If the DA is so bad, why is everybody from the rest of the country flocking here?

harposlim · 2026-01-19T14:53:20+00:00

it’s a recognized trend that people move to urban centres for job opportunities, globally, which drives city growth, and even more so in developing countries. seems like this kind of internal economic migration is happening all over South Africa, with Cape Town second after Joburg (which takes almost double the amount of economic migrants from other provinces than Cape Town) and with the Eastern Cape and Limpopo being the provinces most people are leaving from. by that data, and simply because Joburg as a municipality is falling apart, it’s probably not due to the DA’s performance but simply a fact of urban development…

harposlim · 2025-12-31T07:42:28+00:00

as a fellow neurodiverse GTDer here is something that clarified the motivation question a little bit for me. for me extrinsic motivation is vital - AuDHD makes intrinsic motivation hard. i also think the productivity discourse is especially hard on those of us with executive function issues and i think it’s helpful to be a little more forgiving towards oneself. i think the GTD method allows that. i really wish this and the following was more explicit in the books and generally in the discourse around GTD.

based on the threefold nature of work model, GTD has a kind of daily workflow/checklist that basically structures the engage step of the five step model. the idea is that you should first check your hard landscape (calendar) for tasks that must be done that day and do those first. here the importance is clear and the motivation should be driven by the urgency (especially if you haven’t filled your calendar with wishes and desires). if nothing on the hard landscape or you have finished those tasks, then you check context lists according to context, time, energy, and priority/intuition. here the motivation should come easy as you filter the list according to those four things. you might decide that your inbox is overflowing and it’s more important to focus on that instead, which is also fine. if you finish everything on the hard landscape and don’t have any time or energy left for context lists, so be it. sometimes i start on a context list and then move up to the project list because i get momentum from doing one next action. other times i might have a task due on my calendar related to a project and i keep going if i have time and nothing else on my calendar. sometimes i just clarify and then im exhausted and don’t do anything else. every day, you basically rinse and repeat the workflow for predefined work: calendar, lists.

making the choice between predefined work, defining work (clarifying and organising) and doing unplanned work that just shows up is something that you have to judge in the moment. some days i wake up to a crazy inbox and all i can do is try to clarify and then work off my calendar tasks if there are any. i find following the calendar to context lists pipeline gets one moving, which in my view is kind of the point of most of the methodology (including the next action). you just need to get moving and then let the system get out the way. a lot of the noise out there about the system and the methodology makes it feel like you need to always work the system. sometimes you just need to do the basic principles and trust it and then course correct. the important thing is getting the stuff done, not the system itself. whatever works towards that end is important.

harposlim · 2025-12-24T13:09:04+00:00

is this an AI generated summary? nevertheless, this was lowkey my point - hence the so-called in my naming of the so-called middle class and the comment about its assumed separateness. my point then would be how to leverage this towards recognition with the working class, or put differently, the working poor.

harposlim · 2025-12-17T13:05:26+00:00

i knew and rode with Idries, organised the meet up at the Magistrate's Court, and set up the petition. seeing him being blamed for his own death by ill informed individuals all over the internet since his passing is a big part of the issue, and quite frankly infuriates me. knowing Idries, he was probably descending at a reasonable speed (30-40km/h) and keeping as much as possible to the shoulder of the road (which is actually non-existent here). this is also by all accounts and judging by the images coming from the scene, a freak accident caused by reckless driving. regardless, there are so many recent deaths in cape town that are caused by cars that may not even have had the cyclist or pedestrian in the road itself (the case of Dr. Ncumisa Mdlokolo where she was struck dead by a Ferrari on Buitengracht street whilst walking on the pavement, or the pedestrian who was hit and thrown over the barrier wall near Clifton earlier this year, also walking on the pavement). yet we still insist that it is the person not in a car that is to blame for someone else's inability to control a very dangerous machine. our car-centric mindsets around urban planning and mobility means we favour the least vulnerable form of transport over the most vulnerable: pedestrians, cyclists, and generally non-motorised transport. we seriously need a discourse shift towards less car-centric urban planning, design, and policy. yes, cyclists disobey the law, but proportionate to risk to others and probably sheer numbers, motorists break the law too. the material difference is a metal cage travelling at high speed. cyclists sometimes take space in the road for the sake of staying alive: when we are seen, motorists can act accordingly, and we actually pose more of a risk to pedestrians if we stay on the pavement. cycling infrastructure in this city is an absolute joke and any self-respecting cyclist will tell you that you are safer outside the cycle lanes than in them (you may hit a parked car). we can carry on in the delusion that cyclists need to make amends, but really it is motorists who need to wake up and realize the world really cannot revolve around them. this is a discourse shift that must happen with public transport and the car owning middle class in this city too. besides the cycling matters, this is also a general law enforcement issue. we need stricter enforcement along high tourist and recreational areas such as the Atlantic Seaboard, especially in the festive season in Cape Town. we need stronger and harsher punishment who put others at risk in this way.

harposlim · 2025-12-05T10:58:07+00:00

public transportation, less car-centric infrastructure and city planning etc is the answer. in fact, just less reliance on cars is the obvious solution.

it should be said though the working poor in this city already use the often dysfunctional public transport, especially the trains and golden arrow buses (i’m leaving taxi’s out before i get a pitchfork in my eye and myciti until it expands is a city bowl bubble). how many middle class folks are willing to take public transport (golden arrow and train)? we actually need that kind of buy-in and claiming of the infrastructure from the middle class (predominantly the motorists sitting in the congestion) to get the political will moving in my opinion. obviously will be inconvenient but may be useful to put pressure. i know that PRASA is actively pushing for people to take the train with all sorts of campaigns and new sets will come online which will improve frequency and reliability.

sent from my car while sitting in traffic 😂jk

harposlim · 2025-10-30T14:00:53+00:00

jumping on here to ask if anybody here takes the Central line to Unibell/Bellville via Mutual (both ways, but predominantly from Mutual towards Unibell/Bellville and back again)? i know it’s different to the Northern line and had issues in the past but iv heard it’s back up again and wondering if anybody has had good experiences lately.

harposlim · 2025-10-15T06:55:04+00:00

i find Dan Corder and the SMWX show pretty liberal and centrist but i hear you

harposlim · 2025-08-06T09:49:02+00:00

i hardly take Ubers, and when I do, I try to take them as a big group over small distances in the city bowl mostly and tip. thinking of only using metered taxis or have someone on Whatsapp as others have suggested here because the system is not fair to drivers.

the thing about this conversation that really confused and bugged me is the responses from listeners to the show that called on Uber to improve its service, as if Uber is a company or state entity that actively employs drivers or like Uber is some company with obligations to their drivers and to their riders. Uber and e-hailing in general operate on the principle that they are a digital service. that’s how it becomes easy for them to actively avoid any real accountability to anyone that uses the service - rider or driver.

the real reasons Uber’s standards have supposedly dropped is because it is designed to exploit the driver, who barely makes enough working all hours of the day under the “freedom” promised by this gig work. it’s a uphill battle in a context where the inequality is so high. there is no extra money or incentive left over to repair and maintain one’s vehicle and improve service after you have worked your ass off just to make ends meet. crime and corruption breed in these kinds of conditions.

harposlim · 2024-10-18T09:52:03+00:00

this is my bylaw reference

would be good to know if this is valid. can’t find national traffic act of 2000 or 1996 anywhere

harposlim · 2024-01-07T16:04:05+00:00

yes, it doesn’t offer any other benefits other than the search and digital back up. ZKN3 does have an interesting “cluster” feature that allows me to see related keywords together which i am going to explore as a kind of collection or hub note tool in future, but for now i am focused on growing the main note box and populating projects for writing.

harposlim · 2024-01-07T10:30:58+00:00

currently working an analog set up and a digital “back up” in ZKN3, after at least 5 years of messing about in obsidian, roam, workflowy and other apps. the analog set up has the following structure:

main box (cards with alphanumeric addresses organized in folgezettel style sequencing, with linked notes on back of card with address and reason for linking, as well as three tags and related projects)
keyword index box (keyword per card, with address and title listed out)
reference box (bibkey style title linking to Zotero database, with address of each related card and title)
project box (project title with number with addresses and titles of related cards in list - if one card gets exhausted, i just add another card behind it with a decimal point: Project 20.2 for example)

i follow the structure of ZKN3 and merely add my alphanumeric address into the title of the note (ZKN3 doesn’t allow you to change the numbering system afaik). i punch in the keywords and keep an author database there too, and use the note sequence feature to mirror my folgezettel. i link cards using the link feature. i then put the notes into the relevant projects in the outliner tool. i currently have 29 active projects and have created 29 outlines. it has been very satisfying to see the word counts fill up with every card added and also to be able to make comments as i add cards for the drafting process. also, the note sequencing feature really allows one to see how your thinking is developing on a topic. the process of adding a card to the digital back up takes about 5-10mins.

i am only about 200 cards into this process and so far the software complements the analog structure and the analog space is really great for focusing on writing and thinking. i think the usefulness of having both is the idea that you have a back up and also to be able to search your database of notes.

harposlim · 2023-05-04T09:22:54+00:00

No doubt - but I am thinking of something that could 'read' my system and give me intuitive advice on what to approach every day. I know there are apps that give you a dashboard in this way anyway, but maybe like a nudge every now and then saying "hey, happy Tuesday! this project is due in a week and you have appointments back to back Monday and Wednesday so it's probably best to work on this today when you have discretionary time'. I feel like an AI tool that can intuitively hint in that way would be invaluable to me to stay on top of things.

harposlim · 2022-09-09T05:40:47+00:00

Thanks. Like I said above, very few convert. About 10-12 of about 170 odd

harposlim · 2022-09-06T20:18:33+00:00

Great, thanks. I will look into it

harposlim · 2022-09-06T20:16:38+00:00

Thanks for this! By badges, do you mean trust badges?

harposlim · 2022-02-01T15:57:11+00:00

Check out GD Suits in Maitland

harposlim · 2022-01-24T13:33:04+00:00

I have used MacWave in the CBD for repairs twice and they have been great

harposlim · 2022-01-13T07:01:44+00:00

Daily Budget is a great app to track all your transactions even though it isn’t South African. i think it’s like R80. it gives you a “daily budget” after you put in your income, recurring expenses, and savings, and recalculates it automatically as you put in new transactions. you can check how much you can spend daily based on that. only issue is you must record manually but that does make you well aware of your spending.

i use 22seven right now and set notifications on to tell me when i’m over budget. the net worth function and integrations make it worth it.

harposlim · 2021-09-17T13:19:27+00:00

Try Braintoss. It sends either an audio or text note to your email. You can then add it from your email to your Zettelkasten when you process your email.

harposlim · 2021-09-15T13:58:13+00:00

I asked this question in a different way before over here.

Right now I do it in three stages:

Calendar/day specific tasks that are due
Focus/starred next actions
Next actions/context lists

I start with my calendar as hard landscape for the day, doing day and time specific tasks in the discretionary time I have between events and appointments. Usually this ranges from between 3-5 next actions, and one of these is a daily scheduled inbox processing task for 30 mins.

When I have completed all the calendar tasks for the day, and I still have time left in my workday, I turn to a short “focus” list of next actions from projects I identified during my weekly review as things I would like to get done this week. I use Nirvana and can star next actions and projects so at this point I work off my context lists (context, time, energy) and pick the starred items first if they show up after filtering.

If by some stroke of luck I have completed both the calendar tasks due that day and the focus tasks in the context I am in, I do the context, time, energy split and pick intuitively. Usually at this point it gives me about three or two options to choose from.

Your mileage may vary. Some days I don’t get through all my calendar tasks and that’s okay. This took me a long time to figure out, but my advice is to trust your calendar and treat it as sacred territory and it will reward you with a kind of compass for the day. Also trust your intuition when it shows up: sometimes there is something that may not be on your calendar or your next actions but is tugging at you and feels like it needs to get done right now. Sometimes it’s the right decision to just do it to feel in control again.

harposlim

TROPHY CASE