Genesis

I am a huge rugby fan, and enjoy pretty much every rugby competition that my two teams, the Bulls and the Springboks take part in. From Super Rugby, to Tri Nations to the Currie Cup.

Every 4 years, the rugby world cup rolls around and our stress levels increase and our hearts pound as we watch our countries take each other on. But I must admit that this years contest and has been a pile of shit (and this isn’t purely because my team was knocked out in the quarter finals). With teams like Japan, not winning a single game. Teams being in the wrong pools and games being played between very very strong teams and very week teams. The result being a score that would be more appropriate to a cricket match.

If I didn’t know better I’d say that this world cup was skewed to give a certain team a more than even chance of winning. The northern hemisphere teams have been disgraceful, with the exception of Wales and Ireland. The Frogs don’t deserve to be in the final. I hope the All Blanks crush them.

Last but not least, I reckon that Super Rugby is a far better competition when it comes to determining who is the best team in the world. Teams play rugby from February to July, with the winning team having to win close on 16 games in order for them to be crowned champions. Rugby world cup takes 2 months to sort out, with teams often making it through by default (like the Welsh captains tip tackle in their game against Australia) or as a result of horrific refereeing (yes Bryce, I’m talking about you).

World cups are great, but they by no means crown the best team in the world at the end of the Cup.

I recently upgraded to IE9. Boy, what a mistake. All of sudden a lot of reliable apps, stopped working and every website needed some or other update in order for content to be displayed. I am what I call a trailer hound and enjoy watching trailers on youtube. Courtesy of an app called Orbit Downloader, I am able to download trailers so that I can watch them over and over again.

IE9 comes with its own download manager and it sucks. After the upgrade from IE8 to IE9 Orbit stopped working. So I did some research on how to overcome the problem and was advised by people in the know, that you can’t fix this problem. Being as stubborn as I am I decided to ignore the advice of my peers and try and fix the issue using the old trial and terror approach.

So after many upragdes to IE9 and downgrades to IE8 I finally lost my temper and did what I should’ve done at the start: I looked at the settings of both IE and Orbit. Lo and behold, I found and option with Orbit to reset to default and voila ! Problem solved.

I haven’t upgraded back to IE9 as it keeps asking me to upgrade my flash player to version 10 which I did about ten times before finally rolling back to IE8 and leaving what works, alone.

Fortunately there are other browsers out there that will do twice the job, with half the BS.

In March of this year I finally got tired of being bankrupted by Vodacom and applied for a phone line. After a few brain farts, my line was finally installed in July. I then phoned Telkom and asked them upgrade my line to and ADSL line, which they did at 1 meg. I purchased what I thought was a pretty decent modem and started enjoying the uncapped experience. I opened accounts with 2 ISP’s so that I could test my modem, my line speed and basically get a feel for which ISP would work the best for my needs.

Being an impatient sort, I phoned Telkom again a few weeks later and asked if they could make my line even faster. The response I got didn’t inspire me with confidence. But lo and behold, a day later my line was upgraded to 10 meg line.

Ironically the ISP I started off with, and showed the the most promise, started to suck, both with their service and their speeds and the ISP I cancelled, shot the lights out with brilliant speeds, friendly staff and decent pricing. So I cancelled the the one and am very happy with my current ISP.

Switching from 3G to ADSL has reduced my bill by two thirds. I’ve learned a lot from 2 friends without whom I’d still be in the dark. A third friend very kindly donated a very very decent modem to my cause.

I wish I’d done this earlier, it would’ve saved me a bloody fortune !

From Friday onwards I haven’t been able to get a decent connection to Vodacom’s 3G service. My speeds went from a possible 4 out of 5 bars to 1. Then changed to 4 out of 5 but on 2G which is about as much fun as watching paint dry. So yesterday I finally lost my temper and called their help desk.

As I calmly explain my problem to the idiot that answered the phone she asks me if anybody else in my neighborhood has had the same problem ? Since I don’t know all the 3G subscribers in my suburb I was about to lose my cool when my other service provider Cell C dropped the call.

Does anything still work in this beautiful country of ours ?

Is it just me or are we being forced to watch movies in 3D by SK and NM – this despite the movies sucking in 3D ? It’s bad enough that cinemas have broken seats and blown speakers.

We also have to put up with people who sound like chipmunks eating smarties and don’t realize just how annoying rustling packaging is to the rest of us peasants.

I also love the idiots who try and film the movie with their cellphones (not realizing that they can go to jail for this) or who take calls and sms. I have news for you children of incest – you are not invisible as your f’ing phone makes you clearly visible to the rest of us. Have some goddamn respect and stay at home, or even better, hold your breath and count to a million.

The cinema is dead, long live blu ray and dvd !!!

The good news is that depression is highly treatable. Between 80 to 90% of all depressed people respond to medication and psychotherapy and experience some relief from depression symptoms.

But treatment does not stop with medication and psychotherapy. By making a few lifestyle changes, you can feel great more quickly. Why not try the following?

1. You don’t snooze, you lose
Insomnia is a common complaint amongst depressed people. The South African Memory Resource Centre suggests a number of useful tips to get you to the Land of Nod:

Discontinue unhealthy sleep habits. Don’t lie in bed for long periods if you cannot fall asleep. Your brain quickly associates your bed with lying awake and not being able to sleep. Break this habit by getting out of bed if no sleep occurs after about 10 minutes (do not watch the clock, but rather estimate the time). Carry out a non-interesting activity such as reading a boring book, until drowsiness returns and then go back to bed. Repeat this pattern until sleep takes place.

• Follow the same routine at night before trying to sleep. Your mind and body will connect this routine with sleeping.
• Don’t take any stimulants, such as coffee, before going to bed. Also steer clear of alcohol, as it doesn’t lead to a good night’s sleep.
• Don’t eat a huge meal close to bedtime.
• Your couch potato days are over. Get a bit of exercise and you will not only fall asleep more easily, but also sleep better.
• Take a warm bath before bedtime.
• Keep a notebook next to your bed and write down any worries that you may have before trying to sleep.
• Daytime naps will make it more difficult for you to sleep at night.
• Make sure that your bedroom is comfortable and dark and quiet.
• Wake up the same time each day.

2. Get Active: Exercise
Exercise gets those endorphins into your bloodstream. These are the feel-good hormones. But when you feel depressed, really depressed, it’s difficult to motivate yourself to brush your teeth, let alone go for a walk or a run. But don’t get caught in this vicious cycle of feeling unmotivated and wanting to camp on the couch – it will make you feel more depressed. Once you’ve broken this cycle by exercising a little bit every day, you won’t believe the difference. Begin gradually (even 10 minutes will be OK as a start) and slowly increase the intensity and amount of time spent exercising.

3. Watch your eating plan
When you’re feeling depressed, you often either lose you appetite, or eat like a horse. This can make you feel even worse. Eat correctly and you can help to combat weight problems. But how?

• If you are overweight, lose weight.
• Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily (a portion size is a fist size).
• Complex carbohydrates (wholewheat grains) should form the basis of every meal. These include porridge, wholewheat bread, brown rice, pasta and jacket potatoes.
• Eat plant and animal protein foods (fish, meat, eggs poultry), but avoid excessive saturated fat intake. Do not eat red meat more than once or twice a week. Replace it with fish.
• Limit your fat intake to less than six teaspoons per day.
• Make sure that you drink at least six glasses of water per day

Eating a high carbohydrate diet (wholewheat bread, unsifted maize meal, brown rice) boosts the production of serotonin in the brain which makes you feel more positive. Eating plenty of protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, milk) to increase amino acid intake has the same effect.

In addition, B vitamins, especially B12, B6 and folic acid, can help combat psychological disturbances, so take a complete vitamin and mineral supplement. Essential fatty acids, especially omega-3, may also help, and the best source is salmon oil capsules. Foods rich in omega-3 are:

• all types of fish and seafood, but particularly fatty fish such as salmon and snoek
• fish oils (tuna, cod liver and salmon oils)
• plant oils (flaxseed, canola, walnut, soya oils)
• food fortified with omega-3 (eggs, milk and bread – check the label)
• salmon oil supplements

Alcohol and some drugs (recreational and prescription) can cause or worsen depression. This is possibly because it changes the balance of brain chemicals or the physical structure of the brain.

Too many changes in your insulin levels can lead to mood swings and fatigue. To avoid these you should:

• rather eat five to six smaller meals per day than two to three big ones.
• rather eat carbohydrates with a low glycaemic index (GI) than with a high GI.
• *rather eat wholewheat pasta than white or wholewheat bread, rather Basmati rice or couscous than white or brown rice, rather fruit than sweets, rather oats porridge or bran cereals than other cereals.

What you eat and drink can interfere with your medication. Ask your doctor if there are any foods that need to be avoided. Some antidepressants can make you feel drowsy and alcohol will make matters worse. Alcohol could also slow the metabolism of some antidepressants.

4. Check your medicine cabinet
Many types of medication (including natural remedies) interfere with antidepressants – some could reduce the effect of your medication, others could even lead to poisoning. Make sure to tell your doctor what you are taking.

5. Learn to relax
Relaxation decreases tension and anxiety and improves sleep. Try meditation, yoga or specific relaxation exercises. Long, hot baths with aromatherapy oils or a massage will also do wonders.

6. Be gentle on yourself
You may need to expect less from yourself. Think again about what’s important to you and rather set small, realistic goals. Also postpone major plans and life changes such as changing jobs or starting a family.

Don’t be scared to ask for help. Delegate tasks and ask your support network to help with childcare, chores and other responsibilities. You will be able to return the favour when you are better.

7. Don’t try to do it all by yourself
Share your feelings with friends and family. Ask your doctor to refer you to a support group. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group has support groups throughout the country. They also have a telephonic counselling line.

8. Don’t give up hope
Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t feel better immediately. Treatment takes time and some antidepressants take a few weeks before they make you feel better. If you don’t see an improvement within six weeks of being on antidepressants, discuss your concerns with your doctor. He or she will be able to prescribe another antidepressant which might be more suitable.

If you stick to your treatment and follow these lifestyle guidelines, you are bound to feel better soon. – (Ilse Pauw, Health24, updated May 2010

 Source: http://www.health24.com/mind/Depression/1284-1294,28279.asp

The ruling cANCer party is so desperate for votes that they now want to bribe the poor and unemployed folks votes by way of free healthcare. The flip side of this is that you and I will have to get second jobs to afford all the taxes they seem to think we can afford. Never have the words ‘born free, taxed to death’ been more relevant than they are now. They say they want more of the whites to support them.

Here’s something to think about: give me five things you’ve not fucked up, and I’ll vote for you.

DON’T STEAL THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T LIKE COMPETITION.

We ran out of the gas that our stove uses a few days ago. When I saw the size of the bottles I honestly thought we were going to have a problem getting replacements as they’re quite big, and when full, must weigh quite a bit. So I did what I usually do, I asked Google for help.

I found a website that offered the size gas bottles I needed and promised free delivery. So I used the enquiry facility and sent them an email. Imagine my surprise when I got a call about 2 hours later.  A guy named Craig, took down my order and my address. I said I’d call him back the next day to arrange payment and confirm a delivery date.

So I phone him to get their banking details, and he tells me they’ll be delivering in about half an hour ! I was quite taken aback. In this day and age, I’ve become so accustomed to bad service, when I encounter good service, it’s like a breath of fresh air. I made the payment to them, faxed them proof and voila !

Scored some browning points with the Wife, and  we now have enough gas to last us until 2012 !

Craig can be contacted on 011 392 2136.

or via http://www.waterdispensersgauteng.co.za/gas_supplier_gauteng.php

Thanks dude, may the force be with you !

I make no excuses for the poor performance of my team. But I would beg to remind you dear reader that this team is not to be written off lightly. This weeekend they will reach deep and yank to the surface the warriors I know that lurk just below the surface. You have been warned, so be ready all you who dare criticise the men in the green and gold, for on Saturday we cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war !

Only in South Africa, can a bunch of immature morons, deny the ultimate survivor her prize. Kas you vile little waste of space. And Louw you sack of bitterness. I was very critical of Pro when I first saw him, but the further into the competition we got, the more I started to like him. He is probably the only member of  Survivor who had fun and enjoyed himself. Instead of sitting in the corner sulking. With all due respect, Ash handed Gigi a cheque for a million rand. Ash is the deserved winner, not Gigi – not by a long shot.

What a waste of time and energy.