Return of the Blog

It's safe to say that Saffa Dude is officially up and running again (although let's call it a light jog for now). After a bit of a hiatus, the blog has been brought back, with a new layout nog al (we hope you like it).

Going forward, with the help of a couple contributors, we hope to explore even more avenues of laid-back, humorous drivel and egomaniacal opinion - all with the aim of tickling your funnier bones, even if only for a few minutes each week.

After all, Saffa Dude is committed to pumping out the same chilled-out vibe that we cultivate in our own lives and spreading it to others. We do enjoy a good chuckle as much as the next man (we probably enjoy a good alcoholic beverage more than him too). So it is that we feel the need to share these thoughts with you.

It's here for your entertainment. Take what you will!
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The Dead Horse Theory

Dakota Native American tribal wisdom, passed on from generation to generation, says:

"When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount and get a different horse."

However, in educative, corporate and governmental Southern Africa, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.

5. Lowering the standards so that the dead horse can be included.

6. Reclassifying the dead horse as 'living impaired'.

7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.

9. Providing additional funding and / or training to increase dead horse's performance.

10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.

11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overheads and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.

12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.

And of course ...

13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position!

If you understand the above, then you are obviously a South African.
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Switzerland joins Schengen Visa Scheme

SD's friends in the travel industry have alerted me to the fact that the list of countries that South Africans can travel visa free has shrunken by one. And its a European favourite.

From 12th December 2008, Switzerland will become part of the Schengen visa scheme, and those usually requiring a Schengen visa will no longer be able to enter with their residency status alone (as is currently the case). Those entering Switzerland prior to 12th December may still enter on the existing residency rule.

For those travelling in the holiday season between 12th Dec 08 – 5th Jan 09, the Embassy are currently issuing visas valid for Switzerland only. These applicants must be travelling by air to Switzerland only, and not already holding a valid Schengen visa. The Embassy recommends if you have a client wishing to travel between these dates who will require a visa, they should apply as soon as possible.

We have been informed by the Embassy that submission for Swiss visas will be by personal application only, by appointment. If you are in London this can be arranged by calling 09065 771222. There is no current indication how far ahead appointments are being made. Once submitted, if all requirements have been met and the applicant is not referred, processing will take 2 working days.

Another one bites the dust....

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If you can drive like that, drive an ambulance

Sticking with our motorsport theme today, I thought I'll share this beauty. I dont need to say much about this, just watch the video and keep your jaw from dropping (its fly season).


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The Power of Dreams turns to Hours of Screams...

Honda announced today that Jenson and his mates at the Honda F1 team are out of a job as the the Credit Crunch hits the first F1 team. They are all due to receive a letter before Christmas confirming they are to be made redundant.


O my shattered nerves!!! If Honda has problems staying in F1 are we going to see Formula 1 racing with just 2 teams next year??? Not sure it will be any different from this year. Maybe we should just give the trophy to Lewis now and call F1 off next season.

Honda's Racing team employs about 800 people directly with their HQ in in Brackley, Northamptonshire. They are now looking for a buyer and hopefully the team can be sold and we'll see their name change and still be in the running for 14th spot.

According to the BBC News

Honda will assume the existing debts, and, it is understood, will sell the team for a nominal figure - perhaps as little as £1, said BBC sport correspondent Adam Parsons.

Honda have won only one race in the past three seasons and last year achieved only one podium position thanks to Rubens Barrichello.

Jenson Button is the other driver in the team.

The team's total budget for the past year, including work done in Britain and Japan, is believed to be just short of $500m.

Adam Parsons said this was "a stunning shock" for motor racing.

He said Honda was considered one of the best funded and most dedicated teams, despite its poor results.

Who wouldnt be interested to buy all that investment at Credit crunch Prices? I am starting a pool and have added my life savings (£2.43).

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SA Blogs: Links Added

I have added some links to some popular South African blogs that I read. See the "What we read..." section on the right or click continue reading to find out more.

Here they are in no particular order...

ChumpStyle
Urban Ninja
Wat Kyk Jy?
Keo
2Oceansvibe
Splattermail
Baglett
SA Rocks
6000 miles from civilisation...

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Saffa's Song of the Week [wk49 - 08]

The Enemy - Away From Here

This is an oldie but its a goody and sums up perfectly how I felt about work this week.
They have a sound that has to grow on you. I find it a bit like the same process of getting to know and love Kings of Leon. I have seen them live twice at UK festivals and have to say that I was surprised at how many of their songs I know without actively following the band. Here is The Enemy's website is saying about what they are up to these days:

Scheduled for release in April 2009, The Enemy are currently recording the eagerly anticipated follow-up to their all-conquering debut album 'We'll Live and Die in These Towns' at studios in Coventry and London with producer Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight, Foals, The Zutons). The Enemy recently confirmed their biggest headline tour to date for March and April next year which concludes at London's Brixton Academy. All of the twenty-two shows at major venues are either sold out or will soon be.

'We'll Live and Die in These Towns' hit the top of the album charts and was soon certified Platinum, ensuring The Enemy's status as one of the UK's biggest bands in the process. They also earned a plethora of major awards including NME and Q's Best New Band and XFM's Best Debut Album. Having played at the Reading and Leeds festivals and the BBC's Electric Proms, they also headlined NME's Rock & Roll Riot tour before heading to Japan for the first time. They also made history with two phenomenal homecoming shows at Coventry's Ricoh Arena.

Buy: We'll Live and Die In These Towns (MP3)

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Amazon Launches MP3 Downloads in the UK

Amazon.co.uk yesterday launched an iTunes rivalling MP3 store. They offer over 3 million songs as they teamed up with Sony BMG, Universal Music, EMI Music and Warner Music.

With the launch it is offering some of the currently top selling albums (like the SD's album of the year Only By The Night by the Kings of Leon) at half price, which equates to £3 per album or 69p per song.

The big advantage here is that it is DRM (Digital Rights Management) free. This means like unlike music you have bought from iTunes you can play it on any device and any number of devices (PC, laptop, iPod, any other MP3 player etc.)

Play.com already offers DRM free downloads at with better quality. Play.com encodes they files at 320 kbit/s, iTunes at 128 kbit/s and Amazon at 256 kbit/s. The quaility does not double as as the bit rate doubles, and you would probably not hear the difference on your standard iPod headset, but for the audiophiles out there that play their MP3'3 over a sound system, there will be a difference.

It didn't take long however for the Pirates to spoil Amazon's party. Some upstart coders have already created a Firefox plug-in that links the e-tailer's service to The Pirate Bay and give you the ability to download the tracks for free or the price of a internet connection. The creators of the software says this about their affiliation with Pirate Bay

“We are not affiliated with The Pirate Bay, and do not host or even link to any illegal content,”

Isn't it just great that the people who sell the guns cannot be prosecuted for what you do with the gun.

Click this link to check out Amazon's MP3 Store.

iTunes is dead long live Amazon...!


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WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED?

Some light entertainment laced with interesting links for Wednesday afternoon...

Men Are Just Happier People

Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can never be pregnant.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another petrol station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks and engines.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
Your underwear is R15.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original colour.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
One wallet and one pair of shoes [DKW's - Thats Dans, Werk, Kerk] - one colour for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.
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You are just jealous because the voices only talk to me

This not only a favourite old bumper sticker (not that SD condones bumper stickers in any way, shape or form), but it is absolutely ridiculous that that some people actually think that they can get away with stuff as long as God told them to dot it.

A man from Texas shows us how...


This guy in San Antonio, Texas rammed a woman's car off the road at 100mph (160kph) because God told him "she needed to be taken off the road."

Click this link to read the complete article on what happens when the voices start to speak to you.

Beware the voices...

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Online picture viewing made less cumbersome with Cooliris

Here at SD we view a lot of photos online. Whether its Facebook, Google Images, Flickr, or some random art from the various websites like deviantArt. My one gripe has always been the waiting time for pictures to load while you scroll from one page of thumbnails to the next.

Cooliris brings us the solution. It mimics the idea of Microsofts Photosynth project of displaying the pictures you want to see as a scrollable and zoomable wall.

Cooliris has been around for a while (now version 1.9) and I have using it for about 4 months. It works as a neat little plug-in to your web browser (Firefox or IE) that will add a icon to any a picture on any Cooliris enabled website (which are most of the ones you use). Clicking the icon takes you to full screen view of a wall of the pictures affiliated with the one clicked on (i.e. Facebook album, Google Image search, etc.). From here you can easily scroll through the pictures open them in the web browser and generally just muck about.

They have a code you can embed on your website with links to you Flickr photos or any RSS picture feed. Below is an example of a random Flickr feed.



To find out more and install this free plug-in go to Cooliris' Website.

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