I am being invaded by rss feeds. I read everything, yet I read nothing. There is so much information coming in at me, that it has become overwhelming, and for an information hog like myself thing have become pretty unmanageable. I have 196 feeds on my reader, beside feeds from aggregators such as nigeranbloggers, muti, afrigator, digg etc. I need to enroll in a twelve step program that will help me when it comes to letting go of my dear information. It is true that user generated content has opened up the internet in unimaginable way, but the sheer volume of the noise and borderline spamming on the internet is overwhelming. How do you deal with feeds? At what point do you say enough of this feeds? At what point does the value of time exceed the value of the information consumed? (actually the first differential of those quantities) I need help.
Imagine you have a choice between earning $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000 or earning $100,000 a year while other people get $250,000. Prices of goods and services are the same. Which would you prefer. Informal survey.
Elsewhere in Duduland I just received my copy of magazine (a photography magazine), it is so so cool, 111 pages and less than 10 ads. Why am I blogging About this? Because the content in JPG is all user generated, members post their pictures, the JPG community vote for which pictures should make it into the issue and kapish the magazine is born. The quality of the print is so good and the pictures are magnificent. This is probably the biggest testament for user generated content, I have ever seen. I am so feeling this move. Wouldn't this be a good framework for a Nigerian magazine. I am thinking of starting one culture arts type sha. But its going to be a PDFmagazine though, I do not have time to chase the printers about. If anybody out there starts this before I do, I will be willing to contribute hala at your boy. Here is a to half of issue 7, its a bit chunky 10meg
My biggest frustration in the area of technological adoption and economic growth in Nigerian has been in the education sector. One would assume that with the prohibitive cost of transportation and other hindrances, social and transaction in nature, online learning would boom in Nigeria. I do not buy the expensive computer and NEPA argument, my people rock $150 shoes. Another tool has been added to the countless kits online, MIT will offer its courses free online by year end. If this is coupled with Scott McNealy'sopen source textbook project, the sky will be the limit. This would not necessarily replace the formal education setup we presently have in Nigeria, but rather act as a boost.
Fear not Mr. Nigerian Professor, you will not loose any power associated with your office, rather you will get more ammunition to bamboozle your student. Even if it takes a while for Nigerian students to warm up to the idea of getting resources from other places beside their teachers and handouts, I see no reason why the teachers should not incorporate these kits into their courses. As a product of a Nigerian University I can attest to the fact that Nigeria's educational sector isn't as bad as sometimes portrayed by the media. I believe our problem is mostly that of focus and relevance. With a little help in direction we would surely be on our way to accomplish great deeds. Let us not perish for lack of information, spread the word.
MIT launched its "OpenCourseWare" program in 2003 and already offers hundreds of courses online. A small number of other U.S. schools are following suit. Stanford put some classes on line last year and Bryn Mawr plans to do so soon.
As the Yaradua Story unfolds, the illness, 'evacuation' as one Nigeria news agency put it, the death and the subsequent resurrection. A few issues come to mind; 1. Blogs have become quite powerful sources for real time information. 2. Information from bloggers should be held with a pinch of salt. I lost quite a bit of respect for some respectable bloggers. 3. The bandwagon effect in BloNGville is very strong. 4. Nigerian news agencies can no longer play the role of information hoarders, otherwise the armchair journalists aka bloggers will take over. 5. It is amazing that the Governor of Katsina state who has been ill for a couple of years could not use his position to put a functional hospital in the whole state. This is why I say there is no true 'rich man' Nigeria. Being rich in Nigeria means having more of what you had when you were poor. Kapish. 6. The BloNGville economy was devalued in the last 48 hours, since information is the currency, each time the whole ville chases after false gossip, there is a loss of credibility.
Housekeeping... I can now add all my naija blogs to my blog roll since I have managed to make my blog-roll neat and collapsible, so bring it on. Any body looking to jump on that wagon email me, or comment.
For those whose views are docemented online, . Title: Law Students Say Message Board Postings Are Costing Them Job Offers. I googled my own names, (I have a unique set of names, one in 6 billion actually), I was shocked as my blog was returned in the results. This was funny because I had never used my name on my blog. Also it appear namesdir.com crawls emails. The thingie returned my name and my surname as the only entry. urgh. I then googled every name in duduland, but alas none of their names were in the database. Now I feel violated.
Where have I been? when did they start this nonsense? Napoleon abolished France's incest laws in 1810. Neither is it a crime in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal or Turkey. Japan, Argentina and Brazil have also legalised it in recent years. Oh my gosh. I AM SO MAD! FURIOUS! LIVID! AAARRRRGGGHHHHHHHH! give me a word please! DISGUSTED, on the verge of PUKING! ARRRRRRRGGGGGGH! what is going on? whats happening to this world? So I'm watching TV tonight trying to unwind after work and this nonsense pops up on my screen A German brother and sister are challenging the law against incest so that they can continue their relationship free from the threat of imprisonment. Patrick Stübing, an unemployed locksmith, and his sister Susan have had four children together since starting a sexual relationship in 2000.(EEEEUUUUWWWW) Three of the children are in foster care, and two have unspecified disabilities. Baba God- have mercy......
I swiped this from , the responses on there, were quite interesting, I could not resist the temptation to put this up.
Mine was; a white Datsun Cherry, 1991, 5 speed manual transmission, nickname 'Okere' (squirrell). Very good on gas, which did not matter much, gas was 70 or 90 kobo per liter.
So I woke up with a stiff neck, looking like a retard and crying in between because it hurt so bad when I moved the wrong way. I have the day off, 9 to 5ers don;t hate o. Anyways jejeli I was lying in my bed when I heard a knock on the door, lol I was startled because me I no invite anybody o, so I rush to my door take note rushed o, ngwanu what if I tell you papapa key was in the door, both locks open , door swinging open. OH MY GOSH! I was livid, needless to say I was not "clothed" for company(last time I checked thats the benefit of paying rent and living by yourself), ehn see me running lol with half a neck slammed the door right in whoever it was face before they could see me lol its funny now sha. I looked through the peep hole, there were two men outside, one of them I recognized as the maintenance man (who gives me the creeps anyways) talking about water audit that should have been completed the last 2 days according to the notice they left. I wasn;t home so I figured it was done already. My people mo ya ri o, told them another day o, but definitley not today. So me and office dey call each other at the smae time, I told the lady, notice or no notice, you knock and wait for a response not just walk your tail in my apartment (I promise I told her in a nicer way lol I think) where's the privacy? I told her they knocked once and attempted to walk right in before I could even make it to the door. You know wetin oyinbo pepper tell me? She said well, we have so many units to audit and they are not going to knock and wait there all day 4 u to answer the door CAN YOU IMAGINE? what part of what I said didn;t she understand, I even gave her the scenario, put her gan self in the scenario, oti o? LOL I'm glad I can laugh now because I wasn;t laughing then
1. When going in for surgery in some hospitals in Nigeria, you need to come with your own power supply. Do not rack your brains too hard, a generator rental store is coming to a hospital near you. Uhn. 2. Private citizens have voting machines at home. Uhn. 3. Robbers have you cornered off in a room, and one of them goes, "Na Tag be that?" (Referring to a Tag Heuer Watch). Uhn. 4. Robbers have a gun pointed at you, immediately you lay on the floor, and the guy goes, Why are you acting like a woman, who asked you to lie down? This one happened to me, I know, I know, I get Sissy-ish when a gun is pointed at my cranium. 5. You have a State owned SUV parked at your house for personal use, because you are dating the governors daughter. Uhn. 6. The special adviser to the assistant to the Deputy Governor has an 'official car' (Government issued car and driver) Uhn.
7. Your well brought up, upright, self righteous Nigerian girl leave you a voice message on your phone, telling you how much they care and blah blah. Nice right? Let me finish...but she ends by saying "call me back Kunle, you know I care'. UhnUhn your name is David not Kunle. You call her back and it takes her two weeks to admit she was two timing. Uhn. My boy is presently going through a "I will never date a Naija chic moment" LOL. 8. You heard gun-shots all night, you step out of your fort in the morning and the guard asks, "Oga what happened yesterday?", Uhn shouldn't I be asking you that, last time I checked you get paid to be a security guard. Oh well didn't your resume say you were in World War II. Uhn
Ask any Nigerian what they think about Pat Utomi's run for President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and you will get the reply. That guy is suited for the job, but he stands no chance of winning the election. Why is it that Mr Utomi can not win the forthcoming election.? Rigging, or lack of information or is it the presence of a more qualified candidate. I do not think so. I believe it is because Nigerians will not vote en masse for Mr Utomi. How much rigging can probably occur if the masses turn out to vote for the underdog. The present crop of politicians who are poised to rig the elections will be left with no option, if 80% of the citizenry vote for a candidate like Mr Utomi. Will this ever happen in dear country? I do not think so, and the only reason as far as I am concerned is tribalism. If Mr Utomi was a Hausa man the northerners would turn out en masse to vote for him, If he was a yoruba man, we all know the west would rally behind him whichever party's flag he chooses to bear. If he was Ibo, we know election day would bring forth as much fanfare as the new yam festival. Non of this would have guaranteed winning the race though, since no matter where you are from, you are still stuck with two hundred plus ethnic groups that label you as an outsider. To make matters worse Mr Utomi isn't from one of the big baller ethnic groups, just like yours truly. I am assuming that Nigerians realize Mr Utomi's presidency will bring forth fresh opportunities. I know he is no messiah, but wouldn't it be refreshing to have a president that knows the consequences of fiscal irresponsibility. This assumption may be wrong, and if that is the case then a huge hole would be blown smack in the middle of my proposition. My hunch is that this is not the case so I would go ahead with my conclusion. Tribalistic sentiments run deeper than the will of the average Nigerian to escape poverty. We would rather endure the harsh realities of our economic life than make a change which will violate our long held ethnocentric beliefs. I do respect the strategist of the powers that be, they seem to have perfected (probably by accident) the art of divide and rule. It has been beaten into us so much, we naturally default to this choice without giving it a second thought. We can choose to vote for change, NO to the increasing income divide, or we can stick with the status quo and feed the monster of tribalistic sentiments. Come election day we will find out which of these forces has a greater pull on the common man. The forces of ethnic sentiments or the willingness to say NO to continued poverty. The present crop of politicians have no incentive to allow individuals like Utomi rule our country, they actually have disincentives. If any level headed individual become Nigeria's president it would bring forth so much disruption in the status quo that this will ultimately render the unqualified set of politicians irrelevant. The resulting redistribution of income and capital will be such, that no 'rich man' is eager to experience. It is common knowledge that the filthy rich Nigerians are products of extreme market imperfections that allow certain individuals to earn exorbitant premiums based on who they are and/or who they know. Nigeria will not experience change until we realize that the forces required to bring forth this change is not from the leadership, but from the man on the street that who will finally come to the realization that the system is set up for him to fail. I leave you with words from Soyinka; "It is up to the youths in this nation not only to ensure that votes remain sacred, but to work to take back their nation. The nation has been in the possession of profligate people, of murderers, of rapists of human dignity. The youths should take back their nation. It is not just youths, in terms of age, but youths in terms of mentality. I’m talking of youthful thinking," Of course there is the additional layer of too much money being in the wrong hands, they would do all they can to influence the outcome of the elections. This is story for another day jare.
arugbo je gbese, ta ni o san? This country ehn, On one end it cracks me up and on the other ticks me right off. Can you imagine? "Astronaut charged with attempted murder". I mean I'm just really trying to see where she's coming from, without success, okay she's 43, she's married, she's a mother chai! 3 strikes.
Who drives 900 miles for anybody? a rival for that matter, with a steel mallet, a 4-inch folding knife, rubber tubing, $600,garbage bags,a wig, a trench coat. E wo, people are bored o or just outright crazy. I personally think these people watch too much TV, they don't even know fiction from reality anymore.
Come to think of it o, 900 miles may be nothing to this woman o, afterall won wa nko ti o sonu kakiri in space abi lol
Police said Nowak told them that she only wanted to scare Shipman into talking to her about her relationship with their astronaut boiboi and didn't want to harm her. okay she's kidding right? or is it part of her inevitable temporary insanity plea
Nowak(alleged) rapped on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a ride. Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few inches when Nowak started crying, the statement said. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car, the affidavit said. Shipman drove to the parking lot booth and police were called. ki lo fe ekun? lol oh my gosh! lol am I sick or what? i actually think this is funny, the crying that is.
okay this was the icing on the cake for me: Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry. i mean lol I guess she just couldn't wait to cut her into pieces, she decided to pee on herself for 900 whole miles eeuuuw! aarrrrghhhh!
the new reality shows- not that I watch 'em but I'm sure they ain't got nothing on this mad woman. Well Nowak gave me a good laugh today, thank goodness she didn;t hurt nobody!
Na car problem o. I called the towing company to come get my car to the shop, right around the corner. The towing guy shows up, jacks up the car, I then hand him the car keys. Just as he begins to zoom off, I realize my apartment keys were part of the bunch. I begin to chase this boy o, but I guess rear view mirrors are no longer in vogue in Long Island. Bare in minds its like minus five degrees outside o. I start to shiver. As I proceed to do a little spider man now, as in get in the house through the window, I realize I am already dressed for work. If you live in a cold region you know what that means, layers upon layers. Well I start to disrobe now, since the window sills have not set eyes on any cleaning clothe in the last few weeks. I have performed this maneuver many times in the past, but this one was different because, I slipped and next thing I knew I was hanging upside down, lips busted, two front rabbit teeth hurting like crazy. To make matters worse I was in boxers at zero degrees Fahrenheit. As I sit down to lick my wounds, I can not help but think. God is good, I am blessed, and any less unfortunate person on this planet, needs a hug from me. Group hug somebody.
This post was inspired by comments on blog. Often we hear Nigerians living abroad declare, "I am going home". I have news for all of you, Nigeria is not in dire need of your presence, actually you may be adding to the problem of overcrowding on the streets of Lagos. Nigeria needs your productivity more than anything else. If you have nothing to offer besides competing with the individuals at home for the already overstaffed service sector jobs, please sit your butt down wherever you are and pay your mortgage LOL.
We ought to take a cue from the Chinese and Indians, they do not graduate and go back home, they take over corporations, and then use such leverage to influence outsourcing decision, (please read; The World is Flat). The outsourcing trend and IT growth in these countries were initiated by dudes in Silicon valley.
What use is the Nigerian professor of nanotech at MIT to UNILAG? If he stays put in Boston and then launch an online research collaboration with UNILAG physics laboratory. I believe that would be more productive than going to Nigeria to struggle for the limited grants available to the home grown academics. Lets think outside the box my people, what worked 15 years ago, may be outrightly wrong in 2006.
We need to get past how well we can sew a piece of Ankara. The Idea of National cake has become archaic, the cake is more like a Wroldwide cake right now. Trust me, there has to be a cake somewhere to make people take actions. The days of all those Licoln cliches are over. If your presecence in Nigeria is not crucial to the contribution, please contribute from afar.
Since this weeks running theme in Blogs with a Nigerian leaning is our freedom of speech. I tend to have something to say about everything, I have chosen to put down my opinion about anything that crosses my mind, no holds barred. I may not be right about all of them, but this are my thoughts at the moment.
I have always supported the Iraq war, initially it was a good idea, and if the war had succeeded and if Iraq stood as a liberated country, most nay sayers would be in our corner. I think most people in the world suffer from a form of information overload, although they fail to notice this. I think Jay Z is a whack rapper, while Nas is a master lyricist, but consumerism has eaten far too deep into our minds for us to appreciate talent. I think Don Cheadle would have been a better choice than Will Smith for the Pursuit of Happyness movie. I think the world bank and the UN have added more problem rather than ameliorate Africa's problems. I think the word, "African" hold very little meaning, people that hail from the African continent see themselves as Ghanaian, Nigerian, or Zimbabwean. I think history has proven that a populace can not be trusted to make the right decision for themselves.
I think foreign aid is bad for Nigerian, while foreign investment on the other hand is required for our dear country's economic growth. I think Nigerians are no more corrupt than individuals from other Nations. A highly skilled labor force plus high rates of unemployment and poverty, coupled with a lack of disincentive for illegal actions is the perfect recipe for an underground economy such as 419. I think we Christians ought to hold a World Mirror Holding Convention because we add to the problems plaguing the world day in day out. I believeNigerian politics and politicians are heading in the wrong direction, but I see this as a good thing, maybe we just need to run the country aground before we figure out we all deserve better than what we presently have. I believeObasanjo did a great job initially but as with most African leaders the fear of the possibilities after his tenure overtook his decision making process. I think the Nigerian census figures are more accurate than most people are willing to accept. The figures are ridden with statistical errors rather than politicallymotivated fraud. I think you are entitled to my opinion.
My point is this; if Nigerian bloggers can not come to a consensus about, the male- female ration in Nigeria; feels there are more males, feels the reverse is the case while is sure there are more females. Isn't it inherently difficult to talk about the demography of a country just by relying on our day to day perceptions. Since the NPC carried out the exercise and they have come up with their result, I believe we should all hush, and accept this result. What will we base any disagreement on? This point extends to the Lagos vs. Kano thing too. I hope we all realize that its Lagos 'State' and Kano 'State' in question and not the city. Hello absolute population figures are in question here not population density. Things are not always what they seem.
wrote; Like Zee, I'm not really sure what's happening... But I think it's interesting that there are supposedly more males than females in Nigeria...(I mean with all those men that have more than 1 wife, plus all the mistresses on the side). I'm not really sure what to make of the results. wrote; If there's anything ludicrous I've heard this new year, it's the by National Population Commission that there are more people in Kano than in Lagos. Haba! As , it seems as if they counted cows & goats join human beings.What made me finally deduce that everything is a shamble and a pack of lies is the statement that 'there are more men in Nigerian than women'. What do these people take us for, bonfools? Has any of them come to the streets of Lagos to see how girls flock every nook & cranny? Go to a party & you'll discover that. The rate at which girls dey fight overs guys sef is a serious statistics.That's the greatest joke I've heard this year. No way! Chicken no dey cry for night. wrote; How did we end up with more males than females?
Yar'Adua and Good-luck recieved the the nod from the big boss, I spoke with a few Nigerians about these and surprisingly they seem to be upbeat about these two. Notwithstanding the fact that Jonathan's wife is being investigated for money laundering. One would assume that an allegation of money laundering will be enough reason to disqualify any candidate from participating in the primaries, but I guess I am wrong though, all it takes is the nod from big boss OBJ and all wrongs are automatically made right. God help us. I also sense that Nigerians have learnt to settle for anything that isn't the worst case scenario. It's as if we never expect to have the best so anything short of the worst is welcomed with open arms. Nigerians have been quick to point out the fact that Yar'Adua is no Atiku or IBB. My thought on this is quite simple, 'but Yar'Adua is no Duke either'. Okay I was one of the few that had hopes for Duke or Utomi. Only God can help us now.
