Platboom, Cape Point Nature Reserve
from Robert < dumbass @ idiots.co.za >A direct translation of platboom would be "flat tree". Which, I guess, you could stretch to "plank". We have a saying in this neck of the woods, i.e. "as thick as a plank". It means "not very bright", "dumb" or, should one be more straightforward, "fucking retarded".
to mgolby @free stuff.co.za,
date Tue, Apr 1, 2008 at 10:43 PM
subject saw a pick of me pulling some airs @ platboom
howzit, saw a pick someone forwarded to me when i was surfing platboom sometime ago.
pick no: 13 looks pretty cool, but i cant save the pic ?? the one of the yellow town and county surf board
how do i go about doing this - nice work but please don't advertise surf spots in the reserve they are a sanctuary to a select group of us who hate the crowds,
regards,
robert
The above is the sort of mail that leads me to a generalized view of surfers as trust-fund kiddies with five centimetres of nothing between their ears. It is devoid of the fundamentals of civilized discourse. "I saw this. Give me that. Don't do this. I want that. Because I say so. Regards..."
Whoever sent it can thank God for surfers like Hugh du Toit. Hugh, the Queens and OTW locals, and a few surfers I've known most of my life, remind me that not all those braving the ocean wave deserve watery graves.
Platboom, Cape Point Nature Reserve
I've given pictures to more surfers than I care to remember. As somebody put it: "There are none so vain." But hey, they deserve the pics. And there are three people out there yet to get their shots. I remember those I've neglected rather than those to whom I've given. There's a mail and e-mail address I can't find, and another e-mail address (of a Queens local) I've forgotten. I owe those people.
Perhaps the guy in the mail above just doesn't know how to say "Please". It's a word with which we South Africans tend to have great difficulty. Nah... I don't think so. This one's about entitlement and arrogance. And white South Africans generally have no difficulty exercising those traits.
Look at it this way. Last year, the USPS gave me US$300 to license a picture of a seagull for a postage stamp — due out in 2009. Yeah, that's right. It works out to R3,659.65 at today's exchange rate. Why? Because the picture, like the one in this case, belongs to me. So we have two options. "Please" or a sizeable fee.
Whichever one you choose is fine with me.
Fun with Eugenics
"All your base are belong to us. Take me to your leader..."
Indeed... Fishrush meets RB? Why not?
This is a "science" evoking images of Hillary.
The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a fish that inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania. Due to the inaccessibility of its habitat, it is rarely seen by humans.
Blobfish are found at depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient. To remain buoyant, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats by in front of it. It is often caught by bottom trawling with nets.
Pic of Mr. Blobby courtesy NORFANZ.
Wikipedia | Blobfish
