Confession in Java

   1:  Public class Confession

   2:             {

   3:               public static void main (Strings[] args)

   4:                   {

   5:                     sin[] occurrence   = new sin[∞];

   6:                     for(flaw=0; flaw<sin.length; flaw++)

   7:                      {

   8:                      System.out.println ("Dear God, my occurrence[flaw] are ever before me."+

   9:                                          "I am sorry for hurting You. Please forgive me " +

  10:                                           "and draw me close to You. Amen.") 

  11:                      }

  12:                    }

  13:              }

  14:                        

Real Estate Development in Sunyani

About six years ago, accommodation in Sunyani -- Ghana's bread basket -- and recently christened 'Suncity', was not a problem people gave enough thought to. It. Was. Cheap.
Now, the story is different. Accommodation is now expensive. This is as a result of the growth the town has been enjoying in the past couple of years.

Snapshot of the hall

Newmont started operations in Kenyasi (a town 45min drive away from Sunyani). Most of their workers where housed in Sunyani. The company paid more than the average tenant.
Landlord's and landlady's saw the light!
Then the banks also found their way into.Sunyani: Zenith, Stanbic, Fidelity.
The Catholic University and the Sunyani polytechnic also contribute to the rent hike as they do not have adequate accommodation for their students.
But real estate development seems to be the latest 'craze' in Sunyani now. A lot of buildings are being put up.
I'd advise all interested in Real Estate development to grab the opportunity and get in on the action!
Some rent figures in Sunyani:
A single room with inbuilt toilet and bath costs ¢800/yr (on average)
A two-bedroom apartment goes for ¢200/month (on average)
A chamber and a hall costs ¢130/month (on average)

A snapshot of the bedroom

Sunyani is really growing, not just in population increase, but also with resources. I however fear if the growth is not controlled, it would not be a clean, hospitable, lovely town it is. Another blog post will talk on this.
Do watch out for Barcamp Sunyani in April, and make it a point to attend. See you there!

PS: The pictures in this post are of a chamber and Hall I nearly rented a month ago. Rent was  ¢150/month.

Inspiration in a Cosmo Jet

Earlier today, I boarded a Cosmopolitan jet (commonly called tro-tro) from Tema to Madina. The guy by me demanded his change, immediately after he had paid his fair. I noticed from his accent that he's a Nigerian.
I struck a convo with him and got inspired in the end.
Prince is from Nigeria's Delta State. He's been in Ghana for three years now. He calls Ghana his home now. Says he really found and accepted God in our country.
He commends the country on its peace, rule of law, humility of its people, et cetera. He's learnt how to respect and treat women here.
I told him that inspite of all the negatives he raised about his people, I admired then for their confidence and assertiveness.
He smiled and nodded in agreement, then he says a problem he has with Ghanaians is our timid nature. "They are afraid to fail", he told me. "That's why foreigners come here and their businesses boom while Ghanaians look on". He encouraged me to be confident and go for the kill.
He also advised me to seek the Lord in all I do, and surely, He will manifest Himself in my life.
We spoke about business too. He's a great fellow, I reckon, who loves the Lord.

How Tigo can help GhanaIANS derive more value from the Internet

www.biztechafrica.com

It is ‘almost’ (used advisedly) difficult to find an individual without a mobile phone in Ghana today – hyperbole intended. Its proliferation is tremendous. Some folks even have all the SIM cards from the six telecommunication companies in the country. Reason? Customer satisfaction not being met.
Aside the mobile phone influx, the Internet has become a ‘second home’ – and livelihood for some organisations and individuals. These are people who are always on the move, transacting one business or the other, and as such need uninterrupted – but quality – connection to the Internet, via their mobile phones and devices. This is where the telcos come in (with emphasis on Tigo).
Tigo as a telco can do more than it already is doing to get Ghanaians get more value from the Internet, than they already are. To a customer, value has to do with the benefits s/he is receives for what s/he gives up (which is generally money).
Tigo can revise their data plans in a way that allows a user’s bundle to roll over into the next bundle, once the subscription date for the previous bundle expires.  Tigo also needs to educate the public more on their Internet Portal by intensifying their advertisements. The Gift Package that is featured on this portal allows subscribers to buy data packages for friends and loved ones.
Ghanaians can derive more value from the Internet if Tigo could have an online discussion forum to augment their call center. This could also be in the form of web-based direct call back services that could catalogue subscribers’ complaints.
Tigo can also embrace crowdsourcing to generate information and opinions, just as they do with their user focus sessions, which sometimes are limited because of the number of participants. Crowdsourcing would allow a lot more folks to brainstorm on-line, using social media.
Tigo also needs to upgrade their network infrastructure to increase connectivity and accessibility. Their 3.5G modem can should be increased to 4G for high speed data transmission and reliability. More bandwidth would afford businesses that leverage on voice, video and data technologies the opportunity to serve their clients better.
Inasmuch as it is difficult for telcos to beat down their Internet cost, it would be great if Tigo did something about their Internet costs (while upholding quality).
As a number of people are embracing mobile marketing, Tigo can also help mobile advertisers understand and target customers more effectively. Tigo can help such people by offering ‘location-based’ promotions via instant messaging. Subscribers in a particular locality could get a message inviting them to partake in a promo being run by such advertisers, and win prizes.
Even though it seems a number of the older generation do not know how to use the Internet, or appreciate it, they can be taught to accept and use it. Tigo can partner with the government to design special mobile phones and websites for pensioners. This would greatly reduce the stress pensioners go through to access their money.
Tigo can also partner with the Ministry of Education and sponsor the teaching of ICT in basic schools and adult education classes.
References:

• Tigo Internet Portal
• Internet Users in Ghana
• How telcos can seize the IT consumerism opportunity

Virus'operation: The Sermon analogy

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Imagine you are at a Church service.
The priest/pastor (i.e. user) steps up to give his homily/sermon -- he needs your (i.e. legitimate program) full attention.

A sudden cool breeze (i.e. virus) blows over you, and causes you to doze off just as the sermon begins.

You 'fall' into a trance. (i.e. Idle moment while virus executes)

The sermon ends. You snap out of your 'slumber'. (Virus terminates and allows programme ton run)

Service continues.

Ghana, when Mobitel was the only telco

In the early '90s, almost all wireless handheld communication devices I saw were -- to me -- walkie-talkies. (Or so I think)

Ghana Telecom (now Vodafone) was the sole telecommunication network in the country. Most people had fixed lines, and that was the bomb.

Then Mobitel happened. In 1992. It officially became Ghana's first cellular phone telco, offering customers the ease of portability with respect to their communication devices (mobile phones).

By the end of 1992, about 19,000 Ghanaians owned mobile phones. The fever had caught on but it was still a 'preserve' of the affluent in society.
The mobile phones were 'huge' in size and weight, as compared to the sleek models floating on the streets of Accra and Kumasi today.
Customers couldn't access the Internet on the network, but were glad to have seamless connectivity with their friends, customers and business associates.

A lot has changed since more telcos entered the market in Ghana, but the era of Mobitel (now Tigo) is a milestone in the country's history.

Typing foreign language accents in a word processor

So I've been trying to study the (Brazilian) Portuguese language for some time now -- still need to learn a LOT! The masculine/feminine articles makes it confusing but interesting. So also is the placement of nouns before adjectives.

I however had a problem when I needed to type Portuguese text in a word processor, until a couple of days ago.

In this post, I share some keyboard short cuts one can use to type accents without resorting to inserting symbols and such.

To do that, one has to use the modifier keys, Ctrl and/or Shift, plus the character that represents the accent, plus the letter which needs the accent.

This is also helpful to those who also study other languages like French, and wish to type words in such languages seamlessly.

Enough said, here are some examples:
Ctrl + , + c = ç.
Ctrl + ' + e = é
Ctrl + Shift + ^ + u = û
Ctrl + ` (under the Esc key)  + e = è
Ctrl + Shift + ~ (under the Esc key) + a = ã
Ctrl + Shift + : + i = ï
Ctrl + / + o = ø

I would like to know your experience. If you have any tricks up your sleeves, do comment below.
I will also like to know your experience with respect to studying a second language.

Obrigado!

PS: I also stumbled upon this tutorial that has more information on the typing of accents in word processors. Enjoy

Cold from the riot

"We won't take this any more!", the students shouted angrily. This is the umpteenth time they've seen their Saturday meal for lunch -- beans -- riddled with weevils. The other meals were not that good, but they were better prepared than the beans.
They decided therefore to protest with a riot. (Youthful exuberance at work).

Within minutes the dinning hall was in a mess. The walls had beans smeared on them, tables were overturned and chairs scattered. "Warrior" songs being chanted as they stormed out of the hall and marched to their dormitories.
The house master on duty could do nothing to make them listen to his plea for cool heads to prevail.
Without warning, the students started hurling stones, and breaking the windows and doors of the dormitories. The classrooms met the same fate.

Later, after calm had been restored, these SAME students had no choice but to clean the mess they had created. Silly beings.
'sia.

Alas, when night approached, they were at the mercy of the cold wind -- no windows or doors to protect them and give them warmth.
If only they had stopped short in their anger before rioting.