Winning: not without your help!
First some background info (so you know where the first R10k came from:) MoneySmart, a site that helps you track your spending, hosted a seven day Budget Challenge competition in which ten bloggers each selected a charity and competed to have a R10,000 prize donated to their cause. It wasn’t easy and ultimately, with your help, I won the challenge for the Starfish Foundation. Click here to see the cool infographic
Why and how did I give the money to Starfish?
Starfish Greathearts Foundation is an international development charity, aiming to bring life, hope and opportunity to orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. Starfish believe that everyone anywhere can make a very real difference to the lives of these children. And I agree with them.
They also have an initiative in sync with the Comrades Marathon to raise R1 million rand. It’s awesome and it’s the “how” part of this story…
How are we going to get the million?
Raising a million bucks is not easy. So lets get one thing straight: it’s going to tough. But together with the guys at Starfish, we have a simple 3-step plan that anyone can get involved with in one way or another. You don’t even have to part with your hard earned cash if you don’t want to. But you can still make a difference!
1. Become a Greatheart
For people who are running the comrades marathon.
There is no excuse why you shouldn’t sign-up as a Greatheart on the Starfish Facebook page. It’s free and it helps promote the campaign to your network of friends.
Click here to to become a Starfish GreatheartIf you’d like to start the Comrades just behind the professional runners, then you can try work your way up the leader board by raising donations to meet the million…
2. Support a Greatheart
For generous people.
I took the R10,000 I won and supported my Starfish Greatheart of choice, Tanya Kovarsky. It was simple. I just logged on to Facebook, visited the Starfish page and followed the simple instructions. And bam! Tanya is now No. 1 on the leader board!
The entire R10,000 goes directly to Starfish. It’s just linked to a Greatheart…
Click here to support your own Starfish Greatheart3. Ask corporates to lend a hand (updated)
For anyone on Twitter.
Everyone knows that if you have enough voices to help you shout a message, you’ll be heard. Well, we have loads of voices, and plenty of companies with ears (and hopefully a little money to spare for a worthy cause.) Here are a few suggestions I have to get you started:
- @MTNSouthAfrica
- @cellc
- @Vodacom
- @StandardBankGrp
- @Rbjacobs
- @IS_global
- @Afrihost
- @AXE_SA
- @FordSouthAfrica
- @SandownMotorsGP
- @NikeRunningZA
- @exclusivescoza
- @WOOLWORTHS_SA
- @numetro
- @MINISouthAfrica
- @NokiaRSA
- @wimpy_sa
- @sunglasshutsa
- @OakleySA
All we need is a message and here are a few you can use, just copy and paste one into a tweet and send it off.
Make a corporate aware:
[insert a company here] how about supporting a @starfishcharity Comrades Greatheart with #R10k? http://t.co/Fg011gY
If you’ve made a donation yourself, why not challenge a corporate to match or beat you?
Corporates, click here to support a Starfish Greatheart[insert a company here] Match or beat my @starfishcharity Comrades Greatheart donation of [insert amount here] http://t.co/Fg011gY
Check out the conversation:
I’ve always been taught to give charity. And in many cases I’ve been sad that I wasn’t able to give as much as I would have liked to give. Times are tough. I’m sure you’ve heard people say “charity starts at home,” or even said it yourself. Giving charity is not easy. It’s not cheap.
With that said, I still can’t find a single reason to justify the stupid headline of the blog post. Why? Because it’s utter crap.
You should give charity. And I have a way for you to do it right now, very easily. It won’t even cost you a cent…
I was approached by MoneySmart last week to participate in a “social media” budget challenge. They’ve given me R1500 to survive on for an entire week. And they’ve put me up against 9 other folks who need to do the same. Sadly my budgeting skills are pretty kak. That’s where you come in…
R10k to give away
Here’s the deal that lets you give charity for free:
- If I win the challenge I get to give R10k away to the Starfish Foundation.
- I can win if you support me because it counts for almost half the score (40%)
Give charity for free. Right now.
- Update -
I won!!!
The Starfish Foundation. Why?
Read this story…
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realise there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said “I made a difference for that one.”
The Starfish Greathearts Foundation is an international development charity, aiming to bring life, hope and opportunity to orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. They (and I) believe that everyone anywhere can make a very real difference to the lives of these children.
If you’re interested, click here to visit the Starfish Greathearts Foundation web site
PS. If you think you shouldn’t give charity, then I think you suck.
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An idea as exciting as it is creative
Some guy named Mauricio Arruda is the designer-architect responsible for this ingenious House of Cards table.
Are you getting that these are not regular playing cards yet?
It’s truly spectacular because it just looks so damn real. Mauricio describes the process of production saying:
“To manufacture the table, a process of laser cutting was used. This technology created a perfect reproduction of a deck of cards in scale 13:1. Subsequently, steel cards were welded one to one forming a second‐story house of cards that serves as an under frame. These frames feature a versatile look to the piece, since they are capable of supporting different sized tabletops.”
Whatever you do, do not bump the table.
Each card is created as a single piece so they can be assembled like a real house of cards, where each piece is selected randomly. What a clever way to bring freshness and charm to a room.
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It's not a hard drive. It's not a camera. It's a...
It’s a sleek monolith-styled torch flame lighter that will set you back a cool $160 (about R1000). It comes in a variety of styles like brushed metal, matte black, and even carbon fiber. Get it here.
Don’t forget to check out these Zippo lighter cufflinks and these bear-Claw Firelighters for the Seasoned Pyromaniac.
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This will light up your life. Believe it.
The SOI happens to be a somewhat flexible light source that intelligently tells when you reach into your bag for something. It turns on when there is close approximation or slight contact and when there isn’t, it conveniently turns off. Bang!
No more constant hunting in the dark
It is tiny, but the light is big and bright so you’ll never have to miss calls again because you couldn’t find your phone or embarrassingly empty your entire bag onto a bench in the middle of a mall – pretty handy if you ask me. The nifty light will cost you $40 (About R290) here.
More for the ladies:
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Witness it.
But don’t get muddled up thinking the small one on the left is a buddy bottle. It isn’t – it’s a normal size bottle and, in fact, the bottle on the right contains 30 liters of what is regarded as the worlds finest bubbly…
Perspective.
This ‘Midas’ bottle, cracked open in Vegas club XS, takes the cake as this New Year’s top champagne story. It cost a staggering $100,000 (about R700k) and the cork was lifted at UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez’s party. But it wasn’t him who fitted the bill. All we know is that two strong men were employed to carry the 80-pound bottle over to a high roller’s table.
Quite the spectacle!
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Perfect for chocolate, herbs and spices
It’s called the ‘Chop Round Knife’ and the brains behind it, Paolo Lucidi and Luca Pevere of LucidiPevere Studio, claim that it’s usable with a simple design that sits well in the hand.
The Chop Round Knife comes in blue, grey, pink and black for $48 (about R330) here. I like it.
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Serve Chilled - that's how they want you to drink it
Basically, it lets you freeze your bottle and then extend it’s temperature so you can enjoy your whiskey they way it’s meant to be served (for much much longer).
“To make this new consumption ritual visually conveyed, we have symbolized gold confined into ice. The Ice Pillar keeps Gold Label bottles frozen.” Denis Boudard says.
If we take a closer look, the inner box is inspired by frosted gold leaves and symbolizes the whole “Gold Label” vibe, while the outer box is transparent depicting the ice wrapping the item.
The slanting dynamics of Johnnie Walker Gold’s emblematic label
The Gold Ice Pillar is covered by a metallic gold anodized ring with embossed logos – it makes the product and the brand immediately identifiable and is also used for closing the case.
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The Ferrari Room - yes a room just for the Ferrari's
Photographer Todd Eberle, courtesy of Vanity Fair, got the opportunity to snap away at Ralph’s museum-like garage in Atlanta.
2010 Lamborghini Murciélago Super Veloce
1971 Mercedes Benz 280SE 3.5 convertible
1965 Ferrari P2/3
1957 Jaguar XKSS
1929 Bentley Litre Blower
2006 Bugatti Veyron
1938 Alfa Romeo Mille Miglia Spyder
1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing
1938 Bugatti Atlantic
Be sure to see the Ralph Lauren Sporting Watch based on the Bugatti Atlantic you see above.
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Now you can literally eat your words
Originally, the small, local bakery made the cookie as a special birthday present for a customer’s husband. But thanks to social media, the $33 cookie is being ordered by hundreds of people around Japan (sadly it’s unavailable outside the country, so you’ve got to know someone who knows someone…).
Two months: The current waiting time for an iPhone cookie.
Perhaps there is another cake boss out there willing to try bake some for me?
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Look, I can see my yacht from here
Considering the size and the prime Knightsbridge location of the property, experts estimate it’s worth up to £150million…
5 stories up + 3 stories down = 8 stories
Abramovich lives with his girlfriend Dasha Zhukova and their one year old son Aaron. And I think it’s safe to say that the palatial house which boasts a cinema, an indoor pool, steam room and sauna, as well as a children’s study and entertainment room will have ample space for the three of them. Be real – 30,000 square feet is enough space for anyone.
See this old post: The Worlds Biggest Yacht (belongs to Roman of course)
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Genuine Botswanan Tree Bark
The images were all shot on my iPhone 4 while taking a walk through the African wild – it was fascinating to see how many different types of trees there were in such a small space.
Click on each texture for the high resolution version, and feel free to use any of them as you wish…
2 Bonus Ground Textures
While on my walk along the river that divides Botswana and Zimbabwe, I also found two interesting textures on the ground for you:
Don't touch me on my Carina Nebula
What you see above is Hubble’s 20th anniversary image showing a mountain of dust and gas rising in the Carina Nebula. The top of a three-light-year tall pillar of cool hydrogen is being worn away by the radiation of nearby stars, while stars within the pillar unleash jets of gas that stream from the peaks.
Write that down, then see the high res version here.
]]>We’ve all seen the toasters and kettles that Porsche Design did in partnership with Siemens – they got water from 0-100 degrees in just a few seconds. But tell me, what’s the deal with this plastic bobsleigh – that even won a “red dot” award for high design quality?
porsche now designing bobsleighs
Apparently the inspiration for this first (you mean there will be more?) Porsche bobsleigh was drawn from the racing bobsleigh. Thus, they claim, its runners are based on the engineering of these professional sports devices and are almost as effective (almost). Both have a so-called ‘spring’ in the runners, that give the bobsleigh its excellent steer-ability.
Whoopteedoo Basil!
It goes for about R2000 here, but I rate you rather hook yourself up with a Porsche Rucksack
]]>Behold The Star House…
Arrive on your boat. Naturally.
Nestled into the landscape, this beach house blends naturally into the coastline of Kuwait and slowly unfolds itself as you approached from the desert or the coast.
To infinity and beyond...
When you arrive, you get a glimpse of the sea whilst going down to the public space of the chalet. On this lower level, the house extends into the landscape and the sea, accentuated by an infinity pool in the garden. The private side of the house, located at the entry level, is concealed from the visitors. Bedrooms and private living spaces remain isolated from daily activities.
The Star House by night is plain bliss
The initial design was master planned for three detached dwellings, each with extensive sea views while simultaneously achieving privacy from one another. The client, instead, opted for a single house, two bungalows and a boathouse, with this incredible garage stashed below…
For the love of science. Really! Really? Really.
If you like this home, best you take a look at some of these:
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Checkers is for tramps. True story.
During the Age of Enlightenment, chess was viewed as a means of self-improvement. Even ol’ Ben Franklin wrote an article in 1750 called “The Morals of Chess” in which he said:
“The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn foresight, circumspection and caution.”
Paul Smith on the other hand has simply improved the quality of the game by releasing his limited edition hand made chess set including a board storage case and pieces box. It’s got a multi stripe leather trim around the base, the top of the board has a leather black and white check with red outline and white contrast stitching, the top is embossed with the Paul Smith signature, and the bottom is covered in purple suede.
Paul Smith says purple's the new white
As for the wooden pieces - they’re all handmade and lacquered in both black and purple, with felted bottoms. This Chess set is another piece, which captures the character of Paul Smith’s humorous approach to the design of everyday objects, with the bold use of colour and quality in detail. Get one here for £575 (only about R6000).
]]>Before I begin, lets just get one thing straight here… The zoo is fun. Pilanesberg is cute. Kruger is a little more real. But Botswana… it. is. the. wild.
That’s why I was so excited when I was invited to join some friends and these fine animals for the past week!
We charged past border control straight into the bush
The moment we drove out of the Pontdrift border post we were viewing game – and it never stopped for six days solid, even when we were in the camp, which was a gorgeous set of four chalets nestled inside a natural wall of trees with a view down to a watering hole less than 100m away. There was a central kitchen area with a lounge and balcony which had a fridge and freezer powered by generator. Other than that there was no electricity available to us.
Each evening the camp was illuminated with lanterns for us and a large fire was prepared for our nightly braai. Of course we added so much wood to it the place nearly went up in flames at least three times. But that’s just life in the bush when you’re a pyromaniac.
Pumba and offspring were part of the arrival committee
Each day we had an optional morning and evening game drive with our personal guide “soccer”. This man was born in the region and lived and learned the land before becoming a certified ranger more than 10 years ago – what a champ. He even took us for walks into the wild and educated us on everything from footprints and nests to carcasses and birdlife.
One evening he took us up a hill to a famous protected area where we hung out by a baobab tree with wine and snacks watching the sun set in the african sky – utter beauty! The area was also full of artifacts from the very first settlers and anything we found was placed on a rock along with other findings from previous visitors to the site.
Cape Town's got NOTHING on this vibe
There is really no point trying to describe this indescribable trip. How do you clearly put across the feeling you get when you’re lying in bed and suddenly all goes silent before you hear the cry of a hyena in the silence of the night crawl down your spine? How do you paint a picture of sitting peacefully when suddenly you hear a dog bark? And I’m not talking about a dachshund. I’m talking about a 100% bloodthirsty wild dog who’s bark is filled with evil!
Well, you can’t describe it all, and that’s why I’ve put together a selection of photos I took using my new Nikon DSLR camera for you (more on that later). I can only hope they convey some of the incredible experiences I had while away.
The vibe at Megwe Camp was remarkable
How small is that baby elephant at the camp watering hole?
Even praying mantis come in XXL in the bush
The Kori Bustard - makes the sound of a beating drum when mating. Legit.
Like Twitter - only the strongest survive in the bush
While others just hide when trouble's around the corner
Some just make a run for it - lucky I had action setting on the Nikon!
Words can not describe this feeling
The big moon. The big sky. The big tree.
The big animal, strolling through Megwe Camp
Some gorgeous little birdie
One big bad-ass eagle
Look at the people on the left for an idea of size
I think we found a new species. Freaky!
The Red Billed Hornbills flew into our window every single morning
The hyena clearly searching for some left-over braai vleis
Even Investec had some ambassadors representing
So in total we saw the following animals:
- Wildebeest
- Zebra
- Elephant
- Hyena
- Warthog
- Impala
- Kudu
- Eiland
- Tortoise
- Eagle
- Bush Buck
- Giraffe
- Vulture
- and a variety of birds and insects
Sadly we did not have the pleasure of spotting lion, leopard, wild dogs or a hippo. Next time.
Have you been to the bush lately? Share your stories with me…
]]>I’m armed with enough meat to feed fat bastard three times, my new Nikon DSLR camera and Bear Grylls-type-knowledge. So it’s guaranteed that you’ll see and hear all about the trip when I return.
In the mean time, take a look at some of my timeless content on the right…
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The Keyser Söze of timepieces
Sure, it’s not ideal having absolutely nothing in the centre – what’s the point? But the genius of using lighting around the border to indicate the hour and minute hands is splendid.
Variety
This bad boy appears to come in two different colour options. The question has to be asked: is a watch really a watch without a face?
]]>Like me, you’ve probably heard of many far-fetched anti-aging approaches (or don’t really care): diamond dust scrubs, moisturisers made from fetal nutrients, and of course, the ubiquitous dead sea mud. But this one’s totally new and surprising, even to me…
24k Gold collagen face mask - I love gooold!
“While our new gold mask is simply beautiful, its real benefits are a matter of complex chemistry and biology. Gold powder, when combined with the proper level of silk extract, blocks free radicals to help the skin regenerate quicker and fuller. After a single treatment, your face will look and feel firmer, fresher and vibrant.”
At least that’s what Nicole Vitale, senior director of Equinox spas, says of their new treatment.
Personally, I’d rather have me some of these precious gold prizes:
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