Claude news 6:49 AM (8 hours ago)
I’ve had a whole email about Claude, basically asking for an update.
And there is some news, but it’s not great.
Claude was not hand-reared and he was not as young as we had been led to believe when we got him.
And those facts mean that he was untrainable. We made virtually no progress in the 6 weeks that we had him, and the bigger problem with that was that if we couldn’t train him, we couldn’t allow him out of his cage, because we would have no way of getting him back in. And consequently, he wouldn’t be able to fly freely at all, and that’s not right.
We made a few calls and found a local aviary that already has some lovebirds (and a plethora of other birds) who was more than willing to take him in. They won’t be able to train him either, but that doesn’t matter because he won’t have to be kept in a small cage and will have a nice big aviary to fly around in and some other friends to do it with.
So we made the decision to let him go (not like that), and he went to his new home yesterday.
It will take a while for him to settle in, but early indications are that he’ll be very happy there.
Kids on Halloween 30 Oct 5:21 AM (yesterday, 5:21 am)
It was never a huge thing when I was a child, but it to be fair, that was quite a while ago. And in a different country. But I think it’s fair to say that Halloween gets bigger each and every year. Our kids used to have a blast with it, and with South Africa being South Africa, there’s actually a lot of sense in having an organised thing with parents going along too, and it’s even better if your neighbourhood makes an effort. (Ours does.)
I think our kids have grown out of it now, but we’re still paying it forward by supporting the younger ones in the area who want to get dressed up and have some fun.
And then I saw this piece by a Registered Dietician on YLE. It’s consise, it’s sensible, it’s full of science and evidence. In short, it’s great Scientific Communication from an expert.
And I thought that it was exactly the thing that worried parents needed to see. So I thought I’d share it.
And I thought that I’d also do a very quick overview of it, because there are just a few main points which can be summarised really quickly, and which you can dive into on the link above, should you feel the need.
I’ll warn you now, the first one will be contentious.
1. Sugar highs are not a thing.
OMG – he went there! And I hear you begin with your “But my kid…”
No!
We all have our stories about too much fudge at the Steam Rally, but over 100 years of scientific research says it simply isn’t a thing. Sorry.
Sugar highs are more likely a combination of the environment and our expectations as parents.
See?
2. Food dyes in sweets aren’t really a problem.
They’re well regulated, and the safety thresholds really aren’t going to be an issue for your child.
The bigger issue isn’t the dyes themselves, but the colourful, highly processed foods they’re often found in – usually high in sugar and low in nutrients. That’s something to think about for everyday diets, not for occasional treats like Halloween or holidays.
Important to note that we’re talking about one-off fun days here. Different rules apply for medium and long-term sweet eating. And so they should.
3. Handle the sweeties carefully.
There’s a really good section in the article with some great advice for how to spread the kids’ haul over the evening and the following days.
Basically, plan ahead, be reasonable, be ready to negotiate, and don’t make too big a deal out of the situation. It’s one evening, not a regular day-to-day thing over their lifetime.
4. What’s the real danger on Halloween?
This is the biggie for me. Not food dyes, not sugar, not “drugs and razor blades” in the treats they pick up.
Cars. It’s cars.
Now, I know this is America, and it’s darker earlier there in October. But even in an South African context, this makes sense. There will be a lot of excited, young kids out crossing roads where there would usually not be any excited, young kids crossing roads.
Obviously, parents need to keep an eye on their children, but equally, there’s no harm in drivers in residential areas taking note of the unusual circumstances and slowing down a bit.
Or a lot, if you’re an average local driver.
And then this, which makes the most sense of all.
The Bottom Line
Childhood is painfully short.
Let’s keep the magic of Halloween alive without letting sugar or guilt haunt us.
Great use of the word “haunt” there. I saw that.
Go and have some fun. Let them run riot for a couple of hours (not near roads). Let them be kids.
There is no diesel in Cape Town 29 Oct 6:09 AM (2 days ago)
I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there is no diesel in Cape Town.
I went to a filling station earlier this afternoon and they didn’t have any diesel, and then I did some rudimentary extrapolation, and now apparently, there is no diesel anywhere in Cape Town.
That’s 1/1 or 100% of filling stations which did not have diesel.
And if you think that’s not quite comprehensive enough a study, then add to that the fact that every extrapolation that I have done today has proven that there is no diesel in Cape Town.
That’s 1/1 or 100% of the extrapolations that I have done which have proven that there is no diesel in Cape Town.
Worrying times.
It’s a very fair point 28 Oct 9:37 AM (3 days ago)
I suppose that we were all far too busy trying to get our tongues around the twister to have thought of this. And I always hated this one.
But it’s a very fair point.
(No, I have no idea why wisdom apparently now comes on a plate, either.)
Tapping into the laziness of the seashell-wanting population, I guess.
Look, the shells are right there if you want them – and they’re free! – but you might have to search around and wash a bit of sand off. Plenty of water for that right there, too.
But if you can’t be arsed with all that, and you have the money, then simply go see her. She’s right there, shelling seasells on the shesore.
Damn it.
Not moving to Gloucestershire 27 Oct 11:01 AM (4 days ago)
I have no real desire to move full-stop, but certainly not to Gloucestershire.
Although, this place seems pretty affordable.
A 1 bedroom place in the countryside – it definitely needs some TLC – but at “just” £135,000, it seems nice enough: and it’s full of potential.
DSB Estate Agents are pleased to bring to the market this one bedroom detached cottage nestled away in the Cotswolds.
To the ground floor this property comprises of an entrance porch, an open-plan lounge diner, a fitted kitchen, a utility room and a bathroom along with a conservatory overlooking the garden, a cloakroom and a coal shed.
On the first floor you will find the master bedroom which boasts an en-suite. The second floor offers fantastic views from the loft.
As we head outside, prepare to be blown away by the beautiful (and rather sizeable!) garden which mainly lies to the side of the property. There is also a double garage.
Sounds good.
I particularly like the floating blue pot in the back garden. Trippy.
I guess that the only downside here is the size of the place. One bedroom doesn’t really offer a lot of flexibilty, but look at the amount of space you have around you to extend your living… I’m sorry… what small print?
Those somewhat unremarkable two lines in the middle there?
You mean this rather disappointing one?
Please note: The property is subject to a restrictive covenant which prevents any extensions being added to the dwelling.
And this frankly alarming one?
In addition, there are known sink holes present within the grounds.
Yeah, whatever you do as the estate agent, don’t make that sort of important information easy to find, will you? That might put off some buyers. You know: the ones who want a little more living space or those who just want to stay alive and not plunge to their death while mowing the lawn.
No. Not moving to Gloucestershire, and especially not moving to this place.
“I don’t know if I’m the first one to think of this, but…” 26 Oct 11:20 AM (5 days ago)
Spotted on social media…
The damage inflicted to a plane by a bird strike. I don’t know if I’m the first one to think of this, but what if we put a big magnet on the nose of the plane so it creates a magnetic field that repels the birds away?
I’m not 100% sure, but I’d put good money on the fact that you were the first one to think of this.
Birds, famously not magnetic, would probably not be repelled by “a big magnet on the nose of the plane”. For this to work properly, you’d have to go around a glue a big (same polarity) magnet to each and every bird, as well as each and every plane. And even then, getting that system to work with a closing speed of around 1000kph would probably not be ever so effective.
But hey, keep coming up with the ideas and maybe one day, one of them will make some small degree of sense.
Another video 25 Oct 5:10 AM (6 days ago)
A quieter video.
Because this morning, I did try to watch a bit of the live stream video that I suggested to you yesterday.
But wow. It was a tough watch. Mainly because of the Boksburg accents and the general varbe, boet.
It’s Dawie Louw Drarving A Nissan R Thurty Farve Skar Larn, Rarnd The Rart Hander, Klaapping A Tarm Of Free Forty Farve Point Naught, Boet.
Eish.
162kph average speed from a standing start, though. Impressive.
But here’s something a bit more gentle and easy, which I also heard yesterday and which made me smile and sing along.
Beautiful song.
Today was Founder’s Day at school, with at least one proud dad moment, and this afternoon is going to be napping, football and an evening braai.
All good in the sunshine.
Speed Classic Cape Town 24 Oct 9:32 AM (7 days ago)
Car racing is not really my thing, but there’s been a lot of buzz about this inaugural hill climb around the slopes of Table Mountain (it’s actually a bit more Devil’s Peak, but who’s counting) this weekend.
Up to 10,000 spectators expected, and a lot of road closures and pain for anyone working in town and living down south, but… another event to land Cape Town on the global map of… events, I guess.
There’s racing 8am-3pm on Saturday and 9am-5pm on Sunday, so plenty to see, although they are still trying to sell tickets, so I’m not sure how successful it has all been.
Yet.
Livestream stuff is available here for all event on both days, and I’ll try to remember to have a look in at some time.
Have fun if you are going along.
The return of Mock The Week? But… 23 Oct 8:05 AM (8 days ago)
Well, yes. But actually, maybe. Or not?
The scariest thing about this was that it was apparently four years ago. I thought that it was 2023 or something. And with a whole Google search, it turns out that neither of us were right.
The last episode was on the 4th November 2022.
That’s not even three years ago yet, let alone four.
But surely the rest of their reporting will be accurate and truthful, right?
And look, if it is correct, then this is clearly great news, but the issues here are twofold. Firstly, that so much of the original MTW was good because of the regulars and especially Hugh Dennis and Dara O’Briain. Without them, you might as well just make a different show. And although no cast announcements have been made yet, it’s not sounding good:
A statement from Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that the show’s return, produced by Angst Productions, would give the ‘much-loved’ series a ‘new look’.
As we’ve said so many time regarding music on this blog, sometimes change isn’t good. Especially when it was the familiarity that drew you in in the first place.
And there’s more iffiness because it’s apparently allegedly making a comeback on TLC:
As soon as I heard the news that Mock the Week was returning, I felt a tingle of nostalgic excitement.
Then I continued reading an article about it and saw something that immediately made me think the reboot is doomed to fail – it’s being aired on a relaunched version of TLC, which is a digital and Freeview channel known for reality TV screaming matches with shows like 90 Day Fiancé and 1000-lb Sisters.These shows are hardly top-tier political satire like Mock the Week is, so it feels completely out of place.
There’s no doubt that the show calmed down a lot in its later years. There were definitely improvements in panel diversity, which was great to see, but at the same time, a lot of the edginess dropped off. And actually, we really need that edginess now. We need to be able to look at clowning politicians and take them down with satire and humour. See Colin Jost and Michael Che on SNL – no holds barred.
Honestly though, I think that there will be a further dumbing down of the hard-hitting content that MTW became known for in its early years (Frankie Boyle was a huge proponent of this).
The viewing figures dropped away as well with that lack of edginess, and it did feel like the show was held together by the regulars and the long-time fans [waves], rather than people looking to laugh at something a bit dangerous or risky – because that wasn’t going to happen.
Of course – of course – I will give this a go when it comes back out. But sadly, I’m ready to be disappointed.
We keep going 22 Oct 5:13 AM (9 days ago)
Another win, and this one after we’d been really poor in the first half. And then we went and scored three goals. I don’t know what happened, but it looked like the same old, same old when we got to half time, and then someone put a firecracker under our collective arses in the second period.
Still, I’m not complaining. My only gripe is that the excitement and adrenaline prevented me from sleeping for quite a lot of the night. And that’s left me a bit broken today.
On the plus side, I’m off to emulate some of the heroics from last night by playing a bit of the old togger tonight, for the first time in ages.
As I type, it’s only 33C out there, so I’m sure it’ll be an extremely uncomfortable a fun and pleasant experience.