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Because my other partners in crime are still debating the moral repercussions of putting their photos on the internet, and I have resolved that since I am going to be more famous than Bill Gates, and will therefore not stay anonymous anymore, here are a few pictures from the island do i talked about on sunday.

So until they make up their collective minds, I shall show the ones I can.

Presenting, in no particular order, a visual re-enactment of the day that was.

I’m sure this will haunt me in a few years to come, but c’est la vie, non?

Okay, on to the pictures…

For now, that’s it.

Mamapete, Cheri, Darlyne, Val, TRP, Cheri, sorry people, but this is the life. We’ll holla for future plot. But we’re thinking of going bungee jumping on the 26th Jan (long weekend round about there).

Who’s with us?

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Offtopic

Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.
- Ansel Adams

Imagine a world without photography, one could only imagine.
- Berenice Abbott

Well, technically we’ve been working from home, more like monitoring servers, but this is the day we officially started work.

Node Six is in its third year, and we’re gearing up for some fairly massive changes to the way we do things around here. Let’s just say it’s going to be one heck of a ride.

Also, our focus for this year is going to be online applications, and flash based rich internet applications. To start that off, we’ll be releasing BlogSpirit version 2 for beta testing around mid this month. It’s looking pretty different from the current Node Six BlogSpirit.

As usual, the core engine is an open source tool that we’re modifying and customising to be more functional, feature rich and intuitive.

As for the rest of the applications, we plan to roll out six major web applications, one of which will change the way Ugandans use a certain aspect of the internet.

We can only hold our breath.

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Offtopic:

They say a year in the Internet business is like a dog year.. equivalent to seven years in a regular person’s life.
- Vinton Cerf

A few friends and I went over to some place we call our island, somewhere along the shores of Lake Victoria, a few kilometers off Ggaba beach. We had a great time, did a mini picnic, as only us guys can, since it involved opening a wine bottle with a key!

We then called up our boat dude to pick us up, and on a whim, decided to explore the next island we could see. We ended up in some small jungle like place, trekked for a while, fending off some vicious mosquitoes, saw only one snake, plus very briefly explored a place that looked suspiciously like massive snake territory.

We then got back to the rocky “shore” and just let our feet dangle in the water while skipping stones across the lake.

There’s nothing soothing like watching water waves break, birds skimming over the lake surface, fishermen in their slow canoes paddling away and a serene sunset over the tranquil water.

Pure bliss.

My camera craving is getting a little too serious. We took tonnes of photos though. Will post those later.

After that, I headed for a cousin’s birthday party and had a great time with family till late.

Perfect start to the new year.

How was your weekend?

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Offtopic:

At times our lives seem like that of a tranquil island in a sea of chaos. The battle is to keep this sea of chaos at bay and not let it wash us away into utter chaos.”
- Sanjeeva Ananthan

If you squint hard enough, you can see me here and here. The guy I’m standing next to is Thad, a peace-corps volunteer in Tanzania, who traveled all the way from Tanzania to attend the Developer Garage. We were both interviewed after the Garage by Jon Gosier for the Appfrica podcast.

Full Flickr album here.

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Audio: Usiende by Juliana & Bushoke. Love the slow African beats and the Swahili vibe.

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Offtopic:

“The value of a social network is defined not only by who’s on it, but by who’s excluded”
- Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster, quoted in an article in The Economist

At least I’ve managed to get tonnes of much needed rest. Whether it’s been helpful or not remains to be seen, but I’m definitely looking forward to a new year for all my business interests, especially Node Six.

There are many things that happened last year that forced me to take a hard critical look at where I am and where I think I should be. And the gap was unbelievably huge.

I’ve never really been one for resolutions. Never taken them seriously. But this year, I made a resolution. And it’s not just for the year, but for the rest of my life.

It’s a very simple one;

No More Bollocks.

But within that resolution are hundreds of tiny seemingly useless things that I need to change or work on, and which, for obvious and unobvious reasons I cannot mention on this blog. Perhaps until they are done.

So, like the wisdom of Kaizen suggests, I’ll start with the small things, and they’ll work their way up to the big ones. And when each is done, I’ll talk a little about it. Maybe.

Otherwise, how have y’all been?

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Audio: Ma’Cheri - Freshly Ground. Beautiful upbeat song. Perfect for the new year. Watch it on Youtube

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Offtopic:

“In the words of General Cussler, I have returned.”
- Lionel Luthor

Looks like you made it too!

Awesome!!

Happy New Year!

2009 is filled with so much optimism no?

I personally think it’s going to be brilliant.

And even though it doesn’t turn out to be what I hope it to be,

I’m still gonna have one heck of a good time.

But I don’t think I’ll forget, it’s still just another day.

The same old clock ticks, the same old sun rises and sets.

So while I have all these dreams and ambitions for this glorious 2009,

Reality is still square in my sights.

And I’ve just taken my daily dose of sanity.

A healthy dose.

So.

Like wow.

We’re on the flip side already huh?

Tabula rasa.

I like the view.

I like the view.

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Offtopic:

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
- Seneca

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
- Anonymous

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
- Jim Rohn

Chanel and Antipop, thanks for organising this and making sure the meat was real tasty! Rock on!

In other news. Today was a happy day, finally fixed the TV I talked about earlier. I’d mis-wired something on the circuit board, so it’s all good now. Spent half the morning trying to get the aerial up, reception is still shady, will have to re-do the aerial tomorrow.

Slept like a buffoon. As in slept like a buffoon. Woke up, watched movies, slept again, went out, bought rolex and coke. Watched more movies, slept again.

I never knew being idle can be sooo… boring.

So yeah, we’ll see how tomorrow goes.

I watched an inspiring video about the awesomeness of God, and the quote below really struck me, so please allow me to share it. See the offtopic below.

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Offtopic:

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.

- St. Augustine

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And now, since most of you [may] be breaking off this Friday, and some of us will continue to monitor our servers to make sure your websites n applications don’t go off the interwebs, which technically means we’ll be working, not that we complain, this feels like the most appropriate time to wish you all a merry Christmas.

Here’s to all you, who have made this year a beautiful, awesome and inspiring year. And for all who’ve stood with me through the tough times, you know who you are, thank you.

And on behalf of Node Six, Two W.E.A.K Dudes and I,

Merry Christmas good blogren peoples

Have yourselves a blast!

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Offtopic, the true spirit behind Christmas:

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
- Matthew 1:23

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Offtopic:

You have no idea what I’m capable of.
- Lex Luthor

Empires are not brought down by outside forces, they are destroyed by weaknesses from within.
- Lionel Luthor

I don’t care about the past, I believe in the power to reinvent yourself.
- Lex Luthor

All I’m saying… is try and remember who I was raised by. I try to deny it but I’m still my father’s son. Tread carefully.
- Lex Luthor

I am the villain of this story.
- Lex Luthor

Some parts fun, some views beautiful, mostly downright freaky-scaring-the-bollocks-out-of-you.

Here’s what I learnt:

1. Life is a b*tch. And the bitchiness comes in XXXXL.

2. Love is such a beautiful thing. Because it frees the soul, and reveals the true you.

3. Heartbreak sucks like no man’s business. Especially when it comes in XXXXL.

4. Life is waaay too short. Enjoy it, you never know when it will end.

5. The smallest actions can have the biggest consequences. I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

6. There is a limit to what you can do. Know your weaknesses, your limits, and get help in those areas.

7. If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesnt matter where you end up. Right? Wrong. You need goals. There are some places you don’t want to end up. See 5.

8. There are more important things in life than your career. Like friends, family, life and health.

9. Your family needs you and you need them. Even when you think they don’t. Even when you think you don’t need them.

10. Abba’s love is infinite. This should be no 1, but seeing as it wraps all things, and I’ve felt it more towards the end of the year, it’s fitting here.

What did you learn in 2008?

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Offtopic:

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.  A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.
- Bill Vaughan