Everything but the Kitchen Sink

07:13 pm - Taking a break

I will be taking it very easy over the next three weeks while my sister is here, visiting South Africa. She'll feel right at home here: this week the weather has been terrible. We haven't seen the sun since last Monday (which is something that South Africans do not handle well!) and three days of non-stop rain. Jo'burg municipal services are on flood alert, and in KwaZulu Natal 7 people have drowned.

Anyway. I'm going to take a break. Expect little or no blog posting.

Meanwhile,  I'm getting re-acquainted with an old friend: The Interstellar Suite by Amin Bhatia. This work from 1987 has to be the most remarkable synthesizer composition I have ever known. Simply put, it's a movie soundtrack without the movie. It tells a space-opera-type story in the same way a classic opera does (or other classic composition - Koenemann's Le Fremersberg comes to mind). It is a huge, sprawling orchestral piece created with nothing but synthesizers. This being a 1980's product, most (practically all, I believe) of it is analogue technology.

I heard the Interstellar Suite for the first time in the early 1990's, from a very limited run of CDs. By then it was no longer available, until a re-run was issued by popular demand in 2005, which I managed to get hold of just before I moved to South Africa. I haven't played it much since then, unfortunately, because it has to be played LOUD. The dynamic of the recording and the many sound effects explore the limits of technology then available, and even headphones don't do it proper justices.

But now, with the nearest neighbours living on the next plot, I can enjoy it to the full. Which I am doing now, and I am as impressed with it as I was when I first heard it almost two decades ago.

I'll be back in three weeks or so, unless something really interesting turns up

10:16 am - Glory be!

Hallelujah! My lawyer finally pulled it off.

The totally dysfunctional Department of Home Affairs recently lost the file with the paperwork regarding my application for a residence permit. Again. For the fourth time in a row. So he started to make noises about taking them to court and involving the press, and dusted off his toga.

Three weeks later my residence permit miraculously materialized. They didn't mention finding the file, though...

Anyway. I'm legal for the next five years or so, and now I can apply for permanent residence. Which I will do soon - at the present rate it's going to take every day of those five years.

But first I need to get my driver's license. I have until mid March to pass the test... Hold thumbs.

Current Mood: happy

09:23 pm - The bands are not dead - but hams and radio's are getting there

Speak to any radio ham these days who has a licence that allows him or her to work on the HF (i.e. shortwave) bands, and you'll get the same litany over and over again: "The bands are dead, the bands are dead, yadda yadda yadda..." If said radio ham is over 60 or so, you'll also get the stories of how in the 1950's and 1960's things were so much better, when you could communicate over thousands of miles with a simple CB radio.

To which I say: what a load of BS.

(BTW, you should have gathered by now that if you're not interested in ham radio, there's little point in reading the rest of this post.)

Yes, it is true that recent solar cycles have shown lower sun spot counts than was the case in the 1950's. That is not because the sun is less active than normal these days; it is rather because those fabled mid-20th century cycles exhibited unusually high sunspot counts. Now, in case you're a non-geek (but yet are still reading this): sun spots are a measure for solar activity, which in turn is a measure for how well the earth's ionosphere (the outer layers beyond the atmosphere and stratosphere) propagates radio waves. During times of intense solar activity (when many sun spots are observed) radio waves propagate very well, and during low solar activity they propagate less well. Solar activity varies naturally according to an 11 year cycle.

A commonly held belief among radio amateurs these days is that the sun has been very quiet in recent decades, and that therefore radio communication is barely possible. But is that really the case? While we got unusually lucky during the 1950's and 1960's cycles and transatlantic communication with a handheld radio (sometimes accidentally) was not unheard of, the simple truth is that solar activity has been normal since then, and radio wave propagation as well - and compared to the past few centuries, even not bad at all.

No. Instead it's other things that have changed in recent decades.

First of all, local levels of electromagnetic interference (known as QRM among hams) have skyrocketed. Just about everything has a switched power supply these days (as opposed to the old-fashioned iron-core transformers). Switching power supplies emit lots of noise on high frequencies. Electronics have gone increasingly digital: computers are everywhere, televisions use digital signal processing, wireless networking has become common, and digital technology is everywhere. These electronics emit lots of noise on high frequencies.
The use of fluorescence lighting, which is so much more efficient than the old-fashioned incandescent filaments, has exploded as well. Fluorescence lamps emit noise on high frequencies, and the popular compact fluorescence lamps are powered by an inverter circuit that is essentially a radio transmitter and usually lacks the required RF-suppression, causing them to emit huge amounts of noise on high frequencies.

These are only a few examples of why the levels of electromagnetic interference these days are infinitely higher than they used to be 50 or 60 years ago. And that is one of the problems that today's radio hams have to contend with: their weak radio signals just drown in the screaming radio noise generated by all things modern that come with a plug or use batteries. The fact that houses are built closer together and therefore antenna's have to be smaller than half a decade or more ago doesn't help either; the signals that have to punch through all that noise are weaker when received with a small antenna, while the neighbours' houses from which the interference comes are that much closer.

The second problem is the fact that radio technology has changed. A typical ham radio "set" used to consist of at least two big boxes, one housing a receiver and one housing a transceiver, both using vacuum tubes. These big old clunkers (nowadays affectionately known as "boat anchors") can still be found among afficionado's who keep them alive essentially as museum pieces. Otherwise they have disappeared from the scene, to be replaced with the modern Japanese "rice box" radio that is much smaller, has lots more features, is much more sensitive, and covers just about every frequency instead of just those few that are reserved for ham radio.

While I like a cheap, easy to use radio with lots of features as well as the next radio ham, they do have their drawbacks over the old clunkers that they have replaced. Because the large and heavy components of elder days (transformers, vacuum tubes, big resistors and capacitors) necessitated a large enclosure anyway, there was no point in miniaturization. Since the physical dimensions of good L/C filters are dictated by their effectivity and the frequency they operate on, good filters are large, which was not a problem. Not so in modern radio's, though! Small is beautiful, but it is physically impossible to make a decent filter that fits into a radio little larger than a packet of cigarettes. Therefore, most modern radio's have no front-end filter at all! They rely on other techniques (e.g. filtering in the MF stage or even digital signal processing in the LF chain) which are not nearly as effective as the decent filter that is the mainstay of any vintage radio.

The fact that modern receivers cover wide bands rather than the narrow frequency ranges of old is another factor: a wideband receiver is also exposed to wideband noise. While you cannot hear any signals on a frequency that the radio is not tuned to, the noise present on those frequencies does get into the radio and interferes with the signals one is trying to receive. This problem is made worse by the fact that, while modern radio's are much more sensitive than in days gone by, they do not handle high signal levels as well.  Those boat anchors used vacuum tubes, which didn't flinch at signals strong enough to heat up the receiver antenna. Modern semiconductors are overdriven by such strong signals.

And the strongest wideband signal on all frequencies these days is the aforementioned electromagnetic interference. There is no filter to keep most of it out of the radio, and the input stage essentially "clogs up" with this flood of strong wideband noise, thus ruining the radio's sensitivity... which seems paradoxical, given the high sensitivity and low noise figures of modern receiver semiconductor electronics, but it isn't.

The third weakened link in the chain is located between the radio and the chair: it is the radio amateur. He or she used to spend hours in the shack playing with the equipment, fiddling with antenna's, and listenening and calling out in order to test the effect of each change. These days most hams spend the bulk of their off-work time sitting in front of the TV (thus generating interference for those who don't) or at the PC browsing the Internet (thus generating even more interference for those who don't).

I am lucky enough to live at a spot with only moderate levels of QRM. Yes, there is some, since I am not really out in the sticks, but located in a valley with (I would estimate) about 50 or so houses. When the lights and televisions come on, QRM levels do go up. Still, compared to what I used to have to deal with (and what many hams whom I know still battle with) this is sheer heaven: while there is noise, I can hear signals clearly over the noise. What a difference with every other address where I have lives so far!

Watching TV is a waste of time for me. I can receive four public South African channels, Al Jazeera and the Weather Channel. I could get the full digital satellite TV package, but I've seen it and out of the 50+ channels there are perhaps five that interest me and 95% of the programs are re-runs, so I don't consider it worth 595 Rand a month just to watch the Discovery Channel once a week or so. Meaning: other than the news at seven, I don't really do the TV thing. Instead I do other things.

When I tune across the bands in the early evening, I don't hear much ham radio activity. But there are always a few stations somewhere, and more often than not they are far away. I can hear plenty of beacons as well. Meaning: communication is possible - it's just that nobody bothers!

This evening, while tuning across the 20m band, I was almost blown away by a very strong signal from Australia: so loud and clear that it was almost as if I was listening to a local station on VHF - in fact it was better than my local VHF repeater. I had no problems making contact with Perth and I got a signal report of 59, which is (for all you non-geeks who are, inexplicably, still reading this) just about as good as it gets. (The five stands for clarity on a scale of 1 to 5, the 9 stands for signal strength on a scale of 1 to 9.) Having a conversation between Johannesburg and Perth (about 10,200km) via the 20m band was actually more comfortable, with better sound quality, than I would have experienced if I had picked up the phone and called this guy. I'm not joking. It was that good.

I have had similar reports from the US as well: 57 from Wise, Virginia (14,300km), 58 and 59 from the west coast of the America's... Not always, of course, but often enough to matter. The position of my antenna seems less than optimal for Europe, though, so I intend to do something about that sometime soon, but I have heard a station from Norway.

My equipment is modest: a 100W transceiver (according to the manufacturer, but in fact it's closer to 90W) and a G5RV dipole antenna made from 30m of electric fence wire strung between two pine trees. It's not like I'm using a 5 element monoband yagi antenna on top of an 80 foot tower like some of our American brethren, or one of the 2500W transmitters that are not unheard of among, say, Russian or Ukranian radio hams. Still I manage to communicate across considerable distances without much effort.

So. The HF bands are NOT dead. Instead the problems are the increased local interference, the increased  susceptibility to interference, and other entertainments such as TV and the Internet that keep radio hams out of the shack.

Stop blaming mother nature, guys. Propagation is fine.

Current Mood: geeky

03:14 pm - Well, there's your problem!

The lights on the garden wall have been out of order for about 10 days. First I thought it might be due to the recent power failures. The lights are switched on and off by a mechanical timer, which runs late whenever there's a power failure. Seeing as Eskom has applied for another rate hike recently, all of a sudden we have lots of power failures again. But after more than a week when the lights were still out, it started to look like there was a more permanent problem. Water in the cables is a common occurrence when the rains start in spring, so that was definitely a possibility.

I spoke about it to my landlord (who has done the installation himself) and he said he would have a look at it over the weekend. Now the weekend has been and gone, and after two days of work he hasn't manage to find the fault. So I thought I'd be sneaky and have a go at it myself. Seeing as the cable is patched up with lots of sticky tape and the occasional bit of garden hose, following the length of the cable to see if there was anything out of the ordinary going on somewhere seemed a good idea.

After less than a minute I did find something out of the ordinary. At the corner of the wall (where there used to be another light with all the wires hanging out of it) the wire had been joined. Sort of. Seeing as none of the lights are intended for outside use -- they're just indoor lighting fixtures that he tried to waterproof using tape and a bit of corrugated iron (!) -- I should not have been surprised.

The photo is a bit blurry, because cellphone camera's aren't all that good. The cable on the right hand side is the feeder, i.e. the one that carries the electricity. The red piece of bare wire sticking out of hte cable is live, by the way. The green/yellow earth wire is not connected (after all, why would you need that, for an improperly waterproofed outside installation with lots of metal bits everywhere) and the blue sticky tape holds the other two wires together. It's also supposed to act as waterproofing.

The cable on the left goes to the light on the wall. It's not electricity cable, it's an old telephone cable. The two thin wires (yellow and black) used to be connected together, and twisted into the (live) red piece... before they corroded away down to the insulation. The blue sticky tape hides a similar pair of two thin wires that are joined together in hopes of being able to carry the current that way.

This is quite typical for the state of the electrical wiring in this house. If I hadn't done some illegal rewiring myself, I'd still have a power failure late every afternoon when my neighbours switch on their electric stove to prepare supper...

If I am ever in a position to buy this house (which I hope to be someday) the first thing I will do is replace the wiring and plumbing...

09:08 pm - Star Trek TOS - as good as new

For some reason I feel wrecked today. I slept through the entire afternoon, so this evening some totally mindless entertainment was in order. Hence, Star Trek.

A few weeks ago I was given a the full three seasons of Star Trek - the original series from 1966. Maybe not an entirely legal copy, mind you, but this is Africa. :-)

I have sat and watched several episodes in a row now. I actually had forgotten how good they were. Yes, it is very much a product of the second half of the 1960's: from the orange and brown interior decoration to the charakteristic, warm and soft color shades of the Kodak Eastman colorfilm proces; from the typical, almost flat lighting techniques to the multiple shadows in outdoor scenes that have actually been shot in a studio; from the cardboard and foam rubber decor and the klunky props to the space ship models suspened from wires against a blue screen matte... The ludicrous special effects from an era when double exposure, stop-motion, smoke and mirrors was all they had to work with... The 1960's hair styles... And of course the typical 1960's acting, which in the 21st century would be enough to end any modern actor's career in short order.

So. It's rubbish, then, at least by modern standards?

No. On the contrary. It's brilliant.

All this naïve, almost endearing clumsiness is more than ofset by two things: the brilliantly portrayed characters of James T. Kirk and Spock, and the plots - especially the plots. Gene Roddenberry was clearly a thinking man, who created plots for a thinking audience. Thought-provoking, deeply philosophical, dealing with things that matter: the complexities of human nature, ethics, morals, right and wrong, good and evil, the finer points of the human condition, and the need to look reality straight in the eye and take tough decisions the right way.

How can something this bad be this good?

Most illogical.

Current Mood: relaxed

02:47 pm - Microsoft: "Windows 7 far more stable than Mac OS"

Breaking news:

According to Microsoft partner group manager Simon Aldous, the GUI in WIndows 7 is a rip-off of Apple's brainchild. Nothing new there, then. But he mentions:

... that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform ...

Current Mood: bouncy

03:41 pm - Now I know what Frontpage is for!

For years and years I have wondered about Microsoft Frontpage. Not only did it baffle me how they could possibly come up with something as harmful to creativity and 'Web interoperability, and something that produces ugly websites that clearly have "Frontpage' written all over them at first glance... but also why they have done this. Why? Why?

Now I know: Frontpage is a stupidity detector.

Let me explain. If you search Google for the kookier subjects such as white supremacy, UFO and Elvis sightings, Christian fundamentalism or just Republicans, and filter for the 'Generator' string in the page header, you will soon find a significant correlation between the subject matter (which in turn tends to be a reliable measure for the sites' creators' stupidity) and the use of Frontpage. Practically all websites that promote stupidity are Frontpage products.

For example, look here, here, here, here or here. You might want to keep a pair of sunglasses handy. Then do the math:

• Stupidity content of subject matter? Check.
• Website ugly enough to make your eyes bleed? Check.
• Made with Frontpage? Check.

Current Mood: amused

08:49 am - Waking with rain

The rainy season has well and truly started. I woke up this morning to the sound of distant thunder and the rain coming down in buckets. The hills are turning green and the garden is coming along very nicely. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the land soaking up the water.

There is something intensely satisfying in looking at the downpour outside the window and realizing that I don't have to go out. Ye gods, I love working from home!! Come on, let it rain! Bring it on!

Current Mood: happy

09:48 am - Why is this not decried as racist washing powder?

While a lot of the politically correct nonsense going on in South Africa is exasperating and aggravating, some things just make me smile and shake my head. Today's example is, of all things, a box of washing powder.

I have here a bag of Omo Auto washing powder For Front Loading Washing Machines. It comes in a 2kg bag made from surdy plastic and printed with consise dosage instructions, environmental information, and a list of active ingredients, all in English.

I also have some Sunlight 2 in 1 Handwash Washing powder. it comes in a bright yellow box (either 100g or 500g) which is printed with sunflowers, butterflies, soap bubbles, leaves and lots of other pictures. On the back it positively gushes (with the capitals and everything:

You ara a SMART SISTA for buying SUNLIGHT 2in1 handwash powder! 1+1 = 2in1: powder + fabric softener = GREAT fresh SUNLIGHT clean! (sic)

Life is full of beautiful moments and SPRING TIME is one of them. So add SUNLIGHT 2in1 to your wash and enjoy ALL DAY FRESHNESS! Go on, tell your friends... SUNLIGHT 2in1 is simply sensational! Our sunshine  promise to you: Wonderful cleaning and all day freshness!!!

SUNLIGHT 2in1is ready to get to work! ... Ah, spring is here!

How much?
Ooh! Dirty stuff! - Use 3/4 cup of powder
Dirty, dirty, dirty stuff! - Use 1 cupof powder.

Don't be shy, follow the guidelines for good results. Got LOTS of washing? Go on the, increse the dose.
Hey there! If you touch this washing powder, don't forget to wash your hands afterwards!

Faka ifoyli ngaphansi kwendwangu ye ironing board.

Current Mood: confused

03:46 pm - You know when you're having a bad day...

... when you spend five hours trying to get a VGA card to work.

What happened? Well, in a nutshell: five years ago my loved one squeezed out the money for a new computer. Her old one was a 486/66 or so, with 32MB of RAM. When we got into graphic design, layout and websites (read: Adobe Photoshop and really large image files) using that old clunker was just not an option. So she scraped the bottom of the barrel and she got a new one.

Unfortunately, that PC was a real South Africa special. I have written before on the problem of hardware dumping - manufacturers find the South African market a perfect place to get rid of their obsolete, sub-standard or rejected hardware. As a result, a significant percentage of all hardware that an unsuspecting buyer ends up with is utter crap. I have learned to ask for brands and models by name and not accept anything else, but I have learned that the hard way.

So. What we ended up with was a 2GHz Pentium IV, but with memory and disk transfer that was so slow that the whole damn thing performed like my old Pentium II at 233MHz, and I have my doubts as to whether or not the CPU was a legit Intel one. The board would accept 1GB of RAM according to the manual, but only 768MB of it was actually used, the rest just sat there doing nothing. And this piece of crap she has been using for Photoshop (sometimes on billboard sized bitmap files!) for five years now. Needless to say, working that way has been sheer hell.

We now have managed to get here a new system, and a proper one: Asus mainboard, 4GB Kingston RAM, 7200RPM Seagate harddisk, decent cooling - the works. Because she works with two monitors we would re-use her nVidia graphics card from the old system, which was still fairly new and worked well.

Except that that card turned out not to be a PCI card, as we thought it was. It was an AGP card. And the new mainboard only has a PCI-Express slot.

Because the budget didn't allow for a new VGA card, I made a deal with my hardware supplier for a second hand one. Which worked well, except it came without a driver CD so I had to download the driver... and today the Internet is particularly slow, so that took an hour. Then, when I wanted to connect the second VGA monitor (which has a 15-pins sub-D connector into a VGA-to-DVI adaptor) I discovered that the card I had been installing didn't have two DACs but only supported DVI monitors on the DVI port... instead of also allowing you to connect analog monitors via an adaptor.

So the card went back to the supplier, and I got another one, which was bigger, better and faster in every way, but had a fan that needed to be replaced. I have a whole box of small CPU cooling fans from the 486-era, so that was only a 20 minute job. Then, after installing the new card, it turned out not to work at all. The system didn't boot, and the monitors made really tortured sounds that clearly hinted at totally weird line sync frequencies.

Another trip to the supplier later, in went card number three. This one works! Woohoo! Except that because it sits in the top slot (the mainboard only having one PCI-Express slot, in that position) the audio connector no longer fit... so I needed to fiddle up an adaptor cable to work around that particular problem...

Five hours later, everything is working now. Finally. Now I can start my regular workday. Woohoo.

Current Mood: exhausted