Undone

Be brave, dear one.
Be changed or be undone.
My Brightest Diamond, All Things Will Unwind 2011

All Things Will Unwind

Undead

I hate the Twilight series. Maybe hate is a bit strong, but I really don't like it. It's got a lot to do with the fact that the entire series feels watered down compared to the classics. I mean it's basically a teenage romantic drama with some vampires and werewolves thrown in for good measure. Where's the action? Where's the deep emotional trauma? Where's the apocalypse? Where the hell is Buffy?


Buffy the Vampire Slayer will always be my reference point for anything undead. The series was groundbreaking. You had a high school cheerleader being chosen to save the world against all levels of weird, supernatural and world-destroying creatures. Buffy had to battle vampires, evil boyfriends and passing math. She had to make extremely difficult decisions like killing the only person she loves to save the world. Buffy even died a few times. Now, that's a vampire show. Compared to Buffy, Twilight just feels like alcohol-free beer.


The undead have always featured in movies, books and comics. The most recent I had the pleasure of reading was The Goon. Thanks to my brother who introduced to this zombie-killing hero. The Goon is an enforcer for a powerful mobster and keeps the Priest and his armies of zombies at bay. I expected a good action story with lots of zombie-bashing, but was impressed by the great twists in the plot and how complicated it got. Read it!

The Goon and Frankie

I can only repeat what Frankie always suggests for those troublesome zombies: Knife in the eye!

Terrible Truths

There are some things you uncover as you grow up which can be quite disturbing. One of course being the realization that your parents must have had sex since you're around. The fact that they might still be having sex is a terrible truth many people only acknowledge in their late twenties :-).


Another thing you realize is that not everyone around you might believe what you believe. I'm talking about religion. I grew up in a Christian home but not strongly conservative. We always had open discussions about different beliefs. Since then, I've realized the whole concept of religion doesn't make any sense to me. It's quite possible there's a higher power out there, but the god thing is too much of a stretch for me. Many people believe in a one almighty being or many almighty beings that watch over them. I do believe in karma - happy thoughts out, happy things in.


I've always marvelled at our immense capability to believe in things. As a child, you never had any doubts that a fat man could get down a chimney and bring you presents. I think believing is a critical part of life - you can move mountains with it. It comes back to mind over matter. How many stories are out there about people surviving incredible circumstances simply because they refused to give up? They kept believing in themselves and that they would survive. How else would motivational speakers make so much money? They help people get back their belief and confidence in themselves. I don't understand that really - I'm super awesome so it's easy to believe in myself :-).

Rango

I recently watched Rango again - the animated film about a pet chameleon that has to survive out in the desert. But, he doesn't know who he is, so he turns himself into Rango, a tough-as-nails cowboy. And that's the secret. He decided to believe in himself as this amazing person and that's what he became.


My most terrible truth is the amount of power we have. Simply by believing. Believing that you'll survive the bad times, believing that you can change your life. Again, not simply sitting back and moaning about it, but getting up and doing something. But, it's starts with thinking it. You control your emotions, your thoughts, about everything! Scary and super cool.

Taking Credit

Geology is easy. Being a geologist is tricky. The rocks have been the way they are now for millions of years - only our knowledge of what's beneath our feet changes. And that's where the tricky part comes in.

I've mentioned before the sometimes difficult relationship between the geologist and the engineers on a coal mine (Gaggle of Dykes). And more often than not difficult geological conditions are entirely your fault. Even though the rocks have always been like that, somehow the geologist is to blame. It is your fault if you didn't warn the production teams of the conditions ahead of time. But, the actual rocks? Definitely not.

I've had many issues underground around thick in-seam inorganics. These are sandstone lenses in the coal seam which are harder to cut and worsens the overall quality of the seam. Some stone layers can become thick quickly in a localized area and causes major problems with the crushing and transporting of the material underground. As the geologist, I can only predict what the stone will do. I cannot remove it. This is sometimes lost on the engineers.

Recently, I was underground with the foreman of the section. He took me all over, complaining about the unmanageable cutting conditions and how the huge stone layers were blocking his feeder breakers and chutes. He was ranting and then implored me: "How the hell I am suppose to cut this nonsense?" (I have censored his word choice slightly.) I very calmly replied: "With difficulty." His anger deflated immediately and he came back down to Earth. "That's probably the right answer to that kind of question," was his reply. He knew I could do nothing about the stone. His expression was quite hilarious though! I do think most of the guys get so much pressure from above that they just need to vent to an understanding person. I sometimes just fall into that role.

This kind of blaming happens quite often, so when you can take the credit for something, you should! We were busy with a large stoneworks project through a dyke and devolatilized coal (the intrusion had burnt the coal). Burnt coal is very soft and dangerous to mine through since it's so unstable. The plan was to drill boreholes to test for when we get into the normal coal again. We did a couple of samples and finally reached clean coal. When I shared the results, I was congratulated and patted on the back by everyone! It was so funny. I didn't magic the coal not being burnt - it's been like that forever. I only gave the laboratory results back. But, as I said, you get blamed so often for the state of the rocks that it was a welcome change to be congratulated.

At least mining is never boring :-).

Spoon Bending

In my final year of high school, I was the head girl and had to make speeches at the beginning of every term. My counterpart, the head boy, was always very serious and talked about studying hard and persevering. Good stuff, but I thought it was a bit like those motivational speakers you see on television. I took a different route.

 

For 10 to 20 minutes, I was in front of the whole assembly and they had to listen to me. It was a great power trip :-). I decided to make my speeches interesting and added props and jokes and so on. I can't remember all of them, but the first and last ones will always stay with me. In my first speech of the year, I talked about some people apparently being able to bend spoons and what amazing brain power we all have. I then ended the year coming full circle.

 

What I can do (with a set of pliers)

I had gotten up behind the podium after the head boy had spoken. He had said some very nice things about studying hard in the upcoming final exams and doing your best and blah blah blah. When I started speaking, I pulled a teaspoon from my pocket and slowly showed it to everyone. This is some of what I said (which I'll never forget):

At the beginning of the year, I talked about people being able to bend spoons - mind over matter. During this past year, we all bent spoons. Some of us bent small ones, others bent soup ladles. Some bent many while others simply tried to bend something. All of us tried to do something this year, even if it was as little as possible. The point is to never stop trying. Never stop dreaming. Without our dreams we are nothing.

This last year of high school will mean something to you. Maybe you don't think so now, but one day when you're in jail or discussing your tormented youth with a psychiatrist, you'll see it.

 

When I read this now, I can't believe they let me on stage. I mean I was talking to very young kids as well! :-D. But, I still believe this - never stop believing you can bend spoons. How else will we continue doing the amazing things that has given us oranges all year round and space shuttles that don't always explode?

Sport

I've always loved playing sport. Don't get me wrong, I've never been A-team material. The only reason I ever played in the first team was that there wasn't anyone else :-). But, my lack of athleticism non-withstanding, I could get quite aggressive on the court when necessary. There were a few times when I stumbled into my opponent or stepped on their toes which were definitely not by accident. After kindergarten level, things got even rougher!

I have always loved watching sport on television or live. I didn't always keep up with the latest happenings, but thoroughly enjoyed watching the game with my dad or spending a whole day in the cricket stadium. It's also a very good conversation topic as I found out with my one work colleague. After the weekend we'd be chatting about the latest rugby or cricket match and I didn't have the heart to tell him I actually wasn't watching any of the games since I didn't have the necessary pay channels. I ended up checking the sport websites on my Blackberry early Monday mornings so that I could at least hold my own in our coffee conversations :-).

Blue Bulls Mascot

One of the biggest supported rugby teams in South Africa is the Blue Bulls. Their home town is Pretoria and I recently had the chance to go to their Loftus Stadium for the very first time. It wasn't a major game - still a bit early in the league - so the stands weren't packed. But, wow! What a crowd! Every little move that the Bulls made for the try line was greeted with cheers and howls much louder than I expected from the tiny crowd. The atmosphere was electric and I found myself singing out loud the "national" Blue Bulls anthem every time it was played over the loud speakers.

They even have their own mascot - a man dressed up as a bull running around the stadium. The kids loved him and were shaking his hand and taking pictures. He even had his own bicycle made to resemble a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I really loved the whole experience even though my team, the Cheetahs, lost. I wondered at the sense of camaraderie - is it possible to feel like this with your fellow human? Not just with your fellow supporter?

I think I'll try and get some cricket tickets for the summer season. There's nothing like watching a day-night game with a cool beer and some friends!

Right to Left

I mentioned Nausicaä before - she's from Miyazaki's manga and film of the same name. I've recently gotten all seven volumes of the manga and can't put them down. I have had to ration my reading so that I don't finish it too quickly.

When I showed some friends the manga, I hadn't realized how confusing it would be if you're not used to reading graphic novels. Firstly, it's quite different from reading a normal novel. You don't just read words - you look at the entire picture drawn for you in the panel. Secondly, the manga has been translated from Japanese so the entire setup reads from right to left. Very disconcerting if you're not used to it. Some people might ask why bother if it's so different? It's the story of course.

Nausicaä's adventure's and mishaps through the poisonous forests come alive in the manga. I was sucked into each and every page and couldn't believe the amazing world I was being drawn into. Graphic novels and manga tell stories in a completely different way than conventional books or even comics could. The scale of the story across volumes is different as well as the pace. More often than not much more time is spent on the smallest details and this is what makes the worlds created so real.

Sometimes reading something different opens up a whole new view to you. It also keeps Alzheimer's at bay since your brain is working extra hard to figure out what's happening on and between pages ;-).

I only have one more volume left and can't decided whether to read it right now or drag it out for a bit!

Raunchy and Realistic

My cinema calendar is a bit behind and I only got to see Bridesmaids today. What a fantastic movie! A breath of fresh air.

I first noticed Kristen Wigg with Ellen Page in Whip it! When I saw the trailers, I knew I couldn't miss it. Wigg wrote and stars in the film alongside Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) and Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly, Gilmore Girls). The 6 female leads are hilariously diverse which creates a story where I was laughing from beginning to end.

What made this film different for me was that it wasn't the typical romantic comedy with the damsel-in-distress female lead. All the characters have normal problems and issues. It didn't feel like a Hallmark card. I even started getting annoyed with the lead character at one point before she turns her life around. One quote from the film stood out for me (not verbatim):
"Stop blaming the world for your problems. You are your problem. But, you're also the solution."

Hopefully Hollywood keeps it coming with stories of real people and strong female leads. If you haven't seen it, get to your nearest cinema right now!

Quark

Quarks are elementary particles and are the building blocks of protons and neutrons which atoms are made of. I learnt this from Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. And no, I'm not bragging, the book isn't at all difficult to follow and makes you feel super intelligent since you're actually understanding it. Hawking writes so easily, as if he's having a conversation with you. The book is fascinating and covers scientific theories from The Big Bang to quantum mechanics and the very sought after Unified Theory.

There are many books that cover similar ground with a slightly different focus. E=mc2 is one of my favourites written by David Bodanis and not only explains Einstein's formulation of this famous theory, but also all the work done before him. But, my number one favourite is definitely the three Science of Discworld novels.

As seen in the picture, the wizards of the Unseen University accidentally create a world (most probably ours). This world is not flat, has no magic, contains something the wizards have named narrativium and has numerous physical laws like gravity. The books follow the start of this new world and cover many theories and what-if experiments. For example, what if Darwin had actually decided to carry on with his theological studies and not get on The Beagle? The books are divided into alternating chapters - one from the wizards perspective as they fiddle with the new world (Terry Pratchett) and the other are the more scientific chapters (Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen).

All of these books does make you wonder what the hell we're thinking. This is our one and only planet in our one and only life-sustaining (so far as we know) solar system - once we've polluted it to an uninhabitable state (which could be before, during or after we kill each other with weapons of mass destruction), we won't be able to simply fly to the next solar system and colonize Earth 2. Science and technology isn't progressing nearly fast enough for that to happen.

I don't want to be all doom and doom, but it does make me think that getting angry because your neighbour's praying to Buddha or because he wants to marry his boyfriend is such a waste of energy. We really need to start building a friggin' spaceship!

Quitting vs Quality of Life

Working at a mine can be quite rough. The focus is on producing as much tonnages as possible while not injuring anyone. This does mean that people skills and normal working hours get thrown out the window when the pressure is on to produce.

The mining industry has slowly been changing over the past few decades to show more a caring attitude (i.e. less screaming) and to get a better work-life balance. This doesn't always work so well. If your section is standing because of a broken machine, you will be called out at whatever time of the night to get it right and get producing again. I'm lucky in that this mostly happens to my engineering colleagues. I am on standby, but have only been called out once in my entire career.

When you start out in mining, you start at the bottom. You work shifts, overtime and standby. The work is tough and tiring. When you complain, you're made to feel as if you can't handle real work. All the advice given is hang in there, it'll get better. The older generation tell stories of days without sleep and living at the mine. They become these war stories and honour badges that people share. And if you're not part of it, if you're not also working your butt off, you're seen as the wuss who couldn't cut it.

After all this, you start to think if it's really worth it. Do you really need this? What about your personal life? Do you leave and get another job - be the one who quits - or do you grit your teeth and stick it out? Where do you draw the line between seeing something through and choosing to have a better quality of life?

My friends and I have had this discussion numerous times. We've been through a lot and have really grown in our careers. But at what price? Is it fear that keeps me from trying something new? I've said that I'll work back my university bursary and then decide. Then I got rotated to a new position with more responsibility. It's a great opportunity, but my stress knots have multiplied like rabbits. I'm already in a small town which is quite homophobic and now I'm working so hard that I can't even get to the city to meet potential girlfriends. Is the awesome paycheck really enough?

At least I still have my sense of humour. One of the top managers is involved with a big project at our mine. Most people are a bit wary of him and somewhat scared to say anything out of line. He's getting on in years and in the one meeting couldn't recall an engineer's name he'd worked with before. I chipped in and guessed John. The manager slowly nodded and agreed. The other guys asked if I knew him and I said no, but 80% of the time it should be John - very common name. Everyone laughed - the top manager was not impressed :-).

Pets

I love dogs - big dogs, not those handbag ones which you can shoot out of a cannon (and probably should ;-). I grew up with Labradors and would love having one now. But, I live in a flat and am away from home quite often. I wouldn't be able to have a dog except if I could walk it every day, take it with me on holiday and give it a nice big garden to play in.

Apparently, it's good for one's emotional well-being to have a pet. So after little consideration I decided to get a hamster. Why? Because I was on holiday and my hairdresser had the cutest dwarf hamster. As I mentioned, very little consideration :-). I did the research (which means buying a tiny book on hamsters) and headed to the pet shop. I picked out the cage with all the tunnels and some extra toys. I've never had small furry animals as pets while I was growing up so this whole experience was hilarious. At the pet shop, while the owner was getting the hamster, I asked for a female and he hesitated. I assumed he thought I was being silly - what does the gender matter.

I took Buttercup home (named after my favourite Powerpuff Girl) and get her all sorted in her new home. After a week, I notice she's fat, but not like eating too much fat, more like wider and slow. Since I've done my research I realize that she's pregnant! That's why the pet shop dude hesitated - he probably knew he was losing more than one hamster.

Now I have all the Powerpuff Girls and they're hilariously cute. I must admit that my emotional well-being has taken a turn for the better. Pets really put things in perspective. After a day of some miner complaining that geology is always at fault and other managers agreeing, I come home and see Buttercup running around just being content with enough food and a little house. How can I still be angry or upset at some silly things at work?

I heard this just after I got my hamster(s) and couldn't stop laughing:
Dude 1: "I wasn't drunk!"
Dude 2: "You were so drunk you threw my hamster across the room and yelled - Pikachu I choose you!"

Pippi Longstocking

For my birthday, my mom got me Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. I've of course heard of Pippi, but had never read any of her stories. What an amazing girl!

Pippi is definitely one of kind. She's super strong, loves her life and stands up for what she believes in. Pippi doesn't go to school, lies quite often and is very unconventional. This can be explained, as Pippi often does, by the fact that her mother is in heaven and her father is king of the natives on an island (he fell overboard while they were at sea).

Her complete acceptance (or utter denial) of her situation is heart warming. Pippi lives alone and looks after herself - enjoying every minute of every day. Grown-ups and children of all ages can learn some valuable life lessons from Pippi. Or just simply enjoy her antics!

Occupational Hazard

I got a hammer in the post this week. Now, to most people this would be an extremely weird comment. A geologist would simply reply: "Estwing? Wood or vinyl handle?"

Being a geologist brings with it a few eccentric behaviours. A case could be argued whether eccentric people become geologists or whether the job itself creates these weird traits. Take the hammer for example - not all hardware stores carry Estwing hammers so alternative options for getting a new one is necessary. And it is an essential tool for the working geologist. Actually, it's the only cool tool we use. So to compete with the engineers with their huge machines and power tools, you flaunt your special hammer whenever you can :-).

I keep a bag filled with PPE (safety clothes), a notebook and my hammer in my car in case I get called out to site. I was stopped one afternoon by the mine's security. They do routine checks to make sure no one is running off with copper or computers. I was not really paying attention to the guard's check until he called me over to where he was going through the bag. He lifted the geological hammer and stared at me with a frown. The one end of the hammer is like a pick and the other is blunt. I joked: "It's for self-defence." The guard was not impressed and I tried explaining that I'm a geologist and I used it underground. He just nodded and carefully put the hammer back. Since then, he's kept an eye on me.

Geologists also makes loads of jokes (puns especially) about different rocks. There's a running joke among my geology friends that there's a blissful state of mind a geologist will reach after enough experience where he'll be able to identify any rock type without even looking at it. This comes from the fact that we sometimes struggle to identify the basement rocks in our area while one of the oldest geologists in the office simply glances at it and gives an answer.

I mentioned before how engineers want a concrete answer, but because geologists work with limited data points you can never be one hundred percent sure. This does mean that you started speaking in options - On the one hand, the data could indicate this, but on the other it could point to something else. I heard another joke about this from a mining engineer the other day. He says that a engineer looking at a white horse from the side would exclaim the horse is white, but a geologist will say this side is white and can't be sure about the other. Quite funny!

All the above means that most geologists have some quirks, but are hilariously funny and get along with almost anyone. Get your own geologist friend as soon as possible! :-D

OOTS

One of my favourite DnD-based (Dungeons and Dragons) comics is Order of the Stick. I have my brother to thank for introducing it to me and I've been following it since 2004. Rich Burlew is the genius behind it so visit his website (Giant in the Playground) to check it out.

The above strip is part of one of the OOTS comics and is one of the funniest non-DnD related jokes I've come across in this comic. The whole style of the comic I love and the fact that the characters break the fourth wall every now and then is hilarious!

The Order of the Stick is a group of adventurers consisting of the typical fighter, wizard, rogue, bard and ranger. But, each character has their own background and reasons for travelling and adventuring. As the story progresses, subplots, main plots and side plots are all over the place and tell a very excellently captivating story. I would advise starting the comic from the beginning and enjoying the ride!

Needs A Bosom For A Pillow

I listen to lots of different music. Most recently, I've been playing Fatboy Slim's Greatest Hits - Why Try Harder. I quite like his remixes and songs. They're catchy and the music videos are excellent.

Brimful of Asha is a song by Cornershop which was then remixed by Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim). What always draws my attention is the following lyrics: "Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow."

Very basic and succinct, but oh so true :-). There's a saying that in life the destination is not important, only the journey. I recently heard one better - the destination is not important, only who you're with on the journey.

Have fun on the road!

Not Underground

Typically, an underground coal mine runs continuously on a shift system. There's a day, afternoon and night shift and the productions and preparations teams will cycle through these shifts on a week to week basis. There could also be a long weekend where the entire mine is off the Friday and Saturday.

This means that most of the people that you as the mine geologist will come into contact with will be guys who are constantly underground and work shifts. To them, if you're not underground you're not doing any real work. The real work is done by the people in the face getting the coal out. Except if you're in financial or a secretary ;-).

This sometimes puts geologists in tight spots. A lot of what I do, is modelling on a computer, pulling out the relevant data from the model and getting the right info to the right people. You do underground mapping and inspections, but you don't work shifts 24-7. But, if you're not visible to the production teams (i.e. your customers), they will not trust your work or respect your opinions. I'm not saying work 10 hour shifts underground each day, but regularly weekly visits with the mine captains and shiftbosses are a must. Also, many production meetings will only need your input for maybe 10 minutes, but being there for the entire meeting shows that you want to and are part of the team.

It's a very tricky line between keeping everyone happy and still getting to your own work. Mynbou is nie vir sussies nie! (Mining is not for the faint-hearted :-)

Mimes

Mimes have had it rough - the traditional black and white outfit, the constant ridicule and of course, the no talking rule. But, with the advent of creative;y entertaining television, miming has been redefined into something spectacularly hilarious.

Fast and Loose is a BBC series in the same vein as Whose Line Is It Anyway? It includes sketches where two contestants wear soundproof ear phones while someone mimes out a popular song. It's friggin' hilarious! The ones I've seen are Love is all around you and Don't Stop Me Now.

This interpretive dance has lifted miming from it's sordid and under appreciated past!

Michele MacFarlane

I was trawling through various book sites and came across The Au Pair by Michele MacFarlane. This is her first book and is an autobiography about how her entire life changed when she fell in love with her au pair.

The story follows Michele as she handles her marriage and new relationship with her au pair, Marizette, who's much younger and very Afrikaans. As their friendship grows into something more, Michele takes you with her through her own self-doubt and rediscovery.

I loved that the story takes place in Cape Town - reading about familiar landmarks made the book more real and Michele's journey that much more touching. It does feel a bit like you're reading someone's diary - it can be disjointed and rambling. But, this is what it felt like for the author as her world came crashing down around her.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and was happy to see it on the shelves of local book stores. Definitely worth a read.

Looking for Group

We define a lot of what we do in levels. For example, any game you play is about reaching the next level - whether it's the next stage in the game or gaining a new level of experience in the character you're playing with. Once you get a job, it's again all about getting a promotion and moving up to the next pay level.

One of the great things I've found about the mining environment is the lack of levels. Everyone is on different posts and so on, but no-one hammers on it. You work together as a team and anyone can talk with anyone - no matter what kind of pay you're getting or how high up in the organization you are.

The first time I was introduced to how important levels are was when my brother allowed me to play Dungeons & Dragons (role-playing game) with him and his friends. This only happened a few times, because any fight we had would translate into me dying inexplicably quickly when he was Dungeon Master :-). I'll always remember one of the few times I saved the team. We were fighting some evil witch and everyone but me was down. I was very lucky and rolled a 20 critical hit. I killed the witch and ended up being the hero - even more hilarious since I was playing a very pathetic bard.

Dungeons & Dragons has been around for years and spawned countless comics, webcomics and books. My favourites currently are Nodwick and Order of the Stick, but more of them later. Today I want to tell you about Looking for Group. It's not really based on DnD, but has a fantasy setting which reminds me of DnD.

There's the typical hero, villains and all-encompassing quest to save the world. But, what makes Looking for Group unique for me is the humour and the interaction between the characters. Some of the panels have me laughing out loud and retelling them to friends (who then only stare at me as if I've lost the plot :-). Read the first page, if you laugh, you know this webcomic is for you.

Locked and Loaded

When viewing blogs on Blogger, you can click Next Blog and then you jump to the following blog (I'm not quite sure how the blogs are listed - maybe it's based on awesomeness :-). I randomly click this just to see what other blogs are out there. Mostly I've landed on cooking blogs or those that focus on every little thing the blogger's dog or cat does. But, one click did lead me to one of the coolest blogs I've come across - Dorothy: Locked and Loaded.

The premise of the blog was what grabbed my attention. It's a retelling of the Wizard of Oz story, but each character has a different writer. This means that basically each blog entry is written by a different author from the perspective of their character. I thought it would seem disjointed, but the story flows very well and is super compelling.

I love a good story and this version of Dorothy and Oz is amazing. Definitely worth the read. I recently bought a copy of the original story by Frank L Baum and can't wait to read it. I'm not entirely sure why I love the Wizard of Oz so much. Maybe I should discuss it at my next group therapy session :-).

Knowing People

I recently posted about the dynamics between engineers and geologists (Gaggle of Dykes). It can be quite a difficult work relationship to maintain, but definitely worth the effort.

I am changing jobs at the moment - not drastically. I'll still be a mining geologist at a coal mine, but I'll have more responsibility. The entire geology function will be mine and I'll report almost directly to the mine manager. This in itself is a bit daunting - I've always had a more senior geologist as a buffer between me and the higher management. This won't be the case anymore. The responsibility and accountability will lie with me.

Geez! I already sound like a manager! I made my friends promise me that they'll let me know when I turn into a full-blown manager who uses words like challenge, opportunity, alignment and leadership in every sentence. They are instructed to slap me back to reality :-).

I'm quite excited about the new job. It will be my mine and I will be able to make decisions and follow them through. Also, as I've been handing over to my replacement, I had a slight ego boost when I realized how much I actually know about coal geology and mining. But, knowledge will only get you so far. You can be the best geologist on the planet, but if you cannot communicate or work with people, you might as well stay underground.

Understanding people is probably 70% of the job. Of course you have to know what you're doing, but if you can't convey your opinions in the right way to the right people, nothing will get done and you'll end up very frustrated. I've seen how people can block others simply because they don't care for them much or because they don't understand how they work.

Luckily one of my many skills is people :-D. I've never realized how valuable such skills can be and I'm definitely not an expert, but making people laugh and listening to them does help to make the work go faster and easier. And if all else fails, chocolates and beer have always been known to help any relationship :-).

Kate Kane

I love reading - I'm a fan of lots of different genres in many formats from novels and short stories to webcomics and graphic novels. But, the classic comic book will always have a special place in my reading list. I keep up with a few current titles, but I'd like to focus on one in particular - Kate Kane as the new Batwoman.

Batwoman has been around for quite some time, but never really featured in her own right. She was originally introduced as a love interest for Batman to dispel any hint of homosexuality in the comic book during the 1950s. This becomes superbly ironic with the re-introduction of Batwoman in the form of Kate Kane - a Jewish lesbian.

Kate Kane first appeared in the series 52 in 2006 taking care of Gotham in Batman's absence. After that she becomes the lead in Detective Comics from issue 854 to 863. This story arc was then published as Batwoman: Elegy.

I love the art in Batwoman. The story is amazing and doesn't disappoint. It's also quite current, especially in light of the Don't Ask Don't Tell controversies and repeals happening now in America. In Elegy, Kate herself leaves the military because she doesn't agree with the DADT policy. This comic could easily have turned into a major lesbian political battle, but it doesn't become a preaching soap box. And I think that's how it should be - the issues are addressed, but Kate Kane's sexuality isn't what defines her. Just as heterosexuality is handled in other comics.

And of course, the devoted geek in me is loving the amazing story and action and pure awesomeness! Can't wait for Kate Kane's own comic!

Jackalope

I've mentioned Pixar's amazing short films before, but wanted to highlight another one. Boundin' was the short film shown before The Incredibles in 2003.

It's about a poor sheep who is shorn and becomes very despondent. He becomes the laughing stock of the valley and can't show off his dance moves anymore. Along comes a jackalope (check Google images, real animal!). This jackalope teaches the sheep a new way of bounding to lift his spirits. After that, the sheep doesn't care about losing his wool and just keeps bounding.

This is a very cute (and somewhat corny) story with a very true life lesson. Dory in Finding Nemo has a similar outlook - just keep swimming. Sometimes you're hit with utterly catastrophic events in your life - someone close to you dies, people hate you for simply being you, or whatever else - all you can do is keep going. And hopefully one day it all comes right again.

Hey, I know life isn't all rainbows and candy canes. Not everything just turns out for the best. Not everything simply gets better with time. But, I want to believe in a world where it does :-).

And who doesn't love a happy message given by cute furry animals set to catchy music!

Jabberwocky

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son,
the jaws that bite and claws that scratch
Beware the jubjub bird
and shun the frumious bandersnatch."

This poem is from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The poem is famous for being one of the greatest nonsense verses (in itself contradictory I thought) in the English language and was written in 1872. I love the story of Alice and her journey through Wonderland.

When the latest Alice in Wonderland film with Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska came out, I actually thought it was based on a series of books I had just finished reading by Frank Beddor. But, the film was loosely based on the original by Carroll. Don't get me wrong - I love the film. The creatures such as the Jabberwocky and the Bandersnatch were amazing and the colours of Wonderland beautiful. I found the music especially haunting and still listen to the soundtrack often.

The Looking Glass Wars is the first book in Beddor's trilogy about Alyss and Wonderland. In this story, Wonderland is real and Alyss actually only came to our world to hide. She is in fact a princess and her aunt is after her throne. When she came into our world, no-one would listen to her except the local reverend, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll's real name). She told him everything about Wonderland and thought he understood. Alyss was completely betrayed when he turned it into a silly fairy tale book. As the years went by, Alyss grew up into Alice and left her childhood fantasies behind her. Until one day, when a loyal soldier came to take her back.

I truly enjoy it when classic fairy tales are re-interpreted and re-imagined. Wouldn't it be amazing if all our stories and fairy tales were actual historical accounts of other worlds and places :-)?

If I Ran the Zoo

I love stories and firmly believe that ages given for books are only vague guidelines. If it's a good story, no matter if it's in the toddler section, I will read it. This is how I came across Dr. Seuss. I had seen his books in the library when I was very young and knew of them, but only became a real fan a few years ago.

Dr. Seuss is the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel, and American born in 1904. He ended up publishing 44 children's books which have reprinted numerous times and made into various television and film adaptations. His stories are known for their very colourful and fantastical illustrations of wonderful worlds and creatures. The stories always rhyme and he often uses his own words to make the rhyme work.

If I Ran the Zoo is about a young man who's not impressed by the zoo in his town. He imagines what kind of exotic animals he would have if he ran the zoo. As the story progresses, the boy's imagination gets wilder with each new animal he adds. I love this story simply because the child's imagination has no bounds - I would definitely go to the McGrew Zoo.

Dr. Seuss' stories are timeless - hopefully they will in print forever. I wouldn't want anyone, from this world or any other universe, to miss experiencing his books. Reading them out aloud should be one of life's mandatory pleasures :-).

Gaggle of Dykes

There has always been a bit of a battle between geology and the production teams at a mine. The mining guys are mostly engineers and they want a full proof answer right now that will apply to the rest of the mining area as well. Geology isn't fortune-telling. We have a certain amount of boreholes (i.e. data points) which gives us an indication of the expected geology, but there will be some local variations. This leads to some very funny meetings and a bit of friction between geologists and engineers. 

Simplified geology showing horizontal sedimentary rock layers intruded by green dolerite.

Many geological terms are a bit strange to engineers. They only want to know if geology will affect production rates and how the bonus might then also be affected. The typical engineer doesn't care that it's an igneous intrusion and should be called a dolerite sill. To most miners any hard rock between him and his coal is a dyke.

This can cause a lot of frustration for a mine geologist. As a scientist, you want to be as accurate as possible when describing any geological feature. In meetings however, you easily lose the production guys if you mention too many detailed geological terms. It has become a bit of an inside joke among geologists at how far we can push this. We could be mentioning a gaggle of dykes or massive dolerite splays (all of which are completely incorrect and illogical) and no-one would pay attention or care. Does it stop mining? Yes? Then fix it! That's the more typical response :-).

The opposite to this is that some people get attached to a new geological term that they heard you say months ago and know everything is called a stringer of whatever. And since you're typically the lone geologists among tens of mining engineers, your voice does get drowned out a bit. Most of the time you try and be as accurate as possible and as simple as possible. Sandstone in the coal seam = hard rock in the coal, will use more picks on mining machine. Micaceous minerals in sandstone in floor of coal seam = soft floor, when wet machine will slip and cut into floor.

What many mining engineers love to do is blame geology. If their sections are not performing - somehow geology is responsible. This means that you develop quite a thick skin and you deliver your opinions with conviction. You are the geologist - your say on the rocks are final.

I must admit that not all mining engineers and production teams are like what I've mentioned above. Mostly it becomes more of playful teasing between the departments. I work very well with my production and engineering teams. They rib me for not working shifts underground and not seeing how thick the stone was becoming months ahead of time. I tease them with the fact that I can and often will change my mind - they have no such luxury :-).

Illogical

I was visiting a friend a few days ago and ended up playing games with her 8-year-old daughter. First we tried Monopoly, but I was too lazy to count money. Then the young girl suggested Snakes and Ladders. I hadn't played Snakes and Ladders in ages and thought why not. But, my gaming partner had her own set of rules which I only realized as she was beating me quite convincingly.

According to her new rules, if a ladder was in your block, no matter if it isn't the start of the ladder, you can climb it. I completely agreed, but then argued that logically the same should apply to the snakes. If a snake is more than halfway into your block, same as with the ladder, you should go down. The little girl laughed at me! She said that didn't make any sense. You can climb up unto a ladder next to you, but a snake can only swallow you with its mouth. It can't open its body and suck you in like that!

I burst out laughing. This girl's common sense had beaten my logic. We carried on with these rules until she had beaten me three times. Then I distracted her with candy. Or did she distract me? I can't recall :-).

This reminded me of Terry Pratchett's Discworld. Most things work on common sense in Discworld. You can see the horizon is a straight line so the world must and is flat. I sometimes wonder which is better - common sense or pure logic :-D.

Happy-Go-Lucky

Once in a while you walk into a video store not knowing exactly what you want to rent. You scan through the rows upon rows of DVDs and then some cover catches your eye. You've never heard of the movie, but the blurb looks interesting and on a whim you rent it. This is how I came across Happy-Go-Lucky.

I've found that many books and films can be put into one of two categories. The first is your typical story with a build-up, climax and then conclusion - the whole story is about getting to that climax. The other is a journey kind of story where it's not so much about some huge dramatic occurrence but rather a slice of life - you see a piece of the characters' lives.

Happy-Go-Lucky falls into the second category. It's about a primary-school teacher and how she views the world. She's always cheerful and optimistic. That doesn't mean that bad things don't happen to her, she just handles it in her own way. And she's not naive about the sometimes cruel realities in life either. The film covers her relationships with her family and friends, her class and with her driving instructor. I really loved the film. The dialogue is witty and I found myself wishing I could meet Poppy the school teacher.

This film opened my eyes to how much we control our own environment. People always say be optimistic - you'll live longer. But to actually have that mindset and truly live it is something else. I hope to someday reach that happy-go-lucky state. Either by car or plane :-).

On a side note, the lead is superbly played by Sally Hawkins who also featured in two BBC adaptions of Sarah Waters novels, Tipping the Velvet (minor role) and Fingersmith (main character).

House of Suns

I've just finished reading House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. My mind is still reeling. I have read some of his other books, but I've forgotten the immense scale of his novels.

House of Suns is set millions of years in the future. It concerns the House of Flowers also known as the Gentian Line. Abigail Gentian created 999 clones of herself and so established the Gentian Line. These 1000 scatterlings (which one being the original no-one knows) had one mission - to explore the furthest reaches of space. The scatterlings went on circuits around the galaxy and met up after each circuit to share their memories and experiences. At the time of the story, the scatterlings had been around for almost 6 million years. And this is where my mind starts to boggle.

As the scatterlings travel through space visiting planets, they very often meet different civilizations when they travel the same route on the next circuit. Their time scale is in thousands and hundreds of thousands of years due to the huge distances in space that needs to be covered. Civilizations die out and races evolve. I immediately thought of us. Homo sapiens originated about 200 000 years ago. Recorded history is thought to have started 4000 years BC, only 6000 years ago. In House of Suns the scatterlings have been around longer than the Earth!

I then wondered if we shouldn't be more concerned about the longevity of our human existence. If we want to extend beyond mere thousands of years, we need to seriously reconsidering our way of life. This is the only planet in this solar system which can sustain us. Do all the wars and other inter-racial/religious/method of egg boiling issues really matter?

But, getting back to the book. Purslane and Campion are two Gentian scatterlings who picked up a guest along their journey. As they travel to their reunion with the rest of the Gentian Line, secrets are revealed which they didn't even know existed.

Gripping novel! Everything time I read Alastair Reynolds, I'm reminded why I love his science fiction so much.

Granites

During my third year studying geology, we went on a field trip along the West Coast to investigate the Cape Granite Suite. This meant we drove up the Cape coast in mini-buses filled with camping equipment and food for a weekend. We stopped at various beaches where the different granite outcrops were visible. One such place was Tietiesbaai.

From Encounter South Africa

The men in our class found this exceptionally funny - tieties means breasts in Afrikaans. And the hills behind the beach does lend themselves to that description. The field trip itself was very interesting. We stopped at 5 different beaches to discuss the granite outcrops. Our lecturer would ask us to describe and take photographs of the granites. As we went along, a picture of the Cape Granite Suite began to form.

The Cape Granite Suite is a result of plate tectonics - two continental plates collided causing the deeper crust to melt and form magma. This magma intruded into the shallow crust and crystallized as the different granite types of the Cape Granite Suite. From our field observations and discussions, we had to report the 3 phases of this orogenic event as evidenced by the S-, I- and A-type granites.

I love this kind of geology. Here we are strolling along beaches and the rocks are telling us a story hundreds of millions of years old on such a huge scale. It makes you look at the world around you much more closely :-).

Fingersmith

Shortly after coming out to my parents, I started looking for anything vaguely lesbian. Be it books, films or music. I Google'd and Wiki'd and came across lists of best of books, films and so on. One of these was Fingersmith.

Fingersmith is a novel written by Sarah Waters and is her third book. It was preceded by Tipping the Velvet and Affinity and followed by The Night Watch and The Little Stranger. It's set in the Victorian era and is sort of a mix between a romance and a crime novel. Very good twists and turns. As the novel progresses, you also find yourself rooting for the one character, hating the other and then this gets turned around as the plot unfolds. Amazing writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tipping the Velvet and The Night Watch as well. Three of her books have been made into BBC serials and I highly recommend them. They remain quite true to the books and are superbly acted.

Frown Face

Something happened this morning and I can't decide how I feel about it or what my reaction should be - hence the frown on my face the whole day.

From my blogger name, LaughingLee, you might have deduced that I'm generally a happy person. My first reaction to almost everything is laughter. It helps me cope and it's way more fun than either crying or getting angry or smashing someone's car window in. Although the latter can be very therapeutic, or so I'm told. I'm constantly laughing and loud in a conversation. My friends say I'm not overbearing, but I'm not sure if it's because they really mean it or they don't want to poke the crazy always grinning bear :-).

I was having breakfast with a friend in one of our regular haunts this morning. It's a family restaurant with kids running around, but it wasn't very full. At the most 15 people were there at any given time. We had chosen a booth in the corner and spent about an hour and a half chatting about work and life and whatever else came to mind. At one stage, a waiter came to us and asked that we keep it down. Apparently I was laughing too loudly and it was bothering the other customers. I was dumbstruck. I didn't know what to say and simply nodded at the very nervous looking waitress.

I didn't know whether to be insulted or complimented or to feel sad for people that don't like the sound of laughter. We weren't making noise. We weren't drunk and nasty and a nuisance. We were friends enjoying each other's company. My other thought was that maybe some of the other customers were jealous. Maybe that had had a rough week and had nothing to laugh about.

Geez! What kind of world or community do we live in where people laughing counts as noise? We are inundated with images of violence and war over the news and other media. Wouldn't more happy sounds be welcome?

In any case, I had a great morning and I hope the complaining customer's mood improved. Maybe they went to the doctor and had that painful stick up their ass removed? One can only wish :-).

Echo

I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan. He's responsible for giving us Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. If you're not aware of this guy or any of the above-mentioned tv shows, please take a peek from under that rock you live and Wiki it. You will not regret it :-).

Dollhouse is the latest television show from Whedon and ran from Feb 2009 until Jan 2010. It's about a fictitious (hopefully ;-) organization which runs an underground operation of actives. Actives are people who have signed their life away to this organization for five years. Their minds are scrubbed clean of any personality or memories which are stored away on a hard drive. The actives are then used by the Dollhouse as clients require it. Need a negotiator? Not a problem. The Dollhouse can create an entire personality and put it inside any of it's actives to create exactly what you need. These actives are not pretending - they are who they've been programmed to be.

The show focuses on one active in particular - Echo. She and some of the other actives slowly become self-aware even in their scrubbed doll-state. This begs quite a few questions - does the soul exist? Can you be you without any memories or personality? What's your essence? Nature versus nurture and so on. The show touches on this without becoming too much of a philosophy lecture :-).

The technology that was created to program minds is also quite scary. I immediately thought of splitting the atom - amazing science, but used for war. And that's what usually happens with any new scientific breakthrough. We use it selfishly to gain the most power. Something similar happens in Dollhouse as well.

Awesome show - hot women kicking ass as different people each week - what more do you want :-D?

Evey Hammond

People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.

This is said by V in the movie V for Vendetta released in 2006. It's based on a graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The story is set in a futuristic world where America has been ravaged by plague and war and the United Kingdom is ruled by an ultra conservative and totalitarian government. V for Vendetta focuses on Evey Hammond who by chance meets up with V. V has a drastic plan to change things and Evey gets swept along and finds her own truth as well.

The film struck a chord with me in the way which anything or anyone different - such as different religious views or sexual orientation - is seen as disgusting, immoral and corrupt. The people have given up all of their human rights to this high chancellor in government. It goes as far as that all their calls are monitored and censor boards have made many books, songs and films illegal. The police can grab anyone in the night, torture them and make them disappear. What was scary was how easily this change had happened - how easily people had accepted this as the norm.

I love how the film explores these political and human rights concepts. And how a single idea or symbol can be so powerful and can bring about so much change.

Local elections are coming up in South Africa. I never thought I would be advocating this, but use your vote. It's one of our most important rights and one we often take for granted without even thinking.

Of course, the fact the V kicks ass accompanied by classical music only made the film so much more awesome :-).

Driving Skills

During my first year as an exploration geologist, I was working in Limpopo (northern province of South Africa). As I've mentioned before, I had a 4-by-4 bakkie (truck) which I travelled with daily in the Bushveld. My driving skills have improved since then, but I had a few near-misses in the beginning.

Tracks left by my driving skills a day later

It was early one morning and I was using one of the main dirt roads between farms to get to the area where we were drilling. It had been raining heavily the previous night and day and the road was very muddy and clayey. As I was driving, I could feel the bakkie weave left and right over the road, but I could manage it. Farmers were zipping past me of course, but I didn't want to radio my manager to let him know I had flipped the company vehicle and kept a nice tortoise speed.

Suddenly, the bakkie began sliding with it's nose to left. I tried to bring it back, but didn't want to pull the steering wheel too hard and end up spinning. I saw a tree coming closer and gently lifted my foot from the petrol. The bakkie continued sliding off the road, but very slowly. When I came to a stop, I was horizontally across the road and thankfully had stopped before hitting any farm fences. I really did not want an irate grey-bearded man yelling at me for letting his cows get loose :-).

A bakkie stopped with a man and his small son. He asked if I (girlie) was all right. I laughed and replied everything's fine - I just needed to reverse and get back on the road. Luckily, the bakkie stopped nearby some giraffes. They were quite close to the fence and if I hadn't slowed down I would have missed them between the bushes.

Yay for advanced driving skills!

Debut of Pink Girlfest

This weekend was the first Pink Girlfest. It was a women-only festival which took place over Saturday and Sunday in Volksrust, Mpumalanga. Activities included self-defence and mountain biking workshops as well as a gardening and DIY workshop by Tanya Visser (well-known in SA). There were also bands playing like Margaret's Daughter and Cortina Whiplash. One of the highlights was Karen Zoid on Saturday evening.

Since this was the first Pink Girlfest, a few minor teething problems were encountered. The horse-riding was more of a pony affair and due to bad weather the paragliding had be cancelled. The marketing could also have been a bit better - I and many others I chatted to only found out about the event about 1 or 2 weeks back. The venue also had be changed at the last minute because of some very ignorant townsfolk who protested when they found out their town would be overrun by lesbians. Sigh.

I've been a fan of Karen Zoid for some time and love her music. She's quite the legend in the South African music industry and is such an awesome artist. Her music moves from rock to poetry effortlessly. Karen Zoid has an amazing presence on stage and is hilarious with the anecdotes and thoughts she shares. She very aptly described the festival as Oppipoppi (on the doll) in reference to Oppikoppi (on the hill) a well-established annual music festival. Hopefully the name sticks :-).

A huge thank you and congratulations to Kerry Knowles and Judith Nel, the event organizers. They did an excellent job the first-time around and managed all the minor hiccups very well. I look forward to next year's Pink Girlfest.

Long live Oppipoppi!

Catching Fire

The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy of the same name. Suzanne Collins wrote the series with Catching Fire being the second book and Mockingjay the final. The story is scary in that it feels like it can happen in the real world as well.

The first book was published in 2008, but I only came across the series end of last year while I was roaming through a bookstore in Sydney. When I got back home I immediately got hold of all 3 books and started reading.

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a central government rules over 12 districts. The president not only has an iron fist but also keeps everyone in check with The Hunger Games. Participants are randomly selected from each district and then made to fight each other in a greatly popular and highly publicized game. There can be only one survivor and they win food and prestige for their district. The poor are exploited since they can enter their name for the selection process more than once in exchange for extra food.

The main character is Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to take her sister's place in the games. The books follow her through the games and it's consequences.

When I first read the blurb for the books, I was reminded of Battle Royale, a Japanese book (also adapted into a manga and movie). In this story, a group of students is forced to fight each other to the death on an island. This is meant to keep the population in check since the class of participants are chosen randomly and at any time during the year. The Hunger Games trilogy takes a slightly different route, but with great effect. How the characters handle the situation is so real that I had to take a break from the books every now and then.

What made it so more real is that reality shows such as Survivor and Big Brother are a step below The Hunger Games. The amount of publicity and television coverage the games garner is tremendous. What also struck me is the fact that many people only saw the games as something on television - that children were being killed wasn't real to them. Like a puppet theater arranged by the government. Very scary.

The books are planned to be made into a film, but I'm not sure if a movie can truly capture the trilogy. My imagination went wild thanks to the great writing. I hope the film can do The Hunger Games justice.

Coraline

Coraline is a novel written by Neil Gaiman and isn't like other fairy tales. You have a girl going into another world and tempted by an evil witch, but there's so much more to Coraline. The novel was published in 2002, and I read the graphic novel based on the book.


Coraline book cover (2002)

Coraline, the title character, gets involved with this evil witch and then has to defend herself and her family from the consequences of her actions. The story includes two aging actresses, a cat who can move between worlds and a mouse circus. Need I say more :-).

A film based on the book was released in 2009 and used stop-motion 3D techniques. The film did change some things from the book, but brought Coraline's world to life with amazing effects. The colours and the music is brilliantly done and recreates Neil Gaiman's world perfectly (I thought so at least).

I love this kind of narrative - the off-beat, alternative fairy tale. Taking true and tested story stereotypes and turning them on their heads.

Babydoll

I had the chance to watch Sucker Punch over the weekend (only released in SA on Friday) and loved every minute of it. The movie's opening sequence has no dialogue and it captured me right from the start with it's haunting music.

The film hasn't received the greatest reviews which I don't quite understand. Perhaps it's one of those that you either love or hate. Zack Snyder, the director, also made 300, Watchmen and Legend of the Guardians - all movies I thoroughly enjoyed.

Sucker Punch is about a young woman, Babydoll, who's thrown into a mental institution by her stepfather to get her out of his way. The movie follows her attempt to escape from the asylum. What's different is that to cope with the situation she envisions all her escape plans as these elaborate fantasies. The worlds she creates and the music accompanying it had me enthralled. I will definitely buy the DVD and watch it again. I read many criticisms that the best parts of the film - the fantasies - weren't real, but that's the point, isn't it? Dreams and fantasies are by definition larger than life.

I'll leave you with a quote from the film which has stuck with me (forgive me if I don't recall it exactly):

You think you cannot do this. You can.
You think you are not strong enough. You are.
You have all the weapons you need.
Now, Fight!