The Shaved Soapbox

Skull Candy GI review

Baldy — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:30:11 +0000

I've had my Skull Candys for about a year now, and have used them on and off during the year.

What I like

The sound quality is good, not up there with Sennheiser but good, with excellent bass because of the size of the drivers.

Solid, you won't break these easily.

Lifetime guarantee, no matter how you break them.

Built-in bottle opener, ok, that's not really a feature of headphones, but it has come in handy once or twice.

What I don't like

They're too tight around my head, after about 2 hours of listening I start getting a headache and the pressure on my jaw hinges becomes unbearable. But then I just take them off for a while and all that eases.

Not as loud as I expected, this is probably a good thing, otherwise I would have turned my brain into an echo chamber by now.

Am I sorry I bought them? Not in the least.

If I had to do this over, would I buy them again? Probably not, I would rather spend the extra money and go for one of the high-end makes like Sennheiser.

An idea for a more effective social grant system

Wordless Wednesday – Sunset Silhouette

Baldy — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:30:52 +0000

Wordless Wednesday – The moon, on a clear, sunny day

Baldy — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:30:51 +0000

Take responsibility for what you do with your tools

Baldy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:42:32 +0000

While reading Scott Berkun's defence of PowerPoint, a phrase came to mind "A bad workman will always blame his tools".

I've sat through so many bad presentations where the first thing the speaker does is to apologise for the "Death By PowerPoint", and the converse, which doesn't happen that often, is a good presentation where the speaker uses the tool as an aid to draw your attention, like it was designed to do.

I agree with Scott, YOU need to take responsibility for the work you deliver, you should never blame a tool for your shortcomings.

How about laws we actually need?

Baldy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:56:08 +0000

In the last 2 weeks things have gone really crazy with the arrest of a journalist for dubious reasons, and the government trying to fast track a law which would enable them to hide the corruption prevalent in their ranks, instead of just fixing the real problem. I have my views on these things, but this is not what the post is about.

We are in our strike season again, a bit later than usual after everyone behaved so nicely during the World Cup, and since yesterday there has been reports all over about violence and intimidation by the strikers. This is totally uncalled for!

Everyone has the right to strike, as long as all the processes are followed to ensure that the strike is legal and for the right reasons. The current reason is that our public servants are not happy with an increase that is already slightly higher than the official inflation rate, which is more than what most people in the private sector got. The official inflation rate is a farce according to my calculations, but that's a story for another post altogether.

What is sad about the increases is that our government ministers and other politically connected officials received increases far higher than what the workers are asking for. So there are two new "laws" I am suggesting in this regard.

1) A committee, made up of the President, Finance Minister, and 2 or 3 other people with the right qualifications, needs to determine increases once a year according to the official inflation rate, and that is what everyone in public service gets, from the top to the bottom, as long as they have achieved their personal performance goals.

2) You still have your right to strike. But at the first signs of violence or intimidation, whether committed by the strikers or not, the strike is declared illegal, and everyone has 2 hours to get back to work or lose their jobs.

I dare you dear South African Government to fast-track these 2 laws, because it can only have a positive impact on the country as a whole.

Wordless Wednesday – Princess Two

Baldy — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:30:16 +0000

Wordless Wednesday – Sunlight Effects

Baldy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:52:49 +0000

Wordless Wednesday – How comfy is this

Baldy — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:30:25 +0000

Captain in the Cauldron – My review

Baldy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:43:32 +0000

John Smit's autobiography is an awesome read. I managed to finish it in a few days, purely because I couldn't put it down, unlike a few other books I've read recently.

The book gives a lot of insight into what happens behind the scenes in the Springbok camp, especially around the preparation for the 2007 World Cup campaign.

A number of rumours incorrectly spread by the media were also dispelled in the book, and I have even more respect for our current Springbok captain after reading his book.

I've been following Smit's career since he burst onto the international scene, and have realised long ago that most of his work is done behind the scenes, out of the public eye, even on the field . This book was a confirmation of that realisation.

I can really recommend the book, well worth the buy. I hope I get the rest of the chapters for free when they are written

Wordless Wednesday – Living on the edge

Baldy — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:23:32 +0000