Periwinkle Mountains and otherwise Ember Clouds

I love my country! Baruch Ha Shem!

Killing a Trend

Over the past few weeks I've learned a few things. Not necessarily academic of nature, but still acquired knowledge of some sort. For instance, I learned that all South African universities access the Internet through TENET: the Tertiary Education Network (which is still run by South Africa's monopoly land-line operator, so I don't know why it needs a name all of its own). I also learned a little about something called Akamai and the Akamai-effect. The channels through which I learned about these things were less that flattering: the main source was an e-mail sent out by the university's IT department apologising for the slow Internet access and explaining that they are going to effectively ration the bandwidth. More precisely: they are putting “non-academic” Internet traffic on a lower priority than “academic” traffic.

What is Akamai? Well, I don't know exactly, but apparent it is an international initiative to reduce international academic Internet traffic by backing up such materials on vast amounts of local hard drives. This process is continuing and recent the load was unexpectedly shifted to South Africa. Not known for our vast amounts of bandwidth, we are now struggling to keep our heads above water. Still, IT's contingency plans seem to be working and they are promising us that everything will be over soon. We shall also be increasing the capacity of our line to the outside world. The problem is, however, that they have been promising these things for a couple of weeks now. But, hopefully everything will start to return to normal sometime next week.

Nearly everyone on campus is being affected by the Akamai-effect. This is directly related to the fact that the Stellenbosch Facebook network has more than 14000 members. Yes, Facebook sky rocketed here as well, but now people are unable to access Facebook, because it's popularity and non-academicness made it a prime candidate for low priority traffic. Subsequently, one's “Stellenbosch” contacts are have grown quiet, while one's news feed is populated by the going-ons of people who do not rely on a tertiary education institution for their Internet access. The Akamai-effect coincides with new measures by corporations and businesses in South Africa which also restricts their employee's access to Facebook. This is because Facebook's popularity has spilled over into the general population and these businesses are afraid their employees are wasting too much of their time (company time, as well can company bandwidth) on accessing this social utility. Indeed, even the newspapers are filled with idle speculation, warnings and examinations of this phenomenon and its impact on society. This is not bad for something which almost no-one here knew about eight months ago. Facebook's 500%+ growth since the beginning of the year is very visible here. Like many trends, I was sure it would go as quickly as it came, but the persisting lure of the website amazes me and seeing how other people react and interact to/with it, I started doubting if this was something that would simply blow over. But, with these new restrictions, I have to wonder if the restrictive pressures being exerted won't drive some people away, who will be the first ones to lead the exodus.

But it is not only Facebook that suffers. Oddly enough, Gmail traffic seems to be restricted. This is odd, because many lecturers I know have all their other e-mail accounts automatically forward e-mails to their Gmail accounts, so that they only have to keep tabs on one account. Some students do this as well, but over the past few weeks I've been having trouble with Gmail. Logging in might be fine, but the connection is dropped sporadically, which can wreak havoc on a Gtalk conversation. Subsequently, I don't even bother trying to log into Gtalk during the day anymore.

Something that amazes me about this whole things is how resilient and adaptive people can be. A while ago I was thinking about how, a few years ago, only a few of my friends had e-mail and non-technical people avoided computers when possible. Now, not only does everyone have e-mail, but they are also fanatically active on social networking sites, like Facebook. Even more than that: they are willing to graze the “technical side” of the Internet by using proxies and anonymous proxies to access Facebook. It really is fascinating to watch the subtle shift in attitudes and temperaments and the exorcism of fears of the technical and the unknown.

While being on Facebook won't turn you into a computer scientist, exposure to things like that will not only breed basic “technical” (survival) skills, but will also (hopefully) bring awareness and appreciation for those of us who are crazy enough to try and make a living out of things like that. I equate what is happening now to what happened in the 19th century when newspapers started publishing crossword puzzles and other “brain games”: the average person was given the opportunity to subtly broaden his or her word and number skills. These skills could then develop into something academic, assist the other skills or simply be passed on to the next generation. Young people are eager and willing to learn about new things, especially if they are useful or have some entertainment values. Play breeds skills, so to speak. If Generation Y can absorb so many skills and hone as many skills as they do, how astonishing won't the next generation be?

Baby, You Light My Fire

First of all I want to thank all the women in my life who gave me a public holiday today! I appreciate it!! :-D

The public holiday was not pleasant for everyone, however. This morning, shortly before daybreak, there was a fire at one of the male residencies here at Stellenbosch. The roof of Eendrag caught fire and when it collapsed, the entire third floor was destroyed. The second and first floors sustained less damage, but no-one is moving back there again soon. There were no fatalities: only one person sustained serious neck injuries when he had to jump from the third floor to escape the flames (he slept through the fire alarm). A couple of other people also had minor injuries apart from those who where treated for smoke inhalation and shock.

The cause of the fire has not yet been officially determined, but preliminary evidence (and popular suspicion) is that the fire was caused by the negligence of one of the residents in his drunken state (because today is a public holiday, celebrations last night were wild). The blame for the extent of the devastation also lies with certain residents, as pulling the fire alarm as a prank was a common occurrence for years. Subsequently, the fire department (which is ironically extremely close to Eendrag), refused to respond to the fire alarm unless campus security confirmed an emergency.

I hope that the lessons learned today will stay with the other people in residencies for a very long time: fire alarms are not toys and pranks calls should be ground for expulsion, in my humble opinion (placement in residencies are highly sought after and being accepted is a privilege, not a right). But, the future is not now: now Stellenbosch has more than 200 people without a home. I suspect most people can go home and the ones I know certainly have other accommodation, but they still lost most things: text books, class notes, electronic equipment, clothes and other personal objects. The destruction is really phenomenal. I have not yet had a look around inside myself, but the entire ordeal is reminiscent of the time Aurora's residence burned down not long before we move away. Fire is a very powerful force.

Rock Meet Hard Place

Contrary to what some people might believe, I like to on time for appointments and to maximise the time I spend on whatever has my attention at the moment. This means that I tend to get irritated when people are spurring me on to “get ready” half an hour before we have to leave if it will take me only ten minutes to get ready. I'll acknowledge that sometimes I am aloof (or simply lazy) and then I end up being late. But I fundamentally believe that if people work hard and appropriately, then there is little need for long stretches of preparation.

I am currently facing an irksome problem. For the first time in my life, I have to make a major decision about my life all on my own. The truth is that, up till now, I have been merely “riding the wave”. As my cousin once summed the situation up rather accurately: in our family, it is not a question of whether you are going to university or not, but what you are going to study there. Some people think such expectations should not exist automatically. But, I have been very fortunate in the sense that I always wanted a tertiary education (needless to say that prior education was not considered optional). When I stood on the edge of the nest after highschool, I had an intuitive sense of the direction I wanted to go in to. When the kick came, I haphazardly fluttered into the nearest and safest haven. The instiution and course where I ended up in is not necessarily the best, but, four years down the line, I have little regrets and am thankful to my teachers and peers for the experiences of this time.

Now, for the first time, I have to choose a direction which is not intuitive or otherwise clearly marked. I have to sink or swim. I have to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea. The problem is: I don't know which one is which.

The question is a simple one: continue with my studies and do my Masters in Computer Science, or leave academia and venture into the real world. Each one has considerable ups and downs. Further study is a “safe” option: I am the first to acknowledge that it is simply a mechanism whereby real decision making is put on hold. It is safe, but is going to cost a lot of time and money. When I emerge, on the other side, I shall have a much steeper debt to pay off, but over a longer period. If I enter the workforce, the clock immediately starts ticking, for I have a limited window wherein to repay my study loan. I shall also, in a very short time, have to acquire a staggering amount of technical and life skills. That option is further complicated by having to decide on staying here (in the Cape) or going to work abroad.

And I have to make this decision now. Requests for certain bursaries are already no longer accepted and companies want prospecting employees to apply for jobs now. Now! How can anyone expect me to make such decisions now?? The second semester has only just started and I am knee deep *cough* in my year project! This is a bad time to be asking me to make this decision.

Of course, this is also not something anyone else can help me with. Those who have ventured to comment on my future have given conflicting views: I should study as much as I can (MSc AND PhD) and so increase my worth (which makes me sound like a prize sheep). I should also leave academia and enter the job market as soon as possible, because the need for expertise exists now. Even within my own family I get mixed signals.

On the one hand I doubt my own abilities to survive in the real world. I also worry about not meeting expectations, whether they be my own or other people's. On the other hand, I have always said that I would like to do my masters. But, I can't keep on studying and hiding behind the books forever.

And at the root of it all is my great fear again: being alone and making these decisions on my own. Who knows how this decision will impact seemingly unrelated areas of my life? I am a poor gambler; firstly because I tend to always loose my money, but secondly because I don't like significant risks.

The main characteristic of early adulthood is, contrary to what one expects before reaching that point in life, uncertainty. During infancy, childhood and puberty, life is a rich display of fragrances, sounds and colours. Everything is new and must be fearlessly explored. When you enter adulthood, however, you are seemingly hit with blindness. You reach a point where you have to stand still and calm down. Only with thoughtful consideration and training of the other senses do you again build a map of what is going on around you. This map must last you (and your potential partner and offspring) for the rest of your life, for you will never regain the same level of sensory acuity you had before.