Notes from the Cape

So, I am a Labrador

I promise you - I didn't cheat! What bread are you? (oh, and Lois is a bulldog - go figure)

Labrador Retriever

The Caretaker

Your family is what makes you tick, and you never "flea" from an opportunity to hang out with the whole gang. A family picnic complete with hot dogs, deviled eggs and a refreshing swim in the lake is hard for you to stray from. Your sparky temperament and dogged intelligence mean you are not only a blast to hang out with, but great to work with as well. Your close pals appreciate your patience and forgiveness, knowing you'd rather let sleeping dogs lie than dwell on the mishaps of the past. Your dashing good looks may one day lead to a modelling career, if only you can tame the unfortunate clumsiness that sometimes causes you to go flailing from the catwalk.

My latest techno-toy - an 800 gram laptop

I am getting really sick of either lugging my laptop around with me whenever I travel, or trying to read my emails on my phone – which is just a pain!

So, I decided to look on the net and see what solution I could find – and boy did I find a fantastic solution. This is an ASUS EEEPC (easy to learn, easy to work, easy to play). It is a laptop that weighs just 800grams (that is a box of matches on the keyboard)!

This little machine packs quite a punch – although it only has 512meg ram, and a 2gig (solid state) hard drive, it has three USB ports, as well as a SD slot, so with an external memory stick or external drive, you have pretty much unlimited disk space (there is also a network and Wi-Fi port). It also has a video out port, which I will test later to see how well PowerPoint works on it.

It comes pre-build running Linux (which fly’s – even though there is not much RAM), and some great applications, including Open Office, Skype and the Firefox web browser. If you click on the image below, you can see Open Office busy loading. Of course, you can install pretty much whatever Linux app you care to. For travelling it is fantastic. If you want to , you can also put Windows XP onto it, but I don’t think that I am going to bother.

I took it to Durban on Friday, and it was fantastic. I caught up with email in the lounge, and I wrote a report on the flight home.

The best part is that you can buy it from Incredible Connection for less that R3000!

Oh, the temptation

Can you imaging how difficult it was to not press the start button on our new treadmill?

Today's Quote

"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image."

Stephen Hawking

Source: http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29857.html

Update - ticket sales are open at Computicket to see him speak in Muizenberg next month. They are selling fast!

3 Orchids to GetWine.co.za

I ordered about 4 cases on wine from GetWine.co.za on Monday evening (after business hours). On Tuesday morning at 10:00am, the driver arrived at our house and dropped off the wine. And on top of that, they also gave us a free gift of a box of home-made chocolates.

That is just amazing customer service 12 hours from placing of the order to delivery – well done!

3 orchids to GetWine.

By the way, they have a pretty good selection of labeled and unlabeled wine at fantastic prices.

How often do you backup?

I just read an email about an author from Port Elizabeth who has lost over 200 pages from a book that she is busy writing after her laptop was stolen. These are over 200 pages of the only draft!

While I feel sorry for her, I hear this kind of story almost every week. How simple is it to really backup your files? I am sure that right now, she is thinking that perhaps she should back up on a more regular basis.

A hard drive drive costs about R500, and a memory stick less than R99, so there is no excuse for loosing your data. Hey, I even sometimes make a dirty backup backup by simply emailing changed documents to my gmail account. It is free, effective and reliable!

So, please learn from this and backup your files!

A Mirage, or just an optical illusion

The other day I was driving down Koeberg Road in Milnerton, and I saw a Mirage. Yes, it was really a Mirage, not just an optical illusion caused by the heat waves.

I wonder if they had run out of fuel?

Actually, I wonder what they were really up to - any ideas?

Recount in Zim?

Robert Mugabe is demanding a recound to the results of the Zimbabwe elections. This is a little strange since the results of the first could have not even been released.

So, let me get this right because I clearly am missing something. Mugable wants a recound of something that has not yet been (officially) counted. Will he ever give up?

By the way, Mugable ranks #7 in Parade's list of the worlds worst dictators.

EQ, IQ and now OQ?

In the 80's, we were all measured by our IQ (intelligence quotient). In the 90's, our EQ (emotional quotient) was hip, and we all strove to develop our EQ.

Now in the 00's, the latest quotient to be measured is our OQ (online quotient), and yes it can be calculated! Thanks to this nifty tool, you can find out what your online presence it. They ask you a few simply questions, and voila, it gives you your online quotient. I got a 9/10 - very good but still room for improvement (grin).

Your online identity score is 9 out of a possible score of 10.

Congratulations. You are digitally distinct. This is the nirvana of online identity. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity. Read Chapter 11 of Career Distinction for more ideas on how to continue to build your brand online.

Enjoy!

Update on Vodacom service

In my last post, I complained about poor service from Vodacom. Well, would you believe it that after I sent the post to them (via their website feedback form), they called me back to let me know that:

1. The contract has been terminated
2. They will be refunding me the full amount within 14 days

So no orchids yet, but at least some of their systems seem to be working. At least they are trying (very trying at that)!