Who am I? This is not an existential question.

I’m Ivo Vegter. I write and argue for fun and profit. I live and work in South Africa as a columnist and magazine journalist, but I always keep some orange gear ready in support of Holland, the country of my birth. Sadly, it never seems to help.

I’ll publish some of my work on this blog. I write columns and articles for several magazines, among several other interests. In the usual course of events, a couple of columns per month will appear here for your online convenience. Predominantly, however, I’ll be posting observations, arguments, notable quotes and quirky quips about economics, politics, technology, assorted nuttery of green or any other hue, and anything else that’s mildly entertaining.

This is not a disclaimer, it’s a claimer: I’m not employed by anyone other than myself. I earn most of my living — and aim to earn all of my living — from writing for publications. I have no idea who advertises in them or why. I don’t ask, they don’t tell. Suits me fine. I have done corporate writing gigs, albeit infrequently. I hate them, but the rent insists on being paid. When I’ve done those, they were under strict rules: I won’t write about someone I wrote for, or even their industry sector, for at least six months. Longer if it paid more than a typical month’s income. I’m not a member of any political organisations, advocacy groups, or think tanks. I’m independent. The day I become oil-company funded, I’ll throw a party and retire.

You may wonder about that avatar. It’s what I’d look like if I wore a trench coat and carried a lantern and morning star. It’s also the unofficial Vegter family emblem. It represents a Danish night watchman, which appears to be the medieval origin of the surname “Vegter”.

The photograph above deserves acknowledgement. The goggles are my own creation, but the credit for making the idea work belongs to the best photographer one could ever hope to work with, Sally Shorkend.

I can be contacted (and contracted) at ivo [at] hivemind [dot] net. Flames to /dev/null, please.