Author: Toby Shapshak

Threats against households to register their solar installations by Eskom and some municipalities are “impractical, irrational and unfair”, says the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA). Don’t rush to register your systems, OUTA adds, because of “uncertainty and ambiguity” outlined in the “significant amendments to earlier supposed requirements and deadlines by the authorities”. In other words, don’t panic. Being a homeowner with a career-saving solar system that let my family and me work (and live) through the dark days of #loadshitting, I have been watching this ongoing cluster-flunk with interest for years. There has been a surge in queries to OUTA over “threatening communications from Eskom and certain municipalities, including the City of Johannesburg, demanding registration…

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. ‘You’ve got to find what you love,’ Jobs says This is the text of the Stanford Commencement address by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios. It was delivered on June 12, 2005. I am honoured to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.…

This has been a triumphant year for the Springboks and coach Rassie Erasmus, who has reinvented the dour kompestamp Bokke into the world’s most exciting attack team, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Would you like Stuff Rugby to do weekly updates on the URC? Please let us know. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome to Stuff Rugby. Stuff Rugby…

Software is one of the great enablers of this vast information economy we now live in. I use Microsoft Word to write a column, Excel to run my small business, and a host of other now-essential services for email hosting (Gmail), security (Kaspersky), and presentations (Keynote). Not to mention the new growth area of cloud storage (Google wants to upgrade me from 200GB a year to 2TB a month if I want it), proving just how much of our work lives are now thoroughly online. There are some jobs, even industries, that would not exist without the enabling software – especially…

At the glittering launch of a major bank’s new features a couple of years back, the CEO asked me excitedly afterwards: What do you think? I really thought about my answer and replied: “I don’t know who you thought you were talking to, but it wasn’t me (the customer). You were talking to yourself.” I realised he was talking to his own staff in the language they understand, using the catch phrases the bank had recently adopted. I understood what all the big words meant, and the presentation was great, but none of the things being so excitedly talked about…

Not so long ago, Lego proved itself to be a more profitable investment than gold. This was before gold hit $4,000 an ounce (30g) this year. But it was only a mere four years ago that an academic paper found Lego had a higher return on investment than the shiny stuff (before gold quadrupled in value). The researchers from the Higher School of Economics in Russia argued that “secondary market prices of retired Lego sets grow by 11% annually, which is faster than gold, stocks, and bonds” in the Research in International Business and Finance journal in 2021. Although this is clearly no longer the case, it’s an…

A third number five lock in two weeks is enough maths for this podcast, as Rassie Erasmus fields his strongest side against Ireland, the one side that has been able to unlock the Springboks, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome to Stuff Rugby. Listen to Stuff Rugby on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Digging deep two weeks in a row, the Springboks proved (again) that they can win with 14 men. If Rassie Erasmus wanted to build experience in pressure situations, these two intense Tests have been a boon, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome to Stuff Rugby. Listen to Stuff Rugby on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Against minnows Italy, coach Rassie Erasmus has given his dirt trackers a run…. Including double World Cup-winning flyhalf Handre Pollard, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail & Guardian newspaper many moons ago. Welcome to Stuff Rugby. Listen to Stuff Rugby on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Captain courageous Kolisi leads from the front – and the sidelines – as we saw in his 100th Test when Lood de Jager’s red card saw him sacrificed at half time. Along with Andre the Giant, the newest hybrid player, the 14-man Springboks turned Le Grudge match into a triumph for centurion Kolisi, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Andy Capostagno has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades. He’s been my emotional support person for rugby since I was lucky enough to meet him when I was unexpectedly made the sports editor of the Mail…