Shalwyn Wedding

My cousin got married at Shalwyn over the weekend. Shalwyn in the KZN Midlands is surrounded by fields and hills and makes for a beautiful setting. 

After a hilarious ceremony and some unique cupcakes for tea (Banana and Bacon anyone?), we wiled away the afternoon and watched the sun set over the hills.

The reception food was wonderful, Lamb Shank, enough for two people per serving and enough dessert to send anyone into a sugar coma.

The table settings required months of prep, mainly my cousin eating his way through mayonaise, honey, beetroot and anything else with a big enough bottle to masquerade as a vase. The end result is a quirky rustic sea of greenery.

Touristy Weekend in Cape Town: Part 2

Sunday:

• Butterfly World
• Fairview (visited in Feb)
• Joostenberg (visited before)
• Bo-Kaap (visited in March)
• Rhodes Memorial
• Chapmans Peak
• Signal Hill (night photos)

Butterfly World is a wonderful outing for adults and children. For a measly R 48, one can explore the tropical enclosures filled with exotic butterflies in beautiful blues, greens, oranges, reds and blacks. There are roughly 20 species in the garden at any one time, depending on the season and availability of pupae that they can import.

yum banana

The place is kept at 70% humidity for the butterflies, which takes a while to get used to, especially when the air outside is rather dry.

Surrounding the garden is a series of other enclosures filled with lizards, snakes, bird and spiders. I loved exploring and had a chance to say hi to the Iguana that was lazing about on the path :)

Outside there is a Meerkat that watches the traffic go by and greets people parking for Butterfly World

Fairview is an old favourite, though we just popped in a bit to restock the cheese supplies, no lunch this time :(

I love this Steampunk(ish) sculpture that sits outside the tasting room, makes you want to sit on it and go vroom, vroom.

Chapmans Peak is a beautiful scenic drive from Hout Bay. If you are only planning on picnicking or taking photos, you can ask for a Picnic Pass and it is FREE! (Please excuse the terrible photo taken with my phone, it was slightly hazy)

See Part 1

Touristy Weekend in Cape Town: Part 1

This weekend has been a whirlwind tour of Cape Town to introduce a family friend to the delights of the Mother City. Our itinerary was rather packed (and I wasn't feeling great), to include scenic routes, interesting new things and vistas of the city.

Saturday:

• Cape Town CBD
• Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
• World of Birds

The World of Birds is the only place I haven't visited in the last year. I originally thought the R 75 entrance fee was rather steep, but realised by the end that with running costs of approximately R 500 000 a month, for vets, food, staff, maintenance etc., it is actually rather cheap.

The place feels slightly neglected, in need of some serious renovation and cleaning, however the variety of birds to see is phenomenal. There are circular walks for General Aviaries, Birds of Prey, Owls etc.

Knysna

While staying in Plettenberg Bay we took a day trip to Knysna and wondered around the streets and harbour playing tourists. In a previous trip we found a weather gauge, a rock tied to a piece of string which showed the current weather conditions. 

There was a Christmas Market in the Churchyard, which meant we got to take a look around and ogle the beautiful buildings.

Plettenberg Bay

Sunset at Roggeberg Beach is a beautiful sight, particularly when it is rather deserted and quiet. We took a slow stroll along the waters' edge and breathed in the fresh sea air after the long car ride. 

SA-YSSP

This weekend I was invited to address the first group of SA-YSSP participants at the University of the Free State (UFS)  at the opening ceremony. As a past participant of the YSSP program at IIASA, I was asked to talk to the students on what they should hope to take away from  the experience.

I won't repeat it, but I hope the students embrace the opportunity they have been given and share their cultures, research and life journeys. I hope they soak up everything they are shown and taught, it really is a unique experience.

Following the opening ceremony, I was privileged to talk to the individual participants and hear their plans for the Summer.

The following  two days I got to join the Bloemfontein tour,  lunch and Campus tour.

The UFS Campus is rather spread out, with a wonderful postgraduate library designed to serve their interests! Reminded me of IIASA's library and librarians.

The Bloemfontein tour took us part buildings of interest, the Wildlife Reserve and my mom's old school :)

Zanchieta, the Wild Cat Farm outside of Bloemfontein served as our lunch stop. The cats are rescued, boarded or owned the the family that own the farm. They are beautiful to behold. 

Hermanus

I've been in Hermanus this long weekend relaxing and enjoying trying to spot the whales that are somewhere in the bay. Somewhere just past the kelp is a whale, there was water being blown in the air, but did the whale want to come say hi....no!

Hermanus is a rather tranquil place to stay, many paths to walk and a well paved promenade. There are tea shops in abundance and a Fish and Chips restaurant in the Harbour that looks small and cramped by serves some awesome food.

As with most of my trips to new towns, I did a walking tour (with my mother strolling along reminding to slow down!!!!) around the houses. Coming around a corner I stumbled across this Mosaic studio (closed) and snapped a few pics through the doors.

The sign pointing to the studio (SAICS) has beautiful mosaicked letters, with glass pebbles and patterned tiles in them.

Poverty and Equity

During the IIASA/NRF Poverty and Equity Workshop last week we heard a lot of people talk about Poverty and Equity but really what is the definition of poverty? Should we be focusing on the relative rather than the absolute?

My interest in the workshop was to speak to both IIASA and the NRF on the possibility of a Southern version of the YSSP I participated in last year, a YSSSP if you will. Nimi (the other South African YSSPer from 2010) and I discussed the concept and I wondered afterwards. Why do we as South African researchers try so hard to collaborate with European and American researchers, but what about the rest of Africa, the SADC region or even the other "south" nations, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt? Surely they have more insight into the problems we face and have perhaps created unique solutions that are more indigenous in nature than a possible "north" solution? I've often thought of "North" vs "South" mentality as an Ivory Tower vs African Optimism.

Visiting Research sites in Cape Town

I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the joint conference between the NRF, SADC Science government officials and IIASA in Cape Town last week. As part of the conference various visiting officials were taken on tours of some of Cape Town's research centres. We had a glorious walk through Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens where much of the countries biodiversity research is done, as a guide pointed out various species of interest. My favourite section of the gardens is still the Cycad garden and Bird Bath.

Rhodes Memorial and District Six featured as our historical element of the tours. For those unfamiliar with either the context or their meanings I suggest reading up on both. The District Museum is a veritable font of information and the map on the floor that ex-residents have personally filled in on their visits is rather enlightening. The guides are ex-residents and can tell many a story from the time.

Our site visits also included Koeberg Nuclear Power Station(including the inside!) complete with safety boot, earplugs and glasses. Let me just mention at this point that it is loud in there, I do not envy their resident engineers. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the safety procedures in place and the emergency evacuation strategy in case of an accident.

Another facility that I have done a lot of work with in the past is the Centre of High Performance Computing (CHPC) in Rosebank. Open to research institutions throughout the country and potentially other SADC countries, the CHPC has a number of clusters for simulating various "Grand challenges". A few examples off the top of my head is protein folding, climate modelling, fluid dynamics for planes, ocean current modelling etc. These are applications I have seen presented at CHPC conferences over the years. I am sure there are many more.

Another World Is Possible

"In the world we live in, the bad wolf of climate change has already ransacked the straw house and the house made of sticks, and the inhabitants of both are now knocking on the door of the brick house where the people of the developed world live” - Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Climate Change, developement and energy problems in South Africa another world is possible is a report by Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (Oxfam International) is an interesting summary of the current state of South Africa in terms of CC. (Thanks go to Arame for pointing out this report)

South Africa is reported to be the highest emitter GHG in Africa. As it currently stands South Africa is under no legal obligation to cut emissions but they should be under a moral obligation, SA is on the edge with respect to Climate Change as it is.

The executive summary stated that SA reducing its emissions would send a clear message to the world that would increase its negotiating power. Given what happened in Copenhagen where SA was sidelined, can we say this?

I'm always curious as to how the international community views South Africa when discussing various conccepts like poverty, disadvantaged, third world, African, political power etc

An interesting experiment suggested by Nimi (the other SA YSSP):
Google: 'poverty' or 'township' or 'development' and see what images you get.

Then check out this Youtube ad.

Waving The African Flag Proudly

Africa Day was officially a great success. We ate, danced and drank...a typical African party.

YSSPers and a few staff slaved over stoves, watched ovens, shopped up a storm to bring African cuisine to the IIASA ignorants. Arame and I planned (or were told to plan) for 60 - 70 people and so with this in mind we made enough food for leftovers. The problem was (we don't consider it a problem really) that almost double that number attended, so much for Arame's and my plan to eat the leftovers for lunch. We have absolutely nothing left. There were queues for food! I've never such a thing, though to be fair I think that was because everyone required an explanation of the food which made the selection time a lot longer than normal.

The quiz Ben designed apparently taxed the minimal knowledge people had about Africa, including their flag knowledge. Highest score was 26/100!

























The menu for the evening included:

• Beef Bobotie (South Africa)
• Chicken Tajine (Morocco)
  
• Lentil and Brinjal Curry (South Africa)
• Yassa (Senegal)
• Thiou Guinar (Cote d’Ivoire)
• Ugali/Msima (Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia)
• White Jasmine Rice
• Pine nut couscous
• Malva Pudding (South Africa)
  
• Koeksisters (South Africa)

Drinks:

• Bouye (Baobab Tree fruit drink)
• Bissap (Sweet Hibiscus fruit drink)
• Springbokkies (South Africa)

We had a bit of a music problem, how to represent the entire continent's music in 3.5 hours? Make a playlist of 16 hours worth of all our favourites and put it on shuffle, the computer can be the unbiased selector :P Let the dancing begin!!


My mom posted me a few vuvuzelas which provided much entertainment as partygoers tried to out perform each other, talk about noise!

Overall I think it was a great success and the kitchens of Vienna can breathe a sigh of relief as they go back to being unused.

Malva Pudding

Malva Pudding is one of my favourite desserts and something I seem to make/requested to make fairly often. The recipe I have comes from Boschendal and makes enough for roughly 10 portions. The reason I say 10 is because no matter the amount I make the guys make space in their dessert stomachs to finish it. Malva Pudding can be served with either Custard (UltraMel) or Vanilla Ice-cream.

Cake
1 cup sugar (250ml)
1 egg
1 tablespoon apricot jam
1 cup flour (250ml)
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
generous pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vinegar (5ml)
1 cup milk (250ml)

Beat egg and sugar well in a mixer.
Add the jam
Sift flour, bicarb and salt.
Melt the butter and add the vinegar.
Add liquids to egg mixture alternatively with the flour
Beat well and bake in covered dish (tin foil works) at 180C/350F for 45mins to 1 hour. (If the cake comes out white, try baking it for another few minutes with the cover off).

Sauce
1 cup whipping cream
180g baking butter (4oz)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water

Melt together the ingredients for the sauce and pour over the pudding as it comes out of the oven.
(A side note, you might think there is too much sauce, but it DOES soak up all of it, release the cake from the sides of the dish to let the sauce go under and maybe create a few air holes in the cake if you're in a hurry)

Koeksisters

I'm currently trying to get through my mammoth cooking tasks for Africa Day. The list includes double quantities of bobotie, malva pudding and an attempt at koeksisters. I last made koeksisters in a home ec class way back when. That being said I googled it and found a few recipes one of which I am currently attempting. The recipe I found doesn't have an indication of the quantity it makes so it is going to be a surprise. If anything, this will be a baby taste of home on the day (if I don't eat them all beforehand)

Koeksisters

The secret of the crisp syrupy outside of koeksisters is that they are taken straight from hot oil and dipped into ice-cold syrup. This seals the syrup outside and leaves the inside dryish in contrast.

Ingredients:

• 375ml water
• 800g sugar
• 2ml (1/2t) cream of tartar
• 2ml (1/2t) ground ginger
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 500g cake flour
• 30ml (6t) baking powder
• 2ml (1/2t) salt
• 50ml (4T0 butter or margarine
• 2 eggs
• 250ml milk
• oil for deep frying

Instructions:

• To make syrup, heat water in a saucepan, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add cream of tartar, ginger and cinnamon.
• Boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Do not stir, remove from stove and chill.
• While syrup is chilling, make koeksisters. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
• Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
• Beat eggs and milk together and add to dry ingredients. Mix dough well, then knead lightly for 2 minutes to make it pliable.
• Cover basin with wax paper and leave for 1 hour.
• Roll dough to a thickness of 7.5 to 10mm. Cut into strips about 8 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. Cut each strip into three lengthwise, leaving one side uncut. Now plait the three pieces and press ends together firmly.
• Heat oil to 190ºC and deepfry koeksisters for 1 minute. (Do not fry too many at once)
• The syrup will warm up about halfway through, so divide the syrup into two bowls.
• Remove from oil, drain on brown paper for 1 minute and dip in cold syrup for 30 seconds. Remove from syrup and place on a dish to dry.

You'll probably see lots of recipes posted in the next few days as dishes are prepared.

Full steam ahead

It is full steam ahead for Project Umonya and the UCT Algorithm Circle. Advertisements went out last week for the Python course from 27-29 August 2010 hosted by the UCT Algorithm Circle. If you want to apply or know anyone who would like to attend visit www.umonya.co.za. We are currently revamping notes, sorting out the logistics and its going to awesome fun. s1 has graciously sponsored the weekend course and we are very thankful that SA companies are so keen to get involved in initiatives as these.

Project Umonya is also progressing at the speed of light. We're in major logistical planning mode with universities for hosting course in KZN and Gauteng. Once these are confirmed we'll move on to flights, advertising, accommodation etc. The CMS is up and content is slowly being added as and when it fits into our schedules.

If you know anyone that would be willing to sponsor printing course notes for 1000 students please contact me.

The Seeds of Time

"If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then unto me." - William Shakespeare, Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3

What farmers want and what forecasters provide are two vastly different sets of information. I'm becoming increasing more frustrated with researchers who say 'but its not possible'. Well then why did you give the farmer the chance to ask for it in the first place, you're creating false expectations of the capabilities of science.

With this in mind, what can we the forecasters offer? Tailored forecasts for one. Industry specific? Individual time frames? Spatial resolution? These products seem to be lacking in South Africa and to some respect the rest of Africa.

Pop quiz: Would you trust the mean of the data below to tell what is going to happen in the next 3 months?

The trouble with (weather) forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. - Patrick Young

We as a scientific community are improving our climate models to accurately reflect the climate conditions but they are not so accurate that we can rely on them completely. Would you place a bet based on your forecast?

There must be a way to create a robust solution that can cater for the inconsistencies in model skill. What is it? I'm not sure, that is part of the reason I came to IIASA, to discover, to explore. Its turning into a long path to an even more distant discovery but when have I ever chosen the easy path in the past.

What makes us African?

The YSSP social program has financed various cultural days (Scandinavia, American, Canadian, Asian) over the Summer. This year we have enough students to create an African day. We were very enthusiastic but then I started thinking of South Africa and my cultural heritage. I'm African, I've lived in Africa all my life but to the Europeans I'm not really considered African, I don't speak an African language, don't wear traditional/tribal dress and don't have a traditional dance...so what makes me African?

Any thoughts?

So far for South African things I got: braai, koeksisters, babootie, springbokkies and wine (though I don't think the budget stretches that far).

Chocolate trails in Montague

The Easter weekend was chocolate filled and not in the normal way. Ever been rock climbing for your Easter eggs? No? I can officially cross that off my I Never list. It is the most bizarre experience. The first climber leads the climb with Easter eggs and hides them on the way down. The next finds his/her eggs on the way up and eats them and hides new eggs on the way down.

This weekend was the first time I have ever climbed, be it on a climbing wall or crag. I came away with more bruises that I would have liked and a healthier knowledge of the sport in general. I'm not sure it is quite my thing, I think it might be one of those things that could grow on me.

While away I bumped into a fair number of my research group, which begs the question, are most environmental scientists outdoor freaks or just this lot? Another weird fact, ask a climber if they dance, you will be surprised at the number that say yes. It seems there is a correlation between social ballroom/salsa and climbing. Both are social, both have a grading system of sorts. Ballroom however has smaller startup costs.

Dinner South African style

We had family from overseas for dinner. Dinner had a distinctly South African feel, Bobotie and Malva Pudding. It went down really well and I wonder if some of the ingredients are available overseas, I'm pretty sure Mrs Ball's Peach Chutney is hard to come by overseas. A recipe for those keen to try:

Bobotie (Serves 6-8)

A
30 ml ground(powdered) ginger
30 ml brown sugar
45 ml Cartwrights medium strength curry powder
15 ml turmeric
10 ml salt
2 ml pepper

Meat
50 gr (60 ml) butter/marg
5 ml oil (so the butter doesn't burn)
5 medium onions chopped
1 kg mince
2 slices of bread soaked in water
375 ml milk
2 eggs
fresh lemon leaves (bay leaves are an alternative)

B
100 gr (150 ml) seedless raisins
60 ml Mrs Ball's peach chutney
30 ml apricot jam
30 ml vinegar
30 ml Worcestershire sauce
30 ml tomato paste

Put A into a heavy pan. Heat well. Add butter and stir till melted. Fry onions till soft (add oil so the butter doesn't burn). Remove the pan from the heat and add B and mince and bread. Return to the heat and stir constantly so it does not stick and cook for 20 minutes.

Place in a greased dish. Beat the egg and milk and pour over the meat. Place lemon leaves on top. Bake for 45 minutes at 180C or 10-15 minutes in the microwave.