Random musings from the southern tip of Africa http://www.PaulKilfoil.co.za/Blogs.aspx [2019/11/04] South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for the third time in November 2019, somehow reversing several years of mediocrity and embarrassing defeats http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20191104.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20191104 [2019/09/25] Truth Coffee in Cape Town has been labelled "the best in the world" but I found it to be no more than adequate http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190925.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190925 [2019/09/19] Donald Trump has suggested that the USA buys the mineral and resource-rich island of Greenland from Denmark http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190919.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190919 [2019/09/06] An off-road excursion of note in north-eastern Namibia resulted in a magical overnight camping experience under the biggest baobab tree I've ever seen http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190906.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190906 [2019/09/04] Amazingly, SQL Server "identity" columns are not always guaranteed to have either unique or sequential values http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190904.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190904 [2019/08/28] The Pantry is a welcome addition to the mix of tenants at Tokai Junction, a shopping centre in Cape Town's south peninsula which has not had a coffee shop for several years now http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190828.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190828 [2019/05/07] In December 2018 Google announced that they were shutting down Google Plus, the second iteration of their attempt to gain a foothold in the social network market. Google's first social media effort, Google Buzz, was a dismal failure and now Google+ has followed in its footsteps http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190507.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190507 [2019/04/11] Peak Academy, a private study resource centre dedicated to assisting students prepare for their Cambridge International Assessment Examinations, renovated a run-down building in Fish Hoek. A hip and trendy coffee shop has opened on the ground floor http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190411.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190411 [2019/02/28] "The Girl on the Train", a debut novel by British journalist Paula Hawkins, was a huge global success when it was published in 2015. But the main characters are dismal and the style is so unusual that I found it difficult to read http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20190228.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20190228 [2018/12/30] Morgan's Coffee & Deli in Table View (a beachfront suburb of Cape Town in South Africa) serves outstanding coffee http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20181230.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20181230 [2018/12/28] As 2018 draws to a close it appears that the human race is determined to remain in a state of conflict and turmoil http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20181228.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20181228 [2018/12/15] My wife and I were put through a two hour ordeal before finally getting into the Barcelona guest house that we'd booked into http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20181215.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20181215 [2018/12/14] Microsoft announced that it was throwing in the towel with regard to its Edge web browser and capitulating to the monolithic Google bulldozer, meaning that the ONLY independent web browser available for the Windows platform will be Mozilla Firefox http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20181214.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20181214 [2018/12/13] One of my earliest childhood memories is of wanting to become an author. I never achieved this goal, but I did finally get a few stories published in a book, albeit one that was self-funded http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20181213.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20181213 [2018/10/14] This coffee shop in Cape Town's city centre does not seem to understand that you have to be fast and efficient early in the morning, otherwise commuters and business people in a hurry will simply go elsewhere http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20181014.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20181014 [2018/08/29] I have reached the milestone of 100 posts since I started writing blogs back in February 2010. But despite over eight years of effort I am way, WAY down any search engine's results list http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20180829.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20180829 [2018/08/23] The 2012 movie "Jack Reacher" (starring Tom Cruise) was based on a character created by author Lee Child. I recently read the first Jack Reacher novel ("Killing Floor", originally published in 1997) and enjoyed it, but there were a few things about Child's writing style that irritated me http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20180823.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20180823 [2018/05/22] The Camino de Santiago refers to the multitude of walking trails in Europe that all end at the cathedral of St James in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20180522.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20180522 [2018/05/19] De Villiers Chocolate Cafe in Franschhoek roasts its own coffee and produces its own chocolate from GMO-free fair trade beans sourced in Central Africa http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20180519.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20180519 [2018/05/15] The potentially lethal hazards of high altitude for climbers and trekkers are well documented, but people die every year because they ignore a few simple guidelines http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20180515.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20180515 [2018/05/06] Generations of mathematicians and physcists have tried to find a Theory of Everything that resolves the discrepancies between Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. But nobody has been successful and this remains the biggest single unsolved problem in the world of physics http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20180506.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20180506 [2017/12/28] Way back in 1995 while I was travelling round the USA my rental car was broken into at Venice Beach in California. The story of my dealings with the Los Angeles Police Department over the next ten days makes depressing reading http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20171228.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20171228 [2017/10/22] Absolute Hosting provide web hosting that is both incredibly fast and incredibly cheap, and after several years of managing web sites at various hosting providers I no longer look anywhere else http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20171022.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20171022 [2017/10/06] Shift Espresso Bar in Green Point offers some amazing speciality coffees, including one that contains Lindt chocolate and whipped cream http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20171006.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20171006 [2017/10/05] A surf shop in Fish Hoek recently bashed down two corner walls and built a coffee shop, aptly called Pull In Brew http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20171005.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20171005 [2017/10/04] I came across incredibly good coffee in the most unlikely place imaginable - at a dusty roadside diner in the desolate Eastern Cape interior http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20171004.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20171004 [2017/07/22] Steytlerville is an isolated town in South Africa's barren Eastern Cape interior, yet it has a coffee shop proclaiming to "serve the best coffee in the world". That claim is unfortunately not true, but behind the shop are some surprizing finds http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170722.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170722 [2017/07/17] The 2017 South African National Arts Festival in Grahamstown was the 43'rd staging of this annual cultural event, the largest festival of performing arts in Africa http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170717.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170717 [2017/05/21] Despite predictions to the contrary, more books than ever before are being published. And because it has become so easy to have your own book published, more and more aspiring authors are self-publishing their work http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170521.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170521 [2017/05/08] I went to a Cape Town City match at the Cape Town Stadium on a Friday night then stayed the night in a guest house nearby. Next morning I did the Green Point parkrun http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170508.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170508 [2017/04/09] Many cricketers score centuries on their Test debuts, but this achievement seldom indicates continued long-term success http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170409.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170409 [2017/03/04] Fish Hoek, a sleepy seaside suburb of Cape Town, has been made immeasurably more interesting by the appearance of Stag Coffee Company in the centre of town http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170304.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170304 [2017/02/28] A surprizing find in the rather dull Boland town of Worcester is a cafe that roasts its own coffee http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20170228.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20170228 [2016/12/31] Up until a few years ago it was quite a lot of work to implement "paging" on a web page that displayed a long list of data. But thanks to a small addition to the syntax of the SQL "select" statement this problem is now easily and simply solved http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20161231.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20161231 [2016/12/19] In an U-19 Girls' cricket match in South Africa, one batsman scored 160 runs out of the innings total of 169, and the remaining 9 runs were extras! Not one of the other other batsmen managed to score a single run http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20161219.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20161219 [2016/12/14] Nepal is a fabulous country, with friendly people, great food and stupendous scenery, but finding a really good cup of coffee is quite difficult http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20161214.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20161214 [2016/12/12] In 2016 South Africa had their worst ever season of international rugby, losing eight out of twelve test matches and dropping to sixth place on the world rugby rankings http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20161212.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20161212 [2016/12/04] Cape Town City, a professional football club that was dissolved in 1979, miraculously reappeared on the South African football scene in 2016. Even more remarkable has been the club's run of success in the Premier Soccer League http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20161204.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20161204 [2016/06/28] At the 2016 European Championship Finals, Iceland beat England 2-1, a result so spectacularly unexpected that it rivals the embarrassingly similar loss by England to the part-timers of the USA at the World Cup Finals in 1950 http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160628.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160628 [2016/05/13] The Hoek is a specialist coffee shop in Franschhoek, away from the bustle of the over-priced gourmet restaurants in this tourist-oriented town's Main Road http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160513.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160513 [2016/05/03] Leicester City, a little-known English football league club that usually either fights for survival or gets relegated, won the 2016 Premier League title in the most astonishingly unlikely of circumstances http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160503.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160503 [2016/03/15] "Cooked" is a simple and unpretentious restaurant in Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, but it serves excellent coffee using their own unique blend of beans roasted locally to their specification http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160315.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160315 [2016/03/14] Chet Sainsbury, a legendary figure in the world of running in South Africa, died in February 2016 after a long battle with cancer. He will be remembered as the man who turned the Two Oceans Marathon into the world-class event it is today http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160314.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160314 [2016/03/07] I first came across "Bootlegger" coffee when I visited Ou Meul Bakery in Cape Town and enjoyed it immensely. Now they have opened a store in Kalk Bay, serving excellent coffee in a fabulous location http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160307.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160307 [2016/02/11] Sixto Rodriguez was an American singer and songwriter who performed in small neighbourhood bars in Detroit in the 1970's. He produced two albums, both of which disappeared without trace in the USA. His lack of success meant that he had to give up his musical career, but unknown to him he commanded a huge following in South Africa http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20160211.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20160211 [2015/12/06] The new Checkers supermarket that recently opened near where I live has an in-store restaurant, and not just a counter for quick takeaways but a reasonably-sized area with tables and chairs. All manner of freshly-cooked food is served there, from muffins and croissants to hamburgers and fish and chips http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20151206.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20151206 [2015/11/30] What is it with all these Self Help gurus who proclaim that anybody can achieve absolutely anything they want to, provide they believe in themselves and work hard enough? How often have I shaken my head in amazement at the absurdity of statements like "The world is your oyster - you can do anything you want to do"? http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20151130.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20151130 [2015/11/29] Hotel Verde in Cape Town bills itself as "Africa's greenest hotel" and truly does live up to this claim. This amazing hotel is located adjacent to the international airport, in the grim and dusty industrial zone that always seems to exist next to major airports, a most unlikely place for such a forward-thinking enterprise http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20151129.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20151129 [2015/08/31] What on earth has happened to the traditional and predictable order of international cricket? We are used to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe being hammered, Australia bullying everybody in sight and India arrogantly demanding that they get their own way. But of late the cricket world has been in a state of turmoil http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150831.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150831 [2015/07/13] Cape Town is South Africa's most congested city traffic-wise, and the third most congested city in Africa - only Cairo in Egypt and Nairobi in Kenya are worse http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150713.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150713 [2015/06/12] I came across a story about a ship that had disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean nearly 90 years ago and was recently "found" in the sea off the coast of Cuba, unmanned and simply floating http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150612.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150612 [2015/05/11] I recently found unexpectedly excellent coffee at Wimpy, that venerable old South African restaurant institution known for its red vinyl seats, plastic tables and waitresses in uniforms http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150511.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150511 [2015/04/01] A bold (or crazy) Russian plan to build a high speed railway from London to New York via Moscow, a bridge over the Bering Strait to Alaska and then through the frozen wastes of Canada was recently announced http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150401.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150401 [2015/03/27] Four public libraries in the south peninsula of Cape Town recently organized a book festival. It comprised writing workshops, panel discussions by authors, talks by publishers and poetry readings, all free and open to absolutely everybody. The intention was to promote reading, writing and literacy in this fast-paced era of technology, social media and fleeting attention spans http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150327.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150327 [2015/02/22] I started this blog exactly five years ago - my first entry was a comment on the excellent service provided by Loot Online, a South African shopping web site. Since then I have published a further 60 blogs and have managed to keep to my commitment of 12 entries a year http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150222.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150222 [2015/01/25] The tiny, unspoilt village of Nature's Valley in the Western Cape has absolutely everything - kilometres of sandy beaches, a gently-flowing river that opens up into a shallow lagoon, lush sub-tropical vegetation, a mild and balmy climate and none of the crass and tasteless property development that you see in places like Plettenberg Bay http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150125.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150125 [2015/01/19] Peregrine Farm Stall's coffee shop, next to the N2 national road in the Western Cape, was completely destroyed in a fire in May 2014. It has now re-opened in a bright and stylish new building and serves fantastic coffee to road-weary drivers http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150119.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150119 [2015/01/02] In Victoria's second innings against New South Wales in Australia's premier cricket competition, the score was at one stage 9 runs for 6 wickets ; Glenn Maxwell then proceeded to blast a century at more than a run a ball http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20150102.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20150102 [2014/12/30] 2014 was a year of disasters (for example, the Ebola crisis and the loss of four commercial aircraft with no survivors) and great successes (for example, the landing of a probe on the surface of a comet millions of kilometres from Earth) http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20141230.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20141230 [2014/12/07] The Hunger Games is a series of three books, the first two of which were released as separate movies. Both were a massive success ; the third book was then split up into TWO (or perhaps more) movies in order to maximise the money-making opportunity of a series that had proved itself a box-office winner http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20141207.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20141207 [2014/11/28] Microsoft recently announced that the next version of their flagship operating system would be called "Windows 10". That immediately sounded odd, because the current version of Windows is 8.1 so one would logically expect the next release to be Windows 9 http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20141128.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20141128 [2014/10/29] 2014 marks Twenty Five Years since the advent of the Internet. The world has changed almost beyond recognition in that time http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20141029.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20141029 [2014/09/30] The culinary buzzword of 2014 has become "What would Tim Noakes say?" The revolutionary theory of low-carbohydrate, high-protein food has taken the world by storm and catapulted a mere recipe book to number one on the best seller lists http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140930.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140930 [2014/09/25] It is often said that computers running Microsoft Windows should have the Registry cleaned out every now and then. But is this good advice? You are more likely to cause damage than effect any major improvements http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140925.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140925 [2014/05/13] Park Run is the concept of having free, timed runs over a standard distance of five kilometres in various public open spaces, with no cost or entrance criteria http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140513.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140513 [2014/04/14] Liverpool Football Club, the dominant force in British and European football in the 1970's and 1980's, are in sight of their first English Premier League title since 1990 http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140414.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140414 [2014/04/12] Ou Meul Bakery in Riviersonderend has long been a favourite of travellers plying the route between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Serving delicious home-made pies and pastries, this convenient roadside stop has fuelled generations of weary drivers and cantankerous children http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140412.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140412 [2014/03/23] The Food Lover's Market is a chain of fresh food stores in South Africa, some of which serve excellent coffee http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140323.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140323 [2014/03/08] Since my first travels in 1987, the world has changed almost unimaginably. Getting around foreign countries is now so much easier than it used to be http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140308.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140308 [2014/01/09] Stieg Larsson was a relatively unknown Swedish journalist and photographer who died suddenly in 2004 after climbing a flight of stairs. After his death a set of three manuscripts that he had written at home were published, each of which became a runaway bestseller http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20140109.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20140109 [2013/12/19] The south-western corner of the little cluster of shops on Noordhoek's Beach Road has a superb view of Noordhoek Beach and the sea and is now home to Slip Slops Kitchen-Bar, a welcome new addition to the South Peninsula restaurant scene http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20131219.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20131219 [2013/11/17] Our perception of the world is based on our very limited experiences in everyday life, but at a fundamental level that is not how the universe works. Relativity and Quantum Mechanics provide contrasting views of what actually happens http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20131117.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20131117 [2013/10/12] The exact dimensions of the standard A4 sheet of paper were not chosen randomly or haphazardly http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20131012.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20131012 [2013/10/05] The Voyager 1 spacecraft has become the first man-made object to enter interstellar space, but it most definitely has not exited the Solar System (and won't do so for another 30 thousand years) http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20131005.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20131005 [2013/09/11] Brompton Road underground railway station in central London is for sale. Closed in 1934 and used by the military as a command centre until the early 1950's, it has been locked up and abandoned for 60 years http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130911.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130911 [2013/08/30] Fortran, the very first high level programming language ever devised (back in the 1950's), is still alive and well and kicking in the 21'st century http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130830.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130830 [2013/07/22] Observatory is an inner-city suburb of Cape Town, a Bohemian sort of place with old, dilapidated buildings, narrow streets and a general air of decrepitude. Honeybun Deli in Lower Main Road may be frequented by students, Rastafarians and refugees but it serves incredibly delicious coffee http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130722.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130722 [2013/07/12] Remember the days when new versions of PC software came out about once a year, and new releases were given version numbers like 2.1.06? Google's entrance into the mainstream PC market with their Chrome web browser has radically changed that http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130712.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130712 [2013/07/07] Edward Snowden exposed details of the US government's illegal surveillance of almost every aspect of American life (emails, phone calls, internet activity, etc). Now he's a fugitive and branded a traitor, whereas the American public should rather thank him http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130707.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130707 [2013/05/24] A restaurant in Stellenbosch has filter coffee on their menu for only seven Rand a cup ; refills cost only three Rand. In May 2013 that seems scarcely credible http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130524.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130524 [2013/05/06] Observations of a pair of tightly-orbiting stars have been able to provide further evidence for the existence of gravitational waves, one of the hitherto undetected predictions of Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130506.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130506 [2013/05/05] A new restaurant recently opened in Fish Hoek. It is called La Sal (Spanish for "The Salt") and boasts the somewhat intriguing signage "The Salt of Life" and "Meet. Eat. Drink" http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130505.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130505 [2013/05/04] Sun Valley, a suburb of Cape Town in South Africa, is surrounded by a fantastic natural environment, including mountains, oceans, dunes, rivers and wetlands. Unfortunately the area has become degraded due to urban sprawl - rivers are polluted, public open spaces such as parks are full of litter and graffiti is making its ominous presence felt http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130504.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130504 [2013/03/03] For several years Julius Malema headed up the official youth wing of South Africa's governing party (the ANC Youth League), a period best described as "shambolic". Malema was fond of appearing at meetings in semi-military garb, complete with beret, although he never served in any armed force in any capacity whatsoever http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130303.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130303 [2013/02/20] NASA announced that a 46-metre wide asteroid was heading for the Earth and at its closest approach would pass by within 27 000 kilometres of us. In cosmic terms that is too close for comfort http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130220.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130220 [2013/02/04] Cricket is the strangest game on the planet. It could only have been invented by the British, and was spread to the far-flung corners of the Empire where the phrase "mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun" was entirely appropriate http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130204.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130204 [2013/01/18] In January 2013 South Africa played a friendly football international against Norway in Cape Town, only the second time that the national team has played in the Mother City since Cape Town's new stadium was completed http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20130118.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20130118 [2012/12/02] Faf du Plessis' eight-hour innings to save South Africa from almost certain defeat against Australia continues a fine tradition of heroic fourth-innings defensive efforts by South Africa http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20121202.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20121202 [2012/11/21] The head of the USA's Central Intelligence Agency resigned recently after an extra-marital affair was made public http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20121121.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20121121 [2012/11/12] Locals in Cambodia have come up with an ingenious way to use the country's abandoned railway tracks http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20121112.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20121112 [2012/10/11] After years of being ignored, Gordon Igesund has been appointed as coach of South Africa's national football team at last http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20121011.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20121011 [2012/08/08] Some notes and observations about train travel in China http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120808.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120808 [2012/07/02] Travelling around China is hard, no matter how much planning and preparation you do http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120702.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120702 [2012/06/07] Facebook became a public company on 18 May 2012 ; the initial share price gave it a staggering overall value of $104 billion http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120607.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120607 [2012/05/22] The Franschhoek Literary Festival is a celebration of all things book-related that takes place annually http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120522.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120522 [2012/05/19] The railway line through the picturesque Franschhoek valley, abandoned since 1993, will soon be in use again http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120519.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120519 [2012/05/14] The world's insane desire to be both fashionable and connected has resulted in explosive sales of hand-held devices like the Apple iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120514.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120514 [2012/04/06] The "hacktivist" group Anonymous attacked and defaced 485 Chinese government web sites http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120406.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120406 [2012/03/26] The new train station constructed at Century City means that access to this rapidly-expanding area by train from Cape Town is now possible http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120326.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120326 [2012/03/15] Increasingly irritated with Google, I was pleasantly surprized and very pleased to discover a new search engine recently called Duck Duck Go http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120315.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120315 [2012/03/12] Green Point Park is a green and tranquil oasis of lawns, trees, plants and streams in the midst of the bustle of Cape Town http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120312.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120312 [2012/03/06] Beware of ordering a single espresso at Truth Coffee Cult in Cape Town http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120306.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120306 [2012/01/08] My wife and I travelled on a new "MyCiTi" bus from Cape Town to Table View and were very impressed with the service http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20120108.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20120108 [2011/12/31] Tibet has been a so-called "Autonomous Region" of China since 1951, when Chinese troops invaded the country and placed Tibet under military rule http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20111231.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20111231 [2011/11/28] Decks Cafe opened in Kommetjie in November 2011 and promises to become a firm favourite with South Peninsula coffee lovers http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20111128.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20111128 [2011/11/12] Graeme Smith has been responsible for many of South Africa's most famous victories on the cricket field, but he never gets the credit he deserves http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20111112.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20111112 [2011/09/25] Some woman from an Indian call centre phoned me and tried to persuade me to modify the configuration of my computer http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20110925.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20110925 [2011/08/21] Prices of disk storage have plummeted in recent months, so much so that you never need to delete or archive old information http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20110821.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20110821 [2011/04/29] After nearly a year of self-employment I can only wonder why I didn't do this sooner http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20110429.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20110429 [2010/12/10] It took 14 months to repair damage caused by a freak storm to the coast-hugging railway tracks between Fish Hoek and Simon's Town http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20101210.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20101210 [2010/05/02] Why fork over thousands of moolah for commercial software when there is so much excellent free stuff out there? http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20100502.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20100502 [2010/04/11] My impressions of Cape Town Stadium after watching football there a couple of months before the 2010 World Cup http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20100411.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20100411 [2010/04/05] The road north out of Cape Town up the west coast resembles a race track over weekends and holidays http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20100405.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20100405 [2010/03/13] In my opinion, Tribeca Bakery (now called TriBakery) is the best coffee shop in Cape Town http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20100313.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20100313 [2010/02/22] Loot.co.za is a South African online bookstore that beats all competition hands-down http://www.paulkilfoil.co.za/Blog-20100222.aspx PaulKilfoil-Blog-20100222