FNB's Michael Jordaan's turn to be positive

A few week's ago Iburst's CEO Alan Knott-Craig (jnr) sent a mail to his staff in response to the growing pessimism about the future of our great country. This letter spread virally and was even given time during a Mnet's Carte Blanche insert.
Yesterday it was the turn of Michael Jordaan, CEO of banking giant FNB, to deliver his message, entitled "Pride, Prejudice and Power". Here is an excerpt.

"Dear FNBers

Is it possible to be both proud of something, yet criticise it at the same time? Of course it is! Take any beaming parent for example. He or she will use every opportunity to tell others about his/her child’s achievements. At the same time, good parents are constructively critical when their child needs it. The thing that is consistent in both pride and criticism is the positive intent.


Exactly the same applies to our country or for that matter our company. Our value of Pride says that we are proudly South African or proud of FNB. Yet, that should not stop us from criticising.


I think the Eskom outages are a disaster for our economy and have done serious damage to the confidence in our young democracy. In any ordinary business venture there would be consequences for the incompetence we all had to / have to suffer. There, I’ve criticised.


But I’ve heard enough of the doom-and-gloom that has characterised South Africa over the last four weeks. And I am tired of the point-scoring politicians and told-you-so expatriates. Character is defined in bad times. Everything depends not on the national crisis itself, but on how we respond as a nation.


Change can either paralyse or energise. I choose the latter..."

How to Enjoy a Colonoscopy

Only because it's Friday ... enjoy

Sax Appeal - Great on street, struggling on the web

This years UCT Rag's Sax Appeal sellers hit the street this morning in Cape Town.
The first year students dress up (kudos to those at the Meadowridge Engen, you looked good in those slinky outfits) and descend on the the various busy intersections around the city, coaxing as many people as possible to buy a magazine full of humourous, trivial and silly articles and cartoons. It's all for a good cause, the majority of the R20 charged goes to their charity SHAWCO a student run community development project.

The Sax Appeal mag is the largest student-run publication in the world selling around 50 000 copies each year.

I haven't had a chance to browse through my copy yet, but experience tells me that one's interpretation is very subjective and each year different people are disappointed and highly impressed.
So I thought I would rather point you to their online presence so you can get a feel for it yourself. Unfortunately their website still seems to be under construction which is a bit of a lost opportunity, nevertheless they do state that articles will start appearing after the 14th Feb and you can place an order should you wish to get your grubby paws on a copy.

Online Valentines Checklist

Your online Valentines checklist:
(All the links below are South African & Eish!! will receive no commission on resultant sales or traffic)

Order your flowers

• FindAFlorist
  
• Netflorist
• SimplyFlowers
• Floraniche
• iFlora
• FlowerShop
• Giftday

Book your table

• LastMinute
• Restaurants.co.za
• eWine - Valentines @ Louisenhof
• House of Krone
  

Get a little gift

• Spa Voucher
• GiftDay
  
• Jump
• Kalahari.net

Send a eCard

• Cards.co.za
• SAReunited

Friday tune

I found my good friend Wes on YouTube the other day. I am ashamed to say it's of a gig I never made it to and was posted in May last year.
Do yourself a favour and press play. You will not be dissappointed. It's a great way to ease into the weekend.

Cape Town Burns - Update

From my vantage point,it appears that while the fire's front was shrunk and continously kept away from the houses.
It has hit an densely vegetated area though, and the flames appear 5+ meters high.
The area used to be inhabited by many indigenous antelope, buffalo and famously a Rhino. Fortuously they have been moved when the game farm foreclosed about a year ago.
Homeowners in the houses just below look on nervously.
The winds continue to blow gale force, the firefighters continue the night vigil.

Cape Town burns down south

I sit here in my comfortable house, the children fast asleep, sharing my time between CSI, the internet & the radio. Just a normal Thursday night, except I don't usually have the radio on. I have it on to keep tabs with what is going on less than a kilometer up the road.

Our mountain is burning, set alight, almost certainly by an arsonist. But that's a whole different discussion, for another day. Right now I am extremely thankful for the group of firefighters, paid and volunteers, that are manning the mountains.
While my abode is not far from the flames, realistically I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that it is not in any danger of getting in the flames path. However it would be impossible for me to get any rest knowing that others in my suburb stood a chance of losing their homes.

Its because of these heros I can sleep. They will not. They will battle in the gale force winds outside I want to use to power my house. They will battle the flames. They will watch as hectares of vegetation dissappear and the flames march on. And they will put their limbs and lives on the line to ensure peoples properties are kept safe.

I salute you all, may God bless and keep you safe.

Update : Inhabitants in neighbouring suburb, Ocean View are on high alert to evacuate should the fire, currently out of control reach them during the course of the evening

For more info : CapeTalk Radio's home page & live news broadcasts are updates regularly

For how to help : Cape Volunteer Wildfire Services

(Pics below taken from the back garden, I like to make sure that I do not get in the way of the emergency vehicles, as too many gawkers tend to do)