Brain dump - Collecting data for Kenya's free encyclopedia that anyone can edit

Surviving a Break-up : by Joanne B. Parrotta

2008-06-15T02:36:00.000-07:00

So you’ve just gone through a devastating break-up. My heart goes out to you. There is nothing quite as painful as being dumped by someone you thought was the One. I know you’re probably feeling like your heart has been ripped out and stomped on and that your hopes and dreams have been shattered. Do what you have to do (within reason, of course) to grieve this loss—cry, get angry, punch your pillow, throw darts at your ex’s picture.

One thing you should not do, however, is visit, phone, email, or text you ex. You should have no contact whatsoever. Accept the fact that it is over and make a clean break. Keep your dignity intact. Trust me on this—in the long run you’ll be glad you did.

Thoughts of revenge may be going though your head, but please, don’t act on them. Don’t spread rumours, don’t betray old secrets, and don’t date or make out with his/her best friend to get even. Never resort to behaviour that you will regret in the future. Always act with class and remember that the best revenge is for your ex to see that you are doing just fine without him/her. You’ve moved on and are happy.

Keep in mind that just because someone has broken up with you, it doesn’t mean he or she no longer cares about you—it just means he/she no longer wants a relationship with you. It’s very likely that breaking up with you was just as hard on him/her as it was on you. If you take revenge, any affection that this person feels for you could turn into hatred, and any chance you may have to re-establish a relationship (even if it’s just as friends) will be shattered.

Have a pity party if you must, but do it in private. Then get off the couch, wipe those tears, and move on. It’s wise to hold off on romantic relationships for a while. Give yourself some time to heal from this relationship. Work on rebuilding your life and rekindling old friendships you might have neglected when you were in the relationship.

You may not realize it yet, but a new life has just opened up for you. While right now your break-up may seem negative, it really was all for the best. You have just been given another chance to find your Mr. or Ms. Right.

Love and blessings,
Joanne B. Parrotta
Author of A Matter of Destiny
http://www.amatterofdestiny.com

Restoring a large MySQL database

2008-06-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

$ ssh loginname@server.hosting.com

Now type following command to import sql data file:

$ mysql -u username -p -h localhost data-base-name <>

 If you have dedicated database server, replace localhost name with actual server name or IP address:
 $ mysql -u username -p -h 202.54.1.10 databasename < data.sql

OR use hostname such as mysql.kenya.or.ke
 $ mysql -u username -p -h mysql.hosting.com database-name <>
 If you do not know the database name or database name is included in sql dump you can try out something as follows:
 $ mysql -u username -p -h 202.54.1.10 < data.sql
OR use the following command
$ mysql -u username -p
mysql> use databaseName
mysql> source data.sql



Apache using .htaccess or httpd.conf  - solutions on the use of the .htaccess file
2008-03-23T11:57:00.000-07:00
  Good tutorial http://fragments.turtlemeat.com/htaccess.php
Table of contents
  ·  What is .htaccess for? 
  ·  .htaccess syntax
  Forbidding access:
  ·  Forbidding all files 
  ·  Allow access from a certain IP address 
  ·  Forbid access from a certain IP address 
  ·  Forbidding a group of files by mask 
  ·  Forbidding a particular file 
   
  Setting a password:
  ·  Password for a directory 
  ·  Password for one file only 
  ·  Password for a group of files
  ·  Checking access rights to three directories two of which are subdirectories 
  
Redirections: 
  ·  Redirecting a visitor to another URL 
  ·  Displaying different pages depending on the visitor's IP address 
  ·  Redirecting a user when he requests certain pages
  ·  How to change the default page 
  ·  How to make Apache process SSI directives 
  ·  How to process Apache errors yourself? 
  ·  How to forbid the contents of a directory to be displayed if it has no index file? 
  ·  Is it possible to specify the default encoding of files the browser receives them in? 
  ·  Is it possible to specify the encoding of uploaded files?
  Frequent errors:
  ·  I created the .htaccess file, but the server returns 500 - Internal Erorr
  Programs list for managing of the Apache servers
  ·  What programs do exist for managing of the Apache servers? (Apache GUI) 
   
  What is .htaccess for?
  When you type an address in the address bar of your browser, your computer receives files that your browser displays. The web server controls which files and how should be displayed (sent) to you. The two most popular servers are IIS and Apache.
  Like any other software, a web server has certain settings. However, as an Apache user, you may have no (and if we talk about virtual hosting, most probably you will have no) rights to change the Apache configuration using its main configuration files that affect all server users. But you can modify some configuration files that affect only your website. One of such files is .htaccess.
  It is a flexible Apache web server configuration file. "Flexible" means that as soon as you modify anything in this file, the changes are applied immediately. You can use it to redefine a lot of directives from the file httpd.conf (this file is the main configuration file in Apache and it affects absolutely all users of this Apache copy). In those cases when you have no access to the Apache configuration file (exactly in case of virtual hosting), it is this file that will help you.
  A web user cannot access this file using the browser. If the .htaccess file is located in the root directory of the server, it affects the entire server except those directories where other .htaccess files are stored (and except all their subdirectories).
  Example:
  Your directories have the following structure on the server:
  The directories 'user1' and 'user2' will be subdirectories for the user directory. If we put the .htaccess file in the 'user' directory, it will automatically affect directories 'user1' and 'user2'.
  We save another .htaccess file to the 'data' directory, this file is different from the one stored in the 'user' directory. The .htaccess file located in 'data' will affect the directories 'data1' and 'data2'.
  Now we save another .htaccess file that is different from the one stored in the directory 2 levels higher (the 'user' directory) to the 'user2' directory. As a result, the settings of the 'user2' directory will be defined only by the .htaccess file located in this directory.
  Since most often Apache is configured in such a way that it always searches each directory for this file, .htaccess will help you quickly reconfigure the server without stopping it. 
  .htaccess syntax
  Here is the required syntax. If you do not observe it, it will result in server errors.
  —  paths to files (directories) are specified from the server root. Example: /opt/home/www.site.com/htdocs/config/.htpasswd
—  domains with protocols specified. Example: Redirect / http://www.site.com
  The file name is exactly "dot" htaccess. It must be in the UNIX format (ASCII mode).
  How to forbid visitors to read files from a directory?
  Forbidding all files:
  deny from all 
  Allow access from a certain IP address:
  order allow deny
deny from all
allow from  
  In this case,  stands for a specific address. For example:
  order allow deny
deny from all
allow from 192.126.12.199 
  Forbid access from a certain IP address:
  order allow deny
deny from all
deny from  
  Using  is similar to the example above.
  Forbidding a group of files by mask:
  
  order allow,deny
  deny from all
 
  Defines access to a file by its extension. For example, forbidding web visitors to access files with the "inc" extension:
  
  order allow,deny
  deny from all
 
  In this example the Apache server can access files with this extension.
  Forbidding a particular file:
  You can forbid a particular file using its name and extension.
  
  order allow,deny
  deny from all
 
  This example forbids the file config.inc.php to be accessed.
  Setting a password 
  Password for a directory:
  AuthName "Private zone"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile /pub/home/your_login/.htpasswd
require valid-user 
  AuthName will be displayed for the user and can be used to explain authentication request. The value of AuthUserFile defines the location where the file with passwords for accessing this directory is stored. This file is created by a special tool named htpasswd.exe contained in Apache  
For example, we create the following .htaccess file in the protected directory:
  AuthName "For Registered Users Only"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile /pub/site.com/.htpasswd
require valid-user 
  In this example, the user requesting this directory will read the message "For Registered Users Only", the file with passwords for access must be stored in the directory /pub/site.com/ and it must be named .htpasswd . The directory is specified from the server root. If you specify the directory incorrectly, Apache will not be able to read the .htpasswd file and nobody will get access to this directory.
  Password for one file only:
  Similar to protecting a whole directory with a password, you can set a password for one file only. An example of setting a password to the file private.zip:
  
  AuthName "Users zone"
  AuthType Basic
  AuthUserFile /pub/home/your_login/.htpasswd
 
  Password for a group of files:
  Similarly, you can use  to set password for files by mask. An example of setting a password for accessing all files with the "sql" extension:
  
  AuthName "Users zone"
  AuthType Basic
  AuthUserFile /pub/home/your_login/.htpasswd
 
  Checking access rights
  Task: there is a directory named a1 containing two subdirectories (a2, a3), there are two access levels for users. The first group can access only a1 and a2, the second group can access all three directories. You should perform authentication only once - when accessing a1, but observe access rights for а2 and а3.
The username and password are requested only once while accessing а1 - if the user has access to а2, the password it not requested again. If the user has no access to а3, he will see the message "Enter the password".
  www.site.com/a1
www.site.com/a1/а2
www.site.com/a1/a3
  a1 - common and protected at the same time
а2 and а3 only for certain users.
  The .htaccess file for the directory а1:
  AuthName "Input password"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile "/pub/home/your_login/htdocs/closearea/.htpasswd"

  require valid-user
 
  The .htaccess file for the directory а2:
  AuthName "Input password"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile "/pub/home/your_login/htdocs/closearea/.htpasswd"

  require user user1 user2 user3
 
  The .htaccess file for the directory а3:
  AuthName "Input password"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile "/pub/home/your_login/htdocs/closearea/.htpasswd"

  require user user1 user4 user5
 
  How to redirect a visitor?
  Redirecting to another URL:
  To redirect a visitor to http://site.com, add the following to .htaccess
  Redirect / http://www.site.com 
  Displaying different pages depending on the visitor's IP address:
  SetEnvIf REMOTE_ADDR  REDIR="redir"
RewriteCond %{REDIR} redir
RewriteRule ^/$ /another_page.html 
  For example, redirecting visitors with IP 192.12.131.1 to the page about_my_site.html:
  SetEnvIf REMOTE_ADDR 192.12.131.1 REDIR="redir"
RewriteCond %{REDIR} redir
RewriteRule ^/$ /about_my_site.html 
  Redirecting a visitor when he request certain pages:
  It is already for all network viruses and scanners. Now any request with the address /_vti_bin will be automatically redirected to Microsoft:
  redirect /_vti_bin http://www.microsoft.com
redirect /scripts http://www.microsoft.com
redirect /MSADC http://www.microsoft.com
redirect /c http://www.microsoft.com
redirect /d http://www.microsoft.com
redirect /_mem_bin http://www.microsoft.com
redirect /msadc http://www.microsoft.com
RedirectMatch (.*)\cmd.exe$ http://www.microsoft.com$1 
  How to change the default page?
  To change the page that will be displayed when a visitor access a directory, write:
  DirectoryIndex  
  It is possible to specify several pages:
  DirectoryIndex index.shtml index.php index.php3 index.html index.htm 
  How to make Apache process SSI directives?
  SSI allows you to "assemble" a page using its parts. You have the code of the menu in one part, the code of the header in another part and the footer in a third part. And the visitor sees a usual page consisting of the code stored in your parts.
  Some settings in httpd.conf are required.
  Add Includes to the Options directive in the block starting with  and ending with .
  After that add the following to the .htaccess file:
  AddHandler server-parsed .shtml .shtm .html .htm 
    How to process Apache errors yourself?
  The most interesting and useful Apache errors are 403-404, 500.
  403 - the user has not been authenticated, access denied (Forbidden).
404 - the requested document (file, directory) is not found.
500 - internal server error (for example, an error in the syntax of the .htaccess file).
  For the user to see your own error messages for these error, add the following to .htaccess:
  ErrorDocument 403 /errors/403.html
ErrorDocument 404 /errors/404.html
ErrorDocument 500 /errors/500.html 
  If error 404 occurs, the user receives the file errors/403.html.
  It is convenient to create your own handler for some errors. Add the following to .htaccess:
  ErrorDocument 403 /errors/error.php?403
ErrorDocument 404 /errors/error.php?404
ErrorDocument 500 /errors/error.php?500 
  Determine the document that caused error in error.php using $HTTP_SERVER_VARS['REQUEST_URI'] and process it then. If .htaccess contains the file with the full path for ErrorDocument (http://site.com/error.php), $HTTP_SERVER_VARS['REQUEST_URI'] will contain this file instead of the one that caused the error.
  Internet Explorer 5.0 incorrectly processes the error file if it is smaller than 1 kilobyte. It opens the standard IE 404 page.
  How to forbid the contents of a directory to be displayed if it has no index file?
  Suppose all graphics used on your site is stored in the 'img' directory. A visitor can type the address of this directory in his browser and see the list of all your image files. Of course, it will not cause any damage, but you might forbid the visitor to view this directory as well. Add the following to .htaccess:
  Options -Indexes 
  Is it possible to specify the encoding of all file the browser receives documents in by default?
  When the Internet only came to existence and first browsers appeared, it often happened that the browser could not automatically determine which of the Russian encodings a document was written in and the browser displayed a complete mess. To avoid it, specify that all pages will be encoded in Windows-1251:
  AddDefaultCharset windows-1251 
  Is it possible to specify the encoding of uploaded files?
  When a visitor uploads a file to the server, it is possible to recode it. To do it, specify that all uploaded files will be encoded in Windows-1251:
  CharsetSourceEnc windows-1251 
  Frequent errors 
  I created the .htaccess file, but the server returns 500 - Internal Error
  There is an error in its syntax or the file is saved in the wrong format.
   
  



The Gimp: Making Colors in a GIF Transparent
2008-03-23T04:07:00.000-07:00
Sometimes when working with an image you want to make a certain color transparent. When working with a gif file this would make a round circle look round on any color background. This is actually very simple once you do it once. Finding the information for this took me a while so I thought I would pass it on to anyone that was interested.

1. Open your image in the gimp.

2. Right click the image and go to LAYERS then TRANSPARENCY then ADD ALPHA CHANNEL. You won't notice anything happening, but don't be concerned. It basically adds a transparent layer at the bottom of your image so when we erase the colors.....it's shows the transparent layer. Which of course would show whatever was under it on the screen.

3. Right click on the image again and go to SELECT and then down to BY COLOR. A window that is all black opens up. Don't change any of the settings....just use the defaults for now.

4. Now click on the color in the image you want to be transparent. These colors will now show up outlined.

5. Right click on the image again and go to EDIT and then down to CLEAR. This should now erase the outlined color you just picked from the image and the "transparent gimp checkerbox" should show through. This is the Gimps way of showing you that section is now transparent.

6. Right click on the image and choose SAVE AS and make sure to save as a GIF file if you want the transparency to work on the web.

Another fun feature that can be used while using the SELECT and BY COLOR ..... instead of hitting CLEAR you can FILL W BG COLOR or the other one FILL W FG COLOR ........... this allows you to change the colors over the entire image instantly for the particular pixel color you choose to start with. Very fast and fun once you figure this out.


Change the Location of the Outlook Express Mail and News Files
2008-01-22T08:34:00.000-08:00
Change the Location of the Outlook Express Mail and News Files (All Windows)
This setting allows you to change the location of the mail and news files stored by Outlook Express to another directory or partition.
Open your registry and find the key below. 
 Edit the value called 'Store Root' and set it to equal the required path name. 
 Then move the 'mail' and 'news' folders from the old location to the new and restart Outlook Express. 
 For versions of Outlook Express prior to version 5.0 the registry key is [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express].
 Note: The "mail" and "news" folder must be manually created or moved to the new location.
  
    
  
  
  
  



Creating profiles in Thunderbird and Mozilla through Profile Manager
2008-01-17T09:15:00.000-08:00
Windows
 To see how to create a new profile for Firefox see Creating a new Firefox profile on Windows.  Instructions for other Mozilla programs follow. 
Close the application and  make sure that it is not running in the background.   
Thunderbird, Mozilla Suite or SeaMonkey: Use the "Profile Manager" shortcut located in the Start -> Programs Menu (if available) or use the below instructions, substituting thunderbird.exe mozilla.exe or seamonkey.exe  in place of firefox.exe. 
Firefox: Open the Windows "Start" menu, select "Run" (on Windows Vista,  use "Start Search" or enable the Run box, as described here) then type and enter one of the following: 
 firefox.exe -profilemanager 
firefox.exe -P 
 For a zip install or if the above instructions do not work, include the full path to the executable surrounded by quotation marks in the "Run" (or Vista "Start Search") box, as in this Firefox example: 
 "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -profilemanager 
 [edit]
Linux
 Close the application completely and  make sure that it is not running in the background. Open the terminal and execute cd (program directory) then execute: 
  (Firefox) ./firefox -profilemanager  
 (Mozilla Suite) ./mozilla -profilemanager  
 (SeaMonkey) ./seamonkey -profilemanager 
 (Thunderbird) ./thunderbird -profilemanager 
 Alternately, in a terminal type  path/to/application  -profilemanager

Sources:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_Manager
http://www.mozilla.org/support/thunderbird/profile
 



Header in Microsoft word not printing
2008-01-16T01:02:00.000-08:00
Question
I have come across a word problem I have never seen before. The user is able to print most documents, but the one she is printing now has a letter header with our company's logo not showing in print layout or preview. Once the print prieview is closed, the header shows up in layout, but it wil not print. Other users can print the file fine. Secondly, I uninstalled office and reinstalled it (office xp), but it deosen't work

Answer
Select the menu View, and then the option Headers and FootersOn the toolbar that appears, click on Page Setup (browse the icons it to locate it reading the tooltips)On the dialog Page Setup, you will find 3 tabs। Select the Layout tab, and then the option Different first page


Kenya Elections 2007 - Those who have let Kenya down
2008-01-01T06:16:00.000-08:00
Gloom and sorrow greeted the rigging of elections and subsequent swearing in of the looser, one Emilio. Violence erupted in several parts of Kenya, with the death toll running to the hundreds, and destruction of property of un-audited proportions. All the same we should never forget “Power goes to those who deserve it most – the people”    One important question I would like answered would be "Do you want to feast on a fat calf in a house of turmoil and acrimony or do you want to settle to a humble meal of herbs in a house of peace?"
    I have about 15 culprits to blame for the vote rigging.
  Me and      you: We never voted conclusively like in 2002. Kenyans of both political      divide are regretting not voting at all, or backing the wrong horse. We      were not strong enough in mass action, and pressurizing the government for      a FREE and FAIR election, and after the announcement of the winner, we did      not turn up in our millions in a non violent Mahatma Style demo.You and Me      for killing innocent Kenyans. We will never forget.
Moi      and Co: Initially, I thought that Moi was a fly in Kibaki’s soup. This was      never the case, because his finances and political mentoring hardened      Kibaki and ensured that the incumbent did not concede defeat whatsoever.
Kivuitu:      A conspiracy theory has it “NSIS      mixed up and threatened Kivuitu, going as far as kidnapping members of his      family so as coax him to read pre-typed results, then escort him with      armed guard to state house to hand over a pre-typed nomination      certificate, with KBC and Citizen cameras in tow.” The truth is he lied      to Kenyans that Presiding officers had vanished with Presidential results      yet he had announced parliamentary and civic candidates, and his officers      were in the background altering (Kivuitus      words “and cooking”) the presidential result, finally having them not      tally to parliamentary results. Kivuitu had the option to be bold and      announce ODM as winners, and tell the media through live feed that the      government had threatened him and his family. He also had the option of      resigning, instead of being used to announce doctored results. Kivuitu has      always been part of the establishment. 
ECK:      The ECK Chairman's cried that his Returning Officers had gone missing (or      rather, he couldn't find them on phone). This was monitored via live feed      by Kenyan and international media. . He went further to announce his fears      that the results were being 'cooked' wherever they were. He then stated      the Commission had its ways of finding out and enforcing the right      figures. Unconfirmed reports claimed that after night-long scrutiny of      Votes the ECK had arrived at the following figures: Raila: 4.8 million. Kibaki:      3.6 million. However PNU strongly disagreed with the tally but Kivuitu challenged      them to justify their claim. ECK thrashed the trust Kenya had      put on it to serve a Fair election.
Media      (The forth estate): In the elections tally, figures seem to have been      adjusted and the Kenyan Media seems to have been so ready to adjust their 'from-the-ground-figures'      without any explanations. Journalists are no longer just messengers who      accept anything and everything that they are given. In most of the results      that were being disputed, there were sound-bytes of the Returning Officers      making the announcements. Where were journalists to ask Mr Kivuitu why he      was referring those with visible disputes to Courts? The media let the      citizen down and they should not blame anybody for it
Major      Ali and Major General Kianga: For not threatening the establishment. During      Kibaki’s supposed inauguration, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WAS NOT PLAYED OR SUNG      during the entire ceremony as required by law. Why did the military rehearse      for a whole week at Nyayo stadium?
Mwai      Kibaki: For placing his relatives and tribe mates like Idi-Amin and Saddam      to head the military and police wings, so that all revolt can be quashed.      For colluding with his cronies to deny Kenya democracy and the rule      of law. What else can a man stealing votes steal?
Kalonzo      Musyoka: For taking sides with an illegitimate government. What happened      to Christian values? His political career is moribund and after having      roped in the Akamba community into his ill-fated presidential bid, he is      the least qualified to act as a mediator in a conflict which pits parties      that garnered more than 10 times his own presidential votes. This is made      even worse by the fact that Kalonzo's ODM-K took sides at the most crucial      point in endorsing a great injustice during the time ODM was making      gallant and spirited efforts in stopping a kidnapped ECK Chairman reading      illegitimate presidential results.
Raila      Odinga and the Pentagon: You never saw this coming!
The      clergy and Cardinal Njue: For not asserting their position in society.
Michuki:      Given a .45 with two rounds, and Moi, Biwot and Michuki were on line, guess      who of the three would be spared?
EU, USA      and Britain:      For sitting in the fence. Can they be more forceful than that?
Kenya      Police: God, those killed by you, and tribal haters are सो मानी।
For the Kenyans who do not speak and act now, remember the words of Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

“When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out”.

The time to speak and act to save our hard-earned democracy is NOW!

ठोस इन्नोसेंट पीपुल व्हो हवे दिएद बेकाउसे ऑफ़ थे सेलफिश्नेस ऑफ़ थे पॉलिटिकल एलिते "रेस्ट इन PEACE"



Kibaki must step down
2007-12-31T23:24:00.000-08:00
I have just visited GoPetition and found the following page very interesting. Sign the petition and help save Kenya's young democracy. Also forward the petition to your friends
 
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/kibaki-must-step-down.html

The international community is very much aware that Mwai Kibaki and his Party of National Unity (PNU) rigged the December 2007 Kenyan presidential election. In recognition of this fact, the European Union, Britain, and the United States have refused to recognize the Kibaki government as legitimate.

As members of the international community, we do not intend to allow this blatant act of disregard for the rule of law and for the will of the people of Kenya to go unchallenged. The list of evidence of election irregularities compiled in this petition contains widely known facts and has been corroborated by various news sources.

Taken as a whole, this evidence is more than enough to declare the presidency of Mwai Kibaki illegitimate and to install the legitimate winner, Raila Odinga, into that office.

In light of the aforementioned evidence, we, the undersigned, condemn Mwai Kibaki's theft of the Kenyan presidency. We recognize Mwai Kibaki's actions as a declaration of war on the opposition and hold him responsible for the ethnic bloodshed that has proceeded from this heist of the presidency.

We do not condone violence and urge all parties to avoid violence. Instead we urge for peaceful protests and negotiations and non-violent protests.

Nonetheless, we demand that Mwai Kibaki abdicate the office of the President of Kenya and that the legitimate winner, Raila Odinga, be instated into that office immediately. In the interest of peace, we respectfully request your assistance in ensuring that this affront to democracy is repudiated and nullified. 

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/kibaki-must-step-down.html

For the Kenyans who do not speak and act now, remember the words of Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

“When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out”.

The time to speak and act to save our hard-earned democracy is NOW!


The DASH
2007-11-27T21:37:00.000-08:00
I read of a man who stood to speakAt the funeral of a friendHe referred to the dates on her tombstoneFrom the beginning...to the end.He noted that first came her date of birthAnd spoke the following date with tears,But he said what mattered most of allWas the dash between those years (1981 - 2005)For that dash represents all the timeThat she spent alive on earth...And now only those who loved herKnow what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own; The cars...the house...the cash, What matters is how we live and love And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...Are there things you'd like to change?For you never know how much time is left, That can still be rearranged.If we could just slow down enoughTo consider what's true and real, And always try to understand The way other people feel. And be less quick to anger, And show appreciation moreAnd love the people in our livesLike we've never loved before.If we treat each other with respect, And more often wear a smile.. Remembering that this special dash Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being readWith your life's actions to rehash...Would you be proud of the things they say About how you spent your dash? If you have received this, it means that you aretruly special to the one that sent this to you. With no strings attached, is it possible for  you to send it also to a buddy?I am glad that you're in my life and part of my dash.


godaddy promo codes
2007-11-07T09:01:00.000-08:00
Here is a list of working and expired godaddy promo codes

.BIZ  $6.99/yr!*
Use Code GLE102407

  .net  .org .com .all gdm0906h $7.19

LOL55 = Register, renew or transfer TWO .NET domains for just $10*!
Code

gdm0716 $6.19* =.net
cjcdtaker2 $7.15* =.com
gdm0702 $5.20* =.net
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What is important in life?
2007-11-07T08:50:00.000-08:00
 Ever wondered how hard we work to fill our lives with luxuries that we
hardly have time to enjoy?.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY...

The luxury Cars, Land Cruisers, Rav 4's; Mercedes that are parked 8 hours
driven 30 min to the office and 30 minutes back home 5 days out of 7 (i.e.
5 out of 168 hours in a week).... And whilst we sit on a Not-so-comfortable chair in a small room called an office your 7 Bed-roomed mansion lies idle with only the maid enjoying herself to the 'bacon and egg breakfast' relaxing on that very expensive Leather sofa that we only seat on when we get home... and being so tired we just doze
off to sleep anyway.  When tired of work she takes a break, turns on the TV

and spoils herself with the fully subscribed DSTV, of course if she feels
bored she can always turn on that brand name Hifi and swing a bit.....

And whilst all that is happening where are you?... you are eating a cheap
take away lunch everyday, and oh by the way there is no breakfast really,
because its just a cup of tea a few slices of bread probably with  some
left-overs from yesterday's supper (for the fortunate few). Every moment
you really wish it could just get to 4pm so that you can drive home and
join.the Maid!! (Poor you!)

So this is your miserable lot for the rest of your working life... by the
time you retire you'll have no pleasure in them anymore. By now your
children would have joined in the Rat Race of finding a good job working
very hard and never enjoying the fruits of their labours... its all vanity
isn't it?

SO THE QUESTION IS... WHO IS ENJOYING BETTER THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOR...YOU OR YOUR HOUSE HELP?
 “Riches are not from an abundance of worldly goods, but from a contented mind." - Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W)



Smart way to climb to the top of the career ladder
2007-11-07T08:48:00.000-08:00
Written by Eric Kimani       October 23, 2007: Myles Munroe describes potential as "unexposed ability… Reserved power… untapped strength… capped capabilities… unused success… dormant gifts… hidden talents… latent power… what you can do that you haven't done… where you can go that you haven't gone… who you can be that you haven't yet been… what you can imagine you haven't yet imagined… how far you can reach that you haven't yet reached… what you can see that you haven't yet seen… what you can accomplish that you haven't yet accomplished." 

And he goes on to tell us that we are all capable of much more than we are presently thinking, imagining, doing or being.

In this regard, let me talk of self management capabilities. I have narrowed this down to what we need to do to stay visible and hence grow in our careers.

 By visibility in career I mean the ability to be noticed for growth and promotion. I strongly believe that it is a person's visibility or lack of it that will greatly determine one's career growth.

 So, what is it you must do to be visible?
Stay on the screen. Ensure that you are seen. That you are noticeable. In 2004, I had this junior woman walk into my office with a proposal on how to grow our market. She was truly junior in relation to my position as then, an MD.

It took great courage for her to walk through the hierarchy and bureaucracy, but she did and you know what? By the end of the year she was in Japan for a week promoting the company products. I had never seen her before the day she walked into my office.  

I have followed her career growth and she is still growing. You must ensure your visibility by staying on the radar screen.

Offer to help sort out problems for others 
One of the reasons I got promotions early in my career was because I often came up with suggestions of more efficient and effective ways of doing things to help others in what they did. I joined my first employer as a clerk.

The company had a huge backlog of  statutory returns to be completed. No one was willing to do the work as it was mundane and added little to any key responsibility. I offered to do the work in my spare time. I recall days I worked till midnight. Luckily I was a bachelor then and youthful.

I have no doubt in my mind that this was the beginning of a stream of promotions within the company that saw me not only qualify for my CPA, but also reach the second highest position in finance within the company.  

My ability to step out and help provide solutions kept me visible. I joined one of the companies as an internal auditor and by the end of my career with that company, I had been promoted to the highest level possible — the director of finance.

I remember my superiors then trusted me to initiate and oversee change in many areas. I owed my fast career growth to my ability to step in and offer solutions.

Remember, image is everything 
How you act. How you dress is all important. You must act like a boss. You must dress appropriately for the position. About three years ago I joined the board of Help Age International in London as one of a truly global board of trustees drawn from all over the world. Since the other members of the board do not know me, I can attribute much to the image I portray for them to have unanimously agreed this year to elect me as the next chairman of the board.

You must support your superior's success
 Never bad mouth your immediate superior particularly to his own superior. This is a career trick many career builders overlook. It calls for diplomacy, particularly if you have a bad boss.

But the bottom line is the "boss is always right"! One of my key winning strategies in my career building has been my diplomatic support for my immediate bosses.  And not all of them were nice, but I needed their support.

I recall in one company I worked and I had two accountants below me. One was supportive and hence learnt much from me, the other was not quite supportive and always felt sidelined, a fact that he often brought up to my superior.

After I left the company, the supportive junior was promoted to do my work, while the longer serving ever-complaining junior ended up leaving a few years down the line. Learn to make your superior look good in the eyes of his superior — you have everything to gain.

    Mr. Eric Kimani
Career visibility is all about leadership, delegation and interdependence
You must learn how to "use" other people as your stepping stone — in essence good leadership. People who insist on doing it themselves will never get promoted because there will be no one to do what they do as well as they do it! Many people try to make themselves indispensable without knowing that the indispensability leads to their career stunting.

Although I made it to the very top of my career in finance, I can confess I have had under me far better financial managers than me. I have used (and continue to use) the principles of good delegation and inter-dependence to lead teams. Blow your own horn.

It is critical that your good work and abilities get noticed. I was recently amazed at the abilities and qualifications of one woman in my office. Had I seen her earlier, I would have given her greater responsibility and a faster career path. She is too modest.

In one of my previous jobs my greatest career break came with my blowing my own horn in a big way. I once wrote a proposal to our overseas head office suggesting a major cost-reduction scheme that would mean relieving my boss and giving me his job among other changes. This proposal was accepted without amendment!

Do not perennially seek authority from your boss to do things that are within your power 
Superiors love action oriented people. People who suck up to the boss may temporarily succeed, but on the whole will fail. It may feel like you are doing a good turn, but believe me it is boring and reduces the confidence of your superior. I once had an immediate direct support who would consult me to spend Sh5,000.

He almost brought the company to a standstill with his insistence that as managing director I must approve almost everything. In contrast, I had a departmental manager who walked into my office often having made a decision to spend Sh1 million without consulting me! This manager has huge potential to grow his career and I will not be surprised if one day he makes CEO.

Learn new things. Read widely. Have much general knowledge. The world in my view is led more by the generalists than the specialist. It amazes me how much general knowledge successful people have.

Embrace change. For this generation for example few of you here tonight will make it to the next level if you cannot adopt  electronic technology. I tell people that if it were not for my mastery (basic as it is) of modern technology, I could not achieve half of what I do today!

The future belongs to those who embrace change 
Many of us are uncomfortable with change. Many of us do not want to pay the price. Three months ago, I attended a two hour class everyday for weeks to improve my skills on Microsoft products. I insisted that 60 of our top managers attend the classes with me. The effects are phenomenal and will be felt even more in  future.

Be bold and courageous
Many times we think small of ourselves. We let fear rule our lives, refusing to acknowledge that we are, as human beings powerful beyond measure. Our potential is beyond measure if unlocked.

I recall  a recruitment firm advertising for job in a largest and influential company. I took a bold step to apply at a time when it was rumoured that only those who had influence would get the job. I had no influential contacts.

I was shortlisted as an under-dog. 
To everybody's amazement I was appointed to the position!  Courage and boldness will take you where others do not dare. In one of my previous jobs I was bold enough to suggest a  thinly veiled scheme to the then MD that I wanted his job. He made it clear to me that the possibility was not there.

This forced me to look elsewhere for the growth I was seeking, with great success. There is no substitute for courage and boldness in career growth.

Hard work pays
Hard work is necessary. You must, however, strive to work smarter not necessarily harder. Never let others, particularly your boss, know how hard you work to get the results. This may, among other things, put doubt in his/her mind about your ability to cope at a higher level. Learn and understand the politics of your work environment,  but make sure you do not get caught in it.

Make friends with junior staff 
It is amazing how much your juniors know that can help you with your visibility! Personal secretaries of your bosses are key allies to your success. For every company I have worked I can call on most of the juniors and staff and they will step out to help.

In one company I worked for, the telephone operator/receptionist almost managed my personal house utilities even long after I left the company. However, never discuss your boss or the work environment with them. Just be friendly with and value them — the results will amaze you.

Leadership belongs to those who do the extra mile
Ordinary people do not spend much time on the extra mile. But whoever said you were ordinary? Finally, promise yourself that in the next few months you will practice some of these things. I promise you that you will not regret it. You will be amazed at what it will bring your way.

Kimani is the CEO, Sameer Africa.


Target Setting for Success- Lessons on Personal Branding
2007-11-07T08:39:00.000-08:00
A talk by Eric Kimani to the British Council Leadership Forum in Nairobi, Kenya on 19th September 2007

Distinguished guests ladies & gentlemen,

I am delighted to have been invited to come and share some thoughts with you.
Tonight I have chosen to address one of the topics you asked me to speak on-target setting or planning for success. This is a wide topic and I have chosen to provoke our thoughts on Personal Branding.

To answer the question why brand yourself I will narrate in short a chapter by Tom Peters the management guru in one of his books – “The Circle of innovation”.

He tells the story how in 1980 Percy Bernevik left his job in the US to take up the leadership of the giant Swedish engineering firm ASEA.
There he inherited a 2,000 –person headquarters. He pruned it quickly to 200 people!
In 1987 ASEA merged with Switzerland’s Brown Boveri to create the world’s largest Electrical engineering firm Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) inheriting Brown Boveri’s 4,000 strong headquarters. Six months later the headquarters was down to 200! As of 1998 the headcount had gone down to 140 down from 6,000. The message is that if it has not happened to you it soon will- 59 out of 60 of you and me here tonight are at risk and hence the need to brand ourselves!


How do we brand ourselves?

1. Keep time! As a general rule we have little respect for time. You give someone an appointment and they come half hour or an hour late. You call a meeting and half the people turn up late. Until you have a reputation for respect for time you will not project yourself as a powerful brand. I have chaired a professional committee for over 8 years and we meet from 7.30 to 8.30 a.m. and occasionally to 9 am. We have never started the meeting late or ended it late! I chair many others and I will be on time 99% of time. I have a reputation for keeping time. It is part of my branding effort. I have little respect for people who do not keep time. Ordinarily they are unreliable and weak brands. This is an area of life that is easy to improve. In some cultures like Germany, it is commonly taken as a personal affront to be late and they will cancel important business or social appointments on this score alone.
To build a powerful brand of yourself you must be passionate at what you do. I once worked for a large tea company and my calling/visiting card besides my name had the inscription “Passionate about Tea”. And those who knew me will tell you I was passionate about it! I have heard someone comment that if I worked at Sameer with the same passion heaven would be the limit for “Yana”. I am intending to print new business cards screaming “Yana where the rubber meets the Road”!  Like Martin Luther said once- if you are a sweeper sweep to the glory of God. I say if you are a teacher here tonight teach with passion; whatever your vocation give it your best. If you cannot account for the day don’t bother to wake up and burn energy and fuel through the Nairobi traffic. If you do not show up on time to passionately deliver a measurable product you will not be a powerful brand. I get to work often earlier than 6.30 a.m. to keep my brand equity higher than the competition! My friend Bill Lay the CEO of General Motors sometimes comes for coffee to my office before 7 a.m.! Martin Oduor Otieno the CEO of KCB Group gives me a 7 a.m. appointment! This is the branding I am talking about! These men are passionate about the work they do!
You must learn how to deliver extra-ordinary service. You must be reliable to your customers- and this applies whether you are talking of a finance department staff, HR or any enterprise. For 10 year we have run a small family business with my wife in a service industry dominated by big competitor firms. Our customer base is largely what I would call the 5-star institutional market. Our customer retention in that decade has been close to 95% - the greatest reason for this is that we are reliable in service delivery!  Most great managers and leaders are head hunted for their extra ordinary service delivery which portrays them as powerful brands.
Understand globalization. I will never forget a picture that appeared in the Economist somewhere in the late 90’s showing a Maasai herdsman looking after his cattle with his legs traditionally crossed and talking on a mobile phone- it looked so distant then; it became a reality so soon thereafter. The world is not a global village anymore but a virtual one! Jobs are no longer limited to within borders. The boundaries are no longer in existence except in our politicized minds! Our competition for the jobs and market share is not local – it is global. Entrepreneurial competition is also now global. I am incoming chairman of Help Age International the leading global Non-Governmental Organization on ageing with headquarters in London. I fly out on a Wednesday night to attend board meetings and other functions on Thursday and Friday and I am back in Nairobi on Saturday night! I tell people to stop complaining about Chinese and get their acts together- China is here to stay! We must be prepared to compete with China and anyone else on a global level. Today Indians are sub-contracting Kenyans on technology for back office operations; the government of Kenya has announced that each constituency will have a technology village. In the Sameer Export Processing Zones we have American Corporations run by Kenyans on Kenyan soil but the call centre customer has no clue and does not care who handles the call! The world has truly flattened. To appropriately brand yourself, you must understand globalization and the flattening of the world. I heard a serious joke the other day that not long ago mothers threatened their kids in America to think of the starving Indians and eat their food; I hear that today they are implored to read or an Indian will take their jobs! To project yourself as a powerful brand in the world we must understand globalization.
Jobs have been re-engineered and continue to be re-engineered by technology. I joined Sameer Africa 2 years ago. Six of us had 6 secretaries. Today we share 2! It takes weeks or months before anyone types a letter for me in the office! Today you can buy your air-ticket from the comfort of your office or home; print your boarding pass and show up at immigration. Travel agency has been totally re-engineered by technology- what next? You must think and brand yourself appropriately!
To create a brand of yourself you must stop thinking employment/employee and begin to see yourself as an independent contractor irrespective of whether you are a cleaner, a CEO, a teacher or a middle executive. No independent contractor will refuse to show up for work or do a shoddy job because the repercussions will be major in lost income and bad future references. A couple of years ago a Jewish friend who thought I was a good brand stopped me at a roundabout to offer to ask whether I would take a job contract with a certain company! I did and it was one of my most lucrative jobs.  Not long ago I negotiated a very good job contract in a Java Coffeehouse! I tell people that I am not employed by Sameer Africa- I work with Sameer Africa and my intentions are to passionately deliver an extra-ordinary performance that will raise my brand equity higher! Begin to be known as the best Accountant around; the best lawyer; the best sales person; the best at whatever you do- it is at the heart of the brand you wish to become. You are Chairman/CEO/of life; forget that you work for someone. It is liberating like you cannot imagine. In the same way Coccola, Yana, Keringet are powerful brands, you need to make Kamau, Otieno or Kioko a powerful brand! You must understand that it does not work any longer to tell a prospective employer that I was Finance Director, or General Manager of XYZ- You must say what it is you achieved- A measurable achievement! I know this one man that was CEO of a company that then fired him many years ago and for the last 20 years all he has told anybody who cares to listen is that he used to be the CEO of XYZ….! He made a poor brand of himself and no one ever employed him again.
To brand yourself, you must pass what one management writer called the Painter test. Imagine that your painter did not turn up for work would you pay him on a daily rate? Why is it then that a manager who habitually misses work and deadlines only gets away with a down grading on his/her annual appraisal while a painter would go without pay? Would you recommend a painter who misses to show up or does a shoddy job? In the same measure a Brand You requires that you pass this test. This test is increasingly becoming the measure in an era of performance management.
Branding yourself for success demands that you exercise power that is far beyond what is vested in your employment, contract or work environment. I tell those wishing to grow their careers that authority is never given; authority must be grabbed. Most well branded managers know that you take action and then seek affirmation- Powerlessness is indeed a state of mind. I have done things in the past that even my immediate boss could not have the “power” or “authority” to do. I once successfully recommended to my boss’s boss to relieve him of his job and give it to me. I got it without undermining anyone!
Powerful branding demands a high level of moral authority. This is the highest form of authority anyone can have- far higher and transcendent than any form of formal authority. Moral authority will give you access to people and places you have never imagined. It increases your brand visibility. This is the kind of authority Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King etc had. Moral authority gives you access to a very large circle of influence. I am sure Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai will be remember far into the future for the moral authority she built than for the fact that she was in parliament! Recently I conceived an idea to strengthen the activities of Palmhouse Foundation- an educational trust I co-founded with my wife and whose mission is to finance the secondary education of bright and deserving children. I invited 13 extremely highly regarded and placed Kenyans to become the Advisory and Oversight Board. Some are men and women I would otherwise hesitate to ask for any kind of favor because of their high status in society. Not one of them turned down the request! And why? What authority did I have? I have moral authority. Moral authority belongs to those who offer themselves for the well being of others. The reward you get is a powerful circle of influence and a very high brand visibility! Many of you know me for higher positions I have held in society but I can guarantee you that none of those positions would beat the Palmhouse Foundation and its moral signature on my life.
Personal branding demands higher credibility. Credibility comes from trust. I recommend a book by the chairman of one of the leading companies in the USA titled “winners never cheat”. Those looking to establish a truly transcendent brand must be trusted. I have on many occasions told the story of a man who years ago offered me a seven digit “thank you” for something he perceived I did for him. I was aware that I had done nothing out of my work/job and he had won the contract transparently and performed it judiciously. I turned down his thank you offer. To this day he remains perhaps one of my greatest brand testimony to many in his very wide and global circle of influence! Credibility and trust are central to protecting your brand equity! Nothing will kill your self-confidence and self worth as taking a bribe and no matter how rich you become through this avenue, you will remain a weak brand in the market. I know many seemingly successful and rich people who would pay anything to increase their brand presence but their credibility kills it!
To increase brand visibility it would help to build yourself a website. I have had one since 2003! Some of the most incredible lessons I learn today are from some of you who visit and post messages on my website. It is need not be the most state of the art. Very soon a website will become as much a necessity as an email address and if you do not have one you are “mteja” – you cannot be reached. Four months ago I received an email from Australia from a man I do not know. He was looking for the founder/chairman of Group Four Security a gentleman by the name Ed Van Tongeren. He told me in an email that he had been looking for him for a long time because he once saved his life many years ago but they lost contact. When he went to the World Wide Web and searched, the only Ed Van Tongeren was mention in a speech I posted on my website. I was able to connect the two gentlemen. I trust you understand the power of the website.
Finally learn and upgrade your skills to improve the brand you! Read voraciously. I am an accountant, lawyer and motivational public speaker! To retain my command on these and many areas I have to read widely. Only this way can you learn to anticipate the future! People ask me where we get the time. I respond by saying to them redeem time! Many people spend unnecessary time on TV, and reading newspaper from end to end. Like my chairman likes to put it by the time you finish reading the news paper your morale is so reduced by the bad news that are the hallmark of our newspapers that your output is greatly reduced. I read all my three papers in about 10 minutes and if I missed to read them I would not notice. I can go without TV for days. I choose to do things like reading that enhances my brand.

Having spoken about how to set targets and brand ourselves for success, I will conclude by trying to answer the question often posed;

How much success does a man need?

I will attempt to answer this question with a short story told by the famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy in his book- “How much land does a man need”. In this book he narrates the story of a man who was asked to walk all the land he needed as long as he had to be at the starting point before darkness. The deal then was that he would get all the land as far as he walked and back. He started at day break and walked and walked and walked. Every time he thought it was time to start heading back he would think of a little more land to walk ahead.
The sun started threatening to go down and he started walking back. The sun was now threatening to set faster. He began to run. He ran, and ran and ran. He tried harder and faster. Finally as the darkness was about to fall he crossed the finishing line with final leap and fell on the ground with blood oozing out of his mouth he died! His servant who had accompanied him dug a shallow grave long and deep enough to bury his master’s dead body. Leo Tolstoy answered his question- how much land does a man need? - Only enough to cover him from the head to the toe.

How much success do you need?

Thank you and God bless you.

©Eric Kimani 2007.


Implement User/Password-protected Apache Directories in Windows
2007-10-25T00:06:00.000-07:00
Note: The following apache modules have been renamed by Apache.
Authn/Authz 
Some Modules have been renamed and offer better support for digest authentication. For example, mod_auth is now split into mod_auth_basic and mod_authn_file; mod_auth_dbm is now called mod_authn_dbm; mod_access has been renamed mod_authz_host. There is also a new mod_authn_alias module for simplifying certain authentication configurations

Important Notes:
I use xampp for all my webhosting needs, and store it in C:\xampp\ 
Get xampp from www.apachefriends.org
Make sure that directory C:\xampp\Apache\bin is specified under the System Path variable. We will use a program named htpasswd.exe, that is contained under the mentioned directory, to create a password file for the specified users. 
Create the protected Directory
This section will show you how to create directory "lordmwesh" outside the Web-Server's webroot directory "C:\xampp\htdocs\" using the command prompt.

Open the Windows command-shell via Start » Run... cmd.exe 

Change to the drive letter of your Web-Server Suite's root directory (this is the drive you installed the Web-Server Suite under; for this example we will use drive "C:")...

...> C:

Change to the path of your Web-Server Suite's root directory (for this example we will use path "\xampp")...

C:\...> cd \xampp

Create the directory you want to restrict access to with a user/password prompt (we will create directory named "lordmwesh")...

C:\xampp> mkdir lordmwesh

Change to your newly created directory...

C:\xampp> cd lordmwesh

Create user/password file
Continuing from the previous section, we are now ready to use htpasswd.exe to create a file named ".htpasswd": this file will contain user names with their respective passwords (the passwords will be encrypted before placed under the file).

This 1st line (with switch "-c" -- that will not be repeated in the following lines) will create a file named .htpasswd under the current directory (C:\xampp\lordmwesh). The password given will be encrypted by the htpasswd.exe program (due to the "-m" switch -- MD5 encryption).

User named "user1" with password "passuser1" is specified 1st...

C:\xampp\lordmwesh> htpasswd -cmb .htpasswd user1 passuser1

Add user named "user2" with password "passuser2" to the .htpasswd file...

C:\xampp\lordmwesh> htpasswd -mb .htpasswd user2 passuser2

Add user named "raila" with password "kibaki" to the .htpasswd file...

C:\xampp\lordmwesh> htpasswd -mb .htpasswd raila kibaki

Configuration -- httpd.conf
We can now edit Apache's httpd.conf file to bring everything together.

Edit file C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf

----------------------
Make sure that the following two 'LoadModule' lines are uncommented, by removing the beginning "#" character...
(These 'LoadModule' lines should already be uncommented, by default). This is for 
Note that those using Apache1, and Apache2 should check for the correct Module file requred. Apache1 use mod_access.so. Apache2 use mod_authz_host.so

LoadModule access_module modules/mod_access.so #Line 1 for those using Apache1
LoadModule authz_host_module modules/mod_authz_host.so #ine 1 for those using Apache2
LoadModule alias_module modules/mod_alias.so 
Uncomment the following two 'LoadModule' lines, by removing the beginning "#" character...
(The 1st line is required for directive 'AuthUserFile')
(The 2nd line is required for directive 'Options Indexes': to display the index of a directory)

LoadModule auth_module modules/mod_auth.so
LoadModule autoindex_module modules/mod_autoindex.so 
----------------------

Insert code...


   Order allow,deny
   Deny from all


Alias /lordmwesh "/xampp/lordmwesh"


   Order allow,deny
   Allow from all

   Options Indexes
   AuthType Basic
   AuthName "Private Access"
   AuthUserFile "/xampp/lordmwesh/.htpasswd"
   Require valid-user

Save file and Restart Apache...
(from the command prompt type the following)

> net stop Apache
> net start Apache 
Test protected Directory
Access http://localhost/lordmwesh/

Enter one of the user/password combinations...
You should now see either the directory structure, or (if you have an index.html\php file under the accessed directory) your index file.

To [truly] logout as the user, you must close the browser window.

Advanced Configurations and Features
You can also grant/restrict access to the user/password protected directory with IP addresses...

Replace the original "" block with this updated version...
(or simply replace the first two lines of the original block)


   Order deny,allow
   Deny from All

   Options Indexes
   AuthType Basic
   AuthName "Private Access"
   AuthUserFile "/xampp/lordmwesh/.htpasswd"
   Require valid-user

Below the line...

Require valid-user..add the following code...

Allow from 127.0.0.1
Satisfy Any
...if you access the protected area from your local system (IP address -- 127.0.0.1), there will be no need to enter a user/password combination.
(Note that you can add multiple "Allow from ip-address" statements to grant access)

...by using the following code instead...

Allow from 127.0.0.1
Satisfy All
...you will have to access the protected area from your local system (IP address -- 127.0.0.1) AND will need to enter a valid user/password combination.

------------------
further reading
More links
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/programs/htpasswd.html
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/new_features_2_2.html#module 
http://www.devside.net/articles/windows/password


BIBLE OF INSIGHT
2007-10-15T03:17:00.000-07:00
Here is a collection of useful insights of small things that make life worthwhile. Help the list grow by poping up more insights in the comments area. They will be added to the main list to create a BIBLE OF INSIGHT

1. Compliment three people every day
2. Have a dog
3. Watch a sunrise at least once a year
4. Remember other people’s birthdays
5. Give a tip whenever possible.
6. Have a firm handshake
7. Look people in the eye
8. Say ‘thank‘ you a lot
9. Learn how to play a musical instrument
10. Say please a lot
11. Sing in the shower
12. Use the good silver
13. Learn to make great chilli
14. Plant flowers and trees
15. Own a great stereo system
16. Be the first to say “Hello”
17. Live beneath your means
18. Drive inexpensive cars, but own the best house you can afford
19. Buy great books even if you never read them
20. Be forgiving of yourself and others
21. Learn three clean jokes
22. Wear polished shoes
23. Floss your teeth
24. Drinking champagne for no reason at all
25. Ask for a raise when you feel you’ve earned it
26. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard
27. Return all things you borrow
28. Teach some kind of class
29. Be a student in some kind of class
30. Never buy a house without a fireplace
31. Once in your life own a convertible, or create one.
32. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated



Cool stuff to do on a computer
2007-10-15T03:10:00.000-07:00
Here is a list of very cool stuff that is enjoyable to do on a computer. ou can help expand it by leaving your comments.

1. Create a new notepad file and do not rename it. Let the name remain 'New Text Document.txt' Open the file and write "Kibaki hid the facts" without the quotation marks. Then save the file. Who permitted Micr0$oft to get involved in politics?
2. Did you know you can erase CD-R disks and re-write data to them?


The Kenyan Dance
2007-09-13T03:35:00.000-07:00
I met a Kenyan in hell,
Who recited to me,
His experiences,
Before departure --

"We have had problems,
of bad leadership,
since time in memorial.
All our leaders,
betray us.
Kenyatta was a sell-out.
He pretended,
to be a freedom fighter,
went to the UK,
married a white woman,
worked for dog years,
then came back as a hero...
After 9 years in Jail,
we saw him fit to rule.
He dined with the oppressors;
disarmed,
then thanked the mau-mau,
With nothing,
and set a culture
of people worshiping him.
Every public place bared
either his name,
the name of his son,
the name of his wife,
or the name his cronies.
Central province became
the richest place to be.
It still is.
Coffee became the most prized,
black gold.
Kenyatta acquired land
larger than Rwanda.
And gave his cronies,
some more.
Half the cabinet was his tribesmen.
Anybody who opened,
His mouth,
Danced,
Ask JM
Ask Mboya,
Ask Pio,
Ask … more …
Kenyatta happened to die.
He was the light of Kenya
[kenya-taa].
His son is an MP.
The leader of opposition.
..and,
The president in waiting,

Moi came.
He promised,
to follow the footsteps.
And he did.
and set a culture
of people worshiping him.
Every public place,
every school,
every hospital,
every road,
every cemetery,
every ward,
every bridge,
bared his name.
He created an airport,
In the desert,
Tea became,
the most prized,
black gold.
Coffee died,
Still dead,
Moi acquired land
larger than Rwanda.
And gave his cronies,
some more.
Half the cabinet was his tribesmen.
More naming and renaming.
More land.
Anybody who opened,
His mouth,
Danced,
More killings.
Ask Ouko,
Ask Ochuka,
Ask Muge,
Ask .. Clashes.. Clashes..
And more.
And … many more ..
And ..Wagala,….
Prices inflated.
Deflation never,
happens in Kenya.
He auctioned,
The country,
To the highest bidder,
Half the Cabinet,
was his tribesmen.
Moi went.
His son is an MP.
He is an expert polo player.
He imported,
more cars,
than general motors,
duty free.
He is the happiest man,
on earth.

Kibaki came.
Still has,
larger land,
than Burundi.
A professional golfer.
He served,
Both Moi,
And Kenyatta,
Governments.
All his Ministers were,
professional golfers too.
Prices inflated.
Deflation never,
happens in Kenya.
He auctioned,
The country,
To the highest bidder,
Look at,
Anglo-leasing,
Security contracts,
Artur,
And …. More ….
Half the cabinet,
is his tribesmen.
He created,
half a million jobs,
in river road.
And killed the traders,
in riots with the police.
And put patrols,
in river-road.
Asians can afford to trade
without fear.
Kenyans can afford,
to run,
without stopping.
Because when they stops,
a bullet .............
The vicious cycle,
continues .............
More killings,
Then, some more
Ask Mbai ..,
Ask Kisumu residents,
Inspired by Tuju,
Ask … more …
Kenyans,
will never learn,
Kenyatta ii,
Is waiting,
Moi ii,
Is waiting,
Mudavadi ii,
Is waiting,
Ngala ii,
Is waiting,
Mirugi ii,
Is waiting,
Nyaga ii,
Is waiting,
Odinga ii,
Is waiting,
A culture,
Of the,
Ruling class,
Waiting to,
Follow the,
Footsteps.
We are not,
In the third stage,
Nor the second,
Part one is nearing,
The end,
Then part ii,
……………
……………
Who will make,
The ruling class,
DANCE?
Who will stop,
The MUSIC?
I dropped down,
in exhaustion,
And passed,
the baton........"

-- poem by lordmwesh


Why Every Kenyan Voice Should Be Heard, and vote
2007-09-13T01:58:00.000-07:00
When you as a Kenyan step into the voting booth in December 2007 to vote for your preferred Counsellor, MP, or Presidential candidate, you have a unique opportunity to personally help shape our national policy and the direction of this country. Please try to never make the mistake of voting a straight party ticket regardless of who is running under party banners. There are virtuous candidates running in small parties and deserve a chance to transform the economy, and leadership norms.

The powers of major parties are turning up the pressure for you not to think for yourself and blindly follow their urging and vote straight ODM, ODM-K or NARK-Kenya. Don't fall for it!

There are candidates of large parties who do not deserve to be elected. They are tainted, corrupt, and extremely selfish. We know of popular politicians who have wrecked Kenya, are still controlling the economy, and always go back to parliament after five years. This problem is perpetuated by the Voter. Know whom you vote for, regardless of which party they belong to. The old adages ''Bad leaders are elected by good people who don't vote’’ and "it only takes good people to do nothing for evil to triumph" are timeless and holds true today. 

So make sure you vote, and vote wisely


Greate quotes
2007-09-12T10:19:00.000-07:00
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

"A man's way of doing things is the direct result of the way he thinks about things"
"To think what you want to think is to think truth regardless of appearances" - The science of getting rich

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" - Martin Luther King Jr. 

"Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back" - Gladiator

Every morning a Lion n Gazelle wakes up. The Lion knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or starve to dealth, a gazelle knows it must outrun the lion or it will be killed...when the morning comes doesnt matter whether you r a Lion o gazelle you better be running ...

Bad leaders are elected by good people who don't vote

"The report of my death is an exaggeration" - Mark Twain

-"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely" Lord Acton

“... I am inherently gloomy about the prospects of Africa ... all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really ... While there is a natural desire to believe all people are equal, people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.” -- Dr James Watson