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Dinner posted on February 9, 2010 - 4:52am

The restaurant was suspended in mid-air. If you were to walk outside, you would find that the stars and the moon hung in much the same manner—as if anticipating matters of heavy importance down below. Fortunately for the first two presentiments, the couple sitting inside the restaurant, just to the left of the wildly swinging red green pink yellow disco lights were anticipating grave things too—you needed only to look at them to be convinced of this truth.
The girl exuded a strained calm as she leaned back in her seat and crossed one leg over the other; her eyes flitted gracelessly all across the room: noting and forgetting the black and white tiles; dismissing the waitress who smacked her lips and talked loudly on the phone.

New York is dangerous. posted on February 8, 2010 - 11:50pm
Just arrived in the inbox (emphasis mine): To: SIPA Student Groups While on patrol this morning Post 15 PSO Patterson noticed three animals in front of Lewisohn Hall. Sgt. Galan responded and spotted one animal and identified it as a coyote. Sgt. Gillis contacted 911 and NYPD responded. NYPD spotted one of the animals and confirmed it was a coyote. The one coyote that was seen by NYPD and Sgt. Galan went behind the CEPSR build and it is believed exited the campus. An additional sighting by facilities was called in to base at approximately 1000 hours this morning. The undersigned responded and was unable to confirm the sighting. Patrol units were advised if they see any possible coyotes while on patrol to notify the base and maintain a visual but not to approach the animal. For Your Information, Sgt. Oakley I would like to take this moment to point out that, while being raised in Kansas, I never once spotted a coyote.
Only in Uganda: Ambulance car pools posted on February 8, 2010 - 11:07pm

Today I was taking some young Basoga back to some Busoga boarding schools. I was going through the whole “did you bring brooms and TP” nonsense, when lo and behold, a big new ambulance pulled up next to my car in the parking lot.
If you are assuming it was an emergency, you are incorrect. It was someone bringing a child to school. Complete with a driver who stayed baking in the car the whole time. (I hate that, by the way. People need to give their drivers slightly more respect and consideration in general).
So anyway, there was a brand-new, probably-donated-by-some-foreign-government, ambulance from Iganga Hospital dropping a child at school in Jinja.
I will not even go into the question of on how many levels this is wrong. I will just say: Only in Uganda.

With news this week of LRA killings of civilians surging in remote corners of DR Congo, International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo applauded the efforts of US activists to secure the passage of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act and see the violence ended. Activist efforts continued to make historic progress this week, with a supermajority of Senators now signed on as cosponsors. read more

being poor, I have only my dreams posted on February 8, 2010 - 8:50pm

1. This series is for the four readers of my blog. You keep me going, yearning, and growing despite my inconsistencies.
2. This series is fiction. Get over it.
Previously
Saturday, 6th December, 11:37 AM
The fog slowly clears from the misty plains of a thousand dreamless sleeps. I have enjoyed my stay there, through the long peaceful hours. [...]

posted on February 8, 2010 - 8:07pm
Loudspeaker honey or what? posted on February 8, 2010 - 8:06pm
Bees have taken over both speakers at The Gardens and we have no clue how to show them the way out. Can you suggest a solution?! Best proposals to be rewarded…
posted on February 8, 2010 - 8:06pm
An Eye Care Story From Butongole posted on February 8, 2010 - 7:25pm
An Eye Care Story From Butongole
Government-sponsored Skullduggery posted on February 8, 2010 - 7:19pm
Cliff Stoll (who helped catch a ring of computer hackers/Soviet spies in the 1980s) and Jonathan Zittrain (principle investigator at the OpenNet Initiative) are speaking at Harvard’s Berkman Center tonight. Subject: When Countries Collide Online: Internet Spies, Cyberwar, and Government-sponsored Skullduggery. I’ll be sequestered in the industrial-sized kitchen of my co-op, chopping vegetables to make stir fry for my 27 roommates, but if you’re free, check out the live webcast at 6pm EST to find out how governments are using the Internet, how far their online spying has gone, and what the legal implications of state sponsored network espionage might be.
Verbatim Vs Verbatim In The Aftermath posted on February 8, 2010 - 6:59pm

In which our  hero is visited by our villain one afternoon.

Baz…
Yes, Lizzie.
Baz…
Yes?
Baz?
What do you want?
It’s 3:00pm. Put on a pair of fucking sunglasses. Hah hah! But you Ka-man, your ki-blog post about R.Kelly was so funny. I read it and I laughed so hard I shook all the ribs in my little torso.
….
Well, say something. Don’t be rude. When someone compliments your work, you should reply in some way or the other. I recommend replying bashfully in my case. You know I am a very hard woman to impress, so if I say that I liked something you wrote you should be very humbled.
The thing that tied my tongue was not a lack of responses to comments about my work. It was the spectacle of you, a creature so young and small that you don’t even remember hotmail, let alone a world before gmail, suddenly spewing such dirty words.
What language? What dirty words? R.Kelly? Don’t be so judgemental. It’s the man who is obscene, Baz, not his name.
How do you even know who R.Kelly is?

I've Moved! posted on February 8, 2010 - 6:55pm

Mood: I-like-to-move-it-move-it[Toot!] Index: 0.0Communism Bit: OffLocation: KampalaHey, all. I'm back (weep!) and I'm located at http://detamble.com/blogs/1b.The new blogs is called My Song in the Trench. Well, the English part of it, anyway.The intro post there is here. (Was that sentence an oxymoron of sorts?)Meanwhile, since more people read this than other places where I write, I'll also use this here platform to introduce Fat Boy whose blog is called Freethought Kampala.Amusez-vous.

MARGIN OF SAFETY EXPLAINED posted on February 8, 2010 - 6:43pm
If you have read any books by any value investor or a blog written by a person more inclined towards fundamental investing, you may have heard this phrase “margin of safety”. So I decided to write up a post on this very important concept in fundamental investing. What is margin of safety? Since it is Benjamin Graham [...]
Paying for Quality posted on February 8, 2010 - 6:24pm
A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor points to a growing global problem:  Westerners demand quality but refuse to pay for it.  Farmers of tropical climate products have made changes to their agriculture practices, hoping to find a better market.  Instead, they have found their investment to be in vain. In this particular instance, coffee farmers were encouraged stop using chemical pesticides/fertilizers.  This led to a significant decrease in yield.  This was expected, but so was a price increase per pound. For three years, farmers incurred low yields and little return.  Then as farmers achieved organic certification, they weighed their sacks of coffee only to be offered a tiny increase to compensate for quality, organic coffee; yet yields are lower.  Yields can improve over time as farmers learn new ways to combat pests and disease using organic processes, but this often takes years of experimentation. What does this have to do with you?
ZION. posted on February 8, 2010 - 5:37pm
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, ye-ah we wept, when we remembered Zion…. That’s the Boney M version, the lyrics I used to sing were slightly different. Introducing my godson ZION, whom I love as if he were my own. I think about him all the time. Hhhm, maybe I’m ready for my own? Isn’t he just the cutest little thing? Here he is with his momma. And here he is with his favourite Aunt. That was a couple of months ago. I’ll be putting up some more recent ones soon. P.S; incase you’re wondering why his hair is braided, we’re growing it for dreds. ‘Til next time. Peace, T.
10 Futuristic Concept Laptop Designs posted on February 8, 2010 - 4:59pm
The growth of technology today is so drastic that people might start inventing some of the most ridiculous of things; my imagination eludes me there. I was awed at some of the designs people would like to use in their Laptops of the Future. Actually am compelled to think that some of these exist as prototypes though." MacTab is the complement to MyBook in the high-end. The incredibly thin wireless keyboard is used as a protection cover for transportation. It stays in place with a combination of magnets and notches."Read more...
10 Ways to speed up your computer NOW! posted on February 8, 2010 - 4:39pm
Have you ever been faced with a challenge as horrifying as making one mouse click and you have to wait for over 2 minutes before the command responds? What about after making this wonderful design and you try to save but your computer takes ages to save, worse still you have a deadline to beat...? Now that is what I call disaster! Don't lose hope, there are ways you can solve this and in this article at www.switched.com, you might find some answers. "There is nothing more frustrating on this Earth than a slow computer Read more...
Happy 2010 Blogren posted on February 8, 2010 - 4:32pm

Been a while, think I may have forgotten how to do this. I have written a few posts over the past year but my Internet was never fast enough to post them and now they don't seem relevant. I suppose you want a quick snap-shot of my past year?Rescued an abandoned puppy, called him Jinx.Completed a semester of university via correspondence.Adopted a Siamese cat who came begging, called her Catkin. Unfortunately she was poisoned by the land-lady, ie.

Back posted on February 8, 2010 - 4:12pm

    Did you notice that I was not around? And if you did, did you bitch about it? I do want to feel loved and beloved. You know what I mean! Anyway, I have discovered that there are countries which have worse internet conection that Uganda's cafes.   And, of course worse supplies of electricity, less internet connectivity, less liberality with internet access... And, all sorts of things. Like Great China has this great Wall which is supposed not to let in some things. Does the gayuganda blog open in China? Personally, I think the act of restricting knowledge is a sore hint of pure ignorance of a great nation. It has its social uses, of course. But...!   Anyway, that is why I do not have the ruthlessness to be a leader. Of sorts.   There are countries which do lots of things. But, there is one Uganda. And, that is my love, my country. And, I do damn love this small bitter country of mine.  What has been happening when I was off?

Real World: African Autocrats posted on February 8, 2010 - 3:52pm

Must read hilarity from This is Africa:
Enter Rwandan President Paul KAGAME, Ugandan President Yoweri MUSEVENI, and Libyan President Muammar QADDAFI. A corpulent Kenyan President Mwai KIBAKI sits on the sofa, stuffing his face with sausage rolls and scanning hot celebrity pics in The Star. Angolan President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS sits under a pile of cobwebs in the corner, an oil drip connected to his arm. Nigerian President Umaru Musa YAR’ADUA is nowhere to be seen.
MUSEVENI: You fat Kikuyu, always hungry!
KIBAKI: It is my turn to eat, bwana.
MUSEVENI: If you only eat a little – slowly, slowly – no one will notice. I fleeced the West for years before they realized I was no better than all the other tyrants. Some still think I am an example of the New African Leader. Haha.
KAGAME: Haha.
MUSEVENI: Haha.
YAR’ADUA: …
KIBAKI: Ndiyo, you are right. If I am not careful, Ban Ki-Moon will tell me that I should be tried at a special tribunal in the Hague.

Appeals from prominent Christian leaders all over the world to their Ugandan brethren to denounce the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill have largely fallen on deaf ears. The problem might be that those Christian leaders, while they may be significant overseas, seem to carry very little weight in the minds of Ugandan Christians – especially among the Pentecostals (whose influence extends right up to the First Lady of Uganda, whose own daughter is a pastor). So forget Rick Warren. Forget Archbishop Rowan Williams. Forget the Pope. In Uganda the Superstar Men/Women of ‘God’ are Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Rod Parsely, Paul Crouch and other TBN (Trinity Braodcasting Network) regulars. For over a decade these televangelists’ programmes have been beaming straight into millions of Ugandan households on a daily basis through Lighthouse Television (LTV), the local TBN affiliate.
Once upon a time... posted on February 8, 2010 - 3:04pm

She looked into his wrinkled face, marked with lines of pain and suffering, well worn paths of worry and stress. He was misty eyed and tired - not from the day’s events but from months and years of hardships. He leaned back, and stretched out his legs on the sofa to take a brief nap. As he closed his eyes and shifted around to find a comfortable niche - she watched. Amara couldn’t take her eyes off this man. He turned his head to the side and she could see how the years had loosened the skin around his neck, his head was a growing forest of grey hair. She folded her hands against her chest and sighed.The house was deafeningly quiet, but the coos and moos of animals tethered in the bushes blew in from the fields. She looked out into the distance, the mango tree that she and her brothers climbed as kids still stood strong. It seemed like only yesterday when they had no care in the world, when climbing trees eating mangoes and sugarcane was enough to carry them through the day.

It will be a week in a couple of days posted on February 8, 2010 - 2:51pm

And I miss you still, not sure whether it is getting easier to get through the days without your presence…it helps that I can stare at pictures of you, and hear your voice when you call…
I’ll keep it together until I see you next,
hugs

A Little Give and Take
08 Feb 2010

‘…giving preference to one another.’ Romans 12:10

Before discussing what healthy compromise is, let’s be clear about what it’s not. It’s not giving up what you believe, or who you are, or accepting second best because you’re impatient or afraid of criticism. Healthy compromise is about learning to negotiate a win-win situation for both sides. It’s tempting to dismiss somebody as being wrong and see only your own viewpoint. That’s when it’s crucial to relinquish your pride, step outside of the role you’re playing, try to become the other person and ask yourself, ‘Can I see their point of view? Can I appreciate why they might feel as they do?

Forever Young, I Wanna Be Forever Young posted on February 8, 2010 - 1:29pm

Let’s dance in style, Let’s dance for a while, Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Monday….not again. posted on February 8, 2010 - 12:27pm
Dear diary, It’s Monday. As much as I’m grateful for another week, I can’t help but feel so low. My weekend sucked. I’m not going into details, but I’m so sick of this.so sick!! Do u ever have that feeling you just want to pull your hair out? Stand on a roof top and I don’t know, jump down? I am in a very dark place right now. I want to switch off my phone, lock myself in my room for a week, and make everyone who knows me forget I exist, I think I owe them that much.
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