Very sharp ... (PIC)

The following banner was spotted during Monday's Springbok parade through Cape Town. Very, very sharp from the guys @ BBDO.

Do you click the ads?

A few weeks ago I was listening to my weekly dose of This Week in Tech and one of the contributors mentioned that when visiting websites, he generally will click on a banner ad, just as a way of supporting the website/blog owner. As he said it's no real skin off his back and, who knows maybe he will luck upon a product or service that maybe useful.

I must say that this is not something I tend to think of doing, but it's something that has been nagging at the back of my head ever since that episode. Maybe I should be clicking on my fellow blogger's adverts.

Obviously Eish!! has banner ads, and it's always nice to know that people click on them and once or twice even buy something from the advertiser, but I never saw this as been a massive money spinner, just a way of maybe eventually paying for the hosting fees that will be accruing shortly.

So my question is simple, do you click on the ads ... ever? If so, why did/do you?

Wanted : Fit pool guy

I received the pictures below in an email and couldn't help but assume they had to be photo-shopped (or Gimped).

So I did some trawling and let me assure you this is the real thing! The resort, San Alfonso del Mar, is in Chile and what you see is the pool that hold the official Guinness World Record for the world's largest. It's is 8 hectares in size (that means you can fit about 6000 standard household pools and still have some change), 1km long and holds 250 000 cubic meters of water. It cost $1 billion to build and is estimated to cost $4 million a year to maintain.

All I think of is the length of the Kreepy's pipe?

Wanna race to the other side?

Zapiro helps sober the Jubilation

Click on the image below for an truly excellent piece of Zapiro-ism.

Define me a "Good Hijacking"

As we mourn the death of one of the South Africa's most loved musicians, I find myself asking this question?
As the reports emerged of his untimely death the various correspondents kept on referring to 'a carjacking gone bad.'

Please someone help me understand when can a carjacking/hijacking be good?

RIP Lucky. (Pay and read online tributes here)

Podcamp Cape Town Wrap

I have been scanning the various blog articles posted by fellow attendees of Podcamp Cape Town. All have been gushingly positive and extremely pleased with the way the day turned out.

So let's step back and take an overall view of the event. Firstly, it was disappointing to see the table's worth of unclaimed name tags (with 100 free Skyrove units). By our table's estimation close to a third of the confirmed attendees did not pitch (Glen, Max feel free to correct me). Sure it was Springbok rugby day, but Glen had been gracious enough to set a 5 o'clock time limit on an event which for all intents and purposes could have been an all weekend affair. Perhaps this is the problem with an event that proudly proclaims that there is no entrance fee? When no bucks have been laid out there isn't the same level of commitment to attend? In the same vein, many attendees left during or just after lunch, eager to get to the World Cup braais. The irony is that this was just the time where people were starting to get into the swing of what an un-conference was. The vibe was uber-relaxed, and participation felt a whole lot less intimidating.

Secondly, there were a couple of talks which seemed more like a sales pitch than discussion openers or network invitations. They could have learnt a lot from Jeremy Nell who entertained, informed and inspired while explaining his 'brand' without attempting to sell anything.

So now over to the positives. This 'little pioneering community' lacks nothing when it comes to enthusiam, innovative thinking, entrepeneurship, intellect and creativity. The excitement that resonated every time a speaker mentioned something that stretched the mind was palpable, and I just know that the 'new media' space in South Africa is going to see the results of those few hours spent in Obs.

While I took copious notes, I would be unable to provide a short summary of all the speaker's contributions. Those that stood out for was Dave Duarte's look at 'The Attention Economy', Brad Shrimpton's little insight into Apple IMC SA, Rowan of MyVideo's look at the quandry facing tose looking ot monetize online offerings in the new media space and of course Jeremy Nell's refreshingly unself-edifying 'talk' on comic-blogging.

I reckon it's a fair generalisation to say that all those attending left the venue enthused, motivated and, where necessary, rejuvenated, ready to get their teeth into the opportunites this 'new media' space offers to those willing to commit to it. To say that this space is still in it's infancy here in South Africa is probably an understatement, but be sure things are changing and do yourself a favour, mark down the names of attendees somewhere safe, these guys are going to become the movers and shakers.

So, hopefully, I have given a balanced take on the Podcamp Cape Town un-conference. Those of you who missed it, missed out, make sure you do not next time such an opportunity presents itself. Glen, Max & sponsors thanks for the commitment, hard work and dough you ploughed into this project. Eishman truly enjoyed the experience and appreciated your efforts.

Looking forward to the next one!

Oh, and one more critiscm ... not nearly enough beer was consumed ... this needs to be fixed next time!

A Monday Mashup

Eishman is a little under the weather (nothing to do with the rugby, I promise) and I now have a backload of posts so you should be getting a some good content this week. But I haven't been able to concentrate long enough to organise the info into coherent sentences, so I have decided to simply give you a mashup I came across for all of you who remember the 80's.



This forms part of a downloadable cd 'Best of Bootie 2006.' Download here.

South Africa celebrates (Video)

Zoopy captures the Rugby World Cup celebrations as South Africa goes 'mal'.

Podcamp Cape Town - First Impression

Attending a conference, even an unconference on a day where the Boks are on the brink of greatness, feels a little odd, and I can't but feel it's contributing to the 'muteness' of the day so far.
Arriving felt almost to conference-like, too organised, but fortunately that is all dissipating now has we progress through morning. The relaxed vibe is enhanced by the fact that today is rapidly becoming a classic Cape Town summer day, with the temperature rapidly on it's way to the predicted 30+ degrees celsius and a light, refreshing breeze wafting through windows and Wild Fig's tree lined porch.

PodCampTown, is an unconference. There is no set speaker list, willing participants are encouraged to write their name on a supplied whiteboard and are called up when and if they are necessary. The presentations can be on whatever enthuses them.

So far we have heard a talk by Rowan @ MyVideo on new media, with specific focus on the challenges facing providers, producers & consumers here South Africa.

We have also heard Brad from Apple IMC chat to us about Podcasting opportunities in and around education. It was, as he admitted, gratiously 'Apple', but it was nonetheless inspiring to see what the future role of the new media technologies will have on education.

The joys of the unconference is the lack of expectations. The amount of time it can take to get a laptop plugged into a projector and showing up on the screen just adds to the vibe and gives the attendees a chance to interact with each other,

All in all, it seems that the organisers are achieving their aims, I am certainly looking forward to what the rest of the days holds.

Gee die bal vir Bryan

How cool would it be if a record-breaking try by Bryan Habana was the difference between the 2 sides tomorrow?

Click play and enjoy what is sure to become a South African classic.

[Eish's prediction for tomorrow : South African 18 England 10]



Feel free to download here.

Very clever animation

10 ways to show your support for the Bokke!!

1. Send a message to the bok camp, by clicking here and/or here.
   
2. Make the Springbok emblem your Facebook profile pic.[ Facebook group here.]
3. Pay you taxes [ Mbeki set to jet off to support Boks]
4. Join the official Springbok fan club.
5. Plaster your desktop with Springbok Rugby wallpapers.
6. Download the SA Rugby active desktop.
7. Plaster you cellphone with Bok stuff
   
8. Upload pictures of you in your supporters card @ myrugbynews.com
9. Wear Green on Friday & Saturday
10. Practice the national anthem

Blog Action Day - Should we bother?

Today is Blog Action Day. Eish!! like 15861 other blogs, pledged to post an article that had something to say about the environment.

The environment effects a substantial part of all our daily lives in an infinite amount of ways. In turn, what we do each day effects the environment for better or for worse in just as many ways. So how do you decide where to start and what to focus on, particularly if your offering varies as much as Eish!! endeavours to.

As tempting as it is to simply point to you to this post, or this one or even this one, I will actually add my own personal voice to roaring masses.

Let's start by trying to understand what important the environmental issues are and to whom?

Think about it for a while ....

In fact, let's narrow it down a little and simply ask 'to whom?' Then let's take Al Gore out of the equation ;-)

It's a well known and documented fact the majority of the world's wealth is owned by a very, very small number of individuals. These blokes hold the power and make the decisions that effect millions of peoples lives. Is the environment high on their priority list? Maybe even somewhere in the middle? I doubt it. After all worrying about the environmental effect the industrial behemoths under their control have on the environment will cost their bottom line, just considering it means paying very expensive environmental impact specialists a fair whack, just to be told that they need to spend enough to support a small African country to become 'carbon neutral.'

So what about the demographic that holds the largest number of homo sapiens? That would be a group of people who have to worry about where the next mouthful of food will be coming from. The plastic bag flying past, the smokey exhaust, an iceberg floating too far north all pale into insignificance when compared with the sight of your child on the brink of starvation.

So that leaves a group of people, small in numbers and with a relatively minute amount of resources to try and make a difference. What do we have at our disposal? Well, our voice, our pens, our keyboards. And then the most important thing we have is our minds. It's perhaps unrealistic to call us to 'vote with our wallets' BUT we can change our consumption habits. Cut down on the amount of waste our presence on Mother Earth manufactures.

Let's take control of our personal environmental footprint.

Zeitgeist - The Movie

Here's some homework for the Eish!! readers, if you have bandwidth to burn. There has been an internet release of a very interesting movie Zeitgeist, actually a good few months ago.

Zeitgeist : the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time. This is the premise of the movie that looks at who 'runs' the world and how. From the snippets I have heard it sounds extremely thought provoking and well worth a watch.

In three parts, Zeitgeist attempts to show that 1) Christianity is rehashed pagan sun-worship and is used by the rich and powerful to control people, 2) the 9/11 tragedies were part of an elite conspiracy, and 3) ever since World War I, the ultra-rich have been secretly manufacturing wars and financial collapses to control the populace and to get richer and more powerful.

Eishman is waiting for a special package to arrive before watching it so you have a week to give it a watch. NB, no comments on the movie here please, store them somewhere and we can have a 'round table' once I have an opinion.

Link : Zeitgeist - The Movie (Online viewing)
Download here (701mb)

Curry cook-off

Something for HumpDay!!

For those of you who have lived in Natal, you know how typical this is. They actually have a Curry Cook-off about June/July. It takes up a major portion of a parking lot at the Royal Show in PMB. Judge #3 was an inexperienced food critic named Frank, who was visiting From America.
Frank: "Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a Curry Cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking for directions to the BeerGardenwhen the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Natal Indians) that the curry wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted".
Here are the scorecard notes from the event:

CURRY # 1 - SEELAN'S MANIAC MONSTER TOMATO CURRY...
Judge # 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
Judge # 2-- Nice smooth tomato flavour. Very mild.
Judge # 3(Frank) -- Holy crap, what the hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These people are crazy.
CHILI #2 - PHOENIXBBQ CHICKEN CURRY...
Judge # 1-- Smoky, with a hint of chicken. Slight chili tang.
Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
Judge # 3-- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who Wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver! They had to rush in more beer When they saw the look on my face.
CURRY # 3 - SHAMILA'S FAMOUS "BURN DOWN THE GARAGE" CURRY...
Judge # 1-- Excellent firehouse curry. Great kick.
Judge # 2-- A bit salty, good use of chili peppers.
Judge # 3-- Call 911. I've located a uraniums pill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drain Cleaner. Everyone knows the routine by now. Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting pissed from all the beer.
CHILI # 4 - BABOO'S BLACK MAGIC BEAN CURRY...
Judge # 1-- Black bean curry with almost no spice. Disappointing.
Judge # 2-- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a curry.
Judge # 3-- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Shareen, the beer maid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. That 200kg woman is starting to look HOT...just like this nuclear waste I'm eating! Is chili an aphrodisiac?
CHILI # 5 LALL'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER...
Judge # 1-- Meaty, strong curry. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
Judge # 2-- Average beef curry, could use more tomato. Must admit the chili peppers make a strong statement.
Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Shareen saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off. It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw them.
CHILI # 6 - VERISHNEE'S VEGETARIAN VARIETY...
Judge # 1-- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety curry. Good balance of spices and peppers.
Judge # 2-- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
Judge # 3-- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulfuric flames. I am definitely going to crap myself if I fart and I'm worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that Shareen. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my as$ with a snow cone ice-cream.
CHILI # 7 - SELINA'S "MOTHER-IN-LAW'S-TONGUE" CURRY...
Judge # 1-- A mediocre curry with too much reliance on canned peppers.
Judge # 2-- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. (I should take note at this stage that I am worried about Judge # 3. He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably).
Judge # 3-- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with curry which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava to match my shirt. At least, during the autopsy, they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing- it's too painful. Screw it; I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.
CHILI # 8 - NAIDOO'S TOENAIL CURLING CURRY...
Judge # 1-- The perfect ending. This is a nice blend curry. Not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
Judge # 2-- This final entry is a good, balanced curry. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge #3 farted, passed out, fell over and pulled the curry pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor man, wonder how he'd have reacted to really hot curry?Judge # 3- No Report.

First 2010 World Cup tickets given away

The first 388 seats have been allocated for the 2010 Fifa World Cup! And a Mr M***** is the first person to get a ticket to the final.

In an in-house competition held by First National Bank, currently the sole national sponsor of the event, a total of 388 tickets were given away today. These included tickets to each of the rounds and the 2 given to Mr M****** to the final! The competition is aimed at getting the staff excited about the upcoming event and assisting them in understanding the game itself while at the same time increasing the learning opportunities for the staff in the banking industry.

Now, all we need are some seats for him and is partner to put their bums on!!!!

Richie McCaw's response to the loss (Audio)

A gutted Richie McCaw faces up to the media and announces his intention to continue captaining the All Blacks.

Click here to listen to the interview. [Source : The New Zealand Herald]

Related Post : What were the All Blacks thinking?

What were the All Blacks thinking?

I'm mulling over the days Rugby World Cup results, trying to make sense of the way things stand.

Australia losing to England was always a possibility, but New Zealand losing against France? After 3 1/2 years of playing open, scintillating running rugby they retreated into shells and played Blue Bulls rugby ... and stuffed it up.

Score : 20 - 18 to France

Interested to read your comments

Only in South Africa - Signs

Have you registered for PodCampCapeTown?

On the 17th July I posted about the upcoming PodCamp Cape Town. At the time I was lamenting the fact that this was not been talked about enough.
Since then Glen has been working tirelessly to put together the event. It's been tough finding a suitable venue and some sponsors (no thanks to Eishman, sorry Glen but I did try) for an event which will be free for the attendees.

But Glen's enthusiasm has paid dividends and there is now a confirmed venue and Zoopy (you can always count on them for support), Skyrove, Wookio & Faxaroo have come aboard as sponsors. So now is the time to get your rearend into gear and make sure you register for what is sure to be a worthwhile event. There are only 120 places available of which 84 have already been taken. Pop over to the event's wiki to register.

For further info click here. [There is still space for further sponsorships]

Related post : Podcamp Cape Town ... Why is no-one talking about it?

Stuck down under ... literally

Yesterday 3200 miners were stuck 2kms underground, as of an hour ago there were still 1000 miners 2100 meters underground. Fortunately there have been no fatalities and food and water is being sent down to those still 'down under,' but I cannot imagine what those guys must be feeling stuck down in the bowels of the earth for such a long time. My thoughts go out to them and their families.

Below is a slideshow from The Times' multimedia section. (Well worth bookmarking)



Brought to you by: The Times Multimedia

Satellite TV for PC 2010 Elite Edition

Satellite TV for PC 2010 Elite Edition - Review

To skip the review by Tyler Johnson, you can go to the Satellite TV for PC Site HERE!

From the desk of Tyler Johnson, senior reviewer:

…Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to watch satellite TV on your computer or pretty much anywhere your laptop can go? I mean of course it would. I for one would love to be able to watch a little bit of TV on my breaks in the office. Or at home on my spare time.

Whether you enjoy watching football, educational programs, movies, sit-coms or something else such as adult programming; I’ve seen my fair share of scams out there, sites that promise to get you the best quality programming but fail to deliver. I can tell you right now that 99% of these guys selling satellite TV to PC software are simply scam artists. You may have even fallen prey to one of these scam artists guys. I mean I don’t know why but I tend to find the “good” in people and so I have bought into about six different satellite TV to PC programs.

I actually went to the extent to contact some of the owners selling satellite TV to PC software and told them that I was willing to purchase there websites. I was disgusted at what I found. Most of these guys told me straight up those there programs were scams; but that people just easily bought into them and that they were highly profitable. All I had to do to get that info was to flash the dollar sign in front of them.

I quickly realized that most of these satellite tv to pc programs were scams. I mean there are marketers even promoting the software as a scam just to get some traffic on the net. The guys behind this all were laughing all the way to the bank, and I was pretty disgusted.

I guess they were confused when I told them I was no longer interested in purchasing their sites. Needless to say, while sifting through all of the scam artists out there I did in fact find individuals running a legitimate business promoting a real program that really works.

The owners were everyday people like you and me who loved television and had invested large amounts to create satellite TV on PC technology. I even chatted with a few satisfied customers about their experience with the software. To me it was as if I found a few diamonds in the rough. Don’t take my word for it, you can check out the best satellite TV on PC program I found below.

By far the best program I found was Satellite TV for PC Elite 2010 which has been upgraded with many enhancements and more channels. Many Satellite TV to PC software programs are not of the same quality as this one.

Some Sample Channels Out of the 3000 Over Available to You!

Among the new and improved 3000+ channels they offer from around the world, you can get sports from many different countries including the united sates and Europe.

I found that once you install the software on your PC, it is very easy to use. You can easily browse through hundreds of channels from around the world. These channels include sports, new, movies, music, weather, kids channels, educational and more.

They give you so much to choose from sometimes it is hard to make a choice. When you get Satellite TV for PC 2010 on your computer you can watch almost anything you want.

The software package comes with an automatic membership to receive all the stations. Satellite TV for PC allows you to capture your channels from any location in the world. This makes it great when you download it to your laptop. As long as you have Internet access you can plug in and watch.

When it comes to watching Satellite TV on you PC this software program truly stands out from the rest. They also have a money back guarantee if you’re not happy. Which I know for a fact won’t be a problem.

I give this package a 10 out of 10. I have tried all other Satellite PC-TV programs, and this one by far is the best. I have to say I was thoroughly disappointed with the other programs I found and I strongly advise you don’t take any chances joining other programs! Whatever you do decide to do however, I wish you a healthy, prosperous year for you and yours. I have included the url link below.

All the best

Signed,

Tyler Johnson

If you want more information, Click Here! Satellite TV for PC 2010 Elite Edition





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There are alternatives to MS Office

There are alternatives to Microsoft's Office suite. I reported on Google's foray in May & have long been a supporter & user of OpenOffice.
I came across CNet's review from some time ago on a whole range Office alternatives, free and not and I found it particularly useful.
The rather comprehensive list reviewed :

• Microsoft Office 2007
• Corel WordPerfect Office X3 Standard Edition
• StarOffice 8
• OpenOffice 2
• Apple iWork '08
• IBM Lotus Symphony (Windows)
• ThinkFree Office 3
• Google Docs & Spreadsheets
• Zoho Office Suite beta
  

So, this bird walks into a store....

A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.
Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.
The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips. Since then, he's become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.
Customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips because they think it's so funny.

Click on the picture to see the action.