In-complet(e) Human Being...

I'm alive

2009-03-24T10:15:00.001+02:00

Yesterday the Department of Home Affairs released a facility online to check your status. Not whether you have HIV or not, that would be a little challenging, but instead and more godlike they can determine whether you are alive or not. And I am alive. Thank god for that.

If you follow this link then you can check your status too. If anyone is dead, then please leave a comment on this post. It would be interesting to see how many dead people are still walking around in this country, particularly given the fact that we are voting next month.

I think that the DHA should have got hold of the Health department and expanded the test to include an online health status check. How tall are you, how much do you weigh, do you smoke, do you drink, do you eat too much read meat. And then if your status is alive, then they could give you an indication of whether you are going to die soon or not. Cool. Collaboration between government departments. What a wow that would be.

Anyway. I will be using this daily to see if I am still alive or not. I always liked the idea of the living dead - vampires etc.

SS to JZ - "free me..."

2009-03-04T17:21:00.001+02:00

I was trying to imagine the conversation between Jacob Zuma and Shabbier Shaik the other day prior to his release. Here's how it goes:

SS: "eh, JZ man. I can't stay here anymore. I have done my time man. My arsritis is killing me - there's this big ou - Bongani - who really has it in for me. The pizza is really shit man 'coz the local Debonair's has moved. And jeez man, I am not sure how much longer I can keep up this illness scam. I am getting calluses on my butt."

JZ: "eish Shabbi. Sorry man. I'll see what I can do. I am seeing comrade Balfour tonight about a loan. But in the meantime go take a disprin and a shower - works for me."

SS: "Hey! Can't take a shower man 'coz that is where Bongani is waiting for me. He just keeps on saying "drop the soap. Please drop the soap Shabbi. I can't take it anymore. He doesn't even cuddle afterwards."

JZ: "So what is the problem with that, at least you're getting some love. I'm not into this same sex stuff, but desperate time's require desperate men. Eish, I just thought of something. What about early parole on medical grounds - yah man - you are sick man, really sick. They must go for it, I mean you have been in bed since you got there."

SS: "No more sickness man. I've been in bed for two fucking years my brother. No more. But then again I am getting quite good at it. It may just work. Especially if I remember it's my left leg that's sore - I keep on swopping - thank god no-one has noticed yet. OK, let's do it. Speak to comrade Balfour and I will carry on chewing the fucking chalk. It helps that the hospital food is so shit too. 'Coz who wouldn't look sick on that stuff."

JZ: "I have only one concern Shabbi. If the media get hold of this then we are in the shit - again. I can't sue anyone else for defamation...there is no-one left. You probably find that Zapiro shit will have a field day - luckily I wouldn't be directly linked to the parole decision, but I will make sure some of my doctors are on the medical team. You do realise that your medical condition must be terminal before you can be given medical parole?"

SS: "Ja, ja JZ. I read that part. Listen to this [croaky at death doorway voice]. I am sick doc. I am really sick. Everything hurts. I bleed from my arse everyday after my shower. I have indigestion [from eating too much shit pizza] that eats me from the inside out. My brain wants to explode [from trying to think how the hell to get out of here and how I can get my business back from those NPA bastards]. [Normal chirpy voice] How does that sound my brother?"

JZ: "Good, good. You are a better actor than I am. You should get an Oscar - or maybe a MP post for that. Sooo, let's see what happens with Balfour tonight. I am sure he will comply...I'll just go and get him a bottle of whiskey from Thabo's collection. Sure he will like that.

Some advice about Bongani. Take the dispirin before you shower..."

SS: "No man, JZ. That won't work..."

JZ: "Of course it will. Put the pill between your knees. Tell Bongani you have a headache today."

SS: "Must go, here comes Bongani with that tub of margarine again."

JZ: "Yah sure. Hey Shabbi, you know that interest you claimed back from the NPA. Can I have some? I am buying a new car - found another stupid bank to give me some credit."

SS: "Ja sure. I am sure my kids can eat some more maize for a few days."

JZ: "Cheers my China. You're the best."

SS: "Gotta run. Bongani is rubbing that marge on his - oh god no! Bongani stop it man, not here. Let's go somewhere private - I've got a reputation to uphold."

Bongani: "Ja Shabbi and I've got a need..."

[Click]

Deluded

2009-02-23T09:19:00.004+02:00

Over the weekend a rally was held by the ANC. Apparently a bunch of supporters arrived with their own posters that clearly depicted their frustration with the ANC for lack of delivery, self enrichment and leadership failure. These were promptly confiscated. But over the last few weeks I have noticed this shift in the membership as they struggle to reconcile 15 years of power with 15 years of pretty much same-same or worse.

In the run up to the election, the frequency of political debates is increasing and I have noticed that in many of these, the ANC spokespeople are on the back foot and sorely out of their depth - in many cases it appears that some of what they have to say has been scripted and these folks are left high and dry as the debate moves on.

In 1998 I predicted a split in the ANC for ideological reasons. Cope is far closer the the DA now. In fact even Azapo / PAC are spinning a similar yarn to their fellow parties along a more moderate line.

I can't say that I feel at all sorry for the ANC. They are losing their grip as they battle to bury the sins of the Arms Deal and the leaderships own improprieties (Think Zuma, Selebi etc.).

And as many people have noted, now that the elections are upon us, the ANC government has suddenly burst on the scene with a few new ideas and strategies to deal with the stuff they did not do before. Great politicking just before the election. Unfortunately for them, the critical eye of the media and public alike are now less likely to suffer amnesia as they did in the past as it is more obvious that somethings amiss.

So what will happen come the elections. I think that the ANC may very well find themselves struggling to achieve 50%. You heard it here. I also believe that JZ will finally take the stand and may very well be the first president to be jailed (not that this has not happened elsewhere).

The only way out is if the ANC were to reaffirm their original commitment to South Africa. To tackle corruption head on. To take the zero tolerance stance to heart. And get rid of the current leadership who are so tainted. I might even vote for them then.

Interesting are the new posters up in Cape Town heralding JZ's public rally. Sorely missing from the post is the heading "ANC" President - it just says President. Does that not constitute some false advertising...How deluded.

Dear Mr Zuma

2009-01-13T08:21:00.002+02:00

I don't think anyone went into the Arm's deal hoping to could get something out of it. Unfortunately once the cookie jar (inspired by pro-Arms industry competition laws) was opened, your mate Shabir realised that there was an opportunity to get himself and you a cut of the action. Whether you were complicit or not it would have been best for you to have fired him then and blown the lid on the bribery.

Now, unfortunately, most South Africans as well as a good deal of the outsiders have reason to believe, because of your continued denial and suspect associations, that where there is smoke there is burning evidence.

It is clear from other international investigations (in the UK and Germany) that bribes were paid. Which means that someone, somewhere benefited from the deal.

What concerns me, however, is your continued court room avoidance tactics (probably incited by your legal team and comrades - who may have something to lose). If you are as innocent as you claim to be then stop wasting ANC money (and our tax money) and just go ahead and take your day in court. I understand that any evidence may indict some of your mates and comrades, but such is life. These skelms (crooks) you may be defending - knowingly or otherwise - need their day in court too. They will feel so much better for it.

If you are an anti-corruption militant then prove it.

Your supporters obviously believe in your innocence and I am certainly willing to believe too if you were to stop delaying the inevitable. Go to court. If this case is a politically inspired plot to remove you as the presidential candidate then all will be revealed. If you truly believe in the Law then now is your chance. The corner you are being painted into is getting smaller.

Make us proud to be South Africans. Either way - innocent or guilty - it will be a public relations boost for our country. It will prove that we are willing to deal with our demons and corruption in an unprecedented fashion. It will prove the structures we have, the Judiciary, the NPA etc. really can work. And sure, if there is evidence of a plot all South Africans will stand in line to pull down those who have unsettled our fragile teenage democracy.

Mr Zuma, South Africa, our Constitution and the ANC are bigger than you. It is us you serve. Do not waste anymore time. Take the bull by the horns. Take your machine gun, your shower and whatever else you need. The old Nike strap line says "Just do IT". So I encourage you to take a stand for your country and put your delicate bits on the block. For us all.

Shane

Important Stuff

2008-12-22T16:13:00.001+02:00

My name is Shane Wilson. I live in Cape Town, South Africa with my wife of 10 years - Vaughneen and my two little lovable monsters - Matthew (6) and Julian (a month from 5).

I am looking for Jennifer Kirkpatrick or Mitchell Cullen who may help me shed some light on my early life. They were both in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at that time) in the late 60's.

I can be contacted at shane.aboyne at gmail dot com.

Thanks

Shane

IT Architects...

2008-12-08T17:19:00.005+02:00

Are shit...and a waste of hard earned corporate cash...

Why?

Real architects (of brick and mortar) generally design something that will outlive them.
IT architects (of vapour-ware and vendor lies) generally design something that will barely make it past the accounting write-off.

Real architects use proven materials - concrete has been around since the Romans, bricks even longer...
IT architects fart around evaluating, meddling and interfering with future-ware that is by no means comparable or stable as bricks.

Real architects understand living spaces, flow, ergonomics, psychology, art.
IT architects do not understand - anything - except for the dim and vague governance structures that are still in beta / draft.

There are great architects and really bad ones (who design awful housing estates).

Real architects take a clients budget, asthetics, dreams, requirements and then apply a little magic to create a home, an office or a library.
IT architects fuck up everything they lay their paws on...almost.

Urgh!!! If you don't believe me then just ask them...how much did you save me, what did you actually create that benefited me, where did all that money go?

Sometimes you just have to accept...that it's over.

2008-11-26T13:40:00.001+02:00

I can't stand it when I wander about in

endless denial about the end of something - a relationship, a job, a dream, whatever...

Then one day I kinda

snap out of it and decide to move on.

It also pisses me off that I just

wasted a heck of a lot of

time getting there (I also hang on a bit too long hoping that something will change).

I put my neck (and other bits) out for pretty much anything I really believe in.

Felix Dennis says that one of the greatest skills in business is knowing early when you are betting on a dead duck and cutting your losses by getting out early - very early.

My advice:

"Don't ever wait too long, get out while the going is good."

F... the bunnies...feed our people

2008-10-17T12:55:00.004+02:00

Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but this recent thing with the rabbits on Robben Island has got me all in a tiz. South Africa has a 40% unemployment rate and to make matters worse, most of the people do not know where the next meal is coming from. So...

Wouldn't it be nice to select one thousand hungry people - who the previous residents of the island fought for - give them a free trip to the island (because they couldn't probably afford the fare anyway) - and let them hunt some bunny...with a free guided tour of the prison and some snacks afterwards.

Where are our priorities? Lest we forget they are (in no particular order):

- fight poverty
- food for everyone
- equality for our fellow man
- schooling for all our children
- jobs, jobs and more jobs (culling bunnies is a job too)

But ours are probably in a dark hole not dissimilar to a rabbit burrow.

Protect the flora - have a rabbit stew today.

Accepted Social Standards

2008-09-08T14:10:00.004+02:00

I have always been the type of person to question the social standards we apply in our daily lives. Some are silly and some are fundamental to how we operate / cooperate.

One example is my question about why we hold a fork upside down when using it to scoop (like a spoon) up food is much more effective.

Another is why you shouldn't call a spade a spade when having a heated discussion with someone in a meeting at work who is obviously screwing with the system. Why soften everything to the point of muteness.

I get so frustrated in meetings when people cover up on lack of progress in front of management. It really pisses me off no end. I often feel the need to just climb over the table and wind him one when I know that he is a lying bastard. (I suppose the question I need to ask is what if I am wrong.)

But lets for the purpose of this exercise assume that the offending person in question is wrong. What is the problem just smacking him upside the head even if only with words?

I think, unfortunately, that a larger portion of those in the meeting are complicit with the truth bending as their arses on are on the line.

But as with everything else, the truth will out. For those collaborators of deceit, the truth is often as a post project analysis and generally is quickly covered up and toothless - "well we tried but the business did not cooperate" and all the other excuses you can imagine.

My experience is that the rot sets in at the executive level and filters down... "That deadline must be met or else."

Funny beings we are... What is wrong with doing the right thing? Possibly because most of these people believe that their job is genuinely on the line. Funnily (or perversely) enough the most memorable of the buggers usually find themselves promoted - mainly because their management only remember their names and not because of their misdemeanours.

Scary, but true.

Energy solutions

2008-04-07T13:05:00.001+02:00

It is a "soft" passion of mine to build something to alleviate my homes energy crisis. "Soft" because I have only looked at the options.

The most obvious areas where your contribution (reducing consumption and managing carbon footprint) could be made are:

household insulation : reducing heating and cooling requirements (including double glazing, ceiling insulation etc.)
hot water pipe insulation : not loosing heat between geyser and outlet (shower, tap)
solar geysers : from what I have read and heard these work really well and ROI is great
solar panels / battery combinations : although still not fantastically efficient, panels are great for charging batteries that can run notebook, TV, kettle
generators : mmmm, still burning fossil fuel unless you get a diesel one linked into your home supply and get some bio diesel to run it on
a bicycle : obvious if you work close by - not great when it rains and you need to shower when you get there
an electric vehicle : there are production vehicles - hybrid and 100% electric. The disposal of batteries is becoming less of an issue where the right ones are used e.g. NiMH which are recyclable. There are also a number of kits and plans for building your own.
Laptops in general are becoming a real alternative to a desktop (as the desktops for gaming are becoming more power hungry even when on standby)
Low watt lighting or LED's : LED's have come a long way and there are now numerous applications where these have replaced more draining alternatives - bike lighting etc.

I am certainly interested in stuff I can do myself so my checklist will include :

solar geyser
my bicycle (there are quite a few electric bikes out there that can do a bit more than assist you to get to your destination)
a plan for an electric car - probably the Doran. However, there may be issues with regards roadworthy and licensing here that need sorting first
laptop
low watt lighting

What would you do?

So you have an energy crisis?

2008-04-07T12:40:00.001+02:00

In South Africa we are in the midst of an energy crisis. There are quite a few arguments as to how we ended up here and lots of finger pointing. Simply put, the only supplier cannot supply enough electricity because they cannot generate enough. So I now know what it was like in California a couple of years back with the rolling blackouts they experienced.

Every time we have a run of ("planned") outages, folks run out to buy generators, batteries, torches, gas canisters etc. We are well past the "early" adopters, but none the less the retailers experience surges in turnover and are at times caught unawares.

What has come out of this is that the energy crisis extends beyond electricity. LPG gas until recently (last 5 years) was the exclusive domain of the poor and the caravan and holiday house owners. With the increased demand there is not enough LPG and certainly not enough retailers. Demand exceeds supply by quite a bit and often the big refineries cannot produce enough.

Which leads to the petrol and diesel prices. Who would have thought that an increasing petrol price would have been surpassed by a demand driven diesel price. With the increase in a available diesel vehicles in South Africa, the pressure on petrol prices and an improvement in service cycles due to more refined diesel the diesel price has shot passed petrol prices (the benefit of diesel vehicles is they are still more economical per litre than petrol ones).

So, that has to be an emphatic YES to an energy crisis.

What is maybe going wong? (with facebook and the other social portals)

2007-11-29T15:34:00.001+02:00

I have been trying for some time to put my finger on what is wrong with the facebook generation. In my previous blog I began to touch on my dis-ease with the "standard" of conversation that facebook and the other range of social networks are generating.

After reading a blog by Kevin Roberts on eye movement analysis and a blog by Marc Andreesen on the failure of social networks (including sms, irc etc) it is clear that an electronically assisted conversation will never completely replace a face to face interaction.

What is more distressing is the fact that "corporate" interference in the conversational domain means that the messages on your facebook page are totally disabling. Another article from Marc relates to our ability to concentrate on a particular element / piece of work (which are key in the attraction economy) is that as humans we can only process one piece (again one piece) of information at any point in time. So if you were to combine this with our left to right reading ability and the focus on the top left corner it baffles me as to why this area [on most sites] is occupied by a fucking logo....

This said. The blog platform is flawed but by no means floored. The conversation is certainly too controlled in this space, but at least it is not peppered with unwanted commercialism. And it is fundamentally debilitated by timing (for those "normal folks" who can't possibly live on their blog we don't always come back when the passion is hot thus potentially limiting the impact and flow of the conversation) and lack of flow of the conversation, but none the less it can be natural - whereas posting something to someones wall can just become graffiti.

Social networks on a facebook scale are clipped and for the sms generation - should real conversations be moving there - I am not so sure, because ultimately these conversations - although real - are not particularly deep and meaningful.

Do you recognise this man?

2007-11-22T10:02:00.001+02:00

The Stormhoek roller coaster that the last year was is coming to an end and I have to say that things are on the up and up. The picture about was taken from the front page of the Sunday Times. The featured video was posted there because on Sunday night, Stormhoek won the "small budget" brand of the year and the Grand Prix prize for the best brand of 2007 at the South African Marketing Excellence awards held in Johannesburg. We edged out some of the biggest brands in the country like Standard Bank, Nedbank, ABSA, Vodacom and MTN. These are all companies with massive marketing and advertising budgets and bright happening folks. Most of these companies entered only one campaign, we entered Stormhoek because you see there is more to us than just a blog. You see in Cape Town there are only 6 of us and we have managed to pretty much secure the top restaurants, hotels and more recently the big three grocers (yea you will start seeing Stormhoek wines at SPAR, PnP and Checkers - already available in some stores).

We 6 are local winemaker, administration, marketing, DTP, IT, sales etc.

What was more significant about this weekend past is that it highlighted the flaws in traditional media. The awards event was originally scheduled for Saturday so that the Sunday Times could splash breaking news about the awards as they are also the primary sponsor of the event. But due to gremlins in the scheduling the event was moved to Sunday evening and because the Sunday Times is only a weekly newspaper the edge and article had to be moved to next weekend.

But this also highlights the role of the Net in all of this. By Monday morning there were two articles out there and by Tuesday there were 4 pages on Google. Each one with a different take. Of course if I had not eliminated the syndicated articles there would have been 50+ pages.

Another problem with a physical newspaper is that the no and quality and depth of articles is driven by how much advertising space you can sell, what the shape, length, news worthiness etc. of the articles are and I have noticed more recently how sussed your news staff with regards to Digg and other aggregation tools. I mean the Indian guy who married the dog story was first on BBC, I came across it on Scott Adams blog and it finally turned up in the Cape Times 3 days later.

Lastly a newspaper is often categorised by subjects like sport, local, business and those mini newspapers inside the bigger ones. And then you have to wade through the wads of property, small ads etc. to get to where you want to be. I love my RSS reader. Life is so different now.

So bully for Stormhoek, please go out and get your bottle with pride...

Phew...

2007-10-15T01:45:00.000+02:00

It has been quite a difficult time for me recently. My wife and I started renovations with a builder in April this year. We were looking at about 8 to 10 weeks work. Pah! He has not finished and kinda dropped off the face of the earth to go and pursue the next paying job - typical? Luckily it is 90% complete, much of which I have been able to do.

Workwise stuff has been frantic. I am keeping my head though and things are on the up which means that I will post more here.

Stormhoek is still "hoeking" new clients all the time, but I feel bad because I am not paying enough attention to my existing clients because of my other demands.

Family stuff is good. The boys are great and I am happy with the situation.

Need exercise. Eat and drink too much... Managing to maintain my weight, started n-code...waiting to see what will happen. Thinking of trying cellfood too.

Intense, deep, elegant, cleansing frustration

2007-08-14T00:09:00.000+02:00

Arrgghhh!!!

I woke up yesterday with complete loathing at the thought of having to get up and go to work. Today, sitting at my desk, I felt like getting up and walking out - preferably never to return.

Working for the baas (boss) is unforgiving, soul destroying and utterly numbing. In my parents generational sensibilities, I have trudged on, forcing myself into this mould, almost accepting the inevitability that someday, I will be retired with a paid mortgage and a few grandchildren, and a life to be moderately proud about. Fuck!

Everyday I think that I have potentially wasted the last 5 years. I have allowed mediocrity to take hold with its spindly fingers around my neck, throttling out the last of my creativity and individuality. Oh god! I am becoming just another nameless, soulless, passionless lump.

I have been thinking for the last few weeks that I need to formulate a plan to get the hell out of here. I know what needs to be done, the dedication. I do not lack desire, but the responding action is just not there. This path that I follow has drained my of the desire to act, yet not calmed the hatred for this path. Which means I just fucking hate what I am doing and have no energy to escape, so end up hating it and myself even more.

There is something better, but the baas and his "rewards" have drained my entirely of the youthful exuberance and devil-may-care attitude I held so dear in earlier life.

So the lesson in this all is - just be aware of how you feel inside.

- It is so easy to just let things happen to you instead of making them happen for you. Time runs off quicker than you notice and it is tough with all the additional pressures resulting from family and work commitments.
- Choose your path well my son, becuase sometimes the path takes you to places you did not have in mind.
- Set your priorities carefully. Money is not everything. Everybody says it, but it is becoming all the more important as everything costs more for us all. The gaps are forever widening between the haves and have nots. This is our world and our kids future we are toying with for very short term gain - relatively speaking.

Gotta write....

2007-04-30T04:11:00.000+02:00

Well it has been a while. It is probably time to express my:

- disappointment at SA team not making the Cricket World Cup Finals, but then again maybe an up-down-up performance during the run-up out to have suggested the final outcome a few weeks back. I am still proud of our boys, and I think that it is not all in vain. Lessons learnt must be taken to heart now or forget the next one too.

- frustration at the time games being played in the Jacob Zuma court theatricals. Give the man the stage and let him have his say again the evidence - what ever it is. I think that the delays are fabricated in order to try and get the trial postponed until after ANC internal elections this year. Wait and see.

- elation at finding a builder that actually sticks to schedule and budget and does a good job as well. Name and number to follow if anyone is interested....we are down to 3 out of 8 rooms, but that is still more that some of my bros in Khayalitsha so who am I to be nose out of joint...

Cheers
Shane

Stormhoek Bloggers Braai

2007-03-16T10:33:00.000+02:00

I am pleased to announce the first, the only, Stormhoek Bloggers Braai to be held at Stormhoek Vineyards on the 23rd March 2007. This braai, announced at the recent 27dinner in Cape Town is now a reality.

Check out the wiki here.

Stormhoek rocks.

the smogosphere and the fallout from the SA Blogger awards 2007

2007-03-14T11:16:00.000+02:00

I have keenly followed the recent debate around the SA Blogger Awards 2007 that ultimately sparked off some real conversation around the judging process and selection criteria for finalists.

I think that it got us all worked up enough that a concerted effort will be made to improve the transparency and efficacy of the process in future. And that more accepted mechanisms will be employed to ensure fairness.

What still has me baffled is the "comment" thing as a measure of a good blog. There are suggestions of cronyism and mutual masturbation...etc. etc. This aspersion has some truth to it. If you really go and troll (for lack of a better word) through comments on most blogs (where there are comments) then you find that most read as follows:

Post: Blah, blah, blah, humbug etc.

Posted by Dick

Comment
by Bill:

Hi Dick. Thanks for the awesome post and boy you have such
a huge ego man. Stroke, stroke.

Comment by Dick:

Thanks for that and yes I do have a big one. Stroke you later.

Comments are there to enable conversation. If we wish to use comments as a measure of worthiness then you would have to analyse the quality of the conversation and then you are getting in too deep because it would take years to extract any meaning (and you certainly can't count them because we know where that goes).

This comment thing is a dangerous thing. You write your blog for yourself and if someone else reads it then good on you, but noone should have to comment. If you write to get comments you are writing for an audience and not for yourself.

So turn your ego backwards when you blog and the world will be a better place. Long live conversation, death to ego stroking commentary.

I've been 27'ed

2007-02-28T05:12:00.000+02:00

I have heard of a 69, but now (once a month - alternating between Egoli and the Mutha City) you can get 27'ed all for the price of a good meal.

Last night marked the first 27 dinner held in Cape Town. The 27 dinner is an evolutionary step from the GeekDinners held last year in CT and Jozi. And boy what a metamorphisis...

We had an absolutely full house. People were hanging out the windows and doors. As is custom in CT, promptness went out the window and most people cruzed after 7pm... But then we had a live band (http://www.iamverity.com/), a real futurist and all round nice guy(http://www.guylundy.com), an entrepreneur, writer and speaker (http://www.mikestopforth.com) etc. etc. With our steadfast supporters like Dave - our MC and overall organiser(http://www.daveduarte.com) and Max - the hunter of genius (http://www.maxkaizen.com) etc. etc.

The event was slick and Dave (and Mike) had organised recording of the event (ja, man, I still have the video from the first geekdinner and did not post it anywhere). It was well lit and there was even a projector for the powerpoint enabled...

After a bunch of really good chats - the one that remains with me is Guys chat about how much he believes, loves, and is motivated by this great place we live in. I believe that the world is on the edge of something great. Everyone is almost kinda holding their collective (dare I say communal) breath. We cannot work longer hours (been there and done that) nor can we just pay lip service to our striving for balance. Work is outdated anyway - fun, health and wealth can co-exist and work is just another four letter word.

Being 27'ed is awesome. Thanks to all involved and well done. Keep up the high standards.

Shane

PS. There was reason to be a little peeved about the gratuitous marketing pitch that went on a little long. And maybe some folks were nattering while they should have been heckling rather. Really though, this event imo is not about a specific interest group (geeks etc.) - and this has been mentioned in others posts - but it is about something bigger - so next time if you are not interested in a chat get up and walk out (the speaker should be big enough to handle that) and a informal panel should be in place to ensure strick adherence to time lines with a little help from the audience (al la TED where the audience were able to vote).

I am still here....

2006-11-09T12:24:00.000+02:00

Thank god for that...

Just in case you were wondering...

1) The Stormhoek wine biz is flying
2) Gavin came 19th at the world 24 hour MTB champs in Atlanta, GA last month (we did not get much sponsorship either, but it was a learning experience. Next time we will go big...
3) Our little consulting biz is growing too. We are talking strategy, employment etc...argh...sometimes when things go well they can catch up with one really quickly.

See ya later.

I plied you with wine and....

2006-08-31T16:26:00.000+02:00

There are no new blogs...

Probably because you all are still suffering from the late night last night. Thanks to everyone who participated in the 1st Stormhoek Geek dinner.

The video is great and I will hopefully have it out there in the next week.

For anyone who wants me to cut the TED speeches that I have to disk, just email me at six_aboyne_rd at hotmail dot com.

Man, woman and child what a fantastic evening. Cheers to ya all.

Correction...Dave has a blog up, but the rss feed is not working so well...

A statistical reality

2006-08-23T13:05:00.000+02:00

I was reading through the list of potential attendees at the CT Geek Dinner to be held next week at Relish in the heart of the city. Although I am not particularly concious of these things (and I always should be), the list pretty much indicates the state of geekdom in SA. There are lots of white males, a few girlies and - not to generalise - Rafiq and Vivi (sorry to leave anyone else off as I could only go on names as I did not have enough time to visit everyones blog either)

This post was pretty much inspired while reading TAN this morning and it struck me how even our simple social technologies reflect the inequalities around us.

I recently read "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell and in one experiment, on an entrance exam for a big University, race was indicated. The result was that it triggered poor performance amongst those who were not rich, white folks who had been built up throughout their lives as bright, priveleged etc.

I have two little guys of my own. A while back I was at a seminar and the speaker mentioned an astonishing statistic that suggested that we - as parents - resort to using "negative" language when speaking to our children and that by the age of 7 (I stand corrected) they will hear 10 million negatives and only 1 million postitives.

What Malcolm Gladwell also suggests is that our brains are so hard wired - what with all the suggestion - that I can see how we all get so screwed up and why it was so easy for the technologically advanced to dominate and oppress everyone else (ultimately resulting in us thinking we are worth less etc. etc.).

What I have gathered - TED videos, Guy Kawasaki (Art of the Start) and through a video from Ben Hammersley that I came across on gapingvoid is that we at a juncture in history (the ruling technology is also available to us all - not just Mac users - even though some of you are of that opinion) - that from here on in we can pretty much direct the future. This is an awesome time to be living in. Governments are pretty much out of control - whilst trying to impose more control. The more powerfully positive stuff we push via our blogs and social networks - creative, meaningful, caring, critical, funny, free - the more likely we are going to feel a powerful and positive vibe and the more likely we are to reach a significant social tipping point...I am hanging for that moment where the poor are just less poor and societal inequities are changed forever.

...and I don't have to look through the list of attendees and cringe...

Update on Invoice madness

2006-08-22T22:10:00.000+02:00

I was finally paid for a few reasons
- I made a fuss
- My boss resigned
- My old boss likes me and he made the final call (I love you man)

Secondly, I have worked hard, but being independent means you work harder (if you have a heart and a conscience that is). You can never be complacent because someone has a chip on their shoulder about you getting it right.

Thirdly, you feel nothing if you leave early because you are on top of your workload - because you just don't charge.

I f'ing love it. Rock on the "Free".

A post for the sake of it...

2006-08-22T21:59:00.000+02:00

I have to ask myself this question: do you create a post for the sake of it?

The answer is: "Hell No". The reality is - when work life gets the better of you - YES you sometimes do. Especially when you have nothing cute to say.

I spent Friday in JHB (Jozi, Egoli, Johannesburg) with a potential (new) client for the consultancy. What an experience. Initially I had to defend the fact that I am a Stormhoek breed of consultant - a Consultant 2.0 - in it to make a living and - well - in it to make meaning. What I realised is that folks find this hard to grasp. "So you don't really want to take me for everything I have and then still tell me I am crap?" - "No thats not the plan and - well - I am certainly not keen on all this travel and stuff, but you know what there is some great software (OSS) that will allow us to interact over the standard web in a way that can make our interactions meaningful and cost effective...."

Hey, traditionalists, it is possible. There are those of us who are seriously hyped to just add value and do it with integrity and an ethic long forgotten. And you know what, we do it as well as any of our commercial competitors and maybe in some cases - better...

There is an undercurrent of meaning that some are catching that goes with the wave of - lest I say - conciousness that is engulfing us all. Be there or be dumped....

Humility of the Invoice

2006-08-02T20:50:00.000+02:00

I recently changed over from being a permanent employee to consulting for a living. Unfortunately I am still, for 3 days a week, with my previous employer. It is the 2nd of the month and we still have not come to an agreement on my contract (first supplied at the end of May) and I have worked for a whole *#&$ing month and have not been paid.

Other than the fact that I am wondering if I am going to be paid or not, I am wondering what I should do next...should I say "stuff your job"...there are alternatives...quite a few actually that I have turned down or have simmering some in favour of my current job...because I believe in something we created...because I want to save it from being lost in some enormous enterprise software disaster...

It is an immensely humbling experience to be asking for your money that is due to you as opposed to being paid by some faceless payroll system. My god, I am frustrated, angry and helpless. I feel if I were to just quit then stuff would be dumped my way that I was certainly not responsible for and that beautiful thing that we made would just be #*&$ed over with no feeling whatsoever. It is such a tough world and worth every minute in that these things make you realise what is really important...and it is that none of these things are - other than love, your family, your partner, your kids, your dog, your cat, your herb (not that herb) garden, your lawn (not that grass dude), your driveway, your bike, your car, then maybe and only maybe your job - actually it still comes last, but your cycling shorts come before your bike...

Maybe I should just walk away...but the one thing I would miss are the people I really like that are working there...they make my day survivable...

I start everyday with the hope that I can actually believe in the human spirit and that deep down everyone is good, but I am disappointed so often and it is only the ones that are true to themselves (or their real inside is close to their worldly outer self) that keep my hope alive...and #&$* those who just live for themselves because they will inherit the sh1te of the earth...for the rest of you - as Hugh often puts it - ROCK ON...