As an election junkie, I’ve been watching the election results closely as they come in. There’ve been no real surprises, but a few interesting trends. I’m writing this post as the results are only partially in, but the trends seem clear. It’s likely that the parties with substantial rural support, such as the ANC and… Continue reading 2009 elections analysis
Fair Trade South Africa getting rooted
I’m pleased to see that Fair Trade South Africa, the South African division of Fair Trade, is getting more established. They began setting up locally last year, and this year aim to focus on implementation. In particular, we should start to see greater marketing of the Fair Trade label in South Africa, as well as… Continue reading Fair Trade South Africa getting rooted
Renewable energy feed-in tariffs approved
NERSA, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, has approved some quite generous renewable energy feed-in tariffs. In short, renewable energy feed-in tariffs mean that developers can invest in renewable energy, and sell excess energy back to the grid (Eskom) at a profit, a price more than it costs to generate, and guaranteed for a… Continue reading Renewable energy feed-in tariffs approved
Focusing on solutions – no more news
I realised this evening how to verbalise my own reasons for throwing newspapers in the dustbin, which I’ve struggled with before. At todays Facelook and Foodcook, two of the four speakers specifically advised not reading newspapers, and reasoned it in different ways. But an unconnected point one of them made sparked the connection. I’ve tried… Continue reading Focusing on solutions – no more news
Majestic Mandarin and Banking Anarchy
I enjoyed Majestic Mandarin, the March Geek Dinner. I’ve missed a couple, and it was good to go back after a lengthy gap. I particularly enjoyed the last two talks. Henk’s humorous “A brief history of modern banking”, covered familiar territory, though unfortunately I can’t find or remember the name of the well-known main source… Continue reading Majestic Mandarin and Banking Anarchy
Learning Languages Revisited
I’m making vague plans to go to Argentina in August, so I’ve started brushing up on my Spanish. I’d learnt Spanish for a month before going to Peru in 2001, but haven’t used it since, and have forgotten everything but Hola and, of course, Hasta la vista, Baby. I’ve been considering how my personal language… Continue reading Learning Languages Revisited
Biowashball distributor’s response
Following my previous post, here is the response from the biowashball distributor. ——– Original Message ——– Subject: Fw: Unfair public statements Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:50:02 +0200 From: Marietjie Lacomme To: CC: Ian, For the record, I never said we didn’t mention the Soapnut, and we persist that we did not and in no… Continue reading Biowashball distributor’s response
Threatened with legal action by the biowashball distributor
12/3/2009 UPDATE – They have sent a response to the email below. A comment I made in the Ethical Co-op newsletter last Thursday attracted some attention. When introducing a new product, laundry soap nuts, I mentioned my unhappiness with another product, a laundry ball, which in their marketing material had slammed soap nuts, and had… Continue reading Threatened with legal action by the biowashball distributor
How to (almost) become a morning person
It’s been a bit of a standing joke with me over my life that I’m the night owl. I’ve seen way (way) more sunrises after staying up rather than getting up. I’m usually one of the last to leave a party (don’t you find they only start to get fun when three quarters of the… Continue reading How to (almost) become a morning person
South African Literary Awards and the internet
If the purpose of a literary award is to expose and market the winners to a wider audience, the South African literary awards are doing a terrible job. Somehow I ended up on the Wikipedia page for the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize. The page was missing the 2008 winner, so I followed the link to… Continue reading South African Literary Awards and the internet