Electronic odds and ends

Because I wouldn't want you guys to start suffering from a lack of content, here's some interesting stuff for you to check out/think about:

For those of you who don’t subscribe to my feed and are reading this directly off the website, I would like to take a moment to introduce you to the Greatest Contest Ever Held. Science Blogs – a place I have been known to waste a great deal of my time on the internets – in conjunction with Threadless – another site I have been known to frequent –
have joined forces to sponsor a t-shirt design contest. The designer of the most creative image in response to the prompt “Science is Culture” will be handsomely rewarded with cash and other prizes (including a sorely needed iPod). I’ve been turning over some ideas in my head – especially relating to the heavy Religious/Creationist bent of many South Africans I have come to meet in the past few weeks - but am not sure if I really have the technical knowhow, or creativity, to put together a winning proposal. In any case, if I win (or even place), I’m sure you guys will be the first to hear about it.

I would also like to let you guys know about Tim Fite’s new album Over the Counter Culture, which is quite good and quite free when downloaded from his website. It’s relatively spare Hip Hop production, but I know that many of you will agree with his take on the subject matter and some of you might even appreciate his flow. You can also hear him interviewed on this weeks’ episode of Sound Opinions, where I managed to hear about his newly released album in the first place. I’ve been hurting for new music as of late (my internet connection from the office here isn’t quite fast enough for me to feel comfortable downloading stuff from iTunes or other music sites), so it’s been nice to have something new to listen to.

As for my weekend: it consisted of a second viewing of Blood Diamond (Leo’s Rhodesian accent and slang stands up to my improved ability to discern a good accent from a bad one), a early morning trip to the beach for a few hours of body surfing, and reading the first half of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. Oh, and I've also started looking into getting my International Driving Permit for when I get my car in March. Not a bad weekend, certainly, but not the most exciting on record. Hope you all had great weekends, wherever you are in the world, and I’d love to hear from you if you find yourself at a computer with a moment or two on your hands. Talk soon.