a sad day for my Kenya !!

This post was going to be about how proud I am that Kenya has evolved as a democracy.

This post was going to about how proud I am that the election turn out rate was 70% and how people really started to believe they could change things through democracy rather than violence.

This was about how Kenya had transitioned from a Police State to a truly transparent and confident democracy – where the greater good overpowered petty tribal politics.

This was going to be about how Kenya had transitioned into a participatory democracy where mobile phones were a buzz reminding everyone to vote – how bars and local bus services insisted you show your purple finger before they served you on election day.

This election was going to be all about how transparency reigned through new media. The Kenyan blogosphere was abuzz all night with up to the minute updates and was very careful on not to report any rumors – thanks Ory of KenyaPundit and Chris of Kumukucha. The blogosphere picked up when the old guard clamped down on regular media to declare the incumbent a winner despite all accounts otherwise.

Sadly, this is a post about none of the above — despite all the best intentions of the Kenyan people the old guard Kibaki has blatantly rigged the elections in his favor. The Electoral commission of Kenya went into lock down mode and clamped down all media before swearing in the incumbent. Despite all indications that Amolo Raila Odinga was on path to win the elections by a narrow but undisputable margin – Kibaki and his cronies pulled ahead by 200,000 votes in the last 12hrs with some constituencies showing a voter turnout of 140%.

Kibaki has failed Kenya – a Kenya that handed him power peacefully in 02 deserves better. The common people of Kenya deserve better – Africa deserves better. At a time when all disputes are settled by skirmishes in Africa, Kenya was on the right path showing its resolve to democracy.

I look to the leaders of the world and hope they condemn such a blatant disregard for the will of the people – Africa needs to believe in Democracy. Kenya showed an unyielding resolve for change through democracy and it will be a sad day if violence trumps the ballot.

May God be with my Kenya ..

The Original "I’m a Mac, I’m a PC" boys

Memorable quotes from Pirates of Silicon Valley:

Steve Jobs: I don’t want you to think of this as just a film – some process of converting electrons and magnetic impulses into shapes and figures and sounds – no. Listen to me. We’re here to make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here? We’re creating a completely new consciousness, like an artist or a poet. We’re rewriting the history of human thought with what we’re doing. That’s how you have to think of this.

______________________

Steve Jobs: We’re better than you are! We have better stuff.
Bill Gates: You don’t get it, Steve. That doesn’t matter!

______________________

Steve Jobs: What is this? This is like doing business with a praying mantis. You get seduced, and then eaten alive afterwards?
Bill Gates: Get real, would ya? You and I are both like guys who had this rich neighbor – Xerox – who left the door open all the time. And you go sneakin’ in to steal a TV set. Only when you get there, you realize that I got there first. I got the loot, Steve! And you’re yellin’? “That’s not fair. I wanted to try to steal it first.” You’re too late.

______________________

Bill Gates: There may be a few… similarities.
Steve Jobs: Similarities? Similarities? Try theft.

______________________

Steve Wozniak: Microsoft? Nobody I knew ever heard of Microsoft. Or Bill Gates. I mean, they were nobodies. But then we were all nobodies, which was perfect for us. Because all the respectable, straight-arrow guys were busy doing what they always do, which is be respectable. Which meant the rest of us could run around acting like crazies, which is what we did best. I miss those days.

UPS saved 3 Million Gallons of Gas – By Not Turning Left

The Hypothesis: Tiny improvements in the efficiency, especially when you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, translate to huge savings overall — this led U.P.S. to believe that they should reduce the number of left-hand turns its drivers make as sitting in the left lane, engine idling, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can make a left-hand turn, is minutely wasteful — of time and peace of mind, for sure, but also of gas and therefore money.

The Solution: Mapping out routes for all its drivers, drastically reducing the number of left-hand turns they make.

The Result: UPS shaved 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly three million gallons of gas and has reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons.

What can Brown do for you?

read more digg story

Vinod Khosla on record: We Can Replace Oil in 20 Years or Less

Silicon Valley’s visionary investor Vinod Khosla gave a speech at the ThinkGreen Conference that managed to hit all of his controversial bullet points in the first 10 minutes.

According to GigaOm’s earth2tech blog, here’s the bullet points of the video clip:

• I believe we can replace oil in 20 years or less. And we can do it cheaper than oil. I believe we can do the same with coal-based power.
• What we need is to focus on scaling and economics. This is a policy problem, not a technology problem.
• Photovoltaics are great investments but not material to climate change.
• Forget plug-ins — they are nice toys; they will not be material to climate change.
• Hydrogen is not even a toy, it is a bad idea.
• Don’t listen to what most environmentalists say, because they come up with ideas that can’t scale.
• You can’t tell somebody they can’t watch their NFL game because the wind isn’t blowing.
• Capital formation from private investors is the key to this business.

Vinod Khosla has started Blogging recently. If you haven’t seen this already, check out his blog

Brad Pitt, rebuilding New Orleans & Green tech

I was flipping aimlessly through channels last night (damn you … writers strike) and I came across an interesting bit on Larry King about actor Brad Pitt and his regeneration project for hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. The project is aptly names “Make it right NOLA”

“Pitt commissioned 13 architectural firms, some from as far away as Europe and South Africa, to produce houses that would incorporate solar power and other environmentally sound designs to rebuild 150 homes in the Lower 9th Ward. The design calls for five single-family homes, an apartment building and community center – all built with features such as energy-saving appliances, cisterns, toilets designed for water conservation, soy-based insulation, paperless drywall and solar panels.“

I am a huge fan of opportunity based learning, and I strongly believe that such an experiment not only helps the forgotten people of New Orleans rebuild their lives, but gives green tech enthusiasts a platform to showcase how a greener sustainable community can benefit an economy.

Go to makeitrightnola.org to donate to this project and find out more.

View from the Top of Mt. Rainier – July 2004

Mt. Rainier July 2004
Originally uploaded by TroyMason

The Climb For Clean Air is a fundraising event, supporting the American Lung Association of Washington. Each climber is required to raise a minimum of $3,500 to qualify for a summit attempt of Mt. Rainier.

The photographer was on a rest break while the guide took someone back down.

Did you know …

Did you know that 1/2 of the top selling books in Japan are written on mobile phones …

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/02/in-japan-half-the-top-selling-books-are-written-on-mobile-phones/
Kaushal
————————–
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile