Disqus - Latest Comments for Tim_Gregory

Re: ONE THING on OKRs Tools — Product Culture

Tim Gregory — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 10:15:23 -0000

We use Tability (tability.io) and really like it. The tool is still new and under active development, but the CEO and team are very responsive. They really understand OKRs and how to connect them to product teams. Previously many teams at my org were using Google Sheets, which are fine for setting and communicating OKRs but not great for tracking.

Re: Alan Knott-Craig: Getting your mind around why it’s possible to be optimistic about SA

Tim Gregory — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 07:08:03 -0000

Really depends on your definition of "quality of life"... if living behind an electric fence, with 2 cars and cheap labour is your idea of a great time, then SA is indeed a paradise. I had a friend say to me "too scared to move for fear of losing out on the quality of life", within months of having suffered a home invasion. Get real people.. get over the laager mentality, realise that there is an amazing, diverse world out there, boerewors is not a great reason to stay, and there is currently a fierce battle for talent across the globe. I miss SA, but would never roll back the clock and change my decision to leave

Re: Welcome to new look Biznews.com – feedback appreciated

Tim Gregory — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 05:36:16 -0000

not loving the new template... harder to read, with a mash of serif and san-serif fonts all over. No structure to the page, just blocks of text scattered all over. Form elements poorly defined (e.g. search box in header). Advertising slots not thought out very well... on the home page there are 2 different ad formats adjacent to each other, something advertisers usually hate because it either means that 1 brand pays twice to appear in the same scroll position of the page, or 2 different brands are juxtaposed next to each other. Looks like a rough blog template, sorry to say.

Re: Cash-strapped high income earners don’t have more tax to give SA – Matthew Lester

Tim Gregory — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 05:28:40 -0000

raising VAT won't help much. I'm surprised that this is being touted by a tax expert as a panacea. The same people who are paying the highest income tax are also paying the highest consumption taxes. Increasing VAT would just be shifting the tax burden from earnings to consumption and would make little difference to broadening the tax base.

Re: Traktor Pro 2.11 Public Beta: Ableton Link, Remix Deck Step Sequencer

Tim Gregory — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 08:17:48 -0000

tested this today... Maschine inside Ableton, using Link to connect Ableton and Traktor. Works perfectly. I loaded some of the Maschine Expansion demo tracks and was able to keep the synced with Traktor. The Ableton tempo behaved as master tempo for all of it

Re: Is BEE #feesmustfall solution? Riaz Gardee says it can reduce fees by 66%

Tim Gregory — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 06:19:45 -0000

everyone seems to ignore the fact that the private sector already pays for graduates in the form of higher salaries.. but they are only willing to pay for successful students in the fields they need. Why should the private sector fund failing students and students who choose to study subjects of no use to industry?

Re: Attacked by bouncers, ignored by the authorities

Tim Gregory — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 07:53:40 -0000

Sello, it doesn't matter whether the author knew about the dress code (if there was a dress code) or whether white guys were getting away with it. The bouncers asked him to do something and he gave attitude, so he got kicked out. Simple. I get it, black people still experience discrimination in this country, and every time an incident like this occurs it feels like racism, but that doesn't always make it so. An example - I stood in the q behind 3 black youngsters at a Tops.. they were taking a very long time to sort out who was paying and how much money they had on them and what they were actually going to buy, so the cashier turned to me as I had a 6-pack in my hand and the money to pay for it ready. The 3 black kids freaked out, accused the (black) cashier of racism, and started shouting racial abuse at me ("Julius Malema is right, you whites need to swim back to Europe etc etc."). At no point had I opened my mouth or made any comment. I was upset, but I understood why it had happened, so I sucked it up. I get it, there is sensitivity about race, but we don't always have to make every stressful situation about race.

Re: Attacked by bouncers, ignored by the authorities

Tim Gregory — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 07:45:23 -0000

try it out, see how that works for you (ps.. it's about preventing tensions/fights between supporters of different teams... the cap thing is about security, and not looking like a knob wearing a cap at night)

Re: Attacked by bouncers, ignored by the authorities

Tim Gregory — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 04:53:47 -0000

there probably was a policy, just not strictly enforced. Era makes it clear that their dress code is "no caps or hats". Most clubs refuse entry to people wearing soccer shirts.

Re: Attacked by bouncers, ignored by the authorities

Tim Gregory — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 03:15:42 -0000

I'm sorry you were beaten, and you have recourse if you wish to follow up, but stop making this about race. You were thrown out and knocked about because you were lippy when the bouncers asked you to do something. And then you went back with a pack of mates to ask for more. If they had been serious about beating you, would would be in the hospital. Most clubs have rules about wearing caps and team colours. The fact that the rules were not enforced uniformly did not mean it was a good idea to argue with the bouncers

Re: Analysis: Could the ANC’s proposed ‘wealth tax’ work?

Tim Gregory — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 03:46:38 -0000

41% is the tax on income.. then we have the VAT on spending, and we also have a tax on Capital Gains, and we have Estate tax when we die. In addition, the rich place little burden on the public healthcare and education systems, and often spend on private security. A wealth tax on assets is unnecessary, unworkable, and will simply lead to capital flight. Even Piketty says it's unworkable unless implemented as a Global wealth tax, and we know how achievable that will be.

Re: Digital terrestrial TV: The ANC has lost faith in Muthambi

Tim Gregory — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 03:24:28 -0000

encrypted vs unencrypted signals has very little to do with the standards. The ANC was dithering over DVB-T vs ISDB standards. That decision is independent of whether to encrypt using Conditional Access. In my opinion, the correct choice is the widely used DVB-T technology (actually DVB-T2 to support HD etc.) If E-TV want to broadcast encrypted DVB-T2 that's fine, their customers will need CA modules and E-TV will need to invest in the subscriber management and encryption technology at the head end. Why the government should subsidise the encryption technology on behalf of commercial entities is beyond me. Reporting on the technical aspects has been very poor.

Re: Banting or ranting? | Daily Maverick

Tim Gregory — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 05:25:19 -0000

Everything in moderation.. except for crack

Re: This article is for whites only

Tim Gregory — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 10:25:21 -0000

Ernst, are you saying that you would prefer to be born black in South Africa? You got dealt a couple of lucky hands... you have been given privileges you didn't earn, and you enjoy both white privilege and male privilege. Possibly straight-privilege too, assuming you swing that way. I'm sorry if you have to atone for the sins of our fathers by making some space for black South Africans a piece of the pie.. the economy is still overwhelmingly in white hands, so why do you say that whites in South Africa are doing so badly?

Re: This article is for whites only

Tim Gregory — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 07:58:49 -0000

Simeon, you are not the only one who is beginning to confront and understand white privilege. It's happening to myself and others I know, and I hope the numbers grow. Nice article

Re: Speaker science: Despacio engineer John Klett explains James Murphy and 2ManyDJs’ vinyl-only soundsystem

Tim Gregory — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 06:57:16 -0000

too funny... these guys going on about 'vinyl only', and then have Pioneer digital effects unit plonked in front of the decks. And they were remastering a bunch of tracks for the show (presumably on software, digitally) and then cutting them back to vinyl dubplates, because vinyl sounds better.

Re: Charlie Hebdo: God isn't like freedom of speech | National | National | Mail & Guardian

Tim Gregory — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 06:04:30 -0000

come on, stop blaming the victims. There is no provocation that warrants the response of premeditated murder. If what you are saying is that there are segments of society that are so intolerant and murderous that we need to curb our right to free speech in case they gun us down, then you have already suggested the solution - those elements of society have no place in a liberal democracy.

Re: Charlie Hebdo: God isn't like freedom of speech | National | National | Mail & Guardian

Tim Gregory — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 03:05:25 -0000

Chris, you are absolutely right that free speech is governed by laws, as is murder in most places. The law takes precedence over hurt feeling and perceived insults, no matter how grave the insult and no matter who the target is. In SA we can say pretty much anything that isn't hate speech or both untruthful and defamatory, and that is the way it should be in a secular democracy. I think it is disgusting that many people are expressing the view that "they asked for it" or "they should not have provoked them to that degree". It's interesting to note that laws regarding Lèse-majesté are still in place in countries like Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands... how free is free speech even in those countries?

Re: Analysis: A culture of entitlement that holds us back

Tim Gregory — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 03:58:33 -0000

Mr Grootes, you are perpetuating harmful stereotypes that reinforce the polarisation and inequality in our society. Too often we're told that poor people are lazy, poor people are dishonest, young women would rather have babies and receive welfare than find work etc etc. We should be helping South Africans become more entrepreneurial and grow their skills, but it's unreasonable to think that one of the answers is to distribute building material and tell people to build their own houses. Did you build your house? Maybe you did, but I couldn't build a house. You imply that white South Africans are brought up with a can-do attitude, much like Americans. Did these go-getters build their own houses?

Re: Race in South African politics matters.

Tim Gregory — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 20:32:42 -0000

Some good ideas, and I agree that the ANC has accomplished much. Unfortunately all the good work and success doesnt give elements within the ruling party license to loot. It's not all bad but that doesn't excuse the bad. I wish more principled and intelligent members of the ANC would pull their own members into line rather than indulging in collective ass-covering.

And by the way, the Nats joined the ANC and many still serve in the ANC government. Here is the relevant bit -
7 August, 2004
"The New National Party (NNP) announced its dissolution and merger with the ruling African National Congress (ANC). A NNP statement said that individual members of the NNP would be encouraged to join the ANC in their respective localities. The NNP would in future contest elections under the banner of the ANC. Officials would retain their party membership and parliamentary and local government seats as a transitional arrangement until September 2005. ANC Minister of Defence Moisua Lekota welcomed the decision, but former State President F.W. de Klerk relinquished his NNP membership, saying the party has gone too far in merging with the ANC, an opinion held by many other NNP members."

Re: Lessons in bad science – Tim Noakes and the SAMJ

Tim Gregory — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 09:08:56 -0000

I have since read your follow-up post, and commend you on the rigour with which you critique Tim Noake's methodology.
Fair play.

You are also entitled to write on whichever subjects you choose, and are perfectly entitled to move on and never revisit this topic again.
But I think a more interesting story than the scientific rigour of 1 "Occasional Survey" is why we have potentially been given such bad dietary advice for so long. It's easy to dodge that question by once again saying 'it's not about the diet,' it's about the quality of the science', but by that same reasoning perhaps we (maybe even you) should be taking a closer look at the quality of the science that advocates low-fat diets?

There are some alternative voices, some even being published in respected journals - take a look at this as an example - http://www.bmj.com/content/...

Re: Lessons in bad science – Tim Noakes and the SAMJ

Tim Gregory — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 08:18:19 -0000

Jacques, what is it about then? Are you trying to discredit Noakes, to downplay his academic contribution? Is attacking the methodology (and the rude behaviour) a way of distracting attention from the message?
What outcome would you like to see?

I read your opening disclaimer that "whether he is right or wrong is a separate issue", but am still in the dark as to what YOUR point really is.

I think it is indefensible that the "Slimmer's Choice" yoghurt sold in Woolworths is (by weight) 10% sugar, yet it's sold as a health product because of it's low fat content. THAT is the outcome of the traditional dietary advice we are being given, and in my opinion, and in the view of a growing number of people that advice is dead wrong.

I would encourage you to do an experiment on your own body, and stop eating bread, pasta, muesli and all the other high-carb, low fat junk that we are told to eat, and try instead eating animal fat from healthy pastured animals, coconut oil, tree-nuts, butter, oil-rich fish, eggs etc and see how you feel and see what happens to your weight and to your cholestrol levels.

Re: Daily Maverick - South Africa, a developmental state? No chance.

Tim Gregory — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:43:01 -0000

dear DailyMaverick kindly post under a name and surname yourself!

Re: So ... we built a new website - Mail & Guardian Online revamp

Tim Gregory — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:34:45 -0000

also, on front page, having the little image blocks alternating left and right means that you can't scan down the page effectively. What was the rationale for alternating the layout of the images and text?

Re: So ... we built a new website - Mail & Guardian Online revamp

Tim Gregory — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:30:59 -0000

don't like it much.. previous version felt far more solid and accomplished. New version is thin and uncertain of itself. Poorly conceived design flourishes that don't contribute to the user experience. And peeping at comments inside a little frame that scrolls around is horrible.. you know that it doesn't cost extra to make long pages that scroll?