What the frack?

According to Investopedia.com, Fracking/ Hydraulic fracturing “refers to the procedure of creating fractures in rocks and rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them further open. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formation and into the wellbore, from where it can be extracted.”

The purpose of fracking is to gain more natural gases like oil from below the earth’s surface. The process has been known to use large amounts of water and can result in the death/ sickness of plants/ animals and even human beings. I’ve been following the news on Shell’s fracking plans for the Karoo for a while and have noticed that there are two sides to this story.

1.     Shell’s story

Shell promises that the process will not use as much water as people/ the media think. They vow that no animals/ human/ plants or any other breathing creature will be harmed in the process. What they are offering is a richer South Africa with a big risk involved.

2.     The green story

Organisations like the Treasure the Karoo action group and many people who believe in the sustainability and life of our Earth has come forward against Shell saying that they are the big bad man who wants to get rich and doesn’t care if a few animals and people die in the process.

Here’s my opinion as one of the youth of South Africa. Shell cannot promise that nothing will go wrong. Numerous stories have been published and movies have been made about the negative effects of hydraulic fracturing. The green organizations cannot offer our starving youth’s who have nothing a better South Africa. Either way we lose if we leave our future in the incapable hands of these organizations and even the Government.

Let’s decide what we want and work towards a common goal. This is what we should be good at. We are after all the nation that stood together against apartheid. Have we simply forgotten what it means to stand up for something we believe in or don’t we believe in anything anymore?

You cannot chase two rabbits at the same time

A martial arts student approached his teacher with a question. "I'd like to improve my knowledge of the martial arts. In addition to learning from you, I'd like to study with another teacher in order to learn another style. What do you think of this idea?"

"The hunter who chases two rabbits," answered the master, "catches neither one."

What are your thought on this saying? Is it possible to focus and excel at two tasks at the same time? Well i guess this applies to all B-Tech Public Relations students since all of us are working while managing a hectic study schedule. We even have a few mothers in our class! That's chasing about 10 rabbits at the same time and not just doing good at each of these tasks but doing great!

I believe that women have a divine purpose to be able to excel at two or more things at the same time. We call it multi-tasking when in fact its a natural part of our being to be able to do a few tasks and complete it effectively.

The problem with chasing two rabbits is that we become so tired in the end that we eventually miss out on life. What i mean by this is that we become almost too involved. We cannot just sit, relax and enjoy the view. Women constantly want to chase two rabbits, and this is why i'm sooooo happy this B-Tech year has almost come to an end.

I'll chase all the rabbits that come my way, but first i'm going to sit back and relax. Even if its only for a few days!  

NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN AN IDEA, WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE ONE IDEA

Remember that old tired expression, “two heads are better than one?” Well two ideas are better than one in any situation. The two ideas could come from two people or just one, but the main idea is that there is more than one option.

Here’s an example: If you get an idea to do something, instead of just acting on that one idea, try two. The second one might be your best bet. If you think you have a great idea, tell someone you trust about it, they might just have an even better idea to add to that.

The point is not to be so close-minded to believe that your one idea is the best. Two or more ideas are better than one.

Please see the two quotes below for some inspiration.

“Do something. If it doesn't work, do something else. No idea is too crazy.” Jim Hightower, The New York Times, March 9, 1986

“If an idea's worth having once, it's worth having twice.” Tom Stoppard

A reminder to all Women

This morning i got one of those e-mails that warn women about being alert and safe at all times.

The story in the e-mail was of a women who had a flat tyre at a shopping mall. A man dressed in a suit offered to help her change her tyre and after helping the women, proceeded to ask for a lift to his car that was on the other side of the mall. This women's instinct told her that something wasn't right. She told the man who had helped her that she'd be right back and went back into the mall to get security. When the security and the woman got back to ger car the man was gone but his briefcase was in her boot. The briefcase had ducktape, knives and rope inside.

This story got me thinking. When we're young, we're so afraid of the boogyman, ghosts, vampires and other mythical creatures. Its only when we're a little bit older that we realise that the boogyman is the nice man with the suit who doesn't look like he could hurt a fly.

These days its so hard to be able to tell who's out to hurt you. Ladies, please be safe.... Just a reminder for Women's Month.

"You strike a woman, you strike a rock"

In South Africa, we commemorate the national march of women on August 9 in 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the "pass". This day is known as Women's Day.

We have come a long way since the days of women being only child-bearers and servants of the home. Women are now strong, independent human beings who have just as much, if not more power in the workplace and in the world. This blog post commemorates women right around the world, but especially in South Africa.

From wars and apartheid to the oppression of women right around the world, we now stand proud and although the fight for our rights is not over yet, we've come such a long way. As Beyonce puts it, "We run the world."

Please see some lyrics of the song, "We run the world" by Beyonce below.
"Boy you know you love it
How we're smart enough to make these millions
Strong enough to bare the children
Then get back to business"

Have you figured out the second head fake yet?

"It's not about how to achieve your dreams. It's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you." Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch, a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at and a best-selling author, who achieved worldwide fame for his speech The Last Lecture, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and having only a few months to live. Randy said that the lecture was for his own children. He would teach them most of life's lessons through that single lecture. I think he taught the world so much more.

Randy passed away on July 25, 2008.

Everyone's idea of what this message means will be different, depending on where you are in your life. Do you already know what you want from life? Where you want to be and who you want to be in your life? If you haven't, its probably better to decide sooner than later since you never really know what fate awaits you.

I think Randy is saying that when you know who you want to be and where you want to be, things will naturally fall into place. He is confident when he says that everything will work out, eventhough he had been diagnosed with cancer at the time. He accepted his fate and knew that there was something better waiting for him.

Each one of us should live like Randy did. Strive for better, but always know that things will always work out. Don't stress the little things. Try to be patient and most importantly dream big.... (just my own little speech)