Do they show South African city workers Discovery?

Just watched Discovery HD's "NYC Inside Out."



Wow. NYC's intesnity is something else. Workers there work like there is no tomorrow.

I've once watched workers retarring a New York street. Now NYC streets are often pretty awful - covered in steel plating and cones over sewers. But watching the workers retarring a street is poetry in high gear. They move in en masse. Any parked cars that are not moved are lifted and put on the sidewalk - nothing stops the machine.

New Yorkers also talk the game constantly. The workers shout aggressively as though there is no one more important.

Watching this episode on Discovery, shows just that kind of experience. Water workers excavating at night to join buildings to the grid so as not to knock out the water supply. Layered concrete below the tarmac to protect the piping. And all done at frentic pace and high audio volume. You can quite imagine the shift boss getting an ulcer from the stress.

If only our workers could see this. Man. They've been working on the water in my suburb for 3 months! And Joburg's road quality problems are now the stuff of legend.

Am I doomed to repeat this?

I'm struggling right now.

I mentioned I'm in love again. And here.

After not seeing R for a long time while I was away and then he was busy with work, I saw quite a bit of him last week. I loved every moment. Braaing, out drinking and playing golf. Loved just chatting and shooting the breeze. Loved being close to him.

He seems at ease with me and we're just like a couple of boys together.

And it's that old thing of being grateful for each moment, but knowing that it will go no further. Seemingly pleasure and agony in equal measure.

Over the past year I've looked for people who are accessible - on Datingbuzz and Mamba. The guys I'm interested in are not interested in me. I'm not sure why. But it seems that the people I'm destined to love - and those I might - are unreachable.

I'm meeting with someone off Mamba for coffee tomorrow. He's not long term potential - I'm 36 and he is 23. But it might be fun, and I could do with some of that.


But even with that I'm just cut up about R.

It's illegal to zap / swear at the president?

I cannot believe this story!

It sounds like something out of the days of apartheid, with policemen bundling someone into a car with a bag over their head and NIA agents raiding their house.

I am so angry! To me, this is the equivalent of flag burning - or even more acceptable - in the realms of freedom of speech.

After recently watching Invictus and marvelling at Mandela's approach to his security in the spirit of reconciliation, this contrast reminds me of the madness of Mugabe.

Frankly, much of Zuma's conduct with respect to corruption, rewarding those who helped quash charges against him, and his sleeping around reminds me of Mugabe.

Man swore at president, says ministry

From Iol

February 16 2010 at 06:20PM

The 25-year-old student arrested for "waving" at President Jacob Zuma's convoy last week swore at the president and resisted arrest, a spokesman has said.

Police Ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi said Chumani Maxwele had pointed his middle finger at the president. He said this gesture was synonymous with swearing and showing disrespect.

"No person is permitted to use foul language, swear at another individual, especially as such conduct may lead to promoting hate conduct in the Republic," said Mnisi.

The Sowetan reported on Tuesday that Maxwele had been arrested for "waving on" Zuma's convoy while jogging in De Waal Drive, Cape Town.

A black BMW pulled up and three men jumped out, allegedly pointing guns at him. He was then pushed into a car. A bag was pulled over his head and he was then allegedly taken to Zuma's residence before being taken to the Mowbray police station.

Maxwele, an active ANC member, was held for just under 24 hours. He was allegedly interrogated by intelligence agents who asked for, among other things, the names of his friends and the name of the chairmen of his ANC branch.

He said his house had been raided by plainclothes policemen while he was in custody. He was released before appearing in court.

Mnisi said Maxwele had become aggressive on the day of the incident when the police stopped to question him about his actions.

"He became aggressive and began to swear at them. They then arrested him, charged him with crimen injuria and resisting arrest," said Mnisi.

"He was detained and later transferred to Mowbray Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the area of offence."

Mnisi called Maxwele's conduct towards the police "unacceptable".

"It will not be tolerated," he said.

Mnisi declined to comment about allegations that agents of the National Intelligence Agency had raided Maxwele's house or interrogated him.

"We further need to clarify that the matter was handled solely by the police, as it forms part of our mandate of protecting all VIPs," said Mnisi.

He did not answer a question about whether Zuma himself had pressed charges against Mxwele.

Zizi Kodwa, the president's spokesman, declined to comment, claiming it was a "security issue". - Sapa

UPDATE: Is this the fall of the US?

Wow!

New in today is that the gulf states are reconsidering the pricing of oil in US Dollars. They're considering a basket of currencies and commodities.

This is exactly what I suggested might be the outcome in my previous post. Do the sheiks read this blog....?

http://itisthequestion.blogspot.com/2009/03/fall-of-us.html

The US Dollar could only defy gravity for so long. The crime as been the US government and Fed presiding over deficits for this length of time.

It is equivalent to a household borrowing money to pay for living expenses (including lots of luxuries) and then each month getting more debt to pay for further expenses - and to pay off the previous month's debt. Eventually, banks are going to say, "Hey, we'd don't believe you'll be able to pay us back."

Now imagine the household is buying on credit at stores and borrowing money from banks to pay off the accounts. Imagine the sore keeper starts to get worried about your ability to borrow to pay your account, and stops giving you further credit.

That is exactly the situation the US faces.

Are traditions sacred? Who will stop the dolphin and whale culls?

I read this story this morning about the annual dolphin and whale cull in Taiji, Japan.



I felt sick to my stomach.

It reminds me of the debate about ritual slaughters of goats and cattle in South Africa, where Xhosa people viewed the criticism of backyard slaughters as racist.

"Dolphin-killing may be bad for our international image, but we can't just issue an order for it to stop."



"I think we are the victims of a form of racism," said one, as we watched the pilot whales being herded out of sight to be killed. "Westerners slaughter cattle and other animals in the most inhumane ways imaginable, but no one says a word. Why is it that only Japan gets this kind of treatment?"

Sounds very familiar.

The point is that slaughter of any form is regrettable. That animals have to die that we may eat. However, if animals are brought up and slaughtered in a humane way, this at least draws from a sustainable resource in a way that minimizes stress and suffering.

The slaughter of whales and dolphins satisfies a blood lust preserved in the name of tradition, attacks threatened species, and causes massive suffering to the most intelligent animals.

What technologies make mobile life easier?

The rush and movement of my holiday necessitated getting my communication optimised. I arrived in the UK and loaded a Vodafone pre-paid SIM bought on a previous trip. It did not work. Vodafone expires their pre-paid SIMs after 3 months of inactivity. So I made use of roaming on my South African Vodacom account for the first two days of my holiday in the UK. I stayed in a reasonable hotel in Bayswater with Wi-Fi and began my technology upgrade.

I downloaded Google Maps Mobile over the hotel Wi-Fi to my laptop and transferred it to my phone. What a brilliant application. It works off cell phone mast triangulation (accuracy varies depends on the masts in the area) or it can use your phone's GPS.



I have an HTC Touch Diamond which I bought some time back due to its full suite of technologies (wi-fi, GPS, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, 3.2 megapixel camera, HSDPA, 3G, EDGE, GPRS) and its size. It has an iPhone-like touch interface, but following the iPhone shortly after its launch, it had a fuller complement of technologies and was about half the size. It integrates well with email, supporting multiple IMAP and POP3 accounts. It's been a great phone with only one shortcoming - the feature set overwhelms its battery which often hardly lasts a day. The GPS has to be used in a car connected to power, or it drains the battery in about 20 minutes.



I also downloaded Skype for Mobile to make calls back to SA at a cheaper rate while away.



I thought I had the North American maps for Co-Pilot, my Navteq-based GPS software. When I reached the US, I found I did not. I paid for the US and South African maps and then assumed I had access. But I then discovered they needed to be downloaded. As an HTC user, the maps are difficult to get hold of as CoPilot is bundled with the phone. They must be purchased and you then have to email support to get the link to download. Other users purchase the Co-Pilot software and then use its desktop console to download the maps. The North American maps were 1GB. By the time I reached Los Vegas and was about to hire a car, I discovered I did not have the maps. In discovering this I used 12mb of data on roaming while sitting at the side of the road - this alone cost me R1400. I eventually made it to my destination in Los Angeles using Google Maps. This is really not ideal as you have to read off the screen - difficult while driving and navigating the myriad of freeways in LA. CoPilot GPS has voice prompting.



After making contact with Co-Pilot European support from my hotel, I downloaded 250Mb before I had to check out. I downloaded the remainder when I reached my cousins. I was now in position to use the GPS maps and verbal direction on my drive up the west coast.

I had forgotten my iPod in South Africa and bought the new Nano in New York to listen to Depeche Mode and U2 prior to their concerts. At $199 for the 16Gb Nano, it was an expensive mistake. Now I have two...



I went to the New York store RCS Experience to buy a long-life battery for my Lenovo T60 notebook. My previous battery had reached the end of its useful life, and I have always wanted something for long plane journey's etc. It was a crazily expensive purchase in South Africa, and slightly cheaper in New York ($166).



While there I found a point-and-shoot camera, to complement my Canon EOS D20. It is the truly amazing Canon Digital IXUS 960IS - it takes 12 Megapixel photos and shoots HD video. It was quite an expensive purchase (about $300) with another $65 for an 8Gb extreme speed SD card.



A productivity aid I've longed for is a bluetooth keyboard for my phone. I bought a Freedom universal fold-up keyboard. It is amazing. It provides an almost full size keyboard and with office mobile on my phone, this allows me to work comfortably in a coffee shop on my phone. That cost about $80 and was one of my best purchases.





The truly impulse purchase was a set of binoculars. I've never had a pair, and end up using the telephoto lens on my camera in the bush. I found a cheapish pair of Bushnell binocs with an SD slot that allows you to take a 3.2 Megapixel photo of whatever you're viewing through the lens. They cost $240 - a long way short of the $3000-odd dollar starting price for Leica and other pedigrees.



I put the camera to good use and took some nice pictures and videos at the Depeche Mode and U2 Concerts, and while playing golf. I don't really do typical tourist pictures - you can always download really good ones off the net. I resolved during this trip that that was a poor excuse. In future I will look to take a good photo and help preserve a memory.

I began this resolution in LA at Universal pictures - where I was dismayed my Canon EOS D20 stopped working. It gave a Compact Flash error, yet the CF disk worked on a flash reader. That was really irritating, especially after hauling the camera half way round the world. When I got back I reformatted the disk and it's now working again.

I attempted to get a US pre-paid contract while in the US to reduce my burgeoning cell phone bill. I found that the US pre-paid contracts have no data portion. How irritating. That cost me a lot of money as I continued to access Google maps, etc while roaming.

Once back in the UK, I switched to a new Vodafone pre-paid account. I had a nightmare setting the account up, which I will detail in a comprehensive bitch about Vodafone service in another post. But once on that I was able to sustain a week's comprehensive data access and calls for less than £15.

Could I live in New York?

I wrote this on the road a few weeks back...

New York is one of my favourite places. I have regrets that I have not lived here over the course of my life thus far.



There is an energy about this place that seems to come from the city itself - like a giant beast with its own life source. The noise is unique: trucks and subways make walls vibrate, the hum of cafes and shops, the rattle and clatter of continuous construction.

I'm lucky to be visiting for the eighth time. I really don't want to leave to go to the West Coast - my first visit there. I've slotted right back into New York - the morning walk for coffee and breakfast, the nighttime entertainment, the museums, the bustle of business.

I've tech-enabled my latest visit to suit the on-the-go life. I'm typing into Microsoft Word on my HTC Touch Diamond using the coolest bluetooth fold-up keyboard, I bought a Canon point and shoot, and the new iPod Nano. I'm geared for a coffee shop note, a sidewalk moment, a subway travel.

I'm off to business meeting with a trading company shortly. Finance is the lifeblood of this city and like 9/11, it seems to have shrugged the credit crisis aside. London felt far more hard-hit as I moved through this past weekend. But the American spirit seems to have acknowledged the challenge and moved on.

The heat here is something else. It's in the high eighties (about 30C) today with typical New York humidity. What an extreme climate. I've been here for -26C in winter and 40C in summer (with over 80% humidity).

Could I live here? Funny. I love this place, the energy, the challenge. It is true - "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." But there is something about identifying with the people around you. I identify easily with the British - the South African connection is real. America is a far more insulated world. Sport is different, the rest of the world, continents away. Maybe I need a New York client, enabling me to spend regular time here.

What's the best South African music video ever?

I saw this one by Dear Reader (formerly Harris Tweed) on MK the other night. Wow. What an achingly beautiful song and absolutely brilliant video. The video ranks up there with some of the best music videos I've seen from anywhere.

Which is the best lotto site for overseas purchases?

The US Megamillions jackpot stands at $325 million this Friday.

Given that I will win this, I decided to read some small print.

I normally buy through the PlayUKInternet.com network. I understand this is run by some South African ex-pats living in London and has done very well.

However, there are a number of issues to consider:

1. Is the lottery site legit and if you won would the site pay you or disappear with your winnings?


1. The PlayUKInternet site has an established reputation and seems high-profile and reliable


2. What premium does the site charge over the actual ticket costs?


1. A Megamillions ticket costs $1 if bought at a retailer in the US.


2. PlayUKInternet and other agency sites charge a premium for their services. Overseas residents cannot buy from in-country retailers, so agencies have people who stand in queues, process winnings, etc. This premium varies.


3. PlayUKInternet charges £2,40 per ticket for a US Megamillions draw. They do give one voucher for every five tickets bought, effectively dropping the price to £2. That's $3,24, a premium of 224%.


4. OSA charge a whopping €3,60 per ticket. That's $5,13, a premium of 413%!


5. Betslips.com charge $2 per ticket, a premium of 100%


3. Does the agency have any discretion over my winnings payout?


1. PlayUKInternet take 10% of winnings awarded through them. TEN PERCENT!!!! They also have the discretion as to whether to take the winnings as an annuity or lump sum. This is only evident through reading the fine print in their terms and conditions


2. Betslips.com takes 1% of winnings. This is also only apparent by reading their FAQ.

Clearly the fine print here is important. Imagine winning the $325 million and being forced to take the lump sum payout of $204 million. I'm not sure how the percentage paid to the agency is determined (this is not clear from their terms and conditions). I would imagine it is based on the net payout. That would be $204 million less US withholding tax of 30% equals $140 million. 10% to PlayUKInternet would then be $14 million. But if calculated on a gross basis, it could be $20 million or $32,5 million. You would have to pay local taxes - let's say 6% if you were a resident of New York - although as an overseas resident it might well be higher. That moves your take home winnings towards $100 million.

Of course $100 million is a huge amount of money, but why would you want to pay the agency anything more than their cost of administration? Why do they deserve any percentage of your winnings?

For this reason, I bought through Overseas Subscribers Agents - osalottos.com, despite their astronomical cost per ticket. That way, when I collect my winnings, I'll not be paying them any more.

Sheeesh. Read the fine print....

How do you treat Koi ulcers?

I prepared the following for a friend recently. The dealer and suburb names relate to Johannesburg South Africa.

This is the list of things I have stocked up on / treatments / methodology:

1. Oil of Cloves - anaesthetic


1. Guide and dosage


2. it has a long shelf life


3. Make sure you get dosage right – based on the bucket you use


2. Very clean (new) plastic container for dips / anaesthetic


1. I have about three of those massive (100l) ones from Pick ‘n Pay


2. If you use an old one, make sure it has no chance of soap or other residues


3. You can actually keep a moderately sized fish (30cm or less) in a 100l one with an air stone and water changes through a treatment period of a week or more (must have daily 10% water changes though)


1. This also substantially reduces the cost of medication (actually quite expensive) as you only dose according to the size of the container


2. It allows you to accurately size the container and the doses


3. It also allows you to nuke the pond with Pottassium Permanganate while the fish is in the container for a week


3. Salt


1. Guide and dosage


2. Anti-parasite


3. Tonic – reduces the load on a sick fish’s organs


4. Have about 3 bags on standby.


5. Have an empty bag so you can put a partial bag in the pond with a tied top until the salt dissolves, then you just pull the bag out


6. Available from pool shops (such as Pool ‘n Pond in Rosebank, also Sandton Aquatics in Fourways)


4. A salt meter


1. Good but quite expensive – my digital one cost about R800


2. I got mine from Happy Koi – I have not seen them too often


5. A sock net


1. One of the best things I ever bought


2. Bought from Happy Koi


3. Very soft – will not damage the fish


4. Is basically a tube – you hold the handle and then end of the tube. To release the fish, merely release the end of the tube


6. A large koi net – about 80cm across


1. To guide the fish into the sock net


2. Available from almost any Koi shop


7. Acriflavine – the wonder drug


1. Guide and dosage


2. Mostly bottled by Loolilocks on the East Rand (even other dealers sell Loolilocks Acriflavine)


3. Safe antifungal, anti-parasite and antibiotic


4. Very good for ulcers


5. Quite expensive


6. Difficult to get rid of the colour – only goes after partial water changes


8. Methylene Blue – the safe backup


1. Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal


2. Promotes oxygen in the water


3. Easy to get – chemists or good koi shops


4. Don’t get ripped off – very much cheaper in chemists


5. Difficult to get rid of the colour – only goes after partial water changes


9. Potassium permanganate - the nuclear option


1. Guide and dosage


2. Part 2 – detailed guide


3. The most effective antibiotic / anti viral / anti-parasite


4. Easy to get – chemists or good koi shops


5. Don’t get ripped off – very much cheaper in chemists


6. Difficult to get dosage precisely right


7. Overdosing burns gill tissue and therefore the damage is either fatal or permanent


8. Dosage can be reversed by addition of Hydrogen Peroxide


9. Sunlight neutralises it over time


10. Hydrogen Peroxide


1. Powerful reagent


2. Turns purple pond crystal clear


3. Crucial to have to reverse over dosage of potassium permanganate


4. Easy to get – chemists or good koi shops


5. Don’t get ripped off – very much cheaper in chemists


11. Anti-biotic injection


1. A guide for injection of Baytril – one of the most common antibiotics for koi


2. More on injecting


3. Illegal outside vet’s hands


4. Crucial for severe ulcers


5. Gets easier to administer when you know how to anaesthetise the fish and where to inject


6. Easiest spot is into the spot immediately behind the dorsal fin


7. Second choice is under a scale and into the tail muscle


8. Avoid belly and organs at all costs


9. Limited shelf life


10. Difficult to get


12. Mercurochrome – surface disinfectant


1. Easy to get


2. Difficult to administer – slides off the fish and onto you!


13. Plastic spray bottle for mercurochrome


14. Wound gel


1. Powder for putting onto wound.


2. Forms gel to keep water off wound


3. Difficult to get (happy koi, Joshua Koi)


4. Not foolproof – lasts just over a day in my experience

There are other medications I have not used due to toxicity and the things they specifically target (usually parasites) – notably formalin and Malachite Green.

Tricide Neo is the wonder drug for ulcers in the USA. I’ve tried to get local dealers to import it. See here.

Almost all medications are a form of chemotherapy – you’re only killing the fish slight less than the bugs. So the crucial thing is how far to take it.

Methodology:

1. Turn off UV lamps – they kill the medication


2. People say bypass the bio filter – I think this leaves a source of good and bad bacteria. So I leave it active and then reseed the biofilter with good bacteria afterward. This means at least 4 weeks of suboptimal water quality while good bacteria re-establish


3. Treat the water with first dose of medication, e.g. potassium permanganate


4. Prepare separate container for anaesthetic – water and correct dosage of clove oil. I have a syringe of oil on standby to add if the fish is taking too long to knock out


5. Create small highly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate and water


6. Catch the fish, being very careful of pectoral fins (they dislocate, tear or break very easily)


7. Put into anaesthetic until the fish floats to the surface belly up


8. Remove and put onto moist towel on grass – fish’s mouth should still be moving but body should be immobile


9. Dip end of cotton bud in high concentrate PP solution and apply to rotting / dead skin on edge of ulcer


1. Be careful – will burn away anything it touches including good flesh and skin


2. Fish may even grunt / cry from pain during this – quite frightening


10. Wash off with pond water


11. Blot wound with toilet paper. Would must be dry for mercurochrome to adhere


12. Spray wound close up with mercurochrome


13. Blow or use hair dryer to dry wound and mercurochrome


14. Sprinkle just enough wound gel over wound to absorb remaining moisture


15. Spray area with pond water to turn remaining powder to gel


16. Blow /use hair dryer to dry gel


17. Inject correct dosage of antibiotic for size of fish


1. Area behind dorsal fin is easiest and least risk of damage to scales – however, avoid bones


2. Area into flesh in tail is good but needle must go under a scale and above the one underneath


18. Return fish to pond / treatment tank


1. Hold fish by head and tail and move backwards and forwards through water to get water through gills until the fish revives


19. Watch time the fish has without oxygen during anaesthetic


20. Requires repeat treatments of water, wound and injections (typically three to five water, three to five injections, sometimes every second day cleaning of wound – but only use the PP the first time

If all else fails – euthanasia.

The best site for far far more detail, including more on dosages (very very important). Watch out for American gallons! They’re busy reorganising so a few of the links don’t work:

http://www.koivet.com/koivet/

The forums – excellent to read other’s problems, pictures and advice:

http://www.koivetforum.com/

After having gone through the experience and listening to friends, I am now certain that some bitumen pond waterproofing actually slowly poisons or irritate koi. Water tests may be perfect, but due to the toxins, the fish stress and develop ulcers. When I fibre-glassed, my koi's health improved dramatically. I have had only one minor ulcer in the 3 years since.

Simpler and cheaper than fibre-glass is epoxy / rubberised coating over your existing pond. For example, although I have no experience with the following guys:

http://www.poolsolutions.co.za/

It would be crucial to ask a few questions about durability and toxicity.