richelectron

Win free airtime from ehtime.co.za

2011-12-20T11:58:00.001+02:00

ehtime runs daily airtime draws where you stand a chance to win airtime for the Vodacom, MTN, CellC, Virgin and 8ta networks.

All South African cellular providers are catered for - just visit ehtime.co.za and select the draw that you would like to enter:

Enter your cellphone number... (ehtime does not share or sell any numbers)

and you will be entered into the draw for the day.

Then, at 4pm, If you are selected as a winner, you will be notified by SMS at the cell phone number you entered with and you will receive your airtime PIN in a follow up SMS - So make sure your number is correct!

If you don't win (or even if you do), you can always enter again tomorrow, even from a web enabled mobile phone.

All the best!

Free SMS to South Africa

2011-11-08T21:46:00.000+02:00

Free082SMS has been offering Free SMS to ALL South African mobile networks (including 8ta, Virgin and Red Bull Mobile) since May 2011 (in addition to SMS within the Vodacom, MTN and CellC networks).

Here's how to send Free SMS to any of your friends in South Africa!

1. Select the Free082 SMS option from the homepage at Free082SMS.co.za

2. Read through the explanation on the login page: SMS are topped up periodically through out the day so you'll need to check back later if SMS reserves are low when you try to send, or you can try one of the other free SMS options instead; SMS are sent from a generic number, so you need to include your own name/number in the SMS text; noreply.free082sms.co.za (valid link) is inserted at the beginning of your SMS to let recipients know that replies are not supported and to assist them with abuse. Click 'Login' (and tick 'Remember me' to skip the login page next time).

3. Type your SMS message (including your name and contact number), enter a valid South African recipient in the 08x1234567 format and click 'Send'.

4. A status message will confirm that your SMS message has been sent.

5. Your friend (at 0811234567) will receive the SMS and can reply (to your number) for free from Free082SMS.co.za! (works great on PC and mobile)

GEMP (Medicine) at Wits - How to not get accepted

2011-10-07T12:57:00.001+02:00

Johannesburg, South Africa

First attempt

Start by nurturing a passion to become a doctor for as long as you can remember
Add a natural aptitude for science and technology
Participate (and perform well) in sport (first team rugby), cultural activities (play the piano from age 7) and academics at school (and be a prefect)
Get a basic first aid certificate
Donate spare time to volunteer work in hospitals and clinics
Complete an IEB matric at a Jo'burg private school with results that are good enough to be offered a place in electrical engineering (where the academic entry requirements are higher than for medicine)
Apply for entry into first year medicine at Wits Medical School (2001)

Second attempt

Complete a Bachelor of Science degree in human anatomy and physiology at the University of the Witwatersrand
Make special arrangements to complete a basic life support (BLS) training course from the American Heart Association (this course is run for qualified healthcare professionals) - Get higher test results than qualified healthcare professionals who are on the course with you
Continue volunteer work at a christian primary healthcare clinic
Make rural hospital visits with an old (practicing) professor of surgery
Apply for entry into the Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) at Wits Medical School with a respected surgeon as your referee (2004)

Third attempt

Accept an offer to join the experimental physiology honours class at Wits Medical School
Contribute to the medical research community by collecting cardiovascular data that is published in the American Journal of Physiology
Help second year medical students in physiology lab tutorials (one of whom didn't know what diarrhoea is and another who was repeating second year medicine for the 3rd time - painful, but true stories)
Apply for entry into GEMP at Wits Medical School again, this time with an A rated physiology Professor as your referee (2005)
Get excited when you are short listed for an interview
Mention that you want to "help people" during the interview
Have the dean of student affairs warp your answers and talk over you for the remainder of the 'interview'

Move on

Reinvent yourself
Get on with life in a completely different field, continue to "help people" in other ways and don't feel too bad that the only thing you've really sucked at so far (in spite of a rather wasted medical background), is getting in to study medicine at Wits Medical School...

FSMS versus Free082SMS - Free SMS in South Africa

2011-10-04T13:10:00.007+02:00

FSMS is fast becoming (if not already) the dominant Free SMS website in South Africa. Stats from December 2010 showed that FSMS is generating more than 2 million page views a month from more than 35 thousand users, sending an average of 25 thousand SMSes per day.

Technology investment company World of Avatar owns a 50% stake in the company and FSMS boasts South Africa's only free two-way SMS service (SMS are not sent from the senders own phone number, but replies can be picked up on the website).

FSMS is sponsored by on site advertising and in targeted ads appended to the bottom of outgoing SMSes - Demographic information is collected during the registration process.

Free082SMS is a small fry in comparison to FSMS but users can send Free SMS from their own cellphone numbers so replies are delivered directly to the sender's phone as long as the original SMS was sent using a Vodacom, MTN or CellC account. Free082SMS does offer Free SMS to other South African networks as well, but replies are not supported for this option. Free082SMS is sponsored by on site advertising and self promotion in Free SMSes.

Free082SMS generates around 450 thousand pageviews per month with more than 3 thousand Free SMS sent from the site every day.

Free082SMS.co.za is more niche than FSMS.co.za but both sites work well and it all comes down to personal preference really. But please share your preference in the comments below...

Download YouTube videos onto your BlackBerry to eliminate "Buffering..."

2011-09-17T12:41:00.009+02:00

I haven't been able to find a BlackBerry YouTube app that buffers video decently. So my experience when watching YouTube videos on a sub standard connection (384 kbps ADSL over WiFi) has mostly gone something like this...

Yes, it's "Buffering...", but the problem is that my BlackBerry will not continue to buffer video unless it's playing the video at the same time. You can't press pause and wait for the video to buffer up front so it can be watched without the "Buffering..." interruptions. Frankly this makes for a most annoying and unusable experience.

There is a nice simple solution though. Download the full video directly on to your BlackBerry device before you start watching - and yes, it can be done!

1. Search for your video on http://www.vuclip.com

3. Click to download the Hi(gh) or Reg(ular) quality video onto your BlackBerry Media Card

4. Open the video in Media/Videos

5. Enjoy uninterrupted video playback...

Tip: Start downloading your next video while you watch!

Jebo R338 Tank with Comet Goldfish

2011-07-31T13:39:00.005+02:00

So I've decided to try something different and swop out my usual tropical fish for a few goldfish - 3 comet goldfish to be precise. I'm using my current Jebo R338 setup, minus the heater and I've added an air pump with an airstone for a nice bubble effect. I haven't needed to modify anything else and the new goldfish seem to manage just fine with the current created by the powerhead.

The Jebo R338 actually makes for a superb, low maintenance goldfish setup. I'm really enjoying the brilliant (goldy) red of the comet goldfish and they have more presence than tropical fish I have had in this tank before. They are also very active little chaps, so a lot of fun to watch!

Latest blog post title in email signatures

2011-07-26T15:31:00.010+02:00

I put a PHP image script together that reads the latest title from any RSS feed and creates a .gif image that contains this title. So the image can be placed anywhere once off and it will automatically update with the latest RSS feed title as new content is published. The image could be embedded in an html email signature for instance and the title of your most recent blog post will automatically be appended to all your outgoing email. I'm sure there are other uses for this code as well - It requires PHP and cURL and can be tweaked to accommodate different requirements, just be sure to go through the code and update your RSS feed URL (line 18), copy the font(s) you would like to use (lines 39,40) to the same directory as the script and perhaps change the text colours ~line 90 and anything else as you need to.

Embed the image with this image tag:

Include a link to the front page of your blog to make the title clickable:

Here is the code for latest-blog-post-rss-image.php

<?php

//Parse text block for value near search defined by offset and length / end tag
function parse($block,$search,$offset,$length,$endtag="") {
$start = strpos($block,$search) + $offset;
$end = $start + $length;
$value = substr($block, $start, $end - $start );
if ($endtag != "") {
$value = substr($value,0,strpos($value,$endtag)-(strlen($endtag)));
}
if ($start == 0) {
$value = "";
}
return $value;
}

//RSS feed to get title from
$rss = "http://yoursite.com/rss.xml";

//read the RSS feed using cURL
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $rss);
$result = curl_exec ($ch);
curl_close($ch);

//extract the first (and latest blog title)
$title = parse($result,"<item>",0,300,"<link>");

//trim the title and extract html tags
$title = strip_tags($title);
$title = trim($title);

//set image fonts and positioning
$size = 7.5;
$labelsize = 7.5;
$font = 'arialbd.ttf';
$labelfont = 'arial.ttf';
$x = -1;
$y = 10;
$angle = 0;
$label = "Latest blog post: ";

//Get an array of rss title words to facilitate word wrap
$words = explode(" ",$title);

//Force the image to word wrap around this approximate length (pixels)
$labellength = imagettfbbox($labelsize, 0, $labelfont, $label);
$maxlength = 350 - $labellength[4];
$line1length = $labellength;
$line1 = "";
$line2 = "";

foreach ($words as $word) {
if ($line1length[4] < $maxlength) {
$line1 .= $word . " ";
$nextword = $line1 . $word;
$line1length = imagettfbbox($size, 0,$font, $nextword);
} else {$line2 .= $word . " ";}
}
$line1 = trim($line1);
$line2 = trim($line2);

//determine image dimensions based on rss title length and including the label text
$line1length = imagettfbbox($size, 0, $font, $line1);
$line2length = imagettfbbox($size, 0, $font, $line2);

$totallength = $labellength[4] + $line1length[4];

//Set the image height for 1 line or 2 lines
if ($line2 == "") {
$height = 12;
} else $height = 24;

//set canvas dimensions (based on blog post length) and height
$gif = imagecreatetruecolor($totallength+1, $height);

//set background colour to white
$white = imagecolorallocate($gif, 255, 255, 255);

//fill image with white background and set as transparent
imagefill($gif, 0,0, $white);
imagecolortransparent($gif, $white);

//Print rss title onto image if it's not blank for some reason...
if ($title != "") {

//set text colors R,G,B
$text_color = imagecolorallocate($gif, 255, 149, 6);
$label_color = imagecolorallocate($gif, 0, 5, 85);

//Print blog post label into image
ImageTTFText($gif, $labelsize, $angle, $x, $y, $label_color, $labelfont, $label);

//Print blog post line 1 title into image
ImageTTFText($gif, $size, $angle, $x+$labellength[4], $y, $text_color, $font, $line1);

//print link underline
ImageLine($gif, $totallength, $y+1,$labellength[4]-1,$y+1, $text_color );

if ($line2 != "") {

//Print blog post line 2 title into image
ImageTTFText($gif, $size, $angle, $x+1, $y+12, $text_color, $font, $line2);

//print link underline
ImageLine($gif, 0, $y+13,$line2length[4],$y+13, $text_color );

}
}

//output blog post title image
header("Content-type: image/gif");
imagegif($gif);
imagedestroy($gif);
?>

BBM (BlackBerry Messaging) from any web enabled PC or phone

2011-06-23T09:57:00.000+02:00

A large number of mobile users access Free082SMS from BlackBerry devices to send free SMS to their friends who don't have BlackBerry smartphones and so can't use BBM. Web to BlackBerry messaging functionality has recently been included to enable all users to send messages to BlackBerry pin numbers from any pc or phone.

1. Select the "BlackBerry Messaging" option at Free082SMS

2. Provide your name and cellphone number (for replies)

3. Compose your message and enter a valid BlackBerry pin recipient

4. Your message will be queued for delivery

5. BlackBerry pin message notification

6. BlackBerry pin message

Vodacom 3G versus MWEB ADSL (speed and latency)

2011-06-13T12:53:00.012+02:00

UPDATE: I have since upgraded my ADSL package to a 1Mbps line and speedtest.net latency is now closer to 20 ms...

My MWEB ADSL line is pretty trusty, but it has been offline at some inconvenient moments, so I signed up for the 2GB + 2GB 3G special from Vodacom.

I picked Vodacom specifically because I know that the Vodacom 3G coverage on my BlackBerry is particularly good in my area, the 2GB of night owl data is a nice value add and it just makes my billing simpler (being with Vodacom already).

I was expecting 3G to be much faster than my 384 Kbps ADSL connection, and it is by miles, so no surprise there. But, I was also expecting the latency on my ADSL line to be much lower than on the 3G and it’s not! Not that I’m complaining at all – I’m super impressed/happy that Vodacom 3G is so much faster than my ADSL connection and the latency is lower or matched at worst. It’s wireless and a completely suitable ADSL replacement (see the speed test results below).

Skype (with video) call quality is improved dramatically and it becomes a pleasure to watch YouTube videos on 3G instead of ADSL (more waiting than watching). I am not much of a gamer though, so I haven’t tested online gaming performance, but I would expect the 3G connection to beat the pants off my ADSL on this front too (based on the far superior Skype call quality on 3G).

Anyway, I’ve got to say a big thanks to Vodacom on this one – The R149 a month is a steal for this truly excellent connection - I am a very satisfied customer and no sweat if the Vodacom network ever goes down – I still have ADSL…

I should just add a disclaimer that 3G performance will vary, depending on your location and network coverage but Vodacom 3G really works great at my place!

MWEB ADSL speedtest.net results*

Vodacom 3G speedtest.net results*

MWEB ADSL MyBroadBand speed test results (international)*

Vodacom 3G MyBroadBand speed test results (international)*MWEB ADSL MyBroadBand speed test results (local / South Africa)*

Vodacom 3G MyBroadBand speed test results (local / South Africa)*

*Tests were repeated more than once and images were picked to show trends. Yes, I know this is not scientific, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the 3G really pumps!

Right click and delete key crash windows xp and hibernatation issue [solved]

2011-05-06T17:01:00.004+02:00

Windows XP was throwing its toys whenever I right clicked a file or tried to delete a file with the delete key. More specifically it was throwing the errors: “Dr Watson Postmortem debugger” and “Data Execution Prevention”. I scanned my disk for physical errors, found some bad sectors and fixed them, but this didn’t help anything. I also excluded malware from the mix by running a full Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware scan and found nothing. I was coming to terms with the sad prospect of a full re-install.

But then I thought "what if one of the multiple software extensions that insist on installing themselves into my right click context menu were breaking something?" I found this little tool, ShellExView that specialises in removing shell extensions.

I disabled all the extensions that were not manufactured by Microsoft and bam, instant Fix! So easy, I didn’t even need to reboot! I could right click and delete files again.

As an unexpected side bonus, my computer will finally hibernate again. Before, Windows XP would start “preparing to hibernate” but would then jump back to the desktop no matter what fix I tried to implement. I had disabled drivers, deleted the hibernation file and all sorts of other things I can’t remember - I had given up, but it seems that the real issue was hiding somewhere in the shell.

I have no idea which right click extension was causing the problem but I’m much happier with just the Microsoft defaults and my PC is running much faster now too!

Send HTML email with an attachment from PHP

2011-04-14T17:02:00.012+02:00

It took me a painfully long time to find a PHP script that could send multi-part email (with plain text / fancy HTML body content) and an attachment that actually worked! But I have adapted this excellent script to suit my needs (excluding output buffering). So reposting it mostly for my own reference... hopefully it can help some other poor sods out too.

<?php

$htmlbody = "This is an <b>html</b> message";
$textmessage = "This is a plain text message";

//Set Recipient Address
$to = "recipient@domain.com";

//Set Email Subject
$subject = "HTML email with attachment";

//define the from \ reply to headers
$headers = "From: yourname@domain.com\r\nReply-To: yourname@domain.com";

//create a unique boundary string to delimit different parts of the email (plain text, html, file attachment)
$random_hash = md5(date('r', time()));

//add boundary string and mime type specification
$headers .= "\r\nContent-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=\"PHP-mixed-".$random_hash."\"";

//read the atachment file contents into a string,
//encode it with MIME base64,
//and split it into smaller chunks for sending
$attachment = chunk_split(base64_encode(file_get_contents('attachment.zip')));

//define the body of the message.
$message = "--PHP-mixed-$random_hash\r\n"
."Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=\"PHP-alt-$random_hash\"\r\n\r\n";
$message .= "--PHP-alt-$random_hash\r\n"
."Content-Type: text/plain; charset=\"iso-8859-1\"\r\n"
."Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit\r\n\r\n";

//Insert the plain text message.
$message .= strip_tags($textmessage);
$message .= "\r\n\r\n--PHP-alt-$random_hash\r\n"
."Content-Type: text/html; charset=\"iso-8859-1\r\n"
."Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit\r\n\r\n";

//Insert the html message.
$message .= $htmlbody;
$message .="\r\n\r\n--PHP-alt-$random_hash--\r\n\r\n";

//include attachment
$message .= "--PHP-mixed-$random_hash\r\n"
."Content-Type: application/zip; name=\"attachment.zip\"\r\n"
."Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64\r\n"
."Content-Disposition: attachment\r\n\r\n";
$message .= $attachment;
$message .= "/r/n--PHP-mixed-$random_hash--";

//send the email
$mail = mail( $to, $subject , $message, $headers );

if ($mail) {
echo "Mail sent!";
} else "Mail not sent!";

?>

Vodacom goes red, like Vodafone

2011-04-02T11:30:00.011+02:00

I've always wondered if Vodacom would ever adopt the Vodafone branding and yesterday it happened! Vodacom has rebranded to align themselves more obviously with Vodafone who now own 65% of this South African mobile services provider. Vodacom has retained their name (Vodafone + Telkom from the old days) but it's been updated to the Vodafone type face and 'quote' logo. The Vodacom blue has also been replaced with racy Vodafone Red.

Hopefully the new look and feel won't require much more than a few cosmetic changes to the Vodacom website on the back of the Vodacom4me migration, however Vodacom is promising that the rebrand will come with much more than some new lipstick and will accompany many welcome improvements including network upgrades and customer service enhancements. I think the new look is awesome! and I am looking forward to all the new changes. @Vodacom is doing a great job on responding to all sorts of customer queries about the new look on Twitter and I caught this 'historic' image of the old Vodacom logo while it was still cached in Vodacom's Twitter feed, capturing a little piece of Vodacom's brand evolution...

DefZA is in the process of updating his free SMS website to make use of vodacom.co.za since vodacom4me.co.za is now officially offline.

Free082SMS.co.za has also been updated to cope with the new website changes. The new Red Vodacom website at www.vodacom.co.za went down (understandably) as I was typing this post, but I was surprised by this very decent Vodacom maintenance page, which is a welcome improvement on any Vodacom error pages I have seen before.

Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, even if it means Vodacom is only going to start dealing with problems in a more elegant manner - A welcome change, even if they will not be retiring Mo the Meercat.

Ster Kinekor and Numetro movie show times on one page

2011-03-22T23:00:00.002+02:00

I recently put a movie resources page together for myself mostly, but figured it could be useful to others as well, so I've opened it up. The page includes a drop down list where you can select a region to view show times at SterKinekor (and Nouveau) cinemas. Numetro cinemas are listed directly and an IMDB and Kalahari.net DVD search box are thrown in for good measure.

Check SterKinekor Show times at your cinema
Check Numetro Show times at your cinema
Browse IMDB movie and actor reviews and ratings
See the latest DVD releases from Kalahari.net
All on one page!

Mobile results are displayed for each link so this page works great on mobile phones and loads nice and fast on a desktop PC. So Bookmark it and use it, if you like.

High tech home made mouse trap for a live catch

2011-03-22T22:07:00.000+02:00

We had a little guest move into the kitchen the other night. A house mouse was living up in the base of the fridge and my first thought was poison, but after chatting with my wife, I decided to try something more humane.

This home made setup requires:

A plastic bucket or bin that is about 50cm deep
kebab stick (or similar)
Paper
and peanuts (the bait)

Set the trap for a live catch:
Suspend the paper over the bin using the kebab stick as precariously as possible. Then place a few peanuts on the paper at the side furthest from approach. Make sure there is no other food around to cause distraction and then vacate the area.

We decided to use peanuts and raisins since the little chap had already exposed his desires by chewing at the bag while it was on the counter the night before. I set the trap at the edge of a stool in the kitchen so that the mouse would have access to the top of the bin. He must have been hungry because I saw him scouting the kitchen while we were still up and the light was even on. But it didn't take long before we heard a small crash and the mouse was caught!

I relocated the little fella to the back garden where he dashed into the safety of the bushes. I know there's a chance he'll be back for more peanuts but we'll see I guess...

Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 mp3 player review

2011-03-20T19:02:00.015+02:00

I have had my new Sony Walkman (NWZ-W252) for just over a week now and it is without a doubt the most convenient portable music player I have ever owned (my fourth mp3 player). I've used it every day since I got it and it's helped me to realise that convenience is at the top of my requirements for an every day music player.

This particular model of Sony Walkman is convenient because its all in one design integrates the player into the headpones, so there are no cords to tangle on anything and no player to put in your pocket or clip on your shirt. I've come to think of this player as a set of headphones and refer to "it" as "they" like a set of headphones.

"They" are designed with running or exercise in mind which makes them very versatile. I have washed the dishes and easily changed my clothes without removing them. They are great for listening to music while you are on the go, doing all sorts of activities. They are even water / sweat resistant, though a slightly cheaper non-water resistant model is available as well.

The design incorporates in ear headphones that deliver well balanced sound quality. Noise from the environment can easily be eliminated with the volume up, so do take care if you are running on the road. The headphones are connected by a sturdy cable that runs behind the head. Play and volume controls are embedded into the right ear piece, and there is a shuffle button on the left ear piece. A water resistant cap protects the standard USB mini connector and the ear pieces are held together by a magnet when not in use that turns the player off automatically. Sony also provide a plastic "carrier" that keep the headphones together and prevent magnetic leakage to protect your credit cards during storage.

The theme of simplicity continues when you connect this player to your Windows PC (I tried XP and Windows 7)* - It is detected as a Walkman device automatically and music can be copied directly to the player directory, so zero additional software is required but Sony does supply proprietary software if you would like to use it to create playlists and configure the Zappin functionality. You can play with your music line up while the Walkman charges on its snazzy Sony cradle, the device takes about an hour to get a full charge and provides around 11 hours of playback time. I've also read that you can get up to 90 minutes of playback from a 3 minute charge, though I have not tried this myself yet.

I smiled when I first heard the Walkman say "Play" out of the box. Yes, it speaks, to tell you what features you have toggled including: Play, shuffle, playlists, directory navigation and Zappin. Zappin will play the most recognisable part of a tune if you've loaded your music using the Sony software, or it will skip to the 45 second mark and play from there. You can choose between "Zappin long" - a 15 second sample or "Zappin short" - a 4 second clip. Zappin can be a great way to mix it up if you are a bit bored with your current selection or not sure of exactly what you feel like listening to.

It's tempting to think that maybe Sony should have tried to squeeze an FM radio into the package or Bluetooth connectivity, but having said that I don't find myself missing any functionality and this Walkman would not be as beautifully simple and it really does what it does well! It's cool to make use of all the features on a gadget for a change and I can't really fault this excellent package that Sony have put together. If anything I would say that Sony need to work their marketing on this one - It has turned a lot of heads and sparked interest and conversation - clearly people have never heard of this great product, which is sad.

Seriously Sony, kit a few hot girls with this Walkman and get them into the gyms where people will take notice of this device and it's excellent versatility. There are far too many white ear buds around and so few people realise that there are other perfectly viable (and often better) options available. See more details at the official product page here.

*Note for Linux users: The NWZ-W252 is an MTP device so you will probably require a few tweaks to your box to get it working. I haven't tried this myself but an MTPFS install should get you on the right track. I also found more detailed instructions here: How to mount an MTP device as a drive.

"The New Men"

2011-02-20T18:24:00.002+02:00

"Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth. Some, as I have admitted, are still hardly recognisable: but others can be recognised. Every now and then one meets them. Their very voices and faces are different from ours: stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant. They begin where most of us leave off. They are, I say, recognisable; but you must know what to look for. They will not be very like the idea of 'religious people' which you have formed from your general reading. They do not draw attention to themselves. You tend to think that you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more than other men do, but they need you less. (We must get over wanting to be needed: in some goodish people, specially women, that is the hardest of all temptations to resist.) They will usually seem to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from. When you have recognised one of them, you will recognise the next one much more easily. And I strongly suspect (but how should I know?) that they recognise one another immediately and infallibly, across every barrier of colour, sex, class, age, and even of creeds. In that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society. To put it at the very lowest, it must be great fun."

Extract from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Blackberry BIS over WiFi on SMS Roaming

2011-01-22T10:29:00.007+02:00

I was in the UK with my Vodacom South Africa Blackberry Bold 9700 on SMS roaming. The setup worked great as I could SMS when I was out and about and make use of full BIS functionality when I was in range of a WiFi network. I was receiving push email, using Twitter for Blackberry, sending BBM and making use of all my applications as I usually would back in South Africa. BIS over WiFi really works great on the Blackberry Bold.

However, I made the mistake of inserting a Vodafone SIM card into my BlackBerry to make a voice call. I didn’t realize that Vodafone would push its Blackberry service book settings onto my BB automatically. So at that point my BB was reduced to plain old WiFi hot-spot browsing. I lost push email, Twitter, BBM etc. and I couldn’t find a way to restore my Vodacom BIS settings manually. I had to make do with using the BB browser (and Opera Mini) for all my web needs. Of course I could have just signed up for a BB data plan on the Vodafone SIM but I figured I would learn my lesson and just manage without BIS.

Within 10 minutes of returning to South Africa (and deactivating SMS roaming), I received push email on my BlackBerry again – Vodacom had restored my BIS settings. I don’t know if there is a way to prevent your BB from downloading provider service book settings automatically, but do be aware that your BIS can be messed up if/when you use an alternative provider’s SIM. This can be particularly troublesome when you are on SMS roaming, as you won't be able to get your native provider's BIS settings back until you return to their local network.

Free SMS to MTN, CellC and Vodacom from your PC or mobile phone

2011-01-19T10:55:00.030+02:00

Free082SMS has added CellC SMS and MTN SMS to its offering in the last two months. So it's now possible to send free SMS to the 3 largest cellular providers in South Africa.

CellC is the only provider limited by the fact that you need to have a CellC number to register on cellc.co.za in order to send free SMS on the CellC network. MTN allows users with non-MTN numbers to register and send SMS from mtn.co.za. You do need a Vodacom number to register for free SMS from vodacom.co.za, but non-Vodacom subscribers can also send free Vodacom SMS from any valid email address.

In other words the Free SMS offering now looks like this:

	SMS to MTN	SMS to CellC	SMS to Vodacom
Subscribers	5 SMS/day	5 SMS/day	20 SMS/day
Non-subscribers	5 SMS/day	0 SMS/day	3 email to SMS/day

Free082SMS.co.za has been built to accommodate as many web enabled devices as possible. So you should have access to free SMS from just about any web enabled mobile phone or PC. You can give feedback to the active Twitter account @Free082SMS or leave comments below…

CellC SMS from your mobile phone or PC

2010-12-25T18:55:00.008+02:00

Great news is that Free082sms now caters for CellC subscribers as well as Vodacom subscribers. CellC subscribers can send 5 free SMS to numbers on the CellC network from the Free082SMS website every day. Just sign in using your cellc.co.za details to send SMS from any web enabled device, PC or mobile phone.

Send free CellC SMS now!

Do Google AdSense Publishers become blind to "Ads by Google"?

2010-11-02T17:24:00.007+02:00

I first signed up for the Google AdSense program in 2006, so I have been putting "Ads by Google" on my websites for 4 years now. Google is understandably strict about "click fraud" (clicking your own ads through any method) and will disable AdSense accounts that show suspicious activity.

I have always been paranoid about compromising my income from Google Adsense to the point that I have effectively programmed myself NOT TO CLICK ANY "Ads by Google" on any website, ever. This has been a pretty successful tactic to maintain good standings with Google, but I have no doubt cost other Adsense publishers a good few clicks over the last 4 years. I kind of feel like I owe a general apology, so sorry...

Naturally, I have made a few mistakes here and there and accidentally clicked Google ads that have been placed by very talented AdSense publishers. This sort of experience has been most educational in learning about good ad placement, which I have taken to heart and tried to implement on my own websites.

I am just wondering if there is anyone else out there who has found that they have programmed themselves to become blind to "Ads by Google"? I guess this could be one reason why you often hear people suggesting that you can make more AdSense money from non-techie websites? The audience is less savvy and probably has less/no reason to "worry" about clicking on Google Ads?

BlackBerry - Linux tethering on Vodacom SA

2010-10-03T21:15:00.016+02:00

I have been fortunate enough to upgrade to a Blackberry Bold 9700 smart phone since my post on how to use your cell phone as a modem on a Linux EeePC.

The following chat script enables BlackBerry - Linux tethering through bluetooth (Vodacom South Africa).

noauth
crtscts
modem
lock
nopcomp
nomagic
noccp
#novj
novjccomp
updetach
noipdefault
defaultroute replacedefaultroute connect "/usr/sbin/chat -e -f /etc/chatscripts/blackberry -v" disconnect "/usr/sbin/chat -e -f /etc/chatscripts/disconnect -v"
/dev/rfcomm0
usepeerdns
receive-all nobsdcomp nodeflate

Save the above code to /etc/ppp/peers/blackberry and type:

sudo pppd call blackberry

to initiate the connection*

To end the connection:

sudo poff blackberry

*There are a few preliminary steps required to get this working correctly (bluetooth pairing etc) but I have already covered these in my previous post on how to use your phone as a linux bluetooth modem, so be sure to click through if you need some extra help. (substitute the sudo nano /etc/ppp/peers/provider step with the above).

I have only tested this chat script on Vodacom in South Africa but found it to work great! I made a successful skype call and saw download speeds of 30 Kb/s with a 3G connection. Do remember that you will be charged for your data useage though as tethering is not covered by BIS.

My Vodacom will replace Vodacom4me soon?

2010-09-29T16:33:00.016+02:00

Update (2 April 2011): Vodacom4me.co.za is officially offline and the domain now points to My Vodacom - vodacom.co.za

It's old news that Vodacom has revamped their website to include a new and improved "My Vodacom" Portal that is intended (advertised) to replace all Vodacom4me functionality.

The new "My Vodacom" login screen

The old Vodacom4me portal has been running alongside My Vodacom for a good few months now. I was starting to wonder if Vodacom were actually serious about decommissioning Vodacom4me and it seems that the time of action is drawing near.

I noticed the following warning message up at Vodacom4me in the past week (or 2 maybe)...

"Please note that the Vodacom4me website will be switched off soon. If you want to carry on using Vodacom4me for a little longer you can."

So Vodacom is giving ample warning to its users about the switch. I haven't actually used either of the portals for very much more than sending Free Vodacom SMS but I have picked up on rants about the new portal not fully duplicating the old Vodacom4me functionality - I think in terms of reporting (or not reporting) data bundle usage specifically.

Forced to complain I would say that the new Vodacom website is slow and unreliable and it can be difficult to find what you are looking for. There have been several occasions (in the few times I have logged in) when My Vodacom has thrown messy error messages at me. I can't say that I never experienced errors on Vodacom4me which is disappointing as one expects improvement with the release of a new site. But we can still hope that Vodacom will address the issues on My Vodacom soon! It is only a matter of time until they start redirecting all Vodacom4me traffic to My Vodacom directly.

In memory of Vodacom4me

In related news, we have updated Free082SMS to send SMS through the new My Vodacom website in anticipation of the switch...

Geographic target and your website Rankings (Google Webmaster Tools)

2010-08-31T11:43:00.000+02:00

I have been wondering about how the “geographic target” setting (under site configuration, settings) in Google Webmaster Tools might affect a website’s search engine rankings (if at all) for a good nine months now. And I have finally reached the conclusion that the “geographic target” can influence Google SERPS quite drastically.

Keyword Ranking Graph from sheerseo.com

I was working on Search Engine Optimisation for a company that wanted to perform well in the US rankings (Google.com) and so I set the “geographic target” to “United States” on December 8^th (1). By the 21^st of December I had seen a massive general improvement across my keyword set for this website in the Google.com rankings. We had also just completed a very aggressive back link building campaign so it was impossible to isolate a clear cause and effect.

However, on the January 29^th (2) I was instructed by a company director to remove the US reference from the Google SERPS. Google was appending "(us)" to results from this website and the director was concerned that leads from non-US regions would not click through. So, I removed the “geographic target” setting for this website from Google Webmaster Tools.

By early Feb, rankings for the keywords in my set had plummeted on Google.com. I suspected that the drop was caused by the “geographic target” change but there were other confounding factors (we lost links from a high authority site through down time on their side). On explaining the situation to the directors I was instructed not to revert the “geographic target” setting.

I continued with every day SEO but on the 11^th of August (3) I “secretly” reset the “geographic target” back to “United States”. By the 30^th of August the Google.com rankings were way up again! Fortunately, it seems that Google is not appending "(us)" to the results any more, so I should be able to keep my secret ;) I certainly don’t want to fiddle with the “geographic target” again, even though it would be an interesting exercise to challenge these "findings".

Note: “geographic target” can not (does not need to) be set for country specific domains such as .co.za .fr etc

Log data from Google Webmaster Tools

Edit your Blogspot / Blogger Post Title Tag for Search Engine Traffic

2010-08-19T10:31:00.017+02:00

It has always bugged me that my Blogspot title tags took the format of "richelectron: Blog Post Title" because this is not best practice in terms of SEO. Most relevant keywords should be grouped more towards the left of a title tag for best results to generate traffic from search engines. This means that Blogspot blogs are optimized more for their blog name rather than their individual post title keywords by default. i.e. A better title tag for this blog post in terms of SEO would be "Edit your Blogspot / Blogger Post Title Tag for Search Engine Traffic | richelectron" which is exactly what I have changed it to, and here is how to do it:

Login to your Blogspot dashboard
Click the Design tab, followd by "Edit HTML"
Click Download Full Template (as a backup)

Delete the following line from your template code

<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title>

And replace it with this:

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "index"'> <title><data:blog.title/></title> <b:else/> <title><data:blog.pageName/> | <data:blog.title/></title> </b:if>

Click "SAVE TEMPLATE", followed by "View Blog" and you will notice that your blog post titles use a new format that should help to improve your search engine traffic.

p.s. Isn't it interesting that Blogspot is owned by Google and yet the blog post title tags are not optimized for search engines by default? Have you ever noticed that Blogspot posts do not have a meta description tag either?

15 Rules of Thumb for Social Media and Building Online Community

2010-07-27T10:52:00.006+02:00

Community is about everyone else, not you (or your company or your product)
Ask the community what they need and then serve their needs – not yours
Community is often looking for a little more but not necessarily to spend more.
So equip your community, give them what they are asking for, don’t sell to them
Celebrate the people around you – don’t focus on yourself.
Seek out your community’s personal and professional successes and praise those!
Show that you care. It gives the community a sense of service.
Be thankful for any form of community, even if it’s not on your site and not under your direct control.
Community is not the platform, it’s about the connections that you make there.
Communities are nomadic on the web - Not just on Facebook or Twitter
Go where your people are.
You add value to social networking sites, not the other way round
Listening is point 1. If you don’t listen you fail.
Acknowledging participation is the most important part of community. Just say ‘thank you’ if nothing else
Community can’t be outsourced. Don’t sell off your success into the hands of interns or third parties.

In a nutshell:

Listen
Meet your community where they are (Facebook or Twitter etc)
Find out what they want
Join them or establish a new community or both
Introduce yourself. Invite them.
Ask them about their goals and hopes
Share your goals and hopes
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

What you may get in return for your efforts:

Lead generation
Post-sale education
Support
R&D for future products
These can all be measured. Measure them all!

Listening tools

Homework for Class 3: Social Media and Building Community
(GF201)

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a great way to get people to your website

2010-07-19T15:01:00.010+02:00

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) refers to techniques that make it easy for search engines to find, understand and rank your web content. SEO is important because of the massive market exposure it can reward you with. More than 14 Billion search queries are processed by search engines on a monthly basis compared to a paltry 285 million monthly TV viewers. SEO has been shown to be the most effective online marketing tactic for generating conversions for business.

Search engines work by searching a copy of the web – pages are collected, categorized and ranked for relevance and quality. Several criteria and signals (“the algorithm”) determine which pages should be displayed in the results for what keywords. SEO aims to enhance the signals ‘sent’ by an optimised page to increase relevance in search engines so that it will be positioned highly in the search results. Google dominates the search engine market with a share of 70% while the last 30% is largely made up by Bing and Yahoo! (Yahoo! will soon be powered by Bing ).

You can also pay directly to advertise your website along side the organic (non-paid) search results for chosen keywords, but organic results get more click throughs than paid results do.

The very basics of getting your website to perform well in the search engines:

Content must be visible to search engines (i.e. plain text based – not Javascript or Flash based)
Content must be added often
Content must be organised into a logical layout
Content must contain relevant keywords in the body and links
Content must have lots of relevant pages linking to it
Monitor and record your SEO efforts

You can see a central role is played by good content, the rest of SEO is about keywords and links…

Valuable Keywords that will drive traffic

You need to understand how your customer is thinking in order to be able to understand the sorts of search queries they may use to find your website so that you can target these keywords and focus your efforts on keywords that have business value.

Ideas to determine good keywords:

Brainstorm around the solutions you provide
Brainstorm around your customer’s needs
Interview customers
Review keywords that are currently generating traffic
Speak to sales about the words that prospects use
Speak to customer service about the words that clients use
Review competitors content

Now you need to analyse the keywords that you have identified to help you understand what phrases are popular and worth focussing on. You can use the Google Keyword tool, or Google Insights for search. Also visit SEMrush.com to analyse your competitors domains for more keyword ideas. Sort your keywords by popularity, competition and relevance in each of your website categories.

Now that you have identified valuable keywords you are ready to insert them into strategic positions to optimise your pages. The following elements of each page need to contain your keywords:

Title tag
Headings
Paragraph titles
Keywords in body copy
Anchor text in links
URL
Image alt text
Meta description tag

The title tag carries a particularly heavy weighting and your most important keywords should be included close to the left of the title with a maximum length of 65 – 68 characters. Each page should have a unique title tag and description and should that is relevant to search engines (to rank well) and appealing to humans (to secure click throughs).

Do not over optimize though, each page and each element of each page should focus on only 1 or 2 keywords.

Make your website visible to search engines

Your website must be easy for search engines to find and index and provide them with motivation to keep coming back.

Simple guidelines to a “search engine friendly” website:

Use plain text links for your navigation (NOT Ajax or Flash)
Link keyword phrases between pages
Build lots of high quality inbound links
Build HTML & XML site maps
Avoid complex URLS & session ids
Avoid Multiple URLS with the same content
Redirect old URLs to new URLS using a 301 redirect
Structure your content using a general top down to specifics hierarchy
Use the robots.txt file to exclude pages you don’t want listed in the search engines
Include “breadcrumb” navigation
Make use of the “Canonical tag” to avoid duplicate content issues
Link consistently site wide – choose between example.com or www.example.com
Monitor your 404 logs for pages that are not found and redirect them using 301

Push your site to the first page by getting links

Links generate traffic and infer meaning based on the “anchor” text used in the link. A text link that contains valuable keywords is good. Links that say “Click here” aren’t as good. The more links there are to your page with a specific keyword, the better your page will rank for that keyword. However, not all links should contain exactly the same text or the search engines will be on to you. Variety will prevent your links from looking contrived. Links from websites that already rank well in the search engines but internal links from other pages within your website are also important

Link code can also contain a “nofollow” attribute rel=”nofollow” whereby search engines will not recognize the link.

Blogs are great way to generate new content that can be pushed into social media networks to gain awareness and get the community to link to your great content. You can also use tools such as Linkscape to determine who is linking to your competitors but not linking to you.

Other ideas for link building include profile pages, article submissions, unpaid directories and paid directories, but you can be quite creative about how you get links. After all, as long as you want to be competitive in the search engines, you need to be building and acquiring back links.

Monitor your SEO efforts

“If it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed. If it can’t be measured, it’s not worth doing. Etc. etc…”

Take benchmark measurements so that you have a reference point and then set goals for yourself and monitor your progress so that you can change tack as required.

Some parameters to keep an eye on include:

Number of pages indexed
Google Webmaster Tools Reports
Your website rankings (Geographic location and Google domain will influence results)
Inbound links: quantity, quality
Keyword referrals from search
Referring websites (Link traffic)
Social media traffic
Conversions

You can make use of Google Analytics or Clicky to track your analytics and sheerseo.com generates excellent ranking reports and keeps track of your ranking history. Page Rank Checker also offers free ranking reports for several Google domains.

Homework for HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification Exam Class 2: SEO Crash Course to Get Found (GF102)

Blogging – what's in it for business?

2010-07-08T12:15:00.010+02:00

Blogging is not just for self obsessed, celebrity stalking weirdoes. In fact, blogging can provide a valuable conversation platform that can generate business interest and build customer relationships.

A blog is a series of short opinion pieces or articles that are published often with the latest articles featured first and a deep backlog of hopefully interesting archives stretching back to the first post. The typical blog structure consists of a header, sidebar and post column followed by reader comments.

The dynamic nature of blogging enables business to engage their customers and start conversations or probe for feedback. Customers can express feelings about certain topics or issues by posting comments below related articles. Business can then respond to user comments directly and or generate new post topics – This cycle generates valuable, customer engaging conversation and interaction.

Don’t write about your own company – rather focus on the industry and offer nuggets of expertise. Blogs are most powerful for indirect promotion, they should be used to expose and establish expertise in a subject matter that is relevant to customers’ interests and will therefore attract customers.

Use the blog sidebar to encourage customers to connect by bringing in other forms of social media such as a company Twitter feed, product images on Flickr or Youtube videos. An Author biography and photo can also aid in breaking the ice and personalising the reader’s experience. You can add further value by including a “blogroll” or list of related blog links that your readers may find interesting or encourage further interaction in hot topics by listing your most commented entries.

Blog headers should feature branding and provide customers with easy access to you in terms of contact information. Don’t overwhelm your readers though, keep the layout simple and clean with the focus on your content.

Blogging requires commitment in terms of time and people. The conversation can’t just peter out or the value will die and your blog will become an embarrassing relic of better times. The author(s) involved in a business blog need to be passionate about the company, and passionate about connecting with and helping customers, decent writing skills go without saying. The company CEO is generally an excellent candidate for blog author / contributor, though he may require some help or edits along the way.

Business blogs can evolve to the point where outside contributors write featured blog posts and this is great to build a wealth of common interest that drives a sense of community and relationship with your customers.

Homework for HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification Exam Class 1: How to Blog Effectively for Business (GF101)

Custom segments may not be what you are looking for in Google Analytics

2010-05-28T12:31:00.011+02:00

Let me say right up front that Custom segments show session data sets and not single pageload data in Google Analytics.

How not to do it:
Hypothetically speaking you may want to setup a quick reference to display just your blog post traffic (excluding the blog homepage and archive pages). So you might think that you could setup the following custom segment to show pages containing "/blog/":

But then draw the conclusion that "custom segments are broken in Google Analytics" when you are presented with the following results (note the inclusion of the /index.php and other non-/blog/ related pages).
The reason for this unexpected behavior is that this custom segment will display all page loads from sessions that include any blog visits (in this case) - Providing you with a general traffic pattern for blog visitors which may not be exactly what you are looking for.

How to do it:
If you want clean page load data that only contains your blog post pages then you should make use of the "advanced filter". Often easily over looked - it is just to the right of the simple filter at the bottom of the page.

The advanced filter allows conditional filtering which enables you to setup a highly customised data set.

Now you can include blog related content and exclude additional pages as required to create a precise custom data set. This makes it simple to extract the exact data that you are looking for.

How to fix: "Only csv files are allowed" error during Joomla! YaNC subscriber import

2010-05-14T11:24:00.009+02:00

But I am using a CSV file! I know that's how you feel if you have been told that "Only CSV files are allowed" repeatedly as you try in vain to import subscribers into YaNC using a valid CSV file and that's no doubt why you are here.

But there is hope and the fix is simple. All you have to do is rename your CSV file to show a .CVS extension. This CVS file will be accepted and your newsletter subscribers will be imported successfully.

The moral of the story is that Only CVS files are allowed.

Advertise for free on Beyers Naudé

2010-05-01T16:53:00.005+02:00

We are excited to announce the official opening of Business on Beyers – the online directory of businesses, products and service listings near Beyers Naudé Drive and its surrounding areas in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Beyers Naudé Drive begins at the University of Johannesburg in Auckland Park, winds through the suburbs of Melville, Roosevelt Park, Northcliff, Blackheath, and crosses over the Western Bypass (N1), continuing onwards towards Muldersdrift.

‘Beyers’ is a veritable artery running through the city. A community of companies and organisations, from family-run businesses to large corporate enterprises, supplies in abundance a wide variety of vital services. Whether you’re looking for a dentist, a beauty therapist, a tyre-fitment centre, or a nice evening out, it’s almost certain that there is a business or service on (or very close to) Beyers Naudé Drive to satisfy every consumer need.

For consumers, Business on Beyers is a digital version of Beyers Naudé Drive. Its contents can be easily searched by Google and other search engines, which means that consumers searching for a particular type of business or organisation on the internet need not know the exact name of an enterprise in order to find them. Furthermore, a map embedded on each page helps consumers to see exactly where listings are located. These simple tactics enable local business to target new customers through the internet – at no cost. The directory will grow to become a powerful marketing tool as more people list their businesses and services. It’s free to list on beyersnaude.co.za: view a sample listing here.

Your business is on Beyers Naudé Drive, it should be on beyersnaude.co.za too!

Upgrade your EeePC browser to Opera 10

2010-03-06T13:11:00.023+02:00

I have wanted to upgrade the browser on my first generation EeePC from the out of the box and aging Firefox 2 for some time now. I experimented with getting Firefox 3.5 or Chrome to run, but had no luck. It had not occurred to me to try out the Opera 10 browser until more recently when I was presented with the solution smack bang in the middle of the YouTube home page.

I was surprised when Opera actually installed and loaded fine, considering the trouble I had experienced with other new browsers. No more "modern browser" warning from YouTube now...

Another feature of the Opera browser that I am enjoying on my EeePC is the "fit to width" option that can eliminate the need to scroll horizontally on so many websites that aren't cut out for low resolution screens. You can see in the example below that you would need to scroll to the right to appreciate the rest of the Facebook homepage....

But when "fit to width" is activated (green icon, bottom right), Opera makes adjustments for you to display the entire width of the webpage on your screen. I think this makes for a much more pleasant browsing experience.

I recently covered a full screen plugin for Firefox 2.0, but Opera has a built in 100% full screen mode, which together with the "fit to width" feature can work together to help you get the most out of your low resolution EeePC screen space.

There are more handy built in features such as "Do not load images", that is most useful for reducing data costs when I am using my mobile phone as a modem. Opera 10 is a really nice upgrade to the browsing experience on the EeePC.

Customize your EeePC icons and tabs

2010-02-06T14:14:00.008+02:00

I never use all of the default tabs or icons on my EeePC, partially because I have removed them now, but I did this to make my EeePC feel less cluttered and more customized.

You can see in the screen shot above that I have removed the learning and favorites tabs, I have also included the File Manager icon on my internet tab and I have customized all of my icons. I am not going to include a detailed step by step. But I'll just say that you can customize the user interface of your EeePC by playing with the file in '/opt/xandros/share/AsusLauncher/simpleui.rc'. Be sure to make a backup before you start tinkering! If you don't know how to do this, then rather don't start out.

Otherwise you'll notice that simpleui.rc is pretty much an XML file with tags for each tab, icon and folder - so you can easily delete, add and edit the user interface as you require.

Install FullerScreen on your EeePC to maximise screen space in Firefox

2010-02-06T13:52:00.010+02:00

The first generation EeePC has a tiny screen and unfortunately rather miserable resolution to match. I put some effort into upgrading to Firefox to 3.5, or Chrome even to try and get a browser that would make full use of the small screen - but I'm not too ashamed to admit that I had no success at upgrading, it proved quite a difficult task.

So instead I turned to the vast world of Firefox plugins and easily found exactly what I was looking for - "FullerScreen", does exactly what it says and it works with "older versions of Firefox", which was perfect for my application.

You can select which toolbars you would like to have displayed in full screen mode - turn them all off to dedicate your entire screen space to a web page when you press 'F11'.

Update: Read about Opera 10 on the EeePC as well!

Looking after your Siamese Fighter (betta)

2010-01-18T22:00:00.010+02:00

‘Snoopy’, a Siamese fighter or betta was my very first exposure to tropical fish, probably more than 10 years ago. I purchased him out of one of those shameful setups where they showcase the attractive colours of several betta on the shelf top, each in their own tot glass worth of water. While this issue is not the central focus of my post I would like to encourage anyone who is considering a betta purchase to rescue one of these poor chaps from a similar scenario. Sure, betta can survive the harsh conditions of small volumes of water and lack of heating but they will be much happier in a proper aquarium setup. Betta are hardy little buggers and this makes them fairly easy to care for, it doesn’t mean that they warrant less care than any other tropical fish.

I was recently presented with the opportunity of a fresh aquarium setup and embraced the chance to revisit my betta days. I diligently prepared with some fresh betta research (I had Google and the www this time after all) and was quickly reminded of the same old betta FAQs:

Betta FAQ 1: Can I cycle my tank with a betta?
Betta FAQ 2: Can I keep other fish with my betta?
Betta FAQ 3: What should I feed my betta?

… which I hope to contribute to with my experience and hopefully shed some light on now.

Question 1: Can I cycle my tank with a betta?

The short answer is yes, you can. I popped my new betta, ‘Blue’ as the first fish into his new home (my trusty JEBO R338) and he was happy from the word go. I just ran the tank for a good two weeks (until the water cleared) before introducing Blue and then fed him just once a day for the first month or so.

The long answer is that cycling a tank with fish can be very stressful for the fish, so water changes and careful monitoring are a must! Overfeeding is never good, but you must take special care not to introduce excess food into the tank during the tank cycle. There is also unfortunately no guarantee that any fish will make it through a tank cycle alive.

Question 2: Can I keep other fish with my betta?

The short answer is yes again. However, you should stick to these guidelines.

Do not keep brightly coloured fish with your Betta. I would peg it at a 90% chance that he will chase them and injure them, even if he doesn’t harass them all the time. If you must have other fish in addition to your betta, rather add fairly plain (non-agressive) fish or fish that do not generally stick to the same parts of the tank that he does.

I followed the ‘advice’ of an arbitrary forum post that I found on the internet and tried to house a school of Cardinals with my betta. He paid no attention to the new school at first, but a few days later I noticed that 2 had disappeared, and then I spotted one without an eye… Blue had been ‘hunting’ them during the night. I quickly rescued the survivors to the fish tank at work where they now live happily with a bunch of harmless Platies.

Having said that, Blue never bugged the Corydoras, Otocinclus cat (they were never in his way) or Ghost glass cat fish that I placed with him in the end (I don’t think he could see them for their transparency). So you just need to exercise some care when placing additional fish with your betta and consider question 3 at the same time.

Question 3: What should I feed my betta?

Most local fish shops will happily sell you just a box of ordinary fish flakes when you purchase a betta, with not an ounce of further advice. But you need to know that betta have temperamental digestive tracts and they get ‘clogged up’ if they are fed on fish flakes alone. You should vary your betta’s diet to include flakes, pellets and blood worms to stop problems from developing. As a side note, if your betta does become constipated, you can fast him for a day or two and then try and get him to eat some of the inside of a cooked pea (he won’t be able to digest the pea skin, you need to remove it), this will help to clear his system.

The question of feeding should also be elaborated on to include “How much should I feed my betta?”. Betta are greedy little fellas and they will over eat quite happily in the classic, clichéd fish way (and then beg for more). Your betta’s food intake should be monitored strictly by feeding him only as much as he can consume in about a minute, twice a day and even just once a day some days. Excess food should always be removed.

I need to highlight how this feeding issue now links back to question 2 – because betta are greedy little fish (and top feeders), they will often gobble up most food as it enters the tank. This makes it difficult to make sure that other fish in the tank are actually getting enough food without over feeding your betta. You could find yourself (as I did) regretting that you added additional fish to your tank - Blue unfortunately manged to eat himself sick and passed away. Looking back I would have to recommend that betta are kept in solitude to prevent over eating. Though you may find that you could keep some bottom feeders (such as corydoras) along with your betta quite happily as long as you fed them specially formulated bottom feeder food that your betta will not be able to just gobble as easily (this theory is untested).

However, I’m sure that there are exceptions to these rules as there always are – share them in the comments if you know of any :)

7 helpful Firefox add-ons for webmasters

2010-01-18T19:32:00.003+02:00

My 7 step guide to being a more efficient webmaster with Firefox add-ons.

1. Shareaholic
Shareaholic makes it easy to add your newly generated content to all of your favourite social / bookmarking websites. Just customise the sites that you would like to include in the drop down menu for easy content submission, without losing your place on the web or forgetting to submit to any popular sharing services.

2. Autofill Forms
Link building and hence link submission is a full time job for a webmaster which amounts to very repetitive work. Autofill Forms allows you to save form profiles so that forms can be pre-populated just once with your details and then used repeatedly to save you from mind numbing and back (if not finger) breaking hours of typing in the same info.

3. Delicious Bookmarks
This add-on gives you access to your Delicious bookmarks directly from within Firefox. You can add to your online library of useful links easily and incentivise yourself to build your own knowledge base and contribute to the Delicious community as your valuable bookmarks will not be stuck on one machine. You won’t be set back if your PC goes down or you move jobs – simply continue to access your online resources as easily as ever.

4. LinkChecker
LinkChecker dutifully scans through all the links on a page and confirms their validity or highlights breakages in red, for peace of mind and fewer worries in the middle of the night.

5. Screengrab
Screengrab is great for saving the entire rendering of a web page or section of a web page as an image – useful for all kinds of applications / scenarios.

6. SearchStatus
SearchStatus provides numerous search engine related page stats for each page. Features I use the most include the Google pagerank and Alexa rank toolbars. SearchStatus also allows you to highlight nofollow links in red – this makes it easy to identify the kind of links that may be on offer from any given website.

7. Firebug
Most webmasters will know Firebug and it always deserves mention as an invaluable tool for inspecting elements by selection and experimenting with code on the fly, as well as displaying server requests and other helpful info.

How to reset your EeePC to original factory default settings

2010-01-03T14:48:00.007+02:00

Follow this procedure to restore your EeePC to the state it was in on the happy day you first unboxed it. Please note that this will erase any personal changes you have made and files that you have saved on your EeePC. To reiterate - Your EeePC will be completely reset to newly out of the box from the factory state and will reflect none of your personal settings or files. I hope you have your files backed up. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Press F2 while your EeePC is booting up to enter the bios
Press the right arrow key to enter the "Advanced" tab
Press the down arrow to highlight "OS Installation"
Press the + key to change the setting from "Finished" to "Start"
Press the right arrow key until you reach the "Exit" tab
Make sure that "Exit & Save Changes" is highlighted
Press Enter and then Enter again (OK) to accept changes

Now Press F9 while your EeePC is booting
Select "Restore Factory Settings" from the menu
Type 'Yes' to confirm followed by enter

Your EeePC will now revert to the fresh state it was in when you received it from the factory and the "first boot" settings wizard will be initiated at reboot.

Don't forget to repeat the first few steps to set your "OS Installation" setting back to "Finished".

Use your mobile phone as a EeePC Linux Bluetooth Modem

2010-01-03T14:28:00.008+02:00

Firstly, activate your cell phone’s Bluetooth and make it visible (you may need to refer to your cell phone’s manual).

Insert a USB Bluetooth adapter to provide your EeePC with Bluetooth functionality.

Now open a terminal window by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo hciconfig hci0 up
sdptool search DUN

You should see similar output to that shown in the image above. If you don’t, there may be a problem with your phone/adapter - Make sure your phone isn’t paired with your Bluetooth headset etc…

This output displays your phone’s Bluetooth address (00:15:2A:27:33:58)and the channel that Dial up networking is available on (Channel 1 in this case). Take note of the Bluetooth address and channel.

Now type:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf

Ensure that the following lines are included and are not commented out (i.e. not preceeded by a ‘#’ character):

options { autoinit yes; security auto; pairing multi; passkey "222111"; }

device {
name "eeepc";
class 0x000000;
iscan enable;
pscan enable;
lm accept;
lp rswitch,hold,sniff,park;
discovto 0;
}

Most of these settings are okay by default, but we have specifically altered the “security”, “passkey”,”class” and “name” settings and added the “discovto” line.

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now type:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf

And make sure the following settings are as follows (not preceeded by a ‘#’):
Rfcomm0 { bind yes; device 00:15:2A:27:33:58; (BT address from sdptool output) channel 1; (DUN channel from sdptool output) comment "GPRS Connection"; }

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes. (BlackBerry users refer to my BlackBerry - Linux tethering post)

Type:

sudo nano /etc/ppp/peers/provider

Find the ‘/dev/modem’ line and edit it to ‘dev/rfcomm0’.
Also edit the ‘connect “/usr/sbin/chat –v –f /etc/chatscripts/pap –T *******”’ line to ‘connect “/usr/sbin/chat –v –f /etc/chatscripts/pap –T *99#”’ where *99# is your phone operators GPRS “dial command”.

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now type:

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/bluetooth/*
sudo /etc/init.d/dbus restart
sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth restart
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Add the following line to the sources.list file

deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian stable main non-free contrib

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now type:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bluez-gnome

Press (y) to continue…

Once “bluez-gnome” has finished installing type:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Now comment the “deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian stable main non-free contrib” line by preceedint it with a ‘#’ (i.e. replace the line with ‘# deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian stable main non-free contrib’).

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now type:

bluetooth-applet

This should open a “red cross on a page” icon in your taskbar next to the time.

Now open a new terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo rfcomm connect 0 00:15:2A:27:33:58 1 (phone BT address followed by the channel from sdptool output)

Your phone will now ask you if you would like to pair with eeepc. Select yes and enter the pairing passkey ‘222111’ as entered in hcid.conf above.
At this point the bluetooth-applet icon will begin flashing, click it and enter the passkey ‘222111’.

Now to establish a GPRS internet connection, open a new terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo pon

Your phone will now connect to the internet via GPRS, giving you ultra mobile access.To kill your GPRS internet connection, open a new terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo poff

To automatically start Bluetooth every time you reboot your EeePC type:

sudo nano /usr/sbin/services.sh

Just above the last “#” in this file, insert:

sudo /etc/init.d/dbus start
sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth start

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now, whenever you want to re-establish the connection, open a new terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo rfcomm connect 0 00:15:2A:27:33:58 1

Then open another terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo pon

“sudo poff” will disconnect your GPRS connection.

Install OpenArena on your EeePC for Quake like FPS linux gaming

2010-01-03T14:20:00.004+02:00

Open Arena is the equivalent of open source quake 3. It’s quite impressive on the EeePC. If you want to try it out, open a terminal by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

add the following line to this file:

deb http://www.geekconnection.org/ xandros4 main

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Back at the terminal type:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openarena

Press “y” to install these packages without verification…

Once installation is complete, type:

openarena

Reboot if you get a “segmentation fault” and try again. But you should be thrown into the glory of open arena. Happy fragging!

Install a full KDE desktop on your Eeepc with flashy 3D effects

2010-01-03T14:17:00.006+02:00

Open a terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Add the following lines to the sources.list file

deb http://xnv4.xandros.com/xs2.0/upkg-srv2 etch main contrib non-free
deb http://dccamirror.xandros.com/dccri/ dccri-3.0 main
deb http://www.geekconnection.org xandros4 main

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now type:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ksmserver kicker

Press (y) to continue…

Now when you access the “shutdown menu” you will notice a new option – “Full desktop”. Select “Full desktop” to boot into the new KDE desktop.

From the KDE desktop, select “Launch/Applications/System/Console”.

Then type:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Add these settings under the following sections:

Under the ‘ServerLayout’ section

Add: Option “AIGLX” “True”

Under the ‘Module’ section

Add: Load “dbe”

Under the ‘Device’ section

Add: Option “XAANoOffscreenPixmaps” “True”

Under the ‘Extensions’ section

Change “Disable” to “Enable” in the ‘Option Composite’ line.

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now type:

sudo apt-get install compiz
wget http://www.gnome-look.org/CONTENT/content-files/41090-LiNsta-Pack.tar.gz
tar zxvf 41090-LiNsta-Pack.tar.gz
cd Linsta-Pack
tar zxvf LiNsta-Silver-Plastic.tar.gz
cd LiNsta-Silver-Plastic
sudo cp -r metacity-1 /usr/share/themes/Clearlooks/
sudo nano /home/user/.kde/Autostart/compiz.desktop

Insert the following contents into this file:
[Desktop Entry] Encoding=UTF-8 Exec=compiz --replace & StartupNotify=false Terminal=false Type=Application X-KDE-autostart-after=kdesktop
Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now,still in the terminal type:

sudo apt-get install gconf-editor
gconf-editor

Navigate to “apps/compiz/plugins/decoration/allscreens/options”.
Now set shadow_offset_x, shadow_offset_y, shadow_opacity and shadow_radius all to 0.
Reboot your EeePC and enter “FullDesktop” mode on the shut down menu.

Now hold (ctrl)(alt) and drag your desktop using the mouse - it will rotate as a 3D cube!
You can also press the (left) or (right) arrow keys while holding down (ctrl)(alt) to rotate the cube.
If you press (ctrl)(alt) and the (up) and (down) arrow keys you will be presented with an alternative “strip” view to navigate your workspaces.

Enjoy your 3D desktop and “wobbly” windows.

Free up space / decrease clutter on your EeePC taskbar

2010-01-03T14:13:00.006+02:00

With the small amount of screen space there is to work with on the EeePC, there are a few tweaks that can free up some taskbar space.

If you are using English on your EeePC, you don’t need scim and you can uninstall it to free space (both memory wise and taskbar wise). Open a terminal by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t)

Then type:

sudo apt-get remove xandros-scim
sudo apt-get remove scim

The ugly yellow smiley face in the taskbar and it’s neighbouring icons are quite unsightly and unnecessary. You can get rid of them too, if you like. Open a terminal by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t)

Then type:

mkdir /home/user/.icewm/
cp /etc/X11/icewm/* /home/user/.icewm/
kwrite .icewm/toolbar2

This will open a configuration file…
Comment out each of the lines beginning with “prog” by adding a hash at the start of the line. I.e. the file should now look something like:
# This is a default toolbar def... # # Place your personal ... #prog ... #prog ... file://opt... #prog ...
Now press (ctrl)(alt)(backspace) to restart the graphics interface (once you have saved any open work) and the icons will be gone.

Connect a bluetooth mouse to a Linux EeePC

2010-01-03T14:02:00.007+02:00

Insert a USB Bluetooth adapter to provide your EeePC with Bluetooth functionality.

Then, open a terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and type:

sudo nano /usr/sbin/services.sh

Just above the last “#” in this file, insert:

sudo /etc/init.d/dbus start
sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth start
hciconfig hci0 reset

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes. This will start Bluetooth every time you reboot your EeePC. Turn on the Bluetooth mouse and press its Bluetooth connect button, this should make its LED flash or something similar.

Now, open a terminal (ctrl)(alt)(t) and then type:

hcitool scan

This should find the Bluetooth mouse and display its Bluetooth address (00:12:5A:68:DA:71 in this case).

Now type:

sudo nano /etc/bluetooth/hcid.conf

Scroll to the end of the file and add the following:
device 00:12:5A:68:DA:71 { name “Bluetooth Mouse”; }
Where 00:12:5A:68:DA:71 is the Bluetooth address of your device.

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

type:

sudo /etc/init.d/bluetooth restart
sudo hidd –search

This will connect to your Bluetooth mouse and it should work now. However, to make it connect automatically at every boot, you need to still do the following, type:

sudo nano /etc/default/bluetooth

Change the following lines to the values displayed below
HIDD_ENABLED=1 HIDD_OPTIONS=”–master –-connect 00:12:5A:68:DA:71 –server”
Where 00:12:5A:68:DA:71 is the Bluetooth address of your mouse.

Press (ctrl)(x) followed by (y) and then (enter) to overwrite the old file with the new changes.

Now reboot your EeePC and when it boots up you should have a working Bluetooth mouse!

Note: You may need to unplug your Bluetooth adapter and then plug it back in at reboot and then move your mouse to detect it properly.

Customize your EeePC Theme to give it a sleek black appearance

2010-01-03T13:57:00.005+02:00

If you don’t like the silver windows XP like knock off skin that your EeePC shipped with, you can change it to a sleek black (vista like) skin. More EeePC themes can be downloaded from www.gnome-look.org but we will be using the “Thinblack” skin for this tutorial.

Open a terminal by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t)
Type:

wget http://www.gnome-look.org/CONTENT/content-files/55648-Thinblack2.tar.gz
cd .icewm
mkdir themes
cd themes
tar xvzf /home/user/55648-Thinblack2.tar.gz
cd ..
kwrite theme

Change the first line of this file to

Theme=”Thinblack2/default.theme”

And save changes.

Press (ctrl)(alt)(backspace) to restart the graphics interface after you have saved any open work. Your EeePC will now have a classy and sleak black look.

Change the Login screen on your EeePC

2010-01-03T13:54:00.004+02:00

All that you need to do is replace the image at ‘/opt/xandros/share/AsusLauncher/login_page.jpg’ with your own custom image. The image resolution should be 800 x 448 for the best fit.

You can do this by saving your new image (name it login_page.jpg so it will overwrite the original) to your ‘/home/user’ directory.

Then open the terminal by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t).
Enter the following command:

sudo cp /home/user/login_page.jpg /opt/xandros/share/AsusLauncher

You will be greeted by your new login page on your next boot.

Change the background/desktop wallpaper of your EeePC

2010-01-03T13:42:00.007+02:00

The Asus branded backgrounds are dull and boring and it’s annoying that you can’t change them easily. But they can be changed. Find a picture you would like to use as a background – one that isn’t too dark is recommended as you can’t change the icon text and it is grey, so keep this in mind.

The Asus background images are stored in the ‘/opt/xandros/share/AsusLauncher’ path In the form of XXXX_YYYY_wallpaper.jpg where X denotes the theme (business / accessibility etc) and Y denotes the tab (internet / work / play etc). So by replacing these files you can change the background for each tab in a theme. We are going to replace the business (default) theme backgrounds in this walkthrough.

You will need to resize and crop your image to fit the Eee’s screen - The image resolution should be 800 x 448 pixels for the perfect fit.

Once you have created your image(s). Rename them to correspond with the backgrounds you would like to replace, i.e:

business_internet_wallpaper.jpg
business_learn_wallpaper.jpg
business_play_wallpaper.jpg
business_settings_wallpaper.jpg
business_work_wallpaper.jpg

Open the user folder: ‘/home/user’ (the one that opens by default when you open ‘File Manager’ in the ‘Work’ tab) on your Eee (Select ‘View’, ‘Toolbars’, ‘Address Bar’ to see the path).

Create a directory called backgrounds (right click inside ‘/home/user’ and select ‘New Folder’) and type ‘backgrounds’ as its name.
Copy your new wallpapers into the folder, so you have ‘/home/user/backgrounds’ containing all your wallpapers.
You need to copy these files into ‘/opt/xandros/share/AsusLauncher’ which is a restricted directory so you will need to do the following.


Press (ctrl)(alt)(t) to open the terminal.

Now type:

sudo cp /home/user/backgrounds/* /opt/xandros/share/AsusLauncher”

You won’t see the changes yet, but save your open work and reboot.
Alternatively save your open work and press (ctrl)(alt)(backspace) to restart your Eee’s graphics module.

Enjoy your new wallpaper.

Improve EeePC Video Codec support (Downgrade MPlayer)

2010-01-02T14:34:00.001+02:00

To increase the video playback support of your Eee to include a wider range of video codecs, do the following:

Open a terminal by holding down (ctrl)(alt)(t)

Then type:

sudo kwrite /etc/apt/sources.list

add “deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ etch main non-free contrib” to this file.
Close and save the file.
Then back in the terminal, type:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mplayer=1.0~rc1-12etch2
sudo /usr/share/mplayer/scripts/binary_codecs.sh install
sudo kwrite /etc/apt/sources.list

Add a ‘#’ at the front of the “deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian/ etch main non-free contrib” line that you added earlier. Save and close the file.
Your video codec support should now be improved.

To enable Raw DvD format (.vob) playback, do the following.
still at the terminal, type:

sudo apt-get install debian-multimedia-keyring
sudo kwrite /etc/apt/sources.list

add “deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org etch main” to this file.
Then back in the terminal:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2
sudo kwrite /etc/apt/sources.list

Add a ‘#’ at the front of the “http://www.debian-multimedia.org etch main” line that you added earlier. Save and close the file.

You can also tweak MPlayer for marginally better playback performance by selecting the “xv” output driver under the “general tab” under the “options”,”preferences” menu.

Alternatively, install VLC Media player for comprehensive video playback support.

EBPP | Electronic Statements | eMarketing | Webmaster

2009-11-27T15:08:00.020+02:00

I am a "webmaster" by day job. But I usually tell people I am in digital marketing and explain further if they are interested.

"I am responsible for striata.com (EBPP (Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment), Electronic Statements, Utility Billing, eBilling etc. and eMarketing) - I look after technical website aspects (uptime, content management etc) and Search Engine Optimization (attracting valuable business traffic and generating valid leads through search engines)".

Striata is a software development company that was born in South Africa and has expanded into the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia - The global scope is awesome and being on the web side of things gives me exposure to all sorts of international aspects of the business, it's very exciting.

What I really enjoy about Striata is the far reaching relevance of their product offerings. Efficiency is delivered in terms of cost cutting and going green - What business or organisation would not benefit from this value proposition at the best of times, never mind in our current economic (and global climate change) crisis? Striata is at the cutting edge of business that is synonymous with information technology. Hubspot recently published an article on "digital natives" which made me think of the Striata work force, I learn from the sharp people here every day! But back to what they do...

Striata assists organizations to cut high volume paper communications and costs through electronic communications to facilitate paper suppression, paperless adoption and decreased carbon footprint.

In addition to this , Striata offers eMarketing, as a stand alone service or in conjunction with electronic document delivery. Conventional 'bill stuffers' evolve into paperless 'transpromo' marketing.

View a Striata eBilling Sample.

More Links:

Disclaimer: The above content (and the rest of my blog) represents my own personal views and opinions and does not necessarily reflect the views of Striata Communication Solutions.

Submit your site to 99 back link directories (Free)

2009-11-11T22:15:00.004+02:00

SEO (Search engine optimisation) is ultimately all about getting your site to show up as number 1 in search engines for keywords that will generate leads for your website or business. There are a bunch of technical tweaks that can be implemented on your site to improve your search engine performance which I won't touch on here.

But I've gathered together a list of 99 resources that you can use to build links to your website (I will probably keep growing this list). I've broken them up into clumps of 10 for 'link building sprints' because submitting links can be quite a tedious task. But all of these links are free (or they were at the time I used them last) and they do not require reciprocal links - so you don't have to add any 3rd party links to your website.

Please feel free to comment or add more directories in the comments. You can establish a benchmark for yourself using these tools before you start:

Google Page Rank SERP Checker

Backlink watch

Happy link building :)

www.dmoz.org

www.blurbblogdirectory.info

www.myprimebuyersguide.com

www.domaining.in

www.blueboomerang.com

www.wezp.com

www.webworldindex.com

www.pegasusdirectory.com/

www.linkcentre.com

www.infingnos.com

www.jayde.com

www.viesearch.com

www.pedsters-planet.co.uk

www.somuch.com

www.autowebdir.com

www.scrubtheweb.com

www.whatuseek.com

www.freewebsitedirectory.com

www.01webdirectory.com

www.linkcentre.com

www.zeezo.com

www.amray.com

www.thalesdirectory.com

www.sonicrun.com

www.info-listings.com

www.infotiger.com

www.wlinker.com

www.burf.com

www.cipinet.com

www.allbusinessdirectory.biz

www.alexa.com

www.wikidweb.com

www.anoox.com

www.arakne-links.com

www.searchengine.co.za

www.amfibi.com

www.clickey.com

www.a1webdirectory.com

www.topsiteswebdirectory.com

www.seagency.net

www.walhello.com

www.webdirectory.co.in

www.acoon.com

www.homerweb.com

www.myahint.com

www.towersearch.com

www.orangesubmit.com

www.the-search-site.com

www.shoula.com

www.websquash.com

www.unasked.com

www.evisum.com

www.dinosearch.com

www.searchwarp.com

www.mixcat.com

www.bestyellow.com

www.search66.com

www.addurlpro.com

www.113dir.com

www.cosmodex.com

www.freewebdirectory.us

www.www.blog-search.com

www.rssmicro.com

www.millionrss.com

www.rss-network.com

www.feedage.com

www.feedbase.net

www.goldenfeed.com

www.gob.phaeba.net

www.blogoriffic.com

www.eurowebdirectory.net/

www.jordomedia.com

www.redtram.com

www.lazysubmit.com

www.dreamdirectory.org

www.albeh.com

www.freeglobaldirectory.net

www.incorp.us

www.lazyurldirectory.com

www.lazydeeplinks.com

www.lazyblogdirectory.com

www.abcde.us

www.easyweblistonline.com

www.intwebdirectory.com

www.lblogdirectory.com

www.ldeeplinks.com

www.onlineconfirmed.net

www.prwebdirectory.net

www.urlblogdirectory.com

www.usaweb-directory.com

www.verifieddirectory.net

www.webcaredirectory.com

www.webcontroldirectory.com

www.webdealdirectory.com

www.weblinedirectory.com

www.weblink.us

www.webofficedirectory.com

www.webpointdirectory.com

www.webreviewdirectory.com

How to control user access to Fireboard/Kunena Joomla! Forum Categories with JACLPlus

2009-06-17T20:37:00.007+02:00

I am glad to be able to share a complete post on "how to control user group access to Fireboard/Kunena Joomla! forum categories with JACLPlus". I have been battling with this problem for a while now, but I've managed to work out a fix for the Fireboard or Kunena Forum Joomla components - I am using Fireboard for the purposes of this how to.

You will need to have the JACLPlus, Fireboard/Kunena components and the corresponding Fireboard/Kunena/JACLPlus patch (also from ByosTech) installed.

Set up groups and access levels in JACLPlus ('Level1' and 'Level2' for example)

Create Fireboard categories with desired access levels.

Set the 'Include Child Groups' setting to 'Yes' for the 'Registered' category in Fireboard to include the 'Level1' and 'Level2' groups.

Now when a 'Registered' user logs in they will have access to the 'Everybody' and 'Registered' categories.

A 'Level1' user will have access to 'Everybody','Registered', and 'Level1'.

And a 'Level2' user will have access to 'Everybody', 'Registered' and 'Level2'.

So you can now control forum category access at a user group level :)

You may need to flush your `jos_fb_sessions` table if you don't see any changes, but I hope this gets you on track...

Komodo Edit is SLOW! but you can speed it up...

2009-06-16T11:03:00.003+02:00

Update: I now user Notepad++ for development. It is much lighter and faster than Komodo.

I use ActiveState Komodo edit for most of my coding work under windows - It's not mind blowingly awesome, but it is free and it's pleasant to use for most text based files. My only gripe is that it is fairly heavy and can take an unreasonably long time to start up.

Fortunately though, it is easy enough to 'thin it out' to your requirements, using the simple add-ons interface. Simply click the 'Tools' menu, followed by the 'Add-ons' drop down in Komodo Edit and you will be presented with the ''Add-ons/Extensions/Plugins" Dialogue.

From here you can disable any extensions/plugins for languages that you don't need, restart Komodo Edit and you should notice a significantly faster load time (depending on how much you disable) - Alternatively you can prolong your startup time even further by installing any of the numerous additional Add-ons.

Google Chrome versus Mozilla Firefox?

2009-05-26T22:00:00.007+02:00

I am not concerned with Chrome’s market share - It’s silly to use a browser just because ‘everyone else does’ and it’s silly to swear loyalty to a specific browser when there is nothing forcing you to use just one. I actually quite like Google Chrome, not because it is ‘better’ than Firefox, but because it is different to Firefox.

My initial exposure to Chrome was curiosity driven, I installed it to just ‘check it out’ like most people and my first impression was ‘nice… But I can’t use this, it doesn’t support all of the Firefox plugins that I need’.

First impressions last, and it’s true that Chrome doesn’t offer all the bells and whistles that Firefox does in the form of plugin support for just about anything and everything… But what Chrome does offer you instead, is stream lined speed and efficiency without any “bolt-ons” to hold it back.

I stumbled across the hidden joys of Chrome by accident during routine browser compatibility testing. My workstation has limited resources to be straight, and I think this is why Chrome has really come into its own for me – I won’t try and convince you that Chrome actually loads websites faster than other browsers (in spite of it’s boasted Javascript performance). But there is no denying that it starts up really fast and is less demanding on system resources, which contributes to a more pleasant work environment for me on a rather average workstation.

I don’t have access to Firefox extensions all the time any more but If I do need something extra like Firebug then I simply fire up Firefox and no one gets hurt. I don’t think it has to be a case of either Firefox or Chrome and if Google does introduce plugins and customization for Chrome, to try and make it more like Firefox, then it may well lose it’s appealing speed and efficiency – The very characteristics that differentiate Chrome and stop me from chucking it on the ‘just another browser’ pile. So, Google have carved themselves an interesting niche on this one. For efficient every day browsing, I find Chrome hard to beat.

What I like most about Chrome:

Superb startup time
Minimalist design (in that simple and beautiful Google way)
"Ctrl+B" hides/shows the bookmark bar
Full screen support has been introduced in Chrome 2.0 (F11)
Removable tabs are an awesome feature (especially with dual monitors)
New tabs offer you “Most visited”, “Recent bookmarks” and “Recently closed tabs”
Search directly from the address bar
Linux and Mac flavours are now available (Chromium)
Efficiency - it’s just so quick and easy to get to where you want to go

I know that Chrome presents its own issues like Google privacy concerns and rendering issues I have noticed particularly when check boxes are concerned. But no browser renders every page on the net perfectly. The world’s most imperfect browser has the highest market share and Microsoft’s IE6 was voted the “the eighth worst tech product of all time” by PC world in 2006. By contrast, Chrome is a fair browser offering already and I'm sure that Google will continue to polish all the blemishes out and make it even more shiny.

I don't know how significant an impact Chrome is going to have on the browser market, but it’s superbly efficient and I like it. Give it a try – you might find it a pleasantly relaxing browsing experience.

Update: I am most impressed with the speed of the new Firefox 3.5. I am probably going to start using Firefox more again where I can enjoy custom extensions as well as speed :) I love good, solid competition!!! Now if only Firefox could get detatchable tabs...

Cannot connect to SMTP server

2009-01-30T14:11:00.003+02:00

Not being able to send mail using your outgoing mail server of choice is frustrating! Particularly when you consider that the problem is probably a result of your *ISP deciding what is best for you. Whether you are connecting from home, work, school, university, college or a WIFI hot spot at an airport or coffee shop, you are at the mercy of their firewall policies which may prevent you from establishing certain connections, such as to your outgoing mail server. They do this to try and prevent spamming from their networks, despite it being a rather antiquated method. No matter, there are several ways to get mail out and if at first you cannot connect, try one of these other options:

*Please note that in this article I have used the term 'ISP' in a very broad sense, referring to the entity that is providing your Internet connectivity at the time you would like to send your mail, not your personal or home Internet service provider in all cases.

1. Send mail through your *ISP's outgoing mail server on port 25 (default)
This is the simplest solution. Your ISP SMTP server details will be something like mail.isp.com or smtp.isp.com on the standard port 25. These settings should be readily available on your ISP's website or from tech support.

This solution may be perfect for your home desktop PC that is always connected to your ISP's local network, however you may find this sort of setup irritating when used on a laptop as your ISP may block incoming connections from outside networks on port 25. i.e. You may be able to send mail provided you are sending mail through your home connection, but then not be able to send mail from a coffee shop access point.

2. Send mail through a different port
If you cannot contact a mail server on port 25, then you can also try port 465 or port 587. A quick way to check if these ports are open on your connections' firewall is to use telnet from the command line. Select, 'Start', 'Run', and type 'cmd'. This will open a command line window. Now type 'telnet smtp.isp.com 465' where smtp.isp.com is your mail server and 465 is the port. Yahoo! accepts outgoing mail connections on port 465 (SSL) so we'll use it as an example.

If the port is not being blocked by your providers firewall you should be presented with a blank screen and blinking cursor

Alternatively, if the port is blocked or you make a spelling error (smtp.mail.yahoo.co.zz) in the server address you will receive the following error

Gmail accepts outgoing mail connections on port 587 (TLS).

You should see feedback similar to the following if you telnet into the Gmail server successfully.

Port 587 and 465 connections provide secure connections and you will need to authenticate if you want to send mail through one of these ports. i.e. You will require a valid account with a user name and password for the server you are using - Gmail, or Yahoo! mail etc...

But, a successful telnet connection indicates that you can alter your outgoing mail settings to send mail through the corresponding port.

This is a nice solution as it should allow you to send mail from most networks and will save you having to change your mail settings or experience trouble every time you try and connect from a different network - a most handy configuration for mobile connectivity.

3. Send mail through a non-standard port (80 for example)
Port 80 is the port that browsers use to connect to websites, so it is a pretty sure thing this port will be open on most firewalls. This means that you should be able to send mail through port 80 under most circumstances - provided that you can actually find a mail server that accepts outgoing mail connections on port 80 of course. One example of such a mail server is Secure SMTP Server, which is unfortunately a paid service - as I am sure most outgoing mail servers with a port 80 configuration will be.

You may also find that your ISP is configured to accept outgoing mail on a non-standard port (other than 80,465 or 587). Port 2525 is sometimes used as a substitute, though this will be ISP specific and you should contact your ISP's technical support to find out.

4. Send mail using web based interfaces
By this point, you are running low on solutions and if the above options are not working for you then chances are that access to web based email sites like hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail will be blocked too.

Otherwise try to access your ISP's mail server from your browser - the address will look something like http://mail.isp.com or http://smtp.isp.com. There should be a 'log in to my account' link or something similar on your ISP's website, otherwise contact your ISP's technical support for help.

Vodacom4me (My Vodacom) SMS from PC & mobile

2009-01-04T00:50:00.037+02:00

Update: Free082SMS now sends SMS through the new My Vodacom portal at www.vodacom.co.za

Vodacom is the most generous mobile carrier in SA when it comes to free text messages - they allow subscribers to send up to 20 free SMS every day from the Vodacom portal website - Vodacom4me.co.za (or now the newer "My Vodacom"). However, this feature is only available from desktop computers and mobile users are directed to a stripped down version of Vodacom4me / My Vodacom that excludes free SMS.

But you can send Vodacom4me SMS from your mobile phone. Free082SMS provides A mobile interface to the Vodacom SMS website and email to Vodacom SMS so you can send free messages on the go! The site is built around a simple text based structure for optimal performance on most web enabled phones and it works great on PCs too! Send Free Vodacom SMS now!

You can also use Free082SMS to send free international SMS to Vodacom users who are roaming in other countries! Enable Vodacom SMS roaming by SMSing 'roamon' to 123 before you leave SA. You'll need to SMS 'roamoff' to 123 when you get back to reactivate cheaper local rates and regain access to advanced network features like voice, GPRS, MMS etc.

Please post a comment
Follow Free082SMS on Twitter

Sony CDX-GT270s Wiring (How to Install a Front Loader)

2009-01-03T20:24:00.005+02:00

Recently I replaced the rather embarassing Panasonic cassette tape player in my Mercedes 190E with a new sony CDX-GT270 front loader head unit. I was concerned to find that the wire harness supplied with the sony unit did not look exactly like the Panasonic's harness and my enquiries at the electronics shop were met with an attitude of "if you have to ask you really should get someone else to install it for you". But it only required a little research (just to err on the side of caution) and I managed to get it working and save myself a little cash too.

The process was pretty simple in fact, all I needed to do was:
1. Disconnect the negative terminal of the car battery
2. Slide the Panasonic cassette player out of the console using the release keys
3. Cut the wires off the old Panasonic harness one by one and crimp them onto the matching colours on the sony harness
4. Plug the harness into the sony head unit and connect the antenna
5. Slide the sony unit into place
6. Reconnect the car battery

I can't believe I almost paid someone else to do it. You don't even need to know exactly what colour wire does what, but for the sake of being thorough - the car audio wiring standard is as follows:

white : front left (+)
white/black striped : front left (-)
grey : front right (+)
grey/black striped : front right (-)

green : back left (+)
green/black striped : back left (-)
purple : back right (+)
purple/black striped : back right (-)

black : negative / ground
blue : antenna up/down
red : igntition (+)
yellow : battery (+)
blue/white striped : AMP on/off

Useful car audio links:
Sony XR4950X Car Stereo Installation
Home and Car Audio Answers

Download Sony CDX-GT370/s CDX-GT270/s CDX-GT160/s manual
Download Sony CDX-GT370/s CDX-GT270/s CDX-GT160/s installation

The shadowland of dreams

2008-06-03T22:29:00.002+02:00

The shadowland of dreams is where fantasy dwells. Whether it’s been dreamt, achieved, or discovered is up to you. It exists to give people the will to go on. Everyone needs to escape from reality, everyone needs hope. The land of dreams is a beautifully plastic place that is only bound by the limits you set and is as real as you allow it to be.

This place as anything you make it and it is always hiding, in your mind. All there is to fight it, is reality. Once you enter it though, the land of dreams becomes reality, and no matter how insane the creature hunting you is, you will always wake with a cold sweat and a sudden panic, that prompts your heart to start beating again. Dreams give people hope, excitement or guidance. They are a channel of communication for God.

There are lots of people, and lots of dreams. Some dreams are crazy and weird. Lots of dreams make sense and some people will swear they dreamt the future. Dreams are things you want to happen - your hopes for the future, goals and ideals. But they are also entirely new worlds into which your fatigued brain throws you, and over which you have no control, so your mind can rest from the boring routine of reality. It is important to live in both worlds equally, or else you’ll be nobody. You will just have big dreams unless you are bold, and go forth into the real world and grab hold of your dreams.

In the same way though, the real world can disturb and limit your dreams in such a way that you no longer dream. You just live a boring life, full of routine, driving to work, eating broccoli, and washing the dog. Dreams open our minds to help us realise what we want. They help us visualise the goal posts and give us the desire to go for it!

Ultimate dreams are made of strange circumstances, unseen worlds, weird surroundings, and often just loneliness. Dreams are also cool when you dream of your ‘world’, except things are different, brighter, bigger, and more possible. It’s annoying when I wake up from a good dream. I swear it’s the best dream I’ve ever had, but once I’m pulled back into the real world - I can’t even remember it.

To wake up dreamless is dull and weary.

Porn IS bad, and here's why...

2008-05-28T22:31:00.002+02:00

Maybe I am naive, but it's too easy to live in the blindness that society casts on us concerning pornography. People believe that porn stars live the life - They are paid to have sex all day! And they are revered as legends, with throngs of fans who worship them through fantasy and pay to watch them!

I used to buy the sex and money facade that porn kings want people to believe. But I've become aware that porn is based on lies - The audience must believe that the porn stars are loving every minute of the perverse acts they are involved in. That's what makes porn 'okay' after all - It's fine to watch porn, as long as it involves consenting adults and they are enjoying themselves, isn't it? No one is getting hurt after all, it's legal... so what's the matter?

Porn is wrong because people do get hurt. The woman of porn do not enjoy 'it'. They do it because terrible life circumstances have forced them to make unfortunate decisions. They have perfected the art of separating themselves from their bodies, surrenderring to degradation for viewer pleasure, and they are high on drugs to numb themselves, both physically and mentally.

They are harmed as they are forced to participate in unspeakable acts. They feel dirty from the stinky, strange men and they live in constant fear of contracting (multiple cases of) sexually transmitted diseases. Can you blame them for turning to drugs? Can you blame them for taking their own lives? They must smile and sign autographs for fans as they are interviewed by TV magazine show hosts – They are living the exciting life of a porn star. But it’s all part of the act. They have to appear to ‘enjoy’ it, in spite of actually being broken inside, or they will lose their appeal and spoil the fantasy for their fans. Belladonna, a "hardened" porn star cried on national TV when she was asked about her smile.

But don't take it from me - You can read the true stories of many porn stars/strippers at http://www.oneangrygirl.net/myth2.html and Shelley Lubben (an ex-pornstar) has an entire website dedicated to helping porn stars out of porn and people out of porn addiction. I find our light hearted approach to “porn star” branded T-shirts and jokes quite disturbing – It is evidence of how we have embraced the deception; the lies that porn stars choose their 'profession'; that they love being filmed in promiscuous and perverse sex; that they enjoy it for real and that porn is acceptable.

Porn is unacceptable, even without involving religion in the debate or exploring how it affects viewers. Girls don’t want to be broadcast with their legs open to some stranger on the internet. They are being raped! And people are watching and enjoying it! The audience is made to believe that the girl is consenting and enjoying it – That's the lie. They don't show you the porn star getting high, throwing up or crying from pain - The truth.

99% of guys are exposed to this stuff and it must affect the way they relate to women. Their heads are full of these lies. I want to stand against this deception and encourage men to treat the gentler sex as ladies. I want to encourage men to protect ladies with their strength, rather than use it to force them into submission. I call all real men to rise up and respect ladies as men should and fight against the abuse of precious women who should be properly loved and not treated like worthless meat.

Porn is not acceptable.

Get help here
Dead porn stars

Jebo R338 Fire Hazard - Recalled

2008-04-29T23:09:00.004+02:00

I stumbled across this picture posted in the practicalfishkeeping.co.uk forums by "JoJoJo" today. A burnt out Jebo R338 fish tank in the living room (original Hong Kong news report). I have posted problems with my lighting hood before, including a "fix". But don't be too alarmed unless you purchased your unit in Asia specifically, where it has been recalled.

How to Recover From Glandular Fever

2008-04-22T17:25:00.006+02:00

More than a page of facts, this post is to share my fight with glandular fever in order to encourage and hopefully help other people through it too.

You probably already know that glandular fever or infectious mononucleosis (mono) is caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus and is often referred to as “the kissing disease”, because the virus can be spread in saliva (though kissing is not the only method of transmission). Most people are exposed to the virus at some stage in their lives without even knowing it. However, the older you are when you contract it, the more severe the symptoms are and the more your body struggles to get over it. I was forced to drop out of university for a year to battle through it. Unfortunately my mother contracted it too and she was admitted to hospital for two weeks – the doctors were even looking for cancer before they finally figured out what was actually wrong with her – Idiots!

No doctor offered me constructive help or treatment – They pretty much said: “There is nothing you can do, just stay at home until you are better. It could take anywhere from two weeks to two years and some people never get better... ”. While this is true, it is probably only true because this is what all the doctors tell everyone who is suffering from glandular fever. A positive mind set is the most important weapon to combat the virus, so don't let doctors rob you of hope. Glandular fever is notorious for “feeding on stress”, “flaring up” or relapsing even years later, during intense periods such as exams, year end, etc. Whatever you do, do not dwell on negative thoughts, even if it’s a medical doctor who is putting them in your head – The doctor can’t/won’t do anything to help you anyway. Your health is in your own hands - The more you can soothe yourself of stress, the sooner you will recover.

Symptoms

As the name is supposed to imply, classic glandular fever presents as fever and swollen glands; lots of illnesses cause this arbitrary disease state, which makes the name pretty silly and the crazy thing is that I didn’t experience fever or especially swollen glands while I was ill. Symptoms include any combination of headaches, sore throat, nausea, loss of appetite, fever, swollen lymph nodes, crippling fatigue and probably more. A blood test confirms the presence of the virus and makes it official...

The disease can linger for as little as two weeks, or remain with you for the rest of your life if it spirals into full blown chronic fatigue syndrome. The fatigue is not mere laziness, but a heavy tiredness that actually results in physical pain.

Glandular fever started off as a throaty cough for me but soon matured into aching muscles, incapacitating fatigue, complete inability to hold down much food, and a horrid tenseness throughout my body and mind as if I was always on the edge, about to jump. Up until the time the doctors figured out what was wrong with me I actually thought I was going crazy, so I was quite relieved that there was something wrong with me, just depressed that there was apparently no treatment or remedy for how ghastly I felt.

Cure

But I did overcome glandular fever and I am so glad that I can now look back on the terrible experience and really appreciate that life is so normal again. Fair enough, there is no magic potion that you can take three times a day for a week that will cure you, but I have identified the behaviors that helped me to get better.

Take it easy, seriously...

As inconvenient and frustrating as I know it is, you need to remove yourself from as much as you can, everything if possible. Don’t try and be a hero and carry on or push through. Stay at home in bed and sleep properly until you feel well rested. Ideally, until you stop worrying about everything – though I know that in this state it is very difficult to stop worrying, but you must believe that you are one of the people that will get better – if you do, then you will recover.

Glandular fever is a tricky disease to understand and there will be people who show you no sympathy. Avoid them, and don’t let anyone abuse your “free time”. Encourage the people around you to learn about glandular fever, to help them understand what you are going through and how they can help you. The idea is that you get some time to rest in a stress free environment.

Vitamin B injections

This is as close as it gets to a “magic potion”. I would recommend you go for a vitamin B injection (the big neurobion one) every two weeks (alternating butt cheeks), from the time you discover you are ill, until you have recovered. Vitamin B injections have a reputation for stinging a bit, but in truth they aren’t that bad and wow they make a difference! Whether it’s a result of the placebo effect or not.

Fight with a positive attitude

Perhaps the most common advice concerning glandular fever is “not to fight it”. While I agree with this on a physical level, you must not give up in your mind. Remain positive about the situation and believe that you will recover. But at the same time remember that rule number 1 is “Take it easy, seriously...” Don’t let the idea of maintaining a positive mindset stress you out if you aren’t getting it right, it will get easier and start to come naturally as you keep at it, get more rest and learn to relax.

General Health

Even if you are not targeting the glandular fever directly, there is a lot you can do to help yourself feel better. Get enough sleep, drink lots of water, and avoid excessive amounts of junk food and alcohol. All the clichéd good health stuff will go a long way to improving your condition. And listen to your body! Sleep when you need to and only eat what you can manage. Red meat was off my menu and I found that not drinking milk made me feel much better too. So try and weed anything out of your diet that may not agree with you. Treating your symptoms will help too; take a pill for your headaches and antacid for heartburn. Ha ha, and try and shower at least every second day.

As you feel stronger you can try to exercise, but don’t overdo it! You are even weaker and less fit than you imagine. You might not be able to get out of bed the next day, you will feel completely worn out and it will take you a good few days to recover. But don't be discouraged. It was more than a year before I began running around, playing soccer with friends again. But I had to ease into it slowly and could initially over exert myself very easily. I am fine now.

Good People

It pains me to admit that most people will not understand and will leave you behind as you place your life on pause while they carry on with theirs. Even your family will not always understand what you are going through, but I hope there will be at least one good person that you can count on to stand by you to help you through the disease. Don’t let relationships stress you out, rather avoid anyone who makes you feel worse – You really need to look after yourself for a while, as selfish as it may sound.

I am very fortunate to have the most amazing girl who could easily have left me for someone else when my life fell apart. But she didn’t and I know it was hard for her, but her companionship and encouragement meant the difference between me staying sick forever and getting going again. I am very grateful to her for helping me through the trials, even when I was completely overcome with irrational paranoia at the mercy of the virus.

Divine intervention

I can only pray that you will become desperate enough to turn to Jesus. You can “cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7) . I am not talking about religion. The stress of religion and doing “holy” things because other people think/tell you you should (Isaiah 29:13), will only keep you sick.

The truth is, you don’t have to do anything. God loves you whether you know him or not (Romans 5:8) . No matter what you have done or who you are. God’s love is unconditional, completely independent of your actions. He cares for you and he has a special plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). He wants you to know him so that you can walk with him and he can guide you to realise the purpose that he has chosen you for. It is not His plan for you to be sick.

You will find peace, rest, safety and healing in the arms of Jesus. A ccept Him into your heart and He will bring you hope and look after you.

Today, I have finished my studies and am working a demanding job as a manager with high stress and long hours, but I have left glandular fever behind... Praise God!

Note: I have recently trimmed out some of my replies to keep the comments from getting too cluttered, but I do wish all the best to all of you and that you will get strong again soon!

Glandular fever links:
Wikipedia
iol.co.za
James David Chapman's website.
health24.com
glandular fever , mononucleosis, post viral fatigue
personal and individualised help for sufferers of glandular fever, mononucleosis and post viral fatigue.

Sync your cell phone/mobile for ubiquitous access

2007-08-29T22:32:00.003+02:00

The ability to truly make use of mobile e-mail is usually hampered by the fact that you aren't sitting comfortably in front of your day to day PC with access to your contacts in your favourite e-mail client, unless you are happy to use GMail or Yahoo!Mail from your phone's browser - But that's not as convenient as using your phone's mail client. It's far from rocket science and you don't need the most cutting edge cell phone to send mail on the move – even my trusty old NOKIA 6230i is well up to the task...

Outlook will probably sync with your cell phone by default. And if you don’t use Outlook then Nokia Synchronisation is a fantastic Thunderbird extension (only available in windows) that enables Thunderbird to sync with a Nokia cell phone. Thunderbird “Display name” corresponds to the “Contact name” on your phone and the “Work number” field in Thunderbird is used as the default contact number on your phone. “E-mail address” is straight forward and you have the option of a secondary e-mail address for each contact too.

This is where I introduce PLAXO – The on line address book that integrates fully with e-mail clients, both Thunderbird and Outlook. The advantage of using PLAXO is that your contacts are backed up on line and the details of your contacts who also use PLAXO are automatically updated if they change their information on line. This means that as long as you have the bare minimums of an Internet connection, you have access to all of your current e-mail client contacts, via your cellphone, a university/work machine or your friends laptop, just in case you need to retrieve the odd contact or two that you haven't synced to your phone yet.

Now, I further recommend ZYB as a tool to backup all your cell phone information. Create an account on the ZYB website and (provided that your handset and service provider are supported) you will be sent the settings to enable syncing of your cell phone contacts and calendar with ZYB from any location with coverage. You can use the ZYB web site via your PC to alter your contacts and calendar on line and sync with your phone to update the changes, or vice versa. The service provided by this website is priceless in the event that your cell phone is lost or stolen and it also facilitates easy and complete handset migration.

The ultimate would be for Plaxo to provide a “ZYB like” phone sync for complete and seemless phone–PC contact integration, but never the less...

Valid and accessible contacts make it possible to catch up with anyone via e-mail from your phone, anywhere – You just need to set up the mail service on your phone.On my NOKIA 6230i the mail settings are accessed in :"Menu, Settings, Configuration, Personal configuration settings, options, Add new, E-mail".

Typically you need your e-mail user name and password, pop3 server (something like mail.server.com for receiving mail) and smtp server (something like smtp.mobilecarrier.com for sending mail) – Ask your ISP/carrier for these settings if you don’t know where to find them on your desktop/laptop.

Sometimes these settings will require fine tweaking but if you set this up correctly you will be able to make use of the native e-mail client on your phone - More than likely very basic, but also very handy and certainly faster than browser based e-mail. Delete some of the pointless cellphone apps from your phone if you experience mail storage space issues.

As far as native cellphone apps go, the Nokia browser is putrid! It won't load the PLAXO or ZYB websites, but point your phone browser to mini.opera.com immediately and download Opera Mini (free) for a faster, more reliable, more compatible and more user friendly mobile browsing experience.

The number of websites that will load on your phone thanks to Opera Mini is incredible. The start page features a standard address bar, Yahoo! search bar, Dictionary.com/IMDb/Wikipedia search bar, your customised bookmarks and history listings.

You can skin the browser in classic red, girly pink, plain white or deep blue. Opera Mini can even keep track of your RSS feeds and display them by feed or by date. Turn off "load images" for an even faster (and cheaper) browsing experience.

One of your bookmarks in Opera Mini should be a link to Google bookmarks (create an account at www.google.com/bookmarks) as this will give you access to your favourite pages and RSS feeds on your phone.

JEBO R338 aquarium fish stock

2007-06-10T15:17:00.002+02:00

My JEBO R338
aquarium is currently stocked with:

- 5 White clouds
- 1 Otocinclus catfish
- 3 Clown loaches
- 1 loan Neon tetra :(

The White clouds were the first fish that went into my tank to cycle it after it had been left running for about a week with no fish. The tank cycle is the process by which nitrifying bacteria establishes itself in the filter to facilitate waste removal. White clouds make excellent cycling fish as I didn't lose a single one in the process. The tank cycle had completed and was ready for more fish within 3 weeks.

The oto cat is an excellent little algae eater - busy and small and not as unsightly as a plecostomas - quite cute in fact. The Clown loaches have proved to be the most difficult fish to cultivate in my aquarium but they seem to cope well with a temperature of about 29 degrees C and addition of non-iodated salt with water changes. The Neon tetra is the sole survivor of his school, shame.

I feed all my fish on TetraPrima and the Clown loaches love it especially.

JEBO R338 aquarium light maintenance

2007-06-10T14:48:00.002+02:00

Recently (after about a year of use), the plastic light mounts perished and almost allowed the aquarium light to drop into the tank - but this is the only real trouble I have experienced with my JEBO R338 aquarium.
At the same time I noticed for the first time that one of the bulbs had blown, but replacement was very straight forward.

I "repaired" the problem by making 4 holes in the grey plastic sides of the light chamber and using cable ties to hold the light in place. It's a good idea to cover the globe contacts with insulation tape before you replace the plastic cover.

The plastic light mounts must have worn and become brittle as a result of heat from the light. It's probably not a good idea to put anything on top of your JEBO that will limit ventilation as this could contribute to weakening of the light mounts. I will also have to watch that the cable ties do not become brittle and break.

JEBO R338 aquarium

2007-06-10T02:34:00.006+02:00

When I bought my JEBO R338 aquarium it did not come with any instructions. Assembling it was not difficult but this post covers my cleaning routine and could be useful in aiding with assembly. I have had this fish tank for about a year now and so far I have been very impressed by its low maintenance requirements and excellent water quality.

Basic specifications:
- Range of colours available.
- Silent operation
- Curved edges for panoramic viewing
- Integrated light and power filter
- 40 Litre capacity
- 400 Litres/hour FLMax.
- 380mm x 270mm x 440mm
- Bio-Chemical Filtration system

Cleaning Routine

Every week I replace approximately 25% of the water with tap water that has been left standing in a soap free bucket for at least 24 hours to allow for chlorine evaporation. Once a month clean the gravel using the following procedure.

Unplug the heater, light and filter at the wall. Place the front part of the cover with the light on top of the back part of the cover to allow for easy access to the inside of the tank.

Remove the plants and decor and clean the gravel using a gravel vacuum. Detach the powerhead from the pump to make vacuuming easier.

Vacuum until the water level drops just below the body of the pump.

Clean algae off the glass using a sponge on a stick. Leave some algae behind to discourage new algae growth. I never clean the back panel because it is difficult to get to and the dark back hides the algae (though it has shown up very well in the pictures with the flash). Of course a plecostomas or group of otto cats will also help keep your tank looking clean.

Reposition your plants and decor and reconnect the powerhead.

Fill the tank (with water that has been left standing for at least a day in a soap free bucket) so that the water level is at the level of the bottom of the rim. This will allow the filter to run quieter and for the tank to look prettier.

It is a good idea to rinse the filter sponge in some aquarium water. The sponge sits on top of the grid, on top of the porcelain blocks. If the trickling noise from your filter becomes loud or louder than usual or the water flows over the side of the filter chamber, then it's a good idea to actually clean the outlet holes of the filter to allow for easier flow. My elbow does not "click" onto the filter chamber because if I click it on, then the pump cannot attach to the glass with its suction cups and the vibration is noisy. You can also see my heater power cord in this picture feeding across the top to the right side.

This picture shows the trickle filter in action.

Turn on the heater, pump and light. Your tank may look a little murky directly after cleaning. I usually do a water test at this point. You can also add about a table spoon of non-iodated salt now.

Within an hour or two, the water will clear and your tank will look nice and clean again and your fish will be happy!

Update: see my Siamese Fighter (betta) / Jebo R338 related post as well! Or my more recent Comet Goldfish setup