Online Trek

Methodist Church of Southern Africa Plays Games With Homosexuality

2010-01-06T10:21:00.000+02:00

Let me admit it - I have sat on the fence for far too long! Through meetings and discussions both inside and outside the church I have listened intently to both sides of the homosexuality debate. At no time however have I stuck my colours to the mast and made a stand - shame on me!

Today however I am angered and moved to action. A Methodist minister who is openly lesbian was married in a legal ceremony some weeks back. Her senior colleague (Superintendent Minister in MCSA parlance) was offended by this and reported her for being in breach of the Laws and Disciplines of the MCSA. She is now required to appear before a disciplinary committee on 12 January.

The topic of homosexuality has been one of intense debate in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa for some time now. It would seem that they are open to having gay and lesbian congregants and clergy as long as they don't legally recognise their mutual love in a marriage ceremony.

It would seem that subterfuge is the preferred course of action. Would the MCSA rather have their homosexual clergy conduct their relationships in a clandestine affair?

I strongly believe that the MCSA is a Church in crisis. Despite claims to the contrary, it is a divided church. Issues of class, race, economics, tradition and homosexuality provoke intense discussion amongst those in leadership and those in local congregations. However the Church leadership appears loathe to take a stand on those things which really matter.

The minister in question was brave enough to be public about her sexuality and her commitment to her partner. She now finds herself appearing before a committee of people who bring their own thoughts and prejudices to bear on what is an intensely personal decision. On what will the disciplinary committee base its decision? This minister serves her congregation well and is respected by those who know her. Should she be found guilty of being in breach of Church discipline, what will she be expected to do? Will she be asked to divorce her partner? Will she be taken away from her congregation who know and love her and who depend on her for spiritual growth and leading? I will be watching with interest!

So where then do I stand on this issue? Let me state it clearly - I have no problem with homosexual clergy. However I do not pretend to understand homosexuality. I do not know whether one chooses homosexuality or whether one is born a homosexual. What I do know however is that an institution that professes to be accepting of all and the voice of those who society oppresses, needs to show love and acceptance to those within its ranks who continue to serve the people of God despite a sexuality which the majority of its leadership do not understand.

I would welcome comment from those far more versed in the MCSA doctrines and disciplines. This post is simply a reflection of my personal thoughts and ideas at this time.

The Best YouTube Videos of 2009 (in just over 2 minutes)

2009-12-19T15:20:00.000+02:00

These may come thick and fast but it certainly encourages one to find the original videos on YouTube!

Enjoy!
('’)

A President, a Captain, a Nation

2009-11-24T22:10:00.000+02:00

I will most certainly be going to watch this movie featuring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. I well remember the Rugby World Cup 1995. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the opening game at Newlands in Cape Town and even today I am moved by the memory of that emotional outpouring of patriotism amongst the throngs of people present in the stadium.

I can still hear the crowd shouting "Nelson, Nelson" as President Mandela walked out to greet the crowds during the opening ceremony. As the national anthem was sung, I remember turning to my right and seeing a white middle-age man crying as the emotion of the moment overwhelmed him.

I do not know if it is possible for those who are not South African to understand that the story portrayed in this movie is not just about a "good story" - it is a much deeper and emotional tale that speaks to the very heart of what it means to be South African in this era of change, uncertainty, challenge and opportunity.

Go and watch this movie and be reminded that sport unites and that we can stand proudly together as brothers and sisters in a beautiful country that more than ever needs unity and Umoja - a spirit of togetherness.

Toto's Africa - A Fantastic Rendition

2009-07-03T08:08:00.001+02:00

Thanks to Brian Ibbott of Coverville for this video of an acappella choir from Slovenia giving a rendition of Toto's Africa which is absolutely awesome. The simulation of a rainstorm using their bodies is truly amazing. I suggest listening to the track with your eyes closed before watching it again to see the visual impact.

Their YouTube video of this item has, at the time of writing this post, reached over 1,1 million views! They have several other videos on YouTube for your enjoyment.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Perpetuum Jazzile :

Mean Mr Mustard's Fred Hayward dies

2009-06-29T07:54:00.000+02:00

South Africa's music industry has been dealt a blow with the death of Fred Hayward, bassist for Mean Mr Mustard. He apparently died of a heart attack. He was in his thirties.

Hayward was an integral part of a band that has become synonymous with the growth and international acceptance of the South African music industry. He will be sorely missed.

You can leave your tribute to Freddy here.

Another Social Network - Can it work?

2009-06-27T10:16:00.000+02:00

It seems that the internet has really come into its own over the past year - almost everyone now has a Facebook profile, a MySpace page or a Twitter stream. People are using the web more and more to connect with one another and are harnessing its power both in business and in their personal lives.

Breaking into the social networking arena with a view to make a significant impact is a tough assignment! A new kid on the block however aims to make its mark!

Welcome Vyoom - a social networking site with a difference!

What makes this different is their promise to reward users with prizes for activity. I do hope that their financial modelling allows for substantial growth - if not, I am not sure they will be able to sustain their giving of prizes to their users.

Let's see what happens!

Reporter on Cape Town's stormy weather has not looked hard enough

2009-06-25T07:53:00.000+02:00

A News24 report on the cold weather being experienced by the Western Cape indicates that it was difficult to say whether there was snow on the Ceres mountains. The report quotes Didi Greef of the Matroosberg Nature Reserve as saying that it was difficult to confirm whether there was snow on the mountains.

I don't buy this! I could see snow from my house in Worcester and a 10 minute drive yesterday afternoon confirmed that there was plenty of snow in the mountains! How difficult would it have been for Didi Greef to actually check? How difficult would it have been for the reporter to contact someone else for confirmation?

Believe me, there is snow on the mountains and I expect more to fall today.

The Australians finally beat us...

2009-06-16T12:00:00.000+02:00

Their cricket team may be slipping down the ICC rankings, the Socceroos continue to disappoint and even their schools are losing momentum - but hang on, there is one area in which the good folks of Australia continue to lead the way .... consumption of alcohol!

This is according to a report published by the Menzies School of Health Research. Clearly there is a problem here which needs serious intervention.

We cannot however become complacent - teen drinking in South Africa is endemic and we are going to have to work hard to change this pattern of behaviour before we overtake Australia not only in alcohol consumption but in alcohol-related deaths.

Facebook Usernames - Interview video

2009-06-13T07:36:00.000+02:00

I've got mine! Have you got yours? You'd better hurry - 500 000 usernames taken in 15 minutes! I wonder who will take www.facebook.com/southafrica ?

Two of the Facebook team explain usernames and the thinking behind the move :

Tomorrow Is Another Country - The inside story of the end of apartheid

2009-06-12T09:59:00.000+02:00

While at home struggling to shake a nasty flu virus I have taken the opportunity to read a book which has been on my shelf for some time. That book is Tomorrow Is Another Country: The Inside Story of South Africa's Road to Change by Allister Sparks.

It tells the inside story of a country teetering on the brink of civil war, of secret meetings and clandestine talks in hotel basements, of political maneouvering and the cut and thrust of political parties all eager to have their way in a new-look South Africa. This book reveals the background to the talks that paved the way for our first democratic election and gives insight into the minds of those in positions of power across the political spectrum.

The book is clearly well-researched and is well-balanced although it is clear that Mr Sparks leans towards the left. I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to all who have the slightest interest in South African politics. In fact, every South African should read this book as it allows us to reflect on what is and what could have been.

It would not suprise me if a movie is not made based on this book as it certainly rivals any John le Carré thriller!

I am a proud South African - perhaps now a more well-informed South African as well. I highly recommend this book.

Idiots On Our Roads

2009-01-15T07:03:00.001+02:00

Over the past six weeks I have had the opportunity to travel between Worcester and Cape Town on the N1 highway on several occasions. Each time I drive that particular stretch of road I am horrified at the disregard paid to the rules of the road by many drivers. I sometimes feel that many of my fellow drivers have no concern about their own safety, let alone the safety of other road users.

Recently I complained to a friend of mine about the fact that I was tailgated in the far right lane of the highway while travelling at 125km/h (5 km/h over the stated speed limit) by a rude man driving a BMW who spent most of his time gesticulating and making it pretty obvious that he wanted me to pull over into the middle lane. The fact that the middle lane was full of cars travelling at speed with no safe means of entering the traffic did not seem to enter his consciousness. I told my friend how angry I was at this blatant disregard for safety and the BMW driver's arrogance at thinking that the road belonged to him - never mind that I was already travelling at the speed limit.

I was gently reminded of the rule which states "Keep left, pass right" and my friend inferred that I should have moved over to allow this moron to continue speeding down the highway. Don't get me wrong - I am all for ensuring that the road rules are kept, but why should I move over to allow some speed demon to shoot along the freeway and endanger other lives?

This incident is but one of many I experienced over these past few weeks and I am left wondering how these fools can be prevented from continuing their unsafe driving habits.

I came across the Arrive Alive campaign's website which has a toll free number to dial to report bad driving - 0861 400 800. Perhaps I will use this next time I witness idiotic driving on the freeway! I also noticed on the site that you can register as a volunteer traffic observer. Now I'm not sure what this entails but I sure hope its more than just counting cars to determine traffic volume!

It also never ceases to amaze me why the country's traffic departments insist on hiding behind bushes with speed cameras instead of parking in visible places on the freeways. Surely this would be preventative instead of punitive and would encourage motorists to slow down? As a regular source of income, speed camera fines are great for the traffic department but do they really encourage motorists to drive more slowly? I honestly doubt it! Of course some drivers will never learn no matter what the traffic authorities do - read this account of a Porsche driver clocked twice at over 200 km/h in one day in Kwa-Zulu Natal!

Then of course we have those "kings of the road" - our mini-bus taxi drivers...but that's another subject for another post...

In the meantime, please drive carefully!

The Arrive Alive road safety blog can be found at http://roadsafety.wordpress.com
- it certainly makes for interesting and sobering reading.

Desktop Wallpaper Directory Goes Web 2.0

2009-01-06T05:15:00.005+02:00

Every so often I decide to change my desktop background on either my laptop or desktop PC. I usually spend some time online searching for decent high-res images. I now have one resource I will return to time and time again - Social Wallpapering.

This site is full of quality high-resolution images in the following resolutions :

1280x960, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, and all other background variations with a minimum width and height of 1280x720 pixels

Users are able to upload their own wallpapers which are then rated by the SocWall community in a similar fashion to the way in which one might rate a site on Digg. All the wallpapers are available for download; even to those who have not registered on the site.

Wallpapers are available for standard and widescreen monitors as well as for a dual-monitor scenario.

This is a great resource which is attempting to become the greatest repository of high-res desktop wallpapers on the internet - a lofty goal which I am not sure will be reached. What I am sure of though, is that this site is clearly a case of quality over quantity and I will certainly be a regular visitor.

Visit it here - Social Wallpapering

African Guitarist Retrospective

2009-01-02T17:55:00.006+02:00

With the release of "Francophonic", the Congolese singer-guitarist-bandleader François Luambo has finally got the retrospective he deserves. During his performing years he performed as "Franco". He was widely regarded as one of the greatest African musicians of the twentieth century and has been dubbed the "James Brown of Africa" and a "sorcerer of the guitar".

The album starts with a track from his first recording session in 1953 at the age of 15 and ends with a 1980 workout whose title translates as "I Don't Like You".

The two-disc set contains excellent liner notes which give fascinating facts about the music. For example : most of Franco’s international audience assumed the exquisite 1973 recording “AZDA” was a love song; it was actually a jingle for a Zairean Volkswagen dealership!

Links :

1) Buy the album here

2) Read more about the artist here

3) Download "AZDA" for $0.99

Another Road Tunnel For The Cape?

2008-12-27T07:35:00.003+02:00

The 3.9km long Huguenot Tunnel extends the N1 through the DuToits Kloof mountains and provides a shorter and safer link between the towns of Paarl and Worcester. It was opened in March 1998 and for the past 20 years has served thousands of motorists and truckers.

Over the past number of years the ever-increasing traffic volumes have increased concerns about the safety of both the infrastructure and the air quality inside the tunnel. It is noticeable when driving through the tunnel during busy periods that the air quality is poor and I have often wondered how safe it is to be breathing in noxious exhaust fumes.

I was therefore pleased to read that plans are underway to develop a second tunnel to complement the existing one. Both tunnels would be one-way roads and the second would have a world-class air-conditioning system installed. The existing tunnel's air-conditioning system would be upgraded after the building of the second.

Construction is expected to commence in 2010 and will contribute R963 000 towards toll income. More importantly and extra 280 permanent jobs will be created upon its completion. Over 200 jobs will be created during the six months of construction.

The project is estimated to cost R1.2 billion. However I would expect this cost to increase by the time the project draws to completion.

I am excited about the ongoing road construction and infrastructure upgrades I see in Cape Town and surrounds. Much of this will be seen as part of the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup but I believe that, more than this, it is part of the ongoing development of Cape Town into a truly world-class city. The ongoing challenges of poverty alleviation and job creation are ever-present but it seems the city is on the right track.

Free Christmas Music - download full album

2008-12-24T15:10:00.004+02:00

Thanks to Brian Ibbott of Coverville (one of my favourite podcasts), I present to you the full album "Ride on Santa" by The Priestess and The Fool - Click here to download.

The download includes Mp3's, cover art and a PDF digibooklet.

You can also head on over to Eish for another free Christmas album from the Garritan Community - Click here to find the download link for this great album.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Shopping - Can't People Read?

2008-12-24T14:00:00.003+02:00

This normally bugs me but perhaps it was the busyness of the local Pick 'n Pay that just underlined the problem - a long queue of people with trolley-loads of groceries and other mechandise at the tills marked "Express -10 items or less" and "Baskets only".

I don't know about you, but I get really ticked off when people are arrogant enough to think that their need to get out of a busy supermarket is more important than anyone else's. Do they not realise that other shoppers are also tired, hungryand needing to leave? I also cannot understand why the tellers or other staff, including management, do not ask the offending customer to move to another till to allow those who can read the signs to move quickly through the tills.

Whatever happened to common courtesy and good manners? What happened to customer satisfaction before profit margins?

This may sound naive and idealistic but I still believe in these old-fashioned values. When we start putting others before ourselves, the world may just become a more pleasant place!

On a far more practical note - in this busy shopping season, why are there not more managers on the floor checking that the tills are moving swiftly and that customers are not being selfish and obnoxious?

Get Your South African Music Here

2008-12-21T08:19:00.008+02:00

South African popular musicians continue to grow in stature on the international scene. Most South Africans however appear to be surprisingly ignorant of the weatlh of talent within our borders. I applaud Eish for his Friday SA Music Spotlight on his blog - I have discovered some interesting artists through this initiative.

If you are wanting more though, I would suggest a visit to SAmp3.com - South African Music Portal, Presence and Promotion.

Created by Brian Currin and Stephen Segerman of Mabu Vinyl, this site grew out of the well-known and much-loved SA Rock Digest.

If you are looking for homegrown music of any genre, this site would be a good place to start your search.

For Those Who Don't Understand Afrikaans...

2008-12-17T23:15:00.003+02:00

Most South Africans speak at least two languages, many speak three or more. The Afrikaans language is one of eleven offical languages in South Africa. It is a wonderfully descriptive language and direct translation from Afrikaans to English often provides humourous results.

This was given to me by a friend so the source is unknown. If you can read and understand Afrikaans, you'll enjoy this!

1) Verlede jaar het ek en my swaer en my skoonseun per vliegtuig na Windhoek gereis om veral die dierelewe van Namibie te besigtig.

Last year, me and my heavy and my cleanson traveled by flying harness to Windcorner specially to belook the animal-living in Namibia.

2) In die Noorde het ons toe volop springbokke, steenbokke, biesbokke, kameelperde en ook meerkatte gesien.

In the North we then saw full-up jumping goats, brick buck, bald buck, camel horses and also more cats.

3) Een keer was ons senuwees egter skoon op hol.

One time genuine our sinews were clean on hollow.

4) Ons het agtergekom dat 'n luiperd besig was om ons te bekruip.

We aftercame that a lazy-horse was becreeping us.

5) In 'n oomblik was ons slaggereed met ons dubbelloop haelgewere.

In an uncle-tin we were slaughter ready with our double-walk hail guns.

6) Toe die luiperd agter die bos roer, skiet ons almal gelyk.

When the lazy-horse mixed behind the bush, we all shot equal.

7) Na alles verby was, was ons hare baie deurmekaar. Ons het dit toe netjies gemaak, in die bakkie geklim en huis toe gery.

After all was past, our hairs were very through each other. We then made it into small nets, we climbed in the dish and rode home.

8) Langs die pad het ons 'n papwiel gekry.

Along the road we got a porridge wheel.

9) So het ons lang, opwindende dag geeindig.

So did our long wound-up day end.

SAA Stands To Lose R62mil Per Day!

2008-11-30T08:12:00.004+02:00

Yet again our national airline finds itself with trouble on its hands. A strike by workers which started yesterday threatens to cost the airline R62 million per day. Almost a quarter of the airline's staff are expected to down tools across all departments.

The airline has stated that it has a contingency plan in place but I am less than confident in SAA's ability to manage itself. The cause for the strike appears to be apparent unilateral changes made to employment conditions. If this is indeed true I am left to wonder whether those in management at SAA do not understand the trade union movement or whether they in fact care! A strike in 2006 cost the airline R150-million!

In court papers SAA stated that it was concerned about the image being portrayed to the international community with the Confederations Cup in 2009 and the FIFA World Cup in 2010 just around the corner. A little late in the day for concerns about international image!

Is it time for the national airline to be privatized? Even in this economic climate this may be just the change that's needed.

Makhaya Ntini's new record

2008-11-29T13:02:00.004+02:00

As an avid cricket fan I was delighted to see South African fast bowler, Makhaya Ntini, become the highest Test wicket taker for South Africa in home test matches. With the dismissal of Bangladeshi batsman Imrul Kayes, he broke the previous record of 235 held by Shaun Pollock.

Another interesting record worth mentioning from the latest Test match against Bangladesh was that South Africa had 5 ducks in their innings and made the highest Test total by a team with 5 or more ducks!

Further up-to-date info on Makhaya Ntini can be found at CricInfo : Makhaya Ntini profile

Kids Views On The Election - very funny!

2008-11-20T06:43:00.004+02:00

With the President-elect busy preparing for the day he finally sits in his chair in the Oval Office and with the all the noise of the political pundits starting to die down, it is fun to take a look at what children thought of the election and the new president.

Enjoy this! ...

Another reason not to emigrate to Australia

2008-11-16T22:34:00.003+02:00

I was amazed to read the following on a post entitled "Top 10 Countries Censoring The Web":

Bonus: Australia

The rundown :
Discovering that countries like Iran or Yemen are censoring the web is not a big surprise. Most forms of independent media are already restricted there, and their levels of human rights are among the lowest in the world.
But what if we told you that Australia, one of the richest countries in the world, is also trying to censor websites inside its borders? Now that is scary!

How does the censorship work?
In 2007 a bill passed giving the federal police the power to block the access to any website. They already had a filtering system is place, but it was very limited in scope.
Many privacy groups and critics from the around the world claimed that this decision will directly threaten the freedom of speech on the Australian web.

What kind of content is blocked?
The government claimed that the police will be blocking mainly phishing and terrorism related websites. The problem is that the law brings a much broader definition for the potential targets: basically they can block any content that encourages, incites or facilitates criminal activity.

I always knew that Australia was a nanny-state but this seems to be taking things a little too far in a country where freedom-of-speech is espoused.

You may also want to take a look at the No Clean Feed site from Australia.

Montagu Springs flooded - change your holiday plans!

2008-11-16T08:32:00.005+02:00

This past week the Western Cape experienced flooding which has been likened to that of the Laingsburg floods in 1981. The Avalon Springs resort in Montagu took a major hit and all bookings have been suspended. This could not have come at a worse time given that schools go on their December break in three week's time.

The Avalon Springs Luxury Spa Resort Hotel has posted two YouTube videos and a photo gallery on their site to show the damage done. I stayed at this resort earlier in the year with my family and it is quite surreal to see the pools and surrounds completely under water!

Fortunately no lives were lost at the resort but spare a thought for the family and friends of the 17-year old girl washed away in De Doorns - not far from where I live. We spotted an Oryx helicopter from our house yesterday and have now learnt that it was air-lifting people trapped in rising flood water.

Obama is the new Mandela - Really?

2008-11-11T21:21:00.004+02:00

Over the past few days I have heard several references to Barack Obama as the world's new Nelson Mandela. I have some reservations about jumping to this comparison.

While Barack Obama has certainly made history by becoming the first black president of the United States, he has yet to prove his ability to unite a country divided by race, economic status, religious views and political viewpoint. There is no doubt that Obama showed tremendous statemanship during his campaign but the jury is still out on whether this will be continued during his presidency.

Nelson Mandela is regarded as an elder statesman and an icon to millions of people whom he lead into a new era of freedom in his country. Barack Obama is neither an "elder statesman" who has "earned his stripes", nor has he yet lead his country into a new era.

Obama certainly faces challenges and he will be given plenty of opportunity to prove his worth and whether he can live up to the high expectations of those who place so much of their trust in him.

Those leaders who live on in the conscience of human history are those who have endured for the benefit of many, those who have placed the needs of their people over their personal needs, those who show that their actions match their words, those who exhibit a level of personal leadership that speaks for itself and those whose very name elicits an awed response.

Although I believe that Barack Obama certainly has the makings of a high-level leader and that he will be a very successful president, I do not believe that it is appropriate to compare him to Nelson Mandela. If anything that very comparison weakens the legacy of Madiba.

Let's allow history to judge the legacy of Barack Obama and not get caught up in Obamamania. His stamp on history will be examined in years to come and his influence will be considered long after his tenure as President of the US has been completed.

Links :

1) Obama's victory like Mandela's: Tutu

2) Text of Nelson Mandela’s Letter to Senator Obama (New York Times)

3) A nation could be on the verge of its Mandela moment (Guardian newspaper - UK)

Miriam Makeba - Rest in Peace (Video)

2008-11-10T09:00:00.003+02:00

Mama Afrika - Miriam Makeba - has died of a heart attack after performing in Italy. (See news article here.)

A true ambassador of South Africa, she carried the hopes and dreams of millions in her music. She will be remembered for her brave fight against apartheid and her voice which made her famous throughout the world.

Rest in peace Mama Afrika - we will miss your dearly.

Holding The Sun!

2008-11-06T21:45:00.003+02:00

I discovered this set of creative photographs while surfing the web today and wanted to share them with you! None of them were doctored afterwards to create the desired effect.

Enjoy!

Creative Photographs from Flickzzz

Give Opportunity To A Child

2008-11-06T13:44:00.005+02:00

The gift of education is priceless. It is the opportunity for lives to be changed and futures to be secured; it is the chance to rise above circumstances and "change your stars".

South Africa's history of racial discrimination has resulted in a huge disparity in educational opportunities within the country. Although the national education department is hard at work to rectify the imbalances and independent schools continue to offer scholarships to previously-disadvantaged communities, more work is needed.

Lanner House School is an independent school in Worcester in the Western Cape and is trying hard to raise money for bursaries for children from previously-disadvantaged communities. They have put together a simple capital fund-raising site where pledges can be made for anything from supporting a learning area in the school to offering full bursaries to students.

I encourage you to take a look and then consider posting a blogpost about it - let's spread the word and make a difference to the future of this country!

Click here to go to the site : Lanner House Capital Fundraising

National Convention - SA's Democracy Grows Up

2008-11-01T15:16:00.005+02:00

Although I have never voted for the ANC, believing instead in a strong united opposition to an already dominant political party, there were some things about the party I had come to respect. Their insistence, for example, over decades that South Africa be a free democracy in which all its citizens had an equal vote was always something I respected. Economic policy under the ANC government has transformed this country's economic standing on the world stage.

However over the past few years, it has become apparent that the ball-and-chain of freedom politics has weighed the ANC down and it has become yet another freedom party struggling to shake that yoke and become a truly democratic and representative party of the people.

The forced resignation of the president of the Republic and the subsequent nonsensical ramblings of some party faithful made many, including myself, wonder if we were at the top of a very slippery slope, wondering if perhaps our young democracy was about to be derailed by the personal ambitions of a few party elite.

I remember saying to friends and family at the time of former President Mbeki's resignation that this would be the beginning of the end of the ANC as we currently know it. Soon after came the party resignations of many senior-ranking ANC comrades. Some said this was out of respect for Thabo Mbeki, others say it was because of the manner in which the incident was handled. I believe though that these people left the ANC because they too were able to see a bleak future in which greedy politicians enriched themselves at the expense of the poor and where personal promotion came before the national interest.

This weekend's National Convention is the best thing to happen to South African politics in a very long time. It is indicative of a dissatisfaction of the status quo; a restlessness to move from promises of a better life for all to the delivery of these promises; a desire to see true democracy without floor-crossing and the expectations of race-based politics.

The fact that such a convention is happening is proof that our young democracy is growing up and that the people of this country will not sit by and watch a party which appears to have lost its way bring it to its political and economic knees.

I am hoping for a positive outcome after this convention and hoping that the 4000 expected in Sandton will leave with a clearer idea of what is needed to continue to build South Africa into a more prosperous country for all its citizens.

National Convention homepage - http://www.novemberconvention.co.za

Video report from Day 1 of the Convention :

Sam Shilowa invites South Africans to participate in the National Convention :

Election Spending Is Morally Repugnant

2008-10-25T06:35:00.003+02:00

Jeanne Cummings, in an article on Politico.com, reports that Senator Barack Obama is set to break fundraising records for his current bid to take the Presidency of the United States. It is reported that his campaign has raised over $600 million thus far while Senator John McCain has raised about $250 million.

In a world of dire global poverty and economic hardship, this kind of spending on an election is morally wrong. An America-based charity Feed The Children encourages donors to spend

$14 to feed a family in poverty for a month.

$1 million would therefore feed over 71 000 families for a month

Total US election campaign fundraising of $850 million would feed over 60 million families for a month!

I am forced to wonder if those who so gladly gave to the election campaigns would be as happy to donate to charities which make a difference to everyday American families.

This is not to mention the millions in Africa or Asia whose lives would be made more bearable each day through food-aid or micro-loans for business development or clean water tablets or primary healthcare which would be enabled through the money used for this election campaign season.

Am I the only one who finds the election spending way over the top? I simply cannot reconcile this type of spending on an election when every day I see poverty all around me and know that every night children go to bed hungry.

Run Your PC on Freeware Only

2008-10-22T21:51:00.003+02:00

Besides a Windows operating system, could you run your PC entirely on freeware?

FreewareMission.com is a cornucopia of freeware and is a great starting point should you be looking for quality software available at no charge.

There is a particularly interesting list of 51 Essential Freeware Programs which is followed by a long list of reader comments filled with suggestions and comments.

Some of these programs I have used, but most of them are new to me and I will be using several over the coming weeks.

Subscribe to the Freeware Mission RSS feed - http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/FXAu

SA Gold Mine Holds Clue To Life On Mars

2008-10-20T06:29:00.004+02:00

Scientists have reported a fascinating discovery in a rock fissure in the Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg nearly 3km below the earth's surface. They found rod-shaped bacteria, named Desulforudis audaxviator, in water extracted from a rock fissure.

This bacterium exists in total darkness with no oxygen and in a temperature of 60 degrees celsius. However the most important aspect of this discovery, according to researchers at the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory in California, is that the bacterium lives in its own ecosystem - the first known species to do so.

"One question that has arisen when considering the capacity of other planets to support life is whether organisms can exist independently, without access even to the sun," says Dylan Chivian, the bioinformatics lead scientist at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Berkeley, California, who studied the gene samples found in the fissure water.

"The answer is yes, and here's the proof. It's sort of philosophically exciting to know that everything necessary for life can be packed into a single genome." (quoted in the Sunday Independent 19 Oct, page 5)

It is believed that this kind of organism could survive below the surface of Mars as it gets its energy from hydrogen and sulphate produced by the radioactive decay of uranium. It is also believed that it builds its organic molecules by itself out of water, inorganic carbon and nitrogen from ammonia in the surrounding rocks and fluid.

Another fascinating aspect of this bacterium is that it can't live in oxygen which suggest that it hasn't been exposed to pure oxygen for a very long time, perhaps millions of years. Scientists believe that the water the bacterium lives in has not seen light for more than 3 million years!

D audaxviator's name comes from Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, in which a message in Latin deciphered by Professor Lidenbrock, Verne's protagonist, reads in part, "descende, Audax viator, et terrestre centrum attinges". It means "descend, Bold traveller, and attain the centre of the Earth".

Misleading advertising regarding software

2008-10-17T06:45:00.005+02:00

I am increasingly frustrated with computer stores and general department stores whose desktop PC and notebook advertising tells customers what wonderful value they are getting because software is bundled with the machine. However on further investigation one notices that the software is open-source and available for free on the internet! The most common seems to be bundling Open Office as an extra-value add-on.

The consumer, who may not know any better, is thrilled to receive an office suite with their purchase and the assumption is made that they have been offered a wonderful bargain!

I believe that this kind of advertising exploits the average Joe's lack of knowledge and is exploitative. At the very least it is misleading. Surely this is unethical?

What do you think about this? Leave a comment and let me know...

Proudly South African - The SA Navy Band entertains

2008-10-16T06:56:00.003+02:00

The South African Navy Band was once described by former President Nelson Mandela as a national treasure. Despite having grown up in Cape Town and being part of a musical family, I had never heard the Navy Band until this evening when they gave of their time to travel to Worcester at the invitation of the Institute for the Blind.

Local schools were invited to bring their music pupils along and so I joined several of our school's musicians for the concert. Our school has a particularly strong link to the Navy Band as our music teacher is an ex-bandman.

What a wonderful evening we experienced! The band played a wide selection of music ranging from a medley of Wagner melodies to big band standards and a foot-stomping selection of Mango Groove songs. At one point several youngsters were invited to come up to the stage and play a wide selection of percussion instruments with the band. My son gladly obliged and had a super time with maracas. A stand-out of the evening was the way in which the band involved the audience and kept all ages richly entertained.

The audience tonight was a smorgasbord of Worcester society but no difference of race, age, gender, socio-economic status, cognitive ability or physical challenge could prevent everyone present from thoroughly enjoying the evening together. It was a prime example of how music bridges the divides we put up between ourselves. It was also wonderful to see young people, children and teenagers, enjoying music and seeing how much fun it can be to make music together.

It must also be mentioned that there was no charge for this concert. It was done as a gesture of good faith towards the Institute for the Blind and as a service to the community of Worcester.

The SA Navy Band clearly has a much larger task than simply providing music at ceremonial occassions and I wish them well as they continue to serve South Africa through the medium of music. We can certainly be proud of this section of our military!

Watch this video (from a festival in Germany) and enjoy!

Living in Jozi

2008-10-12T16:09:00.007+02:00

We so often hear of people leaving the shores of South Africa for a myriad of reasons which I am not going to get into here. What I do find fascinating is the ever-increasing number of South Africans who end up back in South Africa after a stint in another country.

The stories of these folk are very interesting and I am thrilled that my good friend Mike has set up a blog detailing his return to our shores and his experience of living and working in Johannesburg. He has already had run-ins with bureaucracy and has a story to tell about the Joburg traffic department! However his overall experience has been a positive one and I invite you to click through to his blog and read all about it for yourself.

Click here - Living in Jozi

A Social Network for Internet Marketers

2008-09-24T07:12:00.004+02:00

I have just been introduced to a site that promises to be a great tool for internet marketers. This is touted as a Web 2.0 site designed for Internet Marketers; a site needed to build the perfect platform for online success. Credits are used to determine how much you get in the revenue sharing pool which means, just from being an active user, ViralNetworks share their revenue with you! I know that this kind of scheme has its detractors - but I'm going to give this a try and see what happens!

Click here to find out more!

Mugabe Booed In Parliament - Is He Getting The Message? (video)

2008-08-26T21:45:00.003+02:00

As Zimbabwe's parliament opened today Robert Mugabe was heckled and booed in a clear display of the rejection of his and his government's leadership.

I wonder if he's getting the message that he is no longer wanted or needed? Or is he continually blinded by sense of self-importance?

Is Linux Really What You Want?

2008-08-20T22:15:00.004+02:00

- Taken from The Burning Biscuit

High-School Musical Rip-Off - Not Christianity's Finest Hour!

2008-08-18T21:27:00.005+02:00

As someone who has spent many years around Christian ministry to children and teenagers, I was horrified to find a post on SingPraise.co.za detailing how Asylum Studios intend releasing what is clearly an attempt to cash in on the success of Disney Studio's High School Musical.

A look at the packaging and graphics shows how blatant the copying is. If you took out the title "Sunday School Musical", the poster could be mistaken for a sequel to the Disney show. It reeks of squeaky-clean evangelical puritanism.

The Christian dollar is powerful and Asylum Studios should be ashamed of themselves for putting money ahead of ethics no matter how pressing the evangelical imperative.

Teenagers are increasingly wary of having the wool pulled over their eyes. This attempt to bring them to Christ through the imitation of a secular success will, I believe, be seen by many young people as an attempt to hoodwink them!

MXit - Media Raises Concerns

2008-08-17T08:50:00.006+02:00

The use of technology among young people is something I encourage as they find themselves in an ever-increasingly wired and inter-connected world. I do however believe that parents and teachers have a responsibility to teach children how to use technology in a responsible manner. I also believe that parents need to place the necessary restrictions in place to protect their children from the potential dangers of misusing technology.

The media has recently reported on several incidents involving MXit - mainly focusing on the recent phenomenon of lists naming those who some have labelled as "sluts" and "ugly".

Take a look at these reports - they make for interesting reading (especially for parents and teachers). I will be circulating these to the Grade 6 & 7 parents and all teachers at my school on Monday.

1) Getting The Message Across

2) Parents Go To War Over MXit

3) Sex Danger In Chatrooms

4) Film Board To Look At 'Slut List'

5) MXit Suspected As Teen Absconds

6) Malicious MXit Lists Create Cruel Copy-Cats

Are Schools Responsible For Good Manners?

2008-08-16T21:42:00.005+02:00

I had the privilege of attending the Annual Old Boys' Dinner at my alma mater, Wynberg Boys' High School, this past Thursday evening. It was a wonderful evening spent reliving moments of school mischief, reminding each other of memorable moments inside and outside the classroom and being reminded of how fortunate we were to have attended such a great boy's high school with so many years of tradition (167 years old this year).

It was not however the tradition or the sense of history, recent or distant, that drew comment from guys seated around our table (all from the 1990 crop of matrics), but rather the manner in which each one of us was greeted as we moved through the school to the Old Boys' Pavilion where we met for pre-dinner drinks. Every boy, without fail, who we came across on the field, in the corridors, walking along the pathways greeted us with "Good evening, Sir" or "How can I help you, Sir?". This show of manners and respect left its mark on all of us and reminded us of the value of the education we had received.

Those who decry the youth of today and who lament the lack of respect among young people need to pay a visit to many of our country's schools. I have been able to visit a great many schools over the past number of years and in many I have been delighted at the show of manners by the pupils.

I must make one comment though that I know will upset some but it is borne out through my experience and observations in many schools across the country : it would appear that schools with a long history and tradition (both government and independent schools)are those in which emphasis is placed on producing young men and women of character and in which manners and respect are given high value.

This is obviously a generalisation but this observation is proved time and time again. On Thursday afternoon I was driving in the southern suburbs of Cape Town and was in the vicinity of a well-known large co-ed school at about the time of the final bell of the day. Scores of pupils were walking home and frequenting a local shopping centre. The abiding memory is ties hanging loose around necks, shirts hanging out, loose shoe laces and the vigorous chewing of gum by several pupils. I know that the education received at this school is good and that the staff are extremely dedicated to their pupils. Indeed I know several very fine men and women who attending this school - the fact is that the issue of dress and pride in the school and themselves is just not high on the agenda in the life of the school.

The question remains - why can some schools pull it off and other can't? Are schools of tradition and history guilty of producing snobs or young men and women who think too highly of themselves, or are they just successful at using their history to instil a sense of pride and honour in their pupils? Are single-sex schools more successful in this aspect of schooling than their co-ed counterparts?

As always, your comments are welcome...

Bloggers Helping Bloggers - A Mutually Satisfying Experience!

2008-08-13T20:56:00.004+02:00

This year sees the 4th incarnation of Blog Day.

The idea here is that on 31 August bloggers post links to 5 other blogs on their blog. Each blog listed will be reviewed to guide visitors on their journey to new and exciting blog destinations.

All the necessary info can be found at the Blog Day homepage.

I will be posting my five links on August 31st. Be sure to check this blog on that day to find out which five blogs I've chosen to direct you to!

Scout's letter home...

2008-08-13T20:30:00.004+02:00

Dear Mom & Dad,

Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood
on TV and are worried. We are okay. Only one of our tents and 2 sleeping
bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all
up on the mountain looking for Adam when it happened.

Oh yes, please call Adam's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write
because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps.
It was neat. We never would have found Adam in the dark if it hadn't been
for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Keith got mad at Adam for going on a hike alone without telling
anyone. Adam said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he
probably didn't hear him. Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the
gas will blow up ?

The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did and also some of our
clothes. Matthew is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Keith gets the bus fixed. It
wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked okay when we left.
Scoutmaster Keith said that with a bus that old you have to expect
something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance.

We think it's a neat bus. He doesn't care if we get it dirty and if it's
hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders. It gets pretty hot with 45
people in a bus made for 24. He let us take turns riding in the trailer
until the highway patrol man stopped and talked to us.

Scoutmaster Keith is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact,
he is teaching Jessie how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't
any cops. All we ever see up there are logging trucks.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out to
the rapids. Scoutmaster Keith wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and
Adam was afraid he would sink because of his cast, it's concrete because we
didn't have any plaster, so he let us take the canoe out. It was great. You
can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood.

Scoutmaster Keith isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get
mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the
bus so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.

Guess what ? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Ryan dived
into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works.

Steven and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Keith said it probably was just food
poisoning from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with
food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and became our scoutmaster.
He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was
doing his time. By the way, what is a pedal-file ?

I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters & buy some more
beer and ammo. Don't worry about anything. We are fine and tonight it's my
turn to sleep in the Scoutmaster's tent.

Love as always
your only son
Johnnie

- taken from Jolly Good Jokes

BBC's Olympic Monkey - Video

2008-08-10T21:10:00.005+02:00

Those of us lucky enough to have the DSTV SuperSport Channels have been treated to our first weekend's coverage of the Beijing Olympics. The back-to-back coverage has been wonderful for sports fans and has no doubt caused a few domestic conflicts as families battled over choice of sport viewing (not to mention those households in which one person enjoys sport and the other does not!).

If, however, gold medals were handed out to broadcasters for their attempts to woo viewers, the BBC would romp home with their Sports Monkey video. Take a look at this video to see their creativity and unique approach :

BBC OLYMPIC MONKEY VIDEO

This animated sequence, based on the classical Chinese novel, "Journey to the West", has been produced by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the men behind virtual band Gorillaz.

So What Does A Teacher Make?

2008-07-28T11:41:00.002+02:00

What Teachers Make

view presentation (tags: education what teachers make ethos3 teachers)

Dance with a pipecleaner

2008-07-04T15:06:00.003+02:00

Time on your hands? Make sure you set aside some time for this as it is very addictive!

You are in control of a pipecleaner dancer using the top 3 rows of your keyboard. Select the music by choosing one of the 7 letters on the screen and go crazy with some new moves.

With practice you can design some fairly groovy moves!

Click here to experience the fun...

27 Dinners finds a 'proper' home!

2008-07-01T20:15:00.004+02:00

I am pleased to see that the 27 Dinner movement now has its own online home having outgrown its initial PB-Wiki home.

The 27 dinner phenomenon has grown substantially since its founding and is now one of the must-attend events for anyone involved in online marketing, writing, technical development - in fact anyone online media practioner or anyone who has an interest in this area is welcome to attend.

If you still have not been to a 27 dinner in your area, go along to http://www.27dinner.com and find out when and where! The site is still new and so much more needs to be added. If you would like to find out more about the 27 Dinners and see photos etc from previous events, surf along to the 27 Dinner wiki at http://27dinner.pbwiki.com

Africa Draws The Short Straw - Again...

2008-06-30T21:56:00.005+02:00

A BBC documentary set to air in the UK on 1 July shows how British tobacco companies are targeting the youth of several African countries despite these countries having laws disallowing this and the tobacco companies having widely publicized codes of ethical marketing.

The program shows how tobacco companies use guerilla marketing to lure young people to their brand. It also shows children as young as 11 buying cigarettes and developing a life-long nicotine addiction. On a continent with 100 000 smoking-related deaths each year (this figure set to double over the next 20 years according to the World Health Organisation), this is clearly an untenable situation.

To read more go to the BBC site for this program - click here.

Why does Africa continue to be exploited by the mega-coporates of the First World? Is it simply economics without a conscience? Do those in power simply close their eyes to the explotation of a continent?

The actions of companies such as those highlighted in the BBC documentary mentioned earlier simply continue to perpetuate economic slavery on the African continent. The trade of physical bodies across oceans and indeed within Africa itself may be a thing of the past but the slavery of Africa's people to the power of the dollar continues.

It is also time for the people of Africa to draw a line in the sand and say "Enough is enough". Corruption and inefficient governance in many parts of Africa unfortunately lead to a blind eye being turned as ordinary Africans continue to suffer poverty, economic injustice and crime continue to plague our continent.

Africa - stand up!
Leaders in Africa - stand up!

Coporate power-mongers - own up!
Foreign governments - wake up!

Is this just wishful thinking or will Africa awaken from her slumber and rise to face the giants that wish to destroy her?

Franschoek Lets Me Down...

2008-06-30T00:09:00.005+02:00

It was a typical Sunday afternoon for our family - a few hours spent driving into the country to explore a new place and then coming home again to get kids ready for the week ahead.

This weekend we decided to visit Franschoek - especially significant as it is where my wife and I spent our first few days as a married couple. The intention was to walk around town and then pop into the coffee shop at the Hugenot Monument for a refreshing cuppa, allow the kids to play a bit and then head home over the Du Toits Kloof pass instead of travelling through the tunnel.

We drove into the parking area of the Hugenot Monument and parked among another 12 or so cars. We then proceeded towards the Hugenot Museum as the sign for the coffee shop pointed in that direction. With no obvious signage I popped into the museum to ask for directions whereupon I was told by a dear old lady that the coffee shop had closed as they were having a quiet day and the staff wanted to go home! This despite a sign in the carpark indicating that they would be open until 17h00.

I then suggested to the family that we take a stroll to the actual monument through the beautifully kept garden. On reaching the gate of the garden we were met with a sign informing us of a charge to enter. Deciding against this we piled into the car and headed off to find another venue for our afternoon refreshments.

This is simply not good enough for a town that is such a tourism landmark.

Come on SA - Just add it!

2008-06-29T18:21:00.003+02:00

Earlier this week I posted information about the TEAM SA Facebook app. Quick update - South Africa has dropped from fourth to eighth place in the list of countries with the most fans. We now lie behind Australia and Italy!

Come on all you SA Facebookers - add the app and show some SA love!

Click here - TEAM SA Facebook app

I know this may seem rather silly but what the heck, its fun!

Shoud I Stay Or Should I Go?

2008-06-28T19:55:00.002+02:00

The title to the hit song by The Clash could well be the theme song of millions of South Africans as they ponder emigration as an option. I was delighted to find the following letter in the May issue of Your Child magazine. The name of the author was unfortunately withheld at the author's request.

I recently had to say goodbye to a very dear friend emigrating to Australia. Our children were born a few weeks apart. I was once again confronted with the question that has come up a thousand time since our children were born. Should we be raising our children in this country?

I am able to work only part-time, so I spent a lot of time with my children. They have been blessed with four fantastic and very involved grandparents.Our domestic worker is part of our family and our children adore her. If we ever emigrate I will probably become the main income earner and my children will have to be raised by teachers and nannies. They will be in a strange country, always outsiders.

I cannot do this to my children. We are staying, and we make the following pledge to our children:

* We will remain positive about the country but will make them aware of the negative side too.

* We will make our lives as secure as we can.

* We will give them the best education possible.

* We will travel as much as we can so that they can experience other countries...

and we will teach them to switch off the lights in the morning and not to use too much hot water.

46664 Concert in London - Patriotism misplaced?

2008-06-27T21:30:00.005+02:00

I am writing this post while watching the 46664 London concert and I write these remarks as an immediate response to what I am seeing on my television screen. I know that this post will be contentious to some but I do hope they spark debate...

The massive crowd gathered in Hyde Park is witnessing a fabulous line-up of international and South African artists all presenting their music as well as their comments on Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his 90th birthday. As the camera pans over the crowd many South African flags are seen flying proudly above their holders and the crowd joins in celebrating the Soweto Gospel Choir as they sing a chorus of "Jive Soweto!".

I cannot help but wonder how many of the attendees who now proudly wave their SA flags are expats who tomorrow will find themselves around dinner tables across London criticising the South African government, moaning about the high crime rate, the electricity supply problems and so on. Many of these people have legitimate concerns but have chosen to emigrate to so-called "greener pastures" where they justify their decision to leave their homeland by telling others how awful life is in South Africa.

I would like to think that these same people have skills aplenty which our country now needs. Their expertise and knowledge need to be channeled into creating employment opportunities and training and equipping local business owners and labourers.

Is this patriotism misplaced? Is all the flag-waving and cheering for South Africa the expression of an inner desire to return to the homeland?

The question I ask is this - If you have chosen to leave South Africa because of how little hope you have for its future, how can you stand in a crowd and proudly wave a South African flag? Is this not hypocritical?

As I wrote early in this post, I know this is a contentious and sensitive issue. I write this as I watch the 46664 concert and this reflects my immediate response and gut feeling.

Your response is welcome ...

For a related post see this post from June 2007.

Use Facebook to show support for SA Olympic team

2008-06-26T22:09:00.003+02:00

With the Olympic games just around the corner why not begin to garner support for our Olympic team using Facebook?

When you add this application to your profile you will also be learning more about the team and be able to track their progress through the games, read athlete's blogs and relive some great SA Olympic moments.

You can add the application by clicking here - Team South Africa Facebook App

International View On Zimbabwe - (video)

2008-04-17T06:28:00.002+02:00

Our northern neighbour's politics are the source of either laughter or tears in the world outside Africa. Unfortunately it seems that African leaders are blinded by the history of the Zimbabwean liberation struggle and refuse to acknowledge that Robert Mugabe has become a corrupt despot. It was interesting to hear CNN reporter Richard Roth repeatedly refer to President Thabo Mbeki as the Zimbabwean president in a report yesterday evening - perhaps an indication of what the world perceives in Mbeki's attitude to Zimbabwe?

This video from the French news channel France24 gives an inside look at Zimbabwe - it makes for interesting viewing.

Click here to watch the video.

SA Blog Given International Recognition

2008-04-11T21:06:00.003+02:00

SA Blog Of The Year, the Mail & Guardian's Online Thought Leader, has been named as an "official honoree" by the Webby Awards. This places it in the company of big players such as blogs by CNN, CBS News, the New Yorker and Time magazine.

This puts Thought Leader among the top 11 political blogs in the world and the only blog in its category from outside the United States.

Well done to the guys at M & G for this outstanding achievement. It is good to see our local bloggers receiving recognition outside our borders as well.

For more information on the 2008 SA Blog Awards see this review by Eishman at Eish!

Getting In On the Act

2008-04-10T16:39:00.003+02:00

Okay so I've been caught out! By Blogger no less!

Have you been RickRoll'd?

For more information on this internet phenomenon check out the following sites :

1) Wikipedia entry

2) Urban Dictionary

If you want to protect yourself from being RickRoll'd, go along to the RickRoll Database where you can also enter the URL of a site that sent you to Mr Astley's 80's hit song!

SMS From Your Desktop - 10 Free Credits

2008-04-10T14:59:00.005+02:00

Wouldn't you like to save money on SMS messaging? For some time now I have been using WinSMS as our preferred Bulk SMS service and have found it very effective. What is great is being able to use this from your personal desktop and saving money on your personal text messaging.

The WinSMS website lists the following information to help you to understand the program better:

WinSMS is the solution you need to enable you to immediately start sending SMS messages from your PC, e-mail, website or custom database.

Besides being the hottest marketing and communication tool available today, WinSMS will

Save you up to 80% of your telecommunication costs:

If you use SMS to communicate with your staff and customers instead of calling them on their cell phones, you can save thousands of Rand's every month!
Provide you and your customers a two-way communication channel:

Replies to your SMS messages are automatically routed to your e-mail address, allowing you to respond timeously to customer requests or confirmations.
Save you money on unnecessary phone calls:

Why make a two minute phone call if you can say it in a SMS for a few cents? Sending SMS from your PC using WinSMS is cheaper and quicker.
Dramatically increase your customer service ratings:

A simple "thank you" SMS can do wonders for your reputation of providing good efficient service - your clients will feel appreciated and will be more likely to buy from you again in the future.

SMS Messaging, from the comfort of your PC, using your existing Internet connection, is a powerful and economical tool that will give you the edge over your competition, while saving you valuable time and money!

Using SMS to market your products and services has an immediate impact, is highly personalised and has been proven to generate a solid increase in sales!

Here are some examples of what SMS Messaging & Bulk SMS can be used for:

Inform customers of product launches, specials and product-related news
Notify debtors about account balances exceeded or overdue
Provide information services to customers or subscribers
Send time-critical information to a mobile workforce
Send price changes and stock information to clients or sales staff
Inform staff of meetings or schedule appointment reminders
Run campaigns and competitions

And it's easier than you think! If you can browse the internet, send and receive e-mail, and have basic computer knowledge, that's all the skill you need to be able to start sending SMS directly from your desktop.

So go ahead and visit the website - you will receive 10 free credits to try out the system. What have you got to lose?

Is Your PC South African?

2008-03-14T06:07:00.004+02:00

With so many people now using open source software the people at Translate.org.za are hard at work releasing versions of Firefox, Open Office, Thunderbird and more into the 11 official languages of South Africa.

Yesterday they announced that an Afrikaans version of the Firefox 3 beta was available for download.

They also have a South African keyboard available and spell checkers for local languages.

If your mother tongue is not English and you would like to use your software in your home language you need to take a look at these :

1) Open Office - in all 11 official languages

2) Mozilla Firefox

3) Mozilla Thunderbird

4) South African Keyboard

5) Spell Checkers for South Africa

A glance at the Translate.org.za news page gives much information about the state of languages and their use in local software - worth a look.

A feather in the cap for our local open source software translators is that their translation tools are now also used by the One Laptop Per Child project, as well as Sun Microsystems for the translation of OpenOffice.org and OpenSolaris.org. Well done to the folks at Translate - more South Africans making a global impact!

SA's Playboy Bunny Can't Sell Her Tail

2008-03-11T06:25:00.004+02:00

Did you know that South Africa has its own Playboy bunny? Born in the former Czechoslovakia at the end of World War 2, Heidi Vos lost her parents to disease in a refugee camp and was smuggled to Germany as a toddler by an aunt. After a stint as an au-pair in the US she moved to New Orleans at the age of 19 to become a Playboy bunny.

She now lives in Mill Park and is the founder of the annual Chilli Festival. In an attempt to raise money for the Barcelone Feeding Scheme she tried to auction off her fluffy bunny tail this past weekend at the festival. However nobody was at all interested! It seems that the bunny tails of 65 year old Playboy bunnies are not in vogue right now! She was hoping to make R10 000 from the little white piece of fluff!

The entire costume was supposed to be returned when she left Playboy but as she says "this one fell through the cracks."

Interesting note - after her Playboy Club days Vos became one of the world's first female disc jockeys.

South African Democracy In Action (pic)

2008-03-11T06:10:00.004+02:00

It seems that the days of loyalist voting are beginning to be numbered as South Africans begin to realise that their vote counts and that the power to keep politicians on board the gravy train lies in their hands.

(Photo - Garth Stead, Die Burger)

Zuma Is Not The Enemy

2008-03-04T06:15:00.003+02:00

Like many other white middle-class South Africans I held my breath during the ANC Polokwane conference held last year. I waited anxiously to hear who would be elected ANC President and would therefore most likely be our next national leader. When Jacob Zuma was elected to this position I expressed aloud my disappointment and concern at having a man with such a blotted copybook as our president.

Recent events however have caused me to wonder if it is in fact the trade unions, COSATU in the main, who we have to be concerned about. Last week Zuma opened the debate on reform of labour legislation to ensure that the unacceptably high unemployment rate be brought down. COSATU quickly shut down this debate in what appeared to be an attempt to remind Zuma where his power base lies and who voted him into power.

During 2005 the ANC national general council meeting prepared an initial paper on labour market regulation and the existence of a 'second economy'. Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi then presented a discussion document which included ideas on building a dual labour market.

It was COSATU's violent reaction to these proposals that lead to these important issues being swept under the carpet at last year's Polokwane conference. This has now lead to the current situation where the president of the ruling party simply raised issues his party has raised before. He said that trade unions operated in the 'first economy' and that the 'second economy' was neglected "by all of us". Zuma pointed out that some labour regulation had the unfortunate effect of cutting out the poorest of the poor and that flexibility was need to address this.

What South Africa most needs now is a leader who will not bow to the pressure exerted on government by increasingly vocal and militant trade unions who seem intent of self-protection. We need a leader who understands the need for economic growth through legislative reform and who will not allow petty politics to derail the progress made so far.

While Jacob Zuma is still not my first choice national leader, I have been surprised (perhaps even impressed thus far) at his statements regarding economic growth and development. He finds himself in an interesting position - a support base among the poor, a power base among workers and an entire country waiting for 2009 to see if he can actually deliver. Add to this mix possible prosecution and a pending court case - its a wonder he can sleep at all!

29 Feb - A Special Day! 30 Feb - Yes It Once Existed!

2008-02-28T20:02:00.005+02:00

So is it true that once every four years, on February 29, women can woo men and ask them for their hand in marriage?

As usual I go to the folks at Snopes.com for an answer - read all about it here.

10 famous people born on Feb 29 :

1) Pope John Paul III (1468 - 10/11/1549)
2) Gioacchino Rossini (1792 - 13/11/1868)
3) Morarji Desai (1896 - 10/04/1995)
4) Jimmy Dorsey (1904 - 12/06/1957)
5) Dinah Shore (1916 - 24/02/1994)
6) Tempest Storm (1928 - )
7) Henri Richard (1936 - )
8) Anthony Robbins (1960 - )
9) Saul Williams (1972 - )
10) Ja Rule (1976 - )

Keeing up with the maths :

February 2008 has five Fridays - it starts and ends on a Friday. Between 1904 and 2096, leap years with same day of week for each date repeat every 28 years which means that the last time February had 5 Fridays was in 1980 and next time will be in 2036. (taken from "Life Is Like That")

Did you know that 30 February actually once existed?

Sweden and the Soviet Union once had a February 30 in their calendar. Check it out here.

Oscar Honour For South Africa

2008-02-26T06:21:00.004+02:00

It may not have generated as much hype as Charlize Theron's Oscar did in 2004 or as the film Tsotsi did in 2006 but South Africa once again walked away with an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards.

Taxi to the Dark Side, one of the films made for the South African coordinated, global documentary project Why Democracy?, won the Documentary Feature award.

South African producer and film maker, Don Edkins, was the executive producer of the film. Edkins also produced and coordinated the Why Democracy? project for Steps International from their Cape Town offices.

Director Alex Gibney’s film tells the story of an Afghan taxi driver tortured to death by the American government as part of its "War on Terror" and was one of 10 films in the Why Democracy? documentary project.

Edkins as Executive Producer on ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’, and Producer of ‘Please Vote For Me’ says, “This is a great honour for the film. I am very pleased that ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ won because it deals with a very tough political issue. By awarding the film an Oscar, the Academy has showed it is not scared of films which expose the undemocratic practices of the American Government."

This is yet another opportunity to showcase the talent that this country produces. Well done Don Edkins and your team!

The Weatherman in a New South Africa (video)

2008-02-21T09:31:00.004+02:00

A relevant warning - take note...

Government Supports The Boks - When It Suits Them

2008-02-20T07:40:00.003+02:00

So the Springboks have won the Laureus Sport Team of the Year Award - a fabulous achievement in anyone's book. Now the ANC jumps on the bandwagon of congratulating the team for their success despite the history of political interference which so often threatened to derail the team on their journey to success.

I find it rather ironic that in their congratulatory statement the government has called on Bafana Bafana, the country's national soccer team, to emulate their rugby counterparts and win the FIFA World Cup in 2010! I wonder to what extent the politicians will interfere with soccer to make this happen. On current form it will take nothing short of a divine miracle for South Africa to win the 2010 World Cup!

While the Springboks certainly united the nation for a time I believe that selective government intervention in other sporting codes will ultimately breakdown the unity they now applaud the Springboks for attaining.

Paid To Be Positive - HIV+

2008-02-19T07:02:00.003+02:00

Would you consider being a human guinea-pig for a new HIV/AIDS prevention strategy if it meant you may contract HIV in the process?

This is exactly what a number of women did during a recent clinical trial of a gel which was supposed to prevent transmission of the virus.The full story may be found here.

6202 women participated in the study between March 2004 and March 2007. During this time the rate of infection was 3.3 new infections per 100 women. The participants in the study were given HIV education and counselling, gynaecological exams and testing and treatment for curable sexually transmitted infections.

Women who were HIV-positive at screening or who became HIV positive during the trial were given medical and psychological assistance.

I wonder what these women were paid to participate in this study - a study that for 200 of them translated to an HIV-positive reality. Was it worth it? I suppose if the gel had been effective they would have been hailed as heroes of the fight against AIDS. However they are now just statistics in the HIV/AIDS pandemic in our country. Are they still heroes or just foolish people looking for quick money at a high risk?

I realise this is a controversial topic and I invite you to leave a comment and get the debate started...

Johannesburg to Worcester - What A Pleasure!

2008-02-18T06:52:00.004+02:00

It's been some time since I wrote on this blog and for my regular readers, I apologise! At the end of last year my family and I moved home from the bustling city of Johannesburg to the Boland town of Worcester so that I could take up the position of headmaster at a local primary school.

I cannot even begin to describe the difference we have experienced in lifestyle and peace of mind! Living on the school property allows me to walk to school across the fields and take in the surrounding beauty. As the sun creeps over the mountains and crawls its way across the the school buildings and fields I remind myself every day how fortunate we are to have been able to move. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our time in what is probably South Africa's most diverse and Afro-centric city but there is most definitely something different and refreshing about living in the country (not to mention the fresh air).

Worcester is situated in the wine-producing area of the Boland region. This has resulted in our fridge being well-stocked with freshly picked grapes and our wine selection being greatly enhanced through the generous gifts of parents of our school. Being so centrally located (an hour from Cape Town, Hermanus, Montagu and Touwsriver and even less from Paarl, Tulbagh and Ceres) ensures that Worcester is a bustling hub of industry and commerce in the area. All that is required is right on our doorstep.

While the summer temperatures frequently reach over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) the weather is pleasant and in the winter months snow covers the peaks of the surrounding mountains.

There are pros and cons to living in the country but I have to say that there seem to be many more pros than cons!

Worcester Tourism Homepage

A South African Christmas - An American Perspective

2007-11-27T03:33:00.000+02:00

With less than one month to go before we celebrate Christmas with family and friends, I thought it may be interesting to see our celebrations through 'foreign' eyes. This letter was posted on the Global Ministries website by two American missionaries living in the Eastern Cape. No matter what your religious leanings, this makes for interesting reading! As a South African I find great encouragement from this fresh perspective :

We are not dreaming of a white Christmas, but rather a day at the beach with family and a big barbeque grill! Christmas here in South Africa is in the height of summer time and is celebrated somewhat different than in the United States. Since it is summer time all the children are on a month long break from school and many people take this time off from work as well.

Some businesses shut down for the month of December. Even the home office of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, our partner church here, is closed for the month. People take this holiday very seriously and are intent on truly relaxing. And you will find that most people celebrate Christmas Day outside in their backyards, down at the beach or anywhere that they can be together with family and friends. Christmas in South Africa is about being with family and friends, sharing a meal together and about relaxing. It is not about a Christmas tree, gifts or Santa Claus. Quite a contrast to our culture of Christmas in the USA!

We often say that there is much for us, as Americans, to learn from our brothers and sisters here in Africa. And this is one of those things! The first Christmas we spent here in South Africa was just the two of us. We put up our fake Christmas tree, while sweating, and listened to "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" on CD. We were forcing what we know as Christmas into our lives here. We exchanged gifts on Christmas day with each other and then went to eat lunch with our friends. We found them with their entire family out on their front porch eating, chatting, laughing and relaxing together. Then we all headed down to the beach for a walk and a dip. We quickly learned our lesson about what Christmas here means! It was not about "what did you get for Christmas or from Santa Claus?" on Christmas morning. It was about sharing relationships with the ones that you love.

The other lesson that we have learned and that we can all learn from is that giving here in South Africa is done year round...not just at Christmas. So often, we in the US, tend to gear up for our giving at Christmas...we give to the needy, the poor, the orphaned. We make special efforts to make sure people "have" something at Christmas time. But what about the rest of the year? What about sharing ourselves with others and spending time with people? South Africans give of themselves right straight through the year, day in and day out. We have seen so many instances: a granny who gives endlessly to 25 orphaned children, a lady who shares her food with a neighbor who does not have any, a boy who shares his 2 Rand with a friend to buy a bag of chips, people giving others that they do not know a ride into town, a woman giving of her time, skills and talents to an organization without any monetary compensation and knowing there is no income for her family, and the list could go on. Here in South Africa, you can show up at someone's house, totally unexpected, and get the warmest welcome with tea and biscuits, and a readily listening ear available to hear your news or problems. People do not worry about their own agenda; rather it is people and the relationships that are important. People here give when there is nothing to give but themselves.

We have much to learn from our African brothers and sisters. Why do we not change our theology of giving and even our traditions of the holidays? Let us focus this year on our relationships, on giving of ourselves to others and on relaxing. Whether we are buried in snow or sand...may your holidays be blessed!

Revs. Jon and Dawn Barnes

Source - Global Ministries

Airports - Get There Early!

2007-11-23T08:06:00.000+02:00

Solomon Makgale, communications manager for ACSA (Airports Company South Africa), has urged passengers to get to airports early during the coming holiday season as they expect passenger volume to increase by 10% to 9.5 million passengers over the next three months. Read the report here.

It is well and good asking people to arrive early but I do hope that the various airlines and ACSA have also employed more people to handle the extra pressure. Having competent people at check-in desks and helping passengers find their way around will go a long way in preventing frustrations.

I was recently at OR Tambo International in Johannesburg at a particularly busy time of the morning and waited in the very long queue to get through the security check. Only two gates were open. From what I can remember there are at least another 4 that could have been opened had staff been available. It is this kind of forethought that will help ACSA regain some lost confidence from the flying public.

A good experience at the airport relies on many factors but I do hope that in light of Mr Makgale's word, ACSA will play their part as well!

PS - Anyone flying into, out of or around South Africa on Christmas Day? I would love to post your experience on this blog. Leave me a comment and I will contact you!

South Africa Is Doing Okay In Closing Gender Gap - WEF report

2007-11-21T10:08:00.000+02:00

Every year the World Economic Forum releases a list that ranks countries on the basis of gender equality.

The report measures the discrepancies between the sexes in four categories :

1) Educational attainment

2) Economic participation

3) Political empowerment

4) Health and survival

This years report shows that the United States has slipped from 22nd place in 2006 to 31st place. It is pleasing to see that South Africa sits at position 20 - ahead of countries like Switzerland (40), France (51) and Singapore (77).

According to the analysis published by the World Economic Forum the reasons for South Africa's good performance are :

1) Political empowerment (more than 40% of government ministers are women and more than 33% of parliamentary positions are held by women)

2) Economic indicators such as labour force participation and wage equality are slightly improved

As our country continues to face the challenges of a developing economy and social reconstruction it is good see how we lead the way for Africa in many other areas of development - a good news story!

Winnie Mandela For President?

2007-11-20T09:08:00.000+02:00

Mother of the nation Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is ready to join the leadership race of the African National Congress (ANC), the Sowetan newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Madikizela-Mandela's publicist Malcolm X said "if the ANC nominates her, she will not say no, she is the loyal servant of her people."

The Sowetan said it had learned that several senior ANC members had been streaming to her Orlando house since last year to request her to accept nomination or to support them. Despite reports that branches have nominated President Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, the ANC is still to officially announce the names of leaders nominated for the top six positions.

In fact, Madikizela-Mandela could be nominated from the floor, as happened during the 1997 conference for the deputy president's position. Then she declined the nomination, allowing Zuma to become the deputy president.

- Source - IOL

Does Oprah Promote Materialism?

2007-11-16T09:40:00.000+02:00

It is that time of the year when many around the world begin buying presents for loved ones. The Christmas season has already begun - the decorations in stores bear testimony to that.

Another way to know that Christmas is near is to tune into talk-shows. Oprah and Ellen are two that are shown here in South Africa and both have a loyal following. Both of these ladies host shows that are entertaining and there is nothing inherently wrong with either. However I do become upset during their shows at this time of the year when they have massive give-aways to their respective studio audiences. Let me explain why...

Upon hearing that they are to receive free gifts the studio audiences react like small children being told they have free access in a candy store. It is sad for me to see the screaming and shouting of grown men and women who cannot wait to get their hands on their gifts. From their dress one can safely assume that they are from a demographic that will not go without creature comforts during the holiday season and yet they carry on as if they are deprived of all that is worthwhile. It is sad.

I know that Oprah's philanthropic efforts particularly in the field of education are worthy but I still cannot help feeling that her hosting of this type of show flies in the face of her professed love for the downtrodden and less fortunate.

Is the reaction of the studio audience typical of the average American? I would like to believe not as I have several close friends in the US who are nothing like as materialistic as these audience members seem to be. Let us be clear that giving of gifts is part of the joy of the Christmas season and reminds us of the greatest gift given to us but let us also remember that even if we were to receive nothing but the companionship and warmth of friends and family we would have received something far greater than anything Oprah or Ellen could give their studio audiences.

PS - Readers in the US : Watch Oprah on Nov 20 to see her "Favourite Things of 2007" show - once you have , please leave a comment with your impressions of the show.

World Champions - Again!

2007-10-20T11:18:00.000+02:00

Go Bokke!

An unattractive game possibly but the result is undisputed - the South African rugby team win the World Cup for a second time!

Well done to all involved - a magnificent effort after four years of planning and hard work.

New Zealand 2011 - we're on our way...

Patriotism Spurred On By World Cup Final

2007-10-18T03:32:00.000+02:00

It is interesting to see the incredible effect sport has to unite the nation. With the rugby World Cup final happening on Saturday between South Africa and England there is that euphoric feeling in the country that seems to invade our collective consciousness whenever our national sports team achieve.

I have listened intently as people from all socio-economic and racial groups have called into radio stations pledging support for the Springbok team. One old lady from Soweto called into Talk Radio 702 and spoke of how she has come to love the game during this World Cup and how she would be sitting in front on her television on Saturday evening.

If you would like some ideas of how to give support to the team make sure you stop in at my good friend Eish's blog. He has a post entitled "10 Ways To Show Your Support To The Bokke" - well worth a visit!

What concerns and frustrates me is how all and sundry are so patriotic due to the successes of the national rugby team but when Monday comes and we are faced once more with the stark realities of living in a country with so many challenges, will those who sang "Let us live and strive for freedom" be willing to knuckle down to building the country together?

I remember fondly the incredible sense of nation-building after South Africa won the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 1995. However that was one year into a new democratic dispensation and in a sense, with the eyes of the world focused on the miracle of transformation in our country, it was easier to be totally engaged in the euphoria. 13 years on and we continue to struggle to shake the shackles our past - how easy will it be now to make this World Cup a vehicle of nation-building?

Let's join together and give unequivocal support to our boys for the Final and lets enjoy putting aside the challenges we face daily in our beautiful country. Let's not however forget the fact that there is a reality to face when the final spectator has left the stadium and the final beer is drunk in celebration or disappointment. Each of us has a role to play in nation-building - we cannot expect the success or failure of national sports teams to determine the state of our national psyche over an extended period.

What A View - Great Accommodation In Simons Town, Cape Town

2007-10-17T09:15:00.000+02:00

Regular readers of this blog will know by now that I love the city of Cape Town. One of the challenges when visiting this wonderful city is deciding where to stay. Personally I love the sea and enjoy being able to wake up in the morning and look out over an expanse of ocean.

It is for this reason that I am pleased to present Glenmarine Lodge to you. These self-catering apartments are situated high on the slopes overlooking False Bay and historic Simons Town. Visitors enjoy panoramic views of False Bay -

These superb views and stunning sunrises can be enjoyed over breakfast from the comfort of your apartment or the spacious timber deck.

With so many wonderful tourist attractions in the vicinity, this will become your home from home. Take a look at the home page for further information. This could be a great place to spend Christmas with the family.

Mistaken Priorities Of Springbok Rugby Fans

2007-10-15T02:10:00.000+02:00

I am a passionate South African rugby supporter. I will make every effort to watch every game and will engage in conversation around the team whenever I have the opportunity. With that out of the way, let me get to the reason for this post...

Yesterday's Sunday Times ran a story of how hundreds of Springbok supporters were paying sky-high prices for tickets for the World Cup Semi-Final and Final now that South Africa had progressed so far in the tournament. They quote prices of over R40 000 for tickets advertised on eBay and highlight several local travel agencies that have seen significant increased demand for packages ranging from R35 000 to R200 000. A group of 12 SA businessmen are forking out almost R72 000 a day to hire a 25m luxury yacht - R3000 per hour rate!

It is inconceivable to me that people are willing to take out second mortages on their homes to buy tickets for a rugby match. It concerns me deeply when corporate South Africa says there is no more money for social responsibility projects in the fields of education and health-care. Those travelling to Paris and spending these exorbitant amounts of money will argue that they are being patriotic by supporting their team in a major tournament. I would counter that by saying that true patriotism begins at home when those who have the resources contribute to the greater good of nation-building. Of course fingers will be pointed at those in positions of power who misuse public funds to their own end - yes, this needs to be dealt with severely but is the corruption of public officials sufficient cause to stop the rest of us working at making the country a better place for all?

I do not resent those who will be present at the World Cup final this coming Saturday when South Africa takes on the English. I do not sulk in my lounge armchair and wish that it was me who was there at the game. However, I do question the wisdom of those who in a rush of green-blooded patriotism risked everything to afford a ticket as much as I question those who are spending hundreds of thousands on luxury accommodation and thousands on a ticket to the game.

With recent studies showing that around 5.41 million people in South Africa are living with HIV(including 257,000 children) (source) , the massive housing backlog, the struggle to provide quality education for all children, the need for continued roll-out of basic services to rural areas and the concern for aging infrastructure, it is clear that government, corporate South Africa and individual citizens need to be prioritizing spending to provide 'a better life for all'. It is also clear that those in public office and corporate high office need to be held accountable for money spent inappropriately.

French Visas Needed . . .

2007-10-11T07:53:00.000+02:00

With the Springbok rugby team having reached the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup, the French Consulate has reported a massive increase in the number of applications for visas from South Africans wishing to visit France.

Why the sudden interest? Did rugby fans not have faith in the team that they would progress this far in the tournament? It seems that the biggest demand has come from travel agencies - surely this is a little late in the day to be organising group tours?

The French Consulate in Johannesburg has the following disclaimer on its website - Due to technical reasons or busy circunstances, the Visa Section could be closed without prior notice, either forced to limit the number of applications daily accepted.

I suggest that if you would like to travel to Saint Denis for the final (whether or not the Springboks are playing), you start making application for your visa today!

Airline Woes! Don't Think It Only Happens Here!

2007-09-19T07:52:00.000+02:00

A few minutes scanning local consumer websites will reveal a general feeling of unhappiness at the lack of customer service and professionalism experienced by many travellers at the hands of airlines. While one understands the needs for extra precautions in terms of security in this age of global terrorism, there is no need for airline staff or airport staff to treat passengers, regardless of which class they are flying in, with disdain.

It has almost become customary for South Africans to dismiss this type of service as "typical in Africa". This type of South African pessimism is uncalled for, unhelpful and possibly could even be construed as racist. The poor service levels experienced by many in the airline industry have become common-place the world over. I came across this account of a gentleman from San Diego who missed his flight to Johannesburg due to unbelievable hassles at the San Diego airport. Go ahead and read his story and realise that these problems happen all over the world.

I am convinced that our service levels need drastic improvement in many areas but let's not fall into the trap of thinking that poor service is unique to our country!

Need More Visitors To Your Blog?

2007-09-18T02:20:00.000+02:00

Have you noticed the new widget on the right-hand side of this page? Take a look now - its okay, I'll wait!

Say hello to "BlogRush" - a free traffic generator that works by displaying your latest blog headlines on a desktop widget. You install the widget on your page and see the headlines of blogs related to your particular subject matter.

The system also has a referral component which means you earn traffic credits off 10 levels!

As the system is brand new this is a great time to come aboard. Every site needs traffic and it seems to me that this is a great way to generate traffic that is already interested in the subjects you write about.

Sign up by clicking here.

To see other traffic generating tools - click here.

New Blog Of The Week - #9 (Is it a bird, a plane? No - it's a UFO!)

2007-09-14T10:30:00.000+02:00

So where have these people been all this time? Why do we not hear more of them? They need greater publicity!

So here we go ...

This week's "New Blog Of The Week" is from the South African UFO Resource and gives a local perspective to this phenomenon. If unusual sightings of flying objects interest you this site is worth a visit.

As for me, I will just keep looking up and wondering...

Springbok Rugby - Historical Tales #2 (video - RSA vs ENG)

2007-09-13T10:44:00.000+02:00

It was on 24 October 1999, the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup, that South Africa removed England from the competition thanks in no small part to the boot of flyhalf Jannie de Beer.

Not only did he add a world record 5 drop goals to the scorecard, he also struck five penalties and two conversions to ensure an historic win for the Boks.

Let's hope that our boys can repeat their winning ways against England on Friday!

Facebook in South Africa - Are You Being Paid?

2007-09-11T03:18:00.000+02:00

Social networking online has fast become the darling of the internet. The South Africa network on Facebook now has over 260 000 members! It had to happen sooner than later that some bright spark realised that with millions of people logging in every day and the resultant advertising revenue increasing, those who were making use of tools such as Facebook and MySpace should be benefitting too. After all, it is the users who make these sites so successful - why not reward regular users for their efforts?

Enter Yuwie - a Web 2.0 social networking site that pays users for their normal everyday activities and links this to network marketing model that pays 10 levels down!

Think of how many times you log into Facebook during the course of a week. Imagine getting paid every time you altered your profile, invited friends, left messages on your friend's walls, participated in a group... Not only that - what if you were paid every time one of your friends participated in activities such as these as well - down to 10 levels? This is the magic of Yuwie.

Some questions answered :

1) Is it legal? Yes Yuwie is completely legal.Yuwie is marketed as a Social Networking site with a Multi Level Marketing business structure. You see Pyramid schemes involve users paying a fee to join, and that fee gets divided up and paid to the users above them...and Yuwie is not one of these. Yuwie is free to join. It costs nothing, so there is no way it can be considered illegal, or a pyramid scheme.Yuwie gets it's revenue from advertising

2) How is my income calculated? Your income is determined by the Yuwie - Revenue Sharing Rate (RSR). Here's how it works. After each month, a report will be generated in your earnings area...See your "Control Panel" and look for the money bag. It will show exactly how many views your referral tree accumulated on each level. It will also show your earnings for each level. Here's the actual calculation:

RSR x (Page Views/1000) x Level Percentage = Your Earnings

3) How long has this been around? The Yuwie.com Domain was Created on May 21, 2007 and the business is run by a gentleman (Korry Rogers) out of Norman, Oklahoma

This is a great tool for buiding a business network with the benefit of being paid at the same time! Its like having an advertising agency pay you for using their services!

Why not head over to my Yuwie profile and get the ball rolling! I really do believe that this tool will be become as popular as Facebook over time - get in now! Sign-ups are over 1000 per day - you really don't want to miss this opportunity!

Check it out now...

Swop A Kiss For An iPod!

2007-09-10T08:51:00.000+02:00

How creative is your kissing? Fancy winning an iPod in return for some creative kisses?

South African author Bridget McNulty is giving away a brand-new iPod Nano 4GB with video on her blog. To be entered into this competition requires photograph of you being creative in a kiss. She puts it like this

It doesn’t have to be a romantic smooch, it can be you kissing your super-adorable child, or your pet hamster, or your favourite popstar’s poster. But for it to be the winning photo it has to be something special.

The Top10 will be displayed on her website for the world to see.

So for a new iPod or simply bragging rights about your smooching ability, enter now!

Find the info here.

To read Bridget's latest book, click on the cover below :

Springbok Rugby - Historical Tales #1

2007-09-07T01:40:00.000+02:00

As the Rugby World Cup launches in France later tonight, I have decided not to follow the general blogging trend and write match previews, reports and express opinion on the on and off field antics of players and management - the mainline press will do enough of that!

Instead I am going to be writing a series of small posts highlighting something interesting from the history of the South Africa Springbok rugby team.

Today I give you a quote from a book entitled "The Bob Scott Story" by R. W. H. Scott and T. P. Mclean published in 1956.

In the days before teams were flown around this country South Africa had an advantage with distance and altitude which we used to good advantage. In 1949 between the First Test in Cape Town and the second at Ellis Park in Johannesburg we packed the New Zealanders off by train to what was then Rhodesia forcing them to spend 8 out of 11 nights on the train. On their way back their train collided, in the middle of the night, into the rear of a Goods Train. This caused some players to be thrown out of the upper bunks, with one player, Charlie Willocks, a forward, so badly damaged his shoulder that it affected him for the rest of the tour.

And today they moan about food poisoning!

It seems this book is out of print. If anyone knows where to find a copy, please leave a note in the comments.

50% To The People

2007-09-03T02:48:00.000+02:00

On this, the 50th post for OnlineTrek, it is fitting that we feature an organisation which is making a significant difference in the lives of many in this country and beyond.

The organisation's name is "50% For The People" and offers folks the opportunity to work in South Africa in a volunteer capacity with a number of NGO's and other non-profits. The big difference with this organisation is that 50% of the monies paid are ploughed straight back into the NGO benefitting from the volunteer work.

The company promotes responsible volunteerism -

* minimises negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;

* generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities, improves working conditions and access to the industry;

* involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;

* makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world's diversity;

* provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;

* is culturally sensitive, engenders respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

Aimed at people living outside South Africa, this opportunity opens doors for future tourism and investment. Impacting the lives of those whom they serve, the volunteers are exposed to experiences they may not have had otherwise and so they too grow from the experience.

Each trip generates over R75 000 for the NGO with whom the volunteers serve.

I believe totally in what this organisation is doing but I do have two questions :

1) Is any follow-up done with the NGO's which receive monies to ensure the income is put to good use?
2) Which NGO's are chosen and what process was used to determine their worthiness?

Notwithstanding these questions, I think that 50%FTP is a model which could be replicated the world over and I am delighted to think that the people of South Africa are benefitting from this initiative.

The latest OutSurance advertisements showing members of their staff giving their time and expertise to the community has also made an impact (watch some of the ads here). The act of doing something tangible rather than throwing money at a project is of far better value to the recipient and the giver.

My prayer is that more organisations and people would move from the comfort of their living rooms and the safety of their cheque books and get into communities that need assistance - not to give hand-outs, but to empower. The future success of South Africa does not rest in the hands of the powerful but in the hearts and hands of ordinary people.

South African Government And Internet Censorship - Busted!

2007-08-30T08:11:00.000+02:00

A free media is central to democracy - the voice of the people needs to be aired and made public so that all, including those in power, have a sense of the mood of the people. It is consensus among most South Africans (my opinion, not based on research!) that the SABC is the government mouthpiece. It was under the apartheid regime and continues to be so under ANC rule. What we don't need, or want for that matter, is for the electronic media to become the voice of government and we certainly don't want government interference or censorship in online publishing.

It was therefore pleasing to see action taken last Friday against a government official for censoring a Wikipedia entry on South Africa's HIV/AIDS policies. The official had vandalised the entry in the online encyclopaedia from a computer that was traced to the offices of Statistics SA, the government statistics headquarters that are situated in Centurion. The offices are part of the State Information Technology Agency.

The interference in the Wikipedia article was discovered by two ITWeb journalists who tracked the deletions to Statistics SA using the IP address of the machine which the editing took place on. Further investigation by Statistics SA then led to the culprit being identified. The employee faces a disciplinary hearing.

According to Carey Finn of IOL the changes to the wikipedia entry were detected by other users and reversed within three minutes. The government official had deleted the topic and supporting references, replaced this with a profane comment, and then removed the effects section of the entry as well as references to an article by Pieter Fourie and the AIDS Portal SA website. All that remained was the section detailing the government’s actions against the spread of HIV/AIDS. Wikipedia’s policy describes vandalism as "any addition, removal, or change of content made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Wikipedia".

The very nature of the internet dictates that it is a place where all voices can be heard. Wikipedia taps into this and provides a platform for anyone to contribute to the global knowledge base. It should be a place of fact not opinion and so one would want to keep a check on what is being written. However it is not up to government officials who disagree with a posting to abuse the democractic nature of the site and make alterations to articles which don't suit the official stance of government.

It is pleasing to see government take action on this matter - now let's work at a truly democratic public broadcaster...

Make Way For The Pram!

2007-08-27T01:02:00.000+02:00

I realised this past weekend while browsing the new Exclusive Books branch in Sandton City, that those responsible for the layout of stores do not take much cognisance of the need for space to manouver with a pram. My 1 year old was forced to endure bump after bump as I carefully negotiated my way around the store. At places I was forced to double back on myself so as to find the correct path through which I could carefully push the pram. Heaven knows what those in wheelchairs do!

As I went into other stores I noticed a similar trend. Very few shops seem to have given thought to accessibility. It seems to be a case of getting as much stock on the floor as possible so as to bring in greater revenue. What they seem to forget is that a pleasant shopping experience means repeat business!

Come on Exclusive Books! Make some space for those of us (dads and moms!) with our little ones in prams! Consider those who cannot walk into your store and need to use wheelchairs! We are all your customers!

New Blog of the Week - #8 - SA Medical Community Uncovered

2007-08-24T10:54:00.000+02:00

Although not technically a "New Blog", with all the furore going on around the antics of our dear Health Minister, I thought it good to give you a blog focused on the South African medical community.,

Describing itself as a blog where one can discover what's under the gown in the South African medical fraternity, All Scrubbed Up covers doctors, surgeons, practices, hospitals and the funny, sometimes controversial stories that go with them.

The site is well written and laid out and has some nice medical videos to peruse - some serious and some funny. It is this mix of the serious and humorous that makes this blog so appealing. At the time of writing there are several posts on male pregnancy - seriously!

With the embarrasment of our national health minister making the headlines, perhaps it is good to focus on other things in our medical fraternity!

Great White Sharks - Be Careful Where You Swim!

2007-08-22T08:23:00.000+02:00

I have always enjoyed the sea - watching it that is! Although I grew up in Cape Town I have never enjoyed swimming in the ocean that much. I love being at the sea and have snorkelled at Boulders and other areas from time to time. However I don't really enjoy swimming out in the sea as much as many of the city's residents.

Now I know why! The City of Cape Town issued a white shark warning on Tuesday as we head into what is traditionally a period of greater shark activity in the waters around the city.

"Although white sharks are present in our waters all year round, we are approaching the time of the year when the possibility of encountering one of these animals is much greater," Gregg Oelofse of the city's environmental resource management department said.

Oelofse said that sharks moved from the waters around Seal Island in False Bay in the winter, to the coastal inshore areas during the summer.

Statistics over the past five years show that the period of mid-August to end September had seen the highest numbers of interactions between white sharks and recreational users of the sea.

People using the ocean should be "extra vigilant" over the next few months.

This past Monday (20 August) shark spotters sighted a shark at Fish Hoek beach just after midday - the first in the area in months.

I definitely won't be swimming this season!

For those who wish to get a little closer to these apex predators, take a look at this opportunity to go Great White shark cage diving

For some incredible footage of False Bay sharks take a look at this documentary from the Discovery Channel -

New Blog of the Week - #7 - Rugby World Cup Guide

2007-08-16T09:30:00.000+02:00

With the 2007 edition of the Rugby World Cup only a few weeks away I was delighted to find a blog which is not based on the ramblings of an uninformed fan but is rather written by someone who clearly has a love for the game and is genuinely interested in providing information to others around this fantastic tournament.

The blog is entitled myrugbynews.com and is an independent site giving readers a huge amount of information around the RWC 2007. Categories of information include

- Fixtures / Schedule
- Glossary
- History of The Cup
- Match Summaries
- Pool Stages - Results
- Stadiums
- Statistics
- Supporters Gallery
- Team Odds
- Teams
- Ticket Information
- World Rankings

Details of upcoming friendlies are also posted.

This is the blog of a true fan and I look forward to seeing its development in the weeks to come.

Let's Drink Some Wine In Soweto

2007-08-14T07:58:00.000+02:00

13 years into a democratic South Africa there are still many white South Africans who have not ventured into a township. They don't know what they are missing! There is a vibe, a truly South African essence, that is not found in the suburbs. Many tourists have found this to be so and have found much joy at being able to interact with township residents.

Living in Johannesburg for the past 10 years has given me opportunity to visit Soweto on several occassions. Interestingly Soweto is the largest township in South Africa with a population of 1.5 million mainly black residents - 40% of Gauteng's population. It is a vibrant metropolitan area and is known for setting trends in fashion, politics, language, dance and music. Like every other urban area it has its problem areas and yet, from a safety perspective, I often feel safer in Soweto than in Sandton! It is far removed from the images of the 1980's that we saw on the SABC as the residents protested the apartheid regime - it is truly a great place to visit!

Various initiatives have been in place for several years now to entice more South Africans to come into Soweto. One of these is the Soweto Wine Festival which began in 2005. This year the festival has Standard Bank has its headline sponsor and will showcase over 800 wines from 125 wineries.

The festival will be held at the Main Hall, Soweto Campus at the University of Johannesburg on Old Potch Rd, Soweto on 7 & 8 September and is being hailed as the most exciting Soweto-based initiative in years.

To assist those not wishing to travel into Soweto in their own vehicles on the two evenings Jo’burg Tourism is providing branded buses from the Cape Wine Academy offices, Conference Centre, 114 Grayston Drive, Sandown, Sandton

Transport Times:
Friday 7th September – 3:30pm & 6pm & 7pm
Saturday 8th September – 4:30pm & 6pm & 7pm

These busses will be available to return from the festival as well. There will be a special combi that will take back those that need to leave the festival earlier.

This is a great initiative that is helping to make Soweto a preferred destination for Johannesburg tourists and locals alike. I do hope that if you are in the Joburg/Pretoria region you will consider coming along for two wonderful evenings.

New Blog Of The Week - #6 - A Golfing Blog

2007-08-10T01:05:00.000+02:00

Golf I once tried my hand and golf and discovered that it really wasn't my thing! I would far rather spend the day on a cricket field than chasing a small white ball into a hole! What I discovered during the months I spent trying to perfect my swing is that golfers are some of the most passionate people you will ever meet. They live for their game. They want to read about it, learn about it, play it every day and they will spend hours discussing what to the rest of us, seem inane details.

This week's featured blog, Robin On Golf, is written by a true golf fan - Robin Thomas (handicap 18). What makes this blog special though is that although it is clearly written by a passionate participant in the game, it is well-written enough to appeal to those with just a passing interest in the sport, such as myself.

It is still fairly new so there is not a large amount of content. My prediction is that this blog will become very popular over the coming months as long as the content continues to be regular and have wide appeal.

Well done Robin! Keep up the good work!

Blue Train Colour - Does It Matter If Its Yellow?

2007-08-08T09:19:00.000+02:00

For the past 70 years the Blue Train has travelled the breadth of South Africa giving those who have travelled in her memories of five-star luxury that is regarded as one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world.

However this post is not designed to expound the virtues of this magnificent train - to download a brochure to read all about the Blue Train click here; for a PowerPoint slide show click here.

I came across a news article about a passenger, Ian Crowhurst, who lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority because the locomotive which pulled the Blue Train on his journey happened to be orange!

Now I will agree that the iconic image of the Blue Train is spoiled by the sight of an orange locomotive, but to lodge a complaint with the ASA just seems a step too far! Quite correctly the ASA responded by saying that the complaint was illogical as this logic would imply that the Green Truffle restuarant would have to serve green truffles and Blue IQ would have to prove that its consultants have Blue IQ's!

What I do not agree with though is their contention that because the customer is paying for the experience of travelling in the Blue Train, the colour of the locomotive is immaterial. Of course it matters! The Blue Train is an icon of South Africa and the sight of the blue locomotive speeding through the Karoo is part of the South African experience. If I had forked out R10 000 to travel from Cape Town to Pretoria I would want the full experience which includes the iconic blue locomotive.

The Blue Train should be pulled by a blue locomotive - period. When this does not happen, a letter expressing disappointment should be sent to the train operators. If enough travellers write to the operator, to travel magazines and other tourism publications, the negative publicity will begin to ensure that the train operator begins to think again before changing the colour of the locomotive.

For a visual experience of this magnificent train, take a look at this DVD :

South African Airways - A Hard Look In The Mirror

2007-08-07T01:14:00.000+02:00

For many years South African Airways held its head high as a leader in the field of airtravel. Over the past few years though there has been a steady decline in the profitability of the airline and an increasing perception among the flying public that they really are not an airline in which to put much trust. Besides the ongoing complaints about bad service and a frequent flyer program that has been beset with problems, there has not been empirical research to show why the decline has happened - until now.

Synovate has released their report into the state of South African Airways and it does not make for happy reading. A few of their findings :

1) Of the airlines with less than 60 planes in their fleet, SAA offers the lowest number of destinations, 34.

2) SAA has a relatively high number of employees: 11000 for 58 planes and 34 destinations. To compare, Polish Airlines has 3500 employees for 51 planes and 58 destinations.

3) SAA employs 190 people per plane per fleet — very high, compared to the likes of world-class airlines … which [typically] employ less than 100 heads per plane.

4) In March of this year SAA reported a R603-million operating loss.

Basically poor planning in terms of recruitment and route management are two of the main causes for the decline in what used to be the pride of Africa's skies.

How is it possible that an airline supposedly run by competent managers could allow such poor business planning and management? Why does it take an external company to show those in the business that their recruitment strategy is flawed? Surely senior management at SAA have the lastest international comparatives to hand?

The results of this survey will mean yet another restructuring at SAA and yet more people will find themselves unemployed as the airline cuts staff to reduce operating expenditure. South Africa cannot afford this kind of corporate mismanagement. Will senior management be held accountable? I doubt it. The cynic in me tends to foresee this happening all over again in 5 years time although I would hope things would be different this time around.

Some may say that the explosion of low-cost carriers into the South African market has been responsible for the decline of SAA. I say "rubbish!". Corporate mismanagement and the lack of interest in the paying passenger has been the cause of its decline. Lets hope that this hard look in the mirror will serve as the final wake-up call for our national carrier. If not, it will just be yet another nail in its coffin.

Rubbish Monster - Clean Up Or Else!

2007-08-06T10:02:00.000+02:00

I remember very clearly the anti-littering campaign in South Africa during the 1980's - Watch the Zap It In A Zibi advert here and bring back the memories. The message was very clearly etched in my mind after countless SABC screenings of the ad, the posters in schools and around the suburbs and in the general print media.

In 2007 there is clearly a need for a renewed campaign against the scourge of littering. Our beautiful country is becoming a giant repository for junk as an attitude of social irresponsibility takes hold.

Enter - The Rubbish Monster! Watch the ad here (7.8MB).

This is the creation of Braam Jordaan of the Computer Graphics Society. The back story to the creation of this ad makes for interesting reading. I have not seen this ad on TV yet but I do believe it should be shown. Perhaps this character will hold as much sway in the minds of today's youth as the Zap It In A Zibi Can ostrich did for me back in the 1980's.

New Blog Of The Week - #5 - Escape Gauteng

2007-08-03T10:26:00.000+02:00

Following on from my post about the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, I have decided to award this week's "New Blog Of The Week" to Scapeout. The intention of this blog is to give those of us who live in Gauteng information about breaks away from the city which will refresh and recharge.

The writing style is informal and makes for easy reading. The personal anecdotes from each place remind the reader that these are personal recommendations not just a list from a tour guide.

There are plenty of pictures to give the reader a sense of the place reviewed. A very helpful feature is the box giving travel directions to the attraction.

I would love to see this idea being expanded into other cities around South Africa. Any takers?...

50 Top Websites - End Of Survey

2007-08-01T02:51:00.000+02:00

On July 11 I began a survey / campaign to source the top 50 South African websites based on user votes. This has certainly been an interesting exercise! There have been those who have entered into the spirit of the exercise and those who have seen it as nothing more than a waste of time and a tool to weaken the South African blogosphere. I have had messages of affirmation and others critical of this initiative.

Running this survey has never been a scientific exercise and in no way can the results claim to be conclusive. There has been no control group, no minimum vote count, in fact it is been a singularly unscientific approach! Readers were asked to vote for their favourite site - end of story!

You will see from the results that the big players have received many votes - indicative of their usefulness to the South African internet user perhaps. However there are a number of relatively unknown sites/blogs that deserve greater attention. Some voters unashamedly voted for their own sites/blogs. Where I picked this up, I have taken away their vote! Please do yourself a favour and visit the lesser known sites - you may just pick up a gem! In fact, why not feature some of them in a blog post to raise their profile.

The top ranked sites were (in alphabetical order) -

* Amatomu
* Grabble
* iBlog
* Keo
* Muti
* MyBroadband
* News24
* SA Good News
* SA Rocks
* SA-Venues

I guess there is not too much surprise in these nominations. These are sites that will be popular with internet regulars because they provide useful and informative content that is updated regularly.

However the following sites also received nominations - although some are corporate and others are seemingly odd nominations, it has to be remembered that this is cyberspace democracy! They all received votes whether we agree with their nomination or not! Take a look here :

* Afrigator
* Bed On Bricks
* BizCommunity
* Blue World
* Cape Gateway
* Cape Town Daily Photo
* Charity Wines
* Cherry Flava
* EishCoZa
* Friends of JZ
* Golfers Information
* Goldfish
* Good Citizens Club
* Grow South Africa
* Hunter of Genius
* iMod
* IOL News
* Jonga
* Jump
* Mahala Media
* Mail & Guardian
* Mnet
* Modelbase
* MoneyWeb
* Mweb
* My Kinda Prices
* MyVideo
* News Phorum
* Pixels For Charity
* Private Property
* SA AirForce
* SA Property
* SA Rugby
* South Africa - sourcing cheap flights to,from or within SA
* SuperSport
* Tertia
* The South African Insult
* Think Money
* Tomorrow Today
* Urban Mamas
* Vottle
* Weather SA
* Webtrepreneur
* Yeigo
* Yuppie Chef

Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this list. I have my own thoughts but will leave these for another post - let's hear what you have to say first!

Pilanesberg Game Reserve - Family friendly and fun

2007-07-30T01:58:00.000+02:00

One of the joys of living in Johannesburg is the proximity of some of the country's finest game parks. Just a 2 hour drive away in the North-West Province is the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve. Situated right next door to Sun City, this peaceful, well-run park is a joy to visit.

This past weekend we packed up the motorhome and headed out to the Pilanesberg. Arriving on Friday morning we spent time setting up the caravan site in the Manyane Resort, had lunch and headed out into the park for some game viewing. We were able to spot rhino, giraffe (right next to the car), hippo, warthog, impala, a number of bird species and wildebeest. It did take some time though to find all these animals and I was terribly disappointed not to find any elephant or predators. Still it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

The permit to enter the park cost us R100 - that included entrance for 2 adults, 2 pensioners, 2 children under 5, the entry cost for the vehicle and a park map. The permit was valid for 2 days. This seemed a reasonable cost to me. Bearing in mind that the camp site cost was R100 per day, this is a very reasonably priced family get-away.

The Manyane camp and caravan park is a lovely family-friendly resort to have as base camp while visiting the reserve. The facilities are clean and well-maintained. The ablution block we used was cleaned regularly by friendly staff who also were on standby to assist with the setting up of tents and so forth. There is also a mini-golf course and walk-in aviary on the property. Unfortunately on Saturday morning there was nobody manning the mini-golf course so my 4-year old and I just enjoyed a morning stroll!

There is something very special about being away from the city and communing with the bush. It is almost as though the worries and stresses of daily life are lifted as you enjoy taking it all in.

This is a great weekend get-away. We will be going back regularly!

New Blog Of The Week - #4

2007-07-26T02:22:00.000+02:00

(A day earlier than normal - going way until Saturday!)

This week's featured site deals with a subject that generates much discussion and debate, perhaps more so in the South African context - Transracial adoption.

The site is known as Adoptree and is a place for those with adopted children to share their stories, gain inspiration from the stories of others and find resources to assist them in their parenting.

Visitors can choose between these pages :

* Articles, TV, Plays etc
* Adoption Around The World
* Who can I contact about adopting?
* Upcoming events
* What can I do to help?
* Stories
* Interesting Reads

This site has tremendous potential to become the place to go to for those considering adoption or who may already be parenting an adopted child.

I really also want to highlight what is on the Upcoming Events page as the event to raise funds for the Princess Alice Children's Home in Johannesburg has been organised by two Grade 7 boys from The Ridge School -

Family Kite Day - 29 July 2007 - Fundraising for Princess Alice
Adoption Home.

Bring your own kites and picnic baskets. We are holding a kite flying
and family picnic day to raise funds for The Princess Alice Adoption Home. Not
only is it a kite flying day but also a day for young boys and girls to
socialize.

Soft drinks and Danish hot dogs will be on sale to supplement your
picnic basket.

All profit from this special day will go to The Princess Alice Adoption
Home’s babies in need.
This will be a great day for all!

Date: Sunday 29th July 2007
Venue: A beautiful farm south of
Johannesburg (± 30 minute drive) see map attached.
Time: 10.30am-
15.00pm
Entrance fee: R15 Adults R10 Children

For bookings and collection of tickets please contact
Jackie/Cheryl
011 646 5641 or
Michele 082 883 2411
Noelle 082 568 2226
Please RSVP by
the 22nd July 2007

This event has been initiated by Nicholas Benecke and Murray Conway,
two Grade Seven boys at The Ridge School as part of their Leadership Programme.

NPO no. 000566

Looks like a great way to have a fun day with the family and help a worthy institution. Why not make it a day with the family this coming Sunday?

Airport Communications - When It Suits Them

2007-07-24T03:18:00.000+02:00

On 11 July I posted about an experience I had while visiting the OR Tambo International Airport

I wrote to the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) for a response to my blog post via their website and was promised a reply within 72 hours (a bit long in my opinion but nonetheless). Needless to say I have not yet received a response - almost 2 weeks later!

I see today that the ACSA Communications Manager, Nothemba Noruwana, has been quick off the mark to quell rumours that the airport is to be scrapped and another built. Given that a public participation meeting regarding the airport expansion was attended only by the public on June 19 (no ACSA officials present), one would think that public relations would be high on the agenda, not just when a media report is circulating.

This is the struggle I have with monopolies. ACSA controls the major airports in South Africa and so Joe Public has to utilise their facilities as do the major domestic and international airlines. To ignore the public, in a community forum or through the medium of their website, shows blatant disregard and disrespect for those whose use the facilities

To see recent comments by travellers through OR Tambo, take a look at this forum on the SkyTrax site.

I generally enjoy visiting the airport but this non-communication has left a sour taste in my mouth! Come on ACSA! Give your customers a little bit more respect!

As always, comments welcome. I would love to hear your experiences of South Africa's airports (good and bad!).

Audio Tour Guides For Cape Town

2007-07-23T01:42:00.000+02:00

Whenever I have travelled to a foreign city for longer than one day, I have always taken along a guide book such as the Eyewitness Travel Guide I used in London. This has entailed packing yet another item into an already full backpack. Now things are changing ... Just pack your iPod or other MP3 player into your kit with previously downloaded audio tours already installed.

This way you can listen to a friendly voice guide you around the city at your own pace. These audio tours can be downloaded from a variety of sources. I happened to come across a company that has tours for Cape Town in their inventory. The tours cost about R70 to download and range from 22-49 minutes in length. There is also a free introductory tour available as soon as you register - no cost for registration either.

This is a marvelous resource even for those who live in Cape Town. It is a city so full of interesting things to see that even the locals can miss out if not guided. An added bonus is a map which becomes available for you to download and print once you have downloaded your mp3 file.

Tour guides from a particular city are able to sign up with Tourcaster and produce their own tours in their areas of expertise. At present the only South African city represented on Tourcaster is Cape Town. I am sure there are plenty of tour guides in our other cities to produce some outstanding audio tours - come on guys....

Just so that those up north don't feel neglected, I also managed to find this iPod guide to Johannesburg!

Now if only I could find my car keys . . .