Qualys Browser Check just got a whole lot more useful

Last year I heard about this really useful web site that checks your browser. It's at http://browsercheck.qualys.com/. It tells you what plugins are installed in your browser, and whether they are secure and up to date.
Now it has just become a whole lot more useful, because it checks all your browsers at once, even the ones you don't use, like Internet Explorer. I have a server running Windows Web Server 2008 R2 and the version of IE that comes with it is basically useless, and I never use it. I use Google Chrome or Firefox instead, mainly for downloads. Recently I discovered that IE still had an insecure component of RealPlayer installed. It turns out this is the default configuration of Windows, so without a tool like this I would never have known.
Then there is the machine I use to develop the FishWise Pro web site. It has 5 different browsers installed, and keeping them up to date can be a problem. Not any more. The screen shot above shows me that they are all up to date, as well as all the main plugins, like Flash, Silverlight, Adobe Reader, and Java. Its very helpful.

Another related tool is the Update Checker from FileHippo.com. I run it from time to time to find out which applications need to be updated. It doesn't check every app I have, but it is pretty comprehensive and useful. If you haven't tried these utilities out, now is a good time.

Goldfish Video Hits 2 Million Milestone

Ever since I first heard "The Four Forty Five Blues" I have been a Goldfish fan. That was on their first album, "Caught in the Loop". Then, on the "Perceptions of Pacha" album they went big with "Soundtracks and Come Backs"
Now they have signed a record deal with EMI, produced a new album, called "GoldFish", and this video has passed the 2 million plays mark. Cool! The new album includes "Soundtracks and Come Backs" and "We Come Together" and a great new song, "Washing Over Me". Let's hope it does even better.

Update: I have noticed that Last.fm alone has 1,093,393 plays (54,282 listeners) recorded. That's pretty impressive.

Why I love Madam and Eve

I love Madam and Eve, especially their week of cartoons page. They manage to remain topical and funny, and often make the politicians look even sillier than they are in real life. That takes some doing! (Click on the images to read each cartoon in more detail)

The President's (16N) Image

This is a story of bad behaviour all round. First there was the iconic artwork of Lenin, shown above. Lenin's actions and policies killed off a lot of people. He was regarded as a hero by many socialist, communist and revolutionary types around the world, who justified all the killing and focused on his rhetoric and writings instead.
Fast forward to 2012 and an artist (Brett Murray) decides to parody this iconic painting by replacing Lenin's face with our glorious President Jacob Zuma, husband of several wives (simultaneously), father of a dozen or so (illegitimate) children, and General Sleazeball.
Every time he announces another wedding or engagement I feel insulted. Presumably the artist feels similar sentiments, which is why he added some genitals to the picture too.
This all went unnoticed in the Goodman art gallery for about a week until someone decided to complain. There's always someone who complains. Of course I feel sorry for the children of our glorious President, since they didn't choose their father, or his immoral behaviour. But since their expenses are paid for by the state, they hardly have much to complain about: a ride on the gravy train has its drawbacks too.
Our Glorious President proved how good his decision making skills are by spending more money on lawyers and going to the High Court to get the painting taken off display. Isn't it ironic that he claimed his "dignity" was being infringed. What about the dignity of ordinary monogamous South Africans?
Now some sanctimonious vandals have decided to inflame the debate by taking the law into their own hands and deface the painting. If Bryan feels that strongly about it, why didn't he just buy the painting? I hope the artist sues him for millions and he gets sent to jail. It'll never happen, of course: the police will just be paid to lose the docket, and/or the judge will decide he wants a promotion.
So now we have a "debate" that has "supporters" of the President condoning death threats against the artist and vandalism of private property. They accuse the artist of "racism" (how predictable) but are silent about the way the president has degraded and diminished the nation's status worldwide.

All I can say is that if it is "racist" to criticise the ANC leadership for its bungling incompetence, dubious morals and arrogance in public, then I'm a "racist" too. Our leaders are behaving like a bunch of savages, stealing public funds, imposing dictatorial decisions on the public, and trying to operate under a cloak of secrecy. They really need to grow up.

Here's what the image restorers came up with:

Mail and Guardian meme of the nation

Update Sunday 27 May: The ANC has called for a boycott of City Press newspaper. Their badly-written press statement is full of rhetoric and low on ideas. I tried buying a copy of City Press today, but they were sold out at Spar, CNA, and Exclusive Books. I eventually found two copies at a filling station, and bought both. I have decided to subscribe to City Press as well. As for the poster below, it is so hypocritical as to be sad.

Update: The FPB has classified images of the pre-censorship painting as being unsuitable for viewing by people under the age of 16. Good luck with getting Google and Wikipedia to remove it. Personally I think they should classify the President's face as 18SVLN and ban it from ever appearing in public. That would be of great help to both children and adults.

After all of this, the City Press had the last word:



Update: 29 Aug 2012: Yawn. Another day, another painting. Ayanda Mabulu's painting Umshini Wam (Weapon of Mass Destruction), currently on display at the AVA Gallery in Cape Town, depicts Zuma in traditional Zulu garb with his right leg raised and pointing forward, exposing his genitalia and part of the presidential buttocks.
"The painting depicting Jacob Zuma is a respectful one. He is clothed in his culture. He is clothed in his manhood," he said in a statement.
Mabulu added he was merely questioning the current status quo.
"I respect the ANC liberation elders," he said. "They worked for the interests of the people. [But the ANC of today] is filled with greed and the lust of capitalism. You are reacting defensively; you are saying you are being attacked. I'm not attacking you; I'm respectfully asking a question," he said.

Star Wars Day

May 4th is Star Wars Day. Think about it, then say the date out loud. ;-) Thanks to the guys at the Daily Maverick for this one, as well as Wookiepedia.

Blatant eToll Lies by SANRAL

After reading Andrew Feinstein's book on the South African arms deal and how much money was wasted by corrupt ANC officials and ministers, I am not surprised by all the ducking and diving surrounding our e-toll fiasco. I recently obtained a copy of the Government Gazette (No 35263, 13 April 2012, Vol 562) that lists the actual toll fees. It is not a pretty sight. And it shows how badly SANRAL has been lying to the public.
I used their "toll calculator" to work out the costs of a return trip to Dennis Polack in Midrand. I stated that I don't have an e-tag and was driving in a passenger vehicle from Beyers Naude to Olifantsfontein. The quoted price for a return trip: R33.63, including a time of day discount. In spite of their nifty little map, they lied.

Page 9 of the Gazette shows 6 columns. The column that applies to me is Column 6, a non-registered user who has no e-tag. They carefully ignore this column, but rather use column 5, which is for registered users who don't have an e-tag. These are people who have paid in advance for their use of the roads, and have foolishly handed over their banking details to SANRAL, and agree to have the money deducted from their account whenever SANRAL decides to do so, irrespective of road usage. I'm not that much of a sucker.
I've shown the actual column 6 figures above. The total without discount is actually R 106.20, quite a lot more (215%) that the R33.63 they quote. I'm entitled to a discount if I pay within 7 days of driving past the toll plaza, irrespective of whether they have sent me an invoice or not. Their revised terms and conditions (after much criticism) doesn't mention what they will do if I don't register. They clearly haven't a clue.

Update: I called their call centre and got a reference number 2001010574. The person who took the call tried to assure me that I would only pay R33.63. I told her to forward a recording of the call to her supervisors. I also gave them 30 days in which to fix their web site. Like they are going to listen.
When I saw this headline (while the court case was on, Mr Idiot Minister) I knew that someone had just banked his bribe. These guys are so blatantly kleptocratic it's sickening. The ANC are completely out of touch with their own members, let alone the public at large.

Update: The SANRAL CEO has "resigned". Presumably that will make him unavailable to answer questions when the court review begins. I wonder why ... ?

ANC's pro-Apartheid slogan

© 2012 Zapiro (All rights reserved) Printed with permission.
For more Zapiro cartoons visit www.zapiro.com

I was gobsmacked to discover that the theme for the ANC's centenary celebrations is "unity in diversity". Are these people completely insensitive or just plain stupid? Do they not remember 31st May 1981, when Bruce Fordyce put the word "comrade" back into the Comrades Marathon? I guess they were sipping champagne in London and so were a little out of touch. Here in South Africa politicians like PW Botha were proclaiming "Unity in Diversity" as a justification for the racism of Apartheid. It was the theme of their 20-year celebration of the declaration of a "republic" on 31st May 1961.
Our corrupt and glorious leaders also have short memories, or none at all. So now they will sip more champagne at party-political events around the country, paid for by the same taxpayers who paid for the corrupt arms deal, and forget about the suffering and poverty of the people they supposedly liberated. Then they will go home and count their share of the bribes they were paid, and not worry about all those who died of AIDS because there was no money left to treat them, because it was all spent on arms we don't need or can't use.

The Seven Way King

I heard a recording of this famous sermon "Seven Way King" (aka That's My King) as spoken by Dr. S.M. Lockridge in Chicago in 1976. The audio is slightly edited for a better flow in the video. Now it has been turned into two inspiring videos. Watch them and marvel.