Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Cape Town budget for fibre optic network

Cape Town budgets for next fibre project phase

City of Cape Town says it has saved R3 million in Internet costs since January 2015.
City of Cape Town says it has saved R3 million in Internet costs since January 2015.
The City of Cape Town says it has allocated R236 million for the July 2015 to June 2016 financial year as part of the R1.3 billion broadband infrastructure project. In 2014, the city announced it had budgeted R1.3 billion for a multi-year broadband infrastructure investment project.
The seven-year broadband project will see the city build a core fibre-optic network to connect city buildings, Western Cape government buildings as well as private buildings in the CBD.
So far, 240 city-owned buildings, including clinics, libraries and administrative buildings have been connected through fibre optics and microwave.
In addition, 54 Western Cape government buildings have been connected using the city's telecoms network, according to the city's mayoral committee member for corporate services, councillor Xanthea Limberg.
 

The speed of the fibre connection to each city and Western Cape government building is 1 Gbps, according to Limberg, making the network 3 000 times faster than prior to the broadband roll-out project. City of Cape Town says it has saved R3 million in Internet costs since January 2015.
"Broadband connectivity is fundamental to creating an enabling environment for economic growth, development and inclusion," says Limberg. "This is essential in today's environment, as cost-effective and high-speed access to the internet has become a cornerstone of entrepreneurship and economic development.
"Digital access has often previously been out of reach for a number of communities. A lack of internet access can contribute to missed opportunities that prevent many people from achieving their dreams," she adds.
ICT veteran Adrian Schofield says it's good to see Cape Town moving ahead with implementing the seven-year plan. "High-speed broadband (in world terms, not in South African terms) is a key component of the future growth of the economy, better education and health services and overall social development. The National Development Plan and the SA Connect plan recognise this imperative. Progress so far demonstrates the value proposition, so government must increase the pace of deployment," he says.

Irma Steyn Painting found in London Kitchen worth 1 Million Pounds

A valuable painting by South African artist Irma Stern has been discovered being used as a kitchen noticeboard at a flat in London.
Arab in Black was recongised as a significant artwork by Hannah O’Leary, a specialist in South African art at Bonhams auction house, who was visiting the property to value art.
Arab in Black dates back to 1939 when it was painted by Stern, regarded as South Africa's leading artist.
Stern died in 1966 and her works have increased in value over the years, with one painting recently selling for more than £3m.
But Arab in Black has political, as well as artistic, pedigree. 

'Arab in Black' by Irma Stern (Bonhams)

 
In the late 50s it was auctioned to raise money for Nelson Mandela and other ANC members who were on trial for high treason.
“I spotted this masterpiece hanging in the kitchen covered in letters, postcards and bills. It was a hugely exciting find, even before I learned of its political significance,” Ms O'Leary told the Guardian.
Giles Peppiatt, director of Bonhams South African art department, said the painting was a very important piece that formed a significant part of Mandela's defence fund.
The owners of the painting were "shocked" to discover its history, Mr Peppiatt said.
It will be sold on Sept 9.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

First photos of Pluto's Surface

New Horizons Returns First-Ever Photo of Pluto’s Surface

New Horizon's latest of Pluto, at 1024px.
Here is New Horizons’ newest image of Pluto, sent from the planet yesterday and released early this morning. Each pixel represents 4 kilometers, and the image is 1000 times the resolution of anything from Hubble.
The image is oriented with Pluto’s north at the top. The dark regions (not shadowed) are the planet’s equator, which is about 2/3rds the diameter of Earth’s moon. The photo shows a lot of detail, but New Horizons’ scientists are cagey about what it all means. There are features indicating impacts, freeze/thaw surface activity and “maybe even tectonic activity indicating internal activity in the past, possibly the present,” says Alan Stern, New Horizons’ principal investigator.
And that’s only a sliver of the information to come. Stereographics will give measurable imagery of topographic relief. Compositional spectrography and plasma readings will show atmospheric activity. Thermal maps are coming. Full color photos.
And all of the above—and so much more—for the moons Charon, Hydra, Styx, Nix, and Kerberos. “By tomorrow, we’ll have images at 10 times the resolution of this image,” says Stern. We’ll be standing by, Alan.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Easy Roti Recipe for the cold winter nights




                                                                       

 Roti's are a favorite meal in Cape Town and easy to make. You can use chicken mayo or curry fillings or simply use your leftover food from the previous night.

This recipe makes 8 large Roti's and takes minutes to prepare.

You will need 3 cups of Flout, 3 Teaspoons of oil, water, butter or margarine and a pinch of salt. 

Mix flour, salt and oil in a container. Ad water slowly and mix until it is a nice soft dough.

Roll the dough in a square of about 30cm x 25cm. Spread some butter on the dough as you would like on a sandwich. Roll the dough so that it looks like a Swiss-roll. Cover the dough with a kitchen cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes.



You can spray Spray & Cook in your pan and fry it for about 2 minutes per side.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

F1 (Formula One) Driver Salaries 2015

Image result for f1

Formula One Drivers 2015 Salaries DRIVER YEARLY SALARY CONTRACT
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) $50 million (£33.4m) guaranteed in first year, Basic $30m a year plus bonuses afterwards 3 Years Deal (2015-17)
Fernando Alonso (McLaren) Max $40 million a year including all bonuses 2 Year Deal (2015-16)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedez) $31 million a year (£20.9m) basic salary plus performance bonuses upto $10m a year new 3 year deal
Kimi Raikonen (Ferrari) Max $26 million a year including all bonuses Last Year on Current Contract
Nico Rosberg (Mercedez) $14.8 million a year plus bonuses New 2 Year Deal (2015-16)
Janson Button (McLaren) $11.6 million a year (£8m a year) New 1 Yea Deal (2015)
Felipe Massa (Williams) $4.45 million a year (£3m) Last Year on current deal
Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) $4 million a year (£2.75m) Signs 1 year extension till 2015
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) $3.71 million a year (£2.5m) Improved multi-year contract
Sergio Perez (Force India) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m) New multi-year deal
Romain Grosjean (Lotus) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m) last year on current deal
Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m) signed a contract extension
Valtteri Bottas (Williams) $1.1 million a year (£750,000)
Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) $750k a year
Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) $512k a year
Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) $370k a year
Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) $185k a year
Felipe Nasr  (Sauber) $185k a year

Friday, July 3, 2015

Finally we could see Formula 1 in Cape Town

CAPE TOWN, BRACE YOURSELF...F1 COULD BE HERE BY 2017!
IOL Motoring is reporting that Igshaan Amlay, chief executive officer of Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa, has confirmed that talks with Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One boss, took place two months ago and that the next step is to present the F1 proposal to the City of Cape Town’s tourism, events and marketing directorate. This is expected to take place in August.
The deal has not yet been signed but according to Amlay, there is renewed support from the City of Cape Town to bring F1 back to the city. The last time Cape Town hosted F1 was back in the 1960s. The last South African Grand Prix was at Kyalami back in 1993.
It is reported that Eccelestone is trying to get back in the South African market. Two years ago the city rejected the Formula One proposal because of the noise issues and costs involved in building the necessary infrastructure. But Amlay said: “The city has changed the way it sees events; they are now a potential opportunity for investment. We are glad they have changed their mind.”
In its initial bid, Cape Town Grand Prix proposed a street circuit that would make full use of the stadium with cars racing through the structure. The route could include Beach Road and the V&A Waterfront.
Amlay has said that they were looking at R400m to R500m for the initial set-up. The costs would drop once the first race had been held and the focus shifted to maintenance.
Garreth Bloor, city mayoral committee member for tourism, events and economic development, confirmed that the city was open to receiving a proposal to host the F1. “Any proposal must go through the formal processes of council for consideration.”
Source: IOL Motoring

 

Tourist Boom for Cape Town

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is poised to reap financial benefits from cruise tourism following Transnet's confirmation on Tuesday of the V&A Waterfront as the successful bidder for the construction of a dedicated cruise terminal at Cape Town harbour.
READ: Transnet approves cruise terminal
The V&A Waterfront will invest just under R179m to finance, design and develop the terminal infrastructure. Once completed, it will be able to accommodate the port’s current and future passenger vessel fleet. The upgraded facility is also expected to house value-added retail and hospitality services.
The Democratic Alliance has welcomed the project, saying it will bring many opportunities in the travel and trade value chain. DA shadow minister of tourism James Vos said the construction of the cruise liner infrastructure will bring vast benefits for regional job creation and economic development.
"For every 12 international tourists that visit our shores, one full-time sustainable job is created. Government needs to awaken to this fact and take advantage of it," said Vos, adding that the National Development Plan has already earmarked tourism as the only sustainable job-creating sector in the economy.
He believes the cruise industry has the potential to provide economic benefits through an increase in maritime trade and cruise tourism not only to Cape Town, but to the Western Cape and South Africa as a whole.
Vos identified five principal sources of economic benefits from cruise tourism. These are spending by cruise passengers and crew; shoreside staffing by the cruise lines for their headquarters, marketing and tour operations; expenditure by the cruise lines for goods and services necessary for cruise operations; spending by the cruise lines for port services; and expenditure by cruise lines for maintenance costs.
Transnet National Ports Authority chief executive Richard Vallihu said: "The city will benefit from a world class facility that will attract greater international cruise liner calls, create jobs and strengthen the tourism offering of not only the Mother City, but South Africa as a whole."
Vallihu pointed out that the new cruise liner terminal is in line to position Cape Town as the gateway to cruise tourism in Africa, as all international cruise liner vessels are required to dock at the port of Cape Town as the first port of call in line with a directive from the minister of home affairs.
V&A Waterfront CEO David Green said: "We recognise that cruise liner tourism is one of the fastest growing areas of tourism." The cruise terminal project is an opportunity to contribute to the economy and job-creation by improving the passenger experience upon disembarkation.
It also provides the opportunity to work jointly with South African Tourism and cruise companies to grow the tourism business, said Green.
The new cruise liner facility will remain at E berth, Duncan Dock.