David Ogutu's Blog

2012-01-24T00:24:00.001-05:00

A great light

2011-08-29T14:21:00.001-04:00

The people that walketh in darkness have seen a great light. Upon them has the light shineth.

~Messiah, Handel

A prodigal son (The prodigal son)

2011-06-17T21:14:00.003-04:00

I was sad and deep in sorrow when I heard the words of the preacher,

"I am just a sinner saved by grace."

I searched into the innermost parts of my soul and discovered the seed of my sadness,

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed"

What had I done once again?

Why does the child cry for the razor or run towards the fire?

He is saved and carried away but returns when his feet touch the ground.

I remembered the words of the chorister as he led the church in unison,

"Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus came to die for me"

If he be the chief of sinners, I must be the chief among chiefs.

Hoping to veil my sins and to make my sins naught before my eyes,

So said the devil through the lips of my faithful friend,

"Worry not David, you should not count yourself a sinner, you are good."

Away from me devil! Run faster than the prey before the predator,

Arise and flee from my soul and my thoughts father of lies, arise I say, Arise!

My spirit was weak but the Lord spoke,

"I gave my only begotten son, whosoever believes shall be saved and have life everlasting"

I dropped myself and bent the knee,

To call upon my savior sweet,

That he may come and set me free,

From sin and lust and all my guilt.

But satan knowing that his time was up,

To bind me in his chains and den,

Turned around spoke before my Lord,

"He is mine for he has sinned"

He made me think my sin was just too great,

To bring before my savior sweet,

I was unworthy, yes I was,

And he would never accept me as his own.

The Lord is faithful, the Lord is kind,

With truth he set me free,

For Lo! He had already paid the price,

For a sinner just like me;

A lost coin among the hundred,

A prodigal son.

The decline of last.fm

2011-06-03T14:00:00.002-04:00

I really don't like to be among those that speak of the end and death of services so loved and cherished nor am I among those that seek to find fame in speaking of the doom and destruction of others (let alone companies (let alone those I love)) but I am forced to speak of the decline and possibly end of last.fm.

Last.fm is an excellent service and they have an awesome api too (for us developers). Everything about them is awesome except the fact that they are now going to start charging customers for playing on mobile devices. Now, I do understand their frustration and their inability to make money from the current model but charging customers is not a solution whatsoever. Did it not wipe out its competition by exploiting on this and giving free and commercial-free music to its users?

Is my explanation this simple? Why, yes. I was an avid last.fm listener... until last week when I received an email telling me that my month of trying out their mobile service was over. I have to pay to continue using the service. REally? I know it sounds really awful but in this day and age, no one wants to pay for music (especially true if they are in college). Because I don't like Pandora, I am thinking of creating an app that will let me stream the music I want from youtube on the go :D

Let;s see how this turns out.

Life as a hermit

2011-03-25T22:06:00.004-04:00

It is so easy to be a hermit in a big city. Is that not the only place we can find peace? - For a while, I had managed to convince myself that this was the truth and I lived in isolation - in one of the biggest metropolis in the world, Philly. It's not that I had initially chosen this kind of life, on the contrary I believe that it chose me. With a term-load of classes in two separate majors, choir, a 15-h per week part time programming job and a couple of movies, the only practical life was that of a hermit. I still had a 4.0 GPA to maintain. After 6 months of living in this state, I think that I have changed for the worse - I have shortened the time that was originally allocated to time wasters and have become very calm. I find it harder to carry on conversations - much like my days after high school before I met Anita. I have simply been drained of all the life that I had (by this I mean the spirit). Even with the money I earn, I really have nothing to spend it on. I am very immaterial and clearly nonchalant about my appearance - enough said. (I even walked up to the FREE library and one of the ladies burst into a very hearty laughter when I said that I was going to donate a few books. She asked me if I was really the one donating a couple of times before realizing that I was serious and switching to a kinder, more considerate tone). I was worried that I looked like a tramp for a while. A hermit in a big city.

Let me elaborate this concept further. There is this evil that I have seen in the earth, some ordinary people (rich and not) really look down upon the homeless. They think it 'unclean' to be touched or even to come into contact by one of 'their kind.' I know for certain that very few individuals in their right and sober minds would agree to shake the hand of a homeless (wo)man. They would rather not have their bodies or garments made filthy by them than to help them when they cry out for PHYSICAL (non-monetary) help. They have been placed lower than animals. This is proved by the fact that most ordinary beings would rather carry or tag an animal along all day than accept a homeless man's handshake. They want their lives to be peaceful and so they walk along in their pursuit of happiness. What happiness when you watch those around you suffer! When you esteem yourself higher than others and want to be happy among them! This thorn that you plant might even be the cause of your sadness. The irony becomes greater when we imagine what an ordinary person would do when the same homeless man was a rich billionaire but retained his filth and was just as weak. If he was to but offer his hand, many would consider his filth a price too small to compare to the glamor of feeling important and boasting to their friends about this one-in-a-lifetime chance.

Can we not see how hypocritical we are? Is any man lower than another? Shall we treat the poor worse than garbage? Think of them as an avoidable stain to our sanitary lives? Why are we blinded?

But you say, can they not find a job? Can they not sustain themselves and make themselves more presentable? I do agree that they can and most should. I have seen a young man in his late twenties camp outside the local 7-11 and beg diligently every night. I suppose he uses this money to fund his alcoholism or something. The world would judge him less if he spent his own money. Aren;t there many alcoholics that do the same? That too is the reality.

How long shall we continue living like hermits (enclosed in our capsules of comfort) in a big city? How long shall I live as a hermit, overwork myself and block out everyone else? When shall I look up to the bypassing stranger and wish him a happy day or a blessed morning?

As always... unedited, unrevised, as the thoughts flowed

New blog theme

2011-03-23T20:33:00.003-04:00

It's raining outside and I am locked in one of the Drexel CS Labs working on a Drupal Project. I strayed off a little and started navigating a few blogs by Drexel Students (found via Google) and found myself clicking the big B button on the top right of a blogger page expecting it to return me to the front page of the blog (as it is in facebook). Instead, I ended up coming here to my blog and I did not like what I saw. My blog theme was just too sad. I have, therefore, decided to replace the dark black theme with this new one. Feels more homey and nicer to the eyes.

Happy reading!

2011-03-10T07:43:00.002-05:00

As I was walking to the CS lab this morning, as I always do, I came to the realization that people really don;t care about their 'friend's' status updates. All they want is a good read: they want to know when you get into a relationship or get engaged so they can have something to say or when you are in deep trouble so they can say something nice - just like the whole world would. Generally, they don't really care - at all.

I realized that my status update likes were going down (a measure of how much the world appreciates your thoughts) and decided to stop posting what was on my mind and start posting jokes. Yeah . . .I'd rather make people laugh than share what;s on my mind that they do not really want to know.

I've been watching: 3 likes in 10 minutes - plan working.

P.S. If your friends don;t like your posts etc, you are removed from their live feed!

upd8

2011-01-30T01:20:00.002-05:00

I have spent more than an hour to connect to fb, get permissions to check my news stream and dumped it on the console. For some reason the permissions for birthday and birthday_date are not working. I have tried for such a long time I am willing to call it a day. I can, however, get the names of people with no listed birthdays which makes me think that I am getting permissions for something other than what I want....

Well, I feel better now, I shall come back to this when I feel like it, probably in a few weeks.

God bless you all. Read your bible.

David Ogutu

facebook (fb) app to automatically wish your friends a happy birthday

2011-01-29T22:34:00.001-05:00

I feel so bad right now. I am just going to sit here and code until I can come up with an application that will automatically wish people a happy birthday on fb.

I shall keep you updated.

limits

2010-11-29T02:31:00.000-05:00

Even gluttony has her limits

The world in TRUE HD

2010-11-24T13:30:00.002-05:00

I can see clearly now. After a very long time (about 2 weeks) without my glasses. I can see. You can;t really understand the feeling unless it's happened to you before but you can at lease try to imagine.

Imagine a blurred world. Where you have to guess what is what, who is who. Where you bypass your friends along the way and suddenly realize that they were the ones. Imagine a time when you cannot be able to distinguish what the difference between your keyboard keys is. Imagine a world where all you can see is what is less than 20cm from your eyes.

I've g2g... shall continue

Love

2010-11-21T21:04:00.003-05:00

Well, there is this thing called love. Why am I so distant, you may ask? I think it is the mysterious incomprehensible nature of love that I cannot fully understand (you just said it was incomprehensible.. duhh!). I think it is what love does to people that I cannot understand. Take one of my closest friends, for example, he has been fully transformed you might think the vector was a (-x,y). I don;t think it's inverted so not. The short and long of it is- he is not the same. He has one source of happiness and all his activities revolve around the effects of ... love.

But that is normal. 'Normal' is very variable as you might see. I don't think I've ever been on a date. I'm twenty. The more abnormal event is a result of what I saw today as I was coming to do my homework in the CS labs. One of my friends - a girl - was WAITING outside for a guy who was taking her out for a date. I mean, how much have we just changed. I thought the rules of courtship were immutable in that manner.

Back to the subject - love. I had once poured out my emotions in a post called love and my life (ref. ogu2.blogspot.com) where I deatiled so vividly my emotions, outlined all the girls I'd fallen in love with - wait! scratch that. All the girld I'd liked. It's funny how everything changes. Time

Sorry I was interrupted by a very beautiful screen saver on one of the screens. The ants in the screen saver are walking in a figure that has its inside as its outside- infinitely. I wish I could record it and post it here.

Time, I was saying, is a very disturbing variable. As a result of its variance, old crashes have been healed. New ones have occurred and have gone and a few have always remained - cherished in my heart. What is love?

David wrote: What is man that thou art midful of him? Love.
What is God? Love.
What makes a couple stick together like the opposite poles of a magnet long after their youth, long after the crushes have occured, damages caused, wounds healed and stabs covered? Love.
What is the topic of discussion? Why, it is love!

have a lovely day.

twitter

2010-11-11T20:06:00.003-05:00

Funny thing happened today. I typed twitter incorrectly more than 5 times before I remembered the correct spelling. tweeter.com tweet.com //can;t remember the other variations.... ...before I typed twitter.com Now you see why facebook wins. Spelling errors aside, I've never understood how twitter made it to the top. How>???\\ Have a good day

nice quote

2010-11-11T01:17:00.000-05:00

Opportunity is missed by most people
because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
~Thomas A. Edison~

facebook

2010-11-05T02:10:00.000-04:00

If Mark Zuckerberg was not dumped, there'll be no facebook

My Land is Kenya

2010-10-31T11:53:00.000-04:00

The 23rd Psalm

2010-10-29T20:47:00.002-04:00

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides the still waters. He restoresth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.Yea, though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou prepares a banquet before me in the presence of mine enemies. My cup floweth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen (from Memory)

I count myself lucky to be among the few that have had a chance to learn the words written by my father and King, David. Many people believe that with riches God is cast aside - and maybe that was the case for his son, Solomon before he turned back but for as long as he lived, David understood what it really meant to be a sheep in the fold of God. Cast your cares upon the Lord and He will sustain you. Lean not on your own understanding. Man cannot live on bread alone but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.

I am always amazed at how much time David spent thinking about God till he remarked: "What is man that THOU art midful of him?" Not only was David humble but unlike the rest of the world, he cared not for the importance attached to him by the world. What am I? What are you? That God is mindful of you and I? - I wonder what all those who refuse to believe will say when they realize this fact. For God spans over the entire universe and yet cares for them.

The Lord is my Shepherd- I shall not want.

I'm sorry

2010-10-25T22:54:00.002-04:00

The first time I remember feeling really sorry was the time my mother spanked me for sagging my shorts. You have to understand that at age 7, I was the prize child of my mum: disciplined child, top in all my classes, wise and most of all faithful to God. I used to read more than I read at anytime of my secondary school period. In class, I would ashame teachers by pointing out their mathematical errors time and time again(as an innocent child, I did not consider the embarrassing results of my actions). If I told the other students who shared a table with me that the teacher was wrong and offered them a detailed explanation as to why she was, they'd more readily take my word over the teachers. Perhaps you are wondering how I got to be this way. It came with a price: paid for with my play and social time. I was taught well, and I thank my parents for that, but best of all is that I never considered straying from that which i was taught. As Charles dickens so aptly put it, to me one and one was two and nothing else. I was an happy child and I knew that I made my parents happy.

At this particular day, I think that my mum must have seen the castle she had spent her life building crumbling down and she was not going to lie about and do nothing. Defending her forts, she lifted she broom (a traditional one made from many sticks) that she had and smacked me right across my tiny legs. It did catch me by surprise and the tempo of the words dashing out of my mother's mouth did not help improve matters. I was a spoiled child she cried. Spank! I was learning the ways of the unruly. Where did I learn to sag? Where? Very long pinch.

Whenever my mother would punish me for a mistake, she always kind enough to quieten me. To reassure me that she loved me, she would carry my crying self and tell me how much she loved me and that everything was OK. If I was to remain a good child, she would do this and that for me. She would beg me not to cry.

On this day however, she dismissed me and said that she did not want any association with 'kids who were spoiled.' The magnitude of what I had done finally settled in. As my brother would later sum it up: life is like a straight path. We are meant to walk in the 'straight and narrow and stray neither to the right not to the left.' If we did stray, we may be lost forever or we may turn back and get on the road but we will never be the same. The curved road we took would rob us of the good we would have received had we stayed on. It would also expose us to ills that were never meant for us.

I shall summarize the events of what followed in this statement: I cried till I fell asleep but the sorrow I carry endures to this day. I want to be the innocent 7 year old. I want to be good: walk in the straight and narrow and look neither east nor west. Re-echoing the words of a sabbath-school song: I'd like to be a friend of Jesus just a little bit more. I'd love to be David Ogutu. The real David Ogutu. And so just like I cried out to my mother that day and begged her to forgive me for a week till she was sorry, I am sorry.

2010-10-21T23:31:00.003-04:00

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from you, O Lord!

An Excerpt from a Psalm of David

The Power Strip

2010-10-18T22:35:00.002-04:00

-------------------------------------------------
MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#10291 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
-------------------------------------------------

The Power Strip
================

What if we plugged in a power strip into itself?

It has plugs, right? That would be pretty silly!

But isn't that what we do when we don't rely on God to supply
our power?

When things are closing in and we "re-group," don't we usually
say something like, "I can do this and I can do it better than
this?"

Don't we just plug ourselves into our own selves instead of
going to the only real source of Power and asking for His wisdom
and help?

Take a minute the next time you are faced with a difficult
situation and ask yourself if you are plugging into your own
resources or God's!

~A MountainWings Original by Hank Crismore, Grand Prairie, TX~

making punchato

2010-08-16T17:17:00.004-04:00

5.18PM
finished working on my research poster this morning with lots o help from my lab instructor Michael.

Started work on punchato. Ran into a big problem installing apache. this site saved me a lot.

http://ryan.rawswift.com/2009/09/20/easyphp-on-64-bit-windows-7-how-to-fix-apache-and-mysql-problem/

BibleGateway.com- Audio Bibles

2010-06-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

BibleGateway.com- Audio Bibles

This is an awesome resource. I was listening to the first book of Isiah among others. Isiah 1 is awesome especially where it is written, "... and shall make them white as snow"

Me and hate

2010-05-21T23:29:00.000-04:00

I sin. Therefore, I hate satan.

love and my life

2010-05-18T00:38:00.003-04:00

Thinking back, I think I first fell in love with one of the sweetest girls ever, Ta. From 7am till close to midnight, we sent messages on Facebook talking about everything and anything. We never said we loved or even liked each other. I think that;s just the way love is, you can tell without words. When we met in church, it was always an awkward moment. Seeing I was huggophobic, poor Ta would not tell whether to hug me or not and I would quickly offer my hand to save matters. I think it was great. Whatever mutual fluid 'friendship' we had. For the first time in my life, I knew that there was one who cared and one who knew of my existence. She was always sweet and everything besides that seemed amiss. In the end, I think she was fed up with me and my stubbornness and gave up on me. The many miles that separate us didn;t help matters much. As a parting gift, she had saved me her delicious creamy chocolate cake. I was feeling really bad and my hands were not clean enough (i was a solid germophobic individual) and turned her offer down. She was very disappointed and left for her home. That was the last time I ever saw her. I was climbing the steps to Alliance and she was leaving, leaving me and ... well, I simply don;t know. She was so sweet, even sweeter than the cake she offered (if I can but compare the two). I doubt she ever knew that I had feelings for her. I cannot tell. In a few weeks, our tight friendship had been reduced to a normal friendship. Her birthday is in a few days, her status rings. She was always older than me but I think my mind has always been way beyond my years and that made no difference. I simply do not know. There I shall rest my first love tale.

There are very many pretty girls. Yes, God did do a wonderful job. However, when I came to college, I only noticed a few but the one that stood out above them all was none other than CR. When I first saw her, something was ignited in me. I do not know what it was but it seems like I fell in love with her from the first day I met her. I never got to talk to her for a week but when I did, she couldn't remember having seen me anywhere: not in one of the three classes we had together, not around school...nowhere. It did break my heart, (I am good with faces) but it was no deterrent. From there, I think I was too crazy for anyone;s liking and she, after many weeks, refused to go out with me. Now, if you are a regular reader of my posts, u know what I am talking about. If not, find more info on older posts... back to the story. The long and short of it is that I fell in love but my love was not returned and I slowly tried to unlove and to merely like... in vain. To-date, she still holds a special place in my heart (I can;t believe myself! lol). For some reason, I think she loves me now. Idk why. The thing is, I don;t know much about love. But whenever I am with her, I am always happy, always concious and my mind is always looking for something new to say or do. It;s funny but I don;t know if it is love. For love, as the Bible states is patient, it is kind, does not envy, does not boast... I really don;t know if I love her but I have never been able not to even after she refused tp go out with me. Today as I was chatting with my friend, she always popped up in my mind and I couldn't help but speak about her. If you do not know me, you cannot know the full names of those that I have loved... sorry. Thing is... they are all so sweet I am afraid u may fall in love with them and win. loll

Have a love-filled day. I am in lve <3 - or so my foolish brain thinks.

Nevue

2010-05-08T20:17:00.001-04:00

I am a friend of David Nevue. He just accepted my facebook friend request. Now, for those of you who do not know David, he is simply the best solo pianist out there. :)

Genuis and Confutatais maledictus

2010-04-23T23:33:00.003-04:00

I always say that my 'genuis' exponentially decreased over time from the time I was a kid. i blame it on wasting my time on things that do not matter and vain thoughts. But for Mozart, it seems to me that his genius peaked at his death. Limitless. His final work, Requiem (derived from latin for rest), has some of the best words that I have ever seen writ by mortal man. They are outpouring with wisdom. The melody is also very unique, specially formed to iterate the words that Mozart wanted to emphasize. It is awesome for a part before becoming kinda bad and this cycle repeats. But the awesome parts are just so awesome, awesome is not good enough a word for them. And this song troubleth my soul. I cannot tell why.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis,
voca me cum benedictus

meaning

When the accused are confounded,
and doomed to flames of woe,
call me among the blessed.

Somehow, I cannot get that song out of my head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQUFQ_N0JI8

I got the words and translation from

http://www.stmatthews.com/choir/mozartsrequiem.htm

Have a nice day

My social life to date

2010-04-11T23:34:00.004-04:00

Written of 4/12/2010. Published on 4/23/2010 (dates in American format)

It dawned upon me this afternoon that I had not informed my dear readers of the fate of my quest. (haha) So, I followed the 'advice' of my dear friends Sam and Praveen and asked, you know who, out. I must confess that the medium used was not very appropriate but the result was expected but if I really liked her, I would have ended up asking anyway so the time I did so didn't make a difference. Haha.. lies. Turns out it did.

Some day, I think it was a Thursday. I woke up and I felt that it was time.. Nope, couldn;t wait any longer to find out what was in store for me. I had set my mind to accomplish one task that day. Just one: asking her out. As I begin to write was ensued, I would need some nice music to calm my fingers lest they hurry on... there. Thank God for Last FM - a present help when you don;t want to buy any new classical music CDs. I have played it oft in my room and it has turned many a soul to choose classical music as their preferred genre. Anyway, back to the story.

Unfortunately, as fate would have it, she was not present in class on this day. I would be forced to ask her out via a text message. How lame... but then what if I didn;t ask her, my day;s main task would be incomplete. At that point I looked at the board to see the teacher developing radial curves of a flower, a heart etc. Yeah, u guessed it. As soon as the class was over, I carried myself over to Korman Lab, ran maple and graphed a flower. Although it looked pathetic, my patience wouldn;t let me remodell it so I copied it into a word document in a hurry and sent it to her with a quick message asking her out. - a bit Messi u would say.

And that's when I started waiting. And to wait I did. 1 hr, 2 hrs, 10hrs, and there she was on fb chat. COuldn;t wait though I already knwe the answer by then. But my faith was still high...dimming ...rekindled, and I

Netflix site is down

2010-03-07T20:48:00.003-05:00

At 8.47 Eastern Time, I checked into netflix to find it not working. The cause is not yet known. Here is a snapshot,

The biggest problem

2010-02-18T20:04:00.002-05:00

I have this dilema within me. I am wondering what the biggest problem is: is it the problem whose solution we do not know or the problem to which there is no solution- the problem about which nothing can be done. The simple and answer is, I don;t know.

In the entire school, I think I am probably the student that snores the most at this season of the year (flu season). Apparently, my roommate, Duc Thai, gave up on trying to sleep and has been stayong up all night only to sleep the next day. Of course this creates a double problem, I cannot sleep when he is chatting at night and cannot work in my room before 12 the next day. There is simply no solution to this and that is what bothers me the most. I think it is a result of a poor sleeping posture and a clogged nose but that is just a speculation.

There are also many problems whose solutions cannot be found. Examples of which I am not at liberty to give. Well, c'est la vie. Perhaps I'll take my math text book and go ahead to solve some problems. Carpe diem

Amazing days

2010-02-18T09:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday as I was going to bed, I knelt down and thanked God for an amazing day. I was sure that I would have no day as amazing as that. All my classes ran smoothly and my engineering finally managed to come up with a design for our nanobot that we could all agree with- a little unstalble, still tumbles and falls on collision, but the design we all called OK. Too much for yesterday.

Today was even more amazing, I even decided to name the ultimate code for our bot 'amazing.' My goal was to make the entire code and run it once without a mistake. It was really simple and after a few minutes of the system design thought and graphical coding, I had come up with testable 'perfect code'- just like the old days. After the design section of out team was done assembling the bot, it was time to run and test amazing and it was.... amazing.- with 2 slight adjustments due to motor reversals, amazing was ready to drive oliver twist around the arena like a chauffeur on a mission. We realized that it was ineffective when it came to turning corners and had to make some large changes to the code... but that's a story for anotehr day.

Another very amazing thing happened today, my dear beloved mother called me again- as she always does if I delay to text her back. Anyway, onwards onwards to the more amzing stuff... I almost asked a girl out. Her name C R. My readers, obviously don't know who I am talking about but I'd describe her as the most beautiful and wonderful girl ever. (that may have sounded cliche but she is... for real). SO back to the story, we had been walking and moving about before I realized that I really liked her (I don't know why, I just did and do) and then our eyes met, not for long. just for a short while and I realized why so many poems, songs and movies about love actually mention this. I have never been deeply in love or even been close... but for a moment I felt like I was. So I turned to her and said, "I was just wondering... if, just if, If I asked you out, would you say yes or no?" She had been typing something and didn't quite hear everything I said over the blowing wind, my accent and my sore-throat impaired voice. She looked up to me and asked, "Did you just ask me a question?" I melted and my courage disappeared, "No," I answered like a coward, "I just wanted to know where you are going." It died. But she must have sensed or guessed something, I could kinda feel it, feel her. Now, I am more perplexed than ever. I don;t know if I should go on and ask her tomorrow or just

That's the point I stopped at last night b4 my battery ran out and I had to go back to standing outside Myers hall waiting for the fire guys to finish checking the cause of the alarm. As always, I have just met her this morning in math class. I finished the quiz before her and left and oh, I feel so guilty. I think it'd've been best if I'd stayed and waited for her. So, I still haven't found the right time. Maybe I should just get my phone and text her. Good idea... ahrd to implement.

iPhone SDK on Windows

2010-02-06T22:56:00.002-05:00

Today I looked around, saw that I had nothing to do and decided that it was time to make a simple iPhone app that I could use to wish a certain someone a certain something... that's the truth. So I went over to the apple website and found the link to the iPhone/iPod Touch development kit only to discover that I couldn't run it on windows. How unfair! Of all computer companies that make operating systems, Apple must be the most unconsiderate by not allowing millions of Windows users (at least) to have a chance to make some millions with the help of Apple's app store. Apple should make SDK for windows just like windows has made a wmp for apple (lame comparison). Join me in campaigning for an SDK for windows!

Deactivating my facebook account

2010-02-03T14:50:00.003-05:00

It now seems to me that I was more of a facebook addict than I had earlier thought. Now, I ocassionally glance at the facebook updates application looking for that little red circle that once notified me of any activity in my account. I find myself typing the facebook address when I wish to check my email or log into Drexel One. It seems to me that my life revolved around facebook, my curiosity could never give me a break, I always wanted to know what my friends were up to (more than 350 in all), I read through some people's walls more frequently than I think they did (the epitome of stalking). I even used facebook to manipulate how people thought about some issues- I just sat back and watched. Pathetic it may seem and pathetic it is but such was my life before I decided to pull the plug on facebook. I can finally focus on the more important things in life. I have even had a chance to write in my forsaken weblog. Goodbye with the slavery, I think I shall live without social networking sites for a while- at least till I can figure out a way to control myself.

There is one thing that really bothers me- the thought of the hundreds of friends who cannot reach me in any other way but through facebook. They do provide a perfect excuse for my return to facebook and cause the desire in me to spring back to life. But shall I? I am a free man and anything that causes me to be a slave- especially when the roles are supposed to be the other way around- is a threat that must be removed. And this peace that I have right now-exceeding all understanding, re-echoes the message. Beside, only a small number of my friends try to contact me. But what if others would want to communicate with me urgently? I shall have to take the risk and face my addiction as it is. The benefits out-way the losses. Adios facebook. A la prochaine fois.

Idi Amin Dada's speech

2010-01-27T19:19:00.001-05:00

After a luncheon hosted by the Queen in London in his honor, the former Ugandan leader Idi Amin Dada had this to say for his vote of thanks.

"My majesty Mr. Queen Sir, horrible ministers and members of parliament, invented Guests, ladies under gentlemen. I hereby thank you completely…..Mr. Queen, sir; and also what he has done for me and my fellow Uganda who come with me.

We have really eaten very much. And we are fed up completely: And also very thanks to you keenly open up from all windows: so that those plenty climates can come into lunch. But before I go back to my country with a plane from the Entebbe airport of London I wish to invitation you Mr. Queen, to become home to Uganda so that we can also revenge on you .

You will eat a full cow: and also feel up your stomach and walk with difficult because of full stomach completely. Even when you want to rest at night; I will make sure that you sleep on top of me in the top up stairs of my mansion completely so that you can enjoy all the gravity of fresh air.

"But now am sorry because I have to tell you that I have made a short call on you only. But next time I shall make a long call on you to last the whole moon completely. Thank you very much to allow me to undress you completely before these extinguished ladies under gentlemen sir.

Lastly but not list, I ask the band to play our international anthem of the republic of Uganda and also the British international anthem..Your majesty sir, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and from the bottoms of all the people of Uganda .

With this few words I thank you Sir.

Language Lesson

2010-01-27T18:23:00.000-05:00

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his class one day.

"In English," he said, "A double negative forms a positive.
In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative
is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a
double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

thanks to mountain wings www.mountainwings.com

Update

2010-01-15T09:13:00.002-05:00

To all my dear readers,
I do not think that there are still some faithful followers but I will still write. A lot has happened that I have not posted into my weblog yet. I shall see that that is handled asap.
It's 2010 alreadey and I hope that you will all have a happy year and wondeful ones in days to come. Look out for more posts that will be coming your way soon.

Judge Gently

2009-06-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

Pray, don't find fault with the man who limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.

Don't sneer at the man who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong but still the blows
That was his if dealt to you
In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time
Might cause you to stagger too.

Don't be too harsh with the man who sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure
That you have no sins of your own.

For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too.

~Author Unknown

Prayer of St. Francis

2009-02-22T08:59:00.001-05:00

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

If - a really nice poem

2009-01-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Dependent Independents

2009-01-07T12:23:00.000-05:00

If you know me personally, you probably know that I am a techie. I love to toy with everything electronic. Today, we had a black-out for a few hours and I came to the realisation that I was a slave to electronic gadgets. I couldn't do anything without thinking of when the lights will come back. I also looked at my electric keyboard and it was as useless as ever without electricity. We were all the same- a bunch of dependent independents. We claimed to be independent (which we are supposed to be) but in reality, we were slaves.

So many people are also dependent independents. With the right people around, we do wonders and we never seem to be stoppable. Once we are left aloe, however, we are as useless as can be. We are impaired in one way or the other.

God did not create us to be salves but rather to be free. Free of sin, free of all the vanities of life and most especially free of all addictions. Check yourself. You're probably like me: a free slave, a dependent independent and change.

Good day!

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T01:09:00.000-05:00

The wisest man, King Solomon, once said that a house of grief is better than that of joy. It kinda makes you think.

How you exit one thing determines how you enter another. Happy 2009.

Merry Christmas to y'all

2008-12-24T04:44:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I wrote on this blog. I was away on an ambassadors' club retreat and it was really nice. I learnt a lot. Really. Of course we all know that Jesus Christ was never born on the 25th of Dec (way too cold) but what's the harm in wishing my dear readers a merry christmas.

[8]And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night.[9] And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
afraid.[10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.[11] For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.[12] And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.[13] And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,[14] Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2

Merry Christmas.

Praise the Lord

2008-10-19T04:59:00.000-04:00

Today I just realised that human beings do not give the Lord as much as He deserves to be praised. Look at man, a perfect system oly dream able by all engineers. How can an animal as small as a bee make combs so hexagonal and identical. Everything is just perfect. Everything happens at the perfect time. Nothing happens by chance and nothing is pre-programmed like what you are using right now.

He gave man the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to build machines so complex that one can spend a whole day trying to understand a system made by man. But the human body? that's just another special machine. Medics spend 6yrs studying tirelessly to try to understand it but they still cannot. They break it up so as to study one of its sections independently of the others but even after 2 full years, no man can claim to perfectly understand that single bit. Amazing!

Finally, there's the human brain. How we manage to thing, speak, listen, multitask (Don't be deceived, the comp or phone you are using doesn't multitask it only gives each process a time slice and ...), the ability to learn etc. etc.

Artificial intelligence guys at the MIT or whichever university of the world cannot even match an eighth of the human brain's ability. People spend their whole lives trying to understand the brain but it's always in vain. A few months ago, we were all stunned when the MIT professor of neural systems threw in the towel and said that humans cannot match the brain however hard they work or for whatever period of time.

if you've no reason to praise the Lord, Praise HIM for having created dynamic autonomous man in a single day and having given him His breath.

Have a god day and praise the LORD.

Paradise

2008-09-12T14:26:00.000-04:00

Paradise
=========

Paradise has far more to do with the person than the place.

~A MountainWings Original by Nathaniel Bronner Jr.~

A Proof That 2 = 1

2008-08-25T11:17:00.000-04:00

(1) X = Y Given
(2) X2 = XY Multiply both sides by X
(3) X2 - Y2 = XY - Y2 Subtract Y2 from both sides
(4) (X + Y)(X - Y) = Y(X - Y) Factor both sides
(5) (X + Y) = Y Cancel out common factors
(6) Y + Y = Y Substitute in from line (1)
(7) 2Y = Y Collect the Y's
(8) 2 = 1 Divide both sides by Y

This is an algebraic trick. Post comments below or email me at davidogutu@gmail.com for details.

All thanks go to the creator.

Kenyan electronics genius

2008-08-01T11:26:00.000-04:00

Hallo world.

A kenyan, Morris Mbetsa, has invented the "block and track" system trhat lets users control their vehicles from afar. Quoting from hack a day, it's "an antitheft and tracking system for vehicles that's phone-based. [Mbetsa] has no formal training, but he's been a lifelong inventor and tinkerer. [Mbetsa] combined voice, dtmf, and SMS text messaging technologies with cellphone based services to allow the owner to control the vehicle's electrical system remotely. The owner, using his cellphone, can take control of the ignition, and disable it at any time. Other features include the ability to lock the car remotely, and the capability of dialing into the car and listening in on any conversations taking place within the vehicle"

Get video coverage(by KTN{Kenya tv network}) and the full story at:

http://www.hackaday.com/2008/07/30/teenager-invents-vehicular-antitheft-system/

Good day. Sorry, month!

best quote

2008-06-13T11:49:00.000-04:00

For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

I'm back

2008-06-12T13:54:00.000-04:00

I 'd like to thank all my fans out there for all the support they've given me by reading my blog posts. I'm sorry I let you down by not writing for a long time and if you know me, you n=must have known that I had a very tight schedule

Thanks again. I'll post new stuff tomorrow coz it's a holiday. C U then (maybe)

ALA Inugural Students

2008-05-11T02:22:00.000-04:00

Maybe you have already read the post about how I failed to get into ALA but the real guys are those that made it in.

The ALA website has posted some profiles of the first students. You can read it at http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org/site/about/students/studentprofiles/index.html

I guess what touched me most was a student called William Kamkwamba who has already put what he learnt at school into practise- a challenge to all of us. Maybe he's a genius. Another is Tabitha. Though I met her at the finalist weekend, she never even mentioned her ABC project which I personally think is very good. Sorry.... I meant to say excellent.- Another good example.

I have been to the Sudan-Kenya border once but Lorem must have been a genius to get into Alliance Boys' from that area which when compared to other parts of Kenya like Nairobi is way back in terms of resources. This guy is just but another genius.

I think that with such minds, ALA's first class is a really good example of what the founders, Chris and Fred wanted it to be. If you've made it into ALA, make sure you get to learn a lot from all the students there. Even if you don't want to, you just have to.{check out my quotes}

What am I waiting for? Let me get out there and make some chages.

Nice Quotes

2008-05-05T01:02:00.000-04:00

Please keep checking this post. I'll be adding quotes as I find them

Like fruit, children are sweetest just before they turn bad.

~Dena Groquet

Half the work that is done in this worldis to make things appear what they
are not.

Elias Root Beadle

The pessimist complains about the wind.The optimist expects it to change.The
leader adjusts the sails.

John Maxwell

We have to do what we have to do until we can do what we want to do.

Mr. Farmer

Rumor travels faster but it don't stay put as long as truth

Will Rogers

21 Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn

2008-05-04T01:23:00.000-04:00

Thanks to mountainwings.com, I got his today:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Change your xp look to ubuntu or vista

2008-05-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

Tired of that old xp look and you can neither ger Ksh. 18k to buy vista nor can you stand linux? Despair not because I've got some good news for you: you can have it 'all' at least for the looks.

Go to http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/UXTheme-MultiPatcher.shtml and download the sofware. After that, you can go to deviant art website and start the downloads for any look you want.

For ubuntu human look, try: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/37743373/

For vista look try: http://vladimir0523.deviantart.com/art/LeopardXP-Black-VS-Beta-84458728

Although I must add that there are many more vista themes available online for you to try. Up there is a screenshot I got from http://www.bloganything.net/871/make-windows-xp-looks-like-ubuntu good luck.

Bad or worse?

2008-05-03T11:12:00.000-04:00

Here's something nice I received today from mountainwings.com.

One day as I sat musing,
Sad and lonely,
And without a friend,
A voice came to me,
From out of the gloom,
Saying, "Cheer up, things could be worse!"
So I cheered up,

And, sure enough,

Things got worse.

~Author Unknown~

Ubuntu Christian Edition

2008-05-02T15:49:00.000-04:00

Ever heard of that? It's from the what would Jesus download website. The Ubuntu Christian Edition operating system is Ubuntu only that it has a bible and a web filter. The bible is gnomesword and it's pretty cool. Thumbs up. What was even more surprising to me was on ubuntu OS created for ..... you guessed right- the devil.

Too bad. Please pray for those guys coz you just never know. The Holy Spirit may change their hearts.

Good day!

Oxymora

2008-05-02T15:20:00.000-04:00

Today I stumbled upon one interesting topic: oxymora(sing:oxymoron). It's not that they are new or anything, only that they are funny and common yet very few people seem to realize them.
Maybe you know that piano-forte literally means soft-loud but did you know that sophomore literally means wise fool?

http://oxymoronlist.com offers a long list of such. Here are a few

20. Government Organization
19. Alone Together
18. Personal Computer
17. Silent Scream
16. Living Dead
15. Same Difference
14. Taped Live
13. Plastic Glasses
12. Tight Slacks
11. Peace Force
10. Pretty Ugly
9. Head Butt
8. Working Vacation
7. Tax Return
6. Virtual Reality
5. Dodge Ram
4. Work Party
3. Jumbo Shrimp
2. Healthy Tan
1. Microsoft Works

Add your own below. See you

ALA and KCSE- the interface

2008-05-02T09:43:00.000-04:00

When the results were released around a week ago, I was (of course) very disappointed to learn that I was disqualified. What this confirmed was that I am going to do the dreaded but rather cool exam (because of it's uniqueness) -KCSE. Why I call it unique is because it is one of the hardest in the world (top 5) and it only serves in one country- Kenya.

At this moment in time I'd like to congratulate those who made it through like Sam Gichohi, JOhn Gitau from Strath. Thumbs up yo!

Tony Blair once said that African problems could only be solved by Africans and I guess he was right. I hope the ALA will transfrom these young gentlemen and women to solve the problems.

Check out ALA's site at http://www.africanleadershipacademy.org

Good luck!

Independence, Inter-dependence or just neo-colonialism

2008-04-14T12:46:00.000-04:00

Today, I had some random thoughts: What are we living here in Africa? Is life just a big dream or is it real? Maybe the last question has spured lots of thoughts. Maybe not. which brings me to something else: What is the meaning of a question?

Question comes from the word quest which means 'making a search to fill your hunger for knowledge' [my own def]. So we should, hence, refrace the first line to read questions rather than thoughts.

Kenya got her independence from the British government in 1964 [nice looking year 1+9-6=4] and soon found herself unable to support her people. Some critics say that the life of the average Kenyan in the colonial times was much better than it is now. I tend to think it's kinda false.

A story is told of Old Jim, an ex-slave who was so poor his former master had pity and said,"Jim, why don;t you come over to my place so that you can work for me and I'll give you food and clothes." Now, befor I continue, you mst understand that Old Jim was so poor he just had a chair, his Sunday suit, a bible, a few more clothes and a few essentials to his name so the expected answer was something like 'Oh Yes!!!' but that wasn't Jim, Jim wouldn;t say that at least then.

"You see," started Jim, "there is something about this freedom that I just can't get. It's not that I'm not hungry or cold but I just can't comprehend this sweet feeling; thius thing called freedom is sop precious I don't wanna lose it by going back to work for you."

So that, my friends is true freedom, true independence. Now back to the main stuff...

Now when Kenya saw that shew could not support her people and the keen eyes of the Europeans spotted that too, they couldn;t help but coin up an new word, Interdependence {well, maybe not so new}.

Interdependence was a simple idea: pull my back and I'll pull yours or something like: we help each other grow.

Wonderful idea, I must say but what lay behind thise words was something different. Something like: You help us grow and we push you down!

So that's what happened. Kenya gre her tea and her coffee and wauted for it to mature before roasting it and selling it for say 'x' at the international market. Some 1st or 2nd world country would then but it and process it for say '2x' and sell it back to the Kenyans at '15x'.; U don't understand? Look that up in your Algebra books.

Anyway, when Kenyans saw this, they were worried and worry I have come to note causes people to coin new words {Just like interdependence was formed.} . This time it was 'Neocolonialism'. Simply put: neo-new and of course colonialism.

Is this what we are living? Who knows? Post your comment

Running XP inside linux

2008-04-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

I was surprised to note that my friend (a windows addict) was fearing to migrate to linux not because he didn't love it but because he couldn't run his games on it so I suggested wine, a program that runs windows programs inside linux but he didn't quite like the idea so I told him to try out what many people fear - installing windows INSIDE linux -no jokes, no pun....

So how do you do it? Simple..

Install linux OS (I use Ubuntu, Fedora, DSL, Kubuntu, OLPC linux, Suse ......)

Go to virtualbox.org and download the program

Install the program and the rest is simple:

Create a new OS inside VirtualBox and specify the RAM (memory) and Hard disk size (which is actually a folder inside the linux OS).

Mount the CD and reboot the virtual machine.

Follow the setup steps and you are ready to go.

Here are some shots I took from Ubuntu Desktop

Installing XP

First Boot

Working with audio, usb, etc.

The XP OS with Ubuntu desktop blubuntu theme

After Hard work

2008-04-06T11:04:00.000-04:00

After hard work, you always desire to have a rest. You crave for it. This I confirmed a few days ago when the CAT 2 exams caught me off -once again. I had to start studying from around 5.30 and continued to around 10.30 without any breaks save for supper and of course a few calls of nature...

God, the creator, knew this and for that reason he created the sabbath for man to goof off.

Rest? How importat is it? Scientists argue that you need not less than 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep to maintain your body balance and upto 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to function best.
Did you know that lack of sleep could kill you?

Anyway, back to the point. You need a break.

End Of Thinking Capacity(ETC). Please help by posting ur comments

African Leadership Academy Finalists' Contacts

2008-03-16T01:32:00.000-04:00

Hallo one and all,

If you are new to ALA, please visit: www.africanleadershipacademy.org

The following is a list of all the finalists email addresses. I got them from Samuel my school - mate. I will post the phone numbers as soon as I get hold of them.

This is an edit: I hereby wish to apologise to Sam for leaving out his name. It was a grave mistake. Please forgive. I have added it as the first on the line.

Good luck to you all.

Just wondering, does luck really count?

Anyway, her they are...

Edit: John Gitau jgitau1@mail.com or jgitau@yahoo.com
Edit: Samuel Gichohi Kiiru samuel.kiiru@gmail.com
1.Eric Munene ndambirimunene@hotmail.com
2.Sally Elsie mwerusera@yahoo.com
3.Adams Maiyo adamsmaiyo@yahoo.com
4.Paul Lorem(arsenal fan) lokaraiy@yahoo.com
5.Janet Kilonzo januu12@yahoo.com
6.Marie Shahaya mshamba8@hotmail.com
7.Sally Mukoko healthinfow@yahoo.com
8.Zahra Sachedina lifesa411@hotmail.com
9.Jane Ndunge kavinina@yahoo.com
10.Phoebe Wahome phoebewanjira@yahoo.com
11.Peter Nguraiya nguraish@yahoo.com
12.Githiora Thuku githich@hotmail.com
13.Sandra Mochama sando-ray@yahoo.com
14.Masoud Abdallah tareeqabdallah@yahoo.com
15.Brian Gitugu smallaholic@gmail.com
16.David Ogutu davidogutu@gmail.com [of course this is me]
17.Benjamin Munyau bennynyau@yahoo.com
18.Eddy Oketch eddyguketch@yahoo.com
19.Tabitha Tongoi wambughatongoi@yahoo.co.uk
20.Carren Mercy e.carren@yahoo.com
21.Surum Chelang'at chelssuram@yahoo.com
22.Shadrack Kioi k.shades@gmail.com
23.Misiko Nicholas misiko w.nicholas@yahoo.com
24.Lemmy Thuku thukus@africaonline.co.ke
25.Cynthia Charchi kuicharchi@yahoo.com
26.Ivy Phoebe ipakumu.gmail.com
27.Judy Mbuba juddie.mbuba@yahoo.com
28.Bob Robert oukobobrobert@yahoo.com
29.Martins Mugambi martinsmut@gmail.com
30.Tabitha Linda Amondi lindatabitha@yahoo.com
31.Beryl Obiero beryl.obiero@gmail.com
32.Richmond Thuku richmondthuku@hotmail.com
33.unnamed Burale771@hotmail.com
34.unnamed moulid@yahoo.com
35.Sharon Wachira shazbuchi@yahoo.com
36.Joakim mworia mworiajoakim@yahoo.com

NB: please email me- davidogutu@gmail.com or call me +254727413594 (after school hours only) for any corrections or additions.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Have a good day, won't you?

The above post was edited on 20th March, 2008 all edited points have been marked
The above post was also edited on 23rd April, 2008.

A Call For Peace In Kenya.

2008-02-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

It is sadening to see your beloved country divided especially along tribal and not political lines. This is the state of my country. A country I have always cherished, loved and wished to see develop and not regress.

This reminds me of a time last year when I had been picked up from school and we were heading home. My mother said that Kenya, though it looks stable is very unstable because during the elections, war could start at any time due to hatred among tribes. I looked at my sister and when or eyes met we laughed and I was the first to say, "No way mum, Kenya has developed. Those days are long gone."

But I was wrong and I did not know it.

Today onour way home, I remembered that day. I remembered the prophetic words of my mother. I remembered the days when Kenyans hid their feelings. The days when hatred was growing among our people. Some knew it and others like me didn't. I remembered the days when your were sure to sit the national exams upon your entrance into the famed form four class.

But as everyone says (kinda cliche) - that was then and tis is now.

Now, being in form four doesn't guarantee a peaceful examination at the end of the year. Being a citizen isn't a guarantee for your safety. Infact, foreigners are safer than the citizens. I wish we could go back to the days when we were peaceful and peace-loving.

I am happy to say that many kenyans have a good heart and the situation could've been worse. Let's hope that the ongoing tals would succeed and that peace will finally return to Kenya. But this peace should be peace that comes form within. We should not be wolves clad in wool (u get me?). We should be true sheep and not goats. Even Jesus Himself noted that one cannot be lukewarm. He can either be cold or warm. Let's not be cold to our brothers and sisters. Let's be warm and let us be one. United we stand, alone we fall.

As I close, I leave you with the words of our beloved national anthem.

"Oh God of all creation,
Bless this our land and nation
JUSTICE be our SHIELD and DEFENDER
May WE dwell in UNITY, PEACE and LIBERTY
Plenty be foundf within aour borders"

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. ~Confucius

I tried to change the world and I failed. I wsh I had first changed myself and those around me. Maybe I would have chnged my society and my nation. Then I would have changed the world. I forgot that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Peace.

Please post your peaceful comments.

Creation or Evolution?

2008-01-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

The opening of the Bible is very fascinating, very clear and sounds like the opening of a bestseller novel.

'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.'

Genesis 1:1, Bible

That is how i open my blog today.

This statement has been the origin of major world debate and is considered by supporters of theism.

Evolutionists, backed by Darwin's theory, believe that there is no such thing as creation. they even believe that there is no God.

I believe that God did create the earth. I have to go now. i will however add more later. for now, check http://amazingdiscoveries.org/media-Walter-Veith-testimony.html
and http://media.pmchurch.org/mp3/Sermon080112.mp3

FYI:
the evolutionists say, "the year comes from the revolution of the earth. the day comes from the rotation of the earth."

I say, "the week comes from CREATION"

Think about it. Good day!

Is Osmosis a type of Diffusion?

2008-01-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Diffusion is defined as the movement of molecules from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration.

Osmosis, on the other hand, is defined as the movement of water molecules from a region where there are more water molecules [high conc.] to a region where there are less [low conc.] through a semi-permeable membrane.

From the two definitions above, it can clearly be seen that the two processes are similar only that osmosis involves movement of water only so it can be termed dfffusion of water.
Osmosis also involves movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane.

I, therefore, propose that the name osmosis is just a term to define the diffusion of water and not something great. Maybe I am wrong. What do you think?

Can SMS be true?

2007-12-30T03:38:00.000-05:00

Today, I recieved an sms from a friend and I wonder if it may be true and I hope it won't. If it happens to be true, the pride that we share as Kenyans may be thrown down the drain due to tribal clashes and civil wars. Pray that it won't be true. Here it is:

'NSIS leak has warned that Kibaki will be declared winner after Kalonzo and contestants jointly concede defeat and donate votes. Kalonzo will then become VP. ONU will sponsor riots. Kibaki will declare 3 days curfew: state of emergency. Govt will take over all broadcasting rights. Key ODM officials will be arrested for causing civil unrest. All forms of communication will be CUT. Store food for 5 days. Please don’t travel. Stay where you are.'

Bluetooth, how did we ever live without it.

2007-12-26T08:44:00.000-05:00

In 2008 Bluetooth technology turns 10-years-old and marks 10,000 members but how exactly did we ever survie without it? I wonder. Well, we just used to carry around cables wherever we go: home, office, school? nah..

Anyway, bluetooth technology syncs phones, headsets, computer, radios, tvs, keyboards etc[the list is endless] and now comes bluetooth 2.0 which promises greater transfer speeds than its predecessor. the BBC technology programme click once dedicated a full episode to the pros and cons of bluetooth tech and though I knew everything [just jokin], I think it would be wise for you to watch it. just search the BBC site for a programme called click[current url: bbc.co.uk/click] and check the achive.

This technology, however comes with several disadvantages too the major one being bluejacking. This is just what it says; hi-jacking or hacking into a phone using bluetooth and since it is still not illegal in Kenya to hack, whay not have some fun.

Using software freely available from the net, i was able to hack into my sister's phone from my comp and deleted all the games before using it to connect to the net. This is not so easy coz the phone user is usually warned of every action but since she had her settings configured to accept all bluetooth stuff from the comp, it was so easy it hurts so watch out when walking around with a bluetooth headset lest you fall into the hands of a bluejacker. this is my own vocabulary. happy bluetoothing. Check out http://www.bluetooth.com/bluetooth/

Thus I have ogu2d.

Do we need Vista?

2007-12-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

Some guys may just put me off by saying that Windows Vista has better graphics than Xp but I ask, do we really need windows vista?

I had a chance to use it on my computer about three months ago when it was still news to be seen with a laptop or desktop running vista and after two days of shock, t was just like any other os and I started wondering whether I should've been wiser not to buy one.

I must confess that it is much easier for a compter newbie to learn how to use vista and that it is appealing to the eye but in sooth [truth for those who've not read shakespear's books] we are just fine with xp which I still believe to be Microsoft's best OS.

There is nothing really new in vista. The only new thing is that you have less software available for you to use so think twice before you fall into the trap. Infact, think Linux which is free, better looking and of course, they even ship for you free cds. check out htttp://shipit.ubuntu.org

Thus I have Ogu2d

Kenya's Most Visited Sites

2007-12-26T03:59:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! and Google have topped Kenya's most visited sites acoording to Alexa. This is definately no surprise cnsidering the fact that most Kenya's still preffer Yahoo Mail to Google's own Gmail. Yahoo has, for long, been Kenya's top free mail provider and the introduction of Gmail a few years ago did little to shake its prominence in Kenya [many kenyans didn't want to change their addresses and since the internet coverage is very small in Kenya, not many have had a chance to join 'new' networks like Gmail or ...]

Windows' Search engine, windows live, was next in queue after the two followed by social networking site facebook. MSN and the hi5 network followed right after. It is interesting to note that I have cosistently heard more and more people around nairobi talking of this site alongside facebook and MySpace.

Next in line was Rapidshare and the number 1 blogging site, blogger.com.

Oh by the way the last site, surprisingly was Kibaki's site. It's unfortunate that I didn't see Raila Odinga's for I really want a change [especially because the current government has not approved the One Laptop Per Child Programme or Intel's Classmate PC {laptop}]

Happy Surfing.

1. Yahoo.com
2. Google.com
3. Google.co.ke
4. Live.com
5. facebook.com
6. msn.com
7. hi5.com
8. youtube.com
9. rapidshare.com
10. blogger.com

FYI: I'm sure youtube didn't scoop first position because most connections in Kenya have very low downlink speeds of ~50kbps. Mine's a mere 75kbps by popote wireless

You ca check the rest at http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?cc=KE&ts_mode=country&lang=none

Linux- the truth

2007-12-25T14:51:00.000-05:00

It is written that the truth will set you free. In court, people swear to tell the truth but it is common knowledge that a good number don't. Anyway, I believe that whatever I am writing now is true and will remain so forever.

Linux is hard to use?#%$ Not really

Okay, maybe for a guy who's setting his fingers on a pc for the first time, it may be hard. But the truth is that it' just as easy as any other OS. OK, at times it may really reallllly give you a headache but all the os do. The good thing is that once you are able to solve a problem(normall hardware) in one distro, you can almost do it in all.

Linux is only black and white. Not really

That's a lie. The truth is that some are but not all. Take an example of one of the most common distros, Ubuntu [where they ship you free OS cds from their site shipit.ubuntu.org]. It is very beautiful, much better than xp and I find it better than vista. Anyway, Dell [not a clone but the real branded computer manufucturing firm] actually adopted it as a preinstalled OS with its systems. Check the snapshot above.

There are no applications for linux. Of course not!

Linux has a lot of open source software. Anything windows can do, linux can. There are multimedia programs [for music, video, dvds], there are also office programs[for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations...] and most can even read, write and edit MS Office programs. There are programs for image and video editing, web designing, networking, security enhancement and of course there are games. Most of which are free. Free as in freedom, they say.

You cannot run MS Games and Programs on Linux. Who said so? of course you can.

With an add on called wine, you can easily run MS .exe files and games. You can get your copy at winehq.org

Much said, I believe that linux is the OS for the future. With rumours spreading of Google's own Goobuntu Linux around the corner, there is no doubt that its entry will attract a lot of Google Addicts[me incl] to linux [though I'm already in].

Join the group go to http://www.linux.org/ for reviews or get your free copy at http://shipit.ubuntu.org . Good luck. Remember that Linux is free and open source.

Welcome

2007-12-25T14:40:00.000-05:00

I welcome thee to my blog created officially on Christmas Day (25th dec.) of 2007. I'm not saying that I'll be posting stuff everyday for now but I'll try to update my site regularly. Otherwise, happy 2008 and happy holidays.

FYI: I love linux (better than windows or mac)