It was a really fun conference t be part of very early on a Sat morning. The #140 Conferences are a network of gatherings worldwide orqanised by Twitter groups mostly. Lots of geeks and other cool aliens.
On February 26th the FutureLab took place in the iLAB, Nairobi. During this session organised by Jasper Grosskurth (STT) passionate people came together to discuss and forecast the future of Africa and ICT.
Jasper Grosskurth ran futureLab, works for www.stt.nl and reads messages sent to Grosskurth@stt.nl
Mark Kamau works at http://www.nairobits.com. Arrange to meet him on your visit to Nairobits at mark@nairobits.com
Wambura Kimunyu currently works at Cellulant and has many hidden talents. Find out at whatanafricanwomanthinks@gmail.com
Bart Lacroix of the 1% Club Amsterdam was the one taking video and pictures: bart@1procentclub.nl
Njoroge Matathia is a Nairobi based writer and social scientist. He can be reached at http://theblackcampaign.org
Wilfred Mworia is a programmer and runs http://www.africanpixel.com.
Tonee Ndungu was our host, runs iLAB, the 1% Club Nairobi and Wazimba Youth Foundation: distract him at toneendungu@gmail.com.
Anthony Ngeno is Managing Director of Winafrique (www.winafrique.com)
Eugene Obiero works at Shell and knows a lot!
Sheila Ochugboju works for ATPS as their Senior Communications and Outreach Officer (http://www.atpsnet.org/).
William Oswald Rutte runs Kiroyera Tours and Consulting (www.kiroyeratours.com)
Ndiba Wairioko runs Meridian Medical Centres.
Joshua Wanyama is Exectutive Director of www.pamojamedia.com, takes awesome pictures and will reply to emails sent to Joshua@pamojamedia.com
Geek Heaven – IHub launch, Nairobi Kenya. 3rd March 2010
Last night I went to Geek Heaven in Nairobi….and it looked kind of ordinary at first…. except we were in some kind of room in a building, with the skyline of Nairobi as the backdrop. It was the IHub Launch www.ihub.co.ke in Nairobi, Kenya and the evening was packed full of geeks, super geeks, TEDsters, futurists and a number of possible “Post humans” – people with artificially enhanced intelligence.
There were people with brains so active that their combined wattage seemed to add heat of the room. Ideas were floating around at the speed of thought, a little surreal and what it brought up for me was the concept of “accelerating change” described below by the great geek Stanislaw Ulam as
”….the ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue.’
The IHub celebrates the fact that here in Africa we are beginning to value and invest in the power of ideas, as the essential currency for future progress and change. The iHub is a realization of the “Mindstep” or paradigm shift towards the areas where technology approaches a barrier, and new technologies emerge to cross it.
iHub – Nairobi’s Innovation Hub for the technology community – is an open space for the technologists, investors, tech companies and hackers in East Africa. This space is a tech community facility with a focus on young entrepreneurs, web and mobile phone programmers and designers. It is part open community workspace (co-working), part vector for investors and VCs and part incubator.
It will have a redundant 20Mbs connection, hardwired and WiFi, and it’s freely available to any tech person in Nairobi to use once they become members. Membership is free; the only requirement is that you are indeed involved in the tech space as a programmer, web designer or mobile application developer.
Data connectivity is the most important aspect of the iHub, but after that comes a fresh design and an atmosphere that is conducive to techies getting cool stuff done.
I’m proud to be associated with the iHub and working closely with other ted fellows www.ted.com/fellows to act as Super Connectors, bringing all our networks into place to give special access to the entrepreneurs and startups who need space to meet with VCs, seed funders and local businesses.
It’s a place where the seed of ideas will find fertile soil to grow and hungry investors can help to bring about the harvest of economic growth in Africa.
Let’s all join the IHub and bring people within the community to design, and create a culture around the innovations that are sure to come out of there.
I bumped into Kwame Nyongo and we talked about Kenya as the Cradle of Humankind that lies across the Rift Valley, my question was, “How does this primordial creative force act upon us in Kenya today…”
Two billion years of life, six million years for the hominid and a hundred-thousand years for mankind as we know it. Human cultural evolution took a sharp upward path, with ten thousand years for the agricultural revolution, four hundred years for the scientific revolution, and one hundred fifty years for the industrial revolution. Information is the primary basis for new evolutionary paradigm shifts, with artificial intelligence its culmination.
That’s because I specialized in Genetic Engineering…so for me all things come down to a creative, genetic blueprint that is simple and yet beautifully complex at the same time. Perhaps such creative innovation in the DNA of East Africa will succeed in leading the entire continent towards “technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history". If the first human came out of Kenya, perhaps the ideas that create the first “Superhuman” in this brave new century will also emerge. Solutions whereby civilization achieves mastery of the resources of its home planet, its planetary system and its galaxy could also come out of Kenya.
The evening ended by 9PM and I had talked to so many great people who filled the room:
Jessica Colaco www.ihub.co.ke
Erik Hersman www.whiteafrican.com
Ory Okolloh www.ushahidi.com
Joshua Wanyama – www.africaknows.com
Lola Odunsanya – www.google.com
Segeni Ng’Ethe – www.mamamikes.com
Liko Agosta – www.pesapal.com
Soud Hyder – www.ubitmo.com
At the end of the night , my head was whizzing, I was seeing emergent strands of these "neohumans" who will usurp humanity’s present role in scientific and technological progress.
The exponential trend of accelerating change to continue past the limits of human ability
Speak Truth To Power by Ariel Dorfman
I don’t want to pretend I was a hero
In the beginning I had neither pen nor paper to work with
But you don’t live your life in fear
and give people power over you
who can create fear
It would be better to die early
Anything else would have tasted like ashes
That’s what you know
Few and far between
Few and far between
Something is there
A light is there
I did what I had to do
Knowing this knowing this
The poor of the world are crying out
That’s what you know
Anything else would have tasted like ashes
That’s what you know
The poor of the world are crying out
The poor of the world are crying out
For schools and doctors, not generals and guns
You just have to believe in what you’re doing, that’s all
I was never alone
That’s what you know
Only another person can give me hope
because
only another person can take hope
away from me
We did what we had to do, that’s all
Anything else would have tasted like ashes
Did it take courage?
It took stubbornness. Stubbornness
Like a metal chord inside
The feeling of inner strength like a metal chord inside
So our past does not become your children’s future
Anything else would have tasted like ashes
Knowing this knowing this
We owe something to the people left behind
And God dusts us off and God says, “Try again.”
God says, “Try again.”
God says,
Life will only belong to you once
only this once
And so we continue
knowing this knowing this
if we bring people to their own best hearts
they will respond
that’s what you know
we were never alone
And so we continue
knowing this knowing this
that this moment might well be
our last
waiting, waiting,
waiting in the dark for the truth
We were never really alone
I don’t want to pretend I was a hero
I did what I had to do, that’s all
It’s really so simple
Anything else, anything else would have tasted like ashes
That is what you know
The work has just begun
That is what we know
We did what we had to do
The work has just begun.
Photo Credit: A crowd of children watch a boat cross a river in Kinango District near Mombasa.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on January 30, 2010.
A Meal Amongst Strangers
Food is such a unifying force and the power of a meal amongst strangers is uniquely energising. That is the concept of canteen culture and the idea behind this unique resort in Kenya.
Ghandi puts it more wisely….
“I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love.”
Photo Credit: Dinner time at the Treetops Lodge at the Aberdare National Park.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on February 19, 2010.
Bride Price
Zimbabwe families debate ‘lobola’ [bride price] tradition
Posted on November 28, 2009
http://www.coastweek.com/xin271109-06.htm
“People marry to build relationships, not to beat each other” – Men’s rights group director Leo Wamwanduka
HARARE — Zimbabwe has launched nationwide debates on the issue of lobola (bride price) to get people’s views on the meaning of lobola and its link with domestic violence, an official said on Friday.
Men’s rights group Padare/ Enkundhleni director Leo Wamwanduka said the decision to hold the discussions emerged from training that the organisation carried out in 36 rural districts on gender based violence and the Domestic Violence Act early this year.
He said during the training, it emerged that most men were refusing to treat women as equals since they paid lobola to live with them.
“We want to hear the perspectives of the people on the meaning of lobola and whether it is a license to abuse women,” he was quoted by local media New Ziana as saying.
Wamwanduka said the dialogue was also meant to establish the historical perspective of lobola and whether something could be done to prevent the practice from causing domestic violence.
Traditionally, lobola was used as a token between families to build relationships.
Over the years, the practice has been commercialized to the extent that people are using it as a means of acquiring wealth.
As a result, men are using the payment as justification to oppress and abuse women who they view as property which they bought.
“People marry to build relationships, not to beat each other,” said Wamwanduka.
Wamwanduka said for the purposes of the dialogue, the country had been divided into five regions namely Mashonaland, Midlands, Masvingo, Manicaland and Matabeleland in order to compare findings from the different communities.
He said so far debates had been held in Mashonaland Central province where chiefs were gathered at Manhenga Business Centre in Bindura and in Harare where it was recorded on the popular Mai Chisamba television show to be aired sometime next week.
“After that we are moving to Bulawayo then Masvingo and we will finish with Manicaland,” he said.
“We want to reflect as much as possible the thinking on the ground at the moment so that we can come up with results based on evidence,” he added.
After the dialogue process, which is expected to end on Wednesday next week, the teams would share results and publish a booklet on their findings.
Women’s rights group Msasa Project said it expected the dialogue to assist in finding a way forward on the issue of lobola, whether it should be discontinued or it should be reduced
Photo Credit: A couple receives marriage blessings at a Catholic Church in Nairobi, Kenya.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on October 11, 2009.
CONGOLESE BANDS IN EAST AFRICA
The 1970s through mid-80s was the era of Congolese expatriate bands in Nairobi: groups like Boma Liwanza of Shango Lola, Les Kinois of Samba Mapangala, Super Mazembe of Longwa Didos, and Les Mangelepa of Bwammy wa Lumwona (who had come East with Baba Gaston and Baba National). Those from North-East Congo came to Kampala, Uganda; those from Shaba in the South came to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, but sooner or later they headed to Nairobi for the recording studios there. In 1985 the Kenyan government under Daniel Arap Moi cracked down on expatriate bands and groups like Les Mangelepa were forced to leave or disband.
There are many popular recordings of Congolese rhumba, sung in Lingala, like the album les Noirs by Bana Moja / Bana Ngenge , which opens in English with a salute to Kenyan fans and a “Viva Mobutu” and “Viva Kenyatta.” This would make them one of the first Congolese bands to hit Kenya, probably in the mid-70s.
Photo Credit: Suzie poses for a photograph.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on February 17, 2010.
Musical “Man of La Mancha” – The Impossible Dream Lyrics
To dream … the impossible dream …
To fight … the unbeatable foe …
To bear … with unbearable sorrow …
To run … where the brave dare not go …
To right … the unrightable wrong …
To love … pure and chaste from afar …
To try … when your arms are too weary …
To reach … the unreachable star …
This is my quest, to follow that star …
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far …
To fight for the right, without question or pause …
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause …
And I know if I’ll only be true, to this glorious quest,
That my heart will lie will lie peaceful and calm,
when I’m laid to my rest …
And the world will be better for this:
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach … the unreachable star …
Photo Credit: Children observing vehicular traffic in Molo, Kenya.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on November 19, 2009.
Total Palmistry: The Love Connection. By Rafe Anderson
When you meet somebody new, it can be fun to “check them out” using different techniques for character analysis. Palm reading is an age-old practice.
Here are some basic palmistry principles that are easy to learn, with a special emphasis on love and attachment.
Which Hand Should You Read?
One of the first questions people ask concerning palm reading is: Which hand do you look at? The answer is: Both, and It depends.
Students of palmistry distinguish between the active and passive hand. A right-handed person’s active hand will be his or her right hand; and the left hand is considered the passive hand. Similarly, a left-handed person’s active hand is the left hand; and his or her passive hand is the right hand.
Generally, the passive hand is read for inherited characteristics and potential.
Look to the active hand for changes to these inherited traits.
As a general rule, when the lines and markings on the active and passive hands are quite different, it shows a person who has actively worked toward self-development.
The Size of the Hand
Remember to consider the size of the hand relative to the size of the body.
Generally, a large hand suggests a person who spends more time thinking than acting. A person with a relatively small hand is thought to be more active, spending less time thinking about what to do.
The Shape of the Hand
There are four general shapes of the hand, and these are related to the four elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water:
When considering the length of the palm:
When the vertical and horizontal measurements of the palm are approximately equal, it is considered a square palm.
A long palm is when its vertical measurement is longer than the horizontal measurement.
Fingers are considered long when the length of the middle finger is equal to or greater than three-quarters of the length (height) of the palm.
Fingers are considered short when the length of the middle finger is less than three-quarters of the length of the palm.
Air Hands are characterized by a square palm, long fingers, and thin, clear lines. These are the hands of intellectual and sociable people. They are often restless and in need of change and stimulation, mostly of the mental kind. As lovers, these people look for mental rapport above all else.
Earth Hands are characterized by a square palm, short fingers, strong or thick skin, and deep, clear, and straight lines. These are the hands of practical, down-to-earth people with strong vitality. They often have a strong connection to nature and the outdoors. As lovers, they are generally quite dependable and straightforward.
Fire Hands are characterized by long palms, short fingers, plentiful and prominent lines, and firm, warm skin. These are the hands of risk-takers and action-oriented people. As lovers, they are positive and confident, willing to take the lead.
Water Hands are characterized by long palms, long fingers, plenty of fine lines that are not always clear, and soft, damp skin. These hands indicate a creative, emotional person. As lovers, they are sensitive, vulnerable, a little naive, and focused on caring and being cared for.
The Thumb
How flexible is the thumb? The flexibility of the thumb is thought to measure how adaptable a person is. The more flexible the thumb, the more easy-going the character is. A lack of flexibility suggests an obstinate person.
Does the thumb have a “waist”? If the thumb narrows in the base phalange of the thumb, the person is thought to employ tact and diplomacy in his or her relations with others.
Some consider the relative length of the thumb as an indicator of faithfulness. Longer thumbs are thought to indicate stronger characters who are faithful to others and to themselves.
The Lines on the Palm
The palm generally consists of the Major Lines, Secondary Lines, and Minor Lines.
A palm with numerous fine lines in addition to the Major Lines indicates a rather complex, sensitive personality that is especially vulnerable to outside influences and worries. In general, the fewer the lines, the more straightforward a person is. These people live their lives in a more direct and simple manner.
The Major Lines:
Generally, there are three prominent lines on a palm. These are the Major Lines.
In the palm at right, the top horizontal line ending at point A is the Heart Line. This line indicates the affections, so it is of particular interest to those reading a palm for love indicators. The higher this line is, the more passionate, and oftentimes jealous the person is. A heart line that goes right across the hand suggests a person who is very controlled emotionally. A heart line that curves upward towards the Jupiter finger (the index finger) indicates a warm-hearted, reasonable, and affectionate nature in relationships. Crosses and breaks on the Heart line suggest periods of sadness and sorrow in love.
The middle horizontal line at point B is the Head Line. This line indicates the type of intelligence a person possesses. The space between the beginning of the Head Line and the beginning of the Life Line, if any, indicates the level of cautiousness a person possesses. When these lines are joined at the beginning, the person has a rather cautious, and sometimes fearful, nature. The further apart, the more confident, risk-taking individual.
The curved line that generally swoops from near the base of the palm to the point between the thumb and first finger at point C is the Life Line. In terms of relationships, a Life line that is wide, leaving plenty of room for the Mount of Venus, is indicative of a person with an expansive and giving nature in love. The closer the Life line is to the thumb, the less generous a person is with his/her energy and time.
An interesting secondary line concerning relationships is called the Line of Attachment. Some call these lines Marriage Lines. These lines appear just above the heart line (in our diagram, just above point A). Light, fine horizontal lines found here are thought to indicate affairs that are not deep commitments. One long, clear line suggests a long-standing and happy marriage or commitment. When there is more than one long, deep line, the lower one is thought to describe the earlier relationship in the person’s life.
The Mounts
There are a number of mounts in different positions of the palm, and these are associated with planets. The Mount of Venus is of particular interest to those looking for indicators of love in the palm. This mount is found beside the thumb and within the curved Life Line. Generally, fleshiness here indicates a love of pleasure. A fleshy and firm Mount of Venus indicates a strongly sexual nature, and a flabby mount here shows a low level of sexual vitality.
Prominent horizontal lines on the Mount of Venus are thought to indicate a person with powerful charm over lovers. Plenty of fine lines going in different directions on this mount (often looking like a grid) suggests a person who is quite complex in the area of love. A changeable, worrisome character may frustrate lovers. In general, lots of fine lines here indicate a person who is easily influenced by outside forces. This person may be easy to dupe by partners. A triangle on this mount is thought to indicate a person who may have extramarital affairs, and a crescent shape (moon) here suggests one who has powerful seductive powers.
Photo Credit: A woman adorns herself with Kenyan made jewelery.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on February 12, 2010.
A BIRTHDAY
Christina Rossetti
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these,
Because my love is come to me.
Raise me a daïs of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.
Photo Credit: A newly married couple hold a knife for their initial cut of the wedding cake.
Photographer: Joshua Wanyama on January 9, 2010.
