Livin' the life...

Curious about what's going on in my homeland, I headed over to Nation News website, and what would greet me but the 'article' below.. I think this is intended to be a joke, but it's soo random, I could not help but blog about it. Enjoy!

PS. You can click on the image for a more complete screenshot of that section of the Nation News page.

To be honest, I'm not really a Crop Over fan at all, and believe me, that makes me stand out like a sore thumb in Barbados around this season. When it comes to the music, it's really only 2 or 3 songs that I at least would tap my foot to.

This year I must say that I'm filled with mixed feelings. I do admit that there are a few songs I have taken to mainly due to their rhythm, but what some promote is.. shady at best. The ones I refer to specifically are:

Contone - Hard Times (alcoholic?), Pong - Offset (rum?), John Mahameed - The La La Song (not sure what's a "la la"), Stabby - Stabby De Guard (starts funny, but a bit.. radical), Edwin Yearwood - Nah Missing Me, Nard - Socarobics (..), RPB - Wrong Gal (..), John Mahameed - Hold The Brass (still trying to figure this one out).

If you want to hear these songs and judge them for yourself, you can head over to BajanTube or 98.1 The One (requires a .m3u player) websites.

In Barbados, May usually means a next batch in a constant wave of exams for most undergrads, but for some fortunate or unfortunate folks, it constitutes the final wave, and a graduation ceremony in October. This year around, one of my colleagues over at tech-barbados - a graduate of UWI himself - has provided what I consider some excellent advice to the graduates of this year.

I recommend that any final year undergrads check out this article - Advice To The 2008 Graduates - even though it is given with the slight focus towards the Computer Science / I.T. fields.

Ah, Barbados is truly a paradise. I dare you to guess the beach where I took this photo!

I was just doing a bit of researching on the Web and for some basic information I took a trip to the UWI Cave Hill web site. On it, I saw the photo on the left, and could not help but wonder if laptops were now a 'standard' at Cave Hill. It's not that I would doubt such a thing, however I do wonder if they are half as prevalent as purported in this photo.

Of course I also do take the point that this photo _may_ have been ... "staged" as arguably all promotional photos are. In this case, especially noting the fact that the laptops all appear to be quite similar!

In my days at UWI though, laptops I think were mainly carried by the rich folks..

I know these are this is the "Internet age", but I still must say that I was quite shocked (a pleasant shock) to learn that the Barbados Transport Board has a web site! And not just a generic information site either! Proper bus schedules are available and users are allowed to search for schedules by location.

I'm not sure how long this web site - especially in its current form - has been available but I think it is quite a good idea. My only reservation now is that buses run to time..

To readers in Barbados. Clocks go forward tonight (well in the wee hours of Sunday morning), therefore the UK will now be 5 hours ahead of Barbados as opposed to 4.

Thanks for setting me straight Jeremy.

Three days ago I posted about an article on some students in Barbados that were "Expelled because of their hairstyles". The following excerpt is a follow-up to that article, and I think it's just as good a read as the original article itself!

"MINISTER OF EDUCATION Ronald Jones is hinting that the new Education Act will take into consideration the now controversial issue of appropriate hairstyles for school, which is currently left to the interpretation of administrators.

He said the new act and new regulations would be presented to Parliament as soon as the necessary review of the current act and accompanying regulations had been completed.

One interpretation saw five students being barred from classes at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) last week for wearing locks. But, deputy principal Merton Forde said the students would be allowed back in school if they presented documents proving they were part of the Rastafari faith.

..

He cautioned that it was impossible for the act to cover everything and, of necessity, it must still be general.

"Common sense always must dictate what we do. Even though there are laws written down, common sense must [prevail] in circumstances such as those that confronted the administration at the school . . . . There must always be general terms used in education, because from the time you start to demarcate, you're into a whole long troublesome process," he argued.

He said he was "puzzled" by the SJPP development, because the students would have been in school for seven months with the locks and it only became an issue last week [Even I picked up on this one; see the last paragraph of my previous post].

..

Minister Jones told the DAILY NATION last Thursday that as far as he was aware, all five students should have been back in school.

"One could not understand, or for that matter appreciate, the argument that a citizen of Barbados must bring any kind of document to any institution, asking them to prove if they belong to any religion, caste, sex or creed.

"That is trampling on a person's civil rights [and] their religious rights, their democratic rights in our society, which holds up the individual as paramount, even though within the confines of the law. And there should not be any law in any educational institution which debars young people from getting an education," he stated. " (Ref)

Wow! Well that surely is a mouthful! And a thought-provoking one indeed! I wonder what the repercussions are in store, if any! And also how far-reaching they will be eg. will Secondary schools have a more relaxed hairstyle rules?

I wonder...

I rarely post stories from Barbados (because it's a bit harder to keep up with the news!) but this one I found quite interesting. Please note that for this post I used the heading directly from the NationNews article (except they incorrectly spelt "hairstyle" as "hairsyle"), even though I am of the persuasion that the word "expel" may not have been used accurately. Anyway, the story!

"THE FIVE MALE STUDENTS of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) barred from classes because of dreadlock hairstyles are questioning why there is nothing in their student handbook on hairstyles.

Two of the affected men, Carlos Adams, 22, and Damien Weekes, 24, who spoke to the SATURDAY SUN yesterday in The City, said there was nothing in the handbook which spoke to their hairstyles. They showed Page 3 of the handbook which states:

"The SJPP appreciates and values diversity in all forms and does not discriminate on the basis of race; sexual orientation; nationality; religion; disability; ethnicity; political orientation; colour; social status or family background."

However, the same handbook states that rules and regulations of the SJPP could change at any time without public notice.

"The SJPP reserves the right to alter, without notice, any of the regulations and policies stated in this publication," it is stated on Page 3. " (Ref)

Two questions/issues here: (a) At the UWI, are there such hairstyle regulations? I'm not sure but I do not think so. Can anyone clarify this? And (b), this "rules and regulations of the SJPP could change at any time without public notice" statement is just perfect for admin and is a tool used in many organisations. However, noting that students have been at the polytechnic for a year but are now being informed of this, are we to assume it's a NEW rule? I wonder...

Just a little while ago I was reading a post from a friend over at tech-barbados on the topic of online TV and how in his opinion, great it was. In that post he informed me, that by using a third party web site persons such as myself - who are not in Barbados - could now view our "home town" channel online and, for free. (Not that the channel is that, or any good, it's more that it's a small taste of home. )

After reading his post, I started to do some browsing and I found an entire host of sites offering TV, especially in the UK! So, as a prelude to what I hope will be a more thorough post at a later date, here is some of the stuff I have found. I hope it's useful!

http://www.jumptv.com/ - Watch TV worldwide (football games too!) including Barbados' very own CBC Channel 8. (This is the one that was mentioned to me.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/ - BBC isn't missing out on this online tv action! Check out their version in the BBC iPlayer. Overview: essentially the iPlayer lets you watch shows or news that was televised previously on any of the BBC channels. The caveat however is that I _think_ they choose which shows and they are only available for a certain time (number of days) after they are initially broadcasted on local TV. To be honest I'm a bit fuzzy on the particulars myself but when things are clearer, I'll be sure to update you! (I think there is an option to download as well!)

http://www.channel4.com/4od/index.html - The best of Channel 4, on demand! To quote their web site, "4oD is simply another way to get your TV hit, 24/7. Download thought-provoking documentaries, award winning drama or great comedy." There are "Loads of the latest TV to watch instantly or as a download." and you can even "Rent films from our specially selected range for £1.99". Sounds, freshing. Note that for this it seems like you have to download additional software.

http://www.itv.com/Watchnow/default.html - I have not tried this out but it seems practical. Worth noting is that iTV is definitely one of the better channels on basic English TV.

http://download.five.tv/ - To round up the lot, here's Five.tv's adaptation. It appears like they have gone for the strict pay-per-view model i.e. you buy what you want, no free viewing here. On the bright side they do have CSI episodes (Las Vegas, Miami and NY) going for a cool £1.49-£2.49/each or entire seasons for around £30-£40. Grey's Anatomy also features as a downloadable programme.

Ah, with TV directly on my PC, how, oh how, will I get any work done now? .. On the bright side, there's less reason to move from my desk!

I just came across this mouth-watering photo of good Bajan food so naturally, I am posting/referencing it!

Looks lovely doesn't it? *drool*.. For those of you who don't know, that is Macaroni Pie and (fried) Flying fish.  Not sure what's that thing on the left side of the Pie, any guesses?

First, a brief look at this year's (2007) hurricane season and it's effects..

"It was not a violent wind but a violent shaking - by the strongest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in 244 years - that signalled the official end of a very active hurricane season.

The season, which runs June 1 to November 30, saw 16 cyclones forming of which 14 became named storms, five hurricanes, and two major hurricanes which touched almost every country in the Caribbean basin, the US, and Central America, leaving 252 dead and at least US$600m in damage." [Full story]

Next, and more specifically, here's a reported summary of the effects of the Earthquake two days ago (which I initially blogged about here)..

"Hundreds of people were injured - two seriously - during the strongest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in more than two hundred years.

The French Caribbean island of Martinique, located between St Lucia and Dominica, took the brunt of the impact of the earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale which struck around 3pm EST on Thursday.

Two people were seriously injured in Martinique's Lorrain district when they threw themselves out of windows as the quake struck. More than 100 more required medical attention said French overseas minister Christian Estrosi. ... In Barbados, another two people were injured during the stampede of thousands of panicking Barbadians in the capital Bridgetown." [Full Story]

"On November 30th 1966 the Barbados national flag was proudly raised signalling the birth of the independent nation of Barbados!" (Ref)

Ah, how sweet! Happy 41st birthday Barbados, may you live to see many, many more!

For full national information check the Official Barbados website or, if you just want to view a beautiful range of high quality photos  browse to this Flickr page.

(PS. I would have displayed the flag in this post but I think that would be illegal unless explicitly given consent.)

Last night I was buried in work and this morning I'm a bit of a rush to get to Uni! But.. I think this earthquake (or tremor depending on which island you're in) is worth just a really quick post.

Here's an excerpt from Barbados' CBC website:

"Several Caribbean islands were jolted Thursday when a powerful 7.3 per cent earthquake centred 25 miles south of Dominica hit the islands, sending thousands of people scampering from shaking buildings.

According to the University of the West Indies Seismic Centre, the earthquake, centred at 14.9 north, 61.2 west, affected Martinique, Dominica, St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe and Anguilla. There were also reports of tremors as far south as Guyana and as far north as Puerto Rico."

You can read more about the quake on these following sites: CBC, Nationnews, Caribbean 360.com Yahoo! News and Google News.

I received an email from a friend lately, and a line in it made me laugh so naturally, I'm posting it. Please note that you have to be from Barbados to get this.

"Heard ur doing the phd, never knew you were so into milk but hey...lol."

LOL!! Lol! Woo.. too funny! Nice one K!

Rather interesting news item..

LONDON, England, October 22, 2007 - Scientists have come up with a new theory on how to weaken hurricanes and steer them off course.

The theory - tested using only computer simulations so far - is not intended to kill the hurricane but to weaken it slightly, cause it to veer in a different direction, which has potentially legal and social issues.

"The social and legal issues are daunting. If a hurricane were coming towards Miami with the potential to cause damage and kill people, and we diverted it, another town or village hit by it would sue us. They'll say the hurricane is no longer an act of God, but that we caused it," Alamaro said."
(Source)

That.. could get ugly..

Another year.. another Crop Over comes and goes.. Sad to say, this year has been much more tragic than usual. First there was the incident in St. Joseph where a number of persons lost their lives and then there was the car crash which left 4 people dead.

With respect to the other festivities, I remember hearing about a shooting at a band fete and a friend reported some other disturbing activities on Kadooment day itself. To be honest, I'm just glad no one else lost their life!

For me.. Crop Over's a pretty simple period and usually consists of me attending one event - Bridgetown Market. Why only this? First.. I don't too much fancy calypso and secondly the craft and other trinkets available at this Market are really worth a gander. A great example is a man I observed who came to the market with a canvas and his pencil.. his "craft"? Well.. he would sketch any person willing to pay! And trust me, he is well worth his charge!

Other than the craft, I also enjoyed the atmosphere, it was rather jolly and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves (in a moderate manner). For food.. well.. I got my usual, some fish cakes (Bajan tradition) and of COURSE, some cotton candy (MY tradition).

Well.. that's it for Crop Over!

To all who have passed, may they rest in peace and rise in glory!  Also.. my deepest condolences to all who lost someone.

Ah Monday, the beginning of another week! To be quite frank, I'm somewhat glad to see the weekend go! It was a tooth short of a totally disappointing weekend! Everything I had planned to do, failed to "come off" and in some situations even backfired! Interestingly as well.. that was going to be my busiest weekend in a while! Had Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon & the evening planned.

Alas! Nothing happened (except Sunday evening) and I'm left to assume it was all for the best.

On the bright side of things, I got to resume my affair with Ubuntu and familiarise myself once again with the cool Beryl packages and generally, Linux's shell commands. Speaking about shell commands though, the techies of you who're familiar with Linux should definitely check out this video. In essence it demos a Text-Based YouTube Video Player for Linux. Thanks for the link Ramal!

I haven't put up anything funny in a while, but I think this makes up for it! Check this out!

Enjoy!!

Richie Spice - The world is a cycle

(8)In everything you do, remember to pray, a prayer-a-day chase the devil away(8) !!

Yesterday I got a hilarious email titled "Ya kno ya is Bajan when.." so I've put the most catchy ones below..

Ya kno ya is Bajan when...

• Cheese-on-bread aint got nuttin to do wid being hungry
• You have a bad fall and ya either lick up, break up, skin up or catspraddle
• A bread and two is not 3 breads!!!
• A cutter is not a sharp utensil
• Liming in front Cave Shepherd is a integral part a growin' up
• Yuh pun a "brasion"!! Even ef yuh only goin' tuh de beech, yuz be dress dung in bare hard gear
• Yuh doan got tuh be mystical tuh be gypsy
• Yuh just cyant guh town an' doan see someone yuh know
• When somebody call ya pun de phone and sa 'wait you still home?' or when da see ya pun de road and ask ya if ya still living
• Yuh don't have to be drinking to ask for a scotch
• You say "whappenin" even at a funeral
• If ya 'did de dawg', it has nothing to do wid a canine
• Words like 'hard' and 'bad' have 30 different meanings
• Yuh know dat 'hard wine' ain got nuttin tuh do wid liquor

And my favourite...

Ya know ya is Bajan when .. The word horn does not conjure up images of Dizzy Gillespie or Jazz music ! Lol!

Like about 70% of the world, I watched Part 1 and Part 2 and now it was time to catch Spiderman 3. Usually the flick starts around 6.30pm so, I can leave home around 6 and get in to see the movie within good time.. This Saturday however was unlike any other Saturday! Cars were backed up to get into the drive-in from soo far it was ridiculous! THEN when I finally got in, almost all the spots were gone! To be honest I was pretty frustrated however, what could I do? (I didn't feel like getting back my $ and leaving like I saw a couple other people do.)

Now.. the movie itself left much to be desired.. at times I found Peter way too cocky even before he got "infected" by the mysterious black guu. Fight scenes between himself and Venom were probably the most fun to watch. Especially since Venom is played by Topher Grace, aka Eric from one of my favourite TV shows, "That '70s Show". Overall, I give the movie a 6.5/10.. some other critics aren't so generous. Regardless of the critics thoughts OR mine though, "“Spider-Man 3,” smashed box-office records with $148 million in its first three days, according to studio estimates Sunday." (MSNBC.com) Crazy huh? Anyway I'm sure this is because: (a) it's a classic; (b) kids can watch; and (c) if you watched the first two, you can't help but watch part 3. Well.. hit up here for the official site and if you've watched it, drop me a comment, tell me what you thought!

Iraq.. May 6th: Car bombs cause 56 deaths in Iraq (FOXNews); May 7th: "Homicide Car Bombers Kill 20 Near Ramadi..", about 40 wounded.. (FOXNews)

I was so busy yesterday I forgot all about posting a review on my trip to the movies Monday night to watch the movie, Shooter. I was really out on a limb when I went to catch this flick because I didn't watch the trailer and therefore hadn't a clue what it was about (well apart from the its name). At first as I saw the plot unfolding, it seemed pretty boring and mundane, essentially, just another attack on the President's life (but this time by a sniper/shooter)... however, when I saw the *twist*, I was more than pleased!

What I also liked about this movie is that even though it did include some 'close' men+ladies situations, it didn't turn into a love-story or something driven by passion, sex etc. It stuck to the core plot and I give it full props for that. Anyway, I won't ruin it for you but I recommend it as a movie to watch.

Here is the official Shooter movie site , you can get photos, IM icons and of course see the trailer.

As today was a bank holiday some friends and I made it our business to leave our homes! The result was a day spent beach hopping, playing racket ball, some dominoes and generally chilling out. All-in-all, it was a nice day. One of the guys brought his camera so when I receive the photos I'll upload one or two for you all to see what we were up to.

Iraq / Today.. "... The attacks against the travelers began at 6:45 a.m., when gunmen took aim at a minibus, killing 11 Shiites and wounding three, as it passed near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad in a predominantly Sunni area dubbed the "Triangle of Death" because of frequent insurgent violence." (FoxNews)

I'm sure the majority of people would say that Australia had the World Cup in-the-bag from a while ago and today in Bridgetown Barbados, those thoughts were officially confirmed. "AUSTRALIA WIN ICC CWC 2007" I'm seeing on a number of web pages and news casts.. Now I don't dig cricket much but I must take my hat off to the Australians.. I believe they've gone 29 matches unbeaten (today being 29th).. and this is the third consecutive World Cup they've won. Congrats indeed! Check the official site for video, photos etc.

Iraq / Today.. "At least 58 people were killed in a car bomb attack Saturday between two Shiite shrines in the Iraqi city of Karbala, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said. The Interior Ministry called the attack, which also injured more than 100 people, a suicide bombing." (CNN)

I just was forwarded some pics of the main town in Barbados and thought I'd share the best two of them.. This is mainly for my friends who don't live in Bim.

If you would like the other photos, leave your email and I'll forward them to you, it's about 7 total.. and I must admit that they are all great shots.

Iraq / Today.. "Nine Iraqi soldiers died after suicide car bomb exploded at checkpoint; 10 soldiers and five civilians also wounded; At least five people died in earlier blast in Zamar..." (CNN)

Iraq / Yesterday.. "On Wednesday, four Iraqi police officers were killed when a suicide bomber struck a police station in the Diyala city of Balad Ruz..." (Yahoo!)

I really didn't want to post on anything Cricket World Cup related but after yesterday, I somehow feel obliged to. Today the headlines read, "Hosts West Indies were eliminated Tuesday from the semi-finals leaving four hopefuls.", "South Africa wins by 67 runs - WI now spectators" and "Lara: We are sorry".

This does not bother me so much that they lost, because everyone can't always be on top and also, I think the bitter taste of defeat at times, shocks people back to "the world of success". So.. I believe I heard WI have a test series coming up, so hopefully they perform well in that. My main issue with regards to this entire cricket "thing" is how much $$ (esp. foreign exchange) was pumped into it throughout the region (just Barbados alone, I'm seeing a figure of US $67.5 million quoted here).

Sometimes I listen to the "Brass Tax" (a popular call-in radio program), and we hear about the millions spend on refurbishing the Oval (or even the amount spent at U.W.I. Cave Hill with the 3Ws ground) and making it[the oval] "world-class" as I believe I heard a popular MC refer to it.. but, who will fill this "world-class" Oval now? As we all know, the faithful, cricket fanatics of India and Pakistan no longer have a strong reason to come to the finals (as their teams didn't get into the Super Eights), now the WI are out, so even though it's in our own countries, no real need to "go to the Oval/Grounds to support the boys"- as the "boys" will not be playing (and you can probably catch the match free on TV, and we all know: TV has good replays! )!

Now, if the little I know about tourism is correct, people from England make up quite a bit of visitors to Bim.. Hmm.. but England don't seem to be making it pass the Super Eights either! Not only this but in general, there has been buzz that "normal tourist" are avoiding the Caribbean to avoid any possible confusion caused by Cricket World Cup (CWC). So.. that's even less people right?

Cricket approximation figures seem to be constantly jumping around and here I'm seeing 25,000 being the current estimation for visitors to Bim. Even though... a good set of a these seem to be lodging on Cruise liners (which I thought were all-inclusive shops i.e. no need to buy anything here).

Anyway, it's time for me to leave this cricket thing and expenditure thing to the "experts". I feel sorry for those people who (under advisement) borrowed money to build additions to their homes to help "accommodate" the then-expected 75,000 visitors.. Hey wait! I just remembered that there's a bright side!! Arawak Cement plant hit a record in local sales due to the various construction projects related to CWC! (Ref) ... *shakes head*

Well Billy had told me about his new single (named Champions) and I even had tuned to 96.9 the morning he was on air at its debut, however only yesterday I got a chance to really listen to it. This was partly due to a friend reminding me and also the 1/2 page write up in the Friday Newspaper! (The Heat.)

Now.. my "review".. hmm.. it's somewhat of a "jiggy" track.. reminds me a bit of "Big Pimping - Jayz".. As usual with Kincaid's music I like MOST of the lyrics except (in this case) the constant mention of Rum and "trail load of girls".. (for some reason I think most people include lyrics about girls just to make the song catchy and relate to the 'playa' in all of us! Not sure if this is the case here..)

However, when I look pass that vibe, it's a true Bajan/West Indian track! I honestly love to hear music that I can relate to lyrically-wise and Kincaid does it every time. Whether it's about the white sand (I remember the BROWN sand I saw in UK on their "beaches".. ew!), the "slamming dom(inoe)s" -always a favourite of us islanders-, the white ladies ... (lol, that part is soo funny), not sure about "everyday being a holiday" though.. !

All in all though, nicely done Kincaid, because it's a jiggy track, you can listen to it a couple times at once.. I think right now, this is the 10th time I've played it for the morning..!

Oh, by the way, want to hear the track? Check out Billy's Official site. The track automatically beginnings to play. Enjoy!

At some point, we all were kids... so some of us would've experienced the following...

Lol. Funny? Yes .. however, somehow I doubt that cameras are allowed at school.. That's probably why one can see some guys on the lookout at the window and door of the classroom.. Then again though.. what's the sense being on lookout if you're going to post the vid (which clearly identifies the participants) on youtube for "the world" (possibly including teachers) to see? Anyway... Funny? Yes!

Thanks for this link Di.

Hmm... this post is just to serve as a little note that "98.1 The One" seems to have given up their original site i.e. http://www.981theone.com/ for a spot that more falls under the CBC web site. So if you're like me and have the site there bookmarked, you'll probably want to replace it with this link.

Enjoy! This is especially for you Bajan folk studying overseas.

Ah so, Thursday was my birthday and as is customary, I went to dinner! This time I tried out the Lukcy Horse Shoe. All in all the food was pretty ok, there was a refreshing live band as well so that kept the night interesting.

The highlight of the night however was the burger I ordered. For some reason I had to have the most expensive burger on the list... and that was the Hulk Burger, a 12oz choice ground chuck steak. My My My.. that... was... huge. The burger easily dwarfed the sesame bun, "no joke!". I tried to catch a picture of it, and that is what you see there to the right.

To finish off the night (btw, I didn't eat all of the burger, it was simply .. too much.. with that the fries, some wings, fishcakes, salad.. it just was too much), I had a Lucky Cocktail called a Three Wishes. It... wasn't all that great but it was sweet while it lasted. (You should note, of course I was NOT driving.)

All in all, a great night out! A good way to close out #24 celebrations.

Today was a pretty cool day indeed! Why? Well mainly because of two reasons...

1) I finally dragged myself down to my mobile phone service provider and signed up for Internet access on my phone and;

2) Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 AT West Ham. Goals coming from the in-form Dirk Kuyt and also the robot man, Peter Crouch. This win puts Liverpool within two points of second place Chelsea.

Ok but enough about football, I HAVE the net on my phone!! How cool is that! Since I got home, I've been trying stuff out and I already have a nice listing of (mobile) Bookmarks. If you're looking to get this done as well, the cost is 26c/day for Card customers and (I THINK) $8/month for Bill phones. (Oh and of course this is the rate for my service provider i.e. C and W. I'm not sure about the Digi rates but if you desire I may be able to check those upon your request.)

Also worth noting is that after the lady tinkered with and handed me back my phone (it is set up while you wait), she told me it should be on in about an hour. This... is relative I guess, but probably she was being a bit generous with the time... because I still could not access any sites for about 2 hours after. Of course by then I was beginning to get a bit... disappointed but what I did next was to turn off my phone for about an hour then when I turned it back on, I got the GPRS little icon on my screen and I was "cooking with gas" (i.e. it was working).

So in a nutshell I suggest you wait for about an hour (or whatever time the CSR suggests) then turn off your phone for 30mins and then turn it back on. Hopefully that should do the trick! You can always use www.jasonnurse.com to test it out, I won't mind at all.

Anyway, so thus far I've hit a number of sites including the just mentioned www.jasonnurse.com. Truth be told however, I don't like how it's displayed. Therefore, I actually think I'm going to reconsider that design or probably try to implement a WAP/mobile site. As for this blog site.. it doesn't show at all, I believe this is because there is simply too much content on the page to display on my 1.2" x 1.5" screen.

Ok, so I'm done commenting on that for now but I hope to take some pics and show you how stuff looks on the phone.

Well tomorrow is a holiday in Barbados compliments to The National Hero, Errol Barrow. For the weekend I haven't been on the PC hence why the posting been a bit slow but since tomorrow is a holiday I'm sure to get something in!

A great thing about this weekend thus far though is that Liverpool FC, MY FOOTBALL CLUB!, beat Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday! Congrats guys congrats! I'm rather proud!

Well I'm gone for now, would like to get a dvd or 2 in tonight..

Well, no posts either Saturday or Sunday, quite a shocker for me really..

For some reason, this weekend, I wasn't really "at my pc" as usual at all. I watched that disgusting Liverpool / Arsenal FA Cup game (Pool got beaten 3-1 at home.. frustrating!) here using an online TV. Then I got frustrated again with some CSS and AJAX, so I just retired to watch tele.

After tele was the 'now standard' Saturday LLP soccer, then after that more tele! Sunday was kinda the same but this time I didn't even touch my pc! That's the first time in monnthsss I haven't been on it. Instead I enjoyed some dvds and feel asleep after the LLP soccer to some episodes of CSI.

And now Monday morning has arrived, Christmas is officially over and "Happy New Year" is outdated! So have a blessed week everyone!

OH wait, I forgot to say; 'Congrats' to Billy Kincaid for winning the Best Rap / Hip-Hop Single Award at the Barbados Music Awards. Good show mate, good show!

Not that it interest me much but Tonight the 2007 Barbados Music Awards kicks off at the Wildey Gym.. The best bajan artists will be there including the now 'infamous' teen star, Rihanna. (And again for those guys I met in UK who thought Sean Paul was from Barbados, he is from Jamaica, thus, won't be attending! *snicker*)

BUT, the reason for this post though is not to highlight that event but to send my best wishes to my pal Billy Kincaid as he's been nominated for Best Rap / Hip-Hop Single and also, Best Collaboration. I hope you do well kid.

PS. If you want to hear the song Billy's been nominated for (i.e. Billy Kincaid & Gabby - We Live On), check his site, you can scroll to the song in the music player. Enjoy!

The WWW is a beautiful thing. Today's multi-featured cell phones are a beautiful thing. Combined... *sniff they make me want to shed a tear!

Ok Ok, moving on from that, today I had the pleasure of browsing the WWW on a friend's cell phone and to be quite honest, I marveled at that capability. I checked Nation news, MSN, Sports news... and for the fun of it http://jasonnurse.com . Surprisingly, my site doesn't look too too bad on the small screen of the mobile. The graphic on the main page was shrunk quite nicely (even though illegible) and the content displayed great (with the exception of a lack of color and a questionable CSS application).

Seeing this in action and well, because I'm "technology-oriented", I can't wait to see how viable it is for me to sign up for the browsing capability on my phone. By viable here, I mostly mean the service cost as luckily my phone is Web-reaDy. So far I've heard $8 Bds a month and 26c a day.. I have no clue which is correct but I dread calling the 1-800 customer service number to confirm. I can't handle the million rings or the 10th-rate music.

Any of you know for sure, just let me know, it'll be greatly appreciated.

And, for you non-Bajan persons reading, yes... in Barbados, browsing the WWW on your phone is still 'novel' and hardly to be taken for granted.

Now I think about it though, I understand why while doing my MSc in the UK that so much emphasis was being place by lecturers and research community on the adaptation of content for small devices. Why check news online (from your pc) or sit and watch the news, when you can use your mobile 24-7 to check it out? See... The... Future!

Happy New Year! and God's richest blessings for 2007!

Oh and for the New Year, I just spent it pretty quiet. Went to church, came home watched a bit of tele, got a nap then went to watch the sunrise with a few mates.

Actually, as opposed to just talking about it, I'll do you one better, below I've included some of the photos I took... enjoy!
 

Much thanks to 'the driver'.

I just checked the website and prices at the Olympus for those (adult) evening (after 6pm I think?) shows will be $15 as of December 27th 2006 (NB. $15 to watch 1 movie). Well... that looks like more drive-in for me with their unbeatable $10 for 2 movies.

Interestingly though the VIP prices for that cinema haven't gone up (as yet) ... they are still at $20, and from what I hear, the atmosphere seems pretty much worth it. On the down side though, all shows aren't shown in VIP as Antonio reminded me of late.

Well, I guess we'll see!

Ah, Christmas and Ole Yrs are soo close now... I wonder what people will be doing, I for one have no clue yet but I know a church service is in there somewhere, . Other than that thus far I've been invited to Baje.. and told "I had to go out" by another friend of mine.. We'll see!

Oh and I've just posted the 'what will you be doing' question on tech-barbados, so I'll be looking out for some responses to see what these Bajan folks will be up to.

So it's a Monday morning and you just got to work, what do you need? A good laugh!

Just sit back, grab something to drink, watch and enjoy. I did!

lol, What can I say but... beautifully done Javon, Stickman and Posh! I give you an easy 10.0!

Just got home watching the new 00 (BEFORE its official release date - 17th November - I might add! ) and it was... pretty nice. Casino Royale starring the new James Bond definitely was another classic Bond with M, some tough scenes, flashy car, near-death experiences etc. Two things that was left out though were 1) the lack of "cool gadgets"... that was a slight let down. Believe it or not, I think his car this time was only a car.. :\ no rocket launcher, no push-the-red-button-and-make-it-a-submarine, nothing.. And 2) I don't remember hearing the James Bond theme anywhere in the movie, even at the end... (I could be mistaken about the end as I left kinda quick.)

Ways, in general, I'd say an 8.5/10, even though James got his but kicked by that guy in the beginning scene. Then again, that guy was PRETTY HIGH-CLASS, he had the guys in the audience going wild (myself included)!

OH, and this is a Sony Production so I guess this makes up a bit for the Open Season and Zoom which I spoke about here.

For the trailer, you can check the official site.

Ah, just got back from my sister's graduation ceremony which now makes her an official graduate of the Barbados Community College (BCC)! All in all the ceremony wasn't too bad, a couple speeches, addresses etc. you know how it goes.

One of the main points of the ceremony though, stressed by almost all the speakers, was that BCC can pride itself on usually capturing the most Barbados Scholarship and Exhibition prizes. All of you that are from Barbados would know that this is now a "standard" as secondary schools just can't catch up to BCC.

BUT ALAS! Here comes the big question, will this continue to be so after this year? The reason I ask is because the Ministry of Education has made it "a bit" harder to get Barbados Scholarships, especially at the BCC. NOW, instead of the award of a scholarship going to students who get a GPA of 3.8 to 4.0 (4.0 being the highest), the Ministry has made it such that to get a scholarship, YOU HAVE TO GET a GPA of 4.0 (Ref: HEAT newspaper Issue #49 Pg 3). Now... I not too too bright, but I believe this means... all an impeccable academic record.

As I glossed over the ceremony booklet I was given at the door, this year, only 1 person (out of the 6 scholarship winners) got a GPA of 4.0 (Congrats to that person I might add, Well done Mam!). But then again... I guess making the criteria a 4.0 is the way to go, as having 15 scholarship winners and numerous exhibition winners could signals that things might be "too easy" and also may act to draw away some of the prestige for the awards. (Here I must say that I'm sure that getting between 3.8 & 4.0 is no piece of cake however, it seems to be the opinion that this mark is now "too easy" to attain.)

Ah well... students at BCC (and all secondary schools as the criteria for them has been increased as well), all I can say is study hard, do your best and God will do the rest! ... Luckily my sister and I are past that college/secondary school stage... *PHEWWWWW!

And today the newspaper headlines read: "THERE ARE NEW KINGS of schools cricket in Barbados as The Lodge School (*bup *Bup) took the fight to seven-time champions Combermere who just could not get up and on and surrendered their title" (Ref)

Much respect due to The Lodge lads for finally getting rid of .. that.. other... "institution" (*heh).

You've made an 'old scholar' proud!

PS. To the right there is a photo of the celebrations (if you didn't guess already).

The Marine - 5.5/10 (although not "all that" when considering some parts of John Cena's acting..)

Gridiron Gang - 7.5/10 .. Touching stuff.. At first I didn't like it because it seemed a lot like Longest Yard, however, its a nice picture and also, is inspired by a true story. Between us... I almost shed a tear.. :\, but, that's JUST between us...

This weekend, Bim has some serious entertainment going on.

First, Saturday has this Sunset Jam thing with Damian Marley, Baby Cham (please don't make the mistake I did and type in babycham.com ...) and Coco Tea performing. And as Damian Marley is still pretty much "it" now and Baby Cham put out an album earlier this year, it probably will be worth it (depending on which ticket you get of course, ie $50, $60, $125BDS - cost/benefit analysis!).

On Sunday, there's the Miss Barbados Universe 2007 show to complete the weekend. Want to read a bit more on the contestants? (or if you're not from Barbados,.. want to see what Barbados has to offer? ) Check here and have a quick peek.

I honestly doubt I'll be making it to any of these shows so don't look out for reviews. . However, if you do attend and would like to post your thoughts in the Comments for this post, please, feel free, I'm sure they will be appreciated.

Have you seen the front page of today's Nation newspaper? I think you should have a quick look here.

Yes, that's right another girl doing the now infamous "dutty wuk". But this is not new so why did I dedicate an additional post to it? ... Because, finally it has been documented (Ref- See front page of today's Nation newspaper and the continuation on page 4) that persons are actually dying from doing this dance! A dance I might add, which some night clubs (no name, no blame, no lockup) seem to promote (with competitions and prizes and such).

So in summary, girls, please, it is not cool, you can seriously injure yourself while doing this "rhythmic, rapid spinning of the neck and posterior simultaneously in opposite directions" (as The Nation describes it). And, like that 18-year-old girl they mentioned in the aforementioned article, you can die from the injuries sustained doing the dance. Now tell me, you would like to die from doing a dance? .. Really? Then again, I'm sure you will be remembered....... or not.

If persons don't take this seriously, someone (or organisation) with the authority may have to intervene and put a "ban" on this dance (not sure how they'll do/implement that one) and possibly also stop the the song from being played on the radio. I figure it'll take probably 1 person in Bim to die doing this dance and then, the "public" will start to speak... But won't that be 1 person too late?

(For those of you who've never seen the dance (if indeed that set of people exists), you can go to YouTube and do a search for "dutty wine" and watch a video or two to be educated on how... "unique" (for lack of a better word) this dance is.)

Well folks, sorry for the lack of posts today but between the electricity being "off" island-wide from like ~7 to ~12 (ball park times), Champions League from 3:30-6:00 (Yes, Liverpool won 3-0 ) and me doing some work, I haven't had time to blog at all.

One thing I wanted to touch on though was the hint that the ISLAND-WIDE power outage seemed to be linked to a... monkey? (nb. not 100% caused by a monkey) (Ref - CBC Evening News). That's... interesting.. however, before I comment any further, I think I'll wait until the newspaper does a little report and then I'll speak a bit further as I see necessary.

Firstly, for those of you that don't know, I'm a Christian. Ya sike? Good. Now onto the posT...

Lately, I've received about 4 invites with the subject "Join me on christianvibes.com". These invites have come from persons whom I consider are pretty legit and serious about their faith. So I browsed to the site to see this thing for myself.

When I got there, it honestly looked like a good site, no banners, no ads and it even gives pictures of its members, WITHOUT one logging in or anything. BUT, with pictures and emails and all this other documentation it holds on its members, surely there must be some Privacy Policy link... Hmm.. I don't see one. BUT, probably one can check the About Us link to find out more about this place/site/online community... Hmm.. I don't see one.

Ok Ok, enough with the fluff, now to the meat of this post.

ChristianVibes is one of the online networking sites, belonging to a Jamaican-based company called Vibesnetwork (Ref). This fact in itself is cool, a regional company doing their thing, great! BUT the interesting thing to me comes about when I find out that Vibesnetwork also own another networking site called SmutVibes. Upon browsing to this site (please don't do it at work), you'll see at the bottom some links for porn sites. Yes, that's correct, Porn Sites. Also, if you were to just skim through the slide show they have there on the main site, you'll see some rather, .. "questionable" photos (aka people in the nude - partially or entirely). Remember, I haven't even logged in, this stuff is viewable by the public at large.

Now I ask, Christians, is this cool with you? Are you willing to subscribe with a site that is run by people who support porn etc. etc.? It's surely NOT OK with me. I'll be giving that one a miss.

Also, one may want to research BigChurch.com, another Christian network site, before you take the plunge there as well. ;It has