Unexpected Visitor - Spotted Skaapsteker

One of the "features" (aka: unwanted / unexpected things) of living on the mountain is the wild life you find regularly in your garden - which happens to includes snakes.

Found this little one on my stairs this morning. It was very quick, seemed very aggressive, although being this small, you'd have to be feisty, I guess.

I snapped a couple of pics (besides this one, I mostly only got 1/2 of him because he slithered away so quickly). 

I used this on to try and find it on Google. 

I was surprised to find that there aren't (m)any good snake identifying websites for South Africa. 

You snake lovers out there really should get a better catalogue together. Or advertise them better. It took me ages to find any useful information. (There is plenty on cobras and puff adders, but not so much on the many other types we come across in the mountains)

Anyway, I think I managed to track this one down. Seems to be called a Psammophylaz rhombetus or (in English / Afrikaans) Spotted Skaapsteker. They are cute, small (grow to 60 cm in the Western Cape) and not dangerous at all... Shew!

I found some info on an eco travel website and a picture on africapic website and the Claphotos website . Hopefully I have id'd it correctly - anyone who knows better, please let me know!

2 FRIENDS - 2 HEMISPHERES - 52 WEEKS

Every once in a while I come across a website or blog that I really like. I guess like most people, I enjoy looking at original works of art made by people who care about what they are putting up, rather than the sites full of flickering spam advertising and all that nonsense.

In particular I enjoy looking at photographs; to me, they portray different points of view, through different eyes. You will notice how differently people view the world when you look through their lens.

I am currently following a blog entitled Otherside of the World, where 2 photographers post (almost) corresponding images from opposite ends of the earth. This is a perfect example of how differently we interpret the world...

Updated regularly and full of beautiful photographs, I highly recommend you have a look at their website

Their most recent post (fairytale mushroom and other fun guys) is a great example!

It's Blog Action Day, TODAY: 15 October

Blog Action Day is Today: 15th of October and they asking everyone with a blog to discuss poverty. Their hope is to raise awareness through conversation on the topic. Perhaps talking can lead to ideas and perhaps some ideas will lead to action and that action is what we need.

I can't really say much about poverty without sounding facetious as I have never experienced it, first hand. I am one of the fortunate ones who were not born into it. I know that most of my country faces the pains of poverty daily and while I can't do a lot, I am obligated to do something.

Talking about it is easy. Asking people to contribute to the conversation is another thing. It seems to illicit some strange uneasiness. They seem to shy away from the physical action of THINKING about OTHERS. Now try getting them to DO something!

Whether you're too shy or just haven't given it another thought, here are some easy (you don't have to get off your arse) way's of contributing. I have already blogged about Google's Project 10 to the 100th If you have an idea (any idea) to help dispel poverty, then please submit it before the 20th of October!

I have found another online project, this time by Trip Advisor. 

On the 12th of November they will be donating $1-million to 5 chosen causes. The money will be divided up amongst the causes according to how many votes they receive. 

All of them very worthy causes and all you need to do to vote is click a button! 

On today's topic of poverty, there is more than 1 cause you could click for. Vote Here 

As if you need a little incentive; your vote also gets you a free Green Travel Guide - Vote to find out more! (Image borrowed from Trip Advisor)

If you are one of the more motivated people in our population and you feel that you have skills, but don't know how you could possibly apply them assist your poverty stricken, fellow South Africans why not have a look at the Greater Good SA website for lots of ideas and notices of what you can do or give (or both!). 

Greater Good SA organised 'Do it Day' in September, which was a stunning success! See my posts in September for more info on what we got up to.

Helen Zille named World's Best Mayor for 2008

Back in June I received an email which told me about an online vote for the Best Mayor on the Planet. I was pleased to see that our very own Cape Town mayor, Helen Zille, had made it as a finalist: in the top 50 out of 820 mayors around the world.

I went onto the World Mayor website and saw that out of those 50, there were only 3 from Africa and of those three, 2 were from South Africa!

• Omar El Bahraoui, Rabat, Morocco

• Helen Zille, Cape Town, South Africa

• Amos Masondo, Johannesburg, South Africa

Helen Zille, who also heads up the Democratic Alliance (our country's opposition party) received votes and support from all around the world. One of my favourite quotes; as it sums up her efforts in an eloquent nutshell is:

"Helen Zille runs probably the most sensitive and challenging Unicity in the world, yet has done so in a friendly, professional, compassionate manner, using her outstanding leadership and inter-personal skills to hold together a fragile political coalition and deliver on the promises to ALL the people of Cape."

The final selection was not based on votes alone. This is to avoid bias against countries with a smaller online community. Voters were encouraged to give reasons for their votes and those supporting messages (just like the quote above) together with the number of votes were added together and resulted in the unanimous decision from the judges. The new Mayor of the Year for 2008 is Helen Ziller. As a Captonian, that makes me very proud and very inspired!

Congratulations on a job well done!

For a list of all the runner's up, you can follow this link

And this just goes to show that your vote really does make the difference!! Saffers; don't forget to register to vote on 8/9 November 2008 for our South Africa General Elections in 2009. See the IEC website for details: http://www.elections.org.za/

Summer in Cape Town

Finally, the rain is less frequent, the sun is warmer and we can start enjoying summer.

We kicked it off in style with sun downers on Llandudno Beach. A couple ice cold beers, some good friends and awesome setting. 

Soaking up the warm afternoon sun, checking out the surfers - yep... this is what we've been waiting for!

Already planned for the next couple of weekends (after a short trip back to mud-island!) is sandboarding in Hout Bay - which I've never attempted... but really, how hard can it be??

After that we've got camping and river-rafting on the Breede River just outside of Cape Town. Lots of activities lined up to keep us out of trouble and enjoying the outdoors. The great thing about all these mini adventures, of course, is that we get to meet new people - the like-minded kind, which is always a bonus. 

Roll on summer (in earnest!) and hey, if the wind blows, we'll either head off to Tokai Forest for some mountain biking or bring out the kites!!

And if you think this is a little OTT on the whole outdoor adventure thing, don't forget that we are actually in training for Kili... so it's all necessary hard work; really...

I'm going to be on my lonesome from next week for a whole 2 weeks - which is to say, this bLog going to be updated a little more frequently than it has been. Expect some more photos and random jibber jabber.

Project 10 to the 100th

As part of their 10 year anniversary, Google is committing 

$10 million towards: Project 10 ¹⁰⁰

If you have an idea that can change the world, save an environment or simply make a person's life a little easier or a lot better then you should submit it at "Project 10 to the 100th". 

Google is asking anyone and everyone who has ideas to submit them by 20 October 2008 at: 

http://www.project10tothe100.com/submit_your_idea.html

Categories for your ideas should fall into any one (or more) of the following:

• Community: How can they help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
• Opportunity: How can they help people better provide for themselves and their families?
• Energy: How can they help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
• Environment: How can they help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
• Health: How can they help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
• Education: How can they help more people get more access to better education?
• Shelter: How can they help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
• Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don't fit into any category at all.

They have set out a few guidelines to consider:

• Reach: How many people would this idea affect?
• Depth: How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need?
• Attainability: Can this idea be implemented within a year or two?
• Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea?
• Longevity: How long will the idea's impact last?

We send our submission and we vote for our favourite ideas. From the top 20 ideas voted by us, an advisory board will select up to 5 final ideas.

Voting for the best idea begins on 27 January 2009. You can set a reminder to vote by following this link.

This is another great opportunity for people and companies alike to make a difference. In South Africa there are so many ideas we could come up with to help our people. Let's get our thinking caps on and get submitting! Google's slogan for this project is:

May Those Who Help The Most Win

You can check out their details at: www.project10tothe100.com

SA's new Cabinet

What more can I say except; here's the head of the new, new South Africa:

New President Kgalema Motlanthe

SA's new Cabinet

1. The Deputy President 

Ms B Mbete

2. The Minister of Foreign Affairs

Dr NC Dlamini-Zuma

3. The Minister of Defence

Mr C Nqakula

4. The Minister of Finance

Mr TA Manuel 

5. The Minister of Provincial and Local Government

Mr S Shiceka

6. The Minister of Transport

Mr JT Radebe

7. The Minister of Social Development

Dr ZST Skweyiya

8. The Minister of Public Enterprises

Mrs BS Mabandla

9. The Minister of Communications

Dr IF Matsepe-Casaburri

10. The Minister of Public Service and Administration

Mr R Baloyi

11. The Minister of Labour

Mr MMS Mdladlana

12. The Minister of Public Works

Mr GQM Doidge

13. The Minister of Intelligence

Mr S Cwele

14. The Minister of Health

Ms B Hogan

15. The Minister in The Presidency

Dr ME Tshabalala-Msimang

16. The Minister of Correctional Services

Dr BMN Balfour

17. The Minister of Housing

Dr LN Sisulu

18. The Minister of Safety and Security

Mr EN Mthethwa

19. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mr ME Surty

20. The Minister of Education

Mrs GNM Pandor

21. The Minister of Arts and Culture

Dr ZP Jordan

22. The Minister of Sport and Recreation

Rev MA Stofile

23. The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Mr MCJ van Schalkwyk

24. The Minister of Trade and Industry

Mr MB Mpahlwa

25. The Minister of Science and Technology

Mr MA Mangena

26. The Minister of Mineral and Energy

Ms BP Sonjica

27. The Minister of Home Affairs

Ms NN Mapisa-Nqakula

28. The Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry

Ms LB Hendricks

29. The Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs

Ms LM Xingwana