I will be back at work from tomorrow. This is a strange time of year because my thoughts are very focused on 2019. We will elect new society stewards in the next few weeks - we need to have the team ready for the new year.
I am hoping that, while I have found it difficult to be away so much this year with my long leave, the effect of taking time to sharpen the saw will be felt next year. I do believe this will be the case.
I have seven weeks before my last section of furlough and then annual leave. Let's see what we can do in seven weeks!
Saturday, October 06, 2018
Wednesday, October 03, 2018
Crime stats revisited
Playing with the recently released murder statistics, I made a new map. This one shows the areas in Cape Town where the number of murders has increased the most in the last 7 years. The population of Cape Town has grown by about 10%, one would expect the number of murders to have grown similarly. The truth is quite frightening. You can see the map here.
I have moved away from Google Maps as Google has introduced mandatory billing-enabled. I guess that was necessary as usage increased. But Open Street Maps achieves all the same stuff as Google and is open source!
This is the new homepage for my stats - and hopefully I will keep adding graphics - stats.isijingi.co.za.
I have moved away from Google Maps as Google has introduced mandatory billing-enabled. I guess that was necessary as usage increased. But Open Street Maps achieves all the same stuff as Google and is open source!
This is the new homepage for my stats - and hopefully I will keep adding graphics - stats.isijingi.co.za.
Holiday Furlough
This last section of my long leave has just been holiday! Very little work done on projects. We had a very good time at Kleinmond and Betty's Bay with family. I fell in love with Simon's Town a while back and now I have discovered Betty's Bay.
We would like to build a cottage in Betty's Bay . . . but have discovered how prohibitive and costly the 'new' building regulations are. Along with 'give back the land' there is going to have to be a conversation about building that leaves the ideal world and enters the real one.
Thermal efficiency regulations specify that non brick walls need to be insulated to a level way beyond that of brick - which means that building from wood or nutec or in a container one needs two layers of cladding and approximately 20cm of insulation between. Roof insulation need to be even thicker. The resulting home must be very snug, but I'm not sure if this isn't overkill! It certainly removes any cost-effectiveness that exists in using alternative material.
We would like to build a cottage in Betty's Bay . . . but have discovered how prohibitive and costly the 'new' building regulations are. Along with 'give back the land' there is going to have to be a conversation about building that leaves the ideal world and enters the real one.
Thermal efficiency regulations specify that non brick walls need to be insulated to a level way beyond that of brick - which means that building from wood or nutec or in a container one needs two layers of cladding and approximately 20cm of insulation between. Roof insulation need to be even thicker. The resulting home must be very snug, but I'm not sure if this isn't overkill! It certainly removes any cost-effectiveness that exists in using alternative material.
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