I actually experienced a really exciting game of soccer for once. The final of the Euro cup was jam packed with action. The words "final" and "jam packed with action" are typically never uttered in the same sentence. But t'is true last night it happened. The final score of 1-0 to Spain over Germany hardly does the back and forth exchanges of the two soccer super powers any justice.
Seems like every time I watch a soccer final it happens at a friends Clifton Manor, not that I'm complaining, seeing as how they have a larger than life TV. Also the guest bathroom is so well designed that I would not actually mind residing in it.
Hanging with a largely German crowd, the German loss was pretty disappointing; however we decided to order some delicious Pizzas from Col Cacchio's which served as some consolation and deterred some over-zealous supporters from jumping over the balcony.
As always their pizzas come with the freshest tastiest toppings on earth. The great thing about Col Cacchio's is their wide selection of choices, they have almost every conceivable permutation of pizza available (this is obviously a bit of an exaggeration, but there certainly a heck of a lot of choices ). They even have wheat free bases (with an additional surcharge though) to cater for our gluten intolerant friends. Being a health nut (at times...most of you will probably think otherwise if you've ever seen me devour chocolate and other such sweet stuff) I usually opt for this option in any case.
All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Icicle
The sun can be pretty deceiving at times; here I was thinking that it was going to be a great day to prance about in just a T-shirt. Turns out I was wrong. Being the middle of winter though, I should have known better and at least have had taken a top with me.
Going to run a really hot bath to thaw out of my icicle-like state, anyone have any bubble bath to go with my rubber ducky?
Going to run a really hot bath to thaw out of my icicle-like state, anyone have any bubble bath to go with my rubber ducky?
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Don't Panic
The coolest thing about being in the spotlight, becoming a rock star, and having thousands and thousands of people watching, adoring and focusing all their attention on you as you perform, is that it is serves as the perfect medium… to publicly, humiliate your friends- well at least that is the only reason why I would seek the limelight. My childhood partner in crime, Bryan, started a rock band; just for that specific reason.
I remember when I first met him, I had just moved to Port Elizabeth from East London, and starting at a new school I didn't have any friends. The first weekend of being in Port Elizabeth, my folks decided that we were going to go try out a restaurant somewhere, we landed up at Sacramento's a cool little spot in Schoenmakerskop. As we arrived I noticed a kid from my new school, and went up to him to say hi.
The coversation went a little along the following lines:
Me: "Hey dude, good to see ya."
Bryan: "Hey man, whats up?"
Me: "Not much, just having lunch."
Bryan: "Ahhh ok, I had the steak"
Me: "Oh cool, so was it good"
Bryan: "I wouldn't get it...it had maggots." (Dead pan)
Me:"you serious"
Bryan: "Yes...I mean no. Haha it was good"
From that moment on I knew he'd be my best friend, because it seemed that we shared the same wicked (okay...more like retarded) sense of humour, very Monty Python (to this day, besides the Rambo’s, Monty Python’s - The Life of Brian still remains one of our favourite movies of all time ever). The next day he followed me home from school and never left; since then we've been tearing it up and doing all sorts of crazy things,...with the underlying premise: for him to try and kill me.
Seriously , for example there was this one near drowning experience we had, because we thought it would be a good idea to take out his new inflatable blow up, less than sea worthy, made for the pool, rubber duck, into 15 foot swells armed with only paddles (no motor); through the most hectic shorebreak in PE, called Doughnuts mind you. Also once against the cautionary advice of the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) we paddled out to go surfing and got stuck in a really hectic rip, only to get sucked out to sea and then back towards the shore to get pounded by some seriously big waves, against some really massive rocks. There have been a few more close Darwinsim Award incidents but it would take a while to go through all of them...
The most memorable one however, is one that still lingers and hassles me from time to time. I have a pretty serious shoulder injury which I'm still carrying, from a stupid skate boarding accident. Basically what happened was my mom for some reason, forbid us not to go skate boarding one particular day, but knowing better we went anyway; but as luck would have it as I was turning the corner, coming down a seriously steep hill at full speed, I wiped out.
While I was sliding across the road my arm got caught in the rain gutter and the impact, completely dislocated my arm. Instead of going to the hospital which would have probably been the wiser of decisions; we thought it would be a good idea, for Bryan to just yank it back into place - we were scared if we did go to the hospital, my mom would have found out we went skateboarding...she may be small, but you ain't never seen an angry Chinese mom before.
Anyways at least our stupidity and the experience has now been immortalised in one of the Finkelstiens songs.
I've found that once you've had so many near death experiences with someone you become a lot closer to them. I can highly recommend sharing a near death experience with your spouse or significant other, should the two of you ever feel like you are drifting apart. Screw Dr. Phil for relationship advice; come to me, I’ll fix them...fix them good!
Bryan went on to start a band called the Finkelstiens, where he changed his name to Wang (don't ask), which became relatively successful. We even formed our own posse whenever they toured the country, much like in the series Entourage , but instead of him buying me a cool Aston or Ducatti (South African Rock band’s don’t earn quite that much), he'd make me fund his Paddle Pop ice cream habit.
At the height of their success they played along bands such as The Offspring, Metallica , Collective Soul, Simple Plan etc etc. And I remember at one of the Coca-Cola Colabs in front of 10 thousand odd people, he publicly declared that I was a "Douche Bag". The irony being that, that is a pretty "Douche Bag" move in itself, seeing as there was no way for me to retaliate, with him comfortably being behind all that security. Knowing Bryan he probably plotted and strategised his whole life for that one moment just so he could “get me good”.
Just as testimony of how lame we actually are, the lads from Simple Plan thought we'd be excellent guys to party with, but instead of showing them around and partying with them. For some reason we thought it would be more entertaining to see if we could fit me into a little Coke fridge, which was actually a lot of fun… until I almost caught hyperthermia and once again almost perished.
Sadly the band is no more, however he's gone on to set up his own recording studio and music production label called Drop and Roll and I've been listening to his new project Don't Panic, if you're familiar with the Finkelstiens...Don't Panic, in which he writes songs, performs and produces himself has a more mature, grittier rock sound and is well worth a listen.
I'm hoping this blog will start taking off...just wait till I get my five minutes of fame…then it’ll be my turn to “get him good”.
I remember when I first met him, I had just moved to Port Elizabeth from East London, and starting at a new school I didn't have any friends. The first weekend of being in Port Elizabeth, my folks decided that we were going to go try out a restaurant somewhere, we landed up at Sacramento's a cool little spot in Schoenmakerskop. As we arrived I noticed a kid from my new school, and went up to him to say hi.
The coversation went a little along the following lines:
Me: "Hey dude, good to see ya."
Bryan: "Hey man, whats up?"
Me: "Not much, just having lunch."
Bryan: "Ahhh ok, I had the steak"
Me: "Oh cool, so was it good"
Bryan: "I wouldn't get it...it had maggots." (Dead pan)
Me:"you serious"
Bryan: "Yes...I mean no. Haha it was good"
From that moment on I knew he'd be my best friend, because it seemed that we shared the same wicked (okay...more like retarded) sense of humour, very Monty Python (to this day, besides the Rambo’s, Monty Python’s - The Life of Brian still remains one of our favourite movies of all time ever). The next day he followed me home from school and never left; since then we've been tearing it up and doing all sorts of crazy things,...with the underlying premise: for him to try and kill me.
Seriously , for example there was this one near drowning experience we had, because we thought it would be a good idea to take out his new inflatable blow up, less than sea worthy, made for the pool, rubber duck, into 15 foot swells armed with only paddles (no motor); through the most hectic shorebreak in PE, called Doughnuts mind you. Also once against the cautionary advice of the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) we paddled out to go surfing and got stuck in a really hectic rip, only to get sucked out to sea and then back towards the shore to get pounded by some seriously big waves, against some really massive rocks. There have been a few more close Darwinsim Award incidents but it would take a while to go through all of them...
The most memorable one however, is one that still lingers and hassles me from time to time. I have a pretty serious shoulder injury which I'm still carrying, from a stupid skate boarding accident. Basically what happened was my mom for some reason, forbid us not to go skate boarding one particular day, but knowing better we went anyway; but as luck would have it as I was turning the corner, coming down a seriously steep hill at full speed, I wiped out.
While I was sliding across the road my arm got caught in the rain gutter and the impact, completely dislocated my arm. Instead of going to the hospital which would have probably been the wiser of decisions; we thought it would be a good idea, for Bryan to just yank it back into place - we were scared if we did go to the hospital, my mom would have found out we went skateboarding...she may be small, but you ain't never seen an angry Chinese mom before.
Anyways at least our stupidity and the experience has now been immortalised in one of the Finkelstiens songs.
I've found that once you've had so many near death experiences with someone you become a lot closer to them. I can highly recommend sharing a near death experience with your spouse or significant other, should the two of you ever feel like you are drifting apart. Screw Dr. Phil for relationship advice; come to me, I’ll fix them...fix them good!
Bryan went on to start a band called the Finkelstiens, where he changed his name to Wang (don't ask), which became relatively successful. We even formed our own posse whenever they toured the country, much like in the series Entourage , but instead of him buying me a cool Aston or Ducatti (South African Rock band’s don’t earn quite that much), he'd make me fund his Paddle Pop ice cream habit.
At the height of their success they played along bands such as The Offspring, Metallica , Collective Soul, Simple Plan etc etc. And I remember at one of the Coca-Cola Colabs in front of 10 thousand odd people, he publicly declared that I was a "Douche Bag". The irony being that, that is a pretty "Douche Bag" move in itself, seeing as there was no way for me to retaliate, with him comfortably being behind all that security. Knowing Bryan he probably plotted and strategised his whole life for that one moment just so he could “get me good”.
Just as testimony of how lame we actually are, the lads from Simple Plan thought we'd be excellent guys to party with, but instead of showing them around and partying with them. For some reason we thought it would be more entertaining to see if we could fit me into a little Coke fridge, which was actually a lot of fun… until I almost caught hyperthermia and once again almost perished.
Sadly the band is no more, however he's gone on to set up his own recording studio and music production label called Drop and Roll and I've been listening to his new project Don't Panic, if you're familiar with the Finkelstiens...Don't Panic, in which he writes songs, performs and produces himself has a more mature, grittier rock sound and is well worth a listen.
I'm hoping this blog will start taking off...just wait till I get my five minutes of fame…then it’ll be my turn to “get him good”.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Coffee Overload
WOWA! Definitely hit the upper limit of the caffeine tolerance today, started with a quick Vida on my way to work. Even though my work has it's own coffee machine...it's never as good. So on the way from the car park to my office I always tend to sneak in, to grab a quick cuppa...there's also a shorter route from my car park to the office, but somehow I always manage to take the more "scenic" coffee route.
If I don't have enough coffee in my system I'm not productive, period...today in contrast to yesterday I was a little hyper. Yesterday I only had one cup, and this only happened late in the morning, as a result I made tons of mistakes, my brain was slow and I was about as productive as a bull in a china shop...exactly! I wasn't productive at all in fact I was completely anti-productive.
Today in contrast I had 3 cups of coffee by 10am, and was as sharp as a tack. I was firing off really constructive advice to our clients in our weekly Friday meetings. After which I loaded up on some more coffee, corrected all the bad work I did yesterday, finished my work for today, and on top of that did some additional research. Hoohoo somebody stop me...seriously somebody stop me. All this caffeine is making me feel weird...am I supposed to feel like I'm having an out of body experience? And is my left eye supposed to twitch like this?
If I don't have enough coffee in my system I'm not productive, period...today in contrast to yesterday I was a little hyper. Yesterday I only had one cup, and this only happened late in the morning, as a result I made tons of mistakes, my brain was slow and I was about as productive as a bull in a china shop...exactly! I wasn't productive at all in fact I was completely anti-productive.
Today in contrast I had 3 cups of coffee by 10am, and was as sharp as a tack. I was firing off really constructive advice to our clients in our weekly Friday meetings. After which I loaded up on some more coffee, corrected all the bad work I did yesterday, finished my work for today, and on top of that did some additional research. Hoohoo somebody stop me...seriously somebody stop me. All this caffeine is making me feel weird...am I supposed to feel like I'm having an out of body experience? And is my left eye supposed to twitch like this?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Garlic Boy
The Microsoft talk last night was great, courtesy of the folks from SA Developer! I learnt a lot about the new MVC.NET model and while it is still in its infancy it was quite a thrill to pick the brain of Brad Abrams, the guy managing the development of it, on Microsoft's direction and progress to compete with other such MVC frameworks such as Ruby on Rails. MVC by the by, just in case you're interested stands for Model View Controller, which is a "new" way of abstracting presentation from business functionality in development...still confused???...don't worry so am I, I just pretend to understand, smile and nod!
I even had the opportunity of potentially (potentially had they actually needed it) saving the evening by bringing my network hub...Ernst phoned me at the last minute in a panic saying that the talk might not be able to continue without a network hub. Thankfully I had one handy from back in the day when I was PE's Quake 3 Champ...Man I think I'm revealing way to much of my geeky side here...have to stop writing about all this tech stuff cos it's seriously ruining my street cred! I thought perhaps if I saved the day I could maybe have gotten a commendatory phone call from old Bill Gates himself...:"Hello - O yes, hey Bill -Was totally my pleasure...no no, I couldn't accept a million dollar reward - what you insist? - O well I suppose I can't look a gift horse in the mouth". What?... It could have totally happened.
Hmmm someone remind me never to eat garlic laced stuff for lunch again...I made this great garlic chicken bake type thing for lunch today, which was really amazing! But to the detriment to my colleagues though, I was getting some pretty evil stares from the guys sitting near me. Reminds me of this one time how the night before, since I figured I wasn't going to be seeing anyone after, laced my pizza with garlic. The next morning however, the garlic was still in my system and when I was at gym, about to start rowing; I noticed this really attractive girl on one of the machines...but as I approached, about 2 meters away. She stopped dead in her tracks, turned around to look at me and rhetorically asked "Good grief! Do you smell that? Is that garlic coming from you?"
I was so flabbergasted I didn't know what to do...except to just occupy the machine next to hers and start rowing anyway! For quite a while after that incident, Lloyd, my friend the personal trainer teased me and called me "Garlic Boy". The teasing continued for at least 3 months. I'm pretty certain that, although the guys at work haven't said it to my face yet; whenever I leave the room they'll be like "Ahh there goes Garlic Boy" amongst themselves.
I even had the opportunity of potentially (potentially had they actually needed it) saving the evening by bringing my network hub...Ernst phoned me at the last minute in a panic saying that the talk might not be able to continue without a network hub. Thankfully I had one handy from back in the day when I was PE's Quake 3 Champ...Man I think I'm revealing way to much of my geeky side here...have to stop writing about all this tech stuff cos it's seriously ruining my street cred! I thought perhaps if I saved the day I could maybe have gotten a commendatory phone call from old Bill Gates himself...:"Hello - O yes, hey Bill -Was totally my pleasure...no no, I couldn't accept a million dollar reward - what you insist? - O well I suppose I can't look a gift horse in the mouth". What?... It could have totally happened.
Hmmm someone remind me never to eat garlic laced stuff for lunch again...I made this great garlic chicken bake type thing for lunch today, which was really amazing! But to the detriment to my colleagues though, I was getting some pretty evil stares from the guys sitting near me. Reminds me of this one time how the night before, since I figured I wasn't going to be seeing anyone after, laced my pizza with garlic. The next morning however, the garlic was still in my system and when I was at gym, about to start rowing; I noticed this really attractive girl on one of the machines...but as I approached, about 2 meters away. She stopped dead in her tracks, turned around to look at me and rhetorically asked "Good grief! Do you smell that? Is that garlic coming from you?"
I was so flabbergasted I didn't know what to do...except to just occupy the machine next to hers and start rowing anyway! For quite a while after that incident, Lloyd, my friend the personal trainer teased me and called me "Garlic Boy". The teasing continued for at least 3 months. I'm pretty certain that, although the guys at work haven't said it to my face yet; whenever I leave the room they'll be like "Ahh there goes Garlic Boy" amongst themselves.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Breakfast of Champions
Being the most important meal of the day, let me share a little breakfast secret of mine (perhaps my greatest contribution to mankind to date). To start off the day I like to have a little something, something I like to call “Benny’s Bowl of Excellence”.
“Benny’s Bowl of Excellence” consists of a few scoops of Acai( Brought into the country, courtesy of D-Squared you can find the Acai in a sorbet like format at a few delis across Cape Town and Johannessburg), 1 scoop Reflex Banana Whey (or any other flavour of whey you’d like to use but I like using banana, cos banana is freakin’ awesome), topped off with some Organic Quinoa and Chocolate Cereal from good old faithful Woolies.
There you have it, a delicious breakfast bowl tailored for champions that will help kick start your day. Rich in energy, protein, anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids; I challenge anyone to find a more well-rounded, balanced meal (please don’t… that was just a blanket challenge, if you tried I’m certain you’d just be disappointed and come off second best). So don’t be surprised if Oprah airs an episode, thanking me for my contribution to humanity…
“Benny’s Bowl of Excellence” consists of a few scoops of Acai( Brought into the country, courtesy of D-Squared you can find the Acai in a sorbet like format at a few delis across Cape Town and Johannessburg), 1 scoop Reflex Banana Whey (or any other flavour of whey you’d like to use but I like using banana, cos banana is freakin’ awesome), topped off with some Organic Quinoa and Chocolate Cereal from good old faithful Woolies.
There you have it, a delicious breakfast bowl tailored for champions that will help kick start your day. Rich in energy, protein, anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids; I challenge anyone to find a more well-rounded, balanced meal (please don’t… that was just a blanket challenge, if you tried I’m certain you’d just be disappointed and come off second best). So don’t be surprised if Oprah airs an episode, thanking me for my contribution to humanity…
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Out of Office
(For those of you who have no interest in software development whatsoever I’d advise you to skip the first couple of paragraphs as they may just cause your head to explode). After a lot of pain, tracing code, monitoring processes on different servers etc and trying to figure out why the deployment of our application is failing on the Live servers, but working correctly on both ours and the clients test environments; I think I’ve finally figured out the problem.
Firstly it seems that whoever wrote the code in the first place; has a policy of just swallowing exceptions and not handling them correctly. If there were 12 commandments to be followed in software development, “Thou shall not swallow exceptions” would surely be one of them; if these exceptions were handled in the first place, we might have picked up the cause of the problem a lot more quickly. Secondly the issue that we have been experiencing seems to be the result of different customized settings on the servers, specifically with regards to date formats…at least now we know what the problem is and can hopefully resolve it relatively quickly.
Speaking of date problem’s I can’t remember the last time I went on a proper date. Do people even go on dates anymore? Think the last one I went on was before I left for Joburg and that was quite some time ago. I’ve been so busy with work and having a torrid love affair with my computer that I haven’t had a chance to even realize how long it’s been. Hmmm perhaps it’s time to put myself back into the game…all work and no play is certainly making Jack (or in this case me) a dull boy!
Anyways the sun was out in full force today! I reckon all the positive thinking and wishing for the worst of winter to pass us has finally come to fruition! If I could have, I would have most definitely snuck down to Camps Bay for an afternoon siesta on the beach, but unfortunately being office bound this was out of the question. I did, however, manage to sneak out the office briefly and wander down Kloof Street to grab some lunch!
Ahhh fresh air! It really was therapeutic to get out of the office, even if it was for only 20 minutes. I believe the fresh air does one a world of good, and it sure beats breathing in that lovely, bacteria laden, possibly virus infected, recycled stuff that goes around the office (as is accustomed to centrally air-conditioned environments). Definitely going to add a mandatory out of office time in the future and would seriously recommend it to everyone else too.
Firstly it seems that whoever wrote the code in the first place; has a policy of just swallowing exceptions and not handling them correctly. If there were 12 commandments to be followed in software development, “Thou shall not swallow exceptions” would surely be one of them; if these exceptions were handled in the first place, we might have picked up the cause of the problem a lot more quickly. Secondly the issue that we have been experiencing seems to be the result of different customized settings on the servers, specifically with regards to date formats…at least now we know what the problem is and can hopefully resolve it relatively quickly.
Speaking of date problem’s I can’t remember the last time I went on a proper date. Do people even go on dates anymore? Think the last one I went on was before I left for Joburg and that was quite some time ago. I’ve been so busy with work and having a torrid love affair with my computer that I haven’t had a chance to even realize how long it’s been. Hmmm perhaps it’s time to put myself back into the game…all work and no play is certainly making Jack (or in this case me) a dull boy!
Anyways the sun was out in full force today! I reckon all the positive thinking and wishing for the worst of winter to pass us has finally come to fruition! If I could have, I would have most definitely snuck down to Camps Bay for an afternoon siesta on the beach, but unfortunately being office bound this was out of the question. I did, however, manage to sneak out the office briefly and wander down Kloof Street to grab some lunch!
Ahhh fresh air! It really was therapeutic to get out of the office, even if it was for only 20 minutes. I believe the fresh air does one a world of good, and it sure beats breathing in that lovely, bacteria laden, possibly virus infected, recycled stuff that goes around the office (as is accustomed to centrally air-conditioned environments). Definitely going to add a mandatory out of office time in the future and would seriously recommend it to everyone else too.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Gentlemans Quaterly
Woohoo! As I got home from yet another long day of work, I was pleasantly surprised to find my new edition of GQ in the post (for once it wasn’t some stupid utility bill). With the jaw-droppingly, gloriously gorgeous Alessandra Ambrosio on the front cover…I’m pretty darn sure there was some text headlining the content, but for whatever reason my mind seems to be drawing blank…
Anyways 40 pages into my GQ, who should I see than mister GQ himself, my mate JP Bolus! While the rest of us mere-mortals struggle and have the need to develop our “personalities” to compensate for our rather average looks (not that he lacks in the personality department either mind you), the recognition of this stylish, overly good-looking gentleman; seems to have extended from his female fan club to even the media…the man can do no wrong.
However don’t be fooled! Behind the cool exterior is a seriously driven, individual and one of the hardest working guys I know, pop by the Loading Bay to see for yourselves. Whether it be designing the shop layout (together with his sister Lauren, an architect, the two designed the Loading Bay by themselves), teaching the baristas how to make the perfect cappuccino, or helping to choose some stylish threads; the guy is always there working hard, ensuring that every detail is taken care of and that everything is running smoothly.
The Loading Bay is going from strength to strength, with the page in the GQ well deserved. Kudos on a job well done, brother!
Anyways 40 pages into my GQ, who should I see than mister GQ himself, my mate JP Bolus! While the rest of us mere-mortals struggle and have the need to develop our “personalities” to compensate for our rather average looks (not that he lacks in the personality department either mind you), the recognition of this stylish, overly good-looking gentleman; seems to have extended from his female fan club to even the media…the man can do no wrong.
However don’t be fooled! Behind the cool exterior is a seriously driven, individual and one of the hardest working guys I know, pop by the Loading Bay to see for yourselves. Whether it be designing the shop layout (together with his sister Lauren, an architect, the two designed the Loading Bay by themselves), teaching the baristas how to make the perfect cappuccino, or helping to choose some stylish threads; the guy is always there working hard, ensuring that every detail is taken care of and that everything is running smoothly.
The Loading Bay is going from strength to strength, with the page in the GQ well deserved. Kudos on a job well done, brother!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Scrum Down
Eeps! It seems like I got so caught up with whatever it is that I do that I forgot that I was supposed to give a talk aboutScrum, to the higher powers in my company tomorrow, to try to get them to adopt it…
Long story short Scrum is a software development framework which outlines a process to deliver software quicker and of higher quality. Not very exciting if you’re not into software development or process management I’m afraid.
Anyways looks like I’m going to be spending the rest of my Sunday afternoon preparing…Guess I should Scrum down then and get stuck in.
Long story short Scrum is a software development framework which outlines a process to deliver software quicker and of higher quality. Not very exciting if you’re not into software development or process management I’m afraid.
Anyways looks like I’m going to be spending the rest of my Sunday afternoon preparing…Guess I should Scrum down then and get stuck in.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Fair Trade
If anyone is paying attention it’s Winter Solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere. Being the shortest day of the year I thought that it was ironic that the sun made a brief appearance, seeing how it’s been cloudy, dark and rainy for days on end in Cape Town.
Theoretically after this day we are past the dead of winter and should be making our ascent towards spring, perhaps the sun was just a sign that summer is on its way, and gives me hope that the worst of the winter is behind us…
Just a thought on the topic of Fair trade which was brought up by Dave Donde at Pecha Kuche a couple of nights ago…is that it seems that consumers these days are pretty ignorant when it comes to purchasing not just coffee but products in general. Using coffee as an analogy, people are generally naïve of the fact that the cappuccino, that one is drinking in a café is the product of some pretty damn hard labour way back in the value chain and perhaps the result of exploitation of some poor guy in Ethiopia, Guatemala or other big coffee producing country. There’s a great documentary about this called Black Gold that all coffee lovers should go see.
Dave brought up a good point that the commodity price of coffee is approximately $1.30 per kilo while the Fair Trade price of coffee is approximately $1.60 per kilo, and he made the point that 30 cents is not a lot for the poor farmer back in Ethiopia. For those of you who attended Pecha Kucha he mentioned that the Origin Roasting Company have, to date never paid below the $5 mark. While you may think that this is bad business and that they are getting a raw deal…
I think the point he was trying to make is that they have developed relationships with their various coffee co-ops, and with that guaranteed the quality of the coffee berry which they purchase from them. At the same time, they've made sure that the farmers are well compensated. This relationship that they have developed is what brings about the term “relationship coffee” that you may have heard being thrown around from time to time.
At the end of the day, I think the less demand there is for products being produced via exploitation, means that less people would be exploited; and the less people are being exploited, means that quality of products they produce would be better. Without trying to sound like I’m trying to push a bunch of hippie crap, I believe that consumers should try to be more aware of what they are purchasing and where the end product originates from. This way people can all do their bit to alleviate the exploitation of the less fortunate and make way for social and sustainable economic development. Imagine, there could be a bunch of little kids in China being whipped to stitch those hand made Denims that you’re wearing, not that my dad ever did that to me when he owned his own textile factory…I swear.
Theoretically after this day we are past the dead of winter and should be making our ascent towards spring, perhaps the sun was just a sign that summer is on its way, and gives me hope that the worst of the winter is behind us…
Just a thought on the topic of Fair trade which was brought up by Dave Donde at Pecha Kuche a couple of nights ago…is that it seems that consumers these days are pretty ignorant when it comes to purchasing not just coffee but products in general. Using coffee as an analogy, people are generally naïve of the fact that the cappuccino, that one is drinking in a café is the product of some pretty damn hard labour way back in the value chain and perhaps the result of exploitation of some poor guy in Ethiopia, Guatemala or other big coffee producing country. There’s a great documentary about this called Black Gold that all coffee lovers should go see.
Dave brought up a good point that the commodity price of coffee is approximately $1.30 per kilo while the Fair Trade price of coffee is approximately $1.60 per kilo, and he made the point that 30 cents is not a lot for the poor farmer back in Ethiopia. For those of you who attended Pecha Kucha he mentioned that the Origin Roasting Company have, to date never paid below the $5 mark. While you may think that this is bad business and that they are getting a raw deal…
I think the point he was trying to make is that they have developed relationships with their various coffee co-ops, and with that guaranteed the quality of the coffee berry which they purchase from them. At the same time, they've made sure that the farmers are well compensated. This relationship that they have developed is what brings about the term “relationship coffee” that you may have heard being thrown around from time to time.
At the end of the day, I think the less demand there is for products being produced via exploitation, means that less people would be exploited; and the less people are being exploited, means that quality of products they produce would be better. Without trying to sound like I’m trying to push a bunch of hippie crap, I believe that consumers should try to be more aware of what they are purchasing and where the end product originates from. This way people can all do their bit to alleviate the exploitation of the less fortunate and make way for social and sustainable economic development. Imagine, there could be a bunch of little kids in China being whipped to stitch those hand made Denims that you’re wearing, not that my dad ever did that to me when he owned his own textile factory…I swear.
Nihongo
Pecha Kucha is a Japanese term used to describe the sound of peoples’ murmurings. Originating from Japan it is now a world wide phenomenon and is held in over a hundred destinations across the globe. The first one in South Africa was held last night. Pecha Kucha is an awesome concept, and a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and designer alike to showcase their portfolios, businesses and new ideas.
The format is simple, each Pecha Kucha evening consists of a number of speakers with pre-organized slides. Each speaker has 20 slides, and 20 seconds to present each slide; to stake their claim to fame. Last nights attendance was surprisingly good, really good, considering that there was not any official advertising (I love the power of word-of-mouth). Well done to Priscilla for organizing a fantastic and a very memorable event, Arigato! If anyone is interested to be a speaker you can contact them at the following email : pechakucha@instantgrass.com
Had a great dinner at Caveau on Boundary Road in Newlands this evening and speaking of word-of-mouth out of nowhere our table grew organically to a whopping 15 strong. Having being swamped at work lately I didn’t have much time to organize, so Joe and Xav just spread the word and voila, an instant crowd!
With Asoka next for one or two quick drinks to end a good evening, I was even fortunate enough to see half a Running-Man from Vo…hopefully next time I see her out it’ll be the real deal though.
The format is simple, each Pecha Kucha evening consists of a number of speakers with pre-organized slides. Each speaker has 20 slides, and 20 seconds to present each slide; to stake their claim to fame. Last nights attendance was surprisingly good, really good, considering that there was not any official advertising (I love the power of word-of-mouth). Well done to Priscilla for organizing a fantastic and a very memorable event, Arigato! If anyone is interested to be a speaker you can contact them at the following email : pechakucha@instantgrass.com
Had a great dinner at Caveau on Boundary Road in Newlands this evening and speaking of word-of-mouth out of nowhere our table grew organically to a whopping 15 strong. Having being swamped at work lately I didn’t have much time to organize, so Joe and Xav just spread the word and voila, an instant crowd!
With Asoka next for one or two quick drinks to end a good evening, I was even fortunate enough to see half a Running-Man from Vo…hopefully next time I see her out it’ll be the real deal though.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Colour-Blind
HahahahaAHAHahahAhAHAHAHAHahhahahahHAHahahahaaha! Phew let me take a minute to catch my breath here…
So apparently I’m now officially… Black! Yip, that’s right, according to an article, the South African government has given new meaning to the phrase colour-blind and has decided that Chinese people are to be classified as Black! Although with more of a tint of yellow, it’s obviously not a bad thing, as Chinese people are now also entitled to all the benefits, which come with being a Black citizen in South Africa e.g. partake in BEE (Black Empowerment) programs, anyone need a black empowerment partner?
But seriously, am I the only one who finds this amusing? Anyways, only in South Africa! Once again I’m going to continue to laugh….perhaps, this time, all the way to the bank…
So apparently I’m now officially… Black! Yip, that’s right, according to an article, the South African government has given new meaning to the phrase colour-blind and has decided that Chinese people are to be classified as Black! Although with more of a tint of yellow, it’s obviously not a bad thing, as Chinese people are now also entitled to all the benefits, which come with being a Black citizen in South Africa e.g. partake in BEE (Black Empowerment) programs, anyone need a black empowerment partner?
But seriously, am I the only one who finds this amusing? Anyways, only in South Africa! Once again I’m going to continue to laugh….perhaps, this time, all the way to the bank…
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Brainstorm
Entrepreneurship is an addiction; once bitten it can consume you, your every being and every thought. Some nights you lie awake, conjuring up ideas, brainstorming and wondering when (not if…never if) that one idea will come that will kick some serious ass and be, like…umm totally successful.
For some it takes many tries but, for one Bevan Ducasse, on his first; the dream, is at an arms length away. I remember distinctly, about 10 months ago, Bevan approached me with a crazy pie in the sky idea, as he wanted some techno geeks to bounce his idea off of. Being in Software and at the time starting up my own business, he approached me for some advice and to see if I knew anyone who could help him out or have some input. The first person to come to mind was techno Wunder Kind, Ernst Kuschke.
Ernst is one of a handful of South Africa's Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals), one of the longest running ones at that, and always seems to be ahead of the pack in terms of technologies and their capabilities. This includes both Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies.
At the time Ernst and I had already started our Saturday morning, coffee ritual; and I thought it was good idea to set up a meeting around a productivity enhancing coffee (I wonder how many business deals and good ideas have surfaced over a good cuppa). This by the way is how the Saturday Morning CT Coffee club started. After introducing us to his idea, we began to discuss some semantics and of course the viability of the idea.
After a relative intellect intensive morning, we needed a change of pace and get rid of some excess energy. We some how decided to mission for a surf out in Big Bay. I think it was somewhere between all the caffeine and the salt water in his system, that Bevan all of a sudden decided, with absolute conviction that this idea (hold on guys the idea will soon be revealed…sheesh and I thought I was inpatient) of his would work and that he was going to go for it.
In the end Ernst and I, were unfortunately too preoccupied to get involved in the venture. But close to a year has passed from that day, and the Bevanator (like the Terminator only with Bevan in front) after much blood, sweat and tears has paved much of the ground work, already creating a working prototype, and sealing some big corporate deals.
I’m proud to introduce and be one of the first to write up (sure the Financial Mail might have beaten me to it…but everyone knows that my blog has more clout) on Bevan’s idea: WiWallet a means to simplify the paying of goods by using your cellphone. You heard it here first; WiWallet is going to revolutionize the way that commerce is done.
For some it takes many tries but, for one Bevan Ducasse, on his first; the dream, is at an arms length away. I remember distinctly, about 10 months ago, Bevan approached me with a crazy pie in the sky idea, as he wanted some techno geeks to bounce his idea off of. Being in Software and at the time starting up my own business, he approached me for some advice and to see if I knew anyone who could help him out or have some input. The first person to come to mind was techno Wunder Kind, Ernst Kuschke.
Ernst is one of a handful of South Africa's Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals), one of the longest running ones at that, and always seems to be ahead of the pack in terms of technologies and their capabilities. This includes both Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies.
At the time Ernst and I had already started our Saturday morning, coffee ritual; and I thought it was good idea to set up a meeting around a productivity enhancing coffee (I wonder how many business deals and good ideas have surfaced over a good cuppa). This by the way is how the Saturday Morning CT Coffee club started. After introducing us to his idea, we began to discuss some semantics and of course the viability of the idea.
After a relative intellect intensive morning, we needed a change of pace and get rid of some excess energy. We some how decided to mission for a surf out in Big Bay. I think it was somewhere between all the caffeine and the salt water in his system, that Bevan all of a sudden decided, with absolute conviction that this idea (hold on guys the idea will soon be revealed…sheesh and I thought I was inpatient) of his would work and that he was going to go for it.
In the end Ernst and I, were unfortunately too preoccupied to get involved in the venture. But close to a year has passed from that day, and the Bevanator (like the Terminator only with Bevan in front) after much blood, sweat and tears has paved much of the ground work, already creating a working prototype, and sealing some big corporate deals.
I’m proud to introduce and be one of the first to write up (sure the Financial Mail might have beaten me to it…but everyone knows that my blog has more clout) on Bevan’s idea: WiWallet a means to simplify the paying of goods by using your cellphone. You heard it here first; WiWallet is going to revolutionize the way that commerce is done.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Post Long-Weekend Depression
A quick follow up on yesterdays post, so Mister Brown is apparently the Taiwanese Starbucks! My cousin filled me in, they are also available in Los Angeles, and on her recent travels to Taiwan she said that she stumbled upon a Mister Brown’s Café: “like Starbucks only with more comfortable sofas”, were her words! Absolutely no doubt I’ll be on a mission the next time I’m in that area.
Long weekends are great…my only gripe with them, however is that they never seem to be long enough! Sure if you have a Monday off like we did yesterday, the week is shorter but the “New Monday”…errr that’s Tuesday, takes for freakin’ ever to end. I chalk it up to post long-weekend depression.
The little rest makes one believe that there is hope…hope that one has actually conquered the rat race and no longer have to partake in the grueling labour that is reality. But in actuality it lifts you up; just to send you crashing down again! “Stop playing with my emotions, darn you!”
I reckon if they give you a Monday off they should just cancel the whole week… Along with my plans to institute 3 day work weeks, the cancellation of work on a “long weekend” falls under my “Benny for President” campaign as referred to in a previous post. Are you guys still certain you won’t vote for me?
Sure the country would most probably fall into economic disarray, but I’d be too busy doing state visits to the South of France, eating fromage and baguettes to even notice or to have it have an affect on me…Anyways enough poo shooting… there was some solace amongst the arduous “New Monday” and it came in the form of a skinny, mucho cappuccino from Vida.
Long weekends are great…my only gripe with them, however is that they never seem to be long enough! Sure if you have a Monday off like we did yesterday, the week is shorter but the “New Monday”…errr that’s Tuesday, takes for freakin’ ever to end. I chalk it up to post long-weekend depression.
The little rest makes one believe that there is hope…hope that one has actually conquered the rat race and no longer have to partake in the grueling labour that is reality. But in actuality it lifts you up; just to send you crashing down again! “Stop playing with my emotions, darn you!”
I reckon if they give you a Monday off they should just cancel the whole week… Along with my plans to institute 3 day work weeks, the cancellation of work on a “long weekend” falls under my “Benny for President” campaign as referred to in a previous post. Are you guys still certain you won’t vote for me?
Sure the country would most probably fall into economic disarray, but I’d be too busy doing state visits to the South of France, eating fromage and baguettes to even notice or to have it have an affect on me…Anyways enough poo shooting… there was some solace amongst the arduous “New Monday” and it came in the form of a skinny, mucho cappuccino from Vida.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Globalisation
The definition of globalization according to Wikipedia is “integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology”. My globalization experience of the day is one based around Mr Brown canned iced coffees.
You can find Mr Brown at Giovanni’s. But I find that it’s rather amusing and confusing that Giovanni’s import their goods from Italy, but Mr Brown is actually a product that is manufactured in Taiwan. A Taiwanese product found in an Italian delicatessen… in South Africa, how bizarre! Unless there are some trade benefits I’m unaware of; I’m pretty damn certain it would be more cost effective to import this particular product directly from it’s source i.e Taiwan.
I suppose now I kinda understand how strange it must have been for this American guy I met in Singapore, when I tried to explain how my family is Taiwanese but I’m actually South African! For some reason he just couldn’t comprehend how an Asian dude could be from Africa!
To be quite honest these canned coffees, are little more than just coffee flavoured milk, but I’ve been addicted to them ever since I was a kid and they bring about some nostalgic Taiwan experiences.To add to their appeal the product was also brought into existence the same year I was born! Perhaps two of Taiwan’s greatest exports to originate from the same year; coincidence?…I think not!
You can find Mr Brown at Giovanni’s. But I find that it’s rather amusing and confusing that Giovanni’s import their goods from Italy, but Mr Brown is actually a product that is manufactured in Taiwan. A Taiwanese product found in an Italian delicatessen… in South Africa, how bizarre! Unless there are some trade benefits I’m unaware of; I’m pretty damn certain it would be more cost effective to import this particular product directly from it’s source i.e Taiwan.
I suppose now I kinda understand how strange it must have been for this American guy I met in Singapore, when I tried to explain how my family is Taiwanese but I’m actually South African! For some reason he just couldn’t comprehend how an Asian dude could be from Africa!
To be quite honest these canned coffees, are little more than just coffee flavoured milk, but I’ve been addicted to them ever since I was a kid and they bring about some nostalgic Taiwan experiences.To add to their appeal the product was also brought into existence the same year I was born! Perhaps two of Taiwan’s greatest exports to originate from the same year; coincidence?…I think not!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Going Down to South Park
Pretty impressed that after a big night, that I still managed to wake up relatively early to make it to the gym this morning! Was a rather unexpected evening out, but it turned into a great one, we started off at the Oblivion wine bar and restaurant where they threw a back to school party…I’m pretty certain however that schools don’t let their learners (not students by the way, as the South African government has categorically stated that this is not the correct term to use for individuals attending school at the primary and secondary levels) behave in the fashion that was to found at the party.
From Oblivion we made our way to Jade, where we dominated the dance floor. At one point I think I might have even pulled out some break dance moves. To end the night off, we moved to my old favourite hangout FTV. Quite a productive night of club hopping! So it was quite a surprise for me too, that my internal alarm woke me up.
After my gym session, as a reward I decided to just chill out and go down to South Park and meet some friends of mine. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are two of my biggest heroes. All through out varsity, I dreamt of being like them and create my own animated series> as it so happens I actually have a hamster character that I have developed and few scripts. The only thing left for me to do is actually sit down animate it and try get someone to buy into the idea. That of course is totally the easy part…
I’m a huge fan of South Park but many people think that it is just stupid toilet humour. The series is actually frightfully thought provoking and Trey and Matt are in my opinion the best satirists, ever. From current affairs, regarding politics and new lifestyle trends, they seem to stay on top of their game and rip apart and show how ridiculously serious we as society can take things. I understand where a lot of it can seem crude and can offend people but if you watch South Park with a pinch of salt, there generally is a pretty valid point behind each episode…Although for some episodes, this can pose as quite a challenge.
From Oblivion we made our way to Jade, where we dominated the dance floor. At one point I think I might have even pulled out some break dance moves. To end the night off, we moved to my old favourite hangout FTV. Quite a productive night of club hopping! So it was quite a surprise for me too, that my internal alarm woke me up.
After my gym session, as a reward I decided to just chill out and go down to South Park and meet some friends of mine. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are two of my biggest heroes. All through out varsity, I dreamt of being like them and create my own animated series> as it so happens I actually have a hamster character that I have developed and few scripts. The only thing left for me to do is actually sit down animate it and try get someone to buy into the idea. That of course is totally the easy part…
I’m a huge fan of South Park but many people think that it is just stupid toilet humour. The series is actually frightfully thought provoking and Trey and Matt are in my opinion the best satirists, ever. From current affairs, regarding politics and new lifestyle trends, they seem to stay on top of their game and rip apart and show how ridiculously serious we as society can take things. I understand where a lot of it can seem crude and can offend people but if you watch South Park with a pinch of salt, there generally is a pretty valid point behind each episode…Although for some episodes, this can pose as quite a challenge.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Frank the Tank
Winter is probably the best time to go dining in Cape Town, as many restaurants come up with some scintillating specials to lure food lovers out of their dingy caves. Another top restaurant has also come out with a 2-7pm Sushi special, this time in the form of Tank. Tank has some really creative rolls and their sushi is always amazing, however their special extends to most of their Japanese fair and this includes miso soup, tempura (fried Japanese food) to help heat up those chilled winter bones!
The problem with sushi, well at least in my case, is that it takes a lot to fill me up! So it always becomes a very costly affair when I decide to tuck in. The good thing about the half price special is that it cuts down the cost significantly and makes it quite affordable. Today I ordered Vegetable Tempura, some Crab, Prawn, Avo and Soya Bean paper rolls, Philadelphia rolls (with Salmon, Cream Cheese and Avo) and Calamari Tempura rolls.
When the order came, it looked like a mountain of food. But the sushi mountain was easily scaled and was soon a pretty empty plate! Normally all that sushi would cost you a small fortune, but today it arrived at just over the R100 mark. If you are an avid sushi lover you have to make use of this special as it is well worth it! And if you are a restaurant lover in Cape Town now is the time to look out for some great deals.
The problem with sushi, well at least in my case, is that it takes a lot to fill me up! So it always becomes a very costly affair when I decide to tuck in. The good thing about the half price special is that it cuts down the cost significantly and makes it quite affordable. Today I ordered Vegetable Tempura, some Crab, Prawn, Avo and Soya Bean paper rolls, Philadelphia rolls (with Salmon, Cream Cheese and Avo) and Calamari Tempura rolls.
When the order came, it looked like a mountain of food. But the sushi mountain was easily scaled and was soon a pretty empty plate! Normally all that sushi would cost you a small fortune, but today it arrived at just over the R100 mark. If you are an avid sushi lover you have to make use of this special as it is well worth it! And if you are a restaurant lover in Cape Town now is the time to look out for some great deals.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th! I’ve never been a superstitious kind of guy…until today! Somehow everything that could possibly go wrong at work did. To spare you from the boring details I had to deploy an application to a client site, but it was impossible to get right due to the corporate red tape that is associated to big companies .
The gist of my problem was, I was not allowed to log on to a PC that was sitting right next to me, but instead had to phone some dude, who is located offsite i.e. not in the same building and ask him to remote terminal service into the PC and do the deploy for me. To add to it we encountered some problems with the PC which we could have changed there and then, but because of all corporate bureaucracy. I would have had to get about 10 documents signed by higher powers, to authorize the changes ARGGGGGGG! (Some of the IT jargon has been simplified for the sake of understandability).
Anyways also had some code issues from the team in India, so had to stay in late, to finish up some work. Was supposed to go to some party with Infected Mushrooms(?) Mate! I don’t have a clue who they are, I think they could be some Trance act from Israel? But Xav, Action Dan, Sabine and the rest were going so it would have been stellar!
Oh well I suppose it could have been worse…I could have been stabbed by the two guys having a brawl outside my office as I left…
Last night however was great, a group of us decided to check out Jade for a Thursday evening out on the town, also we wanted to celebrate Sabine’s new found freedom as she finished the last exam of her University career. I always enjoy going out more when I have some great company, especially when the company is a bevy of beautiful women! Jade is surprisingly busy on Thurday evenings…considering the fact that it is a school night, but I suppose I can’t pass judgment since I was there too.
Hip hop seemed to be the flavour of the evening, and the other Kast sister (Sabine and Stef’s mom, who could pass off as their sister), Ingrid showed us how it’s done on the dance floor. I flail around like a fish out of water, but at least I try…I think I’m just lucky that I have a little bit of timing from playing guitar and skip rope jumping so I don’t appear to be a complete retard…or do I? Someone would tell me if I did right? Cos seriously it ain’t cool to let a brother hang like that.
The gist of my problem was, I was not allowed to log on to a PC that was sitting right next to me, but instead had to phone some dude, who is located offsite i.e. not in the same building and ask him to remote terminal service into the PC and do the deploy for me. To add to it we encountered some problems with the PC which we could have changed there and then, but because of all corporate bureaucracy. I would have had to get about 10 documents signed by higher powers, to authorize the changes ARGGGGGGG! (Some of the IT jargon has been simplified for the sake of understandability).
Anyways also had some code issues from the team in India, so had to stay in late, to finish up some work. Was supposed to go to some party with Infected Mushrooms(?) Mate! I don’t have a clue who they are, I think they could be some Trance act from Israel? But Xav, Action Dan, Sabine and the rest were going so it would have been stellar!
Oh well I suppose it could have been worse…I could have been stabbed by the two guys having a brawl outside my office as I left…
Last night however was great, a group of us decided to check out Jade for a Thursday evening out on the town, also we wanted to celebrate Sabine’s new found freedom as she finished the last exam of her University career. I always enjoy going out more when I have some great company, especially when the company is a bevy of beautiful women! Jade is surprisingly busy on Thurday evenings…considering the fact that it is a school night, but I suppose I can’t pass judgment since I was there too.
Hip hop seemed to be the flavour of the evening, and the other Kast sister (Sabine and Stef’s mom, who could pass off as their sister), Ingrid showed us how it’s done on the dance floor. I flail around like a fish out of water, but at least I try…I think I’m just lucky that I have a little bit of timing from playing guitar and skip rope jumping so I don’t appear to be a complete retard…or do I? Someone would tell me if I did right? Cos seriously it ain’t cool to let a brother hang like that.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Busy days
No significant blog entry today, I have had a really busy day and got home late from work, and unfortunately have an engagement in a bit… Till tomorrow y’all.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Lead the Way
Yesterday’s evenings, work function was actually a whisky tasting workshop, I’ve been to a previous whisky tasting before so I already had a head start with all the pomp and ceremony that comes with swirling and nosing the whisky. The one thing I clearly recall is that after swirling you should notice the “legs” of the whisky, apparently this is the only time you want “legs” to be close together...The closer the legs of the whisky the more complex and well aged it is.
Being a self-professed connoisseur of coffee I respect the technical aspects of whisky tasting, but to be honest I could not distinguish the hints of apricot, or cherry that we were supposed to be savouring. To me it just tasted like petrol, maybe a hint of dirt and death! Then again I suppose I’ve never been good with alcohol and recall how I once tried to show off my sophisticated side, by going wine tasting on the wine route, only to have the girl I escorted, drive us home after the first farm due to my alcohol intolerance…”Smuuv Benny Smuuv”
Anyways right after I posted my blog last night, the one about how bad I am with directions…my defiant brain, or at least the subconscious part decided to prove me wrong. I was pretty determined to get to bed before 11pm…I was never really able to get the bigger picture of Joburg and only knew one or two routes off by heart, which I thought were pretty disjoint at the time. Because of this I relied heavily on old trusty, Garmin to lead the way.
I’m pretty acceptant of the fact that I’m crap at directions, and really, it doesn’t bother me! But somehow the mere mention of my being bad at it somehow triggered a defense mechanism in my brain and for the next few hours it spent mapping all the routes I ever took in Joburg, keeping me up late into the wee hours of the morning…Useful? It would have been, perhaps a few months ago…but I guess at least next time I’m back in Joburg I won’t get as lost.
It feels as if I have two minds at times, one which is aware and one which hides away chilling in the back with great latent potential! When I was younger I had a border line photographic memory, however it was not on command… I remember that it came and went. In one particular instance I remember having to study for a Biology exam in Grade 9.
It was two days before the exam and I remember stressing because I had not started studying for it yet, however back in those days we were forced to copy down notes from an overhead projector; so deep in the recesses of my mind, there the information lay. For some reason I decided I’d try not to stress, just chill out, go to bed early and pull an all-nighter the next day. Only when I slept I dreamt that I was studying and somehow I remembered line for line, diagram for diagram, page for page everything that I had copied down. In the morning without opening a single book I was done studying…If only I had tried to nurture that talent, instead of being a lazy surf bum!
Being a self-professed connoisseur of coffee I respect the technical aspects of whisky tasting, but to be honest I could not distinguish the hints of apricot, or cherry that we were supposed to be savouring. To me it just tasted like petrol, maybe a hint of dirt and death! Then again I suppose I’ve never been good with alcohol and recall how I once tried to show off my sophisticated side, by going wine tasting on the wine route, only to have the girl I escorted, drive us home after the first farm due to my alcohol intolerance…”Smuuv Benny Smuuv”
Anyways right after I posted my blog last night, the one about how bad I am with directions…my defiant brain, or at least the subconscious part decided to prove me wrong. I was pretty determined to get to bed before 11pm…I was never really able to get the bigger picture of Joburg and only knew one or two routes off by heart, which I thought were pretty disjoint at the time. Because of this I relied heavily on old trusty, Garmin to lead the way.
I’m pretty acceptant of the fact that I’m crap at directions, and really, it doesn’t bother me! But somehow the mere mention of my being bad at it somehow triggered a defense mechanism in my brain and for the next few hours it spent mapping all the routes I ever took in Joburg, keeping me up late into the wee hours of the morning…Useful? It would have been, perhaps a few months ago…but I guess at least next time I’m back in Joburg I won’t get as lost.
It feels as if I have two minds at times, one which is aware and one which hides away chilling in the back with great latent potential! When I was younger I had a border line photographic memory, however it was not on command… I remember that it came and went. In one particular instance I remember having to study for a Biology exam in Grade 9.
It was two days before the exam and I remember stressing because I had not started studying for it yet, however back in those days we were forced to copy down notes from an overhead projector; so deep in the recesses of my mind, there the information lay. For some reason I decided I’d try not to stress, just chill out, go to bed early and pull an all-nighter the next day. Only when I slept I dreamt that I was studying and somehow I remembered line for line, diagram for diagram, page for page everything that I had copied down. In the morning without opening a single book I was done studying…If only I had tried to nurture that talent, instead of being a lazy surf bum!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Auto Pilot
I’m starting to notice that my general sense of direction is shocking, if you had to ask me to give you directions from the airport to my childhood house in PE, I wouldn’t be able to tell you; but if I had to climb into a car and just drive I’d get there absolutely no problem. Somehow my mind just kicks into autopilot and it just knows where to go.
I’m beginning to notice that when I type as well. If you made me draw a keyboard I would not for the life of me remember where any of the keys are supposed to be situated but when I start typing, my fingers just know where to hit.
Anyways the reason why I bring this up is because we had a work function tonight at The Wild Fig, near the Riverside Club in Observatory. I’ve been to the Riverside Club before but honestly it’s not too familiar in my memory, and added to that I have not been there in a good couple of years. I thought I’d try test the auto pilot theory and without a glitch, I just somehow climbed into the car and POOF I was there…mind blasting!
The food was great too just in case you were wondering.
I’m beginning to notice that when I type as well. If you made me draw a keyboard I would not for the life of me remember where any of the keys are supposed to be situated but when I start typing, my fingers just know where to hit.
Anyways the reason why I bring this up is because we had a work function tonight at The Wild Fig, near the Riverside Club in Observatory. I’ve been to the Riverside Club before but honestly it’s not too familiar in my memory, and added to that I have not been there in a good couple of years. I thought I’d try test the auto pilot theory and without a glitch, I just somehow climbed into the car and POOF I was there…mind blasting!
The food was great too just in case you were wondering.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Lay Day
Despite my most concerted efforts to get to bed early last night...I still managed to somehow lie awake in bed till 2am. Frustration mounts.
Today although physically being awake, the same can not be said about dear, old mister brain. Not even my beloved sweet black nectar of the gods could get me to be overly productive, as I somehow managed to slide on by through the day avoiding anything too intellectually stimulating.
However I feel more positive that today’s early night attempt to sleep early, will bring more favourable results…
Today although physically being awake, the same can not be said about dear, old mister brain. Not even my beloved sweet black nectar of the gods could get me to be overly productive, as I somehow managed to slide on by through the day avoiding anything too intellectually stimulating.
However I feel more positive that today’s early night attempt to sleep early, will bring more favourable results…
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Jackie Chan and Jet Li in a movie? Really? Perhaps I was dreaming but I watched a movie today called Forbidden Kingdom with two of Hong Kongs’s biggest action stars in it. Both of them have been making movies for decades, but much to my dismay they have never been in a film together.
Forbidden Kingdom is based old Chinese folklore, and revolves around the tale of a mischievous character known as the Monkey King (Sun Wu Kong). Parts of the film is quite authentic and takes me back to my childhood, where I’d often beg my grandparents to tell me tales of this great legend. However like most Hollywood produced films Forbidden Kingdom has been commercialized to a point where it’s lost a lot of its true roots.
None the less being a massive Jet Li and Jackie Chan fan, I was quite thrilled to see them starring together; and with the fight scenes choreographed by Woo-Ping the same guy who choreographed the Matrix. There was action abound and plenty of great visual effects.
Forbidden Kingdom is based old Chinese folklore, and revolves around the tale of a mischievous character known as the Monkey King (Sun Wu Kong). Parts of the film is quite authentic and takes me back to my childhood, where I’d often beg my grandparents to tell me tales of this great legend. However like most Hollywood produced films Forbidden Kingdom has been commercialized to a point where it’s lost a lot of its true roots.
None the less being a massive Jet Li and Jackie Chan fan, I was quite thrilled to see them starring together; and with the fight scenes choreographed by Woo-Ping the same guy who choreographed the Matrix. There was action abound and plenty of great visual effects.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Back to the Future
Ecco Il Café is still one of my favourite coffee spots in Cape Town, in particular I really like the one situated in the BMW Show Room, situated in the Foreshore (there are two more that I know of, one near the Foundry in Green Point and the other in Long Street). Where you also get to, quickly pick up a new vehicle, with your daily coffee…
The food and coffee there is always top notch! And the staff are amazing, instead of giving you an order number they take down your name…and when your order is ready they call out your name instead, it makes you feel VIP, as if you’re first name basis there. With so many great restaurants and eateries in Cape Town, it’s the little things that set one apart; and a lot of other establishments could learn a thing or two from the friendly people at Ecco.
You’ll find some of the best latte artists there too …I have a picture of a coffee with my face “drawn” in it, and it was done by an ex Ecco Barista by the name of Peter…unfortunately I’m not sure where Peter has gone…but it’s still evident today that they take their latte art tradition seriously.
If you are also an avid fan of design and architecture I’d suggest you go check out the The Mini Showroom(Mini as in the cars… not a really dinky show room) and pick up a Mini, to go with the Beamer... It just so happens that Lauren designed the place and gave us a guided tour of it. The show room has a neo-futuristic, 50’s American diner feel to it and reminds me of something out of Back to the Future Part 2. Man I watched that movie recently…and it’s still as good as I remember it to be.
The food and coffee there is always top notch! And the staff are amazing, instead of giving you an order number they take down your name…and when your order is ready they call out your name instead, it makes you feel VIP, as if you’re first name basis there. With so many great restaurants and eateries in Cape Town, it’s the little things that set one apart; and a lot of other establishments could learn a thing or two from the friendly people at Ecco.
You’ll find some of the best latte artists there too …I have a picture of a coffee with my face “drawn” in it, and it was done by an ex Ecco Barista by the name of Peter…unfortunately I’m not sure where Peter has gone…but it’s still evident today that they take their latte art tradition seriously.
If you are also an avid fan of design and architecture I’d suggest you go check out the The Mini Showroom(Mini as in the cars… not a really dinky show room) and pick up a Mini, to go with the Beamer... It just so happens that Lauren designed the place and gave us a guided tour of it. The show room has a neo-futuristic, 50’s American diner feel to it and reminds me of something out of Back to the Future Part 2. Man I watched that movie recently…and it’s still as good as I remember it to be.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Bon Appetit
Two things in life are certain: Death and… I make the best damn Lasagne... Now you may probably think that I’m exaggerating here but it’s true, the only reason I haven’t publicized this before is because I don’t want Italians to be ashamed that an Asian dude makes better pasta then them…although everyone knows that the concept of Pasta actually came from the orient…noodles…anyone?
After having a pretty tough week, being sick and working way too many hours, my work somehow decided to stick the guy with the flu in an ice box…well it was close, it was actually a server room filled with computer equipment and some insane cooling equipment to keep the equipment from overheating. I don’t know, but I think someone out there has it in for me; and wants to see if I’ll catch pneumonia. Anyways for some reason when I’m sick I seem to crave comfort food.
There are one or two dishes I enjoy more, but in general Lasagne is pound for pound my favourite meal. So on my way home from work I decided to pick up some goodies to make some. Finding me in the kitchen these days is pretty rare, it seems that I’m always preoccupied with other stuff…but it doesn’t mean I can’t cook.
The mere fact that I enjoy food so much would suggest that I should be pretty good at combining flavours and delivering a pretty tasty meal but where I’m good in that department I’m completely lacking in the technical department and pretty darn clumsy… I once somehow spilled an entire pot of boiling water on myself…I was just extremely lucky to be wearing the thickest jacket imaginable, and it saved me from certain, 3rd degree burns.
I also tend to use all the wrong utensils, for example when I cook I love using pots. I don’t like pans even when it comes to frying stuff. Which I suppose is not so weird, considering my mom refuses to use any other knife to prepare food with except a trusty bone cleaver…I think it’s an oriental thing and should probably follow suit, but I’m not going to risk my fingers seeing that I’m already very accident prone.
I digress, my point was that if you do find me in the kitchen I like to make it count and I’ve probably made enough Lasagne to feed 8 people…I’d let everyone taste some but it’s actually that good, that I fear I’d be hassled ad nauseum, for the recipe… which I carry with me to the grave by the way. So without further a due, I have some eating and sleeping to attend too.
After having a pretty tough week, being sick and working way too many hours, my work somehow decided to stick the guy with the flu in an ice box…well it was close, it was actually a server room filled with computer equipment and some insane cooling equipment to keep the equipment from overheating. I don’t know, but I think someone out there has it in for me; and wants to see if I’ll catch pneumonia. Anyways for some reason when I’m sick I seem to crave comfort food.
There are one or two dishes I enjoy more, but in general Lasagne is pound for pound my favourite meal. So on my way home from work I decided to pick up some goodies to make some. Finding me in the kitchen these days is pretty rare, it seems that I’m always preoccupied with other stuff…but it doesn’t mean I can’t cook.
The mere fact that I enjoy food so much would suggest that I should be pretty good at combining flavours and delivering a pretty tasty meal but where I’m good in that department I’m completely lacking in the technical department and pretty darn clumsy… I once somehow spilled an entire pot of boiling water on myself…I was just extremely lucky to be wearing the thickest jacket imaginable, and it saved me from certain, 3rd degree burns.
I also tend to use all the wrong utensils, for example when I cook I love using pots. I don’t like pans even when it comes to frying stuff. Which I suppose is not so weird, considering my mom refuses to use any other knife to prepare food with except a trusty bone cleaver…I think it’s an oriental thing and should probably follow suit, but I’m not going to risk my fingers seeing that I’m already very accident prone.
I digress, my point was that if you do find me in the kitchen I like to make it count and I’ve probably made enough Lasagne to feed 8 people…I’d let everyone taste some but it’s actually that good, that I fear I’d be hassled ad nauseum, for the recipe… which I carry with me to the grave by the way. So without further a due, I have some eating and sleeping to attend too.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Sleepless in Cape Town
I had one of those nights last night where, you know you’re tired and you just want to go to bed, but for some reason you just can’t fall asleep because Mister Sandman missed the beat. It’s was probably because of my over-active imagination again and probably because I had way to much stuff going on in my head…
So what better to do than to put on some really chilled tunes; and relax to the sound of some soothing melodies by the king of chill himself Jack Johnson? I whipped on his new appropriately named “Sleep through the Static” album and as I began to listen, all my thoughts seemed to disappear as I floated into a deep slumber.
I initially bought the CD, to help keep me occupied on one of my long solo road trips…Although come to think of it, it probably wasn’t a good idea…because in hindsight the album is pretty mellow and it could have caused me to fall asleep at the wheel, perhaps causing me to swerve off the road, colliding into a group of dairy-bearing cows, thus causing an even greater shortage of dairy in an already under-supplied market, and thereby propelling the dairy prices upwards in an astronomical fashion…it’s a bit of far stretch, but it could have happened! (Now you know what keeps me up late at night)
As much as I enjoy the CD though, I must be honest and say, compared to his others, this is probably my least favourite. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that I was expecting too much …but to me it loses some of it’s Jack Johnson feel because this album seems a little bit over-produced and the songs seem a little bit repetitive. However with that said, in good ol’ Jack style, he still delivers a pretty solid, all round, easy listening album…
So what better to do than to put on some really chilled tunes; and relax to the sound of some soothing melodies by the king of chill himself Jack Johnson? I whipped on his new appropriately named “Sleep through the Static” album and as I began to listen, all my thoughts seemed to disappear as I floated into a deep slumber.
I initially bought the CD, to help keep me occupied on one of my long solo road trips…Although come to think of it, it probably wasn’t a good idea…because in hindsight the album is pretty mellow and it could have caused me to fall asleep at the wheel, perhaps causing me to swerve off the road, colliding into a group of dairy-bearing cows, thus causing an even greater shortage of dairy in an already under-supplied market, and thereby propelling the dairy prices upwards in an astronomical fashion…it’s a bit of far stretch, but it could have happened! (Now you know what keeps me up late at night)
As much as I enjoy the CD though, I must be honest and say, compared to his others, this is probably my least favourite. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that I was expecting too much …but to me it loses some of it’s Jack Johnson feel because this album seems a little bit over-produced and the songs seem a little bit repetitive. However with that said, in good ol’ Jack style, he still delivers a pretty solid, all round, easy listening album…
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Just Shoot Me!
When most people take the day off, even if it is sick leave they’re pretty glad that at least they had a day of rest…but if you’re in the IT industry you know, in the back of your mind, you just know that there is some work, lurking, waiting, to come back and bite you in the poo-poo factory!
Well I’m finally home, close to 10 pm and I have yet to have a bite to eat …yip, welcome to the IT industry my friends. After getting back to work, thinking that perhaps I’d be well rested to tackle the day, the sudden barrage of urgencies to release software, came flying at me, and with it, you guessed it increased levels of stress…and yet another dip in the ol’ immune system department!
When you become a software developer, you think “Cool, I’ll get to do some coding…write a cool, killer, application!” But what they don’t tell you is that you also , “auto-magically”, a word I made up by the way, also become a an expert in the fields of business, computer architecture, database administration, automata theory, server side coding, client side coding, hardware architecture…you get the picture. You suddenly become the all encompassing gambit of “Computer Guru” the guy who is supposed to know it all…which is kinda cool, but never, never true…and are expected to come up with solutions to an infinite possibility of problems, which is also fine should you be doing so leisurely.
“BUT” and I say “but” very emphatically, if you add in a limited time frame, a budget, and limited resources. You start panicking; desperately clawing for answers, ego too bloated to admit not knowing the answers, and even if you did admit nobody would care…the following becomes your mantra “ GOOGLE is my friend, GOOGLE is my friend …“
Anyways enough of my ranting, “Get back to work slave!” I think I’m beginning to hear voices in my head…perhaps it’s the caffeine finally poisoning my brain? But who cares I need more coffee…there is much work to do, much before the night is done!
Well I’m finally home, close to 10 pm and I have yet to have a bite to eat …yip, welcome to the IT industry my friends. After getting back to work, thinking that perhaps I’d be well rested to tackle the day, the sudden barrage of urgencies to release software, came flying at me, and with it, you guessed it increased levels of stress…and yet another dip in the ol’ immune system department!
When you become a software developer, you think “Cool, I’ll get to do some coding…write a cool, killer, application!” But what they don’t tell you is that you also , “auto-magically”, a word I made up by the way, also become a an expert in the fields of business, computer architecture, database administration, automata theory, server side coding, client side coding, hardware architecture…you get the picture. You suddenly become the all encompassing gambit of “Computer Guru” the guy who is supposed to know it all…which is kinda cool, but never, never true…and are expected to come up with solutions to an infinite possibility of problems, which is also fine should you be doing so leisurely.
“BUT” and I say “but” very emphatically, if you add in a limited time frame, a budget, and limited resources. You start panicking; desperately clawing for answers, ego too bloated to admit not knowing the answers, and even if you did admit nobody would care…the following becomes your mantra “ GOOGLE is my friend, GOOGLE is my friend …“
Anyways enough of my ranting, “Get back to work slave!” I think I’m beginning to hear voices in my head…perhaps it’s the caffeine finally poisoning my brain? But who cares I need more coffee…there is much work to do, much before the night is done!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Challenge? I Love a Challenge! Gladiator Ready!
I’ve had the flu for the last couple of days and after struggling through the morning at work, I finally decided to go see a doctor yesterday afternoon. I’m not sure why, but I have this aversion to visit the doctor, perhaps it’s because as a kid I spent a lot of time in hospitals being poked and prodded due to my heart murmur. But since I had the flu less than a month ago and was struggling again yesterday, I finally concluded that I wanted to be rid of this bug sooner rather than later…
I’m not exactly sure what medications the doctor has put me on, but whatever it is, it’s seriously strong. After visiting him, I came straight home and have been knocked out, only waking up from time to time to have a small bite to eat and take more medication. I think I’ve been asleep for 28 hours of the last 32 hours since seeing him.
Because of this, yesterday I put up a blog entry that was only one line long, and you probably wondered “What’s the point? Why even bother putting up an entry if it’s only going to be one line?” It’s been about a month since I’ve started blogging, and it’s probably a good time to explain my idea and why I even bothered posting a blog that was a line long…
If you’ve been following my blog, you might have noticed that I’ve posted a blog entry every day since the first one…The idea I had when I first started was that regardless of what happened I was going to write an entry everyday for the rest of the year; just on random stuff, my thoughts and my general day to day happenings. It would serve almost like a daily account of a year in my life, a daily journal if you will.
I’m not sure if anyone actually even reads these entries or much less cares, but I thought that it would be a cool personal project and since I used to really enjoy writing and haven’t put my writing skills to use in years, I’d do it…just to see if I could! You see: I like challenging myself even if the challenge seems dumb…probably better if they are dumb because then no-one else would attempt them and it would mean that I’d accomplished something unique. I guess I’m a little bit strange that way.
I already know of a few difficulties ahead but at the same time have already planned my way around these problems: for example, later on in the year when I go overseas, I probably won’t have an internet connection to post, but I figure I’ll carry a notebook around and write in that until a connection finally became available for me to post…
I’m not exactly sure what medications the doctor has put me on, but whatever it is, it’s seriously strong. After visiting him, I came straight home and have been knocked out, only waking up from time to time to have a small bite to eat and take more medication. I think I’ve been asleep for 28 hours of the last 32 hours since seeing him.
Because of this, yesterday I put up a blog entry that was only one line long, and you probably wondered “What’s the point? Why even bother putting up an entry if it’s only going to be one line?” It’s been about a month since I’ve started blogging, and it’s probably a good time to explain my idea and why I even bothered posting a blog that was a line long…
If you’ve been following my blog, you might have noticed that I’ve posted a blog entry every day since the first one…The idea I had when I first started was that regardless of what happened I was going to write an entry everyday for the rest of the year; just on random stuff, my thoughts and my general day to day happenings. It would serve almost like a daily account of a year in my life, a daily journal if you will.
I’m not sure if anyone actually even reads these entries or much less cares, but I thought that it would be a cool personal project and since I used to really enjoy writing and haven’t put my writing skills to use in years, I’d do it…just to see if I could! You see: I like challenging myself even if the challenge seems dumb…probably better if they are dumb because then no-one else would attempt them and it would mean that I’d accomplished something unique. I guess I’m a little bit strange that way.
I already know of a few difficulties ahead but at the same time have already planned my way around these problems: for example, later on in the year when I go overseas, I probably won’t have an internet connection to post, but I figure I’ll carry a notebook around and write in that until a connection finally became available for me to post…
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sleepy Seaside Town
The one thing I love about living in Cape Town is the diversity it has to offer, one minute you may be surrounded by tall buildings, the next you’re tasting wines and eating cheese in the wine lands; and later on you might find yourself in a spot that feels like a sleepy little fishing village.
I slept pretty late today, trying to recover from this dang flu, and when I finally woke up, not at my own free will I might add: by my mom, who phoned to see if I were still alive; all the rest I luckily received, made me feel tons better and one of the first signs of a restoration of health is a serious case of the munchies…
As I was deciding what I was going to make, for breakfast; Ernst and Lauren called me up to find out if I was keen on going for a ride to Hout Bay, so I postponed my breakfast for the trip. Before our trip out though, we decided some coffee was in order and missioned to Kloof Street where we opted to get some cappuccinos from Seattle Coffee Company. I think that the Seattle Coffee Co is seriously under rated and offers some really good stuff.
Armed with our coffees we were ready, and drove through to Hout Bay. It might be the middle of winter, but you would never say, with the sun out and the temperature being at least 25 degrees Celsius. We walked around a bit, checking out the fish market at Mariner’s Wharf and afterwards tried to decide where to get something to eat. Hout Bay is allegedly the home of the best Calamari in South Africa, found at Chapman’s Peak hotel and the best Fish and Chips too, found at the wharf. With too many choices, I felt like that old horse that was introduced to me, way back in Economics 101 that died of starvation because it was placed between two pails of hay and couldn’t decide which to eat from.
Eventually we didn’t choose either and ended up somewhere in between, at a place called Dune’s. Our hypothesis was that if the wharf had the best Fish and Chips and the hotel the best Calamari the the place in between must have the best of both worlds! Dune’s is a great spot and the food is great too…and while it might not be the “best” it made up with a killer vibe, and had awesome views of the bay along with fishing boats setting out from the harbour. I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast, which only started at 3:30pm.
I slept pretty late today, trying to recover from this dang flu, and when I finally woke up, not at my own free will I might add: by my mom, who phoned to see if I were still alive; all the rest I luckily received, made me feel tons better and one of the first signs of a restoration of health is a serious case of the munchies…
As I was deciding what I was going to make, for breakfast; Ernst and Lauren called me up to find out if I was keen on going for a ride to Hout Bay, so I postponed my breakfast for the trip. Before our trip out though, we decided some coffee was in order and missioned to Kloof Street where we opted to get some cappuccinos from Seattle Coffee Company. I think that the Seattle Coffee Co is seriously under rated and offers some really good stuff.
Armed with our coffees we were ready, and drove through to Hout Bay. It might be the middle of winter, but you would never say, with the sun out and the temperature being at least 25 degrees Celsius. We walked around a bit, checking out the fish market at Mariner’s Wharf and afterwards tried to decide where to get something to eat. Hout Bay is allegedly the home of the best Calamari in South Africa, found at Chapman’s Peak hotel and the best Fish and Chips too, found at the wharf. With too many choices, I felt like that old horse that was introduced to me, way back in Economics 101 that died of starvation because it was placed between two pails of hay and couldn’t decide which to eat from.
Eventually we didn’t choose either and ended up somewhere in between, at a place called Dune’s. Our hypothesis was that if the wharf had the best Fish and Chips and the hotel the best Calamari the the place in between must have the best of both worlds! Dune’s is a great spot and the food is great too…and while it might not be the “best” it made up with a killer vibe, and had awesome views of the bay along with fishing boats setting out from the harbour. I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast, which only started at 3:30pm.
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