Tag: Ramblings

  • 10 Things for 2009

    2009 crept up very quickly. 2008 was quiet a roller coaster year for me, where I started a new job, after working at Storm for the last 9 years.
    Making a decision to move was really tough, but I knew I was making the right choice. The new job has been going fantastically, and I am loving it. Every minute of it. It has been a place where I have always wanted to work, and the knowledge gained by working there has been unbelievable. You never know enough, and learn something every minute.

    I am looking forward to 2009. I know I have neglected this blog over the last year. That said, I still get loads of hits, and with more than 50000 hits over the last year, I think its ok. I got my first ever adsense cheque this year, which was fantastic, as I have not put any effort into making money.

    I have a few goals for this year, one is to try and make more out of the internet. Both money-wise and knowledge wise. There is so much out there, and the internet can offer us so much.

    I have decided to put a random list of 10 things that will hopefully get me through 2-double o – mine:

    1. PopUrls – I have always loved PopUrls, but recently have rediscovered this awesome site. All the tops sites are aggregated onto 1 page, so you get to see the best of the web on 1 page. You can also share links on facebook and twitter, and it will also customize the best links for you. Check it out at PopUrls.com

    2. My iPhone – My iPhone continues to amaze me every day. I am loving it. It has become a habit now, and I think the wife is starting to feel “iPhone un-love”. Currently i have about 70 apps on my phone. Half of them are hardly ever used, but some of them are just fantastic, and used everyday. More on that later

    3.Twitter – Even though I don’t “tweet” enough, I am still lurking in the shadows. There are some really interesting people out there, and everyday I learn something new from someone on twitter. I really think Twitter may become the next big thing after facebook.

    4. Namedrive – Slowly but surely, I have been making some cash using Namedrive. I have a couple of domains on there and am raking in about $20 a month. Nothing major, but its fun to watch none the less. Need to try and put more effort into this as well. Huge potential.

    5. My Macbook – The other best thing (next to the MyPhone), was the mac I got earlier this year. The Mac OS is definitely one of the easiest and most user friendly OS’s I have ever used. Even my wife loves it, and we now have to fight to use the Macbook. I think it’s high time I get a new one and she can have this one :)

    6. Geocaching – I really wish I had more time to do this. It really is such a fun hobby, but just need time. I still follow all new caches that are published, and try find the ones close to me. Hopefully this year, I can find  a few more caches, and enjoy the game as much as what I used to….*sigh*

    7. My Family – 2008 added yet another addition to my family, and 3 kids is really fun. No really. :) Les has been awesome with all 3 kids, and looking after our house, and me with all my needs, yet we always find time for each other. By the end of 2009 I will have 3 toddlers, almost ready to move into thier own place :) (Just kiddin)

    8.Life – 2009 is time for big changes. Back to gym at least 3-4 times per week. Healthy eating, minimised drinking, and more time with my friends & family. 43Things is such an awesome website that allows you to list your goals and keep track of them. By the end of 2009, I need to have been able to accomplish those 43 things.

    9. Work – Learn more, and move up. Plain and simple goals, that I know I can achive in 2009 at my awesome work.

    10.Photography – I went on a 6 week course last year to learn more about photography, so hpefully in 2009, I can take loads more photos and share them on this blog

    Hope 2009 is an awesome year for everyone !!!

  • Alan Knott Craig email to staff – December 2008

    Following on from my post earlier this year, about Alan Knott Craig’s “Don’t Panic” Book, which was born out of a viral email he had written to staff, earlier this year.

    Now Alan has sent out another email to his iBurst staff which has made its way onto the interwebs. Very inspiring and thought provoking.

    From: Alan Knott-Craig
    Sent: 04 December 2008 06:42
    To: All Users
    Subject: Closing out 2008

    Hi guys,

    Why am I writing this email? Because I’m getting the impression there are some depressed people walking around. Now there are a couple of potential reasons for this phenomenom: 1. Festive season hangovers. Solution: Convert to Islam. 2. Moving offices. Solution: Resign and work from trailer park. 3. Manic depressive personality. Solution: Prozac or alcohol (see point 1 for solution to hangover). 4. You read newspapers. Solution: Rather work.

    It’s been just over 10 months since I sent that damn Don’t Panic email. Quite a bit has happened since then, some of it good (ie: Ricoffee sales have sky-rocketed), some of it bad (ie: Ricoffee sales have sky-rocketed).

    So let’s recap: At the beginning of the year people were panicking about the oil price, inflation, electricity and economic recession. Of those big 4 concerns, 3 have taken care of themselves. Oil is now below $50 a barrel, inflation is not such big deal because oil is cheap nowadays, and we haven’t had any crazy power outages since February (the Eskom saga is a complete mystery to me). What about the recession? Well, as it turns out, that was something that deserved a bit of panic. Especially if your name is Dick and you run a New York investment bank. Fortunately we don’t have any Dick’s at iBurst.

    After the merry-go-round of bad news at the beginning of the year, capped by the xenophobic attacks (note to attackers: neck-lacing innocent foreigners is not a great advert for our country), it’s been quite surreal to watch the u-turn executed by those heading for the exit door. It’s a bit like watching naïve tourists run into the sea off Camp’s Bay, scream in pain, and then race back onto the beach. The water looks so nice, but don’t go in there unless you’re an Eskimo. Suddenly foreign shores aren’t as attractive when there are no jobs, no credit, and no sunshine.

    Just to put a couple of things in perspective, here is some info on the year-to-date performance of world stock markets (as of 10 Nov):

    • Iceland -89%
    • China -64%
    • Russia -64%
    • India -48%
    • Hong Kong -46%
    • Brazil -40%
    • Japan -40%
    • USA -36%
    • Australia -35%
    • UK -32%
    • New Zealand -29%
    • South Africa -26%

    SA is not so bad, is it? I’d rather be here than in Iceland.

    Sunny SA is certainly not immune to the global economic crisis. Our companies are suffering too, which means fewer bonuses and more retrenchments (always a winning recipe for unhappiness). How long will it last? Who knows, but brace yourselves for a tough 2009. The good news is that after every tough time comes good times, so at least we all have something to look forward to!

    What is the silver lining for SA? Our interest rates are still high, but at least there is the possibility of a decrease in rates to ease the burden on your back pocket. The UK and USA do not have that luxury, their interests rates are already too low to cut further!

    What else? Mad Bob can’t last forever. When he heads off into the sunset there will be an absolute bonanza of investment and aid flooding into Zimbabwe, and a large chunk of that windfall will be via sunny SA… oh happy days. Who said there were no plusses to having a failed state as a neighbour?

    What else? Anyone noticed the cranes everywhere you look? Seen the Gautrain progress? I went down to CT 2 weeks ago, and virtually the entire highway is under construction. The unintended consequence of the government procrastination on infrastructure investment over the past 10 years is that now that it’s finally underway it is just in time to prop up our economy! Gotta love those bureaucrats.

    What else? The Soccer World Cup is coming. If we get it right, ie: 10,000 tourists are not hi-jacked, we’ll be the hottest spot on the planet, and we’ll have a shout for hosting the Olympics.

    But don’t crack open the champagne just yet, we still have our fair share of challenges. Your average Yank may be swapping his house for a trailer, but at least he’s not worried about being shot in the head on the way to his next job interview. If any of you have a relative or friend in the government, please pass on this message, “Crime is out of control and most of our schools and hospitals are in disarray.” Don’t for a second fool yourself that we can ignore these structural problems and live the rest of our lives in blissful ignorance. We must constantly remind the politicians to do their jobs, but we cannot absolve ourselves of our responsibility to make individual contributions. It is our business to make this land a success. Report crime, pick up litter, give to the needy, create jobs, look after the children, practice safe sex, drink filter coffee. We’ve all got a responsibility to make the magic happen, otherwise you’ll just end up lying in bed in 50 years time, looking back and saying “What if?”

    The time of opportunity is upon us, now it’s up to us to seize the day. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Life is not about waiting for storms to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

    Looking forward to dancing in 2009!

    Cheers,
    Alan

  • Creating solutions to our power crisis

    The last 2 weeks have been rather frustrating for most of us South Africans, as we have experienced power outages almost every single day, sometimes up to 6 hours a day. It is frustrastraing, but the reality is we need to live and work around it, for the next 5 – 7 years. I’m pretty sure that something will be done before then, otherwise, the economy is just going to crash, and we will fall in a deep dark (no pun intended) depression.

    But we need to look for solutions. And it can be done. The next big problem we are facing as a world is Global warming. Why not use the one to try and fix the other. The sun is shining so much brighter, and we should be using it to create energy from solar panels, to create electricity.

    Imagine, we install a couple of rugby field size “solar panel plants” in the Northern Cape. Maybe near Upington. The Northern Cape is one of South Africa’s poorer provinces with a high unemployment rate. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Create employment, while helping the economy grow in the region, AND we get more electricity. It can be done. 2 sites in the USA have recently been installed using this technology.

    Stafford Masie, wrote a brilliant post on his blog about how we need to look for renewable energy sources, and has links to both these projects in this post.

    Another source of electricity is in our homes. Every day. Even when Eskom does turn our power off. How ? Our Telephones. On every telephone line there is 12v of current running through, regradless if the elctricity has been turned off or not. We could use this source to power essential items around the house. Recharge batteries, be able to use our laptops…there are so many opportunities. This American site has a few different products which you can use this source of power .

    The bottom line is that we need to find solutions to the problems. We are in a crisis, but we just need to put our heads together and solve it…

    (OK, just as I was about to push the publish button, I get shed into darkness…Karma is a bitch :) )