SAmen

How are you experiencing SA at the moment?

2011-09-20T04:30:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that I can say about SA at the moment and that is it is a very exciting place to be. There is more good things happening than bad, this excludes the crime and politics, but even with this said I had some great experiences this last week which was encouraging.
I had to go and renew my vehicle registration, this would normally be a hour process, it took me 15min and that includes the time I had to fill in my form. If I had my paper work they sent me, it would have taken 5min.
The government has taken the Secrecy bill off the table for now for further investigation/analysis, which in my opinion is a great move that shows that our government does not just do things because they can, and that to me is good governance!
I went to Tulbagh for the weekend, and all I can say is that Tulbagh is a pretty awesome place to go away for a weekend, with horse riding (R 150), visiting the waterfalls in Tulbagh (R5/person), watching the rugby on the Sat. morning at the local Bistro with breakfast, (R 40.00), wine farms, champagne farms and even chocolate farms, what more can you ask for! SA has some special places to visit, pretty damn awesome!
So my fellow SA men fans, there is more to be done in SA to make this a perfect home, but I will say that I am experiencing some great things at the moment.

Here is my question to you:
I am just experiencing selective improvements, or am I being blinded by the window dressing? Have you also seen an improvement in your local government?

Gamers anonymous: Trust the master, get a wirless GT cockpit!!

2011-09-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hi, I am a gamer, I like to play racing games, F1, WRC, GT4 and any other racing games available!! I play because I love the sense of winning, I love learning a course and going faster after each lap, along with playing the game for hours to pass time! Some say it is a waste of time, but when you ride and you feel like you in the car, that is the ultimate for me when it comes to racing.

Technology is giving us gamers a more real life sense on the screen, but what would be even better is sitting on the couch and getting that real life feeling of sitting in the car. Now unless you have been in a simulator, as I had the privilege of doing in Paris a few years ago (bragging rights to me), there has not been many ways of getting that sense until now!!

When Bowline asked me to do a review on their new Ferrari Wireless GT Cockpit 430 Scuderia Edition (what a mouth full), I thought it would be nice, but I had no idea what an awesome experience this would be. The rubber-textured steering wheel is solid and detachable, the buttons on the wheel is like the real deal (and they work), gearshift levers is metal and responsive, everything is programmable which took a little while to learn but not difficult, and this thing is solid. There is no movement when you step on the peddles, the peddles are as sensitive as you would expect to be when you racing a Ferrari, not that I know but I could imagine how it would feel! It felt so responsive that you might as well have been in one, and this piece of equipment is sexy. You can now sit on your couch, legs stretched out, set up just they way you want, and off you go. The time I spent behind the wheel was much better than I expected.

Only negative I could ascertain was that there is no feedback, which in my opinion does not detract from the overall experience. So take it from the master, the Thrustmaster is worth every cent and if you have a racing seat stacked away, you can make this a really great addition to your gaming controls.

This piece of equipment retails at R 4999.00, but if you want to get a special deal on one you can contact me, there is one or two available at a special rate from SA Men.co.za!! Send me a mail, editor@samen.co.za!

By Riaan Kriel
Editor of SA Men.co.za

Stormers to face New Zealand opponent

2011-06-24T02:33:00.000-07:00

With the conclusion of the 1st Super Rugby Semi in Auckland, New Zealand its 100% certain that the Stormers will face a New Zealand team in the Semi's on Newlands next week.

The Blues won a pretty one sided game in front of a handful of supporters on their home ground. The final score was 26-13 by the time the final whistle blew to put the injury hit Waratahs, from Australia, out of their misery.

Robbie Fleck spoke about the Stormers eagerness to get another opportunity against the Crusaders next weekend in the media this morning. From a SAMEN perspective we would prefer the Blues, as that would mean that the Sharks ended the Crusaders run and that South Africa have 2 teams in the semi's.

One can't help but wonder what a Bulls team would have done to the Blues this morning. Even with their dominance they looked below par, based on previous performances this year.

Let's unite behind the Sharks tomorrow morning and cheer our second South African team into the penultimate weekend of the competition.

Cheers
Dries Badenhorst

Red Bull X Fighters going to Rome this weekend!

2011-06-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

Red Bull X Fighters is hot and happening in Rome this weekend! Yup, this weekend all roads (obviously not from a rugby point of view - in this case they seem to lead to Trafalgar Park, Nelson) will lead to Rome.

And for those that enjoyed the season opener in Dubai (currently screening on your channel of champions, Super Sport – 19:00 tonight or catch it Sunday @ 12 on SS2 there is great news....Dany Torres (is there any Spaniards with this surname that is not a super star in one sport or the other), the winner in Dubai, is back after the injury that kept him out of the Brazil FMX competition.

Torres will however have to battle it out with Nate Adams (USA), the defending Champion, who is considered to be the favourite going into the action-packed spectacle. Adams rode his Honda CR450F to victory last month at the second stop of the tour in Brazil in front of 100,000 fans. He will be hoping to make it back-to-back victories in the stadium used for the 1960 Summer Olympics to widen his lead in the championship.

Look forward to seeing these motocross gladiators perform their gravity-defying tricks and battle for victory at the third FMX competition of the season in the eternal city. Other top riders that will be there also include Robbie Maddison (Australia) & Andre Villa from Norway.

By Dries Badenhorst

Source: Red Bull X Fighters Newsroom

SAmen: Sharks need to hear they will fail

2011-06-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

SAmen: Sharks need to hear they will fail: "It's at this time of the tournament that you wish Paul, the famous winner predictor octopus, was still alive and took an interest in rugby! ..."

Sharks need to hear they will fail

2011-06-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

It's at this time of the tournament that you wish Paul, the famous winner predictor octopus, was still alive and took an interest in rugby!

The 2011 version of Super Rugby has been as exciting as ever. Although I'm not much of a statistician, it felt as if there was more upsets in the 2011 version than before. Who would have thought that the Cheetahs will beat the Crusaders.....or that the Stormers would loose to the Chiefs, after leading by 20 points at half time? Or that the defending champions, the Bulls, will loose out on a 6th spot and thus not make the cut for the play offs......enough said.....

We have an exciting few weeks ahead of us!!!!! Focusing on this weekend......do you think the Sharks will have enough left in the tank to travel to Nelson, New Zealand, and qualify for a semi against the Stormers in Cape Town?

Most would argue not. And I think that this is the fuel that the Sharks need to be successful. They were written off on Saturday, but came through against the Bulls. In the 2010 Super Rugby competition I remember that they were also written off before playing against a conquering Stormers team, and defied the odds. The same thing happened in the Currie Cup final - also against the more fancied team from the Western Cape.

Me thinks that as long as you tell those boys from Durbs that they can't do it, the more they want to prove to you that they can - and the more they succeed in doing so.

So here I go.......Sharks you will never do it! There is no real chance for you to go and beat the Crusaders in New Zealand. History tells us that you have never been able to do that. You have had a hard weekend against the Bulls and surely at this stage of the competition your tyres are flat. Flying on Tuesday means jet lag. And forget all that, the Crusaders are nothing short of being just about the perfect rugby team.

Sharks - this is my bid to try and help you. You have ZERO chance of reaching the semi's!

Thought extraction. Who's mind would you enter?

2011-06-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hugh Hefner, I debts Hugh, cause I want to know how he did it!! I am not talking about the babe's......ok maybe a little, but I would like to know what his vision was. How did he manage to get it so right, was it Art school, or doing double time at Illinois. One thing I do know, is that I dont think as big as Hugh, but damn I am going to try.
Thought extraction will probably destroy this world, because most people don't have the purest thoughts, especially if we caught in traffic and some num nuts pushes or cuts you off the road. Now if we all thought like Hugh, then I think we will all be ok. "Dont mind mr. Taxi driver, I have 10 women waiting for me at home, cut me off anytime because when I get home I will be the happiest person alive." Thats probably why JZ has got it so right, he probably thinks like Hugh Hefner, SA we are in good hands!!

RWC - Why you should consider going to New Zealand.

2011-05-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

I think that going to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup is a must if you have the means. Considering the fact that we have a very good chance of bringing the cup back home, but more importantly the Boks are going to need all the support they can get, those Kiwi's are a menace when it comes to rugby!!

Now dont get me wrong, the Kiwi's are great people, but dont mess with their rugby. Our boys will need your support on the streets, in the pubs and in the stadiums when they in New Zealand. I've been there, I've seen the passion, these guys will welcome you in their homes, but when you talk rugby and you talk Springbok rugby, you better be ready to stand your man, because you will be sent to the back of the line if you not carefull.

New Zealand is an amazing country to travel in, the landscape changes in front of your eyes going around every corner, from glaciers to volcanic mud baths, to birds that can rip your car apart(no jokes). It is small enough to travel from the bottom of the south island to the Bay of 1000 islands in the north in two weeks, and thats doing it the long way, but the rugby is going to be insane and the boks are going to need you.

Make a plan, take some clients, go with the boys or take your wife, but the boys need your support! We will be posting some inside information on what to do and where to travel to in New Zealand, so keep an eye out for this.

You can do New Zealand on a budget, its worth it, go and support our team!!

Cheers,
SA Men team

Viking ship adventure?

2011-05-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am watching this program on TV about a bunch of sailors that is sailing a old viking ship(Sea Stallion), replicated from a ship that was found at the bottom of the seabed, Denmark somewhere, a place called Roskilde. They sailing this thing across to Dublin, where the the old ships was built.

This boat is completely open to the elements, got some rudder problems and they get caught in a storm or two which they come through with no serious losses or damage. They get a hero's welcome at Dublin with the mayor welcoming them to the city, and they all go back to their jobs, some saying they will come back next year to sail it back, others running for the hills.

Now I ask you, what do you do in your free time, I know I dont think of crossing a ocean straight with some old viking ship, that's for sure! My biggest challenge is to go to gym.

Leave me a note and tell us what you have done to conquer your inner self.

Voting in South Africa's Elections

2011-05-11T02:45:00.000-07:00

I was driving to drop my daughter off at school this morning when she started asking me about the looming elections in South Africa. Approaching a tender age of 8 she vividly started working out when she will have the honor to cast her vote for the 1st time. She told me that she would vote for Nelson Mandela. The only other 2 politicians that she is aware of is our president, Jacob Zuma and Helen Zille, the Premier of the Western Cape.

Her excitement to have a say in the government of the day reminded me of what a responsibility it really is to go and vote. As a white South African male (and I speak for myself) I have become very uninterested in politics. I have never been to a political meeting and hardly know about many more politicians than my 8 year old. Add to that that I don't have a thorough knowledge of what each party stands for.

I have a few days to do some studying on the topic, and to make sure that I act properly on my responsibility when I make my cross in the voting booth. I would like to invite others, who have also become uninterested in politics, to do the same. It's a responsibility that we have to our children to ensure that we add our little voice to the democratic process.

I welcome your thoughts.