A Correct Prediction

I make many predictions behind the scenes -- often correct. I wrote to someone before the US elections: "My prediction ... but it goes beyond any prediction I have ever read. A landslide victory for Trump." Was it a landslide? So far, it looks something like 310–230 for Trump. OBSERVATION: One of my more notable predictions was the possible storming of the Capitol, three days before it happened. For that reason, I felt that the rioters were not solely responsible. I make my predictions on a "feel for people" rather than numbers. 

Special Methods

In urban ministry, one deals with slumlords, pimps, extortioners, gangsters, psychotics, squatters, deviants, fugitives, stalkers, mobs, and so the list goes on. One gets to know the people concerned -- even love them -- and one gets to know their methods. One gets to know, too, how to deal with them. This is not by the book. There's a book of special methods for them. OBSERVATION: But I still miss a trick sometimes. The photo shows me with the "infamous" Badith Chabaan.

♰ Hazel Nomathamsanqa

Four weeks ago, I posted about a cousin of wife E, who was apparently poisoned. She was too ill to get to hospital, then the ambulance didn't turn up. Sadly, today she died. OBSERVATION: She was a gentle, thoughtful, joyful woman. Unusually, she had a thumb and five fingers on each hand. She leaves a husband and four children.

Deathtrap

It reminds me of the movie Deathtrap. Many years ago, there was a homosexual couple in a flat -- who were secretly homosexual. One of them, who rented the flat (his partner contributed to the rent), came to me for counselling, as he had deep feelings of shame. It consumed him. Now, he recorded his sexual experiences in a diary, and kept the diary locked away in a sturdy drawer. Until, that is, his partner was unable to pay his contribution to the rent, broke open the drawer, and threatened to make the diary public -- unless he could continue to stay rent-free. OBSERVATION: My counselee couldn't afford this -- and I shared with him the rather obvious news that he was in a trap. My advice was this: evict your partner, find a new tenant, and deal with the consequences. He didn't. His life became chaos and strife, and he ended up in a small single room in social housing.

PDF and XFA

Some recent files have a PDF extension, yet they are not PDF. They are in fact XFA (XML Forms Architecture). Governments have a habit now of providing so-called PDF files which are in fact XFA. One downloads them, and they look like PDF, yet one can do nothing with them. When calling them up, one may, for example. be faced with an indecipherable message such as "Your PDF viewer may not be able to display this type of document." But there are rare online tools which will convert XFA to PDF. One of them is (click here) XFA PDF to Normal PDF.

Smoking

Some experience that I gained through sick visitation and hospital visitation is that smoking kills roughly one-third of those who smoke. Naturally, this is only my personal experience. OBSERVATION: I am disturbed, therefore, when I see anyone smoke. What are they thinking?

Apparent Extortion [Continued]

I blogged, a few days ago, about an apparent extortion attempt. The attempt could only work if there was no record of a certain meeting I was involved in -- a meeting convened by the Assistant Master of the High Court Vuyani Lallie. It worked like this. It was said that, in the meeting (this was announced after the meeting), I had agreed to absolve someone of having "gained illegally". Let's say that this was quite a large sum of money. I had agreed in the meeting, it was claimed, that I would, under oath, absolve the person concerned, or I would pay a penalty of R100,000 plus. Now because there is no record of the meeting ... hah, it seems that I am caught in a trap. However, somebody outfoxed somebody, because an audio recording of the meeting exists. I have heard snippets of it, which are clear. It is a good recording. OBSERVATION: May I suggest, gentlemen, that we return to normality, swiftly, and lay this to rest. As mentioned in the previous post, it was not I who claimed that someone "gained illegally". It was Assistant Master of the High Court Mthuthuzeli Mbatsha. There is hard evidence of that. He made the claim in November 2023, and again in May 2024.

‘Brilliant’

I knew I had a Spanish article coming up. The title in English is The Foremost Virtue: Five Related Forms of Courage. It is now scheduled for publication on Saturday the 9th of November, in the leading Spanish philosophy magazine, Filosofia en la Red. The editor calls it "brilliant". OBSERVATION: I do not speak any Spanish, but have negotiated the Spanish-speaking world with AI. That is not yet as easy as 123, but it has become possible to publish in an unknown language.

Bajaj Bump

I drove three three-wheel vehicles. I was amazed at the number of times these vehicles were bumped and scratched. This was a curious bump -- my load bed had been dented from above. OBSERVATION: I didn’t mind too much. It added to my vehicles' character.

Apparent Extortion Attempt

I am, unfortunately faced with what appears to be an extortion attempt. I had a meeting with the Master of the High Court, in which I raised a question (quote), "So, now, there is also the problem that (and I reminded the Master of the problem) ..." But the Master responded (quote), "It is wrong! ... It's illegal in terms of the law!" The "problem" now turned out to be wrongdoing and illegality. The whole of this conversation was recorded in high quality audio. Back to the present. I must now make a sworn statement, denying any wrongdoing or illegality. If I do not, a (roughly) R1,500,000 payment will be stopped, and I must pay R100,000-plus -- in what appears to be an extortion attempt. OBSERVATION: Yet I did not claim wrongdoing or illegality. That was the Master. I didn't know enough to know what illegality was. This could now be a police issue -- but I am allowing a few days for attorneys to study it first.

In a Picture

See my previous post. My book (click here) This Town is described in a forthcoming review as "a significant contribution to contemporary metaphysical literature. ... a triumph of metaphysical writing". But the synopsis of this book appeared to me in a picture. Six pages appeared to me -- and they were so clear that I only needed to copy them to paper several days later. OBSERVATION: My life's work, Everything Briefly, was accepted after I presented it more than 700 times to agents and publishers. This Town was accepted first time. This Town appeared to me several days after I handed in Everything, Briefly -- yet computer analysis (Copyleaks) shows that it is 99.9% different to Everything, Briefly. I have called it a "fictional metaphysics". It is an illustrated story, which "concretises abstract thought".

A Metaphysical Triumph

My book This Town: A Complete Metaphysics has had a fairly quiet life since publication. However, yesterday I was informed of a major review coming up. Quote: 

"Scarborough's work illuminates the human condition and stands as a significant contribution to contemporary metaphysical literature. ... It stands out as a triumph of metaphysical writing, showcasing Scarborough's ability to weave complex ideas into a compelling and accessible narrative."

The book is available here: This Town. 

‘Crazy’ Stories

I said to someone today that I have heard so many "crazy" stories in ministry -- where people were just overwhelmed and had to tell their minister. I couldn't tell them no, you didn't see that, it can't have happened, it's impossible. Here's a more ordinary example. I went to visit a (youngish) woman, who was terminally ill. A Roman Catholic convent took her in, to care for her. On one of my visits, she told me that a nun had come to her bedside, and a halo appeared around her head, "just like you see in the paintings". She reached out and asked, "Can I touch it?" The nun was very excited to hear that she had a halo. The nuns cared for her until she died.

Making the Connection.

I have had a custom in ministry, which combines with my love of creative photography -- to hand out photographs of churchgoers -- to churchgoers. This has offered many opportunities to greet people and have brief exchanges with them. OBSERVATION: It has not always been photographs. At times, I have handed out lemons, and salt crystals, and various things besides. It makes the connection.

Elusive Electricity

It was a Saturday evening, My electricity meter was very low. I sought to buy electricity online. The PIN failed. I clicked re-send. It failed again. I clicked re-send. I had my PIN. Now the transaction failed. I tried again. The PIN failed. The PIN failed again. The transaction failed again. My bank advised me to call a help line. The help line failed. I tried again. It failed again. I tried again. My bank told me to call on Monday. I got hold of a technician. He said, ah, I can see that it's the bank that is at fault. Here is what you do. The phone cut out. I called again. He said here is what you do. The phone cut out. I called again. He tried to direct me to a website, but the connection was too bad to hear him. I called back. The phone cut out again. Wife E said, here, there's a brochure which has the URL. But the brochure had misprinted it. It didn't work. I called the technician again. He said I'll repeat. The phone cut out. Finally, I obtained the URL. But my computer wouldn't connect. I tried again. It connected. Again, the PIN failed. And failed again. Finally I had the PIN -- and my electricity. I SMS'd the technician my thanks -- but sending failed. OBSERVATION: I count about twenty failures in a row. I hacked my way through the lot. Originally, telephone lines were invented to get messages through.