Ever the sceptic, I stopped believing in ‘free texting’ some time ago. There’s always a catch; living outside the USA invalidates the vast majority of offerings and spam & ads the rest of them. Still, being connected on 7 different chat-networks 24/7 at near zero cost, it itches having to sponsor the Telco’s obscene profits on text messaging texting to anyone not on a smart-phone. Continue Reading »
Just stumbled across a really useful service offered by DuckDuckGo*, a chat-bot. Kind of like your personal privacy conscious butler that answers nearly every question in seconds. Sure, you cannot talk to it, nor does it talk back, we’ll leave that to Siri, but I’ve yet to find a quicker way to access info on my mobile. The latest news or exchange rates, the weather in Arusha, the square root of PI, whatever tickles your fancy. Continue Reading »
Never thought I’d see the day I’d be proudly proclaiming to be born again. And it’s got very little to do with anything spiritual, and much to do with Facebook’s new Creepy Timeline aka the re-designed profile page soon to be rolled out. Continue Reading »
Whereas in my previous, protected life in Europe, I was used to be able to outsource near everything, here in Africa there’s no better way to get something fixed then by doing it yourself. Which is why, over the past few years, I have come to intimately know both LandRover and LandCruiser diesel engines, the workings of a differential and how to fix an alternator with sticky tape and a clothes hanger. Continue Reading »
Tanzania at night, from Lady Jay Dee’s blog
Power outages are nothing new in Tanzania. Whereas back in 2004 we were all really shocked, there was even a blog dedicated to Tanzanian Powercuts, by now it’s part of our life. Besides, how do you start a social revolution you cannot see your facebook page? Continue Reading »
A new road unfolding after an unexpected turn of events. I can see where it leads on the horizon, a place I am not unfamiliar with. Beyond there, it’s all new. There’s promise of masses of new experiences, smells, sounds and stories so what better moment to dust of the good-ole blog.