Hiatus

This year started with a six month plan about what I should achieve within the period. I'm less happy with what I've achieved than with what I've learned. Still, my plan dictates that I vanish into the wilderness in order to meditate, reflect and do whatever it is that hermits do. This means that public work on Cheeseforge will have to be put off ( I'll still be using it to manage my own finances and working on it within that context. )
The change I'm making, however, is less of a holiday and more of a pilgrimage. For the next two years ( yes, that long ) I'm going to be completely off the radar. If you need something from me, make your voice heard asap because I'm going to a place that phones don't roam and carrier pigeons don't reach. Of course they're some commitments I've made to a few key people. Those few commitments will be met from wherever I may be so there's no need to worry.
This change/break is more due to necessity than planning. I have to deal with some psychological issues that I've been hiding and ignoring for the better part of the past two years, most of which I've hinted at in numerous previous posts. I wouldn't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. The problems aren't as tragic as schizophrenia or similar maladies, but they're no less insidious.
Basically, my brain isn't functioning in the way that I imagine a "normal" person's would, some of my functionality is degrading and worst of all, the voices are fading! Usually, I'm bursting with ideas and solutions every second of the day. I'm not talking about the feeble dream-like ideas that tom-dick-and-harry have. Those have no magic within them. The voices that used to speak in my mind were powerful and incisive; their ideas were elaborate, their solutions were detailed and complete. To be sure I've often felt like I'm plugged into a high powered socket.
In particular, there's one daily dream that seems to have vanished. In the dream, I meet with someone with whom I converse. We walk and talk for what seems like days. It is during one of those dreams that I was taught to draw. When I woke up the next morning, I was drawing life portraits with incredibly finesse!
Usually though, the dreams are less fantastic but still powerful. The other person and I usually discuss a book that I've read or even a book that I need to read. I'm also given ideas for my collection of short stories. When I wake up I often grab my diary and outline the story.
The dream always ends the same way: I walk into a laboratory and see myself ( i.e. another me ) sitting on a desk studying something or doing some experiment. My double notices the intrusion and turns toward me with an annoyed look in his face. He then starts shouting; "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" It is at that point that I sit up so vigorously that no hint of sleep remains within my bones. I get ( run ) out of bed and a day of incredibly productivity begins. Sadly, the last time I had this dream was over a month ago. Something is broken.
Recently, though, I can't even keep up with the most basic intellectual discourse. It's frustrating to be unable to meaningfully contribute where I previously used to be productive. It's painful to struggle to understand the most basic concepts. Things that I used to understand in a heartbeat now take me a week of diligent study and even then gaps in my knowledge quickly appear.
My biological clock is also completely out of sync. During the day I seem to be dead. As soon as night falls my energy is at its peak and I'm as productive as ever. My days begin at noon and end at 6AM! Because my energy levels are so low I seem to be permanently beneath a dark cloud. It's quite ridiculous. I find myself avoiding everyone because I simply feel so damned angry. ( reminiscent, I think, of pathetic teenage tantrums! ).
This long walk away from my normal life is long over due. Two years should be long enough for me to find myself. Good bye all and thanks to everyone who's bothered to join conversations that have taken place on this blog either by reading, commenting or both.
NB. This blog will remain on-line but it's highly unlikely that it will be updated at all ( perhaps there'll be a few intermittent bursts of activity but don't count on it ).

Meeting with Erik Hersman and other digerati

Meeting someone whose blog you read is strange. You never know what to expect especially if they post a lot of personal information and/or experiences. I've been reading whiteafrican.com since 2005 so I was curious to see if the blog accurately represented the individual. The surprise was definitely pleasant. Last Thursday ( 07/07/2006 ) I had the pleasure of meeting up with Erik Hersman and I can confirm that he is one cool dude.
I had scheduled the meet-up for 6pm on Thursday at my favourite pub, Mwenda's ( behind Grand Regency ). I invited a couple of friends some of whom couldn't make it. Still, Lui Oganga, Josiah Mugambi ( currently works for Siemens ), Erik and his friend Paul were there. We had blast and as can be expected, a birds-of-a-feather session like this was mostly about business, technology and entrepreneurship both locally and globally. Below is a summary of the ideas discussed:

1. Microfinance Some time ago, Nation reported that approximately 70% of Kenyan bank account holders have an account balance of kshs. 2500 or less. As we discussed this, it was suggested that a micro credit service similar to Grameen Bank is needed. It was also suggested that this type of bank take advantage of the ubiquity of mobile phones ( a common thread throughout our discussions ). By leveraging widespread cell-phone availability, such an institution could offer mobile micro payments i.e. you pay someone by using your phone to execute the transaction ( see Sambaza ). Money can then be withdrawn from or deposited at the bank.
   
   Ref: Money Transfer in Kenya
2. The need for skilled web-design savvy Kenyan designers. Erik lamented that there's a dearth of highly skilled designers who are also knowledgeable in diverse fields such as user-experience design ( ux design ), application development and web design.
   
   I think that this is due to the fact that most web developers in Kenya are undercutting each other. It's a cutthroat environment with the result that it's not very profitable ( as far as I know ) to do very high quality web development. Last weekend, I was hanging out at Gallery Watatu. I had been studying a truly amazing painting by Meek Gichugu for about 20 minutes when someone walked in and bought it for kshs. 195,000 !! An artist friend of mine then asked me if web development could compensate him in the same way that traditional art does. I was speechless.
   
3. Need for informal meetups ( a la Barcamp ) among Kenyan digerati. Erik noted that there's a lack of communication among Kenyan tech-entrepreneurs. Personally, I've noticed that most entrepreneurs I talk to are protective and rather paranoid; they fear that their ideas will be hijacked. The consensus was that we're all working on different projects with technology being the common thread linking all of them. We should be less afraid of hijacking of ideas and more concerned with sharing of contacts, expertise and goodwill. Josiah seemed to agree. He sent me a mail the following day noting that we really should have more meetings of this sort.
   
4. Broadband via intra and inter-continental fibre optic links. While this provision of broadband will offer new possibilities for an increasingly connected and technological society, I argued that no meaningful cost reduction would occur because the initial outlay has to be recouped by investors. Erik argued that there will be two cables from two different companies. That should significantly increase competition and therefore reduce costs.
   
5. Erik believes that the rate of enabling change is increasing and that we should be ready to ride the crest of the coming wave. We drew parallels between Kenya today and South Korea two decades ago i.e. the beginning of widespread availability of high speed, low cost Internet connections.
   
6. Niche's are good but... Niche's e.g. health care ( Footman-Walker, Ascribe ) or Accounting ( Fintech, Intuit ), finance ( Spasys ) but the best niches are at the bottom of the pyramid e.g. yahoo, MySpace, Google i.e. something that everyone can use or a service that serves a general yet vaguely-defined need.
   
7. Zangu's potential lies in it becoming the African portal i.e. the African version of Baidu.com i.e. localization and grass-roots accessibility via mobile phones ( with cool functionality such as submission and viewing of news ).
   
8. Users will use text messages for any service that is made available.
   
   This was proved by the amazing success of Kenyan sms-dating services. Sms news headlines services proved that 116 characters are both valuable and functionally useful.
   
9. Localization is valuable.
   
   Local knowledge is valuable. These are the reasons that Alibaba.com won against Ebay in Asia.
   
10. Entrepreneurship is the right path.
    
    We all agreed that being one's own boss is infinitely valuable and/or rewarding. There's nothing more satisfying than having one's fate in one's own hands. No employment, no matter how good can offer the same freedom, long term security and personal challenge that self-employment can.
    
    I agree with Erik's sentiment but feel like Leonardo Da Vinci felt before he became an artist: I feel this irrepressible need to create something but if I were creative, what would I create?

Erik was also kind enough to buy the drinks for the night. Had I know that he would be buying I would have ordered a crate of Tusker!
Read Erik's version of the events here.

i love pets

I truly love pets. I'm a fan of cats, the fat, fluffy and cuddly ones. However, I'm not a fan of dogs unless they're small and cuddly as well.

Today, I realized that I've been missing out on the joy of owning guinea pigs! Have a look at these two beautiful creatures: Sunny and Toffee. They are just so gorgeous. I can almost feel the butterflies overflowing from my ears as I cuddle them and coo endlessly.

Read more about Sunny and Toffee here.

On Literature : What is "A Master of Words" ?

Context: A small group of friends and I attempt to explore literature in a bid to become worthy writers. We've recently been debating the merits and demerits of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. This is an email I sent in response to some comments.
Recently, our friend rather boldly declared that Dan Brown is "a master of words". That statement puzzled me. My body seemed to revolt at the idea and for a few minutes I broke into an uncontrollable fit of dry retching: my entire being wanted to be divorced of such blasphemous words.
I resolved to evaluate what exactly "a master of words" is. Clearly, my definition differs from most. Instead of definitions I thought that a comparison would be more useful. Here, therefore, is an essay by George Orwell titled A Hanging. I urge you to compare it, line for line, with the first chapter of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.
I'll briefly outline the aspects that are most obvious to my untrained eye: The quality, tone and pedigree of the two are extremely different. Both are describing a dreadful experience. In DVC our "renowned" curator is running for his life. In Orwell's text, a man is at the gallows. In both, the subject is about to perish horribly.
The way they treat these situations is very different. Dan Brown creates a situation that seems more "hollywood" that "neighbourhood". Do you really believe that Dan Brown's opening chapter could actually be true ? It doesn't sound true. It sounds like a fanciful tale. Orwell's story, on the other hand, has an immediacy that is both striking and enchanting. It doesn't sound grandiose. In fact it isn't. I'll venture a reason why this is the case. Incidentally, the reason for this also describes the difference between the novice of words and the master of words. I'll leave it to you, my good friends, to discern who is who:
The novice writer has the mind of a teenager. This mind is filled with fantastic visions of reality. It is at this age that a girl dreams of grand weddings with a square jawed, broad chested wealthy Prince Charming. The teenage boy dreams of being a suave crime busting Don Juan who always saves the damsel in distress. The books read at this time mirror this mindset: Romance novels and detective novels are popular. It is fairly obvious that the teenager can't see reality for what it is. In fact, the teenager doesn't want to: She's having her first monthly cycle, he's having wierd embarrassing wet dreams. Both their faces are covered in pimples. All a teenager sees is what his mind paints in a motley mix of bright colours . A teenager embraces escapism.
The mature writer has the mind of a philosopher king. This mind distinguishes truth from fancy. Avicenna defined truth thus: the correspondence between the mind and reality. Such a writer therefore is a true artist. I believe it was Kandinsky who said that the duty of an artist is not to embellish a piece but to remove everything including himself from the piece. Only at that point, he posited, can reality be revealed.
The reason the essays we are comparing seem so different is that one writer understands that reality needs no embellishment. Humanity, like an overzealous designer, is often obsessed with adding frills to the pleat skirt worn by the real. The result is that even our best efforts sound high handed, exaggerated and therefore meaningless. The writer who realises this then understands that "reality is beautiful". He expels himself from the moment and reports it in all its fidelity while finessing the most subtle details. This, it turns out, is an almost superhuman feat.
The master of words knows that his duty is not to reveal reality but to let reality reveal itself. The novice of course, mistakenly believes that he is a better creator than reality. Because he divorces himself from reality his writing becomes worthless, tepid and tasteless.
So the question remains: Is Dan Brown a "master of words". If so, why ? ( answers that will be ignored include : "because everyone is reading his books" or "because he's earned so much money" )

Related Articles

1. Language Log : The Dan Brown Code
2. 'The Da Vinci Code': Is it worthy?
3. The Da Vinci Code's secret of success

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta is a 2006 action-thriller film set in London in a not-too-distant future. The film follows V, a freedom fighter who uses terrorist tactics in pursuit of a personal vendetta and to force sociopolitical change in a dystopian Britain.
The film is an adaptation of the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta was directed by James McTeigue and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Natalie Portman as Evey Hammond, Hugo Weaving as V, Stephen Rea as Inspector Finch and John Hurt as Chancellor Sutler.

( synopsis from Wikipedia )
I'm pretty sure everyone has already seen this movie by now. I had the option of watching either Da Vinci Code or V for Vendetta. The book from which the former was derived disgusted me so much that I didn't relish having to experience it again. The latter however, came from the venerable Alan Moore whose writing and comics I've devoured and loved ever since I could read. I'm glad I made the right decision.
In terms of entertainment ( edutainment ? ) we live in dangerous times. Movies, in general, are crap and even novels attempt to become more Hollywood friendly by inserting "gratuitous nudity" in a bid to attract and keep the attention of an MTV generation. The last life changing movie I watched was The Matrix. Execution was brilliant, screenplay was flawless, dialog was incredibly rich and the acting was astounding.
One would think that V for Vendetta would attempt to outdo, or at least be at par with, The Matrix as the Wachowski Brothers attempt to outdo themselves. You feel hints of this. V ( acted by Agent Smith/ Hugo Weaving ) weaves witty words with such wisdom and wonder that I found myself holding my breath for minutes at a time. One immediately recalls Agent Smith's conversations with Neo and The Architect's villainous headache inducing yet edifying monologue.
Listening to the dialog in this movie is like reading Shakespeare: the text is folded into such tiny pithy parcels that the mind boggles as it tries to parse the information. The result is that even five years later, one will probably stop in the middle of the street and say "Shit!!! That's what that line meant ? I had no idea. I have to watch that movie again". ( keep the dvd handy for moments like that. )
V for Vendetta, therefore, doesn't simply "outdo" the Matrix. It surpasses it in every single measurable way. Considering that The Matrix defined perfection, one has to wonder what V is: the voice of God maybe, divine vision definitely.
V for Vendetta initially seems like a political statement and it makes such points marvelously. But once you dig beneath the surface, even more precious pearls reveal themselves. The eternal Faustian question remains: How can I become free ? How can I attain perfect knowledge ?
The cinematography is brilliant. This is film noire at its best and most modern. The sets are dark and minimal while the shadows are forbidding and disconcerting. The result is so riveting that your attention is held hostage for the breathtaking two hour tour de force. This effect is necessary: the script is so finely focused, daringly deep and fearlessly wide that even the slightest distraction would leave the audience lost, fumbling helplessly in the air like a cartoon who has just walked off the edge of a cliff.
By the time the movie was over I found myself questioning everything about my existence. I'm sure anyone else who watches this movie with active interest will experience the same. This movie is brilliant. It's pure genius. The only reason I can't describe it better is because my vocabulary is so limited and our culture too insufficiently mature to truly comprehend and verbally transmit the import of this movie.
Watch it and you will never be the same again.