I’m in the process of going back through the last few years of my photos, looking for some pictures to print for the wall in the new bar.
I do think my ‘togging has improved, but there are still one or two from pre-Covid that might just make the shortlist.
This Cape Sugarbird isn’t one, not least because of the ridiculous crop, but it’s still quite fun.
And it does work very nicely as a quota photo for today’s post.
While the rest of the world fights each other over land and religion and money and politics, I’m hiding down in the bottom left corner of Africa, sitting in the sunshine and drinking a beer. It’s been a bit of a heavy week in many ways, and so I’m giving myself the luxury of a bit of a day off.
After an early start collecting the Boy Wonder from a Clown Boxing sleepover, I forced myself into a 9km trail run. Well, I say “trail run”, because I did cross a grass verge at one point, so that counts, right?
It’s all pretty relaxing and pleasant sitting here and wondering which football matches I’m going to watch later, but then I made the mistake of clicking on a news site.
Foolish. Very foolish.
WARNING FOR BRAAI LOVERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
baited the headline. It’s a difficult one, because actually, given that the Venn diagram for Braai Lovers and South Africans is a perfect circle, this means it’s a warning for the whole country. But mentioning the braai bit gets everyone very anxious and so they inevitably click through. I know I did.
So what’s the warning?
Food prices are going up. Thanks, Detective Professor Sir Sherlock Einstein. None of us had noticed that, at all..
It’s worth pointing out that all food prices are going up, not just those specifically associated with braais. Look at the onion stat above. Great on Boerie Rolls, 63% more pricey than 2022.
This Business Tech headline comes less than a month after their previous warning for Braai Lovers in South Africa:
Someone is being very lazy with the headlines and stock images, hey?
This warning was essentially “Fire burns things. Be careful.” Good advice, although, I suppose as long as it’s not the expensive onions you bought, it’s probably not that bad.
All this braai talk (not least the warnings) are making me think about the possibility of having a quick one this evening (careful now) before it gets too expensive and dangerous
“Fancy a quickie for dinner?”
“I think you’ll find that it’s pronounced QUICHE!”
But this is a quickie. Hugely busy day and still stuff to do before this evening, when we are also doing stuff.
So here are a couple of links:
Is it because it’s driving through a horrific bit of Sheffield where bus peltage is actually the least of your worries? Spoiler: it is.
Also, this:
Decency long left the building at X. It flows from the very top. When former executive Yoel Roth, whom Musk wrongly accused of being a pedophile, warned recently about hate speech on X, CEO Linda Yaccarino’s first reaction was to play down his concerns. On Monday, Musk followed up: “I have rarely seen evil in as pure a form as Yoel Roth.”
More final nails are being added at an alarming rate.
Spotted on local wannabe Amazon-esque site. But what is this?
Well, it’s a Car Temporary Parking Signs Car Mountable Rotatable Cell Phone Holder. Clearly.
That’s what it says at the top of the page. See?
And those last six words make complete sense. I don’t think that having a cellphone in a cellphone holder in front of you while you are driving is a good or necessary thing, but that’s what this thing does, and if you need a Car Mountable Rotatable Cell Phone Holder, then this is a product that you might choose.
But what of the Car Temporary Parking Signs bit? If we assume that the top part of this device is the Car Mountable Rotatable Cell Phone Holder (which it clearly is, because there’s an image of it mounted in a car, holding a cellphone), then a quick extrapolation says that the bottom part is the Car Temporary Parking Signs bit.
Is that row of numbers meant to count down how much time you have left at your current parking spot or something?
Is it in microseconds? That seems unreasonable.
But if so, then that number would represent about 4 hours and 41 minutes. Which seems more reasonable.
But it’s in the car and you – presumably – aren’t. So how do you read it? Unreasonable again.
Let’s see if there’s any more information.
What’s in the box?
1 x Car stop sign.
1 x Digital stickers.
But didn’t I pay for a Car Temporary Parking Signs Car Mountable Rotatable Cell Phone Holder? Why isn’t there one of those in the box? What are those things, and where are they in the images of the Car Temporary Parking Signs Car Mountable Rotatable Cell Phone Holder product that I ordered?
Better head to the product description to sort this out:
wut?
Rotate and hide to avoid annoyance: just turn the display once and turn back to hide in no time.
I… I understand all the words here. Just not together. Not in that order.
“Turn back to hide in no time”? Is that the Rotatable bit? Why would you want to turn back to hide? Is that how one avoids annoyance? Or should it be “turn back time to hide”, and it actually links directly to your flux capacitor?
360 degree arbitrary rotation: free rotation, you want a comfortable angle, ensure good navigation or entertainment perspective.
Arbitrary and free rotation are my favourite sorts of rotation.
You want a comfortable angle. Of course you do. Who wouldn’t?
Prevent locked cars, tickets, body scratches, temporary stop signs and car phone holders.
What? How? HOW?
In what way does this product “prevent locked cars, tickets and body scratches”?
It’s sitting on your dashboard holding your cellphone at a comfortable angle and displaying an implausibly large number.
And haven’t I just bought a car phone holder? And isn’t there a stop sign in the box?
That’s not prevention. That’s… that’s… literally providing those things. Entirely different from prevention.
The simple design and excellent craftsmanship are suitable for most vehicles without disturbing the line of sight, thus ensuring driving safety. It is also a beautiful car decoration that can be freely matched with your car.
If it’s not in your line of sight, then how is it at “a comfortable angle, ensure good navigation or entertainment perspective”?
“Beautiful” is highly subjective and hugely optimistic here.
And how can it be matched with your car if the “Basic Colours: Black”?
Unless your car is black, I suppose.
Material: Silica gel
Package Size: 14.5 x 6 x 13cm
At least it’ll keep your car dry. But DO NOT EAT.
But hang on. Actually, looking at those dimensions – that would be absolutely PERFECT fit for my car!
Oh. Oh dear.
Please someone (not me), buy one of these things and let me know what it does. Especially relating to the prevention of “locked cars, tickets, body scratches, temporary stop signs and car phone holders”.
I’d love to know.
Ooh. This looks interesting.
Obviously, having had a few trips out to Robben Island (and with another in just a couple of weeks), I have met a lot of the teams from RIM and from SANCCOB out there, and the work they are doing – against some very challenging conditions – is amazing.
I’m motivated to pick up an extra few bags of plastic waste when I’m over there just to support them.
Just for a giggle, I clicked through on the ad and I actually fulfill literally all of the requirements for the position. Amazing.
Being pale in tone, that’s not always the case, but obviously being strongly penguin-related, this job is subject to Black & White Economic Empowerment regulations.