Aquila Online

27Dinner Cape Town Video

// April 28th, 2007 // 5 Comments » // Geek Dinners

Another 27dinner has come and gone and it was awesome. Apart from the rain and miserably cold weather, it was hot and happening at the Cape Town Hotel School. Excellent speakers, fantastic company, great food and Stormhoek!! Need we say more.

Victoire and I are going to make the most of the sun today, so no time for posting all the pictures. However, here’s a little something to whet the appetite a bit.

A video montage of some of the pictures taken last night is available (after the jump) at the home grown video sharing site, Zoopy for your viewing pleasure.

**Updated: had to include the jump as the video was eating a lot of visitors’ bandwidth… Enjoy!

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Brace Yourself Cape Town

// April 24th, 2007 // 7 Comments » // Geek Dinners, Photos

Gosh, 27dinner Cape Town is almost upon us and we haven’t even packed our bags yet. Yes, yes, Victoire and I will be flying down to Cape Town to represent Jozi at the next meeting, and in the process have a bit of a holiday as well. So if you’re keen to meet up while we’re down in the Mother city, drop me a line and we’ll arrange something.

Due to the overwhelming response, Dave mentioned that the venue has been moved to the Cape Town Hotel School (pictured above) in Mouille point. Luckily I hosted a corporate launch function there last October, so I definitely won’t get lost. Obviously I’m not taking chances, so the Garmin Nuvi is coming along in any event.

Just a few notes on the Cape Town Hotel School though. The view is absolutely stunning. I mean where else do you find a car park with a view of the ocean on the one side and a view of Table Mountain on the other? Certainly not in Jozi, that’s for sure.

If your timing is right, you may just spot a whale or two, guarded by research vessels such as the Sardinops, while paddle ski maniacs enthusiasts tear up some waves, under the bright light of the moon. Maybe you’re just wishing that you could sail away into the sunset.

So full steam ahead to Cape Town for what is going to be a whirlwind experience.

Oh and Graham if you’re reading this. Put some of your finest on ice for us, we’re on our way.

PS: The full set of pictures taken at the Cape Town Hotel School in October is up on my Flickr page.

**Cue cheesy credits music from Chantal Kreviazuk…“We’re leaving on a jet plane…”

Groenkloof Nature Reserve Pictures

// April 19th, 2007 // 11 Comments » // Photos

For those of you who aren’t subscribed to the Aquila Online Flickr picture feed yet (yes, I’m talking to you), why not pop over there now to have a look at my recent visit to the Groenkloof Nature Reserve.

I would love to hear your comments.

A Cave For Bookworms

// April 18th, 2007 // 4 Comments » // Weird

This one is for all the bookworms out there who ever wished that they could just hide away in a secluded space with a good pageturner.

Introducing the bookcase CAVE from Sakura Adachi.

“A bookcase CAVE provides a private reading space within its form. As the seat height is just above the floor, it gives a feeling of hiding from others standing around it.”

It is made from Maple Wood Veneer, gray fabric upholstery and even features a LED reading light. At 9,000.00 Euro including shipping cost, this is definitely not a cheap ‘gadget’, and they don’t even ship outside of Europe.

What Is Your Viewpoint

// April 17th, 2007 // 7 Comments » // Interesting, Photos

We went for a day hike in the Groenkloof nature reserve a week or so ago, and I must tell you I can still feel the burn in my calves. There’s a definite difference between gym fit and actually taking on a few hours worth of hiking.

Anyway, I will post some more pictures up on my Flickr page soon.

On the trail, we came across this sign post, indicating the location of a scenic viewpoint.

Now, some people will see that the sign depicts holding a pair of binoculars (however the placement of the thumbs is quite odd). But this is where it gets interesting….

You may see something else? So this is the question, what is it that you see in the picture? What is your viewpoint?

In other news, HSBC (yes, the bank) created a website called Your Point of View – a place where you can voice your thoughts and feelings.

According to the site:

“In a world of increasing sameness, we believe it’s important to value different points of view and there should be somewhere everyone can air these views and see the views of others.”

It has some interesting polls, a topic of the week and some multi-media content. Well worth a visit if you have to kill some time.