Blog

  • mmm, Open Coffee on tomorrow at Origin Roasting 2pm in Cape Town.

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    You might have noticed a post I recently wrote which took a look at the trend of drinking alcohol at Networking sessions and other web & entrepreneurial gatherings. Dave Duarte, the mind behind huddlemind.com, posted a comment suggesting I check out Open Coffee which takes place the first Thursday of every month.

    Tomorrow I will “God Willing” be attending my first Open Coffee. The event will be hosted at Origin Coffee Roasting and is organised by Eric Edelstein and Tim Shier.

    Arrive at 2pm on the first Thursday of every month. Bring your laptop if you want to do some work, or show people your site as there’s a wireless network.

    Work if you want… Or spend the time discussing ideas with other entrepreneurs.

    When? Thursday, Feb 7, 2008, 2:00 PM 20080207T120000Z

    Where? Origin Coffee Roasting, 28 Hudson Street De Watekant, Cape Town. call +27 (0)21 421 1000 for more info.

    Who? 13 members registered to attend

    If you have the time and value networking with entrepreneurs and web centric individuals pop around for a coffee and a chat!

  • Simple resources to combat Global Warming

    Working on the SA Climate Crisis logo design for Andre Bothma, lead me to finding some interesting resources online. There’s a ton of stuff out there to help us focus on cutting down our carbon footprints and live a life which is less taxing on the environment. One site in particular, live-the-solution.com, has a collection of resources which though very simplistic in nature does an excellent job in conveying the appropriate information without all the jargon and confusing bar charts.

    The following mind map is an excellent example and is available for free to download, spread and share with everyone. It gives simple practical solutions we can all identify with and can definitely start working on right now.

    combating-global-warming-map

    A Few other mindmaps found on the same site explain the impact and science of Global Warming in a plain and simple manner. These can all be found on a mind maps page which conveys a straightforward yet highly effective message in a visual language we can all understand.

    Why use Mindmaps?

    Mind maps are an excellent tool for conveying a mixture of elements & ideas especially when these ideas are linked together. A mind map can condense a whole body of knowledge into a single diagram thereby shorting the time it takes to explain something complex in a dragged out step by step manner.

    The mind-maps have been collated and expanded upon in the e-book developed by Jane Genovese, public speaker, university graduate of Law and Arts and passionate global warming advocate.

    The drawings and mind maps developed to convey her message connect with the viewer even though they have been roughly sketched with simple ink pens found in any child’s stationery kit.

    It shows the author’s deep understanding of the subject and appreciation for human interaction and communication.

    The structure of this beautifully put together little e-book is another point to note. It takes the reader through a necessary cycle from the point of apathy, to the wake up call, why there is a need to change, what to change and how to change it. The author’s understanding of psychology helps her get inside the mind of the person on the street and understand the thought processes and emotions involved in this issue.

    TABLE OF CONTENTS.
    Why We Need Change
    Chapter 1: Waking Up
    Chapter 2: Understanding Global Warming
    Chapter 3: The Big Polluters
    Chapter 4: Too Close for Comfort: Overpopulation

    What to Change
    Chapter 5: You Have the Power!
    Chapter 6: What about the Government?

    How to Change
    Chapter 7: It’s Time for Change
    Chapter 8: Goal Setting for a Liveable Planet
    Chapter 9: Connecting with Nature

    Who Has Changed
    Chapter 10: It’s OK, You’re Not Alone!

    It goes to show that big budgets are not necessarily a major requirement to producing and spreading ideas which can change the world.

    Spread the word

    I recommend taking a look at live-the-solution.com, viewing the mind maps page , downloading the e-book and maybe sharing it with your friends, family, colleagues, whoever. Blog about it, print the mind maps and stick them up somewhere where they could make a difference.

    A huge thanks to Jane Genovese for the excellent work put into producing such engaging content for such an important issue.

  • An e-Napkin for those coffee shop Brainstorms – I’d buy one of these

    Yanko Design is one of my Favourite sources of juicy product design from the drawing boards of some of the most forward thinking product designers out there. Design Sojourn drew my attention to another insanely cool product idea they’re showcasing. Recently I blogged about Sustainable sneakers, e-Write Boards and the MacBook Air but this next product is in a whole other league. Pity it doesn’t really exist, but we can play pretend can’t we.

    A high tech e-Napkin design tablet thinga majig.

    It’s an idea I’m sure many a designer has day-dreamed about,imagining what a utopian dream world they could create if only their tools were … “Hey, snap out of it”. Ok Ok, I know it’s just an idea, but you have to give it to the people who put this presentation together, very slick. We have to think big and dare to be different before we can really achieve something truly innovative. Someone has to be willing to start putting the pen to paper on these crazy cool ideas and motivating the scientists to get their nano’s in order. Check these out.

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  • SA Blog awards nominations to kick off soon – do I stand a chance?

    blogawardslogo Some of you might know that the South African Blog Awards group met to plan the event a few days ago at Cafe Neo in Mouille Point Cape Town. I tried to make it but missed the boat by about 30 minutes or so and caught Dave Duarte hanging around afterwards meeting with some people. A little disappointed I was.

    Amongst other things discussed at the meet were new rules and new categories for the competition. I wasn’t around for last year’s one as I wasn’t much of a blogger then and had no idea these initiatives even existed back then.

    The awards are the brainchild of the owners of two established South African blogs: Cherryflava and Your Group of Web AddiCT(s).
    found on gottaquirk.com

    What’s the SA Blog Awards All about then?

    In their own words:

    the SA blog awards showcase the very best of South African independent web publishing in various categories.

    My question to myself is, do I stand a chance of featuring anywhere in one of these Categories?

    I reckon I could take one of these Categories, Maybe:

    • Best Undiscovered Blog – if someone discovers how undiscovered I really am and how good I am at being undiscovered. 🙂
    • Best Post about the SA Blog Awards – If I actually put some real effort into writing one (hint – this post)
    • Best Green blog – with some CSS styling maybe
    • Best SA Blog about Design – Aha, now there’s a category, a difficult one to win though as writing about Design takes huge amounts of effort. I see this Category seems to be more about the actual design of the blog and not the content. Better keep at that re-design then.

    Think I can Make it? Or Maybe Not?

    If you think I stand a snowball chance why not Vote for me, or maybe just do so out of the kindness in your hearts. If you think I’m nowhere close, maybe give me some tips on how I can make a go at it.

    Tell me who your favourites are? I know Adii is probably going feature somewhere in there. I think Andre Bothma’s SA Climate Crisis is a good contender for the Green Category.

    I’m not shy about being an amateur, tell me what you think of me & my site and maybe you can help me improve.

  • A Quick Thought on Drinking at Gatherings & Conferences

    Something which has become extremely positive over the last year or 2 is the increase in conferences,(un)conferences and other types of collaborative & knowledge sharing gatherings being held in Cape Town.

    There are many events of this nature I wish I could attend but prefer to stay away from due to my beliefs. One of the main issues I have is the amount of drinking which takes place, something I prefer to stay far away from. For this reason I have not attended events such as 27 Dinners for example.

    I remember the experience years back when I went through the change from being someone who had very little moral or religious boundaries to someone who wanted to improve spiritually, morally and ethically. I used to drink(before I was Muslim) and would do so with my friends on a regular basis. When I stopped I noticed immediately the difference between meaningful interaction and communication and social activity and the kind which comes from gathering around the water hole so to speak. Some of the friends I still interacted with after the change were lost for words or what to do when meeting with me due to the lack of Alcohol. It seemed without the drink they were not themselves and could not function socially.

    I was very impressed a while back with the fact that *Camp Cape Town was an Alcohol Free event, at least as far as I could tell.

    I wonder if any who else out there shares this issue and if there’s any use opening up a dialogue to discuss. I’d also like to challenge anyone out there organising these types of events to try to make them Alcohol Free.

    I would argue that without the Alcohol you are bound to attract those who are more interested in the subject matter and therefore more beneficial to have attending than those who attend these events just for the drinking.

    What do you think?

  • Macbook Air, a breath of freshness

    Macbook Air, a breath of freshness

    Can someone hire me for a high paying project right now please so I can order one of these beauties. I’ve been waiting for ages for a notebook which is as light and easy to carrying around as this one. There loads of tablet PC’s and other mini-laptop types out there but this one is a breath of fresh air. Apple just keep pushing it and don’t seem to have a sniff of competition when it comes to design, visual design that is.

    MacBook Air takes light & slick to a new level

    So what’s so cool about this new edition to the Mac family. Well, it’s the thinnest notebook I’ve ever seen, nearly as thin as your index finger according to Apple, depends on the size of your fingers I suppose.

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