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13:44
From: REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
Read This Entry & More At REBECCA WANJIKU'S BLOG
Last week, the media fraternity united, journalists, editors, photojournalists and took to the streets in protest against the media bill. It was a first- even during Moi days the media never took to the streets. They may have protested, but never before have journalists and their bosses united that well. It had been decided that on that day, all newspapers would carry blank from pages without headlines. The electronic media would also not air news. This was expected to make a statement to the public on the role of media. But this plan was defeated by competing commercial interests with some entities claiming that they may not make as much money if such steps were taken. It may also be argued that admissions by Wako and Kagwe that they are ready to advice the president to shelve the bill may have taken the steam off the elaborate plans. But it remains to be seen whether commercial interests can be sacrificed for the sake of common good. ends
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13:15
From: Rants, Raves & Reviews
Read This Entry & More At Rants, Raves & Reviews
The New... Curve   Feeling my way around Her No wonder She is the Curve. Pressing Her buttons will engage Her functions. Brains & Beauty never come cheap High maintenance is Her keep. Her interest in my tongue Has all forgiven & forgotten. She sounds so sweet being new & pristine. She is the She for me. The Ex Felt sad to let her go. The sadness lasted but a moment. 
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13:05
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
 Africa is massive. Made up of 54 countries who don’t work together sharing information that frequently, and with governments who are more concerned with “other matters” than sharing the accurate mapping of their country. Companies in some of these countries do go about this themselves, and charge a high price for their product.
How does the “average person” then get access to geographic data about off-the-path areas? Google Earth of course.
Being a self-proclaimed map addict, I love playing with Google Earth and enjoy trying out different features. Tracks4Africa is an organization based out of South Africa that has integrated their services into Google Earth. Their goal is to focus on the rural and remote areas of Africa that aren’t well defined and who’s roads, bridges and villages shift over time.
Using GPS devices, the Tracks4Africa community when touring Africa do meticulous record keeping of their travels. From this huge repository of high quality GPS data we have created a super accurate GPS map called the T4A Map. But the T4A Map is more than that, it is the collective navigational experience of the T4A community over the past 7 years. It shows Africa the way it is and how it is constantly changing.
To show how useful the service is, I went into Google Earth and zoomed in on what appeared to be a rather remote section of southern Tanzania, near Ngajira in the Ruaha National Park.
Google Earth showing the remote area - NOT using Tracks4Africa:
The same area shown with Tracks4Africa data embeded in the map:
Crowd Sourced Mapping of Africa
I find what Tracks4Africa is doing incredibly interesting because of the way the are going about it. Anyone who is in any area of Africa can take part in the mapping of the area that they know. It does require having a GPS system in order to store the coordinates, and then the ability to email that data to the Tracks4Africa organization.
The important thing to see here is that the amount of data that they are collecting would cost a for-profit business millions of dollars to put together. Even then, Africa is large and the ability to get to all remote areas for mapping purposes would likely prove too expensive or difficult.
Instead, you simply ask everyone who travels around Africa to send in their data. Of course, this tends to be expats or tourists with the equipment, but other organizations and individuals can take part if they have the GPS tools themselves. It’s inspiring to see, and kudos go to Google for making it more available through access on Google Earth.
Google Earth is not being used to it’s full potential in Africa - yet. Imagine when everyone starts sending in the data for other data points in Africa besides roads and tourist lodging. I for one, would love to see the data for mobile phone towers being submitted and having the ability to start plotting mobile phone coverage on our own, instead of relying on cell phone company data.
 
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12:26
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
Suggests Kumekucha should be meeting placeThey say it is never a good idea to reveal your weaknesses to the public, especially when you know that your enemies are clearly waiting with baited breath for you to make a mistake. Most Kenyans for instance believe that the majority of people leaving comments in Kumekucha do so from cyber cafes and therefore the survey findings (some of which I shared and a lot of which I kept to myself) were “cooked”. Somebody (notice how the thinking is so similar amongst these NSIS guys) suggested that they will vote with their feet. For your information brother, your comments have no impact on the silent majority and if you know the first thing about how sites get most of their traffic, you would realize the kind of ignorance your comment reveals about you. Read more
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12:25
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
I am seeking guidance and advice so that I understand the above statement made by a leading presidential candidate recently. I have agonized using my limited knowledge of the English language and I still can’t make any sense out of it. Maybe Vikiii can help me. Here is that statement again; “The Whole World Has Been Waiting For Kalonzo Musyoka,” Read more
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12:22
From: You Missed This
Read This Entry & More At You Missed This
"But to get to our Land of Promise, there is a wilderness we must cross and there are giants we must slay."Closing Address delivered at the 3rd National Youth Convention Kenyatta International Conference Centre Sunday, 12th August 2007 By NJONJO MUE Senior Legal Counsel and Head of the Advocacy Programme Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen: I would like to congratulate you on the successful conclusion of the Third National Youth Convention. Over the last two days, you have had occasion to discuss and debate the future of our country and the critical role that Kenya’s young people must play in reclaiming the fortunes of our land. Unfortunately, I was not able to join you until this afternoon, but going by what I have observed and heard in the short time I have been present, I know I can rest assured that the future of our country is in safe hands. Indeed, when I go to bed tonight, I shall be able to close my eyes and rest. I know I can afford to dream of the country that my children will call home. Through the watches of the night, I will behold in my mind’s eye, a strong African country, united in its diversity with a vibrant economy and equitable distribution of resources; where every man, woman and child has the opportunity and the means to achieve his or her fullest potential and where justice and respect for human dignity shall be the basis of social behavior by both the citizen and the State alike. I can already see a strong, united country, taking its place of leadership in regional and international affairs; setting the pace in political governance, economic growth, foreign policy, science and technology, and promoting fair trade. I see a green land where people are able to feed themselves, enjoying the fruits of the land while protecting the environment in the true realization of the fact that “we did not inherit this land from our parents; we have borrowed it from our children.” From Lamu to Lokichogio, from the Lake the blue shining sea, I behold all the peoples of this beloved country, in their different hues and colours living and working together side by side in mutually reinforcing and affirming communities across the land. Read more
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11:17
From: Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Read This Entry & More At Kenyanentrepreneur.com
Chinese Entrepreneurs moving to AFRICA in search of better economic opportunities! what? what?
From the NYT: “for many budding Chinese entrepreneurs, Africa’s emerging economies are inviting precisely because they seem small and accessible. Competition is often weak or nonexistent, and for African customers, the low price of many Chinese goods and services make them more [...]
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7:31
From: assidous
Read This Entry & More At assidous
I found this blog and thought it wise to share with you my readers. I think its a noble initiative. My dear readers, after much thought and contemplation after getting sloppy service and mediocre goods from assorted sellers, some of whom claim to be the best of the pack, i realised that we need to come out and literally turn the tide against this charlatans. Otherwise how does one explain a lack of a consumer agency to fight arbitrary price rises, sloppy or non existant customer service? In this category dear readers are shops, dukas, grocers, supermarkets, government agencies, politicians and anyone and everybody who is tasked by virtue of being in business, to serve the public but deals with them , us, like we are scum yet we pay fro the services and goods they are dealing with. This is the place to rise against them, slowly but surely. For i have a dream that we are going to ensure that we only get the best from them otherwise they close shop. And this is how you are going to do it easily: 1. Create a comment to this post. 2. Let the subject/topic/title be the company/individual but the company name is much better in this case. 3. Post the complaint - (get your facts right about the person/company/product/attendant and any other relevant info.) 4. Be as brief, detailed and to the point as possible. 5. If you have the contacts of the culprit, post them as well as how they can get in touch with you so that we can try to get in touch with them and get their attention to your complaint. 6. If you have evidence, photos, documents, just send them over to our mail address: complaintome at gmail dot com 7. The rest, you leave to us. With time, its my dream that we can grow to a formidable website that will fight for the consumer interest and ensure that we get the best. In any case, i believe that we sincerely deserve it for we aren’t on a witch-hunt mission. Complain2me complaintome at gmail dot com Posted in complain2me blog and re-blogged here by assidous
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5:29
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
“Be not afraid of changing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.”
- Chinese Proverb
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5:04
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
Have you ever stood on top of a hill and observed a man cutting a tree with an axe from across the ridge? You can see the axe strike the tree, but the sound reaches you after a second or two. My primary school teacher explained that the phenomenon occurs because light travels faster than sound. That being the case, the eye is able to perceive the image of the axe hitting the tree before the ear receives the sound of the strike. That delay or reaction time is what is called latency.
The time interval that elapses in receiving the same data is evident when a person stands at some arbitrary distance in front of two blaring radio sets that have been tuned to the same station. It will become apparent that the radio that is further away seems to lag behind in conveying its message. Again, that can be explained by the difference in the distance that sound from the two radio sets has to travel. The sound traveling the shortest distance will be received before the sound that traveled the longer distance.
If you ever switched television channels during a live match, you might have realized that one station might be ahead of the other by a few seconds, even though both stations believe that they are broadcasting the events in real time. When a goal is scored, the image captured by the camera is translated into a signal that has to travel through numerous electronic equipment across long distances before it finally reaches your television. Given that the two television channels use different equipment with various capabilities of speed of transmission, it is inevitable that one signal will hit home before the other. This happens because both television channels have different latency periods for the same event.
Latency is defined as the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it. Every single event that we perceive with our senses suffers latency. The reason is because the signal has to travel from wherever it happened to the organ of sense, and then be transmitted by nerves to the brain where it is interpreted and given a meaning that we can understand. That means that similar to a ‘live’ match on television, we always receive events after they have happened. And again, similar to the two television channels, different people have different latency periods. This would perhaps explain why some individuals are naturally ‘fast’, while others are ‘slow’.
The five common senses are not able to relay information to us in real time. This is unlike what is loosely referred to as the sixth sense. The sixth sense is attributed to such marvelous phenomena as telepathy, premonition, dejavu, creativity and insight. An example is when someone you are close to seems to know what you intend to say even before you open your mouth, or a person calls as soon as you think that you haven’t heard from them in a long time.
Those who consciously cultivate the sixth sense through the practice of meditation report that it enables them to stay ‘in the moment’. One of the requirements of mediation is that a person blocks off the use of the senses, and stills or quietens the activities of the mind. When the five senses are dormant, the sixth sense is allowed to take over and enable the person to be ‘in the moment’ since the latency associated with the normal senses is eliminated. In the absence of latency one is then able to enter into a dimension where time and distance are no longer active.
But what exactly does the absence of latency mean? If latency were to be eliminated right now, it means that no time would have passed between the reading of the previous post and the reading of this post. No time would have passed between the time you got out of bed yesterday and the time you got out of bed today. It means that in the absence of time every event happens at the same time. In fact, it means that as you are reading this post, you would also be reading all the other articles that I am going to post here in the future. In the absence of time, there is no past or future. There is just now. Everything would happen now. And so, we would experience everything at the same time.
The absence of latency would also mean that it would be possible for a person to be at different places at the same time. A person might be going to bed at home in Nairobi from the previous night, while having dinner a week from today in London. In the absence of time, it is not possible to quantify distance and so there would just be here. Every place would he here.
There would just be HERE and NOW.
I think no matter how actively it is calculated, the sixth sense can only enable a person to have a simple glimpse of the immense possibilities of our existence. Of the whole jigsaw puzzle, we are only able to locate one piece at a time; sometimes we know where to fit the piece, sometimes we don’t. That is why perhaps we are able to report about some of these possibilities without them ever having happened to us.
Being in this world severely curtails our universal experiences since the abilities of our flesh and blood bodies are very limited. Perhaps fully perceiving the immensity of these abilities would be the equivalent of bundling the engine of a fighter jet on a bicycle and then opening the throttle all the way. The bicycle will most probably not survive the mad ride. If a person were to be able to receive all the events in his or her life at the same time, they might not be able to live to tell about it. But incredibly, when people talk about ‘my whole life flashed in front of my eyes’, they always report that it happened at the point where they were about to transcend into the next plane of existence, but somehow fail to reach the bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Perhaps this dimension of no-time and no-distance is where we all aspire to go after we die, regardless of our religion or creed. It is perhaps as a preamble that we seek to go to quiet places that we may be able to enter into meditation. And it is perhaps when we create this space that we are most effectively able to communicate with God. A God who is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent. As beings created in the image of God, we are always seeking for ways to take us home.
Omniscience: The quality of knowing all things at once; universal knowledge; knowledge unbounded or infinite.
Omnipotence: Almighty power; unlimited or infinite power; a word in strictness applicable only to God.
Omnipresence: Presence in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence; ubiquity.
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4:36
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
A grouse is a popular game bird that has a plump body and feathered legs and feet. And there is a whiskey called “The Famous Grouse” that you will not miss in Nairobi bars. Whenever we see the bottle bearing the label of the bird, my friend and I always wonder what it is that the grouse did to warrant it being immortalized in a drink that is popular with many whiskey drinking Kenyans.
The other day, I overheard a conversation between an angry son and a humbled father. The son was annoyed because of all the attention that the father seemed to be drawing to him wherever they went. The son was tired of being introduced to every middle aged man and woman in the village as, “This is my son who is doing an Engineering course at the university.” Most of those people he was being introduced to did not even know what an engineer does for a living.
The fact was that he might have been angry at his father for other reasons, and the introductions were the excuse needed to justify flipping his lid. While he was still fuming, the father tried to explain by saying, “Son, I am an ordinary man in the middle of his life who has made many mistakes in his life. You are the only thing that I ever did right.” What that meant was that the father was proud of his son, and wanted to show him off at every opportunity.
Even though they might not be able to say it with words, parents are always proud of their children, however insignificant and far apart their achievements might be. If a parent had a grouse for a son and a bottle of unlabelled whiskey, he might call it “The Famous Grouse”. The son need not have done anything more than be able to peck seeds with extra gusto, or just grow a single plume that is different from all the other grouses.
Unfortunately in their zeal to create “The Famous Grouse”, parents often misjudge what goes down well with a son or daughter, and ends up creating a rift by attempting to impose their will upon the children. It has never been easy for parents and children to see eye to eye on various issues. For example, a parent’s idea of success might be significantly different from that of a child, and in a bid to ‘correct’, the parent keeps making remarks that often hurt the child. And it often seems as if the timing is lousy since it is when one needs emotional or financial support that parents hit below the belt. That only makes the child keep away, and leaves the parent wondering when wanting what is best for their child became a crime. But even in the midst of all this, to the parent, a child is always special - “The Famous Grouse” - no matter how ordinary.
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4:35
From: Cock And Bull
Read This Entry & More At Cock And Bull
I sometimes wonder if at some unconsciously level, people actually block themselves from realizing their purpose in this world. If a person understood that he would die as soon as he fulfilled whatever purpose for which he came into this world, wouldn’t the person attempt to delay the realization of that purpose for as long as possible?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) , considered by many as the greatest genius the world of classical music has ever produced lived in this world for only 35 years. In that time, he composed more than 600 works, reaching a sublime level of musical expression in all forms of music, from opera to concertos for piano, violin or wind, and from choral masterpieces to his 41 numbered symphonies.
As if aware of the short time available to him, Mozart was playing piano pieces at 4 and composing for the piano at the age of 5 years.
The same ‘make hay while the sun shines’ approach to art is also clear in Bob Marley’s reggae music. The hurried beat of the earlier ska recordings that he made with the Wailers while still a teenager seem to confirm that indeed, the man knew that he would not be around for long. But even at that tender age, the social and spiritual messages that still distinguish Bob’s music half a decade later were very clearly at the forefront of his life’s agenda. In one of his songs, he says, “One bright morning when my work is over, I will fly away home!” That day came on 11th May 1981 when he was 36.
Clearly, it is not money that drives these kind of people in their mission. Like most true artists, Mozart was dogged by financial troubles throughout his life and was buried in a pauper’s grave. Though wealthy from his music, Bob’s lifestyle would be considered poor compared to the lavish living that most modern musicians worth half a pint of his stature lead. Wherever he went, he was playing his guitar and writing music.
As I was saying earlier, the unconscious life preservation mechanism might blind a person from realizing his or her purpose. It is only after a person comes to terms with death that the realization of purpose slowly unfolds. When self preservation is no longer a priority, a person can then take risks that would otherwise even be impossible to imagine. Just as it is after a near death experience, the man or woman realizes that time is limited, and sets aside their fears to relentlessly make a difference wherever they are. The earlier in life that happens, the sooner a person starts to put into action that which we all feel nudging us from the inside. I am referring to that which people always confess, “I have always felt that there is something I am supposed to do, but I am not sure what it is!”
Did Bob know that his purpose on earth was finally fulfilled at 36? One might be tempted to say he did. In fact, it was as if he and death had made a pact, that none would let the other down. Death made sure it would not miss by killing Bob with a combination of brain, liver and lung cancer. And as if to keep his part of the bizarre bargain, Bob refused the treatment that would have arrested his cancer early enough, effectively killing all his chances for survival.
In a similar fashion, Mozart’s final illness and death are difficult topics for scholars, obscured by romantic stories and replete with conflicting theories.
It is impossible for a person to live fully with the fear of death hanging over his or her head. It is just as difficult as it is for a person who is watching the calories to enjoy a free buffet. Contemplating about our mortality is frightening, but necessary. Life and death are like that 12 hours of light and the 12 hours of darkness that form one day. One’s fear of the dark will not stop the sun from setting, will it? So shouldn’t that person do good to understand the nature of darkness during the day, and know that there is nothing to fear when the lights go off? Let us find the courage to contemplate life and death, for this enables us to have a look at the bigger picture of our existence.
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3:47
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Women’s Bank: They may not have been able to get special seats in Parliament, but women can count on having their own bank when the Kenya Women's finance trust converts to a commercial bank, probably in 2008. Having a women’s only bank is a long running proposal to address some of the challenges women face as borrowers and bank customers. KCB has diversified into asset finance, a field dominated by Barclays, Diamond Trust, CFC and market leader NIC (which was a Barclays spin-off initially) A survey ranks Citibank as the top Kenyan bank and finds that 3 banks dominate the country. Renaissance Capital was all set to be the next stockbroker at the Nairobi stock exchange, until Old Mutual snuck in in and doubled their bid with an astonishing ½ billion shilling ($6.5 million) offer. That leaves Renaissance to have to buy into one of the smaller stockbrokers, some of who have been patiently waiting for a big payday. In an unprecedented move, Kenya Airways postponed it's 2007 AGM. A mail mix up is to blame, and to think how for many years shareholders heaped blame on Barclays registrars, but at least they got the mail part right. KQ this year was handle by the ambiguously named custody and registrar services Kenya RE fraction:Retail investors are not likely to get more than 200 shares apiece. Communications Safaricom ball: Having pulled out the rug from the Kalonzo Musyoka side with a party takeover this week, Raila Odinga’s next move was to step in front to halt the Safaricom IPO, which most investors can’t wait to receive (and which could be a vote winner ). - The Government has reduced the local ownership requirement in the telecommunications sector to 20% from 30% before. The 30% rule has derailed three ventures in the last three years and so far it appears the Sameer Group is the only local company to have invested more than 30% in any venture. - Blogger Gathara points out another equally troubling aspect about the media bill. Trade & Aid Going to China: The Kenyan Ministry of Trade has opened a commercial office and posted a commercial attaché in Beijing, China. CARE Cares: CARE has handed a lifeline to African farmers by turning down US Food aid. Energy: The Olkaria geothermal plant to expand as a Mitsubishi consortium has been awarded a contract to add a 35MW plant for Kengen there Tourism - The Narok county council has stopped the development of Wasafiri tented camp on the outskirts of the Masai Mara but other camps are still being put up ( read here) - Fly540 to start flights to newly reopened Wajir airport, Jetlink will start international flights (probably in the region), but the Kenya wildlife services have been refused a license to offer passenger flight services. upcoming - Bioken a new distiller factory in Athi River - New hotel in Gigiri - Three hills housing estate(6,000 houses) in Mwakinye Mombasa - New casino at Nyali Cinema Mombasa opportunities - Opportunities for artists from Nairobinow- MD of the Kenya film corporation. Apply to info@filmingkenya.com by 21/8 - Transformation manager at the Kenya women’s finance trust. Details here and D/L is 30/8 - Join the Kwani sales team. Contact marketing@kwani.org - Pan Africa Trust Fund: Chief Executive Officer, Grant Administrator, and Finance Officer. D/L is 24/8 - Business executives at the Standard / KTN
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