These questions about South Africa were posted on a South African Tourism Website and were answered by the website owner (great sense of humour!).

Q: Does it ever get windy in South Africa? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA)
A: Depends on how much you’ve been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it’s only two thousand kilometres, take lots of water…

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa? (Sweden)
A: So it’s true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town, Knysna and Jeffrey’s Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA)
A: Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific. A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not…oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France)
A: No, WE don’t stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in South Africa? (USA)
A: Anywhere where a significant number of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany)
A: Not yet, but for you, we’ll import them.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round?
A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake
serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA)
A: Yes, but you will probably still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first.

This is something that I have been planning to become familiar with for a very long time now and I think now is the right time. I am a full time university student and decided to start doing freelance web design, which came into action about a year ago. My design skills are pretty good but when it comes to the coding part, it just gets a little too overwhelming.

When I do web or graphic design projects I use Photoshop for my image creation and I then transfer them directly to Serif Webplus X2 which doesn’t require any coding knowledge at all. It basically is a, what you see is what you get kind of program which. It has helped me create some nice looking websites but with the use of CSS, XHTML and Photoshop the limits are endless. If you have any inclination on having a look at some of my work, feel free to visit my portfolio – CreatiDO Design Studio.

Over the past week or so I have created a couple web layouts in Photoshop and the results are really great, but the challenge is trying to turn these layouts into fully fledged CSS and XHTML websites using Dreamweaver. I always seem to stumble into serious ‘holes’ which inevitably ends up in me getting very frustrated because I can’t get it right. I am sure I’m not the only one out here on this quest to learn how to do this but I have come across some very useful websites that are worth checking out.

1. Photoshop Web Layout Tutorials: Grafpedia

2. How to create CSS/XHTML site from your Photoshop layouts using dreamweaver: HV-Designs

Yesterday was a momentous occasion (not really) as I finally got around to taking the final photograph for my photography project which I started about a year ago, called iPicAfrica. I came up with the idea that I would take a photograph for each letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. Each letter making a word that relates to South Africa, with me having to try and take a picture that tries to correlate with each word.

I came up with this idea when I arrived back from spending four years or so overseas, and when I arrived back on home soil for good it was such a great feeling and I wanted to show the world what a wonderful country I live in. So combining two things I love, photography and Africa the idea of iPicAfrica was born!
So without further a due, the final photograph for the letter Z – Zest:

I have finally completed my project, but there will definitely be some new fresh ideas for iPicAfrica coming very soon, so stay tuned.

There are some talks that the cause of Michael Jacksons death was due to an overdose of a drug called Diprivan or Propofol, but at the end of the day this doesn’t surprise me. Many of these stars end up dieing because of substance abuse as was the case with Heath Ledgers death.

Michael Jackson may have died due to taking the sedative Diprivan, a new report suggests.

According to Jackson’s nutritionist Cherilyn Lee, Michael started badgering her Diprivan a month before he died to treat persistent insomnia. Lee (who is also a registered nurse) refused on the grounds that the drug was dangerous.

But here’s where it gets weird… READ MORE

The most important thing in a parent’s life is undoubtedly their children. You may take hundreds or even thousands of photographs of your kids, whether you are on holiday on the beach or just having a relaxing weekend playing around in the garden, but the pictures that come out never seem to capture the moment as you would have hoped.

Here I will give you some good tips on how to try and improve your baby pictures.
Baby Photography Tips:

1. When taking close up portrait type photos, make sure to get a crisp focus on your child’s eyes.

2. Keep it quite that you have the camera out so that you don’t get any forced smiles which more often than not turn out to be poor photos.

3. Think about the composition of the picture, try different angles, look at shadows, lighting, and try using the rule of thirds when possible.

4. Always have your camera around because kids have wild imaginations and you never know when a great shot is around the corner.

5. I would highly recommend investing in a Digital SLR camera as you don’t have long delays like you do with a point and shoot digital camera.

I use a Canon EOS 400D (watch the review) and have been really happy with its performance, with all the photographs above being taken with it. The lens that comes with it isn’t brilliant but still produces some nice results. I got rid of the kit lens that came with the camera and bought a Sigma 18mm-200mm lens which is the one I predominantly keep attached to my camera body. Take a look at some more baby photography tips that you might find useful, more tips.

I hope these tips have given you some guidance into taking better photographs of your kids and I’m positive that you will get better results.