Life, the universe and everything - Technical Ambitions

I love following guys like Seth Godin, Zig Ziglar and other people that say something of substance. The insight they have is amazing. They see things from a different perspective always. Seth Godin has an amazing blog that I subscribe to and you can read it at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

One of the other people's tweets I love to read are those of my dad Sydney Weber, He has a knack of seeing things in a different light than most people. If you would like some insight into many topics such as love, friends etc than you can follow him at https://twitter.com/skwebers

Chris Anderson - The long tail Why the Future of business is selling less of more

This was an excellent book to read. Quite compelling and most definitely food for thought. This book gives me, as internet entrepreneur, the reason behind why my tny book written by an obscure person from nowhere sold at least 100 copies in the last year. It is beyond comprehension that with such little effort on my part, almost no effort whatsoever, I could manage to even get one person to purchase my book.

Without the long tail and specifically the long tail filters such as amazon, google and all the myriad of other search engines that each have their own algorithms for creating views into the long tail products, I would never have sold one book.

Get this book, and read it. If you are doing any sort of internet business then this book is a must read as it shows you why it is that your book can sell. Even if you are a no name writer or even if this is the first music or song you have ever recorded, the chances are excellent that you will sell some of your art online.

The FILTER is the answer and this is the secret to all this online selling.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Tail-Business-Selling/dp/1401302378

My wife and I were married for 1 year on the 14 April 2013 and I was looking back at some of our memories over the last year and with great shock realized that I had never taken the time to write about our dear friends Daneel and Karen Herselman for Karen Herselman photography in Durbanville, that took our beautiful photos on our very special day.

Karen and Daneel were kind enough to take our photos for our wedding as part of our wedding gift and I just wanted to thank them (belated thanks of course) for doing us such a great service. We look back on our wedding with great joy every time we open that special box of memories that was so lovingly given to us.

Here are a few of our photos if you are interested, and if you are having a wedding and need a photographer anywhere in the Western Cape and environs such as Durbanville, Bellville, Cape Town etc then please feel free to give Karen Herselman a call. I recommend her for her work. Her photos and her ideas for poses that she took are stunning.

Feel free to call Karen Herselman Photography at 073-2202307 or visit her website at http://karenherselmanphotography.co.za/

 

http://www.snapbill.com/
Flexible recurring billing made easy.
Powerful cloud-based billing system for any business.
Online invoicing

I have been fortunate to have been able to use Snapbill for the last year as an online invoicing platform. I say fortunate because it is one of the few companies I have worked with online that supply the service that they do. There tech support was second to none. If I emailed them someone came back to me virtually instantly and tried to help me. They even helped integrate some stuff for me and gave me examples which helped me along the way with the integration of their service right into my site. They are truly an amazing service.

Really cheap to use and worth every cent.

When you need to use an invoicing system that is integrated right into your backend system of your site I would suggest giving the guys and gals at Snapbill.com a trial run. I am 100% sure that you will be very glad you did as they give the most excellent service I have received online till today.

You can try it for free today by going to this link

http://www.snapbill.com/

support@snapbill.com

Regards
johnkweber

A J Mantel (paintings)

My grandfather A J Mantel was an artist who painted in watercolors (mostly anyway). As a child I watched many hours as he sat quietly first drawing and then painting his masterpieces. I was always fascinated by the skill that he displayed in mixing the colors and ensuring that whatever he was painting turned out to look like a photograph.

I remember clear as daylight him telling me that he considered himself first and foremost as a painter and not an artist. He considered an artist to be someone who could create a drawing or painting from within his mind, whereas A J Mantel would copy some postage stamp or postcard or picture and then turn it into a larger precise color copy.

As children some of my siblings must have gotten a lot closer to him than I ever did as his "artiness" rubbed off on them. They also managed to make beautiful paintings and even in my grandfathers time I remember my sister Marisa Nel (Weber) being one of his favourites as she managed to do almost naturally what he took many years to master. Marisa also made a few beautiful paintings but alas hung up her brushes and palette along time ago when she became a mother. One day I am hoping she will have time to be more creative again and paint some more for us.

Sydney Keith Weber (my father) also has some paintings that he can boast with as well as Sydney's sister Dorothy Klatter (Weber).

In honour of my grandfather A J Mantel I have created a site where people who have paintings that he made can place them online for the enjoyment of the family as well as create some sort of line of history of some of his paintings. Many of them were sold to clients and I remember some went to a gallery near East London where my grandfather lived for as long as I can remember him.

On the site I have allowed for the other family members to also portray some of their paintings. As many of my friends know, I got married in April 2012 to Hannah Brandt Weber (J S van Eck) and she also seems to have the knack for the oil canvas. So you will also her paintings on the site. Ofcourse as her husband I am probably biased towards her a teeny bit - lol.

I hope that the many people who have A J Mantel paintings will join our site and place high quality images of my grandfathers paintings on the site so that we may preserve them for the future and for our grandchildren to also admire what their great grandfather had accomplished.

- johnkweber 2012

A J Mantel

It was amazing to watch Pebble come to life with the crowdfunding model as viewed by KickStarter

Never before have I been more excited than seeing those Dollars climb past the $10 000 000 mark. These guys have a product that the world believes in and this is where I think the turning point starts for funding a project. With Venture Capitalists starting to diversify by investing in multiple small investments instead of going all out in one large project and investment, this seems to mark the beginning of a new way of getting funding for your homegrown project.

Here is a list of a few crowdfunding sites to get your project kickstarted.

https://www.crowdtilt.com/
http://crowdfunder.com/
http://wefunder.com/beta
http://www.indiegogo.com/
http://www.microventures.com/
https://www.secondmarket.com/
http://www.studioneat.com/pages/about-us
http://www.rockethub.com/
http://www.kapipal.com/
http://www.unbound.co.uk/
http://www.kickstarter.com

But the post that kickstarted this article was at http://www.kickstarter.com - Pebble epaper watch

- johnkweber

Open Source DragonFly II STM32 ARM MCU

Click here to go to http://dragonflymcu.com




Evaluation board.

Click here to view the User Manual for the DragonFly II

With example code compiled on CooCox



Features
• STM32F103RBT6 Arm Cortex MCU @ 72 MHz.
• On Chip RTC With Battery.
• 3 USARTS ( Com Ports ), COM1 can be TTL or RS232.
• Boot Mode selectable.
• Can be programmed through SWD 3 wire interface or via COM1 RS232.
• Many available I/O port bits including ADC Channels, CAN bus etc.
• Power supply can be 3.3V without onboard regulator or with onboard regulator input must
 be between 5V to 7V.
• Micro SD Card for data storage.
• 2 row 20 pin connector with standard 2.54mm spacing pins ( 40 pin socket ).
• Supplied with source code examples including working example of FAT FS in C.
• All examples compiled with free CooCox IDE with CodeSourcery.

Introduction
The DragonFly MCU is one of the few small 40 pin DIP socket STM32 MCU modules that has an
onboard micro SD socket.


There is a wealth of information on the internet about the STMicroelectronics www.st.com/stm32/
STM32 MCU.


This powerful yet cheap 32 bit microcontroller can be used in many applications from control to data
acquisition.


The DragonFly MCU is intended to be an easy start for beginners or hobbyist but the module can also
be incorporated into a user end product.


CooCox with Code Sourcery was chosen as it is completely free and easy to use for beginners to get
started using the STM32.


Several complete C code examples are supplied with the module that can be imported and compiled
with CoIDE out of the box and run as is or modified by the user.

Guest house - Caledon23 - George

I rarely promote a guest house even though I go regularly to them. I love just going out and spoiling myself and my partner every now and then and what better way than to go relax at a guest house where everything gets done for you. After the running around of the week there is a need to just relax and enjoy.

This December I had the good fortune to hit the road and just see where it takes us. It was great. NO planned stays anywhere. SO there was also no reason to rush anywhere. Everyone said we were mad to just go on the whim and yet we found places to stay even though December is a peak season. We ended up being referred to a guest house that had just been started by a lovely couple. Hendrik and Linda Aucamp.

Man what a pleasure. Hendrik is a builder and I think he spared no expense to make the place beautiful. He really went to town and as he says, "Why skimp on the little things since they are the things everyone notices." For the very first time in about 20 years I woke up feeling refreshed and without any stiff or sore back. I now realise the importance of an awesome bed. We tend to spend so much time in our beds yet we skimp on the one thing we really should splurge on.

I am really happy to recommend Caledon23 Guest house in George. Situated in Caledon street number 23 (the place to be apparently in George) it was a stay to remember. Hendrik and Linda are a really friendly and outgoing couple and I know that you will enjoy your stay there.

OH - and the best thing is the price. For a guest house that has all the finery that they have I was expecting to pay a fortune. However the price is almost the most attractive item. At under R800 for a couple bed and breakfast included it was amazing.

If you are ever in the neck of the woods in George, go look up Hendrik and Linda Aucamp at Caledon23 Geust house. You wont be sorry. -

johnkweber

Try it for the "rush" of a lifetime

http://africasharkdivesafari.com/


Welcome to Africa Shark Dive Safaris:

Great White Shark cage diving in Gansbaai South Africa is a total holiday destination, full of exciting and interesting things to do...

Africa Shark Dive Safaris offer you a wide selection of tours and safari experiences in South Africa.

Our selection of tours include white shark cage diving, white shark breaching, whale watching and shark diving throughout South Africa, Big Five wildlife safaris, trips in and around Cape Town and a tour of the Garden Route. We also offer aerial tours between Cape Town and Gansbaai as well as fly-in packages to Mozambique.

Our latest tour additions include Kayak trips, Cave excursions & cruises in and around Gansbaai. Our cruises include sunset cruises, boat cruises, Dyer Island boat cruise and exclusive trips. We also offer fishing trips and quadbiking tours in and around Gansbaai.

Africa Shark Dive Safaris is an Adventure and Accommodation Centre with a professional team that will, as a booking agent, guarantee to make your holiday in South Africa an unforgettable one.

Our main focus is shark cage diving and knowing that it will be difficult for you to choose between 8 different shark cage operators in Gansbaai, we will make your decision easy and book your trip with only the best operators that maintain the highest standards in the handling of sharks and also giving you quality and personalized attention.

Africa Shark Dive Safaris would like to make your holiday trip to South Africa hassle free - Our commitment to you is "An Experience of a Lifetime"

Try it for the "rush" of a lifetime

http://africasharkdivesafari.com/

Purchase this kindle book here

For a hardcopy book you may email : captainnewman@gmail.com (author)

Dr. U “Tol” de Wet Pienaar.
Former; Chief Director, South African National Parks Board.
Many people contribute their efforts towards the running of a successful National Parks Service. This is equally so with Provincial Parks and similar organisations. All those who live and work for the betterment of the environment or the education and the well being of visitors, play a vital and important role towards those ideals.
This book is a light hearted rendition of incidents that occurred during John’s service, for both the National Parks and the Provincial Parks service, for which he was, both contracted frequently or fully employed.
The National Parks employ Scientist, Technicians, Rangers, Engineers, Mechanics, Restaurateurs, Retailers, Administrators and Stores Controllers. People working in the parks service that come from every walk of life, those who are making their contribution tirelessly.
John was with the National Parks Aviation division, serving a multiplicity of roles and his stories expose his specific experiences that happened in his daily activity, of which some I was involved personally.
It is therefore true, besides all the animal species in the National Parks............. People live there also.

Introduction
I met John Newman a few years ago and from the very first meeting, I realised that he has amazing skills and talents. While working and using these diverse skills and talents the stories he has collected are now something we can read and enjoy.

This book is a hilarious look into his amazing past, telling of just one or two of the jobs he has been fortunate to do throughout his life. His dedication to the tasks he tackles shows up in the fact that he piloted aircraft and helicopters in the Kruger National Park. We as the reader now get to read of his extraordinary experiences whilst working as a pilot in the KNP.

After having heard all these stories related to me first hand by John, I just knew that they had to be written down, so that others could end up reading them and enjoy them as much as I did hearing them.

John is the type of person who wakes up virtually every day with a new idea that has never been expanded upon before. It truly is amazing how he is just fortunate in that department. I have come to appreciate him for his unique problem solving skills and I also know that we will be seeing a few more books coming from John’s pen as he has many ideas he must still share with the rest of the world

- John K Weber

I was really most impressed with this book. After having read James Caan's The real deal, I knew that this book would have valuable information in it. The way he tells his story makes for easy reading.

If you are wanting to change your career or whether you have been off work for a long time, this is the book for you. I can imagine that this could easily become a prescribed book for school leavers as well since it contains really great information as to how to go about getting the Job you really want.

From setting up your CV to the interview, he talks about everything. Bear in mind that James Caan made a lot of his money actually placing people in jobs. That's the reason I thought this book would be valuable in the first place. He has perfected the art of the interview and he shows you what you need to do to be prepared and to ensure that you land the job you want.

If I can sum up this book in a few words it would be this. "You are about to change the rest of your life, DON'T leave anything to chance."

Get this book now and read it as this will change the way you approach the next career move. I guarantee it. Its not a feeling, its a fact.

I have heard many people say, "If I had a nickle for everytime someone said ...." Well, I am sure that even you could say the same thing about hearing people say "i am fat ....."

Well I was sitting thinking the other day and suddenly it dawned on me. The problem is not that people are fat but that they are just extremely lazy. FAT is a symptom and not a cause. What I mean by that is that you might be fat but that is not the problem, it is just a symptom of the problem. What you need to do is not worry about losing fat and getting thin again, you need to worry about the reasons you are fat and cant lose weight.

Many times, life just gets out of control for no reason at all. This is a fact of life and the sooner you deal with the reality of this life and the way it works, the better for you and all around you. What you need to do is acknowledge that life is not in your control and never will be BUT that certain things are in your control and always will be. Its these things that one needs to look at closely and see why you control them and how you can change if need be.

The fact that you are fat has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you eat so much or don't exercise regularly, it has everything to do with why you eat so much and why you don't exercise regularly. So what is causing you to do this to yourself. That is the question that needs to be answered before you can fix anything. Once you answer that question you can start to fix the issue and you will probably find that you gain control again over certain parts of your life that you never had control over.

Lack of motivation is also another stumbling block on the road to becoming thin. I got a valuable life lesson the other day from a TED speaker about why we should not tell people what we are going to do, we should rather do it and then tell them later or let the results speak for themselves. The reason you should never tell someone you are going to lose weight is that when you tell them they will most likely start to praise you for your effort that you will be putting in to the process of getting thin again.

This praise leads to certain chemicals (endorphins?) getting released in your brain that satisfy you in a certain way. Having had the reward through the chemicals now leaves you with absolutely no motivation to put the effort in to getting thin. Your brain has misled you to believe that you have already been rewarded. SO don't tell anyone what you are going to do, go do it and let the results and the praise for the results be your ultimate reward.

So, back to motivation. Have you ever seen these girls and guys running around on the beach trying to lose weight and start looking trim? Well in many cases except for the sport fanatic who loves the reward of the chemical they get from exercise, a lot of these people running around are trying to look good to impress someone else, if it was just to impress themselves they would not really do the effort or they would have done it earlier don't you think. So... they must be doing it to impress other people, a spouse, boyfriend, prospective new boyfriend, lover etc. This is a great motivator. Jealousy is a bad thing but man is it a great motivator. When a woman finds out that her man might have another lover, suddenly all energy goes into looking good for that person so that they wont lose them. Motivator of note.

So take a long look at why you are fat and not how you can lose the fat but how you can overcome the real reason behind you not being able to motivate yourself into working hard and getting thin again. Look at your motivation and try see if you can fix that rather than trying to lose weight without motivation. Once motivated you can do a lot of great things.

SO, remember now, dont tell people what you are going to do and get the reward from the release of chemicals when they praise you for trying, but rather wait till you have lost weight and the results can be seen. The reward will be far greater then.

I was fortunate enough to be able to see Antonio Forcione (guitar player of note) in Kalkbay this month. The concert was held in the Olympia bakery and it was quite a show. The setting lent itself quite nicely to a rather intimate show and the other two guitarists, Tony Cox and Saudiq Kahn were ofcourse exceptional as usual. Tony is an excellent story teller and makes everything an interesting experience, Saudiq plays extremely nicely and the guitar he had sounded so phenomenal BUT then, enter Antonio Forcione.

If you ever get a chance to see Antonio Forcione live and in concert, beg, borrow or steal the money for the entrance fee and you will see the show of your life. Apart from being a bit eccentric, I have never seen a more impressive display and guitar mastery in my entire life. I never even knew people who had such talent existed. My styles I have always admired are Merle Travis, Tom Bresch, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Buster B, Marcel Dadi and most recently a gentlemen called
Bruce Keener. However these gentlemen all have a style that sounds pretty impressive and even have some speedy fingering which will blow your mind. Take for example Jerry's Breakdown. Man awesome stuff and difficult as hell. However, enter Antonio Forcione....

I caught myself on numerous occasions counting his fingers to see whether he really only has 10 fingers. Man he utilizes every inch of his guitar and his fingers, hands, palms, back of his fingers in the bass slides (finger under the bass string) and playing like a double bass while all the time keeping rythm by playing the front, back and sides of his guitar and still playing the melody by using harmonics, slides, hammer ons, pullofs and literally any trick you have ever seen in the books or on the net. It is all there. Fingerpicking, blues, rock, flamenco and he seems to have mastered them all.

He will think nothing of stopping a tune because his guitar is slightly out of tune, fix the tuning and then restart. The crowd was so mesmerized that they did not even notice these slight little things. They sat at the edge of their seats and they were listening intently to every little note or sound in some cases that was coming out of that guitar. I have never seen a guitar take such abuse and yet produce such sweet sounds.

I can truly say that it changed forever the way I will look at or think about a guitar.

Do yourself a favor and try to experience first hand the experience that is Antonio Forcione. If you like guitar music in any form you will not be sorry.

Deborah Meaden, known from the Dragons Den imparts some practical advice for setting up and running your own business. From whether you should buy a franchise to setting up a business plan for your own start up she gives great solid advice that will help you through the process.

She also tells a lot of her own experience and tells it how it is. She is a straight shooter and takes no nonsense.

All in all a great read and wonderful advice.

johnkweber

This must have been the most enjoyable book I have ever read. I think in part it might be due to the fact that the way James seems to handle life resonates with some sort of chord that resonates in my life as well.

This must be the book that has touched me the most and in some way I think it is due to some of the raw emotions that James puts forward when dealing with his country of origin. The woes of the poor people in that country make me look at my own country and I am busy trying to figure out how it is that I can make a difference in my world.

I can truly recommend James Caan - The Real deal.

I could not put this book down and read it in one evening. It is captivating and the knowledge that James has regarding staffing and recruitment means that his next book on how to find the best job coming out in Jan 2011 shoud be just as excellent a read.

According to a very interesting bit of research that I read a few days ago, it seems that advertisements that feature a QR Code or almost 60% more likely to be clicked than normal ads that have text or just a picture.

It seems that the newness of this QR Code technology is a reason that most people are scanning these QR Codes in ads etc.

Apparently the group (cant remember who they were, sorry) created ads that incorporated QR Codes in their pictures banner ads and they had a hit counter attached to the QR Code so that they could measure how many people viewed the ad compared to other ads on the page.