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22:04
From: REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
Read This Entry & More At REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
It has been said many times that Kenyan politicians need to move beyond petty politics and embrace issues. So when the so called ODM big wigs were invited to the ICT debate, it was expected that they would for once give a blue print of an ICT enabled country. Most of those politicians will also be on the frontline of telling you how South Korea has developed than Kenya, yet in 1969, Kenya was perceived to be doing much better. It was therefore expected that these politicians, who are gunning for Kibaki’s job will do better by demonstrating how Kenya could follow South Korea which by the way is the world’s most wired country. That the politicians confirmed to participate but withdrew last minute is indicative that they either do not understand the role of ICT in developing the country or they do not care about addressing issues. Am told that for the politicians, they are only interested in the ignorant voter and not the professionals, who are accused of shouting from roof tops yet do not turn out to vote. I have heard stories that because Kenya has not built or maintained roads means that the politicians can not hold such a debate or such a debate can’t stream live on the internet. Such arguments are made by people who are not in touch with reality in Kenya. They would rather stand on high horses and say how the government should do this or that instead of appreciating the simple things. On a different note, somebody commented on radio how we are always quick to criticize the police yet we do not take time to commend them when they do something nice. They stand in traffic whole day at times rained on yet expected to perform like those in Europe or US. So, if the comment is to tell me how Kenya is a pathetic country, don’t comment here, am sure there are other blogs that will entertain that, this is only for those who appreciate the small steps the country is taking towards development and change. Whilst the failure to participate may demonstrate lack of maturity by the politicians, does it mean we are all at that level. Is there anything that can be done to change politics?
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15:16
From: Me, Life & Everything
Read This Entry & More At Me, Life & Everything
time: 2316hrs
length: short
mood: not sure
stars: three
at: home
level: zero
track: think twice - celine dion, best of ballards 2004
EDIT
This Sunday i decided to go on a movie watching bender **Tato, wassup!** and watched The Lord of War, Chicken Little and Sky High, movies i have been waiting a while to watch and i was not disappointed! [...]
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14:50
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
I was browsing through the Standard’s business section and I came upon this story on the Uchumi debacle and the subsequent share dumb that occurred right before Uchumi shut down. This quote from Terry Davidson got my attention.
Here it is:
Former Kenya Commercial Bank chief executive, Mr Terry Davidson, is one of the key [...]
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14:08
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
Besides WhiteAfrican.com, I also write two other African technology-related blogs. AfriGadget is a team blog, dedicated to showcasing African ingenuity. African Signals is a multimedia outlet for interviews, videos and podcasts on news and news makers in Africa.
African Signals
The last week few weeks have been very interesting for me, primarily because I’ve had the chance to do a number of Skype interviews with entrepreneurs and technologists around Africa. I’ve found that video and audio editing is time consuming, but the experience has proved to be extremely rewarding. I’d like to start adding a weekly news overview, so look for that soon.
Besides interviews, I’m starting to push more of African multimedia content towards African Signals. With my upcoming trip to South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania look for more interviews and reports from those countries soon.
Recent posts:
How Big is South Africa’s Informal Sector? (Video)
Refurbished Computers for Schools in Kenya (Video)
AfriGadget
AfriGadget keeps on rolling. Interestingly enough, even though we’re always scrambling for new stories and it gets update irregularly, AfriGadget has the most pickups by major news outlets out of all the blogs that I write. More than 500 people pull the blog feed, and it has shown up on very large sites ranging from MAKE:magazine to BoingBoing to Wired.
Recent posts:
Solar Power in Madagascar (Video)
Creating Windmills from Old Bicycle Parts and Roofing Materials
African Children’s Toys: Ingenuity Starts at a Young Age
Summary
I want to thank everyone who links to, comments and contributes to all of these web sites. If you see a great example of African ingenuity, have news to share, or come across someone that should be interviewed, send me an email through my contact form.
  
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13:41
From: AfriGadget
Read This Entry & More At AfriGadget
A small company in Madagascar is working to get electricity to rural areas of the island. This video shows them taking the solar panels around in a van to show people how it works and educate the children on solar power. It’s an interesting video, especially near the end where Bill hooks up his computer to the internet through a satellite connection at night - all powered by the solar panel’s stored energy.
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11:35
From: Couch Potato
Read This Entry & More At Couch Potato
EGM u asked and I have answered...PART 1. Ichiena can I claim to have done your 7 things you did not know about Tato? EGM wrote: First, I want a post on how 'Tato came to be. Right from the very first thing that triggered in you a love for all things tatoholic to the present day. So what are are the makings of Couch Tato..how did I discover that I was one? For starters my friend..it is a journey... you don't just wake up and call yourself a Tato..it takes hard work..memory and like aviation you have to have the hours. Ask Movie buff? You have do to the time to call yourself a Tato...a Buff. There is a difference between a critic and a Tato. A critic might be doing it for a job...likes to find fault...he may even like watching the movies...but a Tato LIVES in movies...a Tato is a critic...but worse...he just doesnt watch them...he lives and breathes TV/Movies! So what does it take? 1.Loyalty. Once I start a series I stick with it till the end. It doesnt matter whether it deteriorates through thick and thin... 2.Endurance. Even when you are ashamed of wacthing it...for better or for worse 3.Suspension of Disbelief. You have to put aside the fact that its fiction ...put aside thats its special effects...you have to submerge yourself and lose yourself...(in the movie the moment you want it ..you can never let it go..you only have once chance do not waste ...) 4.Commitment...till death does us part. 5.Don't belive the hype...create the hype. Sometimes you have to see it to believe it. See it to criticise it. See it ...just so that you can say "yeah I saw it and it was crap!" 6.Experiment. Broaden your horizon. Explore new territories. e.g -try Oscar nominated movies. try romance. try mafia movies. try classics...etc -Read a book watch the mini series or the movie...way before borrowing series there were mini series. Peep this out...who can brag having watched all of these...at the end of the day being a Tato is also about BRAGGING RIGHTS! Being a tato is all about the amount of stuff you have watched.And realizing ...DAMN i've watched a whole lot!     Bella Mafia..very interesting...all the male heads of the family and the sons were all swiped clean and only the ladies remained... the rest check out the post Teenage Tato and Baby Tatoremember these from KBC... I may not have read her novels but by golly I watched them mini series. others included Act of will...Voice of the Heart...   Neighbours  Even I was amazed at the stamina it took: 11 years(1991-2002) I stuck with it...till I was posted to Nakuru and had to let go Knots Landing.   Season 7-14 i stuck with Knots Landing. Greg and Abby Somner two cunniving sons of... Days of Our lives  My God ...acha tu...That Dimera family...had me by my balls. I've never been so addicted to something like this... (Perhaps Sunset Beach and Young and the restless for a short stint) And am talking addicted -not 24 style but in a witchcraft kind of style. If there is a soap that can weave stories...Sammi is doing this to lucas who is doing this to Carrie...who doesnt know that Austin and Billy are...ok we start again. John and Marlena... 7th Heaven  Season1-7. Ok there was something just sweet about this show. I still don't believe I dropped it come season 8...i think its due to time but if anyone can hook me up with teh DVD's...I'll clear all 10 seasons. E.R  Best Medical Drama of our time...I was there from start... Roswell and Smallville: last but not least. Examples of series' I started at the same time. Both had very weak storylines in the beginning. And actually both shows were very alike. And with time both evolved..Smallville stood the test of time and emerged stronger as seasons passed by. You would be interested: Izzy on Grays anatomy also played Izzy on Roswell.  
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10:26
From: assidous
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The only gay association in Africa held a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. Note that this is the only country in Africa that has enshrined the gay rights and issues in its constitution. The conference attended by 60 gay people issued a report to the effect that they had been observing keenly the dangers that were as a result of public policies being passed by African governments making the acts illegal. According to them, if laws that were accommodative to them were passed, people would understand them more. This blogger’s two cents worth of advice to them is this: Do that in South Africa for if you try anywhere else in Africa, trust me, you will be ran out of town if not put in the coolers. Beyond that, do it in pitch darkness!
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10:01
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
Benin Mwangi interviews world renowned author-- David Fick on entrepreneurship in Africa. Who does entrepreneurship benefit in Africa benefit? It is the SMME's (small, medium, and micro enterprises that create the majority of jobs in Africa, Europe, and North America. Is there anything, in particular, that you want readers of this book to think after completing the book? Is there anything that you hope that we do after reading it? Please read my second book, Africa Continent of Economic Opportunity The title of this book suggests an abundance of opportunity in Africa. What type of people will get to take advantage of this opportunity? In Africa, entrepreneurial opportunities are getting better for Africans, Arabs, Europeans, Asians, and Americans, but these opportunities are still not nearly what they could be. Hopefully, in the future, continued and even greater improvements will be made in Africa's entrepreneurial and social environment. What is the difference between this and your first book? Covers all 53 countries of Africa, plus more pages.
Read the rest of the interview here.
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9:45
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
 Kenyans go to the next election likely to be choosing between one of two large parties. They would do well to nurture and defend the evolving two-horse race of ODM-K & NARC-K and the continued existence of two strong parties. The evolving parties will be at the heart of an evolving democracy in the country and we will need to make the parties competitive and enhance the ability of each of them to offer divergent opinions on policies that will shape Kenya's economic and social Agenda. In all honesty , the recent introduction of free secondary schooling by the Kibaki regime would not have come by were it not for the ODM-K presidential candidates visions all pointing to this idea. This competition, a jostling for the public heart results in a government that tries to play catch-up with a strong opposition whose policy is driven by a development agenda. Peter Ndiangui on the current political climate in Kenya, " Clearly a refutation of the old proverb about two elephants fighting. As the NARC-K and ODM-K behemoths jostle for the limelight and public approval, each fully aware that the slightest misstep could be punished by their large and powerful rival, the grass is singing."
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9:35
From: Kenya Imagine
Read This Entry & More At Kenya Imagine
 When the Anglo-Leasing scandal broke out, in the din that was raised from out of the bowels of Kenya one thing was conspicuous. The silence from its centre. Similarly, if you were to point out the anti-democratic credentials of the President and his inner circle, or his role in the creation and establishment of the KANU tyranny, the people of Central Kenya would likely rise up in protest. Most people in this part of the country even believe that the misrule of Kenya started in 1978 when Moi became President and not in 1963. Any comment or criticism of the Kibaki or Kenyatta governments, even here on this site is met by sheer hostility from these same quarters. Also, any suggestions of nepotism in public appointments, or of shielding such ‘cousins' from the full effect of the law are met with equal disapproval no matter how factual they may be. Amir Ibrahim argues against Kenyans electing men who will take advantage of their position by getting their way instead of serving the people.
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9:21
From: For Love and Money
Read This Entry & More At For Love and Money
 Nyama choma, commonly referred to as nyam chom, is one of Kenya's best delicacy. In my travels, the best nyama choma I've ever eaten is from Kikopey, a small trading center along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway close to Gilgil town. Other popular nyama choma joints in Kenya include; Kenyatta Market (KM), Njuguna's along Waiyaki Way in Nairobi and Carnivore restaurant also in Nairobi. Despite my bias for Kenyan steaks, I've never eaten a steak dinner that came close in flavor and texture to the one sold at Kikopey. All that changed when I ate authentic Kobe beef. At $30 an ounce (minimum 5 ounces per order), Japanese Kobe is the best steak I've ever eaten! No wonder it sells at a high premium. My first bite almost chocked the life out of me. The piece of cow just melted away in my throat as I tried to swallow it. Unknown to me, Kobe steaks have a high unsaturated fat content that makes it very mellow unlike the normal steaks I am accustomed to eating. The Kobe beef experience led me to research on Kobe beef on the internet. Surprisingly, I found out that you could buy 'cheaper' American Kobe beef from Wagyu cattle reared in the US. These Kobe steaks, from high breed Wagyu cattle, have the same characteristics as Japanese Kobe beef though they are not from full blooded Wagyu as those found in Japan. As I continued researching on the Kobe beef, I realised that it was possible to buy a few heifers, breed them to increase their numbers and start a Kobe beef farm. Unlike regular steaks, Kobe beef does not loose its flavour or tenderness when frozen and can therefore be exported or stored under frozen conditions while retaining its quality.  For $40/lb to $150/lb of Kobe beef, you can breed Wagyu cattle anywhere in the world and export its Beef to Western nations where there is demand for high quality steaks. With four high breed Wagyu heifers, each costing between $2,000 to $3,000, you can ship them to Kenya and start your own farm. Kenya has got cheap labour and produces barley, corn, rice and wheat that is best suited for Wagyu cattle. An initial investment of land and $30,000 seed capital is enough to start a Kobe beef producing farm within a span of five years. Like Professor George Eshiwani who turned to fish farming after his stint at Kenyatta University, I have always harboured ambitions to be a farmer when I return to my homeland. I will continue researching on Wagyu cattle and visit a breeding ranch here in the US with a view to accomplishing my dreams. The frozen Kenyan Kobe beef can be exported to restaurants (and butchers) in Europe just like it is with the Crocodile and Ostrich farms in Kenya.
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7:22
From: My part of the world.......
Read This Entry & More At My part of the world.......
I have been so busy lately that I just realized that I missed NO PANTS day, oh well; I guess I shall get round to it next year... I was kicking back the other day and realized that for the first time in a long time I dont have any close cynical gal pals (I'm not counting off-line pals). I came to this realization when I remembered a phrase used by 3 different harsh chics I have known, "They're so in love that it's disgusting!" A statement to which I usually nod vigorously, 'cause I think falling in love with no abandon is a set up for future pain and I am always proved right (but that's a story for another day). Usually I was so tight with my partners in cynicism that people would think we were dating but that wasn't the case because for some reason or other 2 hardcore cynics don't seem to have any chemistry at all. Although I do remember an incident when I was with one of my cynic gal pals and this other chic who was my pal decided to show this other chic that she could test her will by coming over and sitting next to me. There was some thick tension on that table I tell you! It was like the 2 gals wanted to see who would back down, I decided to save face for both of them by announcing my departure. Hmmmmmmmm come to think of it I guess the close proximity of some of these gals in my life co-related with my forays onto the bilaz train because it takes a strong gal to be close to a guy when she thinks his close gal pal is a b****h. Ladies, why can't we all just get along? In other news, I have now added one more place I won't pick the future Mrs Acolyte from after reading this article. The image of The Acolyte being totally subservient, with the resolve of an earthworm or running around screaming for his wife when she is away or hiding in the marital home like recluse is a terrifying thought! Reminds me of the Concubine when Ekwueme who was in love with Ihuoma went mad after his young wife used a love potion on him. That reminds me, I'm going to think again before going to eat chapatis at a girl's house especially if they weren't made in my presence. Have a charm free day people!
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5:58
From: Mentalacrobatics
Read This Entry & More At Mentalacrobatics
The Alpha Quadrant has just shared that the Kenya presidential aspirants debate scheduled for today is to stream online at Icecast at 14.00 Kenya Time (12:00 GMT) i.e/ right now.
Becky will also be keeping us up to date on her blog.
I have heard a lot of noise about how internet connections within Kenya are super fast, let us see!
Exciting!
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. |
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5:35
From: Mentalacrobatics
Read This Entry & More At Mentalacrobatics
I was tagged by some strong willed people, to ignore them would be dangerous, so here we go with 7 things. Not 7 things you do not know about me which would just be boring especially as I shared 6 things you do not know about me just the other day. So instead here we go with:
7 random thoughts from that blogger called Mentalacrobatics
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I find it amazing how many single women in Kenya wear a wedding ring on their ring finger. The few I know tell me they do that to scare away the seedy and slimy men that approach them. That doesn’t make sense to me. Seedy and slimy men will not be scared away by a wedding ring. In fact if anything that just increases your appeal to such characters. However, all decent, honourable and normal guys once they spot the wedding ring will keep a respectful distance in the courting game. A wedding ring is like kryptonite to single men, believe me. Then the same Kenyan women complain that there are no suitable men around to marry! Well remove the fake wedding rings and then see what happens!
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It is unbelievably hard to get some people to put a simple and small piece of code on their blog. These are not the people who do not know how to upload the ringcode. Those ones usually ask for help. Rather it is mainly experience bloggers who for one reason or another can not be bothered to upload the ringcode yet want to be counted as a KBW member. The excuses they give are many, for example: I don’t have time (it takes less than 20 seconds), It is to big (the ring code is about 1 byte big) it doesn’t fit in with my template (you can format the font to your hearts content so long as it can be read and clicked) . excuses excuses excuses. I believe the reason they have this attitude is because it is so easy to become a KBW member. If we charged USD 50.00 per month and insisted on 10,000 word blog posts weekly to qualify for membership, they would probably have the ringcode up, with flashing lights, in an instance.
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We all have our pet peeves, the little things that irritate us. One of mine is when people wrongly interchange the terms hacker and cracker. For those who do not know:
A hacker is a person intensely interested in the arcane and recondite workings of any computer operating system. Most often, hackers are programmers. As such, hackers obtain advanced knowledge of operating systems and programming languages. They may know of holes within systems and the reasons for such holes. Hackers constantly seek further knowledge, freely share what they have discovered, and never, ever intentionally damage data.
A cracker is a person who breaks into or otherwise violates the system integrity of remote machines, with malicious intent. Crackers, having gained unauthorized access, destroy vital data, deny legitimate users service, or basically cause problems for their targets. Crackers can easily be identified because their actions are malicious.
At least have the decency to know what you are accusing someone of before you go banging on about it over and over again.
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Every relationship reaches a point where you think, hmmmm, this could actually work, or alternatively, damn, this will never work. For me that point usually comes during an unexpected crisis and how the other person reacts to it.
For example, having a puncture is inconvenient, having a puncture at 3am in the still of the night, is scary, having a puncture at 3am in the still of the night on a dark stretch of Thika Road notorious for muggings and carjacking is a bloody crisis, even more so when you are with a date you are trying to impress! There I was going through all the potential options in my head:
- Stop and change the tire right there – ARE YOU MAD?
- Stop and wait for help – From whom? This is not Gotham where you can fire up the Bat Signal and wait for Batman
- Drive to a police station – HEHEHEHEHE yeah right “Kihjana ghucha gipande hii”
- Drive on to a safer place, probably a petrol station and change the tire there, knowing full well that you will complete destroy the flat tire that is on the wheel. Sacrifice the tire to save your life – hmm ok
While I’m doing all this thinking inside I’m saying all these reassuring things out loud, we’ll be fine etc, I’ve done this before etc, don’t worry. Basically just trying to keep things calm and give her no reason to panic.Then I realise that while I’ve been thinking she was saying the same things to me, as in her first reaction was not to panic but to reassure me in case I was about to panic.
At that point I would start to think, hmmm this could work you know.
As opposed to those who start shouting and sulking over something simple as looking for a parking space in town!
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You know those guys who make a big deal of how much they hate football? The ones who say things like, “football just doesn’t make sense and I don’t follow it” you know those guys, the ones who go to the supermarket during the world cup final because, “it will be empty with everybody at home watching the game” you know those clowns right. Guys who come in when you are watching a game and try to change the channel to the MTV Base during half time when you are trying to follow the analysis? You know those guys right? Well every single one of them is now a Chelsea fan. That’s why we look down on you, you chelski muppets. I know 2, TWO, genuine Chelsea fans from East Africa, two of my bros who have been with Chelsea from back in the day, even before akina Viali etc were playing at Chelsea, which to be honest was the first time many of us even noticed that silly team. And those two bros of mine hate these new school Chelsea fans more than we do, hehe!
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African society is governed by a set of rules which you learn at an early age. These rules come and go, one topic of conversation is always which tribe is more traditional than the other. But one thing we all share across the board are the terms of respect and indeed status that are given to the brothers and sisters of our parents.
For example, in English my mother’s sister is my aunt and my father’s sister is my aunt. In our culture, my mother’s sister is Mamamti and my father’s sister is Senje. Dare you call a Mamti Senje, one of my brother’s did once, we haven’t seen him since!
In a similar way in English my father’s brother is uncle and my mother’s brother is uncle. In our culture my father’s brother is Papamti and my mother’s brother is Khotsa.
It extends, the husband of a Mamamti automatically becomes a Papamti etc.
We really do not have a specific word for cousin. I call my male cousins, brother and my female cousins, sister. (That is why I always say, me and my brothers, we are many (see story 5 above). I like this. It means I have brothers who are Kisii, Luo, Kikuyu, Kamba, Swahili, Maasai etc. I got back up!
This one doesn’t extend as automatically. I only call my cousin’s husband brother if I feel he is worthy!
My friends are used to this arrangement now and so when I introduce them to one of my brothers they ask me, “is this your brother, brother ….. or just your brother?”
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A so called friend who happens to live in the states sent me this picture the other day.
They took it with the camera on their phone while watching the latest episode of 24 and sent it to taunt me because they know it will be at least 3 days before I get my hands on the latest episodes. This has to rank amongst the cruellest SMS I have ever received.
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. |
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5:33
From: The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
Read This Entry & More At The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
See the interview with David Fick for yourself!
David S. Fick
Fick is the author of Entrepreneurship in Africa: A Study of Successes and is currently researching his third book, African Entrepreneurs in the 21st Century, which will feature examples of African entrepreneurs who have demonstrated visionary and strategic entrepreneurial leadership across the continent. Fick generously donates all author’s royalties due to him from the sale of his first – and this, his second – book to Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in support of their medical relief projects in Africa and will do the same when his third book is published. Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbookTags: David Fick, Africa Continent of Economic Opportunity, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, entrepreneurship
Read the complete article at
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