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No truck with bad drivers
Dear Sirs
I’m an admirer of our national roads but I can’t say I admire the drivers on them.
What really gets my goat are trucks racing each other at 80km/h, occupying two lanes. It is beyond irritating and downright dangerous. And surely illegal! Please do something about it!
– Jan Greyling, Randburg
Ed’s Note: Hi there, Jan. This kind of irresponsible driving should certainly not happen and the highway traffic inspectors should – and do – act. But they can’t be everywhere. Safety on the road is EVERYBODY’S concern. It is a personal and communal responsibility.
Happy for the help
Dear Sirs
I am so happy that SANRAL and the big construction companies are giving more access to machinery and equipment for small contractors.
Smaller contractors have huge obstacles in our way before we can participate in big road projects. Proper equipment is so expensive and banks mostly don’t like giving financing to emerging enterprises.
Now we can get help from the bigger contractors to lease and rent equipment. This will definitely help small companies to grow their businesses. Thank you!
– Lucas M, via email
Celebrating a legend
If former President Nelson Mandela were still around today, he’d be celebrating his 100th birthday in July. But since our beloved Tata Madiba isn’t, we’ve chosen to celebrate for him and everyone who loved him. Mandela had, among many other talents, a way with words. He could get to the heart of any issue with a sentence or two, whether he was chatting to journalists, children or other statesmen.
This year, we’ll be running some of our favourite Madiba quotes in By The Way to remind ourselves of the great project Mandela started all those years ago and one which we must advance with our every action – a free and fully inclusive South Africa.
“The challenge for each one of you is to take up these ideals of tolerance and respect for others and put them to practical use in your schools, your communities and throughout your lives.”
Nelson Mandela:
By Himself (2011)
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In this issue |
3 |
Space economicsHow much is a ticket to ride? |
4 |
Beyond inclusionThe same men who dominate the built environment must be the ones who advocate for women to explore the industry. Men calling out misogyny in their own peer groups is a difficult, but not impossible task |
7 |
The joy’s in the journeyWhy not make your drive to Durbs part of your holiday experience? |
11 |
SA sci-fi noirThere’s more to local literature than you think. Explore the magical worlds of Greg Hamerton and Paul Crilley in Part II of our series on SA sci-fi and fantasy |
12 |
The ringerWhy do we build ring roads anyway? Plus some juicy facts on beltway bandits and rings of ice… |
17 |
EnergiseHow to be your own best friend during the last stretch of the year |
NASA's Space Tourism posters
So, the December holiday season is approaching. What’s your ultimate escape? You must be thinking about it… A beach getaway in Mauritius? An activity-filled break in the Mother City, filled with food and craft beer? Or is it the traditional family exodus to KZN with the kids so you can sip cocktails while the children frollic in the warm waters of a Margate beach? It’s all very… terrestrial.
For those who cast their net a little wider, there’s always the final frontier. It may sound outlandish (pardon the pun), but thanks to the commercialisation of space (at least near-space) travel by companies such as Tesla and Virgin Intergalactic, this is no longer just a pipe-dream. If you turn to our PG3 feature on the economics of commercial space travel, you will see that this kind of tourism option is not for the shallow of pocket. But great commercial ideas have to start somewhere. So a creative team of visual strategists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab at Caltech, known as ‘The Studio’, made a free-to-download travel poster series called ‘Visions of the Future’. Nine artists were involved in designing the 14 posters, which are the result of many brainstorming sessions with JPL scientists, engineers and expert communicators. Each poster is a gorgeous example of 1950s retro-futuristic Art Deco genius. And each was made better with feedback from the JPL experts.
Now if you visit www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future, you can check out which of the planets you might want to visit someday. Is it the Cloud 9 Observatory on Venus, or the double-sunned landscape of Kepler 16-b, where your shadow always has company? Download hi-res versions for free and space up your décor at home.
