Author: KokkieH

On unwanted correspondence

I went to fetch our mail from the post office this morning.  When I opened our post office box (as usual for a moment feeling like Alice sticking that very small key into that very small door) I found something terrible inside:

A POST OFFICE BOX RENEWAL FORM!

It’s terrible.  Don’t they know that I’m having a hard enough time of it as it is?  Now the stupid post office is adding to the pressure, asking me questions to which I simply do not have the answer.  Don’t they understand?  I just don’t know if I need to renew my PO Box for next year or if I need to cancel it.

I’m still waiting to hear about that job, you see.  And yesterday I was a bit of an idiot and, on a whim, checked on their Facebook page where I saw a post stating that the meeting where they will decide who to appoint would be last night.  Needless to say, I’ve been staring at the phone the whole day, willing it to ring.  Going to the post office was an excuse to get out of the house and clear my head a bit.  Yeah, that helped.

Actually, I blame my sister-in-law.  If she didn’t message me on WhatsApp to ask whether I’ve heard anything yet I would never have visited their Facebook page, which means I wouldn’t have needed to clear my head, which means I wouldn’t have gone to the post office, which means I would have been blissfully unaware of that evil form lying safely locked away behind a miniature lock in my post office box.

Giant post box Calvinia, South Africa
For when you have really long letters to post…

Speaking of post boxes, did you know the world’s biggest post box is in South Africa?  It’s in a town called Calvinia and is almost seven metres tall.  The first post box in South Africa was an old boot buried under a milk wood tree in what’s today Mossel Bay.  Now there’s a real post box under the tree…shaped like a shoe.

On greener grass and all that…

Let’s be honest:  at one time or another we all buy into the myth that the grass is greener on the other side.  If that wasn’t so people wouldn’t keep on changing jobs, homes, towns, partners, countries.  We’re always looking out for something better.  But once in a while something happens that reminds us that what we have maybe isn’t all that bad.  I’ve been feeling that way this week as I watched developments abroad.

Warning: this post will be taking a tongue-in-cheek look at the US government shutdown from an outsider’s perspective.  If that is a sore topic, you’re a flaming patriot, or if anything that seems to disagree with your views causes your brain to shut down, I suggest you stop reading.  My regular commenters are a decent lot, but if you’re new here you might want to check out the about page and comment policy first. Continue reading “On greener grass and all that…”

On Facebook and panicky status updates – A Parody

If you’re on Facebook, you’ll probably know exactly what I’m talking about.  Please share.

Facebook has made a change to Graph Search! COPY AND PASTE THIS TO YOUR WALL so everyone knows how it works and your News Feed doesn’t again get flooded by idiotic messages on how Facebook is making your personal information searchable to anyone in the world!

The new feature allows you to search for key words in comments and status updates. However, YOU WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO FIND INFORMATION THAT HAS BEEN SHARED WITH YOU, i.e. public posts or posts by your friends. If you don’t want your posts to turn up in Graph Search, DON’T POST THEM PUBLICLY, but change your post settings to “Friends Only” or “Private”. Of course, not posting things online in the first place also helps to keep them private and unsearchable.

To find out more about Graph Search (like what it actually is and how it works), click here:
https://www.facebook.com/help/558823080813217
http://mashable.com/2013/09/30/facebook-graph-search-conversations/

To find out how to manage your privacy settings, click on the gear-icon top-right of your screen, go to ‘Help’ and read the articles under ‘Privacy’.

To find out more about search privacy specifically, click here:
https://www.facebook.com/help/468080906543413/

Share this with all your friends and stop the circulation of idiotic panicky messages on our Facebook walls!!!!!!!

You think I’m being silly?  I prefer to call it a pre-emptive strike.  Hey, it’s worth a try.

Song Title Challenge #18: Swing Life Away – Rise Against

It’s time for this week’s Song Title Challenge.

Write a short piece of fiction, around 300 words, using the song title as your story title but don’t listen to the song.  You can pick your own genre or use the one suggested to me.  Remember to link back to this post so I can find yours.

If you would like to suggest a song title for a future post, you can do so from the challenge page.  You can also leave a suggestion on the Facebook page.

This week’s song is Swing Life Away by Rise Against and the genre is Crime/Mystery.  Thanks to Anna from The Insanity Aquarium for the suggestion.

Swing Life Away

Continue reading “Song Title Challenge #18: Swing Life Away – Rise Against”

KokkieH Reviews Secrets of Inferno – In the Footsteps of Dante and Dan Brown by Dan Burstein and Arne de Keijzer

Review based on free ebook received from the publisher (and in fact my first-ever read-to-review).

Secret of Inferno cover
Jacket design by Barbara Aronica-Buck
Copyright © 2013 by Squibnocket Partners LLC
Used with permission

Secrets of Inferno is a reader’s guide to the journey Dan Brown took us all on in Inferno.  The book gives readers the “back story” on particular plot points, Dante references, symbols, historical events, philosophy, art, music, and architectural works that Brown wrapped into his story.  It is also an intellectually enriching, intriguing, fresh and fun look at Dante, the Divine Comedy, the world of ideas circulating in Florence on the cusp of the Renaissance, and the relevance of those ideas to our lives and our world today.  In addition, the book turns to some of the leading experts in their field to address some of Inferno’s more provocative notions, including transhumanism and population control. – Book description from publisher’s website.

Dan Burstein and Arne de Keijzer have been unearthing the facts behind Dan Brown’s fiction since 2004 when their first book in the Secrets-series, Secrets of the Code, spent six months on the New York Times bestseller list.  I have not read any of their previous offerings, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading Secrets of Inferno in which they analyse Dan Brown’s Inferno (read my review of that novel here) which came out in May of this year. Click here to read more. As it’s non-fiction you don’t have to worry about spoilers