Emma Dollman

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@Brettbenraphael Enjoy! My husband seldom lasts more than the first hour into our road trip before we have to stop for a burger! 😂

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@skollie

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@skollie Apparently reopening on 9th July.

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@CityofCT And yet, when I reported, a year ago, heavy PSHB infestation of 2 oak trees on my verge, I am still waiting for the CoCT to respond. 🙄

[Chris Heatherly @chrisheatherly]

I’m actually a child online safety expert and was one of the pioneers in this space with Club Penguin and so I feel uniquely positioned to critique this.

The groomer problem is real but it’s also vastly overstated. The far larger issue we saw at Penguin was suicidality or reports of sexual abuse in the home.

There is no solution for lazy/bad parenting. You can implement all the ID laws you want but if parents are going to just hand kids their phones unlocked, those kids will have access to all the same things the parents have unfettered.

What I found is that these draconian safety laws actually make it harder to be an honest operator of kids apps because on one hand it’s so much legal risk and so much user friction that it simply becomes uninvestible as a business.

Parents will just lie to let their kids use the unfettered internet. For example, I have a friend who works in mobile gaming who has two kids, one above and one below the age limit but separated by just 2 yrs, and the two wanted to play and chat together on Roblox - which is reasonable. To do this, he just verified that his younger kid is old enough for the chat feature when he’s not.

This happens all the time and will happen with these laws to. How far do we want to go with this? Scan the face of the user in real-time to make sure it’s not a kid using the device? We could do that but it feels like a massive unwanted intrusion of privacy.

That’s how you know this law isn’t about kids. COPPA and GDPR-K and so forth already make it illegal to allow chat and other grooming vectors to kids.

What’s really being done here is trying to eliminate online anonymity. And this is a far bigger issue that goes to core speech rights because if you cannot criticize the govt anonymously and if wrong speech is a crime then it becomes easy to identify all the detractors of the govt in power, and ban, fine or jail them for speech crimes.

Starmer has already been doing this and he wants to do it at a much bigger scale. Starmer won’t even acknowledge the problem of actual grooming gangs in Britain’s neighborhoods but he’s worried about online grooming?

No he’s not, and this hypocrisy gives away the game. What he wants is to kill online anonymity so he can enforce censorship of his unpopular policies. No politician should have this power.

[Redi Tlhabi @RediTlhabi]

I am sick to death of @StandardBankZA not sending OTP and jeopardizing my plans. If I don't get a flight to Durban to run Comrades it is your fault. Every single time I am in RSA, I cannot make transactions. "My banker" calls, I'm polite and have cordial conversations. And then next time, same shit. And why do you have a "secure helpline" 0861201311 that "is no longer in existence" on the authenticate site

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@StandardBankZA @wendyknowler The service from this bank is nonexistent. Their apps don’t work, their personal/business bankers cannot resolve issues. The institution is broken.

[captain depression @cpt_depression_]

Okay @StandardBankZA please listen to me. You’ve automated a profile verification prompt for people using the banking app that sends a code to email in 10-20 minutes but the fucking input expires in 30 seconds. Jfc.. fix this, it’s so embarrassing for you guys.

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@Jonathan_Witt We’re bikers. The weather makes the difference from a great ride to a shit ride. But for what it’s worth, every long road trip we do, the weather forecast is almost always wrong & we inevitably find ourselves drenched somewhere in the middle of our trip.

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@Zamalek2179945 I still miss my boy every day. The most beautiful & wonderful boy. He passed, just over a year ago & it still hurts. But I understand too, your connection with your Boy carried extra weight. Holding you in my thoughts ❤️

[@luphumlongcayisa @luphumlongcayis]

Dear Banks,

In this the age of escalating fraud, cybercrime and identity theft, it can no longer be acceptable for us customers to simply trust that the person on the other end of the line is genuinely calling from the bank.

Just as we clients are required to verify our identities before discussing our accounts, bank employees should be subjected to a similar verification process. The burden of trust cannot rest solely on the customer.

There ought to be a secure authentication system that allows customers to verify that a caller is indeed an authorised representative of the bank before any conversation about personal or financial matters takes place. Whether this takes the form of a unique verification code, an in-app confirmation, a secure push notification, or another authentication mechanism.

Banks have invested heavily in protecting themselves from fraud. It is time they invest with equal urgency in protecting customers from fraudulent individuals impersonating bank employees.

The current model, where a stranger phones you and immediately begins asking security questions, is outdated and unsafe.

[Tau e Tshehadi @D_Molatoli]

I once lived in Mpumalanga, Kinross, Secunda for one year, in 2012. While I was there, I tried to get involved in Community projects. One project was a "Community garden" in a school yard, started by a Primary school teacher, the aim being to teach her learners how to plant and grow vegetables. Later, the kids' parents were invited to get involved in tending the garden, weeding, watering, and then allowed during weekends after doing the work, we would take some spinach, carrots, pumpkins home. This was a way of putting some food on the table and alleviating hunger.

The teacher had sought permission from the school Principal to use the piece of land.

The teacher's husband was a Sasol employee, he held a senior position at Sasol. He was very supportive to his wife, bought water pipes and watering cans, seeds, whatever was needed, he just sponsored the project from their pockets.

There was an informal settlement emerging around the school, so the parents of these kids came from that informal settlement. When I came on board, I saw potential for the mothers who were part of the project to organize themselves into a Cooperative. I wanted them to own the project when I leave, since I wasn't going to be there for long. At the time I still believed in the government promise of supporting Cooperatives. So I thought maybe they could get support from government too.

Sasol, through the teacher's husband, heard about the project and were entertaining the idea of assisting from their CSI with some resources, a possible borehole, and grow the project to a point where they could supply one or two of their kitchens with vegetables. It was early stages, but it had potential.

Then, the Chairperson of the SGB, who happened to also be an ANC Women's league Chair in the area, and a girlfriend of the principal, heard about the Sasol offer. Suddenly there was interest because they thought money was coming. She called me and some of the ladies from the project to talk. In the meeting she suggested to us that she would like to report on this project as an ANC Women's League initiative. I was like what?? 😂 I said no ways, this is a community project, it has nothing to do with any political party or affiliation to anyone.

To cut the long story short, the project was then sabotaged, the teacher was harassed, told to present in every SGB meeting about the "funds received from Sasol". There were no funds. We were called "outsiders" not welcome on the school premises. I used to run at the time, just for exercise. My heart would bleed when I go for my runs, passing the school and seeing those cabbages rotting there. They had no decency to at least let the parents to come and harvest those vegetables.

I left Secunda later that year, only to receive a call that one of the ladies who was in the leadership of the project had died of a heart attack. I couldn't attend the funeral, but I was sad and angry. 😏

[Rock Chartrand @RockChartrand]

I find it funny when people say a politician gave them something, especially when they add "for free."

First, the politician didn't give you anything. They spent money taken from someone else.

Second, it isn't free. It usually costs far more than it would in a voluntary market because politicians aren't spending their own money and bureaucracies aren't rewarded for efficiency.

Third, you're often trading short term comfort for long term pain. Today's subsidy becomes tomorrow's tax hike, debt burden, inflation, or dependency.

There is no free lunch. There are only bills, and politicians are very good at hiding who pays them and when they come due.

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@Zamalek2179945 Oh no, I’m so, so sorry! 💔

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@rayvinnx @imoviemaza @VEDANTSHRIV17 Look at the number “4” in all 3 answer sheets. English & computer science are the same. Physics answer sheet completely different.

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@andre_quentin From a local financial journalist.

[Brittany Hughes @RealBrittHughes]

This sounds cool. But wait.

400 diapers will last a family with a newborn approximately five weeks.

The program will cost the state approx. $12.4 million this year alone.

That money will be funneled through a company called Baby2Baby, which will then provide their branded diapers to 400 participating in hospitals (California has over 500 hospitals in total.)

Meaning that instead of lowering taxes and letting families keep their own money to buy essentials like diapers, California takes their money, pumps it through a “nonprofit” that has overhead and whose CEO made $240,000 in 2024, to provide a “free” service available only in certain locations, and that you could have bought yourself for much cheaper.

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@dramadelinquent Happy birthday! 🥳🤗♥️

[Emma Dollman @DollmanEmma]

@CynicalPublius In South Africa 🇿🇦 we call these crunchies. But, yeah, they’re definitely not flapjacks in either US english or English english. 😊

[David (TalkingCents) @talkcentss]

The 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 is a debt trap for young professionals. ‼️🚨

It’s been framed as “𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂” but really it is “𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀”

I say this because if they really wanted to help, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 “𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹” 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 “𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁”

——-

Let me explain:

The first two years go towards only repaying the interest portion on your home loan and not the capital. (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻).

With standard home loans, your monthly bond payment is split into two portions:

1️⃣Principal
2️⃣Interest

For example,

on a R1 million home loan at 10% over 20 years, your monthly payment would be R9,650, which is split like this:

1️⃣Principal = R1,316.88
2️⃣Interest = R8,333.33

𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 = 𝗥𝟵𝟵𝟴,𝟲𝟴𝟯

———

However, with the deferred principal strategy that FNB is using, it means you only have to pay the 2️⃣ interest portion on your home loan every month for 24 months. (R8,333)

That means your monthly payment falls from R9,650 ——>R8,333, increasing your cashflow. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗥𝟭 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻.

For this privilege of keeping your debt the same, you save R1,317 month (R15,804 a year).

———

*After the two year “grace period” your 20 year home loan is compressed into 18 years and the loan reverts back to a standard home loan.

Now you have a R1 million home loan at 10% (Or whatever the prevailing rate is) over 18 years. So the breakdown would now be:

Monthly = R9,998

1️⃣Principal = R1,665.10
2️⃣Interest = R8,333.33

𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 = R998,334
(25 months in)

———-

Under a standard 20 year home loan agreement, you would pay back:

✅R2.31 million (R1.31 million interest)

——-

Under FNB principal deferred structure, where they compress it into 18 years after the two year “grace period” you would pay back

✅R2.35 million (R1.35 million interest )

You pay back roughly R43,610 more than a standard home loan,

however,

the article does not mention if the loan would be compressed into 18 years after the two year “grace period” or

if it would be an additional 20 years after the 2 year “grace period”, in that case costs can rise by at least R200,000 more.