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Today's quotable quote: Tarantula Shoes by Tom Birdseye: Sometimes you have to do that with adults -- just say what they need you to say -- so they'll get out of your face.

This day in history: 14 February 2025: Israeli Knesset Convenes for the First Time (1949). In 1948, following a failed attempt by the UN to divide Palestine, which had been under British mandate, the nation of Israel proclaimed its independence. The first legislative assembly, or Knesset, convened in February 1949 and succeeded the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the Mandate era. The prime minister and the president are responsible to the Knesset, whose members are elected by popular vote.



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

What do Egyptian mummies smell like? Scientists sniff out an answer: We know what they look like, and even sound like, but there’s one question you might not have pondered: what do ancient Egyptian mummies smell like? Whether you wanted to know or not, scientists have now given us an answer. Posted on 14 February 2025.

Novel wraparound earphones take the plugs out for high-quality sound: Bud-style earphones can be uncomfortable for some mobile music lovers, but there are plenty of over-ear, open-ear and bone conduction designs to rock with instead. Posted on 13 February 2025.

Mississippi’s Top Court Says Rights Violations Are OK If Cops Don’t Know How To Do Their Jobs: There are things you can and can’t do when setting up checkpoints. Posted on 14 February 2025.


Cape Town weather

5 day forecast

  • Fri 14: sky is clear

    17 ° - 22 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Sat 15: sky is clear

    18 ° - 23 ° Wind 10 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Sun 16: sky is clear

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 10 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Mon 17: sky is clear

    18 ° - 24 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Tue 18: sky is clear

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 11 km/h / Clouds 0 %

See next two weeks

News (continued)

Top 10 AI Tools That Will Transform Your Content Creation in 2025: Looking to level up your content creation game in 2025? You're in the right place! The digital landscape has evolved dramatically, and AI tools have become essential for creators who want to stay ahead of the curve. Posted on 02 January 2025.

CCSS offers new fund to support external grants and partnerships: PI-eligible faculty can request up to $115,000 in CCSS Grant Preparation Funds to support the preparation of major external funding proposals with a substantial proposal process. Posted on 10 February 2025.

Rogue states could use AI to do ‘real harm’, warns ex-Google CEO: Eric Schmidt fears terrorist groups or countries such as North Korea, Iran or Russia may use AI to develop weaponsGoogle’s former chief executive has warned that artificial intelligence could be used by rogue states such as North Korea, Iran and Russia to “harm innocent people”. Posted on 14 February 2025.

Bacteria transferred during intercourse could help identify sexual assault perpetrators, scientists say: Genital microbiome or ‘sexome’ leaves specific signature even when barrier protection is used, which could be traced in absence of DNA materialGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBacteria transferred between people during sexual intercourse could be used in forensic testing to help identify sexual assault perpetrators, an Australian study suggests. Posted on 14 February 2025.

The best free VPNs of 2025: Expert tested: Finding a trustworthy free VPN can be a real challenge. Posted on 14 February 2025.

Beginnings of Roman London discovered in office basement: The discovery has been described as one of the most important pieces of Roman history in the City of London. Posted on 12 February 2025.

TikTok is back on the Apple and Google app stores: Apple and Google removed the app after the Supreme Court upheld a law prohibiting firms from doing business with TikTok as long as it is controlled by China-based ByteDance. Posted on 14 February 2025.

'Woody,' 'spicy' and 'sweet': Smell of ancient Egyptian mummified bodies reveals new insights into embalming practices: Ancient Egyptian mummified bodies smell 'woody,' 'spicy' and 'sweet', finds a new study led by researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana, revealing new details about mummification practices. Posted on 14 February 2025.

Elon Musk Says He Will Drop OpenAI Bid if Company Keeps Corporate Structure: In a court filing, Mr. Posted on 14 February 2025.

DeepSeek’s disruption forces AI giants like Baidu, OpenAI to offer their chatbots for free: Chinese internet search giant Baidu will make its advanced AI chatbot services free, as competition heats up among global developers following the surging popularity of startup DeepSeek’s models. Posted on 14 February 2025.

The best free VPNs of 2025: Expert tested: Finding a trustworthy free VPN can be a real challenge. Posted on 14 February 2025.

This City’s Sewer System Is Full of Alligators, but It’s Not New York: Researchers found crocodilians, bats, raccoons and other creatures prowling a Florida town’s storm drains, “like something out of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,’” one said. Posted on 14 February 2025.

What are 'mirror cells' and why do some scientists warn against creating them?: For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. Posted on 10 February 2025.

DeepSeek’s disruption forces AI giants like Baidu, OpenAI to offer their chatbots for free: Chinese internet search giant Baidu will make its advanced AI chatbot services free, as competition heats up among global developers following the surging popularity of startup DeepSeek’s models. Posted on 14 February 2025.

US Wildfire Suppressants Rife With Toxic Heavy Metals, Study Finds: A new study reveals that widely used pink wildfire suppressants contain high levels of toxic heavy metals like cadmium, arsenic, and chromium, with concentrations up to 3,000 times above drinking water limits. Posted on 14 February 2025.

Georgia leads toward a nuclear future with its first operating reactor: Georgia Power Co. announced one of its two new reactors reached self-sustaining nuclear fission on Monday. Posted on 07 March 2023.

Watch record-breaking great white shark get tagged and released off East Coast: Scientists have tagged a giant male great white shark off the East Coast. Posted on 13 February 2025.


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

  • Fri 14: sky is clear

    17 ° - 22 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Sat 15: sky is clear

    18 ° - 23 ° Wind 10 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Sun 16: sky is clear

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 10 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Mon 17: sky is clear

    18 ° - 24 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Tue 18: sky is clear

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 11 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Wed 19: broken clouds

    19 ° - 27 ° Wind 3 km/h / Clouds 66 %
  • Thu 20: light rain

    20 ° - 24 ° Wind 4 km/h / Clouds 82 %
  • Fri 21: light rain

    20 ° - 23 ° Wind 4 km/h / Clouds 85 %
  • Sat 22: sky is clear

    19 ° - 25 ° Wind 5 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Sun 23: few clouds

    20 ° - 23 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 20 %
  • Mon 24: sky is clear

    19 ° - 26 ° Wind 6 km/h / Clouds 1 %
  • Tue 25: scattered clouds

    21 ° - 24 ° Wind 8 km/h / Clouds 32 %
  • Wed 26: few clouds

    20 ° - 25 ° Wind 6 km/h / Clouds 22 %
  • Thu 27: sky is clear

    21 ° - 26 ° Wind 4 km/h / Clouds 0 %
  • Fri 28: light rain

    19 ° - 23 ° Wind 5 km/h / Clouds 8 %
  • Sat 01: light rain

    17 ° - 21 ° Wind 9 km/h / Clouds 100 %