My mother was a panado junkie (but I set her straight)

Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by Richard Catto 3,162 views

I’m sick. It’s the Easter looooong weekend and I’m spending the entire holiday in bed. I called my mom today, looking for sympathy. I said to her, "Moooooom, I’m sick. Don’t you wanna come round and fluff my pillows?"

"Take two panados and call me in the morning." intoned Mother Dearest.

Evidently, she wasn’t coming around to fluff my pillows.

Rats. And mice!

How was I to get the attention I so desperately needed (and deserved)?

Well, you’re talking to Dr Richard Catto here, a graduate of the internationally renowned and acclaimed, "Antelopes are Smarter than YOU" Medical School. It was the kind of school where yelling "MEDIC!!!" would instantly summon thousands of naked and or scantilly clad nubile gazelles to nuzzle away all your troubles. But I digress.

Back to the problem – how to lure mom over to fluff my pillows.

"Mooooom, don’t you know that swallowing panados for every known flu symptom can lead to sudden death?"

"Where did you read that?"

"Well actually it’s common knowledge. I’m pretty sure I read about it on New Scientist’s web site. Even if you take panados within the recommended dosage, long term usage (in some inveterbrates) can lead to sudden and irreversible DEATH. You don’t want me to die do you, mom?"

Mother wasn’t biting, but actually it’s true. Paracetamol is a killer drug.

So despite further pressure from Mother, I refused all entreaties to swallow yet more paracetamol. I’d rather be a bit fluey than die of organ failure.

I eventually got mom over to make me chicken soup. I convinced her that chicken soup is a healthier natural flu remedy. Aren’t moms the best!?

But whatever you do, don’t take paracetamol anymore. Not in any shape or form. It will kill you.

Educate yourself about the dangers of Paracetamol:
Tragedy highlights case for new paracetamol drug
‘Safe’ painkiller is leading cause of liver failure
New paracetamol overdose guidelines
Tylenol May Cause Serious Liver Damage
Mixing coffee and paracetamol ‘could cause liver damage’
Headache tablets killing livers
Asthma increase could be caused by paracetamol use, study says

Tags: aspirin, codeine, flu treatments, Paracetamol
Filed under Paracetamol | 12 Comments »

Wild Dolphin Workshops in Mozambique – May 04 2008

Posted on March 18th, 2008 by Richard Catto 1,616 views

Wynter Worsthorne and Anna Breytenbach team up to present you with a wonderful 5 day excursion to the beautiful world of Dolphin Encounters at Ponta D’Ouro, Mozambique from May 4 2008.

Cost is R5800.

Tags: Animal communication, Anna Breytenbach, Dolphin Encounters, Ponta D'Ouro, Wild Wisdom Workshops, Wynter Worsthorne
Filed under Anna Breytenbach, Dolphin Encounters, Mozambique, Wynter Worsthorne | No Comments »

Professional House Sitting service – occupied.co.za

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by Richard Catto 3,344 views

Never leave your home unoccupied.

Tags: Advert, House Sitters, occupied
Filed under House Sitters | 3 Comments »

Number 1 on Google!

Posted on March 13th, 2008 by Richard Catto 2,046 views

I didn’t make the SA Blog Awards list this year. Apparently I was nominated for a category that was subsequently scrapped.

Reading a few blogs found via amatomu, it is an understatement to say that these awards, begun by Jon Cherry in 2005, provoke a great deal of bitter controversy.

Jarred Cinman provides a biting overview of the current state of affairs on Thought Leader, in which he contributes his own controversy with the following observation:

‘Let’s just get one thing straight right off here: there is no such thing as a “Web 2.0 expert” in South Africa.

There is no one who can stand back and proclaim pre-eminent understanding and knowledge of blogging or any other aspect of the next generation of the internet.’

The reasons for this dearth of web 2.0 experts, according to The Cinman, is our lack of adequate and inexpensive broadband Internet in South Africa, along with the fact that the vast majority of South Africans are simply too poor to be able to afford it.

I tend to agree with Mr Cinman there. South Africa does not foster Internet innovation. South Africans who innovate online do so from outside of this country.

Justin Hartman spells it out more directly on his own personal blog:

"The SA Blog Awards is a farce and provides absolutely no value or true reflection of the state of blogging in South Africa."

Hartman was also upset that a category (Most Controversial Blog) for which he had nominated blogs was dropped.

Someone also asked him why this blog (cape town news) did not appear in the list of top blogs, but received no answer.

I’m unsure how much winning an SA Blog Award means. There’s no financial reward, there’s no additional publicity. No SA Blog Award winner is going to receive a cheque for R1 million and be interviewed on TV or radio

If the SA Blog Awards are going to mean anything to South African bloggers, the organisers are going to have to think big.

This blog did not make it onto any top blog award list, but it has made it to the Number One position on Google for the following keywords, beating out newspapers such as The Cape Argus and The Cape Times:

• cape town news
• "cape town news"
• capetownnews

Google provides this blog with 40% of its traffic. Its Google PageRank recently increased to four (from three).

Tags: amatomu, Jarred Cinman, Justin Hartman, Number One on Google, SA Blog Awards, SERP, Thought Leader
Filed under SA Blog Awards | 6 Comments »

The Cape Town Red Hat Renegades presents “Surviving the Adventure Race” – May 10 2008

Posted on March 11th, 2008 by Richard Catto 2,768 views

In January 2004, Jo Maxwell registered the South African Chapter of the Red Hat Society, calling it the Red Hat Renegades.

Jo had met up with two American couples in the South of France in 2003 when she and three women friends were barging on the Midi Canal (Canal du Midi). The wives of the two American couples were so taken by Jo and company’s spirit of adventure that they immediately suggested that they all become members of the Red Hat Society.

While the American Red Hat Society has a motto, "Fun and Friendship after 50", Jo decided to change it to, "Fun and Friendship with a Purpose", for the South African Chapter.

Jo says, "Our purpose is fund raising for 12 crèches in Browns Farm who we now feed a daily meal of pap to 800 children under the age of 6. We have managed over the years to increase the feeding to a daily meal. I believe we are the only Red Hat Society Chapter in the world who have chosen to help others, whilst having fun dressing up in our purple dresses and donning red hats."

Surviving the Adventure Race (StAR) is now the Annual Fund Raiser for the Cape Town based, Red Hat Renegades.

12 teams of 8 people each are needed to participate in a day of high adventure and fun.

The 12 teams are overseen by a team of 50 marshalls as they are sent off in different directions following a cryptic clue.

This year corporates are being offered the opportunity to brand the race. In addition, each corporate may erect their own feathers at the 6 venues if they so wish.

Registration for StAR must be completed by the end of March 2008.

The Race will be run on Saturday, May 10 2008.

Registration and prize giving will be at Cape Town High School.

Teams travel in one vehicle. Some venues require the contestants to arrive on foot.

It is a great team building exercise and for R4500 per team we guarantee a day of immense and intense fun, both physical and mental with a little of the fear factor thrown in for good measure.

For more information, please contact:
Jo Maxwell
Tel: (021) 685 4517
email: jmaxwell@iafrica.com

Tags: Jo Maxwell, Press Release, Red Hat Renegades, Red Hat Society, Surviving the Adventure Race
Filed under Events, Jo Maxwell, Red Hat Renegades, StAR | 1 Comment »