Blog
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BoJo is right to run with Huawei 5G
12 March 2020 — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson staved off his first rebellion in parliament this week.
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Have you watched these banned films?
8 March 2020 — Did you know that Wonder Woman (2017) is banned in countries belonging to the Arab League?
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I'm grateful for the SANDF
7 March 2020 — There are some things in life that help me sleep easier, and one of those things is that we have a singularly incompetent South African National Defence Force.
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The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at Home is over, for now
6 March 2020 — Some 21 years ago, when I was managing editor of the Cape Times, I had acquired as my desktop computer at work an Apple Power Macintosh G3 with its matching Sony Trinitron monitor.
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Here's how to look at our budget deficit properly
5 March 2020 — South Africa's budget deficit for this year is R370 billion.
(That's the difference between the money government receives in taxes and the amount government spends by borrowing.)
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Remembering Fela Kuti because music
4 March 2020 — Driving my 12 year old daughter to school this morning, and the iPhone god of randomness popped by Shakara by Fela Kuti.
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My Super Tuesday prediction
3 March 2020 — Today is Super Tuesday in the US.
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Israel goes to the polls... again!
2 March 2020 — Israel goes to the polls today for the third time in less than a year. Here's what this is about:
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The real value of Boomers
1 March 2020 — The United States is braced for the single biggest transfer of wealth in history.
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'I can't believe it's not butter!' redux
29 February 2020 — The Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens, was once only found in South America, but today is quite ubiqutous. The United States Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy, Croatia, Malta, th
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My budget takeaways
27 February 2020 — Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered his 2020 budget speech yesterday. Brief highlights for me:
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Should some religious groups be barred from foster care because of their beliefs?
26 February 2020 — A fascinating case has made its way to the US Supreme Court.
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RIP, Shaun Johnson
25 February 2020 — Woke up to the news that founding editor of the Sunday Independent, Shaun Johnson, had passed away and was momentarily incredulous.
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Who guards The Guardian?
24 February 2020 — Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? This Latin phrase traces back to the work of the Roman poet Juvenal, written around the late first or early second century, It translates to "who will guard
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Corona versus Ebola: some stats
23 February 2020 — The Democratic Republic of Congo announced their tenth outbreak of Ebola in 40 years on 1 August 2018.
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Every so often, the Internet gives us something truly wonderful
22 February 2020 — Fancy listening to Folk Music of Afghanistan from 1971? Or Afro-Cuban Jazz from 1966?
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Free speech versus the right to bear arms?
21 February 2020 — The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents government passing laws prohibiting freedom of speech.
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Cognitive bias holding you back?
20 February 2020 — A quick listicle from the World Economic Forum on cognitive biases that could be holding some of us back at work.
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Reading into India's GDP growth
19 February 2020 — Quite a bit of buzz today around the fact that India has overtaken the UK as the world's fifth largest economy.
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A plague on both your houses!
18 February 2020 — And I miss you... Like the deserts miss the rain... went the 90s track from Everything But The Girl.
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Looking for the elevator in the gym?
17 February 2020 — Ever stop to observe the behaviour of vehicles entering a shopping center parking lot?
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Up in my air balloon, air balloon...
16 February 2020 — Whenever I watch "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade", I'm filled with longing for the majestic beauty of airships.
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Biting the bullet butter
15 February 2020 — "Have you got any butter?" I asked the barista at the Slow XS Lounge in Lanseria. He had just passed me a double espresso. "Sure," he said, and passed me a couple of single serve tubs.
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So Ramaphosa delivered, sort of...
14 February 2020 — Yesterday, I said there are three very simple things President Ramaphosa can do today that will immediately give an uptick to our economy:
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My wishes for the State of the Nation Address tonight
13 February 2020 — There are three very simple things President Ramaphosa can do today that will immediately give an uptick to our economy:
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The William Nicol interchange looks good, but it sucks
12 February 2020 — When the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project trotted out the new interchange at the intersection of the N1 and William Nicol, there were many oohs and aahs around how beautiful it was.
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RIP, Mad Mike
11 February 2020 — Here's a short history in bullet points:
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The unraveling of the EU begins today
10 February 2020 — In October 2018, German Chancellor Merkel announced that she would not be standing for reelection as leader of her party, the Christian Democratic Union.
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The erotic allure of unfamiliar books
9 February 2020 — There's a pile of books on my bedside table in various stages of being read; ditto the guest bathroom at my home which doubles as my personal reading room every so often.
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The virus and the pangolin
8 February 2020 — When you see one strutting along on its hind legs, you might be forgiven for thinking this is a baby tyrannosaurus.
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To boldly go where no woman has gone before...
7 February 2020 — Barely 24 hours ago at 9h12 GMT, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Christina Koch safely parachuted down in Kazakhstan.
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Compulsory medical aid is a good thing
6 February 2020 — Earlier this week, someone expressed an opinion as to why he/she should be forced to subscribe to company medical aid. "The problem is companies to do not give us a choice.
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As my memory fades...
— For some time now, I have had an app on my iPhone called Day One which prompts me every morning at 8h15 to write an entry in my journal.
