Potential Pain & Suffering...

Saturday's approaching and I'm gonna go do the insane thing again:  Run 21 km without much preparation.  I ran about 3 km last Monday and another 3 km on Tuesday and then the cold took me, so I haven't done anything.  Wish me luck or call me a fool, but please understand that if I'm grumpy next Tuesday when back at the office, it's because I'm still suffering from my own foolishness!!!

TV License: To pay or not to pay

The other day I received a reminder in the mail: Renew your TV licence before this-or-that date or face legal charges and/or black listing.

Now according to what's going around in the media and plastered on lamp post signs, the ship known as the SABC is taking on water. Whether it's just sprung a leak that can be patched up or struck an iceberg and is going down fast is probably a bit too early to say. Point is, I don't feel like paying when the SABC might actually be in danger of stopping to broadcast in the near future. Not that much of what they broadcast at the moment is anything to write home about. But that topic is a whole different kettle of fish and will provide ample fodder for a future rant.

And then the best bit: The threat of black listing!!! And that when their own financial troubles is probably big enough to get themselves black listed several times over!!!

Saswitch fees

While on the topic of banks...

I understand the reasoning behind Saswitch fees being levied on your account when drawing from another bank's ATM. And quite frankly, if you're too lazy to walk to the other end of the mall (OK, that might be a substantial distance: anybody been to Canal Walk lately?!) to an ATM of your own bank, then you deserve to get charged!!!

But, you've finally managed to get a few days of leave approved. You're out in the country, in that little Town-without-a-Name, situated more or less halfway between Big Nothing and Absolutely Nowhere. And guess what? Your particular bank didn't think to install an ATM of their own there. Or they did, but it's either out of order, out of service or out of money!!!

Am I alone in thinking that it is unfair then for your bank to levy the Saswitch fee against your account because they were basically incapable of delivering a service themselves?