Toilet paper and the economy

An estate agent that I used to work with complained about the economy the other day. He said it is so bad that he have to buy single ply toilet paper! He told us previously that he uses nothing but 2 ply toilet paper. If the economy declines further he can always go and buy his toilet paper from this guy:



At least it's still in a good condition. If you thought that's bad have a look at this sign:



Would somebody really use money as toilet paper? Seems like it. The Zimbabwean newspaper gave a new meaning to the word "billboard" when they made this billboard:



Yes, the whole board is made up of thousands of Zim dollar banknotes. Apparently it is cheaper to use the banknotes than to use paper. They also used banknotes as fliers (or flyers ) to "highlight the plight of Zimbabwe and the cause of the Zimbabwean Newspaper"


You can see more on their Flickr pages

So if you can use Zim dollars for billboards and fliers you could probably also use it as toilet paper. Me? I would rather just stick to my plain old boring white single ply toilet paper.

The Green Beard

Somebody asked if I am Irish and if my beard is green for Saint Patrick's Day. No, I am South African and as far as I know I don't have any Irish blood, but anything is possible :-) The green beard ( and shaven head ) was done for charity!

The photo was taken after I participated in the CANSA Shavathon. After they shaved my head they decided to spray my beard as well.

CANSA ( Cancer Association of South Africa ) hosts an annual national CANSA Shavathon over 2 days for people to shave or spray their hair for a R50 donation at either workplaces, organizations, educational institutions or shopping centers. The Shavathon raises awareness and funds for the fight against cancer.

You can get more information on CANSA on their website. You can also find CANSA Shavathon on Facebook and on Flickr. You can also go here to make a donation

Dalai Lama

If you need one in South Africa just phone!


And you don't even need a Visa!

You know crime is bad when....

You know crime is really bad when you see something like this:

Ratpacks!

I recently found this photo of an South African Defence Force rat pack from the 1980's. It bought back a few memories. There is one thing that I actually miss and that is the Rum and Raisin energy bars. I had a few other rum and raisin energy bars after I left the army but it was just not the same.

A rat pack or rations pack is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging provided for service-members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available. Also known as MRE's ( Meal, Ready-to-Eat ) or IMP ( Individual Meal Pack )

A few other examples of rat packs below ( click on photos for bigger view ) Please note that some of the rat packs is or was meant for a 24 hour period ( ours for eg. ) while others is provided for one meal (eg. US MRE ) :

The new UK Army rations packs:

French combat rations:

Canadian rations pack:

Irish Army rations pack:

Chinese Military rations ( more photos here )

US MRE:

The United States Army also have a First Strike Ration. It is a compact, eat-on-the move ration concept, designed to be consumed during the first 72 hours of conflict. ( More info here )