Hey U!

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**This blog post is sticky, so scroll down to see newer content  – Max**

[Diani Beach, Kenya]
GREETINGS FROM the the tranquil, escapist shores of Diani Beach – just around by the 40 Thieves beach bar and the famous Ali Barbours restaurant!beautiful Diani Beach on the shores of the Indian Ocean

So, you’ve dropped by for a visit, eh? Well, come in…make yourself at home. I don’t blog as much as I should (or could) because I’m here in East Africa (primarily Kenya) where data services can, sometimes, be challenging – although that’s rapidly improving thanks to Safaricom’s speedy 3G broadband plus about 4 undersea fibre optic cables landing here at Mombasa on Kenya’s fantabulous, picturesque Indian Ocean coast.

Anyhow, I’m over here exploring, so you might as well explore with me. Right? Go to my Welcome page first because, really, I’m glad you decided to drop by and I want to roll out the red carpet for YOU. (continue reading)

Some quick links around this site:

About Me | Contacts | my IT-related posts | my entire blog Archive | my Africa experience | I LOVE Music | I’m very Opinionated | my Travels

Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or feedback. I plan to seriously overhaul this site with some kool WordPress stuff once I get some spare time and my lappie fixed. Cheers!

Huge Baobab Tree on Wasini Island

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[Wasini Island, Kenya]
This is a super short post today cuz I’m (like always!!) BUSY!!! I was on Wasini Island just across from Shimoni, which is on the beautiful Indian Ocean coast line of Kenya by the Tanzanian border. My new friend, Tanja, took this pic as we did the Charlie Claw’s – Wasini Island tour. Wasini Island is such a magical place and I promise to put up more pics — soon. But I just had to upload this majestic baobab tree. Folks, please allow me to introduce you to Mother Nature in all her inspiring and over-powering beauty.

MaxTheITpro on Wasini Island by huge baobab tree - Sept 2009

I promise to put up my new scuba diving pic thanks to the fab Charlie Claw’s team. Well, that’s if the couple I met from Switzerland on the Charlie Claw’s dhow emails the darn pic to me (crosses fingers).

Oh, I’ll soon be visiting Kenya’s famous Diani Beach (aka South Coast) in a few days. I hear it’s 11 kilometers of pristine white sandy beach with tons of kool attractions including the infamous 40 Thieves beach bar. Yippie!

Camels for hire at Diani Beach on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast

All I can say is that when you leave Nairobi for the coast, all of a sudden, you feel sooo RELAXED.

Credits
- Photo of myself standing next to Baobab tree by Tanja Meyer

Gaddafi is Right

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[Nairobi (Kilimani), Kenya]
GREETINGS FROM Olive Salon next door to the Valley Arcade Shopping Centre in Kilimani where my good pal Sarah Mwangi (expert in Beauty, Body Treatments and Reflexology) has just relocated from the Sanctuary in Lavington. You’re not gonna believe this, but the owner of that spa got pissed at her for having a bloody website – and sacked her. How selfish!!

Well, the Middle Eastern owner of Olive Salon, Sophie, is sooo super kool. By the way, she makes a great cup of Arab coffee. Oh, I just set up Safaricom’s super fast 3G broadband Internet service on Sophie’s slooow Compaq Pentium-3 system so I decided to cruise the Net for just a teeny little bit to see how 3G’s working over here. Also, I’m a bloody web whore. :-)

God damn it!!!! I just downloaded Mozilla Firefox 3.5 (7.7MB) in like less than a minute. Okay, so 3G is fast in Kilimani, too, I guess. Way to go Safaricom!! You definitely are the BETTER “data” option…but not for voice. Zain wins that battle hands down! :-)

Anyhow, I saw these links, read em, and I agree wholeheartedly with Colonel Gaddafi of Libya. The biggest problem with Africa is its disunity. One voice, one union, one government is the key to her prosperity. Of course, the West would be terrified to see Africa united. Trust me! But I don’t think most Kenyans (or the continent’s citizens) really see the big picture. I blame its leaders, and their selfish interests for this. Tell me what you think:

Okay, back to setting up Olive Salon‘s website. I’ll post the link later!

Ciao!

Top 10 All Time Michael Jordan Dunks

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[Nairobi, Kenya]
DAMN, I can’t believe I missed the NCAA Basketball tournament – again. This is like 4 years in a row now. :-(   And now, it’s the playoffs (Finals!) in the NBA and I’ve missed EVERYTHING. Arghh!

Anyhow, these moments brings back great memories of some remarkable highlights from the greatest sports “performer” in the history of professional sports: Michael Jordan dunking (er, jamming) the basketball in traffic (over people), humiliating his opponents night in, night out. Let’s just say that there’ll never be another MJ. Thanks for the great memories Mike!

Enjoy!

Remembering the SWIRL 2005 Party

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[Ngong, Kenya]
I VIVIDLY REMEMBER the amazing Swirl 2005 party at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal . It was an EDM (Electronic Dance Music) event filled with many pleasant surprises. First off, I accidentally discovered the slamming House beats of Montreal’s Martin St. Louis. He’s definitely going to go places…and I wish him all the best. I hung out with him for a bit at his DJ booth, which was on the way to the washrooms at Swirl. He wasn’t one of the main acts…just a side show, and a way to promote upcoming local talent.

Chris Liebing spinning his Techno beats at Swirl 2005 in Montreal

The best moment for me, though, was hearing the UNBELIEVABLE, pulsating Techno beats of Germany’s Chris Liebing.  Up to that point in my EDM life, I’ve never heard such a unique “sound” as I did that night. Hmmnn…how can I describe it? Well, it was upbeat, off the charts, banging, lively…DELICIOUS. He definitely has his own sound. Oh, can someone PLEASE get me a Chris Liebing mix? Better yet, did anyone record his Swirl 2005 set? I NEED it BADLY!! Because of CMr. Liebing, I must visit Germany to hear him spin — some day.

Wearing White at Bal en Blanc Party

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[Ngong, Kenya]
ONE THING that you’ll quickly notice at the massive (10,000 + clubbers) Bal en Blanc party in Montreal (the greatest party city in Canada) is that almost everyone is wearing white. It’s like huge blissful gathering of The People-Who-Only-Wear-White-Clothing-At-Big-Parties association. And let me just add that the ladies in attendance are as hot as any feline clubbers you’ll see anywhere on the planet. Once again, my hats go off to those spirited Montreal folks who know how to style.

at the Bal en Blanc 2009 pary, styles are always in effect. Don't forget to wear white!

Arriving at the Bal en Blanc Party

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[Ngong, Kenya]
I REMEMBER my first Bal en Blanc party in 2005. Wow, the vibe in the lineup was so upbeat. Everyone was so pumped up to get on the dance floor and listen to some of the world’s biggest EDM DJs spin their delicious House, Techno, and Trance beats. I went with my good pal Robbie and some other mutual friends. That night will remain with me forever because I met so many awesome peeps and discovered the talented local DJ, Martin St. Louis, who was spinning by the entrance (oops, I met him at Swirl 2005…wrong event!). After, we went to a friend’s condo in Montreal and chilled out for most of Sunday.

EDM lovers waiting to get into the Bal en Blanc 2009 party in Montreal

Is Magento Ready for Shared Hosting?

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[Karen, Kenya]
THE eCommerce wars are hotter than ever now that the free open sourced Magento eCommerce platform (features) has come onto the scene with a bang. Heck, they’ve amassed over 750,000+ downloads already over a 2 year period. Amazing!! This is gonna put lots of pressure on paid solutions like CubeCart, CREreloaded, and SquirrelCart. Even the free ZenCart and OSCommerce product offerings are gonna have to deliver the eCommerce software goods nicely, or these projects just might lose momentum. Advantage: YOU the consumer.

Anyhow, the $64,000 question for me is this: Does Magento run well on a shared server hosting platform like HostGator? I know it’s a bulky piece of software and early betas were sloow like a dog – even on a dedicated server. But I’ve heard that they’ve really polished things up now, and imporoved the code to make things more efficient. If anyone has taken it for a spin on a shared hosting server, do let me know.