Creative Suite 6 is due for release later this year. Sneak peaks are out. Seems like there’s several new features. More applications are moving on to become 64bit applications. This will make a major difference.

However, one feature I really want is that Adobe take the GPU acceleration that makes Photoshop perform phenomenally fast and apply it to InDesign and Illustrator. This feature, coupled with moving toward 64bit applications, would make me upgrade without missing a single heartbeat.

Anyone else for this?

Dexter, poster from IMDb

The series is summarized as follows on Wikipedia:

The series centers on Dexter Morgan, a bloodstain blood analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer.

I’ve just finished watching the 5th season of Dexter and thoroughly enjoyed it. This series is unusual, featuring a likable anti-hero. There’s a lot of ‘goodness’ in this series which features convincing acting, tight scripting, and meaningfully conclusive story arcs. Views and conversations are, however, polarized depending on where we place the emphasis.

• Show hater Lucy Mangan shares her critique in Cable Girl: There’s something wrong with Dexter the serial killer
• Show lover Ben Marshall writes In defense of Dexter in response to Lucy and cites ten excellent reasons why the show is so good and is loved by so many
• On Metacritic Slant Magazine succinctly states:

When it’s at the top of its game, Dexter brings True Blood to mind, subverting conventions of horror and violence to mock the various accoutrements of “normal” suburban life.

Though written way back in 2007 the sentiments remain the same along the lines of show haters and lovers: There is something deeply wrong with Dexter — he is a disturbed serial killer! However, aside from being really well done, there is a lot about the character that viewers can relate to.

• The series is not a slash fest like a popular movie series I simply can’t stand and won’t name here. This is not gruesome upon gruesome. Dexter comes across more as art and commentary.
• Though Michael C Hall (the actor who plays Dexter) is in incredible physical shape he is not the macho man. You know what I mean? The more ‘manly man’ is the gym junkie, the muscular hunk, the brute — the Chuck Norris. Dexter, however, is someone more of us can relate to. In terms of personality he is more soft spoken and polite than arrogant and controlling. In terms of role at work he’s not the take charge boss, he’s the specialized and nerdy underling.
• The handling of the classic ‘good overcoming evil’ theme is more accurately portrayed. By this I mean the hope that justice will be meaningfully fulfilled ensuring that those who’re truly evil ‘get it’ in the end.
• Dexter is capable of violence and vengeance, something the majority of humans are not. However, we have that desire within us. Dexter is able to violently enforce justice mimicking a court theme where the crimes of his victims are displayed to them. He does so without malevolence on our behalf to ensure our continued safety and as a just recompense for the acts they’ve performed against their helpless victims.
• One of the deeper and most consistent themes in Dexter, resonating with the self of many of us and connected with intimacy is that of acceptance/rejection/understanding. Deep down most of us struggle to reveal who we are, even trying to do so is experienced as unsafe. We tell our selves that “No one really understands me, or truly sees me, and if they do they’ll reject me.” Starting in childhood with communication being difficult and our parents and caregivers not fully understanding us is followed by a series of failed relationships. We’re rejected by others we’ve opened up to but we also reject others who’ve truly opened up to us.
• And finally, from my perspective, it stands as a good challenge to our interpretation of the biblical motif “don’t kill” and “don’t commit murder”. In the OT because human life was sacred, i.e. the life of the victims, meant that the life of those who cannot be rehabilitated was to be taken too. This stands in contrast to our interpretation that serial killers, rapists and child molesters ought to be allowed on to the street again. It is debatable whether the slow death of incarceration, at great cost to society, is more humane than quickly putting someone down. Nevertheless, neat philosophical and theological concerns aside Dexter satisfies our visceral response to the crimes of his victims. As such Dexter stands as a challenge to our notion of preserving life at all costs, including lives taken or destroyed by the lives we choose to preserve.

Love to hear your thoughts!

The good news is that iOS 5 is out. The bad news is that with so many people downloading it there’s everything chance that the iTunes download server is going to give you grief. Downloading large updates through iTunes can be incredibly annoying, especially when the download fails, iTunes doesn’t resume the download and you have to start the download again (possibly several times).

Step out of the cue and download the update with your favorite download manager!

First update iTunes, then download the iOS 5 updates directly.

The resources I’m using to download my updates:

• http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/12/ios-5-download-available/
• http://techie-buzz.com/mobile-news/ios5-ipsw-direct-download-links.html

In case you don’w know how to use them, try these sites with notes on how to manually install those updates:

• http://techie-buzz.com/mobile-news/how-to-update-to-ios-5-from-itunesmanually.html

Hope this helps

Garmin GPS60

Recently I spent some time in Rwanda. I did the self-drive option, getting an excellent deal on a Land Rover Discovery from a company in Uganda. On the second half of the trip I headed West to Karongi, to spend some time in Kibuye getting a handle on their islands. Part of my trip also involved taking some of the harder roads, the dirt roads connecting major areas. Oddly enough I learnt a thing or two about how best to handle allegations of speeding.

On leaving Kigali I was pulled over, allegedly for speeding. The guy who pulled me over insisted that I was doing 80km/h and given that the speed limit was 60km/h I would need to pay a fine. In response I asserted that I was obeying the local speed limits would not be paying any such fine. The usual questions ensued – driver’s license, passport, international drivers license, vehicle registration papers, vehicle insurance papers, etc.

Whenever dealing with a cog in the machine of African law I insist that none of my documentation ever leaves my sight. Regularly I’ve been asked to leave my passport somewhere or someone has insisted that they need to take my passport away. In response I always note that as a legal document it clearly states that this should always accompany me and as such it never leaves my presence.

After navigating issues related to documentation the official insisted again that I was doing 80km/h and wanted to issue me a ticket.

If he had any kind of speed trap this would’ve made sense. This official, however, merely asked me to pull to the side of the road. I just crested a hill and started the descent upon spotting him. There was simply no way he could accurately assess the speed I’d been doing.

Fortunately I had my GPS unit out on my dashboard where it had a great view of the satellites. I insisted that not only was I obeying the speed limit but that given that my Garmin recorded my route along with my average speed that I can easily prove this. I would happily have the official accompany me to the next town where we could meet with local police authorities and verify that I was in fact not breaking the speed limit. Needless to say the official dropped the argument and let me go merrily on my way.

Have you experienced anything similar?

Map of Western Rwanda

I recently spent some time in Rwanda. My four previous trips which meant flying into Kigali, staying in a hotel, going to meetings, flying back to Johannesburg. In this trip I got to spend some time driving around the country, which proved to be a lot of fun. Along the way a couple of things stood out for me. Since it’s been a while since I’ve blogged I figured some of what stood out will make for some good blogging.

Rwanda is like a village sprawl. Everywhere you go there are people walking along the side of the road. Every few kilometers you end up driving through a village. Every time you stop you’re likely to be met by a group of kids. Inevetably, in every group, at every stop, the kids are going to ask you for money. My favorite phrase leapt out of a kids mouth around Kiyove, “White man, give me money!”

This phrase summarizes my frustration with travel and tourism in Africa. It seems that whether I’m arriving at an official destination or just passing through every stop I make aims to take money out of my pocket simply because I’m white and a foreigner. When I explain that I’m an African many eye me suspiciously and reluctantly stop begging. If I’d brought a tazer with me I would’ve been tempted to electrocute kids by the end of my trip (I say that tongue-in-check).

On a deeper level it raises serious questions about development, poverty, foreign aid, and exploitation of resources. But I just can’t face the complexity of tacking any of those issues in writing.

What’s you’re experience of travel in Africa? Any similar frustrations?

Upgrading to Lion has been painless (mostly). I like some of what Apple has done while other changes can do with a bit more work. One thing that really annoyed me is look of iCal and Address Book. They’re acceptable on the iPad but totally out of tune with the rest of the UI on the Mac. Fortunately MacNix has provided an aluminum skin option making it really easy to replace default (and I think only) look in Lion.

To reskin (some of) your cat follow this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

My lesbian friend recently got married. This resulted in some thoughts around the topic related to church communities who object to same-sex unions and same-sex partners choosing to participate in them.

The picture above summarizes the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons by country or territory.

Virtually everyone has sex from time to time, whether legally married, casual and in-passing, or in the context of an ongoing relationship. The majority of unmarrieds I know battle with their conscience, feeling that marriage and sex go together. The reality though is that all people, those married and those not, face challenges of conscience, expectation and fulfillment in one way or another. Sexual issues related to marriage are not limited to LGBT’s.

Non-heterosexuals in South Africa are fortunate that the rights, financial and social, of marriage applies equally to all persons.

Same-sex marriage became legal in South Africa on 30 November 2006 when the Civil Union Bill was enacted after having been passed by the South African Parliament earlier that month. A ruling by the Constitution Court on 1 December 2005 had imposed a deadline of 1 December 2006 to make same-sex marriage legal. South Africa became the fifth country, the first in Africa, the second outside Europe, and the first republic to legalize same-sex marriage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_South_Africa

And further:

In SA there are three laws providing for the status of marriage in South Africa. These are the Marriage Act (Act 25 of 1961), the Customary Marriages Act (Act 120 of 1998), which provides for the civil registration of marriages solemnized according to the traditions of indigenous tribes, and the Civil Union Act (Act 17 of 2006). South Africans may choose in terms of which of these laws they wish to be married, but may be married in terms of only one at a given time.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_South_Africa

What this basically means is that a couple married under any of these three acts is “legally valid.”

Many religious people are opposed to this. Though such objections are not limited to Christians this article concerns Christians as the couple I’ve mentioned above are Christians who’re part of a Christian community.

The law in South Africa makes provision for people who are marriage officers in terms of the Marriage Act to object on the basis of conscience, religion or belief. This means that they will become exempt from performing same-sex marriages. Those who are marriage officers in terms of the Civil Unions Act may not object to performing a same-sex marriage. Should their conscience, religion or belief stress them enough they can resign as a marriage officer.

This means that, in the context of Christianity, there are ministers and churches who support and encourage same-sex marriages and relationships and those who don’t. The law makes provision for exemption from having to perform a legal marriage between same-sex individuals. But what provision does the law make to object to same-sex relationships as an ordinary citizen. What right do those who object to same-sex union on the basis of conscience, religion or belief have to express this? What right do those self-defined as LGBT have to object to and oppress these individuals for such expression? There are those who would consider this post alone as offensive and insensitive (though it really makes not point). Who moderates the line of offense between these two groups – where those LGBT choose to take offense where none is given or where those who aren’t LGBT choose to give offense.

These are some good questions and surely there are many more to be raised. What’s clear at present though is that those entering same-sex relations aren’t limiting themselves to churches with clear and vocal support thereof. Their choice and preference of church-style and vision leads many to participate in churches potentially unsupportive or perhaps hostile toward their sexual orientation.

Airport goes retarded

Airport (Mac’s name for their wireless network) is beginning to annoy me no end. It seems that everytime my computer sleeps it wakes up confused. It’s like it says “I’m still part of the same network but I, uh, I dunno what’s going on anymore.” None of the Windows PCs on the network share this problem. Google evidences that this is an ongoing problem experienced in OSX. This leads me to understand that it’s a persistent problem in OSX.

Renewing the DHCP lease does not fix the problem, though it really really should. Deleting the connection and recreating it leads to an endless loop. It says that connecting to the network requires a password and then continually asks me for it …

An endless loop

This is like Airport suddenly refusing to take responsibility for its own actions. After trying to input the password a few times and getting nowhere it seems the solution is to open Keychain Access and delete the keys related to your wireless router, under Login and System, reboot the computer and then setup a new connection.

After which it’ll work:

The problem now corrected

Understandably this is very, very annoying. A quick Google search proves that tons of people have been having this problem and that it’s persisted through a number of OSX updates. This is something I’d like Apple to fix.

Poor living conditions

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Life is busy, so posts are likely to be sporadic.

Earlier today I was have breakfast with a friend catching up on what we’ve been up to since we’d last spoken. As with all good conversation we moved on from our show-n-tell to wider issues including the recent tragedy in Japan and to poverty and sustainability in general. There’s certainly a difference in quality of life for the poor(-er) and quality of life for the rich(-er). Two of the notable areas is in living conditions and diet.

As a general truth many recognise that we’re living on this planet in a way that is unsustainable. What’s often not acknowledged is that the poor aspire to live the life of the rich … which happens to be a life that is unsustainable. The life of the rich, the richer and the truly rich is unsustainable for a minority of the Earth’s population. One doesn’t have to a mathematical genius to conclude that therefore it is a lifestyle that is an unsustainable reality for the poor.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate I’m known for tongue-in-cheek statements capturing an element of truth. Hence I summarised this as follows:

Thankfully the poor are poor. It is fortunate most of the world lives on a cup of rice a day. This ensures that we, the poor-rich, are able to enjoy breakfasts like this …

Not the breakfast I had ...

Admittedly, the photo above is not of the breakfast I actually had. My choice of breakfast was much humbler and less colonial though no less enjoyable. However, I do wonder what kind of viable alternatives there are to our current economic system?

Cover to the DFV Study Bible

For those who’ve been waiting long for it, we’ve finally posted a sample of the DFV. We’ve had a few delays getting a print-on-demand version setup, so we’re posting a PDF. You can grab it from the project blog.

As Mark said it so well I’m simply going to quote him in full:

It’s taken longer than we anticipated, but the editorial team of the Christian Godde Project is pleased to make available the Divine Feminine Version: The Good News According to Matthew Version 0.1 for public comment and feedback. We are simultaneously posting the PDF of the annotated Study Bible which provides additional information, introductory essays, cameo essays, and concluding essays. This is the copy that we hope will soon be available as a print-on-demand document. Thank you for your patience! Please enjoy the text and provide feedback, whether it be Positive (Constructive) Feedback or Rebuttals.

http://godde.wordpress.com by Mark Mattison.

I’m looking forward to thoughts and feedback too