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Today's quotable quote: Ambrose Bierce: Egotist: a person more interested in himself than in me.

This day in history: 04 February 2026: Karen Carpenter Dies of Anorexia-Related Heart Failure (1983). Anorexia nervosa was a little-known disorder during Carpenter's life, but her death brought it lasting media attention. Performing alongside her brother Richard as half of the Carpenters duo, she had become a successful pop singer in the 1970s. Behind the scenes, however, her obsessive dieting and extreme weight fluctuations took a toll on her health, straining her heart. She succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 32.


The Vintage

Fair point tbh, 10 January 2026

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Fair point tbh


The Vintage

I'd be afraid of tomatoes, too, 06 January 2026

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I'd be afraid of tomatoes, too



Home - Outeniqua Choo Tjoe

outeniquachootjoe.com, 29 October 2025

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Please watch this site for news about Classic Rails’s project to return steam trains to South Africa's Garden Route.




Klepetan and Malena - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org, 14 October 2025

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Klepetan and Malena were a pair of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) who became renowned in Croatia for their romantic endeavors. Between 2001 and 2021, Klepetan traveled from South Africa to Brodski Varoš, Croatia, each spring to mate with Malena, who was unable to travel due to a gunshot injury. On ...


The Vintage

Woah #fblifestyle, 02 October 2025

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Woah #fblifestyle


A Brief History of the Minimoog Part I

youtube.com, 23 September 2025

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Follow the life of the Minimoog Synthesizer from its inception through its prolific contributions to poplular music throughout the last 4 decades.In this fir...



Physics wins, hydrogen cars lose

medium.com, 24 July 2025

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How many times have we heard that hydrogen-powered cars are “the future”? Well, that future has been collapsing like a house of cards for a…


The Vintage

In South Portland, Maine, a group of parents sparked a quiet revolution by replacing smartphones with landlines for their kids. Concerned about the effects of constant screen time, they formed a “landline pod,” where children use home phones to call one another, plan playdates, and have real conversations—no texting, no apps, no distractions. The result? Kids building confidence, empathy, and stronger social skills through simple, meaningful connection. What began as one mother’s creative idea has grown into a neighborhood movement that’s bringing back the lost art of talking., 20 July 2025

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In South Portland, Maine, a group of parents sparked a quiet revolution by replacing smartphones with landlines for their kids. Concerned about the effects of constant screen time, they formed a “landline pod,” where children use home phones to call one another, plan playdates, and have real conversations—no texting, no apps, no distractions. The result? Kids building confidence, empathy, and stronger social skills through simple, meaningful connection. What began as one mother’s creative idea has grown into a neighborhood movement that’s bringing back the lost art of talking.



Frogsicles: Frozen But Still Alive

youtube.com, 05 July 2025

0

The wood frog's body makes its own anti-freeze that allows it to survive the winter. The secret ingredient? You'll never guess.From: CRAZY MONSTER FROGShttp:...


Contact details

Dion Truter

Work: map2tech, Unit 186, Block F, Millennium Business Park, 19 Edison Way, Century City, 7441

082 389 2834

contact7@truter.org

https://map2tech.com/

In the news

Wood polymer gives thermal paper an eco-friendly makeover: Scientists have already learned how to make helmets, batteries, and even sports cars from wood, so applying it to something like thermal paper might not sound that exciting. Posted on 01 February 2026.

British Army aims to pair Apaches with autonomous wingman drones: The British Army is pushing the concept of the Loyal Wingman combat drone into new territory as Project NYX, with the help of seven industry partners, looks to develop a rotary drone that can work in concert with the Apache AH-64E attack helicopter. Posted on 04 February 2026.

Kash Patel Creating Tension With Mexico Because He Can’t Shut The Fuck Up On Social Media: Kash Patel, FBI Director, is not very good at his job. Posted on 04 February 2026.


Cape Town weather

5 day forecast

  • Wed 04: few clouds

    21 ° - 26 ° Wind 5 km/h / Clouds 20 %
  • Thu 05: light rain

    20 ° - 25 ° Wind 7 km/h / Clouds 16 %
  • Fri 06: few clouds

    19 ° - 24 ° Wind 8 km/h / Clouds 17 %
  • Sat 07: broken clouds

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 6 km/h / Clouds 80 %
  • Sun 08: light rain

    19 ° - 22 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 40 %

See next two weeks

News (continued)

How I Get Free Traffic from ChatGPT in 2025 (AIO vs SEO): Three weeks ago, I tested something that completely changed how I think about organic traffic. Posted on 04 December 2025.

Three early-career professors win NSF development awards: Cornell researchers studying microplastics, robotics and machine learning are recent recipients of National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Awards. Posted on 29 January 2026.

: Posted on 01 January 1970.

Elon Musk calls Spanish PM a ‘tyrant’ over plan to ban under-16s from social media and curb hateful content: Pedro Sánchez says urgent action needed to protect children from ‘digital wild west’, drawing anger from owner of XSpain has proposed a ban on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against the technology, drawing personal insults against the prime minister from Elon Musk. Posted on 04 February 2026.

Nasa delays moon rocket launch by a month after fuel leaks during test: Artemis II mission was due to begin as early as next week and astronauts have spent almost two weeks in quarantineNasa has postponed its historic mission to send astronauts around the moon and back again, after issues arose during a critical test of its most powerful rocket yet. Posted on 04 February 2026.

Microsoft and ServiceNow's exploitable agents reveal a growing - and preventable - AI security crisis: Once deployed on corporate networks, AI agents can become every threat actor's fantasy. Posted on 04 February 2026.

Vast seagrass meadows will shield coastline: Trials to restore the saltwater plant to the Humber Estuary are hugely encouraging, experts say. Posted on 04 February 2026.

China bans hidden car door handles, which can trap people after crashes: China has introduced new regulations, starting in 2027, requiring all car doors to open manually from both sides. Posted on 03 February 2026.

‘Don Colossus,’ a Golden Statue of President Trump, Waits for Its Home: A group of cryptocurrency investors backing a memecoin hopes the statue will soon be installed at one of Mr. Posted on 04 February 2026.

UBS profits rise on cost savings from Credit Suisse takeover: . Posted on 04 February 2026.

NASA Eyes March Artemis II Launch After Hydrogen Leaks Delay Moon Mission: The agency did not complete a practice countdown for a flight that would be the first to send people around the moon in more than 50 years. Posted on 04 February 2026.

The risks of AI in schools outweigh the benefits, report says: A new report warns that AI poses a serious threat to children's cognitive development and emotional well-being. Posted on 14 January 2026.

Netflix says users can cancel service if HBO Max merger makes it too expensive: There is concern that subscribers might be negatively affected if Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Posted on 04 February 2026.

Say Hello To GoogleSQL: BrianFagioli writes: Google has quietly retired the ZetaSQL name and rebranded its open source SQL analysis and parsing project as GoogleSQL. Posted on 04 February 2026.

China’s humanoid robots are gaining ground – but they’re not there yet: The U.S. and China are racing to build humanoid robots capable of performing many daily tasks – but the complexity of home and business environments makes that challenging. Posted on 29 August 2025.

'Textbooks will need to be updated': Jupiter is smaller and flatter than we thought, Juno spacecraft reveals: Jupiter is smaller and flatter than scientists previously thought, new measurements of the gas giant reveal. Posted on 04 February 2026.


Some of the tech in my workday

Best programming language?

The PYPL PopularitY of Programming Language Index is created by analyzing how often language tutorials are searched on Google.

The TIOBE Programming Community index measures popularity based on the number of skilled engineers world-wide, courses, third party vendors and search engine activity.

w3techs analyses page content to determine the technology used, and also uses publicly available information from sources such as Alexa, Google, Microsoft and ipinfo.io.

While Java and Python top the popularity charts, more than 80% of all websites run on PHP.


Longer term weather forecast

Cape Town weather

  • Wed 04: few clouds

    21 ° - 26 ° Wind 5 km/h / Clouds 20 %
  • Thu 05: light rain

    20 ° - 25 ° Wind 7 km/h / Clouds 16 %
  • Fri 06: few clouds

    19 ° - 24 ° Wind 8 km/h / Clouds 17 %
  • Sat 07: broken clouds

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 6 km/h / Clouds 80 %
  • Sun 08: light rain

    19 ° - 22 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 40 %
  • Mon 09: sky is clear

    18 ° - 25 ° Wind 8 km/h / Clouds 4 %
  • Tue 10: sky is clear

    19 ° - 26 ° Wind 6 km/h / Clouds 1 %
  • Wed 11: sky is clear

    19 ° - 27 ° Wind 6 km/h / Clouds 1 %
  • Thu 12: light rain

    18 ° - 21 ° Wind 11 km/h / Clouds 73 %
  • Fri 13: light rain

    17 ° - 19 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 86 %
  • Sat 14: sky is clear

    17 ° - 23 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 1 %
  • Sun 15: sky is clear

    18 ° - 26 ° Wind 5 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Mon 16: broken clouds

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 7 km/h / Clouds 55 %
  • Tue 17: broken clouds

    18 ° - 21 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 80 %
  • Wed 18: scattered clouds

    18 ° - 25 ° Wind 7 km/h / Clouds 33 %
  • Thu 19: sky is clear

    19 ° - 25 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 1 %