Just like the web became web 2.0, I have become Tyler 2.0. Yup, I have just turned 20. This time last year I launched this blog which will make this blog 1 year old tomorrow. I would like to thank everyone who made my year of being 19 one of the best ever and I hope this year turns out even better.
Posts Tagged: me
28
Jan 08
My First Nike+ Run
I came across Nike+ some time ago, but I never thought much of it until I read how Paul started using his pair of Nike’s. I then saw the Nike+ kit at a Nike factory store in Durban, but I still wasn’t completely sold. I (am) was a sprint athlete in high school and hated long and middle distance events, I thrived on the adrenaline rushes of 100m and 400m.
My sprint training programs had me spending a fair amount of time in the gym lift and pushing weights for strength. However, after high school I lost my knack for sprinting and my dream of making it to the 2008 Olympics due to injury and then later a new set of commitments. At the beginning of December I stopped going to gym and decided that in 2008 I will focus on the health and fitness of my body, rather than becoming muscle bound.
This shift lead me to buying a pair of Nike+ running shoes so that I could join the other bloggers who run as well. I spent most of my Saturday this past weekend shopping for the perfect Nike+ shoes. I found a black pair that was going for R1400, but I wasn’t prepared to pay that much. After almost giving into buying the black pair, my girlfriend spotted a pair at another store and I knew they were the pair I wanted. They cost me R900 and the iPod receiver was another R400. I ended up spending R200 less than what I budgeted for, bargain.
I was able to free some time this afternoon to take a quick run, of which 800m was just calibrating the sensor. I am a very competitive person and refuse to believe I am unfit, until proven. Well my Nike+ setup proved that I am well unfit. Unfortunately the low level map views for my suburb aren’t too great on Nike+ so I can’t plot accurate routes. Instead, I guessed a route and calculated it at 2km, it came to 1.9km exactly.
As you can see I started off fast, in my super athlete pace and slowly but surely ended up walking a long way back. The first major dip represents my chest starting to tell me that I am old and unfit, while the second major dip is my legs telling me that I am not a super athlete.
It’s going to take me some time to get the the level of fitness that I consider good enough. I am enjoying the Nike+ system thoroughly and I recommend that anyone who is serious about running or simply a beginner and wanting to start out, use this product. It’s like a portable treadmill, thank you Nike, and because I have to, thank you Apple.
22
Nov 07
No Wifi, Makeshift LAN & 3G
Today, myself and Devon went for lunch at Primi Piatti in Rivonia. Like true geeks we whipped out our laptops, because we need to be constantly connected. We had a few urgent emails to respond to and of course had to catch up on Facebook.
We went to Primi because it offers free Wifi, which is really cool and because we like the venue itself. Unfortunately they were having problems with their Wifi. No problem, we did the geek thing. Devon had a LAN cable in his laptop bag and I had my phone cable in mine. Since we both use SonyEricsson, he quickly plugged in his phone and connected. He shared his 3G connection and we were connected. Mine was slow and barely usable, but it was decent enough to check my email.
I decided to record the little moment and you can view the video below. I also snapped a few pictures which you can view over here. Excuse the video and audio quality, I was using a cellphone.
If you can’t see the video, click here.
16
Sep 07
The Good Die Young
Early this morning I woke up to an sms telling me yet another friend of mine passed away in the early hours of the morning. In the last 2 weeks I have lost 3 friends in car accidents. I went to school with them, I did sport with them, I partied with them. I took their presence for granted. They are no longer here with us.
Sjava
Bafweto, you were a legend. On the track and on the soccer field. I’ll never forget your Casanova charm, the determination and sportsmanship you displayed at all times. You were a well mannered and upstanding young lad. Rest In Peace.
Neil
My boy, another legend. Always a quiet guy, minding your own. You lived life your way. I’ll never forget the amount of concentration you put into every shot when we played pool. A true gentleman. Rest In Peace.
Werner
Dude, a legend of funny! Never a dull moment around you. Loved by everybody, except the teachers. You were a rebel with a heart of gold. Rest In Peace.
You boys will be missed dearly by everyone. Our thoughts and prayers are will your families.
10
Jul 07
Younique – Social Media Marketing
I have been a busy bee over the last few weeks. I am proud to announce the launch of my new company, Younique. As many of you know I was working with Cerebra. I have left, because I need to pursue my own goals as an entrepreneur. Cerebra is a great company with great people. Their CEO Mike Stopforth has been a great mentor and friend.
Younique will focus on changing the way companies communicate and market to the youth through social media. Although we won’t stop there. My vision for the company is to become a complete interactive youth marketing firm. My company might be stepping on the toes of Cerebra, Chilibean Media and atPlay but I have always maintained the ethos that competition is healthy. Who knows, we might be doing work together through some co-opetition.
The Younique blog will be launching soon. You can keep up-to-date with what we’re doing over there. For now you can join us on Facebook. So here’s to putting web 2.0 / social media on the map in South Africa.
What is exciting is that the market is waking up to Social Media in SA and we need more and more Chilibeans and Cerebras and Quirks to appear if we are going to raise the bar on each other and improve service delivery, putting Web 2.0 well and truly on the map.
- Mike Stopforth