I look at my niece – so full of life.

I look at my father – one of those in the depature lounge*

I look at myself – right in the middle – with my worries, wants, aches and pains.

Such is the cycle of life and there is little we can do about it.

Were it that well-being was like an apple, then I could divvy up mine and hand a quarter to my dad.

* from the book “Up-country girl” by Phebean Ajibola Ogundipe

I think I should start reviewing films. I watch lots of them so why not, and I can sit through almost any film especially when I am not tired. As I don’t have any academic qualification as a arts-based critic, my “watch-o-meter” scale will be very simple (I am sure you are thanking your stars): dont-miss; pop-corn fare; no alternatives and go-do-your-laundry-instead – ranked from edge-of-the-seat interesting to I-just-wasted-X-hours-of-my-life!
Some films are born lame. They limp into cinemas or more fiting – straight to DVD.
One such lame film is “No Bad Days”. If I was below 20, I could probably just say the films is just gay as in “it’s so gay!”
It’s bad enough to give one a bad day if not for the fact that the acting is so laughable!

The films itself seems to have 2 titles – “No bad days” and “Lost Treasure of the MAYA” – or is that the subtitle or the alternate title in an alternative universe where the film does not register on the “suck-o-meter”?

I must tell you I just freed 714,260 KB of disk space on my Laptop and I am sure the disk will thank me for it.
I could have sworn that one of the tracks played in the film was by a Nigerian artiste. The song was definetely in pidgin english. Fastforward to the credits and the track’s title is “Gee Gie Jah Gaa, Gee Gie Gee Gie” written and performed by  Jonathan Beah A.K.A. Big Joe and Amara Dukuray A.K.A Dee Castro.
That title would be better rendered “Ji-gi ja-ga, jigi-jigi” and I am sure at least one of the artiste is definitely one of ours – most def.

Skip this one. Go do your laundry instead.

Try Staten Island (Ethan Hawke and Julian Nicholson) on for size. If you don’t like it, go stand in the corner with your face to wall for an hour.

Life goes on whether we live it or not.
I wonder what I am doing.
Age creeps up on you.
And soon, you will be taken where you dont want to go
You may be fed what you don’t want to eat
All your strength is gone and you have to depend on the strength of another
When it gets unbearable, a tiny voice whispers in your ear to cut it short
Do not give in – and not because it’s the coward’s way out
No it’s not – everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die
Do not give in – because whether it’s clear or not, you are on this earth for a purpose
Do your best – and leave the rest to time and chance that happens to all men
Do not give in – think of the suffering billions dispersed around the world and how much because of the quirks of time and chance you are better off than them.
Be grateful for the little things; be grateful for the big things – like food, clothing and shelter
Be grateful for the present – 6 million people each one an individual such as you and I
Be grateful for the hurricane that only brought rain
Be grateful for the turnado that took the road with it but no life
Be grateful for the fender-bender not covered by insurance but which caused no injuries
Be grateful for each breath – think of frantic scratches in sealed boxes 6 feet down under
Be grateful – because with or without us, the universe goes on its merry way
And the chance to be alive, to be aware, to be more that the beast of the fields or the birds of the air, is a privilege not a right.  

Miracles and lotteries are both forms of gambling. You have no control over them and both are commercial concerns of men.

If you receive a miracle, never try to decipher why. The more you try the greater your pride grows and the more unworthy you become.

You should treat miracles like the US VISA lottery; ask for it, then promptly forget it.

Installing Snow Leopard on a HP Compaq 6710b

NOTES:
– All the files needed files are available in a single zipped file at a link supplied below.
– in the BIOS set the SATA mode to non-native i.e., not AHCI (especially if you get crashes pointing to IOATAFamily, there is a thread on insanelymac on this. It appears when the secondary IDE channel is disabled as in the HP 6710b for example, it causes applexiiata kext to trigger a bug in ioatafamily. There is a modified ioatafamily on that thread that fixes the bug)
– from an existing install of leopard (e.g., iatkos v 7 running session)
– restore the snow leopard dmg (snowleopard_10a432_userdvd.dmg) to a partition or usb
– replace the OSInstall.mpkg with the one that supports mbr if necessary
– start installation by double-clicking the OSInstall.mpkg
– choose the destination partition (already formatted hfs+)
– customize as necessary (e.g., add rosetta, remove language translations, etc)
– install (less than 20 minutes)

– install chameleon 2 rc3 r658 (Dr Hurt installer package, September 7, 2009) to the Snow Leopard Volume
– create /Extra/Extensions folder on the Snow Volume
– edit the following file on the Snow Volume and add the kernel flag to boot 32bit kernel to it. The X3100 drivers are 32bit only. File: Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string>arch=i386</string>

-copy the file Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist to /Extra/ on the Snow Volume

– copy the following kexts to /Extra/Extensions/ on the Snow Volume
NullCPUPowerManagement.kext
OpenHaltRestart.kext
fakesmc.kext
PlatformUUID.kext

– Add the correct UUID to the Info.plist of PlatformUUID.kext by running the following command against the SNOW Volume e.g., (my SNOW volume is mounted as /Volumes/SNOWHDD)
# diskutil info /Volumes/SNOWHDD | grep UUID
Volume UUID:              8F7DE39F-8020-33D2-8BE0-C22BE94D9A01

# below is the section from the PlatformUUID kext’s Info.plist where I replaced the default value with my volume’s UUID

<key>PlatformUUID</key>
<string>8F7DE39F-8020-33D2-8BE0-C22BE94D9A01</string>

– (Optional?) copy smbios.plist to /Extra/ and set the SMUUID key in the file to the same string value e.g., (for my installation, 8F7DE39F-8020-33D2-8BE0-C22BE94D9A01)

– copy kexcachesfix.sh /Extra/

– delete AppleIntelGMAX3100FB.kext from /S/L/E from the Snow Volume
– copy AppleIntelGMAX3100FB.kext from leopard graphics update 1.0 to /S/L/E on the Snow Volume
– delete all the AppleIntelGMA950* kexts
– copy AppleACPIBatteryManager.kext to /S/L/E on the Snow Volume
– copy the 2 kexts from PS2_Univers.zip (AppleACPIPS2Nub and ApplePS2Controller) to /S/L/E on the Snow Volume

– copy VoodooHDA.kext (version 1.2) to /S/L/E on the Snow Volume
– copy VoodooSDHC.kext to /S/L/E on the Snow Volume (optional)

– run the kextcachefix.sh to build your kextcaches – specify the full path to the mount point of the Snow Volume e.g, /Volumes/SNOWHDD

– Restart computer and boot from Snow Volume (OR continue below)
– install update 10.6.1 (MacOSXUpd10.6.1.dmg) to the Snow Volume
– delete GMA950 kexts from /S/L/E on the Snow Volume
– delete X3100FB kext from the Snow Volume and replace with the one from Leopard Graphics Update 1.0
– run kextcachefix.sh again
– restart computer and boot from Snow Volume
Links:
– All mentioned files are in the zip here: http://www.itayemi.com/HP6710bSnowLeopard.zip
– I got most of the kexts from: http://cid-8b65993ef55cf014.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/.Public/OSx86

People are greedy about many things – but  I wouldn’t normally count children amongst those things. There are many reasons why a couple should limit themselves to just 2 kids. I will mention a few.
– the economy – no I am not just talking about the recent credit crunch. It’s been steadily going downhill for the past 30 years or so.
– impartiality – it’s well known that you just can’t love all your children the same “amount”
– chance – the previous point along with the vagaries of life increases the likelihood that the more kids you have, the more likely that at least one of them will turn out with some major issues
– legacy – yes, the best inheritance you can give your kids is a good education. But houses and a fat bank account does not hurt either. The more kids you have, the less there is to go around. Increasing the chance of having them be at each others’ throat after you pass along – especially if some of them had already refused that greatest inheritance offer
– altruism – you may be of the opinion that you only need cater for yours, but all those homeless, unfortunate people wandering the street will make it your business when they come in the night to claim what’s not theirs. If you have one or two kids, you may be in a position to help others (relations and non-relations), but if like the old man that gave a testimony in my church last Sunday, you already have 9 of your own – 5 boys, 4 girls, all graduates, 2 girls married, and the dowry for the third already in your pocket, how can you help others?
– genetics – it’s true the bible says we should populate the earth – but it didn’t say only you! There is no superman alive, we all have or are susceptible to one disease or illness or other. Or are unfit in some way – fat, short, ugly, thin, heart problems, diabetic, etc. The more children you have, the more they pass on some of those traits to others. The less you have, the chances that those traits may become diluted enough to almost disappear.
– wealth (NOT) – 1child is a blessing. 2 double blessing. 3 and above are a burden. Kids don’t equate to wealth – maybe in my great-to-the-power-of-10-great-grandfather’s time, but not since you or I were born. If the number of people in your nuclear family requires the photographer to step backwards and take up awkward poses just to fit the “lot” of you in a picture, you have overdone it!
– poverty – the fact that you are middle-class does not give you the liberty to have 6 children. It’s amazing how poverty creeps up on even the best of us. One little mistake and you are living from hand to mouth.
– control – yourself, so you can control your kids (the more there are of them, the more likely you can’t effectively) and not have the situation you have placed yourself in control you. Think with your head, not the other thing.
– Fun – life is short. Have fun. It ain’t fun if you can’t fit in a regular size saloon car. Two at the back and two of you in front makes for an enjoyable family trip.
I think I will stop there – before I am compared with Freud, which would have been a great thing, except most reasonable people think he is a sex-starved, sex-crazed, woman-hating, sad thing, which evidently I am not. Afterall, the points above will help the woman stay healthier, younger, stronger, saner for much longer! Which increases the chance that the responsible party (the man) will hang about much longer!

Exit ye, all who possess dirty minds.

Not that kind of bird – I would have said chicks 🙂

Anyways, I find myself mimicking the cries of some birds from time to time. Personally, I wouldn’t say it’s anywhere close to the original, but the birds seem to think otherwise. Take for example, the day I looked out my window, and noticed a pair of regular visitors – the neighbor’s peakcock (a male and a female). The female doesnt make much of a sound but the male always demands to be heard. So from behind the netting, I started mimicking it’s call. and what do you know, it got so interested, it was hopping all over the place looking for the source of the sound. On the window ledge, the roof, back down to the ground, etc. Unfortunately, since I dont really speak “birdese”, it was difficult to decide if the male’s interest was in order to discover a long lost brother or a take the initiative and chase away possible contender for the female’s attention. Then this morning, just as I stepped into the bath, the dove that was trying to see if the window ledge would be a good place for a nest, decided to make a quick getaway when it saw me. Just for fun, I started to coo, and that actually relaxed it long enough to decide to continue on its reconnaissance.

I seem to always come late to the party 🙁
When there was no ring, I didn’t say anything
Now that there is a ring, I can’t say anything

It’s 1:41am. Someone hand me the Holicks!

If you are in a position where you render services to others, and in addition to that you have people assisting you in that process (subordinate or otherwise) – here is a piece of advise. If you don’t take it, you are in good company – neither do I.

In this connected world, you have got to take precautions …
The world’s going to hell in a hand basket and everyone wants a piece
There are people out there (so is the truth) who want what you have;
There are people out there who want to take away what you have because it’s useful to them;
There are people out there who would take what you have away because they want it;
There are people out there who want to take away what you have, not because they want it, but just for the hell of it

You’ve got to be able to step back (and step forward – in your face, you sucker!) and take a critical look at all those around you – it’s not paranoia – it’s the difference between carrying the can and canning the cankerworm!
You’ve got to be able to pat them on the back when they do well – even reward them. You’ve also got to be able to say to yourself – what if … I have to let them go because they did something wrong – what if I have to let them go for some reason not related to their performance e.g., the credit crunch. What would the erstwhile golden staff do – drop your database? Copy all your customer data and sell it to the competition? Copy all your proprietary I.P.s and come up with a competing product? Commit arson? Go postal?
You get the idea …

Here are 2 quotes for you to live by:
1. There is no limit to what can be achieved, if you don’t care who gets the glory (some famous contemporary person said it)
2. There is no limit to the damage that can be done, if you don’t care who get’s the blame (I said it)

With these two clouding your judgment in equal proportions, you are ready for prime time. Go take on the world!
Afterall:
it’s you against your colleagues;
you, your colleagues against the establishment;
you, your colleagues and your organization against the Net.

Get cracking!

If all that’s to life is to drive a bigger car than the Joneses, live in a grander house than the Joneses, have more money than the Joneses, have your children attend a better school than the Joneses, … (you get the idea) … then one might as well lie down right now and die. As Paul said ” … we are of all men most miserable …”

Don’t be late. If that’s impossible, then don’t be “sh*t, da*m, da*n, I left my passport at home” late while you are at the airport waiting to check-in. It’s better to be a little late to the airport than to be “that” late.

That’s what I intended to post. And that’s the end of that. And I never thought I would find myself in that position – which I didn’t. The first rule of traveling, before you leave your house, triple-check the travel date and time. I went all the way to the airport only to discover that my trip was tomorrow. After walking the length and breadth of the departure hall, I was finally informed that South African Airlines don’t fly on Saturday. That is when another look at the ticket showed me the error of my ways. I had assumed that our Travels desk knew well enough that it’s better to arrive the day before the event that was the purpose of one’s journey started so as to be able to settle in and be well rested. I had “seen” Sunday on my ticket and somehow jumped to the conclusion that it was the arrival day and not the departure day.

So I double-checked all my particulars at home, reduced my baggage by several items of clothing, hopped in a taxi and made it to the airport only to find that it was the wrong day. I know I am not stupid, so what am I?