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23:51
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
You know you have blog envy. That’s the feeling you get when you go to a blog and start getting those feelings of inadequacy. It might be because of really good design, maybe the writing is just incredible, it could be that they’re better at breaking stories or any number of other reasons.
I’m no different. Here are mine and the reasons why:
Web Worker Daily
It’s not just the great content, or the perfect design… It’s the whole package and it makes me angry just to go there. Part of Om Malik’s “GigaOm” network, it has thoughts, stories and tips on how to work from a mobile environment.
Coda
I’ve been envious of Coda’s brilliant blog design for over 2 years. Don’t let me get started on his photography skills, comparing myself there makes me feel absolutely pathetic. Please teach me how to be a Coda-clone so that I can die happy.
Thinker’s Room
Anyone who averages over 35 comments PER POST deserves credit. I’m extremely jealous of his ability to create community, not to mention his ability to write “funny” (though you have to be from Kenya to catch some of it).
WorldChanging
It’s like crack for someone who is interested in development and technology. I can’t go to World Changing and just read one story.
Creating Passionate Users
No one manages to get an idea across better than Kathy Sierra. This is where I go to beat myself over the head learning how to create simple graphics that you instantly “get”.
If you would like to participate in this exercise, please tag your post with “blogenvy” and list 3-5 blogs that create deep feelings of envy and jealousy.
 
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23:14
From: Afromusing
Read This Entry & More At Afromusing
Via Leonardo Energy,
The Wind Turbine buyers guide [PDF]: “The article discusses small wind system components, wind turbine basics, and understanding the ratings. It also shows photos of the small wind turbines and lists several specifications for each.”
Via AfriWea
GVEP International receives a 2 million pound grant for a project in East Africa. GVEP’s role is, according to their site
… providing financial support, capacity building and technical assistance to energy SMEs in developing countries. Using funding from the Russian Government, GVEP intends to set up two Regional Funds in West and East Africa to build local energy supply chains and grow economic development from the bottom up.
The list of other organizations in Africa receiving grants from Europe aid can be found here. [PDF]. Some of the organizations in Kenya on the list include:
Kenya Arid Land Development Focus - Renewable energy in Wajir
Kenya Tana and Athi rivers Development Authority - Community based mini hydropower development in upper tana river basin
Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) - Up scaling the smaller biogas Plants
Via BBC
“The Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus has announced plans to invest $234m (£115m) in solar energy. Archbishop Chrysostomos II said the church would build a factory that would make photo-voltaic panels to capture the sun’s energy.” - Now that is a faith based initiative i could get behind.
Fun from The Daily show with Jon Stewart: An awesome lampoon of the Cape Wind project in Nantucket. Big wigs don’t want it because it will presumably ruin their long range view from their mansions.
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22:52
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
The nation says the following: “The furore raised by the Media Bill boils down to a single issue: should government have the power to force journalists to reveal an unnamed source”? The Nation uses American law as an example and cites the case of Judy Miller to argue against this media bill, but I don’t [...]
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12:57
From: Learning to play
Read This Entry & More At Learning to play
There are a number of interesting development in kenya of late. One of the most interesting thus far is the launching of KenTv, an IPTV service based in the UK and focusing on the delivery of kenyan content to kenyans int eh diaspora. It is an area that is definately lucrative and I can see a number of individuals really latching on to the service. According to John Wesonga, the service is currently getting over 35000 view per day. Thats a huge number for a site that has just been launched that the is focusing on Kenyan content. The naviagation could use some work though and the 5 minute Nakumatt advertisement is a bit too much if you ask me.  Also, in news just released on bdAfrica, kenTv has just entered into a partnership with the steadman group to provide on demand research sevices to Kenyans in the diaspora. I think this service will be a hit both with kenyan students seeking to do research on Kenyan topics as well as with people seeking to guage the viablilitly of business ventures before plunging in. The turn-around time is good (92 hours) and the price is quite appealling ($3.99 per question with bulk discounts) considering what it would cost to do similar research on your own. Another advantage is steadmans ability to return research result of the entire East African region.  Also the Safaricom IPO is causing quite a stire as is to be expected with $500 million worth of equity in the pot. A number of major financial institutions (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Credit Swiss, PNB Paribus to name a few), are gunning for advisory roles on the IPO along with a number of major internation law firms. I must say that i was a bit disapointed not to see Merrill Lynch as one of the firms in the running, I feel that they are letting a major entry point into the African market pass them by. This is quite sad considering the growth potential in this market. Setting up relationships early is definately going to be a key determinant going forward of who cashes in on the Afican Renaissance.
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10:21
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveWako Finally Admits The ObviousEven as members of Kenya’s fourth estate staged a dramatic demonstration in Nairobi this afternoon, while symbolically gagged with tape and cloth, serious questions are being asked in relation to the folly of the whole exercise of the infamous Media Bill. After days in which AG Amos Wako claimed he was studying the media bill he has finally come out and admitted that it is fatally flawed, and he will accordingly advice the president not to sign it. Firstly the AG who knows a lot more law than Kumekucha did not need so many days to find the obvious. I would have saved him a lot of reading had he asked me because I would have told him straight up that it was flawed and the reasons why. But then that was not the real issue here, my friends. What was going on was lots of consultations behind the scenes with the powers that be who finally gave him permission to announce the obvious. The truth is that many flawed bills have been passed by parliament and signed into laws in the past, including the last... Read more
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10:19
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveAs we all said here months ago, the two major ODM-Kenya presidential hopefuls have now officially parted ways. The sickening plastic, forced smiles, as they held hands, fooling the public that ODM was united have finally come to an end and the truth as we always knew it has been revealed for all to see. Kalonzo Musyoka has remained with ODM-Kenya while Raila Odinga has purchased the first Orange Democratic Party to be registered for an unspecified amount of Kenya shillings. Both parties (seller and buyer of ODM) have of course denied that any money exchanged hands, but that one will be very difficult even for a hungry crocodile along that banks of Tana River to swallow. It is highly unlikely that Raila has paid anything below... Read more
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10:17
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveTom Mboya and Jaramogi ginga Odinga were NOT friends. Yes, I know you saw him in the video clips that I placed in yesterday's Mboya post attending the funeral, but the truth is that the two were sworn enemies. In fact in a way it is probably this bitter rivalry that cost Mboya his life in that this brilliant politician did not see the fact that immediately he eliminated Jaramogi Oginga Odinga from the political scene, it would put his own life in grave danger. It was probably one of the few times when Mboya was so obsessed with a political enemy that he placed his better judgement aside. Mboya's biographer David Goldsworthy puts it thus; "Tom Mboya fought the arduous power struggle of 1964-66 with masterful technique and a quite chilling implacability...Read more
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10:16
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveEven as the price of Equity Bank shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange appears to be recovering over the last few days, somebody is forwarding nasty emails warning Kenyans to stay away from the bank. The reason I find this interesting is that I have carefully studied the growth of Equity right from the time it was launched as a building society in the Moi days. I correctly predicting that they would one day be very big, because they did the opposite of what other banks were doing at the time and targeted the ordinary mwananchi. As you read this, the bank has got over one million account-holders, a record in Kenya. The way to analyze a company is to look at how it makes its' money. As a rule I will never invest in a business that I do not understand. Equity's major profit generator is small loans to ordinary folks. If you understand the principal of compounded interest you will quickly realize just how wildly profitable this activity can be. So the foundations of Equity are basically sound... Read more
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10:13
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
archiveUchumi Supermarkets is in trouble again and I am really not surprised. Rather than repeat the remarks I made months ago, I will re-publish the entire post here complete with the date; Saturday, July 22, 2006
Business Special: More Trouble Ahead For Uchumi
In all the hype being generated by the media and show of goodwill towards the Uchumi Supermarkets rescue efforts, alarm bells are beginning to ring loudly in my ears.
I really started to get nervous when I heard about the latest move by the new supermarket chain management to raise extra funds from shareholders. In the plan, shareholders will lend a minimum of Kshs 10,000 each to Uchumi. In fact the plan was to initially get a minimum of Kshs 100,000 from each shareholder. Shareholders quite rightly pointed out that this was too much for most of them.
What is going on here? Read more
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6:07
From: REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
Read This Entry & More At REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
dressed in a variety of colours and covering their mouths, kenyan media practitioners matched throught the streets of Nairobi, protestitng aganist the media bill. The colours also represented the diversity of the electronic and print media present at the demo.
the early morning march was well attended by all journalists from all media houses. they carried their tools of trade.
Julie Gichuru read the petition at the state law office. the gates were locked and the journalists could only speak from outside.
i think the public is right when it accuses the media of being selfish. just google the hulla balloo about the media bill and you will see the number of pages coming up.
the media went on with the silent demo as a way of making a point to the government.
off course the media was there to cover itself.
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4:11
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
The oldest ice cream parlor in Nairobi is located on the ground floor of Kenya House along Koinange Street, right opposite Kengele’s restaurant. Sno-cream is its name, and it has been around since 1954. Over the years, it has been carefully preserved to keep it in its original flavor. But one might not know this little fact, until he or she steps inside the small room. The old posters adverting coca-cola and Pepsi from another generation, the yellowed menu painted directly on the wall, the ice-cream making equipment from another era, and the ancient décor tell it all.
Sno-cream is quite simple, with a customer area consisting of a long counter where one can prop themselves up on the high stools, and a few low seats that are accompanied by antique coffee tables. The service area is manned by two members of staff; the cashier and the person who prepares the ice-cream. The cash register must be the most modern piece of equipment in the whole place.
The ice-cream at Sno-cream is delightful. If you ever walk into Sno-cream on a warm Nairobi evening and sit on one of the high stools, you most probably will find yourself stepping on a horizontal metal rail that is a few inches above the floor, and runs along the whole length of the bar. If you are used to sitting on high stools, you probably know how useful a footrest is, and the Sno-cream’s metal bar is no exception.
I find this metal bar the most remarkable item in the whole ice-cream parlor. If you look at it, you will notice that at the location where each stool stands, the metal is deeply worn out. It is as if a person started filing it and then abandoned the task half way. Over the many years that the metal bar has acted as a footrest to Sno-cream’s customers, the metal bar has gradually been eroded to less than half what it originally was.
How many pairs of shoes did it take for that to happen? More amazing is that it took the much softer rubber soles to eat into the hard metal. Over time, even the hardest metal can be worn out by rubber. That is how powerful the power if persistence is. In the words of Calvin Coolidge ,a former US president:
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Looking at the footrest at Sno-cream reminds me that however difficult a challenge might be, and however weak we might seem in its face, we will eventually overcome it if we give ourselves time to do it without giving up. Let us be persistent.
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1:36
From: Memories, Sentiments, Rants and Raves
Read This Entry & More At Memories, Sentiments, Rants and Raves
 First of all must go Your scent upon my pillow And then I'll say goodbye to your whispers in my dreams. And then our lips will part In my mind and in my heart, Cos your kiss Went deeper than my skin. Piece by piece is how I'll let go of you Kiss by kiss Will leave my mind one at a time One at a time First of all must fly, My dreams of you and I, There's no point of holding on to those And then our ties will break, For your and my own sake, Just remember, This is what you chose Piece by piece Is how I'll let go of you Kiss by kiss, will leave my mind one at a time One at a time I'll shed like skin, Our memories of lazy days, And fade away the shadow of your face Piece by piece Is how I'll let go of you Kiss by kiss, Will leave my mind one at a time One at a time One at a time One at a time Katie Melua
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0:07
From: assidous
Read This Entry & More At assidous
This is a forward that landed in my inbox:
There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity Here are some very
interesting aspects of his life:
1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has
everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals
for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any
of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.
8. Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with
Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates
became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
9. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
His advice to young people: "Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and
Remember:
A. Money doesn't create man but it is the man who created money.
B. Live your life as simple as you are.
C. Don't do what others say, just listen them, but do what you feel good.
D. Don't go on brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.
E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on them who really are in need .
F. After all it's your life then why give chance to others to rule our life."
Read the complete article at
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