Category: economic issues

PILCHARDS OF DOOM

Posted on

So read the headline on the Daily Voice this morning. All in big capitals. Just like I did in the title there.

The story behind the headline is – perhaps unsurprisingly – nowhere near as catchy, concerning the death of a Paarl man after he (drank several litres of cheap wine and) ate an expired tin of pilchards.

The expiry date on the can clearly states the contents are not to be eaten after 2005. But Flip “Billy” Blou, 41, was too drunk to notice and ate his fill on Sunday.

Within hours he died a painful death, bleeding from the ears, mouth and nose.

His friend Henry Fransman also helped himself to the expired fish after drinking heavily with Flip. He is now recovering in hospital.

Ouch.

Drinking buddy Vuyani Goniwe, 36, said the day had started out pleasantly.

He told the Daily Voice they had each contributed R10 towards buying a R30, five-litre bottle of Cape Best wine and shared it at the Never-Never tavern.

“We were all very drunk that day but the two of them were worse, they could not even walk,” saidVuyani. “They were carried out in a wheelbarrow. We had been drinking together the whole day.”

“Cape Best Wine”? At R6 a litre? “Best”. Right.

Goniwe said he suspects the fish, and not the wine, caused his friends to get violently ill.

Ah – the old “dodgy kebab” excuse. Yeah. Been there, used that. Never after drinking 5 litres of wine and coming home in a wheelbarrow though. That’s something a little different. Nice twist.

From a microbiological point of view, I was interested. With bleeding from the ears, mouth and nose, one immediately suspects viral haemorrhagic fever, but that seems a little unlikely in Paarl. With canned food, one immediately suspects Clostridium perfringens, but the symptoms of that particular bug don’t usually even include vomiting, let alone vomiting blood.
Most of the symptoms here are far more consistent with severe alcohol poisoning, but who on earth could even consider that given the facts detailed above?

More concerning still is the final line of the story in which Minister Alan Winde states that:

the next step would be to wait for the results of the autopsy to establish exactly what had killed the two men.

only one of whom has actually died.

Some Few Things

Posted on

A few things that caught my interest today:

Avon sales are up in South Africa, which is good news for those selling Avon products – and their kids:

“My daughter also took the brochure into school – they both knew that if there were orders then they were sure they were going to have food at the end of the day.”

Volunteer rat trappers required on the Calf of Man. I would do this if I was anywhere near to the Calf of Man. As it is, I will have to continue practising on the moles in my back garden. No bad thing.

I have a bloody earworm from some film my wife watched this weekend. I may need this.

My first homebrew project is underway, with my kit from BeerLab. I’m suddenly concerned over the exact air temperature in my house. Oh, and where I’m going to get 23 litres of beer bottles from in the next week and a half.

The Man United refereeing post which is interesting, but which requires shedloads of extra data before it means very much.

Currently, my favourite song from the new Muse album is Follow Me:

 

…which will definitely be making an appearance on my RunMix02. Big up to Radio One for the amazing light show in the Live Lounge. Yes, I know it’s radio, but really – why bother at all?

The Rand is currently at R8.92/$ and R14.29/£.
I, like the rest of South Africa, am quietly weeping somewhere deep inside.

Woolies counters new allegations

Posted on

Having apparently survived the ridiculous Justin Harrison’s ridiculous calls for a boycott against it, Woolworths in South Africa now finds itself having to counter allegations regarding the contents of its pre-prepared fruit salads.

Some unnamed individuals have suggested that the list of ingredients as “fruit” is vague and requires clarification. Perhaps mindful of their tardy addressing of the previous issues, Woolies has this time been quick to respond:

Yes, in a fruit salad related revelation probably only equal to that of their previous fruit salad revelation, it seems that Woolworths’ Seasonal Berry Mix includes Berries. (Probably seasonal ones.)

Who knew?

Carbon dioxide emissions in US drop to 20 year low. Why?

Posted on

I mentioned this article from Slate.com briefly yesterday, but it’s worth putting on here as well as it does rather poke a bit of stick into the ribs of the local environMENTALists currently going nuts over the SA Government moratorium on fracking being lifted.

Carbon-dioxide emissions in the United States have dropped to their lowest level in 20 years. Estimating on the basis of data from the US Energy Information Agency from the first five months of 2012, this year’s expected CO2 emissions have declined by more than 800 million tons, or 14 percent from their peak in 2007.

The cause is an unprecedented switch to natural gas, which emits 45 percent less carbon per energy unit. The U.S. used to generate about half its electricity from coal, and roughly 20 percent from gas. Over the past five years, those numbers have changed, first slowly and now dramatically: In April of this year, coal’s share in power generation plummeted to just 32 percent, on par with gas.

It is tempting to believe that renewable energy sources are responsible for emissions reductions, but the numbers clearly say otherwise. Accounting for a reduction of 50 Mt of CO2 per year, America’s 30,000 wind turbines reduce emissions by just one-10 the amount that natural gas does. Biofuels reduce emissions by only 10 megatons, and solar panels by a paltry three megatons.

All of which further demonstrates the benefits of shale gas, not just for the South African economy, but also for the environment. And with Eskom currently building the  largest dry-cooled coal fired power station in the world at Medupi in Limpopo, which will burn through almost 15 million tonnes of coal each year for the next 40 years, it would be nice to have a safer, cleaner, more efficient yet viable alternative.

Solitude

Posted on

sol·i·tude

[sol-i-tood, -tyood]
noun
the state of being or living alone; seclusion: to enjoy one’s solitude.

And the name of a er… two person tent currently on promotion at Cape Union Mart.

Channelling Sickboy from Trainspotting, “the biggest misnomer since Pussy Galore”.

Don’t miss next month’s offer, the “Crowd” one person sleeping bag.