Category: learning curve

A picture of a VW gear lever

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Remember this extraordinary outburst?

you say you weren’t used to the car?LIAR,LIAR,LIAR… As EVERYBODY knows,in a VW,1st and reverse gear are TOTALLY on the opposite side to each other.

*pauses for dramatic echo effect*

Well, helpful reader @pimrie has helpfully taken a photograph of his VW gear lever, and he’s kindly allowed me to share it with you.
Please excuse the fact that his car could probably do with a bit of a clean. That’s not what this is about.

vwrev

No, what this is about is the fact that in this particular VW, 1st and reverse gear are… er… not “TOTALLY on the opposite side to each other”.
Maybe there’s more than one sort of VW gearbox. And evidently, internet commenter and legal threat donor Paul Murray was thinking of the other sort of VW gearbox. Which makes it all the more confusing, because when you’re panicking because several tonnes of angry, infected pachyderm is bearing down on you, you might well forget which sort of VW you’re in and, with that vital information, the layout of the gearbox.

Rule one of posting outraged allegations on the internet, Paul: make sure that you’re actually correct in your outraged allegations.

iTunes broke my PC

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And judging by the recent traffic on the Apple support forums, I are not alone.
Suffice to say, don’t try and install any updates to the program if you’re running any version of Windows.

Something bad will happen.

Anyway, between trying to fix that, being a dragon guarding some treasure in the garden and heading out to a housewarming this evening, I find that I’m right out of time for posting anything other than this important warning.

You’re welcome.

In Search of Tranquility

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The Telegraph has come out with their list of Britain’s Most Tranquil Places and there at number six is the Isle of Man, a fact that they chose to illustrate with a rather disappointing photograph of the Calf Sound:

quiet6_2783623k

That image really doesn’t do it justice. Some of the other photos on the slideshow (link above) are very pretty though.

But looking at the rest of the list, remoteness and simplicity is key for inclusion. That’s something that we can almost take for granted in South Africa, but the UK is packed and there are far fewer places where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of normal daily life.

Interestingly, it appears that I have lived in both the quietest (Oxford) and noisiest (Newcastle) cities in Britain. Being generally of average volume, I’m not sure that I did anything to contribute to either of those achievements. Plus, I haven’t lived there for 10 years, anyway.

The Isle of Man is also home to:

the largest concentration of Dark Sky sites in Britain. Dark Sky Discovery Network announced in 2014 that the island has a total of 26 designated “Dark Sky Discovery Sites”.

Again, we’re spoiled for this in SA, once you’re anywhere outside the big cities. The difference and detail that one can see in the night sky between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas is a good case in point. It’s not quite that simple in the UK, as generally, once you’re a sufficient distance from one city, you’re generally approaching another.

So, where are your quietest spots in SA (or wherever you are)?

Fitness Update

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I’d just like you to know the latest on my new “Eat sensibly, Exercise a bit more” Fitness Plan:

So far, I have lost 5.2kg in 2 weeks, I’m constantly hungry and I ache all over. My ankle is particularly vociferous; its plaintive cries ringing out each and every time any sustained effort is required from my right foot.

Still, I am noticably thinner and noticeably fitter already. Hello, ladies!

So, since it worked for me and since you really don’t need scientific evidence to release a “revolutionary” “new” diet plan these days, I’m busy writing a book which I will sell by the million and annoy medical professionals the world over.

South Africa’s New Baby Lighthouse

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Y’all know I have a thing for lighthouses. Fortunately, living near the coast, there are a ready supply for me to enjoy.

One of the ones a bit further away from home is the Robberg Peninsular Light which, as the name suggests is sited on the er… Robberg Peninsular. You may remember the Robberg Peninsular from such hotel room views as this:

IMG-20131019-WA0002

Anyway, the Robberg Light has just been replaced and has regained its position as South Africa’s smallest standalone lighthouse. It’s also the highest light in the country, at 129m above sea level. This is much lower than the old and now defunct Cape Point lighthouse (229m) which was shut down in favour of the “new” lower (87m above sea level) lighthouse, because it was regularly shrouded in fog, and therefore useless.

robblight

The Robberg Lighthouse is a little less fancy, being solar-powered, unmanned and just 8m tall. Still, as long as the baby of the South Coast does its job of keeping passing marine traffic off the South Coast, all is good.