A Quick SMAC #18: Size Matters

Size matters a lot to Trump.  It’s the only metric he’s interested in.  Superlatives are his stock trade when talking about himself and, in the negative sense, about others.

So let us put aside the many disastrous issues surrounding his latest pet project – the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. Let’s forget about the no-bid contracts that were issued to ‘great guys’ he knew and that it is running at 7 to 10 times what he originally stated, just like his ballroom; or that the new surface coating is lifting; or that the pool immediately turned Iranian green; or that they tried to spin it that it was blue when it was actually green by taking a photo from such a low angle that it reflected the sky.  These have been tediously discussed and lampooned and dissected on many news channels and podcasts.  SMAC wishes just to focus on the early impress conference that Trump held on 23 April in the Oval Office to brag about the gargantuan job that only he could undertake.

In that presser, he pulled out a large cardboard poster comparing the pool size to well-known American buildings bearing the headline – OUR POOL IS BIGGER THAN SKYSCRAPERS. image.png

The first problem is he’s comparing rhinos to polar bears.  They are completely different beasts.  Why not compare their volumes?  The One World Trade Center has 130x the volume of the Pool.  What about comparing it to the height of the Burj Kalifa in Dubai which is 35 % taller than the pool is long?  Then, although he had touted a dark blue paint, a somber contemplative color as befitting the idea of the pool, his poster showed a light blue sparkling pool like his pool at Mar-a-Lago in Florida because Trump likes bright things.

Finally, he just couldn’t resist tweaking its dimensions, after all, this is a big project for a big man.  Judging from the scaling of his picture, the pool is 2100-2150 ft long, ~5% more than its actual length. Its width is also about 120% wider than its true relative width. 

Capping it all, just to show what a bunch of clowns the chief clown surrounds himself with, the scaling misses out the 500 ft increment.

Finally, he just couldn’t resist tweaking its dimensions, after all, this is a big project for a big man.  Judging from the scaling of his picture, the pool is 2100-2150 ft long, ~5% more than its actual length. Its width is also about 120% wider than its true relative width. 

Capping it all, just to show what a bunch of clowns the chief clown surrounds himself with, the scaling misses out the 500 ft increment.

He has once again been proven to be as shallow as the Pool (average about 0.5m) and, like his medical examinations that falsely declare his height to be 6’3”, his penchant for showmanship based on lies, exaggerations and spurious information has been bust yet again.

A Quick SMAC #16:  Removing the Trump Stamp

(For those of you that can’t figure out a lot of Shakespearean English like me, wherefore means why.  And for those who don’t follow Trump too closely, and I don’t recommend it, he leaves a foul smell behind, literally and figuratively)

Trump has a predilection for frantically marking his territory like a junkyard mutt.  His whole commercial life has been about branding and selling you stuff or aspirations that you don’t really want or need.  We’re talking about Trump Towers, Trump Airlines, Trump Steaks, Trump University and much, much more.

Now that he’s become President again – the first time was just a vainglorious TV reality show called The Apprentice President – he’s taken his grifting and branding to a new level by selling Trump smartphones, Trump UFC Medallions, Trump Stablecoins, . . . – the list is endless.  But he’s gone further by redecorating Federal buildings in his trademark trashy gold Arab chic and planning to add monuments in his name.

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The Kennedy Center is a prime example of Trump’s egregious behaviour.  He decided that he wished to place his Trump Stamp on it.  Using his executive powers, he fired the board and replaced them with toadies who then elected him Chairman.  On 18 December 2025, the board voted to append his trashy name to that of Kennedy’s.  Meanwhile, in the background he had lined up the contractor who prepared the new signage. The next day a contractor, who was locked and loaded, arrived on site and added Trump’s name within a few hours – a preplanned assault to make it fait accompli before anyone could do anything about it.  The only thing wrong in Trump’s eyes was that his name was not in gold.

Job done, or so he thought.  The popular backlash was immediate and massive.  Booked performances pulled out to the extent that Trump closed the Center for ‘renovations’ for two years.  One of the planned décor ‘improvements’ was to replace the theatre armrests with cold unyielding marble ones – really!  He even showed off samples he had produced.

The judicial blowback took a few months but on 29 May a judge ordered that his name be removed within 14 days.

Port Elizabeth of Yore: Pioneering Naval Ambitions

Perhaps it was because the English speakers were strangers in a new land, that their entrepreneurial talents were unleased, but whatever it was, they displayed it in their many endeavours.  One little known fact was the attempt to establish its own maritime defence. In this case , the explanation could plausibly have been the naval attack on the settlement in 1799 by the French which highlighted the colony’s vulnerability.

Main picture: Firefight involving the La Preneuse

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: David Doit-The Legendary Malay Whaler

Better known as Darby, the Whaler, David Doit only appeared on the local whaling scene in the latter half of the 19th Century after having spent time in Grahamstown after his birth circa 1838. Doit obtained employment with the P.E. Boating Company as an oarsman and later promoted as a coxswain, a position that he held for nearly 30 years. It was during his extended stint as a crewmember of James Searle’s boat that his sailing skills were finely-honed.  

Competition between rival firms was keen in those days and the crews used to spend hours on the Donkin watching for a whale to ‘blow’ in the Bay. As soon as one was spotted, there was a race to the beach in order to launch their boats and the first crew to harpoon a whale were handsomely paid by the owners.

Main picture: Painting by Thomas Baines of a surfboat being launched through the breakers

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: James Searle and the Union Boating Company

According to the book Port Elizabeth: A Social Chronicle to the End of 1945, the Union Boating Company was formed in February 1865. The chairman and directors were Joseph Simpson, J.H. Clark, G.C. Smith, C.T. Jones and F.S. Fairbridge and the Superintendent was James Searle. The company purchased the stock of E.B. Wheatland and leased the building used by him, and others adjoining and being built behind, between Commerce and North Union Streets.

Main picture: James Searle

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Military Record of my Uncle – Redvers Percival Dix-Peek

Like his  three brothers, Fred, Milton and Harry, Redvers volunteered for military service during WW2. As the last of these volunteers has passed on, nobody can listen to first hand accounts of their experiences during the war. All that remains are the shards of their experiences as related to disinterested children. Even piecing together these pieces, it provides no more than a smidgen of those experiences.

Main picture: Redvers Percival Dix-Peek in military uniform

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: How the Chinese made a Living


Like all immigrants internationally, their initial priority was to make a living. For most waves of immigration to South Africa this was the least of their concerns as they were part of an organised importation scheme; the Indians in Natal to the sugar cane fields, the Chinese to the underground gold mines on the Witwatersrand and the English Settlers to the Eastern Cape border regions. The Chinese in Port Elizabeth were an exception to that rule. Being overwhelmingly single and without a family they probably initially relied upon the settled Chinese to survive. In a strange land with little understanding of English, they resorted to the time honoured tradition in order to overcome communication barriers viz sign language

Main picture: Chinese general dealers store in Dassiekraal circa 1920

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Port Elizabeth of Yore: Birth and Demise of Beach Segregation

Historically South Africa has always experienced segregation except that with the accession to power of the National Party in 1948 separation in all facets of one’s life was now governed by its own separate and restrictive legislation.  Amongst the avalanche of legislation in the early years of Nationalist rule was one law that mandated the separation of beaches by the local councils.

This is the story of the ascendance of beach segregation and its ultimate demise.

Main picture: Map of segregated beaches along Port Elizabeth’s coast

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