Sigh, I knew this was coming.

1) I used to be fairly fluent in Latin. Before you ask, no, I didn't learn it because I wanted to study law or have some kind of springboard into the Romantic languages. I just found it very interesting. Unfortunately, I haven't kept up on it, and it's faded somewhat.

2) My only major fear is that of spiders. I was fine with them until I watched Arachnophobia as a small child. The phobia wasn't helped much when I was bitten by a Black Widow in my sleep about two years ago. Very nearly lost my leg to Cellulitis as a result. We never found the spider :|

3) I've always wanted to fly. The dream started with a fixed wing fascination, and has since evolved into an all-consuming passion for helicopters. I would have joined the air force straight out of school, but bad eyesight put paid to that. Getting a commercial licence without financial backing is prohibitively expensive, but it'll happen one day.

4) I managed to go for 22 years without breaking any bones. I broke that record in style, with a cracked skull and broken nose. I was mugged in a dodgy part of town, and full of vim, vigour, and Dutch courage, I fought back. Outnumbered two-to-one, the results were predictable. I got a discarded beer bottle to the face (despite what movies may have taught us, beer bottles are very hard to break - my head lost the battle), that resulted in a very tense night waiting for a brain specialist to get back from her Easter holiday. Traumatic as it was, there was no lasting damage, and I now have a Rich Gallup-style scar through my eyebrow - chicks dig it :D

5) I've travelled quite extensively over the years, visiting countries in South America, Europe, and Asia. I have a huge soft spot for Thailand (I was there when the tsunami hit), and have been there three times. My latest trip was to Greece last year to watch my team (Liverpool) in the Champions League final. They lost, but it still tops my list of best experiences ever.

I'm going to be a real stick in the mud, and not tag anyone else - partly because I hate chain mail type things, but mostly because I reckon most of the people on my friends list have already been tagged.

Part 2 can be found here.

The famous, the infamous; the noble, the ignoble; the hero, the villain. Ernesto "Che" Guevara is known as many things to many people, yet it seems the generation that has most readily adopted his image know the least about him. Why does the global youth lend authority to a person, and movement, they know nothing about?

THE DISENCHANTED TRAVELLER

Ernesto Guevara was born to a middle cIass family living in Peron's Argentina in 1928. Despite the fact that his middle cIass upbringing was threatened by Peron's working cIass oriented ideology, Guevara had little interest in politics in his home country. Indeed, Guevara enjoyed a protected and carefree childhood and adolescence. At the age of 23, Guevara, a medical student, and his friend, Alberto Granado, a biochemist, embarked on a cross-continent tour of South America on motorcycle from 1951 to '52.

His memoirs of the trip have since been released in the form of the book Motorcycle Diaries and, with the addition of other sources, a movie of the same name. Those seeking to understand Guevara's motivation for his participation in the Cuban Revolution would be hard-pressed to find any ideological undertones in either the book or the movie. The diaries are mostly descriptive and, apart from a few entries about the jaded history of South America, Guevara does not engage in any political or revolutionary discourse.

In 1954, Guevara found himself in Guatemala, witnessing the shaming of its first democratically elected leader. President Rafael Arevalo's government had promised the nationalisation of a major US company, pledging the proceeds for redistribution among the poor. A military coup was financed against him by the company's owners, and he immediately stepped down when fighters strafed the presidential palace. When Guevara arrived in Guatemala City after the attack, he noted with vehemence in his diaries how angry he was about the lack of military response, but did not offer an opinion about the socio-political causality of the incident. His musings on the attack foreshadow his naive approach to conflict - it was a view that would later lead to the death of hundreds. From Guatemala, Guevara moved to Mexico, where he met a recently exiled militant from Cuba named Fidel Castro.

Guevara's rapid politicisation fell roughly along the ideology of the Cuban, and their commonality led to a tentative alliance. Both men envisioned a regional revolution against the economic and political imperialisation of Latin America. Both of them spurned the idea of a working cIass communist uprising in favour of direct military action. After Cuba's ruler, Batista, sabotaged an election, resulting in the death of one of his friends and colleagues, Castro became convinced that the only way forward was an armed revolution.

Castro enlisted the help of Guevara and 80 guerrilla fighter, and staged an attack on Batista's government in 1956. Batista's forces met the insurgents on the beach and opened fire, killing all but 18 of them. Guevara was among the survivors - wounded and barely able to breathe due to his chronic asthma. Despite their ill-fated start, Castro and Guevara made their way to the Sierra Maestra. On the way to their mountain stronghold, Guevara left a litter of bodies - ordering the execution of hundreds of alleged informants and deserters. Indeed, one of the charismatic leader's lesser known traits was his predilection for extra judicial executions. Leading by example, Guevara carried out many of the executions himself.

By 1958, Castro's revolutionary declarations were little more that statements of intent, as he had a standing army of only 500 guerrillas. Yet, by the middle of the year he marched triumphantly into Havana. In reality, Batista's government was corrupt and increasingly repressive in its attempts to suppress uprisings, but its fall from grace and standing did not bring about the promise of a better life for Cubans. Instead, it fertilised the growth of a dangerous ideology.

THE IDEOLOGUE

Neither Castro nor Guevara were politicians. The were militants - bad ones at that - who won popular legitimacy. Cuba's first political text was Guevara's Guerrilla Warfare - a tactical manual that became an ideology. In it, Guevara argues that revolution is an entirely military affair, and the socio-political history and context of the conflict has no bearing on its outcome. Dissatisfied with what he though was ineffectual cIass struggle, Guevara also wrote that it was the guerillas' right and responsibility to fight on behalf of the cIass that could not do it for themselves.

These dubious tactics had far-reaching ramifications. Castro's revolution had not gone unnoticed by Cuba's northern neighbour. The David and Goliath story that unfolded, as the US got its nose bloodied at the Bay of Pigs, inspired young Latin Americans from across the continent to go to Cuba and train in guerilla warfare. The trainees often had little schooling in the proletarian tradition, so their military training carried with it the imbedded ideology of Guevara's intentional political and social ignorance.

After the revolution, Guevara was appointed Director of the National Bank, putting him at the heart of Cuban economic policy-making and development. It was in this position that Guevara made his socialist impact on Cuba, writing such works as Man and Socialism in Cuba - a tome outlining the sacrifices Cubans would have to make in order to be economically independent. He was also responsible for the formation of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, created to facilitate economic transformation. Guevara saw that Cuba could not be free until its economy was too, but the international political economy of the time frustrated his attempts at procuring some small measure of economic independence. Cuba was forced to turn to Russia for economic support.

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 revealed to Guevara the true nature of Soviet Russia's geo-politics and, disillusioned, he resigned from his government positions, seeking a new windmill to tilt. his primary concern was the liberation of Latin America, with special attention paid to Argentina - a country he thought ripe for revolution. However, repeated attempts at creating a guerrilla foco, or cell, in the country failed. Determined to prove his theory was not at fault, Guevara embarked on a revolutionary mission to the Congo.

The experience was telling. Guevara's theory precluded the need for intelligence about the causes of the conflict, local languages, or terrain. As a result, the Cubans arrived with little or no knowledge about who they were fighting for, or who they were fighting against. The mission was an abysmal failure, with Guevara delirious with fever for one month of the three they spent there. No fighting was done, and the Cubans only just managed to escape the country.

Guevara returned to Cuba to find that his teachings had indeed spread through Latin America - to grisly effect. The young activists who had gone to Cuba to train had gone back to their countries, and put their new knowledge to application. In most cases, their revolutions were short-lived ones, as the cells were quickly discovered due to lack of intelligence. The arrogant political ignorance so lauded by Guevara led to an entire generation of activist being slaughtered. Still not satisfied, Guevara planned a mission he would lead.

Nobody is sure why he chose Bolivia. There is some conjecture that it had to do with the fact that there was already a small revolutionary force there, or the fact that it neighbours Argentina - his prime target. Regardless, once again, Guevara did not do his homework - concentrating only on military logistics, and paying not attention to politics. From the start, said witnesses and participants, the mission was "ill-conceived, ill-prepared, and totally misguided".

Guevara's guerrillas, numbering 400 (half of which were Cuban), were discovered early by the US-trained Bolivian counter-terrorist team, and were forced to flee across hostile terrain they knew nothing about. Guevara's last days were spent on the back of a young mine worker, too weak and undernourished to walk. Tragically, Guevara was less than 200 miles from a region sympathetic to "his" cause. Had he done the research, he might have been able to avoid his subsequent capture. Discovered in the village of La Higuera, Guevara was summarily executed the next day by a Bolivian army sergeant, under the watchful eye of CIA representative, Gary Prado.

THE MYTH

Che Guevara's death signalled the passing of a national hero, but out of the ashes a different legend arose. While he was alive, he enjoyed immense popularity, but little political support - indeed, is ideology didn't necessitate it. He was famous for liberation, not consolidation. However, his Man and Socialism in Cuba had only been published after he had left the government, and his social reforms were little known and largely unemployed until shortly before his death.

Castro reclaimed and nurtured Che's socialist image in an attempt to conceal his strengthening bond with the USSR. By this stage, Cuba had become fully embroiled in the global politics of the Cold War. Castro was becoming frustrated with Cuba's level of dependence on Russia, and sought to distance Cuba from an increasingly volatile confrontation between the world superpowers. He became wary of the Soviets' intentions, and sought to improve moral and political legitimacy. Ironically, he turned to the socialist trajectory laid down by Guevara. But when the plan failed, Cuba was forced to diplomatically re-enter the Soviet fold. Guevara's socialist model was kept in place, but in a perverted form - instead of seeking independence, the system served as an authoritarian tool of repression.

Indeed, Che's image is a complex one. Much has been altered in the process of his idolisation. The parts of Che's life that conflicted with what he represents were forgotten - heroes are not murderers. However, not everybody worshipped him for his socialist streak. One must remember that his original rise to fame revolved around revolution, sacrifice, and violence. Guevara's "social" revolution was a revolution fuelled on non-specific hate:

"Hated is an element of struggle; relentless hatred of the enemy that impels us over and beyond the natural limitations of man and transforms us into effective, violent, selective, and cold killing machines. Out soldiers must be thus; a people without hatred cannot vanquish a brutal enemy"

This raw Machiavellian concept of power served Guevara well in the Cuban Revolution. It lies at the heart of what he thought to be rebellion and defiance. His fatalistic call for "one, two, three, many Vietnams" highlights both the Don Quixotian trajectory that would eventually lead to his martyrdom, and a homicidal disregard for consequence.

THE ICON

Che's enormous popularity has been immortalised thanks, largely, to one of the most recognised photographs in history. It is the visual symbol that concreted Che's image of a hero in isolation; the fighter for the cause. The steely eyes, mournful brow, and socialist star render a narrative that people seem to understand. In an instant, the viewer is given a glimpse of a history, an ideology, and a hero all in one. The photo achieved what few do: it became an icon.

The photo was taken at a rally in 1960. The photographer, working for Revolucion, took it almost by accident while panning across the podium. Surprisingly, the photo almost faded into obscurity after it was taken, featuring only on an inside page. But photographer Alberto Korda saw the value in the print. He kept it on the wall of his studio for seven years before giving two prints to an Italian publisher. Two weeks later, Che was captured and killed. Giangiacomo Feltrinelli used one of the pictures for the cover of Che's diaries, and sent the other to poster printers. From there, the image moved to T-shirts, album covers, and advertising.

Korda didn't make any royalties off the print, despite the fact that Feltrinelli used them without permission. He wasn't even credited with the shot. Worse, Korda couldn't even contend for rights until Cuba ratified the International Copyright Convention in 1997. Eventually, he sued an advertising company that used the photo for an Smirnov ad, and won an out-of-court settlement. He immediately donated the money to charities in Cuba, saying that he only sued because Guevara didn't drink.

THE FALSE IDEOLOGUE

For the most part, the people buying Che merchandise know little or nothing about what Guevara stood for. Yet he is still celebrated, despite being divorced from his ideology. It's probably better that way. At best, he was a misguided, misinformed, and inept leader, responsible for the death of many of his men, and the men that trained under him. At worst, he was a homicidal fascist zealot, with little regard for the consequences or ramifications of his actions. If history remembered him for his actions, people would be less hasty to wear him on their chest.

Hero-worship has stripped Che of his ideology and his history, replacing them with an irrelevant narrative. The implication behind wearing a T-shirt with the revolutionary on it are multiple and fraught with connotation. But in Che's case, it seems you can wear him with impunity. Or can you? In wearing a shirt with Che's image, you are implying support for him and his cause. But Che had several "causes", both real and posthumously constructed. Socialism and reform were among his better traits, but he was inadequately trained or experienced to institute such change. But these traits pail in contrast to his predominant predilection: open revolution - war.

His notoriety is borne of something separate to his actual history. His image and ideology have become nothing more than a framework to support his grossly undeserved fame, and his identity has become a rendered projection of false ideals. The re-appropriation and commodification of his image marks a polar shift from Castro's use of the image. To him, and the Cuban people, Guevara's image became charged with vitality and ideology. Now it has been raped of that meaning, and the people who bear his image in ignorance are continuing offenders.

Controllers have undergone significant transformation over the years, but they've always had one thing in common - they have to be manually manipulated. That's all about to change, thanks to a San Francisco-based company called Emotiv.

The innovative company has designed a peripheral that can "read your mind", translating your thoughts into actions on the screen. If that wasn't enough, the peripheral does more than just interpret your conscious thought, but also measures subconscious thought and non-conscious communication (like facial communication) - and all of this from a wireless headset containing just 16 sensors.

Sure, this sounds like something from the realm of science fiction, but its roots are based in established science. At the heart of Emotiv's new peripheral is electroencephalography (EEG), the study of synaptic currents. Amongst its uses are clinical diagnosis and cognitive neuroscience for conditions such as epilepsy. But Emotiv's research and development in the field has brought the science out of the lab, refining the technology to the point where it has become commercially viable.

The implications of this kind of technology go far beyond gaming alone, but Emotiv is courting the industry first before branching out into other fields. The move is a wise one, in my opinion, as gamers are used to acclimatising to new technologies, and the industry itself is booming, potentially bringing much need development capital to the company.

The headset itself contains 16 sensors that pick up the synaptic electric signals and a pack containing the necessary software to decode them. The software itself, available in a dev kit, measures three categories of signals:

* The Expressiv suite uses signals measured by Emotiv's headset to interpret player facial expressions in real-time. When a player smiles, their character will mimic the expression, apparently before they are even aware of their own feelings.

* The Affectiv suite monitors players' emotional states in real-time. It provides an extra dimension in game interaction by allowing the game to respond to players' emotions. Imagine, if you will, getting a little bored with a game because of the ease of play, or getting frustrated with its difficulty. Affectiv will allow developers to tailor the difficulty to ramp up or down depending on your emotional state.

* The Cognitiv suite reads and interprets players' conscious thoughts and intent, differentiating between multiple conscious thought commands. Basically, this means that gamers can manipulate virtual objects through thought. So far, the headset is calibrated to differentiate between 12 different actions, though I imagine that figure will get higher as the technology is developed.

Some test subjects claim it is easier to get results from mimicking the actual movements, but the technology is designed in such a way that just imagining the action will yield results on screen.

Each brain is unique, though, with the folding of the cortex and external surfaces differing from person to person. To counter this, the Emotiv headset is designed to "learn" in much the same way as voice or handwriting recognition software, meaning the more you use it, the more accurate it becomes.

The Emotiv headset has been on display for around a year in its prototype form, though the first consumer version is set to be unveiled on the eve of GDC 2008, which is tomorrow.

"The games industry is ripe for a revolution in the way players interact with a game. Current interfaces, such as keyboards and controllers, are relatively basic and non-intuitive and are out-of-keeping with the sophistication levels of today's games and the movement towards more immersive environments," said Nam Do, CEO and co-founder at Emotiv Systems. "Brain computer interfaces dramatically change the way players interact with a game and, as such, have a profound effect on the gaming experience. Developers are looking to this technology to take their games to another level, to differentiate their products and to retain their fans."

Sorry I've been so quiet over the last little bit. Life has been pleasantly busy lately.

As I mentioned a little while ago, I was recently promoted. The new position is a pretty demanding because - despite the fact that there is more work and responsibility - I have less staff underneath me (no sexual harassment jokes please. HR doesn't find them funny, and consequently, neither do I :P ). It also requires that I'm constantly on the phone to people all around the world. Sound glamorous and fun? It's not. Conflicting time zones and interesting accents (UK, I'm looking at you) make it something of a pain.

But it's not all bad. I have more freedom, answer to fewer people, and, of course, there's more money! Not a hell of a lot more, but enough to make life a bit more comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that I'm moving (see below). I say this because along with the chaos that normally accompanies moving, the new flat we're moving into doesn't have a phone line/ADSL hooked up. We'll obviously tend to that, but SA's telecommunications company is notoriously bad, so it could take up to 3 months to get done. I'll hop onto GS every once in a while at work but, as you can imagine, they tend to frown on that a little.

Blue = old and busted. Red = new hotness.

I've been dabbling in some short story writing, and really enjoying myself. I can't remember the last time I wrote something that wasn't for work or in blog form, and reacquainting myself with the craft has been gratifying. I promised myself I'd publish at least one of them on GS, and had a promising candidate in the works, but I think it might be a little too serious - that, and I can't figure out how it should end - so I'm going to go with a more light-hearted story, the first part of which I will put up in the next few days.

I'm interested to see how it is received. It's a little juvenile - well, not juvenile as such, but certainly pretty silly. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I wrote most of it in a pub.

This is my ninth straight day in the office and, as you can imagine, I'm not particularly inspired to do any real work.

So I followed my lunch hour with an hour of aimless web surfing. And lo, I happened across one the most touching interviews ever:

Click here to read a heart-warming story that spans 60 years, as a father and son unearth the mystery behind "the face".

Coffee... Without it, my mind ceases to operate and, as a result, my body does silly stuff - especially in the morning and especially at work.

Now, the kind souls in management have realised the folly behind an office full of rudderless ships, and supply us with instant coffee. Which is nice, but kind of like putting low-octane chip oil in your Ferrari (yes, we're Ferraris, damnit).

What we really need, and have since acquired, is filter coffee.

Mmm, filterrrr coffeeeeeee.

Problem is, once you turn a whole bunch of excitable workers on to filter coffee, you sometimes get a whole bunch of gibbering idiots with twitchy eyelids in return.

The answer: check out your consumption on the Caffeine Database. This is my chart so far for today:

I'm not actually climbing the walls, so perhaps it isn't calibrated properly. 'Course, it could just be me.

Back in the day, there was a coffee shop that my friends and I used to frequent every Friday afternoon. The reason we went there wasn't because of the quality of the coffee, which was very good by the way, but because they offered bottomless coffee for a very nominal fee.

How very foolish of them. How very, very foolish.

There used to be a fairly regular rotation of records for coffee consumption until one fateful day: A friend of mine drank, I kid you not, 36 cups. I've just entered that into the Caffeine Database, and it turned out the outrageous figure of 3977.5mg of caffeine.

Needless to say, they didn't like us very much.

Happy New Years from Cape Town.

My head hurts and I'm at bloody work again...

*grumble, moan*

Well, I'm sure most of you have figured out by now that I'm not much of a Christmas person. My feelings about the holiday are not much improved by the fact that I'm stuck at work today.

But I did get a pleasant surprise this morning - my boss left a veritable feast for the people who had to work today, and we've just been told we're getting triple pay! Sweeeet.

Much as I'd like to continue my Grinch imitation, I can't - I'm actually warming to this holiday :D .

Happy holidays all!

Bah, humbug!