WHEN THE DEAL IS SWEETER THAN SWEET THINK TWICE.

                           

In my ups an downs I  window shopped at  tuskys  supermarket in Kakamega and realized oh my God! Christmas is here again and  everybody is giving offers,discounts and vouchers all in the name of Christmas.

one thing is for sure,marketers and advertises are doing what they do best convincing you to buy what you dint want to buy.Personally I don't have a problem with them doing their job  after all they keep the industry rolling! but i must admit  that one digital pay station are duping customers.look at the article below courtesy of CIO EAST AFRICA

Star Times media slashes decoder pricing by 33% in Christmas offer 

Star Times Media, a digital Pay Television company has today announced a significant drop in the price of its DVB T2 approved digital decoders that will see the company sell the decoders at just Ksh 1,999 up from Ksh 2,999 reflecting a 33% discount for Kenyans aimed at giving them a Christmas offer that will run from 1st of November to the 31st of December. The decoders which will have a 1 year warranty will be available at all Star Times outlets across Kenya.

From the above   information nothing seems fishy but my investigation revealed a calculative  move by the company to reap maximum from unsuspecting buyers.here is the truth:

an offer has a period and once over   you pay as usual

The company only wants to entice people to buy the decoder then increase the price of subscription

The current decoders are not durable and may not last long without having issues.

The price of the decoder is KSHS 1999/- but what you are not told is that the actual price of the decoder is 2500/- as 500/- is the fee you  MUST pay  as minimum subscription fee.

So my dear friends as we approach Christmas to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ remember to  get full information from an offer that seems too good to be true ,be it a mobile phone,TV,radio or holiday offer just  remember the devil lies in the details!.

TRAVELLING VIA ROAD IN KENYA

 THE MATATU EXPERIENCE

 I frequently get asked what it means.Before I Was somehow convinced that I could actually put words next to each other and tell a story, I was a vivid reader of biographies and personal journals; stories about how humble people who were probably the least in the society managed to raise to the top of the world. I know how Sherlock homes was founded; how Bill Gates built Microsoft; how Kalashnikov invented the AK47; Ted Turner and CNN     among other great men and women Today I’m not really interested in how so and so did what they did to be who they are; I want to find out what it is; that the majority did not do and the reason they did not do that; which would have made the difference in their lives. I used to try to explain to people what it really means, but soon gave up on that. People just don't get it. I tell them that it means "taxi" in Swahili. But those of you who have been to Kenya, and travelled in a matatu, know that that really does not sum up the experience if riding in a matatu.

"Matatu" comes from the swahili word (or Kikuyu,Luhya or Bantu depending on who you listen to) for "three." It used to cost 3 shillings to ride in a matatu. But what is a matatu? These days, a matatu is usually a minibus, or other public transportation in Kenya. When I was in Kenya, a matatu was usually (and probably still is, farther from the larger cities) a pickup truck, with a cover on the bed. For a few shillings a piece, as many people as can cram in there, with their baggage, and perhaps some livestock, can get a ride to where they are going. And often there would be baggage on the top, and perhaps some chickens on top, and several people hanging out the back door.

Riding in a matatu, particularly for any distance, is an experience that you won't soon forget. Sure, it can be dangerous, and the drivers are well-known for their reckless driving. People are killed on the Kenya roads every week by some careless matatu driver.

Though most of us like to hate them Matatus are hear to stay and no matter what happens  thousands  of peolple will wait eagerly to board the matatu.Matatu drivers and conducters have peculiar habits and behaviour that makes them anonymously  kenyan.

First there is a crescendo of groaning engine, rattling metal and a booming sound system. Then the horn blasts to announce the arrival of the matatu: a small, minibus taxi that is an icon of Kenyan travel.

The rickety shell of rusty metal, failing brakes and billowing exhaust waits impatiently on the side of the road for its latest passenger.

Then it is off again. Rushing through the city with no awareness of the rules of the road. Driving into oncoming traffic, zig-zagging through the cars and using pavements as short cuts. Avoiding the Nairobi congestion and confusing passengers by taking routes other than the prescribed one. It is a rollercoaster ride. Yet it is the main mode of transportation for Kenyans, whose average income of $2 a day, means the 30 Kenyan shilling (KES) ride is their only option.To an outsider matatus look like pure chaos but to a familiar passenger the  big mouthed verbal diarhoering  conductors are  an every day  thing.

The conductors charge you by your appearance and always make claims loudly using vulgar language to frighten other  passengers.They so often seek the support of  passengers by making it seem that the passenger they are overcharging made a mistake.

Like them or hate them the  Matatu conductors  are still there.

Matatu driver drivers especiaaly in Nairobi have a habit of overlapping,believe me you these guys dare to pass wher even the devil  will fear,they have  driving skills that makes me think that they could make the best teachers in our driving schhool.A  friend of mine who was once a matatu driver  cant just avoid overlapping.I once asked the guy why he cant just be patient for traffic to ease and he told me its in the blood.

I later found out that the  drivers and conductors have to appear to be `macho` so that the are respected and are able to  hustle and harrass passengers.

Jesus once said that when you go to rome do what romans do and thats what our  Matatu Conductors do,be macho to get the best worm.The  famous michuki rules were long gone even before the man himself died.

Althogh their  Drivers and conductors seems normal its time we borrowed  some tips from our Ugandan neibhours.

The  traffic rules in   Uganda are observed to the  latter .The gorvernment can come up with  compulsory public relations  classes for  drivers and touts,this might help to ease the  accidents,rudnesss and  breaking of traffic rules on our kenyan roads,the recently instilled By -laws  by the Nairobi city council will go alon way in ensuring road safety.The central Gorvernment shoul also implement the traffic bill so that there is law and order on our roads.Meanwhile overloading,overlapping ,bribes are still the order of the day until something is done and remember it begins with you and me!!!!!

WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE CCK COUNTERFEIT PHONES CRACKDOWN

WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE CCK COUNTERFEIT PHONES CRACKDOWN

As  CCK  2 day deadline approaches one thing is for sure, there are losers and   beneficiaries of the crackdown.

The greatest losers of the crackdown are the  Mobile phone service providers  who make millions of shillings from the subscribers and the Mobile phone owners of the counterfeit phones . The question is who is responsible for importing and selling these  counterfeit phones  to innocent Kenyans? and was the government aware of the existence of these problem and why was nothing done  to deny importation  of the counterfeit phones?.

Someone somewhere was definitely sleeping on the job.The crackdown could take a new twist after  a lobby group in Nairobi moved to court  yesterday  to stop he CCK   from switching of counterfeit phones.BUNGE la wazalendo  and residents of mathare want a court order to order three government agencies  to compensate them  for the loss of their  phones.They also want CCK,Kenya bureau of standards and Kenya revenue authority  held accountable for the entry  of the fake phones in  the country.

for now its eyes and  wide open   as this petition might just change everything in the 2day CCk dead line.

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

Auuuuuuuuwwwwwwwww!,that's an alarming cry  yes that was me this morning after the alarm went of continuously,somehow i found the phone on the floor in the morning  having dissembled itself and you can only guess what could have happened .Having slept late in the night after spending time with my daughter who only has the opportunity to see her `Father` late in the  night I asked myself am i just a father or  a dad? anyway that is a story for another day..Of course I spend more time at work than i spend with my beautiful daughter tiffany Indusa. The little angel has started uttering words and yes `Baba`  among the first words she started uttering and  believe it or not `Tussy` was the first word that my   daughter uttered and oh yes  she actually meant to say Pussy to refer to  our naught pussy cat.Overtime my daughter has developed  a kind of relationship  with the cat that  i always imagine that she actually thinks the pussy cat will one day stand up and walk on its hind legs just like we humans do!these got me thinking  now that my daughter does not now how to thoroughly express herself we are forced to imagine what she is thinking and do what she is trying to say.

I remembered a scenario some years back during a breakfast  show on kiss 100 the question accumulated to a whooping one hundred and twenty thousand shillings before a person was finally able to figure out the answer to the question  .It might have been the simplicity or the ignorance or just people were thinking too much and out of the box .The question was simply imagine imagine you are locked up in a room with a hungry lion ,the house has a roof a window but the door and window are closed what would you do to avoid being eaten by this simple lion?!.Of course every reader is imagining a way out!!!. Believe it or not i tried to answer the question several times and failed  the question is simple but the  answer is simpler.

Today people with ability  to see  beyond the obvious are know as   prophets,creative ,critical and good problem solvers.It goes back to the brain,we sometimes like to limit our brain to the obvious and feel comfortable thinking of only what we know, but what if we started thinking of what  we havenot seen, heard,seen or felt ,yes the power of the mind.

Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming new images and sensations when they are not perceived through sight, hearing, or other senses. Imagination helps provide meaning to experience and understanding to knowledge; it is a fundamental faculty through which people make sense of the world, and it also plays a key role in the learning process. A basic training for imagination is listening to storytelling narrative,in which the exactness of the chosen words is the fundamental factor to "evoke worlds". It is a whole cycle of image formation or any sensation which may be described as "hidden" as it takes place without anyone else's knowledge. A person may imagine according to his mood, it may be good or bad depending on the situation. Some people imagine in a state of tension or gloominess in order to calm themselves. It is accepted as the innate ability and process of inventing partial or complete personal realms within the mind from elements derived from sense perceptions of the shared world.The term is technically used in psychology for the process of reviving in the mind, percepts of objects formerly given in sense perception. Since this use of the term conflicts with that of ordinary language, some psychologists have preferred to describe this process as "imaging" or "imagery" or to speak of it as "reproductive" as opposed to "productive" or "constructive" imagination. Imagined images are seen with the "mind's eye".

Imagination makes it possible to experience a whole world inside the mind. It gives the ability to look at any situation from a different point of view, and enables one to mentally explore the past and the future.

It manifests in various forms, one of which is daydreaming. Though too much idle daydreaming may make one impractical, some daydreaming, when not being engaged in something that requires attention provides some temporary happiness, calmness and relief from stress.

In your imagination you can travel anywhere in the speed of light without any obstacles. It can make you feel free, though temporarily, and only in the mind, from tasks, difficulties and unpleasant circumstances.

Imagination is not limited only to seeing pictures in the mind. It includes all the five senses and the feelings. One can imagine a sound, taste, smell, a physical sensation or a feeling or emotion. For some people it is easier to see mental pictures, others find it easier to imagine a feeling, and some are more comfortable imagining the sensation of one of the five senses. Training of the imagination gives the ability to combine all the senses.

A developed and strong imagination does not make you a daydreamer and impractical. On the contrary, it strengthens your creative abilities, and is a great tool for recreating and remodeling your world and life.

This is a great power that can change your whole life. It is used extensively in magick, creative visualization and affirmations. It is the creator of circumstances and events. When you know how to work with it, you can make your hearts' desires come true.

Imagination has a great role and value in each one's life. It is much more than just idle daydreaming. We all use it, whether consciously or unconsciously, in most of our daily affairs. We use our imagination whenever we plan a party, a trip, our work or a meeting. We use it when we describe an event, explain how to arrive to a certain street, write, tell a story or cook a cake.

Imagination is a creative power that is necessary for inventing an instrument, designing a dress or a building, painting a picture or writing a book. The creative power of imagination has an important role in the achievement of success in any field. What we imagine with faith and feelings comes into being. It is the power beyond creative visualization, positive thinking and affirmations.

Visualizing an object or a situation, and repeating often this mental image, attracts the object or situation into our lives. This opens for us new, vast and fascinating opportunities.

This means that we should think only in a positive manner about our desires, otherwise we may create and attract into our lives events, situations and people that we don't really want. This is actually what most of us do, because we don't use the power of imagination correctly.

If you do not recognize the importance of the power of the imagination, and let it run riot, your life may not be as happy and successful as you would have wanted it to be.

Lack of understanding of the power of the imagination is responsible for the suffering, incompetence, difficulties, failures and unhappiness people experience. For some reason, most people are inclined to think in a negative way. They do not expect success. They expect the worst, and when they fail, they believe that fate is against them. This attitude can be changed, and then life will improve accordingly.

Understanding how to use your imagination correctly, and putting this knowledge into practice, for your own and others' benefit, will put you on the golden path to success, satisfaction and happiness.

Todays Nation newspaper caught my eye  and i  thought the huge power  that imagination carries  Charles Onyago Oboo    he has talked of a new jig that focuses on  how new technologies  an media can save the world  .Most innovations  are born out of  poverty or difficulty and oh yes! i conquer with him   and its time we came up with innovations  born out of normalcy and happiness.

From facebook to twitter to google +   to android phones and new applications to security agencies and major business , all rely on  peolple with ability to see beyond the obvious
.

Next time there is a criminal  incident and   police foil the plot ,when you watch your favorite Nigerian movie,Mexican soap Opera ,read your favorite novel yes there is the power of imagination behind the  foiled robbery their is  a creative innovate or critical thinker behind all these.

M-pesa,Cid,Nsis,Tvs,Governments,Radios,Advertisements, all these Organizations make critical decisions everyday based on the current situation and foretelling what might happen in the future,yes imagining.

Successful organizations are able to foretell trends and adjust to technology no wonder Kodak  failed to adapt to digital technology and know they are near to bankruptcy.

some people even believe love and strong marriages  or bad and unsuccessful relationships  are determined by what  both partners imagine or perceive each other

next time you are asked asked a question  or you are faced with a problem  think and imagine all possible solutions to the problems and believe you me you will  appreciate the power of imagination  and  the answer to the one twenty thousands  shillings  question on kiss100 was to simply to stop imagining an the lion disappears,yes check  your limit of imagination to avoid living in a fantasy world ,imagine it ,believe in it and you will  achieve the ultimate power of imagination.

CASHING IN ON DEADLINES THE KENYAN WAY.

          CASHING IN ON DEADLINES THE

              KENYAN WAY.

 

During my leisure time  yesterday, i got a chance to go through yesterdays  Nation newspaper and i could not fail to notice the high number of advertisements in the inside pages .On a day like tuesday i have not seen so many adverts like yesterday and especially mobile phones adverts.One thing was clear all the adverts were emphasizing originality of the phones an his got me thinking oh my GOD!,the deadline is here,four days to go  and so mobile phone dealers  and mobile phone subscriber companies like safari com and orange are taking advantage  of the craze and enticing customers  to buy their products which are `original`these got me thinking what  makes a device original?The good old wikipedia came in handy in understanding of original and i got the definition of the term originality an original work is one not received from others nor one copied based on the work of others.. It is a work created with a unique style and substance. The term "originality" is often applied as a compliment to the creativity of artists, writers, and thinkers.s  ,in our case an original phone is a phone created  with unique style  and substance  so this makes it unique and easy to distinguish from the rest of other phones. while a fake or `china `mobile phone as they are commonly referred to is a replica of the original phone and a  replica is an exact reproduction executed by the original maker  or a copy or reproduction, especially one on a scale smaller than the original ^.A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original.

One of the many reasons that  seems to  make CCK(Communications Commission of Kenya) is that fake mobile devices are making it very difficult for policemen to conduct their work  as it is not easy to trace  the owner of a  fake phone as  it doesn't have an IMEI(international Mobile Equipment Identity) number or shares an IMEI numberwith another device  and so  one cannot tell the true owner of the mobile device.

The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique, to identify  (i.e., GSM, UMTS and LTE) and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone. It can also be displayed on the screen of the phone by entering *#06# into the keypad on most phones.
The IMEI number is used by a GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore can be used for stopping a stolen phone from accessing that network. For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her network provider and instruct them to "blacklist" the phone using its IMEI number. This renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks too, whether or not the phone's SIM is changed.
The IMEI is only used for identifying the device and has no permanent or semi-permanent relation to the subscriber. Instead, the subscriber is identified by transmission of an IMSI number, which is stored on a SIM card that can (in theory) be transferred to any handset. However, many network and security features are enabled by knowing the current device being used by a subscriber.

Another factor that appears to be making CCk crack down on these devices is that many importers of these unregistered or  `fake` phones do not pay import duty an so the Government is loosing a lot of Tax and therefore the Government   seeks to seal this loophole and make some money as Importers will now import Original phones and people will buy original phone s hence the Government  is a great beneficiary of these  campaign.  

Although the Campaign has only given the option of  Subscribers purchasing Original phones,the Government  could make more money if it allowed the current users of these phones to retain their phones but have special devices installed on their phones and then their  are allocated new IMIE numbers

When India was carrying such a campaign  subscribers with the so called fake phones were allowed to retain their phones  but a special device was installed on their phone and their were issued with new IMIE  numbers.

At a time when Government is facing difficulties having  hard times collecting new revenues for teachers increased salaries this could be an opportunity in waiting.Although CCK may switch of  fake phones Kenyans are clever and crafty people ,with technology at our disposal  this might just be an opportunity for scrupulous crafty phone technicians o make money by reprogramming phone and making them work again ,as te deadline closely approaches lets wait and  whether  CCk and  the Government will make true  their threat  or will extend the  4 day deadline period .

Cracking Your PIN Code: Easy as 1-2-3-4

If you lost your ATM card on the street, how easy would it be for someone to correctly guess your PIN and proceed to clean out your savings account? Not long, according to data scientist, Nick Berry, founder of Data Genetics, a Seattle technology consultancy.

Berry analyzed passwords previously from released and exposed password tables and security breaches and filtered the results to just those that were exactly four digits long [0-9]. There are 10,000 possible combinations that the digits 0-9 can be arranged to form a four-digit code. Berry analyzed those to find which are the least and most predictable. He speculates that if users select a four-digit password for an online account or other web site, it's not a stretch to use the same number for their four-digit bank PIN codes.
What he found, he says, was a "staggering lack of imagination" when it comes to selecting passwords. Nearly 11% of the 3.4 million four-digit passwords he analyzed are 1234. The second most popular PIN in is 1111 (6% of passwords), followed by 0000 (2%). (Last year SplashData compiled a list of the most common numerical and word-based passwords and found that the "password" and "123456" topped the list.)

Berry says that a whopping 26.83% of all passwords could be guessed by attempting just 20 combinations of four-digit numbers (see first table). "It's amazing how predictable people are," he says.
We don't like hard-to-remember numbers and "no one thinks their wallet will get stolen," Berry says.
Days, months, years
Many of the commonly used passwords are, of course, dates: birthdays, anniversaries, the year you were born, etc. Indeed, using a year, starting with 19__ helps people remember their code, but it also increases its predictability, Berry says. His analysis shows that every single 19__ combination be found in the top 20% of the dataset.
"People use years, date of birth — it's a monumentally stupid thing to do because if you lose your wallet, your driver's license is in there. If someone finds it, they've got the date of birth on there. At least use a parent's date of birth [as a password]," says Berry.
Keyboard patterns

Somewhat intriguing was #22 on the most common password list: 2580. It seems random, but if you look at a telephone keypad (or ATM keypad) you'll see those numbers are straight down the middle — yet another sign we're uncreative and lazy password makers.
The least predictable password
The least-used PIN is 8068, Berry found, with just 25 occurrences in the 3.4 million set, which equates to 0.000744%. (See the second table for the least popular passwords.) Why this set of numbers? Berry guesses, "It's not repeating pattern, it's not a birthday, it's not the year Columbus discovered America, it's not 1776." At a certain point, these numbers at the bottom of the list are all kind of "the lowest of the low, they're all noise," he says.
A few other interesting tidbits from Berry:
-The most popular PIN code (1234) is more popular than the lowest 4,200 codes combined.
- People have even less imagination in choosing five-digit passwords — 28% use 12345.
- The fourth most popular seven-digit password is 8675309, the Tommy Tutone song.
-People love using couplets for their PINs: 4545, 1313, etc. And for some reason, they don't like using pairs of numbers that have larger numerical gaps between them. Combinations like 45 and 67 occur much more frequently than 29 and 37.
- The 17th-most common 10-digit password is 3141592654 (for you non-math nerds, those are the first digit

MR.ZAVANI

GET INSIPIRED BY AFRICA`S RICHEST MAN

Aliko Dangote, president of Africa’s biggest conglomerate, Dangote Group, is the richest man in Africa and richest black man in the world. Coming from a humble beginning to sit  on top a vast business empire that spans across various countries in Africa, you can’t help but ask how he has used his wealth to touch the lives of the down trodden in society.

Besides employing thousands of qualified people in his conglomerate, Dangote has been involved in one form of philanthropic gesture or the other. Following the wave of violence that swept through most parts of Northern Nigeria in the aftermath of the 2011 general elections, the multi-billionaire businessman gave displaced persons $600 (about N100,000) each to help ameliorate the effect of the crisis. He’s also known to have donated millions to education, health and social causes.

Nowadays, he counts those same names he has been frequently compared with – the Bill Gates and Warren Buffetts – as the inspiration behind his decision to step up his giving and making it public.

Watch this video (follow link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e72lR1KgEQ or watch it below) from the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, held in New York this June, where Dangote shared his thoughts on giving, philanthropy and the benefits of changing lives.

NAKED PHOTOs of Marya, STL and Millicent 

  After Campus Divas for Rich men, here comes East Africa’s Baddest and Rudest B*tches. The Facebook page has over 18,000 followers and prides in posting online photos of nude celebs and random persons. Additionally, the page puts half dressed, or artists in extremely revealing attire.

Local female celebs such as STL, Marya and BBA’s Millicent Mugadi are angered by the page that has lifted their images from the internet and posted them on the page. Millicent claims that the admin of the page has put naked pictures next to an individual who looks like her making it seem like she took nude photos.

 She says that regardless of reporting the case to Facebook headquarters all week, no action has been taken against the page. Millicent has been jetting in and out of
Ghana and Nigeria in the recent past for a couple of shows. She was informed by her cousin leaving in Australia about her pics that were on the internet.

The page posts sensational comments to spark its fans for some reaction. Topics of debate are mostly sexually related. The artists are calling upon the women to protect their images and avoid posing nudes.

More NAKED PHOTOS of Kate ..WOT IN GOD`S NAME?! 

 If you have been following this saga in the British tabloids, it has now escalated into the courts.

What is wrong with this Royal Family or are papparizis exciding their limits on the royal family?

First was Prince Harry now Kate........

ITS ONLY IN NAIJJA!

Wonders they say will never cease. The weirdest things just seem to happen only in Nigeria and when we think that’s the last we will ever hear, another one suddenly pops up reminding us that we are not done yet. From the little child that was allegedly born with what looks like the holy Qur’an in his hand to the one that was born firmly holding a rosary in one hand, one common thread runs through all of them, they defy logical reasoning. Read this below and share your thoughts:

Worshippers at the World Liberation Ministry located along old Sapele-Benin express road on Tuesday took to their heels during a prophesy programme when a female member gave birth to a horse.

The horse was however dead by the time Journalists visited the church. It was gathered that the woman whose identity is not yet known started screaming during the prayer session and began to bleed from the v*g*na before the horse came out.

The General Overseer of the church, Evangelist Silva Wealth, said he was still amazed at what came out of the woman. He told Journalists that during prayers a revelation came that there was a woman with an issue and that something was blocking her womb. Silva said as prayers intensified, the woman started screaming and bled as the object came out of her.

The cleric said he couldn’t confirm whether the horse was dead or alive because he didn’t go near it.

“I can’t describe the object. We have seen people that vomited several things during our service but not this type of thing. God has been blessing our ministry with prophesies and miracles”, he said.

As soon as news of the mysterious delivery filtered into town, people rushed to the church to catch a glimpse of the horse.