Kokrokoo is a site designed for everyone looking for a bit of something. It is geared towards to geek, traveller, events in Ghana, Photography and advice in general; to mention a few.
I came across this picture on a friend of a friends picture page and I just had to "nick" it and post it here.
Just looking at this picture got my mouth watering. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed food like this laid before me.
Picture Credits To Phillip Owusu-Gyamfi (FB)
You might not think this to be of any use to you or will never happen to you but I would suggest that you read my account anyway, you just never know. After reading my account,you might encounter a friend who might need snippets of information from this. If thats the case, please pass it on. As I have already mentioned, you just never know.......
My nightmare on Blogodo Road started 10 years ago when my Mother, Elizabeth Laingoye Lartey passed away. After her burial, I entrusted the renting out of her house to my late Uncle Adjin ( a very bad and foolish move by me, knowing fully well of his history when it comes to matters like this). I was in the UK when my Uncle rung up to inform me that he had found a tenant for my late Mums house at Nyaniba. So I got the trip down to Accra with the intension of sorting out the rent with my new tenants. Their names were kenneth Astrom and Florence Massoud and they rented the property under the company name of Afro Satcom Ltd. Two days after arriving in Accra, I took a trip to Nyaniba with Alhaji Said Sinare and Ms Mariama Alhassan. When we got there, we immediately noticed that there were some renovation working taking place in the main building. Said's immediate reaction was that there must have been some exchange of money before this renovation would have taken place. So the next day I questioned my Uncle who assured me that he hadn't collected any money and that Kenneth was expecting me so that we could sort out the rent. All this didn't sit well with me, however I went the next day to see Kenneth at Nyaniba. When I got there, I met Florence Massoud, Kenneth's partner. ten minutes into our conversation immediately revealed to me that some money had exchanged hands, to be exact $6,000.00 US dollars. She even brought out a receipt to confirm the payment. And this was where I made my first mistake I should have halted whatever work was being done on the house. After asking my Uncle several times to the rent advance he had collected, I finally gave up as it dawned on me that I wasn't going to get a dime from that money.
So over the years, a lot has happened. There has been breeches of the Tenancy agreement by the tenants, to which I have failed to act on mainly because of the fact that I didn't appoint a person to visit the property on a regular basis, some one like an Estate Agent. So if you ever decide to rent out your property, please seek the assistance of a qualified Estate Agent. Do not worry about the thought of paying for the services, at least your interest will be placed first. On a few occasions, I employed my then lawyer to sort this out, but being who and what he is, nothing happened.
Currently, the tenancy agreement has come to the end of its life span. Last year in January, the tenant wanted a 5 year extension of the tenancy agreement. I flatly refused this. Nearer to the time the agreement was to expire, I travelled to Ghana on another business and took the opportunity to remind the tenant that I would be coming back to Ghana on the 2nd of January 2011 to collect the keys to the premises. The tenant took this meeting to request again for an extension which I refused. She even went to the extent of getting a lawyer to officially request for an extension for her. I immediately wrote back to refuse the request. Basically I had bloody had enough of this tenant and needed the premises for myself and family. I later got to learn that the tenant had rented out the main building to a couple for a period that extended past her tenancy agreement with me. How dubious can one get. She also failed to mention to the couple that her tenancy agreement was ending on the 1st of this month.
I arrived in Ghana on the 1st of January. On the 2nd, I called the tenant several times in an attempt to meet up with her. Not on one occasion did she pick up her [hone on that sunday. It appears the cat and mouse chase had started. The next day, early in the morning, I got a call from the tenant. She informed me that she was on her way to F515/4 Nyaniba Estates, and that I should meet her there at 10AM. Some Ghanaians are really fickle with their time keeping. This tenant fell exactly into that category of Ghanaians. She finally arrived at 11.15AM. The next 30 minutes between us almost turned into world war 3. After providing me with a seat to sit down, this woman told me that by law I am supposed to give her 3 months notice to quit the property. In fact, her mentioning this suddenly pissed me off. The reason I was pissed of was because this woman waited all this time to tell me this. She knew I was coming to Ghana to collect the keys, she could have called me to preempt me. Anyway, i was not going to let this piss me off any further.
So far: I have issued her with an eviction notice, giving her 3 months to look for accommodation else where. However I have got wind of some information that she is asking certain people within Nyaniba Estates if anyone knows of a house in Nyaniba which hasn't been renovated. Further to that, she has requested from her previous tenants (tenants she has rented out the main building to) permission to make an assessment of the main building. They immediately refused her permission. My immediate reaction was "what the hell is this woman up to". Then it dawned on me that she wants to make an assessment of how much she has spent in renovating the place and then get some money back from me. I dug out the original contract I drew up with Afro SAtcom and lo an behold the contract mentioned that if the tenant wanted to change any aspect of the original build, he/she would need to put this into writing. I have never in the past 10 years received a request from the tenant.
My next stop is to get my lawyer to officially write to her with supporting documents attached to state categorically she MUST leave the building at the end of the grace period. To make sure that I am acting within the strict confines of the law, I am seeking further advice as to when the use of force (getting the police involved) can be applied.
Do not be bitten and gnawed by a tenant from hell as I have been. Since the very beginning, I lost focus but by Gods Grace nothing as yet goes against me, except for the tenant is staying on for another 3 months, which I can handle. But just imagine the frustration that would have cropped up if I desperately needed that accommodation then and there!
Travelling is meant to be an interesting experience; interesting in terms of the people you meet and the things you learn from the conversation(s) you have with them; interesting when its your first time travelling and you have all this excitement built up in you waiting to burt out.; interesting when you have that unusual moment within a space of time. And for those of you who are frequent travellers, interesting because you know you have done this several times and irrespective of the destination, you know that nothing out of the ordinary is going to happen; interesting because of the many times you have taken a particular route the same time, the little thing that changes is something worth noting or recounting to another person.
However this wasn't the case for me. Well actually, tell a lie, the trip was interesting with respect to the fact that i made friends with a lady called Claire who sat next to me on my trip to Ghana on the 1st of this month. She was going to meet up with her fiancee and was also returning to work as a teacher in a school in Accra. It was interesting talking to her and most of all making friends. Our flight left terminal 5 Heathrow Airpot late. Our take off time was scheduled for 2.40 take off, but due to certain issues, we finally took off at 4PM.
We arrived at Accra Kotoka International Airport around 10.30, which was excellent. How the captain managed to make up for the lost time only God knows, but I suppose most things are possible up there in the sky especially when there are no traffic cops lurking behind a cloud waiting to give you a ticket. So by 10.50, we we all in the baggage area waiting for our luggage. It didn't take that long for the luggage to start appearing on the belt. Then disaster suddenly set in. I do not know how the system works at the airport in Ghana, but at Heathrow, when the display on the wide screen TV's says your baggage is in hall X, then they are there, on the conveyor belt travelling round waiting for you to yank it of the belt. This means that the containers which were used to house luggage have all been brought from the plane and all baggages have been taken out of them. This seems to be the opposite at Kotoka Airport. One container of luggage is brought in, then after sometime, another container is offloaded. Now check out what happened on the night I arrived. One load of luggage was sent down the conveyor belt. This same number luggage went round on the belt for quite some time making those travellers who haven't yet retrieved their luggage worried and asking when the rest of the luggage would be sent down. After a considerable wait, the next lot of luggage was offloaded onto the conveyor belt. Now considering the conveyor belt is a crappy old one, the luggage at the point of exit from the baggage hall outside, started dropping off the belt. Not even the stop button on the side of the belt worked. I know this for a fact because I tried using it to stop the belt. So the clever officials working in that part of the airport decided to place all the luggage that had dropped off the belt together on the floor. Now although this was a clever idea, it didn't end up being clever after all because these officials failed to inform those passengers patiently waiting at the point where the luggage enters the baggage hall that some luggage had been placed somewhere else and that they should check through them.
I left the baggage hall at 12.30AM, when I finally emerged from the Airport to meet Felix, it was 1.00AM.
Below is an encounter a passenger had. The case is similar, but from what I read, he was more pissed off than I was.
The recounting of the experiences of what seems to be my jinxed holiday journey to Ghana in March 2009, will amplify on the societal evils in Ghana. These experiences will feature in various articles I plan publishing on Ghanaweb with the passage of time.
I was dismayed to learn of the overt thievery that goes on at the Kotoka International Airport. The perpetrators of this sinistrous crime are the "Baggage handlers" who otherwise are entrusted with the secure delivery of the luggage. Their tendency to help themselves, breaking into air passengers' luggage without their knowledge or their presence is not only astonishing but flagitious. This crime is likely to be effected by the Baggage handlers somewhere between getting the luggage from the aircraft and onto the baggage carousel.
On the 12th March 2009 at 11:10, I flew to Ghana aboard an Afriqiyah Flight: 8U913 from London Gatwick to Tripoli. I was on transit in Tripoli from 16:40 till 19:00 local time. I then got on another Afriqiyah flight 8U750 at 19:00. The aircraft arrived in Accra minutes earlier than the scheduled local time of 21:35. Within twenty minutes of arrival, I had checked through the immigration post and into the carousel area, awaiting the collection of my two pieces of luggage. The waiting became long as the luggage came in bits though we were just about sixty passengers on the plane, and the soul plane to have arrived at that time. I started getting edgy after a little over one hour wait. The baggage handlers would come around, loiter about a bit, and then retreat to whence they came. After a total of about one hour forty minutes wait, they told us there were no more luggage coming. We were about eight people left without either a single or our entire luggage collected. I was without any of my two checked-in luggages except the hand luggage taken on the plane.
We decided after convincing ourselves of the long lamentable wait that the luggages are lost in transit, and that their non-availability must be officially reported. A lady who had a little baby with her was grieving over how to feed the child overnight as all her baby foods were in one of her checked-in luggage. It was well over 23:00 hours by then. We headed towards a counter where a young officer was sitting ready to receive complaints of all sorts. He had a large scale by him. Just as he started filling in forms for us and advising we came back tomorrow to check in case the missing luggage arrived, whoops, the carousel started revolving with bags on. Then a guy who claimed to be the supervisor of the baggage handling team for the night said, "I had told you your luggage would be coming". This same gentleman had about twice said earlier there were no more luggages to come. If he knew there were more luggage to come, why had he lied to us and also, why such long wait of nearly two hours in limbo? It was about forty minutes in-between having our luggage and the last time a luggage from our flight was on the carousel. Why this time lapse?
When the luggage did come after the horrendous long wait, what did we notice? These unscrupulous thieves had attempted to break into and broken into almost all the luggage. They had kept the last cage full of luggage from the airline to feast on in a way deemed fit by the disgusting Ghanaian mentality of "get rich quick by any means possible". They had ripped off the code lock on one of my bags. I stared at the bag in disbelief. They had tampered with not only my bag but almost all the bags in the last cage. Any passenger who collected their bags were complaining about their bags been intruded upon. The padlocks, zips and other safety mechanisms had been tampered with on some bags. Why this thievery at our airport by the officially employed baggage handlers who draw a monthly salary or wages?
We reported this shocking encounter to the gentleman by the scales. He asked to know the stolen items in order to fill in an official complaint against those guys. As most of us had no time ruffling through the bags to check all items to know which had gone missing, considering the long wait and the possible panicking of those come to meet us, we thought it was not worth the bother. The officer advised us to weigh the bags at least but I could not understand the philosophy behind it until I was about to exit the arrival hall. A lady official collecting the passenger's bit of the boarding pass explained why we should have weighed the luggage as suggested by the official. She showed me where to find the passenger's copies of the luggage tags bearing the total weight of each luggage. They were stuck on the air tickets issued by the Travel agents. By simply weighing them when suspected to have been tampered with, and comparing the suspected weight to what is stated on the tag, the truth will be known without necessarily checking the contents of the luggage item by item. Should there be any shortfall in weight, then the luggage has been tampered with.
Their usual disappointing attitude that got me on my nerves was when they maliciously once again tampered with my bag on my return journey to London on 23rd April 2009. When I arrived at the airport on the night of the stipulated date at 21:00, I had my luggage opened and physically checked by a custom's officer. It was given the "all clear", meaning it contained no controlled substance. I then queued up intending to check in my only single luggage. It was remarked to be much heavier for a single luggage than is permitted by the Afriqiyah airline. It was within the region of forty kilos instead of the allowable two-pieces luggage of twenty four kilos each plus an additional hand luggage. I was fortunate enough to be sold a small "Ghana must go" bag at the airport. This helped with reducing the weight of my earlier single luggage to a conforming standard. I transferred some of the items to the just purchased bag. The airline's attendant on the check-in counter offered to check in my "Ghana must bag" in addition to the proper luggage if I wished. I declined the offer with a thank you said to him. The "Ghana must go" bag was without any security lock on it. Hence, it was deemed too vulnerable to being tampered with. I decided to carry it on to the aircraft for a hand luggage instead.
The Afriqiyah Flight: 8U751 took off at around 23:00 arriving at Tripoli on 24th April 2009 at 06:00 local time. At 08:30, I was on another flight, 8U912, of same airline to London Gatwick, landing at 11:00 (GMT + 1:00 - British Summer Time - BST). Within twenty five minutes of the aircraft landing, I had taken delivery of my checked-in luggage and was outside the airport in a queue buying an Express train ticket to the City of London; Victoria train station, to be more precise.
It was when I decided to make my two bags into a single luggage after the purchase of the train ticket, that I discovered my worst nightmare. The hook & loop on which was the padlock had not only been broken but the padlock removed entirely. Do I say the padlock was stolen as well? Probably yes. A quick glance revealed how the items had been fiddled with and ruffled like the feathers of a bird. I was so furious that I finally decided against putting the two bags into one. I was very ill and looked feeble. I could see wheeling the bag much less demanding than struggling with two bloody bags, as sick as I was.
In a nutshell, the Ghanaian baggage handlers at the Kotoka International Airport are a disgrace to the nation. They are unstoppably into the wrongful taking and carrying away of the personal goods or property of another; they are committing theft on daily basis. Shame on them!
I suggest the way forward as following:
* If an official complaint had been lodged, I would recommend for the sacking of the team leader of the baggage handlers who worked on the night of 12th March 2009 as aforesaid. His many lies told, and reactions are sufficient proof to make him redundant if not prosecuted. This will serve as a warning to the others outrageously happy into that stealing gravy train.* It must be brought to their attention that opening up a luggage for any reason without the presence of the owner is a criminal offence punishable by the laws of the land.
* It must be noted that an innocent person can easily fall foul to the law by a dubious thieving baggage handler planting a contraband good(s) in ones bag without his/her knowledge. If one could break into my bag after it has been checked in, stole what they wanted, threw away the padlock, and is the person not capable of any other thing or crime feasible?
* The baggage handlers if not working in tandem with other conniving superiors are suggested to be monitored and physically searched at the close of their shift. This will reduce their field day propensity to tampering and stealing from passenger's luggage.
* On a serious note, how is one suspected of a crime being believed by the public when he/she denies having anything to do with the alleged crime? In my case where my bags were twice broken into without my express permission or presence, how could I prove my innocence if controlled substance had been found in them either in Ghana or in Britain at my arrival? This is a very dangerous position they are putting people into.
* Was Daasebre Dwamena innocent as proved by the court after his year long illegal incarceration after all? Yes he was, if viewed in terms of the logical sequence of my unfolding encounters. This young talented musician was accused of transporting cocaine to London. Although the package containing the Class "A" Drug was found in his luggage, he had not his finger prints anywhere on the package. Many were those that doubted his innocence but when related to my situation where my bags got broken into incessantly, you can be your own best judge.
* All those who misconduct themselves in the execution of their official duties must be exposed, shamed and prosecuted.
Finally, these airport twerps have fallen on the wrong person. They have dealt maliciously with a guy who will not hesitate to bring their iniquity to the limelight. They are warned!
This present came totally unexpected. I saw it in my study, had a quick glimpse at it and noticed that it was addressed to me from my daughter. What has she gone and spent her hard earned money on this time were my immediate thoughts. So after a day, I am not one to open presents immediately, I unwrap my present. Seriously thinking that its another bottle of perfume. I was in for a pleasant shock. She had baught me a Fujufilm Finepix S1800. Now a camera of this magnitude is absolutely "new territory" to me. I am more of a person who uses the very simplest of cameras, such as my iPhone. So I quickly jumped onto the good old internet and started researching on my christmas gift; the results of my search totally blew me away. The camera has EXCELLENT reviews....its amazing! I have also got some pictures I took with my Blackberry 9700 of the camera. Guys and Gurls....I am loving this camera.
And for what I call another awesome feature....a great widescreen viewer
I remember seeing her almost every day when she was just a little girl. At that time, I was working with my Uncle Adjin, her Dad; and would pass by with him to see her and the rest of the family after work. That was many years ago. Then about 6 years ago, I made a trip to Ghana and had the opportunity to see her again. This time, she had grown into a very beautiful young lady. The transformation was amazing, considering the fact that I hadn't seen her for quite a while. Several months ago, we hocked up and that was when she informed that she was getting married...WOW! My little sister was getting married. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the wedding that took place on the 27th of October. However, I was able to relive the occasion by browsing through the pictures taken on the momentous occasion splashed on Facebook.
Words cannot describe the beauty of the pictures posted here. I can only ask you to sit back and enjoy the pictures of this joyous day of Larteley and her Husband. With her kind permission, I have selectedsome pictures and posted them here for you to view.
They say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I say beauty is the eyes of the Creator. Congratulations Larteley!!!!
My trip started off from London St Pancras on Sunday, departure time of 10 AM. The ticket purchased by the company for me was Business Class, which put a big smile on my face. Two things stood out for me. The first was I was going to Paris for the first time and the second was it was my first time traveling by Eurostar, hence my main aim was to make the best of my three days in Paris. The train left on time. There were not that many people in the Business Class coach I was traveling in, so I took the opportunity to "upgrade" my sitting position from a single seat to that which had four seats and a bigger table.
Once the train was on its way, I quickly took out my Apple Mac-book Pro and settled down to watch a movie. In roughly two hours and fifteen minutes, we were in Paris. I was picked up outside the station by my chauffeur and driven to the Four Seasons Hotel St George V Paris. On the way to the hotel, the chauffeur go me a quick guide to the city. My first question was to ask why the buildings were built with the same chalk stone like material, and also why there were no tall buildings. He quickly filled me in with the reason why. On arriving at the hotel, the outside of the Hotel doesn't tell you much. However once you step inside, you are immediately swept away with the decor. I had arrived earlier than anticipated, so my room wasn't quite ready. I left my stuff at the front desk and took a short stroll up the road to the junction of where Luis Vuitton has their store. For some strange reason, there were a whole load of people queued outside the store. Using the little french that i know (yes, I do speak a little french) I asked a lady in the queue he reason for the queue. her response was that there was a sale going on and that anyone who wanted to buy a sale item(s) had to wait their turn. Amazing, considering Luis Vuitton's stuff don't come cheap.
On the whole, I was very impressed with Paris. Even though I didn't have the time to do a full tour of the city, what I was able to see gave me the impression that the City is very vibrant. There are a lot of places to eat outside. My walk along the streets revealed that. It appears most of the restaurants are designed to enable people enjoy themselves eating outside. A visit to a few perfume shops jolted me. The cost of their perfumes are very expensive. I was hoping the prices to be cheaper than those in the UK...sadly I was wrong.
To crown my trip to Paris, I had the golden opportunity to met Jermaine Jackson of the Jackson Five...priceless. I was sitting in an area designated to myself and a couple of staff from BAT UK, when Vivian suddenly said "oh I think that's Jermaine Jackson who has just walked passed". I quickly jumped out from behind my desk and dashed towards the direction he took. Just before I caught up with him, I called out his name..."Jermaine" I said. He was standing outside the lift. He turned round and as I approached him, I stuck out my hand and gave him a handshake. In the process of giving him a handshake, he said..."and you are"...immediately I said to him "Jermaine, its me, Joe". He looked at me as if he was supposed to know me. At that point I didn't really care. I had just shaken hands with the famous Jermaine Jackson.
Final thoughts?....I completely fell in love with Paris. All you need to do is take a 20 minute stroll on the streets and you will be absolutely taken in to the beauty it has to offer. As usual, with trips like these, I always try to make it a point to take as many pictures as I can. It would certainly would have been a huge mistake if I did not take any in Paris.
A famous landmark in Paris....need I say more !
I do not know what the going rate is for a room in the Four Seasons, but being ranked as the best hotel in Europe, the rooms do not come cheap. My room was absolutely fabulous. I stayed in a lot of posh hotels, but I must say, the room I had was amazing, and when you stepped out onto the balcony (yes it had a balcony) you had a perfect view all around you and a beautiful view of the court yard below.
My afternoon relaxation chair; so comfy
My welcome pastry....chocolate covered and so tasty...yummy
A room to die for...no expenses spared in kitting up this room
This photo was taken from my balcony. The view was absolutely breath-taking, especially in the morning
Court yard view below from my balcony....very nice
Being an expensive hotel meant that there were guest there who drove expensive cars. The hotel had a constant stream of luxury cars parked outside everyday. Check out the rides I managed to capture below. The pictures are not too brilliant because i took them with my Blackberry 9700.
I was up on the third floor two weeks to assist a new joiner with his laptop when I noticed this book on his desk. I was immediately attracted to it after reading a few pages of it. I ordered it from Amazon and it arrived a few days ago. So far, I am enjoying it extremely. Quoted from http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/snowball/:
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
The #1 New York Times Bestseller!
THE SNOWBALL is the much anticipated book recounting with intimate detail the life experience and life-wisdom of the man known as "The Oracle of Omaha": Warren Buffett. Though writers have penned thousands of pages about Mr. Buffett and his extraordinary gifts as a businessman and investor, THE SNOWBALL offers an unprecedented portrait of Buffett's life, of his values and his strategies, of his total experiences—all of which combine to tell a great American story.
Unlike any book ever written about Mr. Buffett or derived from his words, this book will be both a life story, and a biography of ideas.
....With our heads high.
Yes, I will say it over and over again. We were robbed by cheats, and it is disgrace to the game of football. But the good thing is that Ghana emerged as winners of their game with Uruguay.
Well done lads, you have truly made Ghanaians and the rest of the African continent proud of you. You have shown that against everything, you have class, determination, skill and the drive to succeed. The rest of the world might see you as going out of this tournament, but Ghanaians will see you as the victors. You have fought a battle others have failed to fight, and hence I hereby crown you champions of the world.
Regards, respect and love to y'all
Joe Djamasi
It is amazing how time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Four years ago I blogged on Ghana beating the Czech Republic 2 nil during the world Cup that took place in 2006. And now we are experiencing another world Cup Tournament which is being held in South Africa. Up until now we have experienced major upsets with teams we did not imagine being kicked out flying back home. Who would have thought that France would make an early exit from the World Cup! As at now, all the African countries who entered the tournament have been kicked out except Ghana. To make history, I understand that Ghana is the only African Country to go this far in the World Cup tournament. I could be wrong, but please correct me if I am wrong.
So, when Ghana gave the USA a mighty whipping to catapult them to the next round, there was so much jubilation in my house that even the neighbour had to rush out of their houses to check out what was going on. Indeed Ghana has truly made history. To celebrate Ghana's win over the USA, I wore my Batakari to work. A lot of coworkers were curious about the Batakari and also wanted to know why I was wearing it. I took the pleasure of explaining why I was wearing it and also took the opportunity to give them so brief history of the Batakari.
After Ghana's win, I managed to get a Ghanaian Flag to hung from my front window. Now this was just before England's game with Germany, which ment that almost all the houses on my road had the St Georges flag hanging from their windows. When England lost to Germany, everyone on my road who had English flags hanging from thier windows took them all down and have replaced them with Ghanaian flags - amazing!
Sunday morning found me in Birmingham City Centre doing a bit of site-seeing. I did not have any plans in mind, just to wonder around really and see how much the City Centre had changed. Roughly 5 years ago, I was working at KPMG on their XP rollout Project. The rollout kicked off at their Birmingham offices and then rolled on to other offices in various parts of the UK.My first stop was at BHS, where I got a refund for a pair of shorts that were bought for me on my birthday. Just a few paces outside BHS, there were a group of street dancers doing their own thing. I stood there for a while, watching them, and managed to take some pictures using my iPhone. Two days earlier, I had purchased Camera+ from the Apple APPS Store. Check out the creator of Camera+ website at MostlyLisa. Check out her website. There is also the chance to win some serious camera kit.
Quoted from http://mostlylisa.com/:
I just wanted to let everyone, especially budding photographers, about this ridiculous promotion we are doing for Camera+ to win my dream camera rig (valued at over $10,000).
It will physically hurt me to give this amazing gear away, but they are making me… boo hiss.
So, my final stop before heading back to Erdington - that is where Naadu lives - was the Apple Store. It is amazing how these Apple Stores have been designed; so appealing. Personally I could spend the whole day in one of those stores and never get bored. I desperately needed an external monitor adaptor for my 2010 Apple Macbook Pro. I initially tried getting one from the Apple Store on The Strand in London, however to my surprise, I was told that they had run out of stock. I was totally gutted. Anyway, I managed to get one from the Birmingham Store and I am loving it.
My Apple Macbook Pro survived a terrible accident two weeks ago. How it survived this accident without a scratch - only God knows, however I do know that had it been any other make of laptop, it would have been in bits.
Shortly after installing an additional shelves in my study, I was, one evening reading in my study, when two shelves I had put came about a week ago suddenly came off the wall and onto my desk. My 22" Samsang monitor was instantly crashed under the weight of the books that landed on it. Amazingly, my Apple Macbook Pro that was on the desk next to the monitor did not suffer any damage at all. Not even a scratch.
Below is are pictures I took using using my Blackberry 9700.
Anyway, I called my insurance company the next day and put in a claim for the damaged monitor. Two days later I got my replacement screen. I was sent a LG Flatron W2246S. Initially I was a bit dubious about the make and model. After setting it up and taking it for a test run, I was satisfied with what I was given.
My Replacement is a LG W2246S Flatron Monitor
The second time round, I made sure that the job was going to be done properly. With the help of my next door neighbour, I got the right drill and screws. The shelves have been put back up again and very much secure now.
Lifehacker has some stunning displays from all over the world of peoples desktop displaying the various hardware they use either for work, gaming or just for the fun of it. Some of the pictures are just mind blowing, not to mention the cash, time and dedication that has gone into setting these workspaces up. Initially I was reluctant to do this, but after careful thought, I said to myself..."no seat" surely what I have to offer must rank somewhere. So later on in this blog, I will post pictures of my workspace. I can assure you, it will be nothing compared to what other readers have posted to Lifehacker, but at least it is worth mentioning.
Below are some pictures of other peoples workspace. If you have the time and energy, you can follow the link provided in Lifehacker and scroll through the many pictures at your leasure. I would also suggest you check this site - My Desktop And Workspace out.
Actually all of the workspaces displayed are absolutely amazing. It shows that these people are actually passionate about the type of environment they work in.
My workspace in my study. Nothing fancy, too high tech or expensive....
An object of desire, an indispensable tool, a revolutionary gadget......these are just a few descriptions of Apple's new toy on the block. How would you describe the Ipad?
Anyway, one thing I know for sure is that I want one.
So, I have taken up the task of understanding what VMware is all about. To do so, I have purchased a HP Proliant ML115 G5 server to install VMWare ESX 4i onto. My choice of what server to buy wasafter some research from the internet; especially from TechHead. The website also has very good links to other sites which provide very good advice on how to go about setting up a VMWare server and also understanding the whole concept of Virtualization.
I bought the server from ebuyer. Extra memory modules to pump the existing 1GB module that comes with the server to 6GB was obtained from Maplins in Northampton. The sever also comes with 160GB SATA hard drive. I have added a 1TB hard drive to this.
The server arrived in very good condition at work. I had plans of driving down to work over the weekend and picking it up, but on second thoughts, i decided to take it home with me on the train. It wasn't such a difficult task as I though it would be. When I got to the train station in Wellingborough, I just took a cab home.
The kit has been unboxed, setup and VMware ESX4i has been installed and running. I initially did the install on a USB memory stick, but ditched that process and run the install from the ISO image which I burnt to disk.
Thanks to some friends who have already taken the VMware course, I am able to follow the VMware process from the course books they have lent me.
Unfortunately I didnt take pictures of the unit boxed and unboxed, so I have had to pinch pictures of it from the web, so credits to the person who these pictures were pinched from.
I still have some other VMware related applications to install, but first of all, I will install Windows 2003 Enterprise Sever. Hopefully I will get that done tonight and update you in the not too distant future.
What Happened to the Magic?
March 9, 2010 by Renée Cormier
Something very important is missing in our busy lives. In fact, its absence is a pretty common occurrence nowadays. We all get so caught up in our day to day rush we frequently forget to acknowledge the efforts people make in our favour. Remember the magic word your mother taught you to say whenever someone gave you something or did something special for you? Thank you. It’s simple, isn’t it? You can say it out loud; you can write it in an email or include it in a memo. You can say it while you are walking in or out of a room, or you can pick up the phone and make a special effort to thank someone for their consideration, kindness, effort, favour, etc. It isn’t that hard, really, and it isn’t even that inconvenient to take the time to do it. Believe me, it isn’t.
Those two words are so powerful they can completely change the emotional temperature of a room. They are so powerful they can instantly make people want to do more for you. A little appreciation goes an awfully long way.
Say thank you to your employees who come to work every day. They could have chosen to fake sick and stay home. Say thank you to your customers who give you their money. They could have chosen to give it to your competitor, or just hang onto it. Say thank you to sales reps that take the time out of their busy day to make sure you have samples and little freebies to try out. They could have just not bothered. Say thank you to your boss who keeps you working. Say thank you to your significant other for being so sweet. Thank your friends, relatives and neighbours, just because they said or did something that made you feel good.
People make efforts on our behalf all the time. Take the time to notice and acknowledge the contributions that are made. No kind act is too small to be allowed to go unnoticed. Make a call, send an email, say thank you and be grateful for all you have been given.
By the way, thank you for reading this. I really appreciate your interest.
As I went through my pictures folder on my Apple Macbook Pro, I came across this picture. The picture was taken two years ago in India, at a place called Kerala. About Kerala: Kerala, located on the Southwestern tip of India, enjoys unique geographical features that have made it one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in Asia. Fondly referred to as ‘God’s Own Country’, Kerala was selected by the National Geographic Traveler as one of the 50 destinations of a lifetime and one of the thirteen paradises in the world.
An equable climate, serene beaches, tranquil stretches of backwaters, lush hill stations and exotic wildlife are the major attractions of this land. A unique advantage of Kerala is that most of the destinations here are just two to four hour drive from the other.
Classical art forms, colourful festivals, unique cuisine are some of the cultural marvels that await travelers. Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine and Panchakarma, the rejuvenation therapy in Ayurveda have also helped Kerala to gain a pan-global reputation as a top of the line destination.
And in Kerala, the season never ends, thanks to the year-long moderate climate and numerous festivals and events.
So, 11.30AM yesterday found me at the train station waiting for my train into London for a spot of work which was unfinished during the week. I bumped into a friend of mine who attends the same church as I do. Anyway, after the pleasantries I asked him where he was going and what he was listening to. He said he was on his way to Leicester to do a spot of music, and that he was listening to Amadou and Mariam. The names got me interested as I have never heard of them. I memorized their names and did a google search of these guys and liked what i read. Here is a brief bio about them (from Wilkipedia):
Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born in Bamako 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born in Mali's capital Bamako 15 April 1958). The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music.
Between 1974 and 1980, Amadou played with Les Ambassadeurs du Hotel. In 1980 the couple married and began to play together as well as Amadou continuing with a successful solo career and running the blind institute's music programme.
By 1985 the couple had made a name for themselves playing Malian blues. They embarked on a tour of Burkina Faso. In 1986 the couple moved to the Côte d'Ivoire and recorded several cassette albums and eventually the album Sou Ni Tile in Paris, which became a hit in France. The duo started playing at festivals around the world.[citation needed]
In 2003 they were approached by World–Latin music star Manu Chao, who then produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"), which also features his distinctive vocals.
In 2006 they recorded, together with Herbert Grönemeyer, the official anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup "Celebrate The Day" (German: "Zeit, dass sich was dreht"). The song topped the German charts in June 2006.
In 2007 they supported Scissor Sisters at the MEN Arena on 30 July. In summer of 2008, they played the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Illinois and the Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Suffolk.
In 2008, their song "Sabali" placed 15 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Best Tracks of 2008.[1]
Amadou & Mariam won the Best Group category in the inaugural Songlines Music Awards (2009) - announced May 1, 2009 - the new 'world music' awards organised by the UK-based magazine, Songlines.
On May 26, 2009 they played a gig to support the homeless charity Crisis at the Union Chapel, in north London with David Gilmour playing second guitar supporting the whole 80 minute set and a 5-minute encore. On June 8, 2009 they performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
In 2009, they supported Blur during their two reunion gigs in Hyde Park and also supported UK based band Coldplay on their Viva la Vida Tour. It was recently announced that they have been chosen by Matt Groening to perform at the edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival he is curating in May 2010 in Minehead, England.
So after many years of yearning for one, I finally took the plunge and got myself an Apple Mac Book Pro.
Seven days on, and I am loving this laptop. My question(s) to myself were/was, why the hell didn't I get one of these years ago. I must have been nuts not to see how cool Apple laptops could be.
I must admit, I had several initial issues. One was moving my Outlook email saved PST files to Entourage. After several days of trolling through the net for a solution, I finally came up with one that suggested buying the software "O2M". Then there was that of finding applications that I used the my windows platform, but didn't have them for the Apple mac. Obviously I didn't want to go out and purchase these applications, so a friend at work who is a serious Apple Macbook user told me what to do. The solution was in http://alternativeto.net.
Today found me at the Apple Store in Milton Keynes for a one hour workshop on navigating around the Macbook Pro. The Apple Store MK is definitely new, because I do not remember it being there three years ago. Mind you, I have not been to MK for quite a while now.
So the saga continues between me and my hungry creditor. Even with everything being under control, as in me making regular payments to them, one of them decided to get a court order with respect to my wages...I am not too sure of what the legal term is, and I am too tired to go looking for the piece of paper that will tell me what it is called. Anyway, I got this nasty bit of paper from the courts saying that one of my creditors wanted to seek a judgement on my earnings (or something of the sort) and that I should list my incoming and outgoing. At that point I was just about to chuck the bit of paper in the shredder..."what now" I said to myself..."do they want my blood as well".Out of patience, I filled in the form and sent it off. A week slowing went into two weeks of not hearing back, and then about ten days ago, I got another letter from the county court asking me to give them my employers current address before a certain date, by a certain time. I quickly faxed a copy of the document to my debt management agency seeking advice. My agent advised me to go to the county court and give my address to the judge (now this is where my agent has really pissed me off...read on and you will find out why). When I got to the county court, I was informed by the clerk that there was no need of me coming over and that I could have easily telephoned them to give the details of my address. Three days ago, I got a letter from the county court (with a copy addressed to my creditor) saying that I was to pay the twenty quid a week till further notice. I just could not believe what I was reading...after all the hassle these guys had gone through just to get a litre of blood out of me, the tables had turned...Why? because I was already paying them one hundred and fifteen quid a month...Do the maths!
inactive [ɪnˈæktɪv]adj 1. idle or inert; not active 2. sluggish, passive, or indolent 3. (Military) Military of or relating to persons or equipment not in active service 4. (Chemistry) Chem (of a substance) having little or no reactivity 5. (Physics / General Physics) (of an element, isotope, etc.) having little or no radioactivity inactively adv inactivity , inactiveness n
Now this is serious, more like some serious laziness ( or call it procastination ) on my part. I suppose I can flog it off with sorry excuse such as "I have been too busy"; but that, for some reason doesnt sit well with me. So I might as well own up and admit that I have been one lazy dude from the 17th of September to this date. And i will not even attempt to cook up an excuse. So, as you can see, its been a while. Too long for my liking. Well, things should be back in order now, so all I need you guys and gurls to do now it visit this blog regularly and make some meaningful comments to the various postings that are made. Hmmmm, now lets see, what the hell have I been up to?
