Found this gem in a comments section on a news site, so can’t claim credit for producing it, but it’s still awesome!
(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers
“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.” - G.K. Chesterton
When we moved from Cape Town up to Gauteng towards the end of last year, both me and the fiance realised it would not be easy, but we needed to try. In this spirit, we’ve been actively looking for different things to do on the weekends, trying to get out to actually enjoy a different area of the country. Much as we South Africans lament the current ruling political party governing it in to the ground, we stay here because it is genuinely one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
During the last few weeks I have been spending increased time working on the truck to get it ready for the camping trips we plan to take as the year goes on, ultimately preparing us for the trip to Botswana end of August. I’ve been lurking and posting once a while on a 4×4 forum called the http://www.4x4community.co.za in the hope of seeing how to do different things, from building packing systems to what tyres are good and bad.
This last weekend, there was a bit of a gathering out at De Wild 4×4 track, and we decided that we would go with. With only 4×2 and diff-lock, I was told the vehicle would be fine for the grading 1 to 3 obstacles. We met up with another member in Centurion, and went off to meet a Audi Q7 and its driver before going to the facility. Once we arrived it took about an hour for everyone to arrive, including a older Mercedes Benz ML who would be competing with his future father in law’s Fortuner 4×4..
Once the convoy set off we hit the first obstacle of the day, a axle twister that the ML just managed to do, but it broke a front bumper and popped out a spotlight. For the rest of the vehicles including my Colt Clubcab it was less of s struggle, though I did have the advantage of a very experienced co-driver showing me the lines (this after he did it effortlessly in a V8 Land Rover Discovery 2).
The ML going up the hill
We did another climb and then stopped for a stunning viewpoint, at which turn I asked my fiance if she would like a turn to drive. We then asked Philip (who turned out to be a 4×4 instructor) to drive with her, while I was a passenger in the aforementioned Discovery 2. Little did I know that at this point it would turn in to the day that I lost my keys…
The route takes you through several different types of obstacles, and some we could just not do with the 4×2, like the infamous ‘Gert se Klip’, but I managed to experience it as the passenger of the Discovery 2. Every obstacle that could be done was attempted by the future-wife in the Colt with her co-driver. He patiently walked her through every obstacle, showing her which lines to pick and then driving with her as she attempted it.
The only obstacles she missed on recommendation of the instructor were the mudholes, due to potential damage it can cause to rubber seals, radiator etc.
Alex in a heavily modified 4.7L V8 Range Rover
In the meantime I saw in the passenger seat of the Discovery 2 with Althea in the back seat watching Pieter do the magic with his vehicle. He went through all the mud etc, seeing as he does all the work on his vehicle himself and thus isn’t too worried about damage.
Althea enjoying the idea of playing in the mud
There was a few places that I watched the truck go and thought ‘How is she going to get it out of there?’ but under the watchful eye of a competent instructor she managed fine and didn’t bump, scratch or damage the vehicle in any way (except it’s now dirty as hell again).
The missus being advised by her instructor on which line to take down the donga.
The same donga from the passenger seat of a Land Rover Discovery 2
Roaring out of another ditch.. Might need to wash it now 
At the end of the day we reached the mud pit and spotted some drunk guys trying to ride up a embankment and doing nothing but damaging the vehicles and their ego’s. The one thing about the forum members, they were very strict about alcohol consumption on the route. No drinking and driving. Once everyone was back at the rest area and the vehicles parked it was fine to have a beer, but not on the course. Eventually I got my keys back as the day wound down, with future-wife smiling from ear to ear having had way too much fun with my car.
We got home around 3:30pm and promptly slept for 3 hours before attempting anything else for the evening. In the end we realised that the move to Gauteng is what we make of it. It’s taking the opportunities that present itself and using them 
** Due to the theme I use, some pictures are cut off, click on them for the full pic.
Saw this last night. Looked like 4 hot air balloons, but they were moving too fast and they had no baskets below. One went down quite a ways from home but I managed to get some photos.. Weird shit! Anyone know what this could be?
It’s been a interesting month, even if I have been quiet on the blogging front. For that I do apologize. There’s been several reasons, primary one being I’m actually working my butt off. Several people have mentioned how little they see or hear from me on social media these days. Second reason is the research proposal we had to hand in for the #evilMsc. I handed mine in well in advance and it’s been accepted with minor changes. The third reason is #BSidesCapeTown, which happened last weekend. This was a success by any standard considering we had 30 people attending just before the lunch break. Everyone was happy and impressed with the way it was run and asked that we make it happen again.
My first month on the other side of the table has also been interesting. In the few weeks here we’ve met several people who are in the position I was at my previous employer, and want to get things right in their respective organisations. The work itself is interesting, especially some of the high-level conceptual stuff I’m doing at the moment.
The working environment is very different as well. As an example, yesterday I was already in Sandton by 7am, so I grabbed breakfast at a cafe and worked from there until the 10am meeting. At the office was connectivity issues, and hence I BBM’d the boss to ask if I could work from home. Where previously work was stretched out over as many days as possible, this environment changes all that. Here it is on delivery. Once committed to a date, that date needs to be met, whether I work from home, from the office, during the day, or at night. It’s definitely a more mature environment, and one I quite enjoy.
I sat back a week ago and thought about where I was two, even three months ago, and where I am now, and I’m amazed at how much I actually really enjoy my job at the moment. Do I regret leaving Cape Town…no…
Before we moved to Jhb, I was apprehensive about the whole thing. The crime, the traffic, the lack of service delivery all played their part. Once we decided to move to Centurion, I spoke to a friend at my $old_employer and the picture he painted was doom and gloom. According to him, moving to Jhb was like moving to a cross between Mogadishu and Liberia.
With this perception, we rented a house in a security complex with lots of electric fencing, security gates etc. We have been here three weeks now, and while there are many problems, it doesn’t seem to be that bad. As someone mentioned to me “if it was really that bad, we wouldn’t be living here”.
My first observation was driving. People in Jhb drive aggressive, but if you’ve ever spent time driving in Cape Town, trust me, the Jhb driving is tons better. You don’t have someone doing 80km/h in a 120km/h zone in the fast lane. Yes, some of the roads are worse, and some are better, but at last the traffic moves fast enough (and I plan my day around avoiding traffic). The presence of the JMPD / Police on the roads is also visibly different. While this is a good thing or a bad thing I have yet to decide, but I suspect it creates the impression that there is at least a police presence.
My second observation is service levels. So far, the service I have had from nearly everyone has been an improvement on what I expected to find. Example: Sunday morning we are in Builders Warehouse. There was a Builder’s 2km from my old house, so I like to go there, even if it was expensive, mostly because they have everything you need. In Cape Town, getting service was usually a major hassle. Yesterday, ‘Jan’ helped us quickly to find the right boards for the shelving we wanted to do, and as soon as I paid for it, he whisked the boards off the the cutting dept, and was done much quicker than I thought would happen. Now in Cape Town, I used the board cutting service often, and nearly always had some excuse why they couldn’t or didn’t want to help me. It is as though the service industry in Cape Town thinks because they have a mountain people should be thankful just to be there, or because people in Jhb just don’t take crap service.
This isn’t the only example, there are many that I can mention, from the guys at Dorry Pets staying open late for us, to James at the fish & chips shop down the road.
That said, I’m sure there’s going to be a hundred things that upset us, but I think I’ll believe all the stories when I see the Hilux with a bunch of rebels and a 50cal mounted on the back drive by. Until then, we try live vigilant and secure and enjoy the experience that is Jhb.
Right, so here is the long story regarding the move since lots of people have been asking “how did the move go?”
So Thursday to Sunday I am at university, they’re happiness with my thesis proposal and I get assigned a second supervisor for my research. This is winning and tigerblood and makes me happy. Monday morning I drive down to PE with another student, and fly in to CT.
We collect the trailer, a monstrous 4m long thing and start loading (eventually). The boxes and beds and washing machine etc goes on without effort, but the fishtanks and a few other things take some carefully fiddling. Also, we package all the fish properly and secure them in proper transport boxes. The trailer is heavy and the bakkie (truck for you ‘mercans) takes strain. We finish at midnight and get a very broken 4hours sleep in Bellville at my parents house before heading out the next morning.
Everything goes fine for the first two hours until the Hexrivier pass, where girlfriend phones me in panic “my car cut out and is smoking”. Luckily only a water pipe burst, but the workers next to the road cant help us with water and we make another plan. I hook the Ford Fiesta with a rope to the trailer and start towing both the 2ton 4 meter trailer and the Fiesta at 45km/h, hoping to get to the closest garage. Luckily about 10km down the road there is water and a road work crew gives us 2 x 2l coke bottles and I tell girlfriend “jaag na die f*kken garage skat!!” (drive like hell to the garage). She makes it to the BP in Touwsrivier with only having to refill water once. The Fiesta’s engine cut out before it could pop a gasket or something silly like that…this also made me happy.
They take about 1.5hrs to fix the car and we’re off again, but the bakkie is pulling uphill and its heavy so we do 90km/h.. Eventually we get to Beaufort West and I have to fill up again… I’m getting great mileage…450km to a 90l tank! Then the stop-go sh*t starts happening and we lose a lot of time. We make Colesberg at about 7pm, and think about the long journey ahead of us. My new boss phones me and says “stay the night, I’d prefer you start a day late, than not at all”. We’re kak tired and I’m thinking “was this a good idea?”. Girlfriend has been super amazing up to this point and in a complete spur of the moment thing, I go down on my knee, in the parking lot of the Engen garage and ask her to marry me (she said yes *woop!* yes this was even bigger win and tigerblood!).
We find a small place to stay with safe storage for the cars, check up on the cats and fish and sleep. Travel-cats are not a happy cats. 6hours sleep never felt so good, but we get up at 4am, and make tracks for Jo’burg. Nog f*kken stop-go’s.. by now I was gatvol of them, and eventually after passing through Bloemfontein its open roads, and flat, so the bakkie humms at a nice 105km/h and we’re making good time. Only later did I discover the actually humming is my diff that now needs a service. This makes me slightly unhappy..
1:45pm we pull in to the driveway of our new house, girlfriend (now fiance 
) takes possession of the keys etc while I take a shower and shave and go meet my new boss. Entire office laughs at our long journey, and new boss says “go home and unpack”. Two of my university mates pitch up (one with cold beer!) and helps unload the car and by about 11pm we’re settled.
It’s now about a week later and we’re getting settled in to the house, the cats have settled and seem to be ok, most of the fish survived the journey, and as a family we’re pretty happy about the move. New job is challenging and exciting, and I don’t have a single regret about moving yet. Good times!
I follow some pretty interesting people through social media, even some entrepreneurs. Now, I’m kind of old school in my thinking. A entrepreneur in my books, is like my one x-gf’s father. He landed in South Africa, from Italy many years ago with R20 in his pocket and the talent to build stuff. Today, he has done very well for himself. Another person would be the example of Raymond Ackerman.
I have to laugh (if only out of a slight bit of jealousy) at some of the new generation of entrepreneurs. One particular lot is building a new CMS. “Ours is different from WordPress and Drupal etc!”.. Yeah..I’m sure.. Another one has some crazy idea that the world will probably buy in to enough to sustain a lifestyle I could only dream of. But there is a common trend. Having lunch at least four times a week at some fancy restaurant. Coffee meetings rest of the day. The proverbial macbook mentions, and my favourite…they’re all in to photography as a hobby. Seriously people, where do you get the time for this shit if you’re supposedly working this hard? Man, where did I go wrong.
Best part is reading their blogs. I’ll quote some of my favourites:
“I generally don’t set an alarm, I wake up with the sun” – I bet this is a bitch in winter..
“R5500 for a service on my Land Cruiser, are these people crazy” – Starving programmers working from their parents garage usually don’t drive Toyota Land Cruisers…just saying..
“No meetings before 10am” – I figured that fits in with the “wake up with the sun” thing, though my boss would have my ass if I tried that..
“I love working from home in my Herman Miller Aeron chair” – I had to Google this chair…maybe save some money, buy a cheaper chair and service the Land Cruiser?
Ok ok, I’ll stop, before I sound bitter. Go read some more on http://businessguysonbusinesstrips.com/ it’s awesome and the perfect definition of “Meta Work!
It’s 11pm and I’m not thinking so clearly anymore, so decided to ask the community for help. Essentially, as part of my #evilMsc I want to take a bit of a look at Google Trends over a time period. The idea is to run something simple like a script through a cron job, once every 24hrs and then do some magic(tm). This is proving difficult.
Firstly, scraping the top trends is a bit of a problem. I’ve tried looking for command line utilities to do this (not too keen on going full API since it would require programming knowledge I don’t have). I first tried w3m without much success. While it formats the page nicely, there is no way (I know of) to export the top ten trends listed in a relatively easy format to work with. You can pipe it to a .txt file, then grep or awk it? I don’t know if this could work though, especially when the trend could be multiple word e.g. number 6 in the screenshots??
Another approach was to look at using curl and html2text. Run something like curl -A Mozilla http://www.google.com/trends | html2text -width 70 and see if the output could be filtered via some fancy awk or such.
Unfortunately the output looks a bit too garbled to do much with (well, with my knowledge). I could be wrong, and here is where I’m asking for help. Is there another way to query the trends and get a output that can be parsed.
The idea is to take the top ten listed trends, do a Google search for each (this isn’t too difficult) and then log the top 10 urls returned for each query (thus a 100 at a time) to a Mysql db. Taking the output and logging to a db should be the easy part. The other idea is then to take the list of 100 urls, and run it through jsunpack and seeing if any of them have some nasties. Again, this should be relatively easy since you can do a ‘for‘ loop in a script in it’s simplest form. If a URL is identified as having a nasty file or script, then I can use something like Selenium further on it.
Right folks, please help a tired #evilMsc student out? Just point me in the right direction, I’m sure I can machete my own way through..
It’s no secret that for the past two years I’ve been looking to leave the current company I work for. The factors that lead to this can be debated for hours, but frankly, that is negative energy that could be channelled elsewhere. Last week it all changed when I handed in my resignation.
For the past 11 years I have been part of one of South Africa’s largest retailers. For years I have dreamt about the day. I would swagger in to the managers office, hand them the letter and swagger out, while they’re shocked and surprised that someone would want to leave the utopia that they manage. In reality, this was nothing like what happened. A 10 minute discussion with my manager, and it was all over. No swagger, no regret by the company to lose me, no pleas to stay.
They say it never rains but it pours. This could not be more applicable. While negotiations went on with one of the audit houses, one of the companies I really wanted to work for made me an offer. Never rains but it pours. Chose the large audit house, and become part of a different corporate culture, or take the chance on a small consultancy and have more freedom, with probably longer working hours, less politics and more interaction with the other staff.
Yet for me the choice was easy. One of the most respected persons I’ve dealt with on Twitter, and finally got to meet in person during a one day conference in Cape Town, was the very person making me the offer. Once we agreed on a suitable contract, and I handed in my resignation, a huge weight had lifted off my shoulders. It’s difficult to describe.
I will leave 11 years in a corporate environment, move my family 1400km to a completely different city in order to take up a position as a consultant, working under someone I respect as a leader and a peer. Thanks to technology, finding a house to rent has been a fairly painless exercise, as well as trying to organise some of the other aspects of moving.
As word has spread through the company that I have resigned, many people are asking if it’s the right decision. Moving house is stressful, changing jobs is stressful, and yet I’m going to be doing both, in a very short amount of time, and also to a strange and different city. I don’t see it as stressful. It’s a new beginning, a new opportunity, with a feeling of finally making some some headway in life. We’re renting a bigger property than we are currently living in and keeping the property in Cape Town as an investment. My family can live in comfort, and I can do what I love doing.
The only thing I’m not looking forward to? Driving 1400km while towing a 1.5ton trailer..
Krebs on Security Team Cymru Haroon Meer