Evidence to origin of human life still points to Mother Africa. - July 1, 2010

Until recently, the oldest remains to date were those of Lucy, dated 3.2 million years old. Lucy was discovered in 1974 in the badlands of Hadar, Ethiopia by an American Paleoanthropologist Donald C. Johanson. The story does not end there, recently another fossil was discovered in Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia, about 48 km from the place where Lucy was discovered. The lower arm of "Big Man" was first spotted by Alemayehu Asfaw. "Big Man" or "Kadanuumuu" is dated 3.6 millions years old, almost half a century older than Lucy. Compared to Lucy who is belived to have stood at 1.1 m, Big Man was 1.5-1.7 m tall. According to an article that appeared in the science magazine, the lead author Yohannes Haile-Selassie says that "Big Man" had long legs and a torso and pelvis more like for a modern human than for an extant African ape. Ape distal tibial metaphyses are demonstrably broad and rectangular, primarily reflecting their more massive medial malleoli and expanded anterior plafonds, reports the supplimentary information provided in the publication about the discovery of "Big Man". The roughly 40% complete skelton therefore indicates that "Big Man" walked upright. The skull of "Big Man" remains to be found!

Until the finding of Big Man, Lucy was the oldest and most complete early human fossil ever found. Her pelvic and leg bones indicated that she too had walked upright. Although there is ongoing debate about the likely appearance of these species, one thing remains common, pointing to the origin of life to Motherland Africa.

Long live Africa.

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June 2010

Uruguay upsets Bafana Bafana and dwindles their chances of making it to the second round in the 2010 world cup.

South Africa's hopes for Bafana Bafana to go far in the 2010 world cup began to evaporate after their team was beaten 3-0 by Uruguay in Pretoria. Now RSA is on the verge of becoming the first host nation ever to fail to reach the second round.
Uruguay is a formidable team from South America. The country has a population of 3.5 million and a history of winning the world cup twice (1930 and 1950). It was Diego Forlan's day as he scored two goals of the night. His shot from 25 meters, or 82 feet, went into the net after a slight deflection from an attempted South Africa block. When goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was red carded in the 76th minute for his foul on Uruguay's Luis Suarez inside the box, it was all over. Backup goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs was called into action, but Diego Forlan blasted a perfect penalty shot into the roof of the net to seal the win for the South Americans. The penalty call was contentious — Suarez made the most of it, and the play was offside — but South Africa can have no complaaints about the final result because they lost to a better team. Alvaro Pereira scored in injury time to compound South Africa's misery While Uruguay seems destined for the second round, South Africa is on the verge of becoming the first World Cup host not to make it out of the group stage. South Africa faces a must-win situation in its final game against France on June 22. Anything less than a victory against Les Bleus for the hosts would condemn them to the annals of World Cup history.

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Maserati Quattroporte

Definitely the Maserati family of cars are among the Rides one should drive before kicking a bucket. I first saw one on US1 down in Miami on my way from the "Coral Castle", a historic place in Miami Dade. One look and I was blown away by the bold beauty of this irresistible road monster. These high end rides are guaranteed to turn heads anywhere you go.

On the maserati website, here is what those who are lucky to own one of these dream machine have to say: According to Caruso from San Francisco, "Our Maserati is very important to us and it has truly become part of us and our personas. We believe that its purchase was one of the very best things that we have ever done for our own well being in our whole lives. Wherever we take "her" - to the store, into San Francisco, on the Infineon Race Track in Sonoma or on a road trip - people come to admire her beauty. They want to know all about where "she's" from, how fast she can go and anything else that enters thier heads. When we start the engine and they hear her roar (no mufflers), some get so excited they cannot contain themselves. So we hear a lot of WOWs! We (our Maserati and us) make friends everywhere we go". Another reviewer from Great Britain, Warren Ginsburg also heaps praises to the Maserati car "Oustanding looks, superb craftmanship and brilliant engine makes the car unrivalled in its class; indeed so much so that a close friend on seeing the vehicle, cancelled the car he had on order and is now awaiting delivery of the GranTurismo S. Every day wherever I drive, people stop to have a chat and to take photographs... quite unbelievable but a credit to your designers and indeed the whole team at Maserati".“The Maserati Quattroporte, especially in the Sport GT S version, is a perfect blend of work of art and pure four-seater sportscar. The package is topped off with a stunning engine roar". The article continues its lavish appraisal: "like a scantily dressed supermodel on her day off, the Modenese beauty swings its hips as it glides through the crowds. Even before pushing the Sport button, the 4.7 litre V8 reaches a pitch that even Pavarotti would have struggled to match".

Turning to the technical side, positive views were also expressed about the MC Shift gearbox: "The Maserati aims to thrill and involve the driver, challenge, inspire and seduce him. To do this, it has been fitted with a sporty engine, chassis and interior". The Automobile Magazine article concludes: "The Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S boasts the most captivating sound, has the most desirable engine, and attracts twice as many admiring looks as its rivals; it has bags of charisma and stirs more living dreams than Pamela Anderson".