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A Nairobian's Perspective !

AfriCommons Blog

Afrinnovator

  • Building Websites that Work in Africa

    Posted: January 25, 2012, 11:35 am by Will Mutua

    It is interesting that sometimes it’s not the most robust and well designed solutions that get picked up by consumers. Great design of course is something of great importance when designing a piece of software, an app or a website. And clients will gravitate to well designed (graphically, not in terms of user experience), well tested and robust services. But sometimes, it seems, it’s enough that something simply works!

    Africa is a bit of a late-comer to the internet. Since the .com boom and bust, the internet has evolved and grown in leaps and bounds. It’s only a few years ago that the term Web 2.0 emerged, giving an identity to what the web had evolved into. In terms of technology, particularly on the software side, much has come about. There are a myriad of frameworks for developing robust web applications and web services based on a wide array of standards.

    The technology today affords the creation of some great looking web apps with solid engineering behind them. At the turn of the millenium, the websites were pretty well, boring, at least as compared to the standard today. Even, a person with little or no programming knowledge can create a great looking website in a few minutes using WordPress or other such blog and CMS platforms.

    Yet it still occurs that at times consumers do not turn to the most well designed website to satisfy their needs. Sometimes it just boils down to who was first to market and who is offering a service that works, and one that works without failing.

    Back in 2008/9 one of the suggestions going around within Kenyan tech-circles about how easy it is to create a ‘Kenyan’ Craigslist and how it would be quite easy to make it pretty successful. Craigslist is one of those few websites that survived through the .com boom/bust period. But one pretty amazing thing about Craigslist is that, at face-value, it’s not a work of genius in terms of graphic design. It is actually at best, simply a list. And it works, people use it, and they’re making money off it.

    Here in Kenya there are two very popular websites that prove this point both owned by Cheki Africa Media. Cheki.co.ke (currently ranked 49th in Kenya on Alexa, top 10 locally) is a used cars website and brightermonday.com (Currently ranked  45th on Alexa among all sites visited by Kenyans and top 10 locally) is a jobs site. Both do not have what one might consider stunning graphic design even compared to other players in the same market, but both have become probably the leaders in their industries and have expanded to other East African countries and even to Nigeria. Both sites provide a very specific service and do a great job at what they’re made for.

     

    In Nigeria, Nairaland is ranked as the 10th most popular website and 2nd among local websites by Alexa. Nairaland is a basic online discussion forum. Nothing fancy.

    Question is, why does it happen that at times the successful site is not the greatest looking one? If you’re planning to create a web offering in Africa there are some important lessons here.

    First to market

    Africa is Rising. And technology is the main engine. Things are also happening fast! There are many opportunities to offer online services that have not yet been tried in different regions of Africa but those opportunities are being filled up fast! People are seeing the gaps and filling them.

    So, sometimes it’s best not to get stuck on getting everything right as far as look and feel go but of more importance would be getting into the market fast, first and with a product that works, hence raking in the customers and possible revenues before competition shows up. Then work from there, you can add on great graphic design afterwards. Just make sure you have a solid product, that’s scaleable. You can add on the great graphics work later – that’s why you iterate in product development.

    If you are offering a great service, and customers catch on and engage with your service, it is unlikely that they’ll jump ship when someone else comes by who’s offering exactly what you are offering with a better looking skin on it.

    User Experience Design trumps Graphic Design

    As far as design goes, it’s NOT wise to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Don’t just cobble up something and serve it to the customer and say, “Hey, it works!”. You may not want to hold up the product because of the graphic design side of things but user experience is everything. If you’re going to spend time on design, spend as much of it as you can on getting aspects of user experience and user interaction just right.

    Mobile Web Rules in Africa Design Specifically for it

    In Africa, it’s worth noting that most internet consumers do not have the luxury of the full scale desktop browser experience. Much of Africa’s internet usage is via mobile phone. In Kenya, for example, statistics have shown that 99% of internet access is done via mobile. And as far as mobile web browsers go, in Africa, Opera Mini is probably the standard.

    Therefore it would be wise to invest in creating a custom site for mobile, or making your website mobile friendly. As far as web design for mobile goes, the cardinal principle is to minimize. Minimize on the number of graphics you have, minimize on the number of actions a user needs to do or number of pages it takes to accomplish a task.

    Conclusion

    It’s better that it works than it looks great but doesn’t work. All the same there is a minimum as far as design goes, it may work but it may look really awful. So get the balance, but don’t be over-concerned about getting the perfect graphic design on the first iteration. Andrew Mugoya recently published an ebooklet titled ‘Help, I am a developer with no clue about design – 6 1/2 tips for developers with no access to designers‘ that’s targeted at developers who can’t get dedicated resources for design that could help get the minimum as far as design is concerned. The simple tips in this book offer simple, practical ideas for the minimum as far as design goes.

AfriCommons Blog

Africa Expat Wives Club

  • Breaking news - ICC cases confirmed against 4 suspects

    Posted: January 23, 2012, 4:43 pm by Africa Expat Wife
    1.30pm: Glued to the TV - don't dare get up for a wee.  You could probably hear a pin drop in Kenya at this moment.
    The Hague/court say they are mindful of their decision affecting stability in Kenya and the weight of their onerous decision.  I know that the ICC has their work cut out - not only with having to wade through huge amounts of evidence, but in the local newspapers there have been numerous stories of ICC witnesses (some under witness protection, others in Kenya) either disappearing, turning up dead or suddenly recanting their statements.

    So far we know that charges will be confirmed against four of the 6 suspects...ie. that is the court deems there is enough evidence to make these cases admissable.  That they are innocent until proven guilty, of being indirect core perpetrators of Kenya's post election violence.

    1.40pmSo far:  William Ruto, Joshua Sang - charges confirmed against them - the case will go to trial.Henry Kosgey - charges not confirmed - case dismissed.

    Next:
    Uhuru Kenyatta, Francis Muthaura - Charges confirmed.
    Hussein Ali, (former chief of police) charges not confirmed.

    OMG!

    Kenya's political scene suddenly in free fall!

    2.30pm:


    William Ruto is on the local news at the moment, looking deflated for the first time ever, making a lengthy statement about his faith in justice, appreciation of the support of his wife and belief in God..
    The telegraph - click for coverage
    BBC news - click for coverage
    
    Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto - presidential aspirants but a case of crimes against humanity to hear at The Hague first
    BTW - It's 85 degrees and sunny every day in Nairobi at the moment ...


Afrinnovator

AfriCommons Blog

A Nairobian's Perspective !

  • International Criminal Court (ICC) Website is Down

    Posted: January 23, 2012, 12:54 pm
    With so many people in Kenya now anticipation the ruling of the International Criminal Court  set to be delivered today 23 January 2012  regarding  the Kenya Post Election Violence case of 2008 involving six prominent personalities ; it is instructive to note that the servers of the ICC are down and that one cannot actually access the website.

    I have just tried to open the site but i am being met with an error message..."The Server is Too Busy " and "Service Unavailable" .It is interesting to note that this according to my experience has never happened before despite there having been several international high profile cases at the Hague .The Kenyan situation is generating massive interest internationally perhaps due to the fact that two of the persons in the Ocampo suspects list have declared their interest in running for the Presidency in Kenya after the term of the current President expires (2012-13).In my fair opinion the ICC servers should be capable of handling such traffic as it is a Court of International repute.It reflects badly if the Court servers can actually be brought to a standstill due to a single case before its chambers...what a shame!


Afrinnovator

  • WezaTele’s MyOrder Powers Mobile Ordering

    Posted: January 23, 2012, 10:53 am by Will Mutua

    Weza Tele is a visionary firm that leverages on technologies such as, USSD, Mobile Web, and SMS to provide order management, distribution, tracking, circulation and validation solutions. Weza Tele also offers reliable customer service, support and maintenance to its clients.

    Myorder Enterprise provides a tailored, deployed solution that automates order management, tracking and validation across the enterprise. At its center is a dashboard where distributors and customers, manage inventory, generate reports, and view performance trends.

    SMS ordering: New feature in Myorder Enterprise

    According to the CCK Kenya latest report (2012), there are 27 million mobile subscribers, SMS per subscribers per month growing by 125% from 8.5 SMS as at June 2011 to 18.99 SMS at September 2011.

    Weza Tele has tapped into this market by developing an SMS-based ordering service for its clients that they are currently working with in the industries of publications, cosmetics, beverages, grocery & food stores as they strive to reach their vendors and end users with an easier way for them to order from their simple phones.

    It is easy to use and integrate into your current sales process and the service consists of 3 simple steps:

    1. Register
    2. Order your items
    3. Orders confirmed

    How does the SMS ordering service work?

    For End Users

    The system enables registered customers to send in orders in a simple and memorable format. This works from a basic phone with no need for an Internet connection.Everyitem on a catalogue a code is assigned that further simplifies the ordering process. We translate the codes, calculate the total price, and send you an electronic confirmation

    Our software also has built in error correction mechanisms. For instance, if you incorrectly type in your order information, then the system is able to automatically correct that and figure out what you meant to type. It then sends you an smsconfirmation before your order is further processed.

    For Distributors

    At the heart of the software is a simple and well-designed dashboard. This enables you, as a seller, to manage customer information, orders, prices, products, reports and recipients with control rights. You can also periodically receive orders by email,formatted as Excel spreadsheet with customizable fields you would want to see.

    Benefits:

    Ease of use – No special equipment needed hence more flexibility when ordering. Works with any mobile telephone that can send Text messages (SMS) or email.

    Fast – simplifies the process for both customer and retailer, as the customer avoids the likelihood of being held in a phone queue and the retailer gets structured, aggregated orders from time to time.

    Low Cost – Free registration.

    Convenience – Buyers send from their mobile phones and receive SMS notifications to confirm orders.

    Simplicity - There is no hardware or software to install so that in a matter of minutes its up and running.

    For more information contact us:
    Sam Kitonyi
    CTO, Wezatele
    Email: apopheniac@gmail.com Mobile Number: +254 710 742 134

AfriCommons Blog

  • Justice, the ICC and Kenyan Politics

    Posted: January 23, 2012, 2:13 am by Ken
    Reblogged from Opalo's weblog: A panel of judges at the ICC will issue their ruling tomorrow afternoon on whether or not six accused Kenyans will stand trial. The six include two declared presidential candidates. Either way the ruling will have … Continue reading →

Africa Expat Wives Club

  • ICC confirmation of Charges pending..

    Posted: January 22, 2012, 12:49 am by Africa Expat Wife

    Here in Kenya we are awaiting, with great anticipation, for the ICC ruling on whether charges will be confirmed against those 6 prominent figures deemed most responsible for masterminding post election violence in Dec 2007/Jan 2008, which left over 1,300 Kenyans dead and more than 300,000 people displaced from their homes (many are still living in temporary accommodation as Internally Displace Persons/IDPs today).   I'm not sure why the overseas newspapers are making so little of this - it surely is the most momentous day for Kenya in decades - certainly since independence.  The outcome could not just the political map but decades of impunity - everything.

    Charges against the 6 (above) include being criminally responsible for; murder, forcible transfer of population, rape, persecution and crimes against humanity.  These strong words come as a shock to read because over the past four years it has been easy to forget about the horrors that went on in those dark months after the last election; for years now it's all been buried under a shroud of politics - smoke and mirrors.  We tend to forget about the victims.  They are not able to shout loud enough.

    It is a fairly drawn case. 3 of the group represent supporters of President Kibaki and 3 for Raila Odinga who contested the result of the last election.  Who are they?  Click here for previous post

    The public will learn of the Hague decision at 1.30pm on Monday (the accused will hear the outcome one hour before the public via email).

    There are concerns that there will be some sort of adverse reaction by the public on release of the ICC verdict - whether by supporters of the suspects, or opposers - depending on the outcome - street protests etc.  The British foreign office have sent their usual warning to avoid public gatherings/demonstrations etc.  However, I suspect that all will be peaceful - whatever the outcome, there is bound to be a sense of relief.  And afterall, who will want to organise a politically charged demonstration when those on the stand are accused of manipulating the emotions of the masses to serve their own political ends?  In fact, how strong is the public support for these 6?  How much do people really care for them?  And how organised are the near to silent victims if the suspects are acquitted?  Would they really demonstrate?

    Meanwhile, it seems that all 6 suspects are confident that they will be exonerated tomorrow. They've been maintaining a high profile today, attending church services (perhaps seeking divine intervention?), and being followed by the press, smiling and dancing in public rallies.  Behind those smiles, there must be nerves cracking through.

    Two of the suspects, William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta, plan to run for president this year (assuming that there will be elections this December - but that's another story) and they maintain that they will not be knocked off course, even if charges are confirmed against them.  In fact, they are two of the key presidential aspirants in the race.  However, it's complicated.  If they do have a court case hanging over them and charges are confirmed, this will undoubtedly change the political outlook for the next government.  For more from the local press; The Standard, click here

    Ironically, Uhuru (grandson of Kenya's first president) and Ruto, have formed a strong alliance since belonging to totally opposing sides during the last election - how fickle politics is.  Uhuru was allied to the current President Kibaki, and Ruto to Raila Odinga.  Many question why Kibaki and Odinga were not called into the Hague investigation since they must have known a little of what was going on.  Are the 6 scapegoats/fall guys.  Ruto and Uhuru plan to be together in a hotel in town, along with fellow MPs, to watch the verdict read out and then hurriedly work out their next step.  Legally they are allowed to continue their race for president, even if they do have a court case hanging over their head - but the reality may be that few will be willing to put too much faith in them.  Surely their integrity will have been compromised.

    Francis Muthaura, Head of Public Service is one of the most powerful members of Kibaki's cabinet today.  Hussein Alli, former police chief and current postmaster general - may well have to resign.  We are still waiting to hear what the outcome is over the Nancy Baraza case (the deputy Chief Justice who pinched the security guard's nose and threatened her with a gun..?!).  The age of impunity is becoming increasingly difficult to uphold.

    My question is, (and I had the same question in the Amanda Knox case) - if those 6 are acquitted, therefore not responsible for organsing the violence after the last election - and the public perception here is that the violence very much was organised - then who is?  Mr Nobody I suspect.


Afrinnovator

  • Angaza Design plans to revolutionize energy access with Solite mobile money pay as you go

    Posted: January 22, 2012, 7:05 am by Mbwana Alliy

    Globally, over 1.5B people lack access to grid electricity for lighting and battery charging (600M in Africa). Lack of access to clean, reliable energy also makes it impossible to break the cycle of poverty. There is no denying that one of the biggest challenges for Africa is to solve this energy crisis. Relying on the electricity grid means frequent blackouts at the mercy of old systems that cost billions to upgrade and as the lower income consumers transition into the growing middle class, the pressure to serve them becomes immense. Impact investors including Omidyar Network, DFJ & Draper Richards and Acumen fund have backed companies such as the well known D.light Design serving both East Africa and India. The solar lighting business is a hardware business and as a result its a distribution business- razor sharp margins, high upfront hardware costs serving lower income populations that need it the most and cut-throat competition including chinese companies make this not an easy business, especially to demonstrate scale quickly to attract further growth capital. In fact the biggest competition is what Africans already use, Kerosene lamps- a dirty, unhealthy fuel that is environmentally destructive. We need all the innovation in this area to meet the goals of clean sustainable energy for the growing demands of emerging markets around the world. I think its fair to say the chinese solar or battery powered lights are the largest marketshare holders in this segment, exact numbers are hard to obtain- but from what I have seen in Tanzania, they are absolutely dominating and competing on price. So how does one begin to compete? I believe the right distribution channel and a unique design and business model are the only ways to succeed in an otherwise very commodity environment- would your rather be an Apple or Amazon in the tablet space or a Dell or HP? Being mediocre exposuses yourself to being crushed in the middle. We see this everywhere- the iPad and iPhone are well designed and capture higher end tablet users, the kindle does well because it has great design and is subsidized by content- understanding your ultimate customers through a design based approach also dramatically increases your chances of releasing something people actually need.

    This where Angaza Design comes in. Founded by Lesley Silverthorn, an ex-Designer from the Amazon Kindle team has decided to tackle this problem and take a different approach.Their first product, SoLite, apart from being way smaller than the competition, has amazing brightness, enough to light up a whole room and be used stationary rather than hand held, many lighting companies make compromises on the brightness and build quality to achieve a low price pont. The team spent significant time in Tanzania researching the needs of potential customers before finalizing the design-what they say is a “human centered design” process- right from the books of Stanford Design School and renowned design firms like IDEO. Angaza noticed that most low income Africans can’t afford the upfront costs the solar lighting products. So taking they decided to combine Pay-as-you-Go model to subsidize the hardware. This is a similar approach to EGG-Energy in Tanzania rents out batteries using this model and a network of charging stations.

    One big difference with Angaza’s approach is to utilize the increasing ubiquity of mobile money services to help streamline collection of payments- we have seen this been used to great effect with companies like Bridge International Academies in Kenya within the education with great results. The projected pricing of SoLite (and this will change market to market once they scale up) is an upfront cost of about $15 and a stream of ongoing weekly or monthly payments for energy access. This seems competitive with companies such as D.Light design and Barefoot power which charge $10-20 for a more inferior light (bigger and less bright and of somewhat lesser build quality). When talking about product quality and specs, the World Bank and IFC operate an interesting organization called Lighting Africa that seeks to provide market information and educate the industry about offgrid solar lighting products. They have a handy section on their website where you can view specification sheets of products that have been “certified” for use in Africa. Angaza Design hopes to submit their specs here too. Curiously enough, one of the market leaders, D.light design, have their spec sheet only available on request, which sort of defeats the point- so you have to ask yourself why? Similarly, the true market leaders, chinese knockoff lights are obviously not listed at all. I feel in part, the organization is trying to simultaneously protect intellectual property whilst erecting barriers to entry for new lighting companies- Lesley, founder of Angaza Design told me that it costs about $6,000 to certify a new model of any product, it’s also an outdated mode when products are constantly iterated and improved based on feedback, this leads to a very costly certification process for a company like Angaza using their human centered design approach. Certification is great, but it should not be cost prohibitive and add unnecessary paper work for startups trying to innovate.

    Angaza’s emphasis on quality will mean a high component and manufacturing cost which is why the pay as you go via mobile money seeks to lower up front cost down to the competitive market price whilst ensure the long term cost of energy is also competitive with dirty kerosene. Presumably after a while customers will be free of the payments- but until then they have to purchase “energy credits” to use the lights. This is revolutionary if they can pull it off as it helps change the game especially if they solve the final challenge- distribution. When I asked the team about who they have worked with to date, they mentioned they are selling their product in 6 countries so far and partnered with Solar Sister, an NGO in Uganda that employs a team of women (solar sisters) who sell solar powered products. They hope to continue doing so and looking to working with other NGOs- one of the reasons for them going down this approach is that they feel they need to work with partners who can help educate customers the benefits of using their product/service offering. You can read about my thoughts about OLPC and how hardware companies need to do this to achieve scale- they agree with me that the “driveby drop” model of hardware does not work very well- Angaza are hence very customer focused in working with partners and ultimately customers who can rapidly educate and respond on both sides- advertising is achieved through word of mouth. Angaza is currently preparing to pilot with communities off the grid near Arusha, Tanzania- I asked them why they chose there (readers might feel startups blindly select where to do tech startups in Africa), and they chose mainly on finding strong partners and the ease of which they can reach off grid communities within 20 minutes driving distance from town- try getting anywhere like this from Nairobi or Dar es Salaam!

    Integrating with mobile money will be a challenge- given there is no real robust API for services like M-PESA, they will have to automate and build this feature and make it tamper proof within their own walls- something that I feel mobile money services should offer down the line (e.g. a recurring billing feature) for developers to take advantage- a perfect example of why an API is needed to unleash innovation in payments across every sector including energy access.

    One the final challenges I see for Angaza to date has been securing seed funding, an all too common problem. I have argued before and hinted in many posts that impact investors have historically been absent from early stage funding of less than $1 Million, backing more proven companies- they also seem too rigid in thinking about funding competitors who may have a different approach or may even be serving a different market. The company sort of surprised me with their approach of using a crowdfunding site IndieGogo to raise money for their up coming pilot. I have met with the team a few times and they have indeed had a hard time raising funding here in Silicon Valley for their pilot- they have a great designed product and some initial distribution in Uganda, you’d think impact investors or otherwise would be interested- nope, too early. Angaza call themselves an “early stage for profit international social venture”- caught between traditional ventures who are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the space and impact investors who feel they have bet on their companies and probably can’t fund a competitor. Crowdfunding is a great way to get people involved to get the word out about their venture and raise the smaller amount of funds that are required to initiate and run the pilot to which they can get the results to validate their model and raise traditional seed financing. I think using crowdfunding sites to raise pilot financing for highly risky prototypes and pilots is a smart strategy, many prototypes have been launched this way if communicated and marketed correctly. Like any financing mechanism, crowdfunding has its place- lets not be deluded that you can seed fund an entire company this way, since ultimately you want value added investors who can help you down the line for scaling, hiring, strategic advice etc… But maybe they’ll attract further capital via this strategy once they demonstrate more results.

admblind.wordpress.com

  • KENYAN CONSTITUTION: The chips(funga) Act

    Posted: January 21, 2012, 10:09 pm by admblind
    Reblogged from jawbreaker88: The provisions of the CHIPS ACT are as follows: 1.       Section 2(1) provides that a chips shall always appear in a club looking fresh. Sweaty mamas wakae home. 2.       A chips shall never ask for payment after a night of sec………luded fun in a secluded place. Chipsing is free. Asking for credit, fare [...]

AfriCommons Blog

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • st-st-stutter

    Posted: January 19, 2012, 5:13 pm by cuppatea
    One of my favourite bands, Maroon 5, have this song called "stutter". It sings about how this girl is to them a "fantasy girl"...and they even sing along to say "you feel so good you make me st-st-stutter."
    So in uni there's this tall fellow I quite like,a bit athletic looking with a sweet face...I just have the tiniest crush on him because he's the cool, loner but intellectual type.
    So I see him walking towards me ans I'm walking with a friend right, and say hi to him. He greets me back and asks about a friend we have in common.
    And then I stuttered! Shit! I said I had no idea where she was at. Meanwhile the book in his hand, some random one about colonialisms in Kenya made a good distraction from my stuttering, 'coz I asked him about it and even recommended John Fox's book called "white mischief". Except now's when I'm remembering the title because I stuttered, and stuttered some more until I was like "ah, google it; it's about Lord Errol."
    We parted ways but I'm pretty sure I was red in the face, my ears were feeling pretty hot! Funny thing is, that stutter song played next on my playlist...

    On to the next one then hihihi

    |Mr.Saxobeat-Alexandra Stan|
    Sent from my BlackBerry®

Africa Expat Wives Club

  • Trivia - traffic, school and snow

    Posted: January 19, 2012, 5:11 pm by Africa Expat Wife
    Temporarily, we have had to re-think our daily routine.  Why? Because school swimming training has begun.  It's complicated.  My husband is not only taking a packed lunch but a packed breakfast to work.  Forward planning is necessary.  Invariably things get forgotten.  Yesterday our middle daughter forgot to pack her school socks (she managed to borrow some).  The day before, my husband forgot his lunch.

    The children are supposed to report to the school pool at 6.30am, dive in and swim a gazillion lengths.  It's only just getting light in Nairobi at 6.30am, so the children have been driven to school in the dark.  This, for us, this is a new state of craziness (we were already getting them up and out pretty early) - but each cloud has a silver lining.  There's far less traffic at 6am, so their route to school takes half the usual time.  Traffic is getting so dreadful in this city that getting up in the dark is the only answer to beat commuting time.  As long as we forego alcohol, put a line through our social life and make sure we are in bed by 9.30pm - then it's fine...

    ****

    Our eldest daughter recently returned from her much anticipated school skiing trip. It was an enormous success. Many of the 35 children had never seen snow before. Apparently there were lots of expressions of; “Wow, this is so not like the snow in SkiDubai”. (funny). It brought memories flooding back of when we showed our three snow for the first time a couple of years ago. I can just remember their astonishment when they realised that snow was actually wet! Wet trousers, freezing hands. Convincing them in centrally heated rooms that yes, they WILL need their coats! 

    When my husband first saw snow, he was in his teens. When the teacher caught him gazing out of the window at snow falling, he was reprimanded.


    “But it’s snowing,” my husband said.  A friend of his helpfully piped,

    “He’s never seen snow before, Sir.”

    So they stopped the French class and let everyone go outside, especially to see him experience snow for the first time ever.

    (BTW Are you not loving the David Attenborough Frozen Planet series showing on DSTV on Monday nights?)

    When she got back, because their flight arrived late, my daughter was given a day off school. It was a sweltering hot afternoon and as I lead her through the local shops/dukas to run errands such as; nip to the hardwarem return the dvd to the shop in the basement next to the stinky downstairs bar that always has a TV blaring, and then outside, past the poor woman in a wheelchair, hawkers with flowers, fruit and second hand clothes, broken pavement, dust, beggars and so on, to find Daniel who has glazed eyes and shaky hands and a bandage (which intrigued my daughter), so that I could swap the dodgy dvds (not working) that we’d bought from him on Saturday.  I asked her, “are you having a little bit of a culture shock?” She nodded.


  • Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton's grave today

    Posted: January 18, 2012, 11:18 pm by Africa Expat Wife
    Karen Blixen's former house in Nairobi
    Having lived in Nairobi for years now, the Karen Blixen legend is still as enduring as ever. When I first moved to the area, I absolutely loved visiting Karen Blixen’s house which has been wonderfully preserved with some beautiful antiques (other items are reproduction, I think many are from the movie), a wide veranda, old outdoor kitchen with original utensils and then a rolling lawn with a view of the hills that does not ever disappoint. The house is small, but packed with atmosphere, the smell of polish, wood panelling, animal skins laid over creaking floorboards, fresh flowers and sunlight seeking its way through gauzy curtains into darkened rooms. I used to like visiting the house at the end of the day when there were few other visitors and often went alone and wonder how on earth Meryl Streep and Robert Redford fitted into that narrow bed.. but I have to admit, it’s years since I’ve been inside the house now.

    Karen Blixen's bedroom

    Although many of those 1930s characters who lived in Kenya were pretty dissolute and not very much to be admired, I still think it’s a shame that many 1930s colonial buildings are gradually being eradicated; either left to fall into ruin in the countryside or being sacrificed in the face of Nairobi’s aggressive building boom where any square acreage is being cleared for offices, apartments or town house complexes. You do still see the odd old house on a half acre plot, with quirky low tiled roofs tucked behind Chiromo road (one of these used to belong to Ewart Grogan), cowering beneath the spectre of road construction work going on around Museum Hill on a massive scale – but these are few and far between. While progress is undoubtedly a good thing, a peep into the past is also fun. The Macmillan library in the centre of town is still very much on my wish list of places to visit – but I’m not sure what I’d find if I tried going there today. (Do let me know if you have been there anyone?)


    Anyway, in the holidays, we went in search of Finch Hatton’s grave. Fortunately my husband had already passed by there on one of his boys motorbike forays, so he knew roughly where it was located and also knew that the road around the foot of the Ngong Hills had been recently graded (smoothed out). My mum who was visiting from England was dead keen to go find the grave – she’s an absolute hound for any kind of local history, so we decided to visit the grave then follow up with a picnic on the Ngong Hills on New Year’s Day. To be honest I was also keen. I love the Meryl Streep/Robert Redford film and remember clearly weeping buckets during the funeral scene at the end.

    Sign to Denys Finch Hatton's grave/memorial
    When we reached the bumpy track that leads vertically upwards with a roughly paint daubed sign, I wimped out and decided to park at the bottom – Unfortunately for them, I had two children in the car and my Dad. My husband, in another car (we had the dogs with us too) motored up happily and pulled into a large grassy field while my father and I literally dragged the younger two behind us up the slope to the smallholding where the grave is located. While scaling the steep hill, I said to my youngest (6) – look, those children are walking quite happily (admittedly downhill) – to which she replied - but they are USED to it! (I’m not sure how I felt about that comment!) Nonsense, I said.
    In fact, it was only a 5 minute walk from the bigger road. When we reached the top and turned in to the farm, there was a lady to greet us wearing in a blue woollen hat and knee length skirt. She said that she lived there with her granny and personally tends and manages the grave site – (as well as charging 300 shillings entry per adult). 

    Secret garden, entrance to the memorial today
    The lady had some printed out information about Denys Finch Hatton – she said that there was so much information on the internet on Denys – that she’d decided on one story only. Sensible, I thought, but I was hot (after the climb) and a bit bothered, so didn’t read the info. Instead, without preamble and having been given a hand written receipt for 1,200/ for 4 of us (the kids went in free), we were led to an unprepossessing corrugated iron door in a high hedge. This was a far cry from the open plains where lion once lay on the grave; it was more like ‘The Secret Garden’.

    
    The obelisk
    Once inside, the 12 foot obelisk and plinth were dwarfed by a hedge that ran all around the postage stamp sized plot. Although the granddaughter had indeed made a good attempt at gardening around it, the original brass plaque has been replaced by a blue one and the overall impression was claustrophobic. If you stand on the plinth and crane your neck to the left, then there is a gap in the hedge big enough to give you a glimpse of the breathtaking view that once would have lain out in front of and all around the grave. I wondered if Denys was turning in his grave – My Mum said that he probably would have been happy that the place was being well looked after.


    Lions on Denys Finch Hatton's Ngong Hills grave (from the movie)
    Our picnic was a success, if a little rushed. Up on the top of the windy Ngongs we frazzled in the blazing sun. The dogs, once finally out of the car, sniffed around distractedly but didn't stray far.  There were some boys who were selling Masai trinkets and a couple of other picnic-ing families up there too. We then drove the length of the winding road behind the Ngong Hills, where, eerily, we saw a plaque commemorating one of former President Kenyatta’s political adversary’s whose dead body was ‘found’ there.

    Nairobi tour ideas for history buffs:

    The National Museum on Museum Hill (suggested reading; ‘A guide to the Birds of East Africa.’ A novel by Nicholas Grayson . The museum still organise bird watching walks and lectures)

    The railway museum (see the actual carriage where a man was pulled to his death by a lion in Tsavo on the lunatic express) – previous post: Down at the Station - man eating lions of Tsavo

    Karen Blixen museum (full of atmosphere – try and visit low season when there are fewer coach loads of tourists)

    Finch Hatton’s grave – if you are up for an off the beaten track adventure.

    The Norfolk/Stanley hotels. Both have original long bar areas.


AfriCommons Blog

Afrinnovator

  • Which African country is best to do a tech startup? A Decision Framework

    Posted: January 18, 2012, 8:45 am by Mbwana Alliy

    In recent conversation that have spanned the last 6 months, I’ve been getting the same style of questions from foreigners who recognize the growing opportunities in Africa and want to jump in. “Which is the best country in Africa to do a tech startup?” Sometimes the question is underlying in the comments I have seen in this blog “Hey, you talk so much about Kenya, what about Nigeria or South Africa- we rock too!”. But more recently the question is more vital when I get an actual startup or investor making a decision between 2 countries to launch their startup or to make investments. Or maybe down the line they realize there are better fortunes in another country- e.g. D.light Design, a darling of the impact investing industry, recently moved from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya.

    So where to launch a tech startup in Africa? There is no one right answer- what I want to offer here is a decision framework based on real data and trends that I have seen- this should help people assess their situation and move forward and get on with their startup. However picking a country to launch should not be taken lightly- This framework (more questions to ask yourself) can act as a guide to assess at each stage that is practical- for instance you may grow up in one country, but your needs mean you have to move to another country to take advantage of further opportunities that might restrict growth.

    What Kind of startup Organization are you trying to build?

    At pivot25 last year, I remember asking a kenyan lady who had a shirt business “this is a tech conference- what are you doing here if you are in the t-shirt business?”, she replied, “I am curious, I want to learn more”. Then I asked her “why are you selling t-shirts?”- she replied and I will never forget it “Look around, people wear second hand t-shirts from China or elsewhere all the time- Kenyans deserve much better”. This is the sort of entrepreneur attitude I like, she is very mission driven- and it also says a lot about the environment you are in and kind of organization she wants to build. Answering this question should get most people halfway to deciding where to do any startup and that includes tech. Each country in Africa has a unique offering for the kind of company you are trying to build- If you are importing materials or products you may want to be near a port such as Dar es Salaam or Mombasa, which one is easiest to deal with, which one offers the best road network to move your products?  If you intend to build a tourism related company like when I started Yellow Masai, you want to be in an area with all the safari tour operators and major attractions- the angel investor actually owned a hotel on Kilimanjaro, this drove me to set up the company in Arusha, Tanzania- its also easier to hire talent that understand the tourism industry.

    Look for strong Macro economic factors- but the right ones.

    On the surface, the best countries in Africa for a tech startup are simply the ones with the best internet and mobile penetration figures, large middle class populations and fastest growing economies (GDP)- these include South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt. But this is sometimes limiting.
    When I talked to Golden Gate University students last week, I used the Mckinsey diagram that segments countries to explain the dynamics of African countries and the implications. Exports per capita  show the raw output and productivity of a country, the diversity of the economy shows essentially how much a country depends on mineral resources. Both taken together are extremely important and can help drive decisions. Nigerians like to say “hey, we are a bigger country and there is more money here- we are a big deal!”- but their economy is very dependent on oil exports- so much so that look what happened in the last week when fuel subsidies were removed and the price of petrol doubled. So what? Well it drives the expectations of that country and internal economy dynamics- a lot of talent is in the petroleum economy, why should talented folks leave and join your startup with no revenues when they can make more working in the established industry- money aside, maybe that programmer you are trying to hire in Nigeria would never leave that oil company because his parents expect him to get a steady job (in Oil), find a nice wife and settle down. I use Nigeria and oil to illustrate this example but it also applies to one other factor- dependence on AID. Some countries are so dependent on AID it makes up as much as half the economy- Tanzania is a good example here. But it also implies the sort of talent you can hire there- expats who expect a steady salary, drinks at the Yacht club every night and paid for driver to take them to and from work. In the bars you might meet a very attractive Swedish lady who when asked “what do you do?”- would reply “I am here to start an NGO and save Africa!” Again, the implications are clear- maybe she raised $100,000 in grant money and hires 5 people from the local University and then when they leave they expect the same sort of job at the next place- now imagine 10 more “I am here to save Africa with my NGO”-types, it spreads. An African country historically concentrated too much on one industry (especially natural resources such as oil- look up resource curse) can be very negative on their economy for trying new things- and tech is all about new ways of doing business and efficiency- so I am sorry, but more often than not AID industry professionals don’t cut it in the tech startup world, but I stand to be corrected.
    Check out South Africa on the chart- No wonder over half African investment in private equity ends up there- its both a big country, well diversified with high export earnings- its hard not to consider South Africa for a tech startup on the continent- but even this masks other considerations before one should jump into a country.
    If you are building a social enteprise and raising impact investing capital, you may actually benefit from looking at other metrics beyond which countries are the richest, but which countries have the most NEED and hence your possible impact. For instance, where is malaria having the biggest infection rates if you are doing an mhealth app around this problem? The countries that have the most need tend to be the ones that have the worst macro economic conditions- I recently learnt that malaria has been responsible for 1% negative GDP growth African countries have experienced in the last 50 years- no wonder Bill Gates is investing his money to make an impact in this area.

    Watch for Barriers, Regulatory Environment that might open or block Market Access to a country that might otherwise look lucrative

    Despite my concerns about economic diversifcation, when you look at raw market size, numbers can also be deceiving. Nigeria is absolutely the single biggest African market right now with a population of 160M and with over half that with mobile phones- its lucrative indeed. But down the line the East African Community (EAC) presents a potential 120M people between the member countries Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda- and a possible single currency soon. Size of a single country is not the only thing that matters (yes its true!), market assess does. Take mobile banking- in Kenya you have 15M people mobile users with M-PESA and 7 transactions a second. Whilst in Nigeria, there are supposedly 11 mobile banking companies that are operating and the regulatory environment meant that they had to apply for those licenses. The potential for mobile money in Nigeria is certainly huge, but its still very early and without a strong agent network and being so fragmented, its hard for mobile money to see the growth and success that Kenya does right now- when half of adults use one system- regulation has hindered the growth of mobile banking thus far and once licenses were released- 11 services jumped into the market. That being said, Nigeria is forecasted to hit 20M mobile banking users by 2015.

    Another example on regulation is Tanzania’s very odd 18% VAT phone tax  which has been abandoned by neighboring countries. What is strange is that there are no such taxes on traditional PCs – I once saw someone on a mailing list in Tanzania ask someone who was going to Kenya whether they’d buy  for them 10 Android smartphones so they can avoid the high prices in Tanzania- the tax makes a difference for higher end (smart)phones. Phone manufacturers like Nokia and Samsung absolutely hate this since it denies them a chance to sell higher profit margin phones where they will make their money in the future. The point is, Tanzania smartphone penetration which is strongly correlated to mobile web access may remain stubbornly low compared to its neighbors. And the data when digging deeper shows this (but of course, other factors do play like the higher GDP per capita)- New Government stats show that whilst Kenya only just edges Tanzania in mobile penetration (68% vs 45%), the web penetration gap is much wider by 3 times (36% vs 11%).

    Support Network, Doing Business & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
    An energy startup founder pondering which lawyer to work with recently told me that the 2 lawyers she had talked to had a 25 to 1 difference in pricing to incorporate their company! The exact no.s were $25,000 vs $1,000. Yikes! I responded “Welcome to Tanzania”.  This illustrates how hard it is to do business in Tanzania from a very serious decision of which lawyer to use- who you know and work with matters tremendously, or risk being ripped off or cost prohibitive for foreigners to enter.
    Similarly- closer to tech, hubs are now popping up all over Nairobi inc. the iHub and Nailab- it is now getting “cooler” to hang out at these spaces and bump into likeminded people with a community- peer to peer networking as well as regular visits from investors and tech industry, mentors and officials. In short, tech workspaces like the iHub backed by the industry make doing business in technology much easier not to mention bringing legitimacy to the tech scene in the country. Nigeria just opened up their first workspace end of last year, Co creation Hub, last year- a fragmented tech scene does not help investors and likeminded people trying to connect with each other. South Africa has a number of spaces and initiatives around Silicon Cape and when coupled with talent it helps launch your startup faster. Word of caution- in contrast some workspaces or incubators are heavily influenced by the world bank or government bodies such as in Senegal, Tanzania and Rwanda- whilst an incubator is better than no incubator at all, one that fosters a strong community and doesn’t feel like a “big brother”/Government is watching – i.e. best run by the private sector or at least not too influenced by Government, makes the most sense.
    Another factor of the ecosystem is expectations of investors and valuation of technology and startups. Because of the understanding of the impact of technology in the economy, some investors make unreasonable demands on startups such as asking for 50% equity stake of a business for a very small valuation. Closely related is the willingness and comfort of big companies to buy startups at decent valuations to provide a return to investors and especially the entrepreneur for taking the risk in doing a startup- we have seen little to almost none of this appreciation in Africa to date, but global companies like Visa with the recent acquisition of Fundamo may begin showing the way. You can bet that technology startups will disrupt banking and media and other industries in Africa as the internet has in the rest of world, how quickly do the incumbent companies recognize this and pay for innovation or suffer a death from the disruption? Countries that encourage this and hence coordinate the entire ecosystem end to end will have a more dynamic IT industry.

    Competitive Dynamics
    Whist Tanzania may not be as business friendly as our Kenyan neighbor- there are generally less competitors for that market for a given sector- this can be a significant advantage. Note that with the EAC such advantages will erode away just as it happened in the Euro as free movement of labor, capital and good makes it easier to transact across the region. Tanzanians need to shape up fast or they will see Kenyans or other EAC members eating their lunch. A lot of middle managers in Tanzania frequently come from Kenya. At the same time lack of competition is also a bad thing, for instance the example of the $25,000 fee to incorporate stems from the fact that there are very few qualified lawyers in the country and most focus on the big concentrated industries such as mining with little regard for the needs of startups.

    Unique industry advantages & Startup Lifestyle

    I’ve slammed Tanzania (disclosure: I am Tanzanian) quite a bit- but it does have some unique benefits related to lifestyle. When I am working in Dar es Salaam and I am very tired, I can take a $10 2hour ferry ride or $70 flight in 20 mins if I am in a hurry and be in total paradise. Zanzibar is such a laid back place- one long weekend there and I am fully refreshed, its a great place to go recover and sometimes my best thinking over the last 10 years has been there because I spent time to recharge. I always tell my US friends- that $1 spent in Zanzibar is probably equivalent to $10 of luxury I would spend anywhere else. I mention this because it is important to maintain a good work-life balance. One of the reasons Silicon Valley is so great is because it has amazing weather and offers access to a variety of outdoor activities- you can go snowboarding one day and surf the next. Aside from living a nice life, there are obvious opportunities in tourism but also trade- did you know that the kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam is one of the biggest markets for imported products in East Africa? Access to the Dar es Salaam port recently has made this a big trading area. Merchants come as far as Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi and Zambia to buy everything from flat panel LCD screens to clothing.

    Another factor related to lifestyle is expectations of startup ambition- many investors claim that in many parts of the emerging market too many entrepreneurs have aspirations to build a family business and have no expectations that their investors to which they raised  money from who may want to see an exit (whether acquisition or dividends). VCs don’t fund family businesses- they are looking for big regional if not global businesses. The sort of startup life you want and who you want to draw investments from can impact where you need to be. One of the reasons I left yellowmasai, the travel website (yes, I am no longer involved) was because the investor’s expectations were different from mine and the investor wanted to just address the Tanzanian market not go regional which would require new outside investment or go head to head and compete with other companies. This point is closely related to “the kind of organization you want to build” which in turn informs the sort of investor you want to attract and ultimately where you are likely to find this.
    South Africa may win here given their links to the global market, talent and investors that expect this. Take a recent conversation I had with South African serial entrepreneur Vinny Lingham about where he finds seed investors- he has learnt to always try raise money in Silicon Valley because it aligns his expectations of the kind of returns and hence the kind of organization he wants to build. Even though South Africa is an excellent market, it has some of the access to angel investment problems common to all the regions in Africa and indeed many countries around the world except Silicon Valley. Having been in the Silicon Valley region for a number years, you see countries as diverse as Finland, UK, Brazil, Singapore, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Chile come flocking here to learn from the best and become more competitive- some very proactive governments even have technology trade missions or offshore hub/embassies here to help the startups from their region- example is the new innovation house Norway. When will African countries begin to do this? Of course not every country can afford it- the next best thing is to send delegations, like the Kenya ICT board did last year and in previous years- it can also help mobilize diaspora talent that there are opportunities at home-talent that can join your startup!

    Be Global: Take advantage of all the countries and their diversities.
    The best startups treat the world as flat, and from day one are opportunistic about where they source customers, talent and investors. The most diverse networked entrepreneurs will do best. Apple designs and markets in California and manufactures in China. Tablets can be designed in Nigeria and manufactured in China too. Lets promote more regional trade within Africa to help each other out- it is exciting that Kenya’s M-PESA has inspired other startups and even big companies to try replicate their success.
    One country that stands out a lot for financial access, doing business and transacting across the continent and indian subcontinent is Mauritius. It offers some of the best tax advantages thanks to its treaties with numerous African countries and has transformed itself as a financial hub, a lot of it has to do with its political stability over the years and Government push to be able to do this (note: its a very diversified economy based on the chart I pointed out earlier). Botswana with its International Financial Services Centre is trying to be a financial hub too given similar advantages and ambitions. I think startups that grow in substantial size and start expanding across the region might think about reincorporating their startups in hubs such as Mauritius, Botswana or South Africa- especially if there is a remote chance of getting acquired by a multinational company or they want to float on a public exchange via an IPO.

    Promote your own country and don’t be afraid to enter others
    As readers may know, I am very biased towards East Africa. I don’t speak French, Portuguese or Arabic to be able to navigate the other half of the huge and diverse parts of Africa, but I am eager to learn- I hope I have demonstrated that there is diversity and no one country is the only place to launch a startup. I expect more country advocates to step forward and put forward their case for why their region of Africa is uniquely positioned to do a startup. I have friends in many other African countries and I always seek to be educated about the opportunities there for the sectors I am interested in. This brings me onto a final and important point- the country you should enter almost always the entrepreneur needs to understand intimately all these factors and in particular people who can guide them through the unique environment- many emerging markets countries including Africa have unique cultural and business practices that are best understood by working closely with trusted people. Great people make startups work not just huge metrics. Don’t be like this guy for example who only spent 6 months in Chile and concluded that Chile was not fit for startups- more that Chile did not accept him because he was not patient enough to find the opportunities. I strongly believe comfort and familiarity and a healthy appetite for risk make most places in the world ripe for startups. Remember, if Mo Ibrahim can start a mobile operator in the Congo, then why not elswhere? Also like D.Light, don’t be afraid to move on as your startups needs grow to exploit new opportunities- whether its going to Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Malawi (heck try South Sudan!) or Silicon Valley to support the growth of the venture. Partnering with other organizations both within Africa and beyond you build a trust with in other countries can help you . Most of all, remember, what kind of startup are you trying to build?

a reflection of divine creativity

  • ....not meant to be

    Posted: January 17, 2012, 1:19 pm
    I really woke up intending to blog..but i guess it was not meant to be..more of moderation etc..lol...I have to rush off to meet my friend for lunch...the life i craved for last year while stuck in...

    [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Afrinnovator

  • Apps4Africa 2011 Winners: Innovative Apps Combating Climate Change

    Posted: January 16, 2012, 10:57 am by Will Mutua

    Originally from the Appfrica blog

    Appfrica is the organizer and facilitator of the second annual Apps4Africa competition which rewards African technologists for developing creative solutions to some of the continent’s most challenging issues. 2011 was the second year we’ve done Apps4Africa, the first year culminated with this congratulatory message from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton:

    Last year the theme of the competition was Climate Challenge, which means all the entrants should have focused on solving climate change and adaptation issues that affect their local communities. Over the course of 7 months our teams are going to over 15 countries to support the competition, answering questions and hosting workshops. Since we’re now two thirds through the competition, I wanted to share descriptions of the 6 winners from the East Africa and West/Central regional competitions.

    The East Africa winners were announced on January 14th, 2012 at Villages In Action in Kikuube, Uganda. The West/Central Africa winners were announced on December 8th, 2011 in Durban, South Africa at the COP-17 Climate Change Conference.

    East Africa Winners

    1st prize of $15,000 – The Grainy Bunch by Eric Mutta (Tanzania)
    The Grainy Bunch is a national grain supply chain management system that monitors the purchase, storage, distribution, and consumption of grain across the entire nation. It was developed with the understanding that selling “the effects of efficiency” to actors in the grain supply chain is much easier than selling “the effects of climate change”.

    Grain is nicknamed the “white oil” which lubricates the engine of Tanzanian growth. Even short-term disturbances in its supply chain adversely affects hundreds of thousands of people. To ensure both food security and economic security for all Tanzanians, a system is required to both monitor and facilitate the supply chain of grain, from the soil to our plates.

    2nd prize of $7,000 – Mkulima Bora – Stepheno Maleche, Gerry Nandwa, Joseph Onginjo and Oliver Otieno (Kenya)
    Mkulima Bora enables farmers to input the type crop they wish to plant into an app, then it cross-checks meteorological data to determine if the crop is suitable given the timing and location. Mkulima improves farmer yields, saves them time, and money

    3rd Prize of $3,000 – Agro Universe – Oliama Brian, Daniel Mumbere, Nabuto Josephine, Bossa Alex, Sanya Duncan, Olwenyi Victor, Kato Charles, Masaba Kizito, Kalema Moses, Namuyiga Winfrey (Uganda)
    Agro Universe allows farmers with agriculture products or livestock to alert the app’s community so that they can buy and sell goods from each other. It works on both mobile and the web. The aim of Agro Universe is to create a regional marketplace where products can be sold that may have no demand in the user’s immediate area but that might in areas farther out.

    West/Central Africa Winners

    1st prize $15,000 – HospitalManager by Victor Ogo Ekwueme (Nigeria)
    HospitalManager is a web-based application that helps hospitals and health organizations prepare for disasters such as floods and storms. More frequent heat spells, rains, and floods are leading to heath emergencies, both due to the event itself, and later to water related disease. HospitalManager will help hospitals in Nigeria, and potentially throughout Africa, identify patterns in patient visits following rains and floods, so that staff can better prepare for these situations and save more lives. Hospitals can anticipate incoming disease and emergency patterns using real time climate forecasts. On longer time scales it will allow policy makers to plan locations of new hospitals.

    2nd prize $7,000 – Eco-fund Forum by Assane Seck, Guillaume Blandin and Markus Faschina (Senegal)
    Eco-fund Forum is a web-based community organizer and geo-localized data exchange tool to help individuals and communities working on sustainable resource management throughout Africa to share their own experiences on best practices. Thus they will better understand and respond to the climate change challenges impacting each specific local context. For example, coastal communities in Senegal that suffer from erosion can learn from neighbors that are successfully and durably overcoming the same problem by regenerating and preserving a littoral forest. Furthermore, the Forum will give those communities a voice which should alert political decision makers to address climate change challenges in time.

    3rd prize $3,000 – Farmerline by Alloysius Attah and Emmanuel Owusu Addai (Ghana)
    Farmerline is a mobile and web-based system that furnishes farmers and investors with relevant agricultural information to improve productivity and increase income. Lack of information about weather patterns and about which crops grow best in a changing climate hurts rural farmers’ yields. Cell phone use is growing rapidly throughout Ghana, including in rural areas. This mobile tool can help farmers in Ghana to get information about agricultural best practices down to the farm level, including choosing crops best suited for their specific location, and how to prepare for changes in the weather (including dry spells, changes in seasonal onset, and extreme events).

    East Africa Honorable Mentions

    CoHeW – Geno Juma, Nicholas Mugah
    The CoHeW program is designed as an aid to the community health worker (CHWs). The program will have a two pronged approach; it gives stop gap solutions to the respondent and serves as an information gathering tool for the CHWs. The ministry of health and other health administration planners need a source of information on likely occurrences of diseases and projected disease outbreak periods.

    AgriRight (Plant it Right) – Wamahiga Grace, Njeri Winnie, Harun Mwangi
    AgriRight is a mobile app that helps farmers plant crops that are right for a particular area.Many farmers, plant crops which are not sustainable for a particular area, which leads to a waste of resources (time, money, energy). They often incur huge losses, reaping very little or no crops at all.

    West/Central Africa Honorable Mentions

    iProtect
    An application that allows residents report issues like bush burning and deforestation in real time via SMS. It’s a citizen reporting and preparedness project that allows the public to alert the greater community of emergency events.

    Mobile Agri Business
    Mobile Agribusiness is an agriculture application for farmers to have information, skills and to connect them to available market in real-time in DRCongo. The project aims to create a mobile market place for farmers in Congo.

    What’s next for Apps4Africa? Well it’s too soon to say but the Climate Challenge will begin in the Southern Africa region in a few short weeks. Bookmark this post and come back in early April to find out who the Southern Africa regional winners will be! If you’d like to get involved with Apps4Africa or the winners, please email us at info@apps4africa.com. Many of the entrants are choosing to open source their code which you can find here on GitHub.

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • Crossed Legged Texts

    Posted: January 15, 2012, 12:17 am by cuppatea

    So why am i being laughed at for declaring celibacy?
    I was having iced tea (it’s been outrageously hot lately) with my friends on Friday, and they were quite amused at that the notion of me being sexless for a while. One of them even said “but you’re the whore of the group”. Of course he was being light hearted with that statement but inside me i was embarrassed/appalled. I could only smile.
    Personally, i think going celibate will sort of help me focus on finding something real. And besides those men were getting too comfortable. So yes, I’ve crossed my legs and they’ll remain that way for a while. I mean, Gukira can do it, why can’t i?

    I tend to think it’s unfair of men to bombard you with all sorts of messages, AFTER you’ve lost interest in them. Even when they themselves know that. Do they think it’s cute to send “something about you i miss” and “can’t get you out of my mind” messages? Because i genuinely don’t… I’ve not replied to them. This time i laughed loudly in the middle of a street whilst reading them. Then i put the phone back in my pocket and continued walking.

    My life continues.

    |Midnight City-M83|

Afrinnovator

  • Pondering Africa’s Tech Investment Potential in 2012 and Beyond

    Posted: January 15, 2012, 2:52 pm by Will Mutua

    [In 2012] New investor interest thanks to continuing coverage of Africa economic growth potential vs other markets- especially in the attractive mobile segment (700M subscribers barrier will definitely be crossed in 2012). – Mbwana Alliy

    It is clear that Africa’s fate has been changing and will continue changing in the coming months and years. Perhaps one of the remarkable evidences of this is depicted in two Economist articles. In the year 2000, The Economist ran an article titled, “The hopeless continent“, the article went on to paint a rather dark, and indeed hopeless, picture for the future of the African continent, citing the negative effects of civil wars, poverty and disease on African states. Fast forward one decade into the new millenium and The Economist in 2011 runs another article postulating the exact opposite, “The hopeful continent“,

    Over the past decade six of the world’s ten fastest-growing countries were African. In eight of the past ten years, Africa has grown faster than East Asia, including Japan. Even allowing for the knock-on effect of the northern hemisphere’s slowdown, the IMF expects Africa to grow by 6% this year and nearly 6% in 2012, about the same as Asia.

    Africa is now considered by many to be the place to invest in for the future. This has also been supported by the kind of resilience that the continent has shown amidst the financial turbulence in the past few years that has gripped the west. According to this article by Charles W. Corey back in 2010:

    African economies have shown resilience in the face of global financial adversities, have passed the stress test and can be expected to achieve economic growth this year, says Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

    Addressing African finance ministers April 26 in Washington, Kaberuka acknowledged that the global financial crisis has done some damage, but said African economies are expected to average 5 percent economic growth in 2010 and 6 percent growth in 2011, with some countries forecast to achieve an even higher rate.

    In many African countries, he said, the crisis has “only been a setback.”

    So it’s only logical that we are seeing more and more investor interest in Africa. In 2011, it became clear that one of the areas of particular interest as far as foreign investment goes is the area of technology and innovation. Of course there has been specific interest in very specific countries as far as this goes but the fact of the matter is that the stories of technological innovation from Africa that have gone global such as Ushahidi and MPESA (we need new examples to talk about) have drawn the eyes of potential investors in this direction. The number of foreign seed investors in technology (particularly from Europe, though we are yet to see how the eurozone situation will affect things in 2012) for example in Nairobi, Kenya has increased.

    There are, however, a few pointers for both foreign investor and investees to consider if we’re going to reap the most out of the oppotunity

    For the Foreign Investor

    1. Learn the continent: Africa = Diversity

    One of the most devastating mis-understandings among foreigners is that Africa is a single country, with one culture. This mindset can be devastating to potential investors. The fact of the matter is that the African continent is diverse and the diversity has far reaching implications on not only how to relate to people but also how people prefer to do business in different parts of Africa.

    The business culture in some countries is really fast paced and aggressive whilst in other areas there’s a kind of laid back, easy going culture which does not necessarily indicate that there are less opportunities in such a culture. Foreign investors need to take time to study their chosen country for investment and understand what the people are like, what their culture is like, then adapt and approach investments with that understanding.

    2. This is not America or Europe: Africa = Uniqueness

    Still on the issue of culture, foreign investors also need to understand that Africa is a unique playing ground. Do not approach Africa with the idea that things will work here the same way they work elsewhere just because they work in those other places. In fact, going back to the issue of the rich diversity of the continent, one strategy may not even work for two different countries within Africa!

    With the diversity of the continent comes the uniqueness of states and regions within the continent.

    These two amazing qualities of the African continent are in part contributed to by the histories of the different states, whilst many African states got their independence from colonial masters around the same period in history, their experience of colonialism set them on vastly different tracks in some cases.

    3. Shed the veil: Africa != Aid

    There’s still much mis-information and resulting mis-conceptions regarding Africa out there. I remember once working on a project for a foreign client and the guys’s daughter once asked her father (my client) whether I lived in a hut and whether we had elephants walking about all over. It was kinda funny really, but also a bit sad.

    Mention Africa to many foreigners and the ideas that float to the top of their mind generally revolve around, aid, AIDS, malaria, poverty, civil war and famine. Many others believe Africa is one big charity case. Many stick to only what they see on TV, never going beyond that. Sure these issues face many African states, but they are a) not a one size fits all description of all 50+ states on the continent, and b) not the only story to be told even in some of the areas plagued by some of these evils.

    Africa is also a place of innovation and entrepreneurship, and many Africans are hardworking people, not to mention the physical beauty of the contient

    Some notes for potential investees

    1. Funding is not everything

    Andrea Mugoya calls this the ‘funding addiction‘:

    I’m not against funding but as I mentioned in my ebook, getting funding for the sake of getting funding (or as an end goal) is dumb! I’m still amazed each time I see ‘funding’ being used as a measuring stick or as a major goal for a startup. I tweeted recently, “only fraudsters and scam artists see funding as an end in itself”. Genuine businesses or NGOs consider funding simply as a means to an end. Further, they would avoid external funding if they could. So why would entrepreneurs seek (or be encouraged to get) funding at the earliest opportunity, sometimes even before they have launched or tested their concept?

    2. Don’t just copy

    Sometimes you’ll here about someone building the ‘Kenyan Facebook’ or ‘Nigerian Twitter’ or something of the sort. While the aim may be to create a similar service that caters to the specific needs of that demography, many times it’s a matter of simply copying that service and hoping to sell it locally without adding anything unique or innovative to the offering.

    Not only is this an un-innovative approach but also not very likely to succeed since the local population may already be using the other service heavily and so have literally no incentive to use your product, not only that but the entrepreneur may create for themselves a competitor whom they have neither the capacity or resources to compete with.

    The challenge for the potential investee is to come up with something unique and as we have noted before, one thing would be to create something that solves a very real problem in the every day lives of local consumers.

A Nairobian's Perspective !

  • Kenya Defense Forces and Al Shabaab Twitter Wars

    Posted: January 14, 2012, 9:58 am
    Here is a reprint of an article i have written on GlobalVoices Online regarding propaganda and social media wars between Kenya's Armed Defense Forces(KDF) and Al Shabaab especially with reference to a recent Twitter spat that resulted in a retraction by the Kenya Military official spokes person Major E Chepchirchir.



    Kenya's military incursion into Somalia against the militant group Al Shabaab dubbed "Operation Linda Nchi" (Swahili for "Operation Defend the Country") has turned into Twitter war. This came after the official military spokesperson Major E ChirChir going by the Twitter handle  @MajorEChirchir posted old photos claiming that a Kenyan Al Shabaab recruit had been stoned to death recently by the group members because of "a difference of opinion". Image of the now deleted tweet can be seen at this here

    It later became apparent that the photos were actually taken by a Somalian journalist in 2009 and does not even feature a Kenyan Al Shabab recruit. The Kenyan military spokesperson has displayed a sense of responsibility by acknowledging responsibility and stating in one tweet:


    @MajorEChirchir: #PicturePosting I take responsibility for posting an old photo, but execution did happen on Tuesday. Friday execution likely.


    Reacting to @MajorEChirchir's tweets, @SelfMadeAbdi asks:


    "@SelfMadeAbdi: Are we suppose to believe u now?"

    @Dannmanufc writes:

    " @Dannmanufc: loosing trust of your updates"

    @kithembe says:

    "@kithembe: @MajorEChirchir  #PicturePosting  it is sad but stop posting old pictures."




    His post has raised furor online with a number of Twitter users venting their anger, distrust and opinions on the issue under the hashtag #PicturePosting. Tweep @mamayaimani writes:


    @mamayaimani:
    "@MajorEChirchir  #PicturePosting  You do realise what his does to your credibility, don't you? You see what it does for the other side?"


    Twitter user @geoffreyork blasts @MajorEChirchir by revealing:
    " @geoffreyork: Here are the 2009 photos from a British newspaper: http://bit.ly/yDYRn4 Compare them to Major C's tweeted photos. Identical. "


    The Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen Twitter page, @HMSpress, took a few quips at the Kenya Defence Forces stating:

    "@HMSpress: For those interested: the incident took place in 2009, the man wasn’t #Kenyan, it wasn’t in Kismayo, and it wasn’t HSM http://www.dhanbaal.com/main/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=272


    @HMSpress: They seem unsophisticated, even in their propaganda campaign. A simple Google search would have saved them such an embarrassment


    Kenyans and other interested persons responded to the whole fiasco and here is a sample of their tweets:

    Tech Blogger @RobertAlai comments:
    @RobertAlai: @MajorEChirchir we are waiting for your answers. You tried to fool us. We need reality not faked scenes

    Okwaroh states:
    @Okwaroh: @MajorEChirchir and to what extent should we tolerate your 'omissions'. This raises loads of questions about the credibility of your WORD


    Responding to the misleading photos, one Kenyan Twitter user, @Jkisioh, coins a new terms “Twicide” and asks:

    @JKisioh: Has @MajorEChirchir committed twicide?

    The Kenyan military spokesperson may have thought that the tweet would be easily consumed by unsuspecting netizens and believed as gospel truth. The veracity of his statements are not only being put to test by the Al Shabaab and its sympathizers but also by Kenyan citizens as "Tweet war" and social media warfare continue.

    The Kenyan capital, Nairobi, saw two deadly grenade attack incidents linked to Al Shabaab last year: one at a popular entertainment club and the other at a crowded bus stop in downtown Nairobi.


Afrinnovator

  • Learning Ruby on Rails, Fighting the Funding Trap and Other Interesting Things

    Posted: January 13, 2012, 11:49 pm by Andrew Mugoya

    Riding the Rails
    One of my goals this year is to learn Ruby on Rails. When I first decided to get into web development (proper), about 7 years ago, my analysis lead me to PHP/MySQL. After coding two major sites literally from scratch (including the now defunct Jijini Markets), I decided it was time to find a CMS or web development framework. My search and comparison analysis lead me to Drupal, which I’ve now been using (religiously) for more than 3 years, including for most of the sites we’ve done at Asilia. Drupal is great for CMS websites but I find it too ‘heavy’ for web apps, hence my decision to try out Rails. I’ve also missed the buzz of learning something new and further think that it would be good to have Rails in our Asilia toolset.

    I’m still in the early stages but have already got my initial “Hello world” app done. For anyone else interested in learning Rails, these are some of the resources I’ve found useful:

    Happy coding!

    Fighting the funding addiction, one addict at a time
    Sadly, the new year always throws up the usual flurry of tweets and blog posts about how this year will be the year for African startups to grab all the funding coming Africa’s way.

    I’m not against funding but as I mentioned in my ebook, getting funding for the sake of getting funding (or as an end goal) is dumb! I’m still amazed each time I see ‘funding’ being used as a measuring stick or as a major goal for a startup. I tweeted recently, “only fraudsters and scam artists see funding as an end in itself”. Genuine businesses or NGOs consider funding simply as a means to an end. Further, they would avoid external funding if they could. So why would entrepreneurs seek (or be encouraged to get) funding at the earliest opportunity, sometimes even before they have launched or tested their concept?

    Refreshingly, I’m not alone in my thinking. None other than the creator of Ruby on Rails, (also a partner at 37Signals) feels so passionately about it that almost every talk he gives touches on it, including one he gave to Stanford University MBA students. Check out his site for more on his views – there’s generally good and interesting advice for entrepreneurs and developers.

    Design: The missing link
    Another focus this year is design (or better appreciation of good design). I’m lucky that, at Asilia, I work with fabulous designers who, not only educate me on design, but also make sure everything we put out has had a qualified designer’s input. In Africa especially, design seems to be the missing link. Loads of great apps (probably solidly built) but lacking that special ingredient that will make them killer apps – great design and UI.

    Apart from my colleagues, one designer whose work I’m continually inspired by is Swiss Miss. She’s got one of the best blog’s I’ve come across and is involved in some very cool projects: TeuxDeux (one of my favourite apps), CreativeMornings and Tattly. There’s also this very inspirational talk she gave that’s worth watching.

    Steady, organic growth and more to come from Asilia
    Officially, Asilia launched in August 2010. So 2011 was our first full calendar year of experiencing what it means to build up a portfolio of clients, submit annual results, recruit staff and do everything else that comes with running a business.

    I’m very proud we’ve managed to grow (in every sense) and still be self-sustaining. We acquired many new clients, went from 3 staff members to 7 (5 fulltime, 2 freelancers) and completed or grew several in-house projects, including Afriapps and Afri-Love. More excitingly, 2012 promises to see this trend continue.

    What this has taught me is this: If you focus on putting out a great product/service and offer great customer service, customers/clients will flock to you and your business will grow. And this, ultimately, is the basis of building a sustainable business. Sometimes we forget that.

AfriCommons Blog

>d®

Africa Expat Wives Club

  • Happy New Year in Nairobi - Security threats nothwithstanding...

    Posted: January 13, 2012, 3:31 pm by Africa Expat Wife
    This update is so long overdue, I hardly know where to begin... apologies for that..

    We've had a couple of tentative emails and text messages asking if we are alright in Kenya - particularly in view of the recent scaling up of the security threat/foreign office travel advisory.  In fact, in Kenya we are very much alright, security threats notwithstanding.  The sun in shining.  After a mega sized 'short' rains in November which lasted 6 weeks, the country is looking particularly green and beautiful for this time of year.  In previous years, the drought has meant that this time of year has been particularly dusty and desperate - as cows are herded into the Nairobi city centre in search of any remaining pastures and there are food shortages, but this year, dams for hydroelectric power are full of water, although the rains damaged some crops we are not in bad shape on that front.  The Kenya shilling is thankfully back under control (1$-87 Kshs), we still have a cooking gas shortage but petrol prices are due to drop a little next week. 

    For me, the run up to christmas was the usual whirl of visitors, children at home and then ordering hams and turkeys that turn out to be so enormous that you have no idea how you are ever going to eat it...but somehow you do.  Thinking about what to give everyone for a present - sadly, due to my distracted state, my husband ended up with precisely nothing for Christmas from me - a fact that I'm more than ashamed of and plan to rectify for his birthday next month - that is.. if I get my act together of course.

    Obviously, living here, there's not just your own family to consider with regard to gifts, but also the people who work in our house.  As well as the usual xmas bonus, Nakumatt vouchers are always a good idea as they can be cashed in all over the country and this year I gave solar powered light sets to our house staff before they headed out of Nairobi to visit family over the holiday period.  These apparently were gratefully received at the other end.   There are loads of portable solar lights on the market these days, and most sets can charge a mobile phone from the solar powered battery too.  You would be amazed how few people in rural Kenya have access to the grid and since the price of kerosene for small lamps has gone through the roof, many people are forced to resort to sitting in the dark in the evenings at the moment.....and it gets dark early here...

    In Nairobi, the number of random security checks have been stepped up - particularly on arrival at shopping centres.  Foreign office staff have been advised to spend no more than 20 minutes in such places (where possible) - I honestly don't see how this advice makes any sense at all - who knows which minute is going to be an unlucky one if disaster does strike?  The majority of people are just continuing life as usual while keeping fingers quietly crossed.  There was an interesting BBC report that said that Nairobi and indeed Kenya is such a cosmopolitan melting pot, made up of so many cultures mixed together, Kenyan, East African, Western, Asian, Arab - that it's almost impossible to keep an eye on what is going on.

    I've been watching the story of Nancy Baraza (known for her fiery temper), acting deputy Chief Justice - with utmost interest.  She is reported to have insulted a female security officer at Village Market on New Year's eve, when she was asked to undergo a routine security check on entry.  Apparently Nancy pinched the security woman's nose then threatened her with a gun (which of course Ms Baraza denies) - sadly for Nancy - the CCTV cameras were running.  The whole incident has now gone to court - her career hangs in the balance.  The security officer is sticking to her guns.  We also find out this month (before the 20th Jan) whether or not the 6 leading figures accused of organising 2007/8 post election violence - will have charges confirmed against them or dropped.  A couple of them are planning to run for presidency in the  upcoming 2012 elections.  Can't wait to find out what happens!


a reflection of divine creativity

  • ....awwww...couple love

    Posted: January 13, 2012, 3:14 pm
    Tags:   
    Tiffany ‘what makes love true’ campaign collaboration with three great photographers...among them The Sartorialist whose work I devour... You know those moments when you see two people and the love...

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  • A Great Announcement

    Posted: January 13, 2012, 9:16 am by gachagua
    Greetings readers. Before you get your hopes up, this is not the daily/weekly/monthly dose of madness you’ve no doubt come to expect from this blog. This isn’t even Adam writing. I’m willing to bet he’s reading this somewhere dropping his cigarette and yelling, “That bastard”! Yes Adam, I (Gachagua) have (once again) infiltrated your blog. [...]

AfriCommons Blog

Afrinnovator

  • A Mobile Money Wish List for 2012

    Posted: January 11, 2012, 9:38 pm by Will Mutua

    In an effort to identify the 12 major tech trends to look forward to in 2012, Mbwana Alliy, noted that 2012 would be a landmark year for the growth, innovation and increased adoption of Mobile Money in Africa. What specific growth/innovation areas would be most anticipated? ere’s a wish-list:

    1. More mobile money powered convenience services – both online and offline, mobile money has enabled a lot of convenience to the consumer. It has been said that many foreigners to countries such as Kenya, the birth place of mobile money, find it hard to fathom that people pay for such ‘trivial’ expenses as taxi fares from their mobile phone. The convenience of mobile money has gone on to be applied to a wide variety of areas, from organisations paying employees via mobile money, paying your insurance premiums or paying your electricity bill. It would be great to see wider and even more innovative applications of mobile money in 2012.

    2. Tighter integration of mobile money at the POS (or better stated, powering micro-payments via mobile money) – This is closely related to the first point but it seems that it should be noted separately. Mobile money operators have made efforts to provide a means to pay for your shopping at the supermarket via mobile money, it is still quite a hassle, and a definite area for further innovation.

    3. Mobile Money to power Africa’s E-commerce Age – Companies such as PesaPal have innovated to bring mobile money onto the web and online payments. The MNOs have also made strides to partner with banks to provide prepaid debit cards that would facilitate online payments. Perhaps this point is not so much for MNOs and mobile money powered online payment gateways such as PesaPal, but for others who can create solid e-commerce businesses that now take advantage of mobile money.

    We are in the early stages of an amazing changein how electronic payments are done on the continent. Africans will begin to gain more trust from mobile online commerce as trusted global brands including VISA, MasterCard and Paypal enter and compete to play in the ecosystem they previously ignored. – Mbwana Alliy

    4. Disruption/Original Innovation – Erik noted the decreasing tendency of mobile network operators to want to step out of what is already raking in the revenues.

    Generally speaking, mobile network operators (MNOs) were highly disruptive in the 90′s, but have continued to decrease in this over the last decade. Operators are no longer the offensive, attacking force of yesteryear, instead they’re putting up barriers and defensive walls trying to protect what they have and hide.

    This being the case, it is up to third party innovators and entrepreneurs to really come up with original innovations based on mobile money that really disrupt the mobile money ecosystem. It would be great to see more innovations that find smart ways around the big boys to provide some really innovative solutions.

    5. APIs please! – Mbwana predicts that this could be the year when finally one or more of the major mobile money operators opens up their platform via an Application Programming Interface that allows third parties to hook in and innovate. It would definitely make it much easier for original innovation to take place. APIs would also increase the size of the ecosystem by making it easier for innovators to join in and provide more services, which would in turn attract more consumers and so on. It would be great to see mobile money being mashed up with other open APIs on the web, for example how about a service that allows anyone to send money from PayPal to MPESA and vice-versa seamlessly?

    In conclusion…

    Whatever the case, one thing is for sure, one can definitely expect more innovation in the mobile money industry – whether bottom up or top down! Last year VISA got serious about mobile money by acquiring Fundamo and formally joining bandwagon. Just this action alone could force the giants of the mobile money world, who for the most part right now are the Mobile Network Operators, to wake up. Another simple contributing factor would be the simple fact that mobile penetration is not only on an upward trend but is out-pacing expectations.

Above The Din Of Life

  • Motorcycle Riding in Nairobi- A Lifestyle or Craze?

    Posted: January 11, 2012, 7:36 pm by Administrator One

    The cheap Chinese and Indian bikes have revolutionized motorcycle riding in Kenyan. In every corner of this country, there are hordes of boda boda operators waiting at road junctions, town bus termini and every corner. Apart from boda boda operators, the motorcycle has changed the very essence of micro and SME set-ups. Farmers can now send milk and other produce to far-flung places, freelance service providers can serve large areas in a day and for leisure and social purposes many middle class rural families now have an affordable means of getting from point A to point B.
    In the urban areas, there is a new revolution of motorcycle riding for lifestyle purposes. On any given weekend, you are likely to meet with a posse of bikers heading out to   Naivasha, Magadi, Thika and beyond. These bikers have the financial muscle to buy the most powerful and technology laden machines available anywhere in the world. These bikers do not ride for a living, but live for the ride. In their other lives, they are astute business men, lawyers, managers, doctors, creative, pastors, entertainers, high-end mechanics, expatriates with a sprinkling of the petrol heads, rich and spoilt kids who can afford the lifestyle. 
    They are likely to be seen in the latest Harley Davidsons, Yamaha R1s, Suzuki Hayabusas, Honda CBRs, etc. The motorbikes they ride will set you back anything from half a million to 1.8million to acquire a second hand one from Japan, Britain, Dubai or US. 
    Some of the better known bikers include Pastor Allan Kiuna, head of Jubilee Christian Centre, Moses Nderitu, an enteprenuer in the sanitation sector, Arthur Igeria, a city lawyer and Charles Kimenyi a music teacher, Oyunga Pala a renowned columnist and DJ Stylez of Code Red DJs. A few other die-hard enthusiast have formed themselves into groups with a view to propagating the biker lifestyle. They include Outriders Association of Kenya whose members are known to offer outrider services to major road events. They are also participants in the Friday night basketball events held in Nyayo Stadium. 
    Another grouping with a following of about 1750 is Kenya Bikers who are active on Facebook. They organise rides to places like Narok for purposes of charity and recreation. If you put your ear on the ground and listen hard enough, you are bound to hear whispering about another mysterious community of kids who are into bikes for purposes of executing stunts and illegal road races. There is talk of large sums of money exchanging hands in outrageous bets. For instance the race record for Nairobi to Naivasha is 17 minutes while those who race further do Nakuru in 38 minutes. You hear of possible deaths caused in the chase for glory and fame within these circles. It is likely that relatives of the dead riders may not know the exact circumstances of their unfortunate deaths. 
    There are many other riders who do it in singles without joining any groupings. Many expatriates fall within this category and will usually bring in their high-end motor bikes into the country and sell them at the end of their tours of duty. You will likely find them around Gigiri and such other neighbourhoods. The other class of bikers are the professional riders who have grown on motor-cross tracks. Most of the young ones start honing their skills at a very early age and graduate into higher age-sets with time. 
    The one common thing with all these riders is that no expense is spared and the bikes are meant to make a huge a statement about who the rider is and their financial ability. They use the well-known brands in riding gear and accessories. Unlike the messenger and boda boda who wear helmets costing Kshs. 2,500, these class of bikers spend close to Kshs.120,000/= worth of in boots, helmets, riding jackets with full body armour, pants and a few other stylish gadgets meant to make the ride enjoyable like bluetooth communication sets and mounted miniature cameras to record every moment for purposes of sharing with friends and posting on Youtube.
    So next time you look down on your rear view mirror and see a robot-like rider bearing on you at the speed of lightening and looking more like a lost MotoGP racer, make sure you give him the way; he could be part of a big posse out to beat a record.  

Above The Din Of Life

  • Motorcycle Riding in Nairobi- A Lifestyle or Craze?

    Posted: January 11, 2012, 4:36 pm

    The cheap Chinese and Indian bikes have revolutionized motorcycle riding in Kenyan. In every corner of this country, there are hordes of boda boda operators waiting at road junctions, town bus termini and every corner. Apart from boda boda operators, the motorcycle has changed the very essence of micro and SME set-ups. Farmers can now send milk and other produce to far-flung places, freelance service providers can serve large areas in a day and for leisure and social purposes many middle class rural families now have an affordable means of getting from point A to point B.
    In the urban areas, there is a new revolution of motorcycle riding for lifestyle purposes. On any given weekend, you are likely to meet with a posse of bikers heading out to   Naivasha, Magadi, Thika and beyond. These bikers have the financial muscle to buy the most powerful and technology laden machines available anywhere in the world. These bikers do not ride for a living, but live for the ride. In their other lives, they are astute business men, lawyers, managers, doctors, creative, pastors, entertainers, high-end mechanics, expatriates with a sprinkling of the petrol heads, rich and spoilt kids who can afford the lifestyle. 
    They are likely to be seen in the latest Harley Davidsons, Yamaha R1s, Suzuki Hayabusas, Honda CBRs, etc. The motorbikes they ride will set you back anything from half a million to 1.8million to acquire a second hand one from Japan, Britain, Dubai or US. 
    Some of the better known bikers include Pastor Allan Kiuna, head of Jubilee Christian Centre, Moses Nderitu, an enteprenuer in the sanitation sector, Arthur Igeria, a city lawyer and Charles Kimenyi a music teacher, Oyunga Pala a renowned columnist and DJ Stylez of Code Red DJs. A few other die-hard enthusiast have formed themselves into groups with a view to propagating the biker lifestyle. They include Outriders Association of Kenya whose members are known to offer outrider services to major road events. They are also participants in the Friday night basketball events held in Nyayo Stadium. 
    Another grouping with a following of about 1750 is Kenya Bikers who are active on Facebook. They organise rides to places like Narok for purposes of charity and recreation. If you put your ear on the ground and listen hard enough, you are bound to hear whispering about another mysterious community of kids who are into bikes for purposes of executing stunts and illegal road races. There is talk of large sums of money exchanging hands in outrageous bets. For instance the race record for Nairobi to Naivasha is 17 minutes while those who race further do Nakuru in 38 minutes. You hear of possible deaths caused in the chase for glory and fame within these circles. It is likely that relatives of the dead riders may not know the exact circumstances of their unfortunate deaths. 
    There are many other riders who do it in singles without joining any groupings. Many expatriates fall within this category and will usually bring in their high-end motor bikes into the country and sell them at the end of their tours of duty. You will likely find them around Gigiri and such other neighbourhoods. The other class of bikers are the professional riders who have grown on motor-cross tracks. Most of the young ones start honing their skills at a very early age and graduate into higher age-sets with time. 
    The one common thing with all these riders is that no expense is spared and the bikes are meant to make a huge a statement about who the rider is and their financial ability. They use the well-known brands in riding gear and accessories. Unlike the messenger and boda boda who wear helmets costing Kshs. 2,500, these class of bikers spend close to Kshs.120,000/= worth of in boots, helmets, riding jackets with full body armour, pants and a few other stylish gadgets meant to make the ride enjoyable like bluetooth communication sets and mounted miniature cameras to record every moment for purposes of sharing with friends and posting on Youtube.
    So next time you look down on your rear view mirror and see a robot-like rider bearing on you at the speed of lightening and looking more like a lost MotoGP racer, make sure you give him the way; he could be part of a big posse out to beat a record.  

a reflection of divine creativity

  • December Holiday

    Posted: January 11, 2012, 10:52 am
    Since I am in a very good and hopeful mood...can i officially say I had an AMAZING end of year/new year....and we all know how i love new years...I am officially in debt to one of my closest...

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  • a future and hope...

    Posted: January 11, 2012, 10:20 am
    You know....God is so faithful...ALWAYS...anyone who knows me....knows i love saying that but more than that i believe it...I am on this journey where its end is my arrival in London...when a new...

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Afrinnovator

  • Some Popular Android Devices in the African Market

    Posted: January 9, 2012, 12:53 am by Will Mutua

    This is a guest post by Rebecca Jones of gizmowatch.com and designbuzz.com

    Mbwana Alliy, in his widely popular article predicting Africa’s tech future for 2012 noted that one key trend will be the increased adoption of Smartphones among Africa’s middle class as well as the gap between feature and smartphone being bridged more and more.

    Smartphone adoption will grow among Africa’s emerging middle class as entry prices for an unlocked phone continue to dip below $100. Nokia/Microsoft Symbian/Windows Phone and Google/Samsung Android will battle for smartphone dominance- Nokia’s strong brand and feature phone momentum will prove to be an advantage. But affordable Chinese smartphones led by Huawei’s Ideos will continue to tempt Africans to upgrade. – Mbwana Alliy

    When you talk Smartphones in Africa nowadays, it’s almost impossible to ignore mighty Android, Google’s open source Operating System for mobile devices. Google has been keen on growing it’s foothold in Africa and Android has been a major contributor to Google’s efforts. Coupled with the burgeoning middle class that’s powering Africa into it’s future, Android could see increased adoption as Africans with greater spending power seek the hallmarks of the middle class lifestyle. According to an article on The Guardian:

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) says Africa’s middle class had risen to 313 million people in 2010, 34% of the continent’s population – compared with 111 million (26%) in 1980, 151 million (27%) in 1990 and 196 million (27%) in 2000.

    Africa has a young, fast-growing, fast-urbanising population. Many countries have benefited from a commodities boom and a 10-fold rise in foreign investment in the past decade, notably from China. Africa’s productivity is growing by nearly 3% a year, compared with 2.3% in the United States. Arguably, governance is improving, elections spreading and dictatorships and wars declining.

    The following is some popular Android devices from around the African Market:

    Huawei IDEOS

    Based on the tremendous popularity of the IDEOS upon launch in Kenya, it would be safe to say that the IDEOS set the tone for the future of affordable Smartphones. According to this statement by Huawei, the IDEOS U8150 sold about 60,000 units within the first five months.

    Mr. Herman He, CEO Huawei announced that, “Since the IDEOS launch five months ago, so far over 60,000 pieces have been sold and we are moving towards the 100,000 piece mark with its share of the local smartphone market at 45% in the first quarter of the year, making it the top selling device with February alone reaching 73%.”

    The 3G capable phone runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), boasts a 3.15 MP camera, 256 MB RAM, 240×320 touchscreen, and a 528 MHz ARM 11 CPU

    Samsung Galaxy S

    This cell phone has 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor giving excellent 3D graphics experience with exceptional speed. The phone carries 4 inches screen which is better in size as compared to the iPhone and other Smartphones. The resolution comes to around 800 by 480 and is manufactured with Gorilla glass which is fairly robust and scratch resistant. At the back, you will find a 5MP camera which can shoot video in 720P at 30 frames per second.

    Motorola Milestone

    This device is also called Droid in other markets, which is seen 13.7 mm thick having an impressive slide out full QWERTY keyboard. The touchscreen comes to around 3.7 inches pretty similar to the HTC hero’s screen commonly seen in other android phones. It supports the Android 2.0 software which is best suitable for the quad band GSM and the dual band 3G support. You also get a multi touch support which is not seen in Droid in the US market. The camera of the phone is 5MP; you will find A-GPS and Wi-Fi support with MicroSD slot and the RAM as 256MB.

    Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

    Earlier Sony Ericsson often came with Windows, however, with Xperia X10 you can find the company switching towards the Android OS. This phone runs the Android 1.6 unlike what you see in the Motorola or Samsung Android based phones. One of the important features of this device is its interface which is a modified as compared to the other phones. The interface TimeScape which is a social networking interface best suited to access data from number of social media sites like Faceboook, Twitter, Myspace etc. Similarly, you have MediaScape which extracts a number of multimedia content in one player. The processor used in this phone is 1 GHz Snapdragon which gives excellent processing speed. Also the device has MicroSD slot which contains both the wi-fi and GPS.

    Motorola Dext

    This device is considered to be the best cell phone for social networking crowd coming through the Motorola’s MotoBlur service. With this feature you can store the social networking profiles online and then get them on your phone devices. With this interface you can customize all your incoming emails, texts and social messages in such a way that it makes sense to you. The phone runs Android 1.5 and has 5MP camera with wi-fi in the MicroSD slot. The touchscreen over this device is pretty small as compared to the Milestone. Unlike the Milestone, this device too carries a slide out QWERTY keyboard and a built in GPS system.

    About the author: Rebecca is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and lifestyle. Beside this she is fond of Mac themed mods and loves writing articles on iPad Wireless Keyboard

AfriCommons Blog

Above The Din Of Life

  • "In My Life" by The Beatles

    Posted: January 9, 2012, 5:26 pm by Administrator One

    There are places I rememberAll my life though some have changedSome forever not for betterSome have gone and some remainAll these places have their momentsWith lovers and friends I still can recallSome are dead and some are livingIn my life I've loved them all

Above The Din Of Life

  • "In My Life" by The Beatles

    Posted: January 9, 2012, 2:26 pm

    There are places I rememberAll my life though some have changedSome forever not for betterSome have gone and some remainAll these places have their momentsWith lovers and friends I still can recallSome are dead and some are livingIn my life I've loved them all

a reflection of divine creativity

  • sigh...

    Posted: January 9, 2012, 12:26 pm
    At times I am so certain....so sure that nothing can convince me otherwise that I am going to London....then one fact...a comment...makes me question whether I'm deluded...

    [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • The Truth Hurts

    Posted: January 8, 2012, 10:47 pm by cuppatea
    It's been a week of pissing people off on my part.
    There are working class people all around me sat on different tables, and two waiters are bustling up and down serving and taking orders. To my left a beautiful woman. To my right an elderly couple. In front of me are a tall glass of milkshake and a cup of cappuccino.  This is the setting in which i came out to a lady many heterosexual friends thought would end up with me sometime in the near future, as my wife. Imagine that!I had just told her i'm gay, after having a long discussion about many other things, mostly school, life abroad, friends and the like. She told me she had gay friends. What did she feel about them, i asked her. Her response was a positive one, which prompted me to just come clean and tell her the truth.  This is a most fantastic woman with whom i've climbed mountains with, called when she felt home sick, encouraged her when she was stressed with schoolwork, and generally been there for her when she needs me. The states can be a difficult place to live in especially when you're homesick.
    Her reply to me, she said "i knew it." 
    I don't like disappointing people but i could tell she was a little disappointed, though she told me she'd always suspected i'm gay. The truth hurts.
    Have you ever been in a situation where you look like the evil one for speaking the truth? Could someone please show me how to tell a friend a man isn't good for them WITHOUT looking like an evil person that doesn't want to see a friend progress? Because my true sentiments about a person were aired and the feedback wasn't appreciated. I'm sorry, i'm blunt, i don't like beating round the bush but when it comes to friends i care about and i hear nasty stuff about their men of course i'm going to warn them. Even if it makes me look like a liar and warrants me being ignored/censored for a while (or ever; Lord knows). After all, where there's smoke there's usually fire. The truth hurts.
    When i told yet another friend that it's impolite to "gate crash" a function they weren't invited for they get offended. It's basic good manners, there's a reason you weren't invited and that's because the event wasn't mine. The hostess planned it for her friends only, i was merely helping out where i could, because that's what brother's do for family innit? The truth bloody hurts i know. But that's the case. It's most unfortunate that they didn't want to understand. 

    What's frustrating is that when you keep quiet and they still find out stuff, moreso when they find out you knew all along, you still get into crap with them. 
    It's quite difficult being a friend sometimes.
    |Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough-Patty Smyth| 

admblind.wordpress.com

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • New Year Notes

    Posted: January 4, 2012, 12:43 pm by cuppatea
    The year has started off relatively drama free!
    I didn't get up to much on new years' eve, i went for an Indian dinner then i found myself at a club, complete with confetti and party masks. I didn't even get high that night, which is a good thing! 
    Unlike most people who've been at the coast or in their beds resting, i've been running up and down running errands and businesses. One thing i've learned is that it's definitely not easy and it certainly needs a lot of patience. I've not even gone to uni yet to register for what was supposed to be my final semester. I'll get round to doing that soon though, i've got quite the long semester ahead of me. 
    I'm still curious as to why the man from December is trying to communicate with me after i made it clear he's not suited for me. To be nice I've picked up or replied his texts, but now this is getting too much. He'd have been a great guy for 18 year old me, but the current me feels otherwise! I don't like this sort of behaviour because i sense motive. Does he think i'll have seen he's changed, when he's already shown me what he's really like? He is the reason i'm currently disinterested in dating at the moment. 
    Whilst i know i'm not the only one he's fucking, my shag buddy decided to cruise a gay hookup site in my presence. Aghast i was, it doesn't really hit you until you see it for yourself! Furthermore, i know he's doing two acquaintances of mine. I did a little homework after witnessing that. I don't know if they know about me though. I at one point thought he was getting attached to me, but that's clearly not the case. I hid my sentiments from him about the issue, but clearly it's time i moved on from all that.
    I suppose the main goal for the year is to graduate university. That's all the way in October. I've not set others but they'll come as time moves on. Being fit is one of them but it's quite demotivating when you go to the gym to check their rates and you find that it's out of your reach. I'll go buy some running shoes and shorts. 
    So far with the little time i had at home, i took organization into my own hands! Yes i got tired of my wardrobe looking like hurricane Katrina struck, so that was sorted, next up is my bookshelf. Bloody thing struggles to support itself with all the books there hahaha! I've also been cooking lots, from new years day dinner to a most interesting aubergine and capsicum stir fry... All of these things pretty homely. 
    Anyway, lets see what the year brings forth.
    |Domino-Jessie J|

A Nairobian's Perspective !

  • Emirates unveils global sales to tackle competition

    Posted: January 4, 2012, 11:40 am
    Customers will now save up to 25 percent on round-trip airfares to destinations across the Emirates network as the airline works to beat global competitionDUBAI – January 4, 2011 – Emirates, one of the world’s fastest-growing international airlines, is celebrating the New Year by offering exceptional discounts on airfares to more than 100 cities, when bookings are made before January 9 2012 for travels between January 22 and June 30 2012.Emirates customers will now be able to save up to 25 percent off all published First Class, Business Class and Economy Class fares departing between, when travelling round-trip to any destination on Emirates’ extensive global network.
    A return Economy Class Business and First Class tickets from Nairobi to Dubai now costs USD428, USD1131, USD2418, respectively. A roundtrip economy ticket from Nairobi now start from USD625 to Istanbul, USD423 to Bahrain, USD591 to Male, USD884 to Houston, USD1006 to Sao Paulo, USD650 to Manila, USD476 to Cochin, USD666 to Bangkok, USD884 to Guangzhou and 770 London.
    Speaking in Nairobi when he unveiled the new fares Emirates Regional Manager for East Africa Essa Sulaiman Ahmad said:
    “For the first time in Emirates’ history, we are welcoming in the New Year by offering unprecedented savings to our customers. With up to 25 per cent off Economy Class, Business Class and First Class airfares to every destination on our international network, there has never been a better time to experience the award-winning product and on-board service which has made Emirates Airline of the Year in 2011.” He continued: “Whether your New Year’s resolution is to spend more time with family and friends, visit a dream destination or follow your favourite sports team at a far-flung tournament, our global sale is designed to ensure that Emirates customers enjoy the perfect start to 2012.” Renowned for its excellence in service and innovation, both on board and on the ground, Emirates holds an array of prestigious awards, including Air Transport World’s 2011 “Airline of the Year” award and the Skytrax World Airline Award for “World's Best Airline Inflight Entertainment,” for the seventh year in a row.“Our clients can now book online at www.emirates.com and discover gourmet multi-course meals, complimentary wines, dedicated children’s menus and activities, and ice, Emirates’ award winning entertainment system offering more than 1,200 channels of on-demand entertainment at every seat,” added Mr Ahmad.
    For more information on Emirates, including how to book and a complete list of terms and conditions, contact your travel agent or visit: www.emirates.com.


  • Why I Love German Cars !!!!

    Posted: January 3, 2012, 11:26 am
    Audi R8 Spyder
    Hi, readers its a new Year 2012 and this is my first post ,hoping all you are well and wishing you the best in this year 2012.Somehow, having driven down from Mombasa couldn't help but let my first post be about something that i found impressive: German Cars! Yes the likes of Mercedes Benz, Audi, Volkswagen and BMW.Interestingly almost all this cars are available at German car hire companies (if you are at holiday in Germany you might find that link to be pretty useful).

    Truly beautiful cars with sterling performance,agility and stability.I clearly have a myriad of reasons to love German cars and its my hope to ride one pretty soon! This cars can clearly outrun other European or Japanese models on the market especially on the rough and rugged roads here !

    According to the website IseeCars.com the following cars hit the best10 German cars in the year 2011:
    • Audi A5
    • BMW X5
    • BMW 3 series convertible
    • Mercedes Benz E Series( E350) Luxury Sedan 
    • 2011 Mini Cooper Clubman
    • Porsche Boxster 2dr Roadster
    • Porsche Cayenne AWD 4dr Man
    • Volkswagen Golf 2dr HB Auto
    • Volkswagen Gti  2dr HB DSG
    • Volkswagen Jetta 4dr Auto Sedan
     Again most of these vehicles have received a 5 star rating  for safety  from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an agency of the U.S. government that monitors data and usage of vehicle and their performances.

    As you zoom in this year 2012 and see things speed up...please ensure that you keep it safe and enjoy your ride in life !


a search for sanity or..........

  • Diving into this

    Posted: January 2, 2012, 8:28 pm by gal africana
    Riri: I feel...like I'm starting something and I don't know where it is going.
    Queen: Do you need to know?
    Riri: mmmm...yes...and no. Knowing feels safe, not knowing is freedom...so yes and no.
    Queen: You can know if you want to.
    Riri: *Quiet, trying to listen for any info that leads to knowing*

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • Your Questions Among Others: End Year Review

    Posted: December 30, 2011, 10:31 pm by cuppatea
    Fascinating year 2011 has been isn't it, use 3 words to describe it.
    I wouldn't use the term "fascinating", lets go with "adventurous", "retarded" and "lessons".
    What goals were you able to accomplish this year?I quit taking sugar in my tea and coffee! And smoking. I'm very pleased with myself. I let myself loosen up a little bit. I tried taking sugared up tea, i couldn't go past 3 sips. 
    What were you thinking by telling your mother you're gay?You know she's confused right? perhaps i need to be more direct with her. I was pretty fed up that night, t'was the day i was dumped haha! I felt...tired. It reaches a point where you're like "i'm so done with this" and let the cat out of the bag. In her case, she's put the bloody thing back in the bag.
    Why aren't you dating your shag buddy? You write nice things about him (or them). They not interested in being in a relationship. They made that clear from the day i met them. I might have this notion around me that i get what i want but really, i found them; and i derive some sort of pleasure from them. No strings attached. I sometimes wonder what they'd be like as boyfriends. My guess possessive! One of them might be getting attached though.
    What was that one month thing you had in October?Well, i'd met this nice guy earlier in the year, talked and all. He's a complicated soul, and saw ahead of me that it was better off terminating it early instead of running into issues later. Learned lots from that experience.
    Did you have an affair this year?
    Didn't you read? LOL I wish i did, it'd have made your reading experience a lot more interesting hahaha! But seriously, affairs are disastrous, and i couldn't possibly, ever bring myself to another.
    Do you still think of and miss superman?What a question! Sometimes, small things trigger memories. Be it a place, statement, person that looks like him or songs. The things i hear about him worry me at times, but i've genuinely moved on.
    Why do you drink so much, you even injure yourself in the process?Sadly! Um, It's probably in my genes. True story. My friends are partly to blame as well! As are hidden holes and or furniture. Great, i've made myself sound like a drunk! I'll try and drink less in 2012.

    What was the most interesting place you visited this year? Malindi, the northern Coast of Kenya. Really magical small town. Hopefully in 2012 i'll go further up and see the fabled town of Lamu. They've got donkeys there...and very nice tour guides ;-)
    Any Goals for 2012?
    To graduate! Okay really, i've not put much thought into what goals i want to achieve in the coming year yet. Those usually come to me in January. 

    You like music evidently, what's been your favourite album or song of the year?
     Difficult question! There's been the new Amy Winehouse Album called Lioness:Hidden Treasures, then German Trance Artist ATB had his album Distant Earth, there's also Colbie Caillat's all of you, it's been a very good year for music. It's difficult to pick but if i had to it'd be Amy, because she covers some amazing songs like Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? and even sings with Tony Bennet. It's one of those albums you really sing along to anywhere, albeit loudly. What, you thought i'd forget to mention Lady GaGa's born this way album? I think it's on every gay's playlist! Mine included. Weird, questionable music but songs like Sheibe get my feet tapping. So Amy wins! It's not bias, it's talent.
    Any good films you've watched in 2011?Well i'm horrible with film watching but i did like Thor, & Fast Five (shitty story line, the car chase scenes were epic though).
    What in your opinion was your best moment this year?I'm torn between watching the sunrise recently in other worldly states or the sunset walk i had while on holiday... 
    Worst moment?Going back uni, only to be told your good friend died in surgery, that was horrible.
    And on to the most delicious meal, what was it? Sea food salad! All sorta sea fish and organic vegetables with thousand island dressing served with white wine. I went on for a 2nd round. 
    Most Awkward moment?Being busted by my brother making out with another bloke in the car outside my home... Tihihi? There's the benefit of  doubt because it was dark...or so i'd like to believe.
    Everyone has embarrassing moments, what was your most embarrassing one this year? So my gay friend and i were walking in campus right, and this fiiiiiiiiiiiine guy walks by in the opposite direction! I'm like daaaaaayum he's fiiiiine and my friend's like mmmm yes as we check out the bloke stealthily. After he passes by i say mmm i'd like some of that! and my friend goes like aaaiii he's so mine, tafuta ingine (look for another one) and then we start talking like African-Americans, the Laquisha or Laverne/Shaniqua type and i say Ooooh heeeeell naw hun, that man's so mine and do the whole finger snapping and head movement, and my friend retaliates with oh no girl, he's mine!, AND THEN a lecturer passes quickly moving in front of us saying a very meek hello... We're both so shocked and embarrassed we cringe and say hi back. After he walks ahead i'm like oh hell he saw everything... HAHAHA! My friends' like mscheeeeeew so embarrassing. 
    Then we both laughed loudly! :-) Goodness if the ground could swallow me up that would've been the best moment!

    Where will you be on Christmas eve?I genuinely don't know. I'd like to say in the safe confines of my bed BUT we all know that's lying to myself...

    Any parting shot, comment, anything you'd say about the year 2011 in general?you know how in south park in the opening scene, where the opening song ends and there's an explosion of some building and there's a guy who's jumped away from it? that one. 
    Anyway, through good times and bad i will always remain your cuppatea.
    Finally, you end 2011 with which song?
    All i need is you-ATB ft Sean Ryan. It's the one currently playing in the background.
    see you next year. 


24goingon40's Blog

  • Hi!

    Posted: December 30, 2011, 10:07 pm by 24goingon40
    Welcome to my blog on WordPress.com. It’s funny because I never thought I would ever blog until I got this challenge from my mentor n friend J.N and I said “why not…let me do this…” 24goingon40…I look at life as a 24 year old who faces the normal pulls n tags of life…in the eyes of an [...]

admblind.wordpress.com

  • girlfriend application form. (downloadable)

    Posted: December 27, 2011, 11:26 pm by admblind
      I finally got round to actually putting up the application form that i was sending out like two months ago. (if you follow the blog you might remember that post, then again if you follow this blog you’re probably on more drugs than…most people)so i figure if you click the link it’ll download to [...]

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • Christmases unlike no other

    Posted: December 26, 2011, 11:59 pm by cuppatea
    Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing day and Seasons' greetings from me cuppatea! :-)
    I hope Santa Claus was good to all of you and gave you pleasant gifts and surprises! Personally i still wonder how he knows who's been naughty or good; does that make him a peeping Tom or perv? No one knows...

    I met up with the bloke that wanted the second date. It didn't end well. For him at least, i'm fine though. I gave him a short lecture about his behaviour. I really didn't expect to do that to a 30 years+ man. Basically i told him that i'm not comfortable with the idea of dating him given his actions. He said sorry and he respects my decision. I said goodbye and i didn't look back. 

    My Christmas day was quite different from what i'm used to... I was asleep almost the whole day. This is because i'd been out on Christmas eve with some good friends of mine! I have very little recollection of what happened, but i do know this, i was in a park by myself at 6.15am Christmas morning high as a kite watching the sun rise! Now before you lecture me on safety, please note that i wasn't robbed and that i still have all my personal belongings. 
    I still don't know how i found myself at a park, but i can tell you this, it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. The silence, cold mist combined with the sun's golden rays in a dark sky with light fluffy clouds was the most beautiful thing i've seen all year! 
    And then i had an hour long chat with two watchmen who man the entrance of the park. i don't know how i slipped past them to begin with...and I can't really recall the conversation, but i think it was something about Christmas and why they're working and the economy. I even gave them "Christmas Money". Oh, i fell at some point too! The marks on my chin, the large patch of dirt and grass on my pants are dead giveaways. Ouch.
    So getting into the house at 8am and blacking out was the way i spent my Christmas day. I did wake up later on, apologizing to my siblings about my behaviour. They understood. Stayed awake, watched a film with them and had Christmas dinner! Not bad at all. 
    Getting into bed i was utterly exhausted, hangovered, battered, you name it! I doubt i'll be drinking that much anytime soon.
    I've got the coming week off so i'll probably use it to catch up on sleep, read those books i got and generally unwind properly...
    P.s i found chopsticks in my trousers too... My friends have some explaining to do.
    |Winter Wonderland-Michael Buble|


A Kenyan girl's thoughts on life, inspirational articles and single parenthood

  • miley cyrus

    Posted: December 20, 2011, 9:43 pm by orson
    Welcome back to the Tournament of THG, where fans determine the most popular celebrity of the year! We unveiled our official bracket yesterday, and one by one, we'll post polls of these respective showdowns, updating the bracket after each round.

    The concept is simple. Vote for your favorite of the two stars in each poll. Done.

    Kate Middleton is dominating Kim Kardashian in our first celebrity showdown, putting her on a collision course for the quarterfinals and a contest against ... one of these ladies!

    miley cyrus
    miley cyrus
    miley cyrus
    miley cyrus
    miley cyrus
    miley cyrus
    miley cyrus

The Gitts Zone

  • 20. Proper prior preparation prevents poor performance

    Posted: December 20, 2011, 5:00 am by Gituma Nturibi
    Practice makes perfect goes the old proverb. Nothing can substitute good preparation.
    I remember in high school before any event we had to go through vigorous rehearsals to make sure everything is right. In my time I've also participated in a number of drama productions and know how important preparation is. every time you see a good performance on stage, you best believe a lot of work went into that. Of course we all know about exams and how we must prepare for them.

    Generally for whatever we do, good preparation makes a world of difference, let the day not find you unprepared. Remember the story of the virgins in Matthew 25? the wise ones were ready when the bridegroom came.

    Don't get caught out, be ready!

Rafiki Kenya

  • Hula Hoop

    Posted: December 20, 2011, 4:58 am by Rafiki
    Here is the official video of the new Stella Mwangi (aka STL) single Hula Hoop (featuring Mohombi), from the album "Kinanda".

     

    Hooping
    Nice song, so I had to do some research, and I found out that a hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. So I got myself one. I wanted to use it for exercising, but I didn't seem to be able to control the thing. So I gave it to my girl. And she didn't have any problems with it at all. Really amazing!

    Here’s an easy two-step lesson on how to hula hoop.

    1. Make sure you have the right size hula hoop

    What’s the right size? Try this: Stand with your hoop in front of you. The general rule of thumb is that a hoop should stand somewhere between your navel and nipple height, although some compensation should be made for your waist size, too. General rule of thumb: The bigger you are, the bigger the hoop should be. Larger hoops will rotate slower, making getting started easier. Smaller than that will make the hoop rotate faster, which is more challenging, although smaller hoops may be useful for certain tricks.

    2. Put one foot in front of the other, and shift your weight 

    Hold the hoop against your back. You can start it a little above your waist. Then, push the hoop around your waist, and shift your weight back and forth on your feet to keep the hoop moving. Easier said than done? Having trouble “keeping it up”? Here are some more tips: Many people try to move their hips in a circle with the hoop. This actually makes hooping much harder. Try this: put one foot in front of the other and just shift your weight back and forth from foot to foot. It’s less of a circular hip motion and more of just a rocking or pumping motion. In terms of which direction to hoop in, try them both! You’ll know right away which one is right for you. I’ve found that right handed people generally hoop counter-clockwise, while lefties go clockwise, but many people are exceptions to this rule. Most of all: be patient! It can take a while to get the hang of it — don’t give up! If you get frustrated trying to get the hoop going around your waist, try hooping with your hands!

    Are you still looking for a nice Christmas present for your girl? In the video below you can find out why you should buy your girl a hula hoop. Hooping does not just tone the midriff, but burns a fearsome amount of calories (as many as 100 every 10 minutes), boosts your mood and your sex life, and provides spiritual enlightenment.

     

Intricately Me

  • Online Quotes Reviews – The right way to Use Reviews to determine the Lowest Quotes

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:53 am by Tonya

    Author name: Clarence F.B. Maxin

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WordPress.com News

  • WordPress for Android 2.0 Now Available

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:32 am by Dan
    Tags:   
    It’s Android blogging, re-imagined. Today we’re announcing the release of WordPress for Android 2.0, a major update that focuses on a new UI and enhanced post editor features. Check the video: So what’s new? Brand New Look We’ve completely redesigned the look and feel of the app, now placing the actions you want to make [...]

Bee illustrated

  • Absolution

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:29 am by Bee Illustrated
    Setting the house in order every evening in preparation for a hectic week was a routine we had established, Mike and I. This day was no different, even when he was no longer here. I’m lost in thoughts and this was one of my fears. He went away a few nights after packing everything he [...]

Intricately Me

  • Identification Code reader – Increase Your Enterprise With It

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:13 am by Tonya

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  • Madness Vs P90X – What One is Tougher?

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:05 am by Tonya

    Also you might have Tim Big t with his fantastic INSANITY crew, bouncing and lunging and excessive sweating and doing basketball workouts no-stay in their basketball fitness center. On the other side you might have Tony Horton with his fantastic examination collection, drilling each group of muscles in the challenging rate, just practising kempo and yoga exercise, weight lifting and doing pullups. Both of them are invoiced as intense, are both considered to be the best intense figure out at any time place on Video-but instant cash loans is actually the most challenging? If you want the eventual problem, that ought to you are doing?

    1st let’s try and specify with what we suggest once we the ‘toughest’. In the interest of this post, we’ll specify becoming requiring the best physical preparing in advance, the best self-control and willpower to finish the whole in the plan, as well as the best continual high intensity while in the exercise routine alone. Some disclaimers: families might find all these workout routines less complicated or trickier based upon on their own advantages. So even though INSANITY might be very hard for any weight lifter, quite simply for somebody in course and area. Bear that in mind!

    We will look into each plan. P90X is often a three thirty days plan. It can be made to be put in place in three reklama wietlna with the end of each period/thirty days regarding a very good down weeks time through which your whole body is meant to pass though the ‘muscle confusion’ the fact that difference in workout routines is meant to offer. You will discover 12 workout routines, and they also cover anything from resistance workout routines to the big muscle tissues to cardiovascular/plyometrics to kempo/yoga exercise/stretches and key. It can be a total body workout, and is meant to be practiced six days every week. The workout routines can range from 45 min’s in an hours . 5, and need which you personal dumbbells, resistance jewelry and/or perhaps a access cash advance now is easier. Created to be obtained in 60 days, it truly is ruined into two key levels, while using second getting the ‘MAX’ period where the workout routines turn into all the more intense along with an middleman weeks time in-among the place you concentrate on Main Cardiovascular and Sense of balance for six days in a row, a period Tim Big t message or calls ‘Recovery Week’. The work outs are a variety of cardiovascular, plyometrics, calisthenics as well as other sports workouts. You will discover 10 workout routines, and they also cover anything from about 45 min’s to a number exceeding an hour. No devices are necessary, as you’re takes place personal bodyweight through.

    Which requires the greater physical preparing going into? INSANITY. The INSANITY workout routines begin at an very intense rate, and do not let up. Even comfortable-ups are challenging, and without that starting series training simply can’t keep up to date. Even more, you have to ensure your joint capsules are sturdy and versatile going into if they are not, the fast beating that six days/weeks time of bouncing, deadlifting, going for walks right away and much more will surely exhaust them. P90X can be very hard, but the pub to input is not as high start in a very decrease talk about of preparing, and work your way up during the period of a few of the months.

    Which requires the most committment to finish the complete plan? P90X. Three months of continual intense effort can be quite draining. Not just that, but most people see INSANITY to generally be more of a run Tim Big t can be quite stimulating, as well as the large rate in the plan will keep people today taking super speed. Tony Horton breaks or cracks in the P90X rate basic more slowly, more grueling workout routines such as the hours . 5 yoga exercise. The more, more slowly rate of P90X requires more self-control to adhere to than INSANITY.

    Ultimately, that’s the best intense workout routines? This particular one is often a toss-up. Test in a Utmost Cardiovascular session of INSANITY, or managing Tony while in the whole of any Chest muscles

a colourful life of a gay kenyan

  • Laid Back Weekends

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:04 am by cuppatea
    My weekend was rather relaxed... No dancing or extreme activity, just one well spent.
    Friday was the day i decided to hold a Friday coffee with friends before they traveled upcountry for the festive season. Nothing fancy, it was quite hot that day so i had an iced tea as we caught up. There's also an ice cream parlor that has ridiculously cheap but tasty pistachio ice-cream too! 
    The man i've come to dislike was to call me that day to meet but as guessed correctly, he didn't. This was realized when i was watching a musical with my other friends. I told myself i'd call him the following morning because quite frankly, i was fed up. 
    Saturday Morning, i woke up with my dog in my face. Shove her a bit, I pick up the phone and dial. I'm dialing that man seemingly for the last time. For a man that used to communicate daily, he told me he was "overtaken by events". So when asked if i could see him that day he said he was busy. Even 30 minutes? Nope. Alright Mister busy, stay that way. 

    I was going to have family over that day, and thank heavens my aunties brought a big bottle of Italian wine that they ended up not liking! Children of today are on steroids i believe, they're utterly hyperactive! If i'm going to be a gay dad i'll make sure my children are settled. The wine helped me remain calm throughout the day. It was the last day i'd see some members of my family, as they'd be flying out the next day. As i went to bed i told myself they'd be no more communication with that man. My suspicions and analyses, as well as advice from friends were confirmed, the man isn't interested in me any more. So that story has died right there! Meanwhile i kept the wine bottle for referral. 

    Sunday Morning was a little bit chaotic, suitcases not closing (duh, all those clothes for a month's trip and you didn't fold them? Woman really?) misplaced passports etc but everything was found and done properly. And they left! My cousin was around so he gave me a ride to my friends place. We were having Sunday Lunch when everyone else was at Blankets and Wine. I got home and decided to sleep while that nice feeling of completeness was still there. Besides, i needed to wake up early to work.

    ...Which were promptly put to a halt Monday Morning when the matatu strike affected my workers commutes. Honestly this country of mine never ceases to amuse me! In fact tax payers should go on strike because to be quite frank, all these strikes, price hikes, and whatnot are just ridiculous! A few calls later the decision to stay indoors and resume work tomorrow was made. 
    And then the man whom i got out of my system decides to communicate. I stared at that message thinking I should ignore this but because i have a heart i decided to be polite and reply. He was asking what i was up to today and i told him i had businesses to run. His response was work and shopping. No mention of wanting to meet. I dismissed him by telling him to enjoy his activities. His reply of "hoping to meet soon" was ignored. He'll keep hoping, i'm done with that chapter.
    Sometimes, a knight in shining amour is just an bloody fool dressed in tin foil... 

    |In God's hands-Nelly Furtardo|

Intricately Me

  • The Wondering Status for the Ouija Board

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 9:59 pm by Tonya

    The standard and unexplainable Ouija panel likely extends back to outside of 1100 BC, when its use was first noted in The far east. Around three thousand several years eventually, this well-known system used to get in touch with the lifeless, however remains a effective mark of the unknown planet.

    The Songs dynasty in early The far east, was the very first acknowledged noted standby time with the Ouija panel that was known as,Inches Fuji,Inches or Inchesplancette producing.Inches because of the court docket who reached their lifeless ancestry and family history, in the panel.. A tradition however widespread in high of Asian countries these days.

    The Ouija panel had also been apparently as used by early super casino Indians and Romans, then therefore in Medieval Europe, and was utilized within the process of law of Leaders, as well as discos of the widespread peasant. The venial Catholic Religious organization, normally reported the employment of the panel as slots online method of witchcraft.

    Eliajh Attachment, and Charles Kennard complex the panel in 1890, and available it a casino en ligne or special gadget in Europe. The panel was titled InchesOuija,Inches once the early Egypt word for Inchesall the best.Inches

    As A Famous businessman needed on the business known as William Fuld, and claimed he themselves obtained devised this early transmission system, until finally Parker Friends got the privileges to produce the panel inside mid-1960′s, nevertheless sell it these days to be a gadget.

    Changing through a three thousand twelve months history, the panel has split people on it is really use. Spiritual government bodies have prohibited it, in some instances buyers ended up either known as fools or persecuted for making use of this early plancette.

    Among the more well known users of the panel have bundled the first kind Italian made pm, Romano Prodi, who claimed the mail messages from the panel served him locate Red-colored brigade customers who had been accused of the tough of Aldo Moro.

    Selfmade Ouija forums are stuff of myths, as no night is incomplete which has a curious band of adolescents evaluating the fable of the panel, with normally intimidating final results which stay a definite storage with their youngsters.

    The Ouija panel continues to charm and break down us 3 hundred decades after it had been 1st utilised in the noble court docket of early The far east. However the three thousand yr old question however remains- Does the Ouija panel genuinely get in touch with the lifeless?

  • The Genuine Secret to Picking Up and Luring Girls

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 8:57 pm by Tonya

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  • Silver Bullion In G Dumbbells And Cina

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 8:46 pm by Tonya

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  • Get yourself ready for Medical Emergencies the appropriate way – Using Immediate Lifetime Support

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 8:36 pm by Tonya

    Author name: Lionel W.R. Ocegueda

    Clinical emergencies come about, sometimes in just hospital/clinical settings to boot outside laser centers or clinic settings. Regularly, even people owned by medical plus paramedical grounds, are unable to act expediently during medical emergencies automatically. What style of training tends to make them further prepared to get over such instances better? Who gives such in-depth hypothesis and handy training in order to empower these phones conquer this immediate hazard, save everything and produce immediate existence support right until patient could be taken in order to critical good care?

    Recognising bother for coaching during these emergencies Resuscitation Local authority or council (UK) accredits particular certificate training systems – regarded as standard regarding such training to get over all sorts of medical catastrophe scenarios inside a healthcare location. Now similar level connected with training with the help of in-depth hypothesis and hands-on working experience is on the market from top training companies including a to OURITE Training & Treatments Ltd. medical aid schemes special training systems for health related personnel similar to general professional, hospital clinical doctors, hospital healthcare professionals, private health care nurses plus doctors in order to best render them during emergencies regarding immediate existence support.

    You might want to only practice certification during medical records and code. This is a superb choice if you’d like to wind up in the industry of health related billing plus coding rapid. There happen to be programs since short since 2 several weeks, and provided that a year . 5. These programs also are usually cheaper. These programs educate you on the fundamentals of health related billing plus coding, along with how to utilise the software program commonly found in the business. Once you’re finished in your training you need to have enough knowledge as a way to start being employed immediately.

    Medical plus billing training systems online can are the low hundreds to your plenty depending about whether you decide go with an associate’s degree maybe a certification. Financial aid is mostly available to guide you fund the education. Once you’ve chosen any online coaching school speak to their federal funding department and they’re going to get people started.

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    The technology linked to these health related alert systems have been completely developed to help persons obtain quick aid even without having means connected with communications for instance phones. This could be good for people with encountered hard accidents plus might struggle to make your call. This inform system will get assistance with regard to with only a click press relating to the button.

    It appears to be that the savvy are choosing themselves excited about getting his or her medical tool certification. Whilst this may appear like a negative thing, nothing is to keep worrying about because it has yet in order to mean a reduction in employment options available. In simple fact, it could be the opposite as this is usually a field which was noted to remain rapidly escalating so there in fact is no superior time than at this time compete in the health related assist industry.

    Once you get your health related assistant official qualifications, you should be able to take benefit for all very reputable employment opportunities on the market. This means it may working inside a doctor’s place of work, in your hospital or during an outpatient good care center. Needless to say, you need to get your certification simply uses start cashing paydays so let’s look at how you might be in a position to get which will certification that you require.

Moses Kemibaro

  • Samsung’s super light and super strong Series 9 Notebook comes to Kenya.

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 7:39 pm by Moses Kemibaro

    I am starting to get the distinct impression that Samsung must be shaping up to be Apple’s biggest adversary based on their innovative hardware products when it comes to various offerings. Indeed, when Samsung launched their latest Android tablets a few months ago, Apple immediately took legal action to block Samsung from selling them in key markets because they felt Samsung had ripped off innovations in the iPad2 – this Apple reasoned was due to the fact that Samsung is one of its major suppliers and therefore were privy to Apple innovations well in advance.

    More recently, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has become one of the world’s best selling high-end Android mobile phone and in some credible reviews has been found to be actually better than Apple’s latest iPhone 4S – Siri non-withstanding. In what I see as the latest salvo fired where Samsung may put a major dent on Apple is that of notebooks. Personally, I have used Apple MacBooks for just over 3 years and I have never ever considered anything else since I switched from Windows powered notebooks. That is, until now.

    Whilst I am highly desirous of an upgrade from my trusty MacBook Pro, to the latest Macbook Air, I recently came across Samsung’s Series 9 notebooks in a Kenyan Newspaper. I’m a sucker for great design when it comes to all things technology and I have to say that the Series 9 simply makes me go gaga! The finish and overall presentation of this notebook is “Apple-esque” and makes me for the first time possibly reconsider a MacBook Air as the epitome of a well-designed, light and clean notebook.

    As advertised, one of the key selling points to the Series 9 is that its casing is made from Duralumin, the same material used on advanced aircraft which makes this notebook twice as strong as aluminum yet weighs less than 3 pounds (to emphasize the point here, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs are made from heavier aluminium). The Series 9 is also only 0.64 inches thin making it one of the thinnest notebooks in the world. The Series 9 comes with 4GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics and a 128 GB Solid State Drive (SSD) which like the MacBook Air means there are no moving parts in the hard disk – this translates into faster performance, less power consumption and less heat generated. The 13 inch screen is a gorgeous and bright HD LED screen. It also comes with a speedy Intel Core i5 processor meaning this bad boy of a notebook is no slouch!

    The Samsung Series 9 is retailing in Kenya for Kes. 175,000.00, putting it firmly in the realm of high-end notebooks for the well-heeled. What is surprising to me is that with the exception of fairly inconspicuous print ads in a few newspapers in Kenya, Samsung is hardly marketing this gorgeous execution of a sleek notebook that does give the MacBook Air a run for its money, design-wise that is. However, as much as I am a fan of great hardware design, it all boils down to the combined experience of great hardware and software which in this case includes Windows 7 on the Series 9. I have nothing against Windows 7 per se but I am an unashamed fan of Apple’s OS X, truth be said. However, should I get to give the Series 9 a spin, and it works for me, I may just reconsider my opinion as lots of other Samsung offerings have made me do recently – nuff said.

     

Kenya Christian

For God, For Country and For Humanity

  • The Fall of Rome?

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 6:46 pm by Kelvin

    This was recently on Reddit.

    People in The Netherlands have always looked up to the USA. It won’t be long before that stops, I guess. These are

    stories I read, watched and heard in the mainstream media over here:

    • your political system is one of the most corrupt systems in the world
    • your politicians represent companies instead of people
    • your government will probably censor the internet
    • your government detains without trial
    • your government tortures people
    • your government hires mercenaries
    • your government does nothing to improve education
    • your president doesn’t have any real influence over what happens
    • your presidential candidates are stupid beyond belief
    • your presidential candidates promote stupidity
    • your presidential candidates are not taking seriously over here
    • your elections are a joke
    • your media outlets cannot be trusted
    • your media outlets focus on distractions instead of main issues
    • your people are fucked when they’re uninsured
    • your infrastructure is collapsing
    • your economy will soon be top 3 instead of #1
    • your economy will probably collapse a second time

    So it’s not only Reddit or The Daily Show that is covering these issues. Other countries are watching and passing the popcorn while your country is collapsing. And I think it will get worse, not better. I am 29 years old and looking back at the world’s history I don’t think the problems above will be solved during my lifetime. It will probably have to get a lot worse before a movement arises that’s big enough to demand real change.

    Now you’ll probably read this, take one small point out of my story and comment on that. That’s okay, but please notice the trend of what’s going on in your country. Do something about it. We need our big brother to act like role model. Right now he’s high as a kite.

Jayanoris

  • The Fall of Rome?

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 6:46 pm by Kelvin

    This was recently on Reddit.

    People in The Netherlands have always looked up to the USA. It won’t be long before that stops, I guess. These are

    stories I read, watched and heard in the mainstream media over here:

    • your political system is one of the most corrupt systems in the world
    • your politicians represent companies instead of people
    • your government will probably censor the internet
    • your government detains without trial
    • your government tortures people
    • your government hires mercenaries
    • your government does nothing to improve education
    • your president doesn’t have any real influence over what happens
    • your presidential candidates are stupid beyond belief
    • your presidential candidates promote stupidity
    • your presidential candidates are not taking seriously over here
    • your elections are a joke
    • your media outlets cannot be trusted
    • your media outlets focus on distractions instead of main issues
    • your people are fucked when they’re uninsured
    • your infrastructure is collapsing
    • your economy will soon be top 3 instead of #1
    • your economy will probably collapse a second time

    So it’s not only Reddit or The Daily Show that is covering these issues. Other countries are watching and passing the popcorn while your country is collapsing. And I think it will get worse, not better. I am 29 years old and looking back at the world’s history I don’t think the problems above will be solved during my lifetime. It will probably have to get a lot worse before a movement arises that’s big enough to demand real change.

    Now you’ll probably read this, take one small point out of my story and comment on that. That’s okay, but please notice the trend of what’s going on in your country. Do something about it. We need our big brother to act like role model. Right now he’s high as a kite.

Intricately Me

  • Success strategies For my Personal Or incredible biz Life

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 6:28 pm by Tonya

    Well, here’s your management summary: bothersome clientele may — if you allow them — be the cause of a new disproportionately large part of one’s workload as well as mental strain.

    Meanwhile, they will be the cause of a new amazingly modest percentage of one’s income. The particular 80/20 rule states in which 20% of one’s clientele could be the source of 80% of one’s income, as well as the other way round. Imagine what sort of individuals difficulty clients are lined up about?

    This implies you could be paying over three-fourths of your time maintenance hard-to-please, money-draining customers that are not likely actually in order to help with your pension (may even become disturbing that). Furthermore, also, they are emptying absent vitality you may be directing in order to a lot more appreciation and customers. Precisely what do you want the issue clientele for?

    Short reply: think it over.

    Obviously, we now have seen each of the marketing ” experts ” show that people MUST provide top-notch, world-class service to our own clientele… which our clients are about our own customers… that it is necessary for us all in order to really feel real adoring worry for every one particular using whom we all do company.

    When we do not, they say, our own clients are on course for the scrapheap although additional, a lot more caring pros may focus right past us all.

    Well, they’re right, nevertheless why don’t we phone a quick break as well as take particular notice only at that assistance.

    1st, if you don’t take sides one of the ways or perhaps the additional, why don’t we recognize in which a few clientele, like a few cars, require a lot more routine maintenance than the others carry out.

    Today, when you are using a automobile that is certainly by using as much as be a ” lemon “, can you registered nurse in which automobile endlessly, or can you at some point comprehend you have a situation involving diminishing dividends? Often one of the most cheaply doable point would be to dump your clunker as well as proceed, right?

    That is vehicles. Why don’t you consider men and women? Is it not important to make investments our own very best in each and every man or woman all of us cope with in your life? Are not all of us meant to treasure others as well as seek to notice in them the highest possible achievable?

    After all, you will find many looking at our instruction for some time, you know that I am the guy which states that with the best mind frame of mind you are able to change anything to your favour. So how may i easily be happening regarding hard clientele, leading to getting rid of difficulties as well as moving forward to?

    Alright, we’ve been nonetheless in time away, how about we search straight into this particular.

    Let’s go back to precisely why you enter company. I assume you have a quest statement, something like that comparable to a single. Which quest statement probably states something such as you might be “helping clientele fix a selected kind of difficulty, as well as therefore making their own entire world a greater location for these people.In . Will in which practically sum up precisely why you enter company?

    Should you be nodding your brain indeed, you might be wrong.

    You are in company to produce Your health better, and also the life of the you might be sentimentally near to. You are doing this for any income. Your current income.

    OLD China PROVERB: Absolutely no income, silly.

    The development anyone bring to your consumers’ lives will be your Technique for purchasing improvements absolutely need living.

    That quest statement is the place where you have decided to produce your income. It is Just how you’re heading regarding suitable your pay that you would like to get business men and women. Not precisely why.

    Obviously, you’ll not obtain Your current income unless you might be delivering good, strong, honest value in order to others. You should provide value to get value.

    Next how come more and more people in operation believe it can be important to provide value patiently, endlessly, although failing to require acquiring the same value in turn? The truth is, if you are in a romantic relationship using a client which consistently takes over he or she gives, you might be getting through a swindler. A great unwitting burglar perhaps, nevertheless a new burglar even so. And you’re simply unthinkingly abetting in which robbery of your family providers. Extreme Couponing

    Not just that, you might be a great accomplice within the being unfaithful of ones own, the workers, while others that are influenced by anyone or have got joined their own living powers in order to your own.

    Quite simply, few people would like to produce a good exchange. They will wish to obtain by you, nevertheless will not be thinking about offering good value in turn. Free Samples

    Nobody anyone phone a customer or buyer in fact is a single.

    A number of are usually robbers within conceal. Also, many do not know that’s what they’re, however, if that hikes like a burglar, as well as quacks like a burglar…. Free Magazines

    It doesn’t make them poor men and women. Simply unprofitable.

    Isn’t it time to produce your job nicer, more effective and more rewarding?

    Decide on your business associates as cautiously while you carry out your individual friends. In both cases, keep away from individuals not really proceeding a similar course you’re. Case another way to lift up your consciousness along with your mind shake, to ensure better items can easily manifest in your life.

Kenya Christian

paulachar.wordpress.com

admblind.wordpress.com

  • Anto’s “Chips Funga” Video, & A Bonus Interview

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 5:12 pm by admblind
    Reblogged from A Kenyan Girl: Antony Mwangi, aka AntoNeoSoul has released the much anticipated video to Chips Funga. Chips Funga is a slang term in Kenya denoting women who are picked up for one night stands. Anto has been in the music industry for several years, and his reputation as a live gigging musician is [...]

Intricately Me

  • When deciding on an affiliate marketing program, look for big money programs. You need to be accepting as a minimum thirty to be able to 50 % of your

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 5:01 pm by Tonya

    Let’s say you sell lot of different solutions, get them organized, now individuals may easily seek just one niche at the moment to search for what they’re searching for. Specific searches device on the top menu yet another sensible way forawrd and it is particularly superior, in the instance that final results are often deeper organised via facets, including dimension and thus colouring.

    Not anyone loves to believe that they’re just actually spammed. Reveal ones organizations transparent and your own targeted visitors would certainly recognize the value of that you seem to be a real human being. They should sense more beneficial regarding causing your hard earned dollar helping to make Traffic Dashboard investment strategies. In case a readers looks like you happen to be actually fraudulent whatsoever, there exists a very good occasion that they need to leave behind your internet-site and don’t ever get back.

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    If you find yourself at any time before will make benefit the exact internet online affiliate marketing world, it is crucial that bought a suitable. Although this might straightforward, the newbie wouldn’t normally know very well what online promoting and marketing comprises. Taken in find a internet site that suits your merchandise adequately.

    Affiliate marketing online can easily triumph because the boosts product or service the clients are looking for. Applying different and thus favored solutions is a brilliant technique to captivate customers to the positioning. These kinds of college students appreciate it customers would certainly more probably go to merchant’s web pages and thus acquire essential wages for functions. Hold struggling to find different assets repeatedly.

    In the event that composing reproduce designed for internet online affiliate marketing promoting and marketing, please ensure that you appears disclose may enhance the the product or service within guide. You should not depend on the future prospect you need to do the exact spadework for their use founded on ones referral. best gaming laptops Explain instantly the reasons why they will likely purchase the thing plus they’re about to start.

    Turn out to be practical as long as you’re composing ones guide. Use a number of keyword phrases that your particular most of folks use discover which intended theme. Using those search terms will raise the possibilities that it’ll crop up from search vehicle final results, in fact it is that the majority of people drop by obtain their own material.

    Not much ruins a fabulous reader’s viewpoint for a web marketer sooner compared to invisible commercial. This doesn’t mean it’s hard to fulfill targeted visitors and thus are involved in internet online affiliate marketing; the candid web marketer is only real and thus see-thorugh measurements. Tourists ought to be manufactured knowledgeable of each time a homepage can be bucks designed for supporting some package. These people seldom resent an uncomplicated commercial once they execute a duplicitous just one.

    A great number of internet online affiliate marketing is without a doubt touch-and-go, so you’ve to not overlook, to not ever indeed be place directly on each of these ingredients or simply each of these procedure. You will need to ‘beta’ many different ad banners, many different content and articles, many different content material, together with other processes to notice what sort(‘s) utilizes the real complete sales made volumes.

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    Choose online programs which could be based on the overall subject from the homepage. Visitors see your homepage for the reason that such as the content and articles. They’ll hold desires based on the main topic of the positioning, something like that, with any luck menacing, within composing built them into make a product which they have to have. From selecting the best advertising campaign, as opposed to needing nearly every quite possible text ad regarding your web pages, you could improve their own rely upon and create a savings.

UJUZI

  • Google Voice Extendend through 2012

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:52 pm by kenyaonly
    Great News from Google Voice Users...free calling in the USA and Canada has been extended through 2012.

    This is great news for there have been rumors that beginning 2012 Google voice was going to charge for its use.

    However, there are are reports that Google Voice customers who were transferred from Grand Central are unable to call Canadian numbers.

    Will provide more info when it becomes available

Intricately Me

  • Market Your own Smartphone for the Another one!

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:49 pm by Tonya

    Chances are you may be mindful of the smartphone fad. Chances are high, anyone previously very own one. And when you have to do, one you use will end up being outdated within a Yr.

    The reason why the entire fad pertaining to smartphone reviews in any case? Prior to, touch screen phones ended up consigned in order to business people. We were holding cellular phones for that management — huge, cumbersome and massive. Right now, also youngsters will have a smartphone. Well-known touch screen phones just like the BlackBerry can be viewed utilized by men and women of any age. Right now they may be highly sought after between young adults, yet a great deal of young adults also.

    Whenever you think the phrase smartphone, a couple of titles probably spring to mind — BlackBerry and apple iphone. Although they could be highly sought after on the list of men and women, understand that there are additional brands as well, in the same manner potent and beneficial.

    Should you be likely to promote your current party bus rental in Los Angeles, you’ll be blinded using what you are going to see. Apart from BlackBerry there are ample designs, yet some other brands including Check out the, Moto and Sony Ericsson get significant market share as well.

    Here are some of the very popular touch screen phones you might check out:

    One particular. Check out the Impress 4G

    – You will possibly not understand Android news, yet this particular Check out the smartphone is definitely highly sought after. This is a extremely potent cell phone also. They have exceptional battery pack, a considerable 4.5 ” display and huge storage functions also. Additionally you experience an 8-10 megapixel photographic camera, offering anyone together with assurance that every picture you may consider is going to be truly good.

    2. I phone 4S

    – Once Apple company became a member of inside the smartphone market, they were able to rule using their highly sought after product, the apple iphone. The newest to be released from Apple company may be the apple iphone 4S, and its particular capabilities load up a strong boxing techinque. A new dual-core A5 nick permits better graphics, better launching instances and multi tasking capabilities. You might use Facebook and Metacafe as well, and also acquire notifications from your email and communications as well. This means just forget about huge blue notification stifling anyone even though fiddling along with your preferred video game.

    3. Sony Ericsson Xperia Enjoy

    – This kind of smartphone will be intended for the gambling market. When gambling may be the factor, then you certainly need to take a peek. It’s as being a gambling controller, and it is got an amazing exhibit. It’s reminiscent of the Sony Dsi controller, since it features uses the exact same exhibit links. It is also operated through the Google android operating system, passing on every one of the usual features of a smartphone.

    4. Necessities 8530

    - One using the latest BlackBerry designs, this particular cell phone can be quite a cheaper than many high-end touch screen phones, but it really features every one of the essential capabilities the standard BlackBerry features. Functions including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are generally integrated. If you’d like a more affordable smartphone, you should definitely check this out. It is also media oriented. They have its own dedicated secrets pertaining to playing audio and video documents. Your BlackBerry messenger makes certain you might be that come with some other BlackBerry consumers.

    A few. Check out the LG Optimus 2 times.

    – That boasts alone for the reason that planet’s initial two central smartphone. This kind of guarantees a smooth buyer. Browsing the net gets a piece of cake, getting and multi tasking also becomes sleek. A great 8-10 megapixel photographic camera makes certain top quality photographs. Digital photographic camera may also perform inside High-definition, in the 1080p quality. This kind of helps to ensure that your entire videos is going to be sleek. All due to the Google android operating system, this particular cell phone guarantees that you’ll enjoy almost every penny.

Moses Kemibaro

  • 6 Key Technology Milestones in Kenya during 2011.

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:32 pm by Moses Kemibaro

    Once again, it’s that time of year where I look back at what happened during the course of the year in Kenya’s technology space. In 2011, so much happened in Kenya and I am really excited to breakdown what I see as being the 6 key milestones in 2011. Here we go!

    • Local mobile apps and the mobile web explodes – 2011 will be remembered as the year that mobile apps and the mobile web really took off in Kenya. The fact that most of Kenya’s 10+ million Internet users go online via mobile devices gave credence to the fact that Kenya is indeed a mobile digital nation. Many local web sites started becoming mobile “aware” and brands as well as businesses started having mobile apps geared towards Kenya’s mobile user base. If 2010 was the year that we heard the clarion call for “mobile first” in Kenya, 2011 is the year we actually started seeing it happen. As things stand today, Nokia is probably the company that has pushed the hardest to build out local mobile apps and has supported large organizations, small developer firms and people to realize the potential on their Symbian and OVI platforms. In addition, the launch of the mLab and other mobile initiatives in Kenya demonstrated that this is where all the action will be for technology in this region going forward. Finally, InMobi, the second largest mobile ad network in the world after Google’s AdMob set-up shop in Kenya showing just how significant mobile apps and the mobile web is in Kenya from a commercial perspective.
    • Local digital content gets global game – 2011 was undoubtedly the year that local digital content in Kenya saw the arrival of a myriad of global businesses eager to take a stab at the market. Some of the companies in this space include MIH Internet East Africa where until last week I was running Dealfish, the leading online classifieds web site in Kenya. In addition, Tiger Global made investments in Cheki, the automotive classifieds as well as BrighterMonday, the online recruitment web site. Google also showed that they (finally?) have a commercial agenda for Kenya by launching Google Trader, YouTube Kenya and Kenya Business Online. Ringier of Switzerland launched Rupu, a group buying site as well as PigiaMe, an online classifieds venture. In a nutshell, for the very first time, we saw major global digital content players make landfall in Kenya and start spending millions of shillings to duke it out for markets that will be worth millions or even billions of shillings in a few years time. The caveat of this development is that indigenous digital content players have become largely sidelined and unless they demonstrate the ability to launch highly innovative and scalable online businesses, they stand to miss out big time. However, the timely arrival of many small and medium-sized venture capital firms in region could offer a lifeline for these nascent businesses going forward. Only time will tell what the future holds.
    • Digital marketing goes mainstream in Kenya – I’m not sure when it happened exactly but sometime in 2011 digital marketing finally went mainstream in Kenya. Suddenly, large and small brands, as well as mom-and-pop businesses all started marketing aggressively online. In particular, one could not miss the highly professional or clearly amateur efforts on Google AdWords and Facebook Ads that started popping up everywhere you went online in Kenya, meaning these ads were largely geo-targeted to this region. No longer did we see international ads for companies that do not operate in Kenya – we started seeing major local ad campaigns go online and even small one-man businesses started splurging money to gain some mind share online with digital marketing. One obvious consequence of everyone adopting digital marketing in Kenya is that ad rates have gone up massively and its no longer as inexpensive as it was only a year ago. In addition, it means that mainstream offline media will start to lose out as more and more brands and businesses adopt digital marketing as a cost-effective and high impact marketing channel for their offerings. This could effectively see old school media like newspapers and television start losing their footing in Kenya as has been the case globally. I would say, watch this space in 2012 for even more accelerated and widespread adoption of digital marketing.
    • Google’s Android mobile platform gains currency – At this time in 2010, smartphones in the marketplace that ran on Google’s Android platform were only a handful. However, today, I can guesstimate that we have around 30 smartphone models available in the marketplace that run on Android. These range from the entry-level and ground breaking sub-Kes. 9,000 Huawei Ideos which has sold over 130,000 units to-date since being launched in Kenya back in September 2010 to the latest and high-end Kes. 60,000 Samsung Galaxy S2. All in all, what 2011 will be remembered for is the year that Android finally took off in Kenya, as well as in many other markets in Africa. In fact, in looking at the recent mobile traffic statistics for this blog, Android traffic now exceeds Nokia’s Symbian traffic which has been the case for the last few months although most of our readers are technophiles. However, this trend holds true on the East African mobile web as Nokia’s Symbian platform is fast being eclipsed as the smartphone platform of choice not just for technophiles but also the masses. Kenyans have been known to have a propensity for being early adopters of technology as evidenced by the success of M-Pesa and it goes to reason that Android will become the dominant mobile platform in the next couple of years. Nokia will have an uphill task countering this trend in Kenya going forward.
    • Cloud computing takes centre stage in the enterprise – In the second half of 2011, it has been hard to ignore the overwhelming call to action for enterprises to adopt cloud computing as a core aspect of their technology strategies. The company leading the charge for cloud computing is not surprisingly Safaricom who have already invested over Kes. 2 Billion in building out their Safaricom Cloud offering. Not to be left behind, other major players also launched enterprise focused cloud offerings included Internet Solutions Kenya, Kenya Data Networks and many others. As businesses grapple with the challenge of expanding their reach whilst optimizing their technology operating costs, the cloud has become imperative to sustain their competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, what remains to be seen is how many businesses will take full advantage of the cloud opportunity and how comfortable they will be with outsourcing core aspects of their business operations. It’s hard to tell from where I stand but for sure 2011 will be the year that cloud computing gained traction in this region.
    • Kenya’s Government launches the Open Data initiative – In July 2011, Kenya’s Government launched the Open Data initiative. This initiative was one of the first in Africa where key government data was made available to the public for the very first time. At launch, the data sets ranged from the 2009 national census to national and regional expenditures. As of this writing, there are almost 400 datasets now available online, and growing. The significance of all these datasets being online is that they can be “mined” through the development and deployment of innovative applications. To-date there have been several interesting initiatives in this respect and I suspect that by the end 2012, we will be amazed at the kind of commercial and non-commercial activities that will be made possible through the Open Data Initiative.

Black Looks

  • Poem for Zoliswa

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:19 pm by Sokari
    On December 19th, those guilty of Zoliswa’s murder will be sentenced. This is a poem for Zoliswa by Elsbeth Engelbrecht © Dear Zoliswa; The undecided meaning of your life were impenetrable on the day your mother turned into a melting grief After so many years Her heart must have been surprised by an uninvited confirmation [...]

Motogari

  • The Range Rover Evoque : Multi-terrain technologies

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:02 pm by Bobby

    Like all Range Rover vehicles, the Range Rover Evoque makes use of a unique suite of technologies to improve performance and safety in challenging on- and off-road conditions.

    The primary technology is Terrain Response®, which adapts the responses of the car’s engine, gearbox, center coupling and braking/stability systems to match the demands of the terrain, optimizing drivability and comfort as well as maximizing traction.

    The Evoque has four Terrain Response settings, selected via a control on the center console: General Driving (on-road and easy off-road); Grass/Gravel/Snow (slippery conditions, on- and off-road); Mud and Ruts; and Sand. An additional Dynamic setting is available for cars specified with Adaptive Dynamics.

    To optimize safety and control on steep gradients, the Range Rover Evoque also offers Hill Descent Control (HDC®) and Gradient Release Control (GRC). HDC® automatically restricts speed downhill using the anti-lock brakes. GRC is linked to HDC®, and progressively releases the brakes on very steep or more gradual slopes, for maximum control.

    Below is a short video describing a few of these technologies.

  • Range Rover Evoque

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 3:42 pm by Bobby

    The all-new Range Rover Evoque, the smallest, lightest, most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced is set to bring its stylish presence to Kenya in the coming months.

    The Evoque is said to stay true to the core values of Range Rover; providing premium levels of craftsmanship, luxury, performance and Land Rover multi-terrain capability while embodied in a more compact package.

    The Range Rover Evoque

    The “Baby Range Rover” successfully blends coupe styling with capable off-road geometry and ground clearance.

    The Evoque exterior features new interpretations of classic Range Rover design cues, including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid ‘wheel-at-each-corner’ stance. Unlike any previous Range Rover, it adopts a very dynamic profile with its rising beltline, a muscular shoulder running the length of the car, and a distinctive taper to the floating roofline. The sculpted corners reduce the car’s visual overhangs front and rear.

    It’s available with xenon headlamps with a signature design created by innovative LED light-blade technology.

    On the inside, the strong, clean architecture and quality materials of a traditional Range Rover are applied in a more contemporary and sporting fashion.

     

    Firenze Red Dynamic Coupe Petrol Si4 interior featuring Dynamic Plus Agility interior - centre console & steering wheel

    When the vehicle is started, the interior displays and ambient lighting come to life with a precisely choreographed start-up sequence. The solid aluminum rotary shifter completes the ‘greeting’ as it rises silently into the driver’s hand.

     

    The Rotary shifter, an interesting touch

    A full glass fixed panoramic roof enhances the sense of room and freedom within the spacious cabin, filling the interior with natural light.

     

    Dynamic Mode

    LED ambient lighting provides illumination within the cabin at night, with a range of colors that can be chosen by the driver. When Dynamic Mode is selected, a sporting red color fills the interior.

    Rather than using a traditional trim hierarchy, the Range Rover Evoque gives customers the choice of three stylish design themes, each of which has its own distinctive character. The three themes are: The cool and contemporary ‘Pure’, the luxurious ‘Prestige’, and the bold and sporting ‘Dynamic’.

    • Pure – combines the concept-car exterior with a stylish, clean interior in neutral colors to highlight the pure, simple forms of the cabin architecture.
    • Prestige – ultimate Range Rover luxury, combining a bespoke exterior that includes unique, 19-inch wheels and sparkling metallic details with an interior that is almost entirely leather-wrapped. Luxurious duo-tone color schemes are embellished by premium leather, twin-needle stitching and real wood and metal finishes.
    • Dynamic – a bold exterior with 19 or 20-inch wheels and unique bumpers, sills, grille and tailpipes for a more assertive, confident stance. Contrasting roof and spoiler colors are available. The premium sports interior offers a darker environment with splashes of bright contrast color, together with perforated leather seats and sports detailing.

    The Evoque will be available in two versions: a coupe model, which precisely mirrors the LRX concept design, and a five-door. The coupe and five-door are identical in overall length and width; however, the five-door has a 1.18 inch higher rear roofline.

    Prospective customers can personalize their Evoque with a vast array of design, trim and technology options, so that each vehicle meets its customer’s own taste and lifestyle. The choices range from exterior color and design packages, designer interiors to a range of technologies to maximize comfort and enjoyment.

    The scope of aesthetic options includes:

    • 12 exterior colors
    • Three contrasting roof colors
    • Five alloy wheel designs, from 18-inch to 20-inch
    • 12 tailored designer interiors
    • Interior trim available in contemporary wood veneers and metal finishes
    • Illuminated aluminum and chrome tread plates
    • Black or chrome roof rails

    The Evoque has been designed and engineered to provide customers with the same comprehensive range of premium technologies they expect from a Range Rover vehicle, just delivered in a more compact package. The broad array of Range Rover equipment comprises the latest technologies for controls, connectivity, comfort and convenience, including new high-end Meridian audio systems.

    Features available include:

    • Surround Camera System – One of the Range Rover brand’s signature features

      The 8 inch touchscreen display showing the surround camera

      The system uses five digital cameras, discreetly placed around the car, providing a 360-degree, real-time view of the surrounding area.  The rear camera can be used to assist with hitching trailers.

    • Adaptive/Auto-Dipping Headlights – The Range Rover Evoque is available with xenon headlamps with an adaptive feature that follows the curves in the road.  An auto-dipping function switches automatically between high and low beam.
    • Heated windshield, heated seats, and heated steering wheel
    • Keyless entry system – The Range Rover Smart Key enables keyless entry and start
    • Powered tailgate
    • Hard drive navigation system – including turn-by-turn directions in the cluster display.
    • Bluetooth® hand-free phone connectivity. Bluetooth® audio streaming is supported.
    • 825W Meridian surround sound system

    • Sirius® tuners and HD Radio® tuners in addition to AM/FM
    • Rear seat entertainment package, with 8-inch (203 mm) video screens, digital wireless headphones and touch screen remote control

     

    At the heart of the control system is the Range Rover 8-inch (203mm) high-definition touch-screen display. The touch-screen provides the primary control and display system for a range of features including audio, video, navigation and phone. Simple hard keys on either side of the display provide short cuts to the most commonly used screens, such as Home, Audio/Video, Navigation and Phone.

    The 5 inch display showing the Evoques CO2 readings

    An additional 5-inch (127mm) color display between the two instrument dials in the gauge cluster show the primary vehicle-related information. A sophisticated voice control system works with ‘Say What You See’ prompts in the cluster display.

    As the Range Rover Evoque gears up for its sales launch, there is a growing buzz amongst prospective buyers who have been intrigued by the car’s bold and radical approach. With the Range Rover Evoque on schedule for its sales launch, there is mounting anticipation among a the Kenyan audience about this exciting new car.

    John Edwards, Land Rover’s Global Brand Director said, “The Range Rover Evoque remains true to the brand’s core values of premium luxury and formidable all-terrain performance and combines them with dynamic and sporty handling. The stunning coupe and five-door models offer unprecedented customer choice, broadening the appeal of this exciting new addition to the marque.”

    Download the full specifications for the Evoque here

     

     

     

bankelele

  • Guide to Lilongwe

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 3:06 pm by bankelele

    A guest post by @chiefnyamweya, an Artist, Web-enthusiast, and Comic Creator.

    Getting there: You can use Ethiopian Airlines at a cost of Kshs 62,500 (~$735) (and Kenya Aiways too). You have to have a yellow fever certificate. On arrival, you face the risk of losing checked in baggage, and as there is a severe fuel crisis, a taxi into town could cost $50

    Getting around: I didn't pay much attention, as we had access to a private vehicle. But on the flip-side to the fuel crisis, there are no traffic jams!

    Speak English, as Swahili is useless there, and you'll endear yourself if you learned a little Chichewa. The one phrase I picked up (since it was said a lot to me) was "Musojela!!" or "You'll get Lost!" Take any normal precautions as you'd take in Kenya, and I never once saw an AK-47 wielding cop here.

    Hotels: You can get some very decent accommodation at Kshs .4,000 ($47) per night. Electricity is patchy, like Kenya, but a bit worse.

    Dining: Excellent fish. They eat Ugali too, and their pineapples are sweet, but without the sting.

    Communications: This was problematic. Roaming was expensive, and it was better to call Kenya, than have someone call from Kenya as you'd both be charged - and this was at about Kshs 25 per minute.

    Shopping & Sight-Seeing: For shopping, there is Shoprite in both Blantyre and Lilongwe, while the two sights I got to see were Lake Malawi and Mount Mulanji. A local legend I heard about was about (people) disappearing on Mt. Mulanji.

    Surprises: - Excellent roads here
    - Women kneel in the presence of men when serving food or washing their hands (among other perceived gender inequalities)

You Missed This

  • The Toxic Ethnic Subject Kenyans Won't Touch

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 3:00 pm by Taabu
    Hassan Omar Hassan has touched a raw nerve with his claim that President Kibaki has ethnicized Kenya like never before with key appointments to Finance, Security, Energy and Transport dockets populated exclusively by his tribesmen. Not that what he said was new if anything the same material had gone viral in the cyber world many years before. But why all the fuss for this otherwise mundane claim from the former student leader?

    Omar is no stranger to controversy as Moi University authorities would attest when he took them head on as a student leader and they ended up expelling him. True, the constitution does not discriminate against any tribe occupying any position. Also the President may have appointed these people because they are qualified. Omar has chosen to bell the cat by taking this emotive subject out of the web into the mainstream media and now many cannot stand the heat.

    So is Omar just a roublerouser or simple standing facts on their feet? It may be either one or both or even neither of these two propositions depending on what language you dream in. But one thing is true, Kenyan kings hate to be reminded that they are nude. And in cue the tribal activists have found a handy (mis)use of Mzalendo Kibunja's commission by referring Omar to it as a perpetrator of hate speech.

    Which leaves the question whether acknowledging and broadcasting a problem is a crime. We have seen many nominees of various commissions created in the new constitution not picked simply on the basis their ethnicity. The so-called face of Kenya is a gimmick pulled and played when convenient to mask the real tribal undertones.

    If its is true all the above four ministries can have their boardroom meeting conducted in their mother tongue, which it is, are Kenyans like Omar right to bring the same for public notice and debate? Again the answer will mostly depend on your ethnic origins.

    But one thing is clear about this toxic tribal debate. The hollipolloi fans it when they suffer most as their tribal lords ride on their back when caught with the principal intention of only serving their selfish interests. Moi did it and Kibaki has not made any pretense to change it but the ordinary Kalenjin and Kikuyu will militantly defend them to the hilt.

    Well, two wrongs never made a right and the joke is squarely perched on the ordinary Kenyan who is used as a poodle to advance this poisonous state of affairs at our collective expense.

    Omar Hassan's brave exposition is just the tip of the iceberg and as 2012 polls draw near the heat is destined to intensify only in one direction, up. How many can stand the temperatures in the kitchen? Brace yourself, tic toc.Kumekucha


bankelele

  • Guide to Bamako

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 2:59 pm by bankelele

    Getting There: Kenya Airways has direct (7 hour) flights to Bamako on Sundays and Wednesdays. Ethiopian Airlines also comes to Bamako but through Addis Ababa, and these costs about $1,000 - $1,200.

    Getting Around: The airport is small hence has low traffic. Most people get visas upon arrival at US $40 and a taxi from the airport to hotel is about $50.

    Motorbikes are the main mode of transport and they are driven both by ladies and men. There are old Ford model matatu-like minibuses with benches, but not doors or windows - and people crowd in there with their goods.

    This is a French-speaking country with the local language being Bambara

    Hotels: Most hotels offer and charge for bed-only, no breakfast.

    Shopping & Sight-Seeing: Popular tourist buy items are local fabrics called Bazin. However, the market is not for the squeamish, as among the foods, fabrics, and artisans selling their wares, you may also find people skinning & selling monkeys, snakes lizards rats and dogs - mainly for voodoo. Also influenced by Benin, dogs are sold & eaten.

    Odd sights: There are many instances of double births, and you see women begging on streets with small kids who are twins.

cdohnio.blogspot.com

  • Stupid Matatu Strike!!! Or why cdooh needs a car...

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 2:16 pm by cdooh
    So it's about 10.30 in the morning and I'm only just sitting up in bed to write this quick post. The first I usually do when I wake up in the morning is grab my phone and check what's up online, you know twitter, fb and my blog feeds. I usually do this from underneath the bed covers especially on a day like today when I'm not really in a rush to go anywhere.

    So a few thing's hit me this morning. First North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, has died of heart related complications. A sad day for that country and the entire neighbouring region as well. It's sad for the country because that it has lost its leader, the visible head and voice of the country. Of course he didn't run every single detail by himself but the way I've heard it told he was very powerful, clever and ruthless. I'm sure his people will mourn deeply for him. It's a sad day for the region because without him no one is entirely sure what happens to North Korean. His son, Kim Jong-un, is supposed to take over but who knows how that politics of that secretive nation will play out? Also this means that control of the country's nukes is up in the air and no one knows what the next leader will do to demonstrate his strength to his people and the world. South Korea and Japan are on high alert.

    The other thing that hit me, that has a very direct effect on my life is that our public service vehicles are striking. Apparently they're doing this because of the continuing rise in the cost of everything. They want to blackmail the government in to regulating the cost of petroleum downwards and this will have a trickledown effect on the rest of the economy. Away from the dangers of having the government regulating things and whether this will work or not, do these striking idiots realize just how much they're putting me at a disadvantage?

    Now I'm still young enough that most of my costs are covered by my parents so the state of the economy does not have a direct impact on me until it gets so bad I don't see my next meal on the table or can't go to school. But this strike…I've only just gotten to Nairobi city. I have a bunch of people I want to see before I have to go back to the country house. The only way available to me currently is by public means. This strike means that I'll be stuck at home. All the plans I had already made will have to be cancelled!! Also it means that I'll be dying of boredom as soon as afternoon reaches!

    What do these strikers think they're doing messing up my holiday? They need to get back on the road so I can have the means to get where I need to go!! I mean now I can't go get that slushy I've been dreaming about for the last 5 months. I can't go shopping for the shoes I promised my brother. And by far the worst thing you guys are doing is keeping me from going to see my mother!!! That above puts me in such a temper.

    I don't need to remind anyone that the people they're hoping to blackmail with this action all have tinted vehicles and their kids have drivers to take them around, they don't care about you!! After all when was the last time industrial action with such vague demands work? When I get a car you can go back to striking all you want I won't need or care about you then. But for now GET BACK TO WORK, IDIOTS!!!! Peace.

A Nairobian's Perspective !

  • CfC Stanbic Holdings shareholders approve rights issue

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:48 pm
    Nairobi: December 19th 2011: Shareholders of CfC Stanbic Holdings Limited have approved a  Rights Issue at an Extraordinary General Meeting held in Nairobi on 19th December 2011.  
    Shareholders also voted to raise the firm’s authorized share capital from KES 1,368,421,055.00 to KES 2,368,421,055.00.  The authorized share capital of KES. 2,368,421,055.00 is divided into four hundred and seventy three million six hundred and eighty four thousand two hundred and eleven (473,684,211) ordinary shares of Kenya shillings five (KES 5.00) each, by the creation of two hundred  million (200,000,000) new ordinary shares of Kenya Shillings five (KES 5.00) each.
    Effectively, the move paves way for the Board to make formal applications to the Capital Markets Authority and the Nairobi Securities Exchange for the Rights Issue which is targeted for the second quarter of 2012.
    Confirming shareholders nod to the transaction CfC Stanbic Holdings Chairman Mr. Fred Ojiambo said: “We are very pleased that our shareholders have approved the Rights Issue which can now proceed in accordance with the Capital Markets Authority and the Nairobi Securities Exchange regulations. We regard this resolution as a demonstration of confidence by our shareholders in the strategic course that we set for the Group.”
    The Managing Director of CfC Stanbic Holdings, Mr. Kitili Mbathi said the Rights Issue would strengthen the Group’s capital position, and support the continued growth of the business in the future.
    “In the past few years we have laid a strong foundation for the Group’s future and as the impressive results as at 30th September demonstrate, we have been successful in implementing our strategy.  We believe that there are great opportunities for growth and it is critical that we have sufficient capital to take advantage of these opportunities” Mr. Mbathi added.
    At the Extraordinary General Meeting, shareholders also approved the amendment of the Articles of Association to reflect the new capital structure.


Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

  • Part 2 – The other 4 types of Kenya tweeps

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:39 pm by Idd Salim

    Noise, is all I hear

    Ok. Ok. Sawa. Nimekubali. I will talk about them today basi. Relax kwanza I tuliza this massive erection ndio my literary blood i-flow vipoa. Siwezi type fast nikiwa nime-steady.

    Nice. Jimti jimelala.

    Last week I talked about the 5 most common types of tweeps in Kenya. My Gawd! Sijui niache kuongea juu ya technology nianze muchene pia, ama? Hits 23k from 1700+ people reading the post. In one day. All I could say, was, thank you.

    So, since one bite is never enough, how about tuendelee na the other 5. Sikutaka kutaja some tweep-types since sipendi kujamisha wasee. So leo nita-mention the other 5. Ok, I will just taja 4. The remaining 1 ni fyamiest.

    Jana kulikuwa na Ball kali. Team Kubwa Arsenali vs Team Kubwa-for-now, Citeh. {Warning: Man U fans should skip mpaka the Man-uSafe Section in red-Below.} You have been warned. read on at your own emotional risk.

    Ofcourse, fans wa Man-Shoga Yawwwnited walikuwa in Maputo town all dressed in their nylon Jerseys, sipping one beer for hours. I thought it was only Kenya where these people are broke fulltime na kuna Jerseys za Nylon za  AIG (Arsenal Is Great) and AON (Another Oblivious Nitwit). After defeating Arsenal’s injury/suspension depleted 3rd 11 8-2 kwao at old trafford, and seeing the BEST first 11 of their cartoon-network team ass-raped 1-6 at home by citeh, they were placing bets on 10-0 or 15-0 win to City. Ohh, how oblivious these nitwits are.

    The team with the better goal-keeper won. It was as simple as that. And I congratulate city. Hawakuangukia. Ohhh, No. This team is the real deal for EPL 2011/2012.

    One thing that Man Urinal fans have to talk about is that Arsenal have not won anything for 6 years. I always laugh at this, given the fact that Man Urinals under The Wonderful Sir Alex Ferguson went trophyless for 8 (EIGHT) years. Only 1 out of every 13000 Man Urinals glory-hunting yappers know this. Oblivious. Most fans ni wa 2004 onwards, anyway. So you can never blame an idiot for being themselves.

    Lastly, most Arsenal fans watch an Arsenal Game on a Sato and on Sunday, they are watching Tennis or F1. Moving on. Diversity baba! On Thursdays, Man U fans are still talking about Rooney venye alifunga last sato. To most, their ONLY source of joy in life ni ball. Sad.

    Man-uSafe Zone

    Good, Achana na Ball sasa. “Sasa, what are these 4 categories”, you ask.

    Type 6 – My whole pride/being depends on Twitter

    While in campus, UoN, we used to greet each other as ‘Sema fala’, to which you were expected to respond, ‘poa fala’. We knew nothing is ever that serious. Relax. Have some looseness in you. The same is assumed on twitter. More often than not, when I want someone to follow me, I tell them: “Wewe. Ni-follow ama utajua maana ya gwoko”, and the person knows it is a joke. And follows. And life goes on. And we are all happy.

    But there are some few individuals. Anything that does not sound to them like ‘you are the best, tallest and you have the roundest balls’ will be responded to furioso. ‘phucks’ and ‘SOBs’ and ‘go phurqk yourselves’ will follow.

    I once posted an article/blog laden with facts about such a fella. And little did I know, that kumbe nimempa kazi. At least I am contributing to the economy.For 8 months, it was all unrelenting research about the last 10 years of my life. Looking for dirt and and anything to smear. Ofcourse, the idiots found nothing. But naaah! That did not stop them. How about we cook some stories. Mention his name. get some hits.

    Unless you have balls of steel and clits of diamond, avoid this type. Watakustress.

    Type 7: The TL is my Diary crew.

    Nimeamka. That toothbrush was so hard. Nasugua magoti. Naosha thighs sasa. Ohh yes, feels so good, smooth and wet. Navaa nguo polepole. Now closing my house. Nimeingia Matt. Dere leo anasmell chlorine. Karao anataka hongo. Nimefika job. Omg I am late. The dude/mamsilla in the next office ana ninii poa. Njaa nayo!! Lunchtime! Nimekula nimeshiba. Acheni niende choo. He! Nimemaliza manze na nahisi nimekonda ghafla. 4 haifiki leo! 4 Imefika! Acha niende home! Nimefika home! Hakuna stima! Fuck! Manzi yangu ananyesha. Fuck! Boyie wangu ako down ki-bed kama IT Skills za graduates wa Strath. Naingia bed sasa! Mattress so hard utadhani elbow ya rooney. Kuna baridi!! Insomnia! I need a life.

    Come on. Really?

    Type 8: Arsenal/Manchester ni mama yangu

    Ok. Sitaongea juu ya Man U. Najua nina mafans huko pia. But I will talk about these tweeps that login only on Tuesday nights and Saturdays (Editor: Ok, Salim Ongeza thursday baba. Kuna teams zinacheza Europa). Ball ndiyo life. Handles zao ni za football team/player name. Kama ni wa Man U, the only thing wanajua ni 8-2. Kama ni wa Arsenali, the only thing wanajua ni 1-6 at home. Kama ni Liverpool, ofcourse, hawajui any.

    These tweets are the most re-tweeted disses and insults. Things from hamjashinda 1-trophy-in-6-years to The Mighty Arsenal fans to “mnasupport team haina mwafrika, hata sweeper ama cook, na mnajiita independent” to the fans of the Great Man U.

    Type 9: Guru wa Kuanzisha TT

    I once heard someone describe herself as a habitual TT starter. Someone who is the FIRST to start a trend like, #ujingaNi or #GoteaHioRisto #justToConfuseMyEnemies. Ofcourse, only one out of every 1000 attempts work, and so, the self-unemployed lot of us at iHub can never be seen doing this, but there are quite a few fellas who have perfected the art.

    These fellas have the correct amount and types of wollowers and fall in the category that Malcolm Gladwell refers to as ‘The Mavens’ in The Tipping Point. There are not necessarily the cleverest, etc, but these fellas are influential and anything they start is like a wildfire. Brands should hire them. Politicians WILL hire them in 2012 to their benefits.

    Back to Fun. No code leo.

    Wazi.

The Ujenzibora Blog

  • The Al Markhiya Project, Doha-Qatar

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:37 pm by ujenzibora

    Where?

    Doha – Qatar

    What?

    The Al Markhiya Project : It’s the development that has got Qatar buzzing. Al Markhiya is currently being constructed around a 5000 sqm landscaped artificial lake.

    The Project Spans across 55000 sqm, it’s build up of: International LibraryWorld class Restaurants. Offering a selection of international cuisines,Coffee Shops,Renowned ladies SPA Club.

    Enter-learning centre for kids, Italian themed architecture.

    Charming promenades along the lake.

    “Al Markhiya” project is the Doha premier luxury complex and seeks nothing less than to transport the visitors to a high-end cosmopolitan restoration/shopping/library surroundings, unlike anything that can be found in Qatar.

    Luxury shops, gastronomic & fine dining restaurants with the Italian touch decoration & style will take you to a new comprehensive meaning of an extravagance complex.

    About Qatar

    Qatar is the country with the highest GDP ranking in the world and will be hosting the FIFA 2022 World Cup. It is projected that Al Markhiya will soon be home to the World’s premium retail and restaurant brands.

    • Qatar is a wealthy state with a big presence
    • In Qatar the average annual income per head of more than $100,000 at purchasing power parity
    • The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Qatar is estimated at $80bn, Its populatuon abt 1.7m (mostly foreigners)
    • One Qatari resident described his country thus, ’We are small but we are everywhere’- Hamad al-Ibrahim

    Who?

    The project is being implemented by Al Emadi Enterprises. All images used on this post are the property of Al Emadi Enterprises Tel : (+974) 44666625

  • The Al Markhiya Project, Doha-Qatar

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:37 pm by ujenzibora

    Where?

    Doha – Qatar

    What?

    The Al Markhiya Project : It’s the development that has got Qatar buzzing. Al Markhiya is currently being constructed around a 5000 sqm landscaped artificial lake.

    The Project Spans across 55000 sqm, it’s build up of: International LibraryWorld class Restaurants. Offering a selection of international cuisines,Coffee Shops,Renowned ladies SPA Club.

    Enter-learning centre for kids, Italian themed architecture.

    Charming promenades along the lake.

    “Al Markhiya” project is the Doha premier luxury complex and seeks nothing less than to transport the visitors to a high-end cosmopolitan restoration/shopping/library surroundings, unlike anything that can be found in Qatar.

    Luxury shops, gastronomic & fine dining restaurants with the Italian touch decoration & style will take you to a new comprehensive meaning of an extravagance complex.

    About Qatar

    Qatar is the country with the highest GDP ranking in the world and will be hosting the FIFA 2022 World Cup. It is projected that Al Markhiya will soon be home to the World’s premium retail and restaurant brands.

    • Qatar is a wealthy state with a big presence
    • In Qatar the average annual income per head of more than $100,000 at purchasing power parity
    • The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Qatar is estimated at $80bn, Its populatuon abt 1.7m (mostly foreigners)
    • One Qatari resident described his country thus, ’We are small but we are everywhere’- Hamad al-Ibrahim

    Who?

    The project is being implemented by Al Emadi Enterprises. All images used on this post are the property of Al Emadi Enterprises Tel : (+974) 44666625

Afrinnovator

  • Three lessons from Ushahidi: Learning from Ushahidi’s history

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:08 pm by Will Mutua

    The Ushahidi crowdsourcing platform recently secured an additional $1.9 million round of funding from the Omidyar Network spanning 3 years.

    Ushahidi has definitely grown from strength to strength since 2008 when it was created and first deployed, really as a hack creating a quick solution to an evident problem at the time. The solution happened to work well and picked up momentum, drawing the attention of many across the globe. Powered by a small community of local developers and volunteers in Kenya and it’s diaspora, the ‘hack’ took shape as a powerful tool for crowdsourcing information, particularly during crisis situations.

    Beyond the Kenyan crisis, the technology was revised and improved, drawing more and more developers and more eyes to the interesting innovation. This included the Omidyar Network and others who poured in some fuel in the form of funding that allowed the founders of Ushahidi to focus and create, this time not spontaneously out of the urgency of creating a solution to a present pressing problem but intentionally, a solid platform that could scale not only technologically but also in terms of applicability. This has seen Ushahidi turn from just innovative application of existing technology (the original solution was basically a Google maps mashup) to really innovative technology such as the SwiftRiver initiative.

    Of course, history bears witness to the difference made in the last few years. The technology has been developed and refined, and in the process, off-shoots such as SwiftRiver have sprung out of the main shoot. The original team has grown significantly with more dedicated staff and the community has also grown significantly. Ushahidi has drawn global attention and has earned a place next to MPESA as one of Kenya’s best technological ‘exports’. Ushahidi has also been deployed to varying use cases including election monitoring, crisis mapping and organising large scale efforts such as the Snowmaggedon. The technology has been employed by major corporations, particularly media houses such as the Washington Post and Al Jazeera as well as individuals particularly through Crowdmap, the ‘Ushahidi in the Cloud’ initiative.

    Great strides have been made, but as Juliana Rotich notes on announcing the new round of funding, Ushahidi has yet to find it’s feet as far as revenue generation is concerned. The organisation is still very much reliant on private foundation grant financing:

    We’re now moving into the next phase of Ushahidi, where we’re exploring ways to diversify funding away from our historically private foundation grant funding, by increasing earned income revenue. This includes direct customer revenue through Crowdmap, B2B revenue through SwiftRiver SaaS offerings and continuing our value added services work on custom deployments of the Ushahidi core platform.

    Three lessons from Ushahidi: Learning from Ushahidi’s history

    One of the cool things about Ushahidi verses it’s counterpart Kenyan success story, MPESA, is that it represents a very contrasting path of development from which innovators and techpreneurs can learn a lot from. Whearas MPESA was somewhat the child born with a silver spoon in it’s mouth, that is, it had a large organization providing an institutional framework and support – both technical and resource-wise (both monetary and human) – from it’s conception, launch and growth, Ushahidi’s story follows a different path.

    Ushahidi was conceived from humble beginnings, really just an idea from a handful of individuals who were not even a formal organization of any sort, just friends and acquaintances who were themselves separated geographically. They did not have major financing or extra hands to develop the technology. Their budget probably was only a domain name and the hosting. And not only this but they did not have the luxury of time! Their country was being laid waste and they knew they could do something to help the situation. They certainly secured major funding later on but that was further down the line.

    So, here are a few lessons we can pick up from the history of Ushahidi. (All of which I  am constantly learning personally through personal experience, sometimes painfully, both with Afrinnovator and African Pixel)

    Solve a Problem: Necessity & invention

    What is interestingly similar about both Ushahidi and MPESA is that they both solved an existing problem very well and that is still fundamentally the basis of their success (Read: “Necessity & Invention: Africa’s story of mobile conquest & why utility beats ‘coolness’“). The lesson is simple, as Guy Kawasaki puts it, ‘Make Meaning’. If you set out to solve a real problem, really well, and do it, chances are that money will follow.

    Don’t wait for funding: Build it and they will come

    One of the most paralysing mentalities for the innovator is that “I need funding (VC or angel) to create my product/service”. And so the innovator either lies dormant, waiting to get some funding in order to build their product, while in the mean time they probably go only as far as pitching their ‘idea’ to potential investors but never really going all out, or they sell out too early. The moment someone proposes putting some money into their ‘idea’ they immediately take it, not realising they could have given up their stake in their company for something they could have accomplished without external funding at least at that stage.

    Someone once advised, “Do what you can with what you have until you can absolutely not do anything else“, what they meant simply was, there’s always something you can do with the resources at your disposal without first thinking ‘I need funding’ and quite often you can actually do much more than what you think you can do with whatever resources you have at hand. If you can code, or design, or sell your product/service yourself, do it, you don’t have to wait for external funding so you can hire a programmer and a designer. Another way of saying this is, “start right where you are“.

    Patience: Progressive, predictable growth

    Tied in to the previous lesson is progressive, predictable growth. Simply, don’t run before you can walk, and don’t walk before you can crawl. Sometimes for many an innovator/techpreneur, there’s this tendency to want to grow really fast. So if they have the financing they will literally go on a spending spree, hiring more staff than are necessary at that point in the life of the company, renting an unnecessarily large and expensive office when you don’t have to just yet.

    On the other hand it may refer to wanting to build everything at once, in other words, wanting to have all the desirable features in your product at once at launch. This creates a situation where the innovator/techpreneur can either get stuck trying to put everything into their product before launch and sometimes it can be costly, such as if someone else with more resources beats you to the punch.

    This is where versioning and creating a roadmap for your product can be of great help. First off, a roadmap allows you to build progressively as you also grow your company. So you can maybe build the initial product with just the skills you have, maybe as a programmer, perhaps this first version does not need really comprehensive security features which you don’t have the expertise in. So you release it, hopefully get some revenues from the initial offering. Then for the next version you can consider getting a specialised programmer for the security features that will be needed for that release, the good thing is, you are already in market and you’ve made some money that can support the new hire.

    Secondly, it’s also great for consumers to see progress, especially if it’s predictable. They know there’s additional value to coming. The trick is just not to keep them waiting too long i.e. Release early, Release often.

    Related posts:

    1. Ushahidi Twitter Intelligence Tool Released The Ushahidi folks have released SwiftRiver alpha version 0.0.9 a.k.a...
    2. Uchaguzi.co.ke: Ushahidi Comes Full Circle Close to 3 years ago in December/January 2007/08, Ushahidi was...
    3. Ushahidi Google Summer of Code We caught this a bit late but it appears that...

The Ujenzibora Blog

  • Rent Out Your House, Move to an Apartment, Pocket the Difference

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:01 pm by ujenzibora

    What?

    The simple idea is to rent out your high-end home for a premium and moving into a less expensive apartment, profiting on the difference.

    Photo by Salvatore Vuono

    The underlying reason being that one wants to turn the house into an asset or simply moving because of financial constraints.

    Why?

    Is your house an asset or a liability?

    Most of the people think their house is an asset. Is it true? Let Robert Kiyosaki explain what are the true Assets and Liabilities.


    Fast Tube by Casper

    Who?

    You can read the original article at Mainstreet or at Zillow as written by Jeff Brown

     

  • Rent Out Your House, Move to an Apartment, Pocket the Difference

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 1:01 pm by ujenzibora

    What?

    The simple idea is to rent out your high-end home for a premium and moving into a less expensive apartment, profiting on the difference.

    Photo by Salvatore Vuono

    The underlying reason being that one wants to turn the house into an asset or simply moving because of financial constraints.

    Why?

    Is your house an asset or a liability?

    Most of the people think their house is an asset. Is it true? Let Robert Kiyosaki explain what are the true Assets and Liabilities.


    Fast Tube by Casper

    Who?

    You can read the original article at Mainstreet or at Zillow as written by Jeff Brown

     

Hit Your Note

  • Filling in your new Facebook timeline.

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:46 pm by Josephine Nekesa Were

    The Facebook timeline is here!

    ‘So what?’ you ask.

    Well, your personal profile will be replaced with your new timeline on 21 December 2011. Right now though, you should see an invitation to try Timeline at the top of your Facebook screen, or you can go ahead and activate it here.

    The timeline is a real-time stream that shows you all of the events, images and posts that are important to you, while hiding the items that it feels are not important. A sort of ‘automatic autobiography’.

    Check out this video; Introducing Timeline – A New Kind of Profile

    “Timeline is the story of your life: all your stories, all your apps and a new way to express who you are.” – Mark Zuckerberg

    Filling in your timeline

    Menu Bar
    As you scroll down your new Timeline, a floating menu bar will appear at the top of your screen. Use it to add new events.

    Life Events
    When you click on life events, which should be on the right of your screen, you will get options to fill in the kind of stuff that has been going on in your work education, in your family and relationships, in your home and living, health and wellness and travel and experiences.

    Remember that how much information you reveal is really up to you.

    Adding an event
    When you add an event, a pop-up window appears for you to complete simple fields relevant to your event. You can attach a suitable photo from the event.

    Privacy

    The default setting for events that you post is ‘public’. You can change this by clicking the drop-down menu and picking your preferred privacy level.

    Featured events
    Once you post an event, it appears very large on your time line display. The assumption here is that you have added it here because it is important to you and so you want to feature it. If that is not the case,you can minimise it by clicking the star on the top right side of your picture. You can click on the pen right next to the star to hide or delete a photo all together.

    Recent activity
    Remember that all the changes you make on your timeline are being added to you recent activity. This means that all your friends can see what you’re up to. If you would like to fill in your timeline without alerting everyone, go to your recent activity, hover over the relevant alert and hit the X to hide the activity from you timeline.

    As you wrap your head around what you’d like to include in your timeline, check out these awesome timeline designs and let me know what you think of the Facebook timeline!

admblind.wordpress.com

  • Things loadsa Kenyan’s do on the facebook

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 12:44 pm by admblind
    1. Take pictures of their feet. As they stand around in a circle. 2. Express their extreme annoyance at this work/school day today and hint that it deserves a much needed alcoholic beverage at the end of it. WINK WINK. “class sucks balls need a beer after this @FIFI’s” 3. Thank theirboyfriend for being the bestin [...]

The Ujenzibora Blog

  • 5 Reasons I Want To Know You Better

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 10:03 am by ujenzibora

    This is my 5 point summary on why relation – ships matter. To paint a picture for you, I would wish you to imagine a ship in the sea. If man could not invent the anchor and other implements for allowing ships to “enter rest”, sailing would have made absolutely no sense!

    So let me build my case! Allow me to build my case so i can reach a favorable conclusion…

    Hint 1 : We are living on a sea

    Nothing rests. Everything moves. All things are in motion. To cease to be in motion is to die. The laws are at work and we know energy is constantly moving to, through and from.

    Photo by Worradmu

    Social networks are part of that ocean of motion.

    Hint 2: You are a cargo carrier

    A ship is a cargo-carrier. When thieves “steal”, they have in their possession cargo which belongs to other “ships”. Is this the metaphor of why suspects are “docked” in a court of law? And the cargo is displayed as “exhibits?”. Are jails not bays where confiscated ships are anchored? You are literally a ship in an Ocean or Sea of motion

    Hint 3 : I am a Cargo Carrier

    As it is for you, so it is for me! Maybe your cargo is music, or Architecture or like the show men, you are simply a ship carrying comedy. Is it any of the 8 Streams of Human Intelligence ? Do you even know what you carry?

    Does this sentence sound familiar?

    “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”- Luke 6:45

    Either way, you and I are cargo carriers!

    Hint 4 : I have several bays for off-loading

    I have a bay you can afford to off-load part of your cargo. This could be my timeline, mailbox , wall, blog, website, house. In theory, “If you receive a wise man because he is a wise man, you receive a wise-man’s reward”. A companion of fools suffers harm. I want to know you better because there is still room enough for part of your cargo.

    Hint 5: Everyone is in Commerce

    Black’s Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition defines commerce as:

    “to exchange goods, productions, or property of any kind; the buying, selling, and exchanging of articles. Intercourse by way of trade and traffic between different peoples or states and the inhabitants thereof, including not only the purchase, sale, and exchange of commodities, but also the instrumentalities and agencies by which it is promoted and the means and applications by which it is carried on, and the transportation of persons as well as goods, both by land and sea.”

    Photo by Renjith Krishnan

    The term “commerce” means trade , traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among the several states.

    Need I to say more? No #Tafakari

    Let us commerce

    Qs. David Nahinga

     

Intricately Me

  • Arabian Ranches Home Improvement – A Few Constructive Suggestions

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 10:03 am by Tonya

    We realize what it is like searching for quality content relating to Arabian Ranches interior improvement, for example. Believe it or not, but the best information on this is not often found in the first few search engine listings. It is usually a typical effect of the way search engine algorithms are written – so you are not alone. What we have done is put together some solid investigation about Arabian Ranches interior improvement and put it in one place. After going through this article, you will possess more perception into this subject.

    For more information on arabian ranches villa, dubai arabian ranches or maybe property dubai e mail us immediately.

    Upgrades for a Arabian Ranches home are personal; everybody has their own idea of what makes a comfortable living area. There is certainly a spot in every Arabian Ranches home, both inside and out, that can benefit from some sort of improvement. If you are searching for helpful hints on upgrading your Arabian Ranches home, we will supply you with a few suggestions.

    By simply installing a skylight, you can create an entirely different ambiance to a room. It immediately makes your room appear bigger and brighter and is also an energy saver. When you have skylights, you’ll be able to do without electric lights more of the time, and in winter they can provide you with some of the sun’s warmth. Installing a skylight may not be as complicated as you think, and you can look into doing it yourself or having a contractor do it for you. Skylights can be plastic or glass, and made in the size and style that will do the most for your Arabian Ranches home. If you’ve ever walked into a Arabian Ranches home with skylights, you know what a positive impact they can make on the atmosphere of a Arabian Ranches home.

    Different plants, including shrubs, trees and hedges can improve the look of your garden while also providing some shade and privacy. You can derive a lot of benefits from a few shrubs or trees, including solar and wind protection, additional beauty as well as a way to absorb excessive moisture. Depending on your climate, you may want to consider planting fruit trees so you can enjoy picking edible fruit from your own backyard. If you’d like to have more privacy, you could plant hedges around your yard. This is a more attractive type of boundary than a wall, and you can have a variety of plants, shrubs or small trees that act as a barrier between your Arabian Ranches home and the outside world.

    One way to completely transform your backyard is to add a pool, spa or sauna. This is something that many people think of as an unnecessary luxury, but today you can pools or spas that are surprisingly affordable with many new technologies and materials being used to make them. The designs of spas and pools are limitless; there is one out there that will fit your needs. You will be afforded the soothing and comfortable treatment of a spa even when your weather is less than wonderful. Sometimes the standard installation of a pool or spa is not feasible, in which case you have the option of the portable one.

    Satisfaction can be felt when executing good changes in your Arabian Ranches home because you are not simply creating a better feel and look in your house, you are making an investment in the value it will hold someday. For this reason, creating a better abode in all feasible ways is smart, regardless if your plans are to remain there indefinitely or you are desiring to sell it in the future.

The Gitts Zone

  • 19. The closer you are to somebody the more likely they are to piss you off

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 10:00 am by Gituma Nturibi
    This is so very true I'll repost something i wrote a couple of years back...

    One thing in life is the people closest to you are the ones who have the greatest effect on you. They can give you the happiest moments and the saddest moments. It's easy to think that life is all clear blue skies and when a cloudy patch comes up you wonder what's up and think that something major is wrong.
    One of the scriptures that is frequently quoted with respect to friendship is proverbs 27:17- " Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend" (KJV)Now consider how this happens, two knives do not sit up next to each other warm and cosy and then they magically become sharp. No what happens is they strike each other and sometimes sparks fly, that's how it goes down. Similarly with our friends there can be those heated moments which come up when due to our humanity our flaws become evident. Nobody's perfect and so we do not see eye to eye all the time but we can build each other using the right words and end up being the better.
    Let me quote Dr. James Dobson who put it so well in his book "Life on the edge"
    " Whenever two human beings spend time together, sooner or later they will probably irritate one another. This is true of best friends, married couples, parents and children, or teachers and students. The question is: How to respond when friction occur? There are four basic ways they can react.
    - internalize anger and send it downwards into a memory bank that never forgets. This creates great pressure within and can even result in disease and other problems- They can pout and be rude without discussing the issues. This further irritates the other person and leaves him or her to draw his or her own conclusions about what the problem may be.-they can blow up and they to hurt the other person. This causes the death of friendships, marriages, homes and businesses.- Or they can talk to one another about their feelings, being very careful not to attack the dignity and worth of the other person. This approach often leads to permanent and healthy relationships."
    And I end with the words of Psalm 133:1 "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity"

Architecture Kenya

  • CCN sets deadline for online building plans

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 9:16 am by Editor In Chief
    The City Council of Nairobi has set a January 12, 2012 deadline for migration to the online platform for submission of building plans proposals and processing of construction permits. Practicing architects are supposed to transition to the new systems by deploying it in their respective studios. The City Council has written to the Architectural Association … Continue reading »

South of West

Chrenyan

  • Lessons from the prayer of King Jehoshaphat – Step 6

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 7:02 am by Chrenyan
    Step 6 – Stand believing And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. II Chronicles 20:13 (KJV) Many of my own prayers have been mixes and matches of the previous 5 steps. ESPECIALLY Step 4. And God has answered many of them. But I see another step [...]

Wapi Ndizi yangu!

  • Gigglingbob’s Weekly Twits

    Posted: December 19, 2011, 4:10 am by gigglingbob
    RT @sudanmonitor: http://t.co/whmJVvVY: Khartoum Resumes Forced Conscription of IDPs, University Students http://t.co/SRb30nF0 #Sudan # #creativesDrinkup My head… # in the quick mart mombassa rd last night, song playing "I want to F#$% a dog in the a$$" followed by a … Continue reading →

cdohnio.blogspot.com

  • Random Sunday Post

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 12:36 am by cdooh
    I didn't put up a post yesterday, I was lazy and it was Sabbath, so I guess I can say it was a resting day but I'm back today. I don't know what I'm going to write about because I'm totally blank. Today we were travelling from our country house (shags) and back to the city house for a few days. I, however, will be staying on to spend some time with my mum and my friends.

    I'll glad to be back in the city because it's been over 5 months since I was last here and I've missed all my friends, my sisters and most of all my mother. It is been way too long. Having to go to school so far can be a major disadvantage because you're so far from the people you're so used to having near.

    In other news, I had the most awesome dream in the morning today. It involved a white redhead model selling airtime, me, her hands and our lips. Of course mere words can't describe the epicness of this dream or how this girl inflamed my passion. So I won't even try. But I will say this I didn't finish the dream because I was dozing in the sitting room and couldn't have stuff "coming up", could I?:-D Peace!!!

Intricately Me

  • A Sure Route To Detect Std Indicators In Male

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 11:35 pm by Tonya

    Almost everyone people is at least got a notion what sexually transported diseases (STDs) will be. Useful bacteria in your body helps in eliminating the yeast. It is as a result of an imbalance within the normal healthy bacteria obtained in the vagina and can also be is relatively harmless and could pass unnoticed, it can sometimes produce a good amount of unpleasant fishy smelling relieve. STD can assail any body should it be females or guys, rich or lousy and young or even old. The only way in your case STD symptoms to discover if you’re infected should be to have all for yourself checked inside nearby STD testing central. But it perhaps be the symptoms for other problems also.

    I have already been searching on ways of increase my male member size. An ideal vaccine applicant should somehow act as a switch along with induce immune cells get started on fighting against HIV. Although there will be two types, the more terminal cases are because of the HSV-2. Cystitis, AIDS, HIV, Chlamydia, genital warts, gonorrhea, syphilis along using other genital health issues. There is tendency for the candida yeast infection that they are seen by a male who has intercourse with a lady which is infected. You will then be capable of have early remedy which prevents the infection from getting more painful. Accepting and cooperating along with someone whose partner was probably a recently diagnosed with a std can be difficult this is why one must always understand the underlying factors which can promote the prospect of contracting the infection quick grown timbers . arrangement between personalized the couples.

    Several STDs are a result of viruses, bacteria and teeny parasites. There are AN STD symptoms which manifest a couple of days after intercourse, some only noticeable after a few months. According to this National Women’s Health and wellbeing Information Center, there is a raised risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, and the water breaking too quickly. If not, it will just produce cancer or infertility STD testing when remained untreated. The only way to ensure your symptoms aren’t indicative of the STD is to find yourself tested since needed. Consequently, the ideal resolution for shield your personal from major health-related repercussions will be to get examined earlier and, when needed, seek therapy well before it is as well late.

    Though everyone sexually transmitted disease that happen to be listed are curable because of medical advancements, and some that will be not are designed manageable, but there will always be some that we are able to do nothing about whatsoever. This disease can be spread by coming with the discharge connected with infected people. Females may even complain of dyspareunia. This time between infection when an STD will be determinable on a test is known as a “window period”. Contrary to famous belief in society you are able to make your male member larger.

    Anus together with throat infection: STD symptoms in men have anus and tonsils infection. Trichomonas is a good protozoan flagellate interpretation it STD test activates itself to swim simillar to that of a good human sperm. The first symptoms of buying Syphilis is the appearance of a sore called Chancre. You might feel to be taboo to mention STDs and feel embarrassed to travel a doctor way too. Since STD has a great number of types, in most scenarios, an infected guy is struggling to identify exactly what STD is dazzling him.

    Paillet N. Peper

The Ujenzibora Blog

  • Metropol Parasol: The World’s Largest Wooden Structure

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 10:50 pm by ujenzibora

    What?

    The beautiful series of undulating parasols comprise the world’s largest wooden structure. Metropol’s interlocking honeycomb of wooden panels rise from concrete bases, which are positioned to form canopies and walkways below the parasols.

    Metropol Parasol is situated within the Seville’s historic medieval sector. In fact, it looms over archeological ruins, which have been incorporated into a museum.

    The honeycomb umbrella roof is now accessible to visitors with a winding terrace and path, offering incredible views of the beautiful city.

    © Fernando Alda

    The open-air structure was based upon the design of parasols, and it also references cathedral design.

    The underside holds restaurants, shops, a community center and a visitor center.

    Photo © Fernando Alda

    Seville has always been known as an innovator in Europe, and Jurgen Mayer H. Architects wanted to celebrate that with Metropol Parasol.

    Photographers Alda and Franck have captured the modern and sleek flow of Metropol Parasol, highlighted against the surrounding historic architecture.

    Where?

    Located at Plaza de la Encarnacion, in Seville, Spain

    Why?

    The site was originally meant to be a parking garage, but during excavation in the early 2000s, workers discovered a hidden archaeological site. Thankfully, instead of going on with the original plans, they decided to make the space into a culture and community center, which will be called the Plaza de la Encarnacion.

    Who?

    Architects: Jurgen Mayer H. Architects

    The author of this blog is Lori Zimmer

    Read more

  • Metropol Parasol: The World’s Largest Wooden Structure

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 10:50 pm by ujenzibora

    What?

    The beautiful series of undulating parasols comprise the world’s largest wooden structure. Metropol’s interlocking honeycomb of wooden panels rise from concrete bases, which are positioned to form canopies and walkways below the parasols.

    Metropol Parasol is situated within the Seville’s historic medieval sector. In fact, it looms over archeological ruins, which have been incorporated into a museum.

    The honeycomb umbrella roof is now accessible to visitors with a winding terrace and path, offering incredible views of the beautiful city.

    © Fernando Alda

    The open-air structure was based upon the design of parasols, and it also references cathedral design.

    The underside holds restaurants, shops, a community center and a visitor center.

    Photo © Fernando Alda

    Seville has always been known as an innovator in Europe, and Jurgen Mayer H. Architects wanted to celebrate that with Metropol Parasol.

    Photographers Alda and Franck have captured the modern and sleek flow of Metropol Parasol, highlighted against the surrounding historic architecture.

    Where?

    Located at Plaza de la Encarnacion, in Seville, Spain

    Why?

    The site was originally meant to be a parking garage, but during excavation in the early 2000s, workers discovered a hidden archaeological site. Thankfully, instead of going on with the original plans, they decided to make the space into a culture and community center, which will be called the Plaza de la Encarnacion.

    Who?

    Architects: Jurgen Mayer H. Architects

    The author of this blog is Lori Zimmer

    Read more

Intricately Me

  • Vistaprint Does This Business

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 10:34 pm by Tonya

    Positive aspects Business cards the money necessary for nearly all excellent variety of types straightforward registration Negatives confront advertising and marketing After you reveal a small business card, wear a lot of it ahead out of inside your prospective buyer side. Totally free business card provides abound, nevertheless the high quality may be changing unsurprisingly. When a relative demonstrated a small business card that they got acquired Exempt from net, I chose look it over personally. Mainly because it discovered, clearly there was Vistaprint Coupons British edition, however when looked at the disposable types, the main one I need to only agreed to be on the US website, to ensure the place proceeded to go. Registration When you are getting to your website, free business card url on top remaining. Clicking on goes to the web site which you could look at the types. On the other hand, before you begin the whole process of having one thing virtually nothing, you must signup. Registration put in at home supply their email, last name first name, as well as set your passwords. You can even add a business title and supply your passwords sign in the event you overlook passwords eventually. I decided to provide a sign, were required to depend upon defective reminiscence in my minute visit to the site. Then you definitely must tick field to mention if the card business individual how does topic, Im wondering and after that must field opt out from the organization deals preventing completing a message to other folks. Ultimately, you must stipulate no matter if emailAnnually, many individuals around the world go to States. America houses a diverse variety of sightseeing attractions like amazing nature, vibrant towns smaller towns, carnivals, historical web sites, and so much more. Whether it be New York, La, New York, Nevada, Orlando, florida, and the ski areas Colorado, there will be something for every individual do and see once they go to One of the benefits seeing the States youll be able to discover low cost routes. Underneath a directory of useful information on having low cost routes to your plane tickets Travel In the course of out of top Periods With so many says which may have unique visitor top the seasons, youll save cash for those who journey to a place throughout offseason. airfare selling prices might take a large fall price tag through the offseason. As well, you can get more costeffective lodgings offers points of interest. If you would like journey to spot like Texas, you can aquire a more costeffective price tag for those who vacation immediately after peak season. The elements is hot warm nevertheless the airfare will probably be more costeffective. E book Air travel a short time ahead of Leaving In many instances, flight reduce the money necessary for a direct flight ticket better dare leaving in order to populate seats. If youre ready to take the chance buying a hold and you are also fussy regarding the day someone flies, you will probably get a great deal. E book months ahead of time often for those who publication airline flight a couple of months in advance of airline flight time, prices will probably be really low cost. Its really a sensible choice if you will beIf you do business from home and are on a tight budget right this moment, there are few ways to cash on the net without spending cash advertising and marketing. practically inescapable to never expend cash advertising and marketing luckily you will discover effective ways to advertise item, program, answer income opportunity when you use social networking. How to Use Social Media Marketing Successfully Buddy follow the proper individuals Most significant blunders that folks social media services right after every person whos got created a bank account for that program that you simply utilizing. This is a How Does Facebook Make money mistake due to the fact right after many people are target promoting. You must simply be right after people that talk about exactly the same likes and dislikes get into exactly the same niche class as you. Very good articles takes care of Before a bit of time offering your opportunity, without doubt take the time to posting useful articles every single day. The greater excellent articles that you simply posting, the higher. Your friends followers need to watch you for an skilled inside your discipline along with a skilled they need to line up themselves instead of somebody who is always new spamming chance on the net. Establish a timetable As you proceed with social websites vital that you be consistent operating internet things to do. without doubt posting articles every single day plus an endeavor to share with you, adhere to your account join social networking expertise. The greater required involved you might be, the higher out of you will end up. Social Media Marketing Web pages Should You Be Employing today community you will discover many social websites hundreds additional sprouting up on the net every single day.

A Kenyan girl's thoughts on life, inspirational articles and single parenthood

  • Irina Voronina

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 10:00 pm by orson
    Irina Voronina
    Irina Voronina
    Irina Voronina
    Irina Voronina
    Irina Voronina
    Irina Voronina
    Irina Voronina
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    Irina Voronina
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    Irina Voronina

  • Salma Hayek

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:47 pm by orson
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek
    Salma Hayek

Intricately Me

  • Custom made iPhone Conditions and Handles: Ed Sturdy Fashion Regarding Phones

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:46 pm by Tonya

    Author name: Claudette R.P. Morganson

    E Hardy, the earth’s premier skin image clothing product is generally known as the finished tattoo standard of living brand. Devoted to creating cool graphic tops and needing popularized a trucker cap trend, Ed Healthy has enlarged its item range to bring about designer new iphone 4 cases in addition to covers. All of these stylish creator iPhone circumstances and handles feature confidential Ed Healthy tattoo illustrations or photos, as good as eye-catching designs that instantly give any kind of device an exceptional look.

    The iphone4 antenna problem established fact, and Apple has built a solution by using iPhone bumpers. While these kind of bumpers can be bought in a variety of colors and offer some proper protection, the E Hardy creator iPhone circumstances and handles provide far more protection for ones device.

    You can use a non-public hotspot against your iphone 4 to express an {iphone 4s cases|iphone 4s case|iphone 4 cases|iphone 4 case|iphone 5 cases|iphone 5 case|iphone 4s covers|iphone 4s cover|iphone 4 covers|iphone 4 cover|iphone 5 covers|iphone 5 cover|iphone 5 covers|iphone 5 covers|iphone 4s skins|iphone 4s skin|iphone 4 skins|iphone 4 skin|iphone 5 skins|iphone 5 skin|best case for iphone 4s|best case for iphone 4|best case for iphone 5|bargain cases|bargaincases|cheap iphone cases|cheap phone cases|http:www.bargaincases.com|click here|link|marked|bargaincase with your working personal computer or yet another Wi-Fi product, like a good ipad, ipod devices or yet another iphone. They might be connected for the iphone by using a Wi-Fi relationship. Connect your iphone4 with your working personal computer via Wireless bluetooth or USB to express an web connection through your current hotspot.

    The private hotspot will only be arrange using the iphone4 and a feature most likely are not available in some countries or even locations, added fees may cover certain places. Contact people network service provider for more information, the information you require the most is protected devices that may share the web connection while doing so and examples of the charges affiliated. Make sure you iphone4 skins and apple iphone cases are usually fitted correctly as a way to not block the indicator.

    The Delicious Couture circumstance for iphone4 is a fabulous pure white specifically for women that prefer getting back together their iphone4. This Delicious Couture iphone4 Case is made for holding an overview, and was established to appeal to create conscious wives everywhere. Trying to find putting your iphone4 with a lovely iPhone 4 circumstance? Give your iphone4 a very little Couture! Juicy Couture built this adorable iphone4 case you will find that we know more popular new I adore Dotty structure.

    Lightweight polycarbonate Delicious Couture iphone4 case to defend the all-important mobile phone. Full usage of all adjustments. A great present for any kind of Juicy Couture admirer. Made involving ultra-thin product, Juicy Couture iphone4 case is designed with a smooth touching to defend your precious iphone4. There is a wonderful news that it can be available within colors, for instance pink, white-colored, brown and therefore the newest arrivial orange. So you can choose any kind of color circumstance with Delicious Couture product.

A Kenyan girl's thoughts on life, inspirational articles and single parenthood

  • Sara Foster

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:46 pm by orson
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster
    Sara Foster

  • Raquel Alessi

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:37 pm by orson
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi
    Raquel Alessi

  • Selita Ebanks

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:35 pm by orson
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks
    Selita Ebanks

  • Sarah Mutch

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:30 pm by orson
    Sarah Mutch
    Sarah Mutch
    Sarah Mutch
    Sarah Mutch
    Sarah Mutch
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    Sarah Mutch

  • julia paes

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:25 pm by orson
    julia paes
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  • Penelope Cruz

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:17 pm by orson
    Penelope Cruz
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    Penelope Cruz

  • Paula Garces

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:12 pm by orson
    Paula Garces
    Paula Garces
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  • Pamela Anderson

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 9:07 pm by orson
    Pamela Anderson
    Pamela Anderson
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  • Sofia Vergara

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:54 pm by orson
    Sofia Vergara
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  • Ali Larter in Varsity Blues

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:44 pm by orson
    While not technically nude, Ali and her strategically-placed whipped cream instantly became the stuff of legend and dessert-based fetishes. Of course, leave it to Dawson's Creek to fumble the play—dude, you'll never get such a golden opportunity to offer a girl a banana for her split again. Way to go, forehead.

    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues
    Ali Larter in Varsity Blues

  • Marisa Tomei

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:38 pm by orson
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei
    Marisa Tomei

  • Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:31 pm by orson
    So remember this one time a few months back when Alyson Hannigan adamantly dismissed all those pregnancy rumors after a photographer caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a tiny baby bump? Hannigan chalked the bulge up to carnival food, but recent reports reveal that wasn't the case at all. It turns out she was holding out on us and actually does have a small child growing inside of her. How do we know? The actress' rep confirmed the exciting news to US Weekly, assuring us that a little bundle of joy is well on its way.

    This will be the starlet's second child with her husband of eight years, Alexis Denisof. The pair already share a two-year-old daughter, Satyana, but are eager to add another addition to their growing family. A source close to the couple told the magazine, "Alyson is thrilled to be pregnant! She's been wearing baggy clothes to cover the baby bump."

    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant
    Alyson Hannigan Is Pregnant

plothickens

  • He…

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:25 pm by plothickens
    He may not be next to me but i feel him, He may not remember my smell but i do his He may not want to know how my day was but i tell him in my head He may not miss my voice but i imagine his always He may not be dancin g [...]

A Kenyan girl's thoughts on life, inspirational articles and single parenthood

  • Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:24 pm by orson
    Contact Music revealed Lindsay Lohan had to re-shoot her Playboy cover because Hugh Hefner himself was dissatisfied with the first round of photos. Hefner himself confirmed that he ordered Lindsay to do another round of shots because he didn't think the pictures weren't as impressive as they should be, and explained that it wasn't Lindsay's idea to impersonate Marilyn Monroe. He told E! News, "The pictorial and the concept for the pictorial came from me. She had done semi-nudes before. I wanted to do something that would be memorable. So what is more natural, since she is a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe, than (to) do something that is a tribute to the red-velvet, Tom Kelley photo shot of Marilyn Monroe that was our very first Playmate?" He also added that he felt a bit of resistance from Lindsay's camp about the nudity component of the spread, saying "I think it was essentially mama and the folks around her that kept pushing for less nudity. And I said, 'We're doing a nude pictorial here. We're going to do it in a very classy way and we're going to do it in a way in which it will not be forgotten.'"- Contact Music

    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot
    Ordered Lindsay Lohan's 'Playboy' Reshoot

  • Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:14 pm by orson
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share
    Celebrities React To The 2012 Golden Globe Awards Nominations 4Share

  • Barbara Walters and Kardashians

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 8:07 pm by orson
    The Kardashian Klan earned a spot in Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011 special on ABC Wednesday night. It's not really that surprising since the family's had more headlines this year than ever before with Kim's wedding, Kris Jenner's facelift, Kim's divorce, and Kourtney's pregnancy. Yes, 2011 was quite a rollercoaster ride for the reality family and America couldn't help but climb aboard to watch the drama unravel. So I guess that qualifies all them as fascinating.

    But Walters wasn't going to let them off easy. In a sit-down with the famous family, the legendary journalist didn't hold back and immediately confronted Kim about her sex tape, asking if it turned out to be a good thing for her and her family in the long run. And in true Kardashian form, the reality star side-stepped the question with a vague response, saying, "I have made mistakes in my life, for sure," while failing to specify if the XXX film was one of those mistakes. But Mama Jenner was quick to chime in with a follow up response, reminding her daughter, "You learned a lot from that." The lesson being: yes, sex sells and is a great way to jump-start a career in the entertainment industry.

    Additionally on Wednesday's special, Walters asked the Kardashians how they are able to maintain our attention without actually possessing any real talent (burn). She elaborated by saying, "You don't really act; you don't sing; you don't dance. You don't have any -- forgive me -- any talent!" This was a great question not only because it's absolutely hilarious, but also because it's so true. This family does absolutely nothing remarkable or talent worthy, yet we can't help but keep watching them. So what gives? Kim responded, explaining that despite their nonexistent gifted abilities, they still manage to be "very entertaining." She also remarked that there's more pressure on reality stars to "get people to fall in love with you for being you," so I guess that's supposed to qualify as their talent?

    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians
    Barbara Walters and Kardashians

  • Kanye West and Kim Kardashian

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 7:57 pm by orson
    The New York Daily News is reporting Kanye West was all over Kim Kardashian at an after party for Jay-Z and West's Watch the Throne concert in L.A. A source claims the hip-hop artist and reality star looked very cozy throughout the course of the night and said, "Kanye was eating Kim up like she was a piece of cake. He was all over her -- caressing her head, touching her waist." Additionally, the insider commented, "I think he was dying to kiss her, but there were too many people in the room." Because you know the Kardashians are very particular on their privacy.

    I'm always unsure as to how "reliable" these sources actually are (especially when they use food references to describe celeb actions -- i.e. "eating Kim up like cake"). But I suppose it's entirely possible for Kanye to find the fame-hoarding starlet alluring -- hey, he's made plenty of wrong decisions in the past. However, I doubt the feeling is mutual since I'm sure Kim wouldn't like sharing the spotlight with someone more famous than she is. But seriously, can you imagine if these two actually became a full-fledged item? The reality show possibilities would be endless.

    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
    Kanye West and Kim Kardashian

Qilma

  • Take It Back

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 7:48 pm by QQ
    I love you I love you so much my heart constricts Twists around itself, wringing out its chambers  As though trying to  Squeeze every droplet of emotion Out The loss of you I feel so acutely In the sound of my pulse beating in my ears In the feel of each breath snagging in my

A Kenyan girl's thoughts on life, inspirational articles and single parenthood

  • Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 7:48 pm by orson
    It probably comes as no surprise to learn Lady Gaga snagged the No. 1 spot in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning women in music. The singer grossed a whopping $90 million in profits thanks to album sales, endorsement deals, and her worldwide Monster Ball tour. Taylor Swift ranked second on the list, making a respectable $45 million which stemmed mostly from her 2010 Speak Now album and Katy Perry came in close behind in third place with $44 million after scoring five consecutive No. 1 hits off her album Teenage Dream. Additionally, Beyoncé came in fourth place with $35 million and Rihanna ranked fifth with $29 million. For a full rundown of the list, click here. Congrats to all the outstanding diva

    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning

    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning
    Lady Gaga Is The Top-Earning

Qilma

  • Grief

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 7:45 pm by QQ
    I dont like this feeling Suffocating  Clawing At my throat My heart  Jumps  Into my mouth Sneaks up behind me and grabs me  By the throat Soft skin, hard welts My face streaks down my eyes Mouth agape I. Cant. Breathe. My gut Wrenches horribly Like its the ‘End Of The World’ Twisting, squeezing, anguishing,

Intricately Me

  • Benefits of Geothermal Cooling and heating

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 7:26 pm by Tonya

    Author name: Freije X.C. Gholar

    One for the largest expenses for your home is cooling and heating. With extreme winters and additionally hot summers, climate control might take a significant bite out of our each month budgets. There’s a simple type of cooling and heating which will add balance to all these seemingly unable to cope expenses. It truly is called geothermal, which is becoming a fashionable choice to get new and additionally existing properties. Here are the various pros and additionally cons for geothermal cooling and heating.

    Geothermal purposes the nominal temperatures for the ground approximately us to help in generating cooling and heating for all of our homes. There are several advantages for geothermal temperatures, but usually the one is there is no combi boiler or furnace was required to burn gasoline. Mild temp fluids are explain to you a temperatures pump which in turn converts these products into heated air or trouble used to be able to heat all of our homes. polyethylene pipe fittings summer many weeks, the temperatures pump product is reversed to send back the heated air within all of our homes straight to the soil and therefore keep all of our homes neat.

    Unless yourr home is really odd environment such as the arctic, next you are probably in area when a geothermal temperatures pump may be unitized successfully. ? Nevertheless, there may perhaps be local factor that steer clear of the installation. ? A powerful installer will have to evaluate your particular site. ?

    Geothermal temperatures pumps are extremely durable. Since the machine doesn’t possess elaborate intricate parts and will depend on a easy principle, the body should past many, several decades.

    Geothermal solutions are composed of only some components that permit them to get the job done. The temperatures pump operates transferring temperatures energy derived from one of location to a new one. This transfer fabricated from through enclosed loops formulated with water, refrigerant, or anti deep freeze solution of which absorbs heat energy. In the event the liquid can be heated, it will get pumped back geothermal supply companies system, and also this process can be continually regular. Heating and additionally cooling ducts are essential to relocate the incredibly hot or refrigerated air in each room inside your home. Finally, heat pump is related to a thermostat into the home, and therefore the pump changes on as well as off dependant upon desired household temperature.

    Geothermal solutions using temperatures pumps get the job done quietly, last for some time of period, require modest maintenance, and don’t depend about the temperature for the outside oxygen. They can easily heat, neat, and now and again, supply the property with warm water. Some systems may also be available by using two velocity compressors and additionally variable fans to give more relaxation and power efficiency.

    There are several reasons the key reason why geothermal energy is actually a smart selection. With the problems we have experienced couple of years with pipe wrap insulation tape rising fee of gasoline and problems at the center East it’s wise idea to look into alternative options for energy which might be more sustainable and may help us to enjoy a more safeguarded future.

    Geothermal power involves harnessing electric power and temperatures that is produced by magma at the heart of mother nature. This can be then converted with a complicated practice. At the second a lot must be done to master it and additionally there will likely need to be more work done to help with making it reliable.

A Kenyan girl's thoughts on life, inspirational articles and single parenthood

  • Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 7:25 pm by orson
    I'm happy to report Giuliana Rancic is in good spirits after undergoing a successful double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery on Tuesday. For those of you who don't know, the E! host announced her plans to have the surgery last week after several lumpectomies failed to completely remove the cancer from her body. Throughout the entire process, Giuliana has remained positive about the future and expects to make a full recovery. And it looks like she's well on her way!

    Her husband, Bill Rancic, exclusively told E! News, "G is doing really well. Her surgery lasted about four hours and the doctors were very pleased with the result." He added, "She had a little bit of pain through the night but is feeling much better this morning and was cracking jokes." Giuliana herself even had her own message to share, saying, "I want to thank all the viewers and fans for their support and prayers. The tweets and notes have not gone unnoticed. I am very grateful."

    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy
    Giuliana Rancic Undergoes Double Mastectomy

Intricately Me

  • Build An Identity Banner Technique The Easy Way

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 6:34 pm by Tonya

    Technological know-how improvements had an essential, sizeable impression in the business enterprise. Organization corporations of all career fields and styles depend on techie gadgets to increase their effectiveness, are more successful and still provide their diverse employees which has a comfy and risk-free operating natural environment. From pc’s, to faxes to scanners, every one of these devices have already been largely acquired within the nowadays’ corporate earth.

    Among every one of these gadgets, supplying employees, targeted traffic and company with a bit of kind or another of id product in to a convincing require that huge global businesses, quick payday loans scaled firms and small company corporations have experimented with please during ten years. In these case, step by step we evolved into employed to seeing people carrying or sporting an Username badge. At the beginning, they must be outsourced and a 3rd party artist including a expert printer were essential so as to develop them. The good news is, now it is attainable to make your own Username charge cards. The thing you’ll need is an excellent Username unit card system. Carry on reading through to learn how to put in place a person easily.

    Cards Printing device

    It is among the most important elements levis jeans the Username unit card system and it has to be chosen very carefully. There are various possibilities you can find and you must make sure that normally the one you purchase will suit your current and potential unit card producing wants. It is actually hugely valuable to choose to color computer printer as it enables you to incorporate your corporation’s logo and your employees’ image from the charge cards, as a result insurance them a great deal more attractive. In the event you call for to add in a lot of information for the badges in order to mix diverse safety measures into your charge cards making sure that no one can build them, it can be wise to invest in a double on the sides computer printer as it gives you a great deal more bedroom where you should include all of the information. Make sure you make certain that the credit card computer printer you purchase is usually as effective as you have it to be.

    Cards Application

    It does not take 2nd most important take into account an Username unit card system. It ought to allow you to develop just the sort of Username badges you’re looking for, not merely with the visual but will also with the safety measures point of view. Almost every unit card software package is sold with pre made web themes that is easily customized.

    Clear Handmade cards

    Made from plastic or Pvc material, they are super easy to acquire. You can aquire those that appear in normal decoration forms of languages which have been extra unusual and, consequently, much harder to duplicate.

Qilma

  • Grief

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 3:13 pm by QQ
    All that grief  Back Into a tiny little box  Fetid smells,melting faces, kaleidoscope of broken memories Squeezed back, ‘Whoomph!’ A vaccuum of spotless non-thoughts

  • Painless Dreams

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 2:23 pm by QQ
    Painless dreams Soft release Sleepy clouds Heavy with pregnant silences

Intricately Me

  • What does a Graphic Style Job entail?

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 2:21 pm by Tonya

    One would must plan, analyze and produce visual solutions to communications troubles if they function in a Graphic Design job. ** In case you are effective in sending messages through print and electronic media with the use of color, sort, illustration, pictures and animation, as well as diverse print and layout methods then a you would do properly as a graphic designer. graphic design jobs
    ** ** They also produce promotional displays, packaging, and marketing and advertising brochures for merchandise and services, style distinctive logos for merchandise and businesses, and create signs and signage systems-called environmental graphics-for company and government. ** There’s a significant quantity of graphic designers who’re being trained to produce material for Internet Internet pages, interactive media and multimedia projects. ** Graphic designers also might produce the credits that appear ahead of and right after tv programs and movies. ** The initial feat inside the creation of a new style is always to contemplate the client demands, the message the new style will portray and how it will appeal to clients and users. ** A graphic designer job needs take into account cognitive, cultural, physical, and social elements in organizing and executing designs for the target audience. ** Designers collect relevant information by meeting with customers, creative or art directors, and by performing their own research. ** It could be challenging for a graphic designer to continuously create corporate communication methods while making designs and layouts if they do not identify the demands of the consumer. ** Graphic designers often use specialized computer computer software for certain projects. ** An assistant won’t total the style process on their own. ** Administrative duties, networking, handling company purchases and marketing and advertising are amongst the day to day responsibilities of a graphic designer who runs their own firm. ** Theres constant consideration by graphic designers to have present computer and communications equipment.
    graphic design jobs miami The atmosphere that 1 functions in while performing a Graphic Design Job.

    ** There are many variations in operating circumstances and locations of employment. ** Big advertising, publishing, or style firms provide a comfortable function atmosphere for their designers. graphic design jobs in iowa Graphic designers that select to freelance and function in little style consulting firms generally function on a contract per job basis. ** Graphic designers are accustomed to adjusting their schedule for the day to be able to assure that their customers are in a position to stick to their deadlines and schedules. ** Designers who’re self- employed or consultants generally function far more than a 40 hour function week and their function spaces are likely to be congested.

    ** Training, Extra Qualifications and Promotions for a Graphic Design Job.
    ** The requirement for a graphic designer is generally a bachelors degree. ** Creativity, communication, and problem-solving abilities are critical, as are a familiarity with computer graphics and style computer software.
    ** Training furthermore to education. ** You are going to not be hired for an advanced graphic style position with an associates degree. ** You cant get a Bachelors degree from a technical school. ** You may must take an further course in studio art as some curriculums do not contain this course. ** Even though it is not a requirement, further education in liberal arts along with style courses are extremely helpful for designers to function effectively. ** If a job candidate doesn’t have an associates degree and certifications in graphic style, it is not most likely that they will get a graphic style job. ** If a candidate doesn’t possess the essential technical abilities, they will not be hired as a graphic style assistant. ** Individuals who at present have a bachelors degree can total a graphic style program obtain the technical needs required to function as a graphic designer. **

    Extra abilities to obtain a graphic style job.

    ** Training in graphic style, creativity, communication and difficulty solving abilities are crucial but postsecondary training in graphic style is also essential. ** Graphic designers should be creative and in a position to communicate their suggestions visually, verbally, and in writing. ** Graphic designers have a keen eye for detail. ** The top way for a job seeker to let an employer see his or her function is by having a portfolio. ** Getting an excellent portfolio will probably be an enormous factor in who’s chosen to fill a position.

    ** Graphic Design Job Occupations.

    ** Graphic designers held about 286,100 jobs in 2008. ** Additionally to specialized style services, advertising and associated services, printing and associated support activities, the also do other jobs. ** A little quantity of designers produced computer graphics for computer systems style firms. ** Freelance work-full time or component time- is what some designers do while they’re employed in a salaried position or even a diverse occupation.
    ** Graphic Design Job Expectation.

    ** Average growth in employment is anticipated. ** Keen competition for jobs is expected; individuals with Website style and animation experience will have the very best opportunities. ** Job prospects.

    ** The competition is plentiful for graphic style positions. ** A significant quantity of people are considering a career in graphic style. ** Individuals with Website style and animation experience will have the very best opportunities. ** Applicants who could be a superb fit for positions creating communications methods are knowledgeable graphic designers with an education in liberal arts as well as experience in marketing and advertising and company management. ** Good luck inside your quest to land an excellent position in a graphic style job. **

  • Home Business : The actual Chameleon Benefits Once more

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 2:20 pm by Tonya

    For everyone who has made determination that they will be successful home based organization, they’ll must also accept adjust. By having an on the web company living becoming 100% dependent upon the marketplace so it assists, once the market alterations, the business must also change to remain strongly related the marketplace. Thus, if we fail to anticipate adjust, as well as adapt to this rapidly, we will never succeed in home-based business.

    I’m convinced that each and every one of you have come across one or more one that has attempted to deal with the problem from the computer age group. They has overall rejected to master how you can send out the e-mail, a lot less flip your personal computer in. If you haven’t experienced this kind of person, search with the authorized industry. There are several old style lawyers that have for you to report what they desire their particular e-mail to state in a mic, and still have their particular secretary sort as well as send out the e-mail. I not really know that the man or woman may let by themselves being so handicapped.

    Unlike the attorney at law resistant to adjust, an individual as a home-based business proprietor can’t make-believe as though engineering developments don’t occur. Should you so, somebody else is going to take fractional laser treatments, give you a far better services or products for the niche area that you just each share, as well as do something to make your market share, their particular market share. Thus, if you’re somebody who sometimes confronts challenges whenever adjust happens, you must examine the following.

    One. Well the first option is to disregard adjust, as well as keep doing what’s worked well during the past. I seriously don’t advise that one does this specific. Instead, what you need to have a look at is what causes what you do. Generally, your effectiveness against adjust is a result of a fear of fresh conditions. This particular dread is normally made from a problem that you will not be able to make on your own allowed to work efficiently in the fresh surroundings.invisible dog fence Selecting this choice is comparable to determining to let your online business fail.

    A couple of. Probably if you’re resistant to adjust, this specific up coming option is to suit your needs. Often when folks slowly carry out adjust, they can start to see the positive aspects which usually such adjust offers. Therefore, they are presented for you to sooner or later completely pay a fresh method of undertaking points.

    3. Another possibility could be the avenue that’s normally consumed from the weird as well as nervousness ridden person. I am certain you know one of them. These are the people who are continuously building a big problem from practically nothing, and turn into abnormally worried whenever confronted by new things. They concoct each and every probable hypothetical within their brains, as well as appear to never ever create a option. This type of technique doesn’t work while confronting modifications which usually address home-based business masters. I would suggest that these individuals become levy an accounting firm. No offense to your levy accountant around, because i price the services you receive.

    4. Very last, but most famously, is regarded as the optimistic plan of attack to the home-based business proprietor. This is a recognition which adjust is an unavoidable part of existence which will be accepted. People that take this method know that whenever we don’t expertise adjust, we don’t expertise optimistic evolution. Beneath Darwin’s idea, it does not take success from the fittest. People home based businesses which do not progress to mirror the stipulations from the surroundings can cease for you to is available.

Black Looks

kenyanmom.wordpress.com

  • We Dropped A Tooth

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 1:15 pm by carolkmail
    Technically, Junior did. You know how when a woman gets pregnant and the husband goes fist bumping all his pals, yelling ‘We Are Pregnant!!!’ while singing circumcision songs and dropping drinks? Yes, well, that’s how the WE in ‘We Dropped a Tooth’ is used here. Insider Information: When you bear offspring, you are always worried [...]

Freedom and choice

  • The two last stading sub saharan dictators

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 12:26 pm by njamba
    Paul Biya, Cameroonians must be the most docile Africans in sub saharan africa nothing seems to spark their need to get rid of the old Biya. Dictator Biya has been in power since 1982 making his reign to be one of the longest.  Here is a short biography of him http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-A-Ec/Biya-Paul.html Robert Mugabe aka Comrade [...]

mwangy.wordpress.com

  • Moving Camp

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 12:20 pm by mwangy
    Its been a nice ride with wordpress.com but alas man must live and growing up, sideways and laterally (are those the same?) is inevitable. The good folks at kenic and eacdirectory are offering free .me.ke domains and free hosting and yours truly got himself a nice little spot at markmwangi.me.ke Needless to say I graciously accepted

Blog.Mavuno

  • Bow Down

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 10:30 am by King'ori J. Maina
    We have come to the end of the year. Most of us are asking questions about the year’s achievements. “What do I take away from the year?” The answer to this question lies in what you set out to pursue at the start of the year. There are two pursuits that drive most of our [...]

Intricately Me

  • Where to find Your Malay Soulmate

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 6:58 am by Tonya

    With regards to relationship, there are tons of people who are one plus they are searching for a person who they will reveal their lifetime with along with perhaps get married start individual. Right now, there are tons of internet sites to choose from that you may make use of, but on the subject of a Mandarin chinese relationship, everything is quite different that in a number of the internet websites you wile have the ability to check out. Such as, on the subject of South korea relationship, the ladies are extremely much stunning plus they are faithful which is the reasons for any individual fast cash loans for bad credit The European girls absolutely are a tiny nuts explain to you usually desire prosperous people with a lot of houses and autos and body fat account. Indeed, because a saying as it may seem, it’s real and a shame.

    If you want to match a female which will be completely not the same as almost every other woman that you may match on almost every other internet websites, then the Mandarin chinese quick payday loan is the thing that you are looking at. They can be incredibly sincere individuals and they have evolved in to a community that places many increased truthfulness and customer loyalty. They’re not that troubled by the marketing such as the European girls are. They are fully aware exactly what the real beliefs in your life are and learn how to accurately enjoy them.

    If you want to know South korea single men and women, you have got to experience an consideration in one these site. The in order to register procedure is very much classy and it will take you just a couple of units. From then on, you’ll have usage of a lot of Mandarin chinese girls, practically have many likelihood of achieving that a person young lady which will adore payday loan realize how you are.

    Some internet websites will ask you for a compact 1 time rate, even though other internet websites will never ask you for something in return for. Just remember to can create a good report on this internet site that you will express oneself in depth, in order that if the Mandarin chinese girls will search for a man, they’ll be drawn to your report and enthusiastic about discovering more to do with you. Consequently, they will surely be able to makes use of the PM characteristic and call you.

    Don’t be concerned if you’re self conscious, for on the subject of Mandarin chinese girls, they are also self conscious and you will then surely be able to understand this about one and really feel more comfortable being aware of you are conversing with similar to a minded individual.

flightafrica.blogspot.com

  • Ethiopian Airlines to become the largest Airline in Africa by 2025

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 6:31 am by nero
    Ethiopian Airlines is one of the largest and most profitable carriers in Africa. It has 34 aircraft on order, including 10 B787-8s with a network of 56 international destinations and 17 codeshare partners.

    It's a Star Alliance member and in 2010 had an operating profit of ETB1.6 billion (USD92 million). Ethiopian has forged a successful path for its expansion plans and has come a long way since its beginnings as a joint venture between the Ethiopian Government and Trans World Airlines.

    The carrier has set an ambitious, but realistic, 15-year strategic plan that includes becoming the single largest airline in Africa. It intends to generate revenues of ETB171 billion (USD10 billion) per year, acquire a fleet of 70 aircraft and improve its Skytrax customer service ranking from three to four stars.

    If successful, the plan would make Ethiopian Airlines the largest and most profitable carrier in Africa.Ethiopian Airlines’ 15-year strategic plan
    Measure Current Goal
    Revenue USD1.6 billion p/a USD10 billion p/a
    In service fleet 47 70 “modern” aircraft
    SkyTrax Customer service rating 3 4
    Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and Ethiopian AirlinesThe largest on-order fleet in Africa, both passenger and freighterThe African launch customer for the B787-8 made its order in 2006 and originally planned to have the aircraft in service by Jun-2010 on the Guangzhou route. However, like many of Boeing’s B787 customers, the Dreamliner delays have left Ethiopian behind on expansion plans. The carrier currently has 36 aircraft on order, the most of any African carrier.

    In 2010, Ethiopian placed its largest order to date – 12 A350-900s, due for delivery between 2016 and 2019. The order was designed to give Boeing a wake-up call – implying that its long-time African operator was unhappy with the delays, and that it was prepared to look elsewhere for new aircraft. Despite the apparent threat, Ethiopian Airlines reaffirmed its Boeing order and is expecting its first B787-8 between 12-Mar-2012 and 15-Jun-2014, not Jan-2012 as originally thought. Ethiopian stated the new aircraft, both the B787-8s and the A350-900s, would be used to complement and replace its existing fleet, with the A350s to be deployed on services to the Far East and the Americas, and the B787-8s likely to replace B767s and B757s.
    Ethiopian’s freight network supports the country’s trade relationsA strong point in Ethiopian Airlines’ portfolio is its substantial freight operation, with a dedicated cargo fleet of five aircraft and four B777-200LRFs on order. Cargo and freight services accounted for 17% of its total 2010 revenue. The carrier serves more than 40 destinations in its freight network through dedicated freighters and belly space on passenger aircraft.

    Ethiopian Airlines’ dedicated freight networkSource: Ethiopian Airlines
    Ethiopia’s largest trade partners are the European Union, China, the US, Saudi Arabia and India. Ethiopian Airlines operates a dedicated cargo network to all those countries bar China and the US, although belly capacity, codeshare partners and sea links enable trade to these countries to remain strong. Ethiopia’s trade with other African countries is relatively weak, with Sudan, Tunisia and South Africa the only countries being a top 20 trading partner.

    Ethiopia’s major trade partners: 2010Source: IMF (DoTS)Ethiopian will give Star Alliance three main bases in AfricaEthiopian recently joined the Star Alliance, an event that coincided with the B787 Dream Tour of Ethiopia. Ethiopian, mentored by Lufthansa, joined fellow African Star Alliance members South African Airways and EgyptAir, as the alliance extends its coverage to all but the west and centre of the continent. In the lead-up to the approval, Ethiopian Airlines established codeshare agreements with several key Star Alliance members, the latest being Singapore Airlines, and the most important being founding members SAS and Lufthansa.

    Ethiopian Airlines’ codeshare partners: 2011
    Airline Since Region
    Air China Dec-2007 Asia Pacific
    Air India n/a Asia Pacific
    Air Nigeria n/a West Africa
    Asiana Airlines Mar-2003 Asia Pacific
    bmi Jul-2000 Europe
    Brussels Airlines Dec-2009 Europe
    Egypt Air Jul-2008 North Africa
    Gulf Air n/a Middle East
    Kuwait Airways n/a Middle East
    LAM n/a East Africa
    Lufthansa May-1997 F Europe
    RwandAir n/a Central Africa
    SAS May-1997 F Europe
    Saudi Arabian Airlines n/a Middle East
    Singapore Airlines 01-Apr-2000 Asia Pacific
    South African Airways Apr-2006 Southern Africa
    Turkish Airlines Apr-2008 Europe
    Bold= Non-Star Alliance member
    Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and Star Alliance
    Ethiopian’s entry into Star Alliance means the global airline group will have three main bases in Africa – Addis Ababa, Johannesburg and Cairo. Ethiopian hopes Star Alliance membership will significantly boost Addis Ababa International Airport’s role as a prominent African gateway, boosting revenues, reputation and presence.
    Most seats in Africa are unaligned, Star next bestSkyTeam occupies a relatively strong presence in Africa through Air France-KLM and Kenya Airways. Air France and KLM have each built networks on the continent based around their longstanding colonial linkages. While leading Star member Lufthansa does not have the same historical ties as Air France and KLM, it does have fellow alliance members in the north, south and now the east of the country. Star made a point of recruiting strategic partners that spread across the continent, to complement the more than 50% of Star members that operate to Africa.

    Africa seats capacity by alliance (before Ethiopian Airlines’ official joining of Star Alliance): 31-Oct-2011 to 06-Nov-2011Source: CAPA – Centre for AviationWithin Star, EgyptAir provides a most challenging partner for Ethiopian Airlines. Both EgyptAir and Ethiopian serve a handful of destinations in the Asia Pacific including Beijing, Guangzhou, Bangkok and Mumbai, aiming to feed in traffic from the African continent. Star will benefit from Ethiopian’s African network as it is more established than the Egyptian flag carrier, particularly in West Africa, while EgyptAir is much stronger in North Africa. Each carrier serves points in the Middle East – Kuwait, Bahrain, Riyadh, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Jeddah, Sana’a and Muscat – creating considerable overlap in Star’s Middle Eastern network and, again, in their respective goals for feeding beyond traffic from Africa.
    Limitations and benefits in Ethiopian’s networkEthiopian serves many of the mineral-rich African countries, offering valuable additions to Star’s network. These include the Democratic Republic of the Congo (gold and diamonds), Namibia (via codeshare – lead, zinc, diamonds), Botswana (diamonds) and South Africa (iron, oil). Ethiopian also serves fast growing African economies, such as Rwanda, Ghana, Angola, Kenya and Nigeria.

    A sub-region missing from Ethiopian’s network is northern Africa, where it offers service only to Cairo – already well covered by EgyptAir. Important gaps in its network include the oil- and iron-rich countries of Libya and Morocco in North Africa, each better covered by EgyptAir – which serves one destination each in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and two in Libya – with the natural advantage of serving multiple destinations within Egypt. But together Ethiopian and EgyptAir have Africa covered for Star.
    Ethiopian competes with Middle Eastern carriers on air link to ChinaEthiopian was the first foreign airline to operate into China more than 30 years ago. At that time a political link, it has proven a valuable and longstanding connection into the Asian powerhouse. Times have changed however; though Ethiopian may have been safe from competition 30 years ago, this is no longer the case and Middle Eastern carriers are rapidly expanding alternative links between the region’s oil- and mineral-rich countries and China. Eight Middle Eastern carriers now operate between China and the Middle East including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, El Al, Mahan Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Yemen Airways and Iran Air.
    Top 12 carriers operating between the Middle East and China
    by seats per week: 31-Oct-2011 to 06-Nov-2011Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation
    Only two airlines operate third and fourth freedom services between Eastern Africa and China – Ethiopian Airlines and Air Mauritius – offering approximately 9500 seats per week combined. Emirates, however, offers considerably more than 12,000 seats per week from Dubai to China, with numerous connections on to the Middle Kingdom, which is three times more than Ethiopian’s offering to China. Middle Eastern carriers provide a convenient, one-stop link between multiple points in both Africa and China that rivals the offering of many African carriers, with their multiple stops and limited capacity and frequency.

    The Gulf airlines are also achieving major capacity share on routes to Europe. While a similar number of airlines operate Middle East-China and East Africa-China, the importance lies in the number of seats on offer. Emirates, the second largest carrier to operate between Africa and Europe, offers more than 88,000 seats per week, while Air France, the largest carrier to operate between Europe and East Africa, offers just 7,000.
    Neighbouring Kenya Airways is a strong competitorDespite the competition coming from the northeast, Ethiopian Airlines’ most direct source of competition is found closer to home, by way of SkyTeam member Kenya Airways. Kenya’s flag carrier is another leading African carrier with aggressive expansion plans. The airline aims to serve “every African country by 2013” and is making steady progress towards that goal, including a rights issue scheduled for Nov-2011 designed to give the carrier a major cash injection. Kenya Airways’ operating profit surged in FY2011, up 73.9% from a dismal 2010 result, suggesting the carrier is back on track to achieve profitability. Kenya Airways is expected to report its 1H2011 financial results on 03-Nov-2011.

    Ethiopian Airlines v Kenya Airways: Nov-2011
    Ethiopian Airlines Kenya Airways
    Aircraft in service 47 36
    Aircraft on order 36 21
    B787-8s on order 10 9
    Dedicated cargo aircraft in service 5 0
    Dedicated cargo aircraft on order 2 1
    African destinations 32 45
    International destinations (Africa and beyond) 56 56
    Global airline alliance Expected Star Alliance SkyTeam
    Codeshare partners 17 14
    Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and InnovataEthiopian Airlines benefits from government protectionismOne significant factor that contributes to Ethiopian Airlines’ success is its major capacity share at Addis Ababa is due to the Ethiopian Government’s restrictions on foreign airline access. Ethiopian Airlines holds a near-monopoly on domestic routes, where it competes with just one other Ethiopian-registered carrier, Trans Nation Airways, which has one aircraft in service and none on order.

    Addis Ababa Bole Airport capacity, seats, per week by carrier: 31-Oct-2011 to 06-Nov-2011Source: CAPA – Centre for AviationEthiopia has proven one of the least LCC-friendly markets. Full service carriers account for no less than 99% of capacity at the airport, with flydubai the only LCC to operate into Ethiopia, operating a three-times weekly B737-800 service from Dubai.

    Ethiopia capacity share, seats, by carrier type: 31-Oct-2011 to 06-Nov-2011Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation
    Protective policies do little to help Addis Ababa’s aspirations to become a large hub, so its future remains inextricably linked to the flag carrier’s growth plans. The result is, paradoxically, to make Ethiopian more exposed to competition from the Gulf carriers’ services into Ethiopia and other African ports. As long as Ethiopian shoulders all of the hub development, so the airport’s attraction limits the flag carrier’s potential to on-carry traffic from other airlines.
    Outlook promising but expansion alone is not enoughEthiopian Airlines has been consistently profitable over the past four years and is likely to see future profitability as its expansion plans are rolled out. Freight, although sensitive to market fluctuations, remains a strong point. Ethiopian has experienced considerable success with its network and sees it as a future revenue generator.

    Liberalisation must surely spread across Africa, but Ethiopian – more than almost any other airline in the region – has the opportunity to restructure in time to meet the new challenges this brings. So long as it continues to expand rapidly, this revitalisation process will be made easier – provided it is addressed as a key priority. Expansion alone will not suffice.

    Background informationEthiopian Airlines’ Africa and Middle East route mapSource: Ethiopian Airlines
    EgyptAir’s Africa and Middle East route mapSource: Skyscanner
    Post courtesy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
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  • Star Alliance reaffirms position as strongest alliance in Africa with Ethiopian and potentially ASKY

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 5:46 am by nero
    Star Alliance has further cemented its position as the leading alliance in Africa after Ethiopian Airlines officially became a member on 13-Dec-2011. Ethiopian, which has been working on joining Star since being accepted as a new member in Sep-2010, becomes the third African carrier in Star following South African Airways (SAA) and EgyptAir. Ethiopian’s membership significantly boosts Star’s presence on the continent, adding 23 African destinations to the Star Alliance network. Four of the top five African carriers are now aligned, and three of these four are in Star.

    Overall the African continent remains largely unaligned. But Star is currently not looking to recruit another African carrier. Instead Star is looking forward to Ethiopian subsidiary ASKY later joining the alliance. Togo-based ASKY would improve Star’s connections in West Africa, the alliance’s weakest region within Africa. Ethiopian gives Star a stronghold in East Africa and Africa overall as Ethiopian has the largest African network among any African carrier, with 40 destinations. Star is already strong in southern Africa, where SAA is based, while EgyptAir is based in North Africa.

    With Ethiopian formally joining, Star's share of total capacity in Africa has increased by nearly 5 percentage points, from 22.1% to 26.8%. Star is by far the largest alliance in the region.

    SkyTeam now accounts for 9.6% capacity in Africa thanks largely to local member Kenya Airways as well as the African networks of Air France, KLM and Delta Air Lines. oneworld (including oneworld affiliates) has just 6.8% of the total capacity in Africa, making it the least represented of the three global alliances.

    oneworld is only represented locally in Africa by Comair, which operates a British Airways franchise in South Africa. Unaligned carriers still account for 56.8% of capacity in Africa, a high figure compared to other regions.

    The impact of Ethiopian’s Star membership is biggest in East Africa. Star has now taken over from SkyTeam as the largest alliance in East Africa, increasing its share of capacity from 5.7% to 28.7%. SkyTeam has 22.4% of the capacity in the region followed by oneworld, with only 1.5%.

    Africa: The Continent of the Future
    Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht said adding Ethiopian represents “a large step forward in completing our Africa strategy”. He said with three big hubs in Africa, Star has succeeded in its task to create an efficient travel system for all of Africa and “bring Africa to the world”.

    Star Alliance now has three main bases in Africa - Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (through SAA), Cairo International Airport (through EgyptAir) and Addis Ababa Bole Airport (the home of Ethiopian Airlines). The addition of Ethiopian and the Addis Ababa hub means Star carriers now serve Africa with over 750 daily flights to over 110 destinations in 48 countries.

    Mr Albrecht says offering a wider choice of flights to, from and within Africa than other alliances is particularly important because Africa is “a region of the world in which air travel is enjoying steady growth rates”. He called Africa “the continent of the future”.

    Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht said adding Ethiopian represents “a large step forward in completing our Africa strategy”. He said with three big hubs in Africa, Star has succeeded in its task to create an efficient travel system for all of Africa and “bring Africa to the world”.

    Star Alliance now has three main bases in Africa - Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (through SAA), Cairo International Airport (through EgyptAir) and Addis Ababa Bole Airport (the home of Ethiopian Airlines). The addition of Ethiopian and the Addis Ababa hub means Star carriers now serve Africa with over 750 daily flights to over 110 destinations in 48 countries.

    Mr Albrecht says offering a wider choice of flights to, from and within Africa than other alliances is particularly important because Africa is “a region of the world in which air travel is enjoying steady growth rates”. He called Africa “the continent of the future”.
    ASKY likely to join Ethiopian in StarSpeaking to CAPA after the 13-Dec-2011 joining ceremony in Addis Abba, Mr Albrecht says Star does not see a need to add a fourth African member. Instead the alliance’s recruitment efforts are now focused on Russia, India and China. Star is still not represented in Russia or India, two important growth markets. In China Mr Albrecht believes new members beyond Air China and incoming member Shenzhen Airlines would be beneficial.

    Mr Albrecht acknowledges Star is still relatively weak in West Africa but believes Ethiopian can fill this void. Ethiopian already serves several destinations in West Africa and has ambitious plans to grow ASKY, a Togo-based subsidiary which launched services at the beginning of last year. According to Innovata data, ASKY already serves 18 destinations, primarily in West Africa.

    Mr Albrecht, whose decade-long tenure as Star CEO ends later this week as he has already started a new job as CEO of Austrian Airlines, says the alliance has not yet considered adding ASKY as a member. But as ASKY grows adding Sky would “make sense”.

    Otherwise, West Africa lacks suitable candidates that meet Star’s standards. Mr Albrecht says Star was impressed with Ethiopian’s high standards, including its training and maintenance standards, and expects Ethiopian will bring those standards to West Africa with ASKY.
    Star to help Ethiopian pursue rapid and profitable growthEthiopian Airlines hopes its Star Alliance membership will significantly boost its hub’s role as a prominent African gateway, boosting revenues, reputation and presence.

    Speaking at Ethiopian’s joining ceremony, Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said joining Star is an important pillar to its 15-year business plan, known as Vision 2025. He says Star specifically will help Ethiopian implement its cost savings initiative and advance its multi-hub strategy in Africa, paving the way for “fast, profitable and sustainable growth”.

    Ethiopian is already one of the world’s fastest growing carriers and plans to pursue further rapid growth, driven partially by its membership in Star, over the next 14 years. Mr Gebremariam says by 2025 Ethiopian plans to generate revenues of USD10 billion, across seven business groups, and carry 18 million passengers. The carrier expects to have 120 aircraft in service by 2025 and a network of 90 international destinations.
    Ethiopian currently operates a fleet of 47 aircraft and a passenger network of 62 international destinations, including 40 within Africa. The 47 aircraft include six freighters which are used to operate dedicated freighter service to 24 destinations, including 15 in Africa. Ethiopian plans to continue to pursue rapid growth of its cargo business and is planning an expansion of its cargo terminal in Addis Abba. Ethiopian is also planning to expand its maintenance and training facilities as well as build a new headquarters over the next several years.
    Ethiopian needs to order about 60 additional aircraft to meet growth planAs Ethiopian only has 32 aircraft on firm order (include 12 A350s, 10 787s and eight 737-800s) and plans to replace about 20 of its current aircraft over the next decade, additional orders for approximately 60 aircraft are needed to meet its Vision 2025. As CAPA reported earlier this week, Ethiopian is now looking to exercise several options for 787s. Ethiopian will become Africa’s first 787 operator in 2Q2012 and will use the new type partially to expand its Asian network, where it sees huge opportunity for growth.
    See related article: Ethiopian eyes 787 service to Hong Kong and new Asian services as Africa-Asia market booms.

    While Ethiopian plans to add several new destinations, particularly in Africa and Asia, it will use Star partners to help expand its offline network. Ethiopian already codeshares with 17 carriers, 10 of which are also in Star – BMI, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, SAA, Turkish, Air China, Asiana, EgyptAir and SIA. Ethiopian plans to expand its codeshare partnerships with several of these carriers as well as implement new codeshares with some of the nearly 20 Star carriers it currently does not codeshare with.
    Star increases presence in Ethiopia by over 19 foldAddis Ababa is now served by only three other Star members - EgyptAir, Lufthansa and Turkish. By joining Star Alliance, Ethiopian has increased Star's capacity share in Ethiopia by over 19 fold, from 4.5% to 88.5%.
    The second largest alliance in Ethiopia is now SkyTeam (2.0%) although unaligned carriers make up the country’s second largest capacity share. The SkyTeam alliance is represented by Kenya Airways, who serves Addis Ababa with approximately 2,000 seats per week. oneworld does not have any service to Ethiopia.

    Ethiopia total capacity, seats share by alliance: before and after Ethiopian's Star membership Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and Innovata
    NB: Each alliance is not represented by the same colour in each graph.    Addis Ababa BoleAirport total capacity, seats share by alliance: before and after Ethiopian's Star membership Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and Innovata
    Ethiopian Airlines currently operates approximately 115,000 seats per week at Addis Ababa, accounting for 83% of total capacity at the airport. Emirates, the second largest carrier, offers just 7,220 seats per week.
    Addis Ababa Bole Airport capacity, seats per week, by carrier: 12-Dec-2011 to 18-Dec-2011Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and InnovataEthiopia has very low LCC penetration, with just 0.8% of total capacity being held by an LCC (in this case, FlyDubai). Liberalisation has always been a contentious issue across the African continent including in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines, because of its recent financial success and membershiop in Star, is in good position to meet any challenges future liberalisation may bring if the Ethiopian Government is willing to open Ethiopia’s sky to more international operators.

    Ethiopian Airlines’ network is a valuable addition to Star Alliance as it serves many of the mineral-rich African countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (gold and diamonds), Botswana (diamonds), South Africa (iron and oil), Namibia (via codeshare- lead, zinc, diamonds) and Angola (oil). It also serves Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria – some of Africa’s fastest growing economies.

    Ethiopian has a dedicated freight network like no other in Africa. Overall Ethiopian's African network is one of the most developed in Africa and is extremely valuable to Star, especially as air traffic on the continent is expected to increase in the years to come.

    Its network does however have some limitations. Ethiopian’s coverage of Northern Africa is weak, which, luckily for Star, is already well covered by EgyptAir.

    Important destinations missing from Ethiopian’s African network include Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. EgyptAir serves all these destinations but has a weaker East and West African network. Therefore the Ethiopian and EgyptAir networks are highly complimentery. There is only small amount of cross-over between Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir’s networks, with both carriers serving Dubai, Khartoum, Nairobi, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Lagos. Together, Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir have Africa covered for Star.

    Ethiopian Airlines African route mapSource: Ethiopian AirlinesBackground informationStar Alliance, the largest of the three major alliances, now has 28 members. This will grow to 30 in 2Q2012, when Copa and Avianca-TACA are added as new members. Shenzhen is slated to become Star's 31st member in late 2012.

    Global Alliances members
    Oneworld
    		 SkyTeam
    		 Star Alliance
    American Airlines
    British Airways
    Cathay Pacific
    Finnair
    Iberia
    Japan Airlines
    LAN
    Malev Hungarian Airlines
    Qantas
    Royal Jordanian
    S7 Airlines
    		 Aeroflot
    Aeromexico
    Air Europa
    Air France
    Alitalia
    China Airlines
    China Eastern Airlines
    China Southern Airlines
    CSA Czech Airlines
    Delta Air Lines
    Kenya Airways
    KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
    Korean Air
    Shanghai Airlines
    Tarom
    Vietnam Airlines
    		 Adria Airways
    Aegean Airlines
    Air Canada
    Air China
    Air New Zealand
    ANA
    Asiana Airlines
    Austrian Airlines
    Blue1
    bmi
    Brussels Airlines
    Continental Airlines
    Croatia Airlines
    EgyptAir
    Ethiopian Airlines
    LOT Polish Airlines
    Lufthansa
    Scandinavian Airlines
    Singapore Airlines
    South African Airways
    Spanair
    SWISS
    TAM Airlines
    TAP Portugal
    Thai Airways
    Turkish Airlines
    United Airlines
    US Airways
    Pending Members
    		    
    Air Berlin
    Kingfisher Airlines
    Malaysia Airlines
    		 Aerolineas Argentinas
    Garuda Indonesia
    Middle East Airlines
    Saudi Arabian Airlines
    Aerolineas Argentinas
    Xiamen Airlines
    		 Avianca-TACA
    Copa Airlines
    Shenzhen Airlines
    Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Star Alliance, SkyTeam and oneworld

    Article Courtesy: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation

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  • Ethiopian to use B787 Dreamliner in the Hong Kong and new Asian services as Africa-Asia market booms

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 5:29 am by nero
    Article Courtesy: Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation
    Ethiopian will become the first carrier in Africa and Europe to operate 787s when it takes the delivery of its first 787-8 in 2Q2012.

    Ethiopian Airlines will further strengthen itself in the nascent but rapidly growing Africa-Asia market by using its new Boeing 787 Dreamliners to open new routes – potentially in China, Malaysia and Singapore – reduce costs and align its overall fleet strategy to better serve existing Asian destinations. The geography of Ethiopian's hub in Addis Ababa allows the carrier to offer as efficient or more efficient connections than those through Middle East hubs. Ethiopian's African network is also unrivaled in the number of destinations served, and the booming times are seeing Ethiopian consider exercising 787 options and accelerating deliveries, slots permitting. Elsewhere in its route network, whose capacity is growing at 30% a year, Ethiopian next year will commence services to Toronto and in 2013 will increase capacity to Washington Dulles by deploying 777-300ERs.

    Ethiopian will become the first carrier in Africa and Europe to operate 787s when it takes the delivery of its first 787-8 in 2Q2012.The 787 last week made its African debut, with a demonstration aircraft in Addis Abba that coincided with a ceremony celebrating Ethiopian joining the Star Alliance.

    Ethiopian had planned to first deploy its 787 – most previously expected in Jan-2012 – to Guangzhou, as CAPA reported in Jun-2011. Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told CAPA yesterday that Guangzhou is still an option for the carrier’s first 787 but Ethiopian is also now looking at using its first 787 to serve Hong Kong. He says Ethiopian is also evaluating three potential Asian routes which could be launched with the 787: Chongqing in China, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Singapore.
    787 better suited to Hong Kong's lower demandGuangzhou may not end up receiving Ethiopian's 787 on a regular basis because demand is now so strong from Guangzhou a larger aircraft is needed. Guangzhou had been served daily via Bangkok with 767-300ERs and the intention was to upgrade the route to non-stop once the first 787 was delivered. But Mr Gebremariam said Ethiopian decided to instead upgrade Guangzhou in Oct-2011 to non-stop using the 777-200LR, which seats 321 in two classes. Ethiopian's 767-300ER typically seats 234 while its 787-8 will seat 270 (24 in business and 246 in economy), giving the 777-200LR a 50 seat advantage – as well as greater cargo capacity, critical on the route to Guangzhou, China's manufacturing heartland.

    Ethiopian has seen higher demand from mainland China than Hong Kong.Mr Gebremariam says Guangzhou is switching back this week to the 767 via Bangkok but says demand is generally sufficient to support the 777-200LR. While Guangzhou could still see the 787 instead of the 777-200LR during certain times of the year, Mr Gebremariam foresees the 787 used more regularly to Hong Kong because Ethiopian has seen higher demand from mainland China than Hong Kong.

    Ethiopian now serves Hong Kong with four weekly 767-300ER flights via Bangkok. Mr Gebremariam says these will be upgraded to non-stop, likely in 2Q2012, after the first 787 is delivered.
    Africa-East Asia routes currently operated or planned
    Carrier Destination(s)
    Air Austral Bangkok
    Air Mauritius Bangalore, Chennai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore
    Air Zimbabwe Beijing
    Cathay Pacific Johannesburg
    Ethiopian Beijing, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Mumbai, New Delhi
    Hainan Luanda
    Jet Airways Johannesburg
    Kenya Airways Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Mumbai
    Malaysia Airlines Cape Town, Johannesburg
    Singapore Airlines Cape Town, Johannesburg
    TAAG Angola Airlines Beijing
    Thai Airways Johannesburg
    South African Airways Beijing (planned), Hong Kong, Mumbai
    Source: CAPA - Centre for AviationFour 787s in 2012 with further orders likelyMr Gebremariam says Ethiopian is now slated to receive four 787s in 2012 with the first to be delivered in the April to June timeframe. Ethiopian currently has 10 787s on order. All are for the -8 variant with the last aircraft slated for delivery in 2014. Mr. Gebremariam says the carrier is interested in exercising options for additional 787s and accelerating its deliveries, although 787 production slots are tight. Ethiopian, which also has orders for 12 A350s and nine additional 737-800s, needs more aircraft to meet its 15-year business plan.
    Mr Gebremariam says the 787 will enable Ethiopian to open new destinations while lowering its operating cost. “It is a pillar of our Vision 2025 [business plan],” he says.

    Ethiopian is particularly bullish on using its 787s to expand in Asia although the type will also be used on some European routes, likely starting by the end of 2012. Ethiopian now serves three destinations in mainland China – Guangzhou, Beijing and Hangzhou – and is planning to add several Chinese cities as part of Vision 2025, likely starting with Chongqing. While new destinations in Southeast Asia and North Asia are also part of Vision 2025, China is particularly the focal point as traffic between China and Africa is expected to boom.
    Consideration of Asian hub in SingaporeEthiopian is particularly interested in Singapore. Mr Gebremariam acknowledges that Addis Ababa-Singapore is a small local market but sees potential for Singapore to become Ethiopian's Asian hub. Ethiopian Airlines and Singapore Airlines began a codeshare at the beginning of last month on the Addis Ababa-Dubai-Singapore route (with Ethiopian operating Addis Ababa-Dubai and Singapore operating Dubai-Singapore). This codeshare could potentially be expanded to include Singapore Airlines and SilkAir destinations in Southeast Asia as well as destinations in China, giving Ethiopian offline access to more of Asia.

    Singapore Changi is also keen to attract an East African carrier given the opportunities a Singapore-East Asia route could have in developing Singapore as a hub for broader Asia-Africa connections. Currently Changi only has one African carrier, Air Mauritius, and Singapore Airlines only serves one African country, South Africa, non-stop from Singapore (Cairo is served via Dubai). Rival hub Bangkok has been far more successful at developing African connections and has service from several African carriers including Ethiopian and Kenya Airways. While Ethiopian is also considering Kuala Lumpur, Singapore makes more sense as Singapore is a Star hub. Bangkok is also a Star hub but Ethiopian does not yet have a codeshare with Thai Airways.

    As CAPA reported in June of expected rapidly growing China-Africa links:
    China is a key market for the carrier as Ethiopian is ideally positioned geographically to tap into the fast growing China-Africa market. Ethiopian currently operates 26 weekly flights to four destinations in China, making it the largest carrier between China and Africa. It has already begun codesharing with Star member Air China.
    Over the past decade air traffic between Africa and Asia has doubled. Africa supplies China with one-third of its fuel needs as well as notable amounts (by value) of timber, copper and diamonds, with trade between Africa and China surpassing USD100 billion in 2010.

    Annual number of inter-continental seats to/from Africa: 1988-2010
    Source: AirbusOf all traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres to/from and within Asia-Pacific, Africa will have the highest annual growth rate at 8.4% through 2020, eclipsing the 7.5% of intra-Asia-Pacific traffic and 7.5% of Latin America-Asia-Pacific traffic, Airbus forecast in its 2011 market outlook.
    Average annual growth of traffic to, from and within Asia-Pacific: 2011-2020
    Source: AirbusAfrican travel will also eclipse the global average of traffic growth to/from and within Europe. RPKs from Africa will grow at 4.5% a year between 2011 and 2030, outpacing the 4.2% average, although Africa falls behind the Middle East, Russian Federation and Asia-Pacific.

    Average annual growth of traffic to, from and within Europe: 2011-2030
    Source: AirbusAfrica will account for the second-highest growth of traffic to/from and within North America, growing at 5.6% a year from 2011 to 2030.
    Average annual growth of traffic to, from and within North America: 2011-2030
    Source: AirbusWhile Africa's growth rates are high, the growth is based off currently low figures. Travel to/from/within Africa will be the single smallest region, representing just 3% of 2030's RPKs by Airbus estimates.
    Share of world air travel by RPKs: 2030 projection
    Source: AirbusAddis Ababa hubs provides strategic connectionsEthiopian's hub in Addis Ababa provides geographically convenient connections. On a sample routing from Shanghai to Johannesburg, transiting through Addis Ababa is only 21nm longer than transiting through Dubai.
    Route comparison: Shanghai to Johannesburg via Dubai and Addis Ababa
    Routing Distance (nm)
    Shanghai-Dubai 3488
    Dubai-Johannesburg 3450
    Total distance via Dubai 6938
    Shanghai-Addis Ababa 4773
    Addis Abab-Johannesburg 2187
    Total distance via Addis Ababa 6960
    Source: Greater Circle Mapper
    A routing from Guangzhou to Entebbe (Kampala) is 162nm shorter through Addis than Dubai.
    Route comparison: Guangzhou to Entebbe via Dubai and Addis Ababa
    Routing Distance (nm)
    Guangzhou-Dubai 3152
    Dubai-Entebbe 2010
    Total distance via Dubai 5162
    Guangzhou-Addis Ababa 4345
    Addis Abab-Entebbe 655
    Total distance via Addis Ababa 5000
    Source: Greater Circle MapperWhile intermediate point connection distances matter (as well as connection flight timing, which Emirates excels at with three departure banks) so too do the destinations served on the other end. Ethiopian serves 40 points in Africa compared to Kenya Airways' 44, Emirates' 21, Qatar's 14 and Etihad's 11. South African Airways, although not as strong a competitor for Asia-Africa services, has flights to 31 destinations in Africa.
    Beijing a borderline route for Ethiopian after 787 performance shortfallBoeing sees the 787 as a vehicle to increase connectivity between China and Africa. Kenya Airways, which is one of four African customers for the 787 (the others are Arik Air and Royal Air Maroc), is also well positioned to tap in the booming China-Africa market.

    Boeing sales director for Africa Rob Faye told CAPA following a press briefing yesterday in Addis Abba that the 787 in Africa will be used more for route development than replacing existing aircraft, pointing out that Ethiopian and Kenya are both planning to double their overall fleets over the next 10 years. The 787 demonstrator will be stopping in Kenya later this week as part of its multi-month world tour.

    The 787 is geared as a 767 replacement, and Ethiopian's order of 10 787s corresponds to replacements for its 10 767-300s, but its comments to obtain additional frames support route growth. Likewise Kenya Airways has 5 767-300s in service and 9 787s on order.

    “Africa is going to grow. Aviation is the catalyst to growth,” Mr Faye says, adding that without connectivity economic growth is limited.

    Ethiopian is now unable to use its 767s to serve China non-stop because of the takeoff restrictions at Addis Abba, which has an altitude of over 7000ft. Hangzhou is served via Delhi and is another likely non-stop route for the 787. Ethiopian also previously served Beijing via Delhi but was able to upgrade its daily Beijing service to non-stop in May-2011 after taking delivery of its second batch of 777-200LRs.

    Mr. Gebremariam says Ethiopian plans to continue using 777-200LRs on the Addis Abba-Beijing route rather than switch to 787s as he expects the carrier would have some payload limitations with the 787 to Beijing. Mr Gebremariam says Ethiopian would likely have to leave a few seats empty flying the 787 out of Addis Abba for Beijing and would also be restricted in carrying belly cargo.

    Boeing, however, claims the 787-8 has the range to reach Beijing from Addis Abba, factoring in Addis Abba’s high altitude and normal 242-seat configuration. Ethiopian plans to operate its 787-8s with 246 seats in two-class configuration.

    Even if Beijing ends up being a borderline route for operating the 787-8 with full payload, all of Ethiopian’s other Asian routes and all its European routes are safely within range with full payload. As a result, Mr Gebremariam does not seem to upset with the aircraft coming in with less range than originally expected.
    ...the range difference between the expected and actual range is very small...Mr Gebrermariam says the range difference between the expected and actual range is very small with Beijing the only affected current route. He says Korea and Japan are also now out of range but while Korea and Japan are potential routes in the carrier's long-term business plan they are currently not high priorities.

    Ethiopian originally intended to use its 787s to serve the US via Europe but later decided to order five 777-200LRs to help offset the impact of the delivery delays on the 787. The first batch of two 777-200LR were delivered at the end of last year and used to upgrade Washington Dulles, which is now served non-stop on the eastbound leg. The last three 777-200LRs from Ethiopian’s order were delivered this year and used to upgrade Beijing and Guangzhou. Ethiopian also uses the 777-200LR on one of its two daily Dubai flights.
    Preliminary changes to Ethiopian Airlines long-haul route network
    Route Status Equipment Remarks
    Chongqing Under consideration 787-8
    Europe, general Active
    Future    		 767-300ER
    787-8
    Guangzhou Active 777-200LR alternating with 767-300ER 787 may replace 767 during select times
    Hong Kong Active
    Future    		 767-300ER via Bangkok
    787 direct service    		 Likely first 787 destination
    Kuala Lumpur Under consideration 787-8
    Singapore Under consideration 787-8
    Toronto Future 777-200LR
    Washington Dullles Active
    Future    		 777-200LR
    777-300ER
    Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation with airline reportsToronto to be launched in 2012Ethiopian was planning to begin flights this quarter to Toronto with 777-200LRs but postponed the launch of the new route. Mr Gebrermariam says Toronto is now planned to be launched in summer 2012 with two or three weekly 777-200LR flights. Like Washington DC, Toronto will be served non-stop on the eastbound leg but will stop in Rome going west.

    Ethiopian is continuing to study other potential new destinations in North America. But for now the carrier plans to focus on Washington Dulles and Toronto. Both are Star Alliance hubs which will help Ethiopian connect with the rest of North America.

    Ethiopian does not plan to acquire additional 777-200LRs but Mr Gebrermariam says the carrier has committed to acquiring two 777-300ERs for delivery in 2013. He says the intention is to use the 777-300ERs to up-gauge the Washington Dulles route.

    The 777-300ER has the range to be able to operate non-stop from Dulles to Addis Abba. Westbound a fuel stop will still be required but this is no disadvantage to the longer-range 777-200LR, which also needs a stop going west because of Addis Abba’s high altitude. Mr Gebrermariam says Ethiopian will keep its 777-200LRs even as the Dulles route switches over to 777-300ERs as it still has routes which are too thin for 777-300ERs and are too long for the 787.

    Overall Ethiopian is a flexible carrier and will likely change multiple times its deployment of aircraft. The main focus is rapid growth and to secure as many modern widebodies as possible.

    Mr Gebrermariam laments the 787s are still not coming fast enough, forcing the carrier to stick with some of its ageing 767-300ERs for longer than it wishes. He says Ethiopian this month returned one of its 767-300ERs, which leaves it with 10 of the type. But he said Ethiopian is unable to phase out any of its 767s in 2012 as it aims to continue growing capacity at a clip of 30% per year.

    Ethiopian, however, is phasing out three of its seven 757s in 1H2012. Mr Gebrermariam says the 757s will be replaced by a mix of additional 737s, 787s and 767s. Ethiopian is not increasing its 767 fleet but some 767s will be freed up to replace 757s on routes to Europe and within Africa as 787s replace 767s on Asian routes.


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Intricately Me

  • Are You Going To You Placement Your Hard Earned Cash

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 5:00 am by Tonya

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Christian Stress Management

  • How to Fight Opposition with Bible Verses

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 4:43 am by Dr. Miriam Kinai


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    Regardless of whether your true enemies or false friends are opposing your efforts as you try to improve your finances, family or firm, you have to combine spiritual, mental and physical interventions to form your own holistic deliverance ministry and fight all those people and powers opposing you.
    The first spiritual step is to pray. Learn from Nehemiah who faced stiff opposition as he was leading the rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem for When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, they became very angry and conspired to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 
    Nevertheless, Nehemiah says, We made our prayer to God. (Nehemiah 4)
    Therefore, if you are facing opposition as you try to rebuild your marriage, ministry, career or whatever had been destroyed in your life, the first thing that you must do is to pray and ask God to help you.
    As you pray, use Scriptures since Bible verses are the foundation of any deliverance ministry and Christian spiritual warfare because the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit that God has given us to fight with. (Ephesians 6:17) Therefore, we will call the Scriptures that we will use to fight opposition SWORD WORDS.
    SWORD WORDS that you can use as personal deliverance prayers to fight opposition include: 1. Oppose those who oppose me, O Lord my God. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and armor and stand up for my help. (Psalm 35:1-2)
    In addition to praying for yourself, ask your Pastor to pray for you and attend Deliverance services offline and watch them online so that you can learn different spiritual warfare prayers and receive deliverance from your opposition.
    After praying, put on the helmet of salvation since it is one of the weapons of our warfare being part of the armor of God that we need to put on to fight our spiritual battles. (Ephesians 6:14-17)
    All you need to put on this helmet of salvation is to say with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead when He died for our sins and you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
    The next step is the mental one of removing all negative thoughts from your mind. Learn from Nehemiah who advised his builders to remove fearful thought about their enemies from their mind by reminding themselves of God’s power for he said, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord God, great and awesome. (Nehemiah 4:14)
    Therefore, do not think about or meditate on how powerful and dangerous your opposers are. Instead think about or meditate on how great and powerful God is so that you can Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. (Ephesians 4:23) To do this, set specific meditation session during the day when you can meditate on the following spiritual warfare scriptures:1. That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp. (2 Kings 19:35)
    2. During the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and let them out. (Acts 5:19)
    3. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord God will lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19)
    In addition to this, understand that you must combine your confidence in God’s ability to help you out (God confidence) with confidence in your ability to do your part (self confidence). Learn from the Israelites because they were initially unable to face their opposers and conquer their promised land because they lacked healthy self confidence for they said of themselves when they saw their opposers, We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes. (Numbers 13:33)

    Get your copy of How to Fight Opposition with Bible Verses today and read the entire text 





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    Christian Stress Management
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The Gitts Zone

  • 18. Do not put all your eggs in one basket

    Posted: December 18, 2011, 4:00 am by Gituma Nturibi
    Now this is one concept I have come to have close knowledge of in my short life. It is wise to think of eventualities and cover your risk because if the plan of action you have chosen fails to go as planned it's best to have something to fall back on. It really hits you when the worst that could have happened does and it finds you unprepared. Tough lesson to learn but all the wiser...

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes

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