Nic’s blog
I write about building businesses, failing and building a life, not a legacy.
Facing the family when your an Atheist
Religion doesn't often feature on this blog, I am always very undecided about how people will receive my opinions on the topic.I battle enough getting people to buy in to my views on SA that religion is a fight I am not ready to have with most people. I say this because many people (mainly christians) are not willing to dicuss the matter rationally with me but instead choose to condemn me to an eternal hell.Just like this mom:
WOW this is one scary mother, literally. My mom is much more understanding about my religious choices or lack thereof.
How are you feeling today?
No, I am not asking the question like millions upon millions of people ask every day. To be honest I don't particularly care how you are feeling today. That's because most people I know will tell you a battle from a little known disease called "He has no heart" or HH'nH disease.But I thought that inspite of the symptoms of HH'nH - general irritation with anyone expression of feeling - I should post about this cool idea - Emotionr.This site embodies web 2.0 for me. The creators of the site are trying to find out how the world is feeling at any given point in time.
Right now SA is feeling "goooood" and I think that's not too flippin' shabby if you ask me. I am sure the population of Zim or Outer Mongolia are feeling alot less happy than SA people are!
The site is structured well, easy to use and has all the great Web 2.0 markings; bright colours and easy navigation and a randomly placed "r" at the end of their name, to name a few.Emotionr has incorporated hints of twitter in their setup. You can sign-up and explain exactly why you are feeling the way your are feeling. This means that people can see that you are pissed off cause you have HH'nH disease and there is no real cure for it as of yet.
He ate my ice-cream
Can you believe it? My little cousin just ate my ice-cream last night. After dinner we were watching TV and he randomly called out for ice-cream. So what did we do? We jumped up and followed is calls to the freezer.Three bowls - one for me, one for little Alex and one for my other cousin - were laid out, all had some ice-cream in them and then the ice-cream tub was empty. We had the last three bowls.Christi - the 14 year old cousin - ate hers, Alex ate his and then quietly, oh so quietly, moved around the table, distracted me and then stole my bowl.Initially I put up a bit of a tussle, then realised that everyone else gives him what he wants so my attempts would be futile. He won.I hate knowing that a three-year-old managed to outwit me.
Get your Afrigator Beta invite
Afrigator has just released their beta invites. I was previlaged enough to receive the url from Justin who told me to do what I wanted with it.What did I do? I signed up and I then blogged about it.Go forth and apply for beta now!
The internet makes me a jealous prat
I am sick to shit of reading all the tech/gadget blogs that I read (Techrunch + Paulstamatiou to name two) and know that most of the gadgets they are talking about will only be released in SA within at least, at LEAST 6 months. The iPhone, the iPod touch, the PS3, Xbox 360, games, music, movies, gadgets, you name we don't have it now. We'll get it later.I want gadgets, I want to order them, buy them, use them and I want to do it all NOW, when the reviews are out.By the time we actually receive the gadgets in review there are new gadgets, upgraded ones and better ones. This is smart I might add, because we here in SA are so desperate for the gadget that we buy it as it is available and then when the newer version is released we buy that too. What a pleasure for the capitalist bums that are taking my cash!
KES boy murdered - WTF?
I went to an all boys school. I loved it, but one thing I know is that when it comes to house parties anything can happen. I mean anything, and that was proven with the murder of the King Edwards student at the weekend.What a shocking, shocking situation. The boys parents must be racked and stunned. And if the little shits that did this are found and found guilty, then I hope they go to jail for a long time.But there are always two sides to every story and I must say that I feel the media has only presented one side. KES has been heralded as a prestigious school with honour, upstanding pupils and any other flattering word you can imagine. But this in only a quarter of the picture.I know my fair share of all-boys-schools and I've mixed with them in JHB. Let me tell you that none, not a single one, not even (and especially not) my old school. We can and probably never will not ever know the truth of that evening.My point: This shit needs to stop. This school rivalry, revenging, avenging bullshit needs to end and now. Let this be a damn lesson to all those who are going after the murderers, you will come off second best. Let sleeping dogs lie and walk away.
Gays shouldn't be in the army
Wow, I had never heard of Chris Crocker before. Until today that is.Do yourself a favour and have a laugh at this young fellow, visit youtube and search for his name. Watch some of his ranting. The Britney vids are my favourite and the most scary of the lot.In the video below he goes on about gay people not having to fight in the war. It's an interesting thought but hard to take seriously coming from him/her:
I'm not ready for kids
My girlfriend will be so ecstatic to read this blog post. But I am not ready for kids, there you go babe! I said it.
My cousins are staying at my house this week. I am Greek and therefore have many cousins so let me elaborate. My aunt (my mother's sister) has three kids. Two girls, 14 and 16, and one boy - a laatlammetjie - who is 3.I have blogged about them before I do believe, have a read if you like.Alex seems to think that he can do what he pleases being the youngest of the lot. And more often than not it seems as though he manages to get away with it all! Not when I'm around, not when he's throwing things at my Mac. No one messes with the Mac.And right there and right then I realised that I am not ready for children. The scariest part of the thought process is knowing that at my age (23) my mother had me and me brother already and was running a household. No way, not a chance, thanks but no thanks.I am sure that it's different when it is actually your kids and don't get me wrong, I love my cousins dearly and would do anything for them and to protect them, but wow, I am not ready for kids.The house is a shambles, there are more toys on the floor than tiles in my house. There are clothes everywhere, the house pangs with the scent of teenage hormones and the female presence is now overriding the male presence in my house. This is not a usual situation for me as I am used to having one female for every three males in my house. It is now the other way round. Too much for me thank you.But again, I am sure that it's different when it's your kid that is making a mess of things because then you are obligated and responsible to clean up their mess whether you like it or not. I am not and happily so. Thank you very much I'll be wise and I'll condomise, I suggest you do the same if you agree with me on this one!
How do you blog?
I plan. Alot. I have to otherwise everything (blogging especially) will turn on me and fast.So lately I have planned my blogging. Maintaining two blogs (this one and SA Rocks) is pretty taxing and idea-consuming. It becomes tough. On this blog my blogging has become sporadic and sketchy to say the least. Since I took up my position at FM things have become incredibly busy and this makes blogging hard. Sometimes it's hard in the sense of time and sometimes its tough to think about valuable things to blog about, I sometimes don't blog about anything of value, I know.So I am interested to know how some of you blog. My Sundays are blog days. I write for a couple of hours, I read the news, other blogs and the aggregators that are around and then I blog. I plan my posts on SA Rocks quite maticulously. I consider my contributors, what they write about, when they post and other things. I also have to consider my schedule and try to schedule posts around that.This Sunday I blogged 5 posts and scheduled them for four days. It gives me a sense of relief to know that at the very least I will have one post per day on SA Rocks. Then if there is something that comes up or is emailed to me I can blog another post for the day.How do you blog?
Five reasons to offer full posts in RSS and five reasons not to
Disclaimer: I am writing this post as a blogger, an RSS layman and an amatuer RSS user. These tips, reasons and justifications are from the perspective of someone who isn't an RSS expert but loves RSS like nothing before! I am an RSS addict and subscribe to tons and tons of blogs and websites that I read daily. I emplore you to tell me that I am wrong, give me better options and let me know what you think.I have recently been very interested in the RSS/Blog debate.In case you didn't know that there was a debate, there is. It's in my head for the moment and I think I'm on to something here.
The traditional argument when it comes to RSS and blogs is whether to display your full content in your RSS reader or to display an intro from the original post. This is definitely a good debate. Here is what I think:5 Reasons to provide full RSS feeds:1. Keep the reader happy - Many people don't use RSS in SA. That's a fact (I think). Those that do use RSS readers do so for a reason. I like to view all the blogs in one place, quickly and easily.2. Your readers aren't stupid - They know that you are shortening your content on RSS so they will visit your site. Don't mock them and don't confuse them with badly written intro's that don't explain the post.3. RSS is a challenge - The challenge is this: Offer a full post via RSS and still get readers on your blog. It's not that hard... write something interesting. Refer to another blog post of yours and link to it, refer to a photograph. They will follow the links or choose to read the post in your environment if the post is good enough.4. Full post = comments - If your post is good enough it doesn't matter if the readers has access to the whole thing, they wont be able to comment unless they are on your blog. Get them there.5. Build up a stable network - Many of the top blogs in the world have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. There is a reason for this. If you have 10 000 subscribers you are almost promised that at least 60% will read the post, that means that if 10% of that 60% comment and visit your blog you are set. Without this RSS subscriber base you are fighting every post to get people to read, visit and comment.5 Reasons to provide partial RSS feeds:1. Full posts get no love - There is a strong possibility that providing full posts in RSS will take visits away from your blog.2. Splogs - Splogs use RSS feeds to gather the content that they copy and rip-off. Limit your posts, stop the sploggers.3. Write a good post - If you are a good writer or good blogger you know your audience and you know how to write for them. This means that providing an intro to them via RSS should entice them to visit. Therefore full posts are redundant and intro's better.4. The SEO effect - Believe it or not splogs affect your SEO. If you offer a full post on RSS splogs can take your post, duplicate it and mess with your Google pagerank and Technorati ranking.5. Reminders - Partial posts can act as a reminder that your blog exists. Many RSS subscribers have tons of blogs they read. Your intro post could spark a memory of your blog, get the reader interested and send them over for the whole blog experience. While a full post will let them read and move on, never returning to your blog.Knowing that some of the top blogs in the world have hundreds of thousands of RSS subscribers, I would love to know what the top RSS blog readership count is here in SA? Anyone have any ideas? I don't but I am almost sure that I will knock myself out with a potatoe in a sock if any SA blog has more than 10 000 subscibers.
The irony: Zim beats Aus
Where is the irony you ask? It's in yesterdays post that I wrote stating that Zim shouldn't even be in the T20 World Cup.Then they go and show me up by completing one of the biggest upstets in cricket according to my little uneducated cricketing mind.I must admit, I am impressed and chuffed to know that they pulled it out of the bag. I think that the victory is much needed upliftment - albeit brief - for the people of Zim.Congratulations Zim! Wouldn't it be great to see a Zim - SA final?
Vote for the 2010 World Cup poster
It seems as though that term "crowd sourcing" is going viral and going mainstream.Bizcommunity reports today (and I heard it on the radio last week) that voting for the 2010 World Cup poster is open.What a rocking and brilliant idea. You get a choice, they get a design that the masses want and like and the public takes ownership of the event. Fantastic.And here they are:
I am personally voting for the center option (I think I can tell you, this isn't politics!). I am interested to know what you all think. I would also like to know what Mr Cherry, the Jo's and Ideate might say to all this.I like all the options and was particularly drawn to the pregnant soccer belly on the right. But I feel as if that is a bit too deep and meaningful and somewhat serious. I am looking for fun in a poster, something that draws you in, lets you look around (briefly) and spits you out with a message at the end.What do you think?
Petrol and debit cards
I stopped at a BP this morning to fill my car up with petrol. I did what I have done a million times before; I gave the gentlemen my keys, asked him to please fill up the car and went to draw money from the ATM.Alas the ATM was not working. I found the owner of the store wandering around and told him. He made some small talk joke about me breaking it, haha, thanks where can I get money?He laughed, looked at me, laughed, looked at an advert, chuckled - in frustration now - and told me that BP have spent a boat load of money advertising that they now accept debit cards as payment for petrol.Who knew about this? Who has heard a BP advert? Have you? 'Cause I haven't.Anyways, I think it's fantastic. I never really quite understoof why petrol was the one thing that was either cash or petro-card that almost no one had.Get to a BP today and pay with your debit card. You know why? Because they like to keep you moving.
Why is Zim in the T20 World Cup?
I am pretty irate about this. I don't understand why the hell the rest of the world is allowing Zim to play in the T20 World Cup? I think it is disgraceful.Please don't misunderstand me, I am compassionate about the people in Zim and the players on the team but at the end of the day someone needs to make a stand against big-bad-bob (BBB).You can argue until the cows come home that sports and politics are seperate but they are not. They are intricately intertwined and there is no disputing it. SA was banned from all international sport in the time of apartheid I think that is 100% spot on.Sport is something that brings a nation together, creates income and allows you to showcase your country to the world. If you are banned from taking part in major tournaments then your country suffers.However, this might not be so appropriate, on reflection, in the Zim example. If BBB actually gave a crap about his nation he wouldn't be doing what he is doing so let's be honest, who cares if Zim plays or not from his perspective. To him, he has what he wants he is making it happen in his little world. All the while his people are suffering and have to read posts like this written by relatively well-off South Africans who don't know the true extend of the situation there.I know it's easy to cast a dissaproving eye towards Zim and the international sporting community from where I sit, but I truly believe that if I were involved I would forfeit my position in the team if I were playing Zim.
Wordpress and Blogger both offer custom domains
I've said it before and I'll say it again; I hate it when people talk about things that they don't know about.I was reading a post wherein a commenter on the post was upset that the post referred to wordpress.com and blogspot.com blogs as free, easy and customizable. The commenter argued that Blogger and Wordpress don't offer custom domains. They definitely do offer custom domains such as .com, .net, .info, .biz and others, almost anyone domain you so choose really.The only cost you will incur is purchasing the domain of your choice (around R100 or less) and redirect your DNS (which only some hosts charge for). That's it. Bob's your Uncle, Fanny's your Aunt. Done and dusted.Strangely enough if that person had actually read this blog and simply done a search they would have found that I have posted on this topic before. My post was Blogger specific as I was using blogger back then.Let's review a quote from that blog post:
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.
It's as easy as that.Wordpress is much the same as far as I know (which admittedly isn't too far). If you have a wordpress.com blog already all you have to do is enter your admin panel and enter a domain you have already registered and Wordpress will redirect all your links to that domain. Simple.From the Wordpress website:
It’s here: you can now use your own custom domain with your WordPress.com blog. For example, if your blog was currently at example.wordpress.com you could buy example.com from us and we would automatically move your blog over and redirect all your links and readers to the new domain.
If you don't have a domain registered you can use Worpress to register your desired domain for a measly $15/year. That is cheap. In fact that is under R400 a year to have a great looking, functional and customised website.