Makgadikgadi Salt Pan - Botswana

What you need to know before you read this write up: The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, it is one of the largest salt flats in the world

“Packed my bags and off to Botswana,” read the tweet of Juan Jean-Marc. I knew he was quite excited about this project. The entire team of “Globetrotters” the popular TV series on ABC networks flew down to the Makgadikgadi pan for a photo shoot and to film their next episode on flamingos.

I too was supposed to be on to that entourage but I was busy giving final touch to the voice over for my character Woomee in this 3D flick by Wattenberg. Now that I am done, I quickly plan to catch up with my script and trip to Botswana. I loaded my bags with my painting kit and got along my Mac to brief up on the quite an usual place to shoot – Makgadikgadi Pan .

0400 hrs and off goes the hooter, and slowly moves the lens cap of my eyes. I am out on my tent and what I see is this painting lying fresh and out on display - the dawn. The pale white salt, the orange yellow sky, some snow in the sky and the Makgadikgadi flamingos pass by. Poetry in a cinemagraph.

On my way to the pans, I heard awful lot of stories about how the pan pans it beauty, and how nature is always out on her duty. I was told the pan has unfriendly conditions to support human living, although I had a different rational to this unfriendliness. God has his own ways of retaining some places virgin to himself to enjoy HIS work and the rest open to mankind to take pride in their dirt.

I met Juan and he introduced me to Cheryl Shepard our audio technician. I was amazed to know how Cheryl tapped the sound of the early mornings in Makgadikgadi pan. My instant feedback was, Cheryl this will make a good album. After a day's work and chat with fellow artists, we packed up for the day.

I couldn't wait to return to my tent, get my canvas and colors to paint the scenic beauty of the pan on to it. But the lurking gloomy clouds soon soaked the sun, put up the pale moon and came down slowly with rains as a result I had to defer my attempt of photocopying the picturesque pan on to my canvas.

November rain now and again gets me that pain and I don't know whom to blame. I guess some painting doesn’t need to be redone, or re-mastered, and I left that thought there and moved on.

I am not good with diaries, for dairies have pages, and the option to turn them and hurt you again or rarely make you smile. I have this wall of memories where I hang every cherished memory in to a still frame. I managed to get this picture from Martin Holmes, whom I befriended with on the shoot. the picture of flamingos against the backdrop of the mesmerizing Makgaikgadi pan. The caption of the picture went like this “I don't need to die to go to heaven so better come up with interesting options.”

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Computer games could improve workplace fire safety

Picture this: You've got to give a final touch on the Econometrics and Time Series Analysis for your Scandinavian client. You've just got some minute changes to be done in the Monte Carlo simulation and then its a wrap up. 

You sleep on it. After miles away into another matrix, you hear a telephone ring at 02:55 hrs, you get a call from your boss that the entire 28th, 29th and 30th floor is on fire, little could you get your dreamy eyes all lightened up at the word 30th floor and Boom! 

They say life is valuable, but times like these work takes an upper edge. What do you, when all that you worked for is on flames?

Ziacom the pioneer in the state-of-the-art security services has launched a computer game − the Blackbox.  If you thought playing with fire is not a game, then think again. 

Blackbox is a one stone two bird solution in fire safety service. Like the XBox, Blackbox  comes with a game CD, Blackboxfiera, the fire safety game. BB is a carapace shaped on-the-wall security unit that can be mounted on the wall. I for one look at Blackboxfiera as a game with a plan, and a plan with a game.

Blackboxfiera fire safety game is customized to your work place settings, the building, the furniture, and the surrounding is mapped out, all this goes into designing and programming the simulators. Gerald Holmes, the vice-president of Grasshopper Technologies one of the first few customers of Blackfiera says, "If you are not playing this game, then you surely are playing with fire ." Eric Schmidt, COO at Ziacom says, "Blackboxfiera with Blackbox is a game with a backup."

The  Blackbox kit comes with a user friendly manual, demonstration video clip, and a simulation program that takes you through drills, and the do's and don'ts of fire safety. A small iphone shaped touch screen remote that syncs the BB with the server and makes  functionalities do able on touch. BB is fire and water resistant. It runs on solar power. The censors embedded in the Blackbox are highly sensitive to the slightest change in the temperature or illuminance. It identifies and detects the origin of the spark/flames and sends an alarm to the nearest fire station and hospitals. Its auto activate key shuts down the power supply. To learn more on the kit, visit  www.ziacom.com/product/blackbox.php. 

Wired and Businessweek magazines have marked BB as the next for-home-for-office  must have security unit. The critics call it the first aid in fire safety; the makers call it the dad who is always there.

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