Day 531 – Morning musings

Oh my Deity. Not another disjointed post about a plethora of things that probably don’t deserve a post of their own, but I still want to share?

Yep. Here goes.

I did a bit of a Twitter spring clean this morning. [link to My Twitter here]


Mainly just cutting out a few individuals who don’t use the platform anymore (who could blame them?) and inviting a few others into my circle (careful now).

I am very aware of the dangers of turning Twitter into just one big happy echo chamber, and so I maintain a small (but oh, so vocal) followage of accounts whose views don’t agree with mine. I don’t often necessarily interact with these accounts, because they’re not going to be swayed by my sense, knowledge and rational thought, neither I by their… er… “ideas”, but I do read what they think (and yes, I do often weep and shake my head when I do so). But I do think it’s important to not feel completely comfortable with everything you read on social media, and this choice is one I’ve made to ensure that I try to keep myself at least somewhat honest.

Maybe I follow you on Twitter and you’ve just realised why. Hi.

And talking of Twitter…

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Best (and most criminally underrated) tweet I’ve ever made?

If you get it, you get it. It’s never funny if you have to explain it.
And they do have many health benefits, apparently. So fully deserving of the recognition.

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Then chainsaws are back in our neighbourhood. This is the 6th(?) day in the last 10. Sure, one of the reasons we moved here was because of the beautiful leafy surrounds, and occasional tree surgery is to be expected as a by-product of that benefit, but this seems to have been going on for an awfully long time now and I’m growing slightly worried as to what’s going to be left once they do eventually finish…

(…and yes, also growing slightly irritated about the constant noise).

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I’m prepared to fight anyone who feels that this is not the best version of this song.

Lol. The drummer looks just a young Dave Grohl.

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Cape Town dam levels are currently at 101.8%. So moist.
Still, please don’t waste water. It might not rain next year. You never know.

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It looks like I’m going to be stuck with these effing Covid symptoms for a while yet. Weeks, Months? Who knows? My doctor certainly doesn’t, and I can’t really blame her.

I’m trying to just get on with things, but inside, I’m thoroughly pissed off at the total incompetence of the SA Government, because of whose shitty prevaricating and complete ineptitude when it came to securing vaccines, so many people have died and so many more (including me) are facing months of ongoing health problems.

On the plus side, after several (or more) tests and examinations yesterday, it seems that my heart is doing well despite the best efforts of the virus (although it’s still beating rather too fast), and thus I’m unlikely to be keeling over from any cardiac issues any time soon. I’m still awaiting a few results, but I’m not expecting anything nasty, and now at least I do have a diagnosis and something of a plan for the next while.

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Tomorrow appears to be the first day of summer. Not anything official like the first day(s) of Spring, but the first nice warm day after what seems to have been an exceptionally long winter.

I’m ready. Bring it on.
Note the wind speed in mph because my computer currently seems to think that I’m somewhere where I’m not.
But there are advantages in being virtually overseas…

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Lastly, I’ve been watching the first series of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

BBC Two - Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, Series 1, Episode 1

Yes, I know that for you UK people, I’m way behind the curve. But I’m here now and although I’m only a couple of episodes in, I’m really enjoying it. It’s so beautifully gentle, easy-going and fun, and yet so deeply honest.
Really good stuff. 10/10 would recommend.

Day 313 – Thank goodness for this guy

I mean, after just years and years of training, experience and continuous education, that the entire scientific and medical community could have somehow slipped up and overlooked [vital information] about [important subject] is near inexcusable.

Thank goodness for people like this middle-aged man-Karen and his tireless research in the laboratory on social media sites, discovering the bits we didn’t and keeping us all honest.

(Not that I’m necessarily classing myself as one of “the world’s top scientists”.)
(But I can’t be far off, right?)

 

image supplied by commenter. thank you, commenter.

Day 172 – Spring clean

I have noticed that it’s time to have a Spring clean. Not in the house (although…), but online.

I’m pretty sure that I’ve blogged about this before (yes, here we are), but those little annoyances on Facebook and Twitter which you can ignore on a day to day basis can subconsciously mount up and you get to a point where actually, it’s just better to unfollow, mute, unfriend, block or otherwise rid your platforms of those individuals who are the repeated culprits.

Preserve your sanity and make each day just a little better.

I’m talking about those people who post on a single subject (it’s usually politics, but anything goes) to the exclusion of everything else. Now, please note that I’m not necessarily throwing anyone out based on their political views. I’m not one of those people who requires the perfect echo chamber to be able to use social media. I like the occasionally thought-provoking posts from those with different viewpoints, even when I don’t agree with them.
Equally, I’m always happy to see people validate my point of view. Of course I am. We all are.

But if you are posting n times daily solely about any one topic: be it Brexit or Cyril or Football or Covid, and nothing else, then I’m afraid* it’s goodbye.

 

I’m talking about those people who enter those “competitions” to “win” a car or a holiday. The ones where “last week’s winner, Becky R, wasn’t eligible to win the Land Rover Discovery because she was underage”. Never mind that the page didn’t even exist last week and you’ve just voluntarily supplied them with all your personal information to sell on. Muppets.

I love the reaction when a certain quizmaster calls them out on it:

Yeah, I know it’s not real, but what if it is?

wut?

If you are wondering why on earth those (mainly) Nigerian phishing schemes:

Hi Dear,
You have a donation of $3,800,000.00 ( 3 million and eight hundred thousand dollars).
My name is Richard Wahl from  united states. I won America lottery worth $533 million and I am donating a portion of it to 10 lucky people and a few Orphanage homes as a memorandum of goodwill to humanity. Kindly get back me via Email for more info.

are still ongoing, it’s because of people like these.

Goodbye.

 

And finally, I’m talking about those people posting cryptic statuses simply to elicit attention. The ones like:

Oh no. I can’t believe it’s happened again!

or

 Just got the greatest news!

These are just passive-aggressive cries of “Notice Me! Me! Me!”.

If it was so bad, why not tell us about it up front – or not at all? If it was so good, why not tell us about it up front – or not at all?

Yep. I know that I’m the one following you** suggesting that I am at least mildly interested in your life, but either tell me or don’t. I’m really not going to put in the time and effort to dig deeper only to find that your toaster is on the blink for the second time this year or that your local Pick n Pay have stock of your favourite sort of rooibos tea. (Please note that (however puerile it might seem), I would have no issue with you simply telling me that your toaster was broken or your tea was in stock – it’s the “mysterious” way you choose to do it that’s the problem here.)

No. Spare me.

 

And so, if you should fall into any of the above categories, you’re likely to find yourself expunged from my social media life in the very near future. I wouldn’t put up with it in real life, so why should I accept it online?

I’d like to say that it’s nothing personal, although of course, it very clearly is.

Cheerio!

 

* this is merely a figure of speech: I’m not actually afraid at all
** although not for much longer

12 minutes

Seriously, who starts writing a blog post 12 minutes before loadshedding is about to start, taking with it computer equipment, connectivity and safety?

Hello. It’s me.

I wouldn’t want to work for Eskom’s social media department. It’s a thankless task, constantly relaying bad news to a bloodthirsty audience of rabid, baying hounds, simply waiting to pounce on your every word.

Or to the keyboard warriors of middle-class South Africa, at least.

Same same.

But you can help yourself out if you’re in that situation. Like by not linking to an article in the Randburg Sun entitled:

Tips to help prevent burglaries during load-shedding

Firstly, this makes people feel (even more) unsafe within their own homes, and secondly, given that Eskom is responsible for the loadshedding, does that not imply some sort of responsibility for the increased crime during loadshedding?
I”m no legal expert, but I think it probably does.

The prosecution rests, your honour. Whenever it gets the chance.

But did they even read the article in question? In fact, did the person who wrote the article in question even read the article in question?

I’m just asking, given that some of the tips include:

Make provision for good outside lighting but switch the lights off during the day

Good outside lighting being imperative when there’s no electricity, of course.

And:

If your house alarm goes off or you hear strange noises or your dogs bark, switch on the outside lights, but do not go outside.

Of course, there being loadshedding, those good outside lights will be of limited no use, but you can flick the switch and hear the click of nothing happening if it makes you feel any better.

Also, because we have a beagle, our dog barking is quite a strange noise, anyway.
Two birds right there.

Ah yes. The lights have just gone out and they won’t be back on for another 2½ hours. It’s the third of these blackouts today and there will be at least another three tomorrow. I’m going to have to post this via my cellphone using the tower in the adjoining neighbourhood – our local one is down, as it always during these times. So now, I need to go and stand in my front garden to get signal.

It’s looking rather dark out there. I’d better go and switch on the outside lights.

 

Oh.

On online conflict (or not)

If there’s one thing that social media has done, it’s allowed a voice to the voiceless. And while that might seem like a good thing (and in some cases is a good thing), in the vast majority of situations, it’s actually a complete pain in the arse.

Take the anti-vaxxers, for example. I mentioned this last week: their online presence is every bit as big and organised as real medical professionals. And for a lot of people (who choose not to actually think), that means that their views are equally valid. You and I, each blessed with a functioning brain, can quite clearly see the difference between the two parties, and make up our own minds based on logic and information. Others, however, will take whatever they read first as gospel, no matter who happens to have said it, and that’s a real issue.

The other benefit/problem of this new found freedom of discourse is that you find yourself forced to continually interact with people that you usually wouldn’t choose to “in real life”, simply because you find yourselves on the same Whatsapp group because they bought a house 300m from yours or some such.

This could be incredibly enriching experience – an opportunity to see things through others’ eyes. However, in the vast majority of situations, it’s actually a complete pain in the arse.

And of course that swings both ways – they probably really don’t want anything to do with you either. And yet here we all are, each drawn together outside our comfort zones, wearing forced smiles and spouting false platitudes in order that we don’t get booted off the group in question and thus miss some vital piece of local information. Is it worth it? Of course it is – if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t still be on the group.

I don’t mind admitting that there are certain individuals on some social media groups who – for me (and others) – have gained “a reputation”. And not in a good way. You know what’s likely to be coming from them (because you’ve seen it a million times before), and you know that you’re not going to like it. Equally, I might be (indeed, I probably am) one of them to other people, simply because they don’t like what I say any more than I like what they say. We really wouldn’t last as friends. With good reason.

I don’t suffer fools gladly (because again, “in real life”, I don’t have to), but I really do try not to engage. I’ve got near endless patience and a wonderful ability to zone out and ignore most anything that annoys me. I have had plenty of practice of sitting on my hands and not responding to idiots people on twitter, and I’ve worked out that I don’t have to respond, even when someone shares something so utterly nonsensical that it rattles my spidey-senses.

But jeez. They walk among us. And on the internet, it’s likely that their voices are every bit of loud as ours. Sad and terrifying.