Earth Hour

Last night we were supposed to turn our lights and electrical appliances off at 8:30 for an hour like everyone else in the world. The power went out at 8 and was off all night. We are all set for Earth Hour for the next 13 years.

Yesterday I went to the Nelson Mandela Museum in downtown Umtata. The presentation was well done. Two wings of the museum have gifts and awards he received when got out of prison and was then president. One of the gifts was a South African flag with an impressionistic picture of Nelson Mandela painted on it by Leonard Nimoy (a.k.a. Mr. Spock). It may have been a gift from the Vulcan Government.

Yesterday was also a shopping day. The volunteer physical therapist picked up a battery powered Ryobi drill to use in the orthopedic outpatient clinic. They have a way to keep it sterile and use it there to put in pins so patients don't have to be admitted for some of the smaller fractures. On Tuesday I will be visiting Bedford and see if they are really using it. It cost $39.99. I wonder how much a Zimmer drill costs?

Not much to do when the power goes out at night. It's too dark to go out for a walk. My computer battery lasts about 2 hours so I can work on lectures and watch DVD's for a while. Best thing is to sleep.