Unexpected wins

Both of us have a jaundiced view of many government run departments in this country. Mismanagement and corruption have eaten away at the effectiveness of these spaces. We expect mediocre service, if we get any at all.

When Matthew Bushell said that he was going to send a new set of Bluetooth microphones via Royal Mail we collapsed in spluttering laughter.

“We have no working government postal service to speak of,” said Matthew as he took a deep breath.

“The package may land in South Africa, but as sure as the sun rises it won’t find its way to us,” added Chantal as she wiped her eyes.

Using a courier company was out of the question due to the cost.

“Royal Mail are sure they will get it to you,” Matthew Bushell assured us, “And I can insure the package at a really low cost. If it goes missing, I’ll get my money back.”

It seemed like a no-brainer.

“Ah well, go for it,” we shrugged, “let’s see what happens.”

Matthew Bushell posted it off and shared the tracking details with us.

It’s in the country

Over the next week Matthew Green kept his eye on the parcel as it crossed the ocean and landed in South Africa. There it sat for several days. We forgot about it until the following week when Matthew checked in on it again.

“Ah, it has cleared customs,” he announced, sounding hopeful.

Days passed. No news, nothing seemed to have happened. After another week had gone by Chantal suggested that we notify Matthew B that the parcel was missing.

“It’s too bad but it’s not unexpected,” said Chantal, with a “I told you so” look on her face, “Matthew B can claim on insurance and we must just find another option here in SA,”

We gave Matthew B the news. He trundled off and got hold of Royal Mail. He sat on the phone to them for over an hour while they tried to locate the parcel.

“Hold on, Matthew B says it’s here in Johannesburg. Somewhere called Village Green,” said Matthew G as he searched Google Maps for some indication of where this was.

“Oh I know, it’s where the Woolworths is in Greenside,” said Chantal, “There’s a post office there.”

“Let’s go see if our parcel is there.”

Off we went, ID book and cash in hand. If the parcel was there we would definitely need to pay something and the last time we visited a post office they did not accept card payments.

Made our day

The glass-fronted angular grey building stood separate from the rest of the small shopping complex. A faded red and blue “Post Office” sign said we were in the right place. We walked through the open glass door and into an empty front section. Behind more glass were two bent heads. None of which looked up. Matthew neared the closest window tentatively.

“Good afternoon,” he said to the bent head, “I have come to collect a parcel. Can you assist me?”

The man on the other side looked up slowly with little interest.

“You go to her,” he said, indicating to the other bent head sitting right next to him.

The woman looked up, also with little interest. She asked us several questions:

Did we receive an SMS? – No

How do we know the parcel is here? – We were told so by Royal Mail.

Do we have a tracking number? – Yes. It was read out to her.

What is your name? – Matthew Green.

She got off her chair and strode purposefully into the dark back room. We waited. There were some rustling and fumbling noises. We waited. She strode out with a box in her arms.

“It’s our package,” said Matthew in disbelief, “Our package arrived.”

ID book proffered, as proof of person. A card placed on the tired looking card machine that was being kept together with tape.

“Oh I need my PIN,” said Matthew frantically scrolling through his phone, “Oh dear, the transaction expired.”

Another attempt this time with the PIN at hand and out spewed the paper receipt. We sighed and smiled as she handed over the package.

“You have made our day,” said Matthew, “The post office actually works. This is amazing!”

This made her smile.

“We now need to check that what’s supposed to be in the package, is,” said an ever skeptical Chantal.

Seated in the car we carefully cut away the wrapping and revealed the box. Everything that should have been in the box, was. Thrilled we messaged Matthew B the news. What an unexpected win!

More good news

After that bit of good news on Monday, the following day Matthew G announced that we had a system ready to test. The cracking project was at a point that we could put it through its paces.

The first time round there was a glitch, the second time round another glitch. And another. And another. But that’s what testing is for. Matthew fixed them all. What we currently had: a phase one of a phase one was working. It was difficult to believe.

The system had started off as an idea to digitise a manual offering using AI code. The hype, the promises and the marketing from the AI companies far outweighed what AI is capable of in reality.

In addition, Matthew walked a long and difficult path of learning. A path that had as its destination this awesome, multifaceted, multi storeyed offering was slowly and excruciatingly pared down and pared down to a fraction of what we had originally envisaged.

The system was deleted in its entirety not once, not twice, but three times. All in error. Once would have been enough for anyone else to chuck it in, when it happened for a third time Chantal wondered aloud whether Matthew had not subconsciously allowed it to be destroyed.

“Maybe it had become too cumbersome, too complicated, even with your approach of coding in bite-sized increments,” she said, “Maybe you had to start again.”

Anybody else would have thrown their hands up in disgust and changed tack. Not Matthew. He doubled down and got back on the AI horse.

Didn’t know what we didn’t know

When we started the cracking project in June Chantal wanted some understanding of how long it would take.

“Will we be sitting in December and still not have anything?” she asked.

“Oh no it will be done way before that,” said Matthew who knew no better.

Despite the frustrations, the deletions, the restarts, the idiot Claudes, the going around in circles, we arrived in the last week of November with a system that was able to do something. A part of a bigger system. The start of a greater offering. But it worked. Another unexpected win.

When we speak to people who know the coding environment, they think Matthew has done an amazing job. They appreciate the process and the time it can take. They acknowledge that it was done by one person not a team and that having laid the foundation the rest will be easier.

Relatively speaking.

What does ‘easy’ mean?

Who knows what “easy” really means? Matthew thought the cracking project would be easier than it was. With no context or experience he launched into this work hopeful, energised, and willing to accept the challenge. He did not know how much of a challenge it would be. He didn’t know what he didn’t know.

Blissful ignorance can keep us comfortable and safe. It can keep us stuck. You know when you are learning when you stumble and fall, feel uncomfortable and frustrated. This clumsy space can push you to the brink. It can make you cave in and give up. That comfy couch looks so much more inviting than the itchy, scratchy straight backed chair of learning something new.

Why did Matthew push through in the face of repeated failure? What kept him at it in spite of computer crashes and AI brick walls? Tenacity? Determination? Pig headedness as in “AI isn’t going to beat me?”

Whatever it was, it did include a bucket load of patience and a willingness to work through the discomfort. His reward was a working system that forms the basis of something bigger. It also asked for a momentary stop at the top to take a breath and appreciate the work done. Something that we can all do at this time of year.

Until next time.

Yours in feeling,
Chantal & Matthew

Credits for this issue — Images: 5th Place