Some posts revisited

It’s time to check out some posts from the past…

Still saving on shopping?

Yes. Yes, I am.

This wasn’t planned, but quite by chance, it’s almost a year to the day since I waxed lyrical about the Checkers Xtra Savings Plus card in my post: Xtra Savings Plus.

It wasn’t an ad than, and it still isn’t an ad now.

I give Checkers R99 a month, they give me several benefits including free delivery on my Sixty60 shopping, extra personalised deals around the shop, and 10% off one shop a month. That discount can be up to R200, and it always is R200, because I carefully hold fire on the big (expensive) items that we need, and lump them all together in that one shop so I make sure that I get all the benefit of that R200.

I’m not daft, hey? Despite what they say.

Today, I did even better than usual:

That was on a shop totaling about R3,300 before discounts. That’s more than 30% off, and while it’s still a lot of money to spend (because life is f*****g expensive!), it’s also R986.66 better than it could have been.

I’m still telling you to sign up. It’s such a good deal: spend a bit to save a lot.

Absolutely:

Best mundane grocery shopping thing I’ve ever done.


How’s the whole 6Music thing going, then?

Yes. The 6Music overseas listening thing, which started here, and continued all the way through to this much more recent post, which has been doing HUGE business for the blog. Zeitgeist.

Yes, you can still listen to 6Music outside the UK, but it’s a really crap experience. It’s via a page on a browser, there are frequent breaks and crashes, but there are no bells, no whistles, no rewinding, no listen back later options. It’s seriously basic. When it works.

But it does work. Mostly.

However, I’ve found that using a VPN is still the better way to listen. It’s a pain on my phone because it drains the battery quickly, it makes all my other browsing slower, and all my ads are…

NOTHING BEATS A JET2 HOLIDAY!!!

…on repeat.

But it does work SO much better than the straight link.

Want to give it a go? Here’s a mutually beneficial referral link to the VPN service I am using.


And talking of referral links

Admyt is still one of my very favourite local apps. Not least because I love the confusion, bewilderment and admiration on passers-by faces when the car park boom lifts for me as I drive up to it.

“Wow. He must be very special,” I hear imagine them whispering, and yeah…

And they are going from strength to strength, with several (or more) new locations being added all the time: Canal Walk (which has a Checkers), V&A Waterfront, Gardens Shopping Centre etc etc etc. It’s just a great system, and you can get some free parking by signing up on my link:

TRE162273

…when you get the app on Apple here, or Google here


Still down for a good time

Ostensibly, there’s one more month of winter left down here. We’ve had quite a lot of rain already this time around, and after 10 crisp, cool, sunny days, yesterday was a whole 28oC. And then the next cold front hit us. So how are we staying warm at night?

Hungarian Goose Down, that’s how.

We’ve had that duvet for 13 months now and, well, it’s that “No Ragrets” image all over again. I cannot fault evolution when it comes to the down of the Hungarian Goose, or fault the goose-plucking (careful now) farmers plucking their geese. It is so deliciously light and warm, but without the rubbish bits of the goose, like the honking and the poo.

This one was another success story.


We can dance if we want to

Let’s tie it all (well, some of it) together. I heard this song on 6Music while I was at the shops this morning, not buying a duvet. It’s fun, it’s mad, it’s… The Safety Dance.

Right. Let’s light the fire and prep for this incoming nastiness.

More tomorrow.

Breeze

Could this be the last “proper” cold front to come through this winter?
It’s definitely on its way, with the skies looking threatening, and the wind on the rise.

My feeling is no. There’s still plenty of time for a couple more Cape storms to round off a very wet and cold wintertime here.

So, some sort of hat is probably in order.

That said, after this one and its hangers on, there does appear to be a bit of a window of distinctly springlike weather in the medium-term forecast.

Let’s not count our chickens.

Actually, chicken counting might be a good idea before the worst of the weather comes in tonight. There’s a real danger that your chickens might get blown away by a wind which is expected to gust well into the 90s. That’s kph, not the best decade for music.

50 knots. 58 Swedish miles per hour. Hectic, bru. Those numbers fall squarely into the Force 10 Storm on the Beaufort Scale, which I’m told is the goto scale for all things wind-related. So yes, count your chickens and make sure you tape down your beagle’s ears firmly to prevent excessive flappery.

So yeah, another few days of cold, wet misery to get through before we can even think about getting rid of these “hospital tans” and enjoying the sunshine.

Good luck.

Back for the moment

A first horseriding lesson (not me) for what seems like a lifetime, all because of that weather.

And we’re sneaking this one in before the next cold front comes in tonight.

But it’s already making itself known with a cold northwesterly barreling in off the ocean.

There’s a Feels Like temperature of 3°C.

I’m trying to shelter, but the henhouse shed that I usually hide behind got blown away by the storm last week and has yet to be reinstated. It’s not great, but I get it: why mend stuff ahead of more horrible weather when it’s probably just going to blow away again?

The grooms have been making hay (no pun intended) by painting the jumping poles and turning one of the barns into a storage unit for giant drinking straws. A lovely juxtaposition to the drab, grey conditions outside.

On the drive over here I was once again struck by the signs of damage all the way over the mountain. The only people who have benefited from the last fortnight have been the Cape Town woodchip and sawdust cartels.

So. Many. Branches.

So we’re braced for another 18 hours of heavy rain and nasty wind.

Roll on summer.

Please.

A quick round up

Let’s do a quick recap.

My legs. They still work. And football was a lot of fun, despite the result. I’m giving myself a day off gym and other exercise today, but I’m both happy and mildly surprised to say that I could probably actually possibly do stuff if I wanted to*.


Talking of football, I’ll just repeat myself on this one:

Never bet against Real Madrid in the Champions League*.

An amazing game last night, which I almost ditched in favour of bed with 10 minutes to go, but then (wisely) chose not to. Because you never bet against Real Madrid in the Champions League*.

And, I have to say, VAR even added to the drama. [oi – stop throwing things at me!]
Incredible tension when that second goal went in and was disallowed.
Incredible scenes when that second goal was confirmed…


I added this song to my 2024 Spotify playlist:

Maximo Park meets The Enemy meets The Maccabees, maybe?
Raging, but controlled. Ferociously introspective, but dealing with things. Just.

And a reminder that all my Spotify playlists are here for your enjoyment, free of charge*.


It’s a beautiful day outside, but wow, it’s chilly this morning. It looks like it will be dropping into single figures this weekend after another cold front due tomorrow. The last one didn’t really deliver on its promises, with just 6mm of rain. Still, taking no chances, I have checked all the gutters are clear and I’ve got the firewood ready.
Also, for the first time this year: socks. [Audience gasps]


Anger at Adobe. Anger at James Popsys.

Wow. Photographers can get angry. But it’s justified this time, I think.

Adobe, who charge us many, many Rands for the use of their software (which is obviously fair enough – it’s my choice to subscribe), are embracing AI to the point where they actually use the term “Skip the photoshoot” on their Generative Background menu.

Yeah. Why bother employing a ‘tog?

In a world where AI is replacing many jobs, not least in the creative sector, this feel like a real kick in the teeth.

And photography Youtubers are at it too. James Popsys released a video sponsored by AI photo development tool Luminar Neo. In this video – and I hope you’re sitting down for this revelation – he extolled the virtues of the AI photo development tool Luminar Neo.

This did not go down well with his viewers. There were comments like:

James a couple of weeks ago – embrace imperfections in photos.
James now he’s being paid – use AI to remove power lines.

and:

Yay, a new video from James….. oh, it’s a 12 minute ad for AI 🙁

and:

Why not just sell your camera and start making photos with an AI image generator?

Which is exactly what Adobe seem to be suggesting above.

Look, there’s likely a place for AI in many aspects of our lives*. And there’s definitely a place for it in photography. But to go in this heavy-handed (and I’m looking at you both, Adobe and James Popsys), well, that’s not the way to put it out there.

* T&Cs apply