Category: learning curve

First aid kit

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Just a quick heads up for readers. We recently had “an incident” at home – a minor thing, nothing too serious, just a bit sore – that required some first aid. As a trained first aider, this shouldn’t have proven too much of a problem for me.
It was only when I started toward the first aid kit that I remembered that last time I used the first aid kit, I noted that it needed some replenishment. The popular items get used up quickly and the less used ones go out of date. But then, typically, I hadn’t done anything about it. And of course, one of the worst times to remember that the first aid kit needs replenishing is when you’re heading for the first aid kit with a damaged child in hand.

That’s why I’m suggesting that you make a note or set a reminder to check your first aid kit this evening. 

And why not tell your friends and family to do the same. Because it’s no fun to have improvise and make a plaster out of leaves, and antiseptic poultice from soil and beagle hair, I can tell you.

If you want to know what you need, here’s a good guide (especially for those of you with kids). Alternatively, Dischem have got you covered for the basics or more.

Western Cape Number Plates

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Here’s a comprehensive guide as to where in the Western Cape those two and three letter C codes belong. Why not print it out and take it along on your next (Western Cape) road trip to amuse the kids, the wife, or the (intelligent and literate) beagle? It’s also useful as a tool to work out where hitch-hikers want to end up.

TBCPRPl(click it for bigness)

From this map, you can see how the curse of generally poor and overly aggressive driving has leached from CY into CF. CF is a particularly thin area, and thus it seems likely that CL will soon be affected. They’re already mostly drunk on the heady mix of fine wine and Afrikaans in Stellies, and I fear that the curse of the CY may be altogether too much for the roads to handle.

Night shot

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Actually: Night Shot (And Some Thoughts About ‘Togging On A Game Reserve)

Sifting through the several million photos we took at Sanbona, I think I’ve managed to kraal a significant but reasonable number of them into a Flickr album. Some were easy to include, some less so. But I use Flickr so that I’ve got a record and a memory of what happened, rather than to show off my photographic prowess. Using that second method would have taken a whole lot less time. What the group ends up with is a combination of the best shots and the best of the rest – it’s not always easy to photograph uncooperative wildlife. For an example, only 1 out of every 100 birds of prey that I see is facing me. Unless I don’t have a camera with me, of course. Then they all face me. Bastards.
That said, we were lucky enough to get very close to a lot of stuff, including cheetah, elephants (twice), rhinos and lions (and even a semi-cooperative bird of prey at one stage), amongst other things. So there are plenty of them.

But while you’re out and about looking at these things, you have to remember to make a decision: do you want to experience the animal there and then, or do you just want photo memories of it?
For me it was a bit of both, and so once I’d grabbed a couple of shots, I stopped and just watched, observed and listened (albeit with the camera ready to shoot again).

Obviously, you can take a bit more time over the shots of things that don’t move.

We also used our phone cameras while we were away. Firstly, so that we could email the kids something each evening and secondly (and photography snobs may want to look away now) because you can actually grab a decent shot every now and again. Oh, and it enables you to do things like this while someone else is using the “real” camera.

The place we stayed at was amazing. The setting was amazing. The staff were amazing. The food was amazing. The ranger was particularly amazing. It was, as you might expect, having read the previous five sentences – an amazing experience.

You can endure enjoy the full Flickr album here.

EGS

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It’s May, and we all know what happens in May. EGS happens in May.

Incoming via Polo Times:

Grass Sickness cases show a spike in May.
Polo ponies that are kept out at grass could be affected this spring by Equine Grass Sickness.

Yep. EGS = Equine Grass Sickness: a sickness of equines that is caused by guess what?

The main risk factor for grass sickness, as the name may suggest, is grass.

Thanks wikipedia. No Jimmy, I’m not donating for stuff like this.

I’m not into ponies and horses (those allegations never even went to court), but I am into microbiology and this does have a microbiological side because the sickness is believed to be caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Yes, what’s killing horses left, right and centre is the same stuff Helen Zille injects into her face.

And it is killing horses. Almost invariably. Let’s look at the mortality rates for a few human diseases:

Influenza A (and by this, I mean actual Influenza, not “‘flu”) kills about 0.1% of people who get it.
Bubonic plague (the “Black Death”) kills about 5% of those it infects.
Mortality in those affected by the recent West African Ebola Epidemic was around 53% (although, it’s complicated).

EGS kills 95% of the horses that get it. Ninety-five!

I’m pretty happy that I’m not a horse right now. Or… in fact… ever.

Brilliantly, according to Polo Times, one of the best ways to limit the chances of your equine getting EGS is not letting your equine eat grass. Who knew? (I bet wikipedia knew.)

PT is equally insightful in their “What to look out for” section on EGS:

  • Peracute: The horse is found dead in the field having presumably ingested large amounts of the bacteria.

That’s hugely helpful. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for that. Thanks.

Anyway, if you have horses (and I suspect this is mainly aimed at the Northern hemisphere), then apparently it’s well worth your while to be careful what you let them eat in the Springtime.

Is It Ever OK to Drink Wine From Tumblers?

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This is the “Are You Beach Body Ready?” question of wine-drinking circles. And, much as some argue that all you have to do to make your body beach ready is go to the beach (and not threaten to bomb the offices of a nutritional supplement company), I would argue that it’s ok to drink wine out of whatever vessel you like.

In fact, I drink all my red wine out of a tumbler. Really.
And it seems that other people also think that’s absolutely fine:

Contrary to what you might expect, wine served in a tumbler isn’t a sign of bad wine or bad service — it’s a sign of tradition. According to chef Matteo Clivati, a Milanese native, currently the chef de partie at A16, and SF’s newest pop-up restaurateur, it’s common to see wine served in short tumblers in Italy, especially if the cuisine is rustic and traditional and if the owner makes his or her own wine. Some might also say that because wine is a part of every meal in the Old Country, serving wine in such a casual way only enforces its impact on Italian culture — wine isn’t as much of a “special occasion” drink as it is here in America.

I’m no hipster. I just prefer drinking wine from a tumbler, so I do. In summer, sometimes I even put it in the fridge first. Purists would spit at me in the street if they only knew.

So let’s leave it our little secret, ok?