Tokesan -- Wandering Jonser

Egypt, November 2021 I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn't document my trip to Egypt in November 2021. What good would it serve if the videos sit on my mobile phone?  It was "the" trip, I don't make bucket list. Visiting the pyramids was just one of those trips I assumed I would do at some point -- I didn't make any specific plan to do it. But when an opportunity opened to join a tour group, I took it.  It may be the historical sites, the itinerary, the group of people I was with that made the entire trip memorable.  I would do the trip again -- soon -- but it may not be as enjoyable as this first one.   Watch it on YouTube

As a Business Analyst in software implementations, I had the privilege of working at a freight shipping company -- you can insert name of one of the top 3 operators and you'd be right because they all follow the same government regulations pertaining to moving of goods into and out of the country. As far as the government is concerned the freight operators can use whatever software system to process shipments but they must report shipment details to government agencies. In this example, the US Customs under the umbrella of the department of Homeland Security and Border Control. Shipping operators report all the information regarding the shipments to the US Custom and for certain shipments that meet certain criteria the freight operators do even more. The NSA collection of phone records and other electronic communication between parties -- code named PRISM data-collection program -- under the  Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) probably has similar data requirem...

This is a very funny commercial. I couldn't stop laughing as the interview progressed. That said. The new Google policy concerns me - mining all my data that they have at their disposal - I was an early adopter of Gmail. I Use Google Docs a lot even for storing other documents like PDFs that I want access to on the road, these includes receipts, resumes, travel docs you name it. I started doing this at the beginning of last year after realizing that I have too much docs on many harddrives. Microsoft now has comparable product that I have used sporadically for 3 years or so. Word Excel and PowerPoint are now online and they can be shard - I have tried it. MS SkyDrive offers 25 GB drive (for Cloud storage) and you don't have to get hotmail - you can use your Gmail email address to sign up. I will probably start using MS more now that I realize that Google might be deep-mining my info for ad dollars. Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

What has Bristol Palin done to deserve her own reality show? Nothing, absolutely nothing! It seems that the only thing the Palin women know how to do is to sell themselves and they are doing a damn good job of it, and bravo to us, America for buying their bullshit. As of 8:45 PM on Monday May 09, 2011, Google News showed there were 353 news stories regarding Bristol Palin getting her own reality show. I hope and really, really hope that those articles are as critical as this one. Else the writers would be rounded up with the idiotic group of TV studio executives that think her life and her dirty laundry is worth airing on television. And I would not stop at blasting the TV executives; I would extend my criticism to the corporate brand name marketers that would place their 30, 60 seconds commercials on that reality show. When and where have we lost our standards? Oh, by the way, a few weeks ago it was reported that she made over 250K on her teenage pregnancy work last year. For what? ...

I think this is a fantastic idea and China may just pull it off. If you ever been to China or followed some news other than the jives we hear in our media, you will no doubt be impressed by developments in China. Yes, they don't have "freedom" and US still refer to them as Commies. Every political setup has its negative side. That aside: - They are planning on sending humans to the moon - The Chinese pulled of the 2008 Olympic flawlessly - The constructed train to the edge of the Himalayas, elevation closes to 12,000 foot above sea level - They are building high-speed rail to connect remote parts of the country (We cannot even connect LA to San Francisco) - They build the largest dam in the world. Ok, I am inviting snide comments from the environmentalist on this one. Even when I saw PBS special on the villages, livestock and vegetation that would be submerged by the Three Gorges Dam, I squirmed. - This one is sad; China would have constructed structures that are 10 tim...

A few days ago, weeks really, I wrote on how hard it is to write and become known these days. This article from LA Times couldn't have elaborated my point much better. Still some of us who caught the writing bug cannot easily let go. One can only wonder what the "paper" publishing industry would look like in the next decade. A writing career becomes harder to scale - latimes.com Posted using ShareThis

It seems that to write a bestseller these days one has to be one of the staple writers already earned their stripes on the New York Times. LA Times or USA bestseller's list. Else one has to be a politician of some reputation or spouse of such a politician to make a dent in the publishing industry. The news that Amazon eBooks outsold paper books during Christmas 2009 isn't encouraging! Getting one's name in hardbound will keep getting tougher and tougher. People like us that values holding a good book to lull us to sleep, at end of tough days, with eyes glued to the typeset pages would, in soon enough time, look nostalgically at these days. That brings the question: are there any hopes for up and coming writers, aspirants and dreamers? I am though, especially partial to the latter group, of which I am one. If you have procrastinated penning your story (rather, typing your story), the story that will make you heard, time may be running out for you. Fact is that there are so m...

Ok, here is my own resolution. I resolve not to make any resolution at all. That is not entirely true though. Before the end of the year, while lying up in bed counting the ceiling tiles (really more effective than counting sheep) I must have come up with some 20 items that could go on my resolution. Then I fell asleep and didn’t remember when I woke up. My 13 year old asked me what my resolution was and I escaped and told him that it was to help him with his resolution. He totally bought it, he replied, “So, your resolution is to help me successful in school?” “Yep,” was my response. I can’t remember ever keeping a resolution, lucky that I am one of those peoples that never have to worry about weight – keeping certain weight or living healthy is peoples most common resolution. Most of what I will resolve to do this year is private, other than the obvious – keeping up with the bills! Resolutions are like goals, one has to keep running tab, write them down and actively commit to them. I...

Ummm, "Hip-hop is the culture of transformation" That's the first of this I am hearing. I guess it is because I am not hip. However, I agree with the article, the election may be over but the real work begins, and like Barack mentioned he will demand more of everyone of us, perhaps in little ways like the country demanded citizens participation during the world war. But I doubt the hip-hop community have the stomach for anything that altruistic. I really hope that the hip-hop community that is claiming to contribute to Obama's success will take cue from the future president - he is ever impeccable in his appearance, whether in suit or rolled up sleeves. Enough of this hip-hop fashion - saggy baggy pants, long white/black t-shirts flowing to the ankles! When I see the pictures and films from the 70s, other than skin, one can hardly tell whites and blacks apart in what the wore. And then came hip-hop and everything and people went out of their ways to look different, s...

It is quiet sad to learn of the death of Miriam Makeba, however sad, I am glad it happened while she was doing what she loved most - singing. She will surely be missed. Those of us that grew up in Africa in the 70s wil especially remember her as our first glance of her talent was at the FESTAC, Festival of African Arts and Cluture that was hosted in Lagos, Nigiera in 1977. Then only the elits and most of them resided in Lagos, were able to see her on televison, and of course that period in Nigeria Lagos had the best TV reception. Those of us that lived in the hinterland we re able to see her perform through the grainy B7W tubes. As a 15 year old or so back then, it was amazing to see her then, her fantastically beautiful back-up singers, agile dancers and her supremely soulful voice evoking the South Africa yearning for freedom in the throes of apartheid. I am glad Miriam Makeba had a wonderful, accomplished life and may she rest in peace. If anyone has the chance to see her on VHS, o...

Part of the process of donating for a candidate is to become a member of the candidate's website. So I became a member of the Obama's campaign and receive regular email updates, (numerous, I might add). On October 7th I was asked and I believe hundreds of thousands of people were asked to write to editors of local news saying why they support Barack. Here is what I wrote: I was an ardent Hilary Clinton supporter and the reason I supported her was because I knew that if she won we will be getting two presidents for one. To me the Clintons are very hard-working and focused and that is the kind of leadership we need. I reserved my support for Obama until he took the lead in the Democratic race back in April. I contributed to Clinton's campaign and didn't think about it much before switching my support to Barack Obama. In Barack, I believe we are going to have a truly, honest, hard working President. We need to throw our supports fully behind him through the election period...

Here is an idea for you but I know it will nver fly... Every year we have these destructive floods in the Midwest of the country. And evidence has shown that because of the effects of global warming, there will be more disasters of this nature in the coming years. Why not device a way to harvest the water run-off from the floods and transport them to other parts of the country that is prone to drought? If that is too complex, why not store the excess water in underground tanks or lakes for subsequent transportation to drought areas? The idea is not actually far fetched. We can transport oil though pipelines across the country and even from Alaska. Therefore transporting water across thousand of miles should not be that difficult. Since the construction of the Alaskan pipeline, there have been better technology and developments that will add to the feasibility of this project. The only stumbling block I see is the lack of will, precisely, lack of political will. The government seems not...

I have heard that certain email is going around by about Barack Obama’s background. This email is obviously being circulated by through the grass root, and the way grass root movements spread information, soon the content will take up a life of its own and derail the promising presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. A friend of my wife’s sent this email to her a couple of weeks ago, and I was disappointed but neglected to take it seriously and dismissed it with a wave of my hand that only ignorant people will believe the content of the email. It certainly did not start then; it has been going around since about middle of 2007 as Obama’s candidacy took more serious tone. But it dawned on me that it was these same ignorant people that elected President Bush to a second term in office! The email focused on Obama’s allegedly Muslim background and upbringing and how we cannot allow a Moslem to lead the great country. This email that I got was from someone that I know, and am certain it was ...

I finally got a device that could be used as a media plaher and believe it or not it is called the Popcorn Hour or Network Media Tank, Model A-100. It took about 2 and half months to get the device because the company, although not well know, has developed sort of a cult following that the Media Tank is often sold out as soon as the batches are manufactured and released. To get the product you will have to register on the company’s website and you will be informed, by email, when your allotment of the media tank is available. You will then you have two to three days to accept and make a purchase. After that, it takes additional two weeks or so to receive the product. I have used my Vista Ultimate PC as a HTPC (home theater PC) since I got in June 2007. To do this the PC would be moved from the office to the living room near the flat screen TV for the night. It was too much of a headache. At $179 plus shipping, the media tank quickly eliminated the need to do this. The device is no bigg...

Not often do deaths famous people affect me. The death John Kennedy Jr. was one of such and so is the recent death of Benazir Bhutto, who was also twice prime minister of Pakistan and role model for a lot of people around the world. As for JFK Jr., because he was just about two year older than me and he was a role model, in spite of the fact that we had nothing in common. Well, he was a magazine publisher, a role that I had aspire to be in my younger days. The parallel I draw from both deaths is that of a waste. JFK Jr, I wanted to see his magazine “George” become a powerful voice in the media landscape and Bhutto, I wanted to see her lead the Pakistanis out of the grips of Musharraf. Politics aside, but one cannot discard the notions that our President Bush’s blind support for the fake presidency of Musharraf (much like that of Bush’s presidency) a murderer, contributed in large extent to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Again, Bush’s politics in Pakistan is another discussion e...

I was just wondering about this, I don’t know why, but what will President Bush do after he leaves the Whitehouse? I mean a man in his capacity should be able to do some good in the world to reverse all the mistakes he made in the last 8 years, right. We know that President Jimmy Carter has been an advocate against poverty and he demonstrated this by building houses habitatforhumanity.org. President Clinton has been all over the place campaigning against AIDS and poverty all over the world. The much admired President Reagan died, plus he was too old to do much anyway. What about Herbert W. Bush? Well, he sort of helped upon being called by his son to oversee raising money for Katrina. One does not expect George W. Bush to do anything either, laughingly a colleague suggests that G.W. might be working for Halliburton after he left office in 20089. There is just not any ounce of altruistic and philanthropic mentality in the Buses.

Frankly I think it is a good idea that there should be clauses in marriage that actually expire the marital relationship in seven years. Yes, that’s what a German politician, Ms. Gabriele Pauli of the Christian Social Union, proposed. She should know, she has been married three times. Sadly she lost to an old fuddy - duddy , Erwin Huber. As intriguing her notions are I don’t see how to make it work amicably between married couples, especially when the issues of children are in the picture. However, it is worth noting since there are many marriages that fail within the first few years. Maybe the jet set will start the trend, but they already have higher divorce rate than ordinary people anyway. The Telegraph's articles on the subject is quoted below for your reading pleasure. German politician argues for 7-year marriagesBy Harry de Quetteville in Berlin Last Updated: 3:55am BST 21/09/2007 A latex-wearing, twice-divorced German politician has stunned her staunchly conservative party ...

I read somewhere that 6 high school students face charges in Jena Louisiana because one of them defies the unstated rule at the school. He sat under a tree on the school campus that's reserved only for his fellow white students. I can't do justice to the story here I am hoping that you will take the initiative to read about it in the full story I pasted below. The source of the story is website called The Color of Change . Better yet, since most of us are visual, I have also posted a youtube link to a video about the on-going this particular injustice done to Jena 6. Cheers... Message Source: http://www.colorofchange.org/jena/message.html Youtube .com Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuoiZnr4jLY Last fall in Jena, the day after two Black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more Black students sat under the tree in protest. The Distr...

That is just what it is - a job. I admitted it to my wife as soon as she asked how my first day was, "I hate it." I started a new job today and I immediately regretted my decision to join this big company in a transaction processing business as a contractor. I was not desperate for another job, I had a job that compared to this new one was somehow better. How did I come to the point of making this stupid mistake? About two and half months ago I moved from California to start a position at a start-up company in Lennox Square area of Buckhead, that's one of the millionaire's row of Atlanta. The product or service of the start-up is a "sexy" application that make for a worthwhile contribution and I warmed up easily to my peers in my immediate department and the small 60 person company. However, my department happened to be led by someone that is management challenged and needless to say I felt that my first few weeks with the start-up was wasted and I left work...

My ordeal (a slightly harsh word) started after I booked a return flight from Atlanta to LAX for a personal business. I had to mention that because this is not a business trip that some corporate entity will pay for nor am I a small business owner that could write off air fares while I claim I conducted 50% business on a weekend trip so as to claim the expenses on my taxes. By the way, I owed Uncle Sam and the Governator for the 2006 tax year. Happy that I would be able to make the trip to reconnect with friends and relatives after 3 months absence from Los Angeles, I went out to throw a half-size football with the kids. Just before I sat down for dinner, I though I check the itinerary and to my shock and annoyance, because I know there would be no favorable solution, I noticed I have booked the return flight on the same day! That will leave me only two hours to spend in Los Angeles, on that same Friday. Unless you were a drug dealer completing a deal or that other "t" word ...