KISS

There's a principle in software development that we generally like to follow called KISS. Which stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid".
I should definitely follow it more conscientiously as I tend to be a sucker for punishment and over complicate things.

Take today for example, I thought I was being really clever by over-architecting what should otherwise have been a very simple web application. In the end, the architecture became so verbose that it made performing even the simplest of tasks, massively challenging. After much frustration, I uncluttered the complexity and resorted to a more simple design (what I should have done in the first place).

The KISS principle is fantastic and one should implement it in all facets of life. For example why don't we apply it in the dating game? For some unknown reason, guys and girls just tend to over complicate everything. Too much backing and forthing, umming and ahhing, feels like a super strategical chess game. Seriously. It should be as easy as: boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl likes boy back and then BAM. Simple as that. Lets just KISS and make out in future shall we.

Having My Cake...and Eating It

I found myself distracted for close to half an hour at lunch, marveling at pictures of cakes…not even real cakes, just pictures.

My friend Mari sent them to me, besides the really delicious looking kind some of the ones that she sent were pretty darn impressive and must have taken a heck of a lot of effort to make. One of them looked like a bale of beer and the other like Herbie the talking beetle car.

The only place I’ve seen such impressively designed cakes, here in Cape Town, are at Charly’s Bakery on Roeland Street. I’m told that a really well crafted one can cost you a small fortune.

Speaking of cakes, my cake intake has more than quadrupled recently. In return for showing him and his girlfriend around Cape Town, my friend Ale has been whipping up some really delicious cakes and getting me to try them out, he even used me as guinea pig for a new carrot cake recipe the other day. Not all cakes are equal in my opinion and carrot cakes are right at the top of my list.

I could have chosen other topics to write about today, like the atrocities that have been ongoing in the Gaza strip recently, but I’m really not in the mood to start the year off negatively. So instead of choosing a morbid topic to carry on about, I thought I’d write about something that makes me happy…mmmmm cake.

First Day...

Hey! The first day back at work wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! In fact it went pretty quickly; and surprisingly I didn’t even struggle to get out of bed. Usually after a holiday, the first day is pure hell, almost worse than having all your teeth drilled by a sadistic dentist with a blunt bit!

Here’s hoping the rest of the year is like this! Just enough work, but not too manic. I’ll be happy if that’s the case.

I need to start getting back in the gym soon. I’ve been off for the last couple of weeks and with all the over indulgence during the festive season, I’ve gained some happy holiday weight. Unfortunately, I have to keep out of the gym for just a little longer as I fear that I’ve come down with a bit of sniffle.

* Sigh* I’m really starting to miss, Mister Bench Press and Missus Treadmill and the rest of the gym machine gang…

Back to Reality

*sigh* It looks as if my days of leisure are numbered, tomorrow I’m back to reality, back to the old 9 to 5 vibe flogging away at the old proverbial dead horse.

I spent the entire day maximising my laziness before going back to work and chilled out at pool; drinking, eating and being merry.

What a fantastic break I’ve had though, a much needed holiday. But tomorrow, if I plan to achieve more than I did the last, I need to get back in to routine again and get my focus back on.

Crystal Pools

What do you get when you cross a South African, Venezuelan, Filipino, Ghanaian, some Dutch folks and a crazy Brit stuntman? No, not a bad joke! But perhaps the most international crew of hikers you’ve ever seen...The UN only more walking. We would have had a Bulgarian too but unfortunately she was not feeling too well.

We took a trip out to Crystal Pools, close to Gordon’s Bay and made our way through a rocky path to get to a beautiful set of pools and waterfalls. It’s amazing! After a sweltering hike, the cool waters of the oasis are only a pleasure to dive into. It’s a fantastic place to spend the day.

Some of the braver people decided they were going to jump from the ledges above the pools. There is a 12m and an 18m jump. The 12m one takes some courage already, but having Action Dan, a professional stunt man around; you knew it was only a matter of time before someone was going to christen the 18m.

I didn’t do either. Besides being an absolute coward…I just wasn’t feeling it. I’ve learnt early on that you should not succumb to pressure from others to do crazy stuff. It should come from yourself. If ever you feel the need to listen to any advice I have to give, this is probably one of the best ones. Trust me I have enough injuries from past experiences to know.

Ghost Town

While strolling down the road yesterday evening, there wasn’t a single car in the road.
Stores were closed, the streets were quiet, there were no murmurings of activities or signs of life. It resembled a scene from 28 Days Later, the Zombie movie where the worlds population ceased to exist.

It was eerie as hell and it didn’t help that the odd bergie (beggar), was drunk and stumbled around looking very undead-like. There were moments where I felt really spooked and wanted to run, in fear one of them was going to lunge at me and pick my brains for his dinner…

So my imagination has gotten the best of me again, but you get the picture. Cape Town was quiet yesterday, almost too quiet. But I suppose it’s just a sign that the party the night before for New Years Eve was a really good one.

Priceless! - A New Years Story

With less than 10 minutes to go before the count down; Xav, Joe and I were running to our mansion party in Fresnaye, only to be kicked out by some wealthy guy with an ego trip.

Standing in the street with no where to go, Joe popped the boot to grab the emergency bottle of bubbly I had packed, just in case we were stuck at the airport, fetching Xav. Confused as to what had just happened, as they had organized earlier with “wealthy guy” for us to join them, Dan and Abi came outside. We did the count down right then and there, in the street; only a few good friends.

Wealth is not about money, it’s about the people you meet and the relationships you forge. The above illustrates that. Sure “wealthy guy” had a massive house, fancy cars and the all the rest (who knows maybe he has a private jet too), but what I did notice when I walked in was that I was in an environment I probably didn’t want to be in, in the first place.

“Wealthy guy” had surrounded himself with the superficial, which of course is great, because he can afford it. But at the end of the day (or in this case year) did he really have as good a time as we did in the street, just a few close friends? Would the people who were there with him really have been there, if not for his so-called wealth?

If you had to ask me the same question, I would already know the answer.
We shrugged the situation off and were just happy to have celebrated New Years together; that my friends, is what you call “real wealth”.

A massive, opulent mansion party in Fresnaye: Thousands upon thousands of Rands. A few stranded friends celebrating the New Year count down out on the streets: Priceless!