Earlier today, this:
No.
I know that we think that our phones are always spying on us (because they are), but there’s clearly something very wrong with the intel that mine is supplying to our capitalist overlords.
You thought wrong
Author: 6000
If the rain in the Western Cape could just calm its tits a bit, that would be great
OK, disclaimers first. I know that it’s autumn. I know that it’s meant to rain from about now through until the end of August if we’re lucky. I know that we need the rain to fill up the dams so that we can have water in the summer. And I know that if it doesn’t rain all in one go, then it will have to rain all the time, and that’s not great.
But…
Another 31mm on a single day?
Is this the way that things are going to work from now on? 4 miserable days in a row, one of them with added flood risk?
I’m just asking so that I can try to adjust to this new normal.
And sort out the waterproofing in my garage.
Or is there perhaps a plan to get all the rain done by June and then have an extra two months of summer? Obviously, that is not going to happen, and it would have a horrific effect on agriculture and wildlife if it did. But an extra 8 weeks of sunshine would please a lot of people. Just saying.
Either way, if thing keep going like this, we’re going to have the dams back up at 100% well in time for next summer.
Whenever that might start.
Unlikely to be beaten
At least for a while.
This game of football last night.
Like nothing I’ve ever seen. I seriously can’t recall a game like it.
Arguably the two best club sides on the planet, going at one another like a couple of heavyweight boxers, punch for punch. And it just kept going and it just kept giving. To a header off the line in the dying seconds which could have been 5-5.
And they meet again next Wednesday. Surely it can’t live up to this 1st leg though.
Can it?
On Märket
Märket is a lump of rock between Sweden and Finland. It’s only 3.3 hectares in size and there’s really nothing there apart from a lighthouse. Originally, no-one claimed the island as their territory, and so Finland built a lighthouse on there back in 1885. They built it on the highest bit of the island, which was the logical thing to do.
However, when the island was divided between the two countries (because everything has to be owned by someone, right?), the lighthouse ended up on the Swedish side – basically the Western half of the island.
But it was a Finnish lighthouse. Built by Finland and operated by Finland.
So in 1985, the border was moved the reposition the lighthouse back onto Finnish territory.
But you can’t just give up land merely because there’s some other country’s lighthouse on it.
Thus, the adjustment was carried out such that no net transfer of territory occurred, and the ownership of the coastline was unchanged so as not to interfere with each country’s fishing rights.
Which means that the border now looks like this:
The interlocking idea does stop the two countries drifting apart. Which is nice.
And in real life:
Åland (representing Finland here) being the autonomous, demilitarized region of Finland located in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland. It lies just to the east of Märket and they speak Swedish there, even though it’s actually Finnish territory.
The border is regularly resurveyed every 25 years by officials representing both countries. In case… it changes?!?
The last such joint inspection took place in August 2006. The border is marked by holes drilled into the rock, because the seasonal drift ice would shear off any protruding markers.
Because of the Nordic Passport Union and the Schengen Agreement, there have been no passport checks or other border formalities at the border since 1958, so intra-Nordic/intra-Schengen visitors may visit the island freely.
I’ve still not managed to find out why there is an additional county border on the Swedish side. This seems unnecessarily bureaucratic.
Despite the name, there are no shops on Märket. In fact, there really only is the lighthouse.
But that, and the crazy border, makes this a great place to learn about for the nerds that read this blog.
And you, obviously.
Public Holiday recap
It’s Freedom Day today, giving a nod to 32 South African years since the first democratic elections back in 1994. There are many, many things that you can argue could have been done differently in the intervening period, but so as to be able to celebrate the good bits therein, we get the day off.
So how did we spend it?
Well, after gym (which wouldn’t have been quite so high on my agenda had I known what was coming), there was a walk on the mountain, enjoying the waterfalls:
…and overlooking the leafy green suburbs of Newlands and Fernwood.
Before dropping down into Kirstenbosch Gardens (mid right of the photo above) where we found a Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa):
And then an afternoon at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, where we saw a Betway sponsored horse win a race underwritten by LuckyFish Betting.
We’re all good. It’s not a problem. (It really is a problem.)
That said, if you have things under control and you set your limits and stick to them, you can still have fun and come out richer than when you went in. Which I did, and which was nice.
A real pot of gold at the end of that rainbow then, mostly likely guarded by a leper or a unicorn*.
Pretty good way to spend a pretty good South African day.
.
* you had to be there.