The Eagles'

Where Are Our Youth Heading To?

2011-11-16T00:40:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a packed one. On Saturday, I was in a traditional marriage rites ceremony for my cousin in Meru and later on for my niece in Runyenjes. I had accompanied my old man (he wanted me to see how marriage rites are done so that am aware just in case I want to marry) and at the end of the day, we stopped by my uncle's pub at around 8:30pm and being a Saturday, the place was crowded-with youths, drinking themselves silly with cheap liquor. Not that I detest drinking, but I detest the behaviour arising out of the drinking. I was enjoying my soda, a brawl erupted in the pub between two young turks over some beer and the short dude (who was obviously overpowered by the huge guy) after being given some few slaps, came back asking for Kshs.20 so that he can buy another drink, and this guy is jobless, he hangs out at the matatu stage the whole day. My question is, why all this? Am very sure this dude is a primary school drop-out thus it will be hard for him to secure a good job. Where are our youth heading to?

Embu College Talent Show: Volume 2-Update

2011-10-25T21:46:00.001-07:00

So, we just started planning for the Embu College Talent Show and a lot was talked about on how the event would be. Great suggestions and ideas were given out and it's my obligation to update y'all on our progress.

We'll have the official Mr. & Ms. Embu College on that very night
The following, Churchill, Jalang'o and MC Jessy, have been proposed to be the MC. Only two of them will be chosen.
We have an array of artistes we wish to bring on board. Nine of them were suggested and we are only chosen four. They are: Juliani, P Unit, Ben Githae, Daddy Owen, Jaguar, Nonini, John De Matthew, Avril & Chantelle.

So make sure to keep it for all the 411 on the event.

10 great sayings by Apple’s Steve Jobs

2011-10-25T03:37:00.000-07:00

Dead at 56: Apple founder and former CEO Steve Jobs

Today we moan the death of a great innovator Steve Jobs who has died at 56 of pancreatic cancer. As I collected this list I am using a Macintosh just shows how much Steve touched our lives. Here are 10 quotes that should guide us daily.

“Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
”Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking”
“You’ve got to find what you love. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle”
We don’t get to do many things in life and everyone should really be excellent.Because this is our life.”
You can’t connect the dots looking forward you can only connect looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something-your gut,destiny,life.,karma,whatever.This approach has never let me down,and it has made all the difference in my life.”
:No one wants to die. Even the people who wants to go to heaven don’t want to die to go there.And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be,because death is likely the single best invention of life. It is life change event. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we have done something wonderful ,that’s what matters to me.”
“I am convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful ones is pure perseverance.”

14 injured in grenade attack in Nairobi (oct 24)

2011-10-25T03:27:00.000-07:00

Mwaura's pub in downtown Nairobi where a grenade attacked injured 14 people

Fourteen people were injured after a grenade attack at a down town pub in Nairobi. Police has already blamed the Al Shabaab for the morning attack.

The attack took place at Mwaura’s pun a dingy establishment along Mfangano street in downtown Nairobi. The grenade exploded at around 1am according to workers at the pub. The injured were rushed to hospital where most have already been discharged.

The attack comes in the heels of a warningby Al Shabaab militants who had warned Kenyan of attacks following the invasion of Somalia. Kenyan forces invaded Somalia on October 15 to flash out Al Shabaab militia who had kidnapped tourists in the country

“Kenya violated the territorial rights of Somalia by entering our holy land, but I assure you that they will return disappointed, God willing,” Sheikh Hassan Turki, a senior al shabaab leader, is quoted by Al Jazeera as saying.

“Mujahideen fighters will force them to test the pain of the bullets.”

Even as the al shabbab try to attack Kenya the military by yesterday had started aerial bombardment of Kismayu. The city is the headquarters of the rag tag militia group.

Witnesses report that jets hit Kismayu on Sunday especially the port area and a mosque known to be frequented by senior al shabaab leaders.

The al shabaab war has attracted international support with French naval ship bombarding the port of Kismayu and American drones helping the Kenyan army that has so far had a very successful campaign.

The police in Nairobi has warned Kenyans to report any suspicious elements in the city with US warning of an eminent terror attack in Kenya.

Kenya army stops war updates as 1 killed in second grenade attack

2011-10-25T03:25:00.000-07:00

The Kenya army has stopped daily updates to the media on the progress of war against Somalia Al Shabaab group.

In a statement the military spokesman Major Chirchir said the media will be brief if any major incidents occur in the war front.

“Since the inception of Operation Linda Nchi we have endeavored to avail operational updates daily, while we remain committed to inform the media on the progress of the operation we would like to adjust and hence forth issue press updates when and as an incident occurs”reads part of the statement.

In the same statement the military thanks Kenyans:”We also thank the members of the public for the continued support and words of encouragement to our soldiers during this operation.”

This means that the daily updates you used to get on the progress of the war will not be forthcoming. Being the first time that Kenya is on the warpath the move will leave many anxious of the going on in the war area.

The war blackout comes after two grenade attacks in Nairobi that killed one person and injuring others. The 25 victims of the grenade attack have since been discharged from Kenyatta Hospital where they were admitted yesterday.

The attacks, one at a bar and the other at a matatu terminus left the country worried of possible Al Shabaab retaliation. Coming after US embassy warnings of a possible attack by Al Shabaab has left the police e more cautions setting up multiple road blocks in major roads.

The Somalia president Sheikh Shariff Ahmed yesterday fell short of calling Kenyan’s pursuit of Al Shabaab an invasion of Somalia. He said Kenya was not welcome to pursue the militia inside Somalia.

Kenya vows to hit Al-Shabaab across Somali border

2011-10-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

Kenyan troops are pursuing suspected Islamic militants from Al-Shabaab across the border into Somalia, Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told CNN Sunday.
The move marks a dramatic shift in security tactics for the east African powerhouse, which is evoking the United Nations charter allowing military action in self-defense against its largely lawless neighbor.
"If you are attacked by an enemy, you have to pursue that enemy through hot pursuit and to try hit wherever that enemy is," said Defense Minister Yusuf Haji in a news conference aired on CNN affiliate NTV.
Haji said repeatedly that the Kenyan military was ready to pursue "terrorists" inside the war-torn country.
"If a country is provoked and its territorial boundary is violated, a country has all the right to deal with the crisis wherever it is," said George Saitoti, the minister for Internal Security.
Al-Shabaab, which is linked to al Qaeda and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, is fighting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia, on Somalia.
Recent abductions of tourists and aid workers in Kenya have heightened tensions.
On September 11, armed bandits broke into a beachfront cottage where Britons Judith and David Tebbutt, both in their 50s, were staying.
David Tebbutt was shot dead while trying to resist the attack. His wife was grabbed and spirited away onboard the pirates' speedboat. She is believed to have been taken into Somalia.
And on October 1, pirates made another cross-border raid, this time snatching a French woman in her 60s from the holiday home on Manda Island where she lived for part of the year.
Last week, gunmen abducted two Spanish workers for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) from the Dadaab refugee complex, about 80 kilometers from the Somali border.
Kenya announced its new tactics less than a week after African Union forces claimed a victory against Al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
They took the remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds in the far northeast of Mogadishu, the military said Monday.
"It has been a big achievement to remove Al-Shabaab from the city, and put an end to the fighting that disrupted so many lives," African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said.
"The challenge is now to protect civilians from the sort of terror attack we saw last week, as they attempt to rebuild their lives," he said.
He was referring to a suicide truck bombing in the heart of Mogadishu that left dozens dead. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
Other Al-Shabaab attacks that week led to the deaths of at least 10 civilians.
Federal and African Union forces in the impoverished and chaotic nation have battled the group for years. Many analysts believe AMISOM's military push against Al-Shabaab has severely affected the group, along with targeted strikes against its members and the weakening of al Qaeda.
Al-Shabaab said in August that it was withdrawing from Mogadishu, and Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, backed by African Union peacekeepers, now controls most districts of the capital city, the United Nations office said.
Forces have pushed Al-Shabaab outside most of Mogadishu, but the group is still a major threat, Ankunda said earlier.

IT Project and Program Management (S. Wallace) Download free online e-book chm pdf

2011-10-17T10:51:00.001-07:00

IT Project and Program Management (S. Wallace) Download free online e-book chm pdf

2011-10-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

IT Project and Program Management (S. Wallace) Download free online e-book chm pdf

Mr. & Ms. Embu College 2011

2011-10-17T00:10:00.001-07:00

Last Sato saw the fairest maidens of them all crowned as the Ms. Embu College 2011. Florence Muriithi (pictured above) was crowned the Ms. Embu College 2011 after four other hot contestants whom I might say gave her stiff competition. In second place was Christine and in third place was Von Vini.
The event was the first of its kind in college and successful considering that no funding was pumped into the event, making it a cost-free event. With the success of this event, one obviously anticipates that the Embu College Talent Show will even be more successful.

Improving Your social skills: JUST HOW?

2011-09-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of The Leaked!

life something that revolves around our social abilities and thus making it vital for us to appreciate the simple fact of socializing.BEING SOCIAL DOESN'T REALLY MEAN YOU HAVE TO BE THE MOST VOCAL DUDE/CHICK AROUND. here are some basic tips as to how you can achieve this goals

1.making yourself aproachable
    - body language
    -facial expression
2.being social
- facial expressions
e.g friendly smile, hearty laugh, maintaining eye contact and an understanding nod
3.improve your conversational skills
   -actively listening
- responding to speaker
- speaking out your own formulated thoughts
4. making a conversation
- understand your audience
5. dressing for occasion.
- right dress at the right time(dress for success)

- knowing the lingo,cliche

this doesn't exhaust the many avenues that you can indulge in to make sure you're socially good, but the basics\ ones will surely push you long strides.

LINKS
penolopetrunk
askmen.com
www.rediff.com/getahead/2005/nov/09skill.htm

additonal tips from

AARON BLAIR, LIFESTYLE CORRESPONDENT(askmen.com)

here is his brief work

Studies show that the general population's No. 1 fear is public speaking, followed shortly by the other No. 1 fear: Death. That means that people prefer to find the answer to the ultimate question rather than speak in front of strangers. So if you struggle with social settings, feel awkward speaking publicly or have trouble meeting new people, there’s nothing wrong with you. Most people feel the same way, and are deathly opposed to changing this aspect of themselves.

There is an ideal that someone who is socially skilled speaks with a silver tongue and can dazzle a captive audience. There are plenty of books and other resources that you can invest in that promise to help you achieve this goal. Being successful in social situations, however, doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with speaking. Here’s how you can improve your social skills without having to say a word in a social gathering
READ ON

'Spartacus' star Andy Whitfield has died [Updated]

2011-09-12T09:02:00.001-07:00

Andy Whitfield, who appeared in the Starz period drama "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," has died, the network confirmed.
Whitfield died Sunday of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Sydney, Australia. He was 39.
Whitfield appeared as the gladiator hero in the first season of the cable series but stepped down from the role before the second season because of his illness.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Andy Whitfield,” said Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht in a statement. “We were fortunate to have worked with Andy in 'Spartacus' and came to know that the man who played a champion on-screen was also a champion in his own life. Andy was an inspiration to all of us as he faced this very personal battle with courage, strength and grace. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time. He will live on in the hearts of his family, friends and fans."
The network announced back in January that Australian actor Liam McIntyre had been enlisted to take over the role.
“It’s hard. You kind of wish you didn’t have the opportunity,” McIntyre said at this year's Comic-Con about taking on the role. “The best thing I can do is bust my [butt] … and honor the legacy.”
"Spartacus: Vengeance" is slated to premiere in January.
[Updated at 8:20 p.m., Sept. 11: The following is a statement from his wife, Vashti Whitfield: "On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18-month battle with lymphoma cancer. He passed peacefully surrounded by love. Thank you to all his fans whose love and support have help carry him to this point. He will be remembered as the inspiring, courageous and gentle man, father and husband he was."]

Why text messages are limited to 160 characters

2011-09-12T09:00:00.001-07:00

Alone in a room in his home in Bonn, Germany, Friedhelm Hillebrand sat at his typewriter, tapping out random sentences and questions on a sheet of paper.
As he went along, Hillebrand counted the number of letters, numbers, punctuation marks and spaces on the page. Each blurb ran on for a line or two and nearly always clocked in under 160 characters.
That became Hillebrand's magic number -- and set the standard for one of today's most popular forms of digital communication: text messaging.
"This is perfectly sufficient," he recalled thinking during that epiphany of 1985, when he was 45 years old. "Perfectly sufficient."
The communications researcher and a dozen others had been laying out the plans to standardize a technology that would allow cellphones to transmit and display text messages. Because of tight bandwidth constraints of the wireless networks at the time -- which were mostly used for car phones -- each message would have to be as short as possible.
Before his typewriter experiment, Hillebrand had an argument with a friend about whether 160 characters provided enough space to communicate most thoughts. "My friend said this was impossible for the mass market," Hillebrand said. "I was more optimistic."
His optimism was clearly on the mark. Text messaging has become the prevalent form of mobile communication worldwide. Americans are sending more text messages than making calls on their cellphones, according to a Nielsen Mobile report released last year.
U.S. mobile users sent an average of 357 texts per month in the second quarter of 2008 versus an average of 204 calls, the report said.
Texting has been a boon for telecoms. Giants Verizon Wireless and AT&T each charge 20 to 25 cents a message, or $20 for unlimited texts. Verizon has 86 million subscribers, while AT&T's wireless service has 78.2 million.
And Twitter, the fastest growing online social network, which is being adopted practically en masse by politicians, celebrities ...

... and news outlets, has its very DNA in text messaging. To avoid the need for splitting cellular text messages into multiple parts, the creators of Twitter capped the length of a tweet at 140 characters, keeping the extra 20 for the user's unique address.
Back in 1985, of course, the guys who invented Twitter were probably still playing with Matchbox cars.

Credit: Friedhelm Hillebrand

Hillebrand found new confidence after his rather unscientific investigations. As chairman of the nonvoice services committee within the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), a group that sets standards for the majority of the global mobile market, he pushed forward the group's plans in 1986. All cellular carriers and mobile phones, they decreed, must support the short messaging service (SMS).

Looking for a data pipeline that would fit these micro messages, Hillebrand came up with the idea to harness a secondary radio channel that already existed on mobile networks.
This smaller data lane had been used only to alert a cellphone about reception strength and to supply it with bits of information regarding incoming calls. Voice communication itself had taken place via a separate signal.
"We were looking to a cheap implementation," Hillebrand said on the phone from Bonn. "Most of the time, nothing happens on this control link. So, it was free capacity on the system."
Initially, Hillebrand's team could fit only 128 characters into that space, but that didn't seem like nearly enough. With a little tweaking and a decision to cut down the set of possible letters, numbers and symbols that the system could represent, they squeezed out room for another 32 characters.
Still, his committee wondered, would the 160-character maximum be enough space to prove a useful form of communication? Having zero market research, they based their initial assumptions on two "convincing arguments," Hillebrand said.

For one, they found that postcards often contained fewer than 150 characters.
Second, they analyzed a set of messages sent through Telex, a then-prevalent telegraphy network for business professionals. Despite not having a technical limitation, Hillebrand said, Telex transmissions were usually about the same length as postcards.
Just look at your average e-mail today, he noted. Many can be summed up in the subject line, and the rest often contains just a line or two of text asking for a favor or updating about a particular project.
But length wasn't SMS's only limitation. "The input was cumbersome," Hillebrand said. With multiple letters being assigned to each number button on the keypad, finding a single correct letter could take three or four taps. Typing out a sentence or two was a painstaking task.

A GSM document outlining the definition of SMS. Credit: Friedhelm Hillebrand.

Later, software such as T9, which predicts words based on the first few letters typed by the user, QWERTY keyboards such as the BlackBerry's and touchscreen keyboards including the iPhone's made the process more palatable.
But even with these inconveniences, text messaging took off. Fast. Hillebrand never imagined how quickly and universally the technology would be adopted. What was originally devised as a portable paging system for craftsmen using their cars as a mobile office is now the preferred form of on-the-go communication for cellphone users of all ages.
"Nobody had foreseen how fast and quickly the young people would use this," Hillebrand said. He's still fascinated by stories of young couples breaking up via text message.
When he tells the story of his 160-character breakthrough, Hillebrand says, people assume he's rich. But he's not.
There are no text message royalties. He doesn't receive a couple of pennies each time someone sends a text, like songwriters do for radio airplay. Though "that would be nice," Hillebrand said.
Now Hillebrand lives in Bonn, managing Hillebrand & Partners, a technology patent consulting firm. He has written a book about the creation of GSM, a $255 hardcover tome.
Following an early retirement that didn't take, Hillebrand is pondering his next project. Multimedia messaging could benefit from regulation, he said. With so many different cellphones taking photos, videos and audio in a variety of formats, you can never be sure whether your friend's phone will be able to display it.
But he's hoping to make a respectable salary for the work this time

Editor's Corner

2011-09-09T02:18:00.000-07:00

Sup guys,
We just wrote a story about Java Entertainment. So, if you happen to be in Embu, Kenya, make sure you pass by Java Entertainment for the latest movies, videos, playstations and PC games @ very affordable prices. I'm a member there and am I ain't regretting a bit.
See you there!

Victor Muto

2011-09-09T02:14:00.001-07:00

JAVA ENTERTAINMENT

The home of leisure, pleasure &entertainment

Embu County is blessed to have so many businesses of diverse nature and background. Java Entertainment is one of such business located at Shanyaki House along KubuKubu Rd. This is the story of Ken Mwara, the proprietor of Java Entertainment…

“When you hear the name java being mention you think about Java software’s or Java café but here is a different case Java entertainment. The world of movies and play station. You try to figure out the people to bow down for making our name so special and it narrows down to students and teachers responsible for entertainment sectors in various schools.

Having being on the market for only 14 months we can only think God for the massive results and performance. I personally thank God for He has seeing me through many stages to parlor of success, 2 years ago as I sat for my O’ Levels at Kegonge High School I thought business would do good for me but the question was which business? I thought of movies but the fact the movie business was so floated did not give me case of heart but I still settled on it and promised myself to do it in a special way.

Starting a business is not a cup of tea; first there’s capital which to some extent was difficult to raise accelerating heat to the whole family. Successful opening up to raise accelerating heat a big deal but earning customers trust. I believe we gave our customers quality services and products and that’s why we have so far maintained our day one customers.

Challenges in business are what have made Java to be what is today and in the future.

Our/my special thanks for those people who have made us so proud goes to; the whole community of Embu town and its environs, students of Bluxx, Nguvio gee, Mbich, kangach, Mecca, reddz, Kamathy, Donnie Band, Embu hae Skul, Embu College and Kenya Institute of Management. Java has captured the attention, imagination and loyalty of generations of diverse individuals and we are so proud of the guys.

A special wish to all the Form Fours of the year 2011,we wish you success come Oct/Nov papers.”

TWO PRIESTS DECIDED TO GO TO HAWAII ON VACATION.

2011-09-02T06:37:00.001-07:00

They were determined to make this a real vacation by not wearing anything that would identify them as clergy. As soon as the plane landed they headed for a store and bought some really outrageous shorts, shirts, sandals, sunglasses, etc.
The next morning they went to the beach dressed in their ‘tourist’ garb. They were sitting on beach chairs, enjoying a drink, the sunshine and the scenery when a ‘drop dead gorgeous’ blonde in a topless bikini came walking straight towards them.
They couldn’t help but stare.
As the blonde passed them she smiled and said ‘Good Morning, Father ~ Good Morning, Father,’ nodding and addressing each of them individually, then she passed on by. They were both stunned. How in the world did she know we are priests? So the next day, they went back to the store and bought even more outrageous outfits.
These were so loud you could hear them before you even saw them! Once again, in their new attire, they settled down in their chairs to enjoy the sunshine. After a little while, the same gorgeous blonde, wearing a different colored topless bikini, taking her sweet time,
came walking toward them. Again she nodded at each of them, said
‘Good morning, Father ~ Good morning, Father,’ and started to walk away. One of the priests couldn’t stand it any longer and said, ‘Just a minute, young lady.’ ‘Yes, Father?’
‘We are priests and proud of it, but I have to know, how in the world do you know we are priests, dressed as we are?’ She replied,
‘Father, it’s me, Sister Kathleen.’

STORY OF AN ENGAGED MAN

2011-09-02T06:09:00.001-07:00

I was a very happy person. My wonderful girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year, and so we decided to get married. There was only one little thing bothering me … it was her beautiful younger sister.
My prospective sister-in-law was twenty-two, wore very tight miniskirts, without underwear or a bra. She would regularly bend down when she was near me, and I always got more than a pleasant view. It had to be deliberate. She never did it when she was near anyone else.
One day “little” sister called and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations. She was alone when I arrived, and she whispered to me that she had feelings and desires for me that she couldn’t overcome. She told me that she wanted to make love to me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister. Well, I was in total shock, and couldn’t say a word. She said, “I’m going upstairs to my bedroom, and if you want one last wild fling, just come up and get me.”
I was stunned and frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs. When she reached the top she pulled off her panties and threw them down the stairs at me. I stood there for a moment, then turned and made a beeline straight to the front door. I opened the door, and headed straight towards my car.
Lo and behold, my entire future family was standing outside, all clapping!
With tears in his eyes, my father-in-law hugged me and said, “we are very happy that you have passed our little test…..we couldn’t ask for better man for our daughter. Welcome to our family!!!”
And the moral of this story is: Always keep your condoms in your car.

CHANGING MINI HP SCREEN ORIENTATION

2011-08-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

i was browsing through the net and discovered an unsolved problem "changing the screen orientation for a mini hp "
well the thread most guys provided did not work and i had to find me ma own way.
i actually could not believe i racked my brains to solve such an easy task. nkt!!!!!
okay here's how you do it

>on the task bar right click the graphics icon
>graphic options
>rotation
>choose your desired rotation

here is another way

>right click anywhere on the desktop
>graphic options
>rotations
>select yo desired rotation

happy computing guys

THE BITTERNESS OF THE BITTER

2011-06-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

She stood there; all she had was to starve

As the little birds song filled the air

Life isn’t fair, she had to declare

Pregnant knowing that she had a child to bear

She was strong, but facing her bustard was her fear

Where is father? An answer it would require.

It’s not that she was twilight;

That night she had to fight,

A fight that happened in the dim-light,

She tried to keep it tight

But she knew killing she might

She was strong but facing her bustard was her fear

Where is father? An answer it would require.

Macharia Jennifer Njoki

Certificate IT (JKUAT)

QUITTERS ARE LOSERS

2011-06-14T10:58:00.001-07:00

If you think you are beaten

You are

If you think you dare not

You don’t

If you wish to win but think you can’t

It’s certain you won’t.

If you think you are out-crashed

You are

Must think high to rise and be

Sure of oneself before you can earn a prize

For out in the world

You find success begins with your will

It’s all in the mind.

Life battles are not always won

By the strongest and fastest runners

But by those who think they can!

Mwangi Nancy Wambui

Certificate in IT (JKUAT)

IDENTIFYING YOUR VISION AND STAYING IN IT

2011-06-14T10:57:00.001-07:00

BIBLE QUOTES:

* The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2)

* Your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions (Joel 2:28)

* Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he (Proverbs 20:18)

WHAT IS A VISION?

Vision literally means a state of seeing. For vision to be there, light is inevitable. Light in literal terms are rays that come from anything that illuminates. Spiritually, for Christians light is Christ Jesus. Spiritually, vision is a mental image, idea, statement, or any other that comes when on is awake, asleep, praying or in a trance. There are many examples in the Bible e.g.

Joseph had two similar visions about his future leadership (Genesis 37:5-11)
Saul got into a trance and had his name changed to Paul together with a vision for his life (Acts 9:3-6)

NB: A dream can be a vision but not all dreams are vision, because some of them are as a result of what you do during the day and many cares (Ecc. 5:3)

Vision is different from imagination in that one may form a mental image at will, but in a vision there is a DRIVING FORCE COUPLED WITH CONVICTION to achieve what you SAW.

WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A VISION AND MISSION

Vision means “TO BE”-what you are expecting to be. It’s a point of DESTINY; your DESTINATION. Mission means “TO DO”-what you are expecting to do. It is a process of Reaching your Vision. The connection (relationship) between the two is that you need to carry out a mission for you to reach your vision. In other words, you need TO DO SOMETHING for you TO BE SOMEBODY IN YOUR VISION.

WHY DOES GOD OFTENLY GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE VISIONS?

Joel 2:28”Young men shall see visions”. This is because young people:

* Are strong and therefore can carry out missing needed to accomplish a vision (1 John 2:13)

* Have enough time to fulfil their vision. Don’t wait till it’s too late!

* Are not yet entangled with many cares of life and so can easily conform God’s will for their life. DO NOT get yourself hooked too early in your life.

* They are agile and fast in their work.

* They adapt positive change easily e.g. fast changing use of technology

HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR VISION

LOOK INTO YOURSELF

Identify what you like doing and are successful in. what you like is not automatically your vision. You must be successful in your vision. Looking into yourself is knowing your God’s given talents and attributes.

LOOK AROUND YOU

This involves listening to the comments of significance others in your life. Their voice can at times help you catch a vision. However, you must measure their comments against what you already know about yourself.

LOOK FOR COUNSELLORS

Proverbs 11:14 says that “where there is no guidance, a people fall, but in abundance of counsellors there is safety”. Professional counsellors can help you identify your vision when you finish them with some information about yourself.

LOOK UPTO GOD

We need God’s guidance every time we are making critical decisions concerning our life. Create time to meditate upon God’s word and seek His guidance in prayers. He knows. He loves you. He created you.

HOW TO STAY IN YOUR VISION

DISCIPLINE

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation people cast off restraint” (NIV). Restraint is discipline. Having a vision is the first step that makes you have restraint so that people don’t put you into their program at will. This protects you from being tossed to and fro by your peers. IF YOU DON’T PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE, PEOPLE AND EVEN THE DEVIL WILL PLAN FOR YOU.

IMITATION

Choose mentors that are in line with your vision.

REMEMBER (Habakkuk 2:2-3)

“Write the vision upon tablets”. Keep reminding yourself about the vision. If you don’t refresh your vision you will keep having additional visions which will lead to DI-VISIONS (divisions) meaning that your mind is divided to an extent that you are torn between forces. This leads to confusion, anxiety, depression, drug abuse etc.

TIME (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Redeem the time for the days are evil. Stop wasting time with what doesn’t line up with your vision. If you waste it you are forced to procrastinate and you know “procrastination” is the theft of time.

SIN NOT

Stop gambling with sin. Though Samson knew his vision of delivering the children of Israel, he deviated by sinning repeatedly against God by his drunkenness, sexual immorality, touching dead bodies, revealing the secret of his strength. He devalued his vision.

Lastly, your attitude is very key to your success:

Ø HUMILITY (avoid pride and arrogance)

Ø ABILITY to accept mistakes, learning from them, but not passing the back.

Ø READINESS to learn (attend seminars, read books in line with your vision)

Ø Have the right value system to help you make the right choices on daily basis.

You are a winner!

God did not create losers!

God has equipped you to win!

Follow your dream/vision and enter your God given destiny as a winner and victor.

SEE YOU IN THE VICTOR’S CAMP

MRS. M. W. KIWANUKA

COLLEGE CHAPLAIN

Kenya Budget attacks the rising cost of living

2011-06-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

By Daily Nation

Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday spelt out an ambitious Budget aimed at the basic level — putting food on the table for all Kenyans and offering the most specific assault on the rising cost of living.

The minister allocated a cumulative Sh100 billion to promote agriculture to enhance food security, which will stem the spiralling food prices caused by production shortfalls.

Also, duty on maize, wheat and rice was cut to increase local supply and reduce prices.

High food prices have been a major concern and the government is acting to avert food riots that have been witnessed in other countries like Uganda, especially going into an election year where emotions can easily be whipped up by politicians looking for votes.

Fuel price and drought

“We all know the tough times we are facing following the new challenges stemming from rising international commodity prices, including fuel and drought-related concerns on food security,” Mr Kenyatta said in the Budget ministerial statement read in Parliament on Wednesday.

“The resilience we have demonstrated in the past will have to come handy again, but most important now is cushioning our people against these challenges.

“We have to take drastic measures to reduce, on a sustainable basis, the cost of living and assure our people of food security and employment going forward.”

He extended Common External Tariff (CET) application to allow the importation of rice at the rate of 35 per cent instead of 75 per cent for one year to boost local supply of the staple food.

And to enable millers import wheat to supplement local production, he allowed duty-free importation, down from the 10 per cent duty granted in the last financial year.

Also, he gave a duty waiver for six months on maize imports instead of 50 per cent applied for the region.

The minister removed excise duty on kerosene, barely two months after cutting it by 30 per cent to stem the impact of rising fuel prices on households.

Measures to boost food supply include the biggest investment ever in irrigation to rehabilitate huge chunks of semi-arid land across the country into arable land.

Irrigation, livestock and other activities geared to enhancing food security and water harvesting got Sh11.5 billion.

This will go into financing water harvesting at Sh2.1 billion as well as storage for domestic, animal and irrigation, livestock production and domestic consumption.

The Budget also takes care of livestock farmers by establishing a Sh400 million Livestock Fund and providing Sh492 million for additional slaughter houses in arid areas.

The irrigation programme, started under the Economic Stimulus package, has been greatly expanded to cover the 1.7 million acres with irrigation potential to transform the country into a food surplus producer.

The total revenue target for fiscal year 2011/12 is Sh787.6 billion – or 24.7 per cent of GDP, based on projected economic growth, the on-going reforms in tax and customs administration, and new tax measures, including fee collected by public universities which was previously not captured in the budget.

Recurrent expenditure for the year is Sh754.4 billion, development expenditure is Sh398.6 billion, while consolidated services will take Sh209.5 billion.

The minister said he would finance development expenditure amounting to Sh262.5 billion from the Exchequer.
He said he received commitments amounting to Sh41.1 billion to finance development projects from external grants.

Total expenditure will amount to Sh1,066.8 billion giving an overall deficit of Sh236.2 billion, or 7.4 per cent of GDP.

But Mr Kenyatta said this would be financed by net foreign financing of Sh116.7 billion and Sh119.5 billion borrowing from domestic market.

“This means the fiscal framework for 2011/12 is fully financed and there is no financing gap,” he added.