Monthly Archives: August 2013

Boxed LPs

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Boxed LPs
Isn't it interesting that LPs, which pre-dated cassette tapes and compact disks will probably outlast them both? Peter Goldmark, were he alive today, would have good reason to be proud of the part he played in developing the long-playing record. :)

Good food – A South African tradition

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A South African tradition
You may remember that I went along to the Gourmet Boerie (map) restaurant launch party in November last year. Well, I was recently invited back for a visit, and wow, I have to say that I'm glad I went along.

Just in case you're not sure what a boerie roll is - the word boerie is an abbreviation of the Afrikaans word boerewors, which is a yummy, meaty, sausage of sorts (see this pic), traditionally made by Afrikaans-speaking boers. A boerie roll is thus one of those sausages in a bun, and (to state the obvious) a gourmet boerie roll is a pimped-out boerie roll. :)

At the launch party our hosts served up boerie roll sliders - they were awesome. This time around I had a roll called "The Hangover" - it was magnificent. Besides for the great food and friendly service - what I though was great about Gourmet Boerie is that they have free wifi and openly display the password! The free wifi and the long benches make a great place to sit with your laptop for an extra-long lunch while eating boerie rolls and getting some work done. Beer, boerie, and wifi - what more could you ask for? ;)

Specials
Gourmet Boerie are running a mad winter special - which I believe lasts only until Saturday 31 August. The weekday special is a plate of 7 boerie roll sliders, with chips, a mini dessert platter and two beers for R110. On Saturday the special deal is any regular-sized boerie roll, with chips, and a beer for R55... and yeah, that's pretty much a bargain!

The Burger King phenomenon

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The Burger King phenomenon
I'm not sure what it is with people, but when McDonald's opened their first few stores in Cape Town in the 90s, hundreds of people stood in queues for hours to get the taste. It happened again a month or two ago, this time with Burger King opening in our fair city.

I don't get it. Why would someone spend an hour or more in a queue - for a burger? Did you? Can you explain this strange phenomenon?

NSRI at Camps Bay

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NSRI at Camps Bay
I'd heard that the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) had a station in Camps Bay, but I'd never worked out exactly where it was. Kerry-Anne and I happened to stumble upon it while exploring a small residential part of Camps Bay, just outside of the busy commercial section, in the Llandudno direction. That over there is their station with it's own little slipway. Nice hey?

Run doggie, run!

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Run doggie, run!
The guy in the photo had two dachshund's with him on the beach. He'd trow the tennis ball and they'd charge after it like bats out of hell, ears flapping all the way. I don't really enjoy small yapping dogs - but these, they were pretty cute. :)

See them run

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See them run
While taking the photo included in my previous post I heard shrieking sounds, and out of the corner of my eye noticed a group of people running from the beach. It wasn't a tsunami. I checked. :)

People bathing in the sun, enjoying the picnic lunches they'd packed in, had to grab their belongings as quickly as they could and make a dash for higher ground. Fortunately the patch of sand on which I stood was slightly elevated, like a little island - so my feet, and sneakers, managed to stay dry.

Yes, it is true, I was walking on the beach in sneakers. :P

High tide

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High tide
This is Camps Bay beach. If you're familiar with Camps Bay then I think this photo gives a pretty good idea of how high the tide has been. That guy, in the surf, was standing more or less where little kids normally make sand castles and mud pies.

I'm sure the tide's been this high during stormy weather, but I've never seen it quite like this on a sunny beach day!

Winter beach weather

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Winter beach weather
The bikini and boardshorts probably gives you a good idea of the type of winter weather we've been having. Don't let anyone tell you that Cape Town's winter weather is always awful. ;)

I could sure get used to warm sunny beach days alternating with cool rainy winter weather.

More of the vinyl

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More of the vinyl
So I mentioned that Kerry-Anne has a fixation for vinyl. It's not that we have an awesome modern high-quality record player. We have a dusty old hand-me-down one with exposed wiring and a sawn-off pencil as the center peg (to keep the LP from spinning off the deck).

I remember years ago rummaging though records at street vendors outside the Cape Town station - but that was back in the day when cassettes were the only other option. It's more tricky to find LPs these days - specifically new releases.

If you're into vinyl, and living in Cape Town, then I suppose you'd already know about Revolution Records and Maby Vinyl. Besides for flea markets, do you know of any other shops that sell vinyl?

A nerd’s life in Cape Town

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A nerd's life in Cape Town
Do you remember when being a nerd wasn't so awesome? It's strange how things turn out.

Anyway, this post is to say thanks to New Relic, the company that help monitor Cape Town Daily Photo's server 24x7 - free of charge. They're nerds, they're awesome. IT peeps, visit their site - it's super-fun to play with their gadgetry.