Powerless in Johannesburg

I am often told that I tend to "tilt-at-windmills",
over issues that I have no control over.
I admit that I used to...
but every now and again I believe that I need to "RANT"...
This is one such occasion...
Recent strikes within the ranks of the Joburg City Power
 led to wide ranging power outages.
The Mayor, Parks Tau...vanished
City Power officials obfuscated...
And 30000 customers were without power.
In our case for 3 days some for as many as 5 or 6.
Businesses lost revenue, food was wasted
and officials could not seem to care less!
And what, I hear you ask, was the cause of these outages?
Unprotected  strike action by some workers over new shifts.
And this was instituted in order to cut down on unnecessary and costly overtime.
According to City Mayor Parks Tau,(once he came out of hiding)
 in one particular case the basic salary was R400000.00 p.a.
However this individual was taking home R1.2m  in overtime.
I would like to know what your job description is to earn that sort of salary!
Consumers were told that although switches had been turned off,
they could not just be switched back on.
There had to be "talks" with the disgruntled unions...
and outside labour was not an option.


Both my wife and I were worried about our Koi.
We had raised them from fingerlings and with a lack of oxygen, they could all die.
Saving them became our top priority...and then we would worry about our food.


So we decided to purchase a generator...
Buying one during an extended power outage is not  ideal.
HOWEVER, we were lucky and found one at the local hardware Hyper.
And it was on special!
It did not come with instructions, but I set about trying to put it together anyway.
I reading the parts manual...all written in Chinese translated into English...
most entertaining, but not in this situation!
Surrounded by cables, tools and jerry cans of petrol and oil. 

Even my cat wanted to get in on the action.
He likes to become the "foreman" when outside work is being undertaken.
Although we had found the generator easily enough,
finding cans to hold the petrol turned out to be quite a mission.
Eventually we were able to find a couple that suited our purpose. 

It also needed oil,
which took forever to get into the crankcase using the tiny funnel supplied 

I contemplate my almost completed task... 

I had put the handles on backward,
hence having to remove and re-do... 

Done...off to its new "home"... 

One last obstacle to overcome... 

The addition of the petrol...
The final step before switch on. 

Just some of the cabling required to keep us(and the Koi) content.
We were also able to get our fridges, computer, TV and some lights working.


And to think that just a few days ago,
I was at Sabi Sabi enjoying the peace and tranquility of a bush break.
Now I am back in Jhb, being woken by the sound of generators...
And there seem to be several in our street.
WE DEMAND OUR POWER BACK!
Just one final thought...
If I was to deduct 3 days off my monthly electricity bill,
how successful do YOU think I would be?
NOT AT ALL?
I thought so...
And they call Johannesburg a "world class African city"...
Not for the faint hearted.

As a direct result of the outage,
we cancelled a planned trip to KZN Midlands.
Airlink would have flown us there...
in style and comfort no doubt!
www.flyairlink.com

Let the buyer beware...how to choose a tattoo artist

"Caveat emptor."

"Let the buyer beware"...all well and good if you are buying goods or services, but tattoos are permanent and short of major laser surgery, they cannot be removed by an order of court or a refund!

Remember that parts of YOUR body are going to be changed forever.So how do you choose a tattoo artist.Well, much like choosing a dive instructor, you must do your homework. It seems that kits can be bought on social network sites...would you trust someone like that?

The adage "Cleanliness is next to godliness" 

should be emblazoned on the wall of every (reputable) tattoo parlour.

Work areas do not need to be sterile, 

but you as the client need to be satisfied that all the equipment is clean 

and that all needles are still in the packaging before the work begins

Ink needs to be freshly prepared...not reused!

Proper branded products should be a requirement.

No products that have been prepared in a back room.

Gloves are a must! If your tattoo artist wants to start work without them,LEAVE.

Not that even the cleaning fluid bottle is covered in plastic

Stencils should only be used once and then disposed of...

Make sure that the position of your tattoo is exactly where YOU want it.

It is not up to the tattoo artist, but you have to live with the final work.

Any good tattoo artist will take the time and trouble to talk to you about your tattoo and why you want it before they put ink on your skin! 

Make sure that the artist(and they are) you are using is properly qualified

 and recommended.

If they have no previous work to show you...LEAVE!

Before you have any ink done be certain of the following:

1] You are happy with your design

2] The position of the tattoo has been chosen correctly.Some areas hurt more than others

3] Make sure that you and the artist have discussed the length of time the piece will take and the cost.

4] You have seen previous work

5] You are happy with the surroundings and the ambiance

6] You REALLY want the tattoo and for all the right reasons.

7] Remember, if in doubt, walk away!

The end of the year approaches...

Let me nail my colours to the mast... I really do not like the end of a year.
For me it means an empty diary and the struggle as a freelancer to find gainful employment before the bank manager calls me in for a "chat"
A recent trip to Swellendam with my wife certainly put 2012 into perspective for both of us.
I discovered this quote by Bryan Dyson,CEO of Coca Cola in a travel magazine:
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls.You name them -work,family,health, friends and spirit- and you are keeping all of these in the air.You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball;if you drop it,it will bounce back.The other four are made of glass. If you drop any one of these,they'll be irrevocably scuffed,marked,damaged or even shattered.They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life"
After four weeks of a viral infection that seems to be getting better only incrementally, it was time for choices to be made and decisions to be taken.
I believe that I have made the right ones but only time will tell.
I do know one thing...I do want to protect my balls...
So for the first time in many years, I look forward to 2012... More balanced and with no regret for the decisions that my wife and I have made.
Here is to balance...and a full diary!

Buckle up...a comment by david batzofin

AAAAAAARGH...

In most first world countries it is compulsory for ALL occupants of a motor vehicle to have a seat belt in order to properly obey the traffic rules of a particular country...A friend of mine who emigrated to Australia had to buy a new vehicle because the one that his wife used for lift-scheme did not have enough seat belts!
Here in South Africa, it seems to me that we are prepared to kill off our children without a second thought...
Parents get into a vehicle and more often than not the youngsters on the back seat are not buckled up...
Even more concerning...and dangerous is the fact that often front seat passengers will hold a child in their arms...while they themselves arer securely belted in.
Do they actually believe that in the case of an accident they will be able to hang on? If so, perhaps a trip to a casualty ward will cure them of their stupidity...or maybe not
It has been proved that small children become missiles and often leave through the windscreen in the case of an accident...and are either killed or maimed as a result
How would you feel if it was your child? As a parent I know that I would not be able to live with myself...
Yet every day I see parents taking unbuckled children to school, seemingly uncaring or unaware of the potential risks to their passengers.
Can this be remedied?
There are certainly laws that prohibit passengers driving without seat belts but those laws to not seem to be enforced...maybe our local Metro police are too busy soliciting bribes or generally turning a blind eye because of the anarchy that currently exists on South African roads?
Name and shame is my opinion...take photographs and print them in newspapers, put them up at the schools concerned and force the parents to become more aware...
The bottom line is, if you love your child/children you will never start the car without them safely buckled in!

Staircases are not only for fire drills...comment by David Batzofin

A thorny question,posed recently on Face Book asked; " Why is it that people will go to gym, exercise,train,sweat and get fit...yet they will stand and wait for a lift rather than take the stairs"?
This was quickly followed by "People will often look for the closest parking to a Mall entrance, yet they will spend hours shopping or just browsing..."
and...
"Yes I did order a burger with fries...but I had a Diet soft drink"!
WTF people...do you really believe that drinking a diet soda is going to counteract all the fats that you are shoveling down your throat? Maybe, like Denmark and Romania it is time to institute a "fat tax" here in South Africa...

The questions got me reflecting on how lazy our society has become. The building I work in only has a single story, but there is an elevator. Why? Possibly for people to old, lazy or infirm to climb the 21 stairs from the ground floor.
Why is it then that I often find people from the businesses on the first floor patiently waiting for the elevator? And when it comes and they are transported the single floor what do they do...LIGHT UP A CIGARETTE!
I fail to understand that logic...not only are they unhealthy, but they insist on doing as little as possible to get themselves fit!
Personally I believe that employees in a building should be made to take the stairs and compensated with some sort of incentive for completing this task on a daily basis...the more flights of stairs that you climb, the more valuable the incentive...and I am talking proper monetary compensation and not a certificate at an awards evening...("and the award for the most stairs climbed goes to...the envelope please"?)
Come on bosses, fitter employees make better employees! The endorphins produced during exercise is a natural performance enhancing "drug" and should be encouraged...
But I digress...
Can anything be done to dissuade people from using an elevator?
A fire drill...crying wolf is not the object of the exercise
Name and shame...pictures of the guilty parties stuck on the office notice board? But what happens if they do not work in the building?
Cleaning staff...not those with trolleys of cleaning equipment, but those with just a cloth/ feather duster that waste time waiting for the elevator?
Referring to the original question, could the gym not make stairs part of the workout?
If they did that the participants would then have an excuse to use the elevator at the end of the session...
And what about the "close-to-the-door" parkers?
Invariably the parking bays closet to an entrance/exit are handicapped bays, which are abused more often than not by healthy shoppers who don't feel like looking for a parking space.
I have approached such people and inquired politely, why they are using handicapped bays...the answers have varied from " None of your f@&#ing business" to "Handicapped people do not use the bays at night"
I once found someone letting down all four tires of a car parked in such a bay.
The note they left on the windscreen read " Now you are handicapped"!

Chew on this...comment by David Batzofin

What is it with humans and chewing gum?



Ruminants that chew the cud for digestive purposes I can understand, but humans?
Those of us old enough,and I include myself,remember when chewing gum was in fact a currency...
Change at the local cafe was always given in "Chappies" in lieu of the the official tender...
Not only did you have something to chew on, you also got something to chew over...for inside the wrapper were trivia questions and answers.
Therefore, the gum could be seen as educational...well at least that is what I told my parents when I returned without change...
The other major brand of the day was "Wicks", larger and with no educational value at all they tasted like the smell of Wintergreen( or perhaps root beer)... It was the king of Bubble gum as the product was called back then.
There were other brands,like Stimorol that are still around today and who,and I include myself once again, remembers popping a Musk flavoured gum just before a kiss? Or just because the taste was cool...if you had no one to kiss...
But how times have changed...much like the difference between pinball( a sign of a misspent youth) and the video/computer games of today that purport to promote hand/ eye co-ordination!
Now chewing gum is used to promote dental hygiene and keeping your breath fresh all day when you cannot brush...does it work? Who knows but the marketing seems to be working because it seems as if EVERYONE is chewing...CONSTANTLY...and especially sales staff.
And this is really the crux of my rant...
I get really pissed at staff who chew when they interact with me.Swallow the bloody stuff or can employers ban it altogether?
The manager of a local supermarket told me that he makes sure that his staff does not walk around like a herd of cows. But I have been to his store and found staff chewing...
I pose the question...should it be all staff or only those who interact with clients?
At a large discount store ALL the staff that I interacted with were chewing...it made me want to stand in the middle of the shop and scream "ENOUGH,STEP AWAY FROM THE GUM"!
Could they at least stow it in a cheek while talking to customers?
But I did not react or comment, I paid for my purchase and left.
I am writing this while sitting at my favourite coffee shop and I asked the manager about the group policy on staff and gum...his response.."No gum at all.Neither the staff on the floor or back of house"...and that is why it is my favourite coffee shop!
Although not limited to a particular age group or gender, it does seem to me that young women chew more than their male counterparts...I have not done any scientific research...my comment is based on watching the people in the shopping mall as they walk past me...
Perhaps I am wrong? Maybe! But what I have proved is that we have become a society that is prepared to masticate in public!
Can the scourge be reversed? Compared to global warming and cancer, does it really matter? Perhaps not...
Gary Larson (The Far Side cartoonist) got it right when he gave his animals human traits...now perhaps the tables have turned and we as humans are slowly returning to the primordial ooze...one trait at a time...
With that off my chest it's time to moo(ve) on...
Chew on that!

Look out, here comes a trolley...comment by David Batzofin

Somewhere in a shopping centre near you a new menace has raised it's ugly head...
You might not hear them coming and by the time you do, it will be too late!
What,or who am I talking about?





Crazy shopping cart drivers...
Why is it that the rules that we have to adhere to on the roads not apply in shopping centers?
These manics of the Malls push their carts wherever they feel live and at speeds that often put an F1 driver to shame...
Why can the Malls not have dedicated "cart lanes" to keep the public safe?
There seem to be several types of cart "drivers"...or should that be "pushers"? Although that might be a topic for another Blog...
In no particular order they are:
The "get-out-of-my-way" ... Usually a person who believes that they own the Mall and that everyone must get out of the way...the Mall version of the Blue Light Presidential convoy! I am amazed that shops do not offer them clip on flashing lights and sirens.
The "look-at-me-Mommy"...pushed by small people who have recently learned to walk, or so it seems.Often they are smaller than the cart and as such cannot see where they are going...and,of course, the proud parent does not think to guide them!
The "weaving-window-shopper"...the worst kind! They have no idea where they are going and seem to have all the time in the world to get there...no matter on which side you try to get by, they will block your way...
And finally the "frontal-attack" ...we all know this one...left,right,after you,right,left and they still crash into you...
With the back of my ankles taking the brunt of these interactions, perhaps it is time to start wearing shin guards?
Or perhaps dark glasses and a cane will make these devils of the mall ways steer clear of you?