By the time you read this, it will be December 2009. The year has literally flown by in a haze of random moments collated to form memories of a crazy year. Last year sucked! It is the easiest way to sum it up and I doubt that it could ever get worse than 2008 for me, so there, 2009 was better!

At the beginning of the year, I had the kahunas to post an article highlighting some of my new years resolutions for 2009 and I think that given that it’s December, it is worth a look back to see how well I have done.

So here is my list with a small catch up on each item:

I resolute to:

• Listen without saying anything for 20 minutes a day (Apparently, I have too little patience for stupid people and I need to listen more!) I have become better at this. I must admit that I am a lot more patient now and I do listen more, though I have not been doing it daily. So I have certainly failed at this resolution!
  
• Feed a poor child at least twice a month This resolution started off well and for the first few months, I did manage to feed poor kids fairly often, sometimes more than twice a month. I guess that I have no excuse as to why I have let this one slip on the regularity even though I do make an effort every now and again. Another failed resolution!
  
• Help educate a poor child I missed my opportunity this year to do this, but I have since arranged with a school principal to instate a scholarship next year in honor of my kid brother. Failed resolution!
  
• Study something that aids my career This year I did fairly well in this department. Early in 2009 I completed a Project Management course and I also managed to fit in an MDP from University of Stellenbosch Business School and I graduate next week!
  
• Study something that adds value to my life without affecting my career Wow, I guess that I royally sucked in this department. I very recently started Thai Chi and it has certainly added value to my life, but 1 month’s worth of classes is no major achievement.
• Find a friend that I have forgotten about and catch up This I did do. A friend that I was very close to in high school and I spent some time together catching up and it was great. I really missed the guy and it was really cool to see him again after a 9 year gap.
  
• Stop judging the artsy fartsy type, some people are just weird Still working on this one. I have become more tolerant to people now than ever before, but the arty fartsy type still kinda freak me out. Especially if they wear green denim jeans!
  
• Fix this thing called “my health” Wow, this was a screw up. I bought a bicycle and hardly used it. Signed up for the gym and went a few times just to rid myself of the guilt. Took up Thai Chi recently and I must admit that I am bored already. I have tried eating better though.
  
• Spend more time outside Nope. Failed!
  

In 2009 I will greatly reduce the intake of: (not GIVE UP, just reduce!)

• Softdrinks (That whole theory that Coke adds life, is balls!) I drink less coke, but more Just Juice Cranberry Strawberry! Failed.
  
• Chocolate bars (Happens rarely anyway, so less is bonus!) Yup, this is a pass. I very rarely eat chocolate of late and actively avoid it!
  
• White bread (Wheat and Grain is the way!) Failed!
  
• Fries (Nando’s wedges is better anyway!) Yup, I do actively eat less fries now than before. Not saying that i have STOPPED eating fries, I have just started eating less! fairly often I opt for the salad option. True Story!
  
• Chilli (I’m Indian, so just know that this isn’t as easy it may sound!) Yup! I’m very into Wellington’s Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce now!
  
• Energy drinks (Those things are designed for athletes and not for people who have parts that wobble when they laugh!) I have stopped drinking Energade as a juice, though I have been very bad with Redbull and Play. This though, only when I have had to work all through the night and needed the extra psychological kick in the nuts by cracking open a can. I’m pretty convinced that it’s all in the head though…

In 2009 I will greatly increase the intake of:

• Tea Definitely yes! I’ve become a darn tea addict!
  
• Cucumber (lol) What was I think when I put this down?
  
• Peaches Nope. Fail!
  
• Fresh Grapes Nope. Fail!
  
• Whole grain bread
• Water Definitely yes, but only relative to the amount of water that I drink while in SA. While I was living in India I consumed an insane amount of water and I don’t think that I can repeat it here.
  
• Veggies Nope, I still hate veggies!

So that’s me… I have quite a few that I could have done better and a few that I have failed on. I do still have 1 full month to attempt fixing it though, so now that I have been reminded of my 2009 resolutions, I am going to try to be diligent for at least this last month of 2009!

How have you done on a 1 to 1 resolution comparison for 2009?

I Just got one of Apple’s greatest products, the new Apple Magic Mouse. It’s simple, sleek and elegant design does an amazing job of encapsulating Apple’s essence by fusing purity, high-end technology, simplicity, usability and design into a product that is desirable, affordable and practical.

Sporting multi-finger gestures, the mouse is a dream to use and certainly the perfect partner for my MacBook Pro which has taken multi-finger gestures to an entirely new paradigm.

Available locally for about R850, have a look at some of the pics that I took of it. Simply stunning!

The blatantly disrespectful version of the South African national anthem that was sung in France during the South Africa vs. France rugby game last week as sung by Ras Dumisani

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxAc6O_WBFE&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

I have sat and thought about what I could comment on this and the truth is that I am stumped.

• I am stumped that the French rugby authority allowed this guy on the field.
• I am stumped that this fool volunteered for the job.
• I am stumped that Bakkies Botha didn’t go over and “Boer Klap” him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdXD1Pi3GnE[/youtube]

Did you know that:

It takes your food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

One human hair can support 3kg.

The average man’s p*nis is three times the length of his thumb.

Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.

A woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s.

There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

Women blink twice as often as men.

The average person’s skin weighs twice as much as the brain.

Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.

If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

WOMEN reading this will be finished now.

MEN are still busy checking their thumbs.

I often end up in the middle of manufacturer wars, especially when it comes to Audi vs. BMW or iPhone vs. Nokia. Now if you are an avid reader of my blog, I think that I make it very clear that I’m an Audi guy to the bone and I swear by my loyalty to Nokia.

Between my CEO and I, we always end up in these little squables halfway through a meeting and I’m the kind guy of that will back anything else, except BMW or iPhone. So very often, I find myself fending off BlackBerry attacks by our big chief.

This morning he sent me two video clips and I just had to share them with you:

Video 1: BlackBerry attacks Apple!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYfDpzQx7S8[/youtube]

blackberry-takes-a-shot-at-apple

Video 2: Apple hit back!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPuTDvi5mmQ[/youtube]

apple-hit-back

I received notice today that Nokia has taken preventative action by recalling its outsourced manufactured chargers by a specific Chinese supplier. It seems that the plastic mould begins to seperate and there exists potential for a user to suffer from electric shock of certain components of the charger touch each and the user simultaneously. No such incidents have been reported and one has to commend Nokia for proactive with issues like this and not being reactive as many giant global companies tend to be when things go wrong.

The recall will be managed via a website that has been set up specifically for the charger recall.

This is an excerpt from the site (Sorry I’m being lazy by pasting it directly!)

Dear Nokia Customer,

Nokia has announced an exchange program for a limited number of Nokia-branded chargers manufactured by a third party supplier. We have determined that the plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger’s internal components and potentially posing an electric shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket.
While we are not aware of any incidents or injuries related to the affected chargers, as a precautionary measure, we will exchange affected charger models free-of-charge.
The affected chargers are those manufactured by BYD between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009 and with the following model types
AC -3U
AC-3E
and those manufactured by BYD between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009 and with the following model type
AC-4U

Affected chargers may have been sold with a Nokia device or purchased separately as an accessory.Your charger is not impacted by this action if you purchased it before June 15, 2009 for models AC-3U and AC-3E and before April 13, 2009 for model AC-4U or it is a similar charger model manufactured by any other supplier.
The reliability and quality of our products, is Nokia’s top priority. If you have confirmed that your charger is eligible to be replaced, we advise that you stop using it, and seek a free replacement charger.
An exchange program has been arranged for all markets in which affected chargers have been sold. To minimize inconvenience to our customers, the exchange will take place at the country level.
Submit specific information from the charger label using the menu below to determine if it is within the scope of the exchange program.
The affected chargers are those manufactured by BYD between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009 and with the following model types
AC -3U
AC-3E
and those manufactured by BYD between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009 and with the following model type
AC-4U

So if you acquired a Nokia charger during the periods 13 April and 25 October 2009, I recommend that you have a look at the charger recall website.

I have been lucky enough to score a Google Wave invite a few weeks ago from @mandalareopens and have been using it a fair bit. It’s a true paradigm shift in the way we communicate and I’ve been truly excited about it, since the first time I saw the Wave intro video months back.

Anywho, I have been blessed with a few Google Wave invitations to hand out and I’ll be giving away ten of them right here on my blog. All you need to do, is connect with me on Twitter and send me a DM with a valid GMail email address. The first 10 DM’s will each receive an invite. My ID is @DChetty!

I would really appreciate it, if these accounts go to people who will actually use them. So if you don’t know what Twitter or Wave is or if you know that you won’t really be using the Wave account, please do not enter.

If you already have a Wave account and would like to connect, comment here and I will contact you with my Wave ID.

Earlier today, I noticed that one of the images hosted on my site had been pulled into another website as a hotlink. While I have never claimed ownership of the images or content of my website and have previously encouraged the replication of content, which has been embraced by many local bloggers, for eg. iMod, who understands common courteousy and has linked back to the article given credit were it was due. The original article about Seacom can be found here.

What I do have a problem with though, is the blatant disregard for common courteousy and these guys (who don’t deserve the link) not hosting their own images and the fact that they chose to hotlink my image without my permission.

This is a screenshot of what the article looked like with my hotlinked image:

This a screenshot of what the article looked like after I decided to change the image after some encouragement from ChrisM:

Don’t hotlink images without permission, its just plain rude!

See the iMod article here: Careful when you steal web content