Hypothetically speaking, if I were a physicist and for one reason or another I was to spend a number of days in Botswana, I’m quite sure the experience would give rise to a number of new scientific theories. To the untrained tourist, Botswana may seem like just another African country. But the reality is quite […]
When one works with (or within) large organizations, the process and logistics associated with claiming expenses incurred during normal work-related activities can be quite tedious. Logistics aside though, most of the problems are related to internal Accounts Payable (AP) audits which take far too long to resolve. True, I travel more than the average person […]
Freedom of the press is sometimes taken for granted in many countries that enjoy rights which permit relatively unrestricted freedom of expression. Laws and regulations vary greatly between countries. Some jurisdictions have no freedoms at all and are tightly censored by a central body, whilst others allow just enough variety and artistic mandate to create […]
Before his death, my grandfather taught me a number of important lessons that have stuck with me till this day. One of them was how to identify those people who have a plan, who move forward with their life dreams and achieve vital objectives. For want of a better word, we could call these successful […]
No matter where you live in Dubai, there are certain things that you can’t get away from — some more annoying than others — irrespective of how hard you try. For instance, there’s the low hum of nearby freeway traffic, which, to the untrained ear, could be confused with waves crashing on the adjacent beaches. […]
I shouldn’t have been shocked, I’ve seen it all before. But for reasons unknown that day, I stood still and watched a boy cleaning my hotel-room window. Perched right there in front of me, with a dirty rag in one hand and a spray-bottle in the other, in true-to-life high definition, a boy of no […]
WINDHOEK, 7 September 2011 — Chinese construction firms in Namibia are permitted to operate in in near-complete violation of Labour Laws and Safety Codes, a U.S. Embassy WikiLeaks Cable suggests. Although Namibia has generally worker-friendly laws, enforcement doesn’t seem to be consistent across the board. Many people and organizations have complained that GRN does not […]
DAR ES SALAAM — Surprising how some global events end up beating a path to your own front door. Just this morning I was reading a WikiLeaks U.S. cable written by the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, which accuses Tanzania’s President, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, of accepting bribes to the tune of $1 million from the UAE-based […]
The idea that the human race as a whole can be looked upon as a cancerous disease is nothing new. In fact, the idea was originally coined by Dr. Alan Gregg, an official working for the Rockefeller Foundation whose job was to recommend funding strategies on improving public health and medical education. He travelled extensively […]
Over the years I’ve often wondered what it is about men and spitting when in the toilet, or more importantly, why they feel compelled to spit before urinating. This whole spitting activity was completely foreign to me, until one day, I noticed that the guy standing next to me spat into the urinal before relieving […]
I was recently working on another project where I needed to read Plato’s Republic and his Allegory of the Cave. Part of the project required me to explore how Plato’s Allegory of the Cave could be considered a metaphor for the Media and how we perceive news and current affairs; my exploration of the topic follows. […]
Who could have thought there was so much to know about blueberries. This was my first introduction to the North American blueberry — very different to the ones I was used to in continental Europe. I was invited to help pick blueberries at a nearby organic farm in Canada, a short drive from Waterloo. What […]
No matter how ridiculous the airport security checkpoints may appear, the rest of the world has nothing on the experience one gets in the US. I completely support bag x-ray machines, metal detectors, the explosive residue and contraband swab, the customs sniffer dogs and even annoying questioning, but I draw the line when common sense […]
There are things that most people wouldn’t consider being part of a job description; taking your clothes off probably being one of them. So what would you say if I told you that that is exactly what I had to do? One of my clients — the largest diamond miner in the world — invited […]
I was told once that if you’ve just had a brilliant original idea, there’s a pretty good chance that someone else has already thought of it and perhaps even acted on it. Having spent a good part of the last fortnight toying with unique knowledge management concepts, I was devastated to find that not only […]
A few days ago I lost my smartphone on a flight from Nairobi to Accra, not something I do very often. Actually it was the first time I’ve lost a phone, usually any loss is due to me dropping them or worse still, drowning them in salt water. To cut a long story short, I […]
Although I admire people who fold their clothes and meticulously pamper every item until the edges line up, I personally don’t have the time, patience and usually the desire. Home-maker magazines do make a romantically neat statement of what the ideal wardrobe should look like but the reality is that most closets are anything but […]
Caffeine is something I’m well accustomed to consuming in very large quantities, but until recently I’d never witnessed the birthplace of the fragrant coffee bean. On a heavily precipitous day in late June the tracks leading up Mt. Kilimanjaro are awash with cars navigating the precariously muddy surface. It’s not uncommon to see them sliding, […]
Some family, friends and colleagues can be incredibly demanding and in this case completely clueless of where it is I work or the conditions I work under on a daily basis. The only thing I can say is “Guy’s I’m in Africa” — that should in one way or another form an educated guess on […]
It’s about time these old diesel-spewing decrepit traffic hazards went off the roads. Far too many times I’ve seen accidents caused by their overly-wide bodies squeezed into tiny streets. Sure they look great as an icon, but in today’s world completely impractical; and given the number of cars on the roads it’s one less thing […]