Cross Roads

Have you ever given someone a microphone to speak at the last minute right before ending an event and then regretted your action? I suspect something similar happened at a recent event which for now will remain unnamed. The event was put together well, but as can be expected the 'strugglers' began to file in towards the end of the meeting. Even after missing core aspects of the meeting they still expected to enjoy the refreshments. I have encounters with similar crowds at a local hotel in which this time around the host of people came in as Journalists and claimed their right to Per Diem and other forms of compensation for spending the day at our informative health related event. Needless to say there was no evidence of Identification linking the aforementioned 'scribes' to the stations of note to which they so passionately referred. While we sympathize with the populace (hunger can be a very debilitating drive) and in particular gate crashers whose skill in finding eve

Yesterday, 26th of November 2013, I had the privilege of attending a round table discussion for the Innovation prize for Africa. I have attended two similar events one hosted by Outboxhub and organized Pivot East (July 27th 2012) as well as another hosted by Hivecolab and organized by Demo-Africa (October 27th 2012). Broadly speaking the groups which organize these events are built to harness the innovative skills of African users in an effort to solve local problems. Over the years some categories have emerged based on challenges that are unique to the African setting. Naturally, Mobile Technology and its rise in prominence has contributed to much of the excitement and as a result fueled the drive to create technology related solutions. While other sectors such as tourism, industry have also benefitted, the rest the continents attention has been focused on Health and Agriculture. Having realized that shift from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere both in terms o

There are probably many more complex processes that are involved in the rise of cultures and the consequent export of their influence. I have identified a few which in my view have contributed to the rise of American Influence. There IS a possibility that India is making use of a similar model and that eventually, the country will continue to make inroads in this area too! The first is to capitalize on the educational experience . Everything about K-12 and even aspects of University life is celebrated. While there are aspects that are highly stratified, they are nonetheless emphasized and accentuated. The geeks, the jocks, the babes, the cheerleaders...the janitor. The second is to harness the media in celebrating various universal experiences. This is where Hollywood comes in (globally and in Los Angeles) and where Broadway ( which celebrates culture using drama and music for emphasis). The third is the creation of language and it's relation to counter-culture. The inevita

There are in my view, two major paths from which you can make use of statistical data for your web page. The simplest is using google analytics. Using the universally available tools you identify the sight you wish to track (as well as other primary sights) and then place the ID that google gives you in the header section of your page. You need to have or to be in touch with your web host in order to make use of these services. Either you or your host and web designer then places this line of script into your index page or in all the pages you wish to track. The ability to track sub domains is probably an additional tool in google's script tools. The second method is available to most website hosts in their platforms. As long as a sight is placed in the right folder, the tools provided ensure that every page is tracked. Because mosthost platforms have tools of their own, conflicts often arise when methods of analytics are employed. For example, google analytics scripts can be det

A few weeks years ago, i came across an interesting TED talk (not the Ted that used the Filibuster rule and gave a speech for 24 hrs). It was by Derek Sivers (DerekSivers_2010G.mp4). He talks about how you can ruin your chances of getting something done by telling people about it. Apparently, the psychology equates the telling to the doing and creates a sense of satisfaction. His conclusion is that (just an example) the slightly overweight person should keep his plans to himself and just do the routine. Do not tell anyone about your plans. You are less likely to get anything done if you do.  I fear that the same applies when it comes to the attention that we get after we receive recognition. Some people who have risen to early often struggle to find the same high especially if they rise in their younger years. Maybe this is the fear that some have expressed in regard to Malala- the young Pakistani girl (I must confess that in my language of birth the term malala means pride). The nee

The game of chess there are Kings, Queens, Bishops, Castles, Knights and Pawns. The King is an absolute and has no qualms about using his Queen to defeat his foe. The Queen is content with her position and will fight to the end in defence of her King. Every battlefield has a religious (Bishop) aspect to it...social media is no different. If a cause has a moral point to it, it will be utilized. Most battles also have to do with real estate...these are absolute positions...property. Knight are often skilled warriors who need little or no supervision but who often have to chose between supporting either the King or the Queen. The weak pawn is limited in movement but not in ambition. He or She knows that if he can last long enough in the game, he can rise to be anything he pleases. The pawn also knows that often complex games can be fought with very few pieces...and pawns often feature in these games. The Kings There are systems which we have chosen to run our economies and to determine ou

There are two major tools for music in Ubuntu: 1. Rhythm Box 2. Banshee   Both of these tools have services and websites that are devoted to creative commons .  Under Rhythm Box, there is http://www.jamendo.com (promotion of music,publishing of music with payment, distribution under the CC license under the modern Some Rights Reserved, Peer-To-Peer Networks, access to bit-torrent and emule for downloads, ability for users to share, review and discuss content or music as well as a democratic rating system for albums) http://www.magnatune.com (free listing, hand picking, simple interface, no forced registration, access to many genres, no copy protection, low pressure to name a few) Under Banshee, there is last.fm which allows you to register and then receive access to your music using your favourite streaming service. The Creative Commons landscape is a lot closer to the model that is used in the design and creation of Ubuntu in particular and Linux platforms in general (Open So

1 Sam 22:1-2 1. David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2. And every one that was in distress , and every one that was in debt , and every one that was discontented , gathered themselves unto him and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. Lessons -Running away does not change the idea that you are anointed to perform a task. -Your place of escape could serve as a meeting place and point of restoration for your family. -You must be practical in dealing with the three dimensions. Distress, Discontent and Debt. History The story takes us through the development of the nation and its leaders and helps create a backdrop from which we can understand the method God will use to communicate to his people. We watch the transition of power from one Priest to another (Eli to Samuel 1 Samuel 4:21) and the amazing process by which a whole g

At the height of the 2008 elections and four years after that, the US was said to have been split equally between two. Even if the time has passed since the first civil war, the circumstances under which it occurred, are in my view pretty much the same. To begin with, the Americans were still fresh with thoughts from the Revolutionary wars. The distaste for colonial sentiments was still high and residue from earlier experiences was still evident in daily living. As can be expected, descendants and supporters of England were still present and active and as can be expected entrenched in the new democratic system. It was therefore natural that a certain downward flow of the great stream of freedom needed to be allowed to take its course. The nation was growing and needed to finance its defensive as well as its offensive forces. Defensively, there was a realization that even if there had been victories against the better armed and better financed Colonial Master, a tougher battle lay a

Two days ago, I attended a prize giving session at the Hive Colab in Kamwokya, on Kanjokya Street. The event dubbed AppCircus was the brain child of an international group with a local chapter called Mobile Monday. Some of the more popular applications for the day was one which was designed to help you find the best restaurants in Kampala. The success of this application seems to point to something greater-the emergence of a geek class and it's relationship with American Culture. I am not certain what the source of this phenomenon is but I can see a direct relationship between the rise of this class and the manner in which American Culture has been exported to Uganda. We do have a culture that enjoys to dine out but in my view we are not as intense as the Americans. In other posts I mentioned in brief some of the opportunities that exist in the restaurant business. Experience shows that a lot goes into the establishment of these types of businesses. My concern is, that in

I currently use or run a version of Ubuntu LTS alongside a copy of XP (large volume license). There are several reasons why i am yet to upgrade my Ubuntu Platform. The first is about time, the second is about internet speed and bandwidth, the third is i still have some time before support runs out. The third reason is the most important reason having received my copy in 2011. Even though this is the case, i have not yet fully utilized the software nor have i thought about accessing support. Most of my online needs are met by search platforms and more experienced users. Even if i have tried to preach the open source gospel especially to Not for Profit Organizations, i am yet to make a breakthrough . In the meantime i still run the O.S while finding other sources of software and getting more familiar with the interface. Maybe Microsoft needs to think about the idea of support around similar lines. I am amazed that Windows 2000 still has a following that insists on its stability . L

Africa Leadership Dialogues presented some trends that in their view are driving business development. This list is impressive and what it mans for me, is that i can take advantage of these trends and create resources, and services around them. China, Brazil and Africa If you are not going to be a direct beneficiary of overseas investment, on a national level, maybe you can learn a language (Portuguese and Cantonese or Mandarin). Perhaps you can study the history of possible development projects and build or train in skills that might be useful in supporting 'National Projects'. Constructions of road and other infrastructure might call for some skill in welding, carpentry and others.  Agriculture There are some opportunities here too although much of the work needs to take place with government. In the past Cooperatives were very useful in harnessing business opportunities and influencing governments in creating better policy mechanisms, but we have suffered a lot under unfair

About two weeks ago, i was watched Django Unchained. The Movie was done by Quentin Tarantino and is yet another is his retinue of classic or masterful presentation of the great controversial debate on slavery. Directors have a signature with which they present their material and he is no exception. In my view, he uses dry humor with a mix of brutal violence as well as an A-Class list of actors.  Samuel Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo De Caprio to name just a few. I guess this is often the purpose of laughter and ludeness. They tend to occur where the writer or director needs to have certain points emphasized. Samuel Jackson creeps into the picture with his swagger and skill and plays the role of the 'high level servant'. Jamie Foxx takes on the role of Django who goes on a quest of sorts and has to deal with dilemma of making tough choices. Leonardo De Caprio plays a very convincing Plantation owner whose mood swings seem to be tempered by his faithful servant (in this case playe

Proposal on the establishment of Work Spaces Introduction Walk casually into any cafe in Kampala or most our our cities for that matter, and the chances are, the conversations you hear will be about business or politics. At the center of many of this meetings, a well prepared meal often serves to calm the nerves to release the openness necessary for trade to take place. Look around these places and you will find someone fidgeting with a mobile device or urgently typing away on a notebook computer. Put all these things together and you have a recipe for a good business idea. The Idea The presence of wireless hotspots is not new nor is the idea of allowing guests access to the facilities for brief meetings. What we suggest is the creation of strategic business spaces in every cafe or restaurant to make business more accessible. As the name suggest and the three images, the spaces would merge already existing ideas to help put in place an idea that is r

Quantifying Relationships In social media circles, these guys have a corner of the market if not the whole block. Having interacted with some useful monitoring tools like Commun.it , i have made a list of necessities that in my view help define what twitter does specifically and what social media does in general. Commun.it in my view is probably built with a database at its core. The database links with your twitter page and begins to classify your information in several categories. 1. People who follow you: Followers 2. People you follow: Following 3. Messages you send or Tweets 4. Messages you like Favorite 5. People whose messages you favorite 6. Messages you re tweet 7. People you reply to 8. Message and key words within those messages Commun.It then gathers all this information and defines the responses into broad categories Influencers (based on how many follow), Engagers (based on how many interact), Community Participators (capitalizing on the desire of p

There three things at the heart of most businesses. These are some of the thoughts as created by Martin Bell . You need to think about your clients , your services or products and the technologies that you employ in serving these clients or in offering these services. Anytime you increase one of the above, the other two are also indirectly affected. If i get a new client who needs a service you are not providing, the chances are you will either add that if it is in your scope or at least help find that service for your client. If you add on your services, the chances are your clients will also increase. This works the same for your technologies. Do you use MAC only? Add Windows support, you are likely to get more clients.

Donkey and Elephants I was asked to weigh in on the Republican cause and suggest a strategy for the future. A little history first. I suppose i have the right to weigh in on the debate i was a direct beneficiary of the faith based initiatives which were part of the Bush Years. When i arrived in the U.S, my vision was to become a great preacher, wave my and in the air and have the masses fall Under the power of God. This changed when i joined a ministry in the Southern part of Texas, where i was quickly handed a rake and broom and thrust in the predominantly and fiercely pragmatic American life. I was awakened and rather shocked that i was doing this in a Christian Ministry. The group i was a part of had two major influences practical ministry was at the heart of the school. Not long after, we were in the neighborhood cutting the grass and clearing the yard for a single mother, and picking up the trash. I found out much later, that there is a strange link between the things we do

Rebels and Sons. Much has been said about Uganda's Rebel MPs and the battle for position in the Movement (National Resistance). I have written before attempting to make a case not for the weakness of the Movement necessarily but for the strength of the previous regimes. My argument all things considered was that even with the challenges that exist such as with Corruption, Bad Governance and Incomplete Social Metamorphosis (as spoken of in the Mustard Seed), we have paid little attention to the strength of the regimes that ruled prior to the movement. While intricate and intimate conversations about the inner workings of the ruling party should be left to the experts a little advise is necessary for those who we will for now refer to as sons. King Lear offers an interesting story for those who desire a full view of politics and the power of pleasantries. The King like many rulers often suffer from too much attention. This makes it very difficult to manage relations and to make d

Desktop Ubuntu Desktop Ubuntu Banshee Blam Feed Reader Blue Fish Editor Chess Evolution Firefox Browser Gpodder Podcast Client MonoDevelop OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet OpenOffice.org Word Processor Project Management Scribus Sound Recorder Take Screen Shot Terminal TomBoy Notes Xara Xtreme Banshee Works a lot like the rest of the team...but was downloaded to see if there is a tool in Ubuntu that can get access to the IPAD and tis music. FYI Ubuntu has a different file system structure and can often help you to understand Apple's File Structure. Blam Feed Reader There are times when i want to access information in small bits and in a classified manner. This feed reader has standard categorized blogs that cover most of the Linux based technologies and that can therefore be used to keep afloat with the issues. Blue Fish Editor My dual boot environment means that i have to often have a copy of one version of software in one system and

Its been a couple of weeks since the publication by the Observer article about Deportation . While the responses or comments from the readers varied from anger to more cool recognition of inconvenient truths, something else has emerged with equal and opposite significance-talk about a Dispora Ministry. The vice president of Uganda Edward Kiwanuka Sekandi addressed a group in the U.K where he  spoke of a new ministry in the works whose functions would include the creation of policy documents for those in the diaspora as well as inclusion in parliament or if you please representative and legislative space. This was probably in response to or in addition to some comments which were made by the Oxfam director Winnie Byanyima  at a separate event held in Texas. If this were a chess game and indeed it may well be, Dr. Besigye has done a great job on Deploying his queen in some very strategic posts in global governance. This after a stint in the African Union.   Her comments centered

There are many benefits to having technology but for those that are new to these technologies, the challenge of navigation can be quite daunting. I have created a written summary to make the task a little easeir for you. Writers Web Developers TV Software Support People Social Media Enthusiasts People interested in Personal Development Word Processing News Music Image Editing and Art Mapping Tools Music Game Platforms Financials File Sharing Feed Readers Religion and Faith Download Managers Browsers Summary of Applications The Ipad Desktop

Writers (IBooks, A Novel Idea, Writers...Lite, Moleskine, Be Write HD,Publish) IBooks A pre-installed tool from which you can get access to free books-especially literary classics. Most of Adobe format documents are stored in this application. As well as some relevant manuals from Apple. A Novel Idea After developing an interest in writing, i found a tool that lets you get a birds eye view of what it means to write a good novel and suggests a path way for you to use as you develop the book. Writers...Lite Another tool that lets you create a plan for your book. Moleskine An interesting tool that has the feel of a scrap book. Combine images, Text and good editing to create great experiences. Be Write HD This tool is what i use when i am posting blogs. I can create content and add images and then upload when i finally have my connection. Publish Another tool that lets you create and make sense of your ideas as they develop.

Web Development (JAM Lite!) After learning to use Joomla and developing some pages on this management system, the need to have an application that lets me make full use of my content is an attractive option.

TV (Arirang TV) One of our local channels had about six hours of Korean TV. My interest in Korean Drama means that i was hooked. When I found out there was an application for this station, i was hooked. This application gives you access to Documentaries, News, Music and More.

Support (TeamViewer) This is a great tool for support and is fun to watch especially as it involves controlling a remote computer using an Ipad. It should work for Ubuntu as well as Mac as long as there is a software equivalent on the desktop that needs support and a functioning internet line.

Social (Skype, Twitter, fin, Yoono, Pinterest, Blogger, LinkedIn, Bulk SMS,Tumblr, Viber,TexMe) Skype A useful application for those who wish to chat and enjoy the use of free calls. A little limited with the ipad 1...but hardware changes are possible. Twitter Another great tool to have. It has the same features as the web version but serves as a good take-along-tool. fin Tool to help you integrate all your social media tools in one space. Yoono I first used this application in Windows as well as Ubuntu. It allows you to bring all your social media under the same 'roof'. Pinterest Back then i did not have the application because it had not yet been developped. But it is a must have for all artists and designers. It lets you choose a category so that you can receive updates from specific posts. Blogger I needed this because i am trying to develop my web log. With this tool installed, i can then process content (both images and text).

C.Horoscope To develop your interest in The Chinese Zodiac. Simply type in the date of your birth and the application gets you everything that you need. ChineseNewbie A useful tool to help you develop your knowledge of the language. It is useful because it places you right in the middle of everyday situations so that you can learn how to use the language. I would use this application as a template for the design of other language learning tools. News Clocks Need a few clocks on your ipad to help you to function in the global community or village, this is your tool. Planner HD If there are many projects you are working on, you will need this tool for reminders as well as progress reports. While there is a calendering tool that comes pre-installed on the ipad, this additional tool makes things much easier. CalPad Lite Another tool that can be used for the same purpose of planning.

Office (Office HD) This category only has one member. I used it for all my document processing needs. There are documents which are often created and saved in .doc format or .docx format. If this is the case, these documents are can be saved directly into a folder in Office HD. The ipad recognizes the application that you have installed and so offer ou the choice of saving it here. Documents that are created in Adobe Format are routed to the default Ibook reader. Office HD has come in handy and has served as my Resume Storage space. What this means, is that i create one document which i edit based on the specifics of the job description. I can then saved the same as a .PDF document and then send it to an email of choice as an attachment. Very useful application if you ask me!

News (Al Jazeera, POLITICO, New Vision) Al Jazeera I got a copy of this application in order to get access to more of their programs such as Head to Head, Witness, Empire and more. It is also a good tool in order to stream the content from the channel. POLITICO I must confess that i only developed an interest into this application after hearing it mentioned on MSNBC. It gives me well designed content on about three main pages of well written stuff. In addition to this i can get some video as well as some professionally taken photos. New Vision A locally designed tool for the use with the local daily.

Music (Garage Band, TuneIn Radio, DJ Rig) Garage Band This is top a top of the line application with multiple instruments and effects and much more capability if you can add the hardware and link it up to your studio. It is a must have for Disk Jockeys and Producers as well as music lovers and those who want to learn an instrument. TuneIn Radio I have this radio and use it most when i have a good internet connection. The radio allows me to 'visit' other countries through the eyes of good journalists and radio personalities. Another great feature about this application, is that it allows the user to record a program and listen to it later (a good tool for my intelligence gathering friends). DJ Rig Once of my most recent downloads. Still learning a lot more on how to use it. Current features are useful but can be upgraded.

Image (Art Rage, Idesk Lite, Animation HD, Photo Crop, Photo Re-sizer, Drawing Master, 3D Art Gallery, MyPics) Art Rage As an aspiring artist, you would be wrong to ignore the influence of technology on art. This is one of the best tools on the market for those who wish to experiment with different types of brushes, pens, pencils and more. These projects can then be transferred into the picture editor or emailed to friends for preview. Idesk Lite This is a useful tool to have in addition to your word processing application. I use it for professional presentations to add a little bit of an edge. Animation HD A good tool for creation of animation. It has standard tools for the user to profit from motion tweening and more. Users who require a little more can subscribe to more using the internet. Photo Crop As its title says, it is a good tool for cropping images. I often recommend a good image editing tool for all those with a knowledge or background in web de