Creme Soda

For the first time in almost 2 years, I drank Creme Soda. New Zealanders do not know what Creme Soda is and you get a very confused stare if you try and explain it to them. Creme Soda is the ultimate hangover cure (known as the Green Ambulance in South Africa). Creme Soda is green. Creme Soda is manufactured by Coca Cola. Creme Soda isn’t sold in normal NZ stores; you have to buy it in speciality shops. Creme Soda is yum.

And where do you buy biltong, Creme Soda and South African braai salt? At the South African Shop in Rosedale Road in Auckland.

South African Shop in Auckland – new owners

Proud to advertise that the South African Shop in Rosedale Road in Auckland is under new ownership and management. The new owners, Elsabe and Francois, are two amazing people and I’m convinced that they’ll make a success of the shop. Please do visit them online at The South African Shop or join up on their Facebook page.

If you’re in the Auckland area, stop by the shop and pick up some of your favourites. I know I’ll be munching on some Ouma beskuit (rusks) and pink Fizzers soon.

A few travel pics

Old pump house, close to Whangamata, NZ.

 

 

Inside the pump house.

 

Champagne Lake in the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park outside Rotorua.

Drag Queen Extravaganza

Ettiene’s work Christmas function was held at Finale Restaurant and Cabaret on K Road. Yes, Christmas came early this year. Finale offers a scrumptious buffet dinner with a very yummy kiwi favourite, Pavlova, for dessert. K Road (officially known as Karangahape Road but that’s just a mouthful) is Auckland’s red light district. During the day, it is business as usual with banks, boutiques, cafe’s and opshops operating. After the sun sets, the queens come out to play. 

We were entertained with renditions including covers for Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson (the queens absolutely love them darling), David Guetta and a few kiwi classics that we were clueless about.

Snaps from the past week

We had a launch party for a new version of of our software. This was just the start of the setup.

 

Ladies night at a local hardware shop where the store manager braved the stage in dress-up.

 

Piha Beach on the West Coast of Auckland.

Beach Speed Limits

People are allowed to drive on some of New Zealand’s beaches, unlike South Africa where a lot of conservation laws prevent beach driving. While on a lazy Sunday afternoon drive a while back, we spotted these. Funny thing is, the drivers obey these rules. The average speed on the beach is usually 50km/h but depending on the conditions and the amount of 4×4’s that already passed through a specific area, it is safer to go a bit slower.

 

Buying online is serious business

I’ve been online window shopping for the past few weeks for an Apple iPod Touch. I came across this gem of The Warehouse’s advertising. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy the iPod Touch 8GB for $325.00 or the exact same iPod Touch 8GB for $349.00. I couldn’t make up my mind.

We’re expecting some cold weather soon!

Lower Hutt is a town close to Wellington in NZ. Heard about this on the radio this morning and had to check it out for myself. Friday will be a very cold day in the Hutt.

*The weather forecast has been fixed in the meantime.

Song of the Day – Opshop

Awesome song called Maybe by the popular kiwi band, Opshop.

Rubber duck programming

Ever struggled with something and just couldn’t get it right? As you called a fellow developer and started explaining the problem, the solution became clear to you. You feel like a fool and your co-worker grumbles back to his desk. Sound familiar? You need to get yourself a programming companion aka a rubber duck.

According to Wikipedia, the definition of Rubber Duck Programming is:

Rubber Duck Debugging is an informal term used in software engineering to refer to a method of debugging code. The name is a reference to an apocryphal story in which an unnamed expert programmer would keep a rubber duck by their desk at all times, and debug their code by forcing themselves to explain it, line-by-line, to the duck.

There’s something magical about stating your problems aloud that makes the solution more clear. And it works. If you feel uncomfortable with a yellow duck on your desk, get a small token that will silently sit and listen to all your coding woes.

My “rubber duck” is an Emirates plush toy (I’m still not exactly sure what it is) and serves as an excellent debug assistant.