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Category: Life

WE AS AFRICANS ARE THE SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEMS

Posted on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 11:37 AM

Sometimes I can’t stop wondering whether is it Africa as a continent that is cursed or is it the color of our skin that is cursed? Africa, unlike the rest of the world has had it fair share of troubles. Almost all countries in Africa are classified as third world countries while countries such as south Africa, despite it been associated as a second world, reality on the ground is, that the poorest people in that country are the blacks.

Almost all the countries in Africa have in one way or another been ruled by a dictator. People who, at no one point have the interests of the people whom they lead at heart. Africa unlike other nations, in this 21^stcentury people are still dying of hunger, curable diseases, ethnic wars and ignorance.

And let me not start talking about historical injustices that happened to Africans such as the slave trades and the arrival of the colonialists.

But unlike other countries in the world, in terms of resources, Africa is the richest of all. From best timbers from the equatorial rain forests, to the “blood” diamonds of Liberia, to tea and coffee from Kenya, to gold from south Africa, oil from Nigeria and Angola and its rich wild life and extensive popular coastal beaches, magnificent scenarios such as the great rift valley and the diverse cultural practices by the many communities in Africa.

My questions are;

why is it that we Africans, despite been blessed as we know we are, we still remain as the poorest continent in the world?

Our problems; are they dictated by the western nations? The middle-east nations or the Far East nations?

Why is it that we as Africans find it hard to solve our own problems for good without necessarily inviting other foreigners with their foreign ideas that most of the time don’t to help us solve our own issues?

After much research have come to accept the fact that we, as a people are to blame for some of the problems that we go through.

We are the ones who accept bribes to vote in leaders who lack the vision and wisdom to guide us in the right path, it is us who are quick to allow ourselves to be divided in our ethnic, social, regional gender, religious and age classes by leaders who are only after their own selfish gains.

It is us who take up arms against our neighbours just because we are not for the same political opinions and ideas.

It is us who have done away with our traditional foods for GMOs.

It is us who have done away with our traditional names for foreign names some of which we name our children yet we do not know their real meanings.

It is us who are so quick to do away with some of our morally correct cultural practices for foreign cultural practices that add no value to ourselves and in some cases are more damaging to us.

The solutions to our problems will not arrive from a convention in the UN headquarters but from us within. It is high time, as Africans we change the way we think, the way we talk, the way we dress, what we eat, the leaders we have and the way we conduct ourselves and our daily business affairs.

Let us learn how to appreciate and tolerate one another despite the many different social, ethnic and religious backgrounds that we come from and just may be we will be able to achieve the dreams and visions of the continent.

Failure to do this, then some of the problems we go through will continue to persist.

Muthomi M’muuna Nkari

Hurricane Sandy and Everything You Need to Know

by simon

Posted on Saturday, November 03, 2012 09:35 PM

I read some comment on the web by a Kenyan that, 'It takes an hurricane to bring power down in New York, but in Nairobi, a 3 hour rain storm is all the push our Mains Electricity needs'. Now that is of course true IN SOME of our NEIGHBOURHOODS.

Back to hurricane Sandy, the monster storm hit the east coast of the United States towards the end of October 2012 paralising activities in New York city, the world's Commercial hub and affecting at least 24 states in the US and taking the lives of at least 20 people. Was is not for the early warning systems in place in the continent, this would have gone down as the world's worst disaster of all times, probably. But what is technlogy for as I have always asked here >> A Technology Driven Future?.

How was it detected? The storm began as a tropical cyclone on October the 22^nd and was picked up by the Government of Jamaica who gave a directive to watch it closely in the entire island. On October 23^rd, it was developing quickly and the watch was replaced with the warning for a storm with a hurricane watch issued. The same day, the hurricane watch was replaced again with a hurricane warning. At the same time, the Government of Haiti issued similar warnings on its own land and so did Cuba, Bahamas and of course the US.

Long story shot, by monitorying the winds hitting the coasts and their patterns in the ocean, a hurricane was declared and preparations made to save as many lives as possible.

My only question is, do we have the capacity to observe our daily weather patterns and detect similar events? I mean this was the biggest hurricane in recorded history on the Atlantic, how many can survive that if it occured on our own coasts?

How To Find Out If Your Handset is Genuine, Before CCK Finds You

by simon

Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2012 09:36 AM

For the Kenyans out there wondering if they should replace their phones before the 30th September deadline, dont do it unless your phone's model is NOBIA or Samsvng, even then at least confirm with the CCK service, which is free by the way. I just confirmed that my 3 SIM Techno Trinity which I bought for a 'whooping' 5k and has 3 IMEI numbers is actually a genuine handset Manaufactured by Techno Trinity (Shenzhen) Co LTD. That is to say not every chinese manufactured phone is a counterfeit.

To find out if your handset is genuine;

1. Dial *#06# to establish your handset’s IMEI. Copy the 15-digit number displayed on your screen.

2. Type the 15-digt number (IMEI) and SMS it to 1555. Once is enough to verify, otherwise you will be charged normal SMS rates if you send the fourth time.

3. If the IMEI is found in the GSMA database, you will receive a confirmation message showing the brand name, model number and manufacturer's name. If the number is different or not found in the GSMA database, then your mobile phone is not genuine.

Eastleigh and Eastleighs to be

by wanderikinyanjui

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 06:17 PM

Today was my first day in Eastleigh! Do not even think that I came to Nairobi the other day. I have been in this city for a long time. I can tell you that Eastleigh is a unique trading center in Kenya. This where money flows literally. This is the reason why banks have recently rushed to pitch tents there.

However, the roads are very pathetic. I do not understand why an economic hub like this has poor infrastructure. Do these people really remit taxes?

Now to my point: It is astonishing that over 76% of shop owners and attendants neither speak nor understand Kiswahili. So where did they come from? The only people who do are the cart-pullers, beggars, hawkers and buyers. I thought that Swahili as a subject has been mandatory in both primary and secondary level. Please correct me if not true.

I am being told that this model is about to be replicated in other town centers. If you know any such center, please let us know in advance.

Kenyan VS Ethiopian Runners

by simon

Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2012 12:26 AM

Generally speaking, Kenyans lean farther forward (something you can do without falling over if you have a short torso and long legs), slide their skulls forward on their atlas vertebrae, and use more rotation in the thorax.

Ethiopians retract their heads somewhat, run a little more upright with the chest almost pushed forward, and use less rotation (a necessity because retracting the head stiffens the spine so it can't rotate as much).

The Kenyan style is a bit more economical, the Ethiopian a bit more powerful, so when they race they are using somewhat different strategies.

Why Do People Hate The Jews?

by simon

Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 11:13 PM

Why has anti-Semitism been so pervasive in so many countries, in so many time periods and for so many reasons? (One begins to wonder. Perhaps there is something wrong with the Jews and Judaism? After all, there is an old Yiddish saying -- "If one person calls you a donkey, ignore him; if two people call you a donkey, buy a saddle.")

Between the years 250 CE and 1948 CE - a period of 1,700 years - Jews have experienced more than eighty expulsions from various countries in Europe - an average of nearly one expulsion every twenty-one years. Jews were expelled from England, France, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Bohemia, Moravia and seventy-one other countries. Historians have classified six explanations as to why people hate the Jews:

Economic -- "We hate Jews because they possess too much wealth and power (Jews are the richest religious group in the US and in the world of course, Mark Zuckerbag and Sergin Brin, Facebook and Google founders are Jews)."
Chosen People -- "We hate Jews because they arrogantly claim that they are the chosen people."
Scapegoat -- "Jews are a convenient group to single out and blame for our troubles."
Deicide -- "We hate Jews because they killed Jesus."
Outsiders, -- "We hate Jews because they are different than us." (The dislike of the unlike.)
Racial Theory -- "We hate Jews because they are an inferior race."

As we examine the explanations, we must ask -- Are they the causes for anti-Semitism or excuses for Anti-Semitism? The difference? If one takes away the cause, then anti-Semitism should no longer exist. If one can show a contradiction to the explanation, it demonstrates that the "cause" is not a reason, it is just an excuse. Let's look at some contradictions:

Economic -- The Jews of 17th- 20th century Poland and Russia were dirt poor, had no influence and yet they were hated.

Chosen People -- a) In the late 19th century, the Jews of Germany denied "Choseness." And then they worked on assimilation. Yet, the holocaust started there. b) Christians and Moslems profess to being the "Chosen people," yet, the world and the anti-Semites tolerate them.

Scapegoat -- Any group must already be hated to be an effective scapegoat. The Scapegoat Theory does not then cause anti-Semitism. Rather, anti-Semitism is what makes the Jews a convenient scapegoat target. Hitler's ranting and ravings would not be taken seriously if he said, "It's the bicycle riders and the midgets who are destroying our society."

Deicide -- a) the Christian Bible says the Romans killed Jesus, though Jews are mentioned as accomplices (claims that Jews killed Jesus came several hundred years later). How come the accomplices are persecuted and there isn't an anti-Roman movement through history? b) Jesus himself said, "Forgive them [i.e., the Jews], for they know not what they do." The Second Vatican Council in 1963 officially exonerated the Jews as the killers of Jesus. Neither statement of Christian belief lessened anti-Semitism.

Outsiders -- With the Enlightenment in the late 18th century, many Jews rushed to assimilate. Anti-Semitism should have stopped. Instead, for example, with the Nazis came the cry, in essence: "We hate you, not because you're different, but because you're trying to become like us! We cannot allow you to infect the Aryan race with your inferior genes."

Racial Theory -- The overriding problem with this theory is that it is self-contradictory: Jews are not a race. Anyone can become a Jew - and members of every race, creed and color in the world have done so at one time or another.

Adopted from: http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Why_Do_People_Hate_The_Jews.htm

Ethnic Division Peaks as 2012 Elections Approach

by info

Posted on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 01:36 AM

If the hate between Kenyans on social media websites; facebook and twitter is anything to go by, then Kenyans are now more divided than ever before.

This calls for us Kenyans to urgently reconsider why we visit the sites in the first place, to make hate and enemies or to make and keep friends and networks.

This comes as reports from reliable sources indicate tribalism is up and running in all parastatals and indeed the whole of the public sector.

Whenever News Media post updates on facebook that especially mention Raila, or anything related to him and his core supporters, Luo Nyanza, 'tribally charged' comments flow in hundreds, sometimes thousands. It happened after the news of 'alleged death of 2 AFC leopard fans' and ethnic division and hate was evident in most of the comments and Raila's name was thrown in to the storm. Other news that caused stirs online include CJ MUTUNGA censures Raila for remarks on court's decision on election date and Raila maintains Uhuru, Ruto must prove their innocence at The Hague.

Lets stick together

Well, my urge to my fellow Kenyans, don't take politics and politicians too seriously, because in one way or another you will get annoyed and disappointed if you do. Why dont you just go online and make friends from accross all corners of the country, remember the saying that people are not mountains, they meet again from time to time, you never know when you will need that Raila fan or hater, and plz remember its your right to harbour political opinions, as strong as they come, but for the good of the country, think twice before you air them, especially think about your target audience. Its exciting to piss of opponents, I know the feeling, but when the repurcusions at stake are 2007-like, stop and think again, and remember you have a legal political whip, the voters card.

And to the news Media

I know its fun to create, write or announce something that thousands of people react to, it makes you feel powerful and indeed you are, but plz don't deliberately fuel tribalism, you remember 2007, it could be worse in 2012 if this goes on. A time will come when journalists will hesitate to post content, and think about the overall effect on the good of this country.

Sleep Latency

by simon

Posted on Friday, March 16, 2012 02:39 AM

Exactly how long does it take you to fall asleep? Dr. William C. Dement in his book, The Promise of Sleep (1999), describes one way to measure the time it takes to fall asleep. Write down the time you get into bed. When you are in bed trying to get to sleep, hold a metal spoon over a plate on the floor. When you fall asleep, your muscles will relax and the spoon will fall out of your hand. The noise of the spoon hitting the plate should wake you up. Write down the time you woke up. The difference between the time you got into bed and time you woke up is your sleep latency.

The Rocket Launch Site in Kenya Which Kenyans Don't Know About

by info

Posted on Monday, March 05, 2012 11:02 PM

This will come as a surprise to most Kenyans, there is a spaceport near Malindi, Kenya, by the name Luigi Broglio Space Centre (BSC). The centre comprises a main offshore launch site, known as the San Marco platform (pictured below, San Marco is Italian for St. Mark), as well as two secondary control platforms and a communications ground station on the mainland.

The San Marco platform was a former oil platform, located to the north of Cape Ras Ngomeni on the coastal sublittoral of Kenya, close to the equator (which is an energetically favourable location for rocket launches). Launches from the platform were controlled from the Santa Rita platform, a second former oil platform located southeast of the San Marco platform, and a smaller Santa Rita II housed the facility's radar. A ground station located on the cape forms the centre's primary telemetry site.

The launch team, trained by NASA, was to first launch a rocket from Wallops Island under NASA supervision and first launch successfully took off on 16 December 1964. The San Marco project was focused on the launching of scientific satellites by Scout rockets from a mobile rigid platform located close to the equator. This station, composed of 3 oil platforms and two logistical support boats, was installed off the Kenya coast, close to the town of Malindi.

The program schedule included three phases:

Suborbital launches from Wallops Island and the equatorial platform,
Orbital launch of an experimental satellite from Wallops Island,
Orbital launches from the equatorial platform.

The San Marco launch platform complex was in use from March 1964 to March 1988, with a total of 27 launches, primarilysounding rockets including the Nike Apache, Nike Tomahawk, Arcas and Black Brant launchers. Low payload weight orbital launches were also made, using the solid-propellant Scout rocket (in its B, D and G subvariants). The first satellite specifically for X-ray astronomy, Uhuru (pictured below), was launched from San Marco on a Scout B rocket on 12 December 1970.

Uhuru was the first satellite launched specifically for the purpose of X-ray astronomy. It performed the first comprehensive survey of the entire sky for X-ray sources. Uhuru achieved several outstanding scientific advances.

Why English is a Confused Language and Swahili is not

by simon

Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2012 10:01 AM

Let's face it
English is a confused language.
There is no egg in the eggplant
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
French fries were not invented in France.

We sometimes take English for granted
But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Boxing rings are square
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If writers write, how come fingers don't finge.
If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught.

If a vegetarian eats vegetables
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out
And a bell is only heard once it goes!

English was invented by people, not computers
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all)

That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts
But when I wind up this observation,
It ends.

Madtraxx - Get down

by simon

Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 10:32 PM

You can embed Youtube videos on tuwakenya in a click!

Louis, WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO HER?

by info

Posted on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 02:37 PM

You remember Louis Otieno, the formely high flying media personality in Kenya who seems to have disappeared from our screens. His decline started when he joined Citizen TV, after getting poached from KTN, lets admit he had became a diva!

His decline started when he joined Citizen TV, after getting poached from KTN, lets admit he had became a diva!

Initially he was doing one show a week, his lifestyle was big; he flashed gold bracelets and expensive shoes. And although he had a wife and Kids, he chose another woman over them, a woman who was a few years older than him, because she could pay it all; his family was at one point evicted from their house as he rolled around Nairobi in his VX and his new catch.

Eventually they broke up, Louis was fired from Citizen and moved to K24 where he also did not last, then he met a new young girl, a girl who had access to money. He changed his VX for a Range Rover sport and the lady continued to borrow and take loans to keep them a float. He was preying on her for what she was worth.

Early 2012 come, the lady's health is deteriorating, plus the stress from the people she owes money is becoming too much for her to bear. She quits her job and joins Loius in questionable business. She did NOT recover a penny from Loius and when she exhausted all avenues of getting money, he went silent. He stopped picking up her calls, he wanted nothing to do with her.

The lady was broken, she celebrated her 26th birthday on 9th Feb 2012, and she wrote on her diary that this was her last birthday. On that Sunday, when she went to see her parents, she gave the whole story and even gave receipts to some of the payments she’d made for him including hospital bills, in total she owed him over 10 Million shillings.

She is NO LONGER with us, several conflicting reasons are being floated about how the young lady died. Sections of her family say she killed herself, others says she got into a diabetic coma and passed away. But all in all, we ask, Louis, WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO HER?

Nairobi is a beautiful city

by info

Posted on Monday, February 20, 2012 12:09 AM

A city does not need sky high building to look beautiful, it needs friendly weather, friendly people and and of course adequate security and ammenities. I have confidence NRB is not an easy one to beat.

Is this what people do on chat?

by info

Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 11:43 PM

Tuwakenya recently captured a user paroding us on a local chat engine. See the screenshot below.

The big questions remain, can we trust people on chat today? can we tell they male or female, location, age and of course if they are who they claim to be?

Why does water look bluish?

by info

Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 03:09 AM

I have asked myself again and again and finally there is an answer.

Water owes its intrinsic blueness to selective absorption in the red part of its visible spectrum. The absorbed photons promote transitions to high overtone and combination states of the nuclear motions of the molecule, i.e. to highly excited vibrations. To our knowledge the intrinsic blueness of water is the only example from nature in which color originates from vibrational transitions. Other materials owe their colors to the interaction of visible light with the electrons of the substances. Their colors may originate from resonant interactions between photons and matter such as absorption, emission, and selective reflection or from non-resonant processes such as Rayleigh scattering, interference, diffraction, or refraction, but in each case, the photons interact primarily or exclusively with electrons.