Tim Harper | Blog
Life and Kiteboarding in Cape Town.
Kiteboarding Tofo | Mozambique
Dec 29th
Tofo Mozambique is an amazingly beautiful place, right near the inhambane peninsula / lagoon but on the indian ocean side, it’s Africa though so be prepared for the heat, the mozzies and the 2M beer!
Here’s a brief run down of the kiting that I managed to get done in Dec 09:
We were there for around 10 Days, and 3 of them were kiteable with a 14m, this is not the windy season so it’s to be understood. There was almost no swell at all either, so some nice flat sections between the waves. The light 10-12knot wind was from the East, so onshore too which made things a bit more difficult to get out for some, but I still managed to get out beyond the breakers. According to Rowan from tofo kite the wind is a lot better from the NE and SW, though to me it looked as though NE would be best suited for cross on conditions. The SW would have to come over a large hilly section of land before it hit the main beach.
There are three main spots:
Tofo main beach, which is right in front of Tofo town with loads of restaurants and a fairly large sand bar creating a super flat spot on the inside, though because it was busy holiday season this was full of swimmers. There is also a few dive charter boats and fishing boats going in and out of the beach but not enough to get in the way.
Tofinho point, this is a fairly famous surfing spot with a sick looking right hander, the beach is mainly rocky reef right on the point and then there’s a flat reef that runs the whole way up the beach towards Tofo. Sketchy launch apparently, so not many guys kite it.
Barra, this is north of Tofo and will have a good cross shore on an Easterly if you are on the northerly part of the peninsula, this runs all the way into the lagoon. Otherwise it’s also good on a NE (apparently).
The water was nice and warm, round 23-25deg celcius, so boardies and a rashy all the time, just watch out for the blue bottles and jellyfish, they give a mean old sting, but taking a piss on it takes out most of the burn.
We stayed at Turtle Cove, a Surf and Yoga Lodge / Camp Site – We were very unimpressed by the accommodation though, I’ll post the open letter of complaint to them here when we have put it together.
Tim
Is all the South African VC only going to go to internet startups with proven revenue models?
Oct 9th
With the recent news of the springleap investment by Lord Duncan Barratt(??) (Original press release) it left me wondering whether initiatives like Siliconcape will ever really help South African internet startups get anywhere.
Most bootstrapping, hardcore internet startups do not have any idea on their revenue model when they get going (dare I mention twitter?). They pretty much have a great idea, work on it until it’s a finished product, launch it, and go broke. Whether you like it or not, startups don’t fund themselves and there is a significant amount of work to be done to get any form of company going, which in turn requires time, and ultimately you need a salary to be able to eat.
I really like the idea of SiliconCape, I think that there is a great tech community in Cape Town, and bringing all the top Internet guys together and branding them correctly will definitely attract more top talent to our Fine City.
BUT
In terms of actual VC investment though, how many other startups have been funded in the last few years in SA? (Ok I actually have no real data to support this)
Mxit was selling themes and wallpapers before it received it’s boost from Naspers, so is this the general trend, start making some money, however small, and then get somebody to take you to the next level??
Carrier Pigeon Faster than ADSL in SA – Winston now an internet celebrity.
Sep 10th
So I first read about this story here:
And then got a few more links sent to me about this story:
Second Story
Which was probably prompted by the huge response to it trending on Twitter:
And many other sites mentioning it:
Mashable
Reuters
Classic.
Follow Winston here:
Winston
Classic SEO quotes
Sep 7th
Avinash Kaushik Quotes that Belong on Hallmark Cards:
(Specifically related to Analytics)
7. Not segmenting data is a crime against humanity.
6. Never let your campaigns write checks that your website can’t cash.
5. I believe God created the internet so we could fail faster.
4. Magazine advertisements are faith based initiatives.
3. All data needs context, even server errors go up and to the right over time.
2. Bounce rate is brilliantly dumb. It shows that your customers came, they puked, they left.
1. Social media is like teen sex, everyone wants to do it. No one actually knows how. When finally done, there is surprise it’s not better.
Kiteboarding Hurghada Egypt – Magawish Hotel
Sep 4th
What a contrast, Beautiful blue water, Rough hard dry desert, and fat russian tourists.
Flying into hurghada the blue coral reefs are simply amazing from the air and coming into land we spotted kites up and polesurfers cruising across the water.
Had an airport holdup – prayer time – so we couldn’t interrupt the customs officer, to be expected really.
Driving through the town of Hurghada it reminded me that we were still on the african continent, unfinished building works and rubbish all over the place, but definite signs that they were trying to spruce the place up, although failing quite miserably.
Our transfer driver tried to sell us a trip to Luxor, at a ridiculous price, we declined.
The hotel reception reminded me of something out of a russian spy movie, shady characters smoking in the corners trying to look inconspicous, awful interior decor and well, fat russian tourists.
Eventually got to our room after almost murdering a reception monkey, a bellboy and the transfer driver, 22 hours worth of travelling will do that to you. (Did I mention Egypt Air is stuck in the 80’s?)
Headed to the Kite center, boards assembled and all sorted to get on the water, go out on my 11m and end up far downwind. Disaster. First lesson learned, wind is up at 9 / 10am and ends by 3 everyday, like clockwork.
I was on my 9m and 11m for almost every single day, I had to borrow a 14m for one day and had one session on my 7m. So 12 days later I was absolutely poked, body ached, hands were falling apart and I cracked a bone in my foot, but had one of the best kiting experiences ever, super flat water out at the sandbar, with consistent wind and warm warm water.
We didn’t venture out of the resort much, but after having 3-4 hour sessions every day, sometimes with another afternoon session, we didn’t have much energy, so stuck to a few beers at the shisha bar on the premises.
I read a review about the all inclusive restaurant before we went and it said the staff were like bolivian prison gaurds, this is totally not true, they were all fairly attentive (as attentive as an egyptian can be) and some were even friendly. The food was average but not bad by any standards, the variety was fine for a week, but after day 13 I couldn’t wait for something other than cafeteria food.
The Colona Watersports kite center was ok, a little bit pricey (45euro for the week for rescue / beach access and 70euro for 2 weeks), but the staff were easy going and always willing to help. The launch and land area was really tiny, and gusty and if it gets busy it can be a nightmare, but if you aren’t experienced enough, just dump your kite and they’ll come fetch you.
All in all a great holiday, just remember you are still in Africa and watch out for the fat russian tourists. (or Aim for them if they are in the water!!)
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Tim Harper Facebook.
Bing and Yahoo sitting in a tree…
Jul 30th
Bing and Yahoo sitting in a tree…
So what does it mean?
There’s a fairly lengthy explanation in terms of SEO here:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/top-10-things-the-microsoftyahoo-deal-change-for-seo
But what it really comes down to is this:
There are now two main Search players, Bing vs Google, all others will probably either fall by the wayside or be eaten up by one or the other.
Google now has one, very specific opposition, and Microsoft are probably out to give google a very good run for their money.
How they stack up:
Google:
Currently have superior presence, both US and internationally, consumers see them as a household name. Their webmaster tools / analytics / adsense management is very well established and easy to integrate with each other.
Bing:
Not a household name yet, webmaster tools etc needs a lot of work, and they do not have even close to the volumes of Google. They do however have one of the worlds largest corporations behind them, with reaches into most major economic centers.
(check out micosoft locations vs google locations to get an idea of local offices)
http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.aspx
http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/locations.html
Microsoft has now acquired the search business of yahoo
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2009/tc20090728_826397.htm
So what does it mean?
There’s a fairly lengthy explanation in terms of SEO here: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/top-10-things-the-microsoftyahoo-deal-change-for-seo
But what it really comes down to is this:
There are now two main Search players, Bing vs Google, all others will probably either fall by the wayside or be eaten up by one or the other.
Google now has one, very specific opposition, and Microsoft are probably out to give google a very good run for their money.
How they stack up in my opinion:
Google:
Currently have superior presence, both US and internationally, consumers see them as a household name. Their webmaster tools / analytics / adsense management is very well established and easy to integrate with each other.
Bing:
Not a household name yet, webmaster tools etc needs a lot of work, and they do not have even close to the volumes of Google. They do however have one of the worlds largest corporations behind them, with reaches into most major economic centers.
Check out microsoft locations vs google locations to get an idea of local offices:
http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.aspx
http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/locations.html
So it will be interesting to see how things play out, the tried and trusted brand or the oversize bully that is able to place it’s product exactly where it wants it, in your face.
Hurghada, Egypt wind reports/statistics and forecasts.
Jul 22nd
Hurghada wind reports/statistics and forecasts.
So i’ve been looking for sites that may have the current wind statisticss for hurghada because of my upcoming trip there in August, and found a lot of links broken or confusing.
So here’s a breakdown of what I’ve found so far:
The usual suspects:
http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/hurghada
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=13
(This one has an ‘adjusted’ forecast by colona watersports, not sure what that means as their station seems to be down.)
Very detailed report from the airport:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/HEGN/2009/7/22/DailyHistory.html
The only webcam I can find is here, and not at the magawish hotel where we are staying:
http://tommy-friedl.de/eng/webcam_e.php
I’ll add some more when and if I find any and report back if there’s any that the locals point us in the direction of when we are there.
I’ve been looking for sites that may have the current wind reports/statistics and forecasts for hurghada because of my upcoming trip there in August, and found a lot of links broken or confusing.
So here’s a breakdown of the only useful ones that I’ve found so far:
The usual suspects:
http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/hurghada
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=13
(This one has an ‘adjusted’ forecast by colona watersports, not sure what that means as their station seems to be down.)
Very detailed report from the airport:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/HEGN/2009/7/22/DailyHistory.html
The only webcam I can find is here, and not at the magawish hotel where we are staying:
http://tommy-friedl.de/eng/webcam_e.php
I’ll add some more when and if I find any and report back if there’s any that the locals point us in the direction of when we are there.
Nobile IFS Pro Footpads – Awesomeness
Jul 16th
So even if people say these footpads look dated, I decided to go ahead and buy a pair for myself. I’ve been on the same Nobile 555 board for almost 3 years now, so my current footpads are worn out and were in desperate need of replacement.
IFS Pro Footpads
@ R1000 for the pair they are pretty pricey, but that’s what you pay for imported goods down here in SA.
I wore them around the house for the first few days I had them and they were pretty comfy, the fit is absolutely perfect and the cushioning is spot on, not too hard, and firm in all the spots you need it to be. When you are wearing them around the house just make sure you take them off after a few beers, they can be kinda slippery on the tiles!!
I attached them on my board and had the first session on them last sunday, and they truly come into their own on the water, they actually felt as secure as wakeboarding bindings, not sure if it was the cushioning in the heel or the tightness around the top of my foot. My one foot went a bit numb after a bit but I managed to adjust the strap while riding, probably the easiest footstraps I’ve ever had to adjust.
So the only downside (Apart from the price) is the fact that you can easily get stones / sand in between the pad and the board, so I might stick them down with some silicone sealant. I don’t want to superglue them down because I will want to upgrade my board next season, brand new Nobile 132cm coming up!! Watch this space for a review on that…
Another Pic:
Google chrome OS strategy cards played a little early?
Jul 8th
Google chrome OS strategy cards played a little early?
I saw that Google had mistakenly removed their free version of google apps the other day via @smneedham:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/07/what-the-hell-happened-to-the-free-version-of-google-apps/?awesm=tcrn.ch_5IM&utm_campaign=techcrunch&utm_content=techcrunch-autopost&utm_medium=tcrn.ch-twitter&utm_source=direct-tcrn.ch
and then saw the announcement of the google chrome OS via @desbothma http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html
and wondered whether this isn’t a case of them slipping up and showing their strategy cards a little early?
Bear with me for a minute here:
- Google creates a web biased operating system that is bundled with new netbooks, allowing absolutely no option to install any currently available desktop apps like the office suite.
- Users are forced to make use of the new, recently developed applications by the open source community
OR
- Users make use of the already developed and refined apps that Google themselves have developed.
- Then google starts charging for using all versions of Google Apps.
Bam, there you have the perfect Network effect, closing the loop around the unknowing consumer that is now forced into using the google apps.
The announcement also says:
“They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files.”
This may work in more developed countries where bandwidth costs are not a concern, but here in Africa it will cost you an arm and a leg to do your day to day spreadsheets and or word docs, so it will be interesting to see what their plan is for this side of the atlantic.
Google has replaced the link to the free version of Google Apps, but it will remain to be seen how far into the future that will last.
I saw that Google had mistakenly removed their free version of google apps the other day via @smneedham:
and then saw the announcement of the google chrome OS via @desbothma ( introducing-google-chrome-os)
and wondered whether this isn’t a case of them slipping up and showing their strategy cards a little early?
Bear with me for a minute here:
- Google creates a web biased operating system that is bundled with new netbooks, allowing absolutely no option to install any currently available desktop apps like the office suite.
- Users are forced to make use of the new, recently developed applications by the open source community
OR
- Users make use of the already developed and refined apps that Google themselves have developed.
- Then google starts charging for using all versions of Google Apps.
Bam, there you have the perfect Network effect, closing the loop around the unknowing consumer that is now forced into using the google apps.
This may be a little off topic, but the announcement also says:
“They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files.”
This may work in more developed countries where bandwidth costs are not a concern, but here in Africa it will cost you an arm and a leg to do your day to day spreadsheets and or word docs, so it will be interesting to see what their plan is for this side of the atlantic.
Google has replaced the link to the free version of Google Apps, but it will remain to be seen how far into the future that will last.
Google Adsense for Domains – an experiment.
Jul 3rd
So I decided to try a little experiment last night:
I added two google adsense for domains to my adsense account for the following two domains:
www.snapcracklepop.co.za
(Both are domains I registered for fun, and are purely placeholders for something I may do in the future)
Now it did take a while to configure in WHM as it involves being able to tweak your DNS and credit goes to Gary Illyes for his post at: http://devoracles.com/how-to-set-up-adsense-for-domains-on-cpanel-whm for his step by step guide. *Note that if you don’t have access to change your A records and cnames in DNS this is not going to work for you.
So now for the experiment, will google index these domains and show them as results in their listings? If they do I will be utterly dissapointed, as they are purely SPAM!! As all they are are pages with loads and loads of google ads! I can see why they would, because they are earning revenue from the ads, but as a google user I really don’t want to see them in my SERPS. (Thank you very much)
Now I will just have to wait and see whether they are indexed or not….
