Weekly digest #7

Injured child given a teddy bear is now "well" : A 5 year old girl was caught in the crossfire in an attempted robbery of Emperor's Palace Casino earlier this week. Marketing manager of the Casino said that they had given her a teddy bear and she is doing "well". He says she is also recovering "well". Apparently her parents are "well" as well. Thanks, PR, thanks for keeping us so well-informed. I'd just like to query why this 5 year old was at the casino anyway. I understand that there are other restaurants there and it could have been for a number of reasons that she was within shooting distance, but I am allowed to wonder (surely?).

Taxis ranked as the most dangerous form of public transport (SA) : A mobile survey conducted by Pondering Panda found that of the youths questioned, our South African taxi service was ranked as the most dangerous, with a high concern for accidents occurring or of being attacked. We hear of attacks often occurring at taxi ranks, and we often see the appalling state of the taxis driving around (spanners for steering wheels, bumpers duct-taped onto the car): these fears are understandable. The problem is that people sometimes really have no choice but to use these services. I look forward to the day when we have an efficient and (fairly) safe public transport system like that which I have enjoyed in London, or even Hong Kong (speaking less of their taxis, which are also deathtraps, but more of the buses, ferries and the MTR). This service also needs to be reasonably priced, unlike the Gautrain.

I have a food addiction : Hey look, another Internet self-diagnosis! Scientists have had a look into whether or not food addiction is a real thing. They make the important point that it's really hard to give up something that you actually have to have in order to survive. I know I obsess over it. It can get quite bad... Food is just so delicious (come visit me, I'll show you!) I really struggle to say when enough is enough. I take far too much advantage of an opportunity to eat, and I carry on eating when I'm "full". So that "full" signal isn't really a factor anymore. This is why I have to monitor what I eat. The easiest way for me to do this is by not having "more" available to have, or not having any snacks (or unhealthy snacks, at least) around me. It's best if I don't let it end up on my plate, or even in my room. Then, I get to live like a normal human being, fighting with myself only when I'm in the shops, or when faced with a decision to buy a huge delicious choc chip cookie (that you will most certainly hear more about in due course) when I am already treating myself to a Cappuccino at one of the great new coffee shops in town.

Procrastination reflections #1: People are mean

"People say ugly things, and sometimes it's because we speak without thinking: our thoughts become verbalised before they're even thought of. Ugly thoughts then become ugly words. We don't always mean these ugly thoughts, they can come unbidden to our minds, and normally we can keep them in check. Then it happens that we don't stop to think, and we say hurtful things to people that we would have just thought but because we want to get our two cents across as quickly as possible, we speak before making sure that what we're about to say is socially acceptable."

Welcome to my first attempt at being philosophical and self-reflexive. I am a major procrastinator, and I am very easily distracted. My mind goes off on tangents sometimes, often during important moments, like in lectures or in meetings or when I'm having a seriously deep conversation with a friend, which makes me feel kind of bad. I make up for this by writing down my strokes of brilliance so that at least some good comes out of it. Unfortunately, when I read these at a later stage, it turns out that it wasn't actually that amazing. I'm going to share these waves of creativity with you, and hopefully I can improve on the thoughts as I go.

So people are mean. Maybe I chose this as my first procrastination reflection to post because I'm discouraging you from being mean to me: don't judge me! I'm just joking, your opinion is valued because you have one, but it won't affect how I feel about myself. Unless you're building me up, and that's pretty cool, carry on as you were.

I think that the issue that I have with people's meanness is what determines what is mean? So someone may feel a certain way about something, but because it's not socially acceptable, they aren't allowed to express that they feel that way, because they may be shunned or looked down upon. I don't know why we think the way we do (don't even get me started on the subconscious..), but it's frustrating that we can't be pre-programmed into inherently good and kind people, without having to be mean. And I mean things like judging someone for being different, or making a comment on someone that you are jealous of because they are probably better than you.

Maybe I just hate how mean my brain can be sometimes, and then sometimes how mean my mouth can be before I have time to shut it up. That darned self-control... But, will keep working on it, I guess!

Weekly digest #6

Cosmetic surgery regulated as much as your toothbrush : It turns out that in the UK, it is not that important to regulate that which is injected into your face, regardless of the horror stories that we have all heard (and possibly seen the effects of) when such procedures go wrong (or if you just have a bad reaction to the product). While I'm pretty sure that things such as Botox and wrinkle-fillers should be administered with some training and qualification (would you really trust a random person to do this for you), the British don't think it is that important to have such regulations in place. It scares me the ease with which one can get this done, so I hope that you're at least sensible if you do follow this route to beauty.
Personally, I am currently not friendly with needles, so having injections in my face would be a serious stretch. I don't know how I am going to feel when this actually becomes a problem, however. I am so scared of ageing, it is actually quite sad. What makes it worse, is the fact that there is nothing anyone anywhere is ever going to be able to do about it. Except cosmetic surgery I suppose. I'm going to have to cross that bridge when I get there, and hopefully look after myself well enough until then, so that that bridge isn't too big for my osteoporotic legs to jump across.

More bus strikes... Are they important? : Service delivery strikes, wage strikes, all these strikes seem never-ending, and just when they seem to have been resolved, it is a new year, so they get to strike again for even more! I understand that people should be given what they deserve and what they have earned, but wow, can't we just organise a sound policy that this just happens without a hitch? Whenever these strikes happen, I think it is always the innocent who suffer the most: like those commuters who need to get to work. Or when the teachers strike, it is the children who miss out on vital school time. I understand that that is almost how a strike is supposed to work, in that it implements a serious blow to the service, to make a serious statement, but I also think that it's not fair to those who are directly affected by it, when they are not involved in the processes.

Grahamstown roads: further proof that this is not my hometown... : And I mean this headline in the nicest way possible of course. The roads here are absolutely shocking. And, true to South African problem solving skills, solutions are never permanent: they try the cheapest option (filling up the pothole with sand) and then within a few days it will rain, just because it can, of course, and the hole will be back. That hole will be back with a right vengeance I tell you. My poor car knows real suffering from driving on these roads, and I am pretty sure the campus roads are maintained better than the ones mentioned in the link in the headline of this story. This makes me sad, because at the end of the day, they could have saved money by just fixing the hole properly the first time, even if it is more expensive, and then they wouldn't have had to worry about it again for a while. But no, we must save money now, and damage cars and pose dangers to drivers (and pedestrians) while we're at it.

Easter with the family... Also known as "FOOD"

Wake up - eat.

Great start to the day. We were meant to go out for brunch, but this turned out to be way better

Find 'em - eat.

Can you spot the Ferrero Rocher? Well done, Mom

Rest break - eat.

Our Easter haul for the year. Needless to say, it didn't last very long.

Ah, man, Easter is a great time. Not to lose the meaning of the event at all, but Easter Sunday is a day for celebration, and I love how most people agree with me that food is the best way to celebrate things. 

Bro struggled for a while to get the Ferrero Rocher out of its hiding place.
Big sister to the rescue! Except I kept it. Hehe, bad sister I know. But
he did find more of them than I did anyway, so it was fine.

It was a bit of a quieter Easter for us this year, but it was really special to be spending time with family. This time last year I was in Hong Kong, so it was good to be home for a change.

Why yes, that is half a kilo (0.5kg) of Lindt bunny with its baby. And they tasted wonderful of course.
Omnomnom rabbit...

Weekly digest #5

Get famous, die young : Scientists in USA have found a link between being a celebrity and an earlier death. They studied some obituaries and have found nothing scientifically conclusive: they can't say that it is because individuals were famous that that was the cause of their early departure, but that it certainly does seem to be a trend. If being famous does kill you earlier, I certainly wouldn't want to be famous, would you? Is it really worth it? Saying this, however, although they died earlier, there is also the chance that they got to experience so much more of life than someone who sits in their academic study until they reach the age of 82, with a head full of knowledge and a life full of... libraries? Research? I think that we need to make sure that if we do dedicate a life to academics, that at least do something practical with it, rather than just know it or publish a commentary on it. Go out and experience it, even if it just means looking at the corner of Table Mountain and apply theories of Geometric Control Theory (if that's even possible...). (Also, in the time it took me to write this paragraph, I ate a whole slab (90g) of Cadbury Bournville. And it was wonderful).


Supernatural CSI in Port Elizabeth : So maybe this is an exaggeration, but they found a man dead in his hotel room in Port Elizabeth. His throat had been slit, allegedly a self-inflicted injury which he appeared to regret - he was found as though he was trying to get to the door to get help. Video footage shows no one entering or leaving the man's room, and his room was double latched from the inside. It sounds to me like the kind of stunt Voldemort would pull. If he did do this to himself, even that sounds like something that you would do under the Imperius curse. Either way, for the moment I feel this is the kind of case that Grisham and his Las Vegas team of CSI's should be investigating (Horatio would be suitable in a different situation, perhaps with more swamp involved...).


Sexual violence equals silence : Today served as the day of annual 1 in 9 Silent Protest, which aims to raise awareness of the fact that 1 in 9 women with be a victim of sexual violence at some stage in their life. I did not participate this year, but I did last year. The link for this story will take you to my post about this. Currently, all the participants are at the Cathedral Service. Sexual violence is a growing problem. Some people don't understand that there doesn't necessarily have to be "violence" in order for an event to be traumatic, and invasive, a violation of an individual's space and privacy. Coercion is a problem too, and people need to be educated that they need to say "no" if they are not comfortable with something.

My little dears

Last year I lost the cutest marshmallow in the world. Harry, my ten-year-old cat was attacked by the neighbour's dogs. I named him Harry because he was black, and Harry Potter has black hair...

 

In February our family was joined by two new dears. A boy and a girl domestic shorthair. Their mother was a ginger named Kylie. 

Pippin and Ginger are always up to no good

Ginger is my brother's cat. You can guess which one she is, I hope. She is the less friendly of the two, and she's also a rather timid kitten. 

Pippin is named after Peregrin Took from The Lord of the Rings. Mom wanted to name him Nougat, but to me that's a girl kitten's name. I considered Gandalf, but that was a bit too strong for him as a kitten...

That cat attitude is so clear on his face. I absolutely love his eyes! 

He has a little ginger nose

He is always alert and curious to everything around him

Yeah, he know's he's cute. Check out the ginger socks and tail!
I almost called him UCG (Undercover Ginger)

"Love me! Or I will keep you up all night purring in your ear, like I'm going to do anyway..."

Guess what? Books!

I got a sneaky little notification on my Facebook news feed the day before I returned to Johannesburg:

How lucky was I? R50 per kg of books?! What a steal! The warehouse was massive, and really busy, as you could imagine. Reading is not dead! There were piles upon piles of books, from every genre and field. It was actually rather overwhelming... You could either spend a whole day there, wading through them all, or you just hope that things jump out at you. Alternatively, you grab as much as you can and run!

I bought 6kg of books, a pile for my mother and my brother, and a comfortable pile for myself as well.

My books... And wine and caramel as well :-D 

By the way, I love to read. You may also have noticed that some of the books I bought might benefit you as well. :)

Weekly digest #4

More bird flu! Possible pandemic : A new strain of bird flu, the H7N9 virus, is spreading in China. It has killed 3 people so far. Luckily, it currently transmits only from bird to bird or bird to human, so human to human transmission is not a concern yet. However, the mutations that have already been observed indicate that this could change, thus leading to a pandemic of the disease, so the situation needs to be closely monitored. The World Health Organisation is apparently pleased with China's response to the situation, so I think we should handle possible outbreaks pretty well. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen though. I found it really interesting that this disease has been analysed using DNA sequencing: science, medicine and technology is amazing! Another fun fact that could be handy to remember to bring up in conversation in the future: the H and the N in the names of these flu viruses refer to proteins on their surfaces, namely hemagglutinin and neuraminidase.

Plagiarism issues at Fort Hare University : Postgraduate students at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape have been accused of plagiarism by copying and pasting in their Political Sciences assignments. The students claimed that they had been told that they were allowed to do this. Plagiarism is something that has been growing in importance in my life, not because I do it, but because everyone is so worried that I, along with my fellow students, will commit this serious offence some time in our University careers. They even started drumming this into us at a school level. We know: don't copy and paste or claim an idea as your own if it is not! And something I told a friend today: at University level, nothing is your own idea, and nothing is common knowledge - it all comes from somewhere and everything has to be referenced! Until late in post-grad at least, like when you have your phD. These people were dumb, and the outcome of this situation is actually ridiculous and should definitely be investigated further. Follow the link for the full (though somewhat difficult to follow) story.

Grahamstown Spur gets itself robbed (accidentally) : A man fell asleep in the local steak house chain Spur, and the restaurant closed for the night and locked up. When he woke up, he thought it would be a good idea to rob the till. He was apprehended when he was trying to leave the building. I was lucky enough to come across this story filed under both Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth (not even remotely true in location) - an occurrence in this little town that should have been bigger news amongst my peers. I also don't understand how Spur managed to lock someone up in their restaurant...