Out and about

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We’re out and about doing an outdoors thing away from Cape Town today, and why not, given that there will be no electricity to do anything indoors at all. Yes, Granddad is getting a true South African experience with (as it stands) 11½ hours without power today. I jest, but it’s actually pretty scary stuff: the schools are still on holiday, many people haven’t gone back to work yet after the summer break: demand should be low. That Eskom can’t even keep up – they’re not even close – is very worrying and doesn’t augur well for the coming year, especially as at least a quarter of that year is forecast to be winter.

This is supposed to be the easy bit.

Anyway, onto more positive matters. Today should be fun (if you’re reading this, we’ve likely already started) and I’ll surely share some photos on here or on The ‘Gram (link top right) a little later.

Have a great day and don’t forget to charge your devices.

Mountain Photo of the Year

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Yep: does exactly what it says in the title.

Here are the finalists, and here is the winner:

This is going to sound a bit moany, but while there are some pretty good photos in there, there’s nothing that jumps out at me as being particularly special. And I just think that if you are going to have a competition like this, with such a grand title and such a huge range (no pun intended) of potentially incredible subjects, then the ones that get through to the final stage should be amazing.

Bit disappointed with these. I’ll be looking to up the standard next year (T&Cs apply).

Babysit

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I’m babysitting again.

This time somewhat digitally, with the Boy Wonder out and about all over Kenilworth, planning his latest escapade, and Little Miss 6000 visiting the local shopping mall with a friend. I’m just hanging about the local coffee shops at that mall, making sure that everything is ok, and if it isn’t, that I’m right on scene and ready to go should I be needed. It’s not that I don’t trust her: it’s everyone else that I have an issue with.

Technology being what it is, I can keep an eye on both of them via the power of mobile GPS, and so one eye is on that while the other is crafting a high quality blog post.

My Dad has gone wandering in Kirstenbosch. Unless you have a specific plan and a specific time limit – which he doesn’t – just wandering in Kirstenbosch is often the best way to do Kirstenbosch. I’m not keeping an eye on him, though. He’s old enough to look after himself.

And so everyone is everywhere and I’m just sitting here drinking a massive mug of coffee. I’m not sure this is what parenthood was meant to be like, but as long as everyone is ok, it seems easy enough to manage.

In fact, the only thing that’s not working out is my music. I left my headphones at home (because everything is all mixed up at the moment), and although I’ve been and got a cheap set from the dodgy Chinese shop just over there [points], now Spotify is refusing to open. Maybe in protest at the quality of the equipment. Justifiably so, then.

Otherwise though, it’s all good. I think that all I need now is a muffin.

You’ll probably have noticed

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With the kids on school holidays and family over from the UK, there’s a distinct lack of order and rhythm in our lives at the moment. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, but I am saying that you’ll probably have noticed that this usually very concise, organised, carefully constructed blog isn’t… well… any of those things at the moment.

Sorry about that.

Another thing that isn’t happening is me looking at any of the news or media sites. Again, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing, because it’s rare that there’s happy happy joy joy stuff being spread via those means. But my absence, followed by a quick dip or delve in makes me wonder just how I could have missed some of the bigger stories. Like… did this just slip under the radar yesterday, or was everyone except me talking about it?

The De Ruyter in question being the outgoing CEO of Eskom, our ailing “electricity” “generation” and “distribution” parastatal.

I have so many questions.

Does this happen to the heads of state entities in other countries* as well?
Cyanide in his coffee? That’s proper old school Cold War stuff.
But it must also surely limit the number of suspects: The tea lady. The coffee man. The mysterious individual with the small glass vial who popped into the office canteen for a couple of minutes on Tuesday morning. The office cyanide suppliers.
There are easier way to kill people. High velocity lead poisoning is very popular in SA, I believe.
Why wait three weeks to tell the police?
How did the hospital detect the poisoning so quickly? Were there suspicions that he had been poisoned or was going to be poisoned, because you’re surely (and reasonably) going to go down the viral food poisoning route first with those symptoms, and then only realise that you’re too late to put things right when you are too late to put things right. I’m just saying that cyanide poisoning a rather unusual thing to investigate for on first line tests. Either a very astute medic or some insider knowledge.

And then there are those that believe that this is all some sort of hoax or false flag. No reasoning is given by these individuals, but then, looking at the names involved, they’re not known for their powers of reasoning.

Thankfully, there is one voice of sanity out there:

Dangerous stuff, indeed. And something which most ER staff in SA would immediately consider with a confused, disorientated or collapsed middle aged man arriving at their door.

I realise that it’s just a joke, but it says a lot about how thing work in the country that it’s as reasonable a theory as anything anyone else has suggested. Including the truth.

Whatever that may be.

* well, Russia, obviously.