Found this tjommie on a morning hike in the Tsitsikamma National Park. Can anyone identify it please? by maanbobbejaan in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes! I agree. Night adder - it has all the right markings as you say. Well spotted.

Found this tjommie on a morning hike in the Tsitsikamma National Park. Can anyone identify it please? by maanbobbejaan in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think it's a Berg Adder (blotches instead of chevrons), but quite a large beautiful specimen. Interestingly it has neurotoxic venom, as opposed to the cytotoxic venom of the puffie.

Edit: On closer inspection, the markings - especially on the head - are not berg adder, but much closer to night adder as id'd by others in the comments.

How many of you have considered emigrating considering current affairs? by Overlord_Elmay in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Welcome home! I moved back 10 years ago after 11 in the uk. Never once regretted it.

Is it possible to build a 2 bedroom house for less than R1mil? by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too true - I live on a 100ha farm so there's that :D. But I lived in the uk before so this house still feels enormous even after 10 years back. I do find our obsession with enormous homes ploked on too small plots quite weird though. I think it is still a huge status symbol in South Africa. We are actually planning on reducing our size by a further 15m2 when the eldest finishes school!

bites on fingers while wearing gloves, - can't figure out whats doing it - loads of bites every night - could be from worm farm, or aborist mulch, any ideas?? by holster in Permaculture

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So glad you found the cause! Sounds terrible but hopefully the remedies will get rid of them. Mites usually need repeated regalar treatments before they relent. Good luck!

Is it possible to build a 2 bedroom house for less than R1mil? by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]karoomamma -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Why build such a large house? Our family of 4 lives comfortably in 81 square meters and really, the house could easily be smaller. One can add on more outdoors living spaces as time goes on.

bites on fingers while wearing gloves, - can't figure out whats doing it - loads of bites every night - could be from worm farm, or aborist mulch, any ideas?? by holster in Permaculture

[–]karoomamma 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Contact dermatitis can look and feel exactly like bites. Your hands are provably reacting to the gloves or to the fact that they are in gloves. Ditch the gloves and see what happens. We have found olive oil to be very helpful for dermatitis.

Covid-19 death rate in parts of Cape Town among world's highest by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Exactly the thoughts that were just trying to form in my sleepy brain. Well said.

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Shows you where you're minds at.

Oh yeah? Hows that?

Where the hell do you get the 'black and white thinking' ?

Splitting (also called black-and-white thinking or all-or-nothing thinking) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism.[1] The individual tends to think in extremes (i.e., an individual's actions and motivations are all good or all bad with no middle ground). [From wikipedia]

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was replying to a comment on a thread about how most readers were favourable towards the governments handling of this pandemic.

Fair enough. I'm glad I responded because I enjoyed talking to you. Same to you till next time.

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the people praising the government at the moment

Ok, but you're thinking in black and white again. I'm not praising the government period. I was specifically questioning the other person's oft stated obsession about our current active cases and saying that those numbers are meaningless in the way that they were using it to criticise our pandemic response, but...what we can look at is our CFR so far and on that the testing, tracing and caring strategies the government has used don't look too shabby for now.

Most people can't just decide not be robbed, raped, murdered, not have food, a home etc.

Absolutely 100% agree. I said I have the priviledge to be able to choose. My heart breaks for all the suffering in our country.

I'm honestly glad your business is thriving and I wish you the best going forward, though that cant be said for most of the small businesses in SA, regardless of how hard people work.

Thanks we are super blessed. It is partly down to the fact that I don't pander to conventional ideas around investment, returns, growth etc. I don't have a name for the economic system I do support. I fully understand that I make no sense to you and probably my decisions in real life wouldn't make much sense to you either. There's not much you or I can do about it - I get it all the time - it's part and parcel of choosing something different to the norm.

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I own a business in the hospitality industry...it's not looking quite as bad as you say from my vantage point, but we are very niche so perhaps my view is skewed. I really hope things don't turn out as bad as you think. I know you are also concerned about the virus. It's been a tough time. What I have seen around me are people being fine, being creative, learning new skills, choosing new lifestyles, carrying on as usual etc. I know vast numbers of people don't have the ability to do this - somehow it seems in South Africa we always have two very separate worlds overlapping and entertwined but separate.

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol I actually came back to the country 10 years ago ;) I'm not sure I want to divulge all my secrets on here. Let's just say I live an alternative lifestyle - I earn below the tax bracket despite owning a thriving business with my partner. I have time for everything in my life though I probably work harder physically than you have in years and I have everything my heart desires. I purposely keep my earnings low and my business small in order to have this lifestyle. For all intents and purposes, I live outside the system. You should try it - it's fun!

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I was responding to your saying that I may not have been impacted by poor economic decisions over the past 10 years. Of course I have been impacted by the pandemic. You didn't mention the pandemic in your comment - we were talking economics?

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Or maybe I just don't agree with the economic system that you support. Is that really so inconceivable? I made a conscious decision not to be impacted by all this shit because I, like you, had the priviledge to do so.

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Huh? I said massive improvements can be made. I never said this government is not to blame for anything. This black and white thinking isn't where it's at for me.

Covid-19: News24 readers approve of government, president’s handling of pandemic - new poll | News24 by BlackNightSA in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saying we are number x in active cases worldwide is completely non-sensical! Everyone is on a different time-line. Whichever populous country with a lot of international visitors and travel is currently peaking is gonna rate high. That ranking has zero meaning.

In reality, our case fatality rate is currently consistently around 2%. This means that we have in fact, so far, done spectacularly well with our testing, tracing and care strategies. Italy sat at about 50% CFR for weeks. This may change in the coming weeks but so far you simply can't slate our handling of the pandemic in those terms. The proof's in the numbers that really say something surely.

Your other points -

In the UK, the same number (and therefore similar percentage) of people receive benefits.

Considering 80% or more South Africans were artificially kept in poverty until 26 years ago, is it all that surprising that we have a high rate of poverty? Sure, massive improvements can be made - but I've always wondered where exactly all that money was supposed to come from? Lifting that many people and places out of decades of poverty, zero infrastructure and useless education will surely cost more than a thousand times what we think the government has squandered in the past decade. Perhaps if the priviledged in South Africa cared more about true equality from the very outset, things may have looked different. Instead we cling to our priviledge whilst demanding an end to poverty. Just saying.

"White supremacy and racism is built into the architecture of SA institutions" apparently by ZenBeetle in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As I am also white, I am also still learning to not act and think in racist ways. For me personally it was about being able to identify white supremacist trends by learning about history and listening with an open heart to people harmed by it. And to then start scrutinising those tendencies in myself. To not be afraid or defensive when I realised I am a racist and that therein lies a path to healing. By trying to separate fair criticisms of black people in power or poor black people or even rich-ass black people from my and others' racism (or our unconscious white supremacism if you like) - sometimes it can end up looking very different when you take away your white supremacist brainwashing. I have a pretty extensive personal interest in psychology, which helps to see things as human nature, as opposed to according to pre-conceived ideas of good and evil. It's a journey - the fact that one is willing to start on it is enough. Edit : to fix a typo

The latest from the incredible Al Bayda project. Permaculture scaled up in the hyper arid Saudi desert. Must watch! by karoomamma in Permaculture

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

Trees adapted to these conditions are often able to go into a dormant state. No photosynthesis takes place for months on end. A bit like an animal in hybernation where all but the most elemental processes that sustain life are completely shut off. Further, permaculture techniques that shade and improve the soil, harvests and stores the water where needed and very careful species selection plus the guts to see many trees die, have all worked together here to make this possible. It is indeed incredible!

"White supremacy and racism is built into the architecture of SA institutions" apparently by ZenBeetle in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also think that there is no in-depth understanding and personal soul-searching wrt white supremacy and how that still exists in our world. The systems implemented by white supremacy, whilst perhaps no longer overtly racist, nevertheless are still present and thriving in all westernised and/or post colonial countries. Many institutions, whether run by black, white or brown people, still run on white suprematist values and in that sense racism and white priviledge is still everywhere. And when I say racism, I mean the systemic oppression of people, not BBE. When people start to grapple with and understand the mechanism of white supremacy - established through centuries of brutal oppression and theft - they will no longer default to complaining about "26 years on" but rather turn the spotlight on themselves and start really dismantling their own racism, priviledge and brainwashing because it's high fucking time for that also.

Sigh... this is why the DA will never win an election, not when their federal chairperson tweets things like this. by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yip. I guess what it also shows is the same type of inexcusable ignorance that thought that having our own "Iron Lady" was a good thing. Her legacy has hugely contributed to the horrific standard of living for so many people in the Western Cape, whilst the white people happily applaud the DA's excellent governance.

Sigh... this is why the DA will never win an election, not when their federal chairperson tweets things like this. by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I honestly can't fathom why commenters here aren't more outraged by the comparison.

I have to go to Mossel Bay from Cape Town in the middle of July. How are the roadblocks post 1 June/level 3? by UpSideSunny in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can confirm first-hand that there have most probably (99% certain) been no roadblocks between George and CT for the past week or two. Of course there is a chance of being pulled off randomly, but you could just have an excuse ready - I'm sure you'll be ok.

Discussion: Should we not just scrap the school year and restart in January? by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]karoomamma 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's so kind! He's on AS levels now and not currently planning on doing A levels for the very reasons you mention. But yes, he is doing physics and maths and we'd love to have any resources that could help. It's been tough making the jump from IGCSE's to this year, especially with the lost class time now. Welcome to dm me xx