Nic’s blog
I write about building businesses, failing and building a life, not a legacy.
Wordpress offers .com hosting
I have been seriously considering moving my blog to a .com url. I think that this is a necessary movement for bloggers in the very near future and thought that over December it would be a good idea to get started. So I have emailed some people that I regard as knowledgeable in this area and have done some of my own research. Thus far the best solution that I have found involves Wordpress. A new feature has just been added to the Wordpress services; a feature that allows wordpress.com url's to be moved to .com url's. I think this is a brilliant idea. The only problem with this is that I am obviously a blogger user.Apparently Wordpress offers a service that allows for the importing of blogger blogs to Wordpress blogs. This might have to be done.There is a charge of $15 /per year if you are purchasing the desired url from Wordpress. If you have already purchased the url then the charge is a mere $10/per year or at the most R100/per year. I think this is a fantastic price for a brilliant deal and I think that I shall be making the moving to nicharalambous.com sometime very, very soon!
Samsung D900 - update
Finally received my phone today. Vodacom made it very difficult for me this morning, but eventually I made it through and have my D900. The phone is fantastic. I have never found it easier to personalise, customise and update my phone via my laptop. The Samsung software is fantastic and is easy use. I can upload, download and synchronise to and from my phone to my laptop. I obviously have to move my birthday reminders from old to new phone and clean out my old phone before I can be completely happy with my upgrade, but that is par for the course.Anyways, it's almost that lovely day called present day - or was that Christmas? So to everyone who gives a fudge, have a happy happy. And to Jen from the Oh Boy! blog: Best of wishes for your brothers speedy recovery and I reckon 2007 will be incredible.
Eyepost - or is it Ipod?
I heard an absolutely hilarious story today. Apparently at CNA one of the staff was asked if CNA stocked a book called Ipod generation. The lady told the customer to wait while she checked on her computer system. About ten minutes later the customer went looking for the lady and found her staring at the computer screen. Subsequently passers by apparently heard the customer saying: "No, no it's spelled "I-P-O-D" not "E-Y-E-P-O-S-T". Who works in a shop like CNA and has never heard of an Ipod? Very strange and seriously embarrassing.The book is actually called Ipod therefore I am and I recently bought it after hearing much about it last year while I was in Europe.
Samsung D900
I am finally due for my phone upgrade on my vodacom talk 240 contract. It has been a long and happy two years with my Samsung D500. I have had no problems with it at all. So I am considering sticking with the Samsung range and will most probably going with the D900.
The D900 seems to be a great phone and has almost everything I am looking for. I was initially going to upgrade to the LG KG920 which has/had a 5 megapixel camera built in. Unfortunately Vodacom told me that they have discontinued the phone so I am unable to upgrade to it. I am a little bummed out about it but I think I can deal with D900 as a suitable replacement. Any suggestions let me know and I'll look in to it before I purchase the D900 tomorrow.
philton.shuttp
So apparently it's true, Paris Hilton has a marketing team that spans millions of paris androids (paroids). I call them paroids because they cannot actually be real people. These people have lost all feeling in the hearts and conscience in their souls. These people advertise on blogs whenever they read anything about their beloved leader philton. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE. Snap out of it. Wake up and smell the capitalist marketing ploy. You are all being played by an extremely intelligent team of marketers that work for miss philton, the leader of the paroids.This most recent outburst of rant and rage from me stems from a comment that I received on my Google's top news searches post. philton.org (please do not go and visit this turd of a site) felt it necessary to spam my blog with philton rubbish. This moron-paroid believes that it is necessary to create awareness for a girl (yes she is a girl not a women) who's claim to fame is a pair of nickers that she doesn't even wear really...ever...at all. I'm sorry but I can't agree with this kind of shameless dictatorial following of a mindless people to a pseudo-leader. Grow a brain cell, hell share one between all of you if you have to but stop promoting a tart who sells promiscuity to under aged children and un-kept naked crotch areas to women.To philton.shuttup: Grow up, get some content on your blog that might make people read it without the use of spam ads (notice my use of the term "people" in that sentence, not paroids).And to everyone else: Resist the urge to form an alliance with the paroids, they are out there and they are waiting for you to slip up so that they can trick you in to joining their side, the dark side, the forces of evil. Keep an eye open for a paroid in your neighbourhood today.
Windex now and then
I read somewhere that the following Windex ad has been voted the best by the American public. I am close to agreeing but haven't seen the alternatives so I can't say for certain. Watch it and decide for yourself.Now watch the next ad from about a million years ago and see how far we have come in the advertising world.
Fresh Faced Comic - Joey Gay
Joey Gay, Lets be happy he wasn't named Izzy Gay. Funny dude, loving the Brooklyn Iti' vibe.
Google's top news searches
Mike Stopforth has reported on Google's top news searches. The list reads as follows:
The top searches on Google News:
1. paris hilton2. orlando bloom3. cancer4. podcasting5. hurricane katrina6. bankruptcy7. martina hingis8. autism9. 2006 nfl draft10. celebrity big brother 2006
What the fuck is this shit? Paris, Orlando, Martina, 2006 nfl shit, celebrity Big Brother. Need I go on? I am impressed with the cancer, autism and maybe even the podcast and bankruptcy searches but so many celeb and sports searches baffles me. Is it actually possible that there are hardly any news searches on the Google news site. What about congress, politics, history, public figures in Government, International law, journalism, Television programs and channels such as CNN, news sites and all the other topics that might possibly have featured in actual newspapers or news sites around the globe?On the other hand one needs to ask if these searches are representative of the proportion of news coverage that each topic/search receives in the media's portfolios. Maybe Paris Hilton has received more coverage than Iraq this year and maybe Orlando has been on television more often than Tony Blair, Thabo Mbeki and Kofi Annan (if you don't know any of those names then maybe you are one of the Paris Hilton search culprits) put together. Then again, maybe Americans are searching Google for these things more than any other group in the world and that is why Ms Hilton is at the top of the list. I don't know, you tell me.
I dislike christmas, alot. I am The Grinch
I am really not sure what it is about this time of year that makes me despise it so much, but I do. I hate christmas with a passion, I hate shopping, presents, carols, cake, panetone, lunches, dinners, eve's and everything else that goes along with this holiday. I am not a religious man and I think that this is why this holidays frustrates me so much. I think that people have taken what used to be a tradition of holy proportion and bastardized it in to time of year to purchase exorbitant gifts for people that they should be loving the entire year and spoiling every day, not just on one day of the year.Silly, silly time of the year coated in joy, love and happiness. What a load of shit.
Media Whore
Lately I've been feeling like somewhat of a media whore. I can't decide on a browser, I keep Opera, Firefox, Flock and Explorer installed on my laptop at all times just in case I get bored, frustrated or one of the options goes belly side up. So does this make me a cautious user or a nonc0mmittel fence sitter? I'm not sure.But on this point, Paul Stamatiou has pointed out that Opera 9.1 has been released. I am in the process of downloading the upgrades and testing it out and will definitely have an update on my experiences soon!
Kill me - Stephen White
I just finished reading an amazing book written by Stephen White called Kill Me. The book is about a man who is wealthy enough to afford the services of an end of life agency he calls the Death Angels. The Death Angels are paid for by you to end your life when you are diagnosed with a terminal illness.This is some variation of euthanasia but it is not as simple as that. What if you did not require the services anymore but could not end the contract? What if you wanted one last meal with your wife, child or best friend? What if you weren't ready to die no matter how badly ill you were and dependent on others you had to be?Read this book, it speaks from a male perspective and morphs itself in to the views of a father. There is a difference between a male and a father, trust me this book clearly defines that difference.I am pro choice and I loved the fact that this book presented both sides of the coin as equal. White does not make his characters decide for you, he lets you make your own mind up about suicide, of any kind.
Scratch that itch
Every person in the world wants something. There is no true altruistic act in existence. You can disagree, you can try, but you will be wrong. Give me mother Theresa, give me Jesus Christ, give me god himself, even they have reasons for doing what they have done.Lately I have come across a lot of fast talking, big mouthed know it alls who have promised me the world. In essence all that they are talking to me about is that itch. That little itch that keeps them guessing, keeps me feeling like they are lying to me to get what they want, to pick my brain and ravage me dreams. This might sound very drastic but it's how I feel to be honest. JHB is a place filled with opportunity and riddled with chance. But I've learned that people here are quick to talk but slow to act, quick to promise but never follow through and in actual fact are filled with horse crap.It just sometimes upsets me that people have this itch. Hell, I live for that itch, I thrive on the itch, I want to rule the fucking world someday... seriously. But it's one thing to have that itch and another thing completely to let that itch have you. Greed, jealousy, self preservation and selfishness all fall under the itch category. Don't let the itch category slip under your skin.
Changing blog url and name
I am considering a change in name and url for Shutterview. I am tired of Googling my blog and finding another site. I am tired of hiding behind my blog with my opinions. I think I am perfectly happy for people to know who I am by the name of my blog. I have never hidden behind my blog url but also never promote who I am.I am just a bit stuck about hosting, url purchase, design etc etc etc. So, if you have any suggestions, thoughts or comments, feel free to send them through.I am considering an obvious but easy http://nicharalambous.com as the new url.Is it worth the admin of resubmitting, reclaiming, technorati ranking, google ranking, alexia, RSS feeds, subscription losses etc etc etc? I'm not sure, but I am sure that I am fed up with blogger in a big way.
Back home figh
I am back from holiday and have much to say (for a change!). This will be the first of a string of posts that I will be writing about my time away, books I've read and things I've been thinking about.Lets get started.I'm not sure if anyone reading this knows where Hartebeespoort Dam is but that's where I've been for the last five days. It was serene, calm, quiet and relaxing. I spent the week with Jen, my girlfriend as well as my cousins and aunt, Dot. Yesterday morning I decided to take my cousins out for pancakes. We chose Pick a Pancake as our weapon of choice. That was cool except Jen ordered something of the "pancake" section of the menu that didn't actually come with a pancake. What's up with that? Why put something under the pancake section if it doesn't come with a pancake? Go figure.The most interesting and irritatingly frustrating part of the drive to Pick a Pancake was the Dam wall. Crossing the wall is a joy and a tradition, going over the wall provides a magnificent view accompanied by a disgusting smell. That smell is the water. As far as my experience with dam water goes I thought that it was meant to be blue, or at least some shade of blue or possibly even, at a push, brown-ish. It wasn't. It was green. Pea green as in pea green soup kind of green. Not so attractive I can assure you. Then while we were stopped at the robot (Traffic light) we were bombarded by hawkers. Hawkers are those lovely men and women trying to sell you anything and everything on the side of the road. Now I understand the concept of hawking, selling stuff to cars driving past, stopped at the robots, sweet. But why, oh why do these people sell such random bullshit? Tennis balls the size of my head, watches, peanuts, wooden carvings that can't actually fit in my boot if I so choose to purchase one. Senseless sales I like to call them. These senseless sales serve as nothing more than an irritation to my holiday mode. I counted close on 10 different hawkers that I turned away, not one or two, 10. Why would I want to buy the same product from hawker number 4 if I turned away hawker number 2? You tell me.
Holiday time has arrived
I don't get many days off in my line of work, in fact a self employed person doesn't get any time off cause you travel with your work tool (your brain). Thus I have decided to take a couple of days off. This means no blogging, no phone calls, no emails, no sms's (texts), no nothing. Except for the sun, the pool and Jen.Anyways, I am having enough issues with blogger that I hope my time off will let things sort themselves out and give me time to rejuvinate for a crazy and amazing year ahead. I will plan and think through my blogging activities (Alex you have provided me with much food for thought re the blogging process) and hopefully I will be back in action in a week with new ideas for posts, blogs and much more.Those of you who only get 15 days off a year, use them wisely, those of you who are permanently taking days off, screw you!Have a good one.
Mnet and Afrikaans content
I have been meaning to post about this topic for a while now. I have noticed over the last
couple of months that Mnet's content is somewhat restricted. Mnet airs a fair amount of local content, I have studied over the years that local content might be patriotic and all but often it is the foreign shows that pull in the audiences. Thus Mnet and SABC will pay to gain the rights for these shows. Fair.
I have somewhat of an issue with the local content that Mnet chooses to air. I have just clicked on the Mnet channel website and saw not a single black face. I am not making this about race necessarily because there are lots of black American TV shows so that's cool too.
But why are there no shows in other languages with black faces as the forerunners? It has been eons that Egoli had been on the air and then Mnet chooses Binnelanders to take on as another major local production as well as Voetspore. I don't get. Yes Tumi is on the air now too but this show is a very elitist type of show with highfalutin content. Not a run of the mill soapie, series or show that is for the entire family or entire demographic of our country. Snitch is a recent addition to the Mnet family and does a good job, but this is one hour a week of diverse local content that I am not so sure is being watched by the current Mnet audience.
I understand that Mnet is not a free channel or government provided. I get that. But why not cater for an ever growing diverse market? Maybe their subscribers are still majority white but then maybe because the content is majority white the subscribers are too? It's a bit of a chicken and egg issue here isn't it?
Di died due to drunken driver
Apparently Diana's car crash was cause by her driver, who was drunk.This article on Reuters notes that there is much conspiracy surrounding the death of Di and Dodi. No shit, who wouldn't think that the royals of the UK weren't involved? Well, them I guess, and only them really.I remember what I was doing, where I was and who I was with when I heard the news as I am sure most of us do. Strange to think that there are still investigations going on.
I think I hit a nerve
Uhuru Guru, The editor of Why South Africa Sucks, is pretty pissed off at me and has had no trouble in letting me know:
So, little Nic the piepiejoller wet behind the ears wanker decides to get all self-righteous about my blog. Listen up, little pip squeak – you know diddly squat, OK? I’m not even going to dignify your hysterical little rant beyond these few words. You’re a deluded little puss and your thinking is aeons behind mine. Perhaps one day you will catch up, I just hope its not after some simian ape has stretched your sphincter, shot you in the head or raped your mother. As for the rest of your poorly written, grammatically incorrect little screed, I can only say "a hearty FUCK YOU" to you. You’re a snivelling little brat, be off already, little boy!
Wow that's aggressive. Let's hope there is some semblance of an argument from the guru type guy in the near future that can help his cause because this little post has done nothing for him.Read my response to this comment and the full post at These guys suck and so do their blogs.PS: You spelled "aeons" and "snivelling" wrong. Good work on the spelling and grammar.
No fucking dumping
This is just too funny. I wouldn't dare go to plot 38 to bring up any issues surrounding this sign. Nice work.