Arab Architecture

I took this pic yesterday when I took sprog to his golf lessons. The little man has talent - the theory is when he plays with Tiger I can take 80% of his earnings as a management fee..

The architecture is probably best described as "Arab Modern" although the only difference with "Arab Old" would be that these have aircons installed and the windows are bigger. The little towers on top are copies of the wind towers still in use in the older houses. These towers catch the breeze, and funnel them down into the house, cooling it by 10 - 15 degrees in summer. Its an ancient design - with looming power problems all over the world, more and more people are starting to look at them again.

The people you meet in life

A quiet afternoon on the creek, farting about in little boats. So what do you think these people do? In no particular order - an airline pilot, a physics lecturer, the commodore of a yacht club, a chemistry lecturer, the owner of a mercenary company, and a woman I don't know..

Desert Rock Festival

Desert Rock Festival

Desert Rock Festival

Last year it was Iron Maiden. This year it was Korn. I took the kids, and it was gratifying to see that both of them have some of the old man's genes. They both loved it. I didn't realize there were so many hard core rockers around - and once again the old guys like me were there too. In a place where sex and drugs and rock 'n roll are foreign concept, they are pretty good at organizing it. My very first rock concert was Led Zep (yes, I'm that old). The biggest difference between then and now? We used to hold our lighters up in the air. Now its digital cameras.

Now I'm suitably deaf, and very glad to have spent a normal day in this very very strange land.

Little black numbers...

I've been here too long - this is starting to look stylish.

Restaurant

This eatery is typical of restaurants in this part of the world. If you don't want to eat, but just feel like a cup of coffee, you park outside and hoot. A waiter will come running out, take your order and come back in about 15 secs with a paper cup of surprisingly good coffee. And it will cost you 1 dirham (25 USD cents). I took this pic last night when the spousoid was next door buying paint. Click on the pic to see a bigger version.

End of the day

Took this just after the sun set, right next to the palm island. These three construction workers were waiting for the bus that takes them back to their compound.

South Africa - Quo Vadis?

The South Africans reading this will know, but some background for the buitelanders/foreigners/gaijin…

South Africa was warned about 10 years ago that electricity needs will outsrip supply by 2007. The far thinking government thought they’d worry about that in 2007. The power has run out. A week ago, all the gold and platinum mines closed for 5 days because electricity supply could not be guaranteed. Some economist just worked out that closing the mines for one day a month is enough to tip the country into a recession. Loadshedding is now normal. The effect on the economy has been instant and catastrophic. If the government goes on a spending spree of nte and gets top class construction companies to work 24/7 – it will still take 6 to 8 years before they can generate more power. So in the short to medium term, we are fucked.

Just spoke to a mate of mine in Jozi. Mittal Steel (the old Yskor) have declared Force Majeure, and will not be honouring their steel contracts. Because they can’t make enough. All the major steel distributors/traders have done the same. The supply they think will be 40% less than last year. Ja no well fine. You can imagine how a 40% reduction in steel will affect the economy. And of course steel is not the only thing affected. The whole economy is.

Is this the start of the long slow slide into mediocrity? Me thinks the slide started a long long time ago, even before 1994 and the new South Africa. Is a turnaround possible. Of course it is. But not if you’re going to be politically correct about it. I have this theory. After visiting/living in/working in so many third world countries, I’m sure if someone ran the country like a business things would be better. The MD (Thabo) gets a Toyota. If the country does well, he gets a bonus. If it does badly, he gets fired. Every department has to make a profit. Hey, they’re doing it in Dubai, and It’s not from oil revenues which are only 4% of their income. The dept that hands out visas for visitors is making $600m a year. Just because they’re efficient.

But I’m not sure if it’s possible where corruption is regarded as acceptable and medical officers olive oil and onions cure aids… then there’s the millions that don’t have work and have to steal to stay alive. How do you convince them that working 10 hours a day for $250 a month is better than earning a $1,000 for 5 minutes work when they steal the Beemer at the traffic lights from a Sandton Susan?

So what option do we have? Bitch and moan like pomms? Piss off like most of the educated? Or adapt, mutate and use the system – sell cheap Chinese generators to the masses, grow dope in your garden, sell submarines to Zuma, get a contract to supply the dept of health and welfare with olive oil and onions… and hope to hell this doesn’t become Zim two..

Deep in thought

Church

I don't spend much time in church, not since the compulsory six times a week army version of kirk we all endured in the 1980s. But I love cathedrals - I can spend hours in them. I know its nerdy, and its not just the architecture - there is a feeling of spirituality there, of tranquility. And peace. This was taken in Vienna. I have a huge attraction for this city.

Desert rain

Having spent most of my life in various deserts of the world, rain has a special meaning. Its been raining for four days now. Work is impossible, but rain is regarded as a valid excuse. So instead of work, I went for a drive in the desert.

Empire State

Street photography

I took this photo about 18 months ago in New york, just south of Times Square. One of my favourite New York pics.

2008

The Christmas tree is back in its box, the baubles are wrapped in paper again, the New Party hangover is gone and I'm back at work. Here we go again... hope its a good year for all of you

The Desert

I've always like deserts. Since I was a kid. I still remember drinking a warmish coke at a small garage on the other side of Sesriem, and thinking that deserts are cool. There's space there. Nadine Gordimer once wrote - “A desert is a place without expectation”. She's right. The desert just is. Took a trip into the dunes yesterday afternoon. Even the grumpy teenagers asked to go again.

Street Photography

Street Photography originated in Europe, and is traditionally black and white. But colour is so much part of the whole fabric of society here, I couldn't do it in black and white without losing something in the translation. These were taken in a souq in Dubai, using only available light.

Late afternoon

Late afternoon is my favourite time of day. One of the advantages of living in the desert is that you don't have to drive far to get away from everyone, and still have a pretty cool place for a braai at sundown. And nobody gets to see that it's beer you're drinking instead of lemonade. This dune field is about 10km from home. The people in the pic are the two sprogs, the spousoid, and the BIL.

Jingle bells

To all of you that have been kind enough to read my blogs through the past year, may your Christmas be peaceful and safe.

Dreams are ten a penny..

What did you want to be when you grew up? How different is reality to what you thought it was going to be? We were all going to be successful and happy and live long exciting lives…. And then you discover that life is more complex than that. The girlfriend you love pisses off and marries some other doos, and the chic you do marry gains 30 kg just after you marry her and decides she doesn’t like sex anymore. What you study to be at university is suddenly not quite as good because of the downturn in that specific sector of the economy, and becoming a plumber would have made you a helluva lot richer than studying medicine for 6 years. And yes, you can now afford to buy the Porche you were going to drive when you were 30, but then the kids can’t go to university and the house will definitely not be paid for, and anyway – you now have a boep and you’re bald and the chicks don’t dig old fat people in sports cars. And on top of that driving the car to work every day in Joburg is not quite the same as parking it in front of the casino in Monaco after you’d raced it down all the way from Paris where you were going to have that little apartment overlooking the Eiffel tower. And you’ve given up on the small ship in the harbour because you get seasick…

Me? I was going to be a chopper pilot…