Just Not That

Make a difference, easy to support a charity, school or the environment

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:24:50 +0000

If you are not connected to a school you can still help to make a difference by getting yourself either a MySchool, MyVillage or MyPlanet card. Yes that MySchool sign is not just for schools! Raise essential funds for schools, charities and the environment without it costing you a cent (extra). If you need help [...]

Big 5 game reserves in the Western Cape, South Africa

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:22:13 +0000

Often visitors to Cape Town would also like to see some real dangerous African animals in the wild. Obviously the lowveld (or Tanzania/Kenya) is the best place to have that experience, but time or money constraints sometimes makes this impossible. No need to despair, you can now see the big five on a day trip [...]

Compare South African cell phone network providers

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:29:45 +0000

Just wasted another couple of precious minutes trying to sort out the same problem for the fourth time with Cell C. So that made me think – how do the cell phone companies compare. Quick Google search gave me a link to 2010 market share figures. HelloPeter.com gave me number of compliments and complaints for [...]

Make cheap international calls from any phone

admin — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:40:55 +0000

In a previous post I explained how to make free phone calls. This often requires that you spend some money on equipment. Now here is a way to make international calls from a standard landline or mobile phone to another standard landline or mobile phone for a nominal fee compared to regular telephone company tariffs. [...]

How to buy a vehicle in a trust

admin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:58:53 +0000

Buying a vehicle (or any other movable asset) in a trust is much easier than buying property in a trust. Before you can register a vehicle in the name of an entity (e.g. trust or company), the entity must be registered with the traffic department. The purpose of this is that the traffic department knows [...]

Alternative pickle peppadew recipe

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:50:50 +0000

Here is an alternative peppadew pickle recipe for those who find the pickle spice in the other pickle peppadew recipe too overpowering. Ingredients for about a litre of peppadews: coarse salt 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) white grape vinegar 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) sugar 240 ml (1 cup) water A few pieces fresh ginger, [...]

Find a used (pre-owned) car to buy online

admin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:43:03 +0000

Whether it is time to upgrade to a shiny new car or get rid of the old one before it starts costing you a fortune, either way you can save a lot of driving around from dealer to dealer by using the internet. It is a great resource for searching for used vehicles and letting [...]

Things to do with kids in Cape Town on a sunny day

admin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:36:42 +0000

Central Cape Town Climb or take the cable car up Table Mountain Just stroll around the Waterfront and look at the entertainers. Lots of Restaurants and boat trips to choose from. Feed the squirrels at the Company Gardens. Have a picnic or walk in the Green Point park (between the light house and the stadium). [...]

Weekend of adventure in Ceres, Western Cape

admin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:20:50 +0000

Around 1870 Ceres was a major route to the diamond fields of Kimberley. All changed when the railway lines were extended and newer roads were built. Nowadays Ceres is probably synonymous with juice and to a lesser degree for snow and cherries. The Pine Forest Holiday Resort’s used to be another big attraction but its [...]

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect 8 with MySQL ODBC on Ubuntu Linux

admin — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:18:33 +0000

How to install EA 8 connecting to a MySQL database using Crossover Office 9.1.0 for Linux (Ubuntu). This post may be of help even if you are installing EA inside WINE. First reference should be the Sparx EA site. Crossover Office simplifies the install – just used the CodeWeavers automated install. If you have an [...]

Kid sleep day/night trainer clocks

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:28:50 +0000

All parents dread hearing footsteps early morning that signals the start of another day long before you actually planned to get up. We knew that feeling too well. Buying one of those overpriced clocks that promises to solve the problem proved to be money well spent as we do get (slightly) more sleep now. Toddlers [...]

Child birth explained to medical aid schemes (part 2)

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:04:48 +0000

Dear Discovery Health, I hope you found my previous post helpful. This time I’m going to tell you how to save loads of money. Medical Aid schemes are a business after all and with those blinkers on you have two ways to increase the bottom line – you increase members’ contributions or you cut benefits. [...]

Child birth explained to medical aid schemes

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:24:33 +0000

Dear Discovery Health, It has come under my attention that after all these years as a medical aid you still do not quite understand child birth. So let me try and explain it in simple terms. When babies are conceived (the details of this is not applicable), there is a simple formula for calculating the [...]

Dinosaur/Reptile pictures for colouring

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 19:34:08 +0000

Here are a few dinosaur/reptile pictures I created from a photo taken at the South African Museum. Print it out and let the kids colour them in. Stegosaurus Styracosaurus Tyrannosaurus Rex Allosaurus Tortoise Crocodile Macroplata Diplodocus Ankylosaurus Snake

How to make free phone calls over broadband/ADSL

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 19:21:46 +0000

You often hear people talking about saving money by making phone calls over the internet. This may sound complicated but in reality it is easy. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the term for voice communication over the internet. VoIP requires a broadband / ADSL internet connection. In a previous post I explained what ADSL [...]

What is ADSL and how to get it

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 18:36:47 +0000

Broadband is a generic term for fast internet access. Broadband is typically available in three formats: ADSL, Wireless and 3G (mobile). The most suitable one depends on your requirements. If you have a desktop pc or require internet access mostly from home, then ADSL is probably the best choice as it gives the most consistent [...]

Potjiekos on a Weber

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:37:08 +0000

Amazing to see that whenever you need something, somebody is ready to provide it. In my case I wanted to make potjiekos on a Weber. As potjiekos cooks for hours, one will have to add more charcoal/wood during the cooking process. One solution would be to use a standard potjie stand (see below) and rest [...]

24 hour pharmacies in Cape Town, Western Cape

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:20:24 +0000

Information on 24 hour pharmacies are difficult to find and I know how frustrating it can be when you need a pharmacy after hours. Please call the pharmacy to ensure the information is still correct before you drive there. Atlantic Seaboard Wheelers Pharmacy – The Passage Way, Main Road, Hout Bay (021 7903136) 08:30 – [...]

Handy Google Applications

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:37:46 +0000

If you still see Google as only a search engine then this post is for you. Google provides so much more to help us with our online life. Fun stuff: Surf the web using Google Chrome browser Picasa is the simplest way to edit photos and share it on the web Post or watch videos [...]

Fitness training without equipment

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:33:48 +0000

When you are on holiday or travelling you do not always have access to a gym. There is no need for your training program to stop just because you are not at home. I stumbled upon (literally) these sites that contains exercises one can do almost anywhere. Having a goal to aim for also helps [...]

Motivational and Self Improvement Podcasts

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Podcasts and audiobooks are a great way to spend driving time more productive. There are an abundance of free and paid podcasts and audiobooks available. Here are some of my favourites: Motivational Zig Ziglar Inspiring Words of Encouragement Daily Boost from Motivation to Move Business / Entrepreneurship Stanford University’s Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders lecture series Collections [...]

Ubuntu as a Windows alternative

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:56:17 +0000

I have been an Ubuntu user for about two years (at home and work) and never regret the day I made the switch. The Ubuntu operating system has come a long way and is user-friendly enough so non-geeks can use it too. With easy software installation, updates and upgrades. The only reason I still have Windows [...]

Books recommended for toddlers

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:56:49 +0000

The aim is simple – to share books that our kids enjoy. I give the Amazon links as that is where I always go to get more information on books. Where the Wild Things Are A classic and favourite. Max gets up to mischief and gets sent to bed without supper. He then journeys to [...]

Moving property into a trust using a usufruct

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:40:23 +0000

What are the transfer duty and capital gains tax implications of moving property into a trust? Movable assets (furniture, vehicles, clothes) can be moved into a trust by selling it to the trust or donating it to the trust. Moving property into a trust is however not that simple, as transfer duty and capital gains [...]

Banks versus clients’ best interests

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:35:09 +0000

Banks, we just love to hate them – especially in South Africa where banking costs are so high. Despite this hatred banks remain very profitable businesses. I would like to highlight a few of their questionable business practices. Questionable because I am not convinced that they are in clients’ best interests. Minimum payments on credit [...]