Anyone arriving in Australia, even if they’re just visiting, should learn two phrases: “No worries!” and “Thanks, mate.” Which should tell you something about Australians. One of my readers was curious about what Australians are really like, so I thought I’d broach the subject. If I sound like I am hedging my bets a little, […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Who’s your daddy?
In doing some research on New Zealand rugby, in advance of the Springboks playing the All Blacks on 5 July, I discovered that the New Zealand Maori rugby union team actually came about primarily as a result of those New Zealanders of Maori descent who could not tour South Africa because of the colour bar. […]
Posted inGeneral
Reddit goes open source
On Tuesday, the Reddit team announced that it is releasing its source code to the public. For those of you who don’t know what Reddit is, it is a hugely popular Social News site, much like Digg or our local Muti. This is an outstanding move in that users not only drive the content on […]
Posted inGeneral
How to surf secretly in Firefox 3
Those of you who use Safari might already know about the PornPrivate Browsing button. You simply click it and while the feature is on, you will leave no trace. No cookies, no temporary files and no awkward link history popping up when you type in URLs in the address bar while someone is watching over […]
Posted inGeneral
Why programmers must do customer support
It dawned on me recently that programmers also do customer support. They have to help end-users get online at WiFi Hotspots and they need to help Hotspot owners set up new hotspots and help process payments to them. These tasks lie primarily with our technical division and accounting, but we rotate incoming phone calls to […]
Posted inGeneral
Sick and tired of footballer’s “Wags”
Aren’t you sick and tired of wading through the Sun newspaper and reading all that garbage about this player’s girlfriend and that one’s wife? FFS, and then having to sift through those ridiculous slideshows of these women?! Last night, for example, I was going through the article on Abbey Clancy who is Peter Crouch’s girlfriend. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mann overboard: Coup involved Thatcher, Spain and South Africa
Simon Mann told a court in Equatorial Guinea that not only was Sir Mark Thatcher a part of the failed coup, he was one of the ringleaders. He also confirmed: “By January 2004, the operation was like an official operation because the Spanish government and the South African government were both giving the green light,” […]
Posted inTech
Do marketers understand the power of the mobile phone?
Did you know that mobile is considered to be the seventh mass medium? In an excellent article on Communities-dominate, the argument is made emphatically. Here are some of the points. These are the current mass media:- print, music recordings, movies, radio, TV and computer based internet. The mobile phone, at number seven, has a huge […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The Dark Lord Sauron strikes again
It would be easy to dismiss ANC Youth League president Julius Malema as an irresponsible fool. That he surely is, but fools can be dangerous — just ask the relatives of Iraqis who were killed during or after the American invasion ordered by another irresponsible fool, George Bush — so we may do well to […]
Posted inGeneral
When online business is stuck in the last century
It’s taken me more than a little while to get round to breaking the seal on this blog. For openers, I’m taking the easy way out and plumping for a rant about two South African business sectors whose digital incarnations leave a lot to be desired. Exhibit A: Inbound Travel Where would the booming South […]
Posted inGeneral
Mr Price Pro celebrates 40th anniversary
They say life starts at 40, and if this truly is the case then this year’s edition of the Mr Price Pro is set to be the best yet. Founded in 1969, the event formerly known as the Gunston 500 has brought the world’s top surfers to Durban’s shores for four decades, and 2008 will […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why we resort to violence
It’s raining outside and the sky is hanging low in a saturated grey, so I can’t even justify why I love this country so much with the weather. And right now, I don’t exactly feel like justifying it by explaining what a wonderful society we are. Because at the moment, it’s really hard to believe […]