Some people said they were scared of Jacob Zuma, the president of the ANC who faces a court hearing surrounding his corruption trial this week, and, more specifically, that they were afraid of his supporters. Hardly an irrational fear. This sparked a discussion surrounding Julius Malema, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and why it was necessary for them to protest Jacob Zuma’s legal standing if they do respect the independence and decisions of the judiciary, as claimed.

Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate in the upcoming US elections was also discussed in the light of actor Matt Damon’s recent concerns voiced over her position on creationism and the fact that she only recently received her first passport. Barack Obama compared McCain’s economic policies to those of George W Bush’s in a speech yesterday saying (of the policies) that you could, “put lipstick on a pig, but that didn’t change the fact that it was still a pig.” Republicans retaliated suggesting that he was calling Palin a pig since she compared herself to a “pit-bull with lipstick on.” Is right-wing America losing its mind? Or did that happen a long time ago?

Other topics covered included places in South Africa that deserve more attention in terms of tourism and local travel, superstition and the work being done at the Large Hadron Collider. Particle physics were discusses with some attempts at explaining quantum mechanics.

I also got Julius Malema’s age wrong, along with the date of the US elections and several other things, despite knowing the correct information. Clearly I need a holiday. Which is why I will not be on the air next week, but return the following Thursday morning before 00:00 and 04:00.

We also received another call from Sue in Mondeor who does fantastic charity work. She requested that someone help her with a bakkie or other means of transportation she can use to pick up donations to charities and distribute food and other items. If you can help Sue by donating a vehicle or even just using your own to get things to her, please call her on +27 11 680 0651.

I’m off to the KZN South Coast to try and get my brain back in working order. Can’t wait to get back on the air as soon as possible thereafter.

We also had callers raising the issue of service fees being introduced by Eskom. General opinion is that the fee is largely unwarranted, although one must remember that we pay far less for electricity than most of this rest of the world. Analysts at this year’s Gartner Symposium in Cape Town touched on the South African energy situation and the fact that we pay less for electricity, along with other observations, which I related on the show. I was at the Symposium this week and found the trends analysis to be pretty interesting, especially in terms of cloud computing and the integration of new web tools into corporate environments.

Then we discussed Bafana Bafana, with the team taking on Australia in England earlier this week. The stadium was packed, the game was good. Bafana managed to draw 2 all with Australia – so why did we see so little coverage of the game in the media in general? Was the lack of hype the fault of the SABC, apathy from the SA public or a result of Bafana’s crappy recent performances?

We also touched on the Krugersdorp sword murder and the frenetic speculation that has sprung up around it. Music and Satanism are the scapegoats, as usual. But what about the psyche of the killer? We know he was of a small stature, was bullied and teased by his peers.

The discussion led to an exploration of immunising children against the influence of their friends, the media and music. Children can’t be kept away from music, video games et al, so isn’t equipping them with the skills to make their own decisions surrounding right and wrong more effective than limiting their exposure?

As always, the Olympics in Beijing were a talking point. We discussed less popular events like men’s walking and BMX cycling. And during the show we had the women’s volleyball on. America versus China. In the rain. Sweet.

Finally, we had some fun talking about what you would do with super-powers. Scientists in the US are close to finalising nano technology that would allow for the creation of invisibility devices. If you had one, what would you do with it? Funny how most suggestions are criminal in nature…

Oh, and Ray called in ask if women liked men shaving and grooming their body hair. Metro sexual is out.

I’ll be back on the air next Thursday from 00:00 to 04:00.