Update on ongoing outages in Oak Avenue

Neville Ross reports: "Lights out at about 01:45. Called Eskom. At about 01:55 six or seven gunshots close by. Called ADT. All quiet since then."

Pics taken by Neville this AM:

Aggregating content: 
Vanessa Anne Ross writes: "We are going to have to do something about this. It has become a huge
problem!!

"This is the 4th day in one week that we have been without power for over 20 hours at a stretch.

"Neville got hold of someone at Eskom who got them to dig the trench deeper to make it harder for them to steal the cables.  However, they then dug up the next stretch which is buried just below the surface of
the ground.  They need to re-lay that cable - it is only one block - hardly a huge endeavour for them!

"Until then - they are just going to keep stealing the cable. It is so dark down there - you can't see a thing.

"They are coming around midnight and the first night the power went off at 1 o'clock - last night it was just before 2 o'clock.

"I agree with you that we should lay a trap for them - there is a pattern here."


Theresa de Wet writes:

"Vanessa, I agree.  I would like to call ADT to find out what it would cost to get a dedicated car passing Oak every 10mins at night for the next couple of weeks to a month.

"I also think we should vary our block watch times to much later to try and scare them off.

"This is going to continue because it's too easy at the moment.

"We are extremely exposed and to sit without electricity for almost 24 hours is becoming unbearable.  I feel as violated as if someone broke into my home 3 times!

"What are your thoughts on this?"

Toll roads: this is going to hurt and cause logjams in Linbro

* If you work in Midrand and commute 20 days a week, you will pay an extra R320 a month
* Centurion: R560
* Pretoria: R640

(All figures approximations.)

All of this for something we've already paid for with our licences and petrol subsidies.

According to the proposals, users of light motor vehicles would pay R0.40/km instead of R0.49/km, minibus taxi drivers R0.11/km instead of R0.16/km and bikers R0.24 instead of R0.30/km.

These proposed numbers only apply to people using e-tags.

The initial tariff announced was R0.66/km for vehicles without an e-tag account.

For medium vehicles, the toll fee was reduced from R1.49/km to R1 and for large vehicles from R2.97 to R2. For commuter buses the cost would be reduced from R0.50/km to R0.36.

An e-tag works much like pre-paid cellphone airtime, fits on the front windscreen of a vehicle and is scanned by toll gantries. 

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/road-users-are-now-cash-cows-1.1091593

Dramatic pic from Kalk Bay

Picture taken by Keith Lyle and Tweeted by Ivo Vegter: http://twitpic.com/5j6y58

And still more copper theft in Oak Ave

Tina Kroll supplied these pics:

Try tell this to the folk of Linbro: copper cable theft down

Copper cable theft down in May

29th June 2011

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reported decreased levels of copper theft for May, adding that copper to the value of R16.63-million was stolen during the month – the lowest since June 2010.

In April, R20.53-million worth of copper was reported stolen.

Sacci said that in South Africa there was the opportunity to boast greater successes in the arrest and conviction of copper thieves.

The National Prosecuting Authority informed Sacci of the successful conviction in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court of two people accused of the theft of copper cable from a municipal store – which was deemed a new modus operandi. The sentences passed were 11 years and 12 years imprisonment.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/copper-cable-theft-down-in-may-2011-06-29

And still more copper theft in Oak Ave

Neighbour Tina Kroll reports:

"The joy of electric power didn't last very long.

"The cables in Oak Ave were stolen again last night (3 times in 10 days) and electricity supply is still not restored ...

"The tenants have had enough and are leaving.

"Our cottage is for rent again ... 

http://tinakroll.jimdo.com/cottage-for-rent/

"And so is our West Wing apartment ...

http://tinakroll.jimdo.com/west-wing-for-rent/

"Who needs street lights ...?"

Cable theft today in Oak Ave

Neighbour Neville Ross reports: "At about 1am this morning a section of about 20m of Eskom cable was stolen in Oak Avenue. The same area that was dug about a week ago, guarded by Protea Coin Security. Two mini distribution boxes have been vandalised."

Breaking news: two car thieves arrested in Bedfordview

My colleague advises two car thieves have been arrested. Armed and dangerous, and very well dressed in suits, they stole a champagne-coloured Mercedes and after a brief high-speed car chase, they were caught. They are being held, with the car, at the corner of Van Buren and Kloof.

More details to follow.

We can't cover our toilets, but we can bail out dictators

SA bail-out of Swazi King a betrayal
8 June 2011
Bail-Out a Betrayal!

The Swaziland Democracy Campaign deeply regrets the bail-out that has been granted to King Mswati and the illegitimate regime in Swaziland by the South African Government. It is reliably reported that the sum of R1.2 billion is to be handed over, to a regime that is notoriously bad at both managing the national treasury, and preventing the chronic misuse of funds for corrupt purposes. While the terms and conditions of the bail-out have still to be fully disclosed, one thing that we can be certain of is that a significant amount of it will go to maintaining the state repressive apparatus.

In other words, those who have willingly taken orders to ‘throttle’ democracy activists, to imprison students and consciously ruin their educational opportunities, to detain and harass respected community activists, who use force to intimidate all those who legitimately raise their concerns, and it has to be said, who callously murdered Comrade Sipho Jele, are to be rewarded for their loyalty to a morally and financially bankrupt regime. The South African government must reflect on this inhumane decision and at the very least disclose the terms of the bail out.

http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/sabail280611.htm

More cable theft

Neighbour Tina Kroll writes: "Another reason for needing street lights is the cable theft. We were without electricity in Oak Avenue from Saturday to Sunday early evening. Only 51 Oak Ave Eskom pavement box was vandalised only 2 weekends ago, which left us stranded from Fri eve until Sunday late afternoon. Oak Ave is certainly not the first target and will not be the last.
"How easy it is for them to dig up cables in the icy cold darkness of quiet streets ... and they don't have far down to dig. Which street is next? Eskom cannot do anything about stopping this, but street lights might help a little."

Accident scene just outside Linbro Park

Not one of us won't say, serves you right. Happened overnight.

Update on the weather

The entire country is in the grip of the most amazing weather system.


* Wild weather in PE, rained and gusted all night
* Snow blanketing many Karoo mountains
* Still 0 in Bloem at 8.30
* Hit -6 in Linbro Park last night: will be extremely cold today, still, and barely warmer overnight: 1 and 12
* Scarcely above 0 now
* Nelspruit, in the normally warm Lowveld, reports around 0 right now


And quote of the day from Sutherland, where it reached a high of 6, and did not stop raining yesterday: "My koelkamer het warmer gevoel as wat dit buite was. As dit so koud bly, kan ons maar die koelkamer afskakel." - Nico du Plessis, owner of Marrow Meats in Sutherland.

* Pics and updates to follow

More good news on cable theft

 http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/second-hand-law-to-help-combat-stolen-copper-cable-trade-2011-06-24

The new Act does not allow scrap metal dealers to have in their possession any apparatus which could be used for the recycling of any controlled metal or any article or substance containing any controlled metal, Bezuidenhout said at the Copper Cable Theft conference, in Johannesburg.

“Unless such a person is registered as a recycler or as in the case of precious metals, such a person is authorised to possess and recycle precious metals under the Precious Metals Act, or any other applicable legislation, such dealers are also not allowed to acquire or dispose of any cable consisting of controlled metal of which the cover has been burnt, unless the seller thereof is able to provide a reasonable explanation for the burnt cover, and only after the matter has been reported to a law enforcement officer,” she said.

Weather update, if you are interested

* Massive waves off the Southern Cape
* One man swept to death off the harbour at Hermanus
* Maximum of 5 today in Free State
* Giant thunderstorms causing havoc in KZN
* -2 and 10 here tomorrow

And this is what Sutherland looked like today. Bitter and miserable. This is where Karen and I were married.

2 Grade One children shot and wounded in Parktown

http://www.ewn.co.za/Story.aspx?id=68761

Two children have been wounded in an apparent hijacking attempt outside a primary school in Parktown in Johannesburg.
It is believed one of the pupils from the Roseneath Primary School has been taken to hospital with a chest injury.
A woman who works at the school told Eyewitness News it was terrifying.
“I ran out of the office so quick so I don’t know what happened, but then we realised two of the children were shot at the school, two little Grade Ones,” she said.

Darren Bergman hits the ground running

This is what happens when you vote with your head for DA, as opposed to with your heart for ANC.

New Ward 32 councillor hits the ground running

http://bit.ly/jBbCS4

A day after he became ward councillor he had to immediately address billing queries, sewage, water and zoning issues. “I am proud to say I have been able to resolve most of them.

“Interestingly, 90 percent of the issues have come from Buccleuch.  I have also had the pleasure of attending engagements in the area.”

At last: copper cable theft a high-priority crime

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/copper-cable-theft-declared-a-high-priority-crime-2011-06-23

Copper cable theft, which is estimated to cost the South African economy about R5-billion a year, has been declared a high-priority crime, Business Against Crime (BAC) executive: strategy Advocate Simi Pillay-van Graan said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Copper Cable Theft conference, in Johannesburg, she said the crime would now receive the focus and attention it needed and that government was realising the impact that copper theft has on the economy.

Cable theft update: could be a long, hard winter

Eskom and City Power tripped by thieves
June 22 2011 at 11:48am
By POLOKO TAU

Independent Newspapers

The recent spate of power outages across Gauteng has been attributed to increased cable theft cases as well as network overloading as a result of illegal connections.

The recent spate of power outages across Gauteng has been attributed to increased cable theft cases as well as network overloading as a result of illegal connections.

Eskom and City Power denied during a joint media briefing in Soweto on Tuesday that they were planning to reintroduce load shedding, but urged communities to help fight electricity theft as the two utilities strive to ease pressure on their networks.

Soweto, Orange Farm, Diepsloot, Noordgesig, Yeoville, Jeppestown, Lenasia, Florida and Rosettenville have been among areas affected by power outages recently.




http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/eskom-and-city-power-tripped-by-thieves-1.1086811

Some interesting facts and stats re the Intaprop development

* Intaprop has bought much of the land from Hilton down to Douglas
* Construction will continue for at least another 18 months
* The UTI Pharma warehouse will be 30m high, and will look like the Twin Towers alongside the Pick 'n Pay warehouse
* This warehouse will have 300 trucks entering and leaving every day (and we thought we could stay!)
* Intaprop through Nedbank will have invested R2,5 billion, more or less, when the area around here is complete

This dog has been found ... please contact me if you are missing it

Cable theft: breaking news

Eskom cable being ripped out of the ground in Oak Avenue, Linbro Park, by two guys in broad daylight. Will provide further information and pics as they become available.

Another giant cold front coming in 72 hours

Friday will be bitterly, insanely cold.

A cold front strikes on Thursday night. The temperature will not get above 10 on Friday, but it will feel much colder. No rain.

Take extreme care.

Forecasts: Lovely till Wednesday, then 10-6 and 14-1 Friday and Saturday.

The view from our kitchen in Linbro Park

Utterly depressing, and the noise!

That's what happens with development.

McCullough sit-on mower for sale

This is what it looks like. Offered at a roughly 50% discount, relative to new. New, about R30 000. As we no longer need it, with horses munching our grass, we are offering it at R15 000.

Tomorrow the shortest day of the year

Longest day of the year up north, shortest one here.

Winter solstice here!

Summer on its way back!

http://www.universetoday.com/86894/the-longest-day-summer-solstice-21st-june-2011/

This kind of cruelty to animals makes a mockery of religion

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4082843,00.html

Dog sentenced to death by stoning

Rabbinical court rules spirit of secular lawyer who insulted judges 20 years ago transferred into wandering dog's body

Akiva Novick
A Jerusalem rabbinical court recently sentenced a wandering dog to death by stoning. The cruel sentence stemmed from the suspicion that the hound was the reincarnation of a famous secular lawyer, who insulted the court's judges 20 years ago.

All flights to and from Cape Town suspended due to volcano

 http://travel.iafrica.com/flights/735475.html

Ash grounds SAA flights
Sat, 18 Jun 2011 7:25

All South African Airways (SAA) flights to and from Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London were suspended on Saturday evening due to ash clouds caused by a volcano in Chile, the airline said on Saturday afternoon.

Flights departing Cape Town after 17h45, Port Elizabeth from 17h15 and East London from 17h05 onwards were suspended due to ash clouds. Travellers were advised not to go to the airports, as all flights were suspended, SAA said in a statement.

The Cape Town to London flight SA220, which was scheduled for departure on Saturday night would leave on Sunday at 8am as flight as SA9220.

All affected flights would be closed for sale for Saturday evening. SAA said that the situation would be monitored and customers would be advised accordingly.

According to the Airports Company South Africa website on Saturday evening, the cancellations also affected BA/Comair flights, although scheduled services on some budget airlines appeared to be operating.

Chile's Puyehue volcano rumbled to life on 11 June for the first time since 1960. Winds spread a cloud of volcanic ash across much of southern Argentina, as well as into Uruguay and southern Brazil. High-altitude jet streams also carried the ash as far afield as Australia and New Zealand, where it caused considerable disruption to air travel this week.

A Linbro neighbour makes the media!

Nice one, Cecile!

Great lunar eclipse pics from the KZN North Coast

Taken by friend Axel Buhrmann.



http://on.fb.me/mlkjyW

Another set of amazing local lunar eclipse pics

These from friend and colleague Kevin Naicker.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150286059795039.376642.744000038

Karen's posting of the eclipse

http://kheydenrych.blogspot.com/2011/06/lunar-eclipse-photos-15th-june-2011.html

What a lady. What a wife. What a photographer.

Images of last night's lunar eclipse

My wonderful wife Karen, a fine photographer, took pics, which I will post during the course of the day. For now, pics, sourced via the Planetarium website (www.planetarium.co.za).

We were probably in pole position here in Linbro Park to witness the eclipse, which was totally mind-blowing. Had to go sleep before it was over, but what a sight!

Update: And probably the definitive series of pics:

http://twitpic.com/5c1f0k 

Update: Friend and colleague Paul Furber, across the highway from Linbro Park, took this pic. Sublime:

http://on.fb.me/iHiWUn

And this Retweeted by Ivo Vegter:

http://twitpic.com/5c0ic9

 

This is what AK's dog looks like (more or less)

This is a generic pic of AK's breed of dog that is missing:

Total lunar eclipse coming

Here are the details:

Starts 8.22, ends four hours later.

This is what it will look like.

For more information:


http://www.planetarium.co.za/


http://www.universetoday.com/86522/coming-up-june-15th-total-lunar-eclipse-live/

Electricity: what it's going to cost you

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article1110822.ece/Joburg-seeks-22--power-tariff-hike

In a few days' time, the cost of electricity will soar. If you are on Eskom, as we are, you will pay R350 more for every R1 000 you currently spend.

This means, for most of us who pay around R5 000, we will now pay R6 750.

But spare a thought for those who are on City Power. Those who paid R5 000 will now have to pay R8 235, as the city has applied for a 22% tariff increase.

And there is absolutely no guarantee that load shedding or outages will be prevented.

Used to be you were guaranteed death and taxes. Now you are guaranteed extremely costly power.

The DA's former leader Tony Leon reports from Buenos Aires

The DA has won our ward. Its former boss Tony Leon Tweets:

"Volcanic ash intensifies here - all airports closed; sun has a very milky, grey shine and cars covered in dust - eerie."

Note: This is a pic of the actual volcanic eruption in Chile, but the consequences have spread all the way to Buenos Aires.

Weather update

* As of 12 noon the rain front has passed through Welkom.
* Howling gale force winds reported in Klerksdorp
* It is clearly building up and should start raining this PM.
* East London has taken 150mm since 5am.

* The full impact of the weather will hit us tomorrow morning.

* The Weather Bureau confirms we will be hit heavily by rain and gale-force winds.

Pangasius

http://www.dietmindspirit.org/2008/01/30/why-you-shouldnt-eat-this-fish-pangas-pangasius-vietnamese-river-cobbler-white-catfish-gray-sole/


http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/dialogues-pangasius.html

When you go to Fruit & Veg, Greenstone, and elsewhere, you will see a fish on sale called pangasius. It is also on the menu at many fish restaurants, notably Fishmonger.

It is a nasty-looking fish, which you would throw straight back in the water if you caught it. It is a catfish. It is farmed in Vietnam, and marketed locally as pangasius. Quite tasty, apparently, passed off as sole, and more than 1,1m tons of it were farmed as recently as 2008. Victor Strugo reviewed it recently and said it was excellent.

But it is a freshwater fish, the aquaculture techniques used to rear it are yucky, and in the spirit of this blog, I simply have to let you know that if you buy it, and what you are actually consuming. It is farmed in the Mekong Delta, one of the most polluted waterways in the world.

This is what it looks like.

Footnote: I bought and cooked Zambian tilapia for my wife Karen about four years ago. She lost over 3kg through the resulting illness. Sea fish is totally different from freshwater fish.

Weather update: possibility of snow

Update as of Monday afternoon: The weather that is coming could be the worst since 1987. It is the same system that destroyed Laingsburg three decades ago. It was the lead item on 702's Midday Report.

Here is a pic, and useless meteorologist that I am, all I can tell you is this is a cut-off low ridging off the West Coast causing all kinds of nonsense.

Do take every care with your animals and yourselves. Flash flooding expected here and in KZN, which reports indicate could be "devastated" as in 1987. Massive snow expected south. All emergency personnel here are on the highest alert.

http://saweatherobserver.blogspot.com/


Update as of Monday morning: Extreme, unseasonal weather system with high winds, heavy rain. I am told this is off due to a cut-off low off the West Coast, but with the best will in the world, I can't say what this means. The weather patterns are really unpredictable, but plan for the worst, starting tomorrow evening.

Update: The consensus from the Weather Bureau is that this weather system will be one of the fiercest in many years. We could have snow for the first time since 2007. The Free State will be blanketed, and we could have snow on Wednesday and Thursday.

Official forecast: "Strong wind, high swells, heavy rain, very cold conditions and snow is forecast over parts of the country for the next few days."

Original post: A cold front arrives on Tuesday. It will bring some rain, quite heavy rain on Wednesday, with a strong chance of hail and sleet, and then a maximum temperature of 11 on Thursday. A big cold front is on its way to us, ending our lovely period of balmy weather.

I will update this as it develops.

Cable theft

This is what our cable theft at 87 Hilton looks like. The borehole is now out of order, and the frustrating thing is winter is here, with no possibility of rain, and municipal water costs a ton. It will cost hundreds of rand to fix, yet the buggers got away with no more than 10cm of cable, which they will sell for next to nothing. And they will try again.

Off-topic, but of interest to many, and breaking news: Kirsten, Donald to coach SA, and Smith to step down

http://www.sportscentral.co.za/breaking-news-kirsten-donald-set-to-be-appointed-sa-coaches/544/

Off-topic, but of interest: life in Moscow right now

Colleague and friend Samantha Perry is in Moscow right now. She is posting some remarkable pics to show life there.

They can be seen here:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/samanthaperry/5790173581/in/photostream/

Traffic: This kind of thing likely to happen anywhere around here this weekend

http://www.ewn.co.za/Story.aspx?id=67170

CT roadblock brings M5 to standstill
Rafiq Wagiet | 03 Jun 2011

Lunchtime traffic came to a standstill on the M5, where Cape Town traffic officials conducted a massive roadblock on Friday afternoon.

Traffic between the N2 and Klipfontein Road turn-off on the M5 was bumper to bumper in both directions as traffic officers went about their work.

The roadblock seemed bigger than usual as several squad cars, a traffic caravan and dozens of personnel were involved in the operation.

It formed part of the city’s large-scale operation to catch motorists with outstanding fines and warrants.

Caught intruders in the act

I stopped two guys who were stealing Intaprop's stuff. They might even be the same guys who are vandalising our property. One muscled, balding guy in a grey T-shirt and jeans, one in blue overalls. I did not have my phone camera with me, but my memory tells me the licence plate on their white bakkie was: BF48NC GP.

They told me Boss John at Intaprop had told them to come and remove stuff, but clearly they were lying. When I told them I was calling SAPS, they sped off towards Alex.

Damn, Linbro Park is hard work.

Neglected baby bitten to death by rats

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Dead-baby-covered-in-rat-bites-20110602

Dead baby covered in rat bites
2011-06-02 09:03

Johannesburg - A baby was bitten to death by rats at Orlando East in Soweto while her mother was out partying at the weekend, The New Age newspaper reported on Thursday.

Neighbours said they heard the baby cry in pain in the middle of the night. By morning the baby was found dead, covered in bloody rat bites.

The teenage mother apparently spent the whole night partying while her child was left unattended.

Name and shame: Not a great start for our DA man, Darren Bergman

Darren, our new Ward 32 representative, has not taken down his electioneering posters. He has seven more days.

I am personally going to count down his days, starting today. I am going down the road to photograph his posters, and will advise if and when they come down.


Right is right. And detail counts, Darren! The law says you must take them down in a specific time, or fines will ensue.

Toll roads: read and weep

http://www.newstime.co.za/column/DavidBlood/FOR_WHOM_THE_ROAD_TOLLS/3/3501/


In my recent column “Who’s doing the screwing?” I revealed some facts regarding the fuel price and how these bottle necks in traffic flow adds to the government and fuel company coffers – what was it? Around R95 Million a day for a single litre of wasted fuel!

Load shedding update

Update: Power back on in Randburg after 18 hours out. Our office in Modderfontein out for 15 hours. Quite surreal. Our turn is coming.

Update: It would seem that City Power and Eskom are not being honest.

Our domestic lives just south of Centurion. She was without power for 24 hours. Our office in Modderfontein is out. This is at least the 10th incident in a month. Randburg is out, as part of load shedding.

Make contigency plans!

I posted a few days ago on load shedding. Sorry folks, it is here. The outage in vast parts of Randburg is due to load shedding and City Power's inability to restore power. We are being lied to, left, right and centre. Our turn is coming.

What is so bad about Randburg is that it happened on the coldest day of the year.

Suspect everyone and trust no one.

Cable theft

My friend and business colleague Duncan McLeod and tens of thousands of people in North Riding have been without power for 14 hours. Cost to economy: millions. Loss of quality of life: incalculable, given the cold last night. Value of cable stolen: R20. It is enough to drive one crazy.

Update on intruders

The bastards cut and stole 10cm of cable - just 10cm. This is exceptionally expensive cable, and it keeps our borehole going. A normal person cannot splice it, so it is going to cost us a fortune to fix. They would have earned maybe R2 by selling it. Linbro Park is hard, hard work.

Be posting pics shortly.

East Rand man cuts off dog's tail and brags about it

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Man-boasts-about-cutting-off-dogs-tail-20110601

Man boasts about cutting off dog's tail2011-06-01 10:29

Ceaser, whose tail was cut off by a man who believes that Rottweilers should have short tails. (Beeld)

Wolfram Zwecker, Beeld

Johannesburg - A man is facing animal cruelty charges after he apparently left a braai on Saturday and walked into a Benoni family’s property with a knife, chopping the tail off one of their two Rottweilers.

"The man, who is known to us, came into our yard, walked past the house, caught the dog and chopped off his tail," said an upset Amanda Smith on Tuesday.

"He told us before that a Rottweiler should have a short tail.