Nic’s blog
I write about building businesses, failing and building a life, not a legacy.
Tokyo Sexwale for President
Update: Tokyo has come out and denied his running for the presidency. Dammit. We can always hope can't we?Tokyo Sexwale has seemingly begun his approach of the presidency of South Africa. He has been noted to have approached both the Zuma and Mbeki camps for endorsements and will be seeking Nelson Mandela's endorsement to boost his campaign.The Sunday Times has reported the full story with many other newswires picking up the feed. This seems to be an extremely interesting move by Mr. Sexwale. I personally never believed that he would make the move from business back in to government after his departure in 1997. I always thought that he was making enough money and controlled enough power to avoid the political pull that the ANC might offer him.I have personally had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Sexwale as his son was at my School, St David's Marist Brothers, Inanda. I would vote for him, I would vote against Zuma and I think that most people would do the same.I do think that Zuma, if he won the presidency, would be an interim president until a more suitable president could be found. With Sexwale involved now, I think that we have found a better candidate.
Sanitation in food preparation
Answer me this: How do the people who prepare food put on those little plastic/rubber gloves?Don't answer that. I'll save you the trouble. We all know what gloves I'm talking about right? The ones that ensure the sanitation of the foods we ingest. The ones that the people preparing the food slip on just before that assemble your shwarma, burger or sandwich.I was at Anat this morning waiting for my shwarma to be prepared. I am not one of those people who minds if someone touches my food with their hands. But I did find it fairly amusing that in order to place the plastic glove over his hands, the man serving me dug in a packet that contained the gloves with his bare hands (the ones I was meant to be protected from). He then used those bare hands to put the gloves on.Interesting. Is this whole sanitation movement simply something to appease the anal retentive among us? Or is there actually some value to the plastic gloves with more bacteria on the outside than the inside?
Vodacom and Samsung suck
It has been a meager 2 weeks, 14 days or 336 hours since I purchased the Samsung D900 and sang its praises. Now I must change my standpoint. My D900 decided to stop working today. I received a phone call and flipped the phone down and hey presto the screen went black. It stayed black, it's black now...for good.I decided to jump in my car and head to Sandton City to the Vodacare store. I knew what would happen. I would arrive, the 'lovely' person behind the counter would tell me that I didn't qualify to receive a new phone (even though it's only been 2 weeks, 14 days or 336 hours since I bought the damn thing). Then they would tell me that they were out of loan phones (which they were). Then I would bitch about that, they would stare at me as if they really wish someone would push them out of a 4 story building (that's how they all look).The only difference is that this time they made even bigger fools of themselves. Once I had given my brand spankingly new and stuffed up phone in to get repaired (reluctantly I might add), the 'lovely' women then told me that I would receive an SMS when my phone was ready. Prey tell me how on any creators Earth am I meant to receive and SMS from Vodacom when they have my phone AND THE DIDN'T PROVIDE ME WITH A LOAN PHONE... YOU IDIOTS.I hate Vodacom and I always will. I hate Samsung temporarily because I have a sneaking suspicion that they are in cahoots with the service provides so that their phones break exactly one week after the 7 day return period ends. You bastards.
nicharalambous.com
I think that I am going to be renaming my blog to nicharalambous.com. I am not sure why, I have no particular reason but I think that it feels right. I have outgrown shutterview and will always be me so I will never outgrow nicharalambous.com. Plus I have already paid for the domain name.Now I need to redesign template a bit and figure out DNS settings so that Google can start distributing new url and maintain links of old.Wish me luck!
Custom domains on Blogger
Leon from BBD directed me to this post about Blogger's new custom domain tool.You need to purchase your domain and make sure that it's working before you can select it as your new domain on blogger. Once these steps have been completed your old url will point to your new url so there wont be any links lost or time wasted in the past.I am now considering the move from Shutterview to nicharalambous.com. Not sure about this all, feeling somewhat apprehensive about it all but I will definitely make up my mind by the end of the weekend. Watch this space.
2007 Bloggies
The Bloggies have arrived so check your rolls and butter your bread. Get on down to the 2007 Bloggies site and cast your vote for the vast number of categories available.The Bloggies are in their seventh year now and are going strong. The categories have grown, the exposure seems to be pretty vast and the the categories seem to cover many areas. Anyways, I think it's time to analyze your RSS feeds on Google/bloglines and see who you read the most and give them the props by voting for them for a Bloggie award.
Don't mess wif my tootoo
What is with all these bloody flippin' Afrikaans adverts on TV when there is sport on? Who buys this shit? Who listens to "Don't mess wif my tootoo" kind of songs?Honestly if you cannot speak a language and write songs with correct grammar then don't bother. If you speak clutch plate the sing clutch plate, if you speak some other random language then sing it. There are those who can manage it such as good ol' Arno Carstens. But even he has his moments. I once heard him playing a concert and sound checking for it. The comment that flew out of his mouth at sound check blew me away:Arno: Nog delaaay assemblief, nog delaaay nowNic: *Jaw hits flaw, confustication sets in and beer started sinking*Now back to the TV advert issue. Why is it that the SABC thinks that only Afrikaans people listen to music and watch sport? Why can they not play kwaito, hip hop, or rock music while sports is on? Why not advertise those genres, those cultures and why not associate them with sports? Why is it that sports = Afrikaans?
There are no words
There is nothing that anyone can say to make this feel less significant and saddening so I wont try. I am sorry for your loss."Oh Boy" indeed.
Fresh faced comic - Okey Bakasi
I decided to get all African up in here and provide some Nigerian humour for everyone today. Enjoy.
2Lazy4Video
I have just posted my first post as a contributor to 2 Lazy 4 Video. This blog is a blog centred around music videos mostly old but some new, some brilliant kiddi muso's and some rubbish old gems from the past. If you are having a surf around and feel like checking out some golden oldies or if you are looking for an old music video or song feel free to email me or any of the other contributors and we will try to find what you are looking for!Check out 2 Lazy 4 Video now.
Old years eve
I have always maintained that old years eve is somewhat of anticlimax. Due to this little fact I have been to and hosted house parties for the past two old years. This has yet to fail. No expectations, no queues, no terrible fools that are drunk (OK, there’s always one at every party…thanks “shane-oh-noâ€) and no disappointment. This year was no different. Party at Jen’s house (thanks Jen) which turned out well. I did end up Braaing for about two hours thanks to lots of meat and a full chicken, but it was well worth it in the end.
I chose Malibu as my poison for the evening, topped off by some Archers peach schnapps. This drink did me so well and maintained a happy drunken state for the evening. I will not say that I was sober because the camera never lies (notice the blurred faces and skew framing!).
Otherwise it was all good.
Now for a brief list of my new years resolutions:
- Diversify in business
- Save my money
- Learn how to cook…properly.
Thanks for everything 2006 now go away and let 2007 be the year for me!
Tech Attack# 8 - Paint music online
There is no attack present here other than to say that this site is addictive if you like and know music.I was supposed to go to bed about an hour ago. I have not been able to stop messing around with this paint music online site. This is an incredible Flash creation that can and will entertain you for hours if you enjoy music, understand your mouse and have a grasp of notes, delay and volume controls!Check it out now and induce some insomnia!
Stuntmen.la
I just found stuntmen.la from a design site that I have linked to in my sidebar. Check it out. Throw the stuntman around for a bit of fun and enter action city after you have become an outrageous stuntman!
Greek cooking all day long
Today I decided that I need to start living my Greek heritage (that and I was asked to cook dolmades - pronounced Dol-Ma-Thes). So I asked my Grandfather (Pappou) to come over and help me make is famous pepper sauce.This sauce is filled with natural ingredients that make it one of the tastiest and healthiest I've ever tasted, used or had the pleasure of making!That little spat of creation took about 3-4 hours including shopping with the old old man. After that I braved the dolmades.Dolmades to the Englesi (English people)are little starter sort of bite size treats. Vine leaves wrapped around a mince meat and rice filling. It sounds fairly simple when put like that but is a very tasty treat and fairly challenging to get perfect (as if). So try I did and by the picture that you can see I think that I have done pretty well!!
Saddam hanged - wise move?
I received a text this morning at about 8am from a news website in South Africa. The text simply said: "Saddam Hussein Executed". This was enough.Most people would think that this sort of text would fill you with something slightly positive. But not me. I'm not sure why. I'm not going to explain the intricacies of the hanging because it's all over the news anyways. I am going to say that I think that the killing of any man as an example is a silly move. Hanging a man will not end the violence in Iraq. It will not make the fighting stop and the people calm down. In fact I think that it will do the opposite.How can it be claimed that the death of a man, the murder of a man is a move in the right direction for a newly democratic state. Saddam deserved to die, he deserved to suffer but he was made an example of by the Americans who dominate Iraq. 30 people have already been killed in Iraq by a car bomb after the hanging. Violence will not stop. One man does not equal peace or war in many situations.Saddam should have been made more of an example of by keeping him alive, by showing other dictators and people who wish to follow in his path what will happen to you if you make the mistakes he did. Keep him alive and punish him for the rest of his living days. Do not give him the pleasure and satisfaction of a death that is fairly swift.
Collective Unconscious
I went to Melville last night to see a friends cousins band, Collective Unconscious. I really felt the need to blog about this because this band was phenomenal. Not only was the song writing great, the lead singer's voice brilliant and the basis amazing but the drummer got off his stool (no pun intended) and played lead guitar on an acoustic song. To top it all of this a three member family band. The Drummer is father to the bassist and the lead singer and guitarist. The lead singer and song writer, Vincent is a mere 15 years old while the bassist is an astonishing 13 years old.Below is a video of one of their songs. If you are Johannesburg over the next while try catch Collective Unconscious live and loud:
At the car wash
Yesterday I decided that I needed to get my Red Zorba (read: red Fiat Sienna). So I mossied on down to the car wash on Rivonia Drive in Sandton. I waited in a que, a freaking car wash queue, for shit sakes for about 2 hours. They cleaned, polished, washed, waxed, vacuumed and wiped my little beauty. They made it look like it was almost just about and close to pretty new.
Then it rained.At least my car smells good now. Thanks Murphy for those laws of yours.Speaking of Murphy's law: Is it just me or does everyone else think that Murphy must be a women, becuase only a women could have such a sick and twisted sense of humour?
Raging pervert - small dick syndrome methinks
This moron decided that he was a gods gift to women and men for that manner. Jen stumbled upon this post by the moron (I can't and refuse to refer to this guy as anything other than "The moron").Here are a couple of extracts from the post (what a an absolute male chauvinist and ignorant child this guy is. And I really struggle to use the word guy/man/person/human or anything else that is semi-pleasant):I'm a modest man...Ye, sure ya are buddy...keep reading folks.One of those modest dreams is to have sex with a woman of every narionality (except australia..of course) .That is such a modest dream. An absolutely ridiculous "dream", claim or thought for that matter.I'm no raging pervert or anythingThat's what most raging perverts say isn't it. I've also heard a couple of pedophiles and gamblers say similar things.That really is all that I can stomach to quote and submit my dear innocent readers to!! So go and see the morons post if you so choose.I know that it's people like this who simply post on their "blogs" to get reactions from people like me, so I wont rant or rave excessively and satisfy the morons perversion with reactions and women.
James Brown, 73, dies. Who's next?
The father of soul, the man who put funk in to "funkadelic" and the pioneer who changed the face of music for millions has died. I will use no euphemisms because I don't feel that they are necessary.
Brown allegedly died of heart failure after being admitted to hospital for pneumonia. I say allegedly becuase one can never tell if pneumonia is simply pneumonia these days!I find it sad when public figures such as Brown die. I find it sad because it means that so many will grow up without his influence, the knowledge of his existence or simply put, his music.I've been thinking about this a lot lately and don't get me wrong, I know that the people I'm about to mention aren't pegging it as we speak, but they are getting on. What is to come of the likes of Al Pacino, Harrison ford, Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Diane Keaton, Bruce Springsteen, Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, Carly Simon, Aretha Franklin (is she still alive?), Diana Ross and many other prominent movie stars and singer/songwriters?Like I've already said, these dudes are not knocking on deaths doorstep and they have the money and the pampering to live for a long time. But the end of an era is approaching. People are going to start dying and other's are going to marry and be born. I just think that it's a tad bit sad that with their deaths many artists (movie stars or singer/songwriters) lose the dynamic exposure that they once knew. It upsets me that a fraction of the people will be exposed to what I regard as the greats of our time.
3 megapixels seems to work pretty well
The pictures that the Samsung D900 takes seem to be of a very high quality. I am very happy with it all so far and will definitely be putting it to the test in the months to come. Below is an example of the quality: