the burglary story

Someone broke into my car last night and stole the Blaupunkt Kiel CD30 cd-player-radio. Someone who apparently deserves to meet the stubborn brutality of soldiers in various parts of the world listen to 2 weeks of boring parliamentary speeches to experience the real meaning of pain. Or as Walter of Big Lebowski would put it: this is what happens when you **** a stranger in the ***. Anger….aaaarrgghhh!

Well, what you get is perfect blog content. After all, there’s nothing much I can do right now.

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The irony:

  • I had bought this cd player in 2001 – current street value for this aged, sometimes-not-so-well-working player should be something around EUR 15,-. A new, very basic cd player sells for about EUR 49,- in Germany. Hmmm…
  • He (the thief) only stole the radio with the detachable front cover (which I had btw hidden under the passengers seat in an extra box). He also forgot to steal the cool extra of this radio – an auxillary audio cable which helps to connect external devices (cd, mp3, etc players) to the player. This didn’t stop him from searching throughout the car for anything else of value. Other electronic devices, such as a portable hands-free speaker and a car charger for my mobile have been ignored by this person. He even ignored a collection of about 50 burnt CDs.
  • I keep a folding shovel in an extra box in the back of the car – he even opened it to search for hidden values. I guess he did this while searching for the front cover (the folding shovel is my ~ Safari heritage).
  • It happened directly in front of my mum’s place on the street. I haven’t been here for about three months and only wanted to stay 1 night as I am currently moving goods to her place and this is why I had left the trunk of the car uncovered – which was empty despite of this tool box (and no tools have been stolen).
  • This has happened before – one succesful attempt some years ago, and one unsuccessful attempt two years ago. It is a good neighbourhood, but it happens all over the city. Mind you, we are talking about the City of Bremen in Germany – and not Nairobi. Nairobi thiefs do it better, wiser and steal more stuff. Also, I wonder that he didn’t even touch the gasoline tank. The other day I doubled the value of my car by fully refueling it. A litre is about EUR 1,30 these days.
  • To prevent this in future, I had installed something known as “armored door plates” – which are metal covers that sit around the locks in the doors. VWs, Audis and even Porsches of the late 1980s are known to this violability – they all come with the same locking system which can be opened within seconds using a Made-in-China screwdriver. Just apply this under the lock, push it inside and pull it up – click – the door opens. As I said – to prevent this, I had installed armored door plates. In vain, as it seems. But then, there’s no secure car on the market – even modern Mercedes-Benz and BMWs can be opened with proper tools within 30 seconds. Car manufacturers never talk about this but are well aware of the problem.
  • My car is old. Really old. An ’89 Volkswagen Golf 2 where the only shiny part of paint is underneath the bonnet – the rest is covered with rust and dents. Who on earth would expect anything of value in such a car? Presumably only someone who enjoys opening old cars. Bastard…
  • I had been working in the living room late last night and heard some noises outside. Thought about getting out and checking my car, but the lazy part in me persuaded me to stay inside. You see, it happened before and to my mind, the car was too old and too “unsexy” for burglary – and why on earth should they choose my car? Well, wrong thinking.
  • While reporting this to the nearby police station, I met a couple who had the same problem. Apparently, there has been a series of raids on car radios late last night.
  • My plans were to remove it from the car within the next few weeks, take it to Kenya and install it into Mbuzimoja’s Suzuki. In other words: it would have been stolen anyways – either here or later on in Nairobi.

Imagine me – I am very laid-back when it comes to my car. It is old, it has done its job and it will go into retirement by the end of September. Now imagine the majority of my fellow Germans – the car means SO MUCH to them. In fact, some ppl here don’t have children in order to afford luxuries like a good car. What about them, what about their hurt feelings?

Now let’s see if the insurance agrees to pay for this…as for now, I still have to realize what it’s like to drive without music. A horrible scenario…ngoma ni maisha!

too fast?

I was just listening to Antonín Dvo?ák‘s New World Symphony (Symphony No.9, opus 95, “From the New World”) and realized one thing that had been irritating me all these years – only, I could never identify it.

Just listen to the 4th movement: Allegro (con fuoco)
(delicious mp3 playtagger enabled!)

Now, just as much as I would love to hear more and more classical music being played on historical instruments to catch the dynamics of the original compositions, I would like to hear this piece on modern, electronical instruments instead.
Why? Because I think this composition is way too fast – similar to Keith Jarrett‘s interpretation of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. To my mind, this Symphony has such a vivid speed that it equals a shame to sort of “waste” the vibrating sounds of wooden instruments. It doesn’t give them a chance to develop a proper, a full sound. Instead, I think, electronical instruments take less time to develop a clean and stable sound. Delivering the tone pitch the moment it’s required. This assumption especially applies to the strings in the beggining of this movement.
Or in other words: playing such a fast composition with traditional instruments is like breaking a butterfly on a wheel / taking a Mercedes-Benz S600 to the next duka only to buy chewing gums.

Isn’t it that you sometimes hear interesting music and instantly think: naaaa, I would have played this in a different way…?

Lieben Sie Deutschland?

Ich darf kurz festhalten:
Einem Günther Grass, der in seinem Brief an die Stadt Danzig um Verständnis für die Zusammenhänge bittet und dabei ein weiteres Mal sein gelungenes Ausdrucksvermögen unter Beweis stellt, kann ich mit einer Leichtigkeit jede Jugendsünde verzeihen – ja, sogar mit Verständnis in die Zeit nach dem 2. Weltkrieg zurückblicken und die Umstände anerkennen.
Was ich aber nicht verstehen oder gar verzeihen kann, sind folgende Zustände:

Der Thematik Grass & Waffen-SS wird in den Medien so viel Inhalt gewidmet – wieso? Zur Bekämpfung des Sommerlochs? Als Genugtuung für die vielen unschuldig beschuldigten Nachkriegsgenerationsopfer, die sich seine Moralpredigten anhören durften und fast schon kollektiv der “Lieben Sie Deutschland?”-Frage aus dem Weg gehen, um nicht ins rechte Lager eingeordnet zu werden?

Ich mag es durchaus verstehen, dass meine ältere Verwandschaft, die den Krieg noch live miterlebt hat, diese Erlebnisse aufgrund des Wiederaufbaus nie richtig verarbeitet hat, es nie konnte (kann man das überhaupt?), und sich sogar mein an Alzheimer erkrankter Vater überwiegend an diesen prägenden Zeitraum der Weltgeschichte erinnern mag. Wenn er sich denn mal an etwas erinnert.

Wir schreiben das Jahr 2006 und seit dem Ende des 2. Weltkriegs ist viel passiert. Überall auf der Welt hat es große Veränderungen gegeben und auch viele weitere, durchaus vermeidbare Kriege. Als Begleiterscheinung dieser ist viel Unrecht geschehen – und es passiert auch noch heute. Täglich.

Und genau an dieser Stelle erlaube ich mir die Frage zu stellen, was dieses ständige Ermahnen, Erinnern, Hinweisen, Aufzeigen und Betroffenheitsgefühl in unserer Zeit für eine Bedeutung hat, wenn sich seit 60 Jahren so rein gar nichts, aber auch wirklich nichts zum Guten gewendet hat?
Welches Erbe dürfen wir der verloreren Nachkriegsgeneration abnehmen, dass nicht nur mit dem gelungenen Wiederaufbau des Landes zu tun hat?

Oder mit anderen Worten:

Liebe Nachkriegsgeneration,
statt ständig in der Vergangenheit zu bohren, gilt es für meine Generation, die Gegenwart und die Zukunft positiv zu beeinflussen und ein friedliches Miteinander zu erreichen. In Europa als auch auf dem Rest dieser Erde. So naiv und gewollt unpolitisch sich das auch anhören mag.
Eure ständigen Verweise auf die NS-Zeit und Hervorhebung diesbezüglicher, gegenwartlicher Geschehnisse sind mir ein Groll, da sie außer einem Mahneffekt nichts erreichen.
Wenn es Eurer Meinung nach keine Kriege mehr geben darf (zu Recht!), wieso habt Ihr dann der Bildung einer Bundeswehr zugestimmt? Was haben unsere Soldaten in der irgendwann-demokratischen Republik Kongo als Aufpasser verloren – Jahre nachdem sie dort hätten auftauchen sollen um im Verbund mit anderen friedlichen Nationen für eine Aufrechterhaltung der staatlichen Ordnung zu sorgen? Wieso werden unsere schwer-vermittelbaren Ossis aka wären-sonst-arbeitslose-Mittzwanziger als Berufssoldaten in Afghanistan durchgefüttert? Was bringt das? Und wie könnt Ihr Euch erlauben, ja fast schon anmaßen, auf der einen Seite über persönliche Fehltritte fehlgeleiteter Jugendlicher zum Ende des 2. Weltkriegs auch 60 Jahre danach noch zu urteilen, wenn Ihr auf der anderen Seite gleichzeitig die Entsendung/Verschwendung von deutschen Steuergeldern in die Kriesenherde dieser Welt befürwortet?
Es ist ja nicht so, dass durch die Truppenpräsenz vor Ort grundlegende Veränderungen für die Bevölkerung erreicht werden. Was also bringt so ein Einsatz? Und wer erklärt unseren Mitbürgern, dass wir lieber Gelder für die Mitarbeit in internationalen, “verteidungspolitischen” (Verteidigung vor welcher Bedrohung?) Ausschüssen verpulvern, statt es sinnvoll in die Ausbildung und Erziehung unserer Kinder stecken zu wollen?
Wieso wandern in diesen Zeiten so viele Menschen aus Deutschland aus, wenn es doch eigentlich ein so schönes Land mit guten, erprobten Tugenden ist?
Wieso bedarf es erst heuchlerischer, medienintensiver Kampagnen wie “Du bist Deutschland” oder der durchaus gut gemeinten Gesellschafter-Initiative, um ein gemeinsames Miteinander-Gefühl zu erreichen? Was habt Ihr in den 60 Jahren nach Kriegsende wirklich erreicht? Die Manifestierung des Kapitalismus und optimale Vorbereitung auf die unvermeidbare Globalisierungswelle zum Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts? Ist es das, was wir von Euch als Erbe übernehmen und verändern sollen? Und dann wundert Ihr Euch, wieso wir uns lieber eigene, kleine heile Welten bauen? Wieso wir uns so selten der gemeinsamen Diskussion stellen, wie wir als Gesellschaft zusammenleben und füreinander sorgen wollen?
Diese und andere Fragen sind es, die mir beim Lesen von Meldungen zum Fall Günther Grass und die Waffen-SS in den Sinn kommen. Eure falsche Genauigkeit, deren Inhalte doch einzig und allein die Konfliktbewältigungsunfähigen unter Euch erwärmen und unterhalten dürfte. Für mich spielt das alles keine Rolle, sofern wir daraus nichts lernen und das Erlernte nicht auch tatsächlich anwenden.

Wenn ich jetzt ab Oktober wieder in ländlicher Umgebung in Kenia, Ostafrika arbeite, werden mir wieder mit ziemlicher Sicherheit folgende Stichworte (Attribute?) nach der Erwähnung meiner Nationalität genannt werden: Hitler, Mercedes-Benz, BMWs. In dieser Reihenfolge. Ein schönes Erbe?

(==> dieses Aufzeigen macht für mich dann Sinn, wenn es so wie beim Riemersan in ironischer Weise auf “Umgangsproblematiken” hinweist – weil es gegenwartsbezogen eine Bewusstseinsveränderung bewirkt)

offline worlds

Being on the road during the last week has kept me away from blogging. Also, I had problems accessing the internet / finding an open WLAN hotspot nearby. Even thought about using this really awesome BackTrack Linux LiveCD which helps to gain access onto locked WEP networks. However, I didn’t try it becos a) couldn’t initialise the wlan module on my notebook and b) didn’t have the time to configure it. I’d love to have this as a virtual machine on my system, though. Maybe there’s an easier way to get this distribution as a fully loaded appliance for the vmware player.

Speaking about accessibility, I am currently trying to prepare my notebook/system for offline use. That is, installing offline tools that will help me get going where there is no or only limited Internet access. After all, most Web 2.0 utilities are nice but they lack one simple logic: they only work online and/or require a server somewhere. It would be nice to have this technology implemented in a simple operating system that works much more like a server. Instead of having a fixed operating system installed on the HDD with various additional programms, it would be nice to have it run on a virtual machine – and the installed operating system could be limited down to very basic needs / just provide the GUI. Also, I think this will be part of the future – more and more systems being less dependent on the actual hardware, but instead swapable like USB memory sticks. Imagine this scenario where you’d take your computer with you on a simple USB stick (it would run on such a memory stick) and static data could be added/mounted additionally.

But I digress.

Actually, my dear friend Onnomoja recently went to Southern Sudan and complained about the lack of internet “out there in the desert”. Of course, you’d think, of course there’s no internet out there. But then, there are a lot of things you’d like to check out while on the road somewhere and – being a kid of these modern times – we have meanwhile become used to just google it or check it out on Wikipedia and other compiled resources. Hence, what is needed is a way to either sleep for the next 50 years and wait until the earth is fully connected, or else check for helpful offline alternatives that are just as accessible as the internet is with it’s various resources.

The following two tools seem to be nice for offline use and I’d be happy to read your personal suggestions in the comment section to see what kind of tools also do the job offline when there’s no internet available.

1. Blogdesk
Blogdesk is a free-of-charge (Windows) offline editor for your favourite blog systems. Available in different languages, it comes at a size of ~ 4 MB (WinXP, 2k, 9x) and really helps to prepare entries when there is only a limited timeslot for internet access. Compile your entries offline and upload them when the connection is stable. Modem users will really like this, I think.

2. LingoPad
I just installed this free multilingual dictionary on my system and all I can say is: WOW! This is exactly the kind of programme I have been looking for – a free, stable little tool that provides access to various offline dictionaries. Most alternatives are commercial, somewhat expensive and require lots of system resources. What I wanted is a little tool that instantly loads without much hassle and is as up-to-date as possible.
You know, here in Germany there are two great German/English dictionaries availble online: LEO and Beolingus – both websites run by universities (Technical Universities of Munich and Chemnitz) and, unfortunately, the LEO database used for their online dictionary isn’t available for download yet. These websites are great, as they provide many many entries for each word – not just simple 1:1 translations. But then, again, only online. LingoPad tries to change that, as they are using parts of the TU Chemnitz dictionary database. Great!

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And of course, there are many other free tools available for offline use. Just think of email clients or small editors that run directly from the USB memory stick. I wonder why ppl still go online, write emails and actually pay for the time online. Instead, they could rather write/edit their stuff offline and then use tools on USB sticks to manage their online duties. Just think of various cybercafés in Kenya and the many USB memory sticks that are currently on offer in Nairobi. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an offline package of useful tools for those users that own no other hardware but a simple USB stick where they store their data? This would also help to curb the issue of accessing certain webmail providers while in Kenya – some of those pages take ages to load due to various reasons and instead of paying for online time (trying to open these pages and THEN editing their emails etc.), they would only pay for the actual time it takes to e.g. send & receive emails by using an email client. Only a few people, I think, are aware of these possibilities. Ama?

10 years

The other day, while looking for a local music cd in Kenya, I was offered LOTS of video CDs. Video – as in Multimedia.

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And while I remember how crazy I went in 1996 for anything multimedia and ripping boring multimedia content from CDs just because I couldn’t imagine that it was possible to watch moving pictures on a computer, the idea of watching videos has just bored me lately.
In fact, I even sold my portable video/audio player and hardly ever watch tv/videos/movies etc these days. It’s not that I don’t like it but instead time is too valuable. And I know a lot of ppl feel this way.

What I find interesting, though: real freedom (uhuru) comes with a mobile computer and time to relax, enjoy and surf or even blog. And while this is just very normal for some ppl out there, for me it’s still a maximum pleasure and I enjoy it just as much as these video cds in 1996.

Talking about 1996: it has been exactly 10 years now that I’ve switched from Atari TOS to MS-Windows. Except for the multimedia benefit, I am still lookfing for the reason why I switched back then. Note: I am at this internet café right now and out of 7 surfers, 2 are using an Apple MacBook / alternative OS.

Displaylicious

What’s the difference between hardware manufacturers and hardware buyers?
The latter ones aren’t getting paid for having good ideas and will be shocked by the amount of time and energy it takes to get things into production. So what else can you do if you want to see good imagineering? Buy an Apple MacBook (the magnetic power cord – brilliant idea!), watch old MacGyver and/or blog about it…

When I received my new notebook, I found this plastic film/foil in between the keyboard and the display to protect the display from any scratches. Hmm….there are many many notebooks out there that have display problems – unless it’s a ThinkPad, there will almost always be some space left in between the display and the keyboard when you close it. Space where dust and other unwanted objects enter. Stuff that ruins your display in the long run. So, what to do against it?

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I just taped the foil on one side of the screen so that it doesn’t get lost and can be removed while in use, but is back in place when the machine is closed. Now, this solution looks pretty much jua kali and just serves to illustrate the function of such a protective foil. I would like to have such an extra cover for the screen that protects it while the machine isn’t in use, and is invisible when it’s on. The solution?

A “pull-up curtain”, as I call it. Some sort of small jalousie / blind that rolls up INSIDE and at the side of the display frame, and can be pulled out either from the side or top of the frame to protect the screen. Attachment could either be done by Velcro® or maybe a very thin magnetic piece of metal. Obviously, the magnetic cover should be located away from the hdd.

What do you think – would it be possible to create something like that? (=> I urgently *need* to get my hands on an empty display frame to try this out :-)

Talking about portable computers – compared to performance improvements, there hasn’t been as much improvements on the notebook designs and making them even more transportable. Cool ideas and well designed gimmicks are hard to find or limited to special machines (=> e.g. Apple MacBook). Why?

Google Maps Mashup NBO?

Mental‘s and Hash (recent) stay in Nairobi inspired me to check out Google’s Map API and how it could be implemented on a simple website in order to get a detailed overview of internet cafés / cybercafés in Nairobi.

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The idea is to get an updated, accessible online resource that lists all internet cafés in Kenya and user-based input/rating of the offered services.
Unfortunately, there’s no real map available from Google for the City of Nairobi – only a cloudy satellite image. And of course, downloading images takes time – especially if you’re connected via a lame modem connection that keeps on hanging up. So, Google’s Map service doesn’t seem to be a good option for this at the moment…

Ok, to make it short, here are my questions:

  • Did anyone come across an updated list of something like “best internet cafés in town” for e.g. Nairobi?
  • If it doesn’t exist yet – wouldn’t it be nice to have something like that – maybe just a simple list / page that could also be accessed via mobile phones (WAP 1.x) and/or printed out for fast reference?

Whenever someone blogs or speaks about internet cafés in Nairobi, ppl start dropping in their 2cents on where they regularly surf the web and we end up getting lots of useful hints. I think it would be nice to compile all these (dynamic, of course, as quality & services change) informations on a single page.
Maybe on kenyaunlimited.com?

(Pls don’t hit me if this already exists on places like Mashada or so :-)

da rulez

In a place, where only a very small minority of the population have access to piped water, where the accumulation of material wealth as the main goal has always been part of the cultural heritage, where honesty doesn’t pay, where a man with a Mercdes has more influence than an honourable figure who only scores with an academic degree, and where the educational system lacks any creativity and proper funding, the following rules seem to be appropriate for males:

  • drink as much and as often as possible
  • eat as much as possible
  • feel free to combine the drinking prrroceedja with errraborated discussions on various topics
  • manage to con fellow citizen into bogus deals in order to gain some extra income
  • win a Porsche
  • seriousrry think about starting a porrriiticaarrr carrrriiaah
  • look for opportunities to get laid
  • avoid shaggz by any means except for when you’re completly broke or have managed to share something small with your brothers
  • if in a public job, never mess with the Mama that delivers the morning tea and make sure to have a fresh copy of your favourite newspaper on your desk every day in order to look busy
  • manage to organize some free beers
  • have an opinion on everything but try to avoid any involvment into public affairs
  • look for a crown or a kingdom a.k.a. wife, children, house, car and nearby pub
  • go to church every sunday to hide your true image and take it as a perfect opportunity to look for beauties
  • manage to be in city centre where the action is and be on the spot whenever something interesting happens.
  • know the places where they serve good, fresh, delicious and cheap chicken for lunch
  • if jobless, look for a wealthy politician that needs protection and offer bodyguard services
  • watch US american hip hop videos and learn to copy the bling-bling style
  • look for a cool place in the shadow where you can rest during the extended lunch hours
  • with appropiate anatomic conditions, think about applying as an Office Linebacker
  • tbc…