Dragon flies

Dragon flies, originally uploaded by Kirima.

I found this interesting specimen of Dragonfly outside my house just posing for a photo.

Honest Tag

The little trophy says “This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog’s content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.”

I find it extremely odd that someone would find this neglected blog worthy of such a distinguished award! But thanks to Savvy our prospective PhD candidate I find myself the proud receipient of the Honest Scrap award. I honestly didn’t expect to be found with the low profile I’ve been keeping lately.

First to dispense with the rules!

 You must brag about the award
* You must include the name of the blogger who bestowed the award on you and link back to the blogger
* You must choose a minimum of seven (7) blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
* Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with Honest Weblog.
* List at least ten (10) honest things about yourself. Then pass it on with the instructions.

Now finding 10 honest things to say about myself is proving to be very very hard (except for #1) but will give it an honest attempt.

1. I hate Tags; Its not the actual tag that bugs me but the fear of oversharing, I definately try to keep a distance between the image I potray on my blog and my true self. I have heard it said in some places that what a blogger writes in his/her blog is what is in ones inner self but for me the blog is not an accurate picture of myself but just what I was thinking at that particular moment in time.
2. I am impulsive; Thats why its dangerous to send me to a mall with a blank cheque, from purchases to actual life, work decisions I often find myself acting on impulse and just doing what is on my mind at the moment. Obviously this can cause alot of problems especially where planning or budgeting is required. I started blogging on a whim without thinking what I wanted to do with it and just kept on going and it surprises me that I am still going on albeit at a slower pace. So I don’t really have an Agenda for this blog and I rarely ever plan or draft my posts, I simply get started and just keep on going.
3. I prefer being in the backgroud; I”m not a particularly outgoing person and even when I am involved in something and even if it is my initiative I won’t want to make a big deal out of it, I know some career advisers will advise againisit keeping your talents in the shadows but as long as I am satisfied with my own work or actions it doesn’t bother me that I’m not blowing the trumpet.
4. I don’t hate politics but I definately try to keep a calm composure about it after all the less said about the dunderheads that are incharge of our public affairs the better!
5. I do dudu’s; My proffession involves keeping all manner of pests and diseases away form our greenhouses unfortunately the little critters are always one wing ahead of my efforts. Interestingly this is not what I studied, I happen to be a biochemist so I should be busy exploring metablic pathways and stuff like that.
6. For a city kid I’m quite comfortable living and working here in shags and it’s not just because life is cheap. I guess I don’t want to be bothered with the hectic pace of life in town, I definately miss the conveniences and the vibrant social life but that can be done on weekends. It’s utterly comforting to be able to walk to the office in less than 10 minutes, have real lunch in your own house, not worry about violent crime etc.
7. I love gadgets; the only limiting factor is my ability to afford what I really want but it doesn’t stop me from drooling over the specs of the various objects of my affection on the net.
8. I have a weakness for sweet goodies, chocolate, blackforest, icecream etc. would be the ruin of me if it wasn’t for the unlikeliness of me stumbling upon them too often here in Embu. It makes nonsense of my efforts in taking sugarless tea or coffee lakini I guess I can get 50% for effort
9. I’m a bit of a couch potato, nothing beats having a good movie in the evening for me, I used to read alot of books when I first moved here because in those days one could only get KBC and the DVD revolution hadn’t hit yet. It’s not a habit I would like to keep but I what is one to do with the long evenings without an easily accesible social outlet.
10. I’m sensitive and despite keeping a cool and calm exterior will get bruised emotionally very easily. Fortunately I have avoided major heartaches and have always bounced back when I have tripped. I rarely lash out in anger and I have never gotten into a single physical fight in my life. I guess that has kept me safe till now.

Now who to victimize?

Looks like I will have to break that rule! I told you I don’t particularly like this tagging business and most of the people I would have tagged are tagged anyway.

internetlessness

I have been suffering from internetlessness of late, not out of choice but due to circumstances here. we have been upgrading the servers and network security at work and the result is that alot of browsing choices have been shut down including the ability to connect my laptop to the corporate network. Fortunately in the near future is the possibility of an open wifi network around the farm which will be a very welcome cure to this case of internetlessness. With this microwave mast to connect us to the fibre optic cable in Embu town better days are being heralded and I can’t wait for the much heralded submarine cable to land in Mombasa.

In the meantime I have been forced to rely on my trusty Nokia phone to keep in touch with the interwebs using Opera mini (does any Nokia user really ever use the Symbian browser on their phones, I find it really really cumbersome and drains the memory on the phone after a few links!) the trusty gmail app and twibble for my twitter updates. Anyone who has done phone browsing for a long period of time will be aware of the toll on the thumb and phone keyboards, I desperately need a new phone but can’t make up my mind over the several options available. Coupled with that is the difficulty in commenting on Blogger posts, google need to simplify their interface if I even come across word verification I don’t even bother.

This internetlessness has mad me realise how depedent I am on the web for my day to day interactions, I mean I don’t think I have gone 2 straight days without some sort of web interaction be it email, facebook, twitter or blogs. The only thing I’m not too keen on is chat! There was one weekend the Zain GPRS network was off in Embu and I was literally on edge the whole weekend with the need to check the net for updates. Maybe too many of my friends are on the net rather than those I interact daily but considering the remoteness of my location it’s not a surprise.

Bouncing Back!

Ok 3TOC you can call off the search party! I do know that I have been away for quite a while it hasn’t quite been a hiatus since I have still been blogging in a micro way so technically I haven’t been away. Nevertheless I have neglected this diggs since Dec. Christmas and New Years came and went without too much fanfare especially since for the first time ever I spent it here in Embu good thing I was able to host all my folks here at my place and considering it was my first large hosting it went pretty well.

Its a whole new year and I won’t go that route of resolutions and over optimism for 2009, I don’t want to get my hopes up too high considering how horrible last year was. I have been quite busy on the personal front with another priority requiring my full attention and this is in a very good way! nevertheless it won’t do to neglect the rest of the blogthren but you will forgive me for being mean with the details.

Embu has been pretty quiet this time round and there isn’t really much to say about the going on’s around here and lets not even start about work. Good thing is that the heavens have poured some rains the situation was begining to look very very dire around here especially with the rivers drying up and the government putting restrictions on irrigation the entire horticulture industry is facing another crisis in January. We don’t need another crisis before Valentines. 

Next week of course all eyes are on the Obama Innauguration on Tuesday, pity I didn’t get to gatecrash the party like our ‘go.ke delegation’ but I will be watching it in the comfort of my house with a nice chilled bottle of white wine as I remember that night in early November when I did not sleep as I watched all the returns until that magical projection when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer made the call that Barrack Obama would be the 44th President of the United States. I will realisitically not be expecting more Ugali on my table because of this but I can draw alot of vital life lessons on what is possible if you put your mind to it.

What would this blog be if I can’t leave you with at least a picture. Here is couple from Uhuru Park I was bored on a Saturday Afternoon and decided to pass by and see what goes on there since I hadn’t been here for ages. funnily enough the character of the park hasn’t changed for decades except for the new improved paddle boats it’s just like I remember it from my childhood.

I Still Care!

For all those whom I knew

Those I’m yet to know

For those who are left behind

Lets all take care!

It’s been a whole year since this last post my thoughts remain the same so no harm in repeating, but still the struggle continues with statistics such as this the battle is far from won

International Statistics

People living with HIV:

• 33 million people living with HIV worldwide
• 30.8 million adults
• 15.5 million women
• 2.0 million children under 15

New HIV cases in 2007:

• 2.7 million total new cases
• 2.3 million adults
• 370,000 children under 15

HIV-related deaths in 2007:

• 2.0 million total deaths

All figures from UNAIDS.

More on World AIDS Day 2008

Up Close

   

CSC_8408

Originally uploaded by Kirima

Last weekend I decided to laze around at a calm place here at the farm. We have this large water reservoir where there one can sit at the bank and watch the sun go down while appreciating a cool breeze. There are several wild ducks, Herons and Ibises but what what caught my fancy was the wide diversity of Dragonflies in all sorts of sizes and colours. Therefore I whipped out my Camera and tried to take pictures. anyone who has tried to take pictues of these insects must know how fast they are so you have to be very patient and use a long zoom lens but after alot of patience was able to make a few really cool shots after shuffling with various settings.
What I find really cool with this shot is the drop of water hanging at the end of the dragonfly’s abdomen.

Also posted on Kenyavistas

Time for THAT ONE! and other stuff

One more night before we know whether That One! will win the US presidential election, I don’t know whether it will be possible to sleep on that night as the results start trickling since I’m sure that the results will be known by 10 am Wednesday.

I have avoided making too much noise about the US campaign because after all its an American election and even if That One is of Kenyan origin (actually abandoned by his Kenyan daddy) I really doubt that it will change too much about what is on my plate here at home. What I cannot suppress is the overwhelming sense of pride at having a Black Man sitting in the oval office, it may be a frivolous or racial choice but it can’t still erase the fact that by having a man on colour taking over the official mantle of the most powerful person on earth will make it possible for all people of colour to hold their heads high and say yes we can! That aside I have always followed the US elections and have always supported the Democrats since the days of Walter Mondate, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry. The biggest disappointment for me was when Al Gore lost to Bush in the scandalous 2000 election, he is a man I respect tremendously especially for championing environmental causes which has caused him so much riducule in the US but has gained him respect worldwide.

Yesterday was a day of mixed feeling for me being my Birthday eve I was able to share a delightful afternoon with friends and enjoyed some delicious Kuku Choma and Cake. I was very much grateful for those who took there time to send me wishes, at times I think that it is high time I stopped celebrating and making a fuss over birthdays but everytime someone remembers me and sends his/her wishes it always warms the heart.

The evening however tempered my emotions when Lewis Hamilton won the F1 championship at the season finale Brazilian Grand Prix, although the guy I was rooting for Felipe Maasa won his home race and took the honours for Ferarri in the constructors championship it was the brilliant last lap from Lewis that crowned his season which took my breath away. Although I don’t support his team I take off my heart to Lewis Hamilton who has proved that a young man of colour can excel in a sport that has traditionally been the preserve of the rich elite. Next season however I hope Ferarri can iron out the mechanical and pit lane disasters that ruined their season because overall Felipe won more races but had to retire a couple of times due to purely technical and not racing reasons.