Paul Jacobson Life, law and other stuff

On Vox: What to use … ?Posted by Paul on August 26th, 2006

   
   

I was chatting to my cousin the other day about a blogging platform to use.  He originally asked me about WordPress or Drupal with the intention of hosting the blog on server space he would rent each month.  His initial idea was to set up a family blog where members of his family would post updates from time to time.  He also wanted everyone to have a family email address.  All of this sounded great in theory but when we started to consider whether his parents would contribute to the blog the odds were that they wouldn’t.  At the same time it seemed unlikely that they would make the switch across to a different email address so the need for a domain name became far less pressing.

   

» Read more on Vox

SA blogger has a book published because of her blogPosted by Paul on August 26th, 2006

Cherryflava, one of my favourite local blogs, has reported that a local blogger, Tertia Albertyn, has published a book as a result of her blog, So Close, about her struggle with infertility:

Its not just big, A-list American and European bloggers that are attracting the attention of book publishers.

Great news is that local Cape Town blogger, Tertia Albertyn who blogs the very popular So Close, has just been published because of her site.

Tertia’s blog and book are a personal account of her own struggle with infertility. And subsequent triumph with the birth of her twins in January 2005.

This is yet another illustration of the potential of blogging or online publishing and its power for smaller content creators and providers. Blogs (and the Web as a whole) are great levelers because they enable anyone to express their voice online where potentially millions of people can hear it. Of course, all you need is that one response from, say, a publishing house and you bridge the divide between the blogosphere and the physical world.

Tertia’s book, So Close, is available from kalahari.net and presumably your favourite bookstore. Here is a little bit of information about the book to whet your appetite:

This is the heartbreaking, exhilarating, devastatingly funny story of Tertia Albertyns battle with infertility. Tertia wanted a baby so desperately, that she went through nine IVFs. Most people give up after the third.

I dont think I am being brave at all. I am just too terrified not to try again.

In her worst nightmare she could never have imagined that making a baby would take her four years, each treatment bringing her and her husband Marko closer and closer to making a family.

During Tertias journey everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Until, finally, everything goes just right.

Tertia is as hilarious as she is irrepressible, as approachable as she is knowledgeable. If you are struggling with infertility, have triumphed over infertility of have felt empathy with someone who is going through this experience, you will find a friend in Tertia.

Technorati Tags: infertility, so close, tertia albertyn

The Iranian President blogsPosted by Paul on August 26th, 2006

Here is something interesting, especially given current affairs.  The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is blogging.  His blog is written in Farsi and has Arabic, English and French translations.

Readers of this blog may be excused for thinking the blog has a religious and political slant:

In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Oh Almighty God, please, we beg you to send us our Guardian- who You have promised us- soon and appoint us as His close companions.

During the era that nobility was a prestige and living in a city was perfection, I was born in a poor family in a remote village of Garmsar-approximately 90 kilometer east of Tehran. I was born fifteen years after Iran was invaded by foreign forces- in August of 1940- and the time that another puppet, named mohammad Reza – the son of Reza Mirpange- was set as a monarch in Iran. Since the extinct shah -Mohammad Reza- was supposed to take and enter Iran into western civilization slavishly, so many schemes were implemented that Iran becomes another market for the western ceremonial goods without any progress in the scientific field. Our Islamic culture would not allow such an infestation, and this was an impediment in front of shah and his foreign masters’ way. Thus, they decided to make this noble and tenacious culture weak gradually that Iran be attached strongly to the west as far as its economy, politics, and culture was concern. After the implementation of this policy and the unreal and outward of upswing, the villagers began to rush to the cities. Upon the enforcement of the land reform, the status of the villages became worst than the past and villagers for earning some breadcrumbs, they were deceived by the dazzling look and the misleading features of the cities and became suburban and lived in ghettos.
My family was also suffered in the village as others. After my birth -the fourth one in the family- my family was under more pressures …

Somehow I just don’t see Ahmadinejad uploading photos from his family holiday to this blog …

(Source: What About Clients?)

Go pro or stay free?Posted by Paul on August 26th, 2006

The vivacious Victoire has posed a question on her blog.  Should she upgrade her free Flickr account to Pro or stay free?

i was uploading new photos last night, when i suddenly noticed my photo sets disappearing to my dismay! one minute they’re there, the next, they’re gone… along with all the photos that were in the sets. naturally i suspected foul play, and that my photos had been deleted somehow. nope, apparently that’s not the case at all. since i only have a free account, and i had reached the 200 photo mark, my older photos were hidden on purpose by flickr. unless you have a pro account you can only view 200 of your photos. so either you delete some photos or you upgrade to the pro account. i tested this theory by deleting some photos, and voila! one of my sets came back, along with 5 photos.

In my mind there is no real choice.  Unless you post a couple photos a month and have no need for more than 3 photosets, it makes sense to upgrade to a Pro account for $24.95 per year.  There are other benefits to having a Pro account.  Take a look at this list from the Flickr FAQ:

Can I pay to keep more of my photos on Flickr?

Absolutely! Upgrade to a Pro Account for just US$24.95 a year. Here’s what you’ll get with a Pro Account:

• 2 GB monthly upload limit
• Unlimited storage
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Unlimited photosets
• Permanent archiving of high-resolution original images
• The ability to replace a photo
• Ad-free browsing and sharing

Compare that to what you get with a Free Account:

• 20 MB monthly upload limit
• 3 photosets
• Photostream views limited to the 200 most recent images
• Storage of smaller (resized) images

Successful startupsPosted by Paul on August 26th, 2006

The Churchill Club has a video up on Google Video from a panel discussion recently on the topic of startup success.  It is a pretty big video file (about 363MB for the iPod version) and looks like it is definitely worth watching.  I’ll post my comments if I have any strong feelings either way.

If, like me, you have no idea what the Churchill Club is, here is a bit of info from their site:

The Churchill Club is Silicon Valley’s premier business and technology forum.  The 5,000-member, nonprofit organization has built a reputation for dynamic, in-the-news programs featuring Silicon Valley CEOs, up-and-coming executives and national business leaders. The events regularly draw more than 400 attendees and give members the opportunity to network with the best of Silicon Valley.

(Source: Guy Kawasaki)

Episode 2 of the Jacobson Attorneys podcast is availablePosted by Paul on August 25th, 2006

I have just uploaded episode 2 of the Jacobson Attorneys podcast.  This episode is a rough and ready introduction to some sole proprietorships, partnerships, close corporations and companies and their usefulness as vehicles for your business.  It is difficult to really capture all the aspects of these various vehicles in one episode of a podcast so this is really a brief treatment of these vehicles.

Please feel free to email me at podcast@jacobson.co.za if you have any questions or suggestions.  Hopefully the sound quality is a bit better than the last episode.  I am working on improving it.

If you would like to download the podcast directly, click on one of the following links:

• MP3 version
• AAC version (for iTunes users)

Technorati Tags: close corporations, company, jacobson attorneys, partnerships, podcast, sole proprietorship

South African Health Minister is an embarassment to South AfricansPosted by Paul on August 20th, 2006

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has once again proven to be an embarassment.  She has publicly advocated the use of garlic, beetroot and lemons for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.  Her comments and the policy of the South African government have been heavily criticised by leading speakers at the 16th International Conference on AIDS.  According to Reuters (via Yahoo! News):

Top speakers at the 16th International Conference on AIDS reserved their closing remarks for a long and detailed critique of South Africa and President Thabo Mbeki’s government, which at first denied that the human immunodeficiency virus causes AIDS and then resisted offering HIV drugs to its people.

One in nine South Africans is estimated to be infected with the virus, which is incurable and fatal but which can be kept in check by drugs.

"It is the only country in Africa, amongst all the countries I have traversed in the last five years, whose government is still obtuse, dilatory and negligent about rolling out treatment," Stephen Lewis, the U.N. special envoy on AIDS, told the closing session.

"It is the only country in Africa whose government continues to propound theories more worthy of a lunatic fringe than of a concerned and compassionate state."

Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been criticized for promoting traditional cures such as garlic, beetroot and lemon.

There have been renewed calls for her dismissal by South African President, Thabo Mbeki.  I have my doubts this will happen.  The fact remains, though, that she will remain a big reason why South Africa’s HIV/AIDS policy will remain far less effective than it could be and why 1 in 9 South Africans will become infected by and possibly die from AIDS.

Tags: Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa, HIV, AIDS, Health Minister, embarassment, beetroot, lemon, garlic