Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Current Read

Mind the Gap was really a good read, Graham referred to "The Seven day Weekend" in his book quite a bit, so I decided to read that next. I am only a few chapters in, but already intrigued by Ricardo's life strategy, its well worth reading.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

What would you do with Gautrans R13BN?

TO put the cost of the new Gautrain development into perspective, Singh and Associates Strategic Solutions has come up with a few suggestions on what could be done with the R13bn extra the development will now cost (as opposed to the initially expected R7bn).

  • Instead of a train you could buy some top of the range S-class Mercedes Benz and park them nose to tail to form a "train" that would be long enough to go around the world.
  • Since most South Africans use minibus taxis instead of S-Class Mercedes Benz, you could run a fleet of taxis, free of charge to commuters, from Johannesburg to Pretoria with a taxi leaving each town every two minutes, maintain them at the AA rate of R2.50 per km, replace all the taxis every month and you would only run out of money after 50 years.
  • You could add 44 more lanes to the M1 highway.
  • If you prefer to walk, a good bricklayer, if he made little brick tiles using stacks of 30 R100 notes, could lay a blue paved walkway, 1m wide from Johannesburg to Pretoria. We would have R400 000 left over to pay the bricklayer for his work, which should only take half as long to finish as the Gautrain.
  • Or if you want smart people to figure this out you could pay for a university degree for every single 19 year old Gauteng resident and ask them what to do with the money.

Source: Singh & Associates Strategic Solutions

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Ðerek's Domino Days - New Blog of mine

Ðerek's Domino Days - XML feed from Ðerek's Domino Days

Broadband ??

Well after a few hours researching broadband in ZA, I am still undecided on which service to go for. I have read a lot of complaints about all the vendors as well as some praise. I must say it just seems that South African companies just don't get the idea of good service.

Instead there seems to be a blanket rule to rip us off and provide bad or non existent service, this has created a situation where all choices are the same and one needs to decide which evil to go for.

Why doesn't one vendor at least provide exceptional service and thereby distinguish themselves from the others in a world where they all seem to want to get rich overnight, or even better, offer good service and good value, and really make a killing. It all seems so easy in my mind.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Broadband for me

I am looking to get a broadband connection at home, and have been searching the internet for information and came across this forum, have a look at what these people have said. MyADSL - iBurst is faster than 1024 ADSL
Also I did a cost comparison and iBurst is the better deal to go for.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

What is Lotus Notes/Domino?

UPDATE:- I have started a new Blog for my Domino interest, see it @ Ðerek's Domino Days

Sectional Title

Being an owner in a few Sectional Title developments I found these websites quite helpfull.

Sectional Titles Online - Graham Paddock - a 'self-help' resource for those involved in sectional titles

RESTOA is a non-political, non-profit Association which was formed to represent all owners of Residential Sectional Title. Based on a Constitution of sound principals, the Association will, through the respective Bodies Corporate, promote and defend owners’ interests as defined in the Sectional Title Act 95 of 1986 and all amendments and enactments thereto up to and including Act No 44 of 1997.

Act gives sectional title owners relief - The latest amendments to the Sectional Titles Act provide improved protection for owners in sectional title flats, townhouses and complexes, but in some cases the amendments do not go far enough.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Rambo


We looked after this little guy over the weekend for some friends of ours. Its a lot of work caring for a pet when you don't have any of your own, but very rewarding. :-) Posted by Picasa

HoneyPie



The LOVE of my life, I call her HoneyPie
Posted by Picasa

Me


Me
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Current read


A great book on generational theory, it really explains why age groups are the way they are, in work and home life. Mind the gap by Graeme Codrington and Sue Grant-Marshall

Bluetooth Help Guide

Having a Nokia 6600 and using Bluetooth to sync with my Outlook calendar, I found Jon's guide invaluable - Jons Guides: Bluetooth Help Guide

Grind your Cogs

Here is a Blog by a good friend of mine, and long time colleague Grind your Cogs