of programming.
Annoyingly, it was written in a hurry on the busiest week since arriving, so there’s a few things about the words I don’t like. But the sentiment is all there – an amazing event which is inspiring girls from really crap backgrounds to take up computers and change the world. Hurrah.
Morgan: the Awesome 3D print arm
You may or may not be aware that I’m slowly building a 3D printer at the moment, based on a RepRap kit I bought in the UK. I now have all the parts, just not the time to solder the electrics together (for reasons I’ll be blogging about this weekend).
Thing is, RepRap is still quite expensive – I reckon I’ve spent about £400 in total, and that’s doing it very much on the cheap. And it’s tricky to assemble.
This project, by South African hacker Quentin Harley, looks really promising. An almost entirely printed robot arm which can do everything a RepRap can for a lot less, with a much more easy to assemble chassis.
It’s a work in progress, but if it works it could be one of those big step forward things that will pull the day 3D printers are as ubiquitous as PCs forward by years. Check out the link at It Moves.
These cakes are a lie
My wife has been quite sick lately, and feeling a bit down. My wife also likes cream cakes, of the sort that come filled with milk soaked sugar particles and have chocolate icing on the top. So while shopping in one of Johannesburg’s better (yet surprisingly inexpensive) supermarkets for food quality (Food Lover’s Market, if you must know) I picked up these. The enticingly labelled ’cream buns’ appeared to be just the thing to cheer said wife up.
Imagine, then, our surprise upon opening the cream buns to discover that they are exactly that. Bread buns – rolls, cobs, call them what you will – cunningly disguised to look like cakes. No wonder the guy selling them had a wicked smile on his face – I thought he was laughing about some sinful diet transgression that might be contained beneath the shrink wrap.
Ever had a cream and chocolate sandwich on fresh white bread? No, you haven’t, because it’s disgusting. Cream cakes = good if you like that sort of thing (I’m not a massive fan myself). Cream sandwiches… not so much.
It’s a bit like someone in the bakery saw one next door and thought ‘I can do that’. Wonder if this exciting addition to the product line will be there next week.
Just don’t Tweet and drive, alright?
Mark Graham makes awesome maps comparing the real world to the virtual, and his latest - geotagged Tweets in major African cities - is another masterwork. It’s really interesting to compare the differences in social media use between, say, Cape Town and Addis Ababa. If you know the cities even passingly well there’s some other stuff they suggest too – in Johannesburg, Sowetans seem to be more prolific Tweeters than those who live in Boksburg (a big Afrikaans community).
Thing that stood out for me, though, is the sheer density of Tweets that seem to originate on the highways. Roads here are as deadly as the much vaunted murder rate, with 40 deaths a day (and many, many more injuries) on the highways and byways. Looking at these maps, you can start to understand why…
This link says everything you need to know about videogames in the future
Really, it does. A simple plot of searches over time comparing next gen consoles PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Ouya with mobile phone game Angry Birds. Also, note that the heatmap in the bottom left: it’s Germany, South Africa, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands which are searching. The UK and US don’t even figure in the top ten.
Awesome gramaphone iPhone dock
Almost makes me wish I had an iPhone. Wonder if it works with a Galaxy S2 as well? Acoustic iPhone Speaker Dock Utilizing a Vintage by ReAcoustic.
