BruceVC

Sounds great and an important social event.... the majority of human beings are gregarious creatures and we need social interaction with other people . I know I do Happy Birthday by the way

One of the real changes I have had to adopt to is I now have to do all my own housework.....its been a big learning curve as I use to have a weekly domestic worker How is everyone doing there housework...I imagine being married has its advantages here

What did you eat, who cooked and was there wine...its mandatory with social gatherings

Its been raining in Cpt yesterday and today so I wont be walking this morning but we move onto " level 3 " from the 1/06 and that means no more exercise curfew ...yaaaaaaaaaaay One of the numerous virus challenges we have is when kids go back to school, in SA we have real failures in some of our public schools...private schools are fine and offer excellent education but some of our public schools in rural areas still dont have working toilets. Schools are suppose to go back on 1/06 and already various teachers unions are saying they " refuse to go back " due to safety factors. Private schools are using remote learning and virtual classes so they should be fine to continue school year I am not convinced many of the unions have the best interest of there members or the institutions in mind ...they would be happy to be paid there salaries on tax payers money and continue not to work but we do have to consider the safety of teachers and students so Im expecting a mixed outcome of success and failure when we open the schools on 1/06 How is everyones country doing with restarting the school year? @ Hurlshot what is your opinion on reopening the schools as a teacher? Also another question what would happen if a country loses the school year, does that mean all students would have to redo the year in 2021. As a society we have never had to grapple with the difficult outcome of " what does it mean if you accept that the whole school year is lost and everyone repeats next year ".....is that even feasible ?

Its true, we were all wearing masks but that doesnt help with getting the virus but stopping spread....and I definitely was exposed in the taxi

Gorthfuscious !!! Im almost shocked by your cynicism, it feels like we have had this debate many times but its one of those ongoing discussions If you disagree with Democracies and the free market leading to a reduction in inequality what do you suggest should be a better model or system of government. I remember what they taught us at the " financial school of white male privilege "...they always use to say " if you dont agree with the current working system ...what is your realistic and feasible alternative " ? Solutions Gorthfuscious, solutions are better than criticism

So we did our long 7 mile walk this morning, it was great and well worth it but I learnt some lessons and things to avoid Firstly we weren't able to finish it due to certain delays and due to our 9 am curfew we had to take a taxi home the last 20 minutes or so. Secondly there were just far too many people on the beachfront roads ...it wasnt pleasant as you spend more time avoiding people than appreciating the actual walk. So we will avoid busy routes in future My partner took the pictures below, its a nice summary of this hike which starts off in the suburbs, takes you around a local mountain and you end up at the beach in a coastal town called Camps Bay and then you head back to town where I stay

But also the proof of the sustainability and success of all these other forms of governments outside of Democracies, like Communism and Socialism is the economic trajectory and outcomes All these so called " socialist " experiments end in abysmal economic failure for several reasons. Either that or there systems can only survive if you control freedom of speech, deny human rights and dont have a transparent legal system like China So of course these governments fail because intrinsically Democracy and all its supporting institutions do work and do help address inequality albeit with some flaws but nothing is perfect .....but consider the alternative...imagine living in China where the state tells you when you need to use the toilet

Hurlshot is right Volo, its unacceptable and disgraceful that you claim you dont have any means to make a face mask. If you have money to play PC games then you definitely can wear some sort of mask....lets not be intentionally difficult with something as easy as wearing a mask. This is a virus, its real and people get sick and die from it ...you need to play your part in ensuring a healthier world

Yes it is far, my normal weekly walk is basically the same distance as you do about 2.1 miles But this long walk takes you around some local mountains in Cpt and down to the beach ....its beautiful and very scenic

In SA all the gyms are closed but I am really embracing my walks for exercise which I do 3-4 times a week and then on the weekend we going for a 12 km I do the walks with my experienced hiker friend from Eritrea who stays in my flat complex, she is great and has already cooked me Ethiopian\Eritrean food last week which was delicious. We start walking always at 7 am as our local lockdown regulations only permit exercise from 6-9 am but until the gyms open and I am happy with there virus spread decisions these brisk walks are addressing my previous lack of cardio during the lockdown

Very inaccurate definition of what a liberal stands for , it just demeans the whole discussion to something about race only when in fact being a liberal means many more things I have no issue with being called a liberal

https://nypost.com/2020/05/13/paul-manafort-released-early-from-prison-over-coronavirus-fears-report/ I see Manafort and Cohen are going to be released early from the slammer due to the virus ......it seems reasonable I suppose

Im happy but surprised Canada has agreed to live trials, I always admire people who are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the greater good I can guarantee you Volo will volunteer for this, I cant believe he would allow China and any of his fellow citizens to be part of saving the world without his own contribution?

Electrician? No need to wait for him...we have identified the problem Its either appliances, switches, leaking fuses, unknown surges ...or the virus. No need to pay good money when the problem has been....solved

I had the same issue which was intermittent in JHB at my old townhouse , I would be listening to music, for example, and then suddenly all lights would trip.....at the same I would be preparing food. It basically turned out to be faulty toaster or some other appliance that would literally trip all switches. It was incredibly frustrating but I needed to replace the actual appliance It still confuses me but it solved the problem

Huge respect for anyone in the front line but especially for medical front line Thank you for your hard work, sacrifice and risk you guys put yourselves through so the rest of us can continue to survive and get through this difficult time during the pandemic If I knew you in RL all your drinks and food at out next social gathering would be on me

You make several good points, I agree that the principle of any lock-down in the majority of countries is anathema to most of us and the sooner it is over the better even though I do support the initial and strategic reasons for why the world adopted it as a preventative virus spread factor. We also have to consider the real economic impact to any country and the long term damage done to a society What type of healthcare professional are you, are you a doctor? The reason I ask is you shouldnt be expected to treat anyone without correct PPE ...I know many people in the front line defense did treat people without PPE which I will always admire but it cost some people there lives

Funny you mention that, that person who played a part in that embarrassing episode of " HIV misinformation " is indeed still around and is also responsible for being part of an utterly ridiculous Corona decision to ban the sale of cigarettes SA must be the only country in the world that has decided to ban the sale of alcohol and cigarettes during the lock-down Its irritating when your government doesnt understand history and events like the failure of prohibition in the USA ....anyway this is all related to the lock-down and will end once the lock-down is over

I decided to treat myself to a Cheese Fondue this weekend, it is the perfect meal for cold and melancholic days stuck inside due to the lock-down

Some commentators in my country are making even worse statements, there are people suggesting " the Chinese have done a fantastic job at addressing the virus spread and the reopening of there economy " !!! You cannot base real data and outcomes from China in any accurate way because as mentioned many times China controls all information and very little they say is corroborated by any foreign institution But in defense of China, I must add this, they not saying " follow us, we have the solutions " ...they seem to be saying, when they do comment, is " we all need to work together to address the virus spread and impact to the global community "

No Zoras post is accurate and reasonable Two things can be true at the same time, Trump is playing politics and trying to create a distraction around how effective he was in the beginning of the virus spread in USA China controls information and continues to do this about almost every topic, including the true nature of the virus in there own country . Sorry Comrade but you cannot look to China as the next world leader, its not going to happen

With our initial relaxation of the lock-down I had my first takeaways in 5 weeks...an absolutely delicious pizza that had bacon, salami, Gorgonzola ,chilli, avocado and Goats Cheese

South Africa from 1/05/2020 has relaxed our initial level 5 restrictions to level 4, that means there is certain things we can now do like walking, cycling and jogging between 6am-9am only I just went for my first real exercise in 6 weeks, a brisk and scenic 1 hour walk up to Table Mountain and back. I thought I would be much more unfit than I was and it went fine. I am going to include this routine every second day until the gyms are open again and safe to use

Come stay with me in South Africa? Its not the same as Tanzania but better and you can reconnect with those African roots in more comfort and resources