Yahoo and Nokia, teaming up against Google, Apple and Microsoft

Yahoo must be really depserate.... In a previous post I touched on the search engine war, with Yahoo updating some of its features to rival that of Google. Google still remains the undisputed champion.

Seems now that Yahoo is teaming up with Nokia to give Google, Apple and Microsoft a run for their money. Will the yahoo/nokia partnership truly be strong enough to rival the bigger giants they're up against? When it comes to the mobile market, Google and Apple takes the lead. Nokia's Ovi Store only registered about 1 million downloads per day, whereas Apple was averaging on approximately 10 million downloads per day.

I've read a couple of surveys and articles regarding internet usage on mobile phones, mobile applications and advancements, etc, and I think the "statistics" we get from these guys are not quite accurate.

I'm using a Blackberry Curve 8520, and have been experiencing some problems with it lately. Now I'm not sure if its a blackberry problem, or application problem, so I'm hoping someone could shed some light on it.

First of all, most of my notifications don't show up. I only get notifications when some responds to something I posted. For example, replies to my status updates or links. I don't receive anything with regards to my friends. Also, friend requests and event notifications just go missing in the mail. 

I don't usually watch Special Assignment, but the ads got my attention. A documentary about the Suidlanders, a right wing religious group of Afrikaners. I thought, Hey, I've just written a nice heartfelt blog about why I love South Africa and why I dislike the not-so-proudly South Africans, so why not watch Special Assignment and let my blood pressure rise a little? Nothing like some good old fashioned Afrikaner racists to push my temper levels to the limit.

People amaze me. I can sit in public places for hours and just observe those around me. The way they walk, talk, dress. I like to go to the any place that serves a decent coffee and just... watch. And listen. To those coming and going, to the converstations all around me.

We like animals, especially puppies and kittens, so going to a pet shop usually pops up in our weekend activities. Pet shops are mostly located at malls, so we spend some time over the weekends just strolling around any one of the many malls in the vicinity. Lots and lots of people in malls.

DO you know what makes me proud, especially these past couple of weeks?

Hotmail VS Gmail

Hotmail is adding a lot of sparkly bits to their mail experience.  In the upcoming weeks beta testing will commence and we'll see a lot of changes, according to Microsoft. Operation: Wave 4. Its going to be tight squeeze to fit the launch in before Yahoo gets started with all the upgrades they promised too.

Why don't more people complain about bad service?

Because nobody listens. And when nobody listens we tend to go all crazy. It messes with our psyche when we're not heard. Take Stafforce, for example. An agency I approached when I looking for work in Johannesburg, way back in January. They got me a temporary position at UDM, kudos to them. Then they didnt pay me. Now it works like this. You work for any big company, contract basis. Company pays the agency, agency pays you. If you're employed permanently, company pays you directly. Till then, you're stuck with agency. Stafforce was supposed to pay me after week 4, then every week after that. Ie, Week 4 - One month's salary. Week 5, 6, 7 and 8 - one week's salary. I received week 4's salary on week 7, and received week 5's on week 9 and the rest some time after that. Approximately one month after I left abovementioned company. Doenst help if you phone Stafforce. They never answer the office lines or reply to emails. And once you phone the recruitement agents on their cellphones, they save your number so as to not answer when you call again. They promise you the earth and sky, but when they fail to deliver, you cant get hold of anybody. Even to so-called person in charge never got back to me.

Thats stafforce. Be sure to search their page on facebook.


Take the post office, for example.
I worked there for 3 years. As a teller. In a branch where the air cons seldom work, the kettle doesn't boil properly and the cash drawers cant lock. We were four or five tellers, doing the work load of 9 people. Because SAPO doesnt wanna waste money employing new people, but they can afford to waste nearly a R1000 on one anual year report. And they didnt only print one...

Anyway. About a month before I resigned, some money went missing. Keep in mind now that the cash drawers don't lock. I phoned the area office and requested that an investigation be done. Its a huge amount to pay if you cant even be sure you made a transactional mistake, or if someone else helped themselves to the money in your unlockable cash drawer.

One month after the incident I find work in Johannesburg (at a different company because the witbank area office refused to grant me a transfer to wits region)

Only to find that no investigation was done and I'm "responsible" for paying back the discrepancy, without being proven guilty, either that, or now pension/leave days will be paid out to me. The reason no investigation was done? My resignation letter and discrepancy report arrived on the same day, even though being dated a month apart.

Try to take this up with the area manager? Nah what does he care. Try to take it up with the regional manager? Can't get through to them, and holding on, on a cellphone for a R40 call with no results is really not how I choose to waste my money.

It really really messes with your psyche when nobody fkn listens.

Growing up, our parents told us not to talk to strangers. Don't take candy from strangers. So if you walked down the street and a strange car pulled up, you were aware of the dangers and kept a safe distance. Throughout the years, the advice stayed the same, but the strangers changed. Today, we all know the dangers of revealing our personal details online. Yet when we get a new friend request on facebook, 7 out of 10 people will accept, even without knowing who the new "friend" is.

I'm surrounded by bad parents. Tis true. The guy next door constantly shouts and screams and bangs stuff. I'm not sure what he's throwing around, but I sure hope its not his wife or child. Or else he should start praying to whoever it is prays too that I dont barge in there one day and give him a piece of my mind. He's smaller than me anyway, and I dont scare easily of little men going around with inferiority complexes. Whenever he starts throwing his toys out the cot, he's toddler cant handle it and cries uncontrollably, which makes the dad scream and shout more. Really now. I found him on the fire escape one day crying his eyes out because dad was raging again and mom was the victim. Took me to get cooldrink and cups and go sit with him on the stairs until he was calm again.

Parenthood should come with a license. If you don't pass, no children for you. You are not allowed to drive a car without a driver's license, but children? Ah lets just see how many we can make while we wait to grow up and mature into sensible adults. Isn't it ironic that there's a 18yr age limit on buying porn or alcohol, but a 14 yr old can get an abortion without parental consent.

No, this is not a rant about underaged mothers and promiscious teens. Its about parents. Bad grown up parents who dont have the first clue as to how to raise children. I'm not a mother, I don't have children and I dont think I'd be ready to have children any time soon, thus I'm no expert when it comes to child care. However, common sense tells me certain things are essential for a child's wellbeing. Love, a safe environment to grow up in, moral guidance and instruction. Just to name a few. I might not have a clue what I'd be doing, but I'd teach my children right from wrong, I'd love them and make sure they feel safe at home. Parents don't have to be abusive either to be bad parents. I sat at wimpy the other day, enjoying a coffee. I go there sometimes to write when the walls are crushing in on me. A  mother took her son to wimpy. All good and well, he had a nice decent wimpy meal and milkshake. Can't be that bad, right? They were there for about an hour, and during that time she didnt say one word to him. He just sat there, eating his burger and chips slowly, never looked up. Mommy sat half with her back to him the entire time, staring in the opposite direction.

Like I said, I'm no expert. Not at all. I'm aware of the fact that nobody really knows what to do or where to start once you get to be someone's mom or dad. But come on. Common sense cant just fly out the window the moment we become parents?