English – Tech Warrior

International Literacy Day

Tech Warrior — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 11:45:00 +0000

The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.
—B.B. King

IInternational Literacy Day marks the importance of communication. You are a formidable force when you have mastered the ability to communicate - be it in writing, speech and even thought.

According to the United Nations, more than 717 million people around the world, both children and adults, have a severe lack of literacy skills. This is both alarming, but also eye opening.

Imagine you're not able to understand a written instruction for your work, or to cook something as simple as spaghetti? Granted, through learned experience and over a period of time, one can learn how to make pasta al dente, but it doesn't change the fact that you can't order off a menu, understand which offramp to take, potentially how much something costs - the list seemingly just grows and grows.

Here in South Africa we have LITASA (The Literacy Association of South Africa), a volunteer-run member body with the primary purpose of promoting literacy. Through research, sharing of best practice and community collaboration, they aim to grow a strong literacy community.

Where possible, what can you do to make an impact and help nurture and guide future readers, thinkers and speakers to a world relieved of illiteracy - share them with us!

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No growth without change

Tech Warrior — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 12:25:08 +0000

Many a false step was made by standing still.
—Tim Ferriss

Following on from my previous article — another lesson which I've had trouble with is time management; be it related to a project or a daily task. Maybe I'll update my slogan to:

Adapt. Be open. Be clear. Be timeous.

It's not something that changes overnight. Developing good, healthy habits and setting yourself daily targets or goals is a good place to start though. I am fond of taking a process in my personal and professional life and optimising it, ultimately reducing the amount of time it takes to get it done.

In my personal life, I've grappled with sleep. I don't tend to get enough of it, either because I'm watching online lectures, or trying to watch every TEDed video available... However; in the last month I decided to pick up mountain biking again, and you need A LOT of sleep in the build up to and recover from the treks.

I have my first competition at the end of April. I have no doubt it will be a slog, but it has given me a short term goal to chip away at on a regular basis - in more ways than I can mention here - it has made me become more cognizant of how I use my time specifically around my training regime, when I train and how much time I spend training.

Professionally, over the last few weeks I have set myself the goal of generating eye catching graphic designs on a weekly basis. I have tried to create a minimum of 5 new designs per week; sometimes I manage, sometimes I don't - but what I am doing is honing my craft on a continual basis - optimising it through consistency. I'm no digital Monet or Picasso yet, but I know I'll be there by the end of the year.

Time management skills are something which can be developed. I've found that using 'Carrots and Sticks' motivates me best. Setting goals which are achievable, but still push me, harbour better results. The Pomodoro Technique has helped with my workflow during the day, helping again optimise my time management.

Lastly, the 5 minute journal has been a blessing. Essentially I set aside 5 minutes in the mornings and choose three things I’m thankful for; three things I would like to have happen during the day and a daily affirmation for myself. In the evenings I again set aside another 5 minutes and take stock of what made the day great overall and then I choose three things that I could have done to make the day more productive, more insightful or better in any way. Through 10 minutes of introspection, I am incrementally improving my daily habits and it pays great dividends.

As the header image indicates - there is no growth without change.

As we’re moving into autumn I believe it's the season for change!

Cheers

What do you think of the following Tech Warrior logo?

Should we have started using it 5 minutes ago or should we stick with our trusty shield?

Whichever you think is best, drop us an email share your thoughts with us!

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A thrifty passion for bric-a-brac

Tech Warrior — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 16:10:16 +0000

Thrift, as defined by the Merriam-Webster english dictionary, is the careful management, especially of money. Thrifting then, is the action of spending a set amount of money to maximise the total amount of goods one will receive, similarly to someone who is frugal.

Thrifting is often associated to shopping, either for antiques, gently used clothing items, books and the like. The list goes on. It's the idea of reduce, recycle, repurpose that comes to mind and this is what Zoe at Still Life has a great enthusiasm, skill and passion for.

Nestled in and amongst other arty-crafty restaurants and shops in the Linden suburbs, Zoe has established for herself an attractive shop filled with all manner of wonderful bric-a-brac. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for either for yourself, a loved one or a work colleague there's a 110% chance Zoe can assist.

When Tech Warrior set out on this particular website journey the overriding desire was to create something that reflected the space Zoe had created. A vibrant, fresh and quirky shop which is open to all, and appreciated by many.

Bottling Zoe's creativity and mixing it with Tech Warrior's understanding has resulted in a website that is both energizing and practical. Thank you, Zoe, for choosing Tech Warrior to develop a website that is as charming as your store!

Read Zoe's feedback below:

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

Matthew and Tristan had previously designed and printed my business cards and they were delightful, so using Tech Warrior was an easy decision

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

The only hesitation was, possibly the price involved as I was on a tight budget

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

The professional approach to the brief and asking good, solid, questions

Showing me the different layouts for the website and in so doing it made the visual aspect easier for me to plan my story

Keeping me updated on the progress made and setting a date and time for work entailed

Regards

Zoe Leesam

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Finding certainty in uncertain times

Tech Warrior — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 15:26:49 +0000

The world of money, be it digital or physical, is a nebulous, living 'thing'. Like energy it moves around, it bounces between people and organisations. It can move from one country, state or province to another. It never sleeps. Much like opportunities which are waiting to be capitalised on.

When Tech Warrior first started this project, there was some learning that needed to be done. What is an arbitrage trade? How can you make an income out of it and more importantly how were we going to develop a website to help explain what this is all about.

Tech Warrior and the South African Bitcoin Arbitrage (SABCA) team first spent some time bouncing ideas off one another, learning more about what each organisation has achieved and hopes to achieve all the while focussing on the end goal - create a website that demystifies, enables and empowers its visitors around all things arbitrage related.

Thank you to the SABCA team for their continued engagement to create something marvelous, functional and educational.

Read the feedback from SABCA's founder, Chris Broekman, below:

Blockchain is the tech. Bitcoin is merely the first mainstream manifestation of its potential.
—Marc Kenigsberg

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

I saw that you had built a website for Roman Cabanac's the Morning shot podcast.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

Whether you had the technical ability to integrate my Json endpoint to the site.

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

Good communication

Affordable for a new and unproven business that is being "bootstrapped"

Talented developers.

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

For my site I really want it to sell my mailing list so that I can get a bigger audience. I feel like a bigger list of options for integrating MailChimp campaigns would be a big selling point. e.g. Pop ups when clients visit the site to sign up with the mailing list.

Thanks and regards.
Chris Broekman

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Pockets of excellence

Tech Warrior — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 16:52:58 +0000

To write or not to write, that is the question...

When one recalls similarly famous lines you are transported either into a high school English classroom or a theatre; I much prefer the latter!

On the western edge of Johannesburg, in Ferreiras Dorp, is an organisation lending support to aspiring South African artists. Offering these talented artisans a platform to share their thoughts and passions to an audience as well as other accordant maestros.

The Tin Town Theatre venue and surrounds hold both historical and cultural significance. It was founded by Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) CEO, Marcus Desando and is currently run by the talented Tshepo Ratona with the aid of Phumeza Damane. The space offers both up and coming as well as established artists an opportunity to stage performances, learn and encourage collaborations.

Working with Tshepo on this website was fantastic. The shared insights taken from our respective professions allowed the melding of theatrical artistic vision and expression with the progressive drawing board of web development. Thank you, Tshepo, for choosing Tech Warrior to develop Tin Town's website.

Read on below to see Tshepo's feedback:

Thank you so very much for your talents and effort. We at The Tin Town Theatre NPC, truly appreciate.
—Tshepo Ratona
Producer
Tin Town Theatre

1 - What made you choose to work with Tech Warrior?

The moment I saw the Website from Johannesburg Opera, I knew I wanted to meet and have a great relationship with the company that designed it. Its beautiful, creative and well thought out, that is what made me want to work with Tech Warrior.

2 - If you had any hesitation about using Tech Warrior, what was it?

I had absolutely no hesitations, I made up my mind when I first saw your work.

3 - What were the three things you liked most about working with Tech Warrior?

The kind service, the openness and the effort to truly understand what the client needed and how you could possibly help them.

The turn around times and the constant communication to ensure that we remain in the same page.

The list of options that were basically the best and I had a heart time choosing what the project should look like in the end because all options were carefully created with an effort.

4 - Is there anything that Tech Warrior could do better?

I got the best services I wouldn’t know what could possibly change.

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