So how about this job advert:
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.” Ernest Shackelton 1912/13 (This wanted ad apparently appeared in the London Times but has not been verified)
Dig deep – do you think you would have applied?
Monday, 2 March 2009
Monday, 2 February 2009
Junk Mail
About 18 months ago I booked an Easy Jet flight - They operate out of Luton Airport in the UK. And since then they have hung onto my email address like it is the most important thing in the world. I have tried many times to de-register from their mailing list; I have even logged a new email address by changing my address a little bit; I have added their address to the blocked junk mail address and still their email comes through. I have even written to them about the bad practise and threatened to report them to whoever regulates this stuff. I am sure I am not the only one wanting to get off their lists so I am not sure how they get away with it.
When their latest email arrived in my inbox, I thought I would again try to de-register and then remembered why I had a problem doing this before.... they are terribly sneaky. This is what happens if you try to get your name off the mailing list:
Step 1........ The email that lands up in your in-box : You click on the "to stop receiving emails" link and you are taken to their website
Step 2......... You enter your email address and because you can't remember/never had a password you click on the button for them to send you the password.
Step 3 .......... You are taken to another screen and are asked to enter your email address again - which you do because you are desperate to get off the list.
Step 4 ......... A screen pops up so fast, like magic, and it tell you there is no record whatsoever of your email address on their data base. There is no where else to go.........
And because you think you have done something wrong you go back to the beginning and do all of this all over again and guess what - same result.
It is impossible to get off their list.
When their latest email arrived in my inbox, I thought I would again try to de-register and then remembered why I had a problem doing this before.... they are terribly sneaky. This is what happens if you try to get your name off the mailing list:
Step 1........ The email that lands up in your in-box : You click on the "to stop receiving emails" link and you are taken to their website
Step 2......... You enter your email address and because you can't remember/never had a password you click on the button for them to send you the password.
Step 3 .......... You are taken to another screen and are asked to enter your email address again - which you do because you are desperate to get off the list.
Step 4 ......... A screen pops up so fast, like magic, and it tell you there is no record whatsoever of your email address on their data base. There is no where else to go.........
And because you think you have done something wrong you go back to the beginning and do all of this all over again and guess what - same result.
It is impossible to get off their list.
Positive Thinking - al la Alan Knott-Craig
Over the past couple of weeks I have received an email, purportedly initiated by Alan Knott-Craig, 3 or 4 times from different people. Alan is the CEO if iBurst and author of the Book “Don’t Panic” which he published apropos the first “happy camper, feel good” email he sent to staff early in 2008
And my point in doing a blog about this particular email is: Oh Come on folks. Is this guy for real…….. surely he doesn’t believe all the tripe he writes. Why doesn’t his best friend read the stuff first?
I first received the email from my Tai Chi friend Duncan and he was horrified (appalled!) that I was so cynical and because I said A K-C was delusional and should be locked up in the nearest mental institution. Duncan reminded me that one should have a positive attitude, which I do generally have, but I cannot take Knott-Craigs ramblings seriously.
The following are some extracts from his email – selective I know, but they are not the worst…..my comments in italics:
o Festive season hangovers. Solution: Convert to Islam (Yikes!)
o Oil is now below $50 a barrel, inflation is not such big deal because oil is cheap nowadays, (Yikes!)
o What about the recession? Well, as it turns out, that was something that deserved a bit of panic (Yikes)
o note to attackers: neck-lacing innocent foreigners is not a great advert for our country (What would you have them do instead????)
o How long will it last? (the recession) Who knows, but brace yourselves for a tough 2009. The good news is that after every tough time comes good times, so at least we all have something to look forward to! (and this makes us feel better???)
o Our interest rates are still high, but at least there is the possibility of a decrease in rates to ease the burden on your back pocket. The UK and USA do not have that luxury, their interests rates are already too low to cut further! (and this makes us feel better???)
o Mad Bob can’t last forever. When he heads off into the sunset there will be an absolute bonanza of investment and aid flooding into Zimbabwe (oh yeah????), and a large chunk of that windfall will be via sunny SA… oh happy days (What am I missing here????)
o The unintended consequence of the government procrastination on infrastructure investment over the past 10 years is that now that it’s finally underway it is just in time to prop up our economy! Gotta love those bureaucrats. (What am I missing here????)
o The Soccer World Cup is coming. If we get it right, ie: 10,000 tourists are not hi-jacked, we’ll be the hottest spot on the planet, (What am I missing here????)
And his conclusion is: Life is not about waiting for storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Well go dance then – his email follows:
From: Alan Knott-Craig
Sent: 04 December 2008 06:42
To: All UsersSubject: Closing out 2008
Hi guys,
Why am I writing this email? Because I’m getting the impression there are some depressed people walking around. Now there are a couple of potential reasons for this phenomenom: 1. Festive season hangovers. Solution: Convert to Islam. 2. Moving offices. Solution: Resign and work from trailer park. 3. Manic depressive personality. Solution: Prozac or alcohol (see point 1 for solution to hangover). 4. You read newspapers. Solution: Rather work.
It’s been just over 10 months since I sent that damn Don’t Panic email. Quite a bit has happened since then, some of it good (ie: Ricoffee sales have sky-rocketed), some of it bad (ie: Ricoffee sales have sky-rocketed).
So let’s recap: At the beginning of the year people were panicking about the oil price, inflation, electricity and economic recession. Of those big 4 concerns, 3 have taken care of themselves. Oil is now below $50 a barrel, inflation is not such big deal because oil is cheap nowadays, and we haven’t had any crazy power outages since February (the Eskom saga is a complete mystery to me). What about the recession? Well, as it turns out, that was something that deserved a bit of panic. Especially if your name is Dick and you run a New York investment bank. Fortunately we don’t have any Dick’s at iBurst.
After the merry-go-round of bad news at the beginning of the year, capped by the xenophobic attacks (note to attackers: neck-lacing innocent foreigners is not a great advert for our country), it’s been quite surreal to watch the u-turn executed by those heading for the exit door. It’s a bit like watching naïve tourists run into the sea off Camp’s Bay, scream in pain, and then race back onto the beach. The water looks so nice, but don’t go in there unless you’re an Eskimo. Suddenly foreign shores aren’t as attractive when there are no jobs, no credit, and no sunshine.
Just to put a couple of things in perspective, here is some info on the year-to-date performance of world stock markets (as of 10 Nov):
Iceland -89%
China -64%
Russia -64%
India -48%
Hong Kong -46%
Brazil -40%
Japan -40%
USA -36%
Australia -35%
UK -32%
New Zealand -29%
South Africa -26%
SA is not so bad, is it? I’d rather be here than in Iceland.
Sunny SA is certainly not immune to the global economic crisis. Our companies are suffering too, which means fewer bonuses and more retrenchments (always a winning recipe for unhappiness). How long will it last? Who knows, but brace yourselves for a tough 2009. The good news is that after every tough time comes good times, so at least we all have something to look forward to!
What is the silver lining for SA? Our interest rates are still high, but at least there is the possibility of a decrease in rates to ease the burden on your back pocket. The UK and USA do not have that luxury, their interests rates are already too low to cut further!
What else? Mad Bob can’t last forever. When he heads off into the sunset there will be an absolute bonanza of investment and aid flooding into Zimbabwe, and a large chunk of that windfall will be via sunny SA… oh happy days. Who said there were no plusses to having a failed state as a neighbor?
What else? Anyone noticed the cranes everywhere you look? Seen the Gautrain progress? I went down to CT 2 weeks ago, and virtually the entire highway is under construction. The unintended consequence of the government procrastination on infrastructure investment over the past 10 years is that now that it’s finally underway it is just in time to prop up our economy! Gotta love those bureaucrats.
What else? The Soccer World Cup is coming. If we get it right, ie: 10,000 tourists are not hi-jacked, we’ll be the hottest spot on the planet, and we’ll have a shout for hosting the Olympics.
But don’t crack open the champagne just yet, we still have our fair share of challenges. Your average Yank may be swapping his house for a trailer, but at least he’s not worried about being shot in the head on the way to his next job interview. If any of you have a relative or friend in the government, please pass on this message, “Crime is out of control and most of our schools and hospitals are in disarray.” Don’t for a second fool yourself that we can ignore these structural problems and live the rest of our lives in blissful ignorance. We must constantly remind the politicians to do their jobs, but we cannot absolve ourselves of our responsibility to make individual contributions. It is our business to make this land a success. Report crime, pick up litter, give to the needy, create jobs, look after the children, practice safe sex, drink filter coffee. We’ve all got a responsibility to make the magic happen, otherwise you’ll just end up lying in bed in 50 years time, looking back and saying “What if?”
The time of opportunity is upon us, now it’s up to us to seize the day. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Life is not about waiting for storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Looking forward to dancing in 2009!
Cheers,Alan
And my point in doing a blog about this particular email is: Oh Come on folks. Is this guy for real…….. surely he doesn’t believe all the tripe he writes. Why doesn’t his best friend read the stuff first?
I first received the email from my Tai Chi friend Duncan and he was horrified (appalled!) that I was so cynical and because I said A K-C was delusional and should be locked up in the nearest mental institution. Duncan reminded me that one should have a positive attitude, which I do generally have, but I cannot take Knott-Craigs ramblings seriously.
The following are some extracts from his email – selective I know, but they are not the worst…..my comments in italics:
o Festive season hangovers. Solution: Convert to Islam (Yikes!)
o Oil is now below $50 a barrel, inflation is not such big deal because oil is cheap nowadays, (Yikes!)
o What about the recession? Well, as it turns out, that was something that deserved a bit of panic (Yikes)
o note to attackers: neck-lacing innocent foreigners is not a great advert for our country (What would you have them do instead????)
o How long will it last? (the recession) Who knows, but brace yourselves for a tough 2009. The good news is that after every tough time comes good times, so at least we all have something to look forward to! (and this makes us feel better???)
o Our interest rates are still high, but at least there is the possibility of a decrease in rates to ease the burden on your back pocket. The UK and USA do not have that luxury, their interests rates are already too low to cut further! (and this makes us feel better???)
o Mad Bob can’t last forever. When he heads off into the sunset there will be an absolute bonanza of investment and aid flooding into Zimbabwe (oh yeah????), and a large chunk of that windfall will be via sunny SA… oh happy days (What am I missing here????)
o The unintended consequence of the government procrastination on infrastructure investment over the past 10 years is that now that it’s finally underway it is just in time to prop up our economy! Gotta love those bureaucrats. (What am I missing here????)
o The Soccer World Cup is coming. If we get it right, ie: 10,000 tourists are not hi-jacked, we’ll be the hottest spot on the planet, (What am I missing here????)
And his conclusion is: Life is not about waiting for storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Well go dance then – his email follows:
From: Alan Knott-Craig
Sent: 04 December 2008 06:42
To: All UsersSubject: Closing out 2008
Hi guys,
Why am I writing this email? Because I’m getting the impression there are some depressed people walking around. Now there are a couple of potential reasons for this phenomenom: 1. Festive season hangovers. Solution: Convert to Islam. 2. Moving offices. Solution: Resign and work from trailer park. 3. Manic depressive personality. Solution: Prozac or alcohol (see point 1 for solution to hangover). 4. You read newspapers. Solution: Rather work.
It’s been just over 10 months since I sent that damn Don’t Panic email. Quite a bit has happened since then, some of it good (ie: Ricoffee sales have sky-rocketed), some of it bad (ie: Ricoffee sales have sky-rocketed).
So let’s recap: At the beginning of the year people were panicking about the oil price, inflation, electricity and economic recession. Of those big 4 concerns, 3 have taken care of themselves. Oil is now below $50 a barrel, inflation is not such big deal because oil is cheap nowadays, and we haven’t had any crazy power outages since February (the Eskom saga is a complete mystery to me). What about the recession? Well, as it turns out, that was something that deserved a bit of panic. Especially if your name is Dick and you run a New York investment bank. Fortunately we don’t have any Dick’s at iBurst.
After the merry-go-round of bad news at the beginning of the year, capped by the xenophobic attacks (note to attackers: neck-lacing innocent foreigners is not a great advert for our country), it’s been quite surreal to watch the u-turn executed by those heading for the exit door. It’s a bit like watching naïve tourists run into the sea off Camp’s Bay, scream in pain, and then race back onto the beach. The water looks so nice, but don’t go in there unless you’re an Eskimo. Suddenly foreign shores aren’t as attractive when there are no jobs, no credit, and no sunshine.
Just to put a couple of things in perspective, here is some info on the year-to-date performance of world stock markets (as of 10 Nov):
Iceland -89%
China -64%
Russia -64%
India -48%
Hong Kong -46%
Brazil -40%
Japan -40%
USA -36%
Australia -35%
UK -32%
New Zealand -29%
South Africa -26%
SA is not so bad, is it? I’d rather be here than in Iceland.
Sunny SA is certainly not immune to the global economic crisis. Our companies are suffering too, which means fewer bonuses and more retrenchments (always a winning recipe for unhappiness). How long will it last? Who knows, but brace yourselves for a tough 2009. The good news is that after every tough time comes good times, so at least we all have something to look forward to!
What is the silver lining for SA? Our interest rates are still high, but at least there is the possibility of a decrease in rates to ease the burden on your back pocket. The UK and USA do not have that luxury, their interests rates are already too low to cut further!
What else? Mad Bob can’t last forever. When he heads off into the sunset there will be an absolute bonanza of investment and aid flooding into Zimbabwe, and a large chunk of that windfall will be via sunny SA… oh happy days. Who said there were no plusses to having a failed state as a neighbor?
What else? Anyone noticed the cranes everywhere you look? Seen the Gautrain progress? I went down to CT 2 weeks ago, and virtually the entire highway is under construction. The unintended consequence of the government procrastination on infrastructure investment over the past 10 years is that now that it’s finally underway it is just in time to prop up our economy! Gotta love those bureaucrats.
What else? The Soccer World Cup is coming. If we get it right, ie: 10,000 tourists are not hi-jacked, we’ll be the hottest spot on the planet, and we’ll have a shout for hosting the Olympics.
But don’t crack open the champagne just yet, we still have our fair share of challenges. Your average Yank may be swapping his house for a trailer, but at least he’s not worried about being shot in the head on the way to his next job interview. If any of you have a relative or friend in the government, please pass on this message, “Crime is out of control and most of our schools and hospitals are in disarray.” Don’t for a second fool yourself that we can ignore these structural problems and live the rest of our lives in blissful ignorance. We must constantly remind the politicians to do their jobs, but we cannot absolve ourselves of our responsibility to make individual contributions. It is our business to make this land a success. Report crime, pick up litter, give to the needy, create jobs, look after the children, practice safe sex, drink filter coffee. We’ve all got a responsibility to make the magic happen, otherwise you’ll just end up lying in bed in 50 years time, looking back and saying “What if?”
The time of opportunity is upon us, now it’s up to us to seize the day. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Life is not about waiting for storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Looking forward to dancing in 2009!
Cheers,Alan
Sunday, 11 January 2009
A Challenging Job in Israel
And on the subject of Israel…. Isn’t it about time they got themselves some decent PR. There really is a job going begging in that country and boy do they need someone to fill it. The Palestinians have got the PR taped and unless Israel does something about their image they will always come off looking second best.
Sure the job would be a challenge but can you imagine if you cracked that message!
Sure the job would be a challenge but can you imagine if you cracked that message!
A Toot for TuTu
I heard on the radio news this morning that Archbishop Tutu is calling for a day of fasting to show support and solidarity with the poverty stricken and starving Zimbabweans. Yeah for the Arch – he is the one shining light that stays focused on the crisis taking place on our northern border.
I don’t mean to diminish the seriousness of the Israel/Gaza crisis but I sure as heck do wish that our politicians, diplomats and especially past and present presidents could have been as vocal and horrified with the human right violations in Zimbabwe as they have been about the Israeli/Gaza situation. So much for “silent diplomacy” for the Israelis - and they are not even our neighbours. It almost seems that the SA bunch has heaved a sign of relief and happily clambered onto the Israeli/Gaza band wagon - a welcome diversion to take the focus away from those poor benighted Zimbos.
So, keep up the noise Arch… some of us hear you.
I don’t mean to diminish the seriousness of the Israel/Gaza crisis but I sure as heck do wish that our politicians, diplomats and especially past and present presidents could have been as vocal and horrified with the human right violations in Zimbabwe as they have been about the Israeli/Gaza situation. So much for “silent diplomacy” for the Israelis - and they are not even our neighbours. It almost seems that the SA bunch has heaved a sign of relief and happily clambered onto the Israeli/Gaza band wagon - a welcome diversion to take the focus away from those poor benighted Zimbos.
So, keep up the noise Arch… some of us hear you.
Thursday, 8 January 2009
The World Question Centre 2009
Every year, John Brockman of Edge.Org sends out a question to 150 odd scientists, biologists, philosophers, psychologists, writers, statisticians and so on. Answers to the question are published on : http://www.edge.org/q2009/q09_index.html
This years question is:
WHAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING?
"What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?"
To name a few of the contributors: J. Craig Venter, Stephen Pinker, Patrick Bateson, Nassim Nicholas Taleb ….. and one of my personal favorites : Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – if anyone can pronounce his name I will send you a KitKat!
Now, just look at this example of the topics they come up with:
ROBERT SAPOLSKY - PEOPLE WHO CAN INTUIT IN SIX-DIMENSIONS
GLORIA ORIGGI - THE AGE OF REPUTATION
JOHN TOOBY & LEDA COSMIDES - THE GREAT PIVOT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCES, NATIVE INTELLIGENCES, AND THE BRIDGE BETWEEN
A thoughtful answer I thought I would share with you is from James J. O’Donnell and is titled :
Africa
"Africa" is the short answer to this question. But it needs explanation.
Historians can't predict black swan game-changers any better than economists can. An outbreak of plague, a nuclear holocaust, an asteroid on collision course, or just an unassassinated pinchbeck dictator at the helm of a giant military machine—any of those can have transformative effect and will always come as a surprise.
But at a macro level, it's easier to see futures, just hard to time them. The expansion of what my colleague, the great environmental historian John McNeill, calls "the human web" to build a planet-wide network of interdependent societies is simply inevitable, but it's taken a long time. Rome, Persia, and ancient China built a network of empires stretching from Atlantic to Pacific, but never made fruitful contact with each other and their empire-based model of "globalization" fell apart in late antique times. A religion-based model kicked in then, with Christianity and Islam taking their swings: those were surprising developments, but they only went so far.
It took until early modern times and the development of new technologies for a real "world-wide web" of societies to develop. Even then, development was Euro-centric for a very long time. Now in our time, we've seen one great game-changer. In the last two decades, the Euro-centric model of economic and social development has been swamped by the sudden rise of the great emerging market nations: China, India, Brazil, and many smaller ones. The great hope of my youth—that "foreign aid" would help the poor nations bootstrap themselves—has come true, sometimes to our thinly-veiled disappointment: disappointment because we suddenly find ourselves competed with for steel and oil and other resources, suddenly find our products competed with by other economies' output, and wonder if we really wanted that game to change after all. The slump we're in now is the inevitable second phase of that expansion of the world community, and the rise that will follow is the inevitable third—and we all hope it comes quickly.
But a great reservoir or misery and possibility awaits: Africa. Humankind's first continent and homeland has been relegated for too long to disease, poverty, and sometimes astonishingly bad government. There is real progress in many places, but astonishing failures persist. That can't last. The final question facing humankind's historical development is whether we can bring the whole human family, including Africa's billion, can all achieve together sustainable levels of health and comfort.
When will we know? That's a scary question. One future timeline has us peaking now and subsiding, as we wrestle with the challenges we have made for ourselves, into some long period of not-quite-success, while Africa and the failed states of other continents linger in waiting for—what? Decades? Centuries? There are no guarantees about the future. But as we think about the financial crises of the present, we have to remember that what is at risk is not merely the comfort and prosperity of the rich nations but the very lives and opportunity for the poorest.
James J. O'DonnellClassicist; Provost, Georgetown University; Author, The Ruin of the Roman Empire
Virtual glider trip
If you want to take a really surreal glider trip, click on this link:
http://www.electricoyster.com/electric3d/index.html
Use your mouse to steer you over the landscape - you can do 180 turns and explore the icy canyons!
http://www.electricoyster.com/electric3d/index.html
Use your mouse to steer you over the landscape - you can do 180 turns and explore the icy canyons!
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Eggs again
On the 14th April last year I wrote a blog on how to do the perfect poached egg - this was just prior to my sojourn in the B&B in Haarties - and they thought that I might just have to knock up a breakfast or 2 (fortunately not).
So now here is another little egg trick I am sure will keep you and the kids amused for a while. Click on the link below and watch this 30 second video by Tim Ferris and learn how to “Peel Hard Boiled Eggs Without Peeling Them” – this is magic and not to be missed.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2gYHJNT3Y
So now here is another little egg trick I am sure will keep you and the kids amused for a while. Click on the link below and watch this 30 second video by Tim Ferris and learn how to “Peel Hard Boiled Eggs Without Peeling Them” – this is magic and not to be missed.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2gYHJNT3Y
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Monday, 5 January 2009
The Big Greek Funeral
My friend Irene’s father died 2 days after Christmas. Mike was 87 and had been ill for a while. But he died peacefully with his beloved wife Olive (of 64 years) and daughters at his bedside.
Mike was Greek and his offspring, who are first generation South Africans, honoured his request for a Greek funeral. The service took place in a beautiful little Greek church in Orange Grove. The church probably seated 130 odd people and was packed with people standing at the doors. The inside of the church is exquisite – beautiful murals of saints and angels covering the walls, gold chandeliers, gold lattice work, deep sky blue ceilings and wonderful paintings of the last supper and other saints. The senior priest was all dressed up and looked imposing in his robes – he also had a white beard that went down to his waist. The second priest was dressed in a white a blue robe and look just as imposing and was wearing Crocs *grin*. The cantor was dressed in civvies and chanted beautifully.
The service was quite long and all done in Greek - although a bit was read out in English. The senior priest gave a eulogy for Mike (in Greek) and he was quite animated and spoke with great feeling – even we non-Greek speakers could feel his respect and affection for Mike. When we filed out of the church Olive said to me that she was sorry I did not understand the lovely words the priest said – but she would tell me at another time. During the service the junior priest lit the censers and the church was permeated with the whiffs of incense.
After the service we proceeded in convoy to the cemetery and, prior to the coffin being lowered, the priest poured olive oil, soil and fresh flower petals over the coffin and prayed. Once the coffin was lowered, we all sprinkled flower petals on the coffin. We were then off again to the church hall for something to eat and drink – tables laden with glorious Greek food.
And, I guess by this stage you are all asking “where the heck is she going with the blog posting?” Well, where I am going is that it was a very impressive funeral. I think Mike would have been pleased. Yes it was lengthy, but it had wonderful gravitas. It was just what was needed to say goodbye to a man had a good long life, the service and graveside prayers were dignified and his family were comforted by these ceremonies.
Conversely, my mother’s cremation service was (not quite what we were expecting) a quick 20 minute service and the minister spent the last few minutes or so trying to recruit new members for his church. We were also asked to bring a cd of her favourite music – which took up another couple of minutes - Dean Martin belting/slurring out a song didn’t quite do it, although she might have thought this was funny! I think I would have felt a bit better with a bit more pomp and I also think she would have preferred something along the line of Mike’s funeral.
We need to set aside more time on these occasions to immerse ourselves with the ceremony – switch off the cell phones, mark off the whole day in our diaries and be in the moment.
Mike was Greek and his offspring, who are first generation South Africans, honoured his request for a Greek funeral. The service took place in a beautiful little Greek church in Orange Grove. The church probably seated 130 odd people and was packed with people standing at the doors. The inside of the church is exquisite – beautiful murals of saints and angels covering the walls, gold chandeliers, gold lattice work, deep sky blue ceilings and wonderful paintings of the last supper and other saints. The senior priest was all dressed up and looked imposing in his robes – he also had a white beard that went down to his waist. The second priest was dressed in a white a blue robe and look just as imposing and was wearing Crocs *grin*. The cantor was dressed in civvies and chanted beautifully.
The service was quite long and all done in Greek - although a bit was read out in English. The senior priest gave a eulogy for Mike (in Greek) and he was quite animated and spoke with great feeling – even we non-Greek speakers could feel his respect and affection for Mike. When we filed out of the church Olive said to me that she was sorry I did not understand the lovely words the priest said – but she would tell me at another time. During the service the junior priest lit the censers and the church was permeated with the whiffs of incense.
After the service we proceeded in convoy to the cemetery and, prior to the coffin being lowered, the priest poured olive oil, soil and fresh flower petals over the coffin and prayed. Once the coffin was lowered, we all sprinkled flower petals on the coffin. We were then off again to the church hall for something to eat and drink – tables laden with glorious Greek food.
And, I guess by this stage you are all asking “where the heck is she going with the blog posting?” Well, where I am going is that it was a very impressive funeral. I think Mike would have been pleased. Yes it was lengthy, but it had wonderful gravitas. It was just what was needed to say goodbye to a man had a good long life, the service and graveside prayers were dignified and his family were comforted by these ceremonies.
Conversely, my mother’s cremation service was (not quite what we were expecting) a quick 20 minute service and the minister spent the last few minutes or so trying to recruit new members for his church. We were also asked to bring a cd of her favourite music – which took up another couple of minutes - Dean Martin belting/slurring out a song didn’t quite do it, although she might have thought this was funny! I think I would have felt a bit better with a bit more pomp and I also think she would have preferred something along the line of Mike’s funeral.
We need to set aside more time on these occasions to immerse ourselves with the ceremony – switch off the cell phones, mark off the whole day in our diaries and be in the moment.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Hiding Behind Your Podium of Expertise
I subscribe to a number of blogs; some of these are dailies and others “as and when”, some are a bit off the wall, some thought provoking and others deadly serious.
One of my favourites (daily, off the wall type) is Havi’s blog, The Fluent Self. Today she used the phrase “hiding behind your podium of expertise” which I have swiped for the title of my blog – thank you Havi. And this is what Havi has to say about hiding (my comments: apply this to blogs, the way we communicate with colleagues, clients, the man in the street, family friends etc etc ….)
“The more you hide behind your podium of expertise, the more distance you put between you and the reader. And not the sexy kind of distance. The off-putting, chasm-building, “I can’t connect with this person” kind. We all ruin posts all the time by thinking we have to have a point every single time, or forgetting to admit that yeah, there are things we don’t know. Puffed-up biggified experts who speak only in authoritative lists of seven ways to do this and eight ways to screw up that … they’re a dime a dozen. They’re interchangeable. They’re expendable. We’re not coming for your expertise, really. There are all sorts of places to get that. Sure, the information is nice. But we’re really coming for you.”
Thanks again Havi.
One of my favourites (daily, off the wall type) is Havi’s blog, The Fluent Self. Today she used the phrase “hiding behind your podium of expertise” which I have swiped for the title of my blog – thank you Havi. And this is what Havi has to say about hiding (my comments: apply this to blogs, the way we communicate with colleagues, clients, the man in the street, family friends etc etc ….)
“The more you hide behind your podium of expertise, the more distance you put between you and the reader. And not the sexy kind of distance. The off-putting, chasm-building, “I can’t connect with this person” kind. We all ruin posts all the time by thinking we have to have a point every single time, or forgetting to admit that yeah, there are things we don’t know. Puffed-up biggified experts who speak only in authoritative lists of seven ways to do this and eight ways to screw up that … they’re a dime a dozen. They’re interchangeable. They’re expendable. We’re not coming for your expertise, really. There are all sorts of places to get that. Sure, the information is nice. But we’re really coming for you.”
Thanks again Havi.
Friday, 26 December 2008
Some people make the world go round
Yes, some people really do make the world go round - and are exceptionally special.
I need to talk about my cousin’s wife Avril. Michael and Avril transferred to the US towards the end of last from Germany. Another strange country for Avril – Michaels job has taken them to a number of countries and Avril has be truly amazing. She gets involved with whatever is happening locally, joins clubs, learns the language (at least they speak English where she is now – well sort of), keeps a fabulous house and is very often left on her own as Michaels work takes him off on business all over the world. And I have never heard Avril complain.
But the most special thing about her is that she is always in touch with her family – and Michaels. She is the only person I know now that takes time to buy the birthday cards and Christmas cards and, low and behold, a few days before your birthday the card is in the mail box. All too often now days, a quick birthday email is what one expects – so this “old fashioned” card makes the day so much more special – she never forgets. And not to mention the regular newsy emails about their lives, the dogs, what they have been doing and seeing. I swear Avril should put all these letters together in a book. She writes so well and it is a pleasure to share their travels and happenings with them!
She is such a star and my first resolution for the New Year is to follow her lead.
I need to talk about my cousin’s wife Avril. Michael and Avril transferred to the US towards the end of last from Germany. Another strange country for Avril – Michaels job has taken them to a number of countries and Avril has be truly amazing. She gets involved with whatever is happening locally, joins clubs, learns the language (at least they speak English where she is now – well sort of), keeps a fabulous house and is very often left on her own as Michaels work takes him off on business all over the world. And I have never heard Avril complain.
But the most special thing about her is that she is always in touch with her family – and Michaels. She is the only person I know now that takes time to buy the birthday cards and Christmas cards and, low and behold, a few days before your birthday the card is in the mail box. All too often now days, a quick birthday email is what one expects – so this “old fashioned” card makes the day so much more special – she never forgets. And not to mention the regular newsy emails about their lives, the dogs, what they have been doing and seeing. I swear Avril should put all these letters together in a book. She writes so well and it is a pleasure to share their travels and happenings with them!
She is such a star and my first resolution for the New Year is to follow her lead.
Monday, 8 December 2008
Joy – a new car!
I at long last decided to take the plunge and get a new car – well almost brand new with only 8000kms on the clock - and picked it up over the weekend.
I have had a couple of heart-stopping moments of not being able to find it in parking lots because I am looking for my old red car – this one is gold. I have a more than one heart-stopping moment thinking that fully laden taxis are heading straight for me or pulling onto the freeway at 25kph. I am still getting used to controls as they are all on the wrong side and keep flicking the windscreen wipers instead of the indicators – my brain will hopefully be imprinted soon!
I now have to teach my cat about the new car – she runs down the drive to meet me and jumps into the car for a little ride…. So she must get used to the new sound, shape and colour.
And yeah – it is so nice to drive a new car – it is comfortable, goes like a rocket (haven’t fully tested this yet!) and is lovely to drive.
I have had a couple of heart-stopping moments of not being able to find it in parking lots because I am looking for my old red car – this one is gold. I have a more than one heart-stopping moment thinking that fully laden taxis are heading straight for me or pulling onto the freeway at 25kph. I am still getting used to controls as they are all on the wrong side and keep flicking the windscreen wipers instead of the indicators – my brain will hopefully be imprinted soon!
I now have to teach my cat about the new car – she runs down the drive to meet me and jumps into the car for a little ride…. So she must get used to the new sound, shape and colour.
And yeah – it is so nice to drive a new car – it is comfortable, goes like a rocket (haven’t fully tested this yet!) and is lovely to drive.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Bracken: A Mighty Fine Cat
When I started my blog at the beginning of the year I vowed that I would never ever, ever write about my pet. But, I have buckled and have to share these life lessons from a little cat.
A couple of weeks ago I packed away my duvet – it was far too hot. I put one of those large waffle type throws on my bed and had some really “cool” sleeps. Except that Bracken wasn’t feeling so well and took to sleeping in the spare room on a cat cushion with her cat blanket. She also feels the heat so I didn’t think too much about it apart from missing the cat body on my bed – this probably also explains why I was sleeping so well *grin*.
Then Lisa came to stay for a week whilst her house was being fixed up after her robbery. Bracken continued to sleep in the spare room, with Lisa, and in the morning I would find both of them snuggled up, sound asleep.
Lisa moved back to her place on Sunday and Bracken carried on sleeping in the spare room on her little cat cushion and, because it has been a bit chilly at night, I would make sure she was covered up with her blanket before I went to bed.
For the past few days I had been feeling pretty miffed that my cat was still sleeping in the spare room and even dumped my bucket on a few cat friends who listened patiently and graciously to my tale of woe and rejection.
Last night, because it has been a bit chilly, I unpacked my duvet and invited Bracken to “help” with the cover. This is always a great game and I usually end up slashed to pieces, dripping blood but we do have great fun. (An aside: I now know why my maid complained that Bracken was very naughty) Anyway, when I finally had the duvet in its cover and reasonably straight on the bed, Bracken sprawled out, full length and almost had a smirk on her face.
And guess what? I had Bracken on my bed, in my bed all of last night – muddy feet and all.
The lessons:
· Cats don’t do change very well and will make this known
· Cats always win in the end because I wont ever pack the duvet away again
· The number one priority in a cats’ life is their comfort
· I now know that we just work to support them
· I do want to come back in my next life as a Bracken cat
· To have love and cuddles withheld by a cat is the worst thing in the world
A couple of weeks ago I packed away my duvet – it was far too hot. I put one of those large waffle type throws on my bed and had some really “cool” sleeps. Except that Bracken wasn’t feeling so well and took to sleeping in the spare room on a cat cushion with her cat blanket. She also feels the heat so I didn’t think too much about it apart from missing the cat body on my bed – this probably also explains why I was sleeping so well *grin*.
Then Lisa came to stay for a week whilst her house was being fixed up after her robbery. Bracken continued to sleep in the spare room, with Lisa, and in the morning I would find both of them snuggled up, sound asleep.
Lisa moved back to her place on Sunday and Bracken carried on sleeping in the spare room on her little cat cushion and, because it has been a bit chilly at night, I would make sure she was covered up with her blanket before I went to bed.
For the past few days I had been feeling pretty miffed that my cat was still sleeping in the spare room and even dumped my bucket on a few cat friends who listened patiently and graciously to my tale of woe and rejection.
Last night, because it has been a bit chilly, I unpacked my duvet and invited Bracken to “help” with the cover. This is always a great game and I usually end up slashed to pieces, dripping blood but we do have great fun. (An aside: I now know why my maid complained that Bracken was very naughty) Anyway, when I finally had the duvet in its cover and reasonably straight on the bed, Bracken sprawled out, full length and almost had a smirk on her face.
And guess what? I had Bracken on my bed, in my bed all of last night – muddy feet and all.
The lessons:
· Cats don’t do change very well and will make this known
· Cats always win in the end because I wont ever pack the duvet away again
· The number one priority in a cats’ life is their comfort
· I now know that we just work to support them
· I do want to come back in my next life as a Bracken cat
· To have love and cuddles withheld by a cat is the worst thing in the world
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Ballet Lessons
My friend Frances is a ballet teacher and very involved in the ballet happenings in Gauteng. She phoned me at the beginning of this week to say the person who was to compere the ballet festival on Friday (yesterday) couldn’t make it so would I fill in.
So, off I went at lunchtime and Frances gave me some instructions on what to do etc. and how to operate the music system. Horrors! I had to play the music as well and this involves stressed teachers mumbling a girls name and track number and then disappearing…. I think Frances saw the look on my face and went off to find an ex student to help – thank goodness. She went off to help in the tuck shop at the dinner break – this was a 7 hour marathon dance festival. Michelle was replaced with a much younger Crystal who, with about 10 second instructions from me (by this stage I was pretty savvy with what to do), grasped the workings of tape decks, cd slots and sound control. Amazing – just give it to a teenager.
Anyway, I was feeling a lot more at ease with my tasks. I was however just a little disappointed and feeling a bit inhibited that I had to stick to a script – no yelling out “Yeah for the girl in blue”, or “give the lass who lost her skirt a big round of applause”. No, it was all quite sedate and controlled.
But the script was about the only sedate thing happening back stage and this is really the purpose of this blog.
A ballet festival is the most hectic and stressful place backstage – which is where I was and hundreds of little girls, teachers, stage hands, bits and pieces of scenery, bags of props, the odd mother or two who got chased away. The teachers have groups of girls (and one little boy) or solo dancers they have to get on stage, pacify restless children, praise the ones coming off the stage, give me instructions, give us the music, make sure the kids have the correct outfits, makeup, hairstyles and so on…… The festival is the result of months of work – possibly the entire year. And some kids get and A+ and some get Cs. There are tears and disappointed faces and some very happy ones.
But here’s the thing – this is actually a public performance appraisal of the teachers. They dancers are judged by the ballet adjudicators and the teacher is judged on the results her pupils get. This is how she gets students to her studio – this is her livelihood. And all the results belted out by the adjudicator in public. And if that is not enough, during the 3 sessions in the afternoon and evening, I told the audience (the parents) 7 times that if they had a problem with the results they were to talk only to the people at the back desk. The teachers take a pounding from the parents. It is very difficult – I now know what Frances means when she rolls her eyes heavenward and says “ballet mothers”.
In conclusion: I wondered how many of us sitting in comfy offices would take having our performance review done with the entire staff and customer base looking on and allowing them to object if they felt like it. …. Not likely.
So, off I went at lunchtime and Frances gave me some instructions on what to do etc. and how to operate the music system. Horrors! I had to play the music as well and this involves stressed teachers mumbling a girls name and track number and then disappearing…. I think Frances saw the look on my face and went off to find an ex student to help – thank goodness. She went off to help in the tuck shop at the dinner break – this was a 7 hour marathon dance festival. Michelle was replaced with a much younger Crystal who, with about 10 second instructions from me (by this stage I was pretty savvy with what to do), grasped the workings of tape decks, cd slots and sound control. Amazing – just give it to a teenager.
Anyway, I was feeling a lot more at ease with my tasks. I was however just a little disappointed and feeling a bit inhibited that I had to stick to a script – no yelling out “Yeah for the girl in blue”, or “give the lass who lost her skirt a big round of applause”. No, it was all quite sedate and controlled.
But the script was about the only sedate thing happening back stage and this is really the purpose of this blog.
A ballet festival is the most hectic and stressful place backstage – which is where I was and hundreds of little girls, teachers, stage hands, bits and pieces of scenery, bags of props, the odd mother or two who got chased away. The teachers have groups of girls (and one little boy) or solo dancers they have to get on stage, pacify restless children, praise the ones coming off the stage, give me instructions, give us the music, make sure the kids have the correct outfits, makeup, hairstyles and so on…… The festival is the result of months of work – possibly the entire year. And some kids get and A+ and some get Cs. There are tears and disappointed faces and some very happy ones.
But here’s the thing – this is actually a public performance appraisal of the teachers. They dancers are judged by the ballet adjudicators and the teacher is judged on the results her pupils get. This is how she gets students to her studio – this is her livelihood. And all the results belted out by the adjudicator in public. And if that is not enough, during the 3 sessions in the afternoon and evening, I told the audience (the parents) 7 times that if they had a problem with the results they were to talk only to the people at the back desk. The teachers take a pounding from the parents. It is very difficult – I now know what Frances means when she rolls her eyes heavenward and says “ballet mothers”.
In conclusion: I wondered how many of us sitting in comfy offices would take having our performance review done with the entire staff and customer base looking on and allowing them to object if they felt like it. …. Not likely.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Terms and Conditions
A few years ago I had the enormous privilege to work with a start-up non profit fund raising organisation. This organisation has a novel method of collecting funds and consequently had to ensure that all the complicated legal and other governance issues were well and truly covered. Our attorneys belonged to one of the countries biggest firms and they unstintingly spent so much time (pro bono) with us and shared their knowledge. It was a tremendous learning experience: contracts, patents, trust and foundation law and so on, even tax issues thrown in for good measure.
For me, I found contracts to be really interesting (I also enjoyed patents, but more of this another time). The biggest lesson was that a contract should be fair for both parties ie. If a contract is 100%, then each party should benefit by 50% each. So, if I rent a place for Rxy, being the standard rate for a 2 bedroom flat, then I expect to get a 2 bedroom flat, no more, no less. And you can apply this to employment, purchasing a motor vehicle etc.
Well now I am going to talk about personal relationships. And you may quite rightly ask what on earth this has to do with contracts.
In the last couple of week, I have heard a number of people (men and women) talk, albeit sheepishly, about “contracts” they have entered into with their so called significant other.
The contracts go something like this: Person A says to potential significant other at the beginning of relationship
· “I don’t ever see us walking off hand in hand into the sunset”,
· “the most important thing in my life is my mother/sister/children/father/wife/husband and they will always come first”,
· “I am incapable of loving so don’t expect that”,
· “this will just be a short term relationship – with no strings attached”,
· “you can get out of this relationship any time you like – I will not hold you back”
Do you see what is happening here? Are these people emotionally dead/deprived or what? What they are actually saying is that your needs just do not count, my needs do. This is a one sided relationship of note.
Even worse is to come. The people who told me these things are in a bit of a pickle because their emotions are involved, they want a bit more commitment now and when they tried to discuss this with the “advantaged other” they were told “but I stated the Terms and Conditions at the beginning – so what’s your problem - you knew what the story was – I have always been honest with you”. The problem is that no-one should get involved in relationships where T & C’s are so one sided. If you are going to have a fling, by all means have a fling. But a fling does not last 1, 3, 5, 7 years. Good grief – these relationships are entirely one sided. Why should they change their minds?
But my personal favourite with one of these relationships, is of a married man who began an affair with: “I will not hurt my wife, I am known as a man of honour and I will never break a promise, I gave my word to my wife (ie. Till death do us part), I cannot hurt the kids even if they are grown up, and so on and so on”. Do you also see something wrong with this? This man, in one breath states he is an honourable man, but is quite happy to lie to and deceive his nearest and dearest and mess up someone else’s life in the process – but he did warn her first… well one hopes so, cause that makes it all OK. And this is the classic one sided contract – definitely no win/win here.
And yes, you may ask why people (men and women) can be so stupid – well who knows, but the heart, a bit of lust and some true emotions do get in the way of rational thinking…….
And the final lesson here – remember, always remember how a contract should be structured.
For me, I found contracts to be really interesting (I also enjoyed patents, but more of this another time). The biggest lesson was that a contract should be fair for both parties ie. If a contract is 100%, then each party should benefit by 50% each. So, if I rent a place for Rxy, being the standard rate for a 2 bedroom flat, then I expect to get a 2 bedroom flat, no more, no less. And you can apply this to employment, purchasing a motor vehicle etc.
Well now I am going to talk about personal relationships. And you may quite rightly ask what on earth this has to do with contracts.
In the last couple of week, I have heard a number of people (men and women) talk, albeit sheepishly, about “contracts” they have entered into with their so called significant other.
The contracts go something like this: Person A says to potential significant other at the beginning of relationship
· “I don’t ever see us walking off hand in hand into the sunset”,
· “the most important thing in my life is my mother/sister/children/father/wife/husband and they will always come first”,
· “I am incapable of loving so don’t expect that”,
· “this will just be a short term relationship – with no strings attached”,
· “you can get out of this relationship any time you like – I will not hold you back”
Do you see what is happening here? Are these people emotionally dead/deprived or what? What they are actually saying is that your needs just do not count, my needs do. This is a one sided relationship of note.
Even worse is to come. The people who told me these things are in a bit of a pickle because their emotions are involved, they want a bit more commitment now and when they tried to discuss this with the “advantaged other” they were told “but I stated the Terms and Conditions at the beginning – so what’s your problem - you knew what the story was – I have always been honest with you”. The problem is that no-one should get involved in relationships where T & C’s are so one sided. If you are going to have a fling, by all means have a fling. But a fling does not last 1, 3, 5, 7 years. Good grief – these relationships are entirely one sided. Why should they change their minds?
But my personal favourite with one of these relationships, is of a married man who began an affair with: “I will not hurt my wife, I am known as a man of honour and I will never break a promise, I gave my word to my wife (ie. Till death do us part), I cannot hurt the kids even if they are grown up, and so on and so on”. Do you also see something wrong with this? This man, in one breath states he is an honourable man, but is quite happy to lie to and deceive his nearest and dearest and mess up someone else’s life in the process – but he did warn her first… well one hopes so, cause that makes it all OK. And this is the classic one sided contract – definitely no win/win here.
And yes, you may ask why people (men and women) can be so stupid – well who knows, but the heart, a bit of lust and some true emotions do get in the way of rational thinking…….
And the final lesson here – remember, always remember how a contract should be structured.
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
The Turkey Graph
I so appreciated the hearty chuckle from my friend Jeanne when I told her about the book, The Black Swan, and how the author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, describes the Black Swan in his “turkey graph” (my term for the graph - Taleb calls the graph “one thousand and one days in history”).
So, what is this graph? Well, take one turkey and feed him every day for one thousand and one days to get him ready for Christmas. The amount of food the turkey gets every day is just about the same and he’s fed twice a day at almost the same time. The graph will be fairly flat with a few small, insignificant ups and down for the amount of food he gets… but it is just about a straight line for a thousand days. And then the surprise happens – he gets the chop and is plucked and dressed for the Christmas table.
Significantly, there is absolutely nothing in this view that would have prepared the turkey for this surprise (black swan). Every day he got fed and things progressed along really nicely. This view really begs the question of why we always/mostly base our predictions (share prices, oil prices, sales forecasts, interest rates, life events etc) on historical data?
(NB: I don’t mean to reduce the essence of this amazing book to this one graph – but it sure as hell describes the Black Swan and how blinkered we can be. I recommend this book to everyone – give yourself a little treat and buy it)
So, what is this graph? Well, take one turkey and feed him every day for one thousand and one days to get him ready for Christmas. The amount of food the turkey gets every day is just about the same and he’s fed twice a day at almost the same time. The graph will be fairly flat with a few small, insignificant ups and down for the amount of food he gets… but it is just about a straight line for a thousand days. And then the surprise happens – he gets the chop and is plucked and dressed for the Christmas table.
Significantly, there is absolutely nothing in this view that would have prepared the turkey for this surprise (black swan). Every day he got fed and things progressed along really nicely. This view really begs the question of why we always/mostly base our predictions (share prices, oil prices, sales forecasts, interest rates, life events etc) on historical data?
(NB: I don’t mean to reduce the essence of this amazing book to this one graph – but it sure as hell describes the Black Swan and how blinkered we can be. I recommend this book to everyone – give yourself a little treat and buy it)
Saturday, 6 September 2008
So, who wants a proper job?
At lunchtime today I am dropping my daughter Lisa, at the airport. She is off overseas; firstly to compete in the 24hr Rogaine World Champs taking place in Estonia, and secondly to spend a bit of time in the UK with friends. You can read about the Rogaine World Champs on her blog: http://adventurelisa.blogspot.com/2008/09/rogaining-world-champs-estonia.html
Lisa is an adventure sports journalist and I thought I would tot up the countries she has been to since 2000, either reporting on events or participating and then writing the articles afterwards.
So, in no particular order: North America – East and West Coast – a few times, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Patagonia a couple of times, Costa Rica, England, France Switzerland, Russia, Borneo, New Zealand, Hawaii, Singapore, Zambia, Mozambique, and Namibia. And now Estonia and at the end of the year she will be taking an invitation team to Abu Dhabi.
She is one person who has successfully turned something she loves (running and adventure racing) into a job that has taken her to some really exotic places. In between all the travel and sports events she has written for various magazines and managed to remain employed with a non-profit organisation.
My friend Chris often asks if Lisa has a “proper job” yet ie. 9 to 5 *grin*. But seriously, given all the exciting things she does and gets paid for – if this was you, would you opt for a proper job?
Lisa is an adventure sports journalist and I thought I would tot up the countries she has been to since 2000, either reporting on events or participating and then writing the articles afterwards.
So, in no particular order: North America – East and West Coast – a few times, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Patagonia a couple of times, Costa Rica, England, France Switzerland, Russia, Borneo, New Zealand, Hawaii, Singapore, Zambia, Mozambique, and Namibia. And now Estonia and at the end of the year she will be taking an invitation team to Abu Dhabi.
She is one person who has successfully turned something she loves (running and adventure racing) into a job that has taken her to some really exotic places. In between all the travel and sports events she has written for various magazines and managed to remain employed with a non-profit organisation.
My friend Chris often asks if Lisa has a “proper job” yet ie. 9 to 5 *grin*. But seriously, given all the exciting things she does and gets paid for – if this was you, would you opt for a proper job?
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Super Heroes
Last year, our Springbok Rugby Team had just about every South African glued to the TV cheering them on at the World Cup final - which they won. The build up of our team prior to the World Cup was an amazing marketing exercise. The team was turned in super heroes. Even the non-rugby fans knew who they were. They were in the papers, and not just the sports section, there was a bit of drama about the coach, there was a bit of drama about the players….but at the end there was a team that would not do anything else but go to the World Cup and win. No one was going to mess with them. The Sasol advert on TV had the team morphing into super heroes with extraordinary powers. There was so much hype – I don’t think these guys even thought about losing!
So what happened with our Olympic Team? There certainly was not a lot of hype over them. Perhaps there was something on Super Sport, but there wasn’t a heck of lot on SABC - although there have been flashes of some of the athletes in a rather weak advert. And they sure haven’t been made out to be super heroes.
Oscar Pistorius managed to get a huge amount of publicity prior to the Olympics. He made world headlines with his plight. He spent a lot of time fighting various boards for admission to the able bodied Games. Thousands of people were saying “Ag Shame” he should be allowed. The people who wanted him excluded, because of the blade advantage, were seen as baddies, meanies and all sorts of things. Oscar has an amazing PR machine in place. Larger than life images of him on the side of multi story buildings, Powerade ads on TV, stories galore in popular magazines, even a modelling assignment in Cape Town – he is all over the place
But here’s a thing. Whilst this PR machine was on the go and boards were sitting to decide his fate, he wasn’t in training and he wasn’t anywhere near a qualifying time. And nor did he have a chance of achieving a qualifying time. Then there was a big public discussion that maybe he should be in the relay team, but he would have to run first in case he injured another runner and this debate went on for a while taking up media time.
But, he wasn’t close to qualifying for the team (it will probably take another 2 – 3 years of training) but he sure hogged a lot of pre-Olympic media time and attention.
Our actual Olympic athletes got just about zero.
And what about Natalie du Toit? She is disabled, qualified for the team and quietly got on with her training – and now she has performed more than admirably in her able bodied race. And prior to the race she has been the darling of the foreign press. They have love her in Beijing. She is our real super hero but we seem to have ignored her.
So what happened with our Olympic Team? There certainly was not a lot of hype over them. Perhaps there was something on Super Sport, but there wasn’t a heck of lot on SABC - although there have been flashes of some of the athletes in a rather weak advert. And they sure haven’t been made out to be super heroes.
Oscar Pistorius managed to get a huge amount of publicity prior to the Olympics. He made world headlines with his plight. He spent a lot of time fighting various boards for admission to the able bodied Games. Thousands of people were saying “Ag Shame” he should be allowed. The people who wanted him excluded, because of the blade advantage, were seen as baddies, meanies and all sorts of things. Oscar has an amazing PR machine in place. Larger than life images of him on the side of multi story buildings, Powerade ads on TV, stories galore in popular magazines, even a modelling assignment in Cape Town – he is all over the place
But here’s a thing. Whilst this PR machine was on the go and boards were sitting to decide his fate, he wasn’t in training and he wasn’t anywhere near a qualifying time. And nor did he have a chance of achieving a qualifying time. Then there was a big public discussion that maybe he should be in the relay team, but he would have to run first in case he injured another runner and this debate went on for a while taking up media time.
But, he wasn’t close to qualifying for the team (it will probably take another 2 – 3 years of training) but he sure hogged a lot of pre-Olympic media time and attention.
Our actual Olympic athletes got just about zero.
And what about Natalie du Toit? She is disabled, qualified for the team and quietly got on with her training – and now she has performed more than admirably in her able bodied race. And prior to the race she has been the darling of the foreign press. They have love her in Beijing. She is our real super hero but we seem to have ignored her.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
My computer shop
Yesterday I took my new funky red (albeit unusable) keyboard back to my local computer equipment shop. When I told the guy at the counter I wanted to return it, he said "no problem, would you like to exchange it or have a refund?". There was no hassle at all.
I mentioned that I really needed a new keyboard but this one that my daughter had got for me was OK for typing a small amount but I spend too much time as it is behind my keyboard without having to battle with pressing keys down hard! The keyboard was one of those rubber things that you can fold up - looks great but not so practical. He said he quite understood and led me off to the rack with keyboards.... we chose a really nice one, plain and simple and practical. He gave some good advice, was very pleasant, and I didn't feel rushed or pressured.
So, I walked out of the shop with a keyboard, a new mouse, a new USB hub and a really cool printer/scanner combo. Not bad for a returned keyboard!
An aside: I really did need all those things - I have put off getting a new mouse for ages and my daughter is moving out of my home office and taking her equipment with her. So, I do need my own printer etc. My idea of emailing documents for printing to Lisa met with not an awful lot of humour *grin* .
I mentioned that I really needed a new keyboard but this one that my daughter had got for me was OK for typing a small amount but I spend too much time as it is behind my keyboard without having to battle with pressing keys down hard! The keyboard was one of those rubber things that you can fold up - looks great but not so practical. He said he quite understood and led me off to the rack with keyboards.... we chose a really nice one, plain and simple and practical. He gave some good advice, was very pleasant, and I didn't feel rushed or pressured.
So, I walked out of the shop with a keyboard, a new mouse, a new USB hub and a really cool printer/scanner combo. Not bad for a returned keyboard!
An aside: I really did need all those things - I have put off getting a new mouse for ages and my daughter is moving out of my home office and taking her equipment with her. So, I do need my own printer etc. My idea of emailing documents for printing to Lisa met with not an awful lot of humour *grin* .
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