Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Another new Website and Blog

I have recently managed to design my own website for my Business. If you are interested in Drawing CAD work and do work with these type of industry, please visit http://hewettcadtech.co.za/ and join in with the newsletter and or Blog Section. In that Blog I will be sharing some company related things once in a while that's different form my personal Blog site here.

If you think I did a great job at designing my own website, well maybe then I'm a Web Designer as well then. I'll gladly assist you should you be interested. It's a completely free site and I managed it myself but I'm still learning.

But first.... All the Best for the New Year! May 2016 be full of successes! 🎆 🍻

Monday, November 23, 2015

CAD / Drafting Services Poll


Thinking AutoCAD or dwg and dxf files 2D and 3D, what online services can you think of that are not available online or are too difficult for you to use on existing services that can improve a lot.
It can be in the Mechanical field, Electrical field or just plain anything you can think of that can make your life a hell of a lot easier in your work or personal life.

Below are some suggestions. Please vote for them or simply write your own idea / suggestion.
Also if applicable, suggest a price you would pay for such a service. (this will help keep everything online but in some case can be free)
  1. Scanned Image to CAD (dwg / dxf). More accurate conversions and a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a program.
  2. General assistants with your drawings. Upload a CAD file and receive it back fixed or with suggestions.
  3. Proper AutoCAD tuturials.
  4. A feature to make/choose scripts (*.scr files) online to use with Autocad and automate your batch drawings. 

Friday, October 30, 2015

Is retirement just a fantasy?


The earlier you start saving for retirement the longer your money can grow.

Remember compound interest, giving you greater financial security for retirement. If you haven't started saving for retirement you need to start immediately. Retirement savings are probably the most critical savings you can contribute towards, and should never be delayed By not saving for retirement, and not saving the appropriate amounts will group you amongst the 91% of South Africans who are unable to retire comfortably.

Are you among the 9% who have made adequate provisions for retirement?

So what is a comfortable retirement financially?
On the day of your retirement, if you are able to draw 80% or more of your final salary every month, for the rest of your retirement, then you have made adequate provisions. Being debt-free on the day of retirement, and remaining debt free throughout retirement, is vital to ensuring you also enjoy a comfortable retirement.
   
Currently, 29% of pensioners still have debt. Paying debt with just the income from retirement savings leaves little to live on. Your goal should be to pay off all debt, including your bond, credit cards, loans, hire purchase agreements and vehicle finance at least five years before your expected retirement age, thereby freeing available funds to invest more towards your retirement savings. You may be drawing 80% of your final salary, but something to consider is up to 50% of pensioners are currently supporting family members. Will you be supporting any family members when you retire? Factors of longevity and couples having children later in life, means that you may still be supporting parents and children - parents needing expensive medical care and children still requiring housing and financial support for tertiary education.

Be realistic about your situation and ensure that you have made adequate provisions for retirement if you know, or suspect, that you will have to support family rembers during your retirement.
Are you creating real retirement savings or living in fantasy land, hoping that retirement won't be that bad? Think you'll be able to work after retirement to supplement your savings? Will you have the energy; physical capability and medical fitness to complete a full day's work at age 70, 72? - how about at 80? How much will your lifestyle change: will you have to take over chores that were previously undertaken by staff in your employ, like gardening, house cleaning and general maintenance? Will you still be able to employ people to perform these tasks? If not, will you be capable of completing these tasks regardless of your age?

Have you budgeted for medical expenses in retirement?
The current trend of retirees is to downgrade medical aid options to hospital cover, but as you age the need for comprehensive cover becomes greater as many chronic diseases need appropriate treatment with regular visits to specialists with regular medication. With medical inflation reducing the value of your rand even further, medical expenses will cost more in retirement than today. In the US, couples retiring need $240 000.00 to cover medical expenses. However, most have only budgeted $5 621.00 a year. This amount equates to less than half of what is required if retirees live for 20 years after retirement.

As a result of these retirement savings shortages, one in seven retirees have taken a smaller dose of medication to reduce costs, and a fifth have skipped at least one prescription in the last year alone. In South Africa, medical inflation at 9.8% is higher than general inflation of 6.3%. As inflation reduces the value of your rand, the amount that you have saved towards retirement reduces in value during retirement: R100.00 today is worth more than R100.00 in five years time. With medical inflation reducing the value of your rand even further, medical expenses will cost more in retirement than today. Have you budgeted appropriately for medical expenses that will need to be paid during your retirement?

Source: www.fnb.co.za

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Introducing the One Rand Man

Wow, it's been a while since I posted on my blog...lol.

Anyway, I though I should share this since I saw the share to blogpost option on youtube :)

Not going to say much but if you haven't heard of the #OneRandMan this month (here in South Africa), have look at the videos below. Basically, he received his whole salary in R1 (Rand) coins to do an experiment to where all the money is going and be closer to it, also just spending the money as he would normally do. They've been posting episodes every week.
Episodes Posted below but go visit the channels and interviews on youtube as well. Quite interesting but also shocking and makes you think. You can follow him on twitter @OneRandMan

Introduction:



Episode 1: Payday



Episode 2: The Great Divide



Episode 3: Pay The Man



Episode 4: La Vida Loca

Sunday, February 10, 2013

RC Helicopters

Well well, my first post of 2013. It's been a while but this is what happens when you get too busy, lacking a bit on the social sites.

A lot has been happening to this date. A few things like Windows 8 & Office 2013 launched and Blackberry 10 making slow progress to our pockets but maybe more about that later. 
My blog has even asked me to convert my Profile to Google+ when I logged in, which I did of course. :)



One thing that caught my attention last year, was RC Helicopters. They are a bit more fun than RC cars in a way. The first one I was able to get my hands on, is similar to the pic on the right but has been struggling with it ever since, as it seems something keeps it out of balance completely and as I got it from overseas, getting parts for the exact model is a no go.




But one of my latest additions I got myself is a Heliguy Viper. What a fun little thing and easy to fly too at only 38gram, it's as big as your hand. This thing is a 6 Axis 3D Quad and you can do 3D flips with it (with a little practice maybe). A added bonus is you can fly it outdoors even with a very little breeze outside. 

Here's some specs as from The Gadget Shop:
  • 2.4gHz 4-channel radio
  • Adjustable normal or expert sensitivity modes
  • 3.7v 240mAh LiPo battery
  • 4 Coreless motors
  • Latest 6-axis flight control system with adjustable gyro sensitivity
  • USB charge cable
  • Lightweight moulded airframe for added protection
  • Super stable flight performance
  • Weight 38gram (including battery)


So I've gather some links about it and here is a good source if you like to get one yourself @ heliguy.com or thegadgetshop.co.za from SA. 

The obvious thing that came to mind was to place a camera on it, like the big one's. Now, I found a source on YouTube that done the work for us. You won't get much out of it but it will do the trick. 
Head over to Painless360's channel subscribe and watch all his video demonstrations for an OverviewOutdoor flightfitting a camera etc. 

Let me know if you getting yourself one too :) 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Dumping Gmail for Outlook.com?




Well well, what do we have here? Seems like we have a new web-based email client competitor.

Or what do you think?

Read more here, here & here :)





Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Today's Quote

"Cars aren't a wall that we hide behind. We live through the horsepower of our engines and the speed of our cars, not because of anything other than it's our life." 


source: AmericanMuscle.com


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Top Important Tips To Save a Wet Cell Phone

A wet phone is a problem most of us experienced and I found that plenty people don't know how to save their phone from a disaster like this.
I heard about the rise story once and just the other day I mentioned it to someone to try on their Blackberry. Well, after 3 weeks of keeping his Blackberry in rise, it suddenly came alive again.

So I found a perfect post via tipsotricks.com site for some tips. Keep it in mind, if you the lucky one that it did not happened .... yet  :)


Instant Tips To Save A Wet Cell Phone

If you drop your cell in water, the first thing to do of course would be to take it out immediately. The more time it is immersed, the deeper inside the water will go, and the lesser your chances will be to recover it. So just grab your cell as fast as you can from water when encountered, and take it out.
Turn Off And Remove The Battery

Once you’ve taken out the cell, turn it off! Usually, phones will turn off automatically due to the water. If it didn’t turn off, then do so immediately! And not from the push and hold button! Remove the back cover immediately and take out the battery, as quick as you can.



The reason for that is, your phone has thousands of micro connections and wires running inside. Even asingle drop of water, if put at the precise location, would connect these wires.
Give A Freshwater Bath!

If you dropped your phone in salt water (in an ocean), or in a glass of juice or beer or coke , then you should rinse it in fresh water after removing the battery. Otherwise, the salts in the liquid would causecorrosion. You can use filtered or tap water for this purpose.


How To Dry The Phone?

Vacuum it – Once the battery is out, take a towel or a tissue, and dry off each bit of the cell you can reach. If you have a vacuum cleaner, try to suck out the water. This should do the trick for places such as charging orUSB ports etc.

Use a bowl of uncooked rice – Yes, a bowl of rice. Rice is a good absorbent. Completely submerging your phone in a bowl full of rice will suck out the moisture from the phone. Make sure the bowl is covered with a lid though. And keep the phone there for at least two days. You can also use silica granules, which you usually find inside medicine boxes. Silica is an excellent absorbent, but not as readily available as rice.


No Exposure To Air Or Sunlight!

Keeping the phone in sunlight will not help. It could cause heat damage. Besides, if you expose it to the air, it will corrode fast, just as a piece of wet iron will. Also, do not try to blow dry your cell with a hair dryer! Hot air will cause more damage than just the sun or just the air exposure.



Those were some of the basics you should know. Even after attempting all the tips above, your phone doesn’t work, you should consider selling your dead cellphone online. There are so many websites online, like USell, where buyers are willing to purchase dead smartphones at decent prices – no matter how bad is the condition of your cellphone.

Please do share more tips!


source:   tipsotricks.com 


Thursday, June 21, 2012

Avoid Computer Eye Strain and Keep Your Eyes Healthy


Being in front of a Laptop / PC screen all day, like myself, you sure feel the impact on your eyes. So after some search on Google I found this small utility, EyeDefender. I think there are a few cool apps similar to this but personally I like this one. It runs in your system tray and warn you on a preferred set time to relax or exercise your eyes a bit, for a minute or two and I think it surely works. You can also set what type of notification you would like to have. Click here to read more and to download it.

Now after you've done that click here and read more about some steps to relief those precious eyes of yours. 
A Summery of the steps:
1. Get a comprehensive eye exam.
2. Use proper lighting.
3. Minimize glare.
4. Upgrade your display.
5. Adjust your computer display settings.
6. Blink more often.
7. Exercise your eyes.
8. Take frequent breaks.
9. Modify your workstation.
10. Consider computer eye-wear.

And lastly, to avoid the strain and keep them healthy here's an interesting post too.

Would like to hear some of your own tips too.



Thursday, June 7, 2012

Goal Celebrations FX (funny)

Lol have you ever seen something like this before. I saw this via gevaaalik's site. Some kids got too much time on their hands :)


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

One for the Guys :) #MuscleMustang

So what do you think? Sweeeet....both of them, I think :D

Click on the photo to view the rest of these top 10 HD quality Mustang wallpapers
(via www.autowallpaperhd.com)

Enjoy!



Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Print eco-friendly

Have you ever thought of saving some cash on that precious ink in that printer of yours. Well if you like living green, go eco-friendly on your printing.
I saw this about 2 years ago and even started using it on my Drawing Plots at work. But since I'm a business owner now, obviously I want to save where ever I can & I like living green too in the same time.

So check out Award Winning ecofont, your inksaving font & software where you can save up to 50% on ink & toner. Basically it's a font with tiny holes inside it not visible to the eye when you print but visible on ink saving.
To try it out you can download the free font and use it in your documents or to make it even easier get yourself the software.

So have a look at their video and visit www.ecofont.com for more info. Happy Printing :)


Monday, April 9, 2012

Have a laugh :)

Funny sketch from Australian 'Skithouse' show

Monday, April 2, 2012

Win 1 of 4 500g Lindt Bunnies (worth R300 each) #GetInMyBellyBunny

If you stay in the Johannesburg or Cape Town area, you DON'T want to miss this one!!


Competition closed: The Winners were:

Check out www.30x30.co.za for more upcoming Competitions.










Thursday, March 15, 2012

Today's funny [#video]

moral of the story... never stop trying.. :)





Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Tiësto - Chasing Summers

Looking at all the great comments, there is no doubt that this DJ is a favourite...

take a listen...awesome track




Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Cove: Help Save Japan's Dolphins

Stop the slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins each year in Taiji, Japan!




Saturday, February 25, 2012

Friday, February 10, 2012

Collapsing Cooling Towers

I just love this video. Had to re-post it. Pretty cool and a nice message I think...

read more via the original post here.