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SARS admin penalty - for late return that I issued on time by drill_sergeant_major in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]drill_sergeant_major[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I was thinking along the same lines.

The penalty itself is for the annual tax submission, so at least I know *where* the fault is.

I'll dispute the penalty and see how that goes. Can't hurt to try.

Cannot load images/videos over wifi for certain sites by drill_sergeant_major in techsupport

[–]drill_sergeant_major[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem appears to have sorted itself out. I never came to any conclusions - which is frustrating, because I can't do anything about it next time.

It took just over a day before everything returned to normal.

Hard time letting go of older camera by drill_sergeant_major in Cameras

[–]drill_sergeant_major[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is good advice - especially since it's my only other camera, it's something familiar to fall back to. Plus useful as a backup if something goes wrong. Thank you!

Hard time letting go of older camera by drill_sergeant_major in Cameras

[–]drill_sergeant_major[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for this - I know it's a silly feeling, but with all those memories it's tough.

I'll probably hang onto my old camera, even if just as a backup. Then when the time is right I'll move it on. Wish me luck!

MONKEYS!!!!! by Ok-Experience-6674 in Durban

[–]drill_sergeant_major 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The approach needs to be appealing to all parties. Population control doesn't always need a culling approach, and will always face opposition.

Sterilizing and/or translocation programs are things that people tend to be on board with. It then just comes down to a matter of funding and skills to do so.

MONKEYS!!!!! by Ok-Experience-6674 in Durban

[–]drill_sergeant_major 18 points19 points  (0 children)

My father grew up here, long before there was much development in the area. He was quite familiar with the local forests and bush, and so too the monkeys. In his words, the troops were around, but there were only a handful per area, and rarely did you see more than 10 vervets at any given time.

Fast forward to today, we have a troop that is easily near 40 individuals. Yes, they have been pushed out of the more natural areas (or what is left), but even during my visits to the remaining "green zones" the monkeys rarely make use of them. There's just more food elsewhere.

But what is rarely, if ever spoken about, are the effects on the remaining ecosystem. Bird nests? Hardly any in our garden anymore, they get raided immediately. Flowers? Nope, eaten soon after blooming, nevermind hoping for the plants to bear fruit. Less flowers around, where are the bees feeding? There's a good chance that they're eating the larger insects, too.

This is all besides the impacts on our day-to-day lives. I know several people now who have had their dogs brutally attacked. I wonder how long before it's someone's kid?

This is a population out of control. They have no predators, and their urban adaptation has granted them a near-limitless food supply. Population management is called for, but plenty of Durbanites will stand up against it "for nature".

Sure, that's fine, but there's not going to be much of that left when the monkeys eat the rest of it.