r/southafrica

My cat has things to teach us about LLMs.

An essay - Guns Don't Kill People - on Ai fear, and what that hides.

Working on a second piece called - Would You Like To Play A Game? - about whether Ai could design a environmentally neutral processing system under it's corporate restraints.

Actively seeking opinions.

I'm building something on the side (I won't go into detail, because I've already had a post deleted from another sub for "advertising"). And I can't believe how many invisible hurdles there are in simply reaching your target market - things you wouldn't expect when you're starting out.

Here are a few that make me want to rip my hair out:

• Lack of client hubs:
  • You've identified the target market for your Purple Duck Wax product, but you can't afford to reach out to them individually, and don't know where the hell they all hang out together.
  • There aren't any Purple Duck Wax Enthusiast groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, and you can't afford to build an Instagram or TikTok channel to start one yourself.
  • Even the National Purple Duck Wax Association, the professional body for Purple Duck Wax users in South Africa, doesn't exist in any meaningful sense.
• Lack of hub support:
  • If you're lucky enough to stumble upon a group or association that does cater to your target market, you'll probably hit a wall with the people who run it.
  • The Facebook or LinkedIn admins are so concerned about advertising spam that they either fully prohibit it, delete it because they don't trust you, or - if you're super lucky - limit you to posting one advert a week on a day when 300 other advertisers post too.
  • And the one working National Purple Duck Wax Association is very protective over their members and won't share your marketing material with them, even if helping their members find good quality Purple Duck Wax is ostensibly what they exist to do.
• Lack of client general interest:
  • And if you're extremely lucky and find a willing group or association, your potential clients are part of the overall digital community who have been so bombarded by advertising from birth that they mentally edit out your advert as yet another scam from Big Duck Wax.
  • They've probably even registered on various opt-out lists or installed apps that block calls or emails or content from unknown sources.
  • (And you can't really fault them for this, because shit's real out there)
• Lack of client specific interest:
  • And if Lady Luck herself has blessed you with four-leaf clovers growing out of your ears and you find a potential client who can actually see you, you now have to try convince them that your Purple Duck Wax is actually better than the Lilac Chicken Lard they've been using so far.
  • They probably don't care that much, because Lilac Chicken Lard is cheaper, and there has been zero legal enforcement of the Ban On Purple Duck Wax Alternatives Act of 1394.

And all of this is just one small part of running your business. It doesn't consider broader things like operational costs, or even directly related things like making the adverts themselves - it's just getting the channel in place.

The legal and economic barriers to entry for small business are one thing. The social and personal barriers are something else entirely. I've never had more respect (or pity) for small business owners than I do right now.

https://preview.redd.it/mr6c1yz7lokh1.png?width=275&format=png&auto=webp&s=49f31520499f64dfe8992c8b4e44de56f2242b43

Howler charges R5 for a Whatsapp. That is INSANE.

Just came on here to warn people that frequent the N3 about the above company. They work with a legitimate towing company called Euro Towing that most of the big insurers use. I think there might be other towing companies in on it too but this is the one that helped us so thought to flag it. They will convince you that it’s easier to drive the 10km to their workshop (Swannies) in Villiers to get the car looked at and have it repaired. Rather than having it towed to a legitimate dealership and waiting days for feedback on what could be the issue with the car.

Very smooth talkers and because you are stranded and desperate it will seem like the better option. Yes we feel dumb in hindsight but at the time it genuinely seemed like a good option. You will then be extorted out of money for as long as they are able to keep you there. They will find every issue possible under the sun with your car. Possibly even hold your car or some of its parts as collateral should you be unable to pay for all the “work” being done. They tried to convince us to sleep in their dingy guesthouse and when we declined he then said even if we were to call insurance, they would be the ones to be dispatched so there was no use trying to get around it. We thankfully were able to let our insurance know that we would rather wait the 2 hours or so for someone further away than trust them any further with our car.

Once you get caught up with what is happening to you, they will remind you that you weren’t forced to be there.

If this post can even save one person the ordeal of what I endured, I will have done my bit.

​

so I'm selling for the first time on Bob shop and not sure the shipping works. Do I need a specific packing for a specific courier company? Do I need to have the item in a certain box or packet and does the waybill need to be stuck down to the box or packet of the item itself? send help 🫠

I'm(17F) currently in matric and pretty much failing. Theres never been a moment where I passed well, never been a moment where I've made anyone proud. I'd always tell myself that there's always next term or next year but now times running out, there is no next year anymore, I have to start improving now.

To get an idea of the kind of person I am, this is what I have trouble with.

•Emotional regulation •Task initiation •Time management •Prioritization/planning •Hygeine •Working memory

It's easy for me to spend more than 11+ hours in bed, leave and still be exhausted. It's easy for me to lose control of my emotions and possibly overreact, this is most common when my stress ball is taken or nowhere to be seen, other than that I do try to hold myself together but I still come off as passive aggressive and even holding back tears. I don't really hear or remember much of what's said at school, I haven't applied for university because I misplaced my report (like many other things) I'm pretty much a mess so you can imagine how hellish it is attending classes from 6 until 4 O'clock. I have the desire to change, I WANT to change and be better yet nothing ever happens, no action is ever taken.

It really sucks how there's very little assistance or pretty much zero accommodation or ANYTHING to help me or people like me to get through. I literally got 14% in June because I gave up on studying, why? I knew that I wouldn't be able to close the gap between action and thought no matter how much I wanted. So it always feels tiresome when some teachers resort to beatings, obviously it scares me but I've now found a way to get around that pain, "it won't last forever" is what pops up in my mind. It's a temporary solution(beating/corporal punishment) that works to some extent but in the long run, it doesn't change much.

If anyone has went through this same experience and is now living a pretty good(or decent) life in the country, please any suggestions would work since trial is coming next week.

I saw a post about a month ago, this individual lost a lot of money belonging to friends and family. The comments were harsh, some understandably so. The thing is, addiction is a disease. If you've never been addicted to something, it's hard to understand why we do what we do. Whether its drugs, alcohol, gambling, social media, it doesn't matter. We can't just stop! This post isn't me looking for sympathy. If it creates a tiny bit of awareness in this community, or me or someone reading this can help a gambling addict, I'll be happy. And I'll gladly take all the negative comments on the chin.

Here's my story, and it's a long one.

My first time ever in a casino I was probably 18. Singed up at the front desk, got a player card and some welcome bonus money. Played a bit that night, won some money (nothing significant). The thing is I didn't even cash out that money because I forgot what the card pin was. I was with friends and didn't even care much about it (some adult beverages were involved). Obviously kept the card to go back sometime later. I can't even remember when that was. Anyway, that's not the night I was bitten by the gambling bug, although winning on my 1st visit is definitely not the best thing.

My main thing was slots, in pubs. Most of you will know what I'm talking about. Drive past a suburb with some pubs and you'll probably see most of them with the signs outside. And then one night came the big win. R6000 from R500. Damn that's easy money, and a lot of money for me at that time. I was early 20s at this stage.

Things escalated over the next few years. More big wins and even bigger losses. I'll never forget, played roulette at the casino one night and was up to R18k, and gave it all back that night. Horrible feeling that only gamblers know. Personal loans, temporary bank loans, credit cards you name it. Been in debt for most of my adult life so far.

I met my wife (girlfriend at the time) who also playes a bit, but not as degenerate as I am. As far as I know and believe she hasn't gambled in a very long time. I tried to hide it from her when I went on work trips, go to pubs or casinos. Same thing, win some but lose more. Eventually the debt and money situation gets so bad that I knew I had to come clean to her. You know, I cant keep pretending to have money, when I'm in a vicious cycle of debt. Told her everything, very pissed off, understandably so. We work through it. She handles my finances and everything is hunky dory for a while.

Up until now there's been no online casinos or sites involved. And as a addict, I got the bright idea to dabble in this poison. Worst regret of my life. Easier to hide, no going to physical casinos or slots. And at this point I was trusted with money again. No checking up on my finances or anything. I convinced her I was done with all of it. She eventually caught me, and I still told here I'm glad she did. Because at that point I wasn't too deep in a hole where I had to come clean to her. Same story again, close my betting account, show her proof that it was done and she hanbled the finances. Things are great again after a while. Debt is paid off and we're living the life. We're comfortable. Money is enough to survive every month, go away now and then and just have fun. By no means are we classified as "rich". I've never had savings because of my gambling and living paycheck to paycheck.

And you guessed it, shit hit the fan again. Back to my old ways. Online sites are the worst thing. I'd close one account and open another account with someone else. Temporary close my accounts for 6 months or a year. But the thing is, after 30 days you can get it re opened again. Now at this point I can still hide everything. There's ways of depositing without doing bank transfers. There's ways of withdrawing without it going into your bank accounts (e-wallets and all the other banks options). At one point in this year I just started getting lucky, and that's all it is, luck. Had some nice wins, put some in my savings, play again to almost zero and would hit again. I had about R20k in my savings at this point. My wife obviously didn't know about it. And then one day I hit for R50k and R70k. Same say. I couldn't believe it. Next day played some more, got up to R145k. Played some more, lost but eventually withdrew R90k. Now there I am with +R100k in my account. I set a cool off period for 30 days knowing very well that it'll all go back if I don't. Life is great at this point. Taking the wife out, spoiling us both. I worked a lot of overtime at this point in time so the monthly income was also good. And obviously in the back of my head I knew I had R100k to fall back on. This was the most money I've ever had in my life.

My cooling off period is still in effect, and because I only set it for 30 days, I have to wait the full 30 days. Now at work I get told I need to go out of town for two days. Perfect opportunity to gamble, no wife and I'll have the evenings to myself. At this point most of my online accounts are closed permanently, but I manage to re open one of them. In that two day trip I lost R50k. Felt like shit but hey, I've still got +R50k in my savings. At least I didn't give it all back. Two weeks later and there's another work trip and I blow through the other R50k plus R10k that my wife and I have been saving for a trip next year. Now I'm really feeling like shit. When a gambling addict is in that zone of chasing losses he doesn't care or even think of the value of money. I didn't care that half of that savings was my wife's. Al that mattered was playing slots and gambling. My bet sizes obviously also increased dramatically because of the amounts I was depositing. Third time going away for work, this time for a whole week. While away I took a personal loan of R60k and lost it all. I went from +R100k to -R70k in the span of about a month. Disgusting to think about, and believe me I think about it everyday. R70k in debt which will take some time to pay off. I got back from my work trip on a Saturday and told my wife everything on the Monday.

She was beyond pissed of and disappointed. She asked me why can't I just stop. I wish it was as easy as that. We're getting through it. I told her and she agrees that I cannot be trusted with money. She has full access to my online banking and all my money gets transferred to her. It's difficult because I've hurt her for a third time. It's also difficult trying to explain to her that it's a disease. Gamblers will rob and steal from people they love. They will give bullshit stories to get money from friends or family. Luckily I've never stolen (except from our savings, which is the first amount that I'm working on paying back). I've also contacted SARGF about self excluding and they are very helpfull. Fill in some forms, send it back to them and you'll be excluded from all premises and online sites in the country. I have already recieved emails ans sms from establishments confirming that the self exclusion is in effect.

Please get the help you need if you think you might have a problem. Don't be like me. STOP. Cooling of times on the sites don't work, or it just didn't for me. Self exclude through the national gambling boards. They have to honor your request. It takes about two weeks from submitting your documents until it is all sorted. For me that's the only way, if I go to a casino now I could be arrested for trespassing, if I somehow manage to deposit online I wont be able to cash out. Those are the steps I need in place. And someone to handle my finances. This time around I've taken more steps than ever before to never gamble again. I hope this post helps someone. And to the people that can gamble responsibly, I envy you.

Well shit that was a long read. Feels good getting some of it off my chest.